Guild Wars 2

Hey, so long story short. I’m an inexperienced returned player who loves the idea of thief and PvP so naturally my first character returning was a thief for PvP purposes (upon returning I deleted my characters to switch servers). Well 8 days later I’m level 80 from WvW. On the 10th day I spent 40-ish gold to get the best exotic gear for the build I’m following. Now on the 13th day with 103 hours clocked for this character(I am on break, don’t worry)… I’m feeling extremely underwhelmed.

In WvW I can barely do anything on my own and should I have to 1 vs 1, well I’m better off just standing still. In sPvP I’m tripping up everywhere, missing 7/10 of my cloak and daggers, even worse… I’m being schooled by pre-level 10’s. Even my new friends with less experience and gear can beat me. My damage feels so unsatisfying for how much I build towards it, and in return I can’t handle a lot of damage. As for PvE, well its just strict shortbow auto-attacks with cluster bombs and poisons every once in awhile. And to add to it, somehow unexpectedly I’m now the guild leader of a PvP oriented guild.

Just not sure where to go from here. I just want to be able to hold my own in a fight. Maybe not be that roaming thief who can juggle a 1 vs 3 and come on top nor that thief who backstabs for 15k. While it is my end game goal, for now I just want to feel I can actually do something.

So any advice?

Traits: 5/6/0/03
Equips: Berserkers D/D (Usoku’s Needle) & Berserker Short Bow (Eir’s Short Bow)
2 pieces of berserkers
4 pieces of Valkyrie
1 ascended berserker amulet (still gathering laurels for rest)

P.S I typed the first paragraph to just show where I’m coming from and how much time I’ve put into this thief. However I’m open to changing classes but changing mains won’t be easy for me.

P.P. S Sorry if this came off as a rant or me complaining. I am slightly frustrated and let down about this, but I would really appreciate advice.

Welcome back to the game!
I think you probably need to understand that while clocking up 103 hours on any character may feel like a lot, it really isnt. Things have probably changed quite a bit from the last time you played, especially considering your running D/D on a thief, no one has run that in PvP for quite a while.

Thiefs are in a pretty great place in PvP at the moment but you need to be playing specific meta builds and even then, you need time getting good at it. You might think its bad being beaten by pre-level 10’s but chances are they are just characters created specifically for PvP and are probably quite good players.
We now have PvP dailies which encourage you to try different characters, its certainly advisable to do so as you will not only be able to try out new classes, but also see how they work and better understand how you can counter them on your thief.

WvW is a different story, while you can certainly go around ganking people, perhaps killing dollys and taking sentries/camps, you wont be much help on a thief in large fights. Most thiefs in WvW that I encounter are usually accompanied by other theifs or DPS Guards, a lone thief is rarely a threat on its own anymore, Thiefs arent the power house they used to be and you def wont be hitting a 15k backstab even in full zerker gear on anyone set up for Zerg fights.

Head over to this site http://metabattle.com/wiki/MetaBattle_Wiki to find which builds currently work the best in various game modes.
I think you’ll probably find PvP and WvW favour the Panic strike Dagger/Pistol builds these days. which is this build = http://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Thief_-_Dagger/Pistol

Luckily in PvP you can try different things out relatively easy, just buy a bunch of cheap white weps from the vendor and click on the build tab at the top while in Heart of the Mists and try some of the builds on the site.

At the moment PvP really favours Celestial builds like the D/D Elementalist and Celestial rifle Engi, it might be worth having a try of those and seeing if you get into the game more before jumping back into thief.

Plus, follow GW2 on twitch and watch the weekly tournaments, you can learn so much just from watching how the top teams play as most of them have at least 1 thief in their line ups these days!

You might want to look around the MetaBattle.com site a bit and get a more simplified starting point to grow from, your build and gear looks like it’s hampering maybe if you’re starting out and don’t have a feel for connecting abilities to targets or effects nor if you’re building for damage. If you were to build while playing towards what you’d find you need, you might ask yourself why you’d go 5 in deadly arts and not 6 and why only 3 in trickery, and why only two pieces of berserkers if you’re going damage to not having the crit chance to propel the ferocity.

I would grab a meta build and go out and fight everything in pve and pvp and don’t allow yourself to think too much on it, just play until you’re connecting actions instinctively, then start re-working your build, only slightly for what you need. Also, fail a bunch and get in some ridiculous situations and fight and move like a feral cat. You’ll die a lot but one day when you’re done seeing red you’ll still be standing to pick up bags.

Mapleloot.3087:

As for PvE, well its just strict shortbow auto-attacks with cluster bombs and poisons every once in awhile.

Cluster bombs more than chocking gas? That would be backwards. You want to auto target ground in settings, turn off target rings etc. Put the pointer in the middle of the screen and hold the mouse button as is normal for cam movement mode (or whatever). Now just about constantly lay down chocking gas rings (really good if you have set for larger rings), while you are moving using trick shot cycling through targets (tapping 1 etc). Your inventory slots will fill faster than you can salvage everything.

The only thing I use cluster bombs for is for point-blank devastation, tapping cluster bomb really fast so it splits right at your feet (or really close) while running through a cluster of mobs.

d/d is used to cut down vets and champs really fast, and it does, really well. But you have a different build than me, I have no idea how it does with your build and armor. I use 06620, assassin armor, everything else interchangeable to the situation. I have no condi, little over 2k power, over 200% crit damage (~220), run between 70% and 98% crit chance. Primary weapon sigil of choice is perception, secondary choice is bloodlust (depends on the situation, some mobs wont crit such as teq). Also I use omnom pie for crit heals, or steaks for pwr, or MF food but not usually. Then maint oil or sharpening stones. I’m constantly moving and dodging often (I also have a burst run on it).

Thief is hard-mode, but pays off really well if you find something that works for you with what you want to do. It’s not for the lazy player, those roll rangers, stand in safe spot.

And yes I wvw with this build, I primarily run in zergs and intercept runners trying to escape, then tackle them (incapacitation sigil on SB is really nice). Quickest fastest class/build in the game it seems to be.

Wow, that’s great info Daywolf. I’m just leveling up a thief at the moment, that’s really handy advice, thank you

Greyhound.2058:

Wow, that’s great info Daywolf. I’m just leveling up a thief at the moment, that’s really handy advice, thank you

Ah yeah, leveling is a challenge with the thief, a lot of people give up there. Then it seems to change a lot at/around cap, for the better. At that point you’ll be trying out the different builds, they can be pretty different due to the potential squishiness of the class so personal tactics mean a lot along with what feels right as a build for you.

Just don’t be afraid to be downed, after some practice at it you’ll realize it’s probably more survivable than any other class on down. I think that is one of the turn offs for people leveling up, it can be pretty squishy especially mid level to cap. But once you cap, find your build, with some practice, you’ll get a charge out of moments of seemingly invulnerability while you lay down hurt on both mob and man…. when things go right anyway haha!

Wow, so didn’t read anyone else’s response to OP cuz everyone has lots to say. Here’s my 2cents:

for PvP: D/D is a no go. Go D/P (pistol 5 then dagger 2 immediately after>>go for backstab)

for PvE: S/P all the way. Pull, LoS and stack your targets. then spam 3. ezpz.

Short-bow is only for mainly for utility purposes (maybe some aoe pressure in PvP)

S/D in PvP can be fun and an experience if you want to spice things up.

in WvW: its all about knowing when to disengage and reengage (though this is also true in PvP) stealth, re-position, attack. WvW is huge, nothing wrong with running, don’t give up that bag so easily.

ChoChoBo.6503:

for PvP: D/D is a no go.

btw that’s sPvP, they nerfed cloak and dagger, but only in there. Everywhere else it’s strong, a dps monster. But anyway, for spvp, you just push the magic button and build whatever you want there. So you can just play whatever you want in the rest of the game, and if going into spvp just press the win button for whatever the latest spvp meta build is there hah.