Guild Wars 2

I hate s/d, I want to play d/p. Is it possible? I feel like our class can’t really 1v1 anything, what gear and spec am I supposed to be playing?

You go into wvw and walk around as far away from any allied players as possible doing whatever pve content comes your way. Try to stay alive.

Play whatever build/spec you want to play as long as it works for you and allows you to achieve what you want to achieve.

I know the basics, but what builds are even viable? I want to be able to 1vX people and I don’t know if thief can do that.

If you want to be able to 1vX people, get good at the game. No build on any class will allow you to win 1vX based on the merits of the build alone. And if you are good enough, any build will be able to 1vX opponents assuming enough of a skill gap between opponents.

For “viable builds” just check metabattle.

I dunno, you can effortless win every 1v1 as a necro/eng/ele. I also spend like 45m trying to find people to pvp then usually die, then have to run back and spend another 45 minutes. Feel like I’d rather SPVP.

you should try fighting a condi necro as a condi engi then

Or fight a CC warrior with a condi necro.

Good luck with your effortless 1v1s.

Yeah but thief isn’t good against any class 1v1, lol. That’s my point, it’s why I dunno if it can even roam, you have to be so much better than your opponent to win. Necro/eng might have hard counters but they’re good against nearly every other class.

So what you’re saying is that you want to get carried by a build.

In which case, my advice is to play another “effortless” class.

No, I’d like an equal chance and not to be at a disadvantage against EVERYONE 1v1 simply because of my class. I’m asking if my class is too weak to actually 1vX or not, if it’s not I’ll play it and get better because it’s the only class I enjoy the playstyle of.

Then the answer is yes. IMO D/P is currently at the bottom of the barrel in terms of straight up 1v1 combat. With very few to no favorable matchups against meta builds.

Well, if you want to use a build as a crutch, P/D is the way to go.

I’ve been succesfully roaming on my Thief on S/D myself and I’m usually asked to clean up those P/D thieves, and well… They’re a handfull I tell you.
In fact, the noobier you play P/D (continously stealthing etc. just generally being boring and “unfair”) the more effective you will be. The only thing that holds you back from 1vX on P/D is your own sense of honour. (unless you’re fcing a small group of warriors who can smartly condi cleanse one another)

EDIT: I have to add, it’s boring and stale plus you’ll really be laughed at because you’re using Shadow Arts as a crutch and will be laughed at despite “winning” your fights.
But yeah, it’s an effective build I’ll grant it that.

P/D is so boring I’d rather log off than play it. S/D is just as boring to me. After reading this, watch some videos, googling 1v1 builds and feedback, I’ve given up on 1v1 entirely in this game. Sounds awful. I’ll just stick to 5v5.

Reikou.7068:

If you want to be able to 1vX people, get good at the game. No build on any class will allow you to win 1vX based on the merits of the build alone. And if you are good enough, any build will be able to 1vX opponents assuming enough of a skill gap between opponents.

For “viable builds” just check metabattle.

Unless you play full Dire condi cheese builds. Necro, Engi, Elementalist, P/D Thief, Warrior. I’m pretty sure any of these classes with that build can 1vX pretty easy. (Warrior would be better with Rabid, Condi Warrior wins a lot from applying condis on Crit)

D/P can for sure roam and win 1 v 1, you just need to get better at it. I’m also going back to roaming after a really long time without doing it and from the recent testing I’ve done the x/6/6/x/x are generally the best for that in WvW. You just need to be really good at the class or you will be stuck with 6 into Shadow Arts, to begin I think it’s the best. Once you get better you can leave Shadow Arts but you need to get really good at blinding key skills from condi users or you will get destroyed by those

mPascoal.4258:

Unless you play full Dire condi cheese builds. Necro, Engi, Elementalist, P/D Thief, Warrior. I’m pretty sure any of these classes with that build can 1vX pretty easy. (Warrior would be better with Rabid, Condi Warrior wins a lot from applying condis on Crit)

Dire cheese builds can stalemate against a lot of builds, but they have no killing power what so ever. You literally need to let yourself die to them.

I was trying to roam with 12k hp and my spvp 2/6/0/0/6 build. I’d just instantly die and not have the sustain to live through a 1v1.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAoaVl0Mp7plPx0JsPNBPBt9AmdA4uClYEdlDA-TVhPwAfU+pY/hf6DkqEEg6PkBIfLA-w

I’m going to try this now tomorrow, hopefully this will work better.

Despite how much people say SA is for the weak, you do need it in WvW. It’s not the same as PvP. Fights are never fair in WvW, and you’ll need all the advantage you can get to mitigate damage, especially when you get ganked.

Everyone fights dirty and runs cheese. There’s not too much shame in running SA in WvW.

Arikyali.5804:

Despite how much people say SA is for the weak, you do need it in WvW. It’s not the same as PvP. Fights are never fair in WvW, and you’ll need all the advantage you can get to mitigate damage, especially when you get ganked.

Everyone fights dirty and runs cheese. There’s not too much shame in running SA in WvW.

I run S/D 2/0/0/6/6 (apperently this is the sPvP meta?) while roaming and I manage more than fine. While it might be that I’m good (though I doubt it), I manage to beat SA users without straining myself too much (DPS guardians or well built Warriors are a bigger threat, really). Shadow Arts really is a crutch as the builds that revolve around it are very predictable. It’s actually so bad that you can CnD on them while they’re in stealth because of that. Just dodge back as they stealth and you’ll find they largely run to you in a slight curve, mostly in a left arch like the clock goes because they are bound to a 4 second timer and need their stealth to really pose any threat to begin with, so dodge back and cast a proper timed CnD and you’re laughing. you can also time a second dodge to be in line with the distance they have to cover to hit you and they time left on their stealth.

Try to sugercoat it all you want, but Shadow Arts is a crutch that makes bad players think they’re good and gets players that are even worse to rant about how thief is OP and will continue to make us the target for yet another nerf bat.
Besides, it’s largely banned from any serious 1v1 situations, so it’s best to learn survive without it, if that’s what you’re after (yes, even in Obsidian Sanctum duels it’s laghed at).
You’re better of using your good own wit on a build you enjoy, even if it’s P/P (which is currently being seen more often and is even pretty effective at times). It’s a pick between enjoying a class, or enjoying a traitline, I supose.

Shiyo.3578:

I know the basics, but what builds are even viable? I want to be able to 1vX people and I don’t know if thief can do that.

thief is the best class for 1 vs X, talking from wvw perspective

Thief is quite capable of 1 vs 1- ing almost all classes in wvw, assuming you don’t get zergd over.
It is more of a know how to play your build, it’s strength’s & weakness and know your opponent’s build deal. Also ignore all of the ‘shadow arts is for nawbs pistol is cheez’ talk and do not be ashamed to run away from a loosing fight.

Just make (or copy) a good build that fits your play style and practice with it. The neat thing about thief is that all traitlines are useful in one build or the other so you are not really hard pressed in to going to a single one to make a effective build, unlike ele with arcane/water, warrior with 3 in discipline ect.

This is one of the builds i like to run in solo wvw, it is sort of generic but hey who cares
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZEQNAoYVl0Mp0pVOx6J8PNhPBtdAedD4OEV4DdVDA-TFTBABkfEAoZ/BcUD4hTAAaKBvSpXXKDuRVFQOEAooPIHVKA4BAQGgqxA-w

@OP:

It probably has to do with you being on a glassy build that imho doesn’t work for WvW because sPvP gives everyone more defensive stats, especially the thief, than normally in PvE/WvW, and far too much outgoing damage reduced compared to WvW. sPvP simply isn’t comparable because what normally will not kill you there may end up one-shotting you in WvW depending on the build.

1v1 solo roaming can be done respectably without SA, although most solo roamers have gone condi dire in recent months because conditions are just so much stronger for small scale than direct damage in WvW. 2 in SA for Shadow’s Embrace is something a lot of people do to remove conditions, especially with D/P allowing for so much stealth access.

Frankly, I think the sPvP meta build is awful in WvW in most cases, because you can’t get carried by sPvP amulet’s inherent durability and lack the burst damage needed to really kill enemies quickly enough.

6 points Shadow Arts and P/D thieves are using crutches. 4 is tolerable, 2 is reasonable due to the roaming “meta” being conditions, and none garners respect as a player. If you’re not vastly out-numbered (I.E. 1v5+), you will be scoffed at for using it, basically. Ultimately, I’d just pick another build or class for solo roaming. The thief does so much better in small groups these days with how the roaming strategies are.

I don’t get why people run 2/6/0/0/6 d/p and complain about dying… I mean wtf you have little to no condition removal of course you’ll die by anyone who runs 6in any condi trait line without any runes or amulets for support== my point is be realistic about fights don’t copy paste every build you see out there innovate with builds. Thief is a class played with pure skill. At least place 2 in SA for shadow’s embrace or bring a reliable condition removal a suitable consistent one. There are people out there using 2/0/6/0/6 d/d POWER build, see! There’s even 0/6/4/4/0 vampiric build etc etc what I’m trying to say is check out all the runes in the game. How? That’s where spvp comes in;) I know it doesn’t contain all the runes in the game but it’s still enough. I’m constantly trying out and making new builds everytime I get on my thief.

I still dominate every single night solo roaming on my thief

Full zerk armor and strength runes – nearly full zerk trinkets and weapons – you decide how much tankyness you need with valk and cav

D/P – 2/0/6/0/6
S/D – 2/0/0/6/6

P/D is always my offhand the bow is garbage in a 1v1 and really serves no purpose outside of a zerg IMO – I can escape without infiltrators arrow so that is useless and I do not need AoE or poison I use a doom sigil on my pistol + bloodlust you always go air/fire on your main set

Thief used to be easy but it’s not easy anymore and if you go out there SOLO without points in SA/Acro + Trickery than expect death – 2/6/0/0/6 is trash in WvW when you run into uneven numbers constantly and condition builds

Practice and Experience will lead you to victory the build simply puts you on the same playing ground but winning is all skill

I have had the most fun running with d/p 26006 pack runes full zerker. 20606 was just as fun but i like damage xD

I pick my fights and not just engage on every fight I encounter unless I got a partner

cant win them all so…either run and find a better prey, lure to allies/npcs for ganks or reset fights until you hit the nail

In Tier 1 EU, you have to pick your fights, mobility/stealth helps alot basically.
I run 6/0/2/0/6 mostly zerker with one Piece of Armor which is Knights, it has alot of CC for any groups I’m running with, although my groups are more random usually.

I was roaming today on my glass cannon LB ranger and ran into two thieves who both ran D/P burst builds. I got the first down to about 20% before he tucked tail and ran away while the 2nd engaged me. Due to being about 40% and most of my CD’s down, I didn’t stand much of a chance against the other thief.

The point I’m making is that the thief, better than any other class, can always escape if they want to and reset the fight. While some builds will allow you to make a few mistakes and survive, the build alone will never remove the gap that comes with skill.

I have been completely destroyed by just about every class and every “common” build out there and in return, have killed them as well. Most of the time it comes down to timing and who makes the mistake.

What I suggest is to find a play-style, not a class/build that you like FIRST and then find the class/build that most resembles how you enjoy the game. GW2, unlike any other MMO I’ve played, can pretty much fit any interest with their unlimited build combos.

Vornollo.5182:

Arikyali.5804:

Despite how much people say SA is for the weak, you do need it in WvW. It’s not the same as PvP. Fights are never fair in WvW, and you’ll need all the advantage you can get to mitigate damage, especially when you get ganked.

Everyone fights dirty and runs cheese. There’s not too much shame in running SA in WvW.

I run S/D 2/0/0/6/6 (apperently this is the sPvP meta?) while roaming and I manage more than fine. While it might be that I’m good (though I doubt it), I manage to beat SA users without straining myself too much (DPS guardians or well built Warriors are a bigger threat, really). Shadow Arts really is a crutch as the builds that revolve around it are very predictable. It’s actually so bad that you can CnD on them while they’re in stealth because of that. Just dodge back as they stealth and you’ll find they largely run to you in a slight curve, mostly in a left arch like the clock goes because they are bound to a 4 second timer and need their stealth to really pose any threat to begin with, so dodge back and cast a proper timed CnD and you’re laughing. you can also time a second dodge to be in line with the distance they have to cover to hit you and they time left on their stealth.

Try to sugercoat it all you want, but Shadow Arts is a crutch that makes bad players think they’re good and gets players that are even worse to rant about how thief is OP and will continue to make us the target for yet another nerf bat.
Besides, it’s largely banned from any serious 1v1 situations, so it’s best to learn survive without it, if that’s what you’re after (yes, even in Obsidian Sanctum duels it’s laghed at).
You’re better of using your good own wit on a build you enjoy, even if it’s P/P (which is currently being seen more often and is even pretty effective at times). It’s a pick between enjoying a class, or enjoying a traitline, I supose.

Yes, you’re running the meta for S/D – this thread is about D/P which has got no condi removal or real teleports on its weapons – unlike S/D.

If you want an “easy” roaming build, go P/D

It was my first pvp build and the first one I reccommend to new thief players as it is very survivable, but gets you used to the idea of timing steals, paying attention to initiative, and getting a feel for the duration of your stealths.

If you’re looking at getting good, however, start rolling around with S/D evade. It’s a very high skill floor build since the last round of nerfs, but when played properly it can efficiently 1v1 pretty much every meta build. The catch is that you have to play it perfectly to do so.