A little help on how to use flanking strike

A little help on how to use flanking strike

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Posted by: Phoenix the One.4071

Phoenix the One.4071

Yeah well I might do it wrong and I know you shouldn’t compare buuut…

A little story from WvW

2 thieves conered me so I had to fight back, they were D/D HS spammer so I was safe.
I tried to play smart with dodge, SR, SW, TG and all my 1-5.
My main issue is that only 4-5 seemed to have an effect. C&D i a no brainer since we were all melee, and funny thing was at they used TG, SW and SR as well but not C&D or dancing dagger.
So actually my off hand dealt most dmg.
I tried to avoid hs by flanking strike, it evaded but nearly no dmg, C&D for stealth and good dmg, but the sword 1 stealth ability was not as good as Dagger thou it diabled them for a second. Then used flanking strike, but really HS is a better and strong gap closer, especially when they refused to give me conditions which left me with no really need to retreat.
Dancing dagger really did the job.
So we kept on fighting reducing them to 10% each, then they retreatet and healed up (maybe I wasn’t aggressive enough). Then a ranger showed up and we finished them.

I just felt like I lacked a great deal of dmg.. My best guess is that sword is more a defensive weapon.
Maybe my spec is wrong. Or maybe I am just more of a dagger thief, though I love the sword. And sword + pistol seems even more lacklust imo:/

So how do you roll sword + something setup? And if you got a good sword+ pistol setup I am really interested:)
Atm I got a lot in acrobatic for survivalbility (still does decent dmg with daggers).
Also not lvl 80 yet, but I know for sure one of them weren’t due to the green arrow, both had elite skills.

Kind regards:)

Ps. Or maybe I should just do as Flamu and go SB xD

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Posted by: Wolfgang Michael.8217

Wolfgang Michael.8217

You are my new hero!

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Posted by: Mirtis.6847

Mirtis.6847

Flanking strike would deal a good damage if it works properly. But dancing dagger is the best against 2 melee since each of them will be hit twice each time. Also i think you kinda have to use spider venom in PvP if you’re using S/D since it has no burst to finish the target unless you can use well-timed invises to interrupt the heal ^.^

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Posted by: Phoenix the One.4071

Phoenix the One.4071

Ahh cheers, i’ll try the so called poison:) though I tried to avoid it;) never liked the 1sec appling and the few uses:) cause Sword really didn’t have tha “finish him!” move:/ so no cheap Mortal Kombat scorpin gimmick here… Except for the wite ofc..
But yeah generally I feel that thieves are two things, single-target burst dmg dealer and roamers.

Still. Love how other professions, and some insiders, complain about these aspects:)

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Posted by: Auesis.7301

Auesis.7301

I run sword/pistol + dagger/dagger, switching to shortbow if necessary (big fight coming up etc).

30 Shadow Arts
30 Acrobatics
10 Trickery

I base the whole thing around stealth (gaining initiative/regen/blinding) + getting initiative back (quick recovery). Everything that relates to stealth, blinds, regen etc. like Pain Response or Instinctive Response, I use it, and wear power/prec gear to keep the pools up. I start off with s/p, using a gap closer like IS or Steal, and pistol whipping as many times as I dare. Usually, this will give the opponent an idea of what sort of Thief I am, so they’ll be watching out for Haste or Headshot etc. That’s when I hit Blinding Powder, switch to d/d and start going nuts with C+D, backstab and any other skill I deem necessary. Basically, s/p starts it off, and d/d finishes it off. It’s worked flawlessly, and I can take groups of 4-5 by myself with it. I simply refuse to die when I have this build active. I’m too hard to catch.

Gnome Child [Gc]
Resident Thief

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Posted by: Maverick.9031

Maverick.9031

I can only speak from an sPvP perspective as I haven’t finished my PvE gear to use it in WvW.

I run a Sword/Dagger and Twin Pistol setup.

20 Deadly Arts
30 Critical Strikes
20 Acrobatics
Knight’s Amulet
Fighter’s Runes (Yes, this is a weird setup for a Theif but hear me out.)

For utility I usually run with Shadowstep (for stun breaking and covering large distances with it in combination with Infiltrator’s Strike), either Shadow Refuge or Scorpion Wire, and Spider Venom. For the elite I use Dagger Storm to deal with the excessive pets (Mesmer clones, Necro minions, Engineer turrets). For heal it’s Hide in Shadows.

Through the traits, amulet, and runes I get a lot of damage and a lot of crits. The crit damage isn’t insane but that was a sacrifice I was willing to make for the survivability and after using the Berserker’s Amulet and Eagle Runes for awhile, I’ll take the survivability any day. I’ll agree Flanking Strike needs to be tweaked. They’ve been too many moments when I’ve missed both hits but if they do hit the damage on top of the whole “I just dodged your move and countered you in one fell swoop” is amazing. Infiltrator’s Strike is great for poking as well as stun breaking if you always use the move and have Infiltrator’s Return ready. Also if you’re clever you’ll find a lot of crazy uses for the move. Because of the high Initiative cost Cloak and Dagger is reserved for sensitive situations. I usually use it as a quick break in combat or to stop a stomp. Dancing Dagger is great. Just my insight on Sword + Dagger. Hopefully it helps you.

Strider Maverick: Thief
HoD

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Posted by: Grumwulf.9602

Grumwulf.9602

Personally I wish no.3 was a block. It would fit the fencing style much better. It could be short duration unlike the blocks of warriors and guardians so that timing would be much more tricky but of course with initiative you could block a few hits in row. Even better would be to have it something like the underwater ability. Cally it Parrying Strike. Flanking strike is a clownish ability in my opinion.

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Posted by: Phoenix the One.4071

Phoenix the One.4071

Personally I wish no.3 was a block. It would fit the fencing style much better. It could be short duration unlike the blocks of warriors and guardians so that timing would be much more tricky but of course with initiative you could block a few hits in row. Even better would be to have it something like the underwater ability. Cally it Parrying Strike. Flanking strike is a clownish ability in my opinion.

Agree could be nice to block an attack and slice up your opponent for massive dmg>:D
I mean it is a sword.. It can be quit lethal with the right technique:)
And thx for the build ideas, cheers:D

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Posted by: Dual.8953

Dual.8953

Personally I wish no.3 was a block. It would fit the fencing style much better. It could be short duration unlike the blocks of warriors and guardians so that timing would be much more tricky but of course with initiative you could block a few hits in row. Even better would be to have it something like the underwater ability. Cally it Parrying Strike. Flanking strike is a clownish ability in my opinion.

I prefer the Evade, it makes S/D feel floaty and evasive as opposed to S/P which feels down right clunky in comparison. They just need to fix Flanking Strike’s pathing.

Registered Altaholic
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