Good day! It’s Librarian Husky. What is the most effective combo, and which has the fastest Time to Kill? Join me as I dive into the data you need to know. All tests were performed without any exploits or animation cancels. All times are as accurate as possible, with the timer starting the frame before the attack animation and the frame after the killing blow makes contact. It’s not 100% accurate due to latency and frame rate, but they’re pretty close. Also, damage to PVE is different from players, so these values are only for players. One final note: food will be briefly discussed in this guide, but it won’t be a focus.

The Blunderbuss

The Blunderbuss has the highest damage and shortest Time to Kill in Sea of Thieves, so in terms of comparisons, it’s largely null and void. Part of this is because the spread is random, but it’s also important to know that it’s the only starting weapon capable of a single shot to kill. There’s no real data for the damage of this other than it shoots 10 pellets, and it does 10 damage for each pellet, so all 10 need to hit for a one-shot kill to occur. As the spread is random and hit registration issues are a thing in Sea of Thieves, it can feel like the most inconsistent gun in the game. It’s also currently the only weapon in the game with knockback.

The Flintlock Pistol

It’s a two-shot kill, with each shot doing 55 damage to a player. It has the quickest reload in the game and the quickest switch time, tied with a Double Barrel Flintlock. The projectile speed and worst range do play into the gun’s weaknesses since the Eye of Reach delivers more reliable damage for not much difference in handling speed. Again, you’ll see about that shortly.

The Eye of Reach

The Eye of Reach has the quickest projectile speed in the game, the furthest range, and the least bullet drop. It also has the highest damage in a single shot with 70 damage per hit. It has the slowest reload for a single shot, but overall the Double Barrel Flintlock will be slower if both shots need to be reloaded. Despite this, the Eye of Reach is one of the most consistent and reliable weapons at any range due to its quick ADS time, fast projectile speed, range, and decent handling stats.

The Cutlass

The Cutlass has two forms of damage: single swipes or the charged sword lunge. Each sword swipe does 25 damage, making it a four-shot kill. The sword lunge will do 60 damage. It also has the ability to block, which blocks are the Cutlass strikes, light stabs from the throwing knife, and throws from the throwing knife. However, it will not block both charged attacks from the Cutlass or the knife.

The Double Barrel Flintlock

The Double Barrel Flintlock does 40 damage per shot. It has the same projectile speed as the regular flintlock and roughly the same hip-fire speed. The charged double shot does 80 damage, with no bonus or penalty for using this. It does have the slowest reload, lowering its Time to Kill significantly.

Time to Kill and Weapon Effectiveness

You see the Time to Kill. The light stab does 13 to 14 damage and is an abysmal eight-shot kill, putting it as the slowest Time to Kill in the game. However, it also has the potential for a very fast Time to Kill. The throw does 65 damage when it hits the target, though this has a high chance to fail due to hit registration issues and the slowest projectile speed in the game. We tested the damage by being hit by a throwing knife and eating two bananas. I was left just slightly below maximum health since bananas award 20 health.

Heavy Stab

The heavy stab does 70 damage. We tested this using the same method: a pomegranate will heal 40 damage, and a banana will put you below full health, which should award you 60 health in total. The heavy stab cannot be interrupted, which is a major benefit over the Cutlass lunge.

Time to Kill for Solo Weapons

Moving on, let’s talk about some Time to Kills for the solo weapons. In this section, I’m going over the Time to Kill for each weapon, not including the Blunderbuss due to the potential for an instant kill. There is a margin of error due to the limitations of the editing software and the slightly different ranges, but in practice, these should be mostly correct.

Slowest Time to Kill

Starting with the slowest Time to Kill, the double pistol is the slowest with three single shots. It’s 307 frames, or roughly 5.11 seconds, as is the double pistol charge then single shot.

Throwing Knife Light Stab

Next, we have the throwing knife light stab at 288 frames, or 4.8 seconds. The Eye of Reach is 229 frames, or around 3.82 seconds.

Throwing Knife Double Heavy Stab

The throwing knife double heavy stab is 199 frames, or 3.32 seconds. The throwing knife heavy stab plus a throw is 194 frames, or 3.23 seconds.

The Sword

The sword is 164 frames, or around 2.73 seconds. The Flintlock is 155 frames, or around 2.58 seconds, even at a slightly further distance.

Time to Kill for Weapon Combos

The throwing knife with two throws is 150 frames, or 2.5 seconds, and that is with a slower projectile speed than the pistol. Of course, we have the Blunderbuss, which is instant if you score a one-shot kill. It’s interesting that the throwing knife seems to be quicker to throw on the second and subsequent throws. It takes around 50 frames before the first throw begins and then 30 frames before the second throw animation can begin. This varies since we don’t know when the second animation truly begins, but you can definitely feel this in the game.

Fastest Time to Kill

The fastest Time to Kill is the throwing knife, although this varies with range and requires a lot of skill to effectively aim and hit two knives in that time. The Flintlock will most likely be easier and more consistent to hit. The double Flintlock is woeful, as is the light stab from the throwing knife, but we’ll see how the dynamic changes when we pair the weapons together.

Time to Kill for Weapon Pairs

Moving on, let’s talk about Time to Kills for weapon pairs. The Blunderbuss with a double pistol kills in 118 frames, or 1.97 seconds. The Blunderbuss with the Eye of Reach is 110 frames, or 1.83 seconds, but if you lead with the Eye of Reach, this is increased to 123 frames, or 2.05 seconds. The Blunderbuss with a throwing knife throw is 120 frames, or 2 seconds, with the inverse being 153 frames, or 2.55 seconds. The Blunderbuss with the pistol is 99 frames, or 1.65 seconds, but if you lead with a pistol and ADS with both, it’s 133 frames, or 2.21 seconds.

Time to Kill: Weapon Combinations

If you hip fire with both, you get a time of 84 frames, or 1.4 seconds, but good luck getting a kill from the hip with the Blunderbuss. The Eye of Reach and Pistol is 111 frames, or 1.85 seconds. It’s worth noting if you ADS with the Flintlock, you get a slightly slower kill time of 2.06 seconds. However, if you lead with the pistol, you can get a blazing time of 96 frames, or 1.6 seconds.

Double Barrel and Eye of Reach

The Eye of Reach and double barrel with ADS is 110 frames, or 1.83 seconds, and with hip fire, it’s 1.8 seconds, so the penalty for ADS with a double barrel is less than the normal Flintlock. The Eye of Reach and then throwing knife is 167 frames, or 2.78 seconds. The throwing knife and then double barrel is 153 frames, or 2.55 seconds, and the inverse is 99 frames, or 1.65 seconds, showing how slow the initial throw is for the knife.

Double Pistol and Heavy Stab

The double pistol with a follow-up heavy stab is 115 frames, or 1.92 seconds, which is really fast. However, the inverse is an incredibly slow 244 frames, or 4.07 seconds. The Flintlock and double pistol kill in 185 frames, or 3.08 seconds. Keep in mind this is a three-shot kill.

Fastest Kill Times

Overall, the quickest kill time for a combo is the pistol and Blunderbuss when firing from the hip, but the most realistic Time to Kill is 1.6 seconds if you lead with a pistol and then switch to the Eye of Reach. Something I’ve noticed with the Eye of Reach is that if you switch to it after firing a weapon, you can fire the gun sooner when doing the ADS animation. The same is true for the throwing knife and Blunderbuss. It seems this could be a bug, but it only applies to the guns you have to ADS with to use effectively.

Optimal Loadouts

In that case, the pistol and Eye of Reach have the fastest Time to Kill, but given the Blunderbuss‘s one-shot capabilities, you are better off using that first and then the Eye of Reach. It’s no wonder it’s been the dominant loadout for double gunners everywhere. However, as a single-use weapon, the throwing knife does have the best Time to Kill, not including the Blunderbuss.

Consistency and Versatility of Weapons

If you can land two Throwing Knives without any delays in your aiming, considering hit registration and the versatility of the weapon, the sword is likely the best all-around weapon in the consistency category. The double flintlock is the worst aside from one aspect, and you’re going to want to hear this. You can hold the charge indefinitely; if we remove the charging animation from the Time to Kill, you can technically get a stupidly fast kill with a double pistol and a follow-up weapon.

Fast Kill Times with Different Weapons

Keep in mind, when you hit someone with it, they have to eat a pineapple or better to survive a follow-up hit, and by the time they react to this, you’ve already killed them. Just for fun, and it’s probably not going to be applied in real life, here are some stupid kill times. With the Eye of Reach as a secondary, it’s 102 frames or 1.7 seconds. With the throwing knife, it’s 101 frames or 1.66 seconds. With the pistol as a secondary, it’s 96 frames or 1.6 seconds. With the Blunderbuss as a secondary, you have to hit just two pellets, and it will kill in 95 frames or 1.58 seconds.

Sword: The Fastest Kill

This next bit is astonishing. If people can pull this off in the future, it’s going to be a pain for boarding. If you’re close enough to smell what they had for breakfast, a sword will do it in a ridiculous 68 frames or 1.13 seconds, which is very possible for people boarding you on the ladder. Despite its drawbacks, the double barrel can get some gnarly kills when used like this. Outside of this, it’s consistently the worst weapon with no benefits over its single-barrel cousin.

Conclusion on Weapon Stats

With that said, these are all the stats you need regarding the new weapons and the old weapons. It’s funny how nothing has really changed in terms of the meta unless you want to cheese people with a double barrel.

Thank you for diving into our guide! Discover our exceptional Sea of thieves boosting services and elevate your gaming experience with our top-tier boosts.