Guild Wars 2

So I have been running thief in TPvP lately but and became stuck… I love mainhand sword and off hand pistol. But when I started using SP I was told it was a newby useless spec… I was under the impression that while it may not be optimal it isn’t useless, and because of the high initiative management isn’t necessarily good for new people.

My main reason for using it is the survivability of sword and the control of offhand pistol…

So is SP good is it nooby? Should I just give up and conform to the s/d, d/p clones?

s/d does it better

Dont listen to him.
S/p is just as good as s/d or d/p. Good Set for fast kills and to secure stomps or Interrupting.
If you Like this Set, play it.

Here is what I am currently running with… Perma fury is thanks to the rune.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAsaVl0Mp0pdPxyJ8PNBNBt9wbQI8OMfpMaFAA-TZBFwACODA22fYxhAoaZAAPAAA

SP have the ability to 100-0 almost everything in seconds, but is safer to attack someone that is at least at 70% life.
start the cast of PW and then steal (with basilisk activated), you’ll get the immobilize activated by the trait and than if ur enemy can’t remove the condition you’ll be able to use PW even 2 more times in a row (no one can survive this).
Use 6 2 0 0 6 zerker build with scholar runes, it’s awesome.

S/P is a high tier spec too. People just have been using S/D more because you can dodge so much.

Nothing has the same down state cleave pressure in the game as an S/P thief.

I played you on my thief named Ably I think. I don’t hate on the s/p, its a good set with many uses, and can cleave downed better than any other set (besides SB). The only thing I would say is that for your build, you might want to consider taking Executioner for Critical Strikes grandmaster. Hidden Killer is good, but I don’t know how much it would affect Tactical Strike. Running S/P without HiS, you only have 1 source of stealth, that being Shadow Refuge and that makes Hidden Killer really circumstantial. If you land a pistol whip, your targets gonna be somewhere around 50% unless they’re tanky, and the 20% damage increase will help you take them down easier than Hidden Killer would. Other than that, keep running s/p and follow your dreams! \o/
(I have no idea about the runes- I’ve never rune rage before I usually stick to ogre/strength/scholar)

CobOfCorn.6352:

I played you on my thief named Ably I think. I don’t hate on the s/p, its a good set with many uses, and can cleave downed better than any other set (besides SB). The only thing I would say is that for your build, you might want to consider taking Executioner for Critical Strikes grandmaster. Hidden Killer is good, but I don’t know how much it would affect Tactical Strike. Running S/P without HiS, you only have 1 source of stealth, that being Shadow Refuge and that makes Hidden Killer really circumstantial. If you land a pistol whip, your targets gonna be somewhere around 50% unless they’re tanky, and the 20% damage increase will help you take them down easier than Hidden Killer would. Other than that, keep running s/p and follow your dreams! \o/
(I have no idea about the runes- I’ve never rune rage before I usually stick to ogre/strength/scholar)

O.o I thouight i had executioner on the build I linked. If I don’t have it in the link I definitely use it in game. I don’t use any stealth outside of shadow refuge on my thief. I got the rune of rage Idea from watching sensotix and it’s like perma fury.

One more thing, when you don’t have basilisk up (i play wvw not pvp and i don’t use venom but well) if you run slaight of hand, instead of precasting PW and steal in, try to actually LAND a PW first and then steal AFTER the PW stun (steal won’t interrupt PW) this way you will get the stun from PW and THEN, when the enemy will move, they’ll get the daze from steal making you land the whole whip to the face

jportell.2197:

Here is what I am currently running with… Perma fury is thanks to the rune.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAsaVl0Mp0pdPxyJ8PNBNBt9wbQI8OMfpMaFAA-TZBFwACODA22fYxhAoaZAAPAAA

Why not use Executionner instead of hidden killer?

Jakkson.4076:

jportell.2197:

Here is what I am currently running with… Perma fury is thanks to the rune.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAsaVl0Mp0pdPxyJ8PNBNBt9wbQI8OMfpMaFAA-TZBFwACODA22fYxhAoaZAAPAAA

Why not use Executionner instead of hidden killer?

It must have been a misclick when I was making the build sorry. I run executioner in game. Hidden killer is a waste on the build.

S/P > D/P + S/D if you want to talk about 1v1 capabilities in a high tier environment. In team play either one works fine.

s/d is just easier to play because if you mess up, just dodge your way out of it. It also works out since the meta now relies so heavily on might stacking, and protection+regen (engis + eles)…but when I play s/p, the other team’s s/d thief is often just prey.

jportell.2197:

Jakkson.4076:

jportell.2197:

Here is what I am currently running with… Perma fury is thanks to the rune.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAsaVl0Mp0pdPxyJ8PNBNBt9wbQI8OMfpMaFAA-TZBFwACODA22fYxhAoaZAAPAAA

Why not use Executionner instead of hidden killer?

It must have been a misclick when I was making the build sorry. I run executioner in game. Hidden killer is a waste on the build.

Yeah, glad to see that was just a minor error with hidden killer when listing the build. Your build, although effective for you just showcases a lot of the major errors with thieve’s. The lack of stealth basically eliminates a lot of the sustain the profession has. Your only condition removal is sword 2. Any area spamming necro now has the potential to overwhelm you if you don’t down them majorly fast. PU mesmers and their clone upon death mechanic can also make major holes in your HP if they stack confusion. If the build is working for you, then don’t fix what is not broken, but I imagine the management is an issue in prolonged duels and general movement between points could be slow.

S/P is as good as any other thief set.

In high Tpvp, it does really well against other thieves, you just need to timing your pistol whip and play smart.

S/P works fine in tpvp, just gotta play it right, and take a shortbow.

s/p still does fine but it’s inferior to s/d right now. Trying to pistolwhip into protection is like bashing your head against the wall. We’re in a boon heavy meta still and s/d rips boons more effectively. It’s just superior. S/P and D/P work but they’re lower tier compared to s/d.

Though the build is usually considered a “No skill” build by random hot-join people, it’s great for burning down bunkers and assassinating glass cannons. it’s only real draw back is lack of stealth and mobility, and as a result you’ll need some skills to get around it especially when there are multiple people and not just one target or agains poeple who know how to counter it.