Guild Wars 2

So I usually play the D/P build 2-6-0-0-6 in PvP, but I wanted to try something new with S/D 2-0-0-6-6 . And I noticed that the damage is very low against tank builds. Is it normal or I’m playing it wrong?

For example it takes me usually 30 seconds to kill a Hambow warrior with D/P but with the S/D build it looks like it takes forever and against the D/D elementalist it looks like it deals no damage at all :S

Any tips? I really like S/D because the gameplay is faster but I can’t stand dealing no damage…

Anyway I think I will go back to D/P but I would really like to learn S/D in case it becomes "OP"’ again.

And just to clarify, I’m struggling against tank builds only with S/D build because anything squishy is very easy to kill. Especially mesmers/rangers . I feel like I have a massive advantage against squishies with S/D build but the opposite against tanks. They hit me hard while I deal nothing to them.

s/d is about sustained damage which is something that tanks deal with very well because they are about self-sustain. with tanks it’s rarely a good idea to solo them (in spvp) unless you’re sure you can kill them within a reasonable amount of time. actively counterplaying their support mechanics is usually key, and s/d can do that very well with poison upkeep, interrupting casts/heals, and boon stripping.

if you find that you’re just not doing enough damage in general use 5/0/0/3/6 instead. i’ve been using this long before s/d was considered meta and it’s always worked great because you get a considerable damage boost by sacrificing very little.

I agree with sinject that “actively counter playing their support mechanics is usually key”. Sword dagger is more patience and good positioning as opposed to bursting so hard you cant react fast enough. Another way to look at sword is to make the enemy not able to react because of your interrupts and such, rather than them not being fast enough. Think about the game ‘Assassins creed’ in how campaign combat is more about countering with the occasional sneak stab. Think reactive instead of daggers proactive.

Through my experience I’ve found that using shortbow to wait out and evade the enemies burst until its my turn, then id sword slash and save my interrupts for their “oh shyt” mechanics. Basically making their entire skill list useless while i chop away. S/D also boasts one of the best if not the best mobility in the game so make sure you take full advantage of that. As far as trying to see the numbers you had with dagger main hand, Its possible but try not to hinder your mobility as its one of your top survival tactics with s/d. As long as you can jump around and have plenty initiative you can play around with your damage options.

Also very important especially against guardians is your daze chaining. I usually basilisk, get a auto chain in, then tactical strike, auto chain, steal daze em, auto chain, tactical strike again, auto chain, use the stolen ability from guardian to daze, auto chain, then tactical strike again, auto chain. By this time they are down if not they are very low. It’s about as aggressive as it gets and daze chaining sets a lot of sword users apart from on another, and learning a few of them can completely shut the other team down. But your usual tactic should be to save your interrupts to stop heals and what not.