Rakuyo's Axe Build |
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Rakuyo's Axe Build
A powerful axe build for enthusiasts with tips and equipment advice.
Description
Axes are excellent weapons. They have an unmatched ability to destroy enemies that are guarding, many of their combos are uninterruptable once they get going. and they offer powerful auto-buffs that you can use limitlessly. One of the first skills you want to get is Heaven and Earth. This skill allows you to freely mix a very powerful combo into the High Stance quick attack sequence. You can trigger it after the first hit, which is what I often do, or you can trigger it after the second hit, making the basic combo much longer and much more damaging. An auto-buff that combines well with this strategy is The Adamantine. The Adamantine fits perfectly into the logic behind the axe. It greatly increases your defence, and makes those reckless swings of the axe feel much more logical, but it does reduce your movement speed. The Adamantine is suitable for just about any encounter with regular enemies, but is generally ill-adviced for boss fights, which require good movement speed. Alternatively, you can select Rage (Adept) for the same slot. Rage offers the more straightforward advantage of increasing your damage, but also increases the Ki costs of your attacks, and isn't necessarily better than The Adamantine. An important part of using an axe is Ki Pulsing. Axe attacks cost a lot of Ki, but this Ki can be regained quickly by Ki Pulsing. Make sure you know how to use this peculiar Nioh mechanic. Another skill you can pick is Cloud Crush, a combo ender for Low Stance. Cloud Crush generally doesn't produce the dramatic effect seen in the demo video, but it's a handy extra hit. One of the weaknesses of the axe is a lack of combo enders, Mid Stance has no combo enders whatsoever, and the best combo ender (Heaven and Earth) can only be used in High Stance. Instead, the axe has a lot of charged attacks, few of which I actually like because of how slow they are. The damage they produce is also little different from performing a normal combo. One charged attack I do like is Earth Carver (Novice), but unfortunately it can only be used in Low Stance. One skill you must get is Titanic Strength (Veteran). This is basically Heaven and Earth, but it triggers from guard, and it's one of the best ways of fighting defensively with an axe. Before acquiring Titanic Strength, you can fill that gap with Earth Carver or the Strong Attack on Low Stanceg. For Mystic Art, I prefer Inner Light.
The main stance you want to use with this build is High Stance, because it's the most suitable for breaking guard and killing enemies quickly. If you're feeling more cautious, or if you're dealing with enemies that are too fast for High Stance, then pick Low Stance. A misconception about the axe is that it's slow, it's not slow, Mid Stance and High Stance are slow but it's fast in Low Stance. Axes are not unsuitable for inflicting Status Effects. Even though they don't often deal a lot of hits, many axe attacks inflict high status build up, and you can inflict status effects in far fewer hits than you would with other weapons. Another good tip is that the axe is a Revenant eater. Revenants tend to guard a lot, which is the dumbest thing you can do against an axe. They run out of Ki almost instantly, after which they can be taken down with Grapples and Killing Strikes. This makes Revenants an easy source of extra Amrita and Equipment. The best way of knocking the horns off a Yoki is the High Stance Strong Attack.
This build's particular playstyle combines with the Set Bonuses on The Last Great General Set. Because this build makes heavy use of High Stance it combines well with Tengen Kujaku, who can greatly increase the damage of High Stance users. Because this build makes heavy use of Skills it combines well with Kara-Jishi's Attack Boost. Because so many of the axe's attacks are uninterruptable, high Toughness isn't all that important, and you can pick light gear with high defence like Onmyo and Yamabushi. One particularly powerful axe to look for is Ryomen Sukuna's Axe (+15% Close Combat Damage and improved Ki regen when landing a strong attack on an enemy's back)
Axes come in two types: Axes and Hammers, which alters their scaling properties. Its either B+ Strength, C+ Stamina, D+ Body or B+Strength, D+ Stamina, C+ Body.
For more information on scaling and speccing see Weapon Scaling Tables.
Axe Skills In The Build
- Heaven and Earth
- The Adamantine
- Rage
- Cloud Crush
- Earth Carver
- Titanic Strength
- Inner Light (mystic art)
- Roar (optional)
- Fortitude (passive)
- Kintaro Kata (passive)
- Spirit Wind (optional)
Axe Skills I Don't Like
