Guild Wars 2

Just thought I’d point out that we’ve always been able to rip all of your boons, its just that Sword/Dagger #3 Flanking Strike was bugged since beta and incredibly hard to use reliably.

The only difference is that FS was fixed and two steals and keeps 2 boons rather than just ripping one. It’s not an indirect nerf, it’s a long overdue bug fix that gives Thieves another build that isn’t just D/D or D/P burst.

Considering the fact that we have a major nerf total higher than every other class combined, it’s probably about time that you guys took a few hits. :P

Stealing the entire stack and duration of TWO boons is too much no matter how you spin it, especially considering how quickly initiative can be recharged and the fact that Thieves still have just as much mobility and stealth as they did before. Thieves did not need more sustainability and they did not need more damage. That’s all that this gives them, not to mention the other buffs they got this patch.

There’s still no way I’m dying to one in single combat, but the fact that they can leave whenever they want against anything less than a damage build and the fact that a 2-man group with a Thief + whatever else is now way more likely to completely total a Guardian of any build once their endurance is stressed is more than a little annoying.

Christos de Soufre.3802:

Stealing the entire stack and duration of TWO boons is too much no matter how you spin it, especially considering how quickly initiative can be recharged and the fact that Thieves still have just as much mobility and stealth as they did before. Thieves did not need more sustainability and they did not need more damage. That’s all that this gives them, not to mention the other buffs they got this patch.

There’s still no way I’m dying to one in single combat, but the fact that they can leave whenever they want against anything less than a damage build and the fact that a 2-man group with a Thief + whatever else is now way more likely to total a Guardian of any build is more than a little annoying.

I’m not an expert on Guardians so I’m not going to pretend that I am, but I’d appreciate it if you could do the same for me.

1. The fact that we can steal two boons is unexpected and we only expected one, but a Thief who uses S/D has no reliable burst and can only sustain damage, they are not the D/X Zerker burst Thief you’re so used to destroying.
2. Actually, Thieves do need a survivability buff, and this bug fix and buff was a step in the right direction. Thieves melt like butter under pressure, everyone knows that.
3. Thieves did not receive a damage buff, we received a huge nerf to our burst damage with Mug which actually affected non-burst builds and a nerf to Trickshot on our Shortbow which is our almost mandatory second set.
4. What you’re talking about was a bugfix that made a previously unused weapon set viable and gave Thieves an alternative role in tPvP as a boon ripper instead of our previous ONE build of burst roamer.
5. The other buffs were negligible but needed (eg the Venmous Aura trait still has a radius that is far too small to use effectively without VOIP communication.
6. If you aren’t being killed by Thieves then what’s the problem? A Thief who runs away from you in tPvP isn’t capping your point and if a Thief runs from you in WvW then you won anyway… it sounds to me like you just pointed out why Thieves need survival buffs if they’re forced to run because you can’t be killed…
7. Just remember that only Thieves using S/D builds (which will be a lot over the next month while it gets tested out) will be able to steal your boons, burst Thieves still exist and they are just as easy to kill as ever.

The only boons you need are regeneration, protection and ageis.

Incurafy.6329:

Christos de Soufre.3802:

Stealing the entire stack and duration of TWO boons is too much no matter how you spin it, especially considering how quickly initiative can be recharged and the fact that Thieves still have just as much mobility and stealth as they did before. Thieves did not need more sustainability and they did not need more damage. That’s all that this gives them, not to mention the other buffs they got this patch.

There’s still no way I’m dying to one in single combat, but the fact that they can leave whenever they want against anything less than a damage build and the fact that a 2-man group with a Thief + whatever else is now way more likely to total a Guardian of any build is more than a little annoying.

<Removed stupid passive aggressive comment.>

1. The fact that we can steal two boons is unexpected and we only expected one, but a Thief who uses S/D has no reliable burst and can only sustain damage, they are not the D/X Zerker burst Thief you’re so used to destroying.
2. Actually, Thieves do need a survivability buff, and this bug fix and buff was a step in the right direction. Thieves melt like butter under pressure, everyone knows that.
3. Thieves did not receive a damage buff, we received a huge nerf to our burst damage with Mug which actually affected non-burst builds and a nerf to Trickshot on our Shortbow which is our almost mandatory second set.
4. What you’re talking about was a bugfix that made a previously unused weapon set viable and gave Thieves an alternative role in tPvP as a boon ripper instead of our previous ONE build of burst roamer.
5. The other buffs were negligible but needed (eg the Venmous Aura trait still has a radius that is far too small to use effectively without VOIP communication.
6. If you aren’t being killed by Thieves then what’s the problem? A Thief who runs away from you in tPvP isn’t capping your point and if a Thief runs from you in WvW then you won anyway… it sounds to me like you just pointed out why Thieves need survival buffs if they’re forced to run because you can’t be killed…
7. Just remember that only Thieves using S/D builds (which will be a lot over the next month while it gets tested out) will be able to steal your boons, burst Thieves still exist and they are just as easy to kill as ever.

Thieves have access to two weapon sets like anyone else outside of Eles, and every Thief I know/see in WvW that plays power runs D/D + S/D, especially now. It’s not like you’re giving up your burst by running S/D, so you can’t try to feed that to anyone.

I didn’t say they received a damage buff. The fact that they can steal Might and Fury is an indirect (or direct, depending on how you look at it) buff. I feel especially sorry for Engis who can stack Might efficiently considering that Thieves can steal entire stacks now.

I was with single boon removal. I would have been fine with stealing an entire stack/duration of a single boon. But stealing the entire stack and duration of two boons at a time for a cost of less than 5 initiative is too much.

I know it was a bug fix, but that’s all it should have been (or that +making it steal instead of rip). That said, there were plenty of Thieves running S/D as an off-set of D/D for the dual stun break/teleport and for when the boon removal actually did work.

I don’t have an issue with Thieves by themselves—that I know of, I’ve yet to be able to fight any alone since the patch. What I have an issue with when if a Thief engages me with one of anything else. You can only dodge so much, and if the second is a Necro or a Warrior, the blocks don’t mean much either. Should one person be able to beat two at a time? Even if someone doesn’t think so, there’s no reason it should be as easy for Thief/x to trash a Guardian as it will be in many cases now, especially if they end up changing Sigils of Energy, reducing our ability to dodge instead of block, which is becoming increasingly weak due to the increasing introduction of unblockables.

Maybe I’ll still be able to kill 3 people alone. Maybe I won’t. Either way, “balance” is moving in a dangerous direction right now. My issue is still less with direct buffs to any one profession and more with the fact that the combined changes are making it so hard for Guardians to do anything but play AH/EM and run in groups.

Thief could always steal boons if they traited into it. But most thieves don’t touch the trickery tree. The difference now is, bountiful thief is merged with S/D. So now its possible to steal up to four boons instead of two.