Guild Wars 2

So I am currently leveling a thief and am wondering for when I start doing WvW more, what utility skills should I be using? I am going to play around with the glass cannon/backstab build or whatever you call it. Just wondering what utility skills I should be using and why.

Thanks

Signet of Shadows is pretty good at getting around, and the blind is useful in preventing the CC’s of down players when stomping.
Shadow Refuge is imo a must for most group activites, aoe stealth for stomping, res’ing, escaping, and ambushing.
Shadowstep is 2 stun breaks is one, teleport and condition removal
Caltrops is good for condition builds, and combos with signet of malice.
Devourer & ice drake venom are not bad for some CC.
and i don’t use traps enough to give a good opinion on them.

For WvW my most used utilities across all builds are Shadowstep, Shadow Refuge and Signet of Shadows. Every time I try to replace Sig of Shadows I regret it so I stopped trying. The best overall Elite is Thieves Guild.

The exception to that is with a d/d burst build. I replace Sig of Shadows with Haste and Guild with B-Venomsince since it’s a more hit and run spec that is cooldown based.

You can get a safe kill every minute even in a zerg. B-Venom ^ Hide in Shadows ^ Shadowstep into zerg ^ find target ^ wait to unstealth ^ C&D+Mug/Backstab/Haste/kill/Stomp/Loot ^ ShadowReturn ^ ShadowRefuge. If you get interrupted stomping or don’t get the kill quickly just let it go and shadow return/refuge and wait for cooldowns. If there is pressure swap to shortbow and port away.

I personally don’t like this super squishy cooldown cowboy playstyle but it works well. I should also say this combo is extremely cheezy and why a lot of players complain about dead from inviso thieves. You can stealth and hit a target 2100 away and due to culling you won’t show up before the C&D after Mug and you won’t render to them until you have probably haste stomped them. You may never render and shadowstep 1200 back and refuge and it just looks like someone fell over and dropped a bag.

That said, good players counter this by reacting to their own character and sounds. As soon as you see the stone effect and/or hear the clinkity clink of daggers you pop stunbreakers and cooldowns.

I use:
Signet of Shadows – passive effect makes you run 25% faster, you can also activate it for instant aoe blind on the enemy group.
Shadow Refuge – aoe stealth and heal, you can hide your party on the retreat or during the attack, for suprise element.
Signet of Agility – incerases your precision by 90 points. Activation removes 1 condition from you and players nearby. You can activate it at any time, it also breaks the knock-down.
Dagger Storm – I find it the most usefull. You attack everything around you and reflect all ranged attacks. If you run into a group of archers – deadly. Thieves Guild is also fine but only for solo or small fights. NPC thieves die rather quickly if attacked by 2-3 players.

I have 2 signets because my traits are based on extra initiative on signet activation, I also have -20% cooldown on all signets. I find these utilities best for my playstyle as I can both fight solo and support my group on the battlegrounds. You simply have to know when you should activate the specific signet.

Shadow step, Signet of Shadow, Shadow refuge.
Would never ever replace shadowstep or shadow refuge, they are a must.
Signet of shdow, keep wanting to replace it but keep coming back to it.

For the final ability, i use all 3.
Daggerstorm for taking camps/lord rooms
Baslisk for that guy u just cant seem to catch
Thieves guild for small skirmishes.

Thieves guild i was i run most the time, and switch it out based on teh situation. Its pretty much an i-win button in any 1v1 or small encounters you run into.

That helps a lot!! Thanks!

blinding powder > shadow refuge. Sure, SR last’s longer but it has a longer CD and it shows everyone who’s looking where you are trying to hide. Withdraw + Blinding powder = wtf where did that thief go?