Guild Wars 2

It’s a fun build to play with good damage/survivability. I wanted to get away from the P/D for a while so I came up with this build.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDYuN2BFsqc

Hi Lofat,

Nice vid ! Looks good for WvW… I was actually running almost exactly this in sPvP last night though and in there the unload crit accumulation won’t break much over 4k and people dodge

So many bunkers and dodgers in PvP… it ended up being mainly S/D because the pistols weren’t able to stick damage on decent players. I will try it out in WvW next time though because I also need a change from the condition builds I run in WvW.

Thank god you didn’t do rock for the sound track… I could actually watch this one with the sound on

Haha, that’s great Faeyd, glad you enjoyed the music also. This build is fun in WvW. I found I was sticking with the pistols most of the time but being able to go S/D at will made it much more versatile and fun. I was getting 9-10k crits on the lowbies but maintaining 4-8k on 80’s. Try it out in WvW and let me know how you do.

Just started playing my P/P Thief in WvWvW now that I hit 80, and I gotta say it’s been THE most fun I’ve had thus far. My Ranger does Ok as a scout but he can’t really hold out long against more than 1 or 2 people. My Mesmer is a blast to play but can be tiring over long periods. My trusty Thief however…..gotta love that tricky dodgy fellow. With a friendly Mesmer by my side, we held off 3 and 4 invaders at a time and with her clones and my 3 shadow Thieves all over the place we made a mess of them.

I can’t wait to get myself a full set of Exotics, even with just Rares this character is an utter blast to play.

Yeah Conner, Thief is a blast to play. P/P-S/D keeps it interesting.

Looks like a really fun build, gona have to try it out

I’ve used shortbow for most of my leveling but now that I got to lv 80 I went to do some trait research in spvp with a very similiar build to the one you posted and it was a blast, even though I wasn’t dealing as much damage as you did in the video.

Played mostly P/D and SB before. It’s a nice break with some burst if you don’t mind losing the SB.

Good video and build, using S/D to finish the opponent instead of having a SB is a good surprise (but I think I feel SB is too useful to part ways with it myself).

Some of them were low level characters (or low equipment characters) as you were landing 9K Unloads and that’s unrealistic against 100% Exotic equiped characters. When you fought the guy with the Legendary Weapon (at leas he was leaving footprints, and I think that was the Incinerator on her hands) you got Unloads ranging from 2.9k to 4.4k, still high (she was another Thief, probably berserk or carrion which means no extra Toughness) but not as impresive as against other players. But good video and play.

My main problem with P/P, is that despite how much I love the aesthetics, at the end its gampley is this: Pulverize your 3 key, backpedal and dodge everything you can. I used it a lot during the betas, and I even made a build tutorial video for it, but I got bored of not being able to use my other skills if I wanted to optimize the build. That said, that’s a problem with most Thief builds because of Initiative and Skills on each set being very unbalanced between themselves, but on P/P case it’s just plain damage without anything to make it creative (like 0.5 seconds of weakness per bullet, this way you get control over opponents damage and he can’t dodge as often).

Hi Lofat, reporting back!

I got some WvW in and it was a lot of fun. The PvE like stats out there and mix of well equiped and poorly equiped folks made it interesting from fight to fight. I tried to stay off stealth entirely with it, blasting away from range most of the time and using S/D for burst kills when I knew I had enough init to get in and out safely.

I played 5 or 6 bouts of PvP also and it held up OK… it’s obviously not fantastic in there, but as a periphery fighter when a group on group mash-up is taking place it worked well enough to be fun.

I am fond of duels though so in PvP it has to take a backseat But fun out in the worlds.

I like it but I just can’t play WvW without either a dagger mainland or short-bow on swap for the movement.

@Lokheit – Yeah, on a fully geared 80 3-6k seems to be the norm for unload. And even 6k is shooting a little high. It’s a fun build but you’re right, spamming 3 and dodging is the base of how pistols/pistol works. That’s why the S/D is off hand. It breaks up the constant unloads and can close gaps that P/P won’t. “(like 0.5 seconds of weakness per bullet, this way you get control over opponents damage and he can’t dodge as often).” That’s a great idea! Would love to see something like this go into effect for unload.

@Faeyd – Glad you enjoyed it! What issues were you having in PvP with it? The combo I use goes something like this: Unload, Unload, wait for heal and headshot, switch to S/D, #2 (infiltrators strike), #3 (flanking strike is very underated), then finish off with auto attacks if needed.

@Stiv – I suppose you could replace S/D with D/D in this build and it would do just fine. I’ll have to make a D/D vid soon.

Lofat.2406:

@Stiv – I suppose you could replace S/D with D/D in this build and it would do just fine. I’ll have to make a D/D vid soon.

Yea but S/D is so fun :P I love the auto for pressuring downed state + rezers. #2 is amazing and after getting used to #3 is really good as well. I’m playing S/D D/D currently which is great but I def miss having range. Especially when a necro pops a 10min blind field.

Now if we could only have 3 weapon sets we’d be sitting happy! S/D is really good and hard to give up. But having some range really makes it more versatile. I’ll be looking into a few different builds for my next vid. Not sure what I plan on going with next.

The issue is just that it is less effective vs good builds/players who are situationally aware compared to other options. It isn’t a horrible experience at all… but unload in PvP just usually ends up unloading my Init

Situationally it was fun (when folks were all engaged with other folks), but in that circumstance I am probably best off just bursting with S/D or S/P and ignore the unloads which seemed to attract their attention and make them angry

Makes sense Faeyd, it’s different in the way you have to manage your init. When I first started this build I found I was just unloading every chance I got. While it was fun, it wasn’t effective till I added the S/D and started using unload sparingly.

Lofat, I enjoyed your video very much. At last not one of those zillions “I activate all my 1mn cds then go backstab an unsuspecting victim” thief pvp video.
Also i liked that you showed the whole setup of skills and traits and gear at the end.

Something i’m not sure I saw there, is the amount of +critical dmg you have in the setup you use in the video. I’m really curious about it.

Also one question please : I see you get a sigil of paralyzation on the sword, but it only adds like a small % duration over an already small duration (it’s used for the immobilize part of the infiltrator strike since not on a pistol then not to add a little to the headshot ? Sorry this is something I have a hard time to determine when looking at sigils and how they affect this or that skill).

Oh wait, another question (ha ha…) : you have the chill sigil on both pistols ? Don’t they share some kind of similar overlapping cd, so to speak, or is it to make sure it applies more (if it does work that way, that is…), or does it not share cd and thus does it add to duration ?

Thanks a lot !

:)

Shoogli.6185:

Lofat, I enjoyed your video very much. At last not one of those zillions “I activate all my 1mn cds then go backstab an unsuspecting victim” thief pvp video.
Also i liked that you showed the whole setup of skills and traits and gear at the end.

Something i’m not sure I saw there, is the amount of +critical dmg you have in the setup you use in the video. I’m really curious about it.

Also one question please : I see you get a sigil of paralyzation on the sword, but it only adds like a small % duration over an already small duration (it’s used for the immobilize part of the infiltrator strike since not on a pistol then not to add a little to the headshot ? Sorry this is something I have a hard time to determine when looking at sigils and how they affect this or that skill).

Oh wait, another question (ha ha…) : you have the chill sigil on both pistols ? Don’t they share some kind of similar overlapping cd, so to speak, or is it to make sure it applies more (if it does work that way, that is…), or does it not share cd and thus does it add to duration ?

Thanks a lot !

:)

From my testing adding paralyzation to sword makes the daze about 3 secs the tool tip doesn’t reflect but it is 3 secs. Rune of mesmer doesn’t add to the duration if you have the paralyzation if you have the sigil on weapon so you can go one or the other. (if I am wrong here please correct) This only applies to WvW though I think you can only get 2sec daze in sPvP now.

Daze on pistol is more to interrupt say a important skill like heal if you interrupt the heal they can’t use it for almost 3 secs(not exactly 3 secs but close) I added a paralyzation sigil to p/p and I didn’t notice a difference in headshots daze duration at all.

The 2 chill sigils he has would have a 51% chance to proc chill on crit as opposed to 30% they would still have the internal cd of 10 secs after a successful proc.

Thanks Shoogli! Paralyzation adds a full second to the daze. The other runes are superior sigils of ice and they do stack. I didn’t have those on the pistols for every fight in the video but they are the ones I’m sticking with. Having the Sigil of Paralyzation on the sword is a must. You need that extra second on the daze. The other sigils you can change out for whatever you want really, just as long as you keep the Paralyzation.

Ozii your exatly right. The sigils stack, I’m not certain on the percentage or if any percentage is lost, but I do know having the chill made a difference. The headshot interrupt stops them from using any skills, and it will also stack.

all these videos are tempting me to roll thief. good stuff!

Lofat.2406:

Thanks Shoogli! Paralyzation adds a full second to the daze. The other runes are superior sigils of ice and they do stack. I didn’t have those on the pistols for every fight in the video but they are the ones I’m sticking with. Having the Sigil of Paralyzation on the sword is a must. You need that extra second on the daze. The other sigils you can change out for whatever you want really, just as long as you keep the Paralyzation.

I’m avoiding using Para on my S/D combo because it will probably get fixed someday. I figure if I don’t ever use it I won’t have to get sad when it’s awesomeness is gone. So purposefulness gimping myself for now…

Stiv.1820:

Lofat.2406:

Thanks Shoogli! Paralyzation adds a full second to the daze. The other runes are superior sigils of ice and they do stack. I didn’t have those on the pistols for every fight in the video but they are the ones I’m sticking with. Having the Sigil of Paralyzation on the sword is a must. You need that extra second on the daze. The other sigils you can change out for whatever you want really, just as long as you keep the Paralyzation.

I’m avoiding using Para on my S/D combo because it will probably get fixed someday. I figure if I don’t ever use it I won’t have to get sad when it’s awesomeness is gone. So purposefulness gimping myself for now…

What are you using in place of paralyzation?

I’m using allmost same build since a month or so and i wouldn’t change for anything diff ever atm. Tho i mainly use S/D to control opponents and doin dmg. #2 is so awesome if you use it properly that opps rarely do you any dmg. And when they start to run i just swith to P/P and finish them off with unload It’s rly fun couse its not GC and you still do alot of dmg with sword. Doing 1v2 or v 3 aint so scary if you can control your thief properly.
Rly awesome build.

Lofat.2406:

Stiv.1820:

Lofat.2406:

Thanks Shoogli! Paralyzation adds a full second to the daze. The other runes are superior sigils of ice and they do stack. I didn’t have those on the pistols for every fight in the video but they are the ones I’m sticking with. Having the Sigil of Paralyzation on the sword is a must. You need that extra second on the daze. The other sigils you can change out for whatever you want really, just as long as you keep the Paralyzation.

I’m avoiding using Para on my S/D combo because it will probably get fixed someday. I figure if I don’t ever use it I won’t have to get sad when it’s awesomeness is gone. So purposefulness gimping myself for now…

What are you using in place of paralyzation?

Right now I have precision stacking on sword (should be bloodlust but I’m cheap) and 5% dmg on offhand dagger. I have 100% crit on swap on the main hand swap dagger and no offhand so it uses the 5% dmg one by default.

I might give bloodlust a shot and see how it works.

Lofat.2406:

I might give bloodlust a shot and see how it works.

Someone crunched the numbers on reddit and came up with bloodlust being only ~1% better than precision stacks anyway so no big deal.

Compared to para though, I’m sure it’s not as good. 1sec on every daze is amazing. I just think it’s not intended.

Stiv.1820:

I’m avoiding using Para on my S/D combo because it will probably get fixed someday. I figure if I don’t ever use it I won’t have to get sad when it’s awesomeness is gone. So purposefulness gimping myself for now…

I have my oddities like that also, and in fact, that’s the same reason I’m not using the same item yet even though I really should not worry about it. It’s sort of on the same thought as to why I don’t use racial elites, I try to stay standardized and use things that are activated in every area of the game. Not a big deal really, even one or two seconds shuts down an arrow cart usually.

How crazy, I just made a S/D + P/P Build last night w/out even knowing this was here. Would have helped me save time and some coin on a build instead of trial and error! (but I guess it made me find a build for my play style)

I run a 0/25/30/15/0 build using a Mix of Zerker and PVT Gear. 3k power, 45% crit 83%Crit dmg, 2.5k armor, and 15k HP. My main focus is still S/D w/ switching to P/P for burst/mix-up.

How do you deal if you get snared/rooted/knocked down while in P/P? Just curious. This is why I main S/D so I have a #2 readily available. My dodge skill needs work I will have to add.

That was an issue until I started using Roll for Initiative. It’s a life saver and will also ensure you have an unload ready after you use it.

I ran S/D+SB, then D/D+SB then back to S/D+SB which I love. Reading this thread I decided to swap out the SB to run S/D+P/P and guess what?

I LOVE IT!

I figured I’d use mainly S/D like before, and that P/P was better than SB for taking down runners… and that turned to be true. But now I find myself favoring the P/P over S/D. I’m just an unloading fool.

Btw I’m running a direct damage build. 10/30/30/0/0. In shadow arts, shadow protector(III), infusion of shadow(V), shadow’s rejuvenation(XI) for tons of self healing. I can chain C&D till I get full health and on top of that, have hide in shadows/blinding powder/refuge on the hotbar.

Hey Lofat, first off thanks for putting this up. I have wanted to play my thief for quite a while but I just couldn’t get into the class. I was trying to backstab and all I can say is it didn’t work for me. This build has been doing great for me in dungeons and WvW!

Anyway, now that I have had some time to play around with this, here is what I have been wondering; How do you think this would work with a d/p off set for traveling, stomping and escaping in stealth?

Also, I have been playing with assassins signet(AS), signet of shadows(SoS) and shadow refuge(SR). But I think with such an easily accessible stealth option from the d/p set I could have more freedom in my utilities and possibly get away from so much SR and SoS reliance. It would be great to get some use from shadowstep, haste or roll for initiative.

I think having D/P instead of S/D would work great too. If only we had an extra utility slot right?! I could see this build working with D/P just as well with a few adjustments. One of the main reasons I chose S/D was infiltrators strike. It gives you a great opportunity to jump back to your starting position, switch to pistols and unload like crazy. But with D/P you could keep shadow step as a utility and make it work.