I would absolutely LOVE to be able to roll S/D on my Thief, but the DPS dropoff in PvE is way too large. The fact is that without Flanking Strike working as it should on paper, S/D doesn’t have an initiative dump for damage like D/D has with C&D AND Heartseeker.
On paper:
S/D – C&D/TS (504 + 302, 6 init, daze), Flanking Strike (252+504 damage, 4 init, -1 boon)
D/D – C&D/BS (504 + 806, 6 init), Heartseeker (504 to 672 damage, 3 init)
Looks reasonable, right? Except Flanking Strike next to never hits on the second part, making it 252 damage for 504. You’re now looking at having to spend 6 initiative to do the same damage as just the Backstab that D/D has, without even mentioning how D/D can spam Heartseeker when the enemy’s sub 25%.
I get that S/D should have less DPS than D/D due to greater control, but the dropoff in PvE is HUGE. My suggestion is that ANet fix Flanking Strike so the animation is more reliable (maybe have it mirror Death Blossom, but two hits?), which by itself will be a huge DPS boost.