Guild Wars 2

Just looking at the consequences of today’s Trait revelations for the bunker-yThief build I enjoy .

Super Unicorn
Gear: Settler’s (TOUGHNESS + healing power/condition damage)
Weapons: Dagger/Dagger & Pistol/Pistol

Shadow Arts 4
Acrobatics 6
Trickery 4

Heal: Signet of Malice
Utilities: Signet of Shadows, Caltrops (trick), Roll for Initiative (trick)
Elite Skill: Dagger Storm

Minor Traits
Last Refuge: Use Blinding Powder when your health reaches a certain threshold.
Meld with Shadows: Stealth skills last longer.
Expeditious Dodger: Gain swiftness upon dodging.
Feline Grace: Dodging returns some of the endurance used.
Fluid Strikes: Damage is increased when endurance is not full.
Kleptomaniac: Stealing gives you initiative.
Preparedness: Increases maximum initiative by 3.

Major Traits
Slowed Pulse: Grant regeneration if you have two or more stacks of bleeding.
Hidden Thief: Stealing grants you stealth.
Power of Inertia: Gain might whenever you dodge.
Pain Response: Gain regeneration and remove conditions when struck while your health is below the threshold.
Assassin’s Reward: Heal yourself whenever you use a skill that uses initiative. Heal yourself for each point of initiative spent.
Uncatchable: Leave behind Caltrops when you dodge.
Trickster: Reduces recharge on tricks.

HoT Traits
Shadow Arts, Acrobatics, Trickery

Heal: Signet of Malice
Utilities: Signet of Shadows, Caltrops (trick), Roll for Initiative (trick)
Elite Skill: Dagger Storm (now a trick – hell yeah!)

Minor Traits
Last Refuge: Use Blinding Powder (trick) when your health reaches a certain threshold.
Meld with Shadows: Stealth skills last longer.
Resilience of Shadows: Stealth provides 50% damage reduction.
Expeditious Dodger: Gain swiftness upon dodging.
Feline Grace: Gain vigor on successful evade.
Endless Stamina: Vigor increases endurance recovery an additional 20%
Fluid Strikes: Damage is increased when endurance is not full.
Kleptomaniac: Stealing gives you initiative.
Preparedness: Increases maximum initiative by 3.
Lead Attacks: Increased damage per initiative. Reduce Steal cooldown (15%).

Major Traits
Merciful Ambush: Stealth you and target when reviving. Revive 10% faster.
Descent of Shadows: Stealing/Falling triggers blinding powder (grants you stealth/blinds others). Benefits from Trickery cooldown reduction.
Cloaked in Shadow: Gaining Stealth Blinds nearby foes.
Pain Response: Gain regeneration and remove conditions when struck while your health is below the threshold. Removes Bleed, Burning, and Poison. (Moved to adept tier)
Hard to Catch: Breaks stun and refills endurance when CC’d. 30 second cooldown.
Assassin’s Reward: Heal yourself whenever you use a skill that uses initiative. Heal yourself for each point of initiative spent.
Uncatchable: Leave behind Caltrops when you dodge.
Trickster: Reduces recharge on tricks. Tricks remove 1 condition.
Slight of Hand: Stealing Dazes 1 second. Reduce Stealing cooldown (20%)

Comments/Requests
Shadow Arts line extensively rebuilt. Overall gains and good interaction with Trickery cooldown reduction, but would like to see self-regeneration of Slowed Pulse available in some form. Possibly as part of Shadow’s Embrace for builds like this that don’t spend a lot of time in stealth.

Acrobatics line Loses Power of Inertia (no great loss) and gains Hard to Catch. Overall increase in bunker-ness.

Trickery line’s Trickster now gives reduced cooldown to Dagger Storm. Rock-on!

Synergy between Merciful Ambush and Resilience of Shadows is gonna make ninja-nurse very powerful. Get a cup to catch all the tears, for they will be plentiful and sweet.

Except you forgot we get a 6/6/6 distribution now.

Why not 60606?

Trappers respite (withdraw as heal)
Panic strike
Potent poison

Shadows embrace
shadow protector
shadows rejuvenation
(~400hp a second in stealth? why not?!)

Caltrops
Bountiful Theft
Bewildering ambush
(Cause confusion on top of stacking poison)

Let me help you wipe your face

Maugetarr.6823:

Except you forgot we get a 6/6/6 distribution now.

If you read my post-HoT version notes I absolutely did not forget. There are additional minor and grandmaster traits listed for the two lines that went from 4 to max points.

Why not 60606?

Because Assassins Reward is absolutely key to the build . Its a thief bunker. It doesn’t sit in stealth. It holds points against 2-3 people for ages, typically long enough for your team to claim the rest of the board or just keep a point from being flipped ’til a roamer arrives.

I agree you could go either way on the Trickery Grandmaster trait — for some jobs the CC will be better, for others the heap of confusion backed by a good condition damage stat.

6/6/6 distribution? that’s the demon childs distribution.

Let me guess… no one else plays Super Unicorns anymore?

There has to be a way to fit pressure striking in there.

Interrupts sources outside weapons not counting a number of stolens off special creatures.

Sleight of hand, tripwire, scorpion wire , skull fear (stolen) mace head crack (stolen), Basilisk venom (2 charges).

Then you got the weapons with things like pistol whip/head shot/tactical strike. While predicated on achieving an interrupt which can be difficult there no cooldown.

Maugetarr.6823:

Except you forgot we get a 6/6/6 distribution now.

Why not 60606?

Trappers respite (withdraw as heal)
Panic strike
Potent poison

Shadows embrace
shadow protector
shadows rejuvenation
(~400hp a second in stealth? why not?!)

Caltrops
Bountiful Theft
Bewildering ambush
(Cause confusion on top of stacking poison)

Let me help you wipe your face

Hey, you forget to mention that permanent -50% damage in stealth as minor trait and extra initiative from rejuvication! They’re all used to be in major trait so you have to make choices.

Not to mention that “Potent Poison” gives 33% duration in addition to 50% increase in poison damage, while poison is able to stack in intensity after the patch. (Quick note to ranger’s version: It ONLY add 50% increase in poison damage, not duration. Your pet gain poison too but pet has a default 0 condition damage, so the scaling is neglectable, also ranger’s version trait is stuck into one of our most important survival line, while thief’s trait place in an offensive line, meaning they can be at max offensive and defensive at the same time while ranger has to make choice. Most people will pick wilderness survival over poison master because of that)

Sorry I just have to take my opportunity to post here so the developer can see the difference as to why some classes will always get the inferior version of the trait.

Toxsa.2701:

Maugetarr.6823:

Except you forgot we get a 6/6/6 distribution now.

Why not 60606?

Trappers respite (withdraw as heal)
Panic strike
Potent poison

Shadows embrace
shadow protector
shadows rejuvenation
(~400hp a second in stealth? why not?!)

Caltrops
Bountiful Theft
Bewildering ambush
(Cause confusion on top of stacking poison)

Let me help you wipe your face

Hey, you forget to mention that permanent -50% damage in stealth as minor trait and extra initiative from rejuvication! They’re all used to be in major trait so you have to make choices.

Not to mention that “Potent Poison” gives 33% duration in addition to 50% increase in poison damage, while poison is able to stack in intensity after the patch. (Quick note to ranger’s version: It ONLY add 50% increase in poison damage, not duration. Your pet gain poison too but pet has a default 0 condition damage, so the scaling is neglectable, also ranger’s version trait is stuck into one of our most important survival line, while thief’s trait place in an offensive line, meaning they can be at max offensive and defensive at the same time while ranger has to make choice. Most people will pick wilderness survival over poison master because of that)

Sorry I just have to take my opportunity to post here so the developer can see the difference as to why some classes will always get the inferior version of the trait.

You can not ignore the advantages the ranger gets and pretend they exist for only one class. As example Rangers have a source of boon duration. This is significant as it easier to keep those boons up like regen/protection all the time.

Light on your feet adds to all condition durations rather then just one. While it 10 percent the fact it works on all is an advantage. The conditions from Rangers traps are all 100 percent duration. This includes vipers nest (poison) Flame trap (fire) and Spike trap (bleeds) along with Chill.

The ranger gains condition damage of 150 just by wielding a torch. This boosts the damage done by fire off torch and the bleed and poison off the dagger.

The only boost the Thief has to any condition duration wise is that poison. They have nothing that adds boon duration and will have to rely on gear for longer bleeds/confusion/torment/boons. Outside poison that that one trait they will have to rely on gear alone to increase condition damage in any meaningful way.

I really do not see where there imbalance. If the ranger does not WANT to take the skills I alluded to that the rangers choice just as it will be the thieves.