Guild Wars 2

Between the two which do you feel is a better option ? Seems Great Sword is ranked higher in damage but dual swords seem to have more fighting options such as block and what have you.

Comments ? and if this has already been discussed apologies.

Greatsword is a build that focuses on raw physical damage through 100 Blades and it has some decent mobility options. Dual Sword builds tend to focus on dealing out tons of Bleed condition dots while using a mixture of mobility and damage prevention.

The real question is whether or not you like playing a condition damage build. If so, then running Dual Swords is an extremely viable option. Combine that with a Rifle and you’ll be quickly racking up the Bleed dots. However this kind of build isn’t what you would consider to be a typical build. It can be enjoyable, but most people won’t go this route.

While neither of my x2 Warriors use Dual Swords, I do run my Thief with a rarely used character build. As a Venomous Aura spec’ed main PvE character, I know exactly how it feels to not fit in with most players of your class. All things considered, I enjoy my Thief spec and I like the fact that I stand out as different. If you wouldn’t mind feeling the same way about your Dual Sword Warrior, then more power to you.

Dual Swords is fun when you’re not steamrolling things. It’s very mobile, quick and stylized type of fighting. Greatsword is more the max DPS style of fighting and great for dungeon farming or general carnage.

IMO, you’ll likely end up playing both if you’re at all curious. Once you get to a certain point in the game where you’re raking in gold, tokens and aiming for certain gear, it’s not hard to divert your build to one or the other.

If you like to see big numbers, try Greatsword first. If you like to see dozens of smaller consistent numbers spraying above lots of enemies, try Swords first. While you’re trying Greatsword, try picking up a Rifle or Axe while you’re at it to mix things up. While you’re trying Swords, try picking up a Longbow and have fun with it.

A note on the Swords though, try going power/condition hybrid rather than full condition damage and stack that might. Some people try speccing for mainly conditions with swords but without power, the direct damage dives pretty low.

Thanks for the replies, very helpful.

Greatsword is a nice all-rounder weapon, and having a GS spec is a good way to start so you have that ‘fall back’ cookie cutter setup when you start wondering about your viability while testing other weapon and spec combinations.

I know some here will tell you to play with what you enjoy, and that’s a good suggestion, but just from a practical point of view, if you do the cookie cutter specs first, you accumulate resources faster so you won’t have problem testing other builds in the future.