Guild Wars 2

Hi there, Can anyone suggest any good build for PvE HoT content, that are currently using ? I’m thinking to create thief, because I like it’s mobility, but how about survivality in HoT, where typical mobs can kill you in one shot ?

Here is the build I run for the new HoT areas:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vZAQJAWVn8lClOhFmCGOB0PhFqiau63+yvrnCgDYLHHsdE-TRCEABFv/Qb6KYS53DHRACeAAAcoA2SJoBXAgFV/ZzwAwIIQEMzMz0IiIChAEMGA-e

I switch out to P/P over staff against the bosses. I then pick up Brawlers Tenacity, Escapists Absolution and Ankle Shots. I haven’t died in PvE in weeks with this build.

Thank You so much for this build now maguma falls looks much better when I survive mobs attacks who would ever know that some vitality make so much difference
I switched your runes to Wurm Runes and signet of assasination along with the preciosion one and soe physical skill or shadowstep

Wurm runes do not perform quite as well but they are nearly as good for a lot less. I am a stun break and travel addict so it is very difficult for me to give up either Shadow Step or Bandit’s Defense but I can see switching in some more offense and switching one out.

The key to me is ditching Trickery in PvE. Trickery is vital for most builds in WvW or sPvP but doesn’t help much in PvE. You can always swap in Deadly Arts over Acro if you really want to spike DPS which I do outside of HoT content. I find Acro allows for a lot more survival with only a moderate DPS drop.

I’m a new player, so there may be some holes in my advice, but I recently had to come up with a solution when I reached level 80 on my first character (a thief, of course!). The HoT monsters were just a heck of a lot stronger than most of the monsters leveling up.

Right now I’m feeling pretty comfortable. I won’t say I don’t die at all, but I am very new still and I run full berserker gear (no added vitality/toughness). My build is DD/DA/Tr, running d/p primarily with p/p for ranged backup. I may be missing something, but I can’t find a strategy that works well 100% of the time at close range as a thief – some enemies you just need to maintain distance!

For utilities I run the physical heal that restores endurance, signets of power and precision (precision is extra nice because its active also restores endurance!), and bandit’s defense. Elite skill is usually dagger storm. It dishes out a lot of hits and reflects projectiles. And if you run D/P and P/P sets, you have virtually no other area effect – just a bit of cleave from dagger AA. I also use sigil of fire for a little extra area damage.

With this setup I have virtually limitless endurance, both in and out of combat. With unhindered combat only stuns can stop me, and bandit’s defense is an excellent counter since it’s a short cooldown stun break that gives you plenty of block time to ensure you can escape to a safe distance. I also have full uptime swiftness and can zoom around the open world burning excesss endurance for even better movement speed.

I also rely heavily on interrupts to proc pulmonary impacts. This seems to be a great offensive/defensive strategy since it deals solid damage while preventing damage in return. Lets me eat those nasty shadowleapers and bladedancers up as they just like to spam those specials at me and end up taking lots of damage to the face while dealing none in return! D/P and P/P both have pistol 4 for interrupts on demand, and steal with DA/Tr build is only a 20s cooldown for another great interrupt (as well as stolen items which can interrupt).

You might give it a try. It’s been working nicely for me. But I expect there are plenty of other angles.

Forgot to mention runes. I use pack runes for the extra boons (pairs nicely with thrill of the crime for excellent boon uptime), power, and precision. Sigils I am currently trying out air/fire for extra burst. I’m making a bit of a guess that on paper I probably get way more out of something like that power stacking sigil. But in practice, I don’t get to stand there teeing off on most enemies at melee range where I do my best damage.

When facing multiple enemies, I seem to survive best by using shadow shot/steal to close range, use the blind/weakness to cover some momentary AA and, if it’s safe to do so, attempt to land an interrupt (order of operations depends on the target, of course). Against most non-veteran+ targets, landing that interrupt usually translates into a quick kill with little or no damage in return.

As a bonus, the mordrem frequently carry that club or whatever it is that launches. This is one of my favorite items to steal in the jungle because you can chain it for more or less unanswered damage – and lots of it! It’s also an interrupt that can proc pulmonary impact. So you can do things like shadow shot – club – steal – club – shadow shot, with AA inbetween according to the speed of your opponent. That’s potentially a ton of damage if some of those interrupts land. And you had them interrupted, knocked down, or flying through the air for the entire fight!

In any event, the goal is to try to get in and drop the target with a quick burst, then get out of range (or onto the next target). Standing in one place for too long seems to be a good way to get dead in HoT! Wherever possible, use abilities that allow you to take the offensive, but make it difficult for the target to damage you back!

Alright. That’s all I got. If you guys are feeling expressive, feel free to critique/offer alternatives to what I’ve said here. I’m a new player, so I have a lot to learn and I’d appreciate the help! It’s a lot to figure out and I’m mostly going it solo so far! Does it show?