Suggestions for Dual Pistols on i24

I'm very well aware of this being discussed before and now, with changes regarding damage buff and such. I'm aware that this has been discussed many times, but with the new changes coming in Issue 24, I can't help but hope that these ideas might be implemented to help the one set I love with Blasters. Note: Most of these ideas are from other players, just wanted to summarize the ones that seemed reasonable.

The way I see it, Dual Pistols should be somewhat of a more active set. Other powersets have their secondary effects already added to the powers, so it's just simple clicks. Dual Pistols could be a great Blaster set if the Swap Ammo effect was more useful. I mean, imagine it, constantly swapping Ammo type during battle to wipe enemies out. Fire off Bullet Rain with Cryo Ammo to slow them down, Empty Clips on them with Toxic Rounds to weaken them, and finally jump in with Hail of Bullets and Incendiary Ammo and finish them off. That way, you're always planning ahead, not just leaving Incendiary on all day as you fire off.

Base damage: I'm perfectly fine with the damage it currently has. No changes needed here.

Redraw: Two ideas here. Either the animation time for it can be cut down by half, or we could switch that damn twirling out with one where the character draws his weapons with their arms criss-crossed. Think the first one seems more plausible though...

Damage type: Changing the Lethal/Secondary from 70/30 to 50/50 would be nice, more damage from Swap Ammo. Another reason to keep switching ammo type.

Now, onto powers:

Pistols & Dual Wield: I have no complaints about these two. They're good.

Empty Clips: A wider cone might be nice, but I was thinking along the lines of increased range instead. Instead of having it at 40ft, why not boost it to 60? It's a cone attack, a little more distance would mean I'd be at a more comfortable distance to fire it off right after Bullet Rain.

Swap Ammo: Here's the thing that makes Dual Pistols what it is, and should be used more. A damage effect from Toxic and Cryo Rounds would be nice, but that might make Fire less used. I was thinking of having the effects from Toxic and Cryo Rounds last longer or have them stack to a maximum of 3 times. That way, you're able to maintain the -res/-slow debuff long enough to switch out to Incendiary Rounds to really lay the hurting.

Bullet Rain: Nothing I see that needs changing here.

Suppressive Fire: I don't really care for the damage, the hold effect is what I use it for. With that said, as a ST attack, maybe increasing the range from 60ft to 80ft might be nice, or leaving it as it is sounds good as well.

Executioner's Shot: I'm aware it's getting a range boost to 80ft, but another thing that it needs is a cast time reduction. Reducing the cast time down to just 2 seconds seems fair. It is a ST attack, why not have it fire off faster?

Piercing Rounds: I was thinking of a tradeoff here. Either have the cast time for it reduce down to 2 seconds, or keep it at 2.5 and allow the -res effect to be kept regardless of the ammo used. With a name like Piercing Rounds, it would be great to have the -res effect stack with Toxic Rounds.

Hail Of Bullets: An awesome nuke attack, leave it as it is. OR...I dunno, increase the defense buff duration for a bit longer?

I like the idea of having ST attacks have a lower cast time than AoE ones. Recharge time for the attacks could be increased a bit, if need be, but at 50 with IOs, I don't think it really matters.

Any thoughts from other players?

I threw some ideas out once before. More focused on swap ammo tho...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leo_G Preface: I haven't tested Staff fighting much except on a Stalker up to around lvl 11. I have been playing my DP/Fire lately so have thought about DP lately. Looking at the unique mechanic itself, is Swap Ammo really even fair? What it loses (some sort of straight dmg buff or utility to aid survival) for the things it gains (basically just flexibility) doesn't seem even when you compare it to the set that borrows its mechanic (Staff Fighting). And I don't think you could make the argument that it's because Staff is a pay set...I believe DP is also a pay set... Anyway, from my working knowledge of Staff, the set gets 3 toggle stances that not only adds self buffs that stack 3 times and scale higher with each stack, but they also add extra effects and buffs to two of the set's powers. Conversely, Swap ammo *exchanges* lethal damage for element/toxic damage as well as secondary effects...To state the obvious, the problem is that Swap Ammo adds nothing. If I want the KD/back to help save my rear, I have to use standard ammo. If I want extra DoT, I have to use incendiary. If I want extra mitigative secondary effects, I have to use toxic/cryo rounds. But all of them are exclusive. I can't have the KD + mitigative effects or extra DoT + KD, I have to choose and switch. So I propose changes to DP through Swap ammo (not saying this is the only additions that should be made to the set, such as cast times or recharge times). A few ideas: 1. Fresh Ammo: Because reloading during a fight is just bad-A. Fresh Ammo is a momentary buff that adds to the secondary damage and effects of the selected ammo and is granted upon activating an ammo toggle. The buff could last anywhere from 10-15 sec then replaces itself with a 'Half Empty Clip' power that basically blocks getting the Fresh Ammo power for the specific ammo type. Half Empty Clip should last 10-15 sec. -Standard Ammo counts as an ammo type so removing any toggles gives a Fresh Standard Ammo buff for extra lethal damage and greater chance of KD. -Incendiary Ammo would have greater chance of DoT and for more tics. -Cryo and Toxic rounds do a bit extra type damage + higher debuff effects. -Intended design goal is to reward swapping and using the different ammo types. One can swap between two ammo types occasionally or run the gamut of types, both tactics equally viable. This would allow one to capitalize on the secondary effects of the different ammos or by occasionally turning off and turning back on (reloading), you can get the ammo's effects improved. 2. Ammo Finishers: Basically the same concept that Staff Fighting uses. Several of the DP powers can be considered 'finishers' and do extra things after swapping to a certain ammo and getting 3 attacks off. I'd nominate Executioner's Shot, Piercing Shot and Hail of Bullets. -Executioner's Shot: Standard ammo will do a bit more lethal damage and debuff the target's max HP by %. Cryo rounds will debuff the target's resistance to holds and cast a mag 2 hold on the target. Incendiary rounds will do more DoT and cause mag 2 Terrorize on the foe. Toxic rounds will reduce target's max HP and regen. -Piercing Shot: Standard ammo will reduce resists and defense more as well as cause shrapnel damage (a targeted AoE that hits 3 foes for extra lethal damage). Cryo, Toxic and Incendiary rounds will do more of their typed damage + reduce resists and defense like standard ammo does without building any combos. -Hail of Bullets: Not sure what each ammo type should do...but it should be amazing. -I feel that this should be justified in that, Staff gets extra effects on targets with 3 stacks of focus. That DP gets an all-the-time partial damage type swap is equivalent to Staff getting some-of-the-time self buff *extras*. -This design direction encourages picking an ammo type and staying with it, building upon each attack to improve the ammo type chosen. 3. Bullet Combos: Because a dual pistoleer isn't just cool looking, they're smart. Dual Pistol ammo attacks come with an enemy tag that flags them for extra effects to be taken advantage of by the user or by other pistoleers. Think of it like a combo of Trick Arrow's oil slick and Gravity Control's impact damage. -stacking any 3 incendiary round attacks opens up the target for 'Impairment'. Any toxic round attack will have a larger damage debuff + an additional non-stacking resistance debuff. -stacking any 3 cryo rounds opens up the target for 'Temperature Shift'. Any incendiary rounds will cause extra lethal and fire damage to the target. Can also take advantage of cryo stacking with standard rounds, gaining an extra 'Shattered' smashing damage proc. -stacking any 3 chemical rounds opens the target up for 'Caustic Gas'. By using cryo rounds the target gains a temp power which works like the Rikti monkeys death cloud. Upon death, the foe will create a cloud of gas that causes sleep + slow movement. You can also take advantage of chem rounds with standard rounds which cause additional bleed (lethal) DoT. -The design goal is to gain advantages to swapping ammo momentarily, kind of like a short term dmg buff like Aim. Multiple DP characters would improve other DP users, creating synergies. Incendiary + Toxic = debuff, Cryo +Incendiary/Standard = Damage, Toxic + Cryo = Control and Toxic + Standard = damage. 4. Ammo Focus: Staff fighting gets a combo marker that improves a stat + adds an effect to 2 of their attacks. For Ammo Focus, we'll just take the improve stat part... -Cryo Ammo: each cryo ammo attack stacks, making all your -rech, -movement and controls better. Maybe with a certain number of stacks, your attacks may start creating short duration ice slicks to slip up the foe as well. -Incendiary Ammo: each fire ammo attack stacks, making your DoT more reliable. Maybe with a certain number of stacks, your attacks may start creating short duration burn patches that will cause the foe more damage. -Chem Ammo: each chem shot stacks, making your -dmg debuffs more potent. Maybe with a certain number of stacks, toxic clouds that debuff the foe more may start to form. -Standard Ammo: each standard bullet stacks into 'bullet time', adding to your personal defense for each shot. -The design goal of this is one that encourages specialization in ammo choice.

I want the Resistance pistols for dual pistols in I24 or before.