Guild Wars 2

i’m a little disappointed i don’t see as many thieves playing s/d build in spvp; it’s all still backstab stuff. i’m just hoping people are ready to deal with it when the build is nerfed beyond usability if you’re not experienced enough to consistently backstab and keep away from dps.

the traits i run are pretty traditional, 30 in the critical strikes trait with +20% damage and another 30 in acrobatic for some mad initiative gains and condition removal. The last 10 is pretty much free but i like to get some might/swiftness/fury when i use steal.

the utilities i’m fond of using is tripwire, signet of agility for emergency dodges/condi removal, and finally shadowstep because thats just a must have.

i’m reading countless threads about how the meta warrior trumps the thief in general due to recent buffs/nerfs; warriors just can’t touch this build, and even if they somehow get you in a stunlock, theres always shadowstep or sword #2 to get you outta there.

i’d say tripwire is my favorite skill. just run away and bait the player you’re fighting as if you’re going to lose, lay down the tripwire, and you get a solid amount of time to land some massive auto-attacks when they fall (just make sure they don’t have stability).

in my opinion runes of lyssa coupled with basilisk venom is a must, the 100% condi removal + stability + stun is indispensible and great for turning the tide of the fight.

catching the foe unaware with a larcenous strike+steal from 900 range away is really fun as well.

personally i feel this build is very survivable given the amount of evades and dps and a natural counter to warriors that just want you to stand there stunned while they wail on you. if they want to hit you that badly, they’re going to have to try a little harder.

(i personally don’t think evading is a crime, everybody has them, this build has more, just like a warrior has more disables than other classes)

S/D hasn’t been nerfed yet. Why not wait until after dec 10?

S/D still good for the moment.

wait until after dec.10 before you make this topic.

I lost my motivation to keep playing this set right after I saw the incoming nerf.

Otherwise I was playing 10/30/0/0/30
Zerk, Lyssa runes, Sigil of Air and Sigil of Force.
Mug, casual crit traits, Instinctual Response, bounty and sleight.
Wihtdraw, Shadow Refuge, Inf Sig, Shadow Step, Basilisk.

The only survival I had aside from instinctual response which defended me against getting instagibbed, was my own reaction time, control and predicting and reading my opponents. Otherwise, I could use a large variety of tools; stunlock, Condition Removal with shadow returns, evade quite a lot, boon steal and share, stealth, stomp most players, and teleport a lot or across long distances if I wanted. Which I can agree making me hard to counter, but easy to kill if I mess up.

And to keep playing this setup after the incoming nerf, something called reaction time isn’t even allowed to exist, it should just be reaction, time bending reaction.

i immediately regretted making this thread once i figured out their plans for sword nerf. frankly i thought they were going to focus on nerfing uber mega stealther thief more than s/d builds..

i don’t think after nerf S/D will be unviable … it will be harder to use for stunned remove but not unviable. I think also backstab , D/D and D/P are simpler to user but now S/D is more effective . Skilled players know how to avoid D/P backstab, D/D backstab and hs even if it is not always simple … instead great mobility of S/D is newer for more people .
I am speaking about PVP Mists where perma stealth in my opinion is something not usefull … instead inWVW things can be different ( i don’t play much wvw)