Hello folks,
I’m writing this in hope that Anet would consider such a dynamic change to Thieves’ Unload skill. Unload is the dual-wielding skill from equipping a pistol in both hands, and it allows thieves to blast a single foe with a wave of bullets (8 shots) over 1.75 seconds, not including the starting and ending animation time. I’ve considered posting this topic in the Suggestion section, but it’s more vital for the community to discuss whether or not this suggestion is valid.
Unload has three related skills, Repeater, Sneak Attack, and Hidden Pistols. However, for this discussion, we are only focusing on Unload. Hidden Pistols is very similar to Unload, but let’s leave it out of the discussion for now.
The issue here is that Pistol/Pistol (P/P) on Thieves is an ineffective weapon set. This is a problem because P/P relies too heavily on Unload for its damage output (auto-attacking with P/P is not viable). And, for Unload to be effective, players are forced into builds that are heavily dependent on offensive gears and traits. Yet, P/P doesn’t offer any safeguard for offensive plays (no stealth and no invade), and it punishes players for using Unload at the wrong time. For example, using Unload on a benefiter of Retaliation will cause the thief to take 8 ticks of retaliation damage (assuming that all 8 shots didn’t miss). At the very least, that is 1584 damage (198 * 8 ) without any modifier in play (Lvl. 80 Retaliation source). In addition, having to dodge right after using Unload will waste 5 initiative and put the thief in a vulnerable spot.
For P/P to be a more reliable and effective weapon set, Thieves should be able to dodge without interrupting the channeling on Unload. Just imagine if this system is put in place. It would turn P/P thieves into true gunslingers and masters of endurance management! Bang!
Please leave your comments and encouragements below. And, if you would like to help out, please share this topic with your friends or direct them here for more discussion!
