Guild Wars 2

Hi all,

Brand new here! I’m a bit confused on how invisibility and stealth work in GW2, which classes and races have it at all, how it’s intended to work (combat, exploration, escape). Are there any races and classes that have long term stealth or invisibility? A lot of the abilities I’ve seen have very short durations, e.g. 3 seconds. Is there a guide or website I could visit that would help explain it? I understand the potentially advantages of stealth in PvP, but I’m mainly interested in being able to explore all sorts of nooks and crannies and be able to get in and out of combat on my terms.

Many thanks!

Invisibility/stealth can be applied to any role you can make them apply to. Thinking creatively and trying things out is very important in GW2’s combat system.

From what I’ve seen, mesmer and thief are the only two classes that can stealth, or at least are the main two classes. I’ve also heard of builds for the thief that allow near-perpetual stealthing, so you may want to look for those in the Thief forum. There is also a consumable, any-class item that can be bought from a heart vendor in the Plains of Ashford for the low cost of 24 karma- the Ash Legion Spy Kit, which gives you ten seconds of invisibility when holding still (less if you move) and has no cooldown. It cannot be used in sPvP or WvW, however.

Also, a good number of classes have abilities that allow them to quickly enter/escape combat. Warriors have two skills on the greatsword that move them around quickly, mesmers have some teleports and a skill on focus, and double dagger elementalists have Burning Speed, Ride the Lightning, Updraft, Magnetic Grasp, and can add Mist Form or Lightning Flash to the mix. I myself play a D/D ele and have few issues exploring as long as I stay aware of my surroundings.

Overall, I wish you the best of luck. Welcome to Tyria!

Two classes have the capacity to apply stealth at will: Thieves and Mesmers. Either class has a couple ways to apply stealth to themselves, and either one has a spell or two which can apply stealth to their teammates as well.

Engineers and Rangers each have a trait which will automatically cast stealth when certain debuffs occur. Engineers trigger it when immobilized. Rangers trigger it when subject to a Control class debuff. Additionally, Engineers can sometimes apply stealth by tossing an Elixir S (toolbelt skill).

Finally, using a Blast Finisher with a Smoke Field will produce a friendly AoE stealth, while a Leap Finisher applies a personal stealth. Norn can use stealth while under the effects of their Snow Leopard elite. And at least one rune set exists which applies stealth at a certain health %.

Given the availability, only Thieves and Mesmers can effectively stealth for prolonged periods of time. But no stealth can last permanently, and few uses of stealth last longer than 3-5 seconds.

And, of course, the basics: stealth is not invincibility, and you are still susceptible to taking damage from any source that does not absolutely require a target (even a well aimed arrow can hit you in stealth). Taking damage in stealth will not remove the effect, but making any successful action will take you out of stealth. Successful action is important, because it means using a physical attack without actually hitting a target will not de-stealth your character.

If you’d like tips on the subtleties and nuanced uses of stealth, it might be better to ask some specific questions. There’s a whole to talk about, especially concerning strategies and tactics.

Thanks for the replies all! Historically I’ve played rogues, mages, or theif classes in EQ, DAOC, FFXI, and WoW, so have been used to being able to sneak around, bypass encounters, or escape combat at will. Looks like GW2 doesn’t necessarily have that sort of 30+ seconds of stealth or more capacity. Which is cool. I understand the crazy balance issues it brings.

As far as PvE strategy goes, can you actually escape using a short burst of stealth, or do monsters quickly re-agro on you, making it less useful? Can you effectively sneak past monsters with it as well, or is it mainly used to set up combat moves or redirect monsters in a group setting?

I haven’t played thief in-depth yet, but I’ve found stealth to be useful for escape as a mesmer, especially with several clones/phantasms up. Upon stealthing, mobs would often move to attack my clones instead and would stay on them even after I destealthed. From there, I could either make a run for it, heal uninterrupted, or throw more spells at them from a distance.

Also, don’t underestimate the distance you can cover in three seconds. Even with no clones up, I’ve been able to get away from vets and champs in that small window of time.

Greyson.8043:

As far as PvE strategy goes, can you actually escape using a short burst of stealth, or do monsters quickly re-agro on you, making it less useful? Can you effectively sneak past monsters with it as well, or is it mainly used to set up combat moves or redirect monsters in a group setting?

Yes, as soon as you apply stealth, the enemy forgets about you and starts walking back to it’s spawn point. As long as you put enough distance between you, you shouldn’t get aggro again (though I believe if you have dots on this changes).

While you can sneak past monsters, it isn’t really the point of stealth in this game. As you alluded to, it is meant mainly to set up combat moves and control the battlefield. The builds that have a high uptime of stealth have it because you’re using combat abilities that grant it for a short time in rapid succession. Stealth is not designed to be a long term buff that lets you go wherever you want.