Guild Wars 2

I was talking with some Guild mates on vent the other night as I was playing my Thief and they mentioned that they have never had played with a thief that could stay alive in dungeons very well. well I took up the challenge but was wondering if I bit off more then I can chew. while I am new to the game kind of I am an experienced MMO player but the more research I do on thief’s the more I find people calling them Glass cannons, so my question is when I get him up enough to run Dungeons what are some things I should watch for? not looking for build tips or in depth class guides kind of stuff but more general tips for keeping alive in the dungeons when running my thief through since he will probably be the first character I run them with.

Thanks

The problem is – there is nothing another class can’t do better than thief in dungeons, except shadow refuge res-es… So back on topic – yeah, thief is bad class to dungeon with.

Depends on how good you are really, it is possible to stay alive and be bring some utility like group stealth etc and you can go for rabid/carrion gear stacking up toughness like mad and deal some decent damage with conditions.
But as Pavel said, other classes can do the same and probably do it better then thiefs.

We cant really compete with warriors kittened dmg and tankyness nor with the group utilities engineers/rangers bring. So honestly it’s kind of a huge meh, some dungeons I’ve been able to tank with my thief mostly duo to D/D lotus spin with life steal food and signet of malice keeping me alive through the dmg but even then a guardian could do the same while healing the party, taking a dance lesson and sip a cup of tea.

oh forgot, with S/D we’re actually kinda semi useful as boon stripper
And all things taken into account: I still love the thief playstyle so I’ll keep at it regardless of what everyone else think :P

Just 2 examples. In a PvE metagame where not getting hit is better than sponging hits, Thief is actually fantastic. We have a ton of blinds, evasive skills and mobility to slip out of hectic situations eg. some Fractals where the group cannot stack for some reason. While doing all of this, we can afford to invest in to offensive gear more than any other class, simply because our lifelines are evasions in the first place, so it matters none. Sure, the learning curve is a little sharper than Warrior, but you can put down incredibly formidable DPS, evade most, if not all incoming damage, and you can support in ways that don’t involve heals/boons eg. stealth ressing, a LOT of blast finishers (which can heal in water fields etc), Smoke Screen. Also, Signet of Malice is the best healing skill in the entire game for PvE – absolutely NO exceptions.

I adore my Thief in dungeons – I run her in level 48 Fractals every day with zero problems. Generally, underperformance on Thief unfortunately comes from the player, not the class.

Auesis could I get a link to your build and gear? I would Like to look it over if you do not mind

penguin.1967:

Auesis could I get a link to your build and gear? I would Like to look it over if you do not mind

the build and gear used in those videos is more than likely different from what you should actually run in a group setting, to maximize your usefulness full berserkers with scholar runes, and something along the lines of 25/30/x/x/x would be best

edit: also not sure if auesis showed this in his videos, but its very important to carry every weapon ( 2 daggers and 2 pistols of course) because they all have their uses

As for the rune/socket things, plain Ruby orbs actually work quite nice.
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ruby_Orb
works better then most standard runes unless you’re after a specific trait like condition removal from Lyssa’s 6 set bonus etc

Clumsy is right. Both of those runs are basically first attempts – I was not sure if blind would be able to properly combat multi-hit attacks etc. For the majority, I ran Berserker accessories, Soldier armor with Divinity runes. On repeat attempts, I’d go with Berserker armor + Scholar. My traits were also heavily invested in maintaining initiative and being very multi-purpose eg. 0/30/10/20/10 for various major traits in all those trees that would benefit me when on my own.

In groups, you want to be running 25/30/x/x/x with as much Berserker as you feel confident with, gradually getting glassier and glassier as you learn encounters. Ruby Orbs work fine, but eventually Scholar will be useful. I believe 25/30/10/0/5 is most beneficial for x/D-heavy builds for the initiative sustain with stealth.

And yes, carry every weapon (Sword, 2 daggers, 2 pistols, shortbow). Every combination will have a use, somewhere.

It’s all a bunch of half truths. Yes you can get through dungeons unscathed with decent play when poor warriors are hitting the dirt. Yes warriors can get more out of the class with less effort. PuG tactics tend to be designed by heavy classes for heavy classes and everyone else suffers. And so on.

Yes you can do all the dungeons with a thief but you need to play a bit smarter than other classes. For the trash you can harness all your class defenses like blind and generally fight smart to keep yourself out of the crossfire. For bosses just time your dodges, use your weapon evades, and pick smart positions.