Guild Wars 2

Hi, So im pretty new to GW2. Recently got it and spent a lot of time learning the ropes and such. I play a thief. It was the first class I tried and I fell in love with the play style of the character. Unfortunatly, I have a lot of rage moments when im doing great, and lets say an Engineer shows up and spams the floor and in three seconds i drop…but im still learning.

I read a few places that gear doesnt matter in pvp. WVW yes but normal “join a room” pvp no. If thats the case, can someone please explain to me why sometimes (for example) if I fight lets say a Ranger, if I hit a backstab and play nimble and fast I can drop them really fast while they do reasonable damage to me. But then in other cases, I fight a ranger and suddenly his hp isnt moving, and after 2 hits im down?

More specifically I run a D/P P/P set up for pvp and play a crit build. During a few matches I would end up trying to take a cap point away from a ranger, warrior, w.e it may be, open with a back stab, and if I play well enough I can drop them. But randomly, ill come accross like one dude dropping my whole team, so I run in to help with a sealth>steal>backstab to open, and their hp doesnt even nudge. Then they turn, lock on, and basicaly 2 swings i drop to the floor. Is that really all just builds? I cant imagine a build that gives that much def along with that much damage…I know im new but I know to look at what boons they are carrying and what buffs they are running and its never anything shocking or a def buff or anything. They simply just one shot me when they cross my path and even if I fight back I cant hope to win.

Thanks for any help so I can figure out how to deal with those types of players

First and foremost, post your build.

Secondly, if by saying “their HP doesnt even nudge” you mean it literally, it can be because of skills like Protect Me or Signet of Stone (for the Ranger part) or Endure Pain (for the Warrior part): both these skills completely negates all physical damage dealt to the user for a brief amount of time, so no matter what you do, you can’t damage them for 4-8 seconds (depending on the skill). Just wait a bit.

If, on the other hand, you were meaning it less literally and more in a “I dealt damage but they recovered too fast from it” you may have stumbled upon a bunker build (something with high Toughness/Protection). Not everyone is glassy in PvP, so be prepared to fight long fights against most classes.

As for the “they dropped me in 2 hits”, it’s because you were being hit by a high damage attack (either Maul, Eviscerate, 100B, Hammer burst, something like that).
Stay away from them when they have an “invulnerability” skill on(you can tell from the buff below their HP bar) and then proceed to burst them when they are open.

like what hihey have said, post your build so we can comment more.

and based on what i read up there “play a crit build” i think he is using berzerker amulet?

RedID.9402:

I read a few places that gear doesnt matter in pvp.

But randomly, ill come accross like one dude dropping my whole team, so I run in to help with a sealth>steal>backstab to open, and their hp doesnt even nudge. Then they turn, lock on, and basicaly 2 swings i drop to the floor. Is that really all just builds? I cant imagine a build that gives that much def along with that much damage

first part is semi true, you get the armour values of boots/legs and chest armour (boosted to lv 80 values), so don’t go running around topless and you’ll be fine!

second part is sadly yep, all build.
i wouldn’t be surprised it it was a hambow warrior since they can quite easily drop a thief in a couple of hits and maintain alot of passive defense (and a “godmode” button which stops all damage)

oops lol posting my build shouldve probably been my first thought lol. sorry

here it is
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQRAoa6alsMp0pFOx7JsPNxORsdwyA3nXldtD-TZBBwASeAAAOJAUOCAX3focZAA

I recently started attempting to learn D/D which Im not entirely sure what i would change in my current build for it.

Any advice would be greatly apreciated!

To confirm: By barely nudge i meant as in even a crit back stab does insignificant damage. What bothered me about all this is if somehow i get snuck up on by the players that 2 shot me, i don’t even have enough time to react before im already down. If it happens to be a relatively small map, im virtually screwed as I run into them 24/7.

Also another question. Im running around and there is some chaos going on on a cap point. I want to help (obviously) but at the same time as a theif i clearly cant run into that huge AoE chaos in the center. What should I do? Just kite with pistols? Cause i feel like im not helping out that much like that XD

thanks again

Rangers can also hit ridiculously hard with gs counterattack when running signets + damage gear. In wvw, i have managed to hit zerker warriors for 9.7k with glass signet ranger using the counter attack. That may aslo be what hit you.
Backstab vs gs block. You get kicked back then ranger will instantly use maul, path of scars, swoop or some other high dps strike as follow up.
Might have been bm too. Invis jag vs glass thief, bm jag can with ease do 5-9k depending on buffs and might stacks.

If its a grp fight in mid, shortbow works well (far better than dual pistols).
You’re other jobs are to use shadow refuge for rezzing and teleports to take out back line/low health targets.

a t s e.9614:

Its just a crap meta for thieves /mesmers. Everybody is tanky as heck and deals tons of damage while thieves and mesmers have to be very good because theres no other choice beside from zerker amulet and squishy build.

So yea, you did get killed by total scrubs running auto-pilot builds. Its either you join them or become a very good thief.

So basically if your a thief or mesmer and you win your good? yea right lol whatever thief has one of the most overpowered builds around

Bane.5379:

a t s e.9614:

Its just a crap meta for thieves /mesmers. Everybody is tanky as heck and deals tons of damage while thieves and mesmers have to be very good because theres no other choice beside from zerker amulet and squishy build.

So yea, you did get killed by total scrubs running auto-pilot builds. Its either you join them or become a very good thief.

So basically if your a thief or mesmer and you win your good? yea right lol whatever thief has one of the most overpowered builds around

Well tbh me being new to the gme and first starting thief one of the first things i did was look up builds, implement them, then started to try them and change them as I saw fit. Ill tell you from now I died an INCREDIBLE number of times when I first started. Im not saying a thief is the only class that takes skill, but I am saying in no shape or form can a noob play a thief and just ride on the coattails of their build. You need to know how to use it and how to react correctly.

It just looks like im going to need some practice lol. And ill definatly switch to short bow. The aoe damage sounds fantastic especially for the group pvp. Ill also have to change my play style in group and play a bit smarter….