How is dual pistol?

[Papaschtroumpf]

I've teamed randomly with some dual pistol players mostly in the 20s and possibly 30s and honestly didn't see much there. the animations are over the top, like "flailing AoE) but I suppose just like Staff's animation a matter of personal preference.

I don't think I've played with a higher level dual pistol. Is it because the set is lackluster beyond the original excitement?

[Zep]

I had a DP on Live I liked.

 

All a matter of personal pref I guess.

[Harrow]

Dual Pistols' damage just can't stack up against most other blast primaries. It's a ton of fun and has its strengths (loads of AoE, great animations, some versatility with different ammunition types), but not only is its damage on the lower side, it also lacks Aim or a snipe. If I had my way, I'd say it needs a damage buff all around to make up for not having Aim, but I'm not sure if it's really on the team's radar for balance changes.

 

That said, I still main a Dual Pistols/Dark Miasma Corruptor because it's just so damn fun. It's a perfectly good blast set, especially combined with something that piles on debuffs that let you do more damage. Time Manipulation is a really popular combination with it for that reason (and also because both sets like to be in PBAoE range).

[City_of_Jedi]

I have Dual Pistols on a Sentinel, and had it on a Corr on Live.  It's been fun so far.

 

If you're interested in trying the set, I might suggest Sentinel or Blaster so that you don't have to worry about laying down debuffs and instead can just concentrate on shooting people.  (The only issue with Sentinel is the target cap). 

 

Previously, you had the issue of re-draw after using a buff or debuff, which was a minor strike against using it on a Corr or a Defender.  Typically you'd be doing that often, which meant lots of redraw.  But of course now that's adjustable with powerset customization, so it's no longer an issue.

 

They did kinda go full ham on the animations.  But I find them entertaining.  At least it looks like your doing something.  That's one of the issues that I have with the game: if you use, say, a single-target debuff, it's very difficult for you [or anyone else] to tell that you've done anything.  It needs to look like you're contributing, especially if you are contributing.  But it's so subtle that it doesn't look like anything has happened.  I always attach emotes to my Mastermind pet commands for the same reason, so it doesn't look like I'm just standing around doing nothing. 

 

It won't be the highest in terms of Burst, but maybe the AoE's make up for it over the long term in absolute numbers.  At least the Tier 9 recharges faster.  I'm sort of an advocate for "underperforming" sets.  I'm not sure this is one of them. 

 

The "kewl powerz" factor is something that made it one of the most requested sets prior to its development and addition to the game.  Personally, I'm glad that we have it. 

 

The game rewards experimentation in unexpected ways.  I can't tell if you're interested or not.  But if you are, there's no harm in trying.  You might like it.

[Hjarki]

Dual Pistols' damage just can't stack up against most other blast primaries.

 

Yes and no. The raw damage is fairly middle-of-the-road. The slotted damage has a lot of options.

 

Off the top of my head, my three primary attacks are slotted something like:

 

Pistols: Achilles' Heel, Lady Grey proc, Shield Breaker proc, Thunderstrike (A/D, A/D/E, D/E)

Dual Pistols: Force Feedback proc, Impeded Swiftness proc, Explosive Strike proc, Thunderstrike (A/D, A/D/E, D/E)

Executioner's Shot: Force Feedback proc, Apoc proc, Lady Grey proc, Thunderstrike (A/D, A/D/E, D/E)

 

The additional options for slotting that you don't have with more conventional Blast sets allows you to get a lot of benefits. It's the same reason that Ice Blast traditionally out-performed Fire Blast single target at 50 (I'm not sure if this is still true with the Sniper changes).

[oldskool]

Dual Pistol is a versatile set. 

 

The damage is decent but not exceptional.  The real strength of the set though is the flexibility of what the different ammo modes do and the pistol secondary effects in general. 

 

Fire ammo is your dps ammo.  It adds a damage over time effect in addition to changing a portion of the damage from lethal to fire. 

 

Cold ammo add a slow.  Toxic ammo adds a damage debuff.  Standard rounds have negative defense and resistance on certain powers. 

 

It's a pretty flexible set if you go into with the mindset that it's strength is choice.  While solo, you can use the fire ammo to speed things up.  While teamed you can use the debuffs, or the damage if that is better in the moment. 

 

The toxic ammo damage debuff isn't as strong as the Defender version, but it is far from weak.  With a secondary that also debuffs damage you can pile on those effects a bit more. 

 

Hail of Bullets is a PBAoE, and it also gives you a short duration defense debuff.  You can pop it from stealth and likely dodge a lot of return fire while living out your Equilibrium fantasy (seriously, watch that film). 

 

So overall a solid choice for those that want to hybrid play damage/support.

[Hyperstrike]

I tend to run ship raids with my DP/FF Corr.

Grade-A Bang Bang!

 

[Sir Myshkin]

As some others have pointed out, one of Dual Pistols biggest struggles comes down to the fact that it doesn't have supplemental damage boosters inherently in the set beyond being able to toggle on things like Incendiary Ammo. However, there's a lot of leverage power in the debuffs you get from the un-swapped "basic rounds." There's also a pretty wide amount of leverage in its AoE capability. Two actual AoE's and a fairly decent cone attack is more than most sets get.

 

Recently poured more investment into a new DP/Cold/Soul Corr. Currently in its late 30's, about to break into 40. The build I'm holding on to for him has the potential of spiking -94% Resistance backed by a Perma Soul Drain. In theory he should be able to stand on par with a lot of other mid to upper tier blast sets in such an extreme scenario. Dual Pistols alone gets -15% out of one attack (Precise/Precision Shot, name?) plus Annihilation -20% in that attack, and the ability to drop another Achille's Heel proc into Pistols for -45% Res on its own which easily makes up for not having an Aim/BU power inherently in the primary like any other Blast set.

 

Yes some of the powers are super flashy, but with a bit of build magic, the set should perform pretty well. And I have no intention of using the Swap Ammo gimmick, I don't think it'll be necessary (and it disables the inherent -15% Res effect).

[Harrow]

Dual Pistols' damage just can't stack up against most other blast primaries.

 

Yes and no. The raw damage is fairly middle-of-the-road. The slotted damage has a lot of options.

 

Off the top of my head, my three primary attacks are slotted something like:

 

Pistols: Achilles' Heel, Lady Grey proc, Shield Breaker proc, Thunderstrike (A/D, A/D/E, D/E)

Dual Pistols: Force Feedback proc, Impeded Swiftness proc, Explosive Strike proc, Thunderstrike (A/D, A/D/E, D/E)

Executioner's Shot: Force Feedback proc, Apoc proc, Lady Grey proc, Thunderstrike (A/D, A/D/E, D/E)

 

The additional options for slotting that you don't have with more conventional Blast sets allows you to get a lot of benefits. It's the same reason that Ice Blast traditionally out-performed Fire Blast single target at 50 (I'm not sure if this is still true with the Sniper changes).

 

Those are good points. When I made that post, I hadn't really gotten into slotting procs yet--I was thinking mostly about set bonuses--but since then I've started loading up my main attacks with procs where I can and I can see it making a difference. With powers this eclectic, you do end up with a lot of options to slot procs that other blast sets couldn't, so that's a pretty cool benefit.

[DomiDayglow]

I've a dual pistols/kinetics corruptor and its really fun for me.

 

Kinetics pretty much takes care of any concern you might have about lower damage than other sets. With the right enhancements and siphon speed, you can get fulcrum shift's recharge down pretty easily. Specially when taking into account recharge buffs from incarnate powers and teammates. I can stack three fulcrum shifts this way. That's a lot of damage on teams with larger spawns! Things will just melt! Plus, fulcrum shift puts you in the perfect position for Hail of Bullets afterwards and Bullet Rain to finish things off.  If you also focus on getting about 40ish percent smash and lethal defense? You suddenly become very survivable against most mobs. You don't have to worry about soft capping to 45% too much. Team buffs will help.

 

I keep saying team buffs because, to me, Pistols/Kinetics doesn't actually solo that well. That's okay for me. Kinetics shines on teams more than solo anyway. Teams will love you! I just focus on kinetics until my AoEs are up. Then things melt!

 

My suggestion would be focus your build on getting lots of Recharge bonuses and smash/lethal defense bonuses. Look at incarnate abilities that give you recharge bonuses. Take clarion because squishes like mez protection and then take ageless when you're facing groups without many mezzes. Don't worry about endurance. You have transference for that. Put a kismet accuracy bonus in something like weave or scorpion shield. You're kinetics, you don't want to miss. Take tactics or focused accuracy for perception bonus when you need it. You don't want to be blinded. Keep your team speed boosted and use siphon speed whenever its ready to keep up with them. Then spam fulcrum shift and siphon power whenever they're ready.

 

Oh! And make a costume with custom power selection of "No Redraw" like was suggested in an earlier post. You'll be thankful.