Q:
Condition build evaluation
Edit: For some reason you have to copy/paste the link to a new window in order to work
Personally, condition-builds may well work great for soloing, but in group events and dungeons – given the potential nature of high burst damage for the thief, and the fact that the stacks are capped, I’d avoid a condition build.
Just personal opinion of course.
In WvW its also marginal at best. Conditions can be easily removed. Not to even mention AoE removed by combo fields. Plus they can be outhealed/regeneration.
And the light combo field is one of the most used.
(edited by Shintai.5618)
Personally, condition-builds may well work great for soloing, but in group events and dungeons – given the potential nature of high burst damage for the thief, and the fact that the stacks are capped, I’d avoid a condition build.
Just personal opinion of course.
While this is true and bleed caps are something that should be looked at, people way overestimate the situations where this actually hinders you. Most events are not “everyone gang up on this one mob and beat on it for 10 minutes”, those are easily <10 % of all events. Even in events where the bleed cap will be reached on the main opponent, attacking that main enemy isn’t what you should be doing as an AE condition damager anyways. Hint: You get far less loot/exp from an event like Claw of Jormag if you spend your time focusing the dragon.
When it comes to dungeons, it all depends on if you know the people you’re running with or not. It is pretty easy to come to an agreement ahead of time about who is going to be using bleeds to maximize the use of those 25 stacks.
Conditions can be removed in WvW, but that is why thieves use consecutive short-duration high-damage bleeds instead of, say, stacking a massive duration of burning. This is also where apply a multitude of different conditions comes into play. Most condition removal is not passive, and expending tiny effort (like dodging through a crowd to drop caltrops) to force your enemies to make multiple ability activations to negate your action is still a major combat efficiency win.
(edited by Tulisin.6945)
@Tulisin,
Absolutely agree with your points. Dungeon communication is everything, not just in respect to builds but also being able to tell people how best to do an encounter – be it trash or a boss. Too many run in as a zerg and get wiped, and that is where we get these arguments that the trinity shouldn’t have been killed.
But you’re right, condition builds are viable – I personally don’t choose them because during PvE and group-event play, I find the burst damage to be the preferred option, and falling back to my pistols for CC/range.
Right, i’m just going to get to the point straight away, I’ve been playing bleed thief for quite a while and you should check the pvp movie/video w.e you wanna call it out.
I’m using D/D & P/P. And you can apply a bunch of bleeds with pistols without spending Ini, just utility stealths. The build is in the description on youtube there!
I’ve tried using D/D and SB but I prefer the utility from P/P + the additional bleeds you can stack with P/P. Headshot is awesome for interrupting heals and just for daze.
Cheres and gl
(edited by Nande.6810)
As for the OP, take caltrops on dodge, take it now. You’re already running Signet of Malice and 30 points in Acrobatics, and I have no problems saying that Uncatchable is easily the most powerful trait thieves can take due to the synergy you can generate by creating hits on dodge. You’re also not really getting the most out of your 6 rune bonus with zero toughness on your gear.
(edited by Tulisin.6945)