I am currently running 0/0/20/20/30. Condition focused obviously. I carry around dagger/dagger as the main set, but offhand pistol/dagger, or shortbow, or pistol/pistol. I carry them around, and it’s not a big deal if I have an idea of what I’ll be doing.
Trait and gear selection revolves around Condition Damage, Toughness, Vitality, Power, and Healing.
Gear (the gear doesn’t apply to sPvP, but I don’t even have the gear layout I am using there in front of me, and I suck in sPvP mostly):
Armor slots are all Masterwork Apothecary, with Chrysocola Orbs(I’m poor yo), and Masterwork Carrion/Chrysocola Orb Jewelry.
Raw stat’s you’ll end up around:
Power: 1,370ish
Precision: 920ish
Toughness: 1,300ish
Vitality/(HP): 1575ish / (17,000)
Healing: 450ish
Condition Damage: 1,125ish
Attack: 2,174
Crit/(CritDamage): 4%/(0%)
This gives you the Health pool to take a few hits, the toughness to be able to take a few more, and the healing to get it all back, but WHAT? NO SIGNET OF MALICE?!
NOPE!
Very rarely I throw in some Signet of Malice, but it’s base heal is low, even with the healing in the gear, and the passive, though nice, especially when and if you are able to keep the evades rolling well, or coupled with dagger storm, just doesn’t play to the builds style that I use it with. I normally will use:
HEALS:
Hide in Shadows(HiS): This is a big burst heal with a 1 second cast time, and a 30s cooldown. Casting it is a pain sometimes, but getting distance is almost never a problem for this build, nor is creating the ability to get distance. This is the heal I generally come with. As a bonus, it removes the damage over time Conditions on use (but the poison still affects the heal, though with this build you combat that with some foresight/luck of situation), and places you in stealth.
Withdraw: This skills healing is more than Signet of Malice, and less than Hide in Shadows. It also throws you a decent distance backward from where you face, and brings the evade mechanic while you’re sailing backward. It also removes the Immobilized, Cripple, and Chilled (the slowing conditions). This one has it’s place, and it may be for you, but I prefer the benefits of HiShadows when I run this setup normally.
Utilities I usually run with:
Blinding Powder/Smoke Screen/Shadow Refuge/Caltrops/Ambush Trap/Roll for Initiative/Scorpion Wire
Thieve’s Guild/Dagger Storm
It’s mostly just between Shadow Refuge, Blinding Powder, and Smoke Screen for everyday dinking about, unless I know there will be need for something else.
Utilities it’s always a toss up, if I want more bleeds, or think I’ll need a projectile bubble, I go to Dagger Storm, more mayhem in general and everyday running around: THE GUILD WILL DO THE WORK FOR YOU, just ask any thief why they joined.
-Shadow Arts: – Shadow Protector
-Shadow Arts: – Shadow’s Embrace
Using my normal setup, everytime I stealth I get regeneration. It’s not the best one, but it’s not weaksauce either due to the healing from gear/trait lines. It also stacks with Hide in Shadow’s Regen to beef that up more. You also remove another condition when you stealth (that HiShadow’s doesn’t remove), and if you wait out the stealth, you can remove another even thanks to the +1second to stealth skills in the line. You also put regen on ANYONE you stealth, which is so easy with blinding powder (AOE around you stealth/enemies blind), Shadow Refuge (stacks the regen per pulse, as it does the stealth duration), and Smoke Screen (leap finisher’s through it will stealth). Not to mention you’re Cloak and Dagger, or Hidden Thief (Stealing grants 2seconds of stealth) if you drop on stealth condition removal.
-Acrobatics: – Vigorous Recovery
-Acrobatics: – Pain Response
I like my dodging, so I take Vigor on healing, and more on regen, I liked pain response. Between dagger’s 1 chain (2nd in chain restores minor endurance), and Feline Grace (half endurance cost refunded on dodge), and the vigor, mobility isn’t too much of an issue.
-Trickery: – Thrill of the Crime
-Trickery: – Bountiful Theft
-Trickery: – Hastened Replenishment
The on steal effects I just love, but at worst I would rather lose might/fury/swiftness, than the extra vigor(+2buffs if steal’s target is buffed). My target will die, but I need that endurance.
Hastened Replenishment is all selfish, but I give regen/stealth out like candy, so it balances out
.
It plays a lot like any other condition thief using a dagger dagger set as a main. Sometimes I throw in P/D, or P/P, or D/P, but they are all finesse, playnig keep away, hit and run, and chaos/disruption tactics, but you want to focus more on stealthing, not for the backstabs (which as I said, aren’t terrible, just nothing to write home about), but for the constant source of regen for you and your friends. You have a lot of options to stealth. I am constantly refining the style to suit myself, as you should do for yourself.