Guild Wars 2

First of all, by no means am I claiming this is THE most awesome build, or the best build, etc. It’s just something I’ve been toying around with and trying to flesh out the details, so I’d like to hear any and all criticisms to this build.

It took me a long while to find a build that fits my playstyle in both a PvE and WvW setting. I opted for S/P with D/P offhand. The build I have in mind goes something like this, with the gear that is easier to get (so no ascended stuff except the zerker amulet that I already had on me, no crazy expensive superior rune of divinity, etc. If this build works as well as I hope it will, then I’ll hunt down the more expensive stuff =D)

Note I did not include any food buffs because that just muddies up the actual build in itself:
http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/thief/?7.0|c.1g.h17.a.1g.h1|8.1g.h4.a.1g.h1|1n.a1.1n.a1.1n.a1.1n.a1.1n.a1.1n.a1|4s.d1e.1i.61.1i.61.1i.61.1i.61.1i.61|0.u36c.k45.k29.0|0.0|57.5b.5h.5c.5v|e

PvE
Biggest thing for me playing thief is managing mobs, and how I plan to address that with this build is through the S/P set. Specifically, blind everyone with BP and hack away with sword autoattack.

On top of that, IS is I think the single best skill of any weapon set that the thief has with 2 stun breaks built in, a gap closer/retreat built in, and a condi cleanser to boot. Very handy in PvE.

Vs champs and bosses, and also vs single targets, I want to do a bit more DPS so I’ll stay D/P in those cases.

WvW
Very simple idea, control target with sword, teleport in and out, try to get an autochain or PW off if i can, tele back. When I’m reasonable sure I wore down my opponent, its D/P time to BS some butts!

Reasoning for my trait choices
As tempting as it was to go 30 into shadow arts and get heal on stealth, it was more important to me to make sure I have access to hidden killer from CS line and at least 15 points in acrobatics for increased dodges.

(If we had access to 75 trait points instead of 70 I’d have had the ideal 0/30/30/15/0, but alas…)

I thought about going 0/30/25/15/0, but the hidden assasin trait in SA wasn’t really worth it, esp in comparison to something like quick recovery, so I opted for 0/30/20/20/0.

So there it is. What do you guys think?

EDIT: Modified build
http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/thief/?7.0|c.1g.h17.a.1g.h1|8.1g.h4.a.1g.h1|1n.a1.1n.a1.1p.a1.1n.a1.1p.a1.1n.a1|4s.d1e.1i.61.1i.61.1i.61.1i.61.1i.61|0.u36c.k45.k29.0|0.0|57.5b.5h.5c.5v|e

Keep us updated, I am changing my weapon setup to that too and going to make some theorycraft about it at the weekend.
Boy I am going to miss SB, but this might be good.

@ Zumy, in certain situations like tower defenses, in big zergs and dungeons where ranging is a necessity I don’t think I can get away without using SB, but in a general PvE sense and roaming WvW this works out pretty well so far.

Although it does get a little dicey when there are multiple ranged mobs with AoE mixed with some melee mobs, I must say.

From what I’ve seen, 0/30/20/20/0 is great in any PvP scenario compare to other build since IMO it is very balance.

I would instead have the major pieces of my armor as Knights and the rest Valkyrie. This will give me a healthy HP, 2600 armor and more crit dmg.

I personally like Roll for Initiative as my stun breaker since it removes movement impairment also.

I like your trinket of choice, that might work with my personal build.

@ Sir Vincent, Ah but see Shadow Step gives you the added advantage of being offensive as well as defensive. If you see a guy running away from you or you’re flanking a guy that hasn’t seen you yet, target him, shadow step forward and then immediately IS.

I don’t have a number as to how much distance this covers but it feels like you blink about 2x the distance of SS’s maximum range, and IS would immobilize him, so you can get off your auto chain and start getting to work. Also, if he was stronger than you expected or he has buddies, you can IS back AND SS back, effectively ensuring that NOBODY is catching you as you run away.

Now, signet of malice I honestly don’t really like, I use it because everyone else does. I’ll sub in roll for initiative and see how that feels.

As per Knight vs Valkyrie, I really just put together the first thing that made sense on paper, I don’t have the “sweet spot” balance yet. Maybe you guys have an idea:

The way this guy is traited now, its about 15000 HP, ~2700 armor and ~87% crit damage. Sounds balanced? Can be better? Is that a good enough offensive spike?

Note: Currently my gear is from a different build where I geared myself with soldier gear, because, well… because. But all the traits, trinkets and jewels are the same as I have in my build. The problem is my backstab is at a paltry 2.5-3.5 k, at best. This made me a sad panda.

As I mentioned, if you equip Knights as your major pieces (chest and pants) and the rest is Valkyrie, you get a healthy HP, ~2600 armor and 97% crit dmg. To me that’s a sweet spot.

As for SS, I guess it comes down to play style. I personally don’t like chasing or initiating anyone farther than my IS range.

Wow that’s a huge offense boost, alright! Time to edit!

New build looks like this:
http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/thief/?7.0|c.1g.h17.a.1g.h1|8.1g.h4.a.1g.h1|1n.a1.1n.a1.1p.a1.1n.a1.1p.a1.1n.a1|4s.d1e.1i.61.1i.61.1i.61.1i.61.1i.61|0.u36c.k45.k29.0|0.0|57.5b.5h.5c.5v|e

OMG, Thanks for this thread/build, guys!
I have a set of Cavalier trinkets wasting in the vault until now!.
Mayhaps I should level my thief and load ’er up.

Thanks again.

Thanks =). Still working out the kinks though. For example…

This build requires religious use of Infiltrator’s strike in dungeons, ~15k HP means conditions kill you VERY quickly. This isn’t necessarily a flaw, it just means you have to be hyper vigilent