Hello, if you are like me, you have either never played thief before and are looking for a build like no other (that I have found at least), or in my case, you aren’t able to take full advantage of the teleporting, conniving thieves that are so popular in PvP. I have tried numerous meta thief builds and for me, I was not able to find what suited me. Because of this I have decided to do some of my own research. I play tested numerous build and I came to a burst/sustained crit build which focuses on high burst and high mobility while staying alive.
I would like to start off by saying your elite can be changed to your liking. I have found that both “Impact Strike” and “Basilisk Venom” work great, it all depends on what you’re wanting out of this build. If you’re looking for a more aggresive, easy gank, then take Basilisk Venom. If you’re looking for an easy stomp when your “Shadowstep” is on cooldown, then take “Impact Strike”.
In this guide I will briefly talk about each specialization and why I chose them.
Critical Strikes:
As a crit/burst thief you rely on crits already. This is complimented by not only the signet of agility, but also the rune of eagle.
“Flawless Strike” – This trait is great for initiation. Chances are you going to go into a fight with full health. With this trait, it allows you to have a 7% increased critical strike per crit. Combine this with your steal, basic attack (I open with heartseeker [D/D 2]) then a “Fist of Fury”, your opponent is in a world of hurt before they can do anything in response.
“Practiced Tolerance” – An easy pick. Signet of Agility gives precision, combined with marauder’s amulet and rune of the eagle, you have amazing crit chance and crit damage. However, this trait can be replaced with “Sundering Strikes” if you so choose to get a bunch of vulnerability, however, because it is only 1% incoming damage, I don’t find it useful.
“Invigorating Precision” – I have already emphasized the crit damage and crit chance this build holds. This trait allows you to get the most use out of it. This is where I found the other builds to lack. I am a good PvPer, however, I am by far no means the best. I have troubles out sustaining most classes like the dragon hunter and the reverent, however, with this I have no problems. I have yet to beat a celestial tempest who knows what their doing, however, I have come close. All in all, the trait allows you to survive much more.
Trickery:
“Thrill of the Crime” – I chose this trait for a few reasons. Both “Uncatchable” and “Flanking Strikes” were too unreliable for me. If you can position yourself behind the enemy, “Flanking Strikes” might be better. However, “Thrill of the Crime” grants fury, which is the key in this build, allowing you to have a better crit chance = more healing =higher survive-ability.
“Bountiful Theft” – Bountiful Theft grants vigor, allowing you to evade more, which is, and always has been, crucial; However, this evade is not only used for negating damage, but also damage – we will get to there. This was also an easy pick. We don’t have any trick abilities in this kit, nor are we relying on conditions, therefor the other two options aren’t viable.
“Sleight of Hand” – This trait took a little experimenting to decide on. I chose the trait because not only does it reduce the recharge of “Steal” but also it dazees. This daze, even though it is only for one second, can still be the difference between a win and a loss. This daze allows the option of interrupting your opponent. This is crucial for opponents such as elementalists and warriors. I was thinking heavily on taking “Quick Pockets” but decided against it because of the options I have with “Sleight of Hand” because of the dazes over the initiative
Daredevil:
“Havoc Mastery” – Havoc mastery allows for more burst/damage. That is all there is to it. This build is all about damage and burst, “Havoc Mastery” takes advantage of that most mainly because this build doesn’t involve ranged weapons.
“Escapist’s Absolution” – This trait is a must with the current meta. The current meta revolves heavily around condition heavy classes. especially the newly loved Frostfire Carrion Reaper. The thief, at least in this build, hardly has any cures. To stand a chance against condition classes, we must take this trait.
“Bounding Dodger” – This is another trait that I had to experiment with. At first I was playing with “Unhindered Combatant” however, I found that the “Bounding Dodger” in-fact crits, allowing for healing while still evading. This is where the more aggressive dodging comes into play. Where the D/P beats the D/D is the chase. D/P has the blink or shadow step, allowing them to close the gap. D/D has the “Bounding Dodger” If you find your enemy running away, you can use your D/D 4 (“Dancing Dagger”) to cripple your foe, then proceed to dance all over their booty with your dodge. Allowing you to heal, chase, and damage the enemy.
How to Play
Now that you understand the build and why I chose what I did, I will now understand how to play the build to the full potential I have found. You want to start of with D/D. This allows for the most burst quickest. The reason I say that is because you have the fast attacked speed allowing your fire and air runes to proc when you start a fight. Before initiating start by activating your basilisk venom (Pay attention if your fighting a dragon hunter, always make sure they do not have aegis. If they do, do not activate your elite before opening a fight), once activated use D/D 2 (heartseeker), in mid leap activate your steal to hop on them. Once you have done your initial burst, quickly activate your fists of fury to get in some more burst/vulnerability while the enemy is still encased in stone.
This is where I tend to change what I am doing depending on who I am fighting. In general I use my D/D on ranged targets such as rangers (with exceptions), D/D’s 3 (deathblossom) gives great invulnerability while still dealing decent damage. Usually rangers with either open with their knockback or their quick burst (4 or 2). This is where we take advantage of our invulnerability.
If I am fighting a melee target I tend to use my staff for a few reason: Vulnerability stacks. cripple, blind, invulnerability with amazing damage.
Exceptions: I tend to use staff if I am fighting a mesmer. I use the staff for the second and fifth abilities. The fifth ability allows for massive AoE damage, rendering their clones useless which can lead to high burst damage with either mind shatter or by allowing them to use their abilities twice with the new chromamancer meta. However, the second ability also allows for decent chase while also applying vulnerability.
I hope that my build has helped you, if you have any questions feel free to send me mail in game (Havokak.3450), or feel free to post your questions in this thread and I will try to reply as quickly as possible.