Are guns really THAT bad?

[Kreddi]

Currently sitting at lvl 9, haven't reached Twin Elms yet.
Playing at normal difficulty, so ultimate min/maxing doesn't seem neccessary as of yet.
Most sources I've seen, says that guns fall apart in lategame. To which degree is that true?
Do they become undeniably inferior or just slightly less efficient?

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

It can't be generalized. Which "guns" exactly?

Many players use arquebus and crossbow as combat openers to do burst damage against single enemies, then switch to another weapon. Also works great for solo runs.

[Kreddi]

I was thinking any of the powder weaponry.
Was hoping to use a blunderbuss or pistol as the primary weapon, ie not shooting once then swapping out for something else.
I understand it's much more beneficial to swap it out to skip the reload, but that's not really how I wanna play it

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Well, then you will be limited to Pierce damage and slow reload speed. Chanter can give some support to ranged attackers, but the faster ranged weapons will be more efficient.

[oldrocker99]

Oh, the double meaning of this thread's title...

[Citronvand]

Guns bad? I would beg to differ. I loved my Rogue with a arquebus: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1687997881

[ÄmJii]

On last playthrough (PoTD difficulty) I had Durance using arquebus rifles. I enchanted his weapon with Acid Lash and used Chanter with Sure Knock & Mith Fyr (party-AoE Fire Lash) chants, he kept shelling out decent damage through entire game even against Pierce immune enemies.

I wouldn't say they "fall apart", they're totally viable.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Durance does more total damage with swords - Priest of Magran talent covers both Arquebus and Sword with the stacking +10 Accuracy bonus.

Though, if comparing with the total damage of fast warriors, the slow ranged weapons are inefficient.

[Kreddi]

Originally posted by Citronvand:

Guns bad? I would beg to differ. I loved my Rogue with a arquebus: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1687997881

I unfortunately don't have a rogue in my party. My gun wielders are currently Kana and Sagani, and so far I'm having mixed emotions about it.
Sometimes they do very well, sometimes they don't. I want to squeeze out all the value from Sure-Handed Ila, but compared to the consistent performance I've noticed from bows? Maybe it takes another level of planing I've failed to apply, to really shine.

[A]

I'm just at the start of Act III myself, I just upped the difficulty to normal so I'll be figuring it out myself, but I have to say that I enjoy using arquebus 5 members of my party, they essentially form a firing line at the back while the tank pulls or engages enemies. I let pallegina and my main cypher go into melee if it's getting serious, but frankly aesthetic wise the sound of gunfire and the firing line is just pleasing to me, not to mention the burst on one guy is satisfying.

[M3chaMike]

There's a build for Cipher that's called a "Gunmage". I've found it to be quite effective. Often times as long as I keep my Cipher away from melee they're the most effective character in the game. So yeah, as long as you are careful and plan how you build for it, you can definitely use guns well.

[Nemo, Forevermore]

Considering my highest crit was a custom rogue with a pistol doing 162.7 dmg, I don't really see a problem with guns.

[ÄmJii]

Originally posted by D'amarr from Darshiva:

Durance does more total damage with swords - Priest of Magran talent covers both Arquebus and Sword with the stacking +10 Accuracy bonus.

Though, if comparing with the total damage of fast warriors, the slow ranged weapons are inefficient.

Of course fast hitting swords will out-DPS guns due to reload speed, but I used Durance as a buffer & healer. Getting those crucial spells interrupted/delayed is quite a death sentence on higher difficulties, therefore I'd rather have him in the back-row where he can fling spells at his own leisure.