A quick survey on the secondary I should choose .
I think they're close enough in effectiveness that the custom weapon models should tip you toward one or the other for your concept.
If we are to die, let us die like men. -- Patrick Cleburne
----------------------------------------------------------
The rule is that they must be loved. --Jayne Fynes-Clinton, Death of an Abandoned Dog
They are very similar sets. As far as aggro management and damage mitigation are concerned, Battle Axe does knockdown/knockup and War Mace does stun. An important distinction that, IMO, gives the edge to Battle Axe.
Now I've played my Invy/Battle Axe tanker to lvl 49 and the damage is impressive but I'm only in the 20s with my WP/WM tanker so I can't give you a side by side game play comparison. If you look here it appears that War Mace edges out Battle Axe in the damage department but the difference isn't huge just looking at the numbers.
Bear in mind though that Battle Axe is pure Lethal damage and War Mace is pure Smashing damage both of which are highly resisted in the game. I believe that Lethal damage might the the most resisted damage type which would again give the edge to War Mace but I'm not 100% sure on that.
Ultimately I would have to agree with Sailboat on the concept question though.
"I am a Tank. I am your first choice, I am your last hope." -- Rune Bull
"Durability is the quintessential super-power. " -- Sailboat
[ QUOTE ]
I'm building a tank with shield defense as his primary but I'm stuck on choosing war mace or battle axe as the secondary. Is one better than the other or are they pretty even?
I'll go by popular opinion.
[/ QUOTE ]
I'd go War Mace ... it gives you slightly better AOE options (its cones are wider then Axe's). Otherwise the two are fairly close.
I'd go with Battle Axe, it's sexy... yeah it's Lethal, but it has a bonus to hit. But I think you should ultimately choose conceptually. Either will do just fine. 
@Tax E - RIP CoH 2012
[ QUOTE ]
They are very similar sets. As far as aggro management and damage mitigation are concerned, Battle Axe does knockdown/knockup and War Mace does stun. An important distinction that, IMO, gives the edge to Battle Axe.
[/ QUOTE ]
War Mace has three attacks that do knockup or knockdown, including the tier 8 and tier 9 attacks. Which is better is surely a matter of preference; I prefer stuns, though I know some don't like the wandering effect.
EDIT: Mace also has a ToHit bonus, which I believe is true of all drawn weapon sets.
My Characters
Knight Court--A CoH Story Complete 2/3/2012
Ice Melee.
It's my fav
<QR>
Another for Axe. Has less model options, but the unlockables (Rikti Axe, Talsorian, Roman, etc) are way cooler than Mace's.
Just to complicate things further: I love my Shield/War Mace Tanker. He's a ton of fun. So I suggest Mace.
The real lesson from this thread: take whichever one you prefer. They're both good sets.
Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
"I was just the one with the most unsolicited sombrero." - Traegus
My main shield tanker is Shield/War Mace. Since Mace's damage was buffed, the two sets are very comparable in terms of damage output. There are a couple of factors that tip the scales in Mace's favor, IMO.
Utility - As noted above, Axe is all knockdown. Mace has some knockdown, some chance of stun, and one sure-shot stun: if it hits a Lieutenant or lower, that mob is stunned.
Stuns are more reliable to incapacitate problem mobs like Sappers than knockdown is. Having a mix also allows you a wider variety of invention sets to use, if that's a consideration. I like Stupefy, myself. And since you get a full taunt aura (unlike Willpower) stunned mobs aren't going to cause you issues with losing aggro by wandering.
AoE - Shatter hits a wider cone (45*) than Cleave (20*). In fact, on my Shield/Mace tanker, I respecced out of Whirling Mace; since I have 3 AoE attacks counting Shield Charge, I saw no need to take the weakest (even if widest) one.
<《 New Colchis / Guides / Mission Architect 》>
"At what point do we say, 'You're mucking with our myths'?" - Harlan Ellison
War Mace and Battle Axe are very similar, both have one PBAoE and one Cone, the PBAoE are identical, but the cone recharges faster for war mace, and has a wider arc (45) at slightly lower damage.
Bash has the same Damage, Endurance Cost, and Recharge Time as Beheader. It has the same chance to Stun as Barrage [EM].
Pulverize has the same Damage, Endurance Cost, and Recharge Time as Chop. Pulverize has a 20% Stun mag 2 chance. Energy Punch [EM] has a 30% Stun mag 2 chance. This power has the same dps as Axe but has a less effective Stun than EM.
Jawbreaker has the same Damage, Endurance Cost, and Recharge Time as Gash. Jawbreaker has a 75% Knockup chance while Gash has a 50% Knockdown chance. This power has the same dps as it's equivalent in Axe but has a better chance of Knockup.
Clobber does more Damage, with higher Endurance Cost and slightly slower Recharge Time then Swoop. Clobber has a mag 3 Stun, while Swoop has a 70% Knockup chance.
Whirling Mace has the same Endurance Cost and Recharge Time as Whirling axe. Whirling Mace has higher damage than Whirling Axe and the same chance to Stun as Energy Melee's Whirling Hands.
Shatter does less damage, but costs less endurance (11. to 14.) and has a faster recharge than Cleave (12s to 15s). Both powers have an 80% chance of Knockdown, while shatter has a much larger cone (45 to 20).
Crowd Control does less damage, but costs less endurance and has a faster recharge (12s to 15s) than Pendulum. Crowd Control has a 60% chance of knockdown while Pendulum has a 50%. Crowd Control has a higher Range, Radius, and hits twice as many Max Targets (10 to 5) as Pendulum.
Both sets currently have fairly good attack speeds, some disorienting and knockUp/Down capabilities, an accuracy bonus, moderate to high endurance use, heavy smashing aoe, and strong ST damage.
On the other side you could say both sets comparatively lack a "wow" power ie Total Focus-Knock Out Blow, although Crowd Control is now like a half Footstomp.
Check out Starsman's charts to get a better idea where the two sets stand in relation to the other secondaries.
And weapon customization might also help you in deciding.
Whatever you decide on, have fun. =T
I'm building a tank with shield defense as his primary but I'm stuck on choosing war mace or battle axe as the secondary. Is one better than the other or are they pretty even?
I'll go by popular opinion.