Guild Wars 2

im playing WvW and would like to get away from D/D and play S/D instead because it seems more fun. Now i need some advice: how much crit chance is needed, viable runes, traits and gears. i didnt play for quite a while, i hope for your help.

Thanks for now

More risk/reward: Full zerker (40%-50% crit)
Balance risk/reward: zerker/Valkyrie/Soldier mix (at least 30% crit)
Less risk/no reward: Full soldier (crit doesn’t matter)

For S/D there isn’t really much wiggle room in terms of build. The most effective is the current one posted on metabattle.com.

2/0/0/6/6

It recommends Runes of Str, but as those are extremely costly on the TP, and almost impossible to find on your own, you might want to try using Runes of the Ogre instead.

When I run this build I use Signet of Agility and Infiltrator’s Signet, as the Signet of Agility adds 9.5% chance to crit passively, and a condition cleanse actively. I use this over shadowstep because I can’t yet personally immediately use shadowstep when stunned. (by the time I get around to activating it and placing the ground target, I’m the stun duration is just about up). So I find the passive 9.5% crit chance and 1-click 1-condi removal more valuable to my playstyle.

As D/D you probably didn’t use Withdraw – I tend to use it on cooldown (15s) once my hp drops to 75%. Since S/D fights last a bit longer than bursty D/D or D/P, I find it better to use our short cooldown heal as soon as my hp drops to 3/4, so I can use it sooner during the fight if I run out of dodges/initiative and get hit hard. (Always having your hp filled demoralizes as well and increases your opponents frustration and chance to mess up due to that)

Hope this helps a little!

I’m using this at the moment: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAsYVl0MpyplOx7J8PNBNB5dY+SZ0KAdHl+GEA-TlCEwAwUhhwTIYrSQDnAAmK/wpyQu9H6ovBwhQwl6AECo8WA-w

I’ve put some defensive stats with the armor (when i tried S/D first), probably i could change to full zerk by now, but that extra hp and toughness saved me many times.

For runes i think Superior Rune of the Pack is just superior for S/D thief, it gives extra 125 precision and with Thrill of Crime you have 100% fury and swiftness uptime in fights.
For sigils i choosed air/fire on S/D for that extra burst and air/bloodlust on SB. On SB you can change sigils, i use air for a bit more ranged pressure and bloodlust, because S/D got really high mobility, so i rarely die (if you use bloodlust sigil on a land weapon, dont forget to put one on an underwater weapon too to not lose your stacks).

Foods can be changed too, i just like omnomberry pies for the life leech and added precision.

For traits as Turk said the most viable one is 2/0/0/6/6. On the Acrobatics trait line you can change traits, most players i think use Power of Inertia instead of Hard To Catch. It saved me many times from bursts, like i got teleported away from an incoming backstab (Black Powder triggered it with Basilisk Venom, or same with CnD), but it can put you in a worse position too (For example a mesmer puts chaos storm on you while you are in shadow refuge and daze procs, so you get teleported out. Thats why i dodge as much as i can in shadow refuge if enemies are trying to bomb on it).

I hope i could help!

Cheers!

I run this. http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAsYVl0MpsplOx7J8PNxLhwZtfevO9bNXEA-TFDEABLq6ABPhgEVjZLlgGcCAYSZgUKNaSJWb6ByZ/hO00AwhQIAACwOrzA4oH9oH9oHtduzde0je0SBonIL-w

I use a mix of soldier/berserker/assassin/cavalier for gear, with traits 20606. It’s more tanky and can survive other high-burst builds. I picked SA over Acro for WvW for the reliable condi cleansing from torment and confusion-induced perplexity runes. Acro is great, but pain response won’t always suffice. I’d rather CnD to condi-clear and take time study my opponent, instead of spend a stun breaker I’d need for their next burst.

Runes will depend on your playstyle. I love, love, love speed runes. It allows me to catch up and run away very quickly, and the swiftness uptime is quite useful.

I thought shadows embrace didn’t remove torment?

I dunno I personally find D/D much more enjoyable, but that’s probably just me…..
Anyways, I actually have two sets of armor. Both are zerker, but one has Runes of the pack and the other runes of speed. I love the speed bonus from the runes of speed, as it truly does help, both in combat and out. D/D lacks general mobility compared to other sets, so the speed helps in that aspect and it just helps moving around. Pack is nice because of precision and power it offers, and the fury up time in combat. As far as trinkets go, I usually use a cavalier necklace, and the rest are zerker. For D/D, I often run with two cavalier daggers also, but I use zerker quite often also. For S/D, I usually use zerker weapons as you really need that extra crit chance.

If you’re on a budget, I could really not recommend runes of speed any more. They’re highly underrated imo.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAsYVl0MpvpNOx7J0PNBNhwdsaz0KQ3PPGF-TVTBABU8AAKSpnlqw890HRVf4hjQwVKDiQJIe6BIa/BU00swhQAgTAQAAEgdWnBwRP6RP6RPa7MQKAvmaB-w

I am using this at the moment. Note I went against the grain and upped my boon duration to 80 percent using the trinkets and doubloons.

Rather then the food listed in the builder I use the might on crit food + 20 percent boon. Shadow trap would seem an odd choice but I get 12 stacks of might out of this 10 at 18 seconds and 2 at 27 seconds. With the sigil of strength AND might on crit I can get 25 stacks of might with relative ease.

The long durations of swiftness and fury means I do not have to trait for the skills and regen is up almost all the time. The pack runes bonus tends to keep these up the bulk of the time.

With shadow trap I have taken to dropping it right on an enemy in battle. It then triggers and I can use that trigger to stealth and get those 12 instant might stacks. The 6 seconds of stealth it gives also clears two conditions and gives more time to setup an attack.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAsYVl0MpyplOx7J8PNBNB5dY+SZ0KAdHl+GEA-TVCFABA8kCKU9HBOhAJp8LN9B8pEsm9HyQDzCHChAAIA3sObzdG4oH9oH9oHtdezje0buzCBUeBA-w

That’s how I’ve been running it.
I prefer Pack Runes over Strength due to the high fury uptime which adds to my critical chance which results in me getting pretty good recovery due to the food I use.
Pack runes also are a bit more party-friendly due to the effects applying to allies around you.
Because of running Pack runes, the trait ‘Power of Intertia’ which is meta(?) is not as appealing to me, I rather swap it out for ‘Hard to Catch’ further on in the traitline which is a real saver. It puts you off 600 range and gives swiftness to increase that distance (if possible), so yeah… as a roamer it’s nifty to have when you get caught off-guard.
Another big plus to Pack Runes > Strength Runes for me is that it allows me to ditch the Signet of Agility for Shadowstep instead while still maintaining a good chunk of Critical Hit Chance.

I used to run it in the same setup in Exotic and Rare gear for quite a while (mixing Valkyrie , Berserker and Assassin Accesories). It’s just as effective really. I haven’t noticed a lot of difference after hopping over to Ascended aside of having a bit better health regeneration from the food.

ooh and @babazhook
I like what you got going on there! I might try my hand at that build myself

>>ooh and @babazhook
I like what you got going on there! I might try my hand at that build myself

I have been running with this concept for a while now and like it more and more.

One variant to consider is the same loadout with a 6/0/2/6/0 wherein you take revealed training. In normal combat with dodges and might on crit doubled up I tend to have 12 stacks of might on if not more. If you then use that shadowtrap you will step to the victim and gain fury and 18 seconds of 10 more might stacks. Attack from hiding to get revealed and you can peak at 25 stacks might along with +200 power while revealed.

It HURTS. I have found it expedient to load this trap at the fringes of a zerg fight then enter the battle. Inevitably a person trying to get out of the main fight will run over it. You pop it and finish him. Follow up with an immediate daggerstorm and those daggers lay down a world of hurt even as the critical hits generate might.

Now look through all your runesets for other boons you might never have considered before because you gave up too much power or that swiftness/fury source. They become very usable and allow for intriguing possibilities.