I’m doing a full review of each class’s Elite Specializations here:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/hot/All-Elite-Specializations-Analysis/first#post5574892
The following is my analysis of the Daredevil.
I’ll be covering the following things in this review…
01) General Descriptions
02) New Traits Analysis
03) New Weapon Analysis
04) New Skills Analysis
05) Gearing Options
06) Rune/Sigil Synergies
07) PvE Usefulness
08) PvP Usefulness
09) WvW Usefulness
10) Overall Opinion
Thief – Daredevil
General Description
The Thief is notorious for hiding in the shadows. With an slew of Stealth skills these tricksters are always catching people off-guard. When they get into combat they don’t stick around for long because hit-and-run tactics are their best defense. Daredevils somewhat break this mold by providing an incentive to stay in combat and control the battle field a bit more than Thieves are used to. The Staff skill, additional dodge, enhanced dodges, and Physical skills make the Daredevil quite threatening.
New Traits Analysis
Minor Traits
Physical Supremacy
Grants access to Staff, an additional endurance bar, and Physical skills.
NOTE: Any skill that says it “refills endurance” will only refill 100/150 endurance.
Driven Fortitude
Gain health when you successfully evade an attack. — 1s ICD
With a 1s ICD you’ll likely only get this to trigger twice if you’re doing back to back evades.
Endurance Thief
Gain endurance when you successfully steal from an enemy.
Grants 50 endurance or +1 dodge.
Adept Traits
Evasive Empowerment
After dodging, deal +10% damage for 2s.
Decent way to enhance your next strike.
Weakening Strikes
Cause weakness to enemies you critically hit. — 10s ICD
5s Weakness.
Brawler’s Tenacity
Gain +10 endurance when you first activate a physical skill. Physical skills have -20% recharge.
Good way to keep up your endurance for more dodging.
Master Traits
Staff Master
While wielding a Staff, gain endurance for each initiative point spent. Deal +10% damage when your endurance is not full while wielding a Staff.
Good way to keep up your endurance for more dodging.
Escapist’s Absolution
Remove 1 condition when you evade an attack. — 1s ICD
Good natural condi-cleanse.
Impacting Disruption
Enemies you interrupt suffer a Pulmonary Impact.
Powerful non-critcal strike.
Grandmaster Traits
Lotus Training
Your dodge now uses Impaling Lotus which damages, Bleeds, Torments, and Cripples your foe.
Counts as a Whirl Finisher
Unhindered Combatant
Your dodge is replaced with a long-range dash that removes Immob, Cripple, and Chill while granting Swiftness.
Great way to make it so you can never be kept still.
Bounding Dodger
Your dodge is replaced by Bound, dealing damage to the area after you evade.
Powerful landing that counts as a Blast Finisher.
New Weapon Analysis
The Daredevil gains access to the Staff.
Auto-Attack
Damages foes Whirling and causing +4 8s Vuln at the end of the chain.
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Hook Strike
KD your foe for 2s.
Good way to start your fight combos.
Weakening Charge — 3i
Progress forward Weakening foes.
Causes Whirl Finisher.
Debilitating Arc — 4i
Strike enemies in front of you and roll backward breaking Immob.
Counts as Evade and Cripples foes.
Dust Strike — 4i
Sweep the ground Blinding enemies in front of you.
Standard Blind skill. Can hit 3 targets.
Vault — 5i
Leap toward your destination, damaging foes upon impact.
Heavy damage. Counts as Leap Finisher.
New Skills Analysis
The Daredevil gains access to Physical skills.
Channeled Vigor — 20s ICD
Channel your energy to gain health and 75% of your endurance back. Heal for more if your endurance is full.
Very good way to recharge your dodges.
Bandit’s Defense — 15s ICD
Block incoming attacks for 1s. If block is successful and target is in melee range KD them.
Breaks Stun.
Distracting Daggers — 25s ICD
Equip 3 daggers that can be thrown to interrupt your target and increase their skill CD’s.
Can become a very powerful and deadly tool if mastered.
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Distracting Dagger
Use one of your equipped daggers.
Impairing Daggers — 25s ICD
Fire 3 damaging daggers each with a given effect: 2s Immob, 4s Slow, and +3 8s Poison.
Great way to start of a fight due to the slow and Immob.
Fist Flurry — 20s ICD
Strike your enemy 5 times. If all attacks hit, gain access to Palm Strike.
Strong melee attack
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Palm Strike
Deal massive non-critical unblockable damage.
Impact Strike — 40s ICD
Strike your enemy and stun them.
2s Daze
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Uppercut
Deal a heavy blow launching the enemy vertically.
Keeps them pinned.
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Finishing Blow
Deal a downward strike on your foe. Downed enemies are “Finished”.
Fancy Finishing move
Gearing Options
The following are acceptable gearing types to consider for a Daredevil.
NOTE: These are types that can work depending on the overall goal of your build. They are not all equal as some are much better than others.
Power: Berserker’s, Soldier’s
Precision: Assassin’s, Rampager’s
Toughness: Knight’s, Settler’s
Vitality: Sentinel’s
Condition: Sinister, Carrion, Rabid, Dire
Healing: Apothecary’s
Rune/Sigil Synergies
NOTE: These are types that can work depending on the overall goal of your build. They are not all equal as some are much better than others.
Superior Rune of (the)…
Power: Brawler, Hoelbrak, Mad King, Ogre, Pack, Strength
Precision: Eagle, Lyssa, Thief
Toughness: Dolyak, Earth, Forgeman, Melandru, Mercy, Resistance
Vitality: Exuberance, Lich, Wurm
Condition: Adventurer, Afflicted, Aristocracy, Balthazar, Krait, Nightmare, Orr, Scavenging, Perplexity, Tormenting, Trapper, Undead
Healing: Grove, Water
Superior Sigil of…
Attribute Bonus: Force, Malice
Duration Bonus: Agony, Venom
Chance on Hit: Water, Purity
Chance on Crit: Air, Blood, Earth, Fire, Generosity, Nullification, Rage, Strength, Torment
On Kill: Luck, Restoration, Stamina, Bloodlust, Corruption, Cruelty, Momentum, Perception
On Swap: Battle, Cleansing, Doom, Geomancy, Leeching, Renewal
PvE Usefulness
With the amount of damage or conditions this class can inflict it can be an amazing addition to almost any team for almost any purpose.
PvP Usefulness
This class can really lay down the pressure in team fights and certainly hold its own in 1v1 fights on capture points without relying on stealth.
WvW Usefulness
Mobility at its finest. Fantastic addition to any team. Can pressure with significant damage or simply spread conditions everywhere.
Overall Opinion
The Daredevil is very interesting. Though some of the skills feel like they take too much Initiative, are a bit short lived, or are just plain hard to use safely – this class has so many options for staying alive that you tend to forget about that while everything slowly falls into place.
(edited by Dragon Ruler X.8512)