Guild Wars 2

There are 3 primary builds a thief can create which are effective in sPvP (arguably 4)

1: Pistol Whip thief with stun locking (CC)
2: Stealth thief with backstab, venoms and signets.
3: Tank condition thief with high dodge rates.
4: (arguably) Heartseeker spam thief with haste (I don’t like this build, it’s nooby)

Analysis of each build are in spoilers.

With the 15% set x5 on assassin’s signet. The backstab thief has a great deal of trouble dealing DPS, especially against Guardians. Getting them down to 25% before, with the 50% signet, really put Guardians in their place. Any competent warrior would either Hundred blades when this shadow based thief would disappear. Guardians could pull their Aegis boon and eliminate the backstab. Warriors/Guardians could also use ground smashing AOE’s to stun the thief and nullify the backstab. Any competent mesmer, elementalist, ranger or engineer would blast AOE attacks to reveal the thief, while running in circles to avoid the backstab.

Fighting a Guardian now is a down right chore. Not only can you not get them past 30% HP, but their heals recover most to all of their health. Mesmers were already extremely difficult to deal with, now it’s plain absurd. Warriors don’t have any trouble with this build anymore, their high toughness allows them to recover from that 6K backstab instantly. The BS thieves might stacking wears off very quickly, allowing the warrior to stun them and heal, to recover almost everything. This builds backstab is now 6K for Heavy, and 9K for light. I can’t even down an elementalist with 14K HP.

Can anyone suggest another good thief build? I’m getting trampled by every profession.

Tried Sword/dagger?

Yes, , that’s the build I started off with. I even tried tweaking it, the build is too slow and doesn’t have a lot of options to work with. The Unicorn double dagger workers better than the sword because while you’re dodging, you’re also stacking bleed conditions.

Um, its working as intended. Glass cannon shouldn’t be able to just instadown a Guardian bunker. They are there and were invented specifically to counter joke builds like backstab, I dont see any problem.

I wouldn’t write off Sword/Dagger.

-Sword auto-attack is very strong
-Infiltrator’s Strike gives great mobility and a condition removal
-While flanking strike isn’t the greatest, it got a small buff in the patch for unblockable boon removal, ideal for things like guardian
-Dancing Dagger has HUGE potential when fighting multiple targets
-Cloak and Dagger can hit pretty hard and meshes well with the sword daze in certain situations

Ever try running condition and using bow? Even using bow as power against specific setups like Mesmer is EXTREMELY useful. There’s VERY little opportunity to use a dagger against a Mesmer, and that’s AFTER killing off clones / phantasms with bow.

Bow is an extremely underestimated weapon that thieves have. It might not be instant gib DPS, and it takes a bit to get used to / effectively use, but it’s still extremely effective in many situations. Don’t want to get destroyed by 100 blades warrior? Kite them around with bow & keep them immobilized with surprise shot while damaging them, evasive shot when they get close / even immobilize you. Will help negate a LOT of incoming damage since you can evade while immobilized, or if you have the time just infiltrator shot away.

Don’t rely entirely on melee as a thief, and a whole world of opportunity will open up for you. Good luck.

A bit of “strange” logic in this thread

let’s start at the end and work our way back shall we?

Bow underestimated? nearly every build recommends it…. it just got buffed and offers up the best way of dealing with the insanely irritating mesmer “situation” that this game has… for all the whingeing about BS thieves… other classes really have no right to talk at times… and suggesting SB whilst claiming it’s “underestimated” and claiming it’s a “counter” to a 100b warrior… just seems almost like you’re trolling it’s that misinformed XD

Weakness is a bane to 100b warriors, so is survival traits and stunbreakers as well as good ol dodge

Korzal is right in most regards, but dancing dagger is still overrated outside of glascannon builds I feel, as it’s use is limited due to infiltrators strike bringing immob which is probably the most powerful condition in the game

However stating that it’s a “guardian” stopper, is I feel “reaching” to put it best. removing boons will help tone a guardian and indeed a lot of classes down, but it won’t stop them being insane in terms of sustain in most cases

all “IMHO” ofc

korzal.5068:

I wouldn’t write off Sword/Dagger.
-While flanking strike isn’t the greatest, it got a small buff in the patch for unblockable boon removal, ideal for things like guardian

I want to clear this up, and emphasize that the skill was NOT individually buffed, but rather the boon removal mechanic was fixed which was not supposed to be blockable in the first place. This was fixed for all boon removal abilities, such as Mesmer’s Arcane Thievery, etc.

Flanking Strike still remains to be a sub-par #3 ability, as many would agree.

Yes, as I have stated before. Flanking strike has it’s usages, however, it’s not nearly as useful as a lotus death blossom in turns of functionality. Not only does the lotus stack bleed, attack 3 times, but it also hits multiple enemies. With the sword combo, you don’t get a heartseeker, which can really help you narrow the distance, if you have no shadowsteps left.

I use the bow regularly, especially against mesmers. I usually envenom my bow with immobilize RIGHT as the arrow is about to strike on a regular attack I know a mesmer won’t dodge. Simply because that can help me put them in their place, shadowstep and backstab for a quick, effective kill. A good mesmer will usually mind wrack at this point, downing the glass cannon thief and it’s a fight to the death on downs.

I don’t have problems with 100b, I simply stated how it’s an effective measure against stealth thieves. I have had many situations where I needed to back off from a C+D while a warrior used his/her 100b.

LONG VERSION

SHORT VERSION –
More chances for attacks to miss = less DPS
Glass cannon builds centered around a backstab are now more vulnerable to punishment.

Aeonex.7482:

Any competent …. engineer would blast AOE attacks to reveal the thief, while running in circles to avoid the backstab.

I dont know about that man
1) Aoe doesnt remove stealth
2) 1 hour ago , i was istant (0.75-1.25sec) globald by a backstab theif .
Steal> 0.4 sec free time > Backstab + Basilisc Venom > 0.4 sec delay > second attack
I couldnt have time to cast any spell :P

Have you tried P/D tank-dodge condition build?

I’m killing this thread. Backstab’s damage has been reduced, but the new patch has fixed the problems I was facing with Assassin’s Signet. The build is now both fair for others to fight back, and has a high DPS rate. Closing.

Also, F.Y.I. Killthehealersffs, when in stealth, thieves have increased vulnerability. It’s not pulling them from stealth as much as it is downing the opponent and revealing them.