Jump to content
  • Sign Up

Pistol whip..? What's happening..?


killfil.3472

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 58
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

I've been seeing them very often too and I think you can attribute it to the other post on Sind sharing his build =)From a Necro perspective they are not unbeatable though.With dagger 4 blind, dodging, and fear wall, they can still be taken down.I've seen these pistol whip thieves beating holosmiths in WvW though so...its a rather good build for them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It has a very obvious pre-cast, they are immobile while using it, and they can only teleport to you while casting it twice, assuming they're not also using Infiltrator's Signet.

If you have quick or instant CC's you can interrupt them before the evasion begins. It's easier with Stability or ranged CC's. Also remember to stow your weapon frequently if they know how to use Headshot properly. This will help to avoid Pulmonary Impact procs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@"SpellOfIniquity.1780" said:It has a very obvious pre-cast, they are immobile while using it, and they can only teleport to you while casting it twice, assuming they're not also using Infiltrator's Signet.

The good ones are popping quickness before starting or launching it then stealing. There is not much a player can do if they start it from a distance. Thankfully most players are running copycat builds and don't actually know how to work the build by splicing in headshots.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thing is, pw alone cant be spammed but, with things like roll for ini, upper hand and Kleptomaniac your options to use pw becomes far more often. But what else does theif have left to play with? D/p is kinda gutted, s/d has become brain dead with unblockable FS, swindles and instant reflexes. Staff got a good kicking too (dont talk about condi crud) and sniper de.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@saerni.2584 said:So many people playing this build in ranked lol.

Sadly, until the population gets used to fighting this build I’m sure we will see a lot of double PW thieves.

For a period of time, thief once more has a build that can 1v1 and 1v2 pepegas (compared to s/d or d/p where, despite the difference in skill, it will take you a lengthy period of time to kill them) reliably. Elementalist has just as much evade frames and superior sustain in comparison (assuming people don't brainlessly cleanse/heal into your frames), yet I see few if any complaint threads.

It punishes telegraphed gameplay and caster-camping, but does by no means achieve 'problematic' levels of damage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@saerni.2584 said:So many people playing this build in ranked lol.

Sadly, until the population gets used to fighting this build I’m sure we will see a lot of double PW thieves.

In truth its immediate counters are very limited the only way to counter it is to simply avoid and evade it out and wait for the tail end of the animation which gives the user the power role to sort of speak. Its the next safe thing behind the condi builds people got use to running before that got nerfed hard.

The only thing that actively counters it is retaliation and shocking aura (or any other aura that applies its effects through evade frames) So thats probably why the community is a bit upset about it. Unless you are a guardian or a tempest you dont have active counters to Pistolwhip. You have to passively counter it by waiting around it and with the damage that goes out in this game thats not always something you can afford to do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most of the damage comes from PI. Stow your weapons.

Most of the stun/interrupt potential relies on you being immobile. Use a movement or teleport skill to move out of range.

Evades are annoying. Don’t unload your burst into their evade. Force them to evade defensively by range pressuring them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

it uses 6 initiative, and initiative is gained 1 per second. that's almost exactly the same rate as you gain dodges with vigorthrow in all the other ways your class has to avoid damage, and you have everything you need to play against it

thief also has no access to stability outside of stealing it from you, so you can also just interrupt it before the evade

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is an old build. Nothing has been added that suddenly makes it OP . It performs about as well as it always has and any build can appear to look better then it is when higher ranked players use it.

The build has always been effective.I disagree that it trash. PW spam is not something generally done to make it more effective as is the case with most that just want to spam the same skills. PW Spam roots you in place. As others mentioned 2 steps back and the thief whips at empty air. No utility or trait or dodge or evade needed to avoid a PW. Every profession can step backwards.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@reikken.4961 said:it uses 6 initiative, and initiative is gained 1 per second. that's almost exactly the same rate as you gain dodges with vigorthrow in all the other ways your class has to avoid damage, and you have everything you need to play against it

thief also has no access to stability outside of stealing it from you, so you can also just interrupt it before the evade

No its 5 ini

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@bluri.2653 said:

@reikken.4961 said:it uses 6 initiative, and initiative is gained 1 per second. that's almost exactly the same rate as you gain dodges with vigorthrow in all the other ways your class has to avoid damage, and you have everything you need to play against it

thief also has no access to stability outside of stealing it from you, so you can also just interrupt it before the evade

No its 5 ini

oh dang. when did it get buffed? it used to be 6

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@"ZDragon.3046" said:condi thief got nerfed people move on to the next easy / safe ish thing... that thing just so happens to be Pistolwhip

Condi thief still good with ...some variation :)

In my build i use short bow / dagger+dagger to have "Death Blossom"

You have the same things as Pistol whip, 80% of time evads + heal + cleans.

The only difference with the original condi thief's build is not only you have a ton of poison but also a ton of bleeding too ;)

Video of my 1st try : imgur.com/Rxkp7QN

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pistol whip is a mostly fair move (aside from when steal is used right before the whip). Long startup usually means that you can land a CC of your own, dodge the whip, or if they miss the whip entirely (lol)... just walk away.

It does become more problematic attack if the thief uses it right after sword 2, which is a spammable teleport that immobilizes the target. Fortunately, doing this as a 1-2 combo burns a lot of initiative, and you can usually Stun break and dodge the most damaging portion of the move.

Of course, you can’t punish it once the whipping is actually done, and that’s why it feels unfair. But considering the long startup it has, outside of the use of a steal, it’s predictable and has clear counterplay.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fortunately, doing this as a 1-2 combo burns a lot of initiative, and you can usually Stun break and dodge the most damaging portion of the move.

You can bypass this by fainting the PW after the port. Granted, vs average players this usually isn't needed (or even encouraged) as their reflexes and situational awareness/reading isn't up there.

Of course, you can’t punish it once the whipping is actually done, and that’s why it feels unfair.

The ending portion of it is still an excellent instant to go for a CC or Steal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...