Guild Wars 2

I’m returning to GW2 after about a year away and I’m lost. My thief felt like glass and couldn’t 1v1.

Can someone give me a quick update on the class and where it is vs other classes. My thief is level 80 with all ascended gear all around.

I also have level 80 geared Mesmer and ele; should I switch my main to one of them?

Thanks for the help.

-ghorman

Balance is messed up right now- thief got the short end of the stick – we’re not able to 1 vs 1 any other class anymore.
The earliest this might be fixed is end of January – but thief still might not get a buff or the other classes some well deserved nerfs – it’s not just the elites – everything is out of control.
So yeah, better main an other class and better get HoT if you haven’t already as thief < other classes < elites.

Thanks for the help. What do you suggestion Mesmer or ele then? Those are the only other geared out 80s I have. I use to play the Mesmer almost as much at the thief. So I hope he is in a good spot in PvP.

Hijacking this a thread a bit. Could say if that end of January thing is a wishful/reasoned thinking type thing or if the dev’s had made a comment somewhere that they’re looking to release a balancing patch (not necessarily just for thieves, but maybe for everything in general) around the end of January? Haven’t been following the forums/game really as of late.

Also hi Jana. Your name is familiar from when I did frequent the forums.

Few of the non-elites can hold up under 1v1 pressure. Both the Tempest (ele elite) and Chronomancer (mesmer elite) are really solid in 1v1 right now. The Tempest is more bunker less DPS. The Chronomancer is high evade, slippery and in some cases high DPS.

If you have an old school D/D Celementalist those are still relatively solid to play.

wrong class bud. You should get a new class or quit the game. Thief just isnt good anymore….

Hmm… ascended has no bearing on pvp, but that aside, PvE thief is about as good as its always been. Daredevil is basically an upgrade to Acrobatics if you’ve got access to it, but there are differences if you feel like thoroughly examining.

PvP, you REALLY need interrupts these days. Breaking through stability is incredibly important to actually getting a kill. If you can get through it and blow your damage combo, you’ll be good. Otherwise it will probably feel like you did nothing. Similarly, the enemy team will have a lot of interrupts, so keep stun breaks ready and remember that thieves are great at strategic counters.

Everyone talking about thieves being able to “1v1” stuff, get over yourself, that was over a year ago and a half, when you could successfully 1v1 everything in spvp as a thief. Probably even close to two years.

If you guys think balancing pvp that so thieves should be able to 1v1 you are just fools, that would be just crazy.

If you are a good player, you could 1v1 certain classes as a thief easily, but that’s not your role which you need to accept.

“Thieves are expert in the shadow arts. They utilize stealth and shadowstepping to surprise and to get close to their target. They’re deadly in one-on-one combat using their agility, acrobatic fighting style, and the ability to steal to overcome their enemies. They have an affinity for setting traps and using venom. As an adventurer profession, thieves wear medium armor. "

Reading is hard….

Just because it’s a class description a million kittening years ago, you think it has to be the law? Does it state in what gamemode? No, please get over yourself.

bluri.2653:

Everyone talking about thieves being able to “1v1” stuff, get over yourself, that was over a year ago and a half, when you could successfully 1v1 everything in spvp as a thief. Probably even close to two years.

If you guys think balancing pvp that so thieves should be able to 1v1 you are just fools, that would be just crazy.

If you are a good player, you could 1v1 certain classes as a thief easily, but that’s not your role which you need to accept.

I have a couple of issues with this statement coming from you.

First you don’t even play a thief in Pro League anymore due to what i’m assuming is your opinion that they aren’t viable.

Second you site that thieves haven’t been able to 1v1 reliably for 1/2 of the games lifespan. This means that they’ve only continued to be played due to +1 and decap ability.

So after connecting the dots of those 2 facts and getting the conclusion that (according to you) thieves strengths of +1 and decap are no longer strengths to keep them being played. We already know they can’t 1v1 or contribute reliably in team fights.

Now I have to ask this question:

Why are you coming on so strong to fellow thieves when you know all their gripes are legit and founded in facts? Even Toker, who completely outclassed you in last WTS, switched to revenant. The only “big name” thief who refuses to give up thief was basically asked to leave his team due to not wanting to switch off thief.

I think you’re a good player and respect your opinion….I just wonder why you would make these statements when your guys class is in such dire straights.

Azukas.1426:

bluri.2653:

Everyone talking about thieves being able to “1v1” stuff, get over yourself, that was over a year ago and a half, when you could successfully 1v1 everything in spvp as a thief. Probably even close to two years.

If you guys think balancing pvp that so thieves should be able to 1v1 you are just fools, that would be just crazy.

If you are a good player, you could 1v1 certain classes as a thief easily, but that’s not your role which you need to accept.

I have a couple of issues with this statement coming from you.

First you don’t even play a thief in Pro League anymore due to what i’m assuming is your opinion that they aren’t viable.

Second you site that thieves haven’t been able to 1v1 reliably for 1/2 of the games lifespan. This means that they’ve only continued to be played due to +1 and decap ability.

So after connecting the dots of those 2 facts and getting the conclusion that (according to you) thieves strengths of +1 and decap are no longer strengths to keep them being played. We already know they can’t 1v1 or contribute reliably in team fights.

Now I have to ask this question:

Why are you coming on so strong to fellow thieves when you know all their gripes are legit and founded in facts? Even Toker, who completely outclassed you in last WTS, switched to revenant. The only “big name” thief who refuses to give up thief was basically asked to leave his team due to not wanting to switch off thief.

I think you’re a good player and respect your opinion….I just wonder why you would make these statements when your guys class is in such dire straights.

You guys can have your opinion about a fellow thief outclassing me, I will never mind that – but i think you should at first compare the compositions before speaking. That is all. Think about what we played, thats all i ask for. You guys are incredibly short sighted when it comes to small details, It’s alright.

I would gladly and I find thief exceptionally strong in this current meta but what my team and I wants might not always be on the same page, I will always play to my teams needs, I feel thief was really weak in start of HoT because no one knew the capabillity of other classes/weaknesses. But if you do look at my stream/vods you will see how much a thief could excel in this meta if played right, of course there are other options that are more appealing by far. Does that mean thief is weak? Hell no, thief is incredibly strong just as necro used to be in the old meta a long time ago but no one could play around a necro, you need to play around the thief if you want it to be successful.

Let me counter it, do you think it would be healthy in a gamemode where a thief could 1v1 any class in this game? To me it sounds so broken in so many ways possible.

I find myself being able to 1v1 classes as reapers/revenants successfully, do you agree i should be able to kill bunkers too then? So i’m unstoppable in 1v1s?

Why im coming on so strong is people look back 2 years when S/D was meta, when the builds were all so slow paced where thieves could easily kill certain builds 1v1 because nothing else would die around the map

I think teams are too afraid to pickup thief which is only natural because it is much higher risk compared to easier/secure “professions” as revenants. But imo a strong thief would still outshine a rev if you played it 99% of its capabilities.

Biggest example is people wants thieves to be buffed, do you understand how crazy that sounds when thieves already are so strong in the task they SHOULD shine in?

Just having “berserker” classes being able to take any 1v1 wouldn’t bring balance to SPVP at all.

I don’t think players actually want to have a winning 1v1 matchup for every class. Just that they feel the need to whine for a class they perceive as weak. And that for some reason or another that whining usually takes the form of 1v1 complaints.

Also I’ve actually watched your stream, and will likely be picking up HoT because I want to try the DD build you run. From my impression the build was strong, and you definitely did the job you set out to do very well. But I’m from my limited viewing and experience with HoT it seems like other classes are able to do the job(s) they set out to do even better. If I had too I guess I would put it as: “This looks like it should be meta, but I don’t think it is because other things are just better at the moment?”

Actually I’m kinda curious how you deal with condi-clear. Because it seems as if your build would have problems with condi’s. Didn’t get to watch enough to see if you do have problems with condi’s though or tell how you dealt with it if you didn’t.

If other professions have a 50 / 50 chance, then yes every class should 1vs1…
You seem to forget that fact that other classes could 1vs1 thief back when they where considered Op. I suppose if you didn’t play at the time you wouldn’t know that though.

If you had problems with the old s/d meta chances are you lack timing. that set is one of the easiest to kill since they increased inaitiative across the board, cut damage ect…. you do realize the IAS on s.d is so slow you just need swiftness to walk out of it no?

Get over yourself.

Not trying to blame it on l2p issues because I know the thief class is currently at a large disadvantage when compared to others, but just play smart. I’ve dueled/skirmished and beaten every class in the game so far. I have the toughest time fighting Dragon Hunters though. Whether you want to keep it as your main or not is up to you though!

Midi.8359:

I don’t think players actually want to have a winning 1v1 matchup for every class. Just that they feel the need to whine for a class they perceive as weak. And that for some reason or another that whining usually takes the form of 1v1 complaints.

Also I’ve actually watched your stream, and will likely be picking up HoT because I want to try the DD build you run. From my impression the build was strong, and you definitely did the job you set out to do very well. But I’m from my limited viewing and experience with HoT it seems like other classes are able to do the job(s) they set out to do even better. If I had too I guess I would put it as: “This looks like it should be meta, but I don’t think it is because other things are just better at the moment?”

Actually I’m kinda curious how you deal with condi-clear. Because it seems as if your build would have problems with condi’s. Didn’t get to watch enough to see if you do have problems with condi’s though or tell how you dealt with it if you didn’t.

I won’t deny that playing thief in the current meta is not easy, but neither was playing a proper shatter mesmer pre all trait buffs before HoT etc. Same goes for if you played necro way back in the days.

The only condiclear source I have is dash against chill and then signet/shadowstep. Most of the gameplay comes from knowing when to engage and not to engage, including how to manage blind against revs as an example.

But yes you are very right with “This looks like it should be meta, but I don’t think it is because other things are just better at the moment?”

Thief is high risk and not enough reward at the moment compared to other classes, but there is no doubt in my mind I could see thief comp work, hell i’d even be interested in bringing back thief/shatter mesmer

Ah, I thought it might have been just knowing when to go in/out. You didn’t seem to have a problem with condi’s due to that from what I watched. But wasn’t sure if that was the case in general or not.

Also just bought HoT (Won’t get to try it right away though, since I stayed up all night for new-years >_>).

bluri.2653:

Midi.8359:

I don’t think players actually want to have a winning 1v1 matchup for every class. Just that they feel the need to whine for a class they perceive as weak. And that for some reason or another that whining usually takes the form of 1v1 complaints.

Also I’ve actually watched your stream, and will likely be picking up HoT because I want to try the DD build you run. From my impression the build was strong, and you definitely did the job you set out to do very well. But I’m from my limited viewing and experience with HoT it seems like other classes are able to do the job(s) they set out to do even better. If I had too I guess I would put it as: “This looks like it should be meta, but I don’t think it is because other things are just better at the moment?”

Actually I’m kinda curious how you deal with condi-clear. Because it seems as if your build would have problems with condi’s. Didn’t get to watch enough to see if you do have problems with condi’s though or tell how you dealt with it if you didn’t.

I won’t deny that playing thief in the current meta is not easy, but neither was playing a proper shatter mesmer pre all trait buffs before HoT etc. Same goes for if you played necro way back in the days.

The only condiclear source I have is dash against chill and then signet/shadowstep. Most of the gameplay comes from knowing when to engage and not to engage, including how to manage blind against revs as an example.

But yes you are very right with “This looks like it should be meta, but I don’t think it is because other things are just better at the moment?”

Thief is high risk and not enough reward at the moment compared to other classes, but there is no doubt in my mind I could see thief comp work, hell i’d even be interested in bringing back thief/shatter mesmer

This Sounds Like You Received A Bonus From ANET. But Ill give you the benefit of the doubt. IF Tourney’s are not somewhat balanced 1v1, then whats the point? Look at nearly every sport in existence; In Basketball the guard goes up against the center, the center has height, the guard has speed and ball handling. They both have strengths but it is anybodies game. and yet it is a team dependent game. You cannot simply negate the importance of 1v1.

Look at nearly every Tourney Video Game in History

Jedi Knight II: notice how the announcer says “Darthnut has cornered Obiwub whats going to happen folks this could get exciting” and DOES NOT SAY “Darthunut has cornered Obiwub, darthnut is a Force Lightning user which means Obiwub is dead”

This is like elementary. The concept is you make balanced, skill-driven combat, and then those individuals come together and work as a team. Most every sport and esport seems to grasp this while ANET doesn’t or doesn’t care.

Think about it even if things are not perfectly balance you always here something like this. “Jeff is at an disadvantage here, but ITS STILL POSSIBLE”

Seriously what kinda Kool-Aid Are people drinking? People need to wake up.

Cobrakon.3108:

bluri.2653:

Midi.8359:

I don’t think players actually want to have a winning 1v1 matchup for every class. Just that they feel the need to whine for a class they perceive as weak. And that for some reason or another that whining usually takes the form of 1v1 complaints.

Also I’ve actually watched your stream, and will likely be picking up HoT because I want to try the DD build you run. From my impression the build was strong, and you definitely did the job you set out to do very well. But I’m from my limited viewing and experience with HoT it seems like other classes are able to do the job(s) they set out to do even better. If I had too I guess I would put it as: “This looks like it should be meta, but I don’t think it is because other things are just better at the moment?”

Actually I’m kinda curious how you deal with condi-clear. Because it seems as if your build would have problems with condi’s. Didn’t get to watch enough to see if you do have problems with condi’s though or tell how you dealt with it if you didn’t.

I won’t deny that playing thief in the current meta is not easy, but neither was playing a proper shatter mesmer pre all trait buffs before HoT etc. Same goes for if you played necro way back in the days.

The only condiclear source I have is dash against chill and then signet/shadowstep. Most of the gameplay comes from knowing when to engage and not to engage, including how to manage blind against revs as an example.

But yes you are very right with “This looks like it should be meta, but I don’t think it is because other things are just better at the moment?”

Thief is high risk and not enough reward at the moment compared to other classes, but there is no doubt in my mind I could see thief comp work, hell i’d even be interested in bringing back thief/shatter mesmer

This Sounds Like You Received A Bonus From ANET. But Ill give you the benefit of the doubt. IF Tourney’s are not somewhat balanced 1v1, then whats the point? Look at nearly every sport in existence; In Basketball the guard goes up against the center, the center has height, the guard has speed and ball handling. They both have strengths but it is anybodies game. and yet it is a team dependent game. You cannot simply negate the importance of 1v1.

Look at nearly every Tourney Video Game in History

Jedi Knight II: notice how the announcer says “Darthnut has cornered Obiwub whats going to happen folks this could get exciting” and DOES NOT SAY “Darthunut has cornered Obiwub, darthnut is a Force Lightning user which means Obiwub is dead”

This is like elementary. The concept is you make balanced, skill-driven combat, and then those individuals come together and work as a team. Most every sport and esport seems to grasp this while ANET doesn’t or doesn’t care.

Think about it even if things are not perfectly balance you always here something like this. “Jeff is at an disadvantage here, but ITS STILL POSSIBLE”

Seriously what kinda Kool-Aid Are people drinking? People need to wake up.

^ So this. Everyone is so caught up in thieves “role” of decaping but that “role” is simply emergent game-play based on our movement abilities. It should NOT DEFINE THE CLASS. The profession would be in a lot healthier position if it had less mobility and more combat ability so that pre-determined situations stop being a thing.

bluri.2653:

Azukas.1426:

bluri.2653:

Everyone talking about thieves being able to “1v1” stuff, get over yourself, that was over a year ago and a half, when you could successfully 1v1 everything in spvp as a thief. Probably even close to two years.

If you guys think balancing pvp that so thieves should be able to 1v1 you are just fools, that would be just crazy.

If you are a good player, you could 1v1 certain classes as a thief easily, but that’s not your role which you need to accept.

I have a couple of issues with this statement coming from you.

First you don’t even play a thief in Pro League anymore due to what i’m assuming is your opinion that they aren’t viable.

Second you site that thieves haven’t been able to 1v1 reliably for 1/2 of the games lifespan. This means that they’ve only continued to be played due to +1 and decap ability.

So after connecting the dots of those 2 facts and getting the conclusion that (according to you) thieves strengths of +1 and decap are no longer strengths to keep them being played. We already know they can’t 1v1 or contribute reliably in team fights.

Now I have to ask this question:

Why are you coming on so strong to fellow thieves when you know all their gripes are legit and founded in facts? Even Toker, who completely outclassed you in last WTS, switched to revenant. The only “big name” thief who refuses to give up thief was basically asked to leave his team due to not wanting to switch off thief.

I think you’re a good player and respect your opinion….I just wonder why you would make these statements when your guys class is in such dire straights.

You guys can have your opinion about a fellow thief outclassing me, I will never mind that – but i think you should at first compare the compositions before speaking. That is all. Think about what we played, thats all i ask for. You guys are incredibly short sighted when it comes to small details, It’s alright.

Good to see your ego still intact. Just I would hide it a bit more since Toker was crowned MVP while you were a non factor. Be that as it may I do respect the skill you have…moving on

I would gladly and I find thief exceptionally strong in this current meta but what my team and I wants might not always be on the same page, I will always play to my teams needs, I feel thief was really weak in start of HoT because no one knew the capabillity of other classes/weaknesses. But if you do look at my stream/vods you will see how much a thief could excel in this meta if played right, of course there are other options that are more appealing by far. Does that mean thief is weak? Hell no, thief is incredibly strong just as necro used to be in the old meta a long time ago but no one could play around a necro, you need to play around the thief if you want it to be successful.

Ok I underlined your statements which completely negate your argument about thief being fine, and must point out if thief was fine why have every pro team give up on them?

Let me counter it, do you think it would be healthy in a gamemode where a thief could 1v1 any class in this game? To me it sounds so broken in so many ways possible.

My personal belief is every class should have a 50/50 chance 1v1 vs every class in this game. I personally believe all encounters should rely on player skill not the class they choose. So yes I believe a thief should be able to 1v1 anyone. I also believe all the other classes should enjoy that luxury as well.

I find myself being able to 1v1 classes as reapers/revenants successfully, do you agree i should be able to kill bunkers too then? So i’m unstoppable in 1v1s?

If you are more skilled than your opponent then yes you deserve to be unstoppable. It shouldn’t matter which class you play, but how well you play it. Currently we have players give up their main class to play completely new classes and excel way more than their old class. This is stupid and bad game design. Also if you are killing reapers/revs 1v1 its not because thief is strong but more telling of those players skill level vs yours

Why im coming on so strong is people look back 2 years when S/D was meta, when the builds were all so slow paced where thieves could easily kill certain builds 1v1 because nothing else would die around the map

I notice you like to bring up thief in the past. 2 years ago this 1.5 yrs ago that. You do realize that the amount of time you say thief was OP/Godly/etc is less time then they’ve been extremely weak? Game is only 3 years old mate. You’ve already admitted to thieves only being in the meta for the longest time due to decap +1. I think it’s time to reevaluate your position.

I think teams are too afraid to pickup thief which is only natural because it is much higher risk compared to easier/secure “professions” as revenants. But imo a strong thief would still outshine a rev if you played it 99% of its capabilities.

While I respect your opinion I must say you’re wrong. Think about this. All the pro thieves have thousands of hours playing thief. They are contributing more on lets just say revenant with a FRACTION of the time invested. Seriously do you honestly think that is acceptable that someone would not play the class that they know how to handle every situation to play a class that is completely new to them? No that speaks volumes about the state of the thief class.

Biggest example is people wants thieves to be buffed, do you understand how crazy that sounds when thieves already are so strong in the task they SHOULD shine in?

Just having “berserker” classes being able to take any 1v1 wouldn’t bring balance to SPVP at all.

They don’t shine in the task they should shine in. If they did you’d see at least ONE of them being played in pro league. The fact is you do not. Even the current world champion team gave up on thief. If thief was strong teams would build around them instead of A. Switch classes or B. Kick thief player from team

Yes I do believe a class wearing marauder amulet should be able to take any 1v1, because you already have scrappers doing it.

My reply is in bold to keep down length

You can still win any 1v1 against any class, provided you play it smart, and play like an kitten.
Avoid fighting on any terms but your own and keep your eyes open for moments where you can and can’t engage (or sometimes even disengage…).
It’s tough to play Thief right now due to the balance (or lack thereof depending on your views), but also because it requires you to play with a team that can actually tailor itself towards having a Thief on their team. If you want to play Thief, it’d be great to have a friend to duo with just so you got at least one additional player that knows how to play with you.

You’ll probably be more successful on any other class as Thief is currently in a “high risk/low reward” phase, but it’s great fun if you can pull it off correctly