Guild Wars 2

How viable is it in ALL stages of leveling? It seems like it would be almost impossible to really get started till level 25+ or so due to the lack of specific skills and traits.

But does it start to ramp up at any specific level range?

Long story short I like DoT builds and unfortunately eng requires too much dedication to unlock alot of the skills necessary to build for condition damage, I dont have the patience to get that far, and necros just seem weak and drawn out to level as a conditionmancer (Even if they are pretty good in PvP).

So what should I expect when trying such a build on a thief? And what weapon combo compliments it really well, D/S, P/D or SB?

I can’t speak to all stages, but I’ve been doing D/D bleeds from about level 5-20 and it works great. Once you get Signet of Malice it’s cake. All you have to do is kite a group of mobs into a pack, Death Blossom 3 times (do one chain of auto attacks between each one) then kite/evade until you have 5 init again while doing some autoattacks and stuff is almost always dead by then. Worst case, you just kite with the Shortbow you have in your other weapon slot until you are full init again.

I prefer to start condition builds at 30+. But if you wanna start low, get caltrops asap. Around 20 and lower, you can prettyy much gib mobs with cnd → backstab and sigil of bloodlust so its hard to pass that up.

Hmm, I may give it a shot then.

Whats a stat spread I should be looking for? If I remember right condition damage doesnt crit so precision is pointless unless I want my non-condition damage skills to add a little burst.

So would it be…power/condition damage/toughness?

at lv 80 while roaming Orr and using a condition build / armor & weapon setup, how should one engage 1-2-3 mobs?
Death blossom until run out of Ini, then Steal, then some evades for Caltrops? Do I want to drop a poison field and then Death Blossom, or do I want to start some other Combo?
What happens when one runs out of Ini, Hide in shadows and normal attack?
thx.

I am looking for the best way / most efficient way to farm, I just got lv 80, poor and crappy gear.

I played a glass-cannon back-stab thief up until level 80 and changed to a defensive pistol/dagger thief upon 80, basing my thief’s build off of the concepts of a YouTuber named Slic (Wild Bill).

Here is the build he uses:
http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#mckMzzzz0MMxvMMMxvMG0xG0mRosqcR8khG7kiO7khf7kiO7khG70z7kuB70z7kIN70z7kG270z7owZ70m

Basically you’re stacking bleeds, using Cloak and Dagger whenever you can to do this, and healing and gaining might whenever you use venoms or are in stealth. It’s great for taking on multiple monsters, mostly due to the stealth (obviously) with an extra added 1 second stealth minor trait and the blind-on-stealth major trait.

It’s great in PvP obviously too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GTrN8vtwAg&feature=plcp

Condition isn’t very good in Orr because tons of mobs have CC. You’re essentially forced to partner up or you’re going to end up being pulled into 3-4 mobs who are going to burst you down.

That’s another reason why I refuse to do a condition build…because its bad in PvP, WvW and when you hit lvl 80 its bad for PvE.

Never.6014:

I can’t speak to all stages, but I’ve been doing D/D bleeds from about level 5-20 and it works great. Once you get Signet of Malice it’s cake. All you have to do is kite a group of mobs into a pack, Death Blossom 3 times (do one chain of auto attacks between each one) then kite/evade until you have 5 init again while doing some autoattacks and stuff is almost always dead by then. Worst case, you just kite with the Shortbow you have in your other weapon slot until you are full init again.

Signet of Malice?? Im lvl 62 and cannot find this signet…. Have you got the name wrong?

It’s the Signet under your healing utility. It’s quite good in the right build but really bad in the wrong one.

What weapons / armor / Utilities setup should a Cond Build thief use in order to provide the best advantage to his Dungeon Party ?

Thx.

carrion is fine, or with precision instead of power. Weapons either p/d or d/d (built-in evades). Utilities are: caltrops is a must, roll for initiative and a skill of choice. Sif of Malice for healing

Hide in Shadows for P/D is better then SoM because it allows you to sneak attack and stack multiple bleeds and gives you a much larger heal on demand. SoM is good for DB spam builds and builds that like dropping caltrops everywhere.

P/D for Dungeons? hmm anyone has tried that?

yes it is viable and bit more reliable than d/d for single targets but is hard where constant avoidance is needed
edit: Babel answered it rather well, conditions are strong on thief, but there are classes with more reliable condition damage. And yes, head shot alone beats all other possible benefits thief can have for a group together

I have, it’s not very good. For dungeons you need high survivability but you also need decent single target damage or you’re more of a burden then anything.

P/D gives you sustained bleeds but any decent group will already have that.
You’re better off going P/P and spaming Unload, Black power and Head Shot.

Head Shot alone is a god send in dungeons vs bosses.