Guild Wars 2

Hi all. I’ve been playing for several months now and I’m loving Gw2. The problem I have is.. I can’t seem to stick to one class.
I currently have an 80 Guardian, Mesmer, Necromancer and Warrior.

I got my 5,000 achievement chest yesterday and received another level 20 tome. On top of that, I can maybe afford to shell out some cash to craft a further 21 levels or so.

My problem is, is that i’m stumped between Thief and Engineer.

I’ve played both of them for a good amount of time in SPvP and really enjoy both.
I’d love for some help on which to choose.

Some key features I like;

Thief

• Stealth -ofcourse-
• Capable of high spike damage
• Dual Daggers look great
• Great for WvW roaming.

Engineer

• Great condition damage
• Amazing AoE (where Thief really lacks)
• Decent survivability
• Very useful utilities

I’ve previously leveled a Thief to 33 and an Engineer to level 17 but deleted both to make more room (I’m stupid I know).

I’d like to go Thief due to the Stealth and a “get out of jail free card” in WvW. The only problem for me, is that the class lacks AoE. On the other hand, Engineers AoE is really nice, but ofcourse lacks the amount of stealth Thieves do.

Can anyone help? >_<

Well, thief stealth will be nerfed a bit on Dec 10th, and engineers also have access to stealth and will get some really nice buffs on Dec 10th update.
I personally like eng more than thief, specially at WvW.

I don’t think the Stealth on Engi lasts long though. And I had a look at the changes to Engi on the 10th but they didn’t really jump out at me, besides the Ammo (forgot name) being usable on all weapons.

I know Engi use kits a lot, but I’m not sure I’d be capable of using the same weapons all the time since they don’t have a wide range.

EDIT: I came to the conclusion that Engineer is probably useful for more areas than Thief, but I think i’m going to go with Thief anyway. I spend most of my time in WvW now and the classes I already have are decent for Zerg, bunker, AoE etc.

I recommend the Engineer. It’s got more build variety, more versatility, more team support, aoe, & lots of mobility.

They do have access to stealth and are quite good for wvw roaming as well. There’s also the rifle/SD build that specializes in single target burst damage. And if the new heal skill rumors are true, might be getting a small buff.

While Engi does have a limited range of weapons, thief’s isn’t much more diverse. Thief has sword, pistol, dagger. Engi has pistol, rifle, shield. The thief’s edge comes in having a few more permutations, but Engi comes away with all the kits for a much greater range of weapon skills.

I had the same dilemma 1 wk ago. I decided to go with Engineer.
So far, I like my Engineer. At lv 55 atm or something around that. I like being jack of all trades.

I have a lvl 80 Thief, and I’m in a process of leveling an engineer for WvW purposes.

I just couldn’t stand the 900 range on ranged attack (cluster bomb). Compared to Engineer’s 1500 range on grenades, 900 felt way too short.

Engineers can stack stealth 12 – 15 seconds, but it takes a bomb kit and sometimes a little luck. Smoke Bomb for the smoke field and 5 blast finishers (Engineers have a ridiculous number of blast finishers).

This doesn’t work out so well in combat because you’ll usually hit an enemy while blasting and get the Revealed debuff, but it is useful to get through tricky spots when you can blow up the smoke field then make a run for it.

At any rate, I find Engineer to be much more interesting and engaging, but I’ve never taken a Thief to level 80, so I’m missing some perspective on this opinion.

Besides stealth from smoke field, you also have Toss Elixir S

engineer is superior, you have more options and with the right build you can do fine solo.
a thief is a true glass cannon, it does some fine damage but defense is nowhere to be found, not to mention the problem with initiative.

A you a troll/bully irl? If yes, play Thief.

Thief AoE isn’t that bad, even if the engi is better. The short bow allows you to spam blast finishers (great for WvW when stacking) and is good for hitting targets on top of walls.

However, when deciding between the classes, I would ask which you like better:
Do you prefer fast-paced gameplay with an emphasis on positioning and movement or do you prefer more tactical gameplay with an emphasis on choosing the right ability for the right situation?

If you prefer the former, go with Thief. If you prefer the latter, go Engi.

Play as engineer is fast paced as hell, for most players even too fast.
Try to control grenades and a 2nd kit (myself usually bomb or elixir kits) while chasing or being chased during a fight, that is really frantic.

Dahkeus.8243:

Do you prefer fast-paced gameplay with an emphasis on positioning and movement or do you prefer more tactical gameplay with an emphasis on choosing the right ability for the right situation?

That’s an interesting way to glorify thieves lol.