Guild Wars 2

Just wondering, can thief be played without elite specialization?

I’m currently playing pistol/pistol & sword/pistol
I’m thinking of going fully ranged and switching S/P to short bow.

I mean, is the elite specialization so critical to thief that it cannot be played competently without it?

So far i still miss like 30% of elite tree, so i have not tried it yet and i think my build is becoming suitable for my playstyle.

Could use some advises.

Here’s some early footage of my build. Still upgrading my gear and accessories to exotic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWhiZAtR9_Y

I got to legend solo with old fashioned dp thief, so yes you can play thief w/o elite.

You obviously will have disadvantages for not using elite spec though. I think if you got DD improved dodge and would have more access to stealth which would allow you to drop some utilities you are using right now. Given that you don’t have full DD yet i would probably get SA for stealth on steal, get withdraw and drop roll for ini for blinding powder (you don’t seem to use later much and blinding powder is great as escape tool and to gain stealth for sneak attack).

I probably will get a lot of hate from wvw players, but i still think anything works in wvw. If you enjoy playing p/p build, why not? If you spend most of the time in p/p then switching from sd to sb may not be a bad idea since you lack utility/gap closers (or rather escape tools).

As far as pvp goes: unless you want to play in tourneys just play w/e you enjoy. In pvp you obviously can get DD and enjoy bound dodge with BP for stealth.
Can’t really give many tips as far as pvp goes since in you were in outnumbered fights (in favor of your team) in the video.

PvE, no problem. In sPvP, not at the higher ranks. In WvW, sure but you will likely get wrecked by Dare Devils (and pretty much everything else).

Thanks, good tips!

I’m running vanilla D/D (wvw) and usually kill all other vanilla specs and all thieves – for everybody else I’m bait.