Guild Wars 2

Thief is about to be my 5th 80(70 ATM but not for long) and loving the heck out of it trying out all the scatter brained conceptual ideas that are thrown around the forums. Having a blast with all of them but its time to knuckle down. I’m PVE/WvW player and rarely mess with spvp.

*The momentum and interaction of the class is very appealing to me.
*I’m quite fond of DD / SB or PP.

Here’s where some clarity is required from you veterans of assassination come in.
Knights vs Ramp vs Berserk
Runes vs Gems vs Sigils
Condi Build vs Sneak attk Build vs unknown

I intend to play this class to its utmost potential, but help a bro out.
The quality info is so scattered thin that its hard to get a good consolidated source to educate myself. Thanks in advance ladies and gents.

I’m gonna make some assumptions while I wait for educated suggestions. If going ramp gear then it’s dbx3 >steal >stolen ability >db >stealth stab > Dagger Storm. I call it the Zerg kamakaze blender. Lol

You need to decide whether you want to go condition or direct damage first.
Condition=wear your opponents down slowly, capable of outlasting almost anyone.
Direct damage=get in, try to kill someone quick, get out if he survives your burst.

Also, Carrion gear is more popular than Rampager, because precision doesn’t give much added value to condition builds.

You have my same playstyle OP.

Below is the best stats setup I found so far (full exotics but green back item btw).
14k health, good armor and still great dmg. 90 crit dmg I think (240%).
All goodies in one package, no weakness, adaptable to every direct damage build.

My build is 25 / 20 / 15.
I don’t like the Grandmaster from Deadly Arts, the lockdown is really overkill and somehow it feels unsatisfying to see them stuck in place and watch their inevitable end, I prefer to see them running desperately and ’seekerjump in their back.

PS: I used a mix of beryl and ruby orbs, and a mix of valk/zerk jewels and armor pieces.

Every gear type has a primary statistic. It seems that Rampager’s is precision, and Carrion is condition damage (it also has vitality, which you can never have enough of). Personally I’ve been experimenting since beta, and still don’t have “the best build” figured out. You can either do a lot of damage, but not survive very long, or you can survive for a while and do mediocre damage. Or you can be somewhere in between, which is also mediocre. That’s just my cynical take on the whole mess.

Generally, you’ll want:

1. Full Zerk for critical-based builds (whether spike or pressure).
2. Full Carrion for condition-based builds.
3. A damn good reason to justify equipping anything else.

Red Falcon.8257:

You have my same playstyle OP.

Below is the best stats setup I found so far (full exotics but green back item btw).
14k health, good armor and still great dmg. 90 crit dmg I think (240%).
All goodies in one package, no weakness, adaptable to every direct damage build.

My build is 25 / 20 / 15.
I don’t like the Grandmaster from Deadly Arts, the lockdown is really overkill and somehow it feels unsatisfying to see them stuck in place and watch their inevitable end, I prefer to see them running desperately and ’seekerjump in their back.

PS: I used a mix of beryl and ruby orbs, and a mix of valk/zerk jewels and armor pieces.

May I ask why you don’t have 30 points in Critical Strikes?

Depends on what you want to play.

If D/D, 10 / 30 / 30 / 0 / 0 with full Valkyrie is by far the best backstab build there is.

If S/D WvW, 0 / 30 / 30 / 0 / 10 and a mix between Knight and Valk armor. If you wanna use S/D PvE i recommend 0 / 30 / 20 / 20 / 0, a mix between Knight and Valk Armor also.

Shizzlenit.7648:

Depends on what you want to play.

If D/D, 10 / 30 / 30 / 0 / 0 with full Valkyrie is by far the best backstab build there is.

I did try this with hidden killer ages ago and was a bit meh about it. Its like a backstab build that wants to draw out a fight. I just couldnt get into it

backstab should end the fight, not find survival to make it last longer

just my thought on it, overall i preffered the numbers from the valkrye build over the standard 25/30/0/0/15 build, but it just didnt work out in the play

Jefzor.7145:

May I ask why you don’t have 30 points in Critical Strikes?

Ah that was a mistype. Ofc I have 30 CS.

ASP.8093:

Generally, you’ll want:

1. Full Zerk for critical-based builds (whether spike or pressure).
2. Full Carrion for condition-based builds.
3. A damn good reason to justify equipping anything else.

Damn good reason = Anyone not interested in a glass cannon build

I’m going Zerk/Valk/Knight – 2 of each piece with my chest and legs being given to valk/knight combo. Throw Sup Eagle on all armor for added prec/crit and then just play with your trinkets to even out any stats that may need a little bump. Weapons are entirely up to you but if your a damage build then quickness on your main hand weapon is your best friend.

Raine Akrune.8416:

Damn good reason = Anyone not interested in a glass cannon build

No, “damn good reason” means “Okay, now explain in detail why it’s tactically beneficial to shave 20-40% damage off of all of your attacks just to take 0-2 more hits.” Because that’s usually a bad deal. (This is different for the stats you get from traits, because having a good trait is better than 100 Power and a weak trait.)

In PvE, a single activation of Black Powder will mitigate more damage than all this extra Toughness and Vitality. It also lasts long enough for an offensive build to kill most trash mobs.

I WvW pretty much exclusively, and have had great success with a S/D 10/30/15/15/0 build. Good damage, really great mobility, good condition removal. It’s a lot of fun and in my experience most opponents don’t really know how to counter the build.