Okay I know what you are thinking, “who is this guy to randomly come up with a new viable P/P meta”, but hear me out, because I think I might be on to something here
I want to mention that the reason that I like the P/P wep set, is because of the sustained, on going great dps you can get from the set, with constant unloads. And the fact that you can deal great dps without having to stand in everyones faces at all times. I have been using shortbow up until now, but I dont feel the damage output is nearly as good as I want it, even though the mobility is great. Which leads to me to tend to not switch to shortbow during combat. My main goal is that I wanted to use both wep sets effectively in combat, switching back and fort.
The goal behind this build is to keep alot of the thief burst that we all love, and still be survivable enough to be able to use the P/P set effectively due to the lack of survivability in the set it self.
Lets start with Traits:
0/6/0/4/4
CRITICAL STRIKES: V VI XI (Standard setup with the exception of the V trait)
- V – Pistol mastery. The V trait adds 10% damage to your unload/ricochet, which adds to general burst from the P/P set
- VI – Practiced toleranse. VI gives you vitality based on your precision, which adds to the general survivability of the build
- XI – Executioner. XI is the standard Executioner used in pretty much all burst/backstab types of builds for the thief, and is a must have in my opinion
ACROBATICS: III VIII
(This is a very crucial part of the build, adding alot of survivability, and the use of acrobatics was probably made famous by Sizer, S/D thief. The idea is that you get a huge supply of dodges, which probably is the best damage mitigator in the game)
- III – Vigorous recovery. The III trait gives you 100% endurance regen when using a heal skill, and in par with the minor trait that you get if you spend three skill points in the acrobatics tree (Dodging returns some endurance spent) you get a big supply of dodges in your defensive gameplay
- VIII – Pain response. The VIII trait I chose strictly to remove conditions. And it removes probably the three most common conditions in the game (Bleed, poison and burn). Condi removal is something that probably all builds need to be an effective build in this game, therefore this was the obvious choice for the build.
TRICKERY: V X
(The common reason you spec trickery as I can see it, has been to buff your steal immensely. Making your build pretty much revolve around that you must hit your steal. But in this build, I spec trickery most of all for the increase of initiative, as unload + D/P stealth combo takes alot of initative. It adds to the general offense to spec the trickery line)
- V – Thrill of the crime. The V trait is a must have to make your steal somewhat viable. Even though this build doesn’t revolve around the steal, it gives you fury, might and swiftness, which is crucial both for your offense and to get perma swiftness – almost. (I’ll ellaborate on this later). The way I use steal now is to get the fury/might offensively, and swiftness “defensively” to move around the map.
- X – Ricochet. This trait was buffed in the September patch of the game, and it is really good. Thief isnt known for its great aoe abilities, but what this trait does is that it gives your bullets a chance to bounce to three other targets. And when you use unload in a group fight, it really adds up and helps your team, especially when the sustained damage of your unload is so great. Average around 5k per unload to fairly squishy opponents. In addition to focus on one target, you help your teammates out with their targets as well.
To sum up the traits a bit, you get the great burst from Critical strikes as most of us are used to, you get amazing evasiveness from the acrobatics line, a bigger pool of initiative plus buffing your steal from speccing 0/6/0/4/4. These are all my favorite aspects of playing thief – Burst, evasiveness and ofc stealth to add to this. Lets move on to runes and sigils.
(edited by Abaddon.4816)