Guild Wars 2

is it very viable as a main weapon, and if so could someone please direct/link a build(s)? Would be much appreciated

I mean, there have been builds but as a weapon, the shortbow is more of a utility since the arrows are slow and by default it’s autoattack is relatively weak. Warriors HS can keep up with the damage. Cluster bomb is too slow. It has it’s combat purposes but as a solo weapon I doubt it’s viable.

It’s viable for a condition build, using poison field and detonate cluster bomb for bleeds. I’ve used it like that for a few matches before, and it was fun, but got old quickly. I didn’t find it as effective as direct damaging builds.

I think it was something like 20/15/0/15/20 Rampager’s amulet, alternate weapon D/P. Important traits are vigorous recovery and bountiful theft for dodges, uncatchable for additional bleeds and cripple for kiting, and sundering strikes for an extra condition added to the mix for the chance of condition removal removing vulnerability instead of a damaging condition, not to mention the little help with direct damage.

I think the skills were Withdraw, Caltrops, Skale Venom, and Thieves Guild. I forgot the 3rd utility skill. Use D/P to stealth and sneak up, swap to SB, Skale Venom, drop Caltrops, auto attack for immobilise in Caltrops AoE, steal for poison and weakness or drop a poison field, dodge back to drop another small caltrops, then detonate cluster bombs. Cleansing isn’t easy since they’d have poison, bleeding, cripple, torment, vulnerability and weakness, so the damaging conditions may stick. The bleeds stack fast and high, easily 20 stacks if not cleansed, and the high poison up time hits passive healing hard and can make active healing difficult. Almost perm cripple with caltrops, caltrops on dodge, and SB #3, good endurance regen for dodges and SB #3 evade, a low CD heal, and the ability to zip up and down places with infiltrator’s arrow was good survivability.

Any thief worth their weight will spend a majority of their time in shortbow. Learn how to use it properly OP, as it is a very effective weaponset.

alright thanks for the input guys, ill give that build a try

As a related note, when the patch goes live, what two sigils would be viable for SB? Probably battle + energy?