User blog comment:Plexioth- xD/Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate/@comment-4563270-20121214080136/@comment-4563270-20121215051512

it's more when you have a power phial, increased element/ailment with the according phial but in general the axe mode has very amped attacks like the overhead swing my personaly favorite of you can land it correctly. the upswing is kinda useless unless you need a quick swing.. you're reaching a monster in mid air.. or you're cutting a tail. most people exploit the sword mode and hardly ever use the axe mode, i only use the sword mode when the monster is knocked down, disoriented, asleep, or in a trap an i usually go up->down->side->stab and if done on the head makes for the best headlock. overhead in axe mode still is the most supreme for limit breakers if you land it however if you land the right upswing on a flying creature you can break a limit and send them crashing down.. i can see why they wouldn't use sword mode right off the bat. i mean only noobs size up monsters with a gs.. same goes with sword mode. you have to pick your battles with switch axe and try to keep it in axe mode.