Guild Wars 2

Ok…so I haven’t played GW2 in a long time, and I’ve been lurking and reading the thief forum for the past couple weeks. It’s really making me want to play again. But the main concern I have is that I never really learned how to be a ‘good’ thief. I really only played it just enough to understand the general idea of how the class works at 80.

But now I’m thinking I want to sink some real time into the class with HoT coming ‘soon’. Has anyone ever put together a set of training or instructional videos for the complete novice? I could surf youtube and watch videos until my eyes bleed, but most of them assume you already know most of what you’re doing, or don’t explain anything at all.

I was hoping for something a little more structured to help me learn the basics, then practice, and eventually master all the different aspects of the class. Maybe with some “Thief vs XXX” instruction in WvW, sPVP, and with some PVE basics thrown in.

I’m willing to put in the time and work to find these videos myself. In fact I’m doing that right now as you read this post. But I figured I’d test the waters and see if someone had already done it to save me some time.

Thanks in advance!

Terrorsquad (or Denied Guild Wars) has several instructional videos on PvP: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/thief/PvP-Guide-for-new-Thiefs-in-Ranked-Arenas

On his channel you’ll also find good instructions on a few build variations.
(I’d recommend to watch those of all classes. If you know what you’re facing, you’re better equipped against it).

But the best easy stop would be Geir’s ‘Book of Shadows’: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/thief/Guide-Book-of-Shadows-The-Thief-Handbook/first
It might be dull to read and possibly slightly outdated, there’s some pure golden stuff in there.

WOW…OK. So I’m learning that a LOT has changed in the past year or so. It’s looking like I have to re-learn the entire game, not just thief.

Are there any REALLY obvious changes that I should watch out for? Core mechanics? I see there’s a new condition called torment that hurts when you move. Anything like that?

Keep in mind that we’re getting an insane buff on DPS wise, same goes to other classes as well.

Don’t thieves already do very good DPS? Or is it only spike damage?

Get to www.metabattle.com , pick a spvp build, and jump into hotjoin – that is the best advice I can give – learn by doing

Eliteseraph.4970:

WOW…OK. So I’m learning that a LOT has changed in the past year or so. It’s looking like I have to re-learn the entire game, not just thief.

Are there any REALLY obvious changes that I should watch out for? Core mechanics? I see there’s a new condition called torment that hurts when you move. Anything like that?

The main thing is that people got much better at countering Thief. You need to learn to juke as soon as somebody looks at you funny. Don’t use Backstab+Steal right away, because a lot of players will random dodge in anticipation and a missed Steal may spell your doom very easily.

The first thing you need to do is to learn all little tricks like Steal into Cluster Bomb detonate, about face Withdraw, Shadow Shot cancel into Backstab, fast Shadowstep+Inf Signer+Steal into Backstab, the correct distance for double Surprise Shot, all of the correct teleport spots etc. When you learn how to do all those 100% of the time you can consider yourself a beginner Thief.

I can guess at what some of that means, but can you elaborate on them?

Hey, glad to see you’re thinking of returning to the thief profession. If you’re on NA you can pm me sometime and I’d be happy to train with you and spend some 1 on 1 time working on different combos and tricks available on thief that will give you an advantage in most situations. I have 1 of every class so I should also be able to work with you on fighting all other classes and builds that you may have trouble with.

While I’m not the best player out there, I will do my best to help you out in game if you need it.

Thanks for the offer! I think I need to spend some time re-learning the basic game first, though. But once I’ve got my feet under me again, I’ll definitely start looking for more advanced training.