Guild Wars 2

Hello, i just started a theif about 2 weeks ago and i just reached level 35. I have some questions though, i usually play a mage (played a mage in wow for 4 years) and i am a huge pvper (got to 2k rating in wow) not saying im a pro but i definitly have some experience in pvp (not a aswd user LOL), but i could not get into a mage very well in this game so my next style of play is the rogue (thief). my question is that what weapon set is usually pretty good in pvp and pve? i currently run d/d and shortbow. i havnt done much pvp in this game as i want to hit 80 first (i believe in lvling to the max to learn the character)

My other question is that i have just tried the AC dungeon and it seems like thiefs get ruined in boss fights? i am probably not doing it right but i try to always evade away from bosses stuns and aoe but i currently build a cloak and dagger into back stab build but it just doesnt seem to be working as i find myself using my shortbow mostly (for me that is not truly a rogue i want to use my daggers more).

maybe thats not the best build? also now as a relatively experienced rogue player i would assume you would go for max precision and conditional damage? obviously rogues are based on crit but i hear people use conditonal damage but then dont use any conditions much? as for my skills what would be your opinion to use for pve and pvp? i currently use venom, signet for extra power and the signet for precision and i got the elite skill where the person turns to stone (this was a mistake as it doesnt work the best for pve lol)

So thats pretty much it, if someone could answer my questions that would be greatly appreciated I would just like to gain a better understanding of thief’s in this game.

1) Yes, dungeons are meat grinders for melee combatants. You need to make sure that you’re dodging like mad, that you’ve got defensive abilities beyond dodging, a decent supply of Toughness / Vitality, and maybe some form of healing beyond your standard #6 heal. Once you’re closer to the level cap, you’ll have access to more of these qualifications and it’ll make things easier. (Gear that’s 65+ will give you a Stat 1 / Stat 2 / Stat 3 spread, which makes it easier to fit in Toughness or Vitality.)

As a general rule, you’re mainly going to be ranged and you’ll be blurring into melee for short bursts of time. If you’ve got enough defensive tricks (depending on your build and class), you might be able to melee most of the time. However that’s more of the exception and not the rule.

2) Your choice of +Stat builds is very subjective. Some weapon combinations favor Condition damage, which naturally leads to a Precision / Condition offensive gear build. Other weapons deal more physical damage, which leads to a Power / Precision offensive gear build. Then you have the rare Thief players who are more defensively designed using Pistol #5 and defensive gear / traits, which lets them Off-Tank some of the trash mobs in a dungeon.

There’s no clear answer about what the “right” gear answer would be. However based on your traditional D/D & SB weapon build, your choice of Precision / Condition is the logical choice for a glass cannon Thief. Just keep in mind that you are a glass cannon, which is especially dangerous for your own survival rate in dungeons.

3) Dungeons are kind of like the raid content of a more traditional MMO. While you can still steam roll it if you’re geared out to the max and you’re 80th level, it’s rather painful and dangerous when you’re just using Blue / Green grade gear and you’re level appropriate. Please remember that like a raid, dungeons content is often more of an endurance fight and not just your traditional soloing fight.

EDIT

On a side note, one of the key Thief powers to be used in a dungeon is Shadow’s Refuge. It create a targeted AoE Stealth field that also acts as a Darkness combo field. (Darkness adds +Lifedrain to all ranged ammo moving through it, which can really help.) You can use Shadow’s Refuge to stealth yourself while you’re reviving someone, to hide a downed player while they get themself back up, to add +Lifedrain to ranged attacks (for extra dps and player healing), and to even just aggro wipe if you’re getting overwhelmed.

ya thats the problem i am having lol, i want to get toughness/vit but i cant sacrifice my precision or power to get it, i just didnt know if there was a way to attakc bosses without getting ruined lol, i mean i like range abilities but shortbow gets really boring after awhile lol

thank you for the advice i would assume d/d is more precision/condtional damage? i would like to build precision/power but would that be s/d? i really do enjoy the whole cloak and shadows in backstab

yes i do keep that in mind what some people dont realize is that everything has a weakness lol, you go glass canon and by that you sacrifice alot if not all of your survivability, i am definitly opened minded, i do enjoy glass canon (after playing a frost mage pvp in wow lol)

ya i know that, it just seems like if im not a guardian then i get ruined (obviously guardians are a natural tank) but i mean like i get ruined badly. obviously my toughness/vit isnt that high thats why i was wondering if i can sacrifice a offensive ability for a definsive and still be alright? what elite skill would you reccomend?

shadows refuge seems very nice i will definitly look into that

also i have been reading forums about stealth capping and that rogues can stealth virtually all they want, what would be the best stacking for this? usually i combined cloak and dagger with backstab but i mean in no way shape or form am i stealthed all the time with minimal time unstealthed

GW2 PvE is really about Stay alive>work the mechanics of the fight>DPS in that order. At 80 I hit dungeons and got very discouraged. I wanted to play a thief for melee combat but it put me on the ground a lot. I spec’d into 25 Toughness and 25 Vitality lines and things seemed to turn around. After learning the class more at 80 I am now spec’ing into other stuff but can stay alive much easier just due to practice and knowing the content. I am a melee PvE dungeon crawler and I feel I can stay on my feet better than a lot of people. Never forget your SB though…

There are 2 paths that I take for DPS, Condition or Crit. I have sets for both and I will adjust per group makeup. Condition is great in PvE unless you have other classes that throw bleeds, its terrible for dragons and large group events. Max of 25 bleeds per mob can kill your damage output. I am leaning towards the backstab/crit builds that don’t lose potency due to group makeup.

In PvP I use D/D and SB load-out. People are getting wise to the thief so I will mix it up a lot, throw a Deathblossom then work a couple backstabs and maybe finish with more bleeds and a HS. Full condition in PvP can be strong if the target can’t remove them, but quite ineffective if they do.

PvE and PvP stealth is your best friend

GL
Blood

*Edit. Dagger can be effective as either Condition or Backstab/Crit. Really depends on your traits. I run Power, Vitality and Crit Dmg% and use Hidden Killer trait for 100% crit out of stealth. At lower levels just stay alive though. Power would be my choice and if you can get the Might buff it improves condition and strait damage as well. Also, pick up green or at minimum blue gear every 5 levels to replace old stuff.

Cheqdaddy.4213:

thank you for the advice i would assume d/d is more precision/condtional damage? i would like to build precision/power but would that be s/d? i really do enjoy the whole cloak and shadows in backstab

If you want to keep your Off-Hand access to the Dagger, then you could always try switching things over to a Pistol / Dagger build on the boss fights that you’re being forced to fight at ranged. While the dps output on a Main-Hand Pistol will be less dps than a S/D or D/D build, you’re always attacking from ranged with a P/D build. Even the P/D combo attack is designed to be used at melee range, which then teleports you away from your opponent.

You could always fire your Pistol as you close into melee (using Body Shot if you’ve got Initative generation traits), Dagger #5 for stealth, Pistol #1 for the stealth attack, then P/D #3 to teleport out of melee range.

thank you for your advice but so i would assume if i build d/d i go for precision/condition? not power?

thank you

power is on most of the gear,

Crit gear [berserker’s] power/precision/crit dmg
Condition gear [Rampager’s] power/precision/condition
Tanky gear [Knight] power/precision/toughness …. etc.

You have to keep your distance in dungeons. The only time I melee a boss is when he’s at <25% health (heartseeker spam), and even then, I run out and kite as soon as my HP goes below 50%.

I suggest going for power+precision+critical damage stats, but you shouldn’t worry too much about gear below lvl 80.

Shadow Refuge and Blinding power are great for reviving downed teammates.

Thieves guild is good for single target damage, daggerstorm is good against huge mobs.