Guild Wars 2

So Thief is my first character i’ve leveled and I’m right about level 46 right now. Currently I’m running a condition build (something like http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fYAQJAoYlcmaOXeS5E9pEhnivO2+DXF ) and I absolutely LOVE it! I can kill large groups of mobs even 2+ levels ahead of me with no problem, even kill veterans around my level usually.

I love the feel of dodging around, watching the numbers pop up while the mob crawls slowly towards me just to hit them with the dodge caltrops and then Death Blossom over them again.

But reading around the forums lately and it seems that this type of build/playstyle just won’t do much at level 80 for PvE or PvP. I know 1 on 1, this lacks, but I’ve never ran into a situation where I couldn’t kite my way to a victory (or get away without dying).

I really like this game because I heard so much about how there is no ‘best builds’ and it’s more about being good at what style you like.

So I’m not asking if the way I play is good or not, I’m asking about the long term, level 80 and beyond, and how viable it will be.

Thanks for any advice/criticism!

To be honest this Condition build spam build isnt bad.
The real problem is that when u are lvl 80 with his build optimized u will alone be able to 25 stack bleeds on foes and thats the max you can stack in one monster, so if anyone of ur grp play any bleeds ur dps or his wont be maximized
Thats why power builds or even venom share builds are prefered

Aside from that… u should use Roll for initiative so u can spam much more bleeds and shadow refuge this skill is Gold sometimes it will avoid a grp wipe when facing some dungeons or situations

I use a very similar build:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fYAQNAoYVlcmKP3ey7E/JFCXBnyTxXNWaKopGsTxVpVA-jADBoMg4MAIOQUDg0HQsCApQFRjtEsIasKZER1qbYmcC1GfKaiAEXD-e

and it’s extremely viable in terms of survival but isn’t going to do you a lot of favors in terms of damage. Also keep the condition stack limit in mind. As a general rule of thumb people with condition builds need to make sure they’re not in parties with other condition users. However, you can pump out a lot of DoTs and be nigh on invincible with evades if you play it right. The tradeoff for that survivability is lack of stright up damage. You’ll never come up to the kill speed of people stacking tons of power and crit, but you’ll usually be able to take on large packs of trash and melee bosses much more comfortably, which makes you a great tank and emergency rezzer.

Walker.3056:

To be honest this Condition build spam build isnt bad.
The real problem is that when u are lvl 80 with his build optimized u will alone be able to 25 stack bleeds on foes and thats the max you can stack in one monster, so if anyone of ur grp play any bleeds ur dps or his wont be maximized
Thats why power builds or even venom share builds are prefered

Aside from that… u should use Roll for initiative so u can spam much more bleeds and shadow refuge this skill is Gold sometimes it will avoid a grp wipe when facing some dungeons or situations

To be fair with the cap25 argument that is so frequent in PvE discussions about conditions, except from events with many players involved (and in those events you’re mostly following the zerg’s flow) you’re really not seeing it so much. In a dungeon group you would need at least 3 bleed speciallists focusing all fire on the same target (against bosses mostly) to reach and maintain that mark for all the fight so it hinders your damage potential.

I’ve been in many parties with another bleeder and it worked just fine. Some auto-attacks of non specialists will stack bleeds, but the game takes priority on the best ones so if you’re getting condition gear yours should take priority over the weak bleeds from your allies auto-attacks.

In PvP I’ve seen the D/D bleeds+dodgespam having success, I’m not specialized on that one (P/D conditions+support here) but I know it can be very effective specially when crashing against a base and holding it for a long time with loads of dodges, snares and bleeds.

I’d say, if you’re feeling that build fitting the way you want to play it, go for it. Most times it’s the best option (unless it’s a very dumb build) as feeling comfortable with the build, as long it’s an apt build, is key to success in combat. Follow some tips and make some changes here and there to increase it’s efficency and go for it.

EvilKupo.2197:

So Thief is my first character i’ve leveled and I’m right about level 46 right now. Currently I’m running a condition build (something like http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fYAQJAoYlcmaOXeS5E9pEhnivO2+DXF ) and I absolutely LOVE it! I can kill large groups of mobs even 2+ levels ahead of me with no problem, even kill veterans around my level usually.

I love the feel of dodging around, watching the numbers pop up while the mob crawls slowly towards me just to hit them with the dodge caltrops and then Death Blossom over them again.

But reading around the forums lately and it seems that this type of build/playstyle just won’t do much at level 80 for PvE or PvP. I know 1 on 1, this lacks, but I’ve never ran into a situation where I couldn’t kite my way to a victory (or get away without dying).

I really like this game because I heard so much about how there is no ‘best builds’ and it’s more about being good at what style you like.

So I’m not asking if the way I play is good or not, I’m asking about the long term, level 80 and beyond, and how viable it will be.

Thanks for any advice/criticism!

I find in WvW as long as you are ticking at around 105+ on your bleeds and you keep poison and cripple on them you can spec interestingly in other areas and do great with bags of survivability and heals.

I prefer D/D and P/D as weapon sets though with bow in inventory.