Guild Wars 2

I recently found a playstyle I really liked used by a youtuber known as Noble Soul. He pretty much plays the truest form of “Combat Medic” I’ve ever seen, reviving players with multiple enemies trying to find and kill him. Sometimes it’s just for lols, but with good communication it can help out quite a bit in wvw. Here’s an example.

So, two questions for thieves more experienced than me.

1.) What do others think of this?

2.)How will upcoming core specs effect this? For example, would you typically run Merciful Ambush (stealth while reviving +10% faster revive) or Shadow’s Embrace (stealth condition removal) when reviving with enemies after you? Will anti-stealth tools for other classes just murder this?

Picked answer most relevant to my original questions. There are some other really helpful posts made though.

First things first: combat medic is an absolute blast to run. (I use Noble Soul’s Guardian Angel build, personally.)

That said, I think there’s gonna’ be some challenges for us medics with the upcoming changes. Some of the key traits are being moved around in ways that are going to force some tough choices about which one to take, for example. That’s without even considering the changes to other classes (like the engie reveal).

Still, I’m sure there’ll be ways to adapt. We’ll still all be out there, healing from the shadows one way or another. :-D

Merciful Ambush is becoming a minor trait in the Shadow Arts line. You get it for free now :-)

That’s pretty awesome! Maybe enough to encourage ninja revives… Is it replacing Last Refuge? Also, where’s the new info coming from?

in the thread Guild Wars 2 Discussion the devs announced the balance changes that are coming next tuesday

Not sure what effect the engi reveal trait will have but I think overall medic thief will be still okay to play.

More likely that the change to blind on stealth trait (will be gm) will have bigger impact on medics than the added reveal in the game. Condi removal is very important, blind on stealth reduces a lot of direct dmg taken so without it, medics will get hurt a bit more. On other hand, there will be no cooldown on the regen when grating stealth, which means the thief will be able to heal himself and to some extend others better than before. Regen can be quite high in builds with healing power (such as nomad).

Kury.8210:

That’s pretty awesome! Maybe enough to encourage ninja revives… Is it replacing Last Refuge? Also, where’s the new info coming from?

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/June-23-Specialization-Changes/first

And it’s switching places with Last Refuge. Last Refuge is now a choice… IF you want it :-P

Heller Highwater.4967:

Still, I’m sure there’ll be ways to adapt. We’ll still all be out there, healing from the shadows one way or another. :-D

I’ve never run a ninja nurse build, but from what I see, you’ve got…

MINOR
Merciful Ambush:
Stealth yourself and your target for 3 seconds when reviving an ally. You revive allies 10% faster.

Resilience of Shadows:
Stealth effects that you apply reduce incoming attack damage by 25%.

ADEPT
Shadow’s Embrace:
Remove 1 condition every 3 seconds while in stealth.

MASTER
Shadow Protector:
When you grant stealth to an ally, they gain 3 seconds of regeneration. This effect no longer has an internal cooldown. (This supposedly stacks now, so blasting and Shadow Refuge can increase duration)

GRANDMASTER
Shadow’s Rejuvenation:
Regenerate health and initiative while in stealth.

That’s quite a lot of healing and damage resistance in Shadow Arts. Take 25% less damage, heal (from two traits), remove conditions, AND regenerate initiative in stealth.

Questions on future Merciful Ambush: Anyone know if the entire 3 seconds of stealth is applied immediately, or if it halts when no longer reviving? Also, is there an internal cool down on it?

Relatively new, so question about reviving dead (not downed) players. Can they be stealthed? Can they get the regen buff? Would the 10% faster reviving apply (or only when reviving “downed” players)?

Wish I could put multiple posts up as my answer. Several of you have been really helpful.

Kageseigi.2150:

I’ve never run a ninja nurse build, but from what I see, you’ve got…
[snip]

True, but we now have to take the condi-cleanse over the 20% CDR on deceptions (which can make a difference). Also, if I want Shadow’s Rejuvenation, I can’t take Cloaked in Shadows. While this seems pretty silly on its face, in practice intentionally taking fall damage to gain stealth is a pretty important part of how I play if I’m in the middle of a hostile zerg. It’s one of the first things I learned from watching Noble Soul’s gameplay videos (as mentioned by the OP).

Kury.8210

Questions on future Merciful Ambush: Anyone know if the entire 3 seconds of stealth is applied immediately, or if it halts when no longer reviving? Also, is there an internal cool down on it?

I don’t know about the future version, but the current version gives the stealth even if you stop rezzing. I sometimes trigger this intentionally. The downside is that it also means that an unwary revive-ee can give themselves Revealed if they attack a target.

Relatively new, so question about reviving dead (not downed) players. Can they be stealthed? Can they get the regen buff? Would the 10% faster reviving apply (or only when reviving “downed” players)?

Dead (“Defeated”) players can’t be stealthed or given buffs, but they can be revived faster (currently, from Mercy Runes), since AFAIK that effect applies to me doing the razzing, not the person being rezzed.

I love his Combat Medic, seen him doing it in Hotjoins a few time even as a zerk Teef. So heroic! But yes, it’ll be great fun to use now with the 25% damage reduction as well.

We used to have one on my old server, appropriately named “Medic Jack”, awesome guy and always saved my noob butt when I cried in chat for a medic.

Noble Soul is on SoS, we also have Spiderman (both ninja combat medics) Those guys are an absolute riot to play with and have saved me more than once.

Ill let them you know you guys like them maybe we can get some more videos up!

Yeah, SoS seems to be brimming with medics. (I’m on SoS, too; watching Noble Soul in action is what spurred me to build my thief that way.) I know I’ve been in a healing party 3 or even 4 deep, and it was completely awesome.

Heller Highwater.4967:

Also, if I want Shadow’s Rejuvenation, I can’t take Cloaked in Shadows. While this seems pretty silly on its face, in practice intentionally taking fall damage to gain stealth is a pretty important part of how I play if I’m in the middle of a hostile zerg.

Just wondering… with Shadow Protector supposedly stacking with no cooldown, will that make Shadow’s Rejuvenation less of a necessity?

And also, do you happen to have a link to the Ninja Nurse build? I’m curious to see. Thanks! :-D

Kageseigi.2150

Just wondering… with Shadow Protector supposedly stacking with no cooldown, will that make Shadow’s Rejuvenation less of a necessity?

It’s hard to say at the moment, honestly. While the build I run does have Shadow’s Rejuvenation currently, Assassin’s Reward in Acrobatics also helps with to keep the health up. Certainly, Shadow Protector not having an ICD would help, but I think it’s too early to call for me at least, until I see everything in practice.

As far as a link, I know there’s something on metabattle, but I prefer Noble Soul’s Guardian Angel setup. The video description also links to the actual build.

A couple of general comments: Pumpkin Oil is a fantastic food item, rather than sharpening stones. Also yes, Avatar of Melandru is amazing as an elite. The stability and extra HP (not to mention the water field from the 4-skill) can be an absolute lifesaver, especially when standing in Shadow Refuge in the middle of a dozen enemies. :-D

Haha, you’ve got my mind working now :-P

I have some more questions to ask so I can see if I can come up with some solutions to the new system.

Shortbow: Do you use it mainly for mobility, blasting to stealth allies, or blasting to remove conditions?

Shadowstep: Do you use it mainly for stun break or to remove conditions?

Decent Into Shadows: Do you use it mainly to enter stealth? Or to blind foes?

By the way, have you thought of replacing Blinding Powder with Smoke Screen? It’s another smoke field to blast Area Stealth… and you can get more leaps through it than with Black Powder… and it has a shorter cooldown.

Shortbow is all about the mobility. It lets me get in to a patient quickly, or out just as fast if things go bad. It’s also my biggest source of damage, although the phrase “hits like a wet noodle” would be rather appropriate. I rarely do SB blasts for stealth/condi cleanse, although it does see a lot of use on water fields (especially my own; recall that Avatar of Melandru’s 4-skill drops a water field).

Shadowstep is used mostly for stunbreaks and mobility (in the same way as the shortbow). I trust in my cleanse on stealth to take care of most conditions, or sometimes I just rely on the innate tankiness of a medic build to power through them. The one big exception is that I will use it to break an immob. if my escape is starting to look suspect.

Descent into Shadows is all about the stealth. If you check Noble Soul’s videos, you’ll see him run up stairs and then jump off a -lot-, especially when he’s at inner Bay. It’s a great technique for misleading and confusing the enemy.

With regards to Smoke Screen, yes it’s a smoke field, but as I mentioned earlier, my own play style doesn’t use many smoke blasts for stealth. Plus, BP is an absolutely fantastic tool for finishing a rez. Dropping it as soon as you finish getting someone up gives them a precious few seconds to get back to friendly forces, and lets you get away to go after your next patient.

Yeah, it seems there may be some tough choices to be made when the patch hits.

I was just testing to see what is currently possible. They were just tests in non-combat conditions, so actual use may vary.

I had 6 in Shadow Arts with Master of Deception, and 3 in Trickery with Merciful Ambush. D/P and Shortbow, Hide in Shadows, Shadow Refuge, and Smoke Screen.

If I timed things correctly, I could maintain permanent stealth. I had about 15 seconds to run around after Shadow Refuge. After leaping through Smoke Screen seven times (I believe), I had about 10 seconds of stealth. Hide in Shadows usually bought me enough time for a cooldown to reset. And if I got into a pinch, Black Powder allowed me to leap through it.
With the new changes, it looks like the choices will be between…

Remove conditions in stealth… or… 20% cooldown reduction (needed for perma-stealth)

Stealth on fall… or… regain health and initiative while in stealth

2 of 3: Blinding Powder (instant group stealth)… or… Smoke Screen (needed for perma-stealth)… or… Shadowstep (mobility, stun-break, and remove conditions)

2 of 3: Dagger/Pistol (leaping and smoke field)… or… Shortbow (mobility and blast finisher)… or Sword/Pistol (remove conditions and smoke field)

I guess it depends on how much condi-removal and stealth up-time you need. And also how difficult it would be to maintain stealth in a combat environment. Again, I haven’t played as a ninja nurse. I did play around with a perma-stealth Caltrops build in PvP a few times. While I couldn’t deal much damage at all, it wasn’t too difficult to remain invisible if I focused on it… but I definitely had to be careful where I put my Smoke Screen so I wouldn’t Heartseeker into an enemy.

Ps. I do with I could display a timer on boons/conditions/stealth. It would make it so much easier than having to use a tooltip.

Yeah, you’re coming to a lot of the same conclusions I am. :-)

I tend not to worry -too- much about perma-stealth (although obviously more stealth uptime is good), because with full Nomad’s I’m pretty tanky, although it does make things a bit tricky at times. Occasionally it does become necessary to lead the enemies on a bit of a wild goose chase for a bit in order to let things come off cooldown. That said, SB 5 and BP/HS (especially double HS) can do a pretty good job of keeping you a few steps ahead of your pursuers.

To anyone else reading this: if you still think a combat medic sounds fun, I -absolutely- encourage you to give it a whirl. I maintain it’s the most fun build I’ve ever played in GW2 (and I’ve gotten every class to 80 at least once), and probably the most fun build I’ve played in any MMO.

If you do want to give it a try, I recommend heading to one of the forts in the Silverwastes and just trying to get/keep people up as much as possible, both players and NPCs. It makes for some surprisingly good practice, and is actually how I learned the ropes before hopping into WvW as a medic.

Any news how medics run now post-patch? :-D
Or is it a death sentence with all of the damage going around? :-P