Thanks for the tips on sword/sword. I was reading about you guys trying D/D on Eles so I was wondering if sword/sword was viable for Mesmers. I do like sword/pistol a lot but do sometimes miss the blocking when I get focused.
Was the Pistrix skill challenge bugged? I was lucky to not encounter any problems (found some people doing it and managed to find the entrance in time to get credit for it).
Sword/sword's definitely viable. Just grab the Blade Training trait (which gains another 40% in usefulness). Since you'll be in melee anytime you're using that set, the block + Blurred Frenzy makes you something of a top-tier "tank," in a bizarre way. You can hold aggro in melee pretty reliably. Definitely recommend Deceptive Evasion unless you can't afford it, for when you need to roll out and recover.
The only time I ever went to Pistrix it was working fine, but I've heard it described as the most consistently-bugged point in the game. I think it's funny that they just killed him and have you tag his corpse for the SP now. Better be belly up or I'm canceling my sub
edit: I will never relinquish my Scepter, court! dat dodge offset
Who's gonna buy us a new Box o' Fun?