"chain"ge the chainsaw

[karsey22]

I've spent a lot of time using a few beserker loadouts. I've found the claymore paired with the LAR to be a useful loadout for HoE. That extra range comes in handy more often than you'd think, as well as the huge damage. It's nice to be able to stun that husk from claymore-distance away when he's just appeared there after you rounded the corner, and didn't necessarily have time to line up the perfect head chop.

Also while kiting fps, if you miss the head shot, you do a lot more damage than the axe would. The range comes in handy again here. In fact if I had to pick the best weapon for a zerker to use to kite fleshpounds I would use the claymore. It felt more effective than the axe.

For stunning scrakes, I found the head hit box MUCH easier to hit consistently with the claymore than the axe. It's faster swing speed allows misses to be a little more forgiving and the range seems to help too. I prefer to use the claymore over the axe for stunning scrakes.

It is also useful for crawlers - but only if you see them coming. If you are suddenly surrounded by multiple crawlers, you better kill one as fast as you can and get out of there. But if you see them coming, killing them in their mid jump towards you is MUCH easier to do with the claymore than with the katana. The timing seems much less precise than it is with the katana due to the claymore's range, and I was able to very consistently pull this off with HoE crawler walk/jump speeds.

It's disadvantage is it's swing speed. With 4 gorefasts charging at you, you need to be backing up at the same time as hitting the gorefasts because you can't decap them all before at least one of them gets a hit off on you. Same for pretty much any specimen. You really have to be aware of what's around you more than if you were using the tana because of more frequent backpedaling when dealing with the weaker zeds. It's pretty much like playing with a faster axe that has a longer range and a larger base damage.

In my opinion the claymore would really shine when there is a group of kiters perhaps with multiple zerkers. If one or more of them chose to use the claymore and the other(s) the katana, the katana users could focus more on the lighter quicker specimens and the claymore carriers on the heavier ones.

 

[Lacedaemonius]

I can say that the katana/axe combo is not significantly better than the claymore, enough to say that for constant, general use i'd much prefer a claymore.

If you had actually read what I'd posted you would have seen this:

You say that the claymore is far better because you don't need a katana to go with it, but if anything it's the axe that doesn't need the katana, being able to do everything the claymore does but faster and with less dead weight.

Axe works just fine without a katana to back it up. Don't go putting words in my mouth.

 

[Althamus]

You say that the claymore is far better because you don't need a katana to go with it, but if anything it's the axe that doesn't need the katana, being able to do everything the claymore does but faster and with less dead weight.

Spoiler!

// Axe Fire //
class AxeFire extends KFMeleeFire;

...
defaultproperties
{
...
FireRate=1.1

class AxeFireB extends KFMeleeFire;

DefaultProperties
{
...
FireRate=1.333
...
}

D= I cannot find where the files are for the Christmas weapons. However, if you will excuse me quoting the wiki (http://kf-wiki.com/wiki/Weapon_damage_table), it lists the claymore speeds as well as the axe speeds.

Axe Primary fire: 1.1secs, Axe Alt fire: 1.333secs
Claymore Primary fire: 1.05secs, Claymore Alt fire: 1.25secs

Apologies for quoting the wiki, but everything I've seen agrees that the claymore is faster than the axe. I don't know how to read the source files, otherwise I'd pull the data from there. It also agrees with experiments I've done to check for myself.

As I said earlier, the axe swings faster, but has a much longer cooldown than the claymore.

 

[Murphy]

I just find the ax the easiest weapon to consistently hit heads with because of its vertical swing, and that's why I chose it over any other melee weapon.

 

[karsey22]

I just find the ax the easiest weapon to consistently hit heads with because of its vertical swing, and that's why I chose it over any other melee weapon.

I'm the exact opposite - I prefer the horizontal alt-fire of the claymore and katana ^^

 

[McCrabby]

As I said earlier, the axe swings faster, but has a much longer cooldown than the claymore.

Very true. They both feel very different, so to say that the claymore is simply a "faster axe" isn't really accurate. While I agree the claymore isn't actually better than the axe (and yet costs more) I sometimes still buy the claymore if I think I can afford it because it's a decent weapon and I love the range.

 

[Murphy]

The main reason we have the claymore isn't because it fills a role but because it was requested so often. Like the M4. Sure, they're kinda sorta a little different than the weapon they're side-grading, but really, they're stylish new options. Just my opinion.

@karsey: Ha, I never would have thought someone could feel this way!
I always figured people who prefer other weapons somehow mastered them and take them now because they're faster/stronger/lighter. Different strokes, eh?

 

[CandleJack]

If you had actually read what I'd posted you would have seen this:

You say that the claymore is far better because you don't need a katana to go with it, but if anything it's the axe that doesn't need the katana, being able to do everything the claymore does but faster and with less dead weight. In conclusion, the claymore isn't just a failed abortion, it's a failed abortion that does nothing the axe doesn't do better in dosh, weight, and raw DPS. Words in my mouth.

Axe works just fine without a katana to back it up. Don't go putting words in my mouth.

I actually find the Axe is way too slow and unwieldy to use as a main weapon, it serves only as a heavy-hitter where mobility isn't an issue.

The Katana can take out every spec, but only on the lower diffs; it lacks the sheer damage to be truly versatile.

The Claymore has the speed and damage, and furthermore range, making it the best melee weapon; far from a failed abortion. It is pretty better than the Axe in every practical way, and it does seem that you, as with the bulk of the population, haven't seen what it can do.

I see it as a perfect compromise between the Katana and Axe, as it has the power and speed to be used in every situation at a moment's notice. The Axe lacks the speed to be used in every situation, and the Katana lacks the power. The Claymore has both and with negligible losses in either.