Guild Wars 2

Trying to get ideas for a build, so im wonder what is the “best” build floating around right now. Thi is just for general playing

I daresay there’s no best Theif build. There’s also no best Thief build.

But yeah, it depends on what you mean with “general playing”. PvE? WvW? Or maybe sPvP?

Like Saturn said, there’s no ‘best build’.

Honestly, the best way to play is tinker with traits yourself. They cost buttons to reset and it’s much better to find a build yourself. Grabbing a build from someone else isn’t the best idea.

Play around with traits yourself and see what you like. On paper it might not be as good as another build, but if you play it enough you start to learn how to play it most efficiently.

People tend to forget that you’re not going to automatically be on the same level as someone else just because you’re using their same loadout. Find a build you like the look of, practice, practice, practice.

Personally I play between two different power builds;

• 10-0-30-0-30
• 0-30-30-10-0

If it’s for WvW though, it’s very difficult not to go 30 into Shadow Arts. 10 sec regen buff on stealth, condi clear every 3 seconds (and on stealth active) and healing/second in stealth is amazing for survival.

P/D Condition Thieves are also really great for WvW at the moment. That being said, I wouldn’t play Condition in PvE. Conditions are already applied in abundance even by non-condition builds so you won’t be able to maximise your DPS in PvE. Best leave Condition in PvE to Necromancers

You have to play what suits your play style and what most enjoyable to you. Some peoples will do very good with one type of build and poorly with another just because of style and technique.

I tend to do better with builds based on evasion. If I look on the internet at videos posted I see people using lots of stealth. I just can not get that timing down.

Added to that while some builds might seem more powerful then others, there also the personal enjoyment factor to consider. This again is personal taste and no condemnation on those that have more “fun” with one build over another.

I have a warrior I play as well and he much easier to play and survive with then my thief but I rarely play him in WvW because I do not find it as fun.

As a thief I really do not MIND getting killed in WvW as I test a new build. Rather I like to see if I can make a build work via different traits and gearing. I am always at the trainer resetting skills to try something different. I will often totally swap out traits and weapon sets and even retrain based just upon the type of fight I am to be involved in.

If I run with a zerg as example I build for more survival and stay at the periphery so I do not become a rally bot.

So my advice to you would be don’t just copy some others build because it currently the FOTM. Decide on what playstyle you get the most enjoyment out of and design a build around what YOU enjoy most.

pve or pvp?
pve – 25-30-0-0-15 D/D or S/P
pvp – 10-30-0-0-30 D/P or S/P
both offhand SB
those are the actually meta build, aka best builds.

Very build you can come up with will be called OP and cheesy.
So, every build is the best build.

For pvp, (spvp or wvw roaming), 10-30-0-0-30 trickery build is best imo. Has the highest skill cap and leaves a lot of room to make plays. D/P and Shortbow. Extremely powerful if played correctly. Some people prefer having shadow arts in their build, however I personally believe that its a crutch traitline and doesn’t contribute to your team as much as a trickery build does. However, if you want to never die and abuse the stealth mechanic go ahead and use it.

Helly.2597:

For pvp, (spvp or wvw roaming), 10-30-0-0-30 trickery build is best imo. Has the highest skill cap and leaves a lot of room to make plays. D/P and Shortbow. Extremely powerful if played correctly. Some people prefer having shadow arts in their build, however I personally believe that its a crutch traitline and doesn’t contribute to your team as much as a trickery build does. However, if you want to never die and abuse the stealth mechanic go ahead and use it.

This pretty much covers anything I would say.

Im afraid there are such things as bad questions…. there is no such thing as “best” build, in any game, ever. Even for something as simple as general play, which in this game isn’t so general unless you’re a warrior. Things change, and you should swap weapons when its called for. Thief has no universal build, just gata play with the traits/gear and find what you like/want your thief to do.

Helly.2597:

For pvp, (spvp or wvw roaming), 10-30-0-0-30 trickery build is best imo. Has the highest skill cap and leaves a lot of room to make plays. D/P and Shortbow. Extremely powerful if played correctly. Some people prefer having shadow arts in their build, however I personally believe that its a crutch traitline and doesn’t contribute to your team as much as a trickery build does. However, if you want to never die and abuse the stealth mechanic go ahead and use it.

what gear would you use for that build? I usually only run that in sPvP, but I’ve found that full zerk usually isn’t that great in wvw.

DatPieGuy.6540:

what gear would you use for that build? I usually only run that in sPvP, but I’ve found that full zerk usually isn’t that great in wvw.

Umm basically I use full zerk armor with ogre runes and I use zerker rings and backpiece, valk earrings and amulet. I use zerker weapons, with stacking power sigils for stacking and fire sigils once that is done (or if I’m dueling).

However, you can make a number of changes without significantly losing damage while helping you gain survivability. One of which would be swapping out one or two of the rings from zerker to either valk or cavs (I personally like valk over cavs due to my belief that as a thief you can use evades and good positioning to avoid melee/direct damage well enough, which makes toughness less needed, while being condi bombed is going to go right through toughness anyways so you need vit to counteract that).

The second change that can be made is swapping out the ogre runes for lyssa or travelers, of the two I’d lean lyssa. Lyssa would give you the full condi clear and all the boons, which can save your behind in a fight and allows you stability rez someone in your shadow refuge which is very nice as well.

One last thing I want to mention about the build in wvw. It can be extremely frustrating at times with all the increased condition duration and condition builds you run across while roaming in general. However, from all the builds I’ve tried with thief, this is the one that is; the most fun; the most powerful; the most group support/ valuable to the other members of a roaming group. I was hitting people for 4k+ auto attacks with the dagger earlier today, and hit someone for an 8k+ cluster bomb as well. That being said, a dead thief does no damage. So if you find yourself going down a lot, feel free to throw in some valk/cavs and tweak the build a bit.

If you have any specific questions you want to ask, feel free to whisper me in game or message me on the forums.

How S/D doing these days? I’ve tried it last night and felt pretty solid, nice pressure with auto attack and plenty of survivability. And it feels somewhat simpler and more straight foward.

Sometimes I think I’m just not skilled enough, since I just couldn’t adapt well to D/P. That thing of heartseeking out of the BP circle to get stealth and stuff just felt weird.

I’m probably playing it wrong anyways Any good gameplay videos for reference would be awesome!

doomknife.7498:

How S/D doing these days? I’ve tried it last night and felt pretty solid, nice pressure with auto attack and plenty of survivability. And it feels somewhat simpler and more straight foward.

Sometimes I think I’m just not skilled enough, since I just couldn’t adapt well to D/P. That thing of heartseeking out of the BP circle to get stealth and stuff just felt weird.

I’m probably playing it wrong anyways Any good gameplay videos for reference would be awesome!

I used to play S/D, and it has its moments where it is very nice however I personally find that it can suffer due to the need to his CnD to gain stealth (at least in wvw). Played corrected it is still good, however I personally believe it has a lower skill cap than a D/P build has.

The D/P stealthing does take some practice :P. Personally the same thing happened to me when I swapped from S/D to D/P, I just couldn’t get the hang of pulling off the combo right when I wanted. However, once I got used to it you really start to love it.

As far as videos goes about D/P thief, I don’t know of any guides, however if you want just some gameplay video of one of the best thieves in game, check out http://www.twitch.tv/narcarsis/profile. Watching is play will give you a good idea of what a really good D/P thief can do.

doomknife.7498:

How S/D doing these days? I’ve tried it last night and felt pretty solid, nice pressure with auto attack and plenty of survivability. And it feels somewhat simpler and more straight foward.

Sometimes I think I’m just not skilled enough, since I just couldn’t adapt well to D/P. That thing of heartseeking out of the BP circle to get stealth and stuff just felt weird.

I’m probably playing it wrong anyways Any good gameplay videos for reference would be awesome!

I used to feel that way about D/P too. I would constantly Heartseeker into mobs or critters, gain Revealed and subsequently die. It was really frustrating. But over-time I seemed to get the hang of it somehow and it’s no longer an issue.

I agree that the stealth-mechanic is a little clunky but ironically, despite the ability to “perma-stealth” you stealth a lot less than anything that uses Cloak and Dagger. Because the ability to go toe-to-toe with Warriors and other melee classes is what really stands out about D/P.

Thanks guys, I’ll check it out and give it another try!

Narcarsis’s build: http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-c3RV;1Rwk0-7-FOFd0;9;49T;0T2;025A;446B5NW4;2Ewk2Ewk25By

Is this for WvW or sPvP?

Helly.2597:

For pvp, (spvp or wvw roaming), 10-30-0-0-30 trickery build is best imo. Has the highest skill cap and leaves a lot of room to make plays. D/P and Shortbow. Extremely powerful if played correctly. Some people prefer having shadow arts in their build, however I personally believe that its a crutch traitline and doesn’t contribute to your team as much as a trickery build does. However, if you want to never die and abuse the stealth mechanic go ahead and use it.

Why encourage people to abuse a clearly broken mechanic and spec?

despair.1385:

Narcarsis’s build: http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-c3RV;1Rwk0-7-FOFd0;9;49T;0T2;025A;446B5NW4;2Ewk2Ewk25By

Is this for WvW or sPvP?

Can be used for both. Not sure I’d credit it to Caed though, think somebody else may have created the build. Not sure though.

Anyhow, my analysis on different thief builds (based on weapon sets and trait distribution)…

Weaponsets

D/P and S/P- both ridiculously overpowered for what incredibly little skill their builds require. Easily the two best thief weapon sets the class has. Great for bursters.

S/D- far more difficult to play than D/P or S/P, though certainly no more difficult than any other “difficult” build in the game (and all of the most “difficult” builds in the game that aren’t completely UP are pretty easy to play anyways). Good for bruisers.

P/D- just a terrible weapon set (though not as bad as P/P). This weapon set will never be good in any game mode. Won’t even grace this abomination with any more of a description.

P/P- won’t even grace this disgusting nonsense with any description whatsoever.

Trait setups

25 30 0 0 15- the build that nobody uses any more. It’s still pretty good, but its damage focuses more on stats than trait allocation, as is the case with 10 30 0 0 30.

X X 30 X X- just a completely unskilled build that’s only good for noobs in WvW that have ascended gear and would otherwise wimp out with any other build.

X X (Anything other than 30 or 0) X X- see above. Slightly less wimpy, but still pretty unskillful.

10 30 0 30 0- an S/D setup. Pretty easy to play IMO.

0 30 0 30 10- another S/D setup. Also pretty easy to play, though not as much as
10 30 0 30 0.

10 30 0 0 30- a setup that can be used with S/D, S/P, D/D, or D/P. Probably the more skillful than 10 30 0 30 0 and 0 30 0 30 10 (assuming you’re running S/D), though S/P and D/P builds with this setup are just… Ridiculous. Any D/P or S/P build running these traits is probably going to be the best thief build the profession has at the moment.

10 0 0 30 30- another S/D setup. Roughly as skillful as 10 30 0 0 30, maybe slightly less (but more so than 0 30 0 30 10). These S/D builds are fun and solid but ultimately worse than 10 30 0 0 30 D/P or S/P.

Arganthium.5638:

despair.1385:

Narcarsis’s build: http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-c3RV;1Rwk0-7-FOFd0;9;49T;0T2;025A;446B5NW4;2Ewk2Ewk25By

Is this for WvW or sPvP?

Can be used for both. Not sure I’d credit it to Caed though, think somebody else may have created the build. Not sure though.

Anyhow, my analysis on different thief builds (based on weapon sets and trait distribution)…

Weaponsets

D/P and S/P- both ridiculously overpowered for what incredibly little skill their builds require. Easily the two best thief weapon sets the class has. Great for bursters.

S/D- far more difficult to play than D/P or S/P, though certainly no more difficult than any other “difficult” build in the game (and all of the most “difficult” builds in the game that aren’t completely UP are pretty easy to play anyways). Good for bruisers.

P/D- just a terrible weapon set (though not as bad as P/P). This weapon set will never be good in any game mode. Won’t even grace this abomination with any more of a description.

P/P- won’t even grace this disgusting nonsense with any description whatsoever.

Trait setups

25 30 0 0 15- the build that nobody uses any more. It’s still pretty good, but its damage focuses more on stats than trait allocation, as is the case with 10 30 0 0 30.

X X 30 X X- just a completely unskilled build that’s only good for noobs in WvW that have ascended gear and would otherwise wimp out with any other build.

X X (Anything other than 30 or 0) X X- see above. Slightly less wimpy, but still pretty unskillful.

10 30 0 30 0- an S/D setup. Pretty easy to play IMO.

0 30 0 30 10- another S/D setup. Also pretty easy to play, though not as much as
10 30 0 30 0.

10 30 0 0 30- a setup that can be used with S/D, S/P, D/D, or D/P. Probably the more skillful than 10 30 0 30 0 and 0 30 0 30 10 (assuming you’re running S/D), though S/P and D/P builds with this setup are just… Ridiculous. Any D/P or S/P build running these traits is probably going to be the best thief build the profession has at the moment.

10 0 0 30 30- another S/D setup. Roughly as skillful as 10 30 0 0 30, maybe slightly less (but more so than 0 30 0 30 10). These S/D builds are fun and solid but ultimately worse than 10 30 0 0 30 D/P or S/P.

tl;dr of Arganthium’s post: Thieves are either overpowered or underpowered. There’s only one main weapon-set that’s okay, and even that one doesn’t require a lot of skill to play. If you build for anything that has decent survival, you’re a noob. Also, playing a Thief doesn’t really require any skill at all (except maybe if you try to win with P/P), even without Shadow Arts. With Shadow Arts, they play themself, since you are invincible.

And now excuse me; I have to decide if I should laugh, cry, facepalm or all of them.

Loco.4561:

Why encourage people to abuse a clearly broken mechanic and spec?

I encouraged them to run D/P 10-30-0-0-30, which is hardly broken given that it is extremely squishy and requires a decent amount of skill to pull off in a wvw setting especially. I mentioned that if they are having trouble living that they can always add more armor to their build or run some shadow arts. I wouldn’t say I was encouraging it, I said that it is a possible alternative for someone who is having trouble with a superior spec (imo).

Basically anything with 30 in trickery is incredibly strong with all of the weaponsets, so I would build around that trait line.

This thread is from an other age.

The current thief fotm revolves around S/P, crit/trick, 2 > 3333 > 4 > whichever shadowtep > 33333 and 3333, and in some other cases 3333.

Also, if you need to play defensively, don’t forget 3333.

muscarine.5136:

This thread is from an other age.

The current thief fotm revolves around S/P, crit/trick, 2 > 3333 > 4 > whichever shadowtep > 33333 and 3333, and in some other cases 3333.

Also, if you need to play defensively, don’t forget 3333.

Please teach me how to have enough initiative to use Pistol Whip multiple times (more than three times) in a row; especially without hitting anyone with it, because all they need to do is to not stand next to you while you’re spamming 3. The only thing you’ll land while spamming 3 is the first half of your first Pistol Whip. Unless the player you’re attacking is afk, of course.

Saturn.6591:

muscarine.5136:

This thread is from an other age.

The current thief fotm revolves around S/P, crit/trick, 2 > 3333 > 4 > whichever shadowtep > 33333 and 3333, and in some other cases 3333.

Also, if you need to play defensively, don’t forget 3333.

Please teach me how to have enough initiative to use Pistol Whip multiple times (more than three times) in a row; especially without hitting anyone with it, because all they need to do is to not stand next to you while you’re spamming 3. The only thing you’ll land while spamming 3 is the first half of your first Pistol Whip. Unless the player you’re attacking is afk, of course.

Do i really need to explain this to you ?

a/ It cleaves, and even better, it actually has a bit of reach BEHIND the thief
b/ 2 : Immob
c/ Devourer venom
d/ Haste / Critical Haste
e/ Enemy moves > steal / infiltrator signet
f/ 15ini + 1/s + 1/10s + 1/5s + 3/steal (21s)
g/ Use your last living brain cell to wait one or two second before the next 3
h/ You foe is actually here to fight you, strangely enough many of them need to be next to you to do that
i/ 3 times in a row without a single pause (nor a thought) is already A LOT
j/ I dont care, first comes the l2p, then comes the nerf.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vYAQJAqok0Mh/JJCuHONpNtTBXjPA-zUBB4iBMTtIasVRFRjVJjIqWpEjUAwsGA-w best build

muscarine.5136:

Saturn.6591:

muscarine.5136:

This thread is from an other age.

The current thief fotm revolves around S/P, crit/trick, 2 > 3333 > 4 > whichever shadowtep > 33333 and 3333, and in some other cases 3333.

Also, if you need to play defensively, don’t forget 3333.

Please teach me how to have enough initiative to use Pistol Whip multiple times (more than three times) in a row; especially without hitting anyone with it, because all they need to do is to not stand next to you while you’re spamming 3. The only thing you’ll land while spamming 3 is the first half of your first Pistol Whip. Unless the player you’re attacking is afk, of course.

Do i really need to explain this to you ?

a/ It cleaves, and even better, it actually has a bit of reach BEHIND the thief
b/ 2 : Immob
c/ Devourer venom
d/ Haste / Critical Haste
e/ Enemy moves > steal / infiltrator signet
f/ 15ini + 1/s + 1/10s + 1/5s + 3/steal (21s)
g/ Use your last living brain cell to wait one or two second before the next 3
h/ You foe is actually here to fight you, strangely enough many of them need to be next to you to do that
i/ 3 times in a row without a single pause (nor a thought) is already A LOT
j/ I dont care, first comes the l2p, then comes the nerf.

This may work in PvP, but I doubt it would be really viable in WvW. That build you’re describing is most likely 10/30/0/0/30, with the utilities being Infiltrator’s Signet, Devourer Venom and Haste. If you want to avoid having no condition-removal aside from sword 2 and your heal, you’ll have to take Lyssa runes and Basilisk Venom, which means you will rely on Swiftness on Steal to move anywhere in a decent amount of time (or to run away faster when needed). Oh, and of course the only stunbreak you have teleports you right next to your target, which is kinda bad if you want to get out of a dangerous situation. Hm, now that I’m writing about it, I guess it would make more sense to go 0/30/0/10/30 for swiftness on dodge and vigor on heal, while using Withdraw of course. Still looks like everything has to go right, though… one mistake or one thing happening that wasn’t expected, and you’ll decorate the floor with your corpse. Now you could go 0/20/0/20/30 of course to get an additional dodge and Pain Response, but then your damage-output would be a fair bit lower. And I’d still say it’s a bit risky overall. Well, whatever.

For WvW and open world PvE, 30 points into both critical strikes and shadow arts seems popular. The smaller variations within that are mostly down to personal preference.

What is the best food for WvW d/p 10/30/0/0/30?

despair.1385:

What is the best food for WvW d/p 10/30/0/0/30?

I personally don’t run any consumables in WvW. However, I’d suggest checking out the (broken) -40% condi duration food, or any sort of vit-food for it .

despair.1385:

What is the best food for WvW d/p 10/30/0/0/30?

I personally use seaweed salad food. It’s +10% damage while moving which impacts basically all your skills as a thief. Otherwise I’d use any food that gives power and crit damage or power and vitality if you need more survivability.