Guild Wars 2

Quite some classes have stealth abilities, so why is there no (situational) counter-stealth? Example: In Aion there were two classes with stealth, Ranger with level 1 stealth and Assassin with level 2 stealth. Each stealth level could be revealed by other classes, such as the Ranger using All Seeing Eye to permanently see level 1 stealth, while a few other classes could see level 2 stealth for a short duration with a skill.

I’d like a similar counter-stealth in GW2. Perhaps a Ranger, as they are master trackers. Either way, non-counter-able stealth just makes it so that the stealth ability will always be unbalanced for quick getaways and so forth. This might also be a reason why everyone in low-level areas is currently rolling Thiefs, for pvp, as they are easy due to stealth.

There is a counter to stealth already : it only lasts 3s except some odd cases.

That is not a counter. It’s a debuff to prevent jumping in stealth again within seconds. I’m talking about pulling the stealther out of stealth WHEN NEEDED. For example, the mesmer is nearly dead and goes into stealth, I pop my ‘All Seeing Eye’ (for lack of a better name) and give the final burst. That’s a counter.

I don’t think adding utility skills meant only to counter Thieves and Mesmers is a good idea.

I would be content with getting a skill to insta-slay ranger pets and a vision skill to see past mesmer clones. Thank you.

Learn how to counter them.

So how do I counter stealth? Please do enlighten me. AOE is simply not an option (stealth+teleport…)

Deathspike.1870:

So how do I counter stealth? Please do enlighten me. AOE is simply not an option (stealth+teleport…)

You can counter stealth by learning all about it. I suggest you create a character that uses a lot of stealth so that you can see what you would do if you were in stealth.

To my understanding there are 2 common uses for stealth.

Defensive) A thief who is wounded will use cloaking to get away from you. So to counter it you will have to put yourself into his place. Where will he go? Chances are he will go to the safest place possible and since he only got 3-4 sec of stealth its pretty easy to follow him.

Offensive) If a thief uses cloaking while he is at near full health then 99% of the time he will try to get behind to execute “back stab” so to counter that you just have to dodge roll and move A LOT!

In general though thiefs will do more damage when they are behind you so when you fight one you might always wanna keep them in front of you.

Hope this helps.

If you ask me, all stealth skills which are in the weapon or healing skill slots, should work like the mesmer’s Prestige, meaning that they should be channeled.
Any stealth granted by a skill on the utility slot or by a trait, should dispel the moment any other ability is used.
Only elite stealth abilities should allow for complete freedom for the duration.

moreover:
Stealth given by Shadow Refuge should dispel when the Area of Effect disappears. A 10 second mass invisibility after the skill has ended is broken on so many levels it’s not even funny. It is way too powerful in any environment, be it PvE or PvP.

To be honest, I’ve run into stealth a lot, and the only issue I truly have with it is that the character model for a hiding opponent rarely loads before a 4-5 second window in a wvw environment has ticked by and I’m dead, since the “target nearest” function only seems to work for things in front of me (this needs work too) finding that tiny little hit box circle while its dancing over top of my head and all the other whacky moves is a bit much. The only place I would like some kind of forced non-stealth to happen is for enemies inside taken towers etc in wvw… otherwise the whole mechanic would be turned into some kind of bad joke (see age of failnan for a prime example of useless stealth).

Yah, my main is a Thief and I will use Heart Seeker to close the gap > use Cloak and Dagger finished with a Backstab > then a Steal to gain boons and cloak again > followed by another Backstab > “At that point they’re usually down or close” so I will melee if possible… if not I’ll use Black Powder to blind and go cloak again and use another Backstab. Normally if I get rooted, stunned, or slowed my cloaking will remove those and I’ll use Heart Seeker to close the gap again but if not I’ll pull out dual pistols and Unload for massive single target damage. If more join in I’ll use Dagger Storm and if the odds still look bad I’ll use Black Powder or a Cloak and Dagger to cloak and Heart Seeker to get away.

Unanimous.1486:

If you ask me, all stealth skills which are in the weapon or healing skill slots, should work like the mesmer’s Prestige, meaning that they should be channeled.
Any stealth granted by a skill on the utility slot or by a trait, should dispel the moment any other ability is used.
Only elite stealth abilities should allow for complete freedom for the duration.

I do not agree with you. Why should a thief who goes stealth and applies poison to his dagger reveal himself to you? If someone in stealth directly attacks you, yes then he reveals himself. But if he is standing in stealth and decides to pick his nose that shouldn’t reveal him.

Hmm, Reaper of Grenth and Skale Venom to control the fight seems pretty good.

Skale Venom – Endurance regeneration decreased by 50%; 50% of Non Critical hits are glancing blows (50% damage); stacks duration. Defense is decreased; stacks intensity.

Reaper of Grenth – Movement speed decreased by 66%; skill cooldown increased by 66%; stacks duration. Deals damage every second; heal potency decreased by 33%; stacks duration.

Using this with cloaking and blindness while doing massive criticals seems pretty good. Thief wouldn’t be rooted, stunned, or slowed with cloaking which can remove conditions and you would slow your opponent from getting away and fighting effectively. Amirite?