Guild Wars 2

uh….what? in pvp stealth is huge disadvantage as you can’t hold points while stealthed…

wvw forums this way ->

Cynz.9437:

uh….what? in pvp stealth is huge disadvantage as you can’t hold points while stealthed…

wvw forums this way ->

Using a game mode to justify class balance is inadequate.

When team death match is implemented, then what? Is it still okay then?

zone.1073:

Cynz.9437:

uh….what? in pvp stealth is huge disadvantage as you can’t hold points while stealthed…

wvw forums this way ->

Using a game mode to justify class balance is inadequate.

When team death match is implemented, then what? Is it still okay then?

tbh i doubt that in deathmatch ppl would run thieves since they drop like flies

in any game i have played that had death match mode, you usually wanted to run bruisers or high CC dmg + support… i believe necros, engis, wars and guards would be the thing

zone.1073:

Cynz.9437:

uh….what? in pvp stealth is huge disadvantage as you can’t hold points while stealthed…

wvw forums this way ->

Using a game mode to justify class balance is inadequate.

When team death match is implemented, then what? Is it still okay then?

And nerfing stealth across every profession just because of one profession’s signature mechanic is perfectly adequate, right? Because we don’t have AoE flying around points left right and center, do we?

Hashtag kneejerk reaction.

And only the best thieves will be running in any deathmatch, as it’ll be the epitome of high risk/high reward.

Cynz.9437:

tbh i doubt that in deathmatch ppl would run thieves since they drop like flies

in any game i have played that had death match mode, you usually wanted to run bruisers or high CC dmg + support… i believe necros, engis, wars and guards would be the thing

You missed the point.

orly? please enlighten me then

Stealth is both a huge advantage as well as a huge disadvantage, depending on the circumstance. I also do agree that in a TDM Thiefs would be extremely high risk/high reward but I think they would definitely their place to shine. The point is that since Thieves are extremely dependent on such a cheesy mechanic, they would definitely need some kind of buff. I think the change I am proposing here would solve the problem you are describing, Cynz – making Thieves a viable class without being forced to constantly hide behind their broken Stealth mechanic.

What do you think?

I wouldn’t go as far to call it cheesy.

Again you’re ignoring the fact that structured PvP (You know I’m going to base this discussion around that because if this is coming from the WvW standpoint then it has absolutely no basis for consideration) has a buttload of AoE to cover points, and as previously stated stealth does not contribute to point capture….what the hell would be the point of this change?

It would entirely slaughter stealth. Have you seen the amount of cleave alone in matches?

Thieves do need some help in various weapon sets to help boost/encourage diversity but this stealth change won’t happen.

and how would you make up for those nerfs

kylwilson.9137:

I wouldn’t go as far to call it cheesy.

Again you’re ignoring the fact that structured PvP (You know I’m going to base this discussion around that because if this is coming from the WvW standpoint then it has absolutely no basis for consideration) has a buttload of AoE to cover points, and as previously stated stealth does not contribute to point capture….what the hell would be the point of this change?

It would entirely slaughter stealth. Have you seen the amount of cleave alone in matches?

Thieves do need some help in various weapon sets to help boost/encourage diversity but this stealth change won’t happen.

Absolutely it’s from a sPvP point of view. I do agree that it is highly unlikely that this change will happen, but I also believe that there needs to be some way for stealth to be countered. It’s an extremely frustrating mechanic to play against (esp. since it’s possible to apply it as AoE) and I think it seriously bottlenecks Thiefs in PvP. They are pretty much forced to abuse this mechanic to be viable since otherwise they are seriously lacking in many other areas. At the same time, it makes them extremely strong (if not overpowered) at rapidly killing targets without them being able to do much against it…

Like I said, just a suggestion, would be curious to hear what others think about this.

As for buffs: definitely improve their surviability and ability to evade damage without being forced to abuse Stealth. Maybe for ex. have Stealth break on damage, but have certain abilities Stealth you and make you invulnerable to damage for ~2-3 seconds?

I’m not going be able to see eye to eye on this one, the counters are already there. AoE, cleave, active blocks. For any thief to be able to “rapidly killing targets without them being able to do much against it…” they need to be running complete glass set-ups, and potentially be targeting glass set-ups themselves.

I’ll say I expect to lose against a superbly skilled thief, and for them to be that skilled then they most definitely deserve the kill, (I’m totally kitten at running a thief so I don’t know how they do it most of the time) but I ~can’t~ say that this is a game-breaker.

I’m all for some skills applying revealed to enemies under special circumstances however, and I’m surprised this hasn’t been implemented already.

In the frame of duels/tdm (non conquest based objectives) I think stealth is fine as it is AS LONG AS WE DON’T GO INTO SHADOW ARTS. It’s when we start getting eternal stealth (shadow ref is like 16 seconds with shadow arts), and stuff like condition removal while stealthed and huge regeneration while in stealth that things get silly.

No. This would kill Mesmer survivability.

Revealed should be applied on block. That’s enough to tone done the cheese.

Jackums.3496:

No. This would kill Mesmer survivability.

Revealed should be applied on block. That’s enough to tone done the cheese.

you want every thief play sword lol?

If this stealth nerf were put in place you would soon be screaming for an evade nerf…

Luto.1938:

If this stealth nerf were put in place you would soon be screaming for an evade nerf…

We already do. Uncounterable stealth and cheesy permaevades are most utterly broken mechanics of this game. “E-sports”? Don’t make me laugh. Not with this around. Not until whole class will be reworked and rebalanced to provide real skill (not spam) based high risk – high reward gameplay like rogue in that another game (at least how it was when I still played it).

Thief just needs its initiative regen reverted. As of now thief has become so much easier to play since you can make way more mistakes with the increased initiative regen. Trickery thieves because of this are just completely out of control.

To say that there is no counter play to stealth/ prevention is ridiculous.

Here is the basic scenario of a thief stealthing:

1) Black powder + heartseeker leap

2) Shadow refuge

You can prevent the first by stunning/dazing them before they leap, and you can prevent the latter by using a pull/knockback while they are sitting in it.

There are also plenty of things you can do while they are stealth to prevent a burst – AOE blinds, blocks, invulns, anticipation dodging + positioning.

I just hate when people say there is no counter to stealth…it’s a l2p issue. You cannot stealth forever, and most of it is only 3 seconds. Beating stealth is more of a mindset than a hit-this-button to beat it mechanic.

If you are talking about mesmers which have instant stealth, then yes it is a little more problematic, but if you are quick with targeting and knowing how to find the real mesmer…it’s not much of a problem.

Thoth Divine.8642:

Title says it all. Stealth is a great mechanic in this game, but the fact that it is absolutely impossible to prevent or counter is ridiculous. Thieves rely on this skill a great lot which is fine, but in my opinion it’s a broken and cheesy mechanic. I think Thieves would be in a much better place if they didn’t rely so much on it and were compensated in other ways to make up for this.

Thoughts?

I don’t know, man. Thieves seem fine to me. If we want a useful and functioning stealth mechanic at all in this game, we should leave stealth as it is. I think there are much worse issues currently such as all of these regen/condition warriors and pathetic excuses for viable Ele’s.

There are more issues in pvp, but I don’t believe a stealth mechanic is one of them. Try playing a theif for a bit, mate. I used to hate thieves until I did so and realized that it’s not at all as easy or as efficient as it appears.

I main a thief and I would love something like this. Nerf stealth in the way you proposed or some other way and give thieves another mechanic that they can use for more diversity. I get so tired of back stab. K just recently moved to Ele for this reason. Thieves need something more than stealth backstab. It gets so boring after a long time. Its the only move you use to get that good damage output. The only other viable spec without stealth is s/p. If there could be a way to give thieves another great mechanic and nerfing stealth without breaking the class I would be all for it. Give us diversity! In Nm way am I saying that stealth is broken, I’m just saying that I got bored of the same kitten thing after awhile and I’m completely open to meeting it as long as we get something great that works.

Cynz.9437:

uh….what? in pvp stealth is huge disadvantage as you can’t hold points while stealthed…

wvw forums this way ->

^^ This. Stealth isn’t a big deal in PvP because being in stealth is a disadvantage.

Amaterasu.6280:

To say that there is no counter play to stealth/ prevention is ridiculous.

Here is the basic scenario of a thief stealthing:

1) Black powder + heartseeker leap

2) Shadow refuge

You can prevent the first by stunning/dazing them before they leap, and you can prevent the latter by using a pull/knockback while they are sitting in it.
….

3) blind field + heartseeker

not preventing them from stealth except a couple skills that are tied to be immune against blind or reflect projectiles.

Good idea, lets nerf all dagger thieves in sPvP so everyone has play the very skillful S/X builds.

I have never once felt that stealth was creating a disadvantage for me or anyone else on my team in PvP. In fact it’s typically the opposite.

Stealth is the best way to engage and/or disengage a fight, is useful for denying stomps, securing rezzes, shedding target acquisitions (painfully few skills offer the possibility to shed the “called target” symbol) and offers the only way to “surprise” your opponent on any of the available maps.

Stealth is crazy strong, and that’s not totally bad but it does need some more (read: actual) counter play.

I believe there is plenty to counter stealth.

There are only a few ways to really play stealth and if you understand the mechanic you can counter it pretty well.

Stealth should not make players invisible. Stealth should make players translucent like a ranger’s spirit or a mesmer’s phantasm.

Completely concealing a player, or group of players is a broken mechanic, when many classes have no ability to do so what so ever. Plus, this would make the use of stealth much more strategic and give players the ability to counter.

Spooko.5436:

Stealth should not make players invisible. Stealth should make players translucent like a ranger’s spirit or a mesmer’s phantasm.

Completely concealing a player, or group of players is a broken mechanic, when many classes have no ability to do so what so ever. Plus, this would make the use of stealth much more strategic and give players the ability to counter.

The wisest man in GW2 has spoken.

I no longer want stealth, I want TRANSLUCENCY to be my class mechanic. When I try to escape with translucency, I’ll just go “You don’t see me, you don’t see me, you don’t see me…”

tronjeremy.5820:

I believe there is plenty to counter stealth.

There are only a few ways to really play stealth and if you understand the mechanic you can counter it pretty well.

IMO the only stealth that has a counter of any kind is Shadow Refuge and that’s only while the field is up and visible.

There’s a difference between countering a player and countering a skill or mechanic. Once you’re stealth there is no counter other than Sick’em which I have been unstealthed by exactly 1 time. You might be able to gauge the invis opponents next move based on their class or their objective due to that particular stage of the match, but you will not and cannot counter the stealth itself.

Indeed.. I keep hearing about all these multiple ways to counter stealth and yet no single example has been given… Enlighten me: the only counter I know of stealth (other than obviously to prevent it through cc/stun/daze) is to AoE damage like a kitten in the hopes that the Thief is stupid enough to stay around and die to your blind AoE.

Amaterasu.6280:

Spooko.5436:

Stealth should not make players invisible. Stealth should make players translucent like a ranger’s spirit or a mesmer’s phantasm.

Completely concealing a player, or group of players is a broken mechanic, when many classes have no ability to do so what so ever. Plus, this would make the use of stealth much more strategic and give players the ability to counter.

The wisest man in GW2 has spoken.

I no longer want stealth, I want TRANSLUCENCY to be my class mechanic. When I try to escape with translucency, I’ll just go “You don’t see me, you don’t see me, you don’t see me…”

Every player should have to deal with the threat of constantly being exposed, just like every player should have to strategically use their healing skill…………healing signet……….

Counter stealth 101

Black powder field
Thieves use heartseeker out of it to gain stealth. AOE that kitten. Swing/attack around that kitten without stepping into it.

Stealth heal.
AOE that kitten. Swing/attack the area. He is already low on health or wants to escape when it’s used. Be aggressive.

Shadow Refuge.
Push/Fear the thief out of that kitten. Swing/attack/aoe the area.

Instant Stealth Abilities/Traits
CC the area AOE that kitten, swing etc.

If there is a thief on the other team and you are getting focused, keep an eye on him. If you get to about half health thats when we love to strike. Just have what you can ready to defend or get out of a surprise backstab.

Don’t forget. You cannot cap/hold points with stealth. You have very few seconds to really stay in stealth unless you use blind powder perma steath in which case AOE that kitten. Especially if you see it against a wall they are there spamming 2.

I wrote this quick so it’s not in detail but it’s simple. I just see people crying about it. If anything thieves would probably have the most to cry about against other thieves and stealth. As its pretty much whoever gets the jump on the other that usually wins in a 1v1 with glassy thief.

Thoth Divine.8642:

Indeed.. I keep hearing about all these multiple ways to counter stealth and yet no single example has been given… Enlighten me: the only counter I know of stealth (other than obviously to prevent it through cc/stun/daze) is to AoE damage like a kitten in the hopes that the Thief is stupid enough to stay around and die to your blind AoE.

if thief doesn’t stand around, you won anyway as you get free point

tronjeremy.5820:

Counter stealth 101

Black powder field
Thieves use heartseeker out of it to gain stealth. AOE that kitten. Swing/attack around that kitten without stepping into it.

Stealth heal.
AOE that kitten. Swing/attack the area. He is already low on health or wants to escape when it’s used. Be aggressive.

Shadow Refuge.
Push/Fear the thief out of that kitten. Swing/attack/aoe the area.

Instant Stealth Abilities/Traits
CC the area AOE that kitten, swing etc.

If there is a thief on the other team and you are getting focused, keep an eye on him. If you get to about half health thats when we love to strike. Just have what you can ready to defend or get out of a surprise backstab.

Don’t forget. You cannot cap/hold points with stealth. You have very few seconds to really stay in stealth unless you use blind powder perma steath in which case AOE that kitten. Especially if you see it against a wall they are there spamming 2.

I wrote this quick so it’s not in detail but it’s simple. I just see people crying about it. If anything thieves would probably have the most to cry about against other thieves and stealth. As its pretty much whoever gets the jump on the other that usually wins in a 1v1 with glassy thief.

that’s nice and all, but “AoEing that kitten” is not a counter. That’s merely punishing a player for poor positioning – i.e. standing in one location for too long.

Like I said, there’s a different between countering a player and countering a skill/mechanic.

It’s hilarious that people label AoE as the “answer to all your problems” in one thread, and then chastise people for utilizing aoe in another thread.

edit: going back to the “capping/holding” argument – that’s not an argument at all. Stealth was not designed or intended for the purpose of capping/holding. It’s greatest uses, as I’ve stated, revolve around opening or retreating from engagements. In other words, you use it to kill people and then take their point, or take their point and then sneak away leaving them to recap it and providing a potential 5v4 matchup elsewhere on the map. In short, Stealth was not meant for capping/holding, so please stop mentioning it like it’s some kind of drawback.

dont forget the other typical situation:

fighting a thief 1vs1.. he is loosing but u burned some long recharges → then stealth away and engages again after he is fully healhted and with no recharges thx to initiave.

hackks.3687:

tronjeremy.5820:

Counter stealth 101

Black powder field
Thieves use heartseeker out of it to gain stealth. AOE that kitten. Swing/attack around that kitten without stepping into it.

Stealth heal.
AOE that kitten. Swing/attack the area. He is already low on health or wants to escape when it’s used. Be aggressive.

Shadow Refuge.
Push/Fear the thief out of that kitten. Swing/attack/aoe the area.

Instant Stealth Abilities/Traits
CC the area AOE that kitten, swing etc.

If there is a thief on the other team and you are getting focused, keep an eye on him. If you get to about half health thats when we love to strike. Just have what you can ready to defend or get out of a surprise backstab.

Don’t forget. You cannot cap/hold points with stealth. You have very few seconds to really stay in stealth unless you use blind powder perma steath in which case AOE that kitten. Especially if you see it against a wall they are there spamming 2.

I wrote this quick so it’s not in detail but it’s simple. I just see people crying about it. If anything thieves would probably have the most to cry about against other thieves and stealth. As its pretty much whoever gets the jump on the other that usually wins in a 1v1 with glassy thief.

that’s nice and all, but “AoEing that kitten” is not a counter. That’s merely punishing a player for poor positioning – i.e. standing in one location for too long.

Like I said, there’s a different between countering a player and countering a skill/mechanic.

It’s hilarious that people label AoE as the “answer to all your problems” in one thread, and then chastise people for utilizing aoe in another thread.

Learning to properly AOE an area IS a counter. How is it not valid? It is no different than learning how to fight any other class mechanic.

If you say that it’s “merely punishing a player for poor positioning” then you have no idea how thieves work. If they are stealthed, 90% of the time they are trying to engage for a backstab. It’s rare that he will just swap to SB and range you. Why? Because SB does kittenty damage at distance because the auto attack is extremely unreliable – cluster bombs are slow as a turtle – and everything else tickles. Ironically as a ranged weapon, SB does the most damage when it is used upclose.

Learning when to block, dodge, blind, and in this case, AOE the area, is a counter to stealth. You have it all wrong if you think that this only counters certain players and not the mechanic itself. Until thieves can backstab you from range, your mindset is invalid.

You guys also tend to exaggerate how long a thief can stealth for…the whole “stealth, rinse and repeat” crap has been long gone. Cruuk was notorious for running a build that did that, but it doesn’t work anymore…and even before Infusion of Shadow nerf, perma stealthing wasn’t effective against anyone who knew how to effectively fight a thief.

I already said it before – beating stealth is about having the mindset of a thief, not about pressing a certain skill/button to automatically beat it.

Very well put Amaterasu.

Stealth breaking on damage would make it way to easy.
However i’d like to see some slight nerfs to group stealth durations/or something else.

Actually, missing/getting blocked/invuled etc when trying to backstab or a phantasm doing damage for example should break stealth. Else it’s fine

Vuh.1328:

Stealth breaking on damage would make it way to easy.
However i’d like to see some slight nerfs to group stealth durations/or something else.

Actually, missing/getting blocked/invuled etc when trying to backstab or a phantasm doing damage for example should break stealth. Else it’s fine

This is not already the case?!? I guess that would be a good start…

Cynz.9437:

if thief doesn’t stand around, you won anyway as you get free point

How about this then: I am defending home, a Thief comes in, I get him low but he manages to escape in Stealth. He leaves combat, fully heals (while I am still in combat for some reason) and comes to finish me off while my cooldowns are out.

This has happened to me many times more than I can count.

Anyway, thanks Amaterasu and Tronjeremy for the feedback, I will definitely keep it in mind. As others have said however, I do believe that while AoE is a good strategy, it needs a more direct counter somehow.

I’m not sure I follow, why every skill you have would be on CD at any point when engaging a thief. I know it can be frantic but there’s no reason to blow through every one of your skills on (both?) a weapon set. I absolutely despise the term ‘L2P’ and I won’t use it.
I won’t. But. Ah! :S

Its a combination of abilities with a thief that makes it so strong, not just stealth itself. I woudnt mind the constant resets so much if the thief didn’t have so much front loaded damage (backstab) or even if they didn’t have teleports so that when I play a toon with good aoe, im actually able to hit 1. Stealth in this game is way too strong in combination with the proff’s other abilities. I would argue the same is true with mesmers, I can troll 3 players endlessly when I play pu (including thieves)

kylwilson.9137:

I’m not sure I follow, why every skill you have would be on CD at any point when engaging a thief. I know it can be frantic but there’s no reason to blow through every one of your skills on (both?) a weapon set. I absolutely despise the term ‘L2P’ and I won’t use it.
I won’t. But. Ah! :S

Are you stupid? I’m talking about longer CD like heals or elite skills, virtues, etc. that might be off c/d because I had to use them to bring the Thief to low HP. He then runs away, fully heals up and 5-8 seconds later comes back and finishes the job easily. Sometimes they can even do this 2-3 times without any problem. Obviously, to counter this I try to save a big burst for when they reach 30-40% hp but it doesn’t always work. Again, I don’t think I should be winning against Thieves 100% of the time, but you can’t agree that this isn’t a ridiculous mechanic.

Thoth Divine.8642:

kylwilson.9137:

I’m not sure I follow, why every skill you have would be on CD at any point when engaging a thief. I know it can be frantic but there’s no reason to blow through every one of your skills on (both?) a weapon set. I absolutely despise the term ‘L2P’ and I won’t use it.
I won’t. But. Ah! :S

Are you stupid? I’m talking about longer CD like heals or elite skills, virtues, etc. that might be off c/d because I had to use them to bring the Thief to low HP. He then runs away, fully heals up and 5-8 seconds later comes back and finishes the job easily. Sometimes they can even do this 2-3 times without any problem. Obviously, to counter this I try to save a big burst for when they reach 30-40% hp but it doesn’t always work. Again, I don’t think I should be winning against Thieves 100% of the time, but you can’t agree that this isn’t a ridiculous mechanic.

Since you’re talking about virtues, I’m going to assume you play a guardian (dps)

A dps guardian is THE hard counter to a thief if you play it properly. A thief’s worst nightmares are blinds, blocks, retaliation and burning, all of which a guardian has plenty access to. You are just not timing things at the right time.

No thief is running and coming back 5-8 seconds later at full HP. The most common heal is Hide in Shadows and that is a 30s CD. Withdraw is on 15s, but it’s not a stealth heal nor does it cure burning. Besides, why would you let the thief just leave? Must you stand on point if you know that he is around? He can’t cap in stealth…chase his kitten down and don’t let him roam free.

Come duel my DPS guardian on a thief and I’ll show you how fast I can kill one. Again, it’s a l2p issue unfortunately.

Amaterasu.6280:

Since you’re talking about virtues, I’m going to assume you play a guardian (dps)

A dps guardian is THE hard counter to a thief if you play it properly. A thief’s worst nightmares are blinds, blocks, retaliation and burning, all of which a guardian has plenty access to. You are just not timing things at the right time.

No thief is running and coming back 5-8 seconds later at full HP. The most common heal is Hide in Shadows and that is a 30s CD. Withdraw is on 15s, but it’s not a stealth heal nor does it cure burning. Besides, why would you let the thief just leave? Must you stand on point if you know that he is around? He can’t cap in stealth…chase his kitten down and don’t let him roam free.

Come duel my DPS guardian on a thief and I’ll show you how fast I can kill one. Again, it’s a l2p issue unfortunately.

Don’t worry, it’s not a l2p issue. I know what I’m doing. However the fact that you bring up that I should “chase him down” when we’re discussing about Stealth seriously makes me wonder in what world you are living in… (also I’ve indeed had many Thiefs at 20% get back on me 5-8 seconds later at full HP).

I agree with the OP’s intent: give thieves viable defenses that aren’t “completely avoid all damage” while toning down the ability to “completely avoid all damage.” This is part of the reason why thieves push all other dps-builds out of “the meta.”

Currently thieves are actually punished for building less-glassy, because they rely on avoiding all damage and killing before they can be caught. At the moment, they are a little too uncatchable for their dps rate, making them a hard-counter to other glass builds. If we made them more catchable (even slightly), but increased the reward of speccing to handle situations when forced to take damage in some way that isn’t “just avoid it all” then you might see less complaints and even more diversity in thief builds.

Honestly, it would be great if there were, to some extent, diminishing returns from speccing away from a balanced build TOO far. In other words, speccing MAX glass should feel like you are REALLY giving up survivability compared to someone speccing slightly less glassy – making it a tough decision to really go “kitten deep”

Thoth Divine.8642:

kylwilson.9137:

I’m not sure I follow, why every skill you have would be on CD at any point when engaging a thief. I know it can be frantic but there’s no reason to blow through every one of your skills on (both?) a weapon set. I absolutely despise the term ‘L2P’ and I won’t use it.
I won’t. But. Ah! :S

Are you stupid? I’m talking about longer CD like heals or elite skills, virtues, etc. that might be off c/d because I had to use them to bring the Thief to low HP. He then runs away, fully heals up and 5-8 seconds later comes back and finishes the job easily. Sometimes they can even do this 2-3 times without any problem. Obviously, to counter this I try to save a big burst for when they reach 30-40% hp but it doesn’t always work. Again, I don’t think I should be winning against Thieves 100% of the time, but you can’t agree that this isn’t a ridiculous mechanic.

No I’m not stupid. I’m also not un-necessarily rude when I’m informed that I’m not as good at the game as I should be. I know there’s a lot I (as a player) intend to improve on; the sooner you recognise that you need to as well, the better for you, and whoever else you decide to call stupid next.

I have politely agreed with you that thieves need work in other areas to boost their diversity options, but stealth, the mechanic must remain untouched. Yes this includes individual stealth causing SKILLS. The stealth mechanic should not and absolutely will not take such a hit. People have learned to deal with this.

It sounds like you need to take a break from playing for a while.

kylwilson.9137:

No I’m not stupid. I’m also not un-necessarily rude when I’m informed that I’m not as good at the game as I should be. I know there’s a lot I (as a player) intend to improve on; the sooner you recognise that you need to as well, the better for you, and whoever else you decide to call stupid next.

I have politely agreed with you that thieves need work in other areas to boost their diversity options, but stealth, the mechanic must remain untouched. Yes this includes individual stealth causing SKILLS. The stealth mechanic should not and absolutely will not take such a hit. People have learned to deal with this.

It sounds like you need to take a break from playing for a while.

Sorry if my response was rude, I admit that was uncalled for. Maybe somewhat due to my usual temper, since I am not really kittened or anything at this specific issue. Like I said, I don’t have a real problem with Thieves themselves, more the mechanic itself that I think could be changed for the better of the game overall – Thieves included (by compensating in other areas with various buffs).

lol…..aoe the blind field..

While you’re aoeing the blind field like a fool, the thief is already running behind you to backstab you again.

I mean bloody hell, Its a 600 Range Leap they use to get Stealth, do you honestly think that unless you instantly AOE that field that they will be standing in it?

Stealth breaking damage wouldn’t work well with how the game plays.
Channeled skills, point size aoes, the after-stealth tracking, would just be very messy.
Even CC break would feel off with how GW2 plays due to all the CC that literally or practically requires a target to function.

There was a point in time last year I believe April/March where they were going to put a effective cooldown on stealth when you left it (reveal when you leave stealth regardless of attack) this would have been interesting to see implemented since it clears up some loose ends in their implementation.

Even then As far as stealth goes the situations of annoyance(?) are

- D/P’s ease of access to stealth relative to /D marginalizing D/D and /D off-hand
- Frequent application from a bunch of appliers making the tab-target gameplay of GW2 all too visible (Stealth Mesmer, Blinding powder + refuge utils thieves)
- CnD chaining with Srejuvenation.

Stealth isn’t weak in conquest but it directly goes against the primary objective so over abundance of it becomes counter-productive and lets you get capped on even when playing a more defensive thief. So Stealth does mellow out in Spvp and isn’t that big a deal.

Amaterasu.6280:

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Learning when to block, dodge, blind, and in this case, AOE the area, is a counter to stealth. You have it all wrong if you think that this only counters certain players and not the mechanic itself. Until thieves can backstab you from range, your mindset is invalid.
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blind field + heartseeker + steal/teleport/shadowstep.. have fun to counter that with your 1 time block, 1 time aoe blind.. the thiefs just backstabs 2 times to get rid of that during 1 stealthapplication