Guild Wars 2

Hi all,

I am new to the profession and have a few questions -

First Question –
I had been using the combination of Black Powder and Blinding Powder, but I am realizing now that this seems like a waste for multiple reasons:

1. - Black Powder already blinds, so no reason to waste the Blinding Powder
2. - the combo of Smoke + Blast gives area stealth, but Blinding Powder already gives stealth.

Am I correct in assuming that it is ‘bad’ to use these two skills together?

Second question -

Are the effects of Cloaked in Shadow trait wasted on Blinding Powder, since BP already gives both stealth AND blind? Or is there an additional benefit?

Thanks for the help. In terms of open world PvE, is it worth it to trait for stealths/blinds, or is pistol #5 generally enough blind?

Thanks!

Regarding Blinding Powder vs Black Powder – The big difference is that one uses a large chunk of initiative and the other is a cooldown. It’s not necessarily bad to use them together but there are other utilities that could be used in place of the blinding powder.

Personally I wouldn’t use them both at the same time. If you manage your initiative properly you shouldn’t really need two AoE blinds.

I’ll let someone who knows more about thief answer the other part of your question.

The Great Al.2546:

Hi all,

I am new to the profession and have a few questions -

First Question –
I had been using the combination of Black Powder and Blinding Powder, but I am realizing now that this seems like a waste for multiple reasons:

1. - Black Powder already blinds, so no reason to waste the Blinding Powder
2. - the combo of Smoke + Blast gives area stealth, but Blinding Powder already gives stealth.

Am I correct in assuming that it is ‘bad’ to use these two skills together?

Second question -

Are the effects of Cloaked in Shadow trait wasted on Blinding Powder, since BP already gives both stealth AND blind? Or is there an additional benefit?

Thanks for the help. In terms of open world PvE, is it worth it to trait for stealths/blinds, or is pistol #5 generally enough blind?

Thanks!

I’m not sure what your build is, but you’re right, using Black Powder followed immediately by Blinding Powder is a very inefficient combination.

Black Powder is most powerful when used by a Dagger/Pistol Thief, as is often seen in sPvP and WvW, where you hit Black Powder, then do multiple Heartseeker leaps through the smoke to stack up stealth. If you are using Pistol/Pistol or something like that, the way to use Black Powder for stealth is generally to hit Black Powder, then IMMEDIATELY switch to Short Bow and start blasting as fast as you can with Cluster Bomb (#2 skill). This only works if there are no enemies in range of your Cluster Bomb, however.

Blinding Powder is most often used as an escape skill, or as a last chance at Backstab when a Thief has run out of initiative. It is also often used by Theives who do not have an off-hand dagger as a mid-fight stealth skill, although for Dagger/Pistol builds the above mentioned “Black Powder + Heartseeker” combo also works, once you get used to trying to avoid hitting enemies with your Heartseeker.

Cloaked in Shadow is wasted on Blinding Powder, yes. As far as I know, the only thing Cloaked in Shadow does is add to the duration of your Blind; the condition still vanishes on the 1st missed attack. Cloaked in Shadow is most commonly used by Dagger/Dagger Thieves, who can gain stealth every 3 seconds through Cloak & Dagger, thereby applying Blind to their enemies as well. It is also often used by Steal builds, who mistakenly believe that, when combined with Hidden Thief trait, it will apply Blind to their target. This makes sense, of course, but Anet has decided to apply this skill differently, so the Blind portion of this trait actually goes off at the position where the Thief STARTS his Steal skill, not on the target. You can use this trait to Blind your target, of course, but only if you are standing within the trait’s radius at the START of your Steal. The reason for this is that the Hidden Thief trait goes off the moment you hit the Steal button, NOT when you actually Steal from your target, so you are stealthed back at the location where you were standing before you landed Steal on your enemy. This is why many players think the skill is broken, because Hidden Thief & Mug generally cancel each other out (since you were already in Stealth BEFORE landing your Mug, Mug will usually break stealth when landed.)

Anyway, the short answer is that you’re right, using Black Powder + Blinding Powder to apply stealth is generally inefficient, as there are much better ways to use these skills.

Thanks! These are both extremely helpful answers. For leveling, I have been running S/P because the #3 skill seems to destroy everything.

The Great Al.2546:

Thanks! These are both extremely helpful answers. For leveling, I have been running S/P because the #3 skill seems to destroy everything.

That’s funny, I actually ran sword/pistol while leveling my Thief, too! lol
At level 80, Sword/Pistol is still viable, but you will find that other weapon sets can be min/maxed to a higher degree. If you’ve really mastered the Sword/Pistol playstyle and are having fun with it, though, it’s not going to hurt you in PvE or WvW. sPvP is a little less forgiving to those who step outside of the top metas, however, as the game is designed with a higher level of parity in mind.