Guild Wars 2

K Cross.3458:

Stealing makes me invisible for a few seconds, gives me back 5 initiative and shadowsteps me to the enemy.

That’s awesome!

EDIT:

The dmg it does and the things you steal and is just a bonus.

Sigh…

The point is that Steal should be used ( or at least, this was what aNet was intending) for the mechanic, not for the “all the crap you can add via traits”.

A decent trait investment on Steal and it becomes very powerful ( altough gimmicky, and personally i hate gimmicks), but that’s not why Steal was created.

Currently, with no trait investment, Steal is absolutely irrilevant for a thief : it’s just an OP skill every 45 secs.

An OP skill is not a mechanic, it’s just an OP skill.

With decent/heavy trait investment, steal becomes incredibly good , an extremely powerful gimmick, but still not a part of thief playstyle ( unless you pick the hidden thief trait, making it VERY relevant for your playstyle, but there are overall better choices to pick instead of that trait): it’s just a gimmick, or rather a “do everything” skill.

I’m not discussing Steal usefulness, i’m discussing its DESIGN.

Other classes have their mechanics highly incorporated within their playstyle ( i would never think of a mesmer not summoning its illusions, or a necro not entering death shroud, or an ele not swapping attunements), while this is not also valid for the thief;

If you’re not using Steal , you’re not losing anything if not an OP skill.

And there are builds which effectively can be played without using Steal at all ( or at least, not for the mechanic but only for the damage/utility you obtain via traiting), and this shows clearly how badly designed Steal is.

Personally, I love Steal. Having an “ace up my sleeve” perfectly fits how I picture the Thief profession.

The fact that you can trait it for bonuses just makes it feel more exciting on top of that.

Its true, I rarely ever use steal. Just kinda forget its there, need to try use it more. its actually a great skill especially when it shadowsteps.

Mrbig.8019:

Sigh…

Wait… why that “Sigh…” ? Have a little respect.
I just was aswering the original poster.

Freya Valentin.1839:

As a special skill i find it lacking some kind of more interesting approach when you compare it with other classes. […] How do you feel about this skill?

Plus, everything you said it’s pretty obvious to anyone who had at least the decency to try different builds for himself.

I still don’t know hot to feel about steal .
Even about inviormental weapons who resemble steal ??
But i get good insight about the skill from this topic thanks again.

Steal is epic.

Untraited in solo PvE, I’ll agree that it can seem a bit weak at times. Fang Stab is really weak (1 stack of bleeding on something that dies in >10s is wimpy). However, Throw Gunk is pretty powerful (especially combined with Signet of Malice) and Blinding Feathers is a great skill. AoE blind, stealth (+2 initiative for me!) and the ability to use your stealth attack for high damage. Then there are the epic skills like Use Scepter or Whirling Axe which do AoE damage or daze.

In PvP it’s incredibly strong. The skill you get will be random, but it will always be really powerful. You have the chance to get some truly epic skills. The 3s AoE fear from a necro, all boons for 5s (8s for me!) from a mesmer, whirling axe from a warrior, healing tree from a ranger… They’re all powerful skills that can turn a fight around.

Add your build and you only make it more epic. My Steal gives 16s of Fury, Might, and Swiftness to me and all nearby allies. It also gives ~30s of Vigor (I get 24s of Might and 3s of Swiftness when I dodge, so Vigor is epic). It removes two boons and grants those to myself and nearby allies. It gives me 3 initiative. That’s an incredible, incredible skill.

I didn’t use Steal until I re-bound it to my mouse button, since I use that far more often.

Steal is pretty much a must-use when I play melee. Even as S/P, since it has like twice the range of Infiltrator’s Strike.

i would forget about steal when i first started using the thief but now i use it all the time. it’s great.

when i steal i poison my target for 10 seconds, deal damage, regen initiative, adn give myself and my part fury, might, and swiftness for 10 seconds, i i traited it further it would stealth me and give me 5 initiative and give me vigor+take two enemy boons and give them to me.

im fine with steal

Ha-ha, people forget the best thing about steal… You get out of snares… Ranger pops roots Ultimate on you. Press F1. It’s gone. If you don’t love F1 you don’t play a thief right.