Axe vs PolearmFollow

I have never used a polearm or even seen one in a quest loot offer, but see a lot of them in the AH that have really good dps numbers for that level. Seems to be better dps than same level 2H axes. Am I missing something? They seem to be left out of all the weapon discussions I have seen.

When you're talking about a 2 handed weapon, DPS is Generally not the deciding number ... average damage is. with exceptions - DPS being considerably higher on the lower damage weapon

I'm going to take a guess or 2 here. 1) You're arms spec, and have Poleaxe specialisation. 2) You're MS (although I should have to mention that - it probably goes without saying)

The thing about Mortal strike, is that it does damage based on the weapon damage - which means the higher the damage indicated on the weapon, the better the damage with more strike. This may mean that a weapon with a higher DPS is not as good as a weapon with a lower DPS, but with a slower swing timer (and subsequently higher damage).

Let me see if I can find an example or 2.

ok, here are 2 weapons, one from BF, one from Ramps ... (seeing as though the poster above me mentioned the one from ramps).

Hellreaver is a Polearm with a DPS of 68.8 at a speed of 3.4, and a damage range of 187 - 281. Average damage is ((281 + 187) / 2 = 234

Warsong Howling Axe is a 2 handed axe with a DPS of 70.3 at a speed of 3.1, and a damage range of 174 - 262. Average Damage is ((174 + 262)/2) = 218

Which is better for an MS warrior? ... the Hellreaver. Why, it does more average damage per hit, and that's what MS is based on. It may be 2 or so dps lower, but it's better for MS.

Now, as far as polearms go, this is a bit of an exception, the general problem with polearms is that they are normally much faster weapons than Axes, maces or even swords. For this reason, you'll very seldom find a warrior with a Polearm. Don't get me wrong, there are some polearms out there which an MS warrior would do well with (Glaive of the pit comes to mind), but those are a lot less common than viable axes.

An illustration of this is the Arena Polearm vs the Arena Axe. Same DPS, but the polearm is much faster, and subsequently has a much lower damage range.

Aside from the DPS / Damage range differential, polearm stats also seem to be a lot more geared towards Hunters. They generally use their melee weapons purely as a stat buff, not so much as a damaging tool, so speed and damage of the weapon is inconsequential.

Hope this helps.

Edited, Sep 26th 2008 10:27pm by robertlofthouse

Not... really.

If you use MS and WW every 6 and 10 seconds respectively, a difference of 20 Weapon Damage (as per your example) works out to ~5.3 DPS. That means the Hellreaver is better than the Warsong Howling Axe, but if the speed difference was smaller even though the average damage is still lower the Warsong Howling Axe would work out better.

Ehm, doesn't attack power come into play for MS and WW?

Just saying, because then AP would make a lot of difference in the damage of the swing of a 3.4 and a 3.1 speed weapon. I think, I'm a bit too lazy to go with the normalization formulas, all I care to know is that slower is still better.