Great Axe

This is Merlijn's 4th weapon, the Great Axe.

Weapon Information
Name	Great Axe
Weapon Type	Slot 4 Axe
Firing type	Melee
Weight	Heavy
Damage Level	174 (primary) / 49-63 (secondary)
Belongs to	Merlijn Oostrum

Background

Loadout Description

Merlijn's great axe. It deals a might amount of damage. The right side of the blade is coated in silver, harming supernatural enemies when used.

ALT-FIRE: Silver bladed strike
TERT-FIRE: Penetrating ice blast

Gameplay

This weapon is a powerful battle axe. When you press Fire, you will perform overhead swings. It is quite powerful as it will kill an Assault Commander in 3 hits. Its rate of attack is slightly slower as that of the Sword but it has a slightly higher reach. Also, the Great Axe is two-handed weapon, so you cannot use the Shield while using it. Like the sword, it is capable of slicing through body armour or chitin but cannot pierce heavy armour.

If you press Alt-Fire, you will perform a horizontal swing with the with the silver-coated side of the blade. This attack is way less powerful and it can't penetrate body armour, but it is capable of harming incorporeal enemies and even deal bonus damage to them.

This weapon is most useful in order to quickly kill strong enemies who don't have hitscan attacks unless you don't give them time to react with a one-hit kill. It is also better against enemies who rely on dodgeable projectiles or pure melee attacks. Since you cannot use the shield, it is ill advised to use it against enemies like Pig Cops or Enforcers unless you are able to reach and hit them very quickly since you will need only 1 hit against them. Thanks to its slightly higher reach, it a reliable choice for underwater sections although the Guandao will retain the highest reach. Overall, compared to the sword, this weapon is better against isolated non-hitscan enemies, and in cramped up places. For instance, Tower of Life in the Episode 2 is a good level for this weapon.

You will gain 15 shield points instead of every ammo pick-up.

Upgrades

There is one upgrade for the Great Axe.

Great Axe Ice blast

Allows Great Axe to cast a frost slash with Tertiary fire/Reload key that can slow down and, eventually, freeze enemies using Blue Mana. This upgrade can be bought from the blacksmith in Easthaven for 2 Orbs.

Trivia

Before v.3.5 art redux, this weapon's design was that of the Battle Axe from the Witchaven games.