Warhammer Vermintide 2 Bardin Goreksson Weapons Stats & Combos

In the beginning of the guide, you will find explanations on how you read the weapon cheat sheets, and what all the attack property icons mean. As an example, you will also find the Torch’s moveset here. After that, you will find the remaining melee weapons, ordered by hero Bardin Goreksson.

Warhammer Vermintide 2 Bardin Goreksson Weapon Stats & Combos

Explanations

Attack boxes

This is the most common type of attack, a slash. The arrow indicates the direction in which the weapon is swung. Naturally, downward slashes are suited for landing headshots. Horizontal slashes are useful for cleaving through multiple enemies, if the attack is able to. Upward slashes seem impractical at first, but they often have better effects to make up for it (higher damage, increased crit chance, bonus damage-over-time effects, etc). Also, with proper practice, headshots can even be landed with upward slashes. Refer to the further resources section for a tutorial that covers this.

This represents a stabbing attack. Stabs are always directed towards the center of your screen. Stabs are typically single-target attacks that can damage armored enemies. Many of them also deal increased headshot damage. The dotted line indicates from where your character stabs their weapon, but this direction makes no noticeable difference in combat. It is only included so that you can tell different stabbing attacks apart.

This represents a bash, which can normally only be performed with shield weapons. Since all shield bashes work the same, I will spoil their properties already: They always hit every enemy in front of you, dealing low damage but good knockback, especially to enemies directly in front of you. A valuable self-defense tool for dense horde situations.

Combo Structure

After performing any attack, you can follow up with either a light attack (green) or a heavy attack (red). Colored arrows point towards the attacks that will be performed as a follow-up. So every attack box will have both an outgoing green and red arrow. You can also block after attacking, which resets your combo. From there you can start over or perform the push attack (blue).

For visual clarity, arrows going back to the first light and heavy attacks are not drawn. Instead, you will see an outgoing arrow that ends in a circle. This does not mean that your combo ends, it’s as fast as going to any other attack. So the weapon in this example could perform the following loop: [Heavy 1 > Light 2 > Heavy 1 > …] forever, without stopping or slowing down.

Rarely, a weapon has a special attack that can be performed with a different keybind (the game calls it Weapon Special). You will find its box next to the push attack, indicated by a purple arrow.

Icon Glossary

Attack boxes will be accompanied by all kinds of icons, summarizing what this attack is good at. Use this information to plan your combos: If you want to fight hordes, try to find cleaving attacks that link into each other. And to fight armored elites, look for armor-piercing attacks linking into each other.

On the left side of the attack name, you will generally find icons telling you how well the attack cleaves. On the right side, you will find icons telling you what type of damage it deals. And if a heavy attack has special mechanics related to charging it, you will find icons below its name.

If only a single weapon uses a unique icon, it will be skipped here, and only explained in that weapon’s details text.

Cleave Properties

This attack is able to cleave through multiple non-armored units, but gets stuck on armored enemies (Including maulers, the elite chaos enemy with a huge axe and head armor). Note that there is still a cleave limit: If a group of enemies is too densely packed, you will only hit some of them.
This attack is realistically able to cleave through at least one armored unit and continue hitting more enemies after it. This is an uncommon but amazing property. Usually these swings still get stuck on chaos warriors, monsters and lords.
This attack itself may only hit one enemy, but it causes an explosion centered on that enemy, which hits all other enemies around it. The explosion can hit an infinite number of enemies, since it has nothing like a cleave limit.

Damage Properties

This attack deals damage to armored units. If the icon is grey, the damage is so small that it is clearly overshadowed by other attacks from the same weapon, so you might want to use those instead.
This attack completely bypasses shields held by enemies. Naturally, if the attack also happens to deal armor damage, this is great for dealing with shielded stormvermin.

This attack applies a burn damage-over-time effect. Sienna’s careers may have talents synergizing with these. Note that damage-over-time effects fully stack, so you can use multiple of these without losing any of their damage.
This attack applies a bleed damage-over-time effect. There is not much synergy here. Again, note that you can stack as many of these as you like.

Heavy Charging Properties

Holding this heavy attack increases its damage to an even larger value than usual. Keep in mind that any heavy attack without this icon does not do this: Normally, their damage is always the same, no matter if you release them directly or keep the button pressed for a while.
This heavy attack can be charged forever, since your character will never let go of it automatically.

This heavy attack can be charged forever, and while doing so your character will be in a blocking state. This block works as usual, meaning that it uses your amounts of stamina and block cost reduction, synergizes with class talents related to blocking, and the parry trait.

Blocking Infographic

Lastly, every cheat sheet summarizes the defensive ability of the weapon: The center number is the amount of stamina shields that it has (Note: 3 stamina shields = 6.0 stamina). Every weapon has a frontal block angle, typically 90°, as displayed in light blue. Enemy attacks coming from this angle cost way less stamina to block than attacks outside of it. The numbers in the top and bottom show how the block cost is modified in- and outside of the weapon’s effective blocking angle, so lower is always better. Keep in mind that you can improve the available stamina shields, the block costs, and the effective blocking angle with properties on your equipment.

Some weapons only lose half a stamina shield when pushing, instead of a full shield like all the others. This greatly improves your defense by allowing you to dig your way out of otherwise fatal situations. These weapons will be marked with this icon.

And on the topic of blocking, here is what’s special about shield weapons: Obviously, they generally have improved blocking stats as you will see in their infographics, and are the only type of weapon that may have shield bashes in their moveset. Furthermore, unlike all other weapons, they also allow you to block ratling gun bullets and the rat ogre’s overhead attacks. And their push strength is also improved, being able to stagger a lot of elite enemies that otherwise wouldn’t care. And lastly, the delay until your stamina recovers after pushing is halved when using a shield weapon.

Example Weapon: The Torch

The Torch can only be equipped temporarily by finding it on certain levels. You can protect yourself with it, as it can block like an average weapon and has reasonable cleave and stagger. And while its damage is laughably low, it at least applies burns on every hit. On its light attacks, the burn only ticks once, but on the push and heavy attacks it is stronger. The weapon special key can be used to drop the Torch, switching back to your actual melee weapon.

Bardin Goreksson Weapon Stats & Combos

Great Hammer

A slow and heavy weapon whose heavy attacks can cleave AND knock around armored enemies. After staggering a group of enemies with a heavy attack, weaving in a light attack can destroy the most dangerous enemy.

Same as: Kruber’s Great Hammer

Great Axe

This one is practically the same as the Great Hammer, with one important difference: Its heavy cleaving attacks kill groups of enemies much quicker, but in return they stagger fewer enemies and lose the ability to cleave through armored ones.

Axe

This weapon has single-target armor piercing attacks exclusively, which will make you feel like a god against elites, but vulnerable during hordes. Its light and push attacks all come with 10% bonus crit chance.

Same as: Saltzpyre’s Axe

Hammer

An all-round weapon with extra stamina available. This bonus stamina comes in handy to start your horde combo with a push attack. Its heavy attacks deal as much single-target damage as the Axe’s.

Same as: Kruber’s Mace, Saltzpyre’s Skull-Splitter Hammer

War Pick

Against hordes, the light attacks can buy you lots of space, while the push and heavy attacks deal impressive single-target damage against both flesh and armored targets. Overcharging its heavy attacks raises this damage to completely absurd levels, and makes Bardin sprint. To judge whether the overcharge is complete, look out for his arm tilting upwards.

Axe and Shield

Unlike many other shield weapons in the game, this one has really good armor damage. When facing groups, get used to inputting a heavy attack after pushing, instead of executing a push attack.

Hammer and Shield

If the Axe and Shield’s single-target light attacks are not your thing, this one might be more to your liking, as its lights 1 and 2 have good group stagger. Its armor damage is hidden behind the push attack, however. The push attack also has the unique mechanic of letting you choose which heavy attack to follow up with, by varying how long you hold it.

Same as: Kruber’s Mace and Shield, Saltzpyre’s Skull-Splitter & Shield

Dual Axes

Compared to the single-handed axe, using this weapon is less risky: Its attack speed is higher, and Bardin moves much faster while swinging it. As an exchange, it loses one stamina shield, and deals less damage per second to both flesh and armored targets.

Note: You will find useful movement speed tech for the Dual Axes in the further resources.

Dual Hammers

DLC: Back to Ubersreik

These alternative dual weapons have significant differences to the Dual Axes: A lot of their attacks are good at staggering groups, and they have double the available stamina. In return, their attack and movement speed is not quite as fast, and armor can only be damaged by heavy and push attacks.

Note: You will find useful movement speed tech for the Dual Hammers in the further resources.

Same as: Saltzpyre’s Paired Skull-Splitters

Cog Hammer

DLC: Outcast Engineer Career

The Cog Hammer has a very similar moveset to the War Pick. It attacks quicker and its heavy attacks deal even higher armor damage. And on top of that, the heavy attacks also have an increased headshot modifier. Sadly though, you are unable to overcharge them.