Guild Wars 2

Seeing as how spectator mode is now viable in SPvP matches, I was wondering who exactly I should be studying; picking up pointers/tips from; trying to make myself as a sPVP’er aspire to be as good as.

I am on a N.A. server, (Borlis Pass); idk if that matters, i am very new still, to SPvP as well as to GW2… Just started playing the GW2 about 2 months ago. I have done a bit of pvp, but still not quite what/as much as I am used to in the game I play. I do take it a bit seriously, ofc all in fun, but it IS an aspect of the game I’d like to harness and explore my potentials.

So….long story short, I am looking for who to take pointers from/spectate/attempt to contact/maybe meet up for a lesson or 2….

Couple things please:
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1. I am a thief, sole character on this acct., so I take the profession pretty serious, it is after all, atm… my ONLY toon. I am not just a “thief for SPvP/Mesmer for dung’s/Warrior WvW/Ele PvE power farmer”……

I use and try to adapt my thief to whatever situation arises, so I am quite serious about wanting to learn the in’s and out’s of the profession from someone other’s think is quite talented with the assembled traits/skills/weapon combo’s/profession uniqueness that is this class.

2. I am very familiar with and use on basically any situation, whether it be primary or my secondary set for the event, Dagger-Pistol. My 2nd most familiar weapon is the short-bow, which I use as a 2ndary for almost all PvE situations and/or primary to tag-farm/AoE mobs.

I have used in the past D/D as a primary so I am halfway familiar with that, and in the past aswell I have used P/P and P/D as 2ndary’s.

I am very interested in switching my 2ndary (If I can call it that, considering what I want to achieve it to be…) Sword-Dagger which I have seen some videos and tested out myself for the past 1-2 weeksish thou I am still very clumsy and infamiliar with the controls, half the time getting rushed/pressured into not knowing exactly what moves my fingers are doing; thou I am practicing with the set-up and I am wanting it to be a close 2ndary setup for my SPvP build most of the time.

So……
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If anyone could tell me who to look out for, where they might be/where I can find them; if you are on good terms/are friendly with said individual(s) if you could drop my name and tell them I am looking for advice it would be much, much, much appreciated. And, if you are reading this and have success with a thief I ask that you would drop me a line so that I can reply and we might have a back-and-forth whether it be thru mails/whispers/me spectating/them spectating me/ 1 on 1 trainings/etc. etc. etc.

Thank You so much for your help,
RogueTigeR
RogueTigeR.3160
Borlis Pass

I could try to find somebody for you (or, if you’re willing, I could help tutor you), but first, I have to ask: what kind of spec are you trying to run? (i.e. burst, tank, conditions, etc)

well… I was told and agreed aswell that I should be tankier while im learning the game/toon and when I have more/less mastered being able to do what I want to do at command less tanky and more DPS.

To answer your question, more so direct damage, not so much condition applied; I do not use any of the venoms given to me in the arsenal except for basilisk, and occasionally the poison trap, which i use solely for the immobilization…ahhh…needle trap i think…

My “Game-Plan”, as is, atm is:
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1- a- Shadowstep/Fast-approach :
(OR)
1- b- Approach from disadvantaged line-of-sight…1st approach tries, not always, but lets say 65% of time to be non-stealthed to save them for “mid-combat” usage…but if I am wanting to save initiative and would rather dodge in… I approach at hopefully a different elevation and try to encounter between 4-5 o’clock or 7-8 o’clock… if u get my drift….

2- Try to hit hard as possible: (Backstab)

3- Stealth ASAP:
(I often, to save initiative, or when utilities/steal/hide in shadows not cooled down yet, as well as to add a little extra damage than just backstab+backstab+backstab+backstab, etc…use the Black Powder + Heart Seeker to not only nerf their outgoing damage (blinded), add to my damage (HS) as well as stealthing me once again for a brief moment (Combo: Smoke field + Leap finisher)).

4- Attempt to change directions: /Mislead/Misdirect opponent so as to throw off their PoV and slow their efforts to target me

5,2- Cross paths: once again with opponent at which time …Repeat step 2.

6,3- Stealth again: and get out of the way of retaliation(s)

….Repeat: step 4…5,2…6,3….etc. etc. etc.
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To simplify:

Get in, Hit ’em hard and fast, get out (stealth+out of zone attack reach), Repeat.

sry… a long reply to a short question :P

A thief has to play more like a predator in spvp, mainly focus on other glass cannons and weakened targets and your job is to take them out as fast as possible.
You’re not the iniator and a good thief’s strength relies in not being seen, even if they are not in stealth. Currently your gamestyle is more like a wvwvw type, where you have the time to play around and take things slow. In spvp it’s much more crucial to be fast, since you only have very limited time till the enemy backup arrives.

Always try to play on mobility and 2v1 situations where you are the last one to enter the fight, so the focus isn’t on you, but on your teammate. This gives you the necessary few seconds to prep your burst unnoticed. In 1v1 situations if you miss your burst, it’s better to stealth up and drop the fight and move to somewhere else where you’re needed. You’re most effective if you get the opener on them.

Don’t use your shadowstep for “fast approach” unless you’re approaching unnoticed and you’re 100% sure you can instagib the target, even then it’s not that good idea to waste your stunbreak. Also don’t let your bloodlust get the better of you, fear the AoEs and stay in the shadows.

Sbow is pretty much mandatory as 2ndary in spvp, since a lot of maps have a huge focus on z-axis and mobility plays a huge role in thief gameplay. The second function sbow has for a thief are the teamfights, since you’re squishy and the amount of AoEs flying around you pretty much have to stay offpoint in bigger fights. You’ll still do decent damage with clusterbombs and keeping poison on point is excellent against downed/bunker builds.

Most popular builds in tournas atm are both zerker amu glasscannons.
25/30/0/0/15 d/p&sbow or 30/30/0/0/10 s/d&sbow, they play a bit differently, but the role is pretty much the same.

Learn how to approach different targets, what they can do to mitigate your damage and learn to adapt on the go. Different specs require different type of approach and you have to make quick decisions when a suitable situation arises.