Guild Wars 2

Realized that I need to start using ranged in order to survive some quest instances. Are the dual pistols or short bow better for PVE

Short Bow is better for multiple mobs because of the AoE but P/P is far, far superior for single target damage.

Unload is pretty decent for burst damage (it’s still too costly in regards to initiative though) and head shot is one of the most underrated abilities in GW2.

I think your best bet would be to use P/D though for a few reasons:

Vital Shot stacks bleed, does decent damage.
Never use Body Shot, it’s a trashy ability.
Shadow Strike deals decent damage and increases the distance between you and your target (great survivability)
Dancing Dagger allows you to perma-cripple your target and deal phenomenal damage to multiple mobs.
Cloak and Dagger allows you use of invisibility and sneak attack with Vital Shot which stacks multiple bleeds…it’s amazing.

P/D gives you the PvE utilities you need, survivability, high single target damage, conditions, viable crowd control…as long as your mechanics are solid this weapon set can do just about anything from a distance.

No blind, no thanks!

Shortbow is better all around. P/P does slightly higher damage, but only on single targets.

I use P/D as my 2nd instead of SB – I find Dancing Dagger a better kite ability than the shortbow disabling shot.

Combine DD and SB with Signet of Malice and Condition Dmg and be fine PvE wise.
Choking Gas and Caltrops will heal you alot. Death Blossom or Cluster Bomb will add heal as well. No need for blind.

My default load-out is D/D and SB.

Just as a reference on practice dummy, lvl 80 with 0/30/25/0/15 an full Exotic,

SB autoshot hits for ~425 each bounce, Cluster Bomb is ~1.1K each target and you get Disabling Shot for escape, Chocking Gas combo field and finally Infiltrators Arrow for moving around.

P/P hits for ~335 dmg + 247 bleed, Unload for 2k dmg and Black Powder for blinds. Also Head Shot for interrupts and Body Shot that isn’t used much.

P/D hits for ~335+247 bleed, CnD+Sneak Attack rotation is ~2.2K dmg + 1235 bleeds but this requires Melee range to be consistently done. Shadow Strike ports you away and is a good escape but is a bit contradictory to working the CnD+Sneak Attack. Dancing Daggers hits for ~800dmg on 4 targets.

I go with P/P for single target sustained dmg and SB for multiple targets as ranged weapons go.

GL
Blood~

In general, shortbow for anything more than 1 target and pistol/pistol for single target. Worth noting that Unload does not get a damage that higher than auto attack – in fact, if you have some condition damage your dps can be higher spamming 1.

BUT Unload is awesome as a combo finisher. So much condition removal, life stealing and etc is not something to be overlooked in tough fights. Shortbow’s blast finisher is AWESOME too, and if you find yourself using condition damage and keep exploding your bombs in da face you get a decent burst and long-term dps. It requires more trait synergy to work really well, though.

I ran P/P till I got to Orr. I miss P/P for stylistic reasons, I have a long lasting love of black powder antique pistols and when I saw that I could dual wield such weapons and the awesomeness of Unload… I fell in love.

And then I got to Orr and found that No AOE = No Loot. As people have said, P/P is great for 1v1 (consider it for dungeons when you have more encounters that are veteran mobs, but fewer of them in general.) For all up mass swarms of risen…. can’t beat the short bow for giving you the ability to AoE Blast, Poison, and flat move when you need to bug out.

A ton of things on Orr have a snare, using Infiltrator’s Arrow to keep moving forward is handy as all get out. Disabling Shot is also handy for bailing on an agressive pack of more than you can handle if you find you’re out of endurance to dodge.

I love P/P, I really do, but the lack of a decent AoE makes it a poor choice PvE zones with high mob density.

SB also gives you the advantage of a 1200 range increment attack. Everything on P/P is 900 or shorter.

thats why they have weapon swap cassiegold

pistol pistol for single target

short bow for zergs.

pistol is very nice for pve in dungeons and solo. and keep a bow ready when u need to.

great thing about guildwars 2, there is no right or wrong combo of weapons for the thief.

krixis.9538:

thats why they have weapon swap cassiegold

pistol pistol for single target

short bow for zergs.

pistol is very nice for pve in dungeons and solo. and keep a bow ready when u need to.

great thing about guildwars 2, there is no right or wrong combo of weapons for the thief.

I have yet to try working with P/P and weapon swap to SB, in general, I find it more useful to weapon swap to a melee set (I ran S/D until recently, have gone D/D and enjoy it more for single target spike at melee range)

If you’re aim is to go 100% range, then P/P & SB would be an awesome way to tool a ranged only character… P/D & SB might also be very beneficial. I keep a set of Pistols for dungeons, but I haven’t hauled them out recently…. in many cases, when I need range in dungeons, I find that SB gives me more flexability, and I get my Blind from Signet of Shadows on single target boss fights (at better range than I could get with blind off a pistol.)

I will say this though, there is more synergy available for traits with Pistols than there is with the Short Bow.

In the end, it comes down to the play style you prefer.

Yeah, just keep a SB in the bag for when you get big DE and use that. you have time to swap out.

Why limit yourself?

Unfortunately for those who enjoy the P/P style, Unload is not very good on the whole.

One of the really nice things we have as thieves is that we only really need to dedicate a few inventory slots to being able to pack everything we can use. 2 pistols, 2 daggers, a short bow and a sword and you’re set. Configure, mix and match as you please. Just be careful to not accidently sell weapons you plan to use! (And even that is handily worked around w/ the bags that will never show items in the bag to a merchant!)