Guild Wars 2

So I’ve played Ranger for well over 1000 hours in GW2 – it’s been my main class ever since I started playing – and I’ve used the majority of pure-damage weapons available to the class at some point. The one weapon I’ve never been able to use at a compotent level, however, is the sword. This is a huge issue for me, since I’m a perfectionist and I don’t feel I’m contributing to dungeon runs unless I’m doing optimal damage. I absolutely love the greatsword, and find myself incredibly durable in PvE using it, however with the sword, I just seem to melt instantly, even if I position myself behind my enemy at the beginning of the fight. I’ve disabled auto-attacks, but even with my enemy targeted, I still seem to flail around the room helplessly for no apparent reason during fights, not to mention the greater difficulty in dodging attacks. Heck, it feels like I draw aggro just by using it sometimes.

So I implore you, o’ greater rangers of the GW forums, please help teach me the ways of the sword. How do I use this weapon without throwing my body off the walls in combat every 3 seconds, and more importantly, how can I avoid dying so quickly and seemingly drawing more aggro while I’m attacking with it? This is a real issue for me that’s actually beginning to harm my enjoyment of the class, so I’d REALLY appreciate some feedback on the topic. Thanks for reading!

Have you tried using a dagger offhand? The PvE meta is offhand is axe, but a dagger will get you an extra evade that breaks the autoattack chain. Also don’t spam the 1 button, but take it slower at first so that if the boss uses a big tell, you aren’t mid-chain.

I always suggest running around the open world to learn sword. Try using it on easy enemies with big tells like ettin.

Re: bouncing around the room, even if you have a target, if you swing with the auotattack and hit something else while not hitting your target, you’ll go flying. It can help to continually hit “target closest enemy” when you’re in a trash fight. (Note, you can use this to get closer to your actual target faster by bouncing off other enemies once you get used to it.)

The last thing, do you know the dungeon encounters well? If you’re sure of when you need to dodge you have a lot more time than if you’re trying to dodge right as the attack is happening.

Just use GS. People like to focus on how sword does slightly higher static DPS but then ignore the fact that actual boss fights are only a small % of the time running a D. GS gets you around faster. Use GS.

scerevisiae.1972:

Just use GS.

Maximum Potato.5923:

This is a huge issue for me, since I’m a perfectionist and I don’t feel I’m contributing to dungeon runs unless I’m doing optimal damage.

Also the obligatory 17% is not a trivial DPS increase.

turn off the auto on the auto attack. You won’t be stuck in the chain. If you are running it with longbow then it should be used primarily as a disengage. The auto hits decent in a zerker build but leaves you vulnerable. Only use the auto attack vs people that cant hit hard such as a bunker guardian or a cele ele. You can spam your auto when a thief is stealthed and if it chains the leap then you know you hit the thief. Long story short, the sword shouldnt be used for a lot of attacking in general and should be used for you to gain distance on the enemy. This is purely from a lb ranger standpoint.

oh and i didnt read what you typed so this pretty much disregards everything i said as i dont do pve on ranger.

scerevisiae.1972:

Just use GS. People like to focus on how sword does slightly higher static DPS but then ignore the fact that actual boss fights are only a small % of the time running a D. GS gets you around faster. Use GS.

I use GS frequently, and I plan to continue doing so – but I absolutely love the utility the warhorn brings, and I really want to pick up Caithe’s Dagger and Howler, which I feel would be kinda wasted with main hand axe+bow :p

Fluffball.8307:

scerevisiae.1972:

Just use GS.

Maximum Potato.5923:

This is a huge issue for me, since I’m a perfectionist and I don’t feel I’m contributing to dungeon runs unless I’m doing optimal damage.

Also the obligatory 17% is not a trivial DPS increase.

17% (where is the evidence for this btw?) is pretty slight when you consider things like 1 2second dodge roll in a 30 sec boss fight results in a ~7% DPS loss, and the evade on the auto of GS means you’re less likely to need to dodge roll when using a GS.

Furthermore, 17% more DPS on 1 char in a 30sec boss fight saves 1second.

As I said above though. People focus on the very slight DPS difference when boss fights are only a small fraction of the time required to complete an instance, and this is where GS’s higher ground speed likely results in faster D completion times, and that’s before you even factor in higher DPS uptime due to GS auto-attack evade.

scerevisiae.1972:

Fluffball.8307:

scerevisiae.1972:

Just use GS.

Maximum Potato.5923:

This is a huge issue for me, since I’m a perfectionist and I don’t feel I’m contributing to dungeon runs unless I’m doing optimal damage.

Also the obligatory 17% is not a trivial DPS increase.

17% (where is the evidence for this btw?) is pretty slight when you consider things like 1 2second dodge roll in a 30 sec boss fight results in a ~7% DPS loss, and the evade on the auto of GS means you’re less likely to need to dodge roll when using a GS.

Furthermore, 17% more DPS on 1 char in a 30sec boss fight saves 1second.

As I said above though. People focus on the very slight DPS difference when boss fights are only a small fraction of the time required to complete an instance, and this is where GS’s higher ground speed likely results in faster D completion times, and that’s before you even factor in higher DPS uptime due to GS auto-attack evade.

This.

In pugs or even organized groups sword vs gs makes little difference as long your gear and traits are on point. If you are dying in dungeons switch to GS while you learn the dungeons and can anticipate 1 or 2 seconds before you need to dodge and this is when the sword will be your better option. You will have time to disengage and dodge because you know all the tells.

Also go into pvp and practice hitting the moving golem, when you do it enough you’ll always know what stage of the auto attack the sword is on and that combined with your dungeon knowledge will make you a proficient sword user.

Oh BTW, you can always go full melee and have sword/x + gs, switching to gs will instantly cancel your sword aa and let you dodge.

I often have lightning reflexes on my bar because it will break the infamous sword lock and is a good backup if you mess up a swing and get locked into some incoming pain.

I also disable auto-targeting. This is also very important to have full control over your movement. I utilize the “180 turn” button to quickly aim my hornet/monarch leap the opposite direction if desired. I think it’s a very good move to practice.
Secondly with auto-targeting disabled you will notice swinging 1 on enemies will cause you to jump forward. So you can float through a mass of bodies by spamming 1 with no target.

Both of those concepts combined give you very good positioning anywhere on the battle field. Can be used as closers, escapes, or switching targets. With a lot of practice good positioning is one of melee ranger’s big strengths, rather than a weakness.

Using Sword you have to be better at anticipating. Yes you are locked out of dodge but the chain is not that long. After the second leap you can move perfectly well. I practiced on CoE vs Alpha. the trick is NOT to turn off autoattack. just learn when your chain ends and move then. also if you are Really really stuck in the middle just #3 or dagger offhand or LR out of it. Really Really Desperate people could pop Signet of stone.
Also as a side note if you end your chain on a leap and swap target you can clear have a room before the AA defaults back to the 1st auto. Really fun to chase people with.

TBH the MOST problems I have with sword is to not #2 myself off the edge of a cliff

I salute you because you actually want to learn to use the sword rather than making a whiny topic how stupid it is and how it should be changed. I truly hope you master the art that is the bouncy madness of 1 handed sword.

I give you two Ranger main-hand sword lessons by Faeral Cutsu.

First: Slash Kick Pounce
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbNuv4T8J1I

Second: Hornet Sting | Monarch’s Leap | Serpent’s Strike
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ5f7iEEFZc

Good Stuff!

@Belarorn: Funny you should mention that – did CoE today with my Dagger offhand, and had quite a lot of success (beginngers luck was probably a factor too though!) I’m apprehensive about running Signet of Stone/LR with it though, since one of the main reasons I’m using sword is to maximise my DPS, and I’d be losing a crucial utility skill for what I feel is a clutch safety net.

@Froufrou: Why thank you! In an ideal world, I myself WOULD like the sword to function like other weapons, but I understand that this is a topic the community is divided on, and it wouldn’t be fair to take a weapon away from those players. Also, putting effort into moaning about the weapon’s ‘flaws’ is far less likely to achieve meaningful results than me simply buckling down and learning it.

@Expiatus: I remember watching these videos back when I first tried sword, and I found them incredibly insightful. I must admit, for the difficulty I’ve had with the sword’s first ability, Hornet’s Sting and Serpent’s Strike have been absolutely awesome to play with. I really like how the window on Monarch’s Leap gives you just enough time to leap away from the enemy, summon a spirit, then leap back in! Really great

Truthfully I never had an issue with my sword. I think this is because I use dagger.

Every fight hit 5. Get close to enemy hit 3. Pet takes aggro I’m positioned behind enemy which is great with the trait that increases damage attacking in back. Then I have 4 as a great evade, and 2 to quickly get out of aoe and back in fight. I’ve never turned the auto attack off actually. Give dagger a try it’s really fun.

That is true Stone Signet and LR will drastically reduce your damage. However much as people moving towards zerk gear have knights gear until they are comfortable with their squishiness, Signet of stone allows you to save yourself from screw ups until you have mastered the sword

Expiatus.4210:

I give you two Ranger main-hand sword lessons by Faeral Cutsu.

First: Slash Kick Pounce
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbNuv4T8J1I

That video only highlights how broken sword is – you have to cut your DPS potential by 50% just to use the weapon.

Secondly, even with autoattack off, your character is still uncontrollable during the leap attacks.

Thirdly, that guy thought ranger was so awesome he stopped playing it 2 years ago.

Sylent.3165:

Truthfully I never had an issue with my sword. I think this is because I use dagger.

Every fight hit 5. Get close to enemy hit 3. Pet takes aggro I’m positioned behind enemy which is great with the trait that increases damage attacking in back. Then I have 4 as a great evade, and 2 to quickly get out of aoe and back in fight. I’ve never turned the auto attack off actually. Give dagger a try it’s really fun.

Wow, I never thought to start with dagger 5… Thanks!

I honestly think that, while maximizing DPS is great and everything and I personally can use the sword with no issues, that there is honestly just an opportunity cost that people need to learn to appreciate with the weapon and accept.

What I mean by that is this; if you are up against content that you NEED to be able to be 100% precise with you actions, and you know factually that you aren’t there with the Sword or that the Sword would make that content more difficult than without it, then it honestly isn’t worth it.

Sure, 17% is a significant damage difference between GS. But keep in mind that not everybody knows that statistic and that not everybody cares about the difference; only people looking to 100% optimize their damage output. Also keep in mind that if the Sword is a burden and ends up getting you hurt/downed, that 17% gets lost when you have to stop dealing damage to heal or get downed and have to be revived.

That said, I’m not saying not to learn the sword. But I am saying that unless you are speedrunning, there aren’t many people in game that are going to pressure you about being optimized other than yourself, and for me, just as it does most other players, the sword is one of the nuances in this game that just flat out takes practice to get good with.

So I would say to just be reasonable about it. GS is more safe, and so I would say the best rule of thumb is to just push yourself as far as you can go with one option, but always be willing to switch to the safe option if need be, because honestly, I’d rather have somebody in my group that doesn’t go down repeatedly attempting to do maximum damage when they could have been alive the whole time and a better contributor in that regard (not saying this is the case, but as an example).

Best advice to learn sword is to learn the encounters. Once you know when to time your dodges sword is much less problematic… that being said when I drunk fractal I’m using GS a lot more than sword lol

Turning the auto attack off can help you to learn the mechanics, watch the three different animations and learn them well. You will be able to tell what you are doing at any given time and be able to dodge accordingly but you can still lock yourself into the non-dodge if you aren’t careful.

What I wish they’d fix is the random dart off into the abyss even though you are targeted on an enemy. It’s irritating to get sent off a cliff/off to aggro land because the sword threw you forward.

The trick to using the sword is not to use the sword. it’s a broken weapon and the fact that you need to learn all kinds of tricks simply to mitigate the fact that the auto is broken proves it’s a piece of crap.

vespers.1759:

The trick to using the sword is not to use the sword. it’s a broken weapon and the fact that you need to learn all kinds of tricks simply to mitigate the fact that the auto is broken proves it’s a piece of crap.

please the thread owner is asking for tips for help not for you to spread your opion on the matter.

Zenos Osgorma.2936:

vespers.1759:

The trick to using the sword is not to use the sword. it’s a broken weapon and the fact that you need to learn all kinds of tricks simply to mitigate the fact that the auto is broken proves it’s a piece of crap.

please the thread owner is asking for tips for help not for you to spread your opion on the matter.

yes and i would give the same response if he had asked for tips on using the mainhand axe or condi armor in PVE. The tip is not to use it because it doesn’t work very well especially in PuGs.

Ranger might be the only profession that have rooting on it’s auto attack and is a good way to get finger arthritis because you have to do your own attacking. It is still one of the best ranger weapon, thought.

1: Turn off AA
2: Learn the encounters of the game
3:#3 is pretty much an instant skill. Use it when needed
4:#2 has 1 second induction, then the evade is activated. You need to train a bit on when to use it, but it’s still easy.
5:Take dagger for another extra evade in fights you know you will need a lot of evades
6:Ignore bad players who don’t wanna bother learning how to play with the sword, and wanna push GS into the current meta. They will tell you how broken the sword and the class is and how you should not have to do such work etc.. Just ignore them. In the end they will be the ones getting kicked out of serious group, not you.

The problem with adding dagger off hand is you are slotting a weapon in the off hand to mitigate damage being taken from simply using the auto attack on the main weapon. That seems ridiculous that a profession has to slot another weapon to over come the inability to dodge in a dodge mechanic-filled world. It gives you a fairly low cooldown evade to rely on, but you are still being forced to mash your 1 key to get anything done. And we all know that when you button mash you might as well just have the kitten auto-attack on. But if you aren’t button mashing, you aren’t doing enough damage for the sword to be worth taking over the greatsword.

Sword has it’s place, in pvp it’s a good sticking weapon for people running away. In PvE it’s not only hard to use, but it can and will get you killed…and potentially kicked from parties when you go flying off stack because the kitten targeting is borked and you aggro unintended mobs/get yourself dead by falling off a cliff. Yes it does a higher amount of damage, but that damage has consequences if you misstep just once.

It’s harder for the average player to use and I am sort of glad that GS is slowly being pushed into meta. I’d rather use a GS reliably and be able to dodge than to do 17% more damage and end up dead because I couldn’t dodge. What I wouldn’t give to just have the simple auto attack animation that a mesmer has for the sword!

Find encounters that you can practice on like the OOze and Giant champs in Orr. Learn to use the weapon evades as your primary evade. Then learn the timing so that you can use your normally evades.

Even if you have to count the hit out loud so you know the timing like: 1 2 dodge 3.
Learn which parts in the chain you are able to dodge. It is better you learn the timing for yourself. During the times you are able to dodge normally you can reposition yourself if you need to. Try to reposition when your practicing and your out of stamina.

The only bosses you sound have any trouble with are bosses you really shouldn’t mele because the have entirely to much aoe.

Don’t get discourage as once you mastered it you will be one of the few ranger who have mastered this weapons. As you can see by some of the post a lot of rangers have just given up on main hand sword.

It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to master anything as long as you don’t give up. Your have only truly failed if you give up after failing or give up before you have made a real effort.

rabidsmiles.5926:

It’s harder for the average player to use and I am sort of glad that GS is slowly being pushed into meta. I’d rather use a GS reliably and be able to dodge than to do 17% more damage and end up dead because I couldn’t dodge. What I wouldn’t give to just have the simple auto attack animation that a mesmer has for the sword!

GS isn’t being pushed into the Ranger PVE meta. GS will never be PVE meta until it’s DPS is equal to or greater than the sword. If you believe that I have some ocean front property in Arizona to sell you

What’s the point of having higher dps with a sword if the average player ends up eating dirt because they cannot dodge? DPS numbers don’t seem take into account the ability or inability for staying alive. If one can’t use sword properly, they shouldn’t use it just because the meta-elites told them too. They will end up dead, and their DPS is 0. They get kicked for dying too much and the bad image of a ranger in dungeon continues on. Yeah…maybe we all should learn how to sword properly but even then…how many times has it just thrown you forward, even though you have a target selected? It never fails to do it to me, whether or not I have the autoattack on. Even if I am slowly and evenly pressing 1 (which is more irritating than using engi grenades) I can still randomly get thrown forward and past the target.

Not saying we shouldn’t use sword, the dps is nice…but in a dungeon run that extra 17% damage is probably only going to shave off a few seconds. Unless you are hardcore, want the fastest possible going for speed run record, a ranger should use what they are comfortable with.

vespers.1759:

Zenos Osgorma.2936:

vespers.1759:

The trick to using the sword is not to use the sword. it’s a broken weapon and the fact that you need to learn all kinds of tricks simply to mitigate the fact that the auto is broken proves it’s a piece of crap.

please the thread owner is asking for tips for help not for you to spread your opion on the matter.

yes and i would give the same response if he had asked for tips on using the mainhand axe or condi armor in PVE. The tip is not to use it because it doesn’t work very well especially in PuGs.

thank you for re-wording your comment , that is much more constructive than the previous comment, though i would not discount the sword entirely it is useful as soon as he has had enough practice with it , though in the current meta Sword ranger is one of the Hardest PvE dungeon builds to master so i would not suggest using it as your first Dungeon weapon for lvl40+ dungeons as those above lvl 40 are less forgiving.

Tip time the AA chain and pressing 111 upto the 3rd part between 2-3 pull or walk backwards while still pressing 1 will trigger the leap , from the time between backpedel and the leap you can use the mouse to click a different target and continue the leap towards the new target or De-select to leap over the boss avoiding frontal Aoe fields Tab to retarget(make sure settings Target closest target) and continue to AA behind the boss (granting you a 10% bonus from flanking without having to dodge or Sidestep and skips part of the rooting between 2-3 also lets you prepair to avoid Aoe damage.

this trick is all viable in the skill1 of sword and i do this with difficulty because you’ll have 1/4 of a second to click , leap tab before the second part of the chain roots you so you need to develope fast mouse and Practice your Tabbing skills aka not to over tab or click the wrong target if possible and differ if you should click or tab the closest target.

you will also need to know when to expect the boss skills to activate or the postion they will be landing in as you will have to perform the maneuver before the Aoe does it damage 1/2sec into the red circle before the pulse.

rabidsmiles.5926:

What’s the point of having higher dps with a sword if the average player ends up eating dirt because they cannot dodge? DPS numbers don’t seem take into account the ability or inability for staying alive. If one can’t use sword properly, they shouldn’t use it just because the meta-elites told them too.

Deleted the rest because it was irrelevant.

The flaw in your arguement is “average player”. What is the “average player”? Is this person mentally slow? Do they not have the capacity to learn? Does this person have the reaction time of 10+ year MMA fighter or an 90 year old great-great-grandma on DMT? Since you have not quantified what “average player” means it means nothing. What does have numbers and means something is DPS. When I refer to DPS it refers to the damage done per second. If this “average player” you are talking about does have the ability to learn the encounter, time their dodges, and has good reaction time, there shouldn’t be that much of a problem, if any. If you or anyone else is mentally unable to learn encounters, time your or their dodges, or has poor reaction time, you’re right: the sword is not for you and it will never be a good weapon for you… but… don’t be mad when you join a zerker group and they kick you for using GS or bearbow.

thefantasticg.3984:

Deleted the rest because it was irrelevant.

The flaw in your arguement is “average player”. What is the “average player”? Is this person mentally slow? Do they not have the capacity to learn? Does this person have the reaction time of 10+ year MMA fighter or an 90 year old great-great-grandma on DMT? Since you have not quantified what “average player” means it means nothing. What does have numbers and means something is DPS. When I refer to DPS it refers to the damage done per second. If this “average player” you are talking about doesn’t have the ability to learn the encounter, time their dodges, and has good reaction time, there shouldn’t be that much of a problem, if any. If you or anyone else is mentally unable to learn encounters, time your or their dodges, or has poor reaction time, you’re right: the sword is not for you and it will never be a good weapon for you… but… don’t be mad when you join a zerker group and they kick you for using GS or bearbow.

This profession doesn’t have a stellar track record and it’s being hurt worse by everyone forcing the player to use a weapon that can easily cause the player’s death. We all have been locked into stacking, which makes things hard to see enough as it is…much less let someone learn the boss mechanics, and then you equip a sword. This forces you to not only keep an eye on your own mechanics but the boss you are fighting as well. You have to time your steps and know exactly when to dodge at any given second. This makes the sword a dangerous weapon. You can easily end up off the stack, aggro-ing mobs, throwing yourself off a cliff, causing the boss to use it’s ranged mechanics because you broke stack. This is not fault of the ranger, because he clearly has the boss targeted, it’s the weapon and it’s wonky mechanics causing this problem.

Not everyone has the nubile fingers of a 15 year old or the speed reaction timing of a ‘pro’. It doesn’t make us stupid, thank you very much for implying it btw, it makes us average. The bearbow ranger is pretty much dead (or at least I haven’t seen any join my parties so can we stop using it as a frame of reference?) I know the dungeon mechanics and the boss attacks and I still end up dead because to do damage with a sword you must be pressing 1. If you aren’t pressing 1 to wait for a dodge, you aren’t doing damage.

I mean look at CoE. Sword on Alpha’s AoE attack is seriously dangerous -.-

If you are turning off the autoattack, you might as well use the GS. That 17% DPS increase goes away immediately once you stop attacking at the maximum speed, because the DPS calculations are done using the fastest possible 1 skill attack chain. Also, for shorter fights, Maul closes the the gap between S and GS because GS is more bursty.

The only time S is going to outdamage GS on a regular basis is if you leave autoattack on and the fight lasts for a decent amount of time (more than 20s).

Yes, the sword does more DPS than GS, a whopping 17% more in ideal situations. In most situations GS is going to be comparable to S and the difference will be far less than 17%. Now, axe offhand is a different story due to the reflect, but you can always switch to that for those certain bosses.

Basically, just use GS or S, it really doesn’t matter in the long run. If you get downed a lot kitten or have to make the attack chain artificially slow by turning off autoattack then just use GS. On the other hand, if you can leave the autoattack on for S or manually do the attack chain fast enough, then use S. It’s really that simple, use whatever you are best with.

I recently switched from S to GS due to pugging fractals and I’m not really noticing much of a difference in damage, but I am dodging much easier and not having to deal with the wonky as kitten S attack chain.

Oh, Bearbow is far from dead. I get PuGs that use it a lot… and I’ve kicked them for it. And I don’t have a problem with Alpha’s AOE attack… because I time it. If my 31 yr old brain and reaction times can do it…. well… No excuses unless you’re physically/mentally handicapped or 70+. Or am I really just that good? I doubt it. I just don’t see this jumping around problem you are stating either, and I use the sword __mn-near all the time in the 2.1k+ hours I have on my Ranger. The ONLY time I’ve had this jumping around problem is when the target dies after the leap animation has started… And then it stops. Perhaps you need to look into your auto targetting settings?

There seems to be a trend with recent weapon related topics: LB is for skilless braindead noobs who can only autoattack at max range and occasionally rapidfire themselves in the face while sword is way too difficult to use and needs to be changed to be more average player-friendly. What gives?

no ones forcing anyone to use Sword just because its the optimum norm does not mean you have to use it!, play to your limits by your limits if Sword is getting you killed , If i was your team member i would prefer you staying alive using a gs instead.

so no one is forcing anyone.

FrouFrou.4958:

There seems to be a trend with recent weapon related topics: LB is for skilless braindead noobs who can only autoattack at max range and occasionally rapidfire themselves in the face while sword is way too difficult to use and needs to be changed to be more average player-friendly. What gives?

That is why I’m running s/a + lb
When I’m just doing open world stuff I’m usually pewpewing my LB, against some more organized bosses, dungeons or when I’m soloing a champion I swap to my s/a.

Guys…great sword is 2H. Which means you can’t run it in a condition setup (as you lose torch, dagger, etc.). Unless you do something weird like GS and A/T…but that doesn’t sound optimal in the least.

If I can be a mediocre player and do dungeons with the sword while black-out drunk and not going down, no one has any excuses that “sword is too hard”.

There was a famous study you’ve probably heard of where basketball players were given glasses that turned their vision upside down. After a short while, they were all sinking their shots with just as much consistency as without the glasses. I.e., try a couple dungeon runs (even the same one so you learn patterns) and within a day you’ll be able to use a sword to maximize DPS and not sacrifice fun. AND this translates well to WvW and PvP where sword is one of our most important weapons.

Plus sword is just so friggen cool.

What i don’t get is why people are rabidly defending the sword. “guys just turn off auto attack and do this complicated attack chain and you’ll get the result of a weapon that was designed properly!”

eh?

It’s not defending. It’s learning to use it within it’s current state and maximizing DPS with it. I can’t help you if you cannot see the distinction between the two.

The super fast auto attack chain speed is the only thing making the sword do significant DPS. Turning it off and waiting to do it manually, even if you are only slowing it down by .3 seconds (realistically, you are probably slowing it down even more if you are manually auto attacking) results in a rather large DPS loss.

if you can manualy control it for the 8secs a boss , is alive you’ll be fine , you will only feel the manual effects in long long fights that will last longer than 40secs because there are more moments of failure or enviroment effects like in Fractals where the ice elemental teleports you Sword becomes a Massive bonus due to its mobility getting back to the target faster than any other class outside of utilties.

it will only be a dps loss if you didn’t learn the timing of the 1-3 AA chain. and 0.3 is nothing in a 6-10sec fight and Used the mouse to click the skill whining over somthing so small makes no difference in the short run and only effects Player Performance by them messing up not the skill.

I’m one of the defenders of sword, but don’t turn off auto-attack in order to use it.

I do admit I’m losing out on the chance of using the AA to disengage and jump around, I simply don’t like the button mashing which brings my point.

There’s no real dps loss in turning it off since we all know most players will flurry down that button for a grand total of a hundred presses for each three skill chain, at least they know that interrupting the mashing frees them to move.

One thing that nobody mentioned is how bad sword is for stacking, both your evade skills #2 and #3 will throw you out of the stack and become useless… Also I find sword skill 2 so broken that half the time when you jump back on the mob you end up going over it and not even hitting. The animations on sword are so unreliable that this point alone makes me go to GS instead.

I take the GS if the content is annoying or harder. For the easier dungeons, you don’t have to dodge often, so go with the sword/axe. It really makes no big difference in a group and 99% of pugs or in guild parties no one cares anyway.