New charge-blade player can't get Savage Axe mode to work (MHW, PS5)
I've followed every tutorial I can find on YouTube and Reddit and I can't get Savage Axe mode to work. I'm playing Iceborne. I'm high rank. I'm using a proto commission axe III. I have my shield charged. I have phials loaded. I trigger an AED or an SAED and hit L2 in the windup, before the axe swings down. Nothing happens. I have tried spamming L2, holding L2, and pressing L2 once during various stages of the AED/SAED animation. Nothing. Trying it in the training arena, nothing encouraging appears in the input log when I experiment; I've never hit L2 and gotten a "Savage Axe" input notification of any kind. I am comparing my play to the footage I see in YouTube tutorials and can't tell what I'm doing wrong. As far as I can tell, I am matching their conditions and inputs pretty closely. I know there are other threads about this, but I've read a lot of them, and they're not helping me. Grateful for any advice.