Guild Wars 2

Part 1) Deadly Arts

Adept X – Serpent’s Touch
Stealing inflicts Confusion. If the foe had over 25% Health, if will also inflict first Poison together with Confusion.

Master X – Lotus Poison
Venom Skills will have now all 2 more Hits, before their effects expire and recharge 20% faster.
Everytime you activate a Venom or if you poisoned a foe, surrounding foes will get inflicted with Weakness that has an internal Cooldown of 15 seconds

Grandmaster X – Exposed Weakness
Deals more Damage, if a foe suffers on Conditions
2,5% per every Condition on a foe.
———

Adept:

• NEW Shadow Born
  Increases Duration of all your Stealths by 20% and reduces cooldowns of Stealth Skills like Hide in Shadows and Shadow Refuge by 20%

• Corrosive Traps
  Traps apply 5 Stacks of Vulnerability, when triggered for a Duration of 10 Seconds.
  If the foe already suffered on Vulnerability, then the Foe will suffer on Stun for 3 Seconds

• Venomous Strength > Merged with Potent Poison > renamed to Poisonous Strength
  Gain a Stack of Might, whenever you poison a foe. Increases Poison Durations by 33%

• Dagger Training (Moved to Adept Tier)
  Dagger Damage is increased by 10% and you gain + 5% Critical Hit Chance, while using Daggers

• Improvisation (Moved to Adept Tier)
  Using a Stolen Item gains a random Boon among Regeneration, Stability, Protection and Vigor) and raises per every unused Stolen Item the Damage by 3,3%

• Combined Training (Moved to Adept Tier)
  Dual Skills deal 10% more Damage and will cost 1 Initiative lesser

Master:

• Back Fighting > renamed to Flee Instinct (Moved to Master Tier)
  Reduces the Cooldown of Shadow Escape by 50% and increases the duration of the Stealth from Smoke Bomb from 3s to 5s (basic duration gets increase from 1s to 3s)
  Increases also while not being downed the Evade Time of Death Blossom from 1/4 Second to 1 second and that from Shadow Assault from 4s to 5s

• Sundering Strikes (Moved to Master Tier)
  Chance of 50% to inflict Vulnerability on Critical Hits

• Mug (Moved to Master Tier)
  Deals Damage and gain Life when stealing. Crit Damage is reduced by 30%
  Increases the maximum amount of Stealing Slots from 1 to 3, literally alowing you to steal up to 3 times, before you have to use a stolen item to be able to steal again.

• NEW Shadow Runner
  Changes the Effect of Shadow Steps into Shadow Runs, making your Shadow Steps not Teleportations, but instead Movements in which you avoid Damage for a short while, while you perform them. Lets you perform Shadow Steps also to your last target, when you perform a Dodge (every 3rd Dodge) (not Dodge Roll, a Dodge, like when fighting with Short Bow)

Grandmaster:

• Panic Strike
  Inflict Fear on a Foe, that has lesser than 50% health for a duration of 3 seconds.
  Internal Cooldown of 20 Seconds

• NEW Blades of Bloodlust
  Gain Might when you inflict Foes with Bleedings.
  7% of your Power gets also converted into Healing Power.

Removed:

• Quick Venoms – merged
• Potent Poisons – Merged with Venomous Strenth
• Residual Venom – Merged/improved basically with Lotus Poison and way to useless as a Grandmaster Trait

Part 2) Critical Strikes

Adept X – Keen Observer
Raises Critical Hit Chance by 5% as long you have over 80% Health

Master X – Opportunist
Gain 1 Initiative back whenever you are being hit on a Cooldown of 5 Seconds.
Had you full Initiative at the moment when that happens, you’ll get 1 condition cured instead.

Grandmaster X – Executioner (Moved from Grandmaster)
Damage is increased by 20%, while the Health of a foe is under 50%
———-

Adept:

• Furious Retaliation
  Gain Fury if your target falls below 50% Health on an internal cooldown of 25 Seconds

• Signets of Power > Renamed to Signets of Dexterity
  Gain Stability for 5 seconds the next time you dodge roll after using a Signet.

• Side Strike
  Increases Critical Hit Chance by 10% when hitting from the Sides or the Back

• Concealed Defeat > renamed to Concealed Darkness
  Creates a Shadow Refuge when downed and puts on nearby foes a Dark Screen effect that also blinds their characters

• Pistol Mastery
  Increases Pistol Damage by 10% and increases their range by 300

• Practiced Tolerance
  Converts 7% of your Precision into Vitality

Master:

• Ankle Shots
  Critical Hits with Pistols can inflict Cripple

• Signet Use
  Gain Initiative when activatign a Signet, Signets recharge 20% faster

• Combo Criticals
  Increases Critical Hit Chance of Combo Skills by 10%

• Critical Haste
  Gain Quickness and Protection for 2 Seconds on 25% Chance with an Cooldown of 25s

Grandmaster:

• Assassins Reward (Moved from GM Shadow Arts)
  Gain Life when using Weapon Skills based on the amount of spent Initiative

• Hidden Killer
  Gain Swiftness and Stability when using Stealth. Damage received from AoEs in that time is reduced by 10%

Removed:

• First Strikes – just useless for a GM-X Trait, replacign it with Executioner opens up better builds when going for 30 Criticial Hits for one of the new GM Traits.

Part 3) Shadow Arts

Adept X – Last Refuge
Perform a Shadow Run when your Health goes below 20% Health

Master X – Meld with Shadows
The Regeneration of Shadow Refuge and Hide in Shadows holds 100% longer and going into Stealth stunbreaks now

Grandmaster – Hidden Assassin
Gain Stealth and Vigor for 3 Seconds when you kill a foe.
————

Adept:

• Master of Deception
  Deception Skills have 20% reduced cooldowns

• Slowed Pulse
  Gain Regeneration for 10 Seconds, if you suffer on more than 2 conditions at the same time.

• Shadow Protector > merged with Cloaked in Shadow
  Gaining Stealth blinds nearby foes and allies gain Regeneration.

• Infusion of Shadow
  Gain Initiative when using Skills that grant Stealth

• Shadows Embrace > renamed to Shadows Kiss Bye
  Removes up to 3 conditions once your Stealth ends

• Power Shots (Moved to Adept Tier)
  Shortbow and Harpoon Gun Damage increased by 10%
  Trick Shot bounces 1x time more and the last hit causes Confusion now, while Deluge hits for 5times now instead of 4x and pushes enemies back now.

Master:

• Hidden Thief
  Stealing granths Stealth now

• Leeching Venoms
  You siphon Life once per Strike, when you use Venoms.

• Patience > renamed to Clear Mind
  Reduces Condition Duration of Confusions and Torments for you by 20%

• NEW Chilling Darkness
  Attacking a foe from Stealth, will inflict a 3 second Chill on the foe and blind the foe.

Grandmaster:

• Venomous Aura
  Venom Effects will count for the nearby Allies too

• Shadow Rejuvenation
  Regenerate Health while in Stealth, maximum Vitality increased by + 120

Part 4) Acrobatics

Adept X – Expeditions Dodger
Gain Swiftness for 5 seconds when you dodge roll

Master X – Feline Grace
Endurance recharges faster after a Dodge Roll

Grandmaster X -Fluid Strikes
Gain a Chance of 10% on Critical Hits to gain Quickness for 2 Seconds.
————

Adept:

• Descent of Shadows
  Fall Damage reduced by 50% and release Blinding Powder

• Power of Inertia
  A Dodge Roll lets you gain Fury, whenever you Dodge

• Vigorous Recovery
  Gain Vigor when using a Healing Skill. Health regenerates 20% better when downed.

• Assassins Retreat
  Perform a Shadow Run when you kill a foe. Internal Cooldown of 20s

• Master Trapper
  Traps recharge 20% faster and the summoned Thief of Assault will be 20% stronger.

• Fleet Shadow
  Immune to Chill and Stun, while being in Stealth

Master:

• Fleet of Foot
  Removes Cripple, Weakness and Chill on Dodge Rolls

• Quick Recovery > renamed to Quick Reflexes
  Gain Initiative when successfully dodging attacks and increases maximum Initiative by + 3

• Pain Response
  Gain Regeneration at 75% Health. Cures Confusion, Torment and Burning

• Hard to Catch
  Gain Stability when you Dodge Roll for a second if your Health is below 75%.

Grandmaster:

• Quick Pockets
  Gain Initiative when Swapping Weapons and recharge your Utility Skills the next time you use Stealing.

• First Strikes
  Increased Critical Damage and Criticical Hit Chance by 5%, when you land the first hit in a Battle. Lets you perform a Shadow Step back then to the Position you were 3 seconds before.

Part 5) Trickery

Adept X – Kleptomaniac
Stealing gains you Initiative

Preparedness
Adds a Chance of 10%, that you automatically block an incoming attack, if your Endurance is full.

Lead Attacks
Increases Damage per Initiative you spent with your Weapon Skills.
—————

Adept:

• Merfiful Ambush
  Perform a Shadow Refuge when you revive an Ally.

• Instinctual Response
  If an other Thief tries to steal from you, you’ll stun the foe and perform a powerful counterattack that will knock down the foe also.

• Uncatchable
  Leave Caltrops when you perform a Dodge Roll

• Thrill of Crime
  Gain Might, Fury and Swiftness for 10 Seconds when you steal

• Flanking Strikes
  Damage increased when you hit from the Sides or from behind.
  Critical Hits will have a chance to remove Boons, when hit from behind.

• Long Reach
  Increases the Range of Shadow Steps and Duration of Shadow Runs.

Master:

• Bountiful Theft
  You steal with Stealing Boons from foes that you and your allies will gain.

• Trickster
  Reduces Cooldowns of Tricks by 20%

• Initial Strike
  Auto Attacks will have a chance to reegain Initiative

• Ricochet
  Pistol Shots have a chance to bounce between targets and Trick Shot will have a 5% better chance to deal criticals.

Grandmaster:

• Hastened Replenishment
  Initiative replenishs 33% faster, when you have Quickness active
  You gain Quickness for 2 seconds, if your Initiative reaches 0

• Sleight of Hand
  Stealing dazes the foe. Stealing recharges 20% quicker.
  —-

Thats the way how I think the thief traits should work.
Most things I changed are minor things. Biggest Changes I think are needed within Deadly Arts
Some Traits where I think, they should be in other Trait Lines.
Some Traits removed for better more useful Traits.
Merged a very few ones.

And also revert the Infriltrators Return nerf.

Some of this traits would be so freaking OP and broken, 15% more damage on dual skills? With the buff we got in PW i’m already one PWing glassy targets.

There are a few that would be great and some that would be broken as kitten!

I main thief (1700 hours on it) and even if i know some buffs are needed, those are way over the top!

@ Sons:

The intention of this thread wasn#t it to make the traits of the thief overpowered.
The thief, quite in fact is in regard of its traits underpowered compared to trait effects that certain other classes have, or received now with the latest patch.

These suggesstions should just help to raise the thief back onto a competetivie level in regard of “useful” traits., that should have really an effect, that feels like it really has some impact on your thief’s gameplay!

thats whats the important thing about my suggestions. I always tried to add changes to a certain point for the traits, that the thrait would be at the end not too OP, but would be at least so powerful, that you will feel the difference, when you don’t use the specific trait at the moment, compared to the situation, when you use a specific trait.

Thats personally for me the main essence of the whole Trait System, that this system should provide for all classes effects, that alterate the gameplay of the class to a certain point, that you can really say at the end of it, that the used trait is impactful for your class build.
If a trait is not impactful for the gameplay of a class, then the trait is either too weak, too useless or only useful in very specific moments and otherwise obsolete for the rest of the game, because it has some kind of effect, that is only useful for example for a single specific weapon and useless instantly in the moment, if you haven’t equipped the right weapon…

Thats exactly what I tried to change with some specific suggestions here.
Certain other traits here simply had too long cooldowns only in my opinion, so I slightly reduced them. Traits at Master Tier providing just only a 5% damage increase only are worthless and way too weak for a Master Tier.
Traits like those, that increase a specific weapon damage belong to me personally to the BASICS and should be easily accessible.
Most traits from the Deadly Arts didn’t felt right positioned to me, thats why you see there most of all the Tier Changes I did between Adept and Master Tier.

I sorted out some too weak traits through merging them with similar traits, or simply echanged their effects with new effects, where I thought, they could be helpful to improve the survivability of thiefs.
I reduced the dependance of stealth slightly, by adding a feature that is simply an improved alterated version of the Shadow Step – Shadow Running, basicaly inspired by the Shadow Steps of an other Game, because the Thief simply needs more moveability to become less dependant from Stealth to avoid damage.
Thats what the Thief should be, the fastest class of all, when it comes down to movements and the traits should clearly show this to all that the Thief is the King in the Ring for Agility and no other class in heavy armors should be faster, what is totally contradictory to the much lighter geared thief.

Alot of the Traits I haven’t even touched. There are alot of traits which I haven’t changed a slightest bit, cause they are already good as they are for what their effects do

An otgher Main reason why i made this thread is, because to suggest a way better trait change for the specific trait Assassins Reward, because its one of the, of not the only one existing secondary active working passive healing trait, that was already before the change quite useful and alot more useful and reliable as a trait, than the current stupid version of Hard to Catch, that has been replaced by it.
I can understand Anet, that they wanted to buff it maybe and therefore, it needed to move into the Grandmaster Tier.
Good and fine, but then they should at least place it also into a Trait Line, where it can be more useful in general, other than Acrobatics.
Its to me an essential skill that gives the Thief some needed passive survivability, while focusing on one offensive build and not for any kind of defensive builds like trying to make out of a theif some kind of bunker, what they are not.
Thiefs are aggressive Killing Machines and their survivability through Assassins reward should also come through offensive aggressive builds that reward you with better survivability through playing also very offensively and using the mechanic of that trait to its fullest extent, in regard of how this trait should be intended to be used.
The effect of it gives out heals through using attacks. You don’t have much profit with such a trait, if you play defensively… thats why I strongly believe, that this trait belongs as grandmaster tier trait into the Deadly Arts Traitline best.
—-

However, in the next postign I will summarize with brief words what my suggests here changed all , because simply looking at the list and not knowing exactly, how the original traits work currently might lead to the point, that someone who doesn’t know the current effects might not grasp, what I made up for changes here now.

Summarize of my made Changes for Part 1:

• Serpent’s Touch – Changed initial Condition on Stealing from Poison to Confusion
  Added poison as secondary effect if the target foe is over the threshold of 25% HP

• Lotus Poison – Changed the Weakness to an AoE Effect and merged it with basically Quickening Venoms and residual Venoms to make Venoms in general more useful as Utilities.

• Exposed Weakness – Changed the fix +10% Increase to an Increase based on the amount of conditions a foe suffers on, making the Trait in overall more reliable, regardless if the foe suffers on only 1 or more conditions, because currently only 1 condition cleansing is enough and thiefs instantly lose 10% of their damage.
  Whith my vesion they lose damage, but not directly 10%. Therefore the increase for more damage is slower, but the maximum increase can get higher than 10%, if a foe is so ignorant to cure its conditions that he/she suffers on for too long time.

• Corrosive Traps: Increased Vulnerability Duration by 2 seconds and added a secondary effect that doesn’t make this trait useless, if a foe already suffers on vulnerability.

• Venomous Strength – simply renamed and merged with Potent Poisons to make space for Shadow Born as a new useful trait to fill up the created gap.

• Dagger Training – Increase Damage from 5 to 10% to increase its impact and make it more useful and worthful of a trait together with a Side Effect, that every other weapon based trait has also for all other classes (20% reduce of cooldown times) Thiefs have no cooldown times for their weapon skills, so its obvious, that their side effects should be something different they benefit from.

• Improvisation – Changed its effect to make Stealing more useful in general outside of buffs from Trickery in a random matter.

• Combined Traing – good that you have commented on this, because this was quite in fact a typo simply of me, that I’ve overseen. 10% was ment and i’ve corrected it. Originally it only gives laughable 5%, that absolutely don’t feel impactful for a Master Trait that it currently is. To me, this is also Combat Basics for a Thief to focus on the Dual Skills to become more powerful.

• Back Fighting – Changed it to a more useful defensive trait for moments when you get downed, because the current downed skills ofa thief are in my opinion flat out said a pure joke.

• Sundering Strikes – No Changes, just moved to Master for Dagger Training to Move to Adept.

• Mug – Moved it to Master to get Improvisation to Adept and changed it to allow Thiefs to steal more often, to give them more moveability. Absolute no crits with Mug is underpowered and limitates Thiefs too much. But the original Mug is also not Ok, so I though a crit damage reducement would be the perfect golden middle.
  With this change, Mug becomes really an impactful trait, especially for a very roguish kind of Thief build that should steal very much together with much Trickery traits.

• Panic Strike – Changed the effect to something, that truly FITS to the name of the trait.
  If you panic someone, then that foe must me really be in FEAR of something and that something simply must be YOU.

• Added new Grand Master Trait with Blades of Bloodlust for the removed Residual Venoms, cause it improves Condition Thiefs with more power and it also adds better healings for them, that should be useful ,especially now with the new healing Skill Skelk Venom, that is made basically for Condition Thiefs that use alot of venoms.

PS: other parts will be shorter, as said, most changes I mainly did here, Part 1 basically contains most of the biggest changes I want to see for the Thief.