Guild Wars 2

Hello fellow gamer’s I was wondering if there was a good build for a Dagger/Dagger alt. Pistol/Pistol build. I hit level 18 and haven’t even bothered with traits yet, guessing if I ask this question people would say “What are you looking for” or “What’s your play style”. Im looking for a high damage build, but with some survive-ability. If you guys have some tips or suggestions I would be open to them.
Have a nice day. Please and Thank you.

Well the Taints are organized according to certain “themes”.

Deadly Arts is all about Venoms.
Critical Strikes is about Crits.
Shadow Arts is about Stealth.
Acrobatics is about Dodging.
Trickery is about Stealing.

So aks yourself, what part of the Thief game-play appeals to you most, and what do you make most use of?

Because if you don’t dodge a lot then Acrobatics won’t really be all that useful. If you have no healing outside of your 30 second CD healing and don’t use Stealth, then Shadow Arts might not be so great. If you don’t use Venoms, then Deadly Arts is crap. Do you feel limited by Initiative? Then boost Trickery etc. etc.

So yeah, it really is about your play-style.

That said, some general advice I’d give is to invest into at least 1 “defensive” taint line (Acrobatics or Shadow Arts). Then pick your preferred offensive line to go with it.

deadly arts/trickery is great for double dagger damage. You will be very squishy though.

I have found that trickey/acrobatics is a good combo for damage/survivability. Acrobatics lets you dodge a lot more, boosts your initiative gain(which means more lotus spam), and gives you a big health boost to survive those nasty conditions.

If you like using twin pistols, then maybe a crit/shadow build would be your style, it brings group utility too.

Currently, I’m aiming for a stealing and stealth build. I’m a bit short at the moment, but eventually I’ll have 15 points in Deadly Arts and 20 in Shadow Arts (with Mug, Cloaked in Shadow, and Hidden Thief major traits). When I use Steal, I’ll:

1. Steal a skill
2. Deal Damage to the opponent and
3. Weaken*
4. Poison and
5. Blind it.
6. Also Cloak Myself

All at the same time. It makes a great opener, and the stealth gives me a moment to check what I stole and decide if I want to use it in that fight before I backstab the enemy and proceed to tear it up. A good amount of the time, single normal enemies don’t even get a chance to attack before they die.

It is kind of squishy though, despite all of the toughness from Shadow Arts. Don’t expect to be very successful 1v1 against veterans or especially champions in melee. I keep a bow on switch for AoE for events and a pair of guns in my inventory for single target damage for event bosses.

-* I can’t be sure this will apply because of the poison inflicted from Serpent’s Touch, which poisons the enemy during stealing. It might mean “poison” as in the poison-type utility skills, but I’ll find out. Gotta hate ambiguity.

The path of double dagger – double pistol is one wrought with temptation. The excitement of battle, the glimpse of a limping target. It’s these times the beast of DD-DP overpowers self control, and against all rationale, some primal fit over takes the thief and they mash away at Heartseeker or Unload with such fury that the keyboard trembles.

When the fugue passes, the Thief usually finds himself drained of initiative. Signets, elite, and healing skills all on cool-down, face down in the mud. The battered victim of a Guardian or Mesmer who’s weapon choices did not take ill possession of their wits and patience.

Huge rewards await the truly disciplined. The secret of the 9k heart-seeker. The ricocheting pistols of infinite bleed. These are only for those who have mastered the beast and forsworn duel skill talents until their true power is understood and can be harnessed and controlled.

Gods be with you.

TRAIT. You said “taint” like 5 times :P

This is the build I use.

Sword/Pistol has condition removal and stuns. Pistol Whip in particular does damage in a forward cone, which is great for dealing with multiple mobs. Dual pistols is a good single-target ranged option, but you could slot a shortbow and be effective in other ways.

I use Trickery for the extra initiative and damage bonus, Acrobatics keeps me less squishy than a glass cannon, with lots of mobility and extra initiative generation.

I gear for Power/Condition Dmg/Vitality (“Carrion” armor), but I’m going to try out a Power/Healing/Toughness (“Cleric” armor) set once I get the materials. When I’m out in the world I use Sigils of Perception (stacking Precision bonus for higher crit rate). I need to get different Sigils for doing Dungeons, because everyone goes down so much the stacking Sigils are pretty useless.

My armor uses Superior Runes of Lyssa, which seems to work pretty well, especially the 6-piece bonus (remove all conditions/get all boons for 5s when using an elite). It’s a great self-save when combined with Shadow Refuge and Dagger Storm (Shadow Refuge + Dagger Storm = Leeching Bolts), which turns into a pretty decent heal in a pinch, especially when surrounded by enemies.