Guild Wars 2

Ok someone help me out with this cuz I’m not a numbers guy when it comes to theorycrafting in games. I was recently thinking about how great FT is for utility, all the while dealing damage and keeping burning rolling. When I run FT in dungeons I also take pistol/shield.

But then I was thinking about the similarities of those 2 set-ups. Both have:
- an aoe blind
- an aoe knockback
- an aoe autoattack (pistol explodes)

FT keeps burns rolling aoe.
P/S keeps bleeds rolling (not aoe).
FT has a combo field (fire)
P/S has a combo finisher (blast)

Major Differences:
FT #2 burst skill
P/S #2 poison skill

So far they seem so similar it’s criminal to bring em both. But traiting is where the differences finally come.

FT has a plethora of traits, some original, some not. Lower cooldown, increase damage, boring but useful. Juggernaut is the game changer, giving passive toughness and allowing easy might stacking. Ok, that’s fun.

Pistol only has 3 traits, 2 of which are unoriginal. Lower cooldown, increase range. Useful, but not gamechanging. Piercing shots, now that’s pretty awesome. Now I’ve never used piercing shots, but it does turn pistol into a pretty sweet aoe weapon from what I hear. Unfortunately, the bleeds don’t spread from the explosions, which the trait should do too.

Shield has 1 trait…and it’s buried in a trait line I never venture that far into, and I doubt anyone does who isn’t bunkering. Which means getting that passive armor & cooldown reduction rarely happens in dungeons. However, it does come with some nice daze/stun functionality, as well as a block. Something FT can’t offer.

Conclusion: Both seem very similar to me, in playstyle at least. Looking at the numbers briefly, FT hits harder on autoattack than pistol. FT, while benefitting from +condition damage, is a power/precision weapon, while pistol is def a condition weapon. The cooldowns on the shield (especially w/o traits) are too long; which means our blast finisher isn’t as spammable as I’d like. As opposed to FT’s fire field which can maintain 33% uptime even without traiting.

So, if I bring a traited FT, I guess it’s worthless carrying a P/S with me too huh?

It is a funny post. First of all, you should mention if it’s PVE pr PVP. This is very important, the domains are quite different. But you mentioned “dungeon” and I assumed it’s all about PVE. You also did not say anything about your armor, runes or sigils. The build and traits should change completely if you use a direct damage or condition damage set.

Gun is worthless? Of course it’s not worthless. Suppose you have to retreat to heal or get out of AOE circle, the range of the FT will be useless. You need a range weapon as well. You can take either P/P, P/S or a rifle.

PS: If a weapon has many traits doesn’t mean it’s stronger. Putting all the traits into one thing makes you weak on other aspects.

Please read a post I wrote earlier today for a player that uses a berserker set. :

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/engineer/PVE-BUILD-Firestorm-Engineer/first#post2066146

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask.

I don’t think they exclude each other in all honesty. One knockback or blind doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a second one, try rotating around and using the best skills at each moment and avoid spamming. Altho I much prefer using Rifle and a power setup so I can atleast do a decent burst and damage with rotating through let’ say FT2, R3&R5 and EG4.

Sabull.5670:

I don’t think they exclude each other in all honesty.

This also! + not using a weapon means less stats and two sigils leess as well.

All good points. This is what I wanted to read.

Yes, this is PvE oriented, but only because I don’t PvP.

Never saif gun is worthless, just the pistol/shield combo. They seem redundant when carrying the FT. Would a rifle be a better choice?

Or, why bring a FT kit if you’re using P/S? Are you better served traiting for FT or traiting for grenades and P/S for higher damage and just about the same utility?

I’ve used pistol since day 1 of leveling and couldn’t get into rifle. Mostly because I find it a disjointed weapon: it has a range increase trait, yet only 1 skill is designed to deal damage at a decent range. Seems like a control weapon more than a damage weapon imo. I am going to try it out though tonight.

2 sigils is a big advantage. How do runes affect each of those weapon sets?

I asked you before, what armor are you using? It is very important so we can talk exact terms. Only then will i be able to recommend the weapon and runes.

Right, missed that point. Currently, about a 60/40 Zerker/Rampager mix but that’s because I’ve been running P/S grenades lately. I bounce back n’ forth between FT & ‘nades quite often. When I get 100% zerker I’m going to go FT again (I like variety).

Also, 6 Sup Altruism Runes for might & fury spreading. I like group support so I always bring along my trusty EG.

Seras.5702:

Conclusion: Both seem very similar to me, in playstyle at least. Looking at the numbers briefly, FT hits harder on autoattack than pistol. FT, while benefitting from +condition damage, is a power/precision weapon, while pistol is def a condition weapon. The cooldowns on the shield (especially w/o traits) are too long; which means our blast finisher isn’t as spammable as I’d like. As opposed to FT’s fire field which can maintain 33% uptime even without traiting.

So, if I bring a traited FT, I guess it’s worthless carrying a P/S with me too huh?

Why do you say that? I use a Pistol + Shield all the time with my Flamethrower.

The Shield cooldowns are kind of long, but Magnetic Inversion’s Blast finisher is a lot more useful in most situations than Blowtorch—not to mention the added survivability of Magnetic Shield’s projectile reflect (can’t have too many of those) and Static Shield’s versatility as either a melee block (with a Stun) or a projectile block.

It’s a really nice “Oh shet” button. I use the Healing Turret a lot so I will frequently use Regenerating Mist + Magnetic Inversion for the Water field + Blast finisher combo to do an Area Heal for my group.

I also would not rule out Power builds on the Pistol. Poison Dart Volley actually does a ton of damage if you’re specced for Power and Critical Damage. Not that I would recommend maining the Pistol with Berserker stats, but if you’ve got the Berserker stats to bolster the Flamethrower’s damage, you might as well use it from time to time beyond its Poison application.

Phineas Poe.3018:

Seras.5702:

Conclusion: Both seem very similar to me, in playstyle at least. Looking at the numbers briefly, FT hits harder on autoattack than pistol. FT, while benefitting from +condition damage, is a power/precision weapon, while pistol is def a condition weapon. The cooldowns on the shield (especially w/o traits) are too long; which means our blast finisher isn’t as spammable as I’d like. As opposed to FT’s fire field which can maintain 33% uptime even without traiting.

So, if I bring a traited FT, I guess it’s worthless carrying a P/S with me too huh?

Why do you say that? I use a Pistol + Shield all the time with my Flamethrower.

The Shield cooldowns are kind of long, but Magnetic Inversion’s Blast finisher is a lot more useful in most situations than Blowtorch—not to mention the added survivability of Magnetic Shield’s projectile reflect (can’t have too many of those) and Static Shield’s versatility as either a melee block (with a Stun) or a projectile block.

It’s a really nice “Oh shet” button. I use the Healing Turret a lot so I will frequently use Regenerating Mist + Magnetic Inversion for the Water field + Blast finisher combo to do an Area Heal for my group.

I also would not rule out Power builds on the Pistol. Poison Dart Volley actually does a ton of damage if you’re specced for Power and Critical Damage. Not that I would recommend maining the Pistol with Berserker stats, but if you’ve got the Berserker stats to bolster the Flamethrower’s damage, you might as well use it from time to time beyond its Poison application.

I don’t really understand the ‘versus’ situation here either. P/S & FT is a match made in heaven, imo. Extra might stacks from finishing FT#4 with shield #4, and added control and survivability from the shield.

I frequently see 3-4k poison volleys with my mix of zerker and cavalier.

Elixir Gun scales surprisingly well off of power too, and I use it for most things an engi would use a rifle for.

I just love shield and Static Shot too much to give it up for anything the Rifle has to offer, other than the rare times I might need the low CD immobilize or extra (single) knockback.

Speaking from a PvE/WvW perspective here.

Good to hear. So you’re saying that rather than viewing P/S and FT being redundant, view them as being complementary – doubling up on valuable tools like knockbacks & blinds, and synergizing shield blast with FT napalm. Gotcha.

I guess it’s good to look at it this way.

With the Rifle you get:

Immobilization
Launch
Leap Finisher
Vulnerability
Bleed

With the Pistol/Pistol you get:

Bleed
Poison
Blind
Confusion
Burn
Immobilization
Cripple

With the Pistol/Shield you get:

Bleed
Poison
Blind
Confusion
Projectile reflect
Projectile block
Blast finisher
Knockback
Stun

Find which you think best complements how you use the Flamethrower. Water + Leap is a more potent Area Heal than Water + Blast, but I just love Blast finishers in Napalm way too much to switch.

I really don’t think you can go wrong with either Rifle or Pistol, but so long as we get two sigils to work for our kits I think I have to give the edge to the Pistol.

I too run with P/S and FT all the time. I personally just preferred pistols over the rifle from the start and stuck with it. I switch up a lot during the battle so I don’t find it worthless at all.

And piercing bullets is a very nice trait imho. I have used it for a long time. Coupled with a Superior Sigil of Fire I can constantly hit more than 5 targets per shot. I get a chance to process the AoE flame blast on the first hit, then again once the bullet pierces that target and hits the next target, and so on.

As someone mentioned, elixer gun does scale surprisingly well with power. I usually run with EG along with FT in my build. Third utility slot gets changed up quite a bit depending on the current situation I am in.

just for reference; re: pvp:

p/s+ft tends to be a point clearing, aggressive ft build.
rifle+ft tends to be a single foe lock down build, with ancillary aoe.
p/p+ft tends to be a glass cannon build (not unlike the “firestorm” build posted elsewhere for pve).