I find this happens a lot, even with other weapons - latency takes its toll. I've taken to recording my "that's bullshit!" moments to review later, and I can usually find a clang or FA interrupt I missed. The problem seems to be making the right choice but being countered because your opponent's wrong choice was right 250ms ago. On the topic of axes, I personally prefer to use them. With my latency, the sword doesn't survive that much longer, and still gets gunned down during a PA, but it lacks the damage to kill people quick enough. FA spam and the lunge distance just don't work for me. The Axe is less forgiving, but I need to get a lot fewer hits in to win - if I can land a PA, I'm only a few FAs away from the kill and I can usually clip them fairly easily. Then there is the tactic I'm trying to get down pat, which is to land a Dbash and Pistol them in the face.
The one thing I've found axes to do well at the moment is hitting someone after the dbash. Usually they roll out of the dbash as you are swinging your sword, and they are up in time to counter your next attack. But with the axe, the fast attack is so slow, that if you wait a fraction of a second before using it, you will hit them as they are just out of iframes at the end of the roll Works all the time, 50% of the time
As far as I have experienced it, this is unique to ork-shields. Even Eldar swords can break them easily, they are basically useless in melee as almost everything staggers the wielder, unless they shell out 400 lp (after reduction) for the Big Metal Bit shield, which is about on par with the SM Stormshield. The standard ork shields are only really useful to catch ranged fire, and even then shots can randomly phase through the shield to hit the wielder.
Wut. This isn't the axe. This is bash & bolter. The axe has nothing to do with it. You lost 2 clangs, the latter of which was a bash... and he killed you with well-placed bolter headshots. I do not understand the anti-axe argument here. I generally don't strong attack after bashes. It's much cleaner to take the free hit from a fast attack. They can usually see the strong attack and pop you with a fast, or just roll out of the way of it. Better to get the damage in while you can then follow up with a strong attack after that.
You have no problem with the fact that he dbashed and executed a great melee ambush which should have put the tactical at a SEVERE disadvantage yet ended up losing anyway? The problem illustrated here is that, prior to 1.3, an Axe could heavy after a Dbash just like a Sword, now it cannot. It's only moderately good at being used to Heavy in the back which, the Power Sword and even Chainswords, can accomplish just as good and without stupidly long wind up times.
How many forum posts does it take for the devs to realize they made a grave error with the way melee was handled this patch?
He lost his advantage when he decided to strong attack after the bash stun. The attack is too long for the bash stun. A clean fast attack would have been swell... it gets a LOT of damage in (because it's an axe) and puts the tactical on the back foot. A follow-up strong attack would likely have scored the win, since most tacticals panic-Dbash when they take melee damage (expecting their assailant to spam them to death). Failing that, one fast attack and step back to empty a bolt pistol clip. Most tacticals either try to fire back (which you interrupt with a fast) or try to melee (which you bash and end the fight). I know i'm just meta-gaming here... but I do not see this as a correct play. What i do see wrong is him dying in one failed trade. That definitely is a problem... but that's not the problem with the axe.
The Axe's speed is part of the argument especially since it's what is shown in the original video. You can see at the very beginning, the CSM d-bashes right at the beginning to get a stun and then launches a strong attack. Instead of landing, a clang occurs. He did not 'lose' via the RPS system. The Tactical did NOT fast attack to beat the strong attack else wise the CSM would have been briefly stunned and display red exclamation marks. The Tactical did NOT dbash the strong attack or else he would have been hit and stunned right out of it. The Tactical launched a strong attack out of stun so fast that it was able to clang with the slower axe even after the axe had free windup time with the dbash stun. Now on the 2nd swing he DID lose as the Tactical had D-bashed against a fast attack thereby stunning the CSM and allowing enough time for a couple point blank shots for a down. If it wasn't for the speed of the knife and the safety net of of the RPS clang, that Tactical would have taken a hard axe to the face.
Hahahahahaah "a lot of damage in" Tell me, what hurts more: The one Light Attack Axe swing in the DBash window or The 4, FOUR, Bolter shots in the same Dbash window I'll give you a hint, one player is dead the other would have lost his armor and maybe a little HP. Double hint, it sure as hell ain't the axe.
