Hello Slayers! A bit of a preface: I'm stubborn. I've always run Pistol/Shotgun in TSW, and have stuck with them since the SWL relaunch. Other weapons may offer better burst or longer sustain. Some are flashier than others or have more interesting weapon gimmicks. Me - I just like slapping hotbar buttons and making big numbers come out of dudes. That's what this build primarily focuses on: quick attacks with no cast times for maximum uptime on numbers popping out of dudes when you put holes in them.
Another caveat: I didn't crunch any numbers as far as the absolute best-in-slot for DPS. That's not the point of this build. I'm sharing it because it's fun and effective for me. I am sure someone much more knowledgeable than me, especially on the subject of Pistols such as @Morven, can chime in with more info.
I use this build every day for soloing. It's also easily adaptable for scenarios and dungeons with a few ability swaps.
ACTIVES:
Dual Shot
Kill Blind
Flourish
Trick Shot
Seeking Bullet
Raging Shot (Shotgun)
PASSIVES:
Double Down
Focused Fire
Beginner's Luck
Fatal Shot
Lethal Aim
With the exception of Seeking Bullet, none of the attacks in this build have a cast time. I especially like this style of play for soloing because mobs tend to die quickly, and anything with a cast time will get interrupted if the target dies before the cast completes. How annoying! This build plays more like a fast-paced action shooter that SWL is trying to be.
BUILD ROTATION
Well, there isn't much of a rotation as there is a priority system.
BUILD ALTERNATIVES
I need more healing!
Swap Flourish and Lethal Aim with Clean Slate and Rehabilitation. I run with two Anima-Touched weapons and have a good chunk of passive stats unlocked, and thus have some decent damage reduction and pretty constant healing. If your item level is lower and find yourself needing to take a break or run away to recover HP often, you'll want these as a source of healing and a cleanse. Remember that Clean Slate's healing scales off attack power, so there is no need to use a healing talisman.
I'm running out of energy!
Dual Shot chews through energy. Its efficacy scales directly with critical chance, as you gain 1 energy back every time you crit, plus the associated Fatal Shot passive deals additional damage when Dual Shot crits. If you're running out of energy often and don't have or don't want to use an "of Energy" weapon, swap in Unload and replace Fatal Shot with a damage passive such as Beginner's Luck, Jackpot, or Heavy Caliber Rounds. I honestly don't know which one's best here. Maybe an expert on Pistol passives can weigh in.
I don't have a Shotgun!
That's okay! The secondary weapon for this build is entirely flexible. Use whatever heavy-hitting power ability you have for your favorite secondary weapon and throw it on your bar. I only chose Raging Shot because it's an instant, it hits hard, is ranged, and because I have an orange shotgun. An excellent, low-maintenance choice is the Mjolnir Elementalism power ability with the Voltaic Shunt weapon.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Please share!
Another caveat: I didn't crunch any numbers as far as the absolute best-in-slot for DPS. That's not the point of this build. I'm sharing it because it's fun and effective for me. I am sure someone much more knowledgeable than me, especially on the subject of Pistols such as @Morven, can chime in with more info.
I use this build every day for soloing. It's also easily adaptable for scenarios and dungeons with a few ability swaps.
ACTIVES:
Dual Shot
Kill Blind
Flourish
Trick Shot
Seeking Bullet
Raging Shot (Shotgun)
PASSIVES:
Double Down
Focused Fire
Beginner's Luck
Fatal Shot
Lethal Aim
With the exception of Seeking Bullet, none of the attacks in this build have a cast time. I especially like this style of play for soloing because mobs tend to die quickly, and anything with a cast time will get interrupted if the target dies before the cast completes. How annoying! This build plays more like a fast-paced action shooter that SWL is trying to be.
BUILD ROTATION
Well, there isn't much of a rotation as there is a priority system.
- Use Trick Shot every time it's off cooldown. It's an AoE, it hits hard, it has no cast time, it applies both Exposed and Debilitated, and with Bamboozle, it even stuns, roots, and does additional damage!
- Use Dual Shot on single targets. Dual Shot hits fast and hard. It also chews through energy, so it and its associated passive become more and more effective the higher your critical chance is. If your crit is low and you often find yourself running low on energy, check the Build Alternatives section below for another option.
- Use Flourish as needed, depending on the situation. You can use it in the following ways:
- Low on Energy - Dual Shot burns energy quickly. Pop Flourish after you use a Dual Shot or two to put you back to near full energy. The more regularly you use Flourish, the less often you'll run dry on energy.
- Cleanse - Removes all stacks of one detrimental effect. A few filth mobs exploded on you and you just want to sprint right now? Flourish it off.
- Damage Boost - With the Lethal Aim passive, Flourish also grants you a 15% damage boost and makes your attacks always connect. Makes Flourish just a great all-around off-cooldown ability.
- Use Kill Blind every time it's off cooldown. It will extend the duration of a matched set bonus by 1.5 seconds, and with the Focused Fire passive, you'll automatically get a double white set if you don't have any bonus. For situations where interrupting an enemy's ability would be helpful, you can save Kill Blind as a reliable stun.
- Use Raging Shot to dump Shotgun energy. It hits hard and sounds angry. To maximize DPS output, make sure any debuffs applied by your current shells stay up. For the default Dragon's Breath shells, you can even initiate a fight on a tougher enemy by stacking its DoT a couple times before unloading with your pistols.
- Use Seeking Bullet on cheap trash mobs or when you're completely dry on energy for both weapons.
BUILD ALTERNATIVES
I need more healing!
Swap Flourish and Lethal Aim with Clean Slate and Rehabilitation. I run with two Anima-Touched weapons and have a good chunk of passive stats unlocked, and thus have some decent damage reduction and pretty constant healing. If your item level is lower and find yourself needing to take a break or run away to recover HP often, you'll want these as a source of healing and a cleanse. Remember that Clean Slate's healing scales off attack power, so there is no need to use a healing talisman.
I'm running out of energy!
Dual Shot chews through energy. Its efficacy scales directly with critical chance, as you gain 1 energy back every time you crit, plus the associated Fatal Shot passive deals additional damage when Dual Shot crits. If you're running out of energy often and don't have or don't want to use an "of Energy" weapon, swap in Unload and replace Fatal Shot with a damage passive such as Beginner's Luck, Jackpot, or Heavy Caliber Rounds. I honestly don't know which one's best here. Maybe an expert on Pistol passives can weigh in.
I don't have a Shotgun!
That's okay! The secondary weapon for this build is entirely flexible. Use whatever heavy-hitting power ability you have for your favorite secondary weapon and throw it on your bar. I only chose Raging Shot because it's an instant, it hits hard, is ranged, and because I have an orange shotgun. An excellent, low-maintenance choice is the Mjolnir Elementalism power ability with the Voltaic Shunt weapon.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Please share!
Last edited: