Guild Wars 2

So I want to run either d/d or d/p with s/b offhand. I want to roam and have ability to work in 1v1 or with a small group. I want to run power and not condi. I want to run shadowstep and shadow refuge at least as utility slots. I’m open on the third utility if it’s necessary for certain builds.
Give me a few build suggestions and the pros and cons of each.

My build is pretty standard but works well small groups:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAV4Yl0Mp8plOx7J8PNRPRtdAEbPA3fwEUgddDA-TFCBABXq+DEHBgl2f4MlgYp8DgLCQe6GY4BAEAAB4m3Mb2mBDdoDdoDdodzbO0bO0bWKgIWGB-w

Pros:
- Decent health pool for conditions to eat away at.
- Pretty tanky as long as you’re in stealth, which you will be a lot if you play this right.
- Gain more might the longer you’re in stealth, allowing you to get up to 8 stacks of might from being in stealth alone.
- Decent mobility for a d/d thief. You’re not gonna be as mobile as a s/d or d/p thief but still mobile enough to jump in and out of fights.
- Pretty straight-forward build all-in-all, of which variations are used by many thieves both noob and pro.
- In a group fight this build truly shines. If you change the Hidden Killer trait to Executioner you’ll be very good at picking off enemies one by one in group fights.
- You can easily try out different weapon sets without needing to change your build. both s/d and d/p are good weapon sets for this build.

Cons:
- Because it’s a standard build you’re going to be predictable, so you’re going to have to rely on skill and patience, not cheap tricks or surprises.
- You might need a buddy to play with. I feel this build doesn’t do incredibly well in 1v1, but maybe that’s just my lack of skill. I’ve seen players using this build in 1v1 and pulling it off so…
- D/D is quite hard and unforgiving sometimes. Dagger/pistol is way easier to play and might be a better choice.

Not much else to say, unless you have any questions about the build.

LucosTheDutch.4819:

My build is pretty standard but works well small groups:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAV4Yl0Mp8plOx7J8PNRPRtdAEbPA3fwEUgddDA-TFCBABXq+DEHBgl2f4MlgYp8DgLCQe6GY4BAEAAB4m3Mb2mBDdoDdoDdodzbO0bO0bWKgIWGB-w

Pros:
- Decent health pool for conditions to eat away at.
- Pretty tanky as long as you’re in stealth, which you will be a lot if you play this right.
- Gain more might the longer you’re in stealth, allowing you to get up to 8 stacks of might from being in stealth alone.
- Decent mobility for a d/d thief. You’re not gonna be as mobile as a s/d or d/p thief but still mobile enough to jump in and out of fights.
- Pretty straight-forward build all-in-all, of which variations are used by many thieves both noob and pro.
- In a group fight this build truly shines. If you change the Hidden Killer trait to Executioner you’ll be very good at picking off enemies one by one in group fights.
- You can easily try out different weapon sets without needing to change your build. both s/d and d/p are good weapon sets for this build.

Cons:
- Because it’s a standard build you’re going to be predictable, so you’re going to have to rely on skill and patience, not cheap tricks or surprises.
- You might need a buddy to play with. I feel this build doesn’t do incredibly well in 1v1, but maybe that’s just my lack of skill. I’ve seen players using this build in 1v1 and pulling it off so…
- D/D is quite hard and unforgiving sometimes. Dagger/pistol is way easier to play and might be a better choice.

Not much else to say, unless you have any questions about the build.

Thanks for the build suggestion! To be honest I used to play thief a lot so I’m pretty familiar with most builds especially this one but I was unsure which builds are really shining right now and maybe find a hidden gem out there. Currently i’m trying 2/0/6/0/6 and enjoying it but maybe i need to get those 6 points back into crit strikes :/ help is appreciated. Currently one of the main things I’m struggling to pick is 2 sigils for the daggers. I currently have Force in one of them, suggestions are appreciated.

2/0/6/0/6 is very popular right now, as is 2/6/0/0/6.

Condi-thieves are also very popular these days but I wouldn’t know the best condi builds to be honest, I’d have to ask my friend for that, who’s one of the better condi-thief players I know. I believe he runs 5/0/6/0/3 or something along those lines.

2/6/0/0/6 is most often used by sword users. Many s/d and s/p thieves I know run that setup, usually with Berserker gear, Valkyrie gear, Knights gear or a mix of those and other pieces.

I personally really like the Wurm runes because they give extra vitality and extra critical damage, which is more than welcome for my type of build and playstyle. Other popular runes are Scholar runes, Divinity runes and I think I’ve also seen people running Pack runes and Traveler runes. Personally I’ve only ever used Wurm, Scholar and Divinity runes for my thief and I liked all 3, but I think I’ll be sticking to Wurm for now.

As for sigils: Any on-crit sigil is always good. Personally I prefer Air because it does more single-target damage and has a lower cooldown. Another popular choice is Fire.
For the 2nd sigil either use Force, Accuracy or Battle. I think those are the 3 most popular choices for WvW. Then put Bloodlust on your bow to crank up your power. I usually kill a bunch of mobs at spawn with my bow before I head out roaming.

LucosTheDutch.4819:

2/0/6/0/6 is very popular right now, as is 2/6/0/0/6.

Condi-thieves are also very popular these days but I wouldn’t know the best condi builds to be honest, I’d have to ask my friend for that, who’s one of the better condi-thief players I know. I believe he runs 5/0/6/0/3 or something along those lines.

2/6/0/0/6 is most often used by sword users. Many s/d and s/p thieves I know run that setup, usually with Berserker gear, Valkyrie gear, Knights gear or a mix of those and other pieces.

I personally really like the Wurm runes because they give extra vitality and extra critical damage, which is more than welcome for my type of build and playstyle. Other popular runes are Scholar runes, Divinity runes and I think I’ve also seen people running Pack runes and Traveler runes. Personally I’ve only ever used Wurm, Scholar and Divinity runes for my thief and I liked all 3, but I think I’ll be sticking to Wurm for now.

As for sigils: Any on-crit sigil is always good. Personally I prefer Air because it does more single-target damage and has a lower cooldown. Another popular choice is Fire.
For the 2nd sigil either use Force, Accuracy or Battle. I think those are the 3 most popular choices for WvW. Then put Bloodlust on your bow to crank up your power. I usually kill a bunch of mobs at spawn with my bow before I head out roaming.

Thanks a ton for the reply! I do actually want to stray from condi thief and stay Dagger mainhand as I like the backstab playstyle a LOT. That looks like my exact sigil setup only i have fire instead of air for taking on groups of people. I’ve thought about dropping the 6 points in shadow arts to put into crit strikes, but I lose all my survivability, not just from regen but also blind on stealth and the condi clear while stealthed. I think I could remedy this by using d/p instead of d/d which would have a bit more survivability in the weapon kit. Feedback? Anyone out there play d/d 2/6/0/0/6?

With 2/6/0/0/6 I would actually go for the S/D setup, or S/P. Though I suppose D/P could work too with 2/6/0/0/6 but you’ll lack the extra mobility and condi-cleanse that sword has to offer.

Right now I’m playing D/P (with the same traits as in the link provided earlier). Sometimes I switch to S/D and play with this setup:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQRAsY6Yl0Mp8plOx7J8PNBNBt9EGeI8OMfpMaFAA-TFCBABXq+zS7PcmSQsU+JxDAAgTCQe6HY4IAEAAB4mtZb2mBu5NH6NH6NLFATKjA-w

LucosTheDutch.4819:

With 2/6/0/0/6 I would actually go for the S/D setup, or S/P. Though I suppose D/P could work too with 2/6/0/0/6 but you’ll lack the extra mobility and condi-cleanse that sword has to offer.

Right now I’m playing D/P (with the same traits as in the link provided earlier). Sometimes I switch to S/D and play with this setup:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQRAsY6Yl0Mp8plOx7J8PNBNBt9EGeI8OMfpMaFAA-TFCBABXq+zS7PcmSQsU+JxDAAgTCQe6HY4IAEAAB4mtZb2mBu5NH6NH6NLFATKjA-w

2/6/0/0/6 is the “classic” D/P setup and very outdated for S/D thieves, for that 2/0/0/6/6 is the meta. For S/P it’s 6/2/0/0/6 or so. Also, not having a shortbow set is a terrible idea.

witcher.3197:

2/6/0/0/6 is the “classic” D/P setup and very outdated for S/D thieves, for that 2/0/0/6/6 is the meta. For S/P it’s 6/2/0/0/6 or so. Also, not having a shortbow set is a terrible idea.

I know you said it’s classic for D/P but would it work for d/d? I’m scared to drop the condi clear and blind on stealth, but would it be worth it for the extra ferocity, precision, and executioner?

reinforever.8902:

witcher.3197:

2/6/0/0/6 is the “classic” D/P setup and very outdated for S/D thieves, for that 2/0/0/6/6 is the meta. For S/P it’s 6/2/0/0/6 or so. Also, not having a shortbow set is a terrible idea.

I know you said it’s classic for D/P but would it work for d/d? I’m scared to drop the condi clear and blind on stealth, but would it be worth it for the extra ferocity, precision, and executioner?

2/6/0/0/6 should work with every power based thief build, but usually every set has its own traits too. What’s your current one? You could try 2/6/6/0/0, but you’ll lose an on-demand interrupt and boon steal.

Current setup right now is 2/0/6/0/6 d/d with sb offhand. zerk trinks and valk armor. I like it because I feel like I can survive almost anything and get away and the shortened cooldown helps me for more ranged engages with cloak n dagger steal combo. The boon rip is especially nice for d/d ele and guards but other than that I don’t feel like it’s THAT needed. I like the daze more than anything because I can finish targets off by waiting for their heal and then stealing and spamming that legendary 2.

witcher.3197:

LucosTheDutch.4819:

With 2/6/0/0/6 I would actually go for the S/D setup, or S/P. Though I suppose D/P could work too with 2/6/0/0/6 but you’ll lack the extra mobility and condi-cleanse that sword has to offer.

Right now I’m playing D/P (with the same traits as in the link provided earlier). Sometimes I switch to S/D and play with this setup:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQRAsY6Yl0Mp8plOx7J8PNBNBt9EGeI8OMfpMaFAA-TFCBABXq+zS7PcmSQsU+JxDAAgTCQe6HY4IAEAAB4mtZb2mBu5NH6NH6NLFATKjA-w

2/6/0/0/6 is the “classic” D/P setup and very outdated for S/D thieves, for that 2/0/0/6/6 is the meta. For S/P it’s 6/2/0/0/6 or so. Also, not having a shortbow set is a terrible idea.

I haven’t been keeping up with the thief meta. I’ve mostly been playing guardian and warrior lately. Thanks for bringing me up to speed.

I disagree on the shortbow though. Shortbow is certainly awesome but p/d or p/p are also most certainly good ranged options (though p/p is definitely the weakest choice unless you run a condi-build).

Just run as 90% of thieves:
http://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Thief_-_D/P_roamer
and you’ll be successful