Guild Wars 2

So I’ve been hearing from friends that Daredevil with Staff is fine in Open World PvE but really, really bad in WvW.

I’d just like to know your thoughts on the matter, and if any changes need to be made in your opinion.

It’s got alright damage but feels like p/p sure you can do damage, but is it viable? No. At minimum it needs a smoke field on 4 for combos, access to stealth ability, and mitigation in pve scenario’s other wise s/p beats it out there.

You know, I actually got into a groove with the staff, eventually. I didn’t much like it at first, but once I got the hang of the options I felt pretty solid. I did a lot of 2222 whizzing around, and that seemed quite nice in large packs. I still run out of endurance more often than I’d like, they still need to restore Feline Grace it its original form, but I was having fun with the staff.

I do think it would be a game changer if they just added a rectangular Darkness field to Dust Strike, allowing you to proc Blindness off of Leap and Blast finishers, and Leach Life off of Whirls.

I don’t think staff needs better stealth access though, it is just designed to not be stealth heavy, and I think that’s ok. It is a straight up brawler concept, and that’s fine as an option.

I don’t play wvw so I can’t speak about that. However I’ve been using it in pvp and having much success, this could be because all the new builds and players but I feel like it is a great option for a more team-oriented power build. Spaming AOEs, weakness and finishers like nobody’s business. I don’t see it becoming meta though because S/D is much more smooth and efficient for that role.

I find staff DD extremely effective for WvW roaming. The damage from #2, and if you can land it, #5, is extremely high. Dash combined with the sheer number of evades DD gets offers arguably better survivability than stealth. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I have to stop using staff DD in the weeks between BWE3 and HoT release.

I have nothing but good things to say about staff and the DD in general.

What I’m hearing is any other Daredevil thief NOT using staff will destroy staff. So will any other thief. And any ranged class. Most condi classes too.

When HoT drops, staff will become a funny gimmick to use every now and then. It’s very strong against other Powerbuilds as if you run Acro and Agility Signet, you can dodge around like a mothertrucker, weaving inside and out of fights with quick bursts of damage. Weakening Charge and Steal makes for a heavy burst, somewhat on the level of backstab damage. Me and my Friend found extremely hard hitting combos which make for insane opening damage (10-15k Damage). Then you just dodge roll around and then do it again.

However, with the WvW “meta” being so condi focused, you die so fast. Staff and daredevil in general has no condition removal. Escapists Absolution sucks kitten as it only removes one condition-per-second-per-attack you dodge. Smart enemies wont even attack you if you dodge. Agility Signet only removes one condition, which is usually the least damaging one on you! I had 9 stacks of Confusion and 1 stack of Poison and it cleared the poison, WTF?! Shadow Step is the only reliable clearance we have and yet it’s our most important utility but it’s required for so many situations that burning it on one thing, can lead to your death when the inevitable other situation arises.

As far as the “trinity” (Damage-Utility-Defense) goes, Staff and DD have Damage, some utility and very low defense. One extra dodge roll does nothing in the grand scheme of things. Thieves have been longing for better access to defenses but we aren’t getting any, any time soon.

I would love for them to go back to the drawing board for Daredevil and come up with something better and something that can deal with conditions.

DD Staff melt from condition builds and everyone I’ve encountered is running a condition build.

Let me know when DD Staff won against Scepter/Dagger Reaper or Longbow Druid. Even a Sw/Sh Medi-DHunter is ridiculous.

If you go DD no stealth you will pretty well have to trait trickster for Condition cleanse , take withdraw as the heal and in WVW at least eat that clear condition on heal food.

If you add shadowstep you should have enough cleanse and if you do manage an evade with your withdraw will clear 6 conditions (3 fixed +3) in 14 seconds. It the only way I can see you getting enough cleanse.

Damage is also pretty good on the staff so there more opportunity to use some combination of purity/generosity or cleansing on the set. If Conditions are melting you I do not see having a Sigil of air and fire on your staff as helping you a heck of a lot.