Thief's Trickbook

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Posted by: Evalia.7103

Evalia.7103

I want this to be a thread where you could share thief combo’s and tricky moves, starting from simple ones(such as Shadow Refuge+Dancing Dagger Life Leech synergy) to weird anomalies(such as trick jumping with Infiltrator’s Strike; Link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1vW5kfyoXE)
Care to share some of your’s cool moves so that we will improve our skills and knowledge together?
My share of tricks:
Jump + Dodge at the same time for a stylish Air Dodge(Not Thief Specific)
Jump + Withdraw allows you to perform a leap-like effect. Withdraw has to be pressed slightly after the jump – and it is quite tricky to get the right timing(this also works with Roll For Initiative and Heartseeker Strike).
Shadow Refuge + Dancing Dagger to allow for some serious lifesteal.
Infiltrator’s Arrow + Jump right after it. Allows you to get into some tricky places where just Infiltrator’s Arrow simply won’t work.

(edited by Evalia.7103)

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Posted by: Arikyali.5804

Arikyali.5804

Ooooh, but the best tricks are never to be spoken of! We must not let the enemies know our secrets…

Eh, i’ll start with a basic from thief 101

CnD + Steal = shadowstep to your opponent and CnD off them to gain stealth right next to them.

(edited by Arikyali.5804)

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Posted by: Zero Day.2594

Zero Day.2594

The Jump+Dodge… I dont think that’s thief specific.
The Infiltrator’s Arrow + Jump… that honestly seems like a “bug” (I can forsee it being “fixed”). You can either think it’s a bug in the sense that infiltrator arrow shouldn’t have taken you to that place regardless of the jump, or you can think of it as IA should have taken you to that place regardless of the jump. But IA+Jump seems weird.

(Now that it’s been pointed out like this… I bet they’re going to prioritize “fixing” it. O well. BTW we craft faster when in stealth… you guys should seriously look into that instead of this…)

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(edited by Zero Day.2594)

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Posted by: supa suop.8026

supa suop.8026

Ooooh, but the best tricks are never to be spoken of! We must not let the enemies know our secrets…

Eh, i’ll start with a basic from thief 101

Steal + CnD = shadowstep to your opponent and CnD off them to gain stealth right next to them.

Side Trick: Its better to pre-cast the CnD then steal. Less likely for your opponent to dodge the attack.

[SoS] PvX Thief,
The world could use more S/x Thief
FIST FLURRY! ORA!!

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Posted by: Menzies The Heretic.3415

Menzies The Heretic.3415

You can jump with almost any animated skill. I actually use it a lot. To prevent getting stuck behind a rock, or to leap over a great distance.

Forward Withdraw and Roll for Ini can be combined with a jump to cover greater distances when you time a weapon swap at the end of the animation. Which I can teach you (but requires some precise button presses).

I often use steal mid withdraw to be completely unpredictable and cancel Withdraw without having to stow weapon.

You can cancel Withdraw and Roll for Initiative to hold your position (by weapon swap).

You can precast “throw gunk” then teleport to save casting time, and be unpredictable, and be able to Infiltrator’s Strike to immobilize your target in his gunk.

You can cast Pistol Whip, then jump to delay the cleave. Which gives you more time and distance to aim it at moving foes. Or foes that had stability/stunbreak. Or be unpredictable.

Video about a few ways in which you can forward withdraw:
http://youtu.be/Hm8f2XyUjZM
Including manual camera turn, about face with and without camera offset. And with free camera.

You can close immense gaps as a Thief (funny as I saw this thread recently claiming otherwise: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/thief/SD-theif-need-chasing-powers/first#post4490192)

  • Large: Shadowstep/Inf Signet – Inf Strike – Steal
  • Or larger: Withdraw – Roll for Initiative – Inf Strike/Signet – Shadowstep/Inf Signet – Steal
  • Insane: Infinite Strike – Inf Return + Shadowstep/Inf Signet (closing gap while casting) – Inf Strike ( + throw in Withdraw or RfI if you like) – Steal
* Twitch – Mênzîes – Mesmer pvp
* YouTube – Fun, guides and gameplay

(edited by Menzies The Heretic.3415)

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Posted by: Arikyali.5804

Arikyali.5804

Ooooh, but the best tricks are never to be spoken of! We must not let the enemies know our secrets…

Eh, i’ll start with a basic from thief 101

Steal + CnD = shadowstep to your opponent and CnD off them to gain stealth right next to them.

Side Trick: Its better to pre-cast the CnD then steal. Less likely for your opponent to dodge the attack.

That’s actually what I was referring to. Edited.

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Posted by: Evalia.7103

Evalia.7103

So much actual value in this thread :P
Thanks to everyone!

A ton of good advices

First of all I got confused by “stowing” your weapon to cancel withdraw. I assume you must have meant swapping because stowing is purely a cosmetic thing( I even tried it in-game :-) )
The way I picture the longest-range possible withdraw would be:
Running Forward + Free Camera → Jump + About Face → Withdraw > Swap Weapon(near the end of Withdraw forward movement) → Free Camera(Drop it)
I’ve actually already done that and it feels completely awesome but in combat it’s honestly too hard to do. I’ve done a couple in combat, but it’s a little bit too much buttons and is very prone to failure too.
Do you think I should edit the first post and add your tricks so it’s easier to find and read?

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Posted by: mango.9267

mango.9267

stowing is purely a cosmetic thing

No it’s not. It’s great for cancelling skills that are going to miss.

Second Child

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Posted by: Arikyali.5804

Arikyali.5804

A few more, most just basics every thief should already know:

Putting your refuge against a wall so you can’t be pushed out of it.

Triple shadowstep- shadowstep, sword 2, and steal/infitrator’s strike. Closes gaps from fleeing opponents.

gunk steal: stack confusion with projectile finishers, or get chaos armor with blast finisher.

load basilisk venom on dancing dagger for ranged stun

turn your camera/about face and withdraw forward

Dodge inside your refuge – start at one side and dodge straight across the diameter – you won’t leave your refuge. Takes a lot of practice though.

(edited by Arikyali.5804)

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Posted by: Geiir.7603

Geiir.7603

I’ll add these tips to my Book of Shadows if that is ok?

Melder – Thief

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Posted by: Evalia.7103

Evalia.7103

stowing is purely a cosmetic thing

No it’s not. It’s great for cancelling skills that are going to miss.

It’s nice but ESC has that function too ^^

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Posted by: Menzies The Heretic.3415

Menzies The Heretic.3415

stowing is purely a cosmetic thing

No it’s not. It’s great for cancelling skills that are going to miss.

It’s nice but ESC has that function too ^^

Esc – all the way in the left corner of your keyboard
If pressed without taking action, it will open the menu (which is the last thing you’ll need)

Stow Weapon – hotkey anywhere you like
Actually stows your weapons which is nice when you want to stop attacking (a reflecting opponent for example)

* Twitch – Mênzîes – Mesmer pvp
* YouTube – Fun, guides and gameplay

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Posted by: Rodrigo.1486

Rodrigo.1486

I am new to thief but I found a trick I really like
From stealth on pistol mainhand you can fire body shot and immediately afterward fire sneak attack. Since body shot is a slow moving projectile you are not revealed. You get the target immobilized for the entire sneak attack

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Posted by: Evalia.7103

Evalia.7103

I am new to thief but I found a trick I really like
From stealth on pistol mainhand you can fire body shot and immediately afterward fire sneak attack. Since body shot is a slow moving projectile you are not revealed. You get the target immobilized for the entire sneak attack

It’s a very nice natural combo.
I want to tell you this thing: My Fun build was SB/P+P , and from stealth it is possible to fire a shortbow sneak attack followed up by a pistol sneak attack(same as with body shot but with more immobilize!). Or, well, that shortbow sneak attack is completely hax as you can use it two times in a row!
Pistol Sneak Attack combined with Shadow Refuge leads to tons of life leech. Even more so, if you don’t spam blindly but instead tactically, you can pull off 2 stealth attacks from shadow refuge(that is if you use it offensively of course)

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Posted by: Arganthium.5638

Arganthium.5638

Not really a trick but Shadowstep+Infi Signet+Infi Strike+Steal = 3600 range in ~2 seconds.

Thief|Mesmer|
Theorycrafter

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Posted by: Deejjster.3702

Deejjster.3702

Menzies mentioned that you can cancel your withdraw movement by stowing weapons. A good example of using this is in your shadow refuge when you need to heal or evade something that will knock u out. Cast withdraw then weapon swap so the movement doesn’t bring you out of your refuge!

Cheers!

Lumenel -[DT]/[KG] – Sea of Sorrows
Hexual – Female Mesmer
Sazed – Male Mesmer

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Posted by: Evalia.7103

Evalia.7103

Menzies mentioned that you can cancel your withdraw movement by stowing weapons. A good example of using this is in your shadow refuge when you need to heal or evade something that will knock u out. Cast withdraw then weapon swap so the movement doesn’t bring you out of your refuge!

Cheers!

!!! Please distinguish between weapon SWAP and weapon stow. Stowing is useful for canceling animations, but to cancel withdraw you’ll need to SWAP.

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Posted by: Menzies The Heretic.3415

Menzies The Heretic.3415

Yeah I’m sorry, only skills with a cast time can be cancelled by stowing your weapon.

Withdraw can be cancelled by weapon swapping.

* Twitch – Mênzîes – Mesmer pvp
* YouTube – Fun, guides and gameplay