Iirc Z doesn’t like long posts so let’s see if I can boil this down
Gun and Shield damage options
- Stronghold Puri (Pally less so)
- Rutnick Pally (but awful in SR/CR)
Pros of G&S
- Shotgun WPS still shoot 2x, clear advantage over dual pistol since SH/Watcher/Wrathguard are giving a bunch of extra flat. This is why the two above can kinda sorta hang
- Maybe some defense? But this can be a trap
Cons of G&S
- Non-shotgun WPS shoot like 2 handers (1-3 bullets vs 2-4) but with less damage and usually no skill mods. Less damage than dual wield due to lost bullets, less than 2 hander because flat bonuses don’t make up the difference
- Limited WPS - SH has set 25%, others get no item support except jaxxon, which is very niche at this point after a couple nerfs. No plunderer, no pyro/korvaak, no shadowflame. Can sometimes struggle to cap
- All these item WPS carry passthrough, so even if you’re shooting less, at least you get some AoE
- Damage lowers enough that the extra tank from shield doesn’t matter, you’ll die unless you go mega defense and enjoy watching netflix on the side while you kill Ravager for 6 minutes
Eard’s “I’m not a PM” dream scenario
- Somehow support passthrough shotgun WPS on the very small amount of gun and shield setups we have. It’s the best niche they have compared to dual or 2 hander but as of now they either have it built in or no practical way to get support. At minimum open up the existing item options to them
