Alright first of all, people only say sword doesn't take skill up close, is because they don't have anything to block. All the skill was used to get to the double gunner, and keep up on them.
I agree, the skill from the sword doesn't come from aim, it comes from strafing, positioning, and cutting off people to get closer to them in order to have the range so that you can kill them.
So Double gunners with much less experience and skill has a very similar kill rate to the top performing double gunners. The skill gap is quite low for double gunning.
I'd disagree here, if you are a bad doublegunner and miss your shots you are useless. If you use Sniper/Blunder and miss both shots then it will take you about 5 seconds to reload both guns and be back in the fight, during that time you can be shot and you can't defend yourself besides running away. And the skill gap is very noticable when it becomes a DG vs DG battle, the better DGer and person with better aim / movement will almost always win because DG is so reliant on good aim.
You made the argument that because this game has bigger hitboxes (I don't know if that's true, but at the very least it doesn't have headshots like other games) And because of this, DGing has a lower skill gap. I agree that it does have a lower skill gap because there are no headshots, but you're making it sound like you could be in NAL, or the top PvPer to ever exist, and you will barely be able to beat someone who just started doublegunning. There is definitely a lower skill gap compared to other games because there is no headshotting, but that doesn't mean that the skill gap is insanely low.
"You have plenty of tools to use." Double gunning is the only weapon combo that requires you to have more tools than your weapons. Doesn't that seem off to you?
Not really, with doublegunning you are extremely vulnerable to close ranged attacks, and with sword you are vulnerable to long ranged attacks. They both have their pros and cons, the only difference that I see with doublegunners vs sword users is that their positioning is way better. DGers realize that if they excel at long range, and have developed good positioning because of that. But sword users rarely go up against a good DGer, because there aren't that many to begin with, so their skillset in positioning isn't that good because they haven't had to practice it.
I have tried to use sword vs a good doublegunner, I'm not saying that it's easy to do and the DGer will probably win most of the time, the problem I'm having is that the ONLY way to be good at DG is to spend hours upon hours practicing and getting good at the game. That's why I have a problem with nerfing DG as the only way for you to be good is to practice and grind your way to the top. With sword you don't need to grind hours upon hours in order to be good with it. You definitely need to grind it out in order to be better, but you can start being, "good" and getting kills immediately when using it because sword is very easy to use compared to doublegun and how long it takes to be good at DG.
I truly believe that double gunning wasn't meant to outshine the sword in this game, but the people use it as an exploit. I truly believe that the majority are meant to use the sword in this game. Sure some people would choose double gunning instead of swords, and that would be for the different playstyle. But the fact of the matter is, people use double gunning because it is easier to get kills that way. Those who don't double gun have a much lower chance, and double gunners know it. another reason people double gun, is because they're only used to shooter games, so they refuse to actually learn how to go in depth in engaging sword battles.
I can see it that way, but if sword was, "meant" to be the staple weapon then the developers would have to come out and say it. I don't believe that the sword should be the go to weapon unless the developers come out and say that they are going to start balancing thing around the sword being your weapon pick. As for, "easier to get kills with," It definitely is easier to get single solo kills, but with the sword you can sword dash or just swing at people and hit multiple people at the same time. It's situational about when sword is better than DG. DG is better when everyone is spread out and not all rushing you at the same time, when you can run away and reload without being shot at or sworded at. And sword is better to use when it is a close range battle like on a ship or below deck, and everyone is grouped up trying to kill you because you can sword dash them. You also have the advantage of being able to sword dash off of islands, boats, and ledges to go board another ship silently.
Here's a clip of me killing 2 people, if I had Blunder/Sniper then I would've been able to kill the guy on wheel immediately, and then run to the front of the boat while reloading my blunder so that I can kill the second person. But I'm running Sword/Sniper, and I know my strengths and weaknesses, so I go down below deck and sword dash them to get the cleave damage and hit both of them at the same time.
Video: https://youtu.be/vY0ZOTRHCC8?t=428
I will definitely agree with you that in a 1v1 situation DG will always have the advantage in a ranged, open area fight. But most of the time when fighting a DGer you will have the numbers advantage because when boarding someone elses boat, you normally can't send all 4 people over to board, you can only send 1 or 2. And doublegun is at a disadvantage when there are multiple people, because while they may be able to kill 1, they now have to reload both guns while the second player can keep attacking them until they've reloaded both weapons. It's about using your skills to your advantage, I've gone up against good DGers when I've boarded and I was still able to kill them by going below deck, using my advantages, waiting for them to shoot before rushing, and sword dashing to get that extra distance. As well as using my secondary weapon when they were too far away for me to hit them. There are a lot of times that sword users will refuse to use their secondary weapon and will only rush with the sword, and they die because of that. If more people used their secondary weapon when the times called for it, I think that sword users would have a much easier time killing DGers.
another reason people double gun, is because they're only used to shooter games, so they refuse to actually learn how to go in depth in engaging sword battles. They give up, and go to what they're used to, and learn that it kills way quicker. You bunny hop, and just keep shooting, without having to fully engage in the battle.
This reminds me of Indiana Jones vs the swordsman.
This game isn't meant to be so dependent on aiming skills. It isn't CoD, or Siege, it's Sea of Thieves; a Pirate game. Some people ask, "Then why is it an option?" Well, the game devs want there to be diversity in the weapons combos that people use. I respect that, but I don't want one combo to be unfair towards the other half of gun combos. I want them to be equal in skill.
I would agree with you if the developers came out and said it was. The developers put doublegun in for a reason, and have kept tweaking it to make it as equal is they can vs all other weapons. I don't believe that this game should be dependent on using a sword or you are at a disadvantage. I think that each weapon combo has their advantages and disadvantages and you can use every combo to great effects provided that you are good at what you do. I could easily use sword and take down a good DGer, as long as I use my range to my advantages. I wouldn't be rushing them down when they have all the range, I would make them come to me by annoying them when I peak out and quickscope snipe them, if I do snipe them, then I could reload my sniper and shoot them again before they have time to heal over 70.
Point being, I believe that Sword users are just as capable to kill DGers as DGers are capable to kill Sword users. If anything Sword users have the advantage because if they're good, they control the pace of the fight. They decide to fight down below in a cramped space, and they decide when to engage. DGers are used to having sword users rush them and never strafe, so it's easy for them to 2 tap people because sword users try to face tank the damage and end up dying because it's too much damage. I use sword pretty often, about as much as I use DG, and I can say that sword is very powerful because of it's ability to hit multiple people at once. DG can't do that, you have 1 shot for 1 person, no more. I think that sword users have an equal if not better chance of killing DGers, but they don't use their advantages to their fullest extent, and either ONLY use sword without swapping to their secondary, or always rush and facetank the damage without waiting for the DGer to get closer.
almost every professional in this game uses double gunning.
Definitely so, but they do it because it allows for sniping and 2 tapping and long ranged fights by killing people in the water, and the ability to kill people when they themselves are on the ladder. Sword is something that you could easily use because of its ability to hit multiple people at one time, but at the cost of range. In NAL and things like that, range is needed at the highest level of play, same with cannonballs, the further away you are and the more accurate, the better chance you have of being able to hit your opponent and not get hit yourself. There have been plenty of times that I've seen top NAL players get boarded and sworded to death because of the chaos that was ensuing. If you watched the Athena trials with all of the streamers, whenever Pace boarded a ship, he was using doublegun. But he died all the time boarding someone elses ship, because he would get outnumbered and slashed to death. Or it would just be 1 person, but he already got sniped so he was low and couldn't fight back, so he got slashed to death by 1 guy.
I think specifically for SOT since it's a CQC game, it is very easy to use sword effectively as long as you are below deck, and make the enemy go below deck.
Many tutorials for sea of thieves online have stated so. Sure the game buffed swords, but the balance isn't quite there yet.
Definitely it is a little better than sword right now, but my thinking for the reason WHY that is is not due to the damage or pros and cons of each weapon, but the people using that weapon. If we had a lot more good sword users who knew every little technique about their weapon and how to exploit every little thing like DGers do, we would have a lot more close fights and a lot more sword kills. Problem being that most people who use sword just slash at the air and rush people when they have a sniper pointed at them, and die.
The sword in my opinion has the same amount of Pros and Cons compared to DG, because what most people forget is that you have a secondary weapon that you can use to do a ranged battle with a DGer. And because of the 1 second delay between gun shots, you easily have enough time to go behind cover before they can shoot their second shot and kill you.
If I was going to fight a DGer, I would use my Pros to my advantage. I would stay below deck and take pop shots with my sniper until I annoy them enough to come down. They have to come down eventually because the ammo and food are down belowdeck. I can keep reloading and healing all I want, they can't do anything about it. I wouldn't rush with the sword until they are close enough, I would make sure that I keep taking 1 shot, then running down below and healing if I need to, or just to reload. The DGers don't have the luxury of running down belowdeck to get food, ammo, or cover when I shoot them, so they are forced to stay up top with food and ammo dwindling with little to no cover while I stay down below and am perfectly safe. Obviously if I were to stay above deck I would have trouble killing them because DG excels at long ranged open area battles, I strip that away from them and now I am the victor.
Your reasoning for why doublegun should only have 5 shots total instead of 10 is because sword should be the favored weapon. Sword should be the weapon that is predicted to win vs doublegun because this is a CQC game where close range is a huge factor in fighting. If that's your reasoning that sword should be favored to win, changing the ammo from 10 to 5 won't do anything. People would still be able to doubletap you in a 1v1 scenario, provided that you stay out in the open and try to kill them that way, you will lose. If you play up top and just rush a DGer, then you will lose.