Gunslinger PvP Matchups

Gunslinger's range and speed combined with good spacing on the player's side can make dealing with her nigh impossible for certain classes; maintaining space in her effective range while staying out of her enemies' is key. In rifle stance she can also capitalise on catches from her teammates while not exposing herself to being punished for it.

Her weakness when fighting is found in her reliance on Paralysis for catches. Classes that are both decently mobile and have an abundance of Paralysis Immunity can prove difficult for Gunslinger to deal with. Her lack of any fast Push skills can also result in some tough situations where the only option is to run.

Difficulty Level: Average

Gunlancer's identity and abundance of immunities make it difficult to get much value out of attempting to fight him.

While Gunlancer is a slow class and thus isn't very threatening to Gunslinger in the sense that he cannot easily focus her down, Gunslinger lacks the tool to really pose much of a threat to Gunlancer in return. Freeze Grenade is the only thing Gunlancer has to look out for, and this is easy to react to with his low cooldown Space Dash.

This matchup is considered even because neither class has any real benefit from trying to duel one another. At range, Gunslinger can poke with rifle skills but this can be dealt with by Counter Gunlance. While Gunslinger is in Hook Chain range she is in danger of being caught and taking a large amount of damage from the Gunlancer combo, especially factoring in her low base HP and defence.

Due to Gunlancer's health and defence the risk vs reward is typically skewed in his favour. Gunslinger can get more value out of fighting an easier to hit, lower defence class, while Gunlancer similarly would struggle in chasing with his limited mobility and would prefer to peel or support elsewhere.

Gunslinger's best plan of action in this matchup is staying out of Gunlancer's range and using AT02 Grenade to stop him from damaging teammates with Surge Cannon.

Difficulty Level: Favorable

Berserker requires a lot of patience to fight correctly, but once he uses his abilities there is little he can do to defend himself. His damage is high - especially against a low defence class like Gunslinger - but she has the ability to move around Berserker and stall until he is out of cooldowns.

Maintaining good spacing and not being overzealous is key. Staying out of Shoulder Charge and Mountain Crash range is a must as Gunslinger cannot afford to be caught in this matchup. Berserker cooldowns are long and tracking them can help in knowing when the right time to punish him is.

Berserker skills have a lot of Paralysis Immunity so Freeze Grenade is her main punishing tool against him. She cannot directly threaten Berserker for using his skills without this and should instead look to wait until he is trying to retreat to go on the offensive.

Once Shoulder Charge is used Gunslinger can move closer to threaten with Death Fire, although just holding the cooldown and walking up may prove better, as the mental load on the Berserker trying to predict its use may result in suboptimal skill usage from his end - and with long cooldowns this makes it even easier to approach after. Be wary of entering Tempest Slash and Mountain Crash range, but with them out of the way it is an easy engage.

Gunslinger's best plan of action in this matchup is playing to outlast Berserker's cooldowns and going in once he has nothing left. While he is in identity waiting it out is recommended as his increased attack speed allows him to keep up with even Gunslinger's mobility, so focusing on ranged peel with Push and Hard CC to support teammates is best.

Difficulty Level: Favorable

Destroyer's only real threat against Gunslinger is catching her off guard with Running Crash, besides this she can remain untouchable to Destroyer.

Destroyer can be kited and poked down with rifle stance, as his lack of speed makes punishing Gunslinger difficult. With Endure Pain however, Destoyer can completely zone off Gunslinger as she is no threat to him and can force out her cooldowns simply by walking towards her. Once Endure Pain is over, Gunslinger can resume poking and threatening from range. It is very important not to get close enough for Destroyer to hit Gunslinger with Power Shoulder.

Lack of fast Push skills means Gunslinger has no threat in close range against Destroyer so maintaining the long to mid range is a must. This isn't much of an issue though, as it may cause the Destroyer to look to chase and overcommit, making punishing after easier.

Gunslinger's best gameplan in this matchup is poking from a safe distance while stopping Destroyer's burst with Freeze Grenade if teammates are caught. Accepting that there is no interaction with Endure Pain and running away from him when it is up is ideal.

Difficulty Level: Favorable

Paladin's lack of Paralysis Immunity makes him very easy for Gunslinger to focus and interrupt throughout the game.

Gunslinger can easily rushdown a Paladin and his responses to her are both predictable and reactable. Charge is easy to see and respond to, and once this is used he has no more options to run away if he is running a standard build.

Wrath of God can come out faster than expected so staying out of its range is wise. Even if the skill is not Paralysis immune it might trade with Gunslinger and Paladin can capitalise with Holy Sword. Both Execution of Justice and Godsent Law can be punished with Freeze Grenade if Paladin has no Space Dash available.

The issue in this matchup is the value of hitting Paladin can be very low. With constant shields and his damage reduction, Gunslinger has to spend a lot to get high damage off on Paladin.

Gunslinger's best gameplan in this matchup is to constantly harass Paladin as he has very few options to contest besides using damage reduction and shields to negate her damage. Then, once he uses his skills to protect himself, Gunslinger can change focus and burst down other enemies that won't have protection from the Paladin.

There is a choice of using damage cooldowns despite any shields or damage reduction or baiting those defensive cooldowns out and punishing once Paladin is left with nothing, but this may leave time for the opposing team to come to Paladin's aid. Always evaluate how much value is gained from each engage and play accordingly.

Difficulty Level: Hard

Wardancer has a large amount of Paralysis Immunity, combined with strong Push skills make her very threatening.

Wardancer has skills that are very hard for Gunslinger to deal with. Moon Flash Kick is one of the most oppressing skills for Gunslinger, having Paralysis Immunity combined with Push and burst movement means the only response to this is to predict it or stay out of range.

The lack of fast Push skills on Gunslinger's side means she cannot threaten reckless use of skills like Phoenix Advent and Lightning Kick. While it is not in standard builds, Esoteric Skill: Lightning Strike also has hidden Paralysis Immunity meaning Gunslinger has no response to this skill if Wardancer get in range outside of using Space Dash.

Gunslinger's best gameplan in this matchup is staying away from Wardancer as much as possible. There are openings where you can punish her such as during Esoteric Skill: Call of the Wind God or Sweeping Hidden Dragon where Wardancer is animation locked, but both are still Paralysis Immune and rely on rifle skills or Hard CC to capitalise on. Outside of these moments, Wardancer is difficult to overcome and the risk of trying to duel her is usually not worth it.

Difficulty Level: Hard

Striker has all the tools needed to shut Gunslinger down while keeping himself safe, with this being Gunslinger's worst matchup.

Striker has plenty of Paralysis immunities and Pushes combined with mobility that rivals Gunslinger's. Gunslinger is on the backfoot in this matchup and has to respect Striker at all times, as he leaves almost no openings for her to punish and can fully dictate how the fight plays out due to the low cooldown and immunity provided by Lightning Kick and Moon Flash Kick.

The matchup has the same issues as Wardancer but Striker has the additional threat of Esoteric Skill: Lightning Tiger Strike and Storm Dragon Kick, both tools that allow Striker to chase down or run away from Gunslinger with little risk for doing so.

The only points in which Gunslinger can punish Striker are during Swift Wind Kick and Phoenix Advent both of which can only be reliably punished with Freeze Grenade. While Swift Wind Kick is easy to see and punish as Striker is animation locked, Phoenix Advent requires Gunslinger to predict where Striker will land and have fast enough reaction to react and account for the travel time of the grenade. It is possible for Striker to fake out Gunslinger with Phoenix Advent, resulting in Gunslinger wasting the only tool she has to reliably contest Striker.

Gunslinger's best gameplan in this matchup is staying in a position where her teammates can assist her if Striker engages on her. With good skill usage it is possible to come out of the duel unscathed but it is unlikely she will be able to counter engage due to Striker low cooldowns and disengage potential.

Difficulty Level: Favorable

Scrapper has strong tools to keep Gunslinger wary but doesn't quite have the mobility to keep up with Gunslinger and has obvious punish points.

Scrapper's biggest threat to Gunslinger is Charging Blow, a low cooldown Paralysis Immune dash that is also a Push. If Gunslinger can stay out of this skill's range or react with immunities, Scrapper's pressure is massively diminished. Her other engages - such as Dragon Advent and Potent Rising Fist - can be reacted to easily and punished with Freeze Grenade. They are fairly slow skills and even if grenade is on cooldown Gunslinger can use her mobility to run away.

Gunslinger's best gameplan in this matchup is staying out of Charging Blow range and reacting to what Scrapper does. The rest of her kit can be reacted to and punished or avoided by Gunslinger very easily.

Difficulty Level: Favorable

Soulfist lacks enough Paralysis Immune to fight Gunslinger and the small amount she does have can be easily dealt with.

Soulfist's lack of Paralysis Immune means she is an easy target for Gunslinger to harass, with Flash Step being Soulfist's only way to get away from Gunslinger. Even so, Gunslinger has the mobility to stay on Soulfist regardless. Once Flash Step is down there isn't much else Soulfist can do besides Magnetic Palm, but this leaves her open to Freeze Grenade.

It's best not to get too reckless however as Soulfist has Force Orb to control space and Lightning Palm if Gunslinger plays too carelessly. If Gunslinger is caught by Soulfist - especially if she is in max Hype - it will almost certainly be fatal.

Gunslinger's best gameplan in this matchup is to rushdown Soulfist while staying out of Lightning Palm range. It's best to keep away from Soulfist during max Hype as the risk vs reward becomes heavily skewed in Soulfist's favour due to the insane damage and low cooldowns. It is a highly advantageous matchup, but it needs to be played around the clock of Soulfist's identity.

Difficulty Level: Hard

Glavier can be very challenging for Gunslinger to deal with due to her high mobility able to rival's Gunslinger's along with plenty of Paralysis Immunities and generally strong dueling skills.

Due to Glavier's strong duelling potential this matchup is fairly hard and is usually not worth Gunslinger trying to initiate. Glavier's mobility is comparable to Gunslinger's. Spear Dive has a long animation and can outlast Gunslinger's immunities and Thorn Jab has deceptively large range and cannot be reacted to.

Gunslinger wants to use her range to stay outside of Dragonscale Defense at all times to avoid being stunned on counter and always be moving perpendicular to Glavier to avoid Flash Kick.

Gunslinger's best gameplan in this matchup is to maintain spacing and focus on running away as Glavier doesn't quite have the rushdown threat of Wardancer or Striker, so it is more difficult for her to catch. The risk/reward of trying to take a fair duel vs Glavier is usually not worth it; run away while she's near and peel her off of teammates when she goes for her burst skills like Raging Dragon Slash and Red Dragon's Horn, as neither has Paralysis Immunity.

Difficulty Level: Average

A matchup that requires patience and excellent spacing to play effectively. Gunslinger cannot afford to make any mistakes in this matchup lest she risks losing over half her health, or potentially even dying in one combo.

This matchup edges towards being unfavourable due to Maelstrom, as while it is up, Gunslinger cannot contest Deathblade at all and is forced to respect and use cooldowns to run away. While running form Deathblade, Gunslinger needs to ensure she doesn't back herself into a corner as this can lead to inescapable situations while mobility skills are on cooldown.

When Maelstrom isn't in play Gunslinger can effectively avoid all of Deathblade's skills and punish her animation locks with Freeze Grenade. Though this can be difficult if Deathblade manages her cooldowns well as her space dash cooldown is on an insanely low 5 second cooldown.

Gunslinger's best gameplan in this matchup is to stay far away from Deathblade while Maelstrom is up and play just outside of Surprise Attack range on engage. Deathblade has a lot of build diversity and due to this the optimal spacing can vary, as different skills may be punishable by Paralysis so look to identify critical points to interrupt and engage depending on build and Maelstrom cooldown.

Difficulty Level: Average

A very even matchup that will usually fall down to RPS situations and cooldown management.

Shadowhunter can have difficulty catching Gunslinger but is effective at running away herself. If both choose to take the duel the Gunslinger needs to be wary of Demonic Clone and Rising Claw these are both Paralysis Immune Push skills and are Shadowhunter's strongest tools against Gunslinger.

Neither class really wants to play the ranged game as both are effective at interrupting the other with Grind Chain and Quick Step.

While Shadowhunter is in Demon form she is completely Paralysis immune and Gunslinger cannot contest, so running away is the only option available.

Gunslinger's best gameplan in this matchup is to not commit too hard until both Demonic Clone and Rising Claw are used. If the Shadowhunter is conservative with Demonic Clone it is best to not force fights too much, but once used it is possible to begin rushing down Shadowhunter. Even if the duel is lost, the decrease in damage taken from no Demonic Clone makes the risk vs reward in this instance favour Gunslinger more.

Difficulty Level: Hard

Reaper runs Gunslinger's usual gameplan better than she does, leading to a matchup where neither can catch the other but Reaper wins if Gunslinger overcommitts.

Reaper has all the tools needed to keep Gunslinger away from her: a lot of her kit (most notably her mobility) is Paralysis Immune, meaning Gunslinger can't catch Reaper unless she makes a mistake. Likewise, Gunslinger can avoid Reaper's catching skills, Nightmare and Shadow Double, so neither can easily catch the other.

Reaper can respond to Gunslinger overcommitting with Shadow Trap and win the duel while Gunslinger does not have a similar skill to counter Reaper's engages.

The gameplan in this matchup is playing to not lose as opposed to playing to win. Not moving into Reaper and allowing her to catch with Shadow Trap is vital, as if Reaper gets impatient and uses Shadow Trap offensively this is when Gunslinger can take the lead and win engages with high damage vs Reaper's low HP and defence.

Difficulty Level: Favorable

Sharpshooter cannot threaten Gunslinger in a direct 1v1 and his burst skills are trivial to interrupt, as none have Paralysis Immunity bar his identity.

Sharpshooter poses little to no threat to Gunslinger in a duel. Being mindful of Claymore Mine is all Gunslinger needs to beat Sharpshooter.

As a class, Sharpshooter plays very ranged and functions as a disruptor by using his Hard CC to peel and trying to poke with Charged Shot and Snipe from range, both of which are very easily interrupted due to Gunslinger's speed. She can react and punish from full screen with little difficulty.

Gunslinger's best gameplan is this matchup is harassing Sharpshooter while being careful not to get hit by any of his stuns. Alternatively, if he doesn't have a backline support with him, Gunslinger can play outside of his vision and punish as soon as he begins charging Snipe or Charged Shot, invalidating his presence in the game.

Difficulty Level: Average

Deadeye shares a lot of tools with Gunslinger. While Gunslinger can keep herself safe, Deadeye has more direct threat in close range.

Gunslinger needs to keep her distance and stay away from Enforce Execution to win in this matchup. While these classes share a lot of skills, Gunslinger has more Paralysis Immunity to stall out Deadeye's skills. Using only Paralysis Immunity over Push can be a risk however, as getting caught by Enforce Execution knockup leads into guaranteed damage and with Gunslinger's low defence she cannot afford to get hit by this.

In the mid to long range Gunslinger can make use of sniper stance better than Deadeye as Focused Shot is much faster in apply cc/push compared to Aimed Shot.

If Deadeye uses Catastrophe it is punishable with Hard CC as Deadeye cannot act until the claymores are shot. The key punish point that both classes look for is Dexterous Shot, which can be responded to by the opposing class with their own Dexterous Shot. The first one to use it is typically the one to lose unless they are willing to immediately cancel into Space Dash, which puts them at a disadvantage against Freeze Grenade after.

Gunslinger's best gameplan in this matchup is to play in mid to long range and avoid Enforce Execution. Once it is down, Gunslinger can move into close range and make use of Bullet Rain to stall until Deadeye commits to Dexterous Shot.

Difficulty Level: Favorable

Artillerist poses little to no threat to Gunslinger in duels and can easily be peeled off from teammates.

Gunslinger only has to look out for Swing, as staying out of its range means Artillerist has no way to beat Gunslinger. If Swing is down, Gunslinger can very easilly harass and punish Artillerist as he has no mobility outside of his Space Dash, making anything he does a high commit and therefore easy to interrupt with AT02 Grenade.

Due to Artillerist not being able to threaten Gunslinger himself he will usually focus on teammates. As his combo takes a long time to setup though, it can be stopped with Perfect Shot or Focused Shot if he doesn't have Energy Field up. If Energy Field is up, Gunslinger has Freeze Grenade and Flash to stop him regardless.

Gunslinger's best gameplan in this matchup is to bully Artillerist while being mindful of his Hard CC. Make sure to keep a form of CC up at all times to stop him combo if any teammates are caught.

Difficulty Level: Favorable

Machinist has tools that can keep him safe and effectively counter engages, but Gunslinger has a noticeable advantage on rushdown due to her Paralysis and mobility.

Machinist lacks direct threats to Gunslinger in a duel as he has little close range threat and plays far instead. It is trivial to rush him down given his lack of Paralysis Immunity, but always be mindful of Drone skills such as Command: Baby Drones as even when hit they will always execute to completion after activation. This frame one uninterruptable property to skills can make it difficult to get a clean hit on him.

Gunslinger lacks a knockup to prevent Machinist running away with his mobility skills so she is forced to commit if she wants to catch Matchinist, but other than mobility it is simple to catch. Just be mindful of Drones.

Gunslinger's best gameplan in this matchup is between rushing him down or playing out of his range to avoid interaction until you know he has used his mobility. Machinist can only peel from range to threaten Gunslinger so he is typically not a priority. Rushing him down can be rewarding due to his low defences and Gunslinger is typically not under too much threat even if Machinist wins the duel unless he has another backline class that can assist him.

Difficulty Level: Average

Arcanist and Gunslinger both rely on Paralysis for catches, lack Push skills and have an abundance of Paralysis Immunities, making it difficult to catch one another. Gunslinger gains an edge simply due to having more skills at her disposal.

Both classes are strong at all ranges and have similar weaknesses, but the duel between these two classes is favoured to Gunslinger as she can outlast Arcanist's cooldowns. Be wary of misplays as Dark Resurrection is a fast and effective ranged catch and being caught out of Paralysis Immunity for even a short time allows Unlimited Shuffle to hit.

Neither class can really end a duel early and most of the time the majority of both classes' cooldowns will be used before the duel can be won. Gunslinger can make use of the fact she doesn't use her damage abilities to win trades as opposed to Arcanist who will be forced to use Dark Resurrection and Dancing of Spineflower to maintain Paralysis Immunity. This means that as the duel goes on the risk vs reward greatly shifts to being in Gunslinger's favour as Arcanist has fewer skills to combo with even if she manages a catch.

Gunslinger's best gameplan in this matchup is to outlast Arcanists cooldowns and win the war of attrition. Stay wary and keep mobility cooldowns up for moving out of Dark Resurrection's Hard CC (it does not true combo) and the Push from Call of Destiny. If Arcanist is ever caught using Unlimited Shuffle without Space Dash, she is entirely locked into the skill for over 3 seconds and can be easily punished.

Difficulty Level: Favorable

Bard offers little to no threat in a duel but has all the tools needed to make herself an undesirable target and force out a lot of cooldowns from Gunslinger.

The only danger in this matchup is Prelude of Storm, a fast stun with an absurdly large hitbox that isn't visually accurate. Bard will typically be using this to peel teammates and even in a duel setting it can be hard react to in time to dodge it.

Despite appearing to be a fragile class Bard has plenty of immunities that make her hard to catch, March especially makes Bard almost untouchable for Gunslinger due to Gunslinger's lack of large AoEs and the sustained Paralysis Immunity.

Although hard to catch, hitting Bard is usually very high value as she has the lowest health and defence in the game, focusing instead on supporting teammates. Taking her out of the game by forcing her to focus on staying alive means she is unable to add value to her team.

Gunslinger's best gameplan in this matchup will ride on Bard's team moreso than the Bard herself. Rushdown early and gauge how her teammates respond: if they are unwilling to help Bard, Gunslinger can effectively harass Bard even if she has to spend a lot of cooldowns to catch her. If teammates respect the approach and peel effectively, it is wiser to be more selective about when to harass Bard and use engages to bait enemies away from the frontline instead.

Difficulty Level: Favorable

Sorceress has a low cooldown tools that help her stay safe from Gunslinger, but with little patience the Gunslinger can bait out Sorceress's cooldowns and catch her without much risk.

The Sorceress matchup rides on Seraphic Hail and Reverse Gravity, as these two skills are Paralysis Immune and inflict Push, making it critical to play around them for an effective engage. If Gunslinger can avoid this she can then rush Sorceress down rather easily and capitalise on the mage's low HP and defence.

Gunslinger still needs to look out for Lightning Vortex when at range, as while the skill itself is not that deadly due to the amount of Paralysis Immunity Gunslinger has, the Paralyze pod can cause an instant stun that cannot really be played around by either class. Additionally, due to the obvious animation of Lightning Vortex, reacting to it can be an ideal point to engage and punish.

With identity gauge Sorceress can be very difficult to catch but this can also be used to try and force her into unfavourable situations by dashing to suboptimal locations. Just be mindful as engages may prove futile while she has gauge up.

Gunslinger's best gameplan in this matchup is to focus the Sorceress if she has no identity gauge, ideally committing with Quick Step to account for Sorceress' Pushes. When Sorceress has enough gauge for dashes she still needs to be approached so that she is forced to use it, but committing too much to her is not usually worth it. Her combo can be easily stopped due to having no immunity in her main damage skills, so playing peel may be preferable when she has identity to dash away with.

Difficulty Level: Favorable

Summoner can be difficult to rush down due to her pets, but Gunslinger can play ranged and Summoner doesn't have the tools to counter outside of high cooldown pet abilities.

Summoner's lack of mobility makes her very easy to zone out and poke with rifle skills. Once her space dash she is very easy to focus and nearly guaranteed to be caught so long as one is mindful of Electricity Release. She has some strong defensive tools in Released Will and Steed Charge, but both of can be dealt with by Quick Step, and if Steed Charge is used then Gunslinger gets a free punish due to its lack of Paralysis Immunity. Even if Released Will isn't easily punishable, once it is used the Summoner is at the mercy of Gunslinger's teammates, as that is her only Push Immune outside of identity in standard builds.

Gunslinger's best gameplan in this matchup is to chase down Summoner while keeping pets in mind, as they are her primary ranged punish options. Try to wait out Reine's Protection and bait pet skills, but other than that it is generally safe to either poke from range or melee engage when Summoner is out of position.