Guild Wars 2

I’m pretty new to the game, so sorry if some of these questions are “duh” questions. I picked up the game when it came out but just started playing it seriously this week.

So I’m leveling my thief and I really like it, but find myself using shortbow 99% of the time over anything else. I’ve tried D/D and D/P combos but it seems like with shortbow I can take out large groups with not much problem. One on one either of the other two builds rule, but while leveling, you don’t often times fight 1 mob. Am I missing something that makes dual daggers worth it at this level for PvE?

Also, I haven’t picked up a sword yet (nor have I heard much in the thief forums about it), is that just a weapon that really doesn’t matter for thief?

One last (not specifically thief related) question. I know the first dungeon is at 30, but is there anything I’m missing before that if I’m just exploring/doing hearts/random events/crafting? I feel like there should be more.

Thanks for any and all replies!

If you want to take on mobs of trash with dual daggers, stack up on condition damage. Death blossom counts as a full on AoE, and stacks 3 14s bleeds on everything it hits, not to mention functioning as a dodge. basically, the dagger has AoE and single target potential, but the single target build is pow/crit and the AoE build is condition based.

thanks for the reply, I’ve been looking around and finding that this game is all about how you want to play (as opposed to other MMO’s where you almost “must” stick with a single build) and that’s a good thing! I just picked up Caltrops, too. I didn’t realized death blossom worked that way, so that’s good to know.

I thinK i’ll be looking for some more conditional damage gear/upgrades and see how things go with d/d for now, although i’m still confused about traits =D

A lot of thief skills/weapons come into play with better traits so try them again at level 40+. Sword+pistol is a simple melee combination that you could use at low levels. The shortbow is a balanced and fit for purpose but you should eventually find that melee does more damage and can be used safely with good use of skills.

EvilKupo.2197:

thanks for the reply, I’ve been looking around and finding that this game is all about how you want to play (as opposed to other MMO’s where you almost “must” stick with a single build) and that’s a good thing! I just picked up Caltrops, too. I didn’t realized death blossom worked that way, so that’s good to know.

I thinK i’ll be looking for some more conditional damage gear/upgrades and see how things go with d/d for now, although i’m still confused about traits =D

as far as your trait confusion, it is something you have to use to really get the hang of. at low levels the stats the trait lines give is more valuable than the traits you can get a lot of the time. as you reach higher levels and get access to more traits, the traits become what you want to focus on, and the stats become secondary. for instance, if you are leveling D/D condition damage, at low levels trickery is invaluable as condition damage is hard to come across, and putting 10 points in deadly arts can give your death blossom bleeds another tick. at higher levels when stats become easier to obtain, and you have access to traits that synergize well for things like initiative regen, dodge roll enhancement, steal enhancement and might stacking as well as grand master traits, the traits take center stage.

Tons of good information, thank you! I’ve switched to a D/D main and S/P secondary. I use D/D for the most part and have been able to take out groups of 3, 4, or even 5 mobs with very little problems with the increased conditional damage from 5 points in trickery.

I hate to keep asking noobish questions, but should I put my next 5 points in trickery too, or should I add them to something else? I was reading somewhere that the first 20 points should be in Trickery and Acrobatics, but you just said go with deadly arts. Is it a matter of choice or what?

Yeah, if you want to stack some bleeds then put the next 5 into trickery and toy around with the caltrops on dodge.

You should just max out Trickery first, then aim for 15 in Acrobatics, then put the rest in Deadly Arts while leveling D/D.