Guild Wars 2

ALRIGHT everyone! In just about every major patch we’ve seen the thief nerfed.
That is a fact. Not a qq.
Now, I’d like to start taking bets on the next thief nerf!
Current options:
Backstab build
Unicorn bleed build
Venom-sharing build
Other
No nerf

I’ve currently got my money on the backstab build. They’ve already edged towards it with the alteration to our elite venom and making that a breakable stun, so clearly it’s in their sights. Since the nerfs have correlated with forum complaints, I’m going to assume that all the people still whining about backstab who can’t break a stun are going to correlate with an upcoming backstab nerf!

I’m going all-in for this bet.
What are you betting on and why?

Backstab, almost definitely. Then Unicorn. Then, anything.

they’re not nerfing anymore.

Alrighty so we now have two bets on backstab and one brave soul who is betting on no nerf!
Lan, my friend, if you’re right then I think you and you alone will be taking home all of the winnings!

I’m betting that thief players will either quit thief, and roll another class, most probably a class the qqers play, playing the class better than the qqers, and therefore cause those classes to get nerfed by other qqers…or they’ll quit the game after wasting the time they did getting their achievements and gear on their beloved class, just to get bombarded by unnecessary nerfs.

I’m not entirely worried though since I’ve long moved away from thief being my “main” since I foresaw a lot more kitten qqing and getting unnecessary things nerfed. You may want to roll a warrior/elementalist/necro/ranger. Those are the core characters of GW, and there’s a very high possibility that they will rarely ever be nerfed per say.

Assassin Signet nerfed to “The next attack is a critical hit”.

Heartseeker cost increased by 1 Initiative.

Revealed duration increased to 5 seconds.

Whirling Axe ability provided by Steal has it’s damage reduced by 20%.

Other than that, I don’t see any nerfs coming. I’d actually count on some buffs.

they are probably gonna go the wrong way and nerf backstab base damage rather then things like assassins signet.

then they will nerf death blossom

they will nerf stealth while never addressing its bugs until a year later and as a side affect make stealth incredibly useless.

they will nerf our autoattack daamge

get rid of our ini regen mechanics

nerf shortbow (this may happen sooner then later)

they will nerf thieves guild then they will nerf daggerstorm

they will get rid of hidden killer and nerf executioner.

this is all going to happen judging by the player community and the types and ways of nerfs they have done already.

Other. They’re going to nerf Pistol Whip again. Because it’s still OP with quickness, and they refuse to listen that Quickness is the problem.

I like Lan bet no nerf.

Think I’ll go with Edelweiss on this.

On a semi-related note, I’ll take a side bet that 100b gets batted this time.

I’m gonna split my gold between a backstab nerf and/or a signet nerf. With all the QQing about how OP backstab is coupled with thieves trying to explain it’s the signet, I expect to see this get rolled into one unrighteous nerf.

They won’t nerf anything, if they do it will be Assassin’s Signet and the trait that makes Steal do damage.

Blazer Hellsing.9184:

They won’t nerf anything, if they do it will be Assassin’s Signet and the trait that makes Steal do damage.

That’ll make steal even more garbage compared to other class’s class specialty.

EnochDagor.6185:

Think I’ll go with Edelweiss on this.

On a semi-related note, I’ll take a side bet that 100b gets batted this time.

I’ll take that side bet.. no way warriors get nerfed.. that is what Jon Peters plays..

Kurow.6973:

Blazer Hellsing.9184:

They won’t nerf anything, if they do it will be Assassin’s Signet and the trait that makes Steal do damage.

That’ll make steal even more garbage compared to other class’s class specialty.

As long as there is a Warrior or Necromancer on the opposing team, Steal will be good

I’ll bet for no nerf next patch, just for us to relax before nerfing pw stun and bs base damage without touching the assasin’s signet or haste.

Everyone’s thinking burst damage, but it’s going to be stealth, and it’s going to suck.

Probably not next patch, but soon.

There are two things that will never be nerfed: Stealth and Shadowstep. 90% of Thief players play the Thief for these 2 important traits, nerf these and you will kill the Thief.

They’ll probably put something in making stealth break when you take direct damage but not on conditions…

Scary enough for you? :p

I am going with a nerf to backstab.

I am hoping that somewhere at Anet there is a clue that will fix the rendering problems with stealth, and then review if stealth is a problem or not, before just nerfing it.

Niim.9260:

I am hoping that somewhere at Anet there is a clue that will fix the rendering problems with stealth, and then review if stealth is a problem or not, before just nerfing it.

One can only hope.

There’s no point in gathering data on somethings usage and effectiveness if its skewed by bugs.

Backstab and Cluster Bomb.They will increase then the base damage of some useless skill like Body Shot.

On the other hand, if they can’t fix the bug, the thief will just have to take a hit to stealth and deal with knowing they’re invisible to players for a good 2 seconds after they deal damage.

I’m going to go with a stealth nerf and I think S/D should be on that list.
Infiltrator’s Strike>CnD>Tactical Strike(2 second Daze) is better than PW in my opinion.

If they are smart, they will change the assassin’s signet’s active effect to give 5-10 stacks of might for a certain duration. That way you get rid of the glass cannon OP build, without nerfing any of the other builds.. and on top of that you now have a utility that is useful for all builds, instead of just one.

Robert.9086:

I’m going to go with a stealth nerf and I think S/D should be on that list.
Infiltrator’s Strike>CnD>Tactical Strike(2 second Daze) is better than PW in my opinion.

How is a two second daze better than +10K damage.

In my opinion, PW shouldn’t have been nerfed in its damage, they should have just removed the stun. It’s better to provide a way to avoid an ability than to downgrade the ability’s damage, since that greatly affects pve as well.

Its like every profession has complaints about being nerf’d lol. Seems ANet made everyone OP to start and is now correcting so we level more slowly.

I am hoping they start fixing things in game more then correcting OP issues moving forward.

Well cheers.

Elric.1432:

Its like every profession has complaints about being nerf’d lol. Seems ANet made everyone OP to start and is now correcting so we level more slowly.

I am hoping they start fixing things in game more then correcting OP issues moving forward.

Well cheers.

Not a leveling issue, and every class is OP because the majority of players are terrible

i wonder why everyone see a thief as a problem , thief a designed to be a glass-canon spec, we’re not meant to be tanks unless Anet Prooves otherwise , second of all why none yet see how powerfull and op bunker builds are in this capture the point mode , guardians >>>>>>>>>>>> thief and way more op

Blazer Hellsing.9184:

There are two things that will never be nerfed: Stealth and Shadowstep. 90% of Thief players play the Thief for these 2 important traits, nerf these and you will kill the Thief.

I have my doubts on that. Hell, both of those were already hit pretty hard during beta and are a lot weaker than they once were. First time I saw someone playing a thief there was no revealed debuff and shadowsteps could easily cross gaps and go through platforms above the thief.

Lots of people complaining about stealth… chances are they’ll nerf/remove it from the thief

Zsymon.8457:

Robert.9086:

I’m going to go with a stealth nerf and I think S/D should be on that list.
Infiltrator’s Strike>CnD>Tactical Strike(2 second Daze) is better than PW in my opinion.

How is a two second daze better than +10K damage.

In my opinion, PW shouldn’t have been nerfed in its damage, they should have just removed the stun. It’s better to provide a way to avoid an ability than to downgrade the ability’s damage, since that greatly affects pve as well.

+10k damage could be easily achieved, with the CnD (1/2 the base damage of PW) it takes to setup Tactical Strike and the normal attacks while your target is under the effects of daze. furthermore while the target is dazed your revealed CD will just about end, you could easily Infiltrator Strike>CnD>Daze him again. You barely get hit, because you’re mostly stealthed and they’re dazed. I can’t recall if I lost a 1v1 with this build. (and I’m on a losing server with no orbs)

On the topic of nerfs. Does anyone else notice the Infiltrators Strike’s Shadow Return has a range of +5,000? I tested too see how far it can go at one point in time and I swear it was like +5,000 range I even had to load the map.

Edit: About my earlier comment, I meant to say Tactical Strike should be on that list, because I think it’s a skill that people would QQ about, but I don’t see any thieves using it. (maybe because the damage isn’t as flashy as HS, PW, or Backstab)

Alrighty folks, it seems we have a decent spread of bets here!
For the record, I’m asking what’s going to be nerfed, not asserting that it’s unjust (although some particulars I might assert are unjust in another thread).
To be honest, there were /are a few things that need to be nerfed/fixed with the thief. One example being the pistolwhip/haste combo. I’d suggest scaling the stun duration down the same amount the channel is scaled (so it’d last half as long). Of course, devourer venom stacked with that would still keep the combo where it is, but that’s a whole nother cooldown they’re blowing for a combo that already isn’t too lethal. Plus with immobilize holding you there lets you retalliate.
Anyway, let’s try and get creative! What things might they nerf? For example, shortly after release they stealth-nerfed infiltraitor’s strike to only cover half of the distance.

ColdSpyder.9082:

Alrighty folks, it seems we have a decent spread of bets here!
For the record, I’m asking what’s going to be nerfed, not asserting that it’s unjust (although some particulars I might assert are unjust in another thread).
To be honest, there were /are a few things that need to be nerfed/fixed with the thief. One example being the pistolwhip/haste combo. I’d suggest scaling the stun duration down the same amount the channel is scaled (so it’d last half as long). Of course, devourer venom stacked with that would still keep the combo where it is, but that’s a whole nother cooldown they’re blowing for a combo that already isn’t too lethal. Plus with immobilize holding you there lets you retalliate.
Anyway, let’s try and get creative! What things might they nerf? For example, shortly after release they stealth-nerfed infiltraitor’s strike to only cover half of the distance.

Nah you cant touch PW until you fix the bug that is the self root. Any ability on a class designed around MOBILITY that has a self root cannot possibly be intended, therefore a bug. In game dev 101 I can guarentee you don’t say “Oh wow that ability has more damage then expected, lets slap a self root on it” Plays buzzer WRONG! You reduce the damage from the start if its too powerful while mobile. That is just an example.

I’d suggest scaling the stun duration down the same amount the channel is scaled (so it’d last half as long)

Meh, making an attack less effective with increased attack speed doesn’t seem like a great idea. Pistol whip is almost useless without haste largely because the stun is over by the time you start doing damage. Scaling the stun duration with haste would make it almost as useless with haste as without. You give them less time to dodge out, I suppose, but more chances to do so. You’d be further ahead just using haste and then auto-attack since it doesn’t root you and does more damage. The problem with the pistol whip haste setup is just that the magnitude of quickness is much higher than it should be. It doubles your combat effectiveness for the duration. No other effect is that strong. Even the reviled Assassin’s Signet is only a 50% increase in damage on a single attack.

I’m hoping ANet revert their PW nerf and fix the real issue which was Quickness.

I’m guessing glass cannon back stab builds are next on the chopping block with all the rather loud QQing going on here. Judging by the PW nerf, I’m guessing they’ll make the same mistake and just flat out nerf BS dmg, instead of looking into the real problem (if any), which I’d say is Assassins Signet.

What I’m really hoping for is a split in PvE & PvP skills as i have no confidence left in their balancing team. Just another game caving to the QQers.

you call it nerf, they call it balance. whos right? the game developers that want the abilities to work as intended or the people that want to exploit said abilities. personally if you complain about a ‘nerf’ then dont be like every sheep in the flock and try something new, you might find you have been missing out on other really cool fun builds/abilities.

Edelweiss.9815:

Revealed duration increased to 5 seconds.

This.

I’m going to go with Mug changed to be a 5 stack of bleeds for 10 seconds, and nothing else.

ColdSpyder.9082:

Alrighty folks, it seems we have a decent spread of bets here!
For the record, I’m asking what’s going to be nerfed, not asserting that it’s unjust (although some particulars I might assert are unjust in another thread).
To be honest, there were /are a few things that need to be nerfed/fixed with the thief. One example being the pistolwhip/haste combo. I’d suggest scaling the stun duration down the same amount the channel is scaled (so it’d last half as long). Of course, devourer venom stacked with that would still keep the combo where it is, but that’s a whole nother cooldown they’re blowing for a combo that already isn’t too lethal. Plus with immobilize holding you there lets you retalliate.
Anyway, let’s try and get creative! What things might they nerf? For example, shortly after release they stealth-nerfed infiltraitor’s strike to only cover half of the distance.

If there’s one thing I hope they don’t nerf it’s the Shadow Returns. That’s what makes this class interesting and unique. The jukes!

And it’s not actually overpowered in the point control games. So you escaped, now what? But it’s just a fun ability.

Guessing they will nerf something and change other skill or two and tell us that …“it’s good thing actually … really it is, just trust us”

They will nerf Sword/Pistol auto attack. They will then be able to say that pistol whip isn’t less effective then auto attack.

Sigh someone with more skill should roll an “QQ omg my class is so UP and thief is so OP” and show them how to roll that class.

TeoH If you are going to turn mug from a front loaded hit to condition, you gotta do better then stacks of bleeding that can be removed in 1 button. You are on the right track tho. I would say 5 Stacks of Bleeding and a stack of Burning for 10 seconds. or 10 stacks of bleeding AOE off the thief. Steal has a cooldown afterall and to get it down you have to trait into Trickery(condition damage) anyway

im voting for no nerfs and maybe a few tweaks
EG
cloak and dagger + steal
Dodging while using certain stolen abilities

What WOULD be an interesting topic is if the whiners do manage to get thieves nerfed into pointlessness, which class/build will they cry about next?

I think a huge bunker build whine-fest is brewing . . .

Kurow.6973:

I’m not entirely worried though since I’ve long moved away from thief being my “main” since I foresaw a lot more kitten qqing and getting unnecessary things nerfed. You may want to roll a warrior/elementalist/necro/ranger. Those are the core characters of GW, and there’s a very high possibility that they will rarely ever be nerfed per say.

Ahahah… that was funny…

Archangel Ady.3720:

Sigh someone with more skill should roll an “QQ omg my class is so UP and thief is so OP” and show them how to roll that class.

Why don’t you?

Oh I forgot, you “like” your thief too much…lmao.

Fact is, everyone has a beef with thieves. Even some thieves who know how to play are saying things are OP.

Just L2P without your instagibs and you’ll be fine…that’s all they’ve been nerfing.

Fade.5904:

im voting for no nerfs and maybe a few tweaks
EG
cloak and dagger + steal
Dodging while using certain stolen abilities

What WOULD be an interesting topic is if the whiners do manage to get thieves nerfed into pointlessness, which class/build will they cry about next?

I think a huge bunker build whine-fest is brewing . . .

Problem is, if they change ANYTHING the thief community will cry “OMG wtfnerf!” So what you’ve just voted for would be considered nerfs by all the bads posting “no nerfs plz.”

If you haven’t seen it yet, there’s a thief whining sticky in the sPvP forums. That should tell you a lot.

I think they are going to swing for the fences and add a global cool down of perhaps 1 second to thief skills that use initiative. This would, of course, drastically reduce thief DPS.

Assassin Signet: nerfed. Might stacks, +10% to the next 5 attacks, guaranteed crit of the next 3 attacks, etc. Something that spreads out the damage.

Quickness (all classes): 50% instead of 100%. Cooldown reduced from 60s to 45s…or removal of the disadvantage

Heartseeker…maybe

Backstab…maybe