Off-Hand Pistol vs Sword (Halp Plox)

[Okaerin.3145]

Hello people, I've been already doing some research BUT I honestly ended up here for a definitive answer about this matter:

I play with 2 Mesmers since years ago and I always liked more Pistol instead of Sword for Off Hand but... no matter how many tests I run or info I check, the Sword is superior and I have no clue if I am missing something because I don't see why the difference is so huge.

This is all I found as pro and cons when checking and testing:

 

Pistol Off-Hand

Pros:

- Ranged Phantasmal Duelist, hits hard

- Nice CC on Magic Bullet

Cons:

- Ranged attacks can be blocked by terrain

- A lot of cooldown on both skills

 

Sword Off-Hand

Pros:

- Mele Phantasmal Swordsman, hits like a truck

- Block on Illusionary Riposte or CC on Counter Blade

Cons:

- Phantasm need to get close but run like mad and leaps

- You either Block or Daze with Skill4 but not both (IIRC)

 

Every test I run the Sword is better overall because of damage or utility and mainly because the CD on the Pistol skills are way higher than the ones on the Sword skills (20 and 25 for Pistol vs 15 and 12 for Sword)

 

Am I missing something that puts some weight on the Off-Hand Pistol for Mesmer? I know there are some traits about bleed that Phantasmal Duelist can trigger but man the Phantasmal Swordsman always is better, more spamable and gives might as well. I feel like I am handicapping myself when going for Pistol instead of Sword most of the time and I want to get the best of it, so I am here asking for advice.

 

Please people, I need your opinion, thanks.

[Alpha.1308]

1 hour ago, Okaerin.3145 said:

I feel like I am handicapping myself 

welcome to one of the biggest problems in this game

devs like to bloat one thing, making it almost required, and absolutely refuse to acknowledge the existence of others, making them a complete waste to slot in

 

luckily in your scenario, both pistol and offhand sword are strong options, regardless of content, just depending on the context used

 

how exactly do you "test" something? because there are many variables when accounting for this 

like, say, i could take a focus into wvw and yank people off of walls and have it be one of the dumbest/scariest/ridiculously strong options to bring in that situation

but then i could also take a focus into fighting a pve boss and it's... just an average phantasm for power damage, while being absolutely worthless for a condi build, and having pretty poor breakbar damage 

 

 

the biggest question you'd need to answer for a good suggestion on what to use would be, what do you intend to do in the game?
soloing open world pve for story/map completion?

spvping?

wvw roaming? (i assume not large scale since you didn't mention focus at all which is a staple)

or trying to push fractals/raids?

 

if you're not playing the competitive side of things, or at least playing with friends in fractals/raids, and/or just playing for yourself, always remember: use what you want to use, keep yourself playing and enjoying the game for you, it's better than turning it into a chore and following everyone else.... just so long as nobody else is affected by your lowered output (which, really only really matters in pve raids due to enrage timers, and pvp where your teammates rely on you)

[Okaerin.3145]

Thanks a lot, I am playing mostly PvE and Fractals/Dungeons, planning to play Strike Missions often

Also I play PvP (not WvW), but a lot less usually and with other class I feel more comfortable to play with for now (I left the game competitively a long time ago and I am coming back with some friends)

[Avion Blade.4869]

Off-hand sword is for counter play and set-up-offensive play

- block with riposte will deal damge to a non-aegis, non-invul target

- daze option in a line if targets are in a line.

- phantasms chases, strikes, then becomes clone

 

 

Off-hand pistol is for offensive play and preventative play (cc)

- phantasmal duelist (pistol shooter from range)

- 3 targets one for stun, one for daze, one for blind.

- phantasms shoots, then becomes clone.

 

The sword off-hand daze makes it a little bit of a ranged weapon due to line dazing.

The pistol's cc is great against mobs, small groups, allows you to jump in then out.

 

But sword will allow you to stay in close range longer due to evade-frame follow up after the block.

 

The phantasmal swords man is underrated because if they ignore it they will get strike, and if you land the melee hit you get might before the phantasm strikes. Illusions second column middle option gives quickness to make them more effective.

 

Pistol is great for power cc

sword is great for counter attacking.

 

Up to playstyle.

 

In WvW I found off-hand sword more effective because the pistol could be reflected back to you and you get stunned. I'd rather daze them for 2 seconds than risk stunning myself. 

 

 

Edited March 10, 2022 by Avion Blade.4869

[OriOri.8724]

Which one is better depends on your build and what you are trying to do. Pistol attacks do have a higher CD, but they're not that high compared to most other weapons skills 4/5 in the game, they're just a bit above average. And with duelists discipline, you get a free 25% CD reduction on them anytime you use pistol 5, which helps with the cooldowns a bit.