Guild Wars 2

So I tried out S/D today after all but abandoning my thief, and hey! This weapon set is pretty kitten fun! Only problem is, I’ve been so out of the loop with thieves that I have no idea how to build a good S/D build.

So, anyone out there want to suggest me a couple of ideas?

• My play style is aggressive
• I love evasions
• I’m not a fan of traps
• I don’t know what good secondary weapon would be

Not a pro, but few notes about my play style. (I used mostly condition-build D/D+P/D while levelling and switched to S/D at lvl 80 and loving it)

- S/D goes well with power+crit stacking. Conditions less so. Only longer stun (from tactical strike) for PvP
- secondary weapon would be definitely the Shortbow for it’s utility and AoE. I have a Sigil of Fire on it for even more AoE dmg. I sometimes swap it for P/D combo when fighting champions alone. It will take a while, but they will go down.
- for evasion, go at least 15 points down the vitality tree. Also, keep in mind that the flanking strike is a built-in evasion. Time it well. Flanking strike talent is fit for the S/D combo.
- as for utilities – infiltrator strike removes conditions, so you’ll need less of utility condition removals. I usually run with haste, blinding power and ambush trap just for its fun value. I swap that for shadow refuge while in a group and sometimes put in roll for initiative if I need to evade a lot or a venom.
- gear-wise, I am aiming for a combination of Berserker’s (P/P/crit dmg) and P/V/T for high damage and some survivability.

General:
- Use Sigil of Paralyzation (Also works for Dazes)
- Shortbow as second weapon set
- Go for Shadow Refuge and Shadowstep
- For Elite i usually run Thieves Guild

For WvW:
- Use a mixture of Berserker and Valk Gear
- 10/30/30/0/0 gives you some nice stayability
- Use Master Maintenance Oil
- Use Omnonberry Ghosts
- Go for Signet of Shadows

for tPvP:
- Use Knights Amulet or Zerker Amulet depending on your deeds
- For Traits u can go a lot of Specs.
10/30/30/0/0
25/30/0/0/15
10/30/0/15/15

I’ve ran S/D now for several months and I love it. Here are a few tips I’ve picked up.

S/D is the only build where you can easily jump on someone who is over 3000 units away. The trick: Shadow Step, Infiltrator’s Strike, and Steal, all within a second of each other. When done correctly, you will SS to a spot between you and your target, IS even closer to them, and before the animation is up for the stab that immobilizes, you’ll steal, putting you right on your target from a mile away, immobilizing them when the animation completes.

Tip #2: FS is actually better dps than your auto attack chain. With really good power and crit, FS can hit for around 2.5k (first hit) 5.5k (second hit) in 1.25 seconds. Practice it and you’ll land it every time, especially after an IS.

Tip #3: Sigil of Paralyzation is nice if you can consistently land C&D and have an abundance of initiative. However, I find Sigil of Rage is just simply much better, especially with a crit build. The amount of damage dealt while hasted with a sword is just plain crazy. I honestly don’t daze much during the fight except the very beginning to get the upperhand. After that, it’s all about damage.

Tip #4: Shortbow is nice for zergs, but I prefer to run in smaller groups and/or solo. I can’t remember the last time I used a shortbow. I love when a thief tries to flee and wastes all his initiative trying to get away with a shortbow and I can reach him even when he’s over 3000 units away. There are ways of movement that are just as good as using the #5 shortbow using either a sword or dagger. I prefer using D/P as offhand just because it does so much more damage when the target is less than 50% health and I have initiative to stealth. I also like the combo and the interupt.

Shortbow is used for utility.
Porting up ledges and cliffs is just epic

Have to test out Sigil of Rage tho…

Sorry, forgot to mention my post was pointed mostly at WvW. Shorbow for sPvP is pretty epic.

To those that run S/D. Would S/D be a good weapon set to go with D/D in WvW? The stun and ability to move large distances quickly using Shadow Step, Infiltrator’s Strike, Steal as well the daze seems like it might be nice for those that are attempting to flee.

I like to be different so I’ve never paired D/D with S/D. Back when I began playing S/D it was generally agreed from most posters on these forums as being lackluster compaired to D/D. Since most thieves feel like it’s a must to run anything with Shortbow, that’s what you saw the most of back in the day: D/D and Shortbow.

Now, more and more thieves are stepping away from the cookiecutter builds in search of something new. I see a lot of S/D thieves nowadays (which actually makes me sad) and more and more D/P thieves due to the videos showing the stealth combos. Pretty soon, I’m going to have to create a build around P/P to stay different!

Oh, to answer your question, anything pairs well with D/D. (Except maybe P/P =P) Give it a shot and have some fun!

Leowan.4389:

To those that run S/D. Would S/D be a good weapon set to go with D/D in WvW? The stun and ability to move large distances quickly using Shadow Step, Infiltrator’s Strike, Steal as well the daze seems like it might be nice for those that are attempting to flee.

Yes, I ran S/D – D/D setup for a while, it works great. Use S/D to control the fight ’till he drops below 50%, switch to D/D to finish him. I have smoke screen as utility so i can stack stealth with HS

Recently I changed to S/P though, means I have to switch weapons a lot more, but I have more skills. Sometimes I miss flanking strike, but I can live with it (btw: pistolwhip-steal combo works great, never saw any thief do that before, so I tested it this morning)

^
Old thief megaburst gimmick was PW + Steal (steal traited for longass daze) with quickness.

EasymodeX.4062:

^
Old thief megaburst gimmick was PW + Steal (steal traited for longass daze) with quickness.

Ah right, never saw it being used while I was running around. It’s not like i’m using it as a burst though. Stun also stops them from running around, so works well to stop them from escaping my party attacking them.

I’ve played almost nothing but thief for months and I’ve tried every combination of weapon sets. I run S/D and D/P in sPvP, which works really well for me. Since S/D has a good amount of range with its melee (including being able to hit things in back of you), and has a shadowstep and cloak and dagger this build is the best for mobility. If you think that’s not enough then using shadowstep as a main utility will help.

Shortbow would probably fit your play style best and will help in big group fights (while nothing else will), but D/P will work as well once you get used to it. P/P has little option of mobility but offers the most raw damage. S/D has alright damage and a pretty good slow.

If you don’t want ranged and want more raw damage, then D/D will help finish targets but you’ll lack range. You can go with P/P but you’ll lack mobility while swapped to this set. S/D if timed well can confuse people in PvP and escape npcs, so you can do without range unless you’re in some sPvP maps.

Best bet is to stay away from conditions and go for damage/crit damage. Ambush trap is actually pretty powerful. If you have thieves guild out at the same time 1v1 fights become a joke as your odds of winning go up tremendously. Shadow refuge is always good, assassins signets helps with damage, etc. Stay away from the other traps for the most part and you can neglect venoms save for basilisk.

That’s a general overview of what you can expect, I’m sure the other posts here cover about everything else.

I’m surprised s/d works in spvp with the nerf to the tactical strike daze… i’ve been running d/d backstab primarily but recently switched to s/p but i can see that it will most likely suffer from the same limitation as 100b warrior (rooted burst that is probably pretty easy to evade). already tried condition builds and would rather play conditions on my necro so i’m thinking about giving s/d another shot (tried it a really long time ago but didn’t give it much of a chance)

I was thinking about doing a glassy S/D S/P build. I wouldn’t have a shortbow for utility, but I think S/D S/P would be pretty good for wvw. Just pack a haste as a utility. Wear them down with S/D, and just when they think they have you figured out, pop into stealth, whip out S/P, haste, and Pistol whip them to take off a huge amount of HP if not killing them on the spot.

One of my favorite builds is the stealth “dancing” S/D build. It’s generally low damage, but huge longevity and lots of AoE means it’s perfect for 1vX in WvW.

General traits:
0/30/30/10/0
For crit: +7% crit from sides/behind, +5% vit from precision, and 20% more damage under 50% on target
For shadow: -2 initiative on a stealth move, remove condition every 3 seconds in stealth, and the grandmaster heal in stealth trait
10 in acro for +might on dodge

Armor/runes: even mix of zerker, valkrye, and PVT – mix and match as you see fit. Runes of Strength for improved might duration and stacking, and +5% when might is active (the idea is, with constant +2 might on every stealth, you can easily hit ~11-13 might stacks solo and sustainably). Main hand I use a fire sigil, offhand a +stun duration sigil in WvW, +damage in SPvP.

Secondary weapon should be SB, because Anet made it way too good.

Utilities: these are up to you, but my favorite combo is Shadow Step, Blinding Power, and Shadow Signet (I’m addicted to 25% speed…). I usually run thieves guild for ultimate.

The basic strat to this is making the combo CnD → tac strike → #1 combo (all 3 hits) → CnD, repeat. Infiltrators strike is godly for condition removal and positioning. Kinda boring in the sense than all your damage is from auto-attack, but you can nearly daze lock any build while healing ~15-20% of your HP per stealth with good AoE.

Currently I’m running the newby-lolz burst spec for TPvP since that’s our only real good one for 5v5’s, but this sword spec is probably my favorite for WvW/PvE/Hotjoin, and it’s extremely underrated.

Cufflink.3985:

One of my favorite builds is the stealth “dancing” S/D build. It’s generally low damage, but huge longevity and lots of AoE means it’s perfect for 1vX in WvW.

General traits:
0/30/30/10/0
For crit: +7% crit from sides/behind, +5% vit from precision, and 20% more damage under 50% on target
For shadow: -2 initiative on a stealth move, remove condition every 3 seconds in stealth, and the grandmaster heal in stealth trait
10 in acro for +might on dodge

Armor/runes: even mix of zerker, valkrye, and PVT – mix and match as you see fit. Runes of Strength for improved might duration and stacking, and +5% when might is active (the idea is, with constant +2 might on every stealth, you can easily hit ~11-13 might stacks solo and sustainably). Main hand I use a fire sigil, offhand a +stun duration sigil in WvW, +damage in SPvP.

Secondary weapon should be SB, because Anet made it way too good.

Utilities: these are up to you, but my favorite combo is Shadow Step, Blinding Power, and Shadow Signet (I’m addicted to 25% speed…). I usually run thieves guild for ultimate.

The basic strat to this is making the combo CnD -> tac strike -> #1 combo (all 3 hits) -> CnD, repeat. Infiltrators strike is godly for condition removal and positioning. Kinda boring in the sense than all your damage is from auto-attack, but you can nearly daze lock any build while healing ~15-20% of your HP per stealth with good AoE.

Currently I’m running the newby-lolz burst spec for TPvP since that’s our only real good one for 5v5’s, but this sword spec is probably my favorite for WvW/PvE/Hotjoin, and it’s extremely underrated.

If u like 0 / 30 / 30 / 10 / 0 you should try 0 / 20 / 30 / 20 / 0… you will love that even more

VI / X
V / IV / XI
VI / X

If you run D/P as sec set

VI / X
V / X / XI
VI / X

I was having a tough time with s/d in spvp last night – I may have been underutilizing Inf strike and also running into a lot of 3+ person zergs and getting nuked. Maybe an l2p issue for me but it seems that the thief squishiness doesn’t synergize that well with toe-to-toe sustained damage and the typical backstab/pistol whip burst builds are better because of the get in and out aspect. Of course, completely different playstyles and I’m used to the latter so it could be jsut a matter of learning the playstyle a bit more.