Guild Wars 2

Ive been playing pvp lately as a thief using a condition build I usually swap to different build s time to time but Ive noticed you rarely see a thief not using some type of variation of a back stab build. To me its a bit too common and expected I find it rare to see another thief using something else. Anyone else notice this

but there are 3 ways of producing backstabs…

yes, it has been like that for a long time, it is not that we dont have other viable builds, im constantly trying out nrw builds and weapon sets.

thing is ppl are so use to play BS that they only feel comfortable using anything else. Even if it is nerfed to the ground ppl will QQ about it but most will not adapt and will insist on that spec.

I never payed much attention to this until spectator mode came along, i went looking for new builds for me o try out but over 90% of the thieves i inspected were D/D and were 30/30/0/0/10 or 25/30/0/0/15… for me as a thief its fine, i can deal with them pretty easily but at the same time, it saddens me how bad they make this profession look like.

Next QQ?

Every class use best build that they have, example: Ele Bunker – are even more common than backstab thieves… I dont understand what for this topic has been made…

Take of some of the nerfs and stop kittening that the highest burst class is OP for being the highest burst class…. THEN we’ll talk.

It comes down to backstab being the highest usable damaging hit we have (technically Pistol whip comes to more damage IF you hit with all hits but thats still over a protracted period of time)

When your in a situation where burst is king like PvP you want to utilize as many fast big hit moves as you can otherwise you leave yourself to being left impotent against people that outlast you, for a thief this generally means either running a backstab build or using hit and run builds/resetting fights/hiding and waiting for best opportunity to kill someone etc all of which are essentially complained about endlessly by other classes who generally end up doing similiar things but in a less obvious manner but with the aid of being overall stronger/more flexible.

And other said, your going to see people running the few “top” builds of any class because otherwise your essentially making yourself a free kill, and it will always be this way unless they somehow gloriously manage to make all skills actual choices.

Well I’m not saying that it needs to be nerfed or anything like that Im just saying it far too common and I ’d like to see a bit more diversity not specifically thief but all classes in general I find its just too predictable to guess what a class is going to run which essentially makes the game slightly boring and I find there are many different viable builds out there maybe this is a balancing issue I dont know all Im saying is it make the game more intresting to see other builds being used

Demented Lemur.7861:

Well I’m not saying that it needs to be nerfed or anything like that Im just saying it far too common and I ’d like to see a bit more diversity not specifically thief but all classes in general I find its just too predictable to guess what a class is going to run which essentially makes the game slightly boring and I find there are many different viable builds out there maybe this is a balancing issue I dont know all Im saying is it make the game more intresting to see other builds being used

They are trying to do it but it takes time to do so, I mean since last patch theres a much better chance of seeing a S/D thief now due to flanking strikes fixes and buffs, they are also boosting up other things like warrior banners a few patches ago, signets this patch etc.

Just a shame they always seem to end up nerfing other things into obscurity at the same time.

Well I would argue that with the buff to Flanking Strike/Larcenous Strike, there is more diversity, as more thieves are running S/D boon stripping/evasion thieves.

It all comes down to personal and team effectiveness though. D/P burst thieves are simply more valuable to a team than bunker condi thieves, S/P burst thieves, and certainly P/P thieves. Yes, its unfortunate, but its also silly to get upset at players who want to maximize their classes in a competitive environment.

Would you rather have a glass cannon staff Elementalist on your team, or a D/D bunker cantrip ele?

Not all specs are made equal, and until we have better balance AND different PvP game modes, this is how sPvP will be with ALL classes.

I know it takes time but there are definitely some skills that could easily be fixed to make builds viable some its just switching numbers in the coding

Could it possibly be that people want to play a class that does surprise burst damage from stealth, known as the Thief? Shock horror!

I run s/d d/p. I do use backstab but usually only after I’ve stolen some boons to make me stronger/them weaker. But there’s more to what I do than backstabbing and heart seeking.

Cuz it’s the best way to deal the most damage, tons of utilities revolve around it and the playstyle doesn’t force us to leap all over the place or fly off cliffs.

you got 4 weapons :
shortbow
dagger / x
pistol /x
sword /x
you can equip 2 weapon sets , that mean at least 50% of thieves will use one weapon set with dagger main hand (backstab build – in most of the situation)
Since the majority prefer direct damage over condition, on all classes, most of thieves would use some form of"backstab build"

Balance in this game is terrible.

What else would you expect people to run? Backstab focused builds are the only Thief builds capable of scoring kills consistently.

Everything else is a support set for your D/x set.

d/d bs is the most rare build in the game :P just sayin