Your best idea to add magic to thief pistols.

[SoulGuardian.6203]

I have started a new character yesterday based on another game.

She is a Gunmage that uses double pistols with magic enhancers.

I first started an engineer (Holosmith), but the biggest issue that troubled me was that engi don't have a dual attack like thief "Unload", which suits the character in question better.

So I deleted the engi and made a Daredevil... but at a price; now its missing the sort of magical properties that the engie pistols kinda, sorta have.

So, I added a Fire Sigil, but it's not quite what I'm looking for.

I want to add visual and magic effects like a dark purple projectiles. Especially on "Headshot"

What are my options here?

 

Any Sigils, Runes or weapon skins to that effect?

Any other great ideas or suggestions are very welcome.

Edited January 25, 2023 by SoulGuardian.6203

[Dadnir.5038]

The Quip: It's magical, you'll shot stream of confetti.

HOPE: Shot pinkish red plasma balls.

Aurene's argument: The effect is nigh imperceptible.

Edited January 25, 2023 by Dadnir.5038

[SoulGuardian.6203]

26 minutes ago, Dadnir.5038 said:

The Quip: It's magical, you'll shot stream of confetti.

HOPE: Shot pinkish red plasma balls.

Aurene's argument: The effect is nigh imperceptible.

Any cheaper version than a legendary?

Edited January 25, 2023 by SoulGuardian.6203

[DeanBB.4268]

41 minutes ago, SoulGuardian.6203 said:

Any cheaper version than a legendary?

Harbinger? Not dual pistols, though.

[Dadnir.5038]

1 hour ago, SoulGuardian.6203 said:

Any cheaper version than a legendary?

I don't think legendaries are especially expensive, just time consuming.

[SoulGuardian.6203]

Ok.

Thanks for the suggestions. 

[Stx.4857]

The super adventure box guns aren't magical... but they do fire colorful projectiles with unique sounds.

[Jitters.9401]

11 hours ago, Dadnir.5038 said:

I don't think legendaries are especially expensive, just time consuming.

If all someone wants to do is WvW, then sadly yeah... they become expensive. 

[HnRkLnXqZ.1870]

23 hours ago, SoulGuardian.6203 said:

I first started an engineer (Holosmith), but the biggest issue that troubled me was that engi don't have a dual attack like thief "Unload", which suits the character in question better.

Photon Forge: Photon Blitz (4) mimics the dual-pistol Unload from the Thief class.

You did not state what race your character is. I guess it is human. But if the race is not fixed, I recommend trying Charr. They have a racial-skill called Hidden Pistol. On an Engineer, this gives access to the toolbelt-skill Hidden Pistols which also mimics Unload.

For additional magical projectile, try Superior Sigil of Air. That projectile is sadly not dark/purple :S.

For a weapon, you can try Hardlight Pistol. Not very cheap, but cheaper than a legendary. No projectile-effects, but purple skin + skin-aura that leaves a trail when walking. As well as unique sounds on weapon-draw and attacking. [demo]
 

[SoulGuardian.6203]

1 hour ago, HnRkLnXqZ.1870 said:

Photon Forge: Photon Blitz (4) mimics the dual-pistol Unload from the Thief class.

You did not state what race your character is. I guess it is human. But if the race is not fixed, I recommend trying Charr. They have a racial-skill called Hidden Pistol. On an Engineer, this gives access to the toolbelt-skill Hidden Pistols which also mimics Unload.

For additional magical projectile, try Superior Sigil of Air. That projectile is sadly not dark/purple :S.

For a weapon, you can try Hardlight Pistol. Not very cheap, but cheaper than a legendary. No projectile-effects, but purple skin + skin-aura that leaves a trail when walking. As well as unique sounds on weapon-draw and attacking. [demo]
 

 

Thanks for the reminder, and the info about the charr.

I think I'll keep it as thief for now though.

I'm just not keen on Holo skin shader at all.

Just personal preference. 

If the Photon Forge was slightly different, without the beehive skin, and would have access to just magic enhancers, rather than having a mix and match of skills in there, I would not think twice, and restart the character as Holo. Maybe would not have even deleted it on the first place.

Because I also like Holo elite skill too a lot.

But I can't have both.

I can use Unload 2 or 3 times in a row, which is more like the character's playstyle. 

Even more perfect would be if mesmers had double pistols + Mirage would just be the ideal set up.

Unfortunately that's not the case.

 

I might consider making this character a Holosmith again, but not right now. 

I already deleted it twice, as it used to be a Tempest, which became a Holo, and then a DD In less than 24 hours.

I really appreciate your input, I just really don't like the beehive skin and the other weapons in Photon Forge mode, such as a sword, a hammer, and whatever else is in there.

Otherwise would have been almost perfect... and if there was a continuous double pistol usage, like alternate between left and right single shot, it would be a no brainer.

But you never know. The elite skill alone might pull me back to holo.

 

Thanks again...

Edited January 26, 2023 by SoulGuardian.6203

[HnRkLnXqZ.1870]

19 hours ago, SoulGuardian.6203 said:

I think I'll keep it as thief for now though.

I'm just not keen on Holo skin shader at all.

Funny that the moderator moved the thread into the Engineer sub-forum, but I don't mind /shrug.

There is another option to get custom projectiles, using the pistol skills with combo-fields. While Engineer has tons of combo-options, Thief is rather limited. But there are still some nice options. Another problem comes after the visual customization, the functionality. The character should be capable of playing content. Here are a few thoughts:

1.) Projectile transformation
You have a total of four bullet-attacks, which have a combo-finisher of:
Vital Shot (1) = 20 %
-> Sneak Attack (1 while in stealth) = 100 %
Bola Shot (2) = 100 %
Unload (3) = 20 %
Head Shot (4) = 100 %

As you have requested to give Head Shot a unique animation, this strategy will work every time. As long as you use the skill while shooting above a combo filed. I should mention at this point, that you do not have to stand in the field. Any combo-field will do, as long as it touches the field before it hits the enemy.

Useable Combofields for Thief

Spoiler

Dark Field
Visual: Creates dark orbs in the bullet path.
Combat: Life Steal
Utility: Shadow Refuge
Utility: Seal Area
Utility/Elite: All Specter Wells

Poison Field
Visual: Creates a green bullet path.
Combat: Poison (2s)
Shortbow 4: Choking Gas

Smoke Field
Visual: Creates a smoke effect in the bullet path.
Combat: Blind (3s)
Pistol 5: Black Powder
Rifle 4 Kneel: Sniper's Cover
Utility: Smoke Screen

Those are the official Combo Fields. You can get two more, Fire and Water. But those require the use of bundle-items, which can be a little tricky. These do not work in Fractals, Dungeons and Strike Missions. But they do work in Open World and most story-instances.

Fire Field
Visual: Creates a fire bullet path.
Combat: Burn (1s)
Flame Thrower: Napalm

Water Field
Visual: Creates a water bullet path.
Combat: Regeneration (2s)
Healing Seed

2.) Combat relevance
Condition application via combos is lackluster. The duration is way too short, even with the proper stats. That however only counts for damage-conditions. Utilizing Blind via Smoke fields is something that can definitely work out.

The second 'useful' combo would be the Dark Field, which results in Life Steal. The effect may not be very strong, but it can come in handy in combination with other recovery effects. And it deals extra damage on hit. 

Water, Fire and Poison have nice visuals but very little use in combat. I would only use those for gimmick purpose. 

Daredevil (Blind)
Headshot gets bonus-damage via Impacting Disruption. Whenever you cause Blind on an enemy, you siphon health from them (= bonus damage + hp recovery). Initiative recovery on weaponswap and when entering stealth. This can be done by doing a dodge inside any of the smoke-fields.

The build is far away from being viable, but you can survive in Open World. With the rapid application of Blind, you can reduce incoming damage significantly and increase your HP recovery. The Mischief Sigils will apply additional AoE blind to nearby enemies on weaponswap. The Severance Sigils boost your critical chance and power significantly. It is very cool with builds that have an extremely high supply of CC. I would chain Head Shot -> Unload, to get some good burst damage.

EDIT: Using the Elite Skill in a smoke field also spams Blind to nearby enemies.

Specter and Deadeye can also work, but I am not experienced enough with those specializations.

Edited January 27, 2023 by HnRkLnXqZ.1870

[SoulGuardian.6203]

On 1/27/2023 at 2:29 PM, HnRkLnXqZ.1870 said:

Funny that the moderator moved the thread into the Engineer sub-forum, but I don't mind /shrug.

There is another option to get custom projectiles, using the pistol skills with combo-fields. While Engineer has tons of combo-options, Thief is rather limited. But there are still some nice options. Another problem comes after the visual customization, the functionality. The character should be capable of playing content. Here are a few thoughts:

1.) Projectile transformation
You have a total of four bullet-attacks, which have a combo-finisher of:
Vital Shot (1) = 20 %
-> Sneak Attack (1 while in stealth) = 100 %
Bola Shot (2) = 100 %
Unload (3) = 20 %
Head Shot (4) = 100 %

As you have requested to give Head Shot a unique animation, this strategy will work every time. As long as you use the skill while shooting above a combo filed. I should mention at this point, that you do not have to stand in the field. Any combo-field will do, as long as it touches the field before it hits the enemy.

Useable Combofields for Thief

  Reveal hidden contents

Dark Field
Visual: Creates dark orbs in the bullet path.
Combat: Life Steal
Utility: Shadow Refuge
Utility: Seal Area
Utility/Elite: All Specter Wells

Poison Field
Visual: Creates a green bullet path.
Combat: Poison (2s)
Shortbow 4: Choking Gas

Smoke Field
Visual: Creates a smoke effect in the bullet path.
Combat: Blind (3s)
Pistol 5: Black Powder
Rifle 4 Kneel: Sniper's Cover
Utility: Smoke Screen

Those are the official Combo Fields. You can get two more, Fire and Water. But those require the use of bundle-items, which can be a little tricky. These do not work in Fractals, Dungeons and Strike Missions. But they do work in Open World and most story-instances.

Fire Field
Visual: Creates a fire bullet path.
Combat: Burn (1s)
Flame Thrower: Napalm

Water Field
Visual: Creates a water bullet path.
Combat: Regeneration (2s)
Healing Seed

2.) Combat relevance
Condition application via combos is lackluster. The duration is way too short, even with the proper stats. That however only counts for damage-conditions. Utilizing Blind via Smoke fields is something that can definitely work out.

The second 'useful' combo would be the Dark Field, which results in Life Steal. The effect may not be very strong, but it can come in handy in combination with other recovery effects. And it deals extra damage on hit. 

Water, Fire and Poison have nice visuals but very little use in combat. I would only use those for gimmick purpose. 

Daredevil (Blind)
Headshot gets bonus-damage via Impacting Disruption. Whenever you cause Blind on an enemy, you siphon health from them (= bonus damage + hp recovery). Initiative recovery on weaponswap and when entering stealth. This can be done by doing a dodge inside any of the smoke-fields.

The build is far away from being viable, but you can survive in Open World. With the rapid application of Blind, you can reduce incoming damage significantly and increase your HP recovery. The Mischief Sigils will apply additional AoE blind to nearby enemies on weaponswap. The Severance Sigils boost your critical chance and power significantly. It is very cool with builds that have an extremely high supply of CC. I would chain Head Shot -> Unload, to get some good burst damage.

EDIT: Using the Elite Skill in a smoke field also spams Blind to nearby enemies.

Specter and Deadeye can also work, but I am not experienced enough with those specializations.

I've done it.

 

I changed it back to Holosmith. 

I just wish poison dart volley was skill 3 and be dual pistols.

That would make it perfect.

 

Using prime Light Beam as her Special Magic Sttack.

Except it's yellow instead of purple.

And it's a ground target rather then a sphere projectile. 

 

Mirage would have been perfect if only it had double pistols.

This is the closest I can get to original.

Besides, medium armor suits her better than any other.

It's funny how I have the same issue with that said game main character, which I changed back and forth from Weaver and Holosmith about 6 or 7 times already. 

The only one I was able to settle for better was the game villain, which I used Virtuoso for... even after considering using Dragonhunter because of the traps.

 

Anyways, not to stray too far off the main issue; I hope ANet considers adding a few mlre sigils and runes thst summon projectiles of different colours and effects.

Or maybe just weapon skins.

I'm not going to ever make any legendaries.

I already stuck that idea in my head.

It's too much involved; too many steps, etc...

Especially when I have a guild to run and upgrade.

I must have spent well over 3,000 gold on my guild already and it's still lvl 26... not counting other materials I deposited.

Must be 4k total easy.

 

Anyways. 

This holo is not the most effective, but it's fun, and it's the main thing.

Just that darn dual pistol skill 😠 or lack thereof.

 

Haaagh 😅

 

 

[Kodama.6453]

3 minutes ago, SoulGuardian.6203 said:

Just that darn dual pistol skill 😠 or lack thereof.

Well, photon forge 3 uses dual pistols. 😛

[SoulGuardian.6203]

3 hours ago, Kodama.6453 said:

Well, photon forge 3 uses dual pistols. 😛

😂

I know yeah.

I try using it as often as I can.

I'd like it to be part of the main pistols skills though. 😕

Oh well.

Guess I'll have to be happy with what we have. 😄