i agree the battle axe is bad and needs a buff, but i dont think its as bad as everyone says it is at least according to their playstyles. i have seen so much ttalk about staggering stuff and i am currently maining the battleaxe for fun and im like 'i dont need to stagger it when its just dead' i kill nearly everything in one or two hits. its block and parry is quite good to from what i have used, shields are obviously beter in that regard though. poeple complain about its movement speed reduction and im justt like if u have the axe out why are you running, just turn around and kill whats chasing you.

the battle axe in my experience has the damage it needs to fill its roll as a crowd clearer its more of everyones playstle to run and avoid getting hit using bows and atgeirs or using shields when choosing to stand in fight. where it falls off on in my opinion is the stamina cost to swing. far to much stamina used for what u get in terms of dps. would ratther sword and board and get similar results as the axe for far less stamina cost in case i need to run.

{may not be the easiest read had to think and type fast to get ready for work. the tldr is its damage and all is fine its stamina cost is abysmal though}