Guild Wars 2

Hey guys
So I’m thinking in getting into Fractals son with my Thief, the thing is I think that my Backstab build that I use for General PvE and WvW Roaming might not be great for Fractals. Idk why is just a felling

Being said, and as I think I still need to play more time with the Thief to think of a build myself, do you recomend any build for Fractals as a Thief?

In fractals you probably want to be a jack-of-all trades. Change weapons and utilities frequently. A lot of builds are viable and each will be stronger in some fractals than others. Anyway, I don’t think there is one stand out dungeoneering build and that’s possibly a good thing. A glass cannon backstab build will be too risky until you know the fights well enough to survive.

Thieves in fractal are usefull.
With a zerk build bring a shortbow and 2 pistols. You’ll do most of the content ranged since boss will 1shot you.
Any fractal has it’s own little tricks and you have to know which utility put in your bar and when to use them.

30-30-10-0-0 full zerker or 25-30-10-0-5 if you like that better
D/D and S/P

Okay, but how do I know when use this or that utility?
Wich utilitys do you guys recomend for each fractal?

For example the Dredge one, or the Grawl (this is just examples, I would like to know for all)

Anubarak.3012:

30-30-10-0-0 full zerker or 25-30-10-0-5 if you like that better
D/D and S/P

^—- This right here

The best thing to do as a new thief for Fractals would be to get with another thiefhave them explain the mechanics/tactics to you. Then there is youtube. You can find some really good Fractal Thief Runs on there.

This should get you started with a few tricks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOOCeO3kS3k

It’s a long list.
Dredge: you can open the first doors stacking stealth without dredges attacking you.
in the bomb path you can use stealth to place them and then run away using smoke screen to block ranged attacks and shortbow 3 to be in permaevade.
at the final boss you can use infiltrator’s arrow to teleport up and pull the lever quickly while your mates keep dpsing the boss.

grawl: venom share + chill – immobilize – basilisk + caltrops to snare/root little shamans + infiltrator’s arrow to quickly reach lava stones.
at the boss: stealth+ 1 spam pitol to destroy barrier (you won’t go out of stealth since you do no damage and you’ll fo a tons of attacks) using shadow refuge. + knives elite to reflect wurms attacks + smoke screen to block them while you kille them aoe with your bow.

i found SA a good trait line. but i guess you can do it in a tons of ways.

SB, S/P, P/P and D/D.
For lower level fractals having 30CS is well enough damage-wise.
I mostly recommend full berserk for experienced Fractal runners, having some valkyrie while new to it doesn’t hurt much, afterall you do more dps while alive than throwing rocks.

And yeah, many fights are easiest from range, but there are many fights where melee will come in handy. S/P with executioner for AoE cleave and evade and D/D with hidden killer for single target. However against some mobs there can be plenty of AoE going on, where SB will be more handy. S/D against dredge to take their boons.

Utilities depending on what you need. I nearly always have Assassin’s Signet and Shadow Refuge.

Common builds:
30/30/10/0/0
30/30/0/0/10
25/30/10/0/5
25/30/0/15/0
25/30/0/0/15

I was using 10/30/30/0/0 in my first fractals, was just fine. :p

Lower level fractals are newbie friendly too, the only extra to it is strategies and team work.

Ghostwolf said most of it. Great advise right there. Blinds are always handy, unless you are fighting Dredge.

Unlike most people I use a build which is a compromise between WvW and PvE. I’m using 0/30/30/10/0 and only switch out my gear and traits. Which means I try to go D/D or D/P as often as I can, but on high level fractals that isn’t as ideal as a power build with S/x and SB. Still works well enough though.

Thieves actually bring amazing utility at higher level fractals. If you want just DPS, a warrior may suit you better as they bring roughly equivalent DPS, but they won’t get 1 shot until higher levels and their attacks cleave greatly helping with trash mobs.

First off, the build I use lately is 0/30/20/20/0 zerker trinkets and power stat armor (zerk/soldier/valk depending on how tired I am). Gaining health in stealth isn’t really worth it as the 1k health you’ll get typically won’t save you from a hit in anything fractal 20 and over. I typically have Shadowstep, Shadow Refuge, and Smokescreen equipped for most encounters. Smokescreen is probably my favorite skill in fractals as it will blind melee and block projectiles. When traited (SA I) it has extremely high up time. SB should almost always be equipped as your secondary for its combos, defensive capabilities, and the ability to get to your teammates faster if they go down

Daendur got it right on the grawl and dredge. During the bomb part on the dredge, you can plant single bombs as a time and shadow trap out. It may seem slow the first couple of times, but its faster than wiping and I’ve only seen 1 other method that was almost as effective requiring 2 hammer guards to prevent the dredge from picking up the bombs when you plant more than 1. During the grawl fractal, BV+Sword/X is really nice for interrupting the shaman. I switch BV out during the second boss fight for Daggerstorm to pull aggro from the lava elementals. It will reflect their attacks and the bouncing daggers will hot the shaman knocking off layers of the shell. When he becomes enraged, smokescreen will save your group from getting 1 shot.
The thief can be particularly helpful during the harpy fractal. With SA I and V traited, you can stealth your entire group through both jumping sections. Start with smokescreen and drop 6 cluster bombs into it. When you get about 1/3 of the way up, drop SR on the group, then continue. At 2/3 of the way up, drop smokescreen and repeat the CB’ing. This is especially helpful when the fractal is your 3rd and your pug is frustrated.

“Which utilitys do you guys recomend for each fractal? For example the Dredge one, or the Grawl (this is just examples, I would like to know for all)”

I use a stealth set up for the first part of the dredge fractal and the bomb doors. I use a signet of malice, caltrops, daggerstorm set up for killing dredge generally. I use a kiting and revival set up with withdraw, shadow refuge, and basilisk venom for the end boss, with maybe even a trap for the mining suit. No trait settings can support all those skills equally well.

So do you guys think that a S/P and SB with trait lines like 25/30/0/15/0 might be a good build for fractals? Equipment I would see after, if I would need Soldier (let’s farm AC ) or if with my current set of Valkyrie armor and Zerker Trinket I would be fine

That would get you started ok and you can see what you need after that. Don’t bother with the soldiers yet.

Stooperdale.3560:

That would get you started ok and you can see what you need after that. Don’t bother with the soldiers yet.

“Yet.” I’m in complete agreement with this. The soldiers gear that I’m currently still collecting from hotw is my 4th or 5th set. I should have mentioned that. @ OP, I don’t know how new you are to your thief, but its a good idea to have multiple sets for it for when unexpected balance changes occur. While my trinkets usually don’t change, my armor often does to make up for the changes in a build. GL with fractal running, and p.s. you should carry 2 pistols, 2 daggers, a sword and a shortbow with you to tackle fractals so you can accommodate any engagement you might face. You can work up to that though. Seems like a promising start.

Snowblind Fractal: Can solo first part, also Smoke screen helps with the elemental fight when all the minions spawn.

Cliffside Fractal: With good dodging, you can melee the main bosses np.

Underwater Fractal: BV helps prevent the jellyfish from eating someone if timed right. And just in general, good dps.

Ascalonian Fractal: Smoke screen helps, OH pistol to keep the enemy warriors missing (cuz they hit really hard), and good dodging + dps on main boss. Also BV with venom share can keep the main boss locked for awhile possible saving the npc veterans.

Swamp Fractal: Amazing mobility and stealth helps a lot with the wisps. Smoke screen with the oakheart and ton of dodges helps with the Mossman (cuz he also hurts like a kitten)

Dredge Fractal: Stealth helps with the switches/panels. Great AoE dmg with sb for the spawns or stealth for the wall where you use the guns on. With sb if you get the legendary dredge, you can technically solo it as shadowstep can jump up to the panels (except 1 of them). Also dodging helps avoid the AoE agony. Legendary Ice elemental is a joke, any class can do that.

Volcanic Fractal: Smoke screen for the shaman. If you have the trait to regen in stealth you can stealth rez a defeated ally without worrying about the burn dmg too much. Also ally stealth helps just in general in that fight.

To sum it up, yes. Thieves can do a lot in fractals. Even though my warrior is completely geared and COULD enter fractals, I don’t bring it because I enjoy thief much more for its utility.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fYAQNAsYVlYmiP3eS6E/5EyOjdqC5eUUGVT1fgrA-jwCBYfCiYhYojIEFIkFRjwAgyAM9pIasFOFRjVXDT7iIqWIAzLAA-e

Is what I use, swapping to venom share when need be and Concealed defeat (smoke screen on down) for some bosses. Dagger and pistol for the ascalonian fractal for the aoe blind field. Swap to dual pistols for the legendary shaman (volcanic fractal.) Enter stealth, and spam #1 when it bubbles. It puts a lot of hits in really quickly (it won’t reveal you, and is quick to reload). Then swap to sb and destroy the fire elementals, use dual pistols and use unload on it when it’s just shooting arrows, much higher dps than sb.