Guild Wars 2

Hey Guys,
I have experience in sPVP and played both specs.
However, I can’t decide what to roll for WvW. Could anybody that tried both specs talk a little about it? Traits included if possible.
Much appreciated guys

D/D if you want a challenge. D/P if you want an easy win.

Once you have that decided, you can pick the traits and specs.

The builds are practically identical with both so feel free to mess around. Both tend to use x/30/30/x/0 with the same runes and gear.

D/P is probably the overall more powerful set, especially when roaming. D/D shines when you have lots of targets to pick from, when engaging in zerg-combat for example. It also has more burst.

But it has a tough time against some of the more tanky and CC heavy builds out there, which are becoming increasingly popular.

Short bow is for sissies, run both. Use d/p to gain almost permanent stealth, and then switch to d/d to deliver the usual mug combo.

Scholar runes, traits 30/30/0/0/10 or 30/30/0/10/0 depending on what you prefer. Utilities are assassins signet, shadow step, shadow refuge and basilisk venom.

It’s a cheap setup but you are a thief, right?

Master of Timespace.2548:

Short bow is for sissies, run both. Use d/p to gain almost permanent stealth, and then switch to d/d to deliver the usual mug combo.

Scholar runes, traits 30/30/0/0/10 or 30/30/0/10/0 depending on what you prefer. Utilities are assassins signet, shadow step, shadow refuge and basilisk venom.

It’s a cheap setup but you are a thief, right?

Emm, let me correct you. Shortbow AND D/P is for sissies.

General Rule of thumb

D/D: Pros-Basic to get a grasp of, Powerful moreso than D/P, Shines when there are multiple targets to CnD off of

Cons-Few skills to use, Get’s more punishing as amount of targets decrease, it’s most essential attack uses half of your initiative therefore a miss can mean death.

D/P: Pros-Can stealth at will, offers a lot of blinds, has a wide array of tools to use

Cons-For someone new it can’t just be picked up you need to learn what to do with it, less damage than D/D, more initiative consuming than D/D

Important note: DD is easier to just pick up and play with however it hits it’s self-effectiveness very early. What do I mean by this, I mean the weapons can only do so much for you by themselves before it really comes down to just you who will be the reason for failure. That being said, D/D will only give you a powerful stealth stab and a gap closer/finisher. It gives you very little and it’s up to you to compensate with even more practice.

D/P on the other hand offers a much higher self-effectiveness. Yes, it’s harder to pick-up since you need to know what every skill does and when to use them so you don’t run of initiative but it offers so much in terms of tools. The weapon-set does more for you than D/D before the stage comes to where the difference between you and other D/P thieves is the amount of practice you put into the set.

d/p is 100 times easier to pick up than d/d. Running d/d well takes a relatively good overall knowledge about the defensive and offensive skills many professions have so that you don’t try to c&d at the wrong moment. There is also no automatic blind spam in d/d to safe your kitten .
With d/p all you need to learn is to press two buttons in a row. You don’t even need to learn the camera trick anymore.

They’re both easy and effective but I’ll never go back to d/d unless they substantially improve its mobility. Honestly, it is cheap to buy an extra weapon and even cheaper to re-trait so why not play both and decide for yourself?

10/30/0/0/30 or go home :P

Master of Timespace.2548:

d/p is 100 times easier to pick up than d/d. Running d/d well takes a relatively good overall knowledge about the defensive and offensive skills many professions have so that you don’t try to c&d at the wrong moment. There is also no automatic blind spam in d/d to safe your kitten .
With d/p all you need to learn is to press two buttons in a row. You don’t even need to learn the camera trick anymore.

People only using 2 buttons on d/p are both bad and missing out on a lot of potential with the kit. That being said, most I see only know those two buttons exist

D/D is a lot easier to take outnumbered fights. Seems like you’re trying to brag about your skill more than giving unbiased statements. D/D is quite easy; watching a few Yishis videos is enough to pick up the rotations and movements….

Master of Timespace.2548:

Short bow is for sissies, run both. Use d/p to gain almost permanent stealth, and then switch to d/d to deliver the usual mug combo.

Scholar runes, traits 30/30/0/0/10 or 30/30/0/10/0 depending on what you prefer. Utilities are assassins signet, shadow step, shadow refuge and basilisk venom.

It’s a cheap setup but you are a thief, right?

That was the exact thing I have been thinking about. Seems like the best of both worlds by not using SB

Master of Timespace.2548:

d/p is 100 times easier to pick up than d/d. Running d/d well takes a relatively good overall knowledge about the defensive and offensive skills many professions have so that you don’t try to c&d at the wrong moment. There is also no automatic blind spam in d/d to safe your kitten .
With d/p all you need to learn is to press two buttons in a row. You don’t even need to learn the camera trick anymore.

If all you do is spam stealth with D/P then you’re doing it wrong and won’t achieve much.

In fact D/P uses far less stealth than D/D because you have great mobility and can actually face-tank enemies thanks to Black Powder.

D/D on the other hand is just constantly chaining Cloak and Dagger. Hardly more intricate, just less forgiving.

Thank you all for your contributions.

To sum up, I believe it’s safe to say that:
D/D – Shines on outnumbered fights due to stealth spam and distracted enemies.
D/P – Shines on small scale/solo fights due to blind spam and mobility.

I would love to run both to be prepared for any situation. But I still have trouble deciding how I should trait.
For a hybrid setup with D/P and D/D, what would you recommend?
- 10/30/0/0/30
- 0/30/10/0/30 – 10 in SA for shadow embrace.
- 10/30/30/0/0
- 10/0/30/0/30

Which two of the three main trait lines should I go for? Trickery, DA or SA?

30 Shadow Arts and 30 Critical Strikes are a must have.

The only optional part is if you like Mug or prefer having 10 points in Acrobatics. That’s a matter of personal taste. Some like Mug, personally however I don’t.

The only trait that you might want to switch around when alternating between the weapon-sets is Cloaked in Shadows. It’s extremely useful for D/D but somewhat redundant when running D/P. That’s something you might want to switch with Infusion of Shadows or Shadow Protector at times.

Otherwise both builds use both Shadows Embrace and Shadow Rejuvenation.

Dee Jay.2460:

30 Shadow Arts and 30 Critical Strikes are a must have.

The only optional part is if you like Mug or prefer having 10 points in Acrobatics. That’s a matter of personal taste. Some like Mug, personally however I don’t.

The only trait that you might want to switch around when alternating between the weapon-sets is Cloaked in Shadows. It’s extremely useful for D/D but somewhat redundant when running D/P. That’s something you might want to switch with Infusion of Shadows or Shadow Protector at times.

Otherwise both builds use both Shadows Embrace and Shadow Rejuvenation.

Would you run Hidden Killer or Executioner? H.K seems better for D/D while Ex. for D/P.

Very few people seem to run D/D well. If you’re not watching for when you’re blinded, when enemy has aegis up, or if you can’t read your enemy for when they will dodge/block/evade/etc., then you will miss a lot of CnDs.

Also, very few people really know how to time their CnDs for repeating stealth and/or big burst. If you can get your timing right, you can CnD to stealth, basilisk, then CnD → Backstab to get much better burst than backstab alone.

Skills #3 and #4 are used relatively sparsely on D/D, but if you learn the weapon set well, you’ll know when it’s a good idea to use them. Death Blossom in particular is great for handling mesmer since it’s an evade that clears clones at the same time.

garythesnail.8475:

Would you run Hidden Killer or Executioner? H.K seems better for D/D while Ex. for D/P.

Hidden Killer , almost always when relying on Backstabs. You just don’t have enough Fury uptime to make Executioner viable. Builds that don’t rely on Backstab will typically use Executioner though.

Dee Jay.2460:

garythesnail.8475:

Would you run Hidden Killer or Executioner? H.K seems better for D/D while Ex. for D/P.

Hidden Killer , almost always when relying on Backstabs. You just don’t have enough Fury uptime to make Executioner viable. Builds that don’t rely on Backstab will typically use Executioner though.

Thanks Dee Jay. Would you please suggest a gear combination for that to work?
I thought about a mix of Valkyre armor e and zerker trinkets.

Karolis.4261:

Master of Timespace.2548:

Short bow is for sissies, run both. Use d/p to gain almost permanent stealth, and then switch to d/d to deliver the usual mug combo.

Scholar runes, traits 30/30/0/0/10 or 30/30/0/10/0 depending on what you prefer. Utilities are assassins signet, shadow step, shadow refuge and basilisk venom.

It’s a cheap setup but you are a thief, right?

Emm, let me correct you. Shortbow AND D/P is for sissies.

Better a living Sissy indulging in the spoils of the trade than a dead hero. Hero is just a euphemism for idiot.

garythesnail.8475:

Dee Jay.2460:

garythesnail.8475:

Would you run Hidden Killer or Executioner? H.K seems better for D/D while Ex. for D/P.

Hidden Killer , almost always when relying on Backstabs. You just don’t have enough Fury uptime to make Executioner viable. Builds that don’t rely on Backstab will typically use Executioner though.

Thanks Dee Jay. Would you please suggest a gear combination for that to work?
I thought about a mix of Valkyre armor e and zerker trinkets.

Valkyrie is certainly a solid choice as it has excellent synergy with Hidden Killer. However after trying both, the difference between Valkyrie and Berserker isn’t all that great. Both can work and there’s no clear right or wrong.

Bazzoong.7145:

Karolis.4261:

Master of Timespace.2548:

Short bow is for sissies, run both. Use d/p to gain almost permanent stealth, and then switch to d/d to deliver the usual mug combo.

Scholar runes, traits 30/30/0/0/10 or 30/30/0/10/0 depending on what you prefer. Utilities are assassins signet, shadow step, shadow refuge and basilisk venom.

It’s a cheap setup but you are a thief, right?

Emm, let me correct you. Shortbow AND D/P is for sissies.

Better a living Sissy indulging in the spoils of the trade than a dead hero. Hero is just a euphemism for idiot.

Thank you but I’m doing fine with D/D.

garythesnail.8475:

Dee Jay.2460:

30 Shadow Arts and 30 Critical Strikes are a must have.

The only optional part is if you like Mug or prefer having 10 points in Acrobatics. That’s a matter of personal taste. Some like Mug, personally however I don’t.

The only trait that you might want to switch around when alternating between the weapon-sets is Cloaked in Shadows. It’s extremely useful for D/D but somewhat redundant when running D/P. That’s something you might want to switch with Infusion of Shadows or Shadow Protector at times.

Otherwise both builds use both Shadows Embrace and Shadow Rejuvenation.

Would you run Hidden Killer or Executioner? H.K seems better for D/D while Ex. for D/P.

HK vs exec is based on what gear you decide to run. If you want to be glass and melt targets with 1 stab + auto attacking then use exec. If you want to be resilient but have to land 2-3 stabs then go with HK.

30 shadow arts is not a necessity. I run 30 trickery because its better in zergs and also wrecks most WvW punks—eg. shadow art thieves, stability abusers, cantrip eles, and anybody who thinks they are safely out of range