Axe Skill
| Axe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Class | Skills |
| Type | Skill |
| Skill Group | Combat - Melee |
| Max Level | 10 |
| Total XP | 32,775 |
| Best Occupation | Lumberjack (+2) |
The Axe Skill governs how well a character fights with axe-type weapons. It raises attack speed and damage with them and reduces the muscle strain each swing causes. It belongs to the Combat - Melee group, next to the blunt, blade and spear skills.
A good axe fighter clears a crowd with fewer swings and less fatigue. The skill also helps an axe hold its condition in a fight, so fewer weapons break on a long run. The Lumberjack starts with the most Axe skill, and the Firefighter starts with a smaller head start.
Axes are among the most useful weapons in the game because they double as tools. An axe chops down trees for logs, and those logs become planks for building. An axe also breaks wooden doors quickly, which opens locked houses and stores. That makes an axe one of the first finds worth keeping on any run.
How to Level Axe
Axe experience comes from hitting enemies with an axe-type weapon. Every connecting blow on a zombie counts toward the skill. Only hits on enemies count, so felling trees is a separate job from training.
The early levels come quickly, and the later ones take far longer. Steady fighting against small groups that the character can handle safely is the surest way up.
The Fast Learner trait raises the experience rate to 130 percent. The Slow Learner trait lowers it to 70 percent. The Reluctant Fighter trait lowers it to 75 percent for every combat skill, including this one.
Each axe wears down with use. A higher Maintenance skill helps the weapon survive a long training session.
Any axe-group weapon trains the skill, so a cheap crafted axe works as well as a rare one for practice. A Crude Stone Axe made early in the game is a fine training tool. It saves the better axes for real danger.
Training goes best in short sessions. Lure a few zombies at a time, fight them, then rest until the character is fresh again. Fighting while exhausted makes every swing slower and riskier. A safe retreat route matters more than the number of kills.
A higher Fitness level speeds up melee attacks and reduces exhaustion. A higher Strength level adds melee damage. Both skills rise naturally during axe training, so a long axe career also builds a tougher body.
The XP each Axe level asks for, with the running total from level 0.
| Level | XP Needed | Total XP |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 75 | 75 |
| 2 | 150 | 225 |
| 3 | 300 | 525 |
| 4 | 750 | 1,275 |
| 5 | 1,500 | 2,775 |
| 6 | 3,000 | 5,775 |
| 7 | 4,500 | 10,275 |
| 8 | 6,000 | 16,275 |
| 9 | 7,500 | 23,775 |
| 10 | 9,000 | 32,775 |
Axe Level Effects
Higher Axe levels make every axe swing faster and stronger. The damage bonus grows with each level, so a skilled character kills in fewer hits. Critical hits also become more likely as the skill rises.
The skill raises the chance of pushing a zombie away when it grabs the character from the front. That push can turn a deadly grab into a short scare.
Muscle strain drops at higher levels, so long fights tire the arms less. A trained axe user can keep fighting longer before resting.
The skill also helps an axe keep its condition, so a favourite weapon stays useful for longer. These bonuses apply only to weapons in the axe group.
A critical hit can kill a zombie in a single blow. Heavy axes deal some of the highest damage of any common melee weapon. At high levels a well placed swing often ends a zombie at once, and that is when axes shine in a fight.
The chance of losing condition on a hit depends on both this skill and Maintenance. Raising both together makes each axe last far longer. A character with high levels in both can carry one axe for a long stretch of the run.
Axe Starting Levels
The Lumberjack begins with two levels of Axe. That occupation also brings the Ax-pert trait, which speeds up axe swings on top of the skill. The Firefighter begins with one level. The Brawler trait also adds one level at character creation.
A head start skips the first steps of training. Those levels give a little more damage and speed from the very first fight.
The Lumberjack is the natural axe character. Its starting levels and the Ax-pert speed bonus make the first fights with an axe much safer. A Firefighter also fits an axe style well, since fire stations are a good place to find axes.
These occupations and traits start a character with levels in Axe.
| Name | Image | Type | Levels | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lumberjack | 
|
Occupation | +2 | 0 |
| Brawler | 
|
Trait | +1 | -6 |
| Firefighter | 
|
Occupation | +1 | 0 |
Axe Weapons
The skill covers every axe-type weapon. That group includes the Hand Axe, Hatchet, Wood Axe and Firefighter Axe. It also covers tools such as the Pickaxe, Ice Axe, Meat Cleaver and Entrenching Tool.
Crafted weapons count too. The Crude Stone Axe, Large Stone Axe and Bone War Hatchet use this skill. So do sawblade and railspike weapons such as the Sawblade Axe, Baseball Bat with Sawblade and Plank with Sawblade.
Faster swings matter most with heavy axes. The skill makes each big swing quicker and leaves the character open for less time.
The Wood Axe hits very hard and is the best axe for felling trees. Its swings are slow, though, and each one costs a lot of stamina. A tired character with a heavy axe is easy prey for a crowd. Lighter axes swing faster and suit fights against a few zombies at a time.
Axes turn up in hardware stores, warehouses and storage units. Fire stations give a good chance of finding one. Zombies sometimes carry axes too, so checking corpses can pay off.
The hardest-hitting weapons that Axe governs. Every one of them is listed under Axes.
| Name | Image | Damage | Weight | Spawn ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cudgel with Brake Disc | 
|
2 - 3 | 6 | /additem Base.Cudgel_Brake
|
| Cudgel with Sawblade | 
|
1.9 - 3 | 6 | /additem Base.Cudgel_Sawblade
|
| Cudgel with Spade Head | 
|
1.8 - 3 | 6 | /additem Base.Cudgel_SpadeHead
|
| Wood Axe | 
|
1.3 - 3 | 3 | /additem Base.WoodAxe
|
| Pickaxe | 
|
1 - 2.2 | 3 | /additem Base.PickAxe
|
| Firefighter Axe | 
|
0.8 - 2 | 3 | /additem Base.Axe
|
| Axe | 
|
0.8 - 2 | 3 | /additem Base.Axe_Old
|
| Garden Fork Scrap Metal Weapon | 
|
0.8 - 2 | 4 | /additem Base.ScrapWeaponGardenFork
|
| Spade Head Scrap Metal Weapon | 
|
0.8 - 2 | 4 | /additem Base.ScrapWeaponSpade
|
| Metal Baseball Bat with Sawblade | 
|
1.2 - 1.9 | 2.5 | /additem Base.BaseballBat_Metal_Sawblade
|
| Baseball Bat with Railspike | 
|
1.2 - 1.9 | 2.5 | /additem Base.BaseballBat_RailSpike
|
| Baseball Bat with Sawblade | 
|
1.2 - 1.9 | 2.5 | /additem Base.BaseballBat_Sawblade
|
| Brake Disc Scrap Metal Weapon | 
|
0.8 - 1.9 | 4 | /additem Base.ScrapWeapon_Brake
|
| Sawblade Axe | 
|
0.7 - 1.8 | 3 | /additem Base.Axe_Sawblade
|
| Large Stone Axe | 
|
0.7 - 1.8 | 3 | /additem Base.StoneAxeLarge
|
Notes
- Only hits on enemies train this skill.
- The Lumberjack pairs the highest starting level with the Ax-pert speed bonus.
- Crafted stone and sawblade axes all train this skill.
- Keep the Maintenance skill up so axes survive long training fights.
- Reluctant Fighter slows the training of this skill.
- An axe breaks wooden doors and fells trees, so it stays useful between fights.
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