Two-handed axe

Bannerlord v1.4.8 · checked 2026-11-11 · updated 2026-11-12

This guide answers two questions for the two-handed axe: which piece moves which stat, and what the best design is for each goal when the highest piece tier you can use is 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. The formulas were read out of the game's own code: they were recovered from v1.4.6 and compared method by method against v1.4.8, where none of the compared methods changed (some could only be compared by their headers; Value and price has the details). Rows labelled "NavalDLC" give the best result with NavalDLC active, which adds pieces and changes which pieces each weapon type can use; they are listed only where they beat the base game. How smithing works in general is in the Crafting guide; slots, usages and an example recipe are in Weapon templates.

Usages and damage

The two-handed axe has three slots, blade, handle and pommel, and no guard. The weapon type lists three usages, but only the two-handed one can be crafted: the two bastard-grip usages allow no pommel, and every design needs one (Weapon templates).

• Thrust: none. No axe blade has a thrust, so the damage comes from the swing alone.
• Swing drag: 1.17 per unit of reach. The two-handed axe uses the normal two-handed grip, not the wide grip of polearms.
• Tier score: the two-handed usage counts 0.8 times.
• Damage type: set by the blade.

Which piece drives which stat

• Blade: sets the swing damage factor and the damage type, adds length, and counts most for difficulty.
• Handle: adds weight and length. Weight far from your hands makes the axe harder to turn than weight near them.
• Pommel: adds weight but no length. The game counts it as if it sat past the blade tip when it works out how hard the axe is to turn, so a heavy pommel costs handling and swing speed far beyond its weight.
• Weight overall: swing strength grows with the weight, so a heavier axe usually hits harder. It also swings slower, and strength grows with the square of the swing speed.
• Length overall: more length adds swing drag and turning weight, so a longer axe swings slower.

How far each goal goes

The best-recipe tables cover the two-handed usage, the only one that can be crafted. Best result with tier-1 pieces, then with tier-5 pieces:

• Swing damage: 62, up to 140. NavalDLC is better at tier 3 (120), tier 4 (142) and tier 5 (142).
• Swing speed: 95, up to 103 from tier 3 (104 with NavalDLC at tier 5).
• Handling: 85, up to 89 from tier 3 (90 with NavalDLC at tier 5).
• Length: 78, up to 137 (NavalDLC is better at tier 3 with 116).
• Weight (lightest): 1.43 kg, down to 1.03 from tier 3 (0.83 with NavalDLC at tier 5).
• Value: 337, up to 61,745 (NavalDLC is better at tier 4 with 43,603 and tier 5 with 84,342).

Best recipes by highest piece tier

Each row is the best design when no piece above that tier is allowed. A NavalDLC row is only listed where the result with NavalDLC active beats the base game.

Two-handed axe usage

All pieces at scale 100. Weight in kg.

Every recipe here has every piece at scale 100, its default size. Scaling changes a piece's weight and length; see Scaling a piece in the crafting guide. What the solver research found about scale is in Getting the best weapon from your pieces.

Worked example. Your best pieces are tier 4 and you want the hardest swing. In the base game the table gives blade axe_craft_17_head, handle axe_craft_10_handle and pommel aserai_pommel_2, for swing damage 126. With NavalDLC, blade naval_axe_head_03, handle axe_craft_6_handle and pommel aserai_pommel_5 give 142.

Practical tips

• Swing damage grows with every tier. It climbs from 62 to 140 in the base game.
• NavalDLC's naval_axe_head_03 beats tier 5 early. With it, tier-4 pieces reach 142, more than the best base-game axe at tier 5.
• Speed and handling barely move. Swing speed goes from 95 to 103 and handling from 85 to 89; every base-game recipe for them uses axe_craft_14_handle.
• Value jumps at tier 3. The best value goes from 2,457 at tier 2 to 15,992 at tier 3.