Both have fairly resisted damage and aren't "THE BESTEST EVAH" at something. People tend to gravitate with the 1-2 best at one thing.
Both are really good at being able to aoe like crazy. My mace skipped whirling mace and i'm still doing pretty awesome aoe damage.
Both sets seems to have pretty much the "same" DPS between all the attacks. So any axe attack= another axe attack and any mace attack = another mace attack. ( ST vs ST) So you aren't relying on one big attack (like SS with KO) for your ST damage. And you aren't relying on only one aoe like a lot of the old sets. (EM, SS, stone)
Of the two, i only played mace, to lvl 46. I'm extremely happy with her damage output and even received compliments for it. (from other brutes O.o)
"It's a scrapper. If he can't handle it, no one can." -BrandX
I've played Axe/FA and Axe/WP to the 40's. Looking at axe on paper it looks like a sick aoe set. In practice though you really only have two actual aoe attacks. Pendulum and whirling axe. Cleave isn't really an aoe. With the range and radius on it you may be able to line up 3 targets with practice, but realistically you're looking at two for the most part.
The other issue with axe is that the aoe attacks max out at a 10 yard radius. You get two attacks that hit many targets, but they have to be right on top of you.
War mace comes with a better cone than axe in shatter. Shatter has more than twice the cone radius, but comes 2 yards shorter. You'll get more targets in it, but lose the ranged component somewhat.
If you're looking for an aoe set Elec, SS and stone will all make you happier. If you're looking for a mitigation set Warmace is one of the better ones for ST mitigation. If you're looking for an ST set Warmace is still not too bad.
Both sets are end heavy though. For me, axes didn't feel like it was giving me the value for the endurance spent. The ST attacks in axe all animate very quickly though and with enough recharge that can make the difference for dishing out damage.
For mitigation I prefer stone. For aoe I prefer stone. For damage I prefer stone. This is me though, and "me's" are a minority.
It's because Gloom is ridiculously powerful and since it causes redraw for weapon sets they get lower damage. Other than that, Axe is one of the best sets for levelling up, the only weakness is that it has a lower maximum potential than most. Mace is slightly less powerful when levelling up, but has a rather high maximum potential, only held back by the redraw from Gloom. Remove that and it's up there with Stone and Fire.
Check out Starsman's charts, even Castle says they accurately represent the powers ranking.
You'll notice axe and mace are pretty close to the higher end powers, but I think the redraw with weapons is a factor in why interest in either set is pretty low among Brutes.
And there also isn't really a 'wow' attack in either set like ToFo/KoB etc.
personally I have a mace tank and I love it, but I wouldn't make another weapon Brute/Tank just for the last reason.
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Mace is slightly less powerful when levelling up, but has a rather high maximum potential, only held back by the redraw from Gloom. Remove that and it's up there with Stone and Fire.
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Not to split hairs, but mace actually gets access to an extreme damage (2.29 scale) with a quick recharge (16 seconds) very early. Overall the two sets are very similar, with mace slightly better in both aoe and st since Castles last buff to the set 5-20-08.
But like you said, the redraw is a definite fury disrupter, especially solo.
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Not to split hairs, but mace actually gets access to an extreme damage (2.29 scale) with a quick recharge (16 seconds) very early.
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And every other Mace attack is less powerful than the equivalent Axe attack. This means that while levelling up Axe does more damage, but when you get enough recharge Mace will be better thanks to Clobber. It also means that Hasten doens't help Axe that much, but is a huge boon to Mace.
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Check out Starsman's charts, even Castle says they accurately represent the powers ranking.
You'll notice axe and mace are pretty close to the higher end powers, but I think the redraw with weapons is a factor in why interest in either set is pretty low among Brutes.
And there also isn't really a 'wow' attack in either set like ToFo/KoB etc.
personally I have a mace tank and I love it, but I wouldn't make another weapon Brute/Tank just for the last reason.
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You think Crowd Control is not wow??? 
That power is amazing now that it hits 10 foes!
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And every other Mace attack is less powerful than the equivalent Axe attack.
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Bash 44.49 (damg scale)
Beheader 44.49
Pulverize 72.96
Chop 72.96
Jawbreaker 87.2
Gash 87.2
Clobber 129.91 - cast 1.23s
Swoop 101.43 - cast 1.83s
Whirling Mace 49.83
Whirling Axe 44.49
Shatter 101.43 - rech 12s
Cleave 122.79 - rech 15s
Crowd Control 71.63 - rech 12s - max targets 10
Pendulum 84.53 - rech 15s - - max targets 5
The set's are virtual carbon copies.
And Stars, you know what I meant =)
Anyway OP not sure if any of this is helpful or not, but have fun smashing things, whatever Brute combo you're on. ;]
What do you know, there is another attack that beats the Axe equivalent. 1' extra radius and 5 higher target cap. How horribly unfair.
One thing about Axe (and I believe Mace) is that most of its attacks have almost identical DPA. That makes them weaker for billion infamy uber-recharge builds since they lack "heavy hitters", but it also makes them great for low-recharge builds since they also lack low-DPA "filler" attacks. As for AoEs, they both have pretty much the standard frontal cone and PBAoE... they're solidly average. In fact, "average" is the best way to describe them: decent single target damage, decent AoE damage, and a moderate amount of control. They just don't excel at anything, so people tend to skip them since they generally either build for maximum AoE damage (for farming or large teams) or maximum single target damage (AV hunters)... and for the ones who do want a "generalist" build, Dual Blades does the same thing but is fancier.
Personally, I think a big axe absolutely screams "brute", but that's just me...
Cascade, level 50 Blaster (NRG/NRG since before it was cool)
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I noticed that a lot of the "Weapon" brute classes are not chosen. Is that cause they pale in comparrison with the others? How is mace and axe when it comes to being able to AoE like crazy? Why are a lot of people not playing these types?
When all hope seems to have drifted away.. and the shadows of death creep closer. Do not fear or cower.. do not make peace or seek salvation. For I will be there, supporting your movement. So give me your pain, weakness, despair, fear and doubt.. The Light will grant you another stand.