Guild Wars 2

Hello everyone

I’ve been using the meta wvw trap build since the release of the trapper runes and I can just say that I love this build. It’s different from the regular condi build because I use hybrid gear and my survivability is much lower too. I’m running full trap utilities, so no shadow refuge to magically save me in situations where I should have thought harder.
Now, I created this thread to put traps under the spotlight. I think they’re really fun to use and with the new runes they’ve become a means of playing strategically with the thief, not only relying on stealth, but also positioning and playing mindgames with the opponent. That is why I’d like to see a further development into this playstyle of the thief and I hope there will be some implementations in the upcoming expansion Hear of Thorns. Let me first elaborate the pros and cons of this spec:

pros:
-Stealth without target (unlike Cloak and Dagger)
-Stealth of 3 seconds (traited)
-Superspeed of 3 seconds (+100% movement speed. If paired with sword/dagger you can be as fast as sonic. it’s really fast when spamming 3 and withdraw)
-Nice condi damage on spikes (bleeding was increased recently, I see the love anet <3)
-Very nice knockdown of 3 seconds (could be a bit too much imo tone it down but give it something different in return like boons or something)
-Shadow trap gives 6 sec of stealth +several other useful things
-Very fun to play
-CC capabilities (once stacked over 50 seconds of cripple on a warrior xD, people will generally have a hard time following you, you will kite them and control the battle)
-Mobility*

Cons:
-Activation time (trap is put down but rune effects won’t trigger)
-Animation (visible in stealth so mind you position)
-Switching weapons after putting it down will bug the effects out, you won’t be stealthed+superspeed
-Revelead (if an enemy steps on the trap approximately 0.5 seconds after you’ve put it down you get revealed, so you HAVE to either get close and activate it in need of stealth or go far away in hope they won’t trigger it)
-1 useless trap (Ambush, with a condi spec this guy won’t do a lot of damage but can be used effectively, you just gotta know how to use him, venom build etc but that’s something else)
-Weak traits Corrosive Traps (only useful in a power or hybrid build but vulnerability doesn’t affect condi damage since condi ignore armor alltogether)
-Master Trapper trait not reaaaally a con but could be better (if you compare it to ranger traits you can see that it does not only reduce recharge rate but increases condition damage too)
-full condi spec will not save you from elementalists, that’s why I chose hybrid to apply more pressure (diamond skin, stupid heal that cleanses all of your bleed stacks Q_Q)
-Mobility*

**Mobility is weak in a non stealthed situation but during stealth it’s at a max. Sword/dagger prefered over SB since I have a hybrid build but also because of nr 3 on sword

Buffood is usualy tuning CRYSTAL since they’re cheaper but for an ideal hybrid build you should take sharpening stones since you profit most from the dire stats on your armor.

So that’s about everything I could think of right now. If any of you have something to add please do so and maybe we’ll see each other in game ^^

-DokiDoki

Build:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQRAqY8YlsMptplNxvJ0PNhRBxbECg3zYH3vvVA-TlSAABfcQAKULw67PMxDAQNlgbp8DgTAAqq/wnuhHOCAECQxcA-w

I recently made a build for a friend running around with carrion armor and p/p s/p. I kinda adhoc put this together, but the longer I looked at it, the more it looked pretty good.

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQRAqa8al0MptplNxvJ8PNBMB5daKTb0OB5OAddFA-TlxDABfofYG1fQVJY37P8jyPAM/BA-w

You’re chalk full of CC. Immobilizes, Stuns, Dazes, knockdown, everything you could want. There are a few variants you could go too. The soldiers and carrion could each be replaced with dire if you’re feeling more condi, or soldiers/valks/knights/cavs if you want more power. Its a pretty interesting hybrid trap build heavy on the cc.

While it would seem counter intuitive, I in fact dropped Master trapper taking instead 3/0/5/0/6.

This gives weakness and vulnerability on your needle trap. I use sinister armor so am a hybrid and find this more effective overall.

What You can do is set that needle or tripwire trap. When triggered follow with an immediate steal loading on confusion , poison weakness. With d/d as one weapon set I throw on some DBS and or depending on the enemies reaction will use shadowstrike for torment with the p/d set. Shadowstrike hits quite hard if traited for power and that crit rate in sinister armor helps more.

With all of the stealths and evades I have found that extra armor and vitality from dire often goes to waste.

Ghotistyx.6942:

I recently made a build for a friend running around with carrion armor and p/p s/p. I kinda adhoc put this together, but the longer I looked at it, the more it looked pretty good.

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQRAqa8al0MptplNxvJ8PNBMB5daKTb0OB5OAddFA-TlxDABfofYG1fQVJY37P8jyPAM/BA-w

You’re chalk full of CC. Immobilizes, Stuns, Dazes, knockdown, everything you could want. There are a few variants you could go too. The soldiers and carrion could each be replaced with dire if you’re feeling more condi, or soldiers/valks/knights/cavs if you want more power. Its a pretty interesting hybrid trap build heavy on the cc.

That is an interesting build. I wonder though would revealed training be more effective then panic strike? You are going to come out of hiding a lot with those traps.

Perhaps in a more traditional hybrid build using P/d (even more stealths) it something to consider.

Ok this the latest hybrid I came up with using trappers runes. Note it a WvW build and that I have found that as I get better with the thief I am not in need of the vitality and toughness I once was.

I wanted to draw as much power and condition damage into the build as was possible and make it a true hybrid. As such with stacks and the bonuses in WvW this build ends with 1800+ power and 1900+ condi damage. It has 100 percent condition duration on a build with 2500+ armor and 17k health when applied fortitude and the like running. The hundred percent duration is to maximize the Immobs , cripples and weakness as much as anything.

The Condition damage is not far off from those that go pure Condi build and the heartseekers, Cnds and shadow strikes can hit very hard. (it certainly not a power build with ferocity but as hybrid can not be)

With revealed training 200 more power adds on every sneak attack out of hiding.

The malice/bursting/torment sigils can be easily subbed dependent on personal preference or need. One can pick corruption or bloodlust as the stack. So far I am liking it.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQRAqY4Yl0Mp7ptNxsJ0PNBNRxVN49Y8Fbo2xWAMhA-TlyCABAcEAO+gAAo+hw3fA5HAAzq/klyjqUiNmSwpPBAkCAihVA-w

God no!!!

Traps on thieves are horrendous. I sincerely hope whatever this “specialization” is, it doesn’t focus on traps or venoms.

Kurow.3076:

God no!!!

Traps on thieves are horrendous. I sincerely hope whatever this “specialization” is, it doesn’t focus on traps or venoms.

You have to try them They work fine. (wVw)

One single trap gives me

6 seconds immobilize
12 seconds poison
3 stacks bleed for 20 seconds
5 stacks vulnerability for 16 seconds
8 seconds of weakness

That a condi bomb that if I wished I can trait to use every 24 seconds. With trappers runes it also gives stealth meaning after I set the trap I can use a sneak attack and gain all benefits from stealth traited for such as blindness on stealth, might on stealth, Ini on stealth , Condition clear on stealth.

If one went for lower condition durations and focused on the SA traitline you can get ALL of the above from laying a single trap (lower durations) along with two INI , two conditions cleansed and 2 stacks of might. This at a cost of zero ini.

What is horrendous about that?

There’s a good reason why only a handful of people think traps are good on thief.

Kurow.3076:

There’s a good reason why only a handful of people think traps are good on thief.

No there is not. Too many people are as sheep and have to always play the meta build as defined by another just because “they saw it on the internet”. I use traps each and every night. They work fine.

If you really want to be just a clone, roll up a mesmer.

Yep, you got it…you have it all figured out.

Besides only those handful of people (one being you), all the other hundreds of thief players (sorry, sheep…as you called them) are all playing the “meta”.

That is the sole reason those people avoid touching traps.

Kurow.3076:

Yep, you got it…you have it all figured out.

Besides only those handful of people (one being you), all the other hundreds of thief players (sorry, sheep…as you called them) are all playing the “meta”.

That is the sole reason those people avoid touching traps.

I really could not care less what you and all the others do. I play what works. if you can not make something work then it not my issue. I do not eat at Macdonalds either though millions of others do.

if you know what you are doing a trap thief works fine.

the meta for a P/d thief is in no way superior to a trap using thief. The meta build does not even trait to poison on steal.

Back to the nature of traps themselves. This on each traps utility in game and whether or not they can stand improvement.

Venom trap. The benefits it gives are plenty. It superior to Caltrops in the sheer number of conditions and can apply and the utility of the same. It also harder to avoid.

Trip wire. The knockdown is very useful allowing for an immediate attack that can not be dodged. Adding a short stun or daze might be warranted so that it becomes in interrupt.

Ambush. This trap is fine as is. In game terms i prefer the thief that uses the scorpion wire over the unload. The only change I would make is to have the thief appear at the trap rather then the players side.

Shadow trap. This one is still hard to pull off as an offensive tool. It works very well as a long escape but the issue is when triggered at great range a thief can step back into a mass of players rather then just the one. It needs something else but I do not know what. Perhaps when triggered if the thief responds to the trigger s/he has XX seconds to bounce back to where s/he teleported from. This way the theif can decide whether to attack or get out of there.

Master trapper. Needs a bit more in the way of Utility. I would suggest one of the following two added to master trappers lower cooldown.

1>Traps are ground targetable
2>when a trap triggered gain 2 ini.

The former already in game with ranger traps and the latter makes logical sense in that a theif would gain initiative on a trapped enemy.

Wow guys those are very good builds and suggestions you came up with!
I will make that sinister armor and try it out, however, I prefer to fight in outnumbered fights so my dire armor often saved me ^^’ In a 1vs1 situation your builds would prevail against pretty much every class (except for condi ele since it’s literally our counter).
I would love to see some implementations for the traps, some utility that could make for more strategic gameplay on thief.

You don’t build condition or hybrid with Trapper rune — you’re doing it all wrong.

Here’s how you do it.
Pistol Whip Trapper

Have fun.

Sir Vincent III.1286:

You don’t build condition or hybrid with Trapper rune — you’re doing it all wrong.

Here’s how you do it.
Pistol Whip Trapper

Have fun.

No one is doing anything wrong if the play the build they like. Also, I’ve seen and defeated this build many times. Sword/Pistol is just so predictable that it hurts, also you got almost no chance to get away from a condi bomb except for shadow refuging yourself- but that’s just boring. One pistol whip won’t be enough to kill someone with my build, it won’t even bring me to half of my health. So I don’t see why you’d play this build anywhere but in 5 people """"roaming"""" groups.

MrKahwk.9524:

Sir Vincent III.1286:

You don’t build condition or hybrid with Trapper rune — you’re doing it all wrong.

Here’s how you do it.
Pistol Whip Trapper

Have fun.

No one is doing anything wrong if the play the build they like. Also, I’ve seen and defeated this build many times. Sword/Pistol is just so predictable that it hurts, also you got almost no chance to get away from a condi bomb except for shadow refuging yourself- but that’s just boring. One pistol whip won’t be enough to kill someone with my build, it won’t even bring me to half of my health. So I don’t see why you’d play this build anywhere but in 5 people """"roaming"""" groups.

“predictable”?
“boring”?
“no chance to get away from a condi bomb”?

Are you sure you’re not describing your build?

The build I’ve posted left the secondary weapon set open so you can be versatile if you want to. I prefer P/P on the 2ndary set but you can also use D/P or SB to add more mobility.

There is no getting away from “condition bomb” because this is not a build for running away or kiting (that’s boring strategy). This is a build that gets into your face and point blank trapping and pistol whipping.

I can also tell that you have not played against this build since this build has a built-in cleanse at Sword #2 which can wreck your bleed stacks.

You on the other hand are more susceptible to “condition bomb” since you don’t have any cleanse except Refuge.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAsYVl0MptplNx0J0PNBMBxVP0O3RIAdflC/EA-TpBBwAAeAAUOEAF3fYzRAocZAInAAA Here’s something I came out with for spvp, hope this works. Dropping trickery could be a pain but it’s all worth a new play style

Nephrite.6954:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAsYVl0MptplNx0J0PNBMBxVP0O3RIAdflC/EA-TpBBwAAeAAUOEAF3fYzRAocZAInAAA Here’s something I came out with for spvp, hope this works. Dropping trickery could be a pain but it’s all worth a new play style

People seem to be under the impression that needle trap must be dropped beforehand hoping the enemy steps on it. You can in fact drop it as you are engaged directly on the enemy. The activation time is equal to that of cNd slice and cripple and it is unblockable.

Your build, with panic strike has a whole lot of Immobs. Now add Devourer venom in there along with that needle trap.

Sir Vincent III.1286:

MrKahwk.9524:

Sir Vincent III.1286:

You don’t build condition or hybrid with Trapper rune — you’re doing it all wrong.

Here’s how you do it.
Pistol Whip Trapper

Have fun.

No one is doing anything wrong if the play the build they like. Also, I’ve seen and defeated this build many times. Sword/Pistol is just so predictable that it hurts, also you got almost no chance to get away from a condi bomb except for shadow refuging yourself- but that’s just boring. One pistol whip won’t be enough to kill someone with my build, it won’t even bring me to half of my health. So I don’t see why you’d play this build anywhere but in 5 people """"roaming"""" groups.

“predictable”?
“boring”?
“no chance to get away from a condi bomb”?

Are you sure you’re not describing your build?

The build I’ve posted left the secondary weapon set open so you can be versatile if you want to. I prefer P/P on the 2ndary set but you can also use D/P or SB to add more mobility.

There is no getting away from “condition bomb” because this is not a build for running away or kiting (that’s boring strategy). This is a build that gets into your face and point blank trapping and pistol whipping.

I can also tell that you have not played against this build since this build has a built-in cleanse at Sword #2 which can wreck your bleed stacks.

You on the other hand are more susceptible to “condition bomb” since you don’t have any cleanse except Refuge.

That’s why sword/dagger is a must as a secondary weapon set, it’s the most fun weaponset for the thief imo. And if spamming pistol whip and unload is less boring than strategic gameplay and positioning with p/d is another question, but to a lot of people the answer would be obvious.

I can cleanse all damage dealing conditions with my heal and if you haven’t looked at my build please do so and we can proceed with the discussion. Also the trait that cleanses conditions in stealth every three seconds is kinda nice, too, don’t you think? Play whatever you want but deciding what’s boring/what’s most fun is an entirely emotionally based discussion that I do not really want to have any longer.

For solo roaming my build is superior since you have far more mobility, hence, escapability.

Furthermore, I apply so many conditions on my first damage rotation that removing the bleed stacks isn’t even such a big deal; I just reapply them, that’s a forte of condi thieves and especially caltrops since the enemy sits in them for such a long time

And no, I decided never to play with shadow refuge again because it’s simply more boring than using my beloved shadow trap <3 and I get much more out of it and you get a much bigger award playing with it, allthough yes, it is riskier against builds with more sustain.

You actually may be right with the predictability of my build. After a while of having fought condi thieves I noticed certain patterns and after a while they became really easy to handle (not kill since they can just escape like that and they usually do)

What sets my build and yours build appart is that my build’s survivability is much higher due to dire armor and the availability of more innitiative points. I have much more sustain and once you run out of innitiative points you have to go into defense, while I on the other hand have always innitiative points ready and I am also safer than you playing mid-ranged. There are so many more points but to conclude; Sword/pistol’s skill cap is reached much sooner than p/d.

Also the fact that you don’t really synergize with your rune attributes and trap utilities makes for another huge mistake. I noticed that my build synergizes with so many things that it gets ridiculous.

So do play with your build but try to fight a group of 2 or 3 in a strechted out fight and you will see how quickly you’ll be vulnerable to their damage since your only stealth source are the traps (perhaps also thief steal, traits or secondary weapon set in combination with blinding powder).

If you have something to add I’ll listen but try to drop the boring/fun topic already cause I won’t argue about that. kkthxbye

babazhook.6805:

Nephrite.6954:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAsYVl0MptplNx0J0PNBMBxVP0O3RIAdflC/EA-TpBBwAAeAAUOEAF3fYzRAocZAInAAA Here’s something I came out with for spvp, hope this works. Dropping trickery could be a pain but it’s all worth a new play style

People seem to be under the impression that needle trap must be dropped beforehand hoping the enemy steps on it. You can in fact drop it as you are engaged directly on the enemy. The activation time is equal to that of cNd slice and cripple and it is unblockable.

Your build, with panic strike has a whole lot of Immobs. Now add Devourer venom in there along with that needle trap.

I used to play this build back when I discovered the trap build. I like it but you are veeeery vulnerable against condi builds, however power build are not a problem. Nice one though, keep the creativity coming!

MrKahwk.9524:

That’s why sword/dagger is a must as a secondary weapon set, it’s the most fun weaponset for the thief imo. And if spamming pistol whip and unload is less boring than strategic gameplay and positioning with p/d is another question, but to a lot of people the answer would be obvious.

lol @ spamming #3

You really have no idea how the build works.

Furthermore, I apply so many conditions on my first damage rotation that removing the bleed stacks isn’t even such a big deal; I just reapply them, that’s a forte of condi thieves and especially caltrops since the enemy sits in them for such a long time

Not if you are stunned, immobilized, and knocked down in addition to an invisible target. That’s what my build does.

Not to mention how vulnerable you are against other condition builds especially Necros.

And no, I decided never to play with shadow refuge again because it’s simply more boring than using my beloved shadow trap <3 and I get much more out of it and you get a much bigger award playing with it, allthough yes, it is riskier against builds with more sustain.

I like Shadow Trap also, those might stack are just pretty, but it’s currently unreliable to be useful. ArenaNet needs to really fix it.

You actually may be right with the predictability of my build. After a while of having fought condi thieves I noticed certain patterns and after a while they became really easy to handle (not kill since they can just escape like that and they usually do)

That’s the thing about P/D it doesn’t really have much going for it.

There are so many more points but to conclude; Sword/pistol’s skill cap is reached much sooner than p/d.

Not if you play it correctly. The survivability of this build, or any power build, is their ability to control the fight and deal a lot of damage in a short amount of time. My build utilizes immobilize, stun, daze and knockdown to deny my target any type of counter play.

I barely ran out of Initiative since most of the time I’ll be auto attacking to deal a lot of damage while my target is immobilized or knocked down. I use Pistol Whip from stealth to deal burst damage thanks to Revealed Training, Pistol Mastery, Combined Training, Exposed Weakness, Combo Crit Chance and Vulnerability stacks.

I can even combo my traps with Sword #2 or Steal at point blank range.
I can daze my target and cause blind.
My Steal causes poison and weakness to reduce my target survivability.

There’s so much options in this build that I highly doubt you can predict what I’ll do next.

P/D on the other hand relies on your target to be dumb enough to be kited into your traps. Not only your build misuses the Trapper Rune, you’re also not using traps properly.

Also the fact that you don’t really synergize with your rune attributes and trap utilities makes for another huge mistake. I noticed that my build synergizes with so many things that it gets ridiculous.

Yes your build synergize yet failed to specialize. Your build is just all over the place and way too defensive to get the job done.

If your goal is to annoy people, you have made the right build. You are better off dropping the Berserker pieces and go full Dire. You’d get better result.

So do play with your build but try to fight a group of 2 or 3 in a strechted out fight and you will see how quickly you’ll be vulnerable to their damage since your only stealth source are the traps (perhaps also thief steal, traits or secondary weapon set in combination with blinding powder).

This is not a build that tries to dance with 2 or 3 enemies. This is a roaming build that counters other roamer. I know how to pick my battles.

And please, your build will not last a 2v1 or 3v1 either. It lacks the necessary damage to actually bring anyone down. Your build is just annoying, nothing more.

If you have something to add I’ll listen but try to drop the boring/fun topic already cause I won’t argue about that. kkthxbye

You brought that up, not me.

MrKahwk.9524:

babazhook.6805:

Nephrite.6954:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAsYVl0MptplNx0J0PNBMBxVP0O3RIAdflC/EA-TpBBwAAeAAUOEAF3fYzRAocZAInAAA Here’s something I came out with for spvp, hope this works. Dropping trickery could be a pain but it’s all worth a new play style

People seem to be under the impression that needle trap must be dropped beforehand hoping the enemy steps on it. You can in fact drop it as you are engaged directly on the enemy. The activation time is equal to that of cNd slice and cripple and it is unblockable.

Your build, with panic strike has a whole lot of Immobs. Now add Devourer venom in there along with that needle trap.

I used to play this build back when I discovered the trap build. I like it but you are veeeery vulnerable against condi builds, however power build are not a problem. Nice one though, keep the creativity coming!

Yeah this build focuses on controlling the fight and adding as much pain as possible on melee range. Yes this build is quite vulnerable towards condi builds that’s why you have to try your best to get in stealth another problem about this build would be chasing down your enemies when their hp pool is above 50% or when panic strike is on a cool down.

babazhook.6805:

Nephrite.6954:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAsYVl0MptplNx0J0PNBMBxVP0O3RIAdflC/EA-TpBBwAAeAAUOEAF3fYzRAocZAInAAA Here’s something I came out with for spvp, hope this works. Dropping trickery could be a pain but it’s all worth a new play style

People seem to be under the impression that needle trap must be dropped beforehand hoping the enemy steps on it. You can in fact drop it as you are engaged directly on the enemy. The activation time is equal to that of cNd slice and cripple and it is unblockable.

Your build, with panic strike has a whole lot of Immobs. Now add Devourer venom in there along with that needle trap.

Yup^^ with infiltrators strike you’ll chances are increased.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAsYVl0MptplNx0J0PRhTBxVA8uFrIGa13O3wEA-TpBBwAAeAAUOEAF3fYzRAocZAInAAA Here’s another if you favour trickery over panic strike and I highly recommend you pick corrosive trap over mug because your teammates will hit them harder it’s still a condition though therefore it could be removed.

I have been toying with Shadow trap in WvW.It hard to get it to work JUST right but this skill can be so fun. I was laying down a needle trap with a shadow trap on top. I was using it on the approach to a camp and waiting out of site. See it triggered then do the step back.The 1800+ power 1900+ condi with revealed training becomes 2300 power and 2200 condi. You have 5 seconds stealth and the bad guy is immobilized. (they do not see you of course and are not even aware you next to them so will very often not try to break that immob)

it nice when it works just right.

The most important factor here is you lay on all this damage and barely touch your ini.

babazhook.6805:

I have been toying with Shadow trap in WvW.It hard to get it to work JUST right but this skill can be so fun. I was laying down a needle trap with a shadow trap on top. I was using it on the approach to a camp and waiting out of site. See it triggered then do the step back.The 1800+ power 1900+ condi with revealed training becomes 2300 power and 2200 condi. You have 5 seconds stealth and the bad guy is immobilized. (they do not see you of course and are not even aware you next to them so will very often not try to break that immob)

it nice when it works just right.

The most important factor here is you lay on all this damage and barely touch your ini.

I used to run Shadow Trap with my Pistol Whip build and I have come across that situation. The damage output from my build is just insane due to the compounding damage bonuses plus the stacks of Might.

Sir Vincent III.1286:

babazhook.6805:

I have been toying with Shadow trap in WvW.It hard to get it to work JUST right but this skill can be so fun. I was laying down a needle trap with a shadow trap on top. I was using it on the approach to a camp and waiting out of site. See it triggered then do the step back.The 1800+ power 1900+ condi with revealed training becomes 2300 power and 2200 condi. You have 5 seconds stealth and the bad guy is immobilized. (they do not see you of course and are not even aware you next to them so will very often not try to break that immob)

it nice when it works just right.

The most important factor here is you lay on all this damage and barely touch your ini.

I used to run Shadow Trap with my Pistol Whip build and I have come across that situation. The damage output from my build is just insane due to the compounding damage bonuses plus the stacks of Might.

All right, I read all of your criticism. Could you please post your build so I can try it out and see things for myself? Because a lot of stuff depends on the actual battle itself and of course your playstyle.

MrKahwk.9524:

Sir Vincent III.1286:

babazhook.6805:

I have been toying with Shadow trap in WvW.It hard to get it to work JUST right but this skill can be so fun. I was laying down a needle trap with a shadow trap on top. I was using it on the approach to a camp and waiting out of site. See it triggered then do the step back.The 1800+ power 1900+ condi with revealed training becomes 2300 power and 2200 condi. You have 5 seconds stealth and the bad guy is immobilized. (they do not see you of course and are not even aware you next to them so will very often not try to break that immob)

it nice when it works just right.

The most important factor here is you lay on all this damage and barely touch your ini.

I used to run Shadow Trap with my Pistol Whip build and I have come across that situation. The damage output from my build is just insane due to the compounding damage bonuses plus the stacks of Might.

All right, I read all of your criticism. Could you please post your build so I can try it out and see things for myself? Because a lot of stuff depends on the actual battle itself and of course your playstyle.

Posted it on top (scroll up).

I agree, this build will depend on your play style. My stance is not about changing your play style, it’s about capitalizing on what the Trapper Rune can offer.

Kurow.3076:

….

That is the sole reason those people avoid touching traps.

Could it be…because it’s a trap?

I only ever used ambush on my p/d build… ambush+guild of thieves = 3 pets/thieves. But that’s only because of how much that build stealths, giving you time to plant the trap right under their feet for instant trigger.

I didn’t read through all of this, but the problem with traps is someone has to walk through it. Most people already know to just run from a roaming thief. Also if you’re not in stealth setting the trap I’m simply going to just not walk through it.

NinjaSonic.1392:

I didn’t read through all of this, but the problem with traps is someone has to walk through it. Most people already know to just run from a roaming thief. Also if you’re not in stealth setting the trap I’m simply going to just not walk through it.

First I have no [problem getting enemy to “walk through my traps”. They do not see them. Secondly a trap can be laid directly on top of an enemy player. I have set many traps at my feet as I am engaged. If one of your weapon skills could immobilize an enemy , inflict poison, inflict bleeding inflict weakness and even vulnerabilty , do it to 5 people and be unblockable along with costing 0 ini would you use it?

What single utility skill provides MORE in the way of benefits ? (now throw in on top of that all of the benefits one can trait for when gaining stealth for a person using trappers runes)

Further to that there a number of places in WvW where one can all but guarantee an enemy will step such as on stairwells or bridges. Traps will even go off if a stealthed enemy steps on it (You will see it trigger)