How can one counter a Thief?

How can one counter a Thief?

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Posted by: nci.1928

nci.1928

Hi guys.

I don’t have Thief character. I play as a Mesmer or a Guardian and I play a lot of WvW. I have a fair chance of defeating most professions in a 1v1 situation (obviously depending on the opponent players skill), but when I encounter a Thief I am dead within 5 seconds, without even being able to react.
Now you may think that I am just a noob who can’t play the game, but I really do alright against the other professions. My conclusion is that I just don’t know how to counter a Thief, so I decided to find some tips and strategies. And there is no better place for that than the Thief section of the forum.
Do you have any tips for me? Have you maybe encountered a Thief yourselves? What would your ideal build be (for any profession) if had to duel a Thief?

I am looking forward to your contribution

Objects In Space
Travellers Of Tyria [ToT]
We aim to grow!

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Posted by: Daecollo.9578

Daecollo.9578

Guardian Greatsword + Sceptor/Torch = Dead Thief.

Stealth? Pull him to you, AOE fire, Switch to Sceptor/Torch, AOE immobilize, AOE Fire.

Dead Thief.

Hero {} Roleplayer {} Friend {} Professional Princess Saver
https://twitter.com/TalathionEQ2

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Posted by: sirgen.9045

sirgen.9045

Lock them down with CC and hit AoEs as soon as they stealth. We can escape a lot of stuns, dazes, and snares, but not an unlimited amount. A lot people make the mistake of giving up on their CC because the first few got countered. If a thief loses his mobility he is dead.

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Posted by: tagnut.8621

tagnut.8621

You roll a thief

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Posted by: Rayya.2591

Rayya.2591

i had made an topic regarding this on guardian forums , most of players on guardian forums told they got no problem with thieves , and there are like 15 posts over there, explaining how to counter thieves .
as an mesmer you got moa, 10 seconds to kill an glass cannon who cannot fight back

http://imgur.com/a/fKgjD
no.1 WvW kills

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Posted by: Rottaran Owain.6789

Rottaran Owain.6789

Protection, Aegis, Invulnerability abilities, CCs, Evasion.

Ironically, the class with the most limited access to these is the thief himself, so going thief to counter backstab thieves is just about the worst decision you can make.

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Posted by: Rayya.2591

Rayya.2591

You roll a thief

sad that 70% of your posts are complains about thieves and u ask ppls to roll an thief
Either troll or sarcasm.

http://imgur.com/a/fKgjD
no.1 WvW kills

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Posted by: DanH.5879

DanH.5879

Protection, Aegis, Invulnerability abilities, CCs, Evasion.

Ironically, the class with the most limited access to these is the thief himself, so going thief to counter backstab thieves is just about the worst decision you can make.

i am sorry to say, but a condition thief as myself 3.2-3.3k armor and 16k hp eats bs thieves easy. (unless you are not an idiot ofc)
at the worst outcome is that he stealths in low hp and he escapes….
also the forge (and to a lesser extent earth) set is REALLY nice against a surprise even if you are daydreaming.

(edited by DanH.5879)

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Posted by: tagnut.8621

tagnut.8621

Thieves are the easiest class to counter.

If you are having problems with thieves you need to delete and quit this game.

Yes – you roll a thief. then you have an equally overpowered class and don’t have to worry about imbalance, that your opponent will be permanently invisible, that he can drop any other class in 3-4s, that he can finish you in downed state from invisibility etc.

If you’d like to try the game on normal mode sometime before the next thief nerf drops try any other class. If you can’t cope with normal mode then im sure you’ll be one of the ragequitters later next week when the nerf lands.

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Posted by: Kousetsu.1627

Kousetsu.1627

Thieves dont kill other thieves ingame. We give eachother a friendly nod and then go about our business of destroying the 7 other professions.

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Posted by: Kuroin.1703

Kuroin.1703

Thieves dont kill other thieves ingame. We give eachother a friendly nod and then go about our business of destroying the 7 other professions.

^winning.

/salute
“Why hello there good chap, nice weather we got today. "
casually AA bunker guardian with maxed defense to death twice over with one hit
/wave
Enters permanent stealth hax mode and disappears.

This is how all thieves live their lives, no lie.

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Posted by: Rottaran Owain.6789

Rottaran Owain.6789

Protection, Aegis, Invulnerability abilities, CCs, Evasion.

Ironically, the class with the most limited access to these is the thief himself, so going thief to counter backstab thieves is just about the worst decision you can make.

i am sorry to say, but a condition thief as myself 3.2-3.3k armor and 16k hp eats bs thieves easy. (unless you are not an idiot ofc)
at the worst outcome is that he stealths in low hp and he escapes….
also the forge (and to a lesser extent earth) set is REALLY nice against a surprise even if you are daydreaming.

I never said it was impossible, or even that hard for a thief to beat a backstab thief. I just said that they tend to have it harder than other classes.

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Posted by: Talve.9027

Talve.9027

Well. It has all said before. CC and AoE give you the best chances.

Also actually keeping your eye around your surroundings is not a bad idea. Best counter to a thief is when you know hes around. There is no better feeling in this game than to dodge a huge burst. xD

As a ranger how ever i can’t complain myself (up to 7 evasion combos + 3 traps + cc on pets).

Noexc / Ranger
Talve / Mesmer
Seafarer’s Rest

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Posted by: Jinks.2057

Jinks.2057

Thieves are the easiest class to counter.

If you are having problems with thieves you need to delete and quit this game.

Yes – you roll a thief. then you have an equally overpowered class and don’t have to worry about imbalance, that your opponent will be permanently invisible, that he can drop any other class in 3-4s, that he can finish you in downed state from invisibility etc.

If you’d like to try the game on normal mode sometime before the next thief nerf drops try any other class. If you can’t cope with normal mode then im sure you’ll be one of the ragequitters later next week when the nerf lands.

You have just received an automated response for your whining:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/external?l=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Ffeature%3Dplayer_embedded%26v%3DRu_rXq2LYg0

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Posted by: Phantom.8130

Phantom.8130

Hi guys.

I don’t have Thief character. I play as a Mesmer or a Guardian and I play a lot of WvW. I have a fair chance of defeating most professions in a 1v1 situation (obviously depending on the opponent players skill), but when I encounter a Thief I am dead within 5 seconds, without even being able to react.
Now you may think that I am just a noob who can’t play the game, but I really do alright against the other professions. My conclusion is that I just don’t know how to counter a Thief, so I decided to find some tips and strategies. And there is no better place for that than the Thief section of the forum.
Do you have any tips for me? Have you maybe encountered a Thief yourselves? What would your ideal build be (for any profession) if had to duel a Thief?

I am looking forward to your contribution

i can simplify it into one word: retaliation.

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Posted by: Coffeebot.3921

Coffeebot.3921

Bring another thief or warrior, or ranger, or mesmer, or guardian, or… you get the picture, this game isn’t about a one on one fight in the boonies, you DO actually occasionally surprisingly need some teamwork every now and again.

Fornicate like you’ve never fornicated before.
I am anti-censorship, for it doesn’t make sense to pander to a minority.

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Posted by: Icarus Pherae.4680

Icarus Pherae.4680

Hi guys.

I don’t have Thief character. I play as a Mesmer or a Guardian and I play a lot of WvW. I have a fair chance of defeating most professions in a 1v1 situation (obviously depending on the opponent players skill), but when I encounter a Thief I am dead within 5 seconds, without even being able to react.
Now you may think that I am just a noob who can’t play the game, but I really do alright against the other professions. My conclusion is that I just don’t know how to counter a Thief, so I decided to find some tips and strategies. And there is no better place for that than the Thief section of the forum.
Do you have any tips for me? Have you maybe encountered a Thief yourselves? What would your ideal build be (for any profession) if had to duel a Thief?

I am looking forward to your contribution

This is the correct way to deal with difficulties one is having with a class. Be very helpful fellow thieves and show respect, we want to encourage this over whining and finger pointing.

some good suggestions have been made but I can say as a thief in wvw I always dread 1v1 with a mesmer because they are SLIPPERY, so a good way to take down a thief is to keep popping your clones, and stack the conditions, we have very limited condition removal methods, confusion is a killer! Thieves rely on many small hits in rapid succession, which means every single hit is going to proc confusion.

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Posted by: Gwalchgwn.1659

Gwalchgwn.1659

Thieves dont kill other thieves ingame. We give eachother a friendly nod and then go about our business of destroying the 7 other professions.

Too bad I’m, what the anime Naruto calls, a hunter-nin … I target thieves to protect my personal team.

Ring of Fire
GL – “The Afternoon’s Watch” [OATH]

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Posted by: MaxPriddy.1543

MaxPriddy.1543

Install cameras and an alarm system in your home.

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Posted by: Daecollo.9578

Daecollo.9578

“Never kill thy neighboring thief, instead, high five and continue to roam.”

Hero {} Roleplayer {} Friend {} Professional Princess Saver
https://twitter.com/TalathionEQ2

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Posted by: Dervy.7901

Dervy.7901

Yes. Get us stunned/dazed/immobilized/chilled/crippled/blind/confused/feared/dodge our initial attack and a full glass cannon typical thief is over.

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Posted by: Rystlwulf.1476

Rystlwulf.1476

If the thief opens with Basilisk venom and Steal, chances are you are done for.

I have an 80 Mesmer and an 80 Thief (80 Ranger too).

Spec the trait that throws up clones on evade.

If you see the thief first, Berzerker straight away for cripple, then evade, then veil, then nuke until u can Bezerker again or switch to scepter and hit him/her with the 5 stack confusion.

When the thief goes down either mass invisibility or decoy and finish from stealth or just throw up a Warden and /Dance.

Or go staff, evade and throw up retaliation.

Maguuma Rystlwulf – 80 Ranger
Ryst Stryden – 80 Thief
Rystle – 80 Mesmer

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Posted by: ASP.8093

ASP.8093

If the thief opens with Basilisk venom and Steal, chances are you are done for.

This is a reflex test. You have to pop your stun breaker and then evade. It’s certainly not easy, but it’s doable.

Thieves and Mesmers probably have the easiest time of it, thanks to stun-breaking teleport skills like Shadowstep and Blink.

Nemain The Eyeless · [JOY] · Tarnished Coast · http://tcwvw.com

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Posted by: dank.3680

dank.3680

Nobody mentions the best way to negate a backstab thief as a mesmer. It’s quite simple. Trait for regeneration proc at 75% hp, trait for protection proc when gaining regeneration. Done. Now laugh as steal/cnd or steal itself procs protection and backstab does 1-3k..

#MAGSWAG: All class player. XOXO

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Posted by: Rystlwulf.1476

Rystlwulf.1476

Asp – True, however, most of the complainers are players that don’t run around aware or prepared for instant action and don’t know how to play their classes as well as they should.

Dank, it sounds like you run a very similar set up to my Mesmer – are you traited 10,20,15,15,10?

Maguuma Rystlwulf – 80 Ranger
Ryst Stryden – 80 Thief
Rystle – 80 Mesmer

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Posted by: dank.3680

dank.3680

Asp – True, however, most of the complainers are players that don’t run around aware or prepared for instant action and don’t know how to play their classes as well as they should.

Dank, it sounds like you run a very similar set up to my Mesmer – are you traited 10,20,15,15,10?

Nope, my build is highly defensive as I’m quite often 1v3-5 or with some guildies in 2-5 man groups taking on much larger ones..

My build is a bit uncommon, but works great for me.
Dom-0
Duel-20 II,X
Chaos-20 III, IV
Insp-25 IV, III
Illusion-5

Full knights gear (armor, weapon, trinkets), except I have replaced the exquisite jewels in my trinkets with beryl’s.

#MAGSWAG: All class player. XOXO

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Posted by: Dacromir.6207

Dacromir.6207

Okay, there are two parts to countering a thief.

Part one is learning how to counter stealth. This is the tricky part. It’s basically AoE controls while they’re in stealth, combined with immobilize and hard controls before they enter stealth to prevent them from stealthing and/or prevent them from moving in stealth. See this post for a good guide on countering stealth.

Once you have that down, part 2 is easy. You just need to counter their specific damage tactic. If they’re bursty, use invuln/block/aegis/evade/CC. If they’re condition damage, kill them quickly and use condition removals. If they have sustained direct damage, use protection/regen and self-healing while hitting them with burst and/or conditions. This is generally the same as what you use to fight the other 7 classes.