Guild Wars 2

So any out there that could give me some hint and tips how to play a Thief ?

I’m really struggling with 1v2 mobs and have considering taking toughness spec just to managed to survive the mobs i’m facing against.

I know thief’s should dodge a lot , but i’m considering to use dual pistols’s .

That’s my issue at the moment.

Ps : I have a 80 warrior , and its seems that warrior is ’’OP’’ compared to the thief (great damage and survivability , Just my opinion thou.

Well all i can say that thief is pretty squishy vs 2, however the problem is you using dual pistols- great for single target but pain when you get in vs 2 or more.

I would suggest you to try out sword/pistol combination vs multiple opponents- skill No.3 works miracles ;D short term stun+interrupt+AoE. Also short bow is quite as effective since auto attack hits 3 targets + yo get skill No.3 which cripples and has additional leap away from target (works like dodge) and kite away.

And when you are up vs 1 just switch weapon back to dual pistols. Give it a try you might like it

For general fights I’ve been successful with dual daggers and pistols. Dual Daggers is really strong against multiple enemies because of Death Blossom. Not only does it make you evade but it’s an aoe with powerful bleed damage. Heartseeker is good for closing a gap and is my goto move to spam when a target is low on health. One strategy you could try is using Death Blossom until you’re out of initiative, then switch to pistols and kite until your initiative regens back to almost full. Withdraw is a good ability to use to gain some distance for that strategy.

Bows are my best friend in aoe fights with a team behind my back. I haven’t done too much research on it but I find Choking Gas then Cluster Bomb a good aoe combo which also debuffs all enemies with Weakness.

I don’t like using swords on my thief. The only time I’d use it is for the immobilize condition.

Make use of the the Theif’s advanced mobility. Shadow step is available in multiple forms, use it alot. Infiltrating arrow ( I think it’s called) is amazing for escape and general aggravation and harassment. Traps are also awesome, knock downs and immobilizers, so on. I don’t like to dive right into the middle of things right away, I like to harass from a distance with the bow, sometimes dual pistols, and then swap to sword/pistol combo for some nice utility, blinding shot, 2 interrupts and another shadow step skill. Also, if you’re not stealing at every opportunity you should be doing that.

DanielGames.5198:

For general fights I’ve been successful with dual daggers and pistols. Dual Daggers is really strong against multiple enemies because of Death Blossom. Not only does it make you evade but it’s an aoe with powerful bleed damage. Heartseeker is good for closing a gap and is my goto move to spam when a target is low on health. One strategy you could try is using Death Blossom until you’re out of initiative, then switch to pistols and kite until your initiative regens back to almost full. Withdraw is a good ability to use to gain some distance for that strategy.

Bows are my best friend in aoe fights with a team behind my back. I haven’t done too much research on it but I find Choking Gas then Cluster Bomb a good aoe combo which also debuffs all enemies with Weakness.

I don’t like using swords on my thief. The only time I’d use it is for the immobilize condition.

This, not only does death blossom put 3 bleeds on you targets but also evades while the animation is going off. I usually use this combined with a bunch of stealthing abilities, 3 DB dissapear, backstab, steal, 2 more DB, dissapear, targets blead to death
BTW i have that talent where stealth is longer and stealing gives me initiative.

I mainly solo, and my first toon was a Thief.

The profession requires a lot of tactical play and micro-management of initiative and skills. I used shortbow to soften up and pull individuals from mobs, then switched to melee. I found dagger/dagger to be the best for my play style. Never bothered much with pistols since I used the shotbow for all my ranged attacks.

You have to operate on the fringes of battles, striking at lower health mobs, retreat, then going back in, rinse and repeat. If you draw aggro and get mobbed by 2-3 at once, you are dead.

It is a lot of fun to play when you can control the situation, but things go south very quickly if you are not on your toes. The profession seems to work better with others around to draw aggro, set conditions on mobs and the like, so you can go in for the killer blows and quickly back out.

I started a Ranger, now at level 25, and this is a more survivable soloing profession. Once I get through more of the game world, I will go back to the Thief and give it another go.

The Thief is like a reality check from almost all the other classes. You just gotta watch what you are doing, kite, keep track of initiative…and try not to pull more than than a couple at a time.

Raf

I’m finding my survivability to be pretty decent, but two+ mobs can present a challenge.
My main points:
-don’t go all power. I have at least 1/2 my gear with toughness/vitality
-I use dual daggers.
-I start with Heartseeker, follow up with Death blossom and then a dodge
-Heartseeker and if needed pop a dancing dagger to slow the second mob.
-Keep dodging and interchanging heartseeker with deathblossom usually finishes them for me.
-Popping Hide in shadows when low on health is a nice reprieve with a bonus backstab.

I also have majority of my trait points evenly in Deadly arts and Shadow arts, with 10 in critical strikes (currently level 48)

I find that if I don’t have the +toughness and vitality though, I get facestomped pretty quick.

Drayden.2318:

I’m finding my survivability to be pretty decent, but two+ mobs can present a challenge.
My main points:
-don’t go all power. I have at least 1/2 my gear with +toughness/vitality
-I use dual daggers.
-I start with Heartseeker, follow up with Death blossom and then a dodge
-Heartseeker and if needed pop a dancing dagger to slow the second mob.
-Keep dodging and interchanging heartseeker with deathblossom usually finishes them for me.

I find that if I don’t have the +toughness and vitality though, I get facestomped pretty quick.

Are you using heart seeker as a gap closer? I thought it did more damage the less health the target had so I always save it for last. I agree that you cant stack damage, glass cannons i find are useless in this game

Skipjack.6730:

Are you using heart seeker as a gap closer? I thought it did more damage the less health the target had so I always save it for last. I agree that you cant stack damage, glass cannons i find are useless in this game

Yes, I have been using heartseeker as a gap closer. You are correct that it does more damage the lower health, so I could probably do something different, but so far it seems to have been working for me.

It’s best to unlock all the weapon skills, then experiment with them to see which works best for you. I’ve found that to be the case on all my characters, not just the thief.

And dodge, dodge, dodge. I know you mentioned that, OP, but I have to scold myself (spoiled with years of games that did that for me) fairly often. I die a lot, too, but the learning experience is worth it.

;)

Oh steal on CD, i love getting that ax Whirlwind ability and wrecking any mob i come across

Rule of the thumb when using Dagger is that Dancing Dagger is the best DPS for 2 (and possibly 3) targets. Switch to a Shortbow if facing more and kite them using poison and cluster bomb.

That’s what i like about this game i think i count 5 different was (all viable) to deal with a situation

I don’t like to open up every fight with melee personally. There’s really no reason you couldn’t start from afar with ranged, either dual pistols or a short bow, then adopt a melee strategy after. There’s no downside, you can still steal, stealth and everything else, and whatever you’re fighting will have less hp by the time it gets to you.