Guild Wars 2

^ That’s basically why I use Sword/Shield too. I run a hybrid condi/power build, and Sw/Sh’s awesome versatility lets you do a lot of different roles. You can cripple people trying to run or get places, you get a stun + a long lasting block that lets enemies waste their important skills on you and hold points until your teammates can get there, and you can apply decent pressure through lots of bleeds. (Pair it with Flurry for massive Bleeding after they burn their condition cleanse and watch them panic.) Your secondary weapon set can be your heavy hitting set, whether it be Hammer, Axe/Mace or whatever picks your fancy.

In case you haven’t noticed, I mentioned nothing about utility of the sword being bad. Really have no idea where you got that impression, as I specifically said that in PvE it’s bad for anything other than skipping past trash.

In WvW and/or PvP, it deals bad damage by comparison with axe aside from <50% hp final thrust, however it makes up for it with utility.

The OP specifically asked whether or not it’s a good power weapon, implying that they’re interested in its capability for direct damage output— in which case it’s viable but not the best option.

Lecturing me on sword’s mobility… pfft.

Purple Miku.7032:

in which case it’s viable but not the best option.

Lecturing me on sword’s mobility… pfft.

lol there are only so many viable options though…Rifiles technically have better direct damage burst at least than swords. Sustain DPS sword would win but um I would never choose a rifle over a sword and if I needed a ranged weapon I would choose bow over rifle.

I love sword and have been running a hybrid build for a verry long time
Sw/sh and lb for wvw
Sw/sh and sw/sw for spvp is crazy good to. That off hand sword block is so underestimated. And its and incredible counter to stealth rogues back stab

Warlord.9074:

lol there are only so many viable options though…Rifiles technically have better direct damage burst at least than swords. Sustain DPS sword would win but um I would never choose a rifle over a sword and if I needed a ranged weapon I would choose bow over rifle.

Come on… Let yourself be tempted by the Dark Side of the Warrior… Equip a Rifle… or even better… equip TWO rifles…

Purple Miku.7032:

In case you haven’t noticed, I mentioned nothing about utility of the sword being bad. Really have no idea where you got that impression, as I specifically said that in PvE it’s bad for anything other than skipping past trash.

In WvW and/or PvP, it deals bad damage by comparison with axe aside from <50% hp final thrust, however it makes up for it with utility.

The OP specifically asked whether or not it’s a good power weapon, implying that they’re interested in its capability for direct damage output— in which case it’s viable but not the best option.

Lecturing me on sword’s mobility… pfft.

Actually, the OP asked if the sword was viable in a power spec, in his original post not whether it was a good power weapon, there is a huge difference between the two.

Which means he didn’t imply solely whether it has good direct damage capability while that also could have been part of his question.

And the answer to that question is that it is absolutely viable in a power spec. The soft CC, mobility and burst via the #3 makes it a weapon worth taking. There is more to it then damage when talking about power specs.