Guild Wars 2

from Level 1 – 80 thiefs in PvE are weak and weaker compared to the PvE content.

You can max out + Vit and end up with 18k-20 HP and have kittened DPS
You can max out + Toughness end up with 2200 Armor and have kittened DPS
You can max out +Prec +Power and end up with 12k HP and die from a few hits

>> Shortbow = its simply horrible weak takes forever to kill something only 900 Range
>> Pistol = to weak to slow and only 900 range

> Sword is horrible, slow and the skills are no fun…
> Dagger only hits one target …. why ? Why cant dagger hit for 130 Range like the warriors Axe does ??

Shotbow damage needs a +50-70% damage boost and a range increase or a speed boost…..

With shortbow and pistol even down leveled to level 10 it takes a long time to kill something.

never mind how you do it, Thiefs for PvE are horrible. They can spam Blindness yes… is that the way to have fun ? no its not.

As L80 down leveled to Level 10 my character has less HP than he really had at Level 10.

As Level 80 down leveled to 40 a champion can still kill me with 2 hits.

Thiefs are horrible for a little harder PvE content and theres no way to specc them for better defense or alot of HP never mind how much +VIT +Tough gear you give to him, they will always be weak in PvE because they rely on +CRIT% which would be to low on a defense setup….

If a thief has 2-3 mobs to fight he usually ends up close to dead if ever…….

WHO would like a Thief in their PvE group ?

Answer > No one wants a thief because Warrior and even Guardians can do better than Thiefs

Give Thiefs a better position in PvE …. thnx

You’re wrong.
>>Dagger is only viable for Condition Thieves and BS .But BS is only for PvP.
>>Sword has the best raw damage compared to any other thief weapons.I hit up to 7k normal hits in dungeons like Arah.
>>Shot bow is the best weapon Thief has and The best short bow in game.Its great whit condition builds and power builds.You’re practicaly untoucheable using one and thats the whole point as a thief.And Shortbow is mostly for crowds.

And I was able to take a Veteran and 5 more centaurs in WvW whit my PvP Sword and dagger setup and finish the fight whit my HP intact.Do you understand what I am saying? I wasn’t even touched once ,while doing melee.

Probably you are dying hard in PvE because you play a thief like it is a guardian.
As ArenaNet stated, thief defensive capability isn’t about taking lot of damage without dying, it is about not taking damage at all.

Also, have you ever heard something about balanced builds?
Use Emerald/Ruby jewelry, run 10/30/30/0/0 and enjoy your amazing survivability with high damage.
Thank me later.

ok will try out your suggestions. thnx

In full Zerk gear with Shortbow and Sword/Pistol, I can go into Orr or Frostgorge sound, pull eight guys, and kill them all without ever going under 50% hp. It’s all about using the right damage mitigation stuff.

Leveling with S/P was boring as heck, but Black-Powdering stuff doesn’t feel nearly as repetitive when you only need a few hits to kill things.

You can argue that thief PvE isn’t fun for you or doesn’t suit your playstyle, but you can’t really argue that it isn’t effective. The fact is thieves do great in PvE, but require a bit different playstyle than some of the other professions.

The main problem with the OP’s philosophy is he keeps talking about “vitality and toughness” for defense, when the majority of thief defense comes from not getting hit.

Tulisin.6945:

The main problem with the OP’s philosophy is he keeps talking about “vitality and toughness” for defense, when the majority of thief defense comes from not getting hit.

Exactly.

Trying to stack defensive stats is almost always a losing proposition, if you’re trading away offense to get them. So you take less damage per hit, but the monsters will hit you more before you kill them.

A thief’s best resources are initiative and endurance. Both can be used to just straight-up avoid damage, but they’ll run out if you try to turn everything into a battle of attrition. Don’t try to tank things; kill them while you still have the resources for active defense.

PPl don’t know how to use Blinds yet ? kitten that’s disappointing.

I’m level 60 and far from a hardcore player.

I use D/D and SB or pistol (but never need to switch).

skills are signet of shadows, ambush or blinding powder, caltrops or shadow refuge, thief’s guild. Signet of malice for heals.

20 points in trickery and acrobatics, rest building up shadow arts. Traits to drop caltrops on dodge, heal when spending init, gain might when dodging and gain vigor on stealing.

Cheap yellow daggers, green outfit with +cond damage.

pull a buttload of mobs.

roll back, dropping caltrops. turn back, deathblossom through the middle of them. deathblossom and roll back and forth through them over and over, stealing when init gets low.

take a step back and watch the whole pack of them fall over dead from blood loss.

I kill groups as fast as more ‘op’ classes, I just look exponentially cooler when doing it.

You warriors can stand there and swing your toy while I somersault over, over and around, looking AWESOME (and not getting hit).

S/P does very well in PvE. I’m lvl 80 and I own Orr, nothing there bar trying to solo group events/champions kills me if I play properly.

In dungeons I’m incredibly strong with high dps and often times I can out tank warriors and guardians with Pistol Whip+Signet of Malice.

BabelFish.7234:

often times I can out tank warriors and guardians with Pistol Whip+Signet of Malice.

High crit rate and Omnomberry Pies seal the deal here if you want defensive overkill.

Tulisin.6945:

High crit rate and Omnomberry Pies seal the deal here if you want defensive overkill.

Yup! My own S/P & SB is a Venomous Aura build, which runs Power / Precision / Toughness. Between x2 Superior Sigil of Blood, Omnombery Pie, and my traited Leeching Venom procs, you can have some crazy healing while still doing respectable dps. (Just remove those Conditions ASAP because they will eat you alive. There’s a reason that I run a Superior Sigil of Purity on my SB.)

The only way I have found to play my thief in pve successfully is the same way I play in pvp/wvw.

Spam CND, get behind a target, his BS, auto attack until reveal debuff wears off, hit CnD again, get behind target. Rinse and repeat. If you start getting hit, just use CnD until agro goes somewhere else.

PvE on thief is tough imo, but played well you can be a huge dps increase for the group.

If you gear and trait right for your preferred weapon loadout you can contribute quite a bit to a group in PvE. When I hit 80 I first got any exotics I could, the set was mismatched and unfocused. After I invested in a full condition exotic and got Nightmare Rune set my group noticed a definite increase to clear speed and ease of running different content. I am not a fan of S/P but I will try it some time.

I can’t run a build without at least 20 in Acrobatics for the HP but you can push the rest in Power, Crit or Condition trees and have a good base for ‘DPS’. This also helps you dodge like a mofo…

We are the first ones on the ground if we miss a dodge though…

Blood~

I was swapping between specs while leveling (Which after a long break from thf to level necro and warrior to 80 and other classes) my thf. I used to think that the playstyle was all about pure burst, but after spec’ing differently and def. playing with dodging on my mind, I’ve found the class to be fun again. I use d/d with p/d as secondary set.
Build atm (any suggestions are also welcomed)
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fYAQRAoY6YlcmKOHay8E+5Eh3jv2Vyqp4mtsTxV1KA

You’re forgetting that thieves can kite almost indefinitely against PvE bosses. Makes for great avoidance tanks.

Jaer.1029:

I was swapping between specs while leveling (Which after a long break from thf to level necro and warrior to 80 and other classes) my thf. I used to think that the playstyle was all about pure burst, but after spec’ing differently and def. playing with dodging on my mind, I’ve found the class to be fun again. I use d/d with p/d as secondary set.
Build atm (any suggestions are also welcomed)
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fYAQRAoY6YlcmKOHay8E+5Eh3jv2Vyqp4mtsTxV1KA

Jaer,

For fun throw the 20 points from the Power line into Crit line for Signet Use. Then take Hastened Replenishment from Trickery 30 and use Signet of Malice. This gives ya 6 initiative every 12 seconds and you can roll a ton of bleeds. CnD is very initiative intensive and this gives you a lot You can also trait Vigor on Heal every 12 seconds so you can almost ‘permadodge’.

Not saying its better because you lose 20% duration on bleeds but you can throw more out.

Blood~

Bloodgruve.6038:

Jaer.1029:

I was swapping between specs while leveling (Which after a long break from thf to level necro and warrior to 80 and other classes) my thf. I used to think that the playstyle was all about pure burst, but after spec’ing differently and def. playing with dodging on my mind, I’ve found the class to be fun again. I use d/d with p/d as secondary set.
Build atm (any suggestions are also welcomed)
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fYAQRAoY6YlcmKOHay8E+5Eh3jv2Vyqp4mtsTxV1KA

Jaer,

For fun throw the 20 points from the Power line into Crit line for Signet Use. Then take Hastened Replenishment from Trickery 30 and use Signet of Malice. This gives ya 6 initiative every 12 seconds and you can roll a ton of bleeds. CnD is very initiative intensive and this gives you a lot You can also trait Vigor on Heal every 12 seconds so you can almost ‘permadodge’.

Not saying its better because you lose 20% duration on bleeds but you can throw more out.

Blood~

Ah yes, I see how it’ll work, nice, I’ll give it a shot tonight
Thanks for the info/advice

Wiser with Age.3714:

Between x2 Superior Sigil of Blood

Proc sigils share cooldowns. This isn’t a terrible idea because the Blood cooldown is so short, but you’re still not going to get double effectiveness.

another question regarding the spec listed above from Blood; which rune set would you recommend once I hit 80?

Tulisin.6945:

Wiser with Age.3714:

Between x2 Superior Sigil of Blood

Proc sigils share cooldowns. This isn’t a terrible idea because the Blood cooldown is so short, but you’re still not going to get double effectiveness.

In my book as a pseudo-tanking Thief, I’d much rather have a more consistent proc at 51% than I would have a 30% inconsistent proc and a kill count sigil that constantly resets any time that I get downed.

I’m 100% full zerk, and I don’t have any problems.

Open-world PvE I run either D/D – Shortbow or S/P – Shortbow depending on the situation and my mood. All are fine, and clusterbomb can hit for a lot of damage if you use it correctly (Get the initial explosion to hit the same targets as submunition).

For Dungeons I usually run P/P actually. I know there’s a lot of talk about how terribad P/P is because of the combination of bleeds/burst dps and the lack of synergy, but on boss fights having the DPS of unload mixed with the survivability and mobility of range is fantastic.

Obviously I still need to pay attention, there’s no easy-mode, but if you pay attention, manage your dodges correctly, and utilize your combos (Shadow Refuge > 1, 3 Lifesteal combo can heal me back up to full) then you will find yourself a valuable member of any group.

The Thief is a high risk/reward class. If we get caught we can die very quickly, but if we play smart we can do freakishly huge amounts of damage, support group members, and rarely die.

Oh, and my spec is DA/CS/Trick.

I went for 5-6 Twilight Arbor Nightmare rune set. Prior to that 3x Superior Krait and 3x Superior Afflicted would get you good bleed damage and duration buff. Don’t forget your Super Veggie Pizza, cheap and adds a lot of damage to DB. This should take your bleeds to about 17 seconds which adds a lot of damage. +Condition Damage for larger ticks, +Condition Duration to make um tick longer

Blood~