Guild Wars 2

Hey,

Since the first day I played PVP, back in WvW on launch, to my recent adventures into SPVP, I’ve had only one major gripe with class balance, the Thief.

Yes I know there are a LOT of posts complaining about them being OP, Elementalists UP and so on. While I do agree that the ridiculous burst, buggy stealth, initiative spam mechanic, high speed, incredible traits and utility’s and stupidly strong elites, do make Thieves very OP. I do however find the odd bad thief I can 1v1 in a bunker build. But that’s not my point.

My question is to you thief players that actually die [yeah I know that’s an hilarious thought in SPVP]. What do you guys recommend doing as an Bunker Engineer and S/D Ele to fight thieves.

When I go full bunker build, dodge around, use abilities and knock-backs as well as damage mitigation abilities like mad – thieves can still take me down in a couple of bursts while just spamming a couple of buttons.

I consider my self about average skill level and I frequently play SPVP to improve my personal combat skill as well as my teamwork and tactics. Yet no matter what I do, thieves still kill me in a couple of spammy bursts. So what exactly can I do to beat you, what crazy builds or cheesy tactics manage to take down good thieves?

press V

15 char

Oxygen.5918:

press V

15 char

I get two dodges and my endurance is gone, heart-seeker leaps to the target and does damage after the split second dodge, continuing the burst losing barely any of the DPS. Steal/mug does around 5-7k crits so when I dodge away it’s bam, right back in my race again.

Don’t even get me started on trick shot spam.

You just need more skill. Just read the forum here, thieves are UP. All their combos are dodged pretty much by pressing any button on your keyboard.
/sarcasm

This is about all the advise you will get here. Just use the 0.5 second window (which is only there when you see the thief coming) to dodge (and hope that the thief didn’t anticipated that) or use a block skill.
And of course you have to build bunker. If you don’t then you are not even trying to defend against a thief and deserve to lose.

Atrixer.9275:

Don’t even get me started on trick shot spam.

Yeah, trick shot, the most dreaded ability in the game.

Bunker builds usually obliterate thieves.

How to counter a thief:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/thief/Against-Backstab-Superior-Runes-of-Earth/first#post487126

Daecollo.9578:

How to counter a thief:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/thief/Against-Backstab-Superior-Runes-of-Earth/first#post487126

Funny, I use Runes of Earth on both my Ele and Engineer even when they are not using bunker builds, purely because of thieves. Yep, I have to build into something purely because of one class, and it’s not even that helpful.

I don’t understand why people ask for advice on how to beat a thief in a thief forum section. While we may know the potential weaknesses to our class, no thief player can give you an adequate answer in how to defeat us with your class. Seriously, the best advice I’m going to give you is to search for answers on the engineer and elementalist forums.

Lan.1968:

I don’t understand why people ask for advice on how to beat a thief in a thief forum section. While we may know the potential weaknesses to our class, no thief player can give you an adequate answer in how to defeat us with your class. Seriously, the best advice I’m going to give you is to search for answers on the engineer and elementalist forums.

And strangely whenever someone talks about thief bursts angry thief players pop in, accuse everyone of being noobs and tells them to play a thief. And now you say playing a thief doesn’t help either.

Hmm for ele I do quite well just throwing up an arcane shield to stop their combo, followed by knockdown/immobilize and AoE.

that one moment when you down 1 thief and 5 more come out of no where and heartseeker you to death.

Atrixer.9275:

stupidly strong elites, do make Thieves very OP.

Stopped reading right there…

With my gamestyle i would trade every thief elites(every 3 of them,2 of which doesn’t work underwater) for a Moa Morph(10 sec no skills,no heal,no damage,just run? yes please) or Signet Of Rage(30sec might and crit and swiftness every 1 min? yes please).
I will not even comment the"incredible traits" we have,because this will lead me to abother 3 day ban from forums due to “offensive language”

Ixal.7924:

Lan.1968:

I don’t understand why people ask for advice on how to beat a thief in a thief forum section. While we may know the potential weaknesses to our class, no thief player can give you an adequate answer in how to defeat us with your class. Seriously, the best advice I’m going to give you is to search for answers on the engineer and elementalist forums.

And strangely whenever someone talks about thief bursts angry thief players pop in, accuse everyone of being noobs and tells them to play a thief. And now you say playing a thief doesn’t help either.

As a thief it’s easy to say. Be better at the stealthing game and avoid his burst and land yours – or avoid his burst and land your conditions.
As for other classes – I can tell you what I do as a thief to not get killed. I can’t tell you what I’d do against another class to not get killed by a thief. As for not getting killed as a thief it is all about movement and stealth. Anticipate what the enemy is doing and avoid being there where they use a skill – if you don’t, you die… and you do so horribly fast.

My encounter with a good ele: Basing on how he played:
1) did not use a bunker build
2) used scepter/dagger
3) had bloodlust sigils

He used ride the lightning as a gap closer to suprise me in the back
Immediately switched to earth and used earthquake (not sure if he used rock barrier after it as I was too busy to get back up, but I did notice him having rock barrier in the rest of the fight)
Didn’t see him use a lot of fire or water skills. Mostly blinding me when I want to attack, and using some kind of knock down or launch when I’m close. And whenever his blinds are on CD, he uses ride the lightning to get close to me, and launch me again

No idea what his utilities were, only remember being on the ground a lot, and since I can only use shadowstep once every 50 seconds, it meant that whoever started the fight first would win the fight. (That’s why I don’t think he’s using a bunker build, I’m not a 100% BS thief, I’ve my own alternative version of it, but a bunker build would definitely beat me every time.)

I think that winning in my fight depended on who suprised who first

Atrixer.9275:

Oxygen.5918:

press V

15 char

. Steal/mug does around 5-7k crits so when I dodge away it’s bam, right back in my race again.

Don’t even get me started on trick shot spam.

arent you kindda glassy ? mug(steal) hits 6k on pure glass cannon only