#1: deadly arts with executioner?.. no pls no. critical strikes gonna be unused 9/10 amount a times. having this much stats in a trait line(deadly arts.. mug,panic, execut) is just stupid… its gonna be picked by every single thief, at least put executioner back to crit strikies.
#2: crit strikes only for 100% glass cannon builds (dadly arts #1 + crit strikes). wont be ever picked in place of deadly arts in this status.
#3: shadow arts. here are getting things really wierd… this traitline could only be picked earlyer by sacraficing utility or damage. with the 3 lines you can max out this isnt the case anymore. This way you gonna face thieves not only with enchanced damage(#1: op….) and the same utility(trickery) but with aids stealth traitline too. isnt enough? yes it isnt, the traits gonna be even stronger than before. not sure if it is right to give thieves damage reduction(50%? wut) in a minor trait… isnt 3xx hp/sec+initiative rengen+condi remove enough to prevent any counterplay against stealthed thieves? this gonna end up in unkillable 6-7k backstab tieves with boonstrip and so on…
#4: Acrobatics. the dedicated traitline for s/d thieves. We have to admit this 10/10 fun to play build got really unused lately due to d/p-s dominance. lets see the changes: replacing static endurance gain with vigor is already a big of a cut(having things immediately>>having them later), you get the bonus only if you SUCCESFULLY evade something(encourages skillful gameplay etcetc blahblah). this gonna punish failing to predict openings on you REALLY bad. 3.nerf: 3sec cooldown……. are you kidding? so you gonna get noothing even if you “succesfully” evade stuff 2x in a row(instead of ~50% endurance you end up on ~0 and 1/4 worth of vigor)?
i see the cooldown is set couse it triggers on “evade”(no cooldown=u evade a nade from engi triggers3x) and it is effected by skills making you evade. This rework reduces the endurance pool that evade builds relyed on.(also gonna make beating d/p thieves even harder or even inpossible due to free shadow arts).
Hard to catch: here comes some conpensation! yes this gonna be op… autopick for acrobatic builds(even with sword -steal cooldown). 30sec cd endurance refil + stunbreak is really good even if you cant rely on its triggering.
Assassins reward: this trait really needs some rework.. like really… noone gonna pick it once again. does not heal enough to pick. buff healing with like 100% or merge some stuff with it like you did 60% of times
Quick pockets: i myself use this 90% of time. its really rewarding for ppl good with shortbow
new trait: evade a ranged attack 5sec cd. well this is really good too. relying on it is also OK, 5sec is low enough to keep track of it. this finally helps a lot against ranged pressure builds. other thieves got stealth, you got this.
new!! : 20% vigor effectiveness. hmm this is really superrior but i feel +20/30 % duration increse would be more benefical, due to new access to vigor and the lack of uptime after missing a steal.
#5: trickery no big changes. the condi traits from deadly arts and this traitline show some potential for cele/carrion thief for the future though.
summary: cant see how the BIG actobatics changes going to work out with s/d but i feel that the overly op d/p gonna push it even more down
does my fear from rework make me blind in terms of actobatics s/d? what are your thoughts?