Guild Wars 2

I’ve really tried to make a P/P build work but it’s just not that good… main skill is unload and that barely does any damage… I really wanted to play thief ranged but shortbow is the only viable range option… its a bit annoying aiming every shot and the skills are just so slow that playing that for hours in PvE is exhausting… so I decided to give up on a P/P build and got myself a dagger…

now the dilema… how do I use that dagger? should I use it as a mainhand with pistol as an offhand or vice versa? which combo works better? (faster killing and more survivability)

I really like essentially the perma-blind of black powder, but then the perma-clipple of 4 enemies from dancing dagger is awesome as well… I can’t decide… help please? thanks!

Pistol/Dagger is a ranged, condition build. It’s quite possibly our best 1v1 condition build option. It can be very deadly when played right while also being good at surviving.

D/P is a single target utility/burst build (you can enter stealth through Black Powder → Heartseeker combo). D/P is very good, but currently not being used as much due to the high initiative cost to actually enter stealth. It, however, is a much more reliable stealth that can also be used on a distance closer.

Here’s a good build site: http://www.guildwars2guru.com/topic/45902-lowells-ultimate-spvp-thief-guide-wip/

Although currently outdated, it still applies.

Krathalos.3461:

Pistol/Dagger is a ranged, condition build.

Considering the best condition damage source P/D offers is the melee-required C&D→Sneak Attack combo, I see this combination being played up-close far more than at a range.

If you’re talking about PvE, then I enjoy D/P more because it’s really versatile.
Against the vast majority of non-champion mobs, you can just hit 3, let your auto attack chain finish once, hit 3 again, auto-chain, etc… and you take virtually no damage while plowing through enemies quickly and rarely running into initiative problems.
You also retain [Headshot], which lets you pull single mobs away from larger groups and allows you to stop skills like [Rapid Fire] which P/D has no real defense against (CnD won’t stop channeled skills and you can only hope to dodge ~2 out of 6+ shots each time.) And if you do ever get multiple mobs on you, you still have black powder to fall back on.

I’m not trying to say that P/D is bad though. And if you prefer range, then P/D is definitely your best bet. Though as Tulisin said, using 5→1 generally keeps you safer and kills faster than using 1+4+3 and kiting to keep range. And if you’re relying on CnD a lot, then it’s basically a melee build anyway.

Playing mostly WvW I started out using D/D (I do like the stealth/burst gameplay) but switched over to D/P and loved it. A few days ago I went back to D/D for a time, just to test it, but D/P has me back now.

I really love the utility D/P gives you. It retains most of the strong points of D/D (Heartseeker and Backstab) while giving you a decent gap closer with Shadow Shot (although I hate that you stand still for a short time after using it, letting your enemy get away again) a nice interrupt with Headshot and the most reliable way to enter stealth (with Black Powder/Heartseeker combo).

Although stealth is initiative expensive with D/P I often found myself struggling to get stealthed with D/D. Enemies moving around, slight misses etc. With D/P it’s as simple as pressing two buttons, you don’t even need a target. So yeah, D/P all the way. Most fun weapon set for me.

eXs.6210:

I’ve really tried to make a P/P build work but it’s just not that good… main skill is unload and that barely does any damage…

I’m so in the same boat as you! I really want to play a PP + SB range only Thief, but in all my experiments hitting golems, PP is just too weak. The only way I can get it to feel good is by going full glass cannon into Deadly Arts and Critical Strikes, plus grabing the Power and Precision signets. Even then it takes 3+ rounds of Unload to take down a heavy armored golem.

I’ve gone PD, I just give up with PP. In my testing, I was trying to see if Vital Shot + Dancing Dagger alone would take a mob down as fast as PP. More or less it does!

Dancing Dagger hits hard, unlike Headshot or Black Powder. It’s great utility against melee, but obviously crap against ranged attackers. Also, C’n’D hits hard too.

Arenanet just really needs to revisit PP viability. Body Shot just seems useless, and Unload doesn’t feel powerful at all. Not to mention, because Unload is such a long channeled skill that’s very visual, it is just too obvious to dodge out of it.

Tulisin.6945:

Krathalos.3461:

Pistol/Dagger is a ranged, condition build.

Considering the best condition damage source P/D offers is the melee-required C&D->Sneak Attack combo, I see this combination being played up-close far more than at a range.

Shadow Strike is a 4 initiative retreat, so as soon as you’ve used Sneak Attack you can hit that to dash back a good distance. Combine with Dancing Dagger and your opponent needs to do something special to get near you, while you can keep using Vital Shot and walking backwards to save initiative.

The key moments are definitely close up, but you can stall for a good portion of the fight at range.

Tulisin.6945:

Krathalos.3461:

Pistol/Dagger is a ranged, condition build.

Considering the best condition damage source P/D offers is the melee-required C&D->Sneak Attack combo, I see this combination being played up-close far more than at a range.

I see it as a mobile, skirmishing build, in and out of melee. It works nicely with the caltrops-on-dodge Trickery trait. My offset is D/P, and I think they complement each other nicely. For PVE anyway.