Guild Wars 2

Just started playing PvP with thief (previously only played with ranger and engi). I really enjoy it, I use a p/d setup so #5 dagger skill grants stealth, and traited so that stealing gives stealth. Also use Hide in Shadows, Blinding Powder and Shadow Refuge. So tons of options to enter stealth… when it works. They all fail quite frequently to put me in stealth. Sometimes I’ll pop into stealth and immediately unstealth. It’s really annoying, and I cannot for the life of me figure out why every skill and utility that’s supposed to grant stealth fails so often. Help?

CuteLilKittenHugz.2064:

Just started playing PvP with thief (previously only played with ranger and engi). I really enjoy it, I use a p/d setup so #5 dagger skill grants stealth, and traited so that stealing gives stealth. Also use Hide in Shadows, Blinding Powder and Shadow Refuge. So tons of options to enter stealth… when it works. They all fail quite frequently to put me in stealth. Sometimes I’ll pop into stealth and immediately unstealth. It’s really annoying, and I cannot for the life of me figure out why every skill and utility that’s supposed to grant stealth fails so often. Help?

Any time you deal damage while in stealth you lose stealth and become revealed. Ditch the stealth on steal trait. If you have Mug, is might cancel itself out. I have no idea.

You can’t leave shadow refuge before its done ticking.

Also, don’t ever stealth in PvP except refuge if you really have to. Stealth is worthless

Do you use the CnD>Steal combo? This will not work with stealth on steal traited.

Also are you sure you’re actually losing stealth? sometimes i get bugs where I’m still stealthed but I can see my character as visible. Check your boons and conditions area for the stealthed/revealed icon.

In PvP Revealed lasts 4 seconds, while it’s 3 in Wvw/Pve, maybe your timing is still tuned to the 3 seconds.

Thx for the feedback guys. I’ve disbaled auto-attack, and that’s reduced the number of times it fails, but it still seems to fail for no reason regularly. Stealth on steal does work btw, and more often now that I’ve disbaled autoattack, (which allows me to do a crapload of condi spam with pistol #1, that’s why my build is built on stealth). But stealth in Hide in Shadows and Blinding Powder still fails all the time. I can see why the blind from Blinding Powder fails if the target is immune to it, but why would the stealth fail too? And how can stealth fail for my health regen skill? Doesn’t make any sense.

You have to be careful with p/d as if you have a shot in the air as you are stealthing, the second it hits it will reveal you. I always thought Hidden Thief was broken, but if it’s working for you I guess they fixed it. But yeah, make sure not to auto right before you need to stealth- you could even try stowing your weapons before you need to stealth if that helps. Also it goes without saying that if you are revealed (the eye with the crosshair debuff on your bar) you can’t stealth until it goes away. Pretty obvious, but you said you were new to thief so who knows.

I play a p/d thief too and I feel your pain it does feel like some games everything is working great and other times it fails over and over again.

It kind of sucks because you really need to hit all your stealth skills consistently to be able to survive.

Mhh, this was never really a problem until this morning, after I picked Ricochet, which I normally don’t.

CuteLilKittenHugz.2064:

Thx for the feedback guys. I’ve disbaled auto-attack, and that’s reduced the number of times it fails, but it still seems to fail for no reason regularly. Stealth on steal does work btw, and more often now that I’ve disbaled autoattack, (which allows me to do a crapload of condi spam with pistol #1, that’s why my build is built on stealth). But stealth in Hide in Shadows and Blinding Powder still fails all the time. I can see why the blind from Blinding Powder fails if the target is immune to it, but why would the stealth fail too? And how can stealth fail for my health regen skill? Doesn’t make any sense.

Try to pay close attention to what you do immediately after you use a stealth skill and before the stealth should end. Do you use any skills at all? Do you have the Mug trait equipped?

ANY direct damage you do, will end your stealth. Any condition damage you apply, that does not deal any direct damage, will not end stealth. If you try to Cloak & Dagger someone to extend your stealth you will actually end the stealth and apply the revealed debuff, because you deal damage first. Mug will sometimes, not always, end the stealth effect. I am not sure why it works sometimes but not others, but I have seen stealing end my stealth when traited with Mug.

CobOfCorn.6352:

You have to be careful with p/d as if you have a shot in the air as you are stealthing, the second it hits it will reveal you.

Example: You shoot, then immediately hit blinding powder. You are stealthed for a brief moment, but then the shot that was travelling through the air now hits the target – which acts as if you just attacked while in stealth, even though you loosed the shot before you stealthed. Thus – revealed.

keep an eye out for ranger
if they run sic’em, you’ll get revealed for 6 seconds

there’s no cast animation nor cast time
2k range and can’t be dodged

engis have that option too

Thx for all the feedback guys. I think it’s probably been a combination of all your tidbits of info. The two things that helped reduce it the most:

1) Disabling auto-attack.
2) Counting 1 extra second before attempting to stealth again.

I stealth now most of the time I intend to stealth.

Otoh, I have found that after latest patch stealing does not work a LOT because of “no direct line of sight” or something, even when I have a very clear unobstructed line of sight to my target. * sigh * I guess that’s another thread tho…