Guild Wars 2

Time to re roll back on me Guardian

If this is true. Shadow Trap has now been added to my bar for the rest of the time I play this game. Thief has now become god mode.

Cluster Bomb range set to 900 from 1200.

This is so stupid if true.

so, what skills we can use for 1200+ range?
steal (with trait) & the scorpion wire ???

Kind of sucks that they put the new condition on a venom. Would have preferred to have seen it put on P/D #3 or attainable via a trait.

avilo.1942:

The nerf to infiltrator’s strike…making it not a stun breaker…is this serious? If so, they completely killed the non-stealth thieves and an entire style of play.

I’m running a non-stealth thief and I’m in hog heaven with these changes. Could you be a little more specific about what sort of build you are saying is “completely killed” by the infiltrator’s strike change?

Kerishan.8460:

Cluster Bomb range set to 900 from 1200.

This is so stupid if true.

Ranger shortbow skills all got dropped to 900 range. Don’t expect for a moment that Thieves are gonna get more range out of a weapon than a Ranger would.

I was thinking about lobbying the ranger boards for shortbows reaching to 1,000. If that were to pan out, I think cluster bomb range going to 1,000 might be more plausible.

Nike.2631:

avilo.1942:

The nerf to infiltrator’s strike…making it not a stun breaker…is this serious? If so, they completely killed the non-stealth thieves and an entire style of play.

I’m running a non-stealth thief and I’m in hog heaven with these changes. Could you be a little more specific about what sort of build you are saying is “completely killed” by the infiltrator’s strike change?

actually i use the IS/SS for the condition removal, the break stun is an added bonus :P

roamzero.9486:

Kind of sucks that they put the new condition on a venom. Would have preferred to have seen it put on P/D #3 or attainable via a trait.

I’d say introducing an entirely new mechanic in a limited pool – 3 of 8 classes only, and locked behind utility skill commitments is an excellent way to test the waters.

If it doesn’t crack the universe into equal thirds, THEN appending it to weapon skills becomes a lot more likely.

My advice is get out there and work that new venom. Work it so they can build up some data on how Torment really performs off the white board.

I bet you my pot of fools gold it’s real.

Let the QQ begi…

Wait it already has.

It’s been a good day.

Legacy.7360:

I bet you my pot of fools gold it’s real.

Let the QQ begi…

Wait it already has.

It’s been a good day.

These are the people that will rejoice the day that thieves are extinct in tpvp, wvw, and pve.

All the changes they made are going to do nothing.

Like these: Deadly Arts
Corrosive Traps. This trait now 5 stacks of vulnerability for 8 seconds, up from 5.
Sundering strikes: Vulnerability caused by this trait has been increased from 5 seconds to 10 seconds.
Panic Strike: This trait’s cooldown has been reduced from 60 seconds to 30.
Lotus Poison: Increased weakness duration to 4 seconds, but it can only apply once every 20 seconds per target.

Just remove all 4 of them, they are horrible. Oh, and the Body Shot change, is what made me think this is more developer notes, than release notes.

well, i guess it could be ok overall

Despite the fact that I still believe that those patch notes are fake, I like how people complain also when they buffed Steal that much, considering that some of the best Thief’s skill come from Steal.

When fully traited, Steal recharges in 15s, daze your target, is on 1500 range and gives you the environmental weapon (like 3s fear, uh?).

But I know, people needs to always complain.

Thieves will be pigeon holed into using D/P if those notes are true. Only thing that interest me is indeed the steal buff but trickery is… yeah not convinced. And shadow trap, sounds nice.

Puru.4217:

Thieves will be pigeon holed into using D/P if those notes are true. Only thing that interest me is indeed the steal buff but trickery is… yeah not convinced.

With a few options on a secondary, due to the changes of the SB.

S/D might still work, but FS/LS cannot be spammed, and the best thieves would need to fight the best rotations.

P/P is still trash, and P/D are still going to be trash. With these notes, basically Anet thought nerfing SB would make those weapon sets viable.

sorrow.2364:

But I know, people needs to always complain.

always there WILL be something to complain about, it’s just human nature
and when you fix it, they will complain about another
and going in circles until the end of time…
(see the never ending thief nerfs)

MIrra.3604:

Cannot confirm or deny if this is valid but some food for thoughts:

Show Spoiler

hide spoiler

Thief changes:

Lotus Strike: Poison duration increased form 2s to 4s.
Shadow Trap: Increased recharge to 45 seconds.
Destroy Shadow Trap: This ability now teleports the thief back to the trap location when it is destroyed. Added range skill facts. This skill now breaks stuns.
Shadow Pursuit: This ability now grants fury and 10 stacks of might for 5 seconds along with stealth when used to teleport to the enemy who triggered Shadow Trap. This ability now breaks stuns.
Death Blossom: Now costs 4 initiative.
Body Shot: Aftercast reduced by .4s. Decreased Vuln duratrion to 3s. Increaased to 10 stacks fo Vuln.
Pistol Whip: Decreased the time between the sstun and the sword flurry.
Scorpion Wire: Decreased aftercast by .2 seconds. Reduced cooldown to 20s.
Signet of Malice: Increased the base heal by 33% of the passive ability.
Steal: Recharge reduced to 35.
Cluster Bomb range set to 900 from 1200.
Larcenous Strike: Initiative cost increased to 2.
Nine tail strike: 3 initiative to 5
Shadow assault: 5 initiative to 7
The ripper: 5 seconds of bleed – > 7 s of bleed
Deadly Strike: Weakness duration 4s – 5 s, damage increased from 1 to 1.2
Skale Venom: Replaced Weakness with Torment.
Dancing Dagger: Reduced initiative cost to 3.
Shadow Return (infiltrator strike toggle): This skill is no longer a stun breaker.
Withdraw: Travel distance cut in half underwater to match the land distance.
Deadly Strike: Reduced weakness duration to 3 seconds.
Crippling Strike: This ability no long applies weakness.
Rusty Scrap Strike: Reduced weakness duration to 8 seconds.
Throw Scale: Reduced weakness duration to 6 seconds.

Acrobatics
Assassin’s Retreat: This trait now grants 10 seconds of swiftness when you kill a foe. This effect has a 5 second internal cooldown.
Pain Response: This cooldown of this effect has been reduced from 45 seconds to 30.
Hard to Catch: The cooldown of this effect has been reduced from 60 seconds to 30.

Critical Strikes
Furious Retaliation: This trait now grants 10 seconds of fury when striking a target that is below 50% health. This effect can only occur once every 30 seconds.
Signets of Power: This 5 stacks of might that this trait grants has been increased to 10 seconds.

Deadly Arts
Corrosive Traps. This trait now 5 stacks of vulnerability for 8 seconds, up from 5.
Sundering strikes: Vulnerability caused by this trait has been increased from 5 seconds to 10 seconds.
Panic Strike: This trait’s cooldown has been reduced from 60 seconds to 30.
Lotus Poison: Increased weakness duration to 4 seconds, but it can only apply once every 20 seconds per target.

Shadow Arts
Last Refuge: The cooldown of this trait has been reduced from 90 seconds to 60.
Slowed Pulse: The effect of this trait now occurs if you have 2 or more stacks of bleeding.
Shadow Protector: This trait has been changed to apply 10 seconds of regeneration when you stealth them. This effect will not occur if the ally already has regeneration on them.

Trickery
Merciful Ambush: This trait now grants 2 seconds of stealth to you and your ally when beginning a revive.
Long Reach: This trait now increases the range of Steal to 1500, up from 1200.
Ricochet: The chance to bounce for this trait has been increased from 25% to 50%.
Sleight of Hand: In addition to dazing your target, this trait now reduces the recharge of Steal by an additional 20%.
Instinctual Response: This trait now properly blinds enemies struck by the feathers. Increased radius from 120 to 180.

Oh god, I hope thats all true

Sounds like it’s a mostly rubbish patch. Loads of problems in the thief weapon choices.

Noctis Assassin.4035:

MIrra.3604:

Sleight of Hand: In addition to dazing your target, this trait now reduces the recharge of Steal by an additional 20%.

steal on 18 sec cd. I’ll believe it when i see it.

Youre math is so wrong ….

its 35s / 1.3 * 0,8 = 21,538461538461538461538461538462 seconds.

the trait line increases the recharge rate. So 100% faster recharge rate would result in a 50% reduction

50% of 35sec, isn’t 17.5 sec?
how did you pass your math exams ?

ahahahah .. this reminds me of the November patch when everyone anticipated the instagib build being nerfed into the stone age ..

A quick look over and permastealth isn’t touched, yet a lot of the decent alternates (S/D in particular) are gonna get hammered .. can see where we’re being steered, lol.

Alacrity.4312:

ahahahah .. this reminds me of the November patch when everyone anticipated the instagib build being nerfed into the stone age ..

A quick look over and permastealth isn’t touched, yet a lot of the decent alternates (S/D in particular) are gonna get hammered .. can see where we’re being steered, lol.

35k backstabs here i com…

I wonder if the same people in this thread cheering thief nerfs realize that this would be another patch buffing dagger and nerf stomping sword. Those the same people that complain about backstab builds that every thief is being forced into?

crouze.3078:

Noctis Assassin.4035:

MIrra.3604:

Sleight of Hand: In addition to dazing your target, this trait now reduces the recharge of Steal by an additional 20%.

steal on 18 sec cd. I’ll believe it when i see it.

Youre math is so wrong ….

its 35s / 1.3 * 0,8 = 21,538461538461538461538461538462 seconds.

the trait line increases the recharge rate. So 100% faster recharge rate would result in a 50% reduction

Huh ??? 35 sec CD on Steal – 50% is 21,5 sec ? I think it will 17.5 no 21.5.

Shemsu.8721:

I wonder if the same people in this thread cheering thief nerfs realize that this would be another patch buffing dagger and nerf stomping sword. Those the same people that complain about backstab builds that every thief is being forced into?

You’re right , S/D Thief nerf to the Hell and D/D D/P Thief boost to the Sky

Ill update my client and try this out (if true) when it comes out.
But I don’t believe it will be any better than the 5yo mmo that I’m playing atm…

What’s the ETA on this?

really hope it’s fake

S/D got 3-4 critical nerfs it’s not useable anymore. shortbow is nerfed like crazy its useless now for WvW

why?

Daendur.2357:

why?

SD got infiltrator return nerf, auto attack no longer applies weakness, LS initiative cost increased

shortbow cluster bomb ranged decreased to 900 which makes it unable to destroy arrow carts etc on the walls. so useless for its purpose

say hello to S/D nerf across the board, enjoy the thief tears

well the patch is fake for sure though so w/e

even if it’s true, sd will still be good.

Legacy.7360:

I bet you my pot of fools gold it’s real.

Let the QQ begi…

Wait it already has.

It’s been a good day.

Thief will always be the best roamer , 1v1 , ganker . /pat on your back bro

btw with Torment and reduced ini cost of death blossom maybe there will be room for some hybrid build …
we just need some condition damage+critical damage+(vitality or power) equip.

I really hope its fake. Since according to the notes – Ranger bow arrows for both Long/Shortbow projectile speed is increased. Meanwhile, Thief Short Bow, nerfed last patch and auto attack being useless against any player that can ministrafe or just not stand in same place remains same slow.

I have to say that I’m less enthused with the Thief changes than I am with the Ranger and Elementalist changes.

Where is the aftercast reduction to Vital Shot and Trick Shot? That was pretty much the most critical issue. Where are the updates to other traps and venoms, which are all pretty bad?

However, there are a few things I’m happy to see:
Buff to Steal
Significant buffs to Ricochet and SoM
I actually like that they’re standardizing 900 yd range on the Shortbow.
New unique condition

What I’m really hoping is that the patch notes are actually real but aren’t complete.

If these patch notes are true, they could have simply just said “Thieves can now only equip daggers MH, pistols OH, and SHbows. Shbow now only has 1 attack, infilttors arrow”. It would have been way easier and faster than Obliterating Sword MH’s playstyle entirely, and screwing with our 1 perfectly balanced and designed weaponchoice.

Although I suppose it wouldn’t save them any additional time in their continued ignorance of P/P’s complete uselessness, and how underpowered P/D is. Just a note, this is all from a PvP perspective.

ensoriki.5789:

Travlane.5948:

stof.9341:

Travlane.5948:

worst note : 4 init on deathblossom!?!?!?!? wtf….was it so op? did like 1200 dmg max lol and 3 stacks of bleed which are basically no dmg if ur going berserker. so dumb really this breaks an entire build.

You are aware this skill costs 5 init currently right?

total brain fart lol. yeah i was always saying they need to do to this what they did to FS LS bc when you leap in the air it doesnt always aim right. seems a lil annoying . or atleast add some distance and 50% more direct dmg. but for 4 initiative thats a lil better. yeah i read it wrong :P bleh! thanks man

You’re away of the evasion time LDB has at 5 initiative let alone 4? Considering how many players Q_Q on S/D evade time (which was higher pre-buff and can be replicated to an extend by condi D/D and even S/P).
This thing smells fake.

perhap.s but death blossom has sub par direct dmg and only 3 stacks of bleed so its a hybrid skill as mentioned but all in all unless u are runnign rampager u dont get much out of it especially for 5 init. most builds never use it unless in pve but if its down to 4 i could def stark squeeking it into a build . half your initiative almost for 1 sub par attack is crippling.

Nike.2631:

avilo.1942:

The nerf to infiltrator’s strike…making it not a stun breaker…is this serious? If so, they completely killed the non-stealth thieves and an entire style of play.

I’m running a non-stealth thief and I’m in hog heaven with these changes. Could you be a little more specific about what sort of build you are saying is “completely killed” by the infiltrator’s strike change?

put it this way. without stun break on infiltrators strike/return……now you have a d/d build basically. well actually d/d will beat s/d in a 1 v 1 without that stun break. it allows players to use a non stealth build to fight with…which means no infusion of shadow no hiding while invis….just a str8 up fight…..without the stun break the thief has still crappy defense and highest squishiness in game but now if u cc him hes focked :P

Nike.2631:

This will be an unbelievable buff to my thief (D/D signet of malice 0/0/10/30/30 super unicorn variant)

1 gets double the poison (on a condition damage build, hot kitten )
3 the cornerstone of you damage and self-heals is 20% cheaper/fires 25% more often
4 key to keeping enemies from wandering off gets 25% cheaper/33% more spamable while in pursuit
6 the passive heal that is already amazing with the right armor gets 33% better?

Throw in Slowed pulse is easier to trigger and a shorter cooldown on pain response…

Its like my own personal godmode.

I am 100% with you on this. I run a similar build and I am drooling over these changes. Please let these be the real patch notes.

Needing inf strike will actually be a nerf to S/P and venom specs in general…wut.
Which would mean even the theoreotical viable S/P build would vanish. Unless they wanted to create parity on who runs venoms but that isn’t going to happen if they’re not run for lack of punch.
An extra INI wouldn’t be lethal to S/D given it would cost as much as PW but the increased cost means you have less INI to spend on dancing dagger regardless. That ability will not be used. Its disrupting the weapon set further when its in set balance is already off-tilt. 5 INI doesn’t change any paradigm it reinforces them.

Also I wish ricochet would just be scrapped.

Hope many of these aren’t in.

@godhammel that build is nice when traited right/geared right but has VERY limited uses….forget about wvw with it as you will only be able to duel….3 people come and ur dead everytime. its only good for spvp. the changes for that build would be nice….but the would have to be 10x better to equal everything else we lost. s/d would be no longer playable…..d/d is no longer playable ….. sb is no longer playable….all we have is p/d bleed and d/p invis BS…… next patch they prolly do a BPS nerf and then all we have is p/d left after that ;/ hope this is far from real. anet is so dumb. they make skills worse rather than making other skills on other classes better. why make a game worse so their can be a level of equality? why not make other classes better and the game more interesting so they can keep up or w.e. you see it as. wouldnt that make morse sense? lets scale allt he dmg down so 100 dmg =1 and no crit attacks do like 500 max. no? well why not? oh yeah it doesnt seem like a big hit with a low number…. well its the same kitten concept with skills….STOP DUMBING THEM DOWN FOR DUMB PLAYERS! you guys at anet need better educations or more broad ones. this is horrible gaming decisions not just on thief but in general. u already dumbed the game down enough from gw1 by taking away build choices/combos so any age can play the game. cool fine i understand its simple marketing decision there when coming to target audience. then you dumb down the skills and the weapon skills every patch to try balance th igns which is what we all want. a general sense of balance or niches for each class at the very least. but nooooooooooo now we are just killing more skills and making the game boring. you know how fun thief used to be? thief was so fun 8 months ago….overpowered a lil yes but thats just a numbers issue not really skill/effect type of thing. so necros cant keep up in 1 v 1? ok so make their AOES +75 radius for a total diameter increase of 150…thats great for them and doesnt make the game worse in the “fun” sense as you didnt nerf bat anyone.

TLDR = buff the classes that need to be beefed up…dont nerf bat the classes that are ok to make the crappier ones seem stronger. this is what is happening since day one….. time to get the heads out ofthe rears and think before this game is dead. im ready to quit soon myself as i am more used to games improving….not downgrading everything everypatch. i do main a thief so maybe i see more nerfs than most but i know everyclass gets soem atleast. make the game better plz. make it stronger….make more combos for every class. lets make it interesting. right now its becomign too formulaic as when build 1 meets build 2 its almost pretty much a predetermined outcome.

ps richochet would be amazing …IF at each hit it also had a 20% chance to pierce or something.

anyone get the feeling we’re being pigeonholed with every patch instead of expanding our build possibilities?

let’s pray these are not real patch notes.

Travlane.5948:

@godhammel that build is nice when traited right/geared right but has VERY limited uses….forget about wvw with it as you will only be able to duel….3 people come and ur dead everytime. its only good for spvp. the changes for that build would be nice….but the would have to be 10x better to equal everything else we lost. s/d would be no longer playable…..d/d is no longer playable ….. sb is no longer playable….all we have is p/d bleed and d/p invis BS…… next patch they prolly do a BPS nerf and then all we have is p/d left after that ;/ hope this is far from real. anet is so dumb. they make skills worse rather than making other skills on other classes better. why make a game worse so their can be a level of equality? why not make other classes better and the game more interesting so they can keep up or w.e. you see it as. wouldnt that make morse sense? lets scale allt he dmg down so 100 dmg =1 and no crit attacks do like 500 max. no? well why not? oh yeah it doesnt seem like a big hit with a low number…. well its the same kitten concept with skills….STOP DUMBING THEM DOWN FOR DUMB PLAYERS! you guys at anet need better educations or more broad ones. this is horrible gaming decisions not just on thief but in general. u already dumbed the game down enough from gw1 by taking away build choices/combos so any age can play the game. cool fine i understand its simple marketing decision there when coming to target audience. then you dumb down the skills and the weapon skills every patch to try balance th igns which is what we all want. a general sense of balance or niches for each class at the very least. but nooooooooooo now we are just killing more skills and making the game boring. you know how fun thief used to be? thief was so fun 8 months ago….overpowered a lil yes but thats just a numbers issue not really skill/effect type of thing. so necros cant keep up in 1 v 1? ok so make their AOES +75 radius for a total diameter increase of 150…thats great for them and doesnt make the game worse in the “fun” sense as you didnt nerf bat anyone.

TLDR = buff the classes that need to be beefed up…dont nerf bat the classes that are ok to make the crappier ones seem stronger. this is what is happening since day one….. time to get the heads out ofthe rears and think before this game is dead. im ready to quit soon myself as i am more used to games improving….not downgrading everything everypatch. i do main a thief so maybe i see more nerfs than most but i know everyclass gets soem atleast. make the game better plz. make it stronger….make more combos for every class. lets make it interesting. right now its becomign too formulaic as when build 1 meets build 2 its almost pretty much a predetermined outcome.

ya but 95% these are fake patch notes. ANET doesn’t usually nerf the same weapon set 3 times in the same patch. usually it’s spread out if they do nerfs, like they nerf 1 thing at a time. that is if they nerf and there is usually a buff to go with it.

Daendur.2357:

even if it’s true, sd will still be good.

Assuming patch notes are true, and from a PvP standpoint

In what way? Dropping stun break on SR basically destroys the dodgy thief playstyle. IS/SR is the only reason Sword mainhand works. If you can’t reliably engage and disengage at any time, you’re basically a sitting duck. The only reason an in your face/no stealth build works for a thief (no defensive boons, kittenty regen access, lowest base HP pool) is because SR lets you disengage at any time. Without it, you might as well be a warrior -8k health.

In addition, crippling strike losing weakness is just mind boggling. 1.5 seconds to get to the AA chain finisher and an obvious animation for 2s of weakness was too strong?

No comment on the LS change, tbh – I’m not sure if its undeserved or fair, but it doesn’t matter – the SR change would kill S/D entirely, and the CS change would just be kicking us while we’re down.

good point excalibur…i was wondering why the major hate on both weaponsets. 3x each wow. thats alot. prolly alot is fake or anet put this out to see what gets what kind of reaction. then make their final decisions for the cut from those reactions.

evilapprentice.6379:

Daendur.2357:

even if it’s true, sd will still be good.

Assuming patch notes are true, and from a PvP standpoint

In what way? Dropping stun break on SR basically destroys the dodgy thief playstyle. IS/SR is the only reason Sword mainhand works. If you can’t reliably engage and disengage at any time, you’re basically a sitting duck. The only reason an in your face/no stealth build works for a thief (no defensive boons, kittenty regen access, lowest base HP pool) is because SR lets you disengage at any time. Without it, you might as well be a warrior -8k health.

In addition, crippling strike losing weakness is just mind boggling. 1.5 seconds to get to the AA chain finisher and an obvious animation for 2s of weakness was too strong?

No comment on the LS change, tbh – I’m not sure if its undeserved or fair, but it doesn’t matter – the SR change would kill S/D entirely, and the CS change would just be kicking us while we’re down.

nevermind good, S/D won’t even be viable.

Travlane.5948:

good point excalibur…i was wondering why the major hate on both weaponsets. 3x each wow. thats alot. prolly alot is fake or anet put this out to see what gets what kind of reaction. then make their final decisions for the cut from those reactions.

3x on S/D and which other weapon set?

daendur doesnt play s/d obviously. its a ruined set if even 1 is nerfed like so.