Guild Wars 2

I’m just wondering if anyone could give me some advice on how to better defend against backstab thief builds. Not being able to see the initial burst from pre-loaded CnD and other burst I find that even with a majority of powert/tough/vit gear and a 0/10/10/30/20 build im struggling with this specific thief build.

When they open I generally swap to earth and heal with harmony for the 33% damage reduction into water for regen and spam all my heals to try and get some what back up into a good health pool. Obviously the problem being that after the backstab the thieves open into heartseaker.

I’d appreciate if you would refrain from flaming my post with silly learn to play messages.

Generally I beat all thieves, but there are a handful of them out there that I run into from time to time that drop me fairly quick even as a bunker build.

Been trying to get this figured out myself. I have tested max toughness / 3k+ armor builds as an Ele, and no matter your toughness / armor, you still will be downed in 2 button combo. CnD + Steal + Autoattack Backstab. If you are focused on fighting someone else and they get the jump on you, you are dead.

In a D/D build I can often handle a backstab thief as long as I don’t slip up (which doesn’t always happen). I run a 0/10/10/20/30 build with cantrips/auras/EA. I focus on PTV statwise, and usually survive the initial attack. Here are how my fights tend to break down.

I usually roam in Air Attunement; when I’m up against a thief I’ll try to pop Shocking Aura right before I expect the initial burst. If that succeeds it’s a fairly easy mop up with RtL to hit the thief, Updraft to knock them down, Burning Speed to close the gap and set them on fire, Firegrab to spike, etc.

If I am NOT able to predict when they’ll attack (which is 3/4 of the time) I respond with updraft to knock them down, maybe RtL for some extra damage, then I’ll pop mist form. In mist form I’ll heal most of the way up (I use Ether Renewal) and sometimes drop into Water Attunement and summon an Elite Elemental. Once in water aspect I’ll pop Frost Aura and Frozen Burst (and cleansing wave if I need to) then shift to Earth Attunement for Earthquake’s knockdown then Churning Earth. If I don’t summon an Elemental I’ll often reverse the order of those attunement, earth then water.

At this point the thief usually stealths to heal up (if they don’t a quick trip into Fire Attunement can usually finish them off). I take that opportunity to either run away (if the thief is likely going to get reinforcements) or drop back into air attunement and ready my Shocking Aura for round two.

Sometimes if the thief is really good after about a minute and a half I have too much on cooldown and they get me, but usually they’ll either slip up or run away.

That to me sounds pretty solid. I’m not a big fan of mist form since you cant really do much in it, but I guess since im playing cantrip’s build. I think they’ve fixed the cantrip cooldowns and such to work properly I can run with that.

If anyone else has any advice as to what works for them that would be great. Thanks for the input guys.

If he catches you with the combo there’s nothing you can do. With 1700 toughness I’ve been killed by (very few) thieves in 1 second. CND + Backstab + 1 HS = death from 100%.

I typically run away…

well, not exactly. I’m usually in air as well, though my aura is on auto cast so I generally can’t expect it to be to be ready, plus I rarely ever see it, <_< seems I never pay attention. Generally when I get hit I instantly rtl away, switch to water and use 5 + 6 to heal up, backtrack and get a lock on where he is. I then swap to fire and do the typical combo. If rtl is on cd I switch to water right after the initial hit and hit 3, dodge heal with evasive arcana and 5 + 6.

Against the ones that stealth up after the confrontation I tend to just run away since I really don’t want to deal with the prolonged fight. Plus I found that if I wanted to get away, the thf isn’t going to catch me regardless.

Shocking Aura >>>> Backstab Thieves, and you can use it even if you’re stunned. Roam in Air attunement, and using Shocking Aura if they get the drop. While they’re stunned from spamming Heartseeker on you, knock them down with Updraft, then swap to water, hit 3 to apply cripple, then 5 to heal up and remove a condition (hopefully immobilize.) Dodge with Evasive Arcana and use 2 to heal up a bit more, hit 4 real quick for the aura, then swap to Fire.

If they still haven’t stealthed to try and reset, use 2 then 5 to apply some pressure, then swap to earth and hit 4 then 5 for knockdown plus big AoE damage (Note: I run with Armor of Earth, and I pop it here to prevent an interrupt on Churning Earth, and to tank damage while casting). If they have stealthed (at any point up till now) then just immediately swap to fire, hit 4, then swap to earth and hit 4 then 5.

If you haven’t downed them by this point, they’ll either be running away from you or trying to open on you again, so swap back to Air and get ready to use Shocking Aura again, as it will be off cooldown.

Rinse and repeat. Use cantrips (Mistform, Armor of Earth, Lightning Flash, Cleansing Fire) as “oh kitten” buttons when needed, but try to save them for when you really need them.

Ultimately, you should be finding thieves that wreck you in sPvP, sending them a tell, and asking them to come duel with you on an empty server. Do this for hours until you can beat them. D/D Ele is backstab Thief’s counter class. With practice, you should be able to beat them or at least make them run away with a high degree of consistency.

Dodge x2 . You need some toughness and also do not turn your back. Dodge sideways.

Put Mist Form on your utility bar. When you take a large chunk of damage (you’ll also notice a distinct sound) push that button. Then press the “6” button. Then use Shocking Aura and kill that sonuvakitten.

Or if you’re fast enough, dodge.

Mogar.9216:

Dodge x2 . You need some toughness and also do not turn your back. Dodge sideways.

Was this actually an attempt at advice or a pathetic attempt at a troll…..lul