Guild Wars 2

Is a ranged thief viable?
I love ranged classes and i love the mobility of the thief, (not really a fan of the whole backstab builds).
I currently have a Ranger and a Mesmer, but I was wondering if the Thief is good as a ranged class. I like conditions and would probs play with the rampager set.
Im looking at this from all aspects of the game (rather play one class and be really good at it)
Would a ranged thief be good compared to the options laid out by the ranger and mesmer?

Any input?

Not viable. Having 900 range with our shortbow makes it no optimal. I tried to base a build only in shortbow and mobility and well it worked quite well but its not optimal.

Now give us 1200 range and that might change. With 900 range and so much gap closers it´s hard to keep the distance in 1v1.

Also with cond set it can be viable but again not optimal, don´t even bother.

I´ve been loving shortbow for the last weeks since it give so much good gameplay and i belive mastering it can be a tide changer in any battle.

Also where Shortbow really shine is at Melee range withThrilled Steal and cluster bomb spam. i bask in joyh when i see my screen full of 5-8k cris every 2 secs.

Pistol/Dagger condition build need you to frequently Cloak n Dagger from melee range but has a hefty mid-range component to it.

Ranged thief is awesome. As faeyd says, Pistol/Dagger + condition focus is a good build. I find that people typically are surprised when dealing with a thief that doesn’t just charge them, but can kite instead.

The advantage with P/D is you can build for a lot more survivability via Shadow Arts and Acrobatics than you would with a glass cannon build. Low reliance on weapon skills means you’ll have plenty for CnD, and you’ll be a hard target to track as you’re constantly stealthing.

Thanks for the replies guys. ill have to try it before i can fully commit

Viable? Yes. Optimal? No.

SB and Pistols are both limited a bit by 900 range and slow #1 skills, but SB does have much more generally useful skills and AoE capability without sacrificing too much in raw damage.

P/P and P/D are both kinda gimpy due to mediocre damage and lack of AoE. Both require building around Unload and Sneak Attack optimization to hit adequate offensive levels.

Sons.5493:

Not viable. Having 900 range with our shortbow makes it no optimal. I tried to base a build only in shortbow and mobility and well it worked quite well but its not optimal.

Shortbow actually has 1200 range. It just doesn’t automatically re-use trick shot once you’re outside of 900 range

I’ve built for shortbow and I constantly use it when running dungeons. It is perfectly viable but your melee weapons will always be better. It’s all about the situation your in that makes a weapon viable, and the easy ability to kite with shortbow is by no means lacking.

im currently using a p/d setup and have no problems winnign a 2v1 fight, 3v1 sometimes but that one really depends on the other players skill

reikken.4961:

Sons.5493:

Not viable. Having 900 range with our shortbow makes it no optimal. I tried to base a build only in shortbow and mobility and well it worked quite well but its not optimal.

Shortbow actually has 1200 range. It just doesn’t automatically re-use trick shot once you’re outside of 900 range

I’d like to see a prove on that.

You can easily prove it yourself. go to a test dummy or anything you can attack that doesn’t move
use any 900/1200 ground targeted spell, see where its max range is. use pistols, see how far back you can go before your shots are out of range. use bow, see how far back you can go before your shots are out of range.

Hm, I just checked with ranger and warrior. It looks like it’s normal for arcing projectile skills to have 300 more range than listed.
Ranger bow has 1500 range (1200 listed)
warrior rifle has 1200 range (1200 listed)
warrior bow has 1200 range (900 listed)
edit: elementalist staff has 1400 (1200 listed), for fire and water. earth is like 1300, and air 1200 (air doesn’t arc). so it’s not entirely consistent.

Jericho

Ranged thief is awesome … Pistol/Dagger

Does it really count as a ranged setup if your primary damage mechanism requires you to dip into melee to strike every 4/5 seconds? I guess this is the point at which we have to define range. S/D can do ranged damage about as well as P/D sans Sneak Attack (which is to say, very little at all).

reikken.4961:

Hm, I just checked with ranger and warrior. It looks like it’s normal for arcing projectile skills to have 300 more range than listed.

This is so you can use the arc to free-fire outside the locked tab-target range.

Tulisin.6945:

Jericho

Ranged thief is awesome … Pistol/Dagger

Does it really count as a ranged setup if your primary damage mechanism requires you to dip into melee to strike every 4/5 seconds? I guess this is the point at which we have to define range. S/D can do ranged damage about as well as P/D sans Sneak Attack (which is to say, very little at all).

reikken.4961:

Hm, I just checked with ranger and warrior. It looks like it’s normal for arcing projectile skills to have 300 more range than listed.

This is so you can use the arc to free-fire outside the locked tab-target range.

Well maybe it doesn’t count as true ranged, but still the build is effective. Plus, it’s easy enough to use CnD off of random mobs / clones / pets / minions and still stay at range, especially if you run plenty of CC. It’s not perma-long distance fighting, I guess it’s more medium range than anything.

If you’re looking to mow down opponents in 1v1 or sPvP, no… but I’ve found this build to be pretty good in WvW as a short bow support role:

http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=VeV-R3;0Rw-d0S5FOFd0;9;4T-T9-347;138B1L

D/P as other weapon set.

Spamming poison/venom for heals, damage and might.

I think SB main can work in sPvP, but i found i needed separate burst offhand and typically i run s/p for steal/bountiful theft/haste/PW/Sword 2/autos for finisher. So i run a dodgy build, whittle them down with SB (high crit, beserker gear), dodge dodge etc then try to burst at the right time.

Ranged Thief build… Not only is it viable but it is super amazing. I have 4 level 80’s and this dude has the best survivability and kill factor. I have been wanting to share this build but really didn’t want anyone else to know… Even though no one will probably read this feed again lol. Well now’s the time I guess. Just follow these steps and you won’t regret it.
So this is a dual pistol build with signets and dagger storm. We’re going to have as many abilities as possible that siphon health while hitting as hard as possible with over load as many times as we can while constantly dodging.
Signet of malice- Steals health, and heals 2000
Assassin’s signet- + power and next five attack damage
Signet of agility- + precision and restores all endurance (super handy), removes one condition
Initiative signet- 2 extra initiative every ten seconds, and shadow step (not as handy but it also breaks stun which is!) We don’t use this one that much because the extra initiative is awesome.
We will use all of these (save Initiative signet- use it when stunned or really desperate for immediate imitative and stacks of might) when we run out of initiative. Note: if you use them all you can get 4 volleys of over load with 20 stacks of might. Also, this build gives you the ability to spam overload 12 straight times (one volley=7000+ damage) typically we will maintain 5+ stacks of might. Or just use all signets at once for maximum effect ?
Dagger storm- comes in handy in a pinch
Runes will be Lyssa. Use all 6 even though you don’t need condition duration you will want all the extra precision. Also, the 6th rune will allow you to remove all conditions every 60 seconds which, besides our power signet, is the only way to remove conditions. In addition, dagger storm reflects projectiles and when rune six is activated (typically when you get hit hard during dagger storm or after dagger storm is complete, if you take no damage) you also gain all boons for 5+ seconds. Note: If you’re attacked by 5 plus enemies and your health is low and you do dagger storm, you can go from 1000 health to 14500 in a matter of a couple seconds.
So all gear, weapons, and accessories need to be berserker (power, precision, and critical damage). Sigils on weapons will be siphon health on critical sigil. Overload uses both pistols so 2 sigils=twice the effect. We will not be glass cannons because we will put 30 points to vitality/boon duration (this is where we get survivability and for us vitality is better than toughness for multiply reason), 30 to precision/critical damage, and 10 to power/condition damage.
Traits are
Deadly arts= Sundering skys- causes vulnerability
Critical strikes= Signets of power, pistol mastery, signet use
Acrobatics= power of inertia, assassin’s reward (health upon use of initiative), quick recovery (more initiative!)
So this build, used with short bow for escaping, will give you tons of mobility. Strafe around enemies spam overload use signets when you need more initiative and dodge constantly. You should be able to dodge 6 times in a row. Remember you get buffs for not having full endurance. If things ever get hairy switch to short bow then dodge and shadow step out of there. So we have 3 things that give of life on hitting or using initiative. Our lack of power is made up by the stacks of might. We are constantly moving and dodging so no one can hit us and we generally have 14500 hit points which is more than most thieves. If you fight 1v1 you’ll most likely never lose and they will wonder why your health was full when they die. Did I mention you will be able to spam overload 13 times before running out of initiative. You could always throw in body shot, black powder, and head shot if you like. I typically just spam overload. Also remember when folks start running from you use infiltrator signet to catch up. Last if you want to really kick kitten use lvl 80 sharpening stones (more power, which we need) and lvl 80 ghost cookies for one more life stealing ability. Your welcome :P