Guild Wars 2

I started using Sword and Pistol recently and I was wondering why there seems to be an alarming lack of it being used by other players. (Or at least in my experience in WvWvW)

I was wondering what the reason for this is I mean yes I know it isn’t as good a build as a Backstab thief or Condition P/D which I have both done in the past but I think it has it’s charms.

Feel free to flame in 3…2…1..

it is actually quite viable in WvW, but between being tied with P/P for least acess to stealth and the PW nerf that happened a while back a lot of people write if off for anything other than PvE. that said it is still quite powerful, you still have IS and the sword auto attack, plus a ranged daze and the mighty black powder from the pistol off hand. PW can also still be useful, seeing at it has a short stun that can interrupt and puts you into a short evasion. It may root you but you can still steal to move while channeling it so if they run out of it in the wrong direction you can give them a nasty surprise. survivability can be an issue seeing as it doesn’t use stealth as much as other weapon sets, but 15 points into acrobatics and signet of agility go a long way to help you live. it is also quite good for soloing camps since the sword auto attack and pistol whip hit multiple targets.

another thing is you can fill the stealth hole with weapon swaps. open up with a back stab from D/D then switch to S/P to beat the crap out of them, then use black powder to stomp, or reverse it and switch to D/D then CnD when you need to disengage for a second or two to recharge. with ranged weapons you can IS in, PW or attack for a bit, use the IS return, and kite them while you wait for utility or heal CDs. the big thing is the set brings a lot of utility to the field from the off hand, and mobility from the main hand, so you have to make sure you take advantage of it.

Oddly I have started playing sPvP again – rather than WvW – man it’s a hectic different game. My weapons of choice there currently are sword/pistol – Although I switched from S/P in WvW to S/D. I still find the root associated with Pistol Whip annoying however I’m running Haste in sPvP. In WvW I think haste is a waste in the bigger picture and being rooted by your own attack in a cluster kitten of aoe is deadly. So nope S/P isn’t dead just D/D damage is so much higher in burst. However topping sPvP score sometimes due to not actually dying, ressing other players killing and capturing points is done by having S/P which has multiple uses i.e. shadowstep – black powder – →stoppastomp. Hitting PW with haste can hit pretty hard too when applied correctly with a Steal in the middle specced with Sleight of Hand .

Thank you for posting my thoughts about this weapon set.

Seriously, if I have to watch one more insanely n00by D/D thief get the kitten beat out of them because they’re overly aggressive, or just plain stupid… I might just have to go kill somebody.

Like a D/D thief.