Brace of Pistols

Lore & Background

In the grim streets of Ubersreik and the blighted wilds beyond, a Witch Hunter's pistols are more than tools—they are instruments of faith. Saltzpyre's brace is a matched pair, each barrel etched with prayers to Sigmar and blessed by a priest of the Order. The pistols are kept clean and ready, their flintlocks maintained with the same devotion he brings to his interrogations. To draw both is a declaration: no heretic shall escape the judgment of a single shot.

These weapons are not for the faint of heart. The Brace of Pistols demands a steady hand and a quick eye, as each shot must count. Saltzpyre often uses them to execute a sudden charge or to finish a fleeing mutant, the twin reports echoing like a war cry. In the chaos of battle, the brace is a symbol of his dual nature—the scholar who studies the enemy and the executioner who ends them.

The pistols are a relic of a harsher age, when a Witch Hunter might face a coven alone. They represent the old ways: personal, direct, and final. Saltzpyre carries them as a reminder that even in a world of sorcery and plague, a well-aimed ball of lead can still decide a soul's fate.

In Their Own Story

The rain-slicked cobbles of the market square stank of rot and fear. Saltzpyre stood over the twitching corpse of a Plague Monk, smoke curling from the muzzles of his brace. 'Sigmar's judgment is swift,' he muttered, holstering one pistol as he scanned the shadows. From a second-story window, a ratling gunner opened fire—a chattering storm of lead that chewed the stone where he'd stood. Saltzpyre dove, rolled, and came up with both pistols leveled. Two shots: the first cracked the gun's mechanism, sending gears and springs skittering across the wet cobbles; the second punched through the skaven's skull with a wet pop, silencing the gunner mid-squeak. The weapon clattered to the street, and the Witch Hunter reloaded with practiced ease, the click of fresh flints echoing in the sudden quiet. 'Always two,' he said to no one, 'for the faithless always come in pairs.'

Reader's Guide

The Brace of Pistols excels at deleting single targets at close range. Its alt-fire fires both pistols simultaneously, delivering a thunderous burst that can one-shot a Stormvermin through its armor or vaporize a Packmaster before it drags your teammate into a horde. On Witch Hunter Captain, use the brace to quickly apply the 'Tagged' debuff, then follow up with a Rapier thrust to the throat. On Bounty Hunter, the Blessed Shots passive guarantees critical hits, turning the brace into a reliable special-sniper—aim for heads on Blightstormers to cancel their vortex mid-cast. On Zealot, the brace provides safe ranged damage while you stack passive buffs, letting you plink away at elites without breaking your fury. Key stats to look for: Critical Hit Chance (to trigger Bounty Hunter's refunds), Power vs. Skaven/Armor (for those one-tap breakpoints), and Attack Speed (to shave fractions off the agonizingly slow reload). The brace's weakness is its long reload and paltry ammo pool—each shot is a resource, not a toy. Pair it with a melee weapon that handles hordes, like the Flail's sweeping arcs or the Rapier's light spam, to cover its lack of crowd control. In co-op, use the brace to peel dangerous specials off teammates—a single volley can save a downed ally from a Gutter Runner's pounce—but avoid wasting shots on trash mobs. Its flavor text often reads: 'Faith and lead: the only cure for heresy.'

Did You Know?

• The Brace of Pistols is a callback to the classic Witch Hunter dual-pistol loadout from Warhammer Fantasy tabletop.
• Saltzpyre's brace is modeled after 17th-century flintlock dueling pistols, fitting his aristocratic background.
• The weapon's reload animation includes a quick prayer to Sigmar, reflecting Saltzpyre's piety.
• In the game files, the brace is internally coded as 'dual_pistols', a nod to its role as a fan-favorite sidearm.