Guild Wars 2

Hi All,
For over four weeks I have been playing sPvP, and not been having a great time.
The build I play is a D/D thief using 56003, so a lot of burst lol (http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAoYVlsMp0pdOxsJ8PNRLBtdHi+H87N6+gAA-TZRBwAz2fQzRAgcZAAnCgHPAAA)

Anyways, it seems like every other class can out beat it or counter it.
From guards, rangers, warriors, engineers, and even elementalists, it almost seems they “have it all”. High damage, high CC, great sustain/armor, and even some skills that allow 0 damage (Signet of Stone, Endure Pain etc).

Not sure what others think or say, but I can’t even get past a 20k backstab (as they say). I can’t even get past 10k or let alone let my attacks get evaded, invulnerable, or get countered with CC or conditions, etc.

I am not looking for pity, I am looking for strength here. I know Thieves are strong, but not as strong as other classes.
Anyone have any tips for sPvP Thieves? Should I change my strategy, build, weapons, traits? Or should I suffer another few months until I figure something out.

Thanks for any tips/suggestions.

If you want to play dagger in pvp D/P is better.

You won’t get higher than a 14k backstab in PvP. You’d only get that if you built specifically for it.

On average you’ll be getting 6k crit backstabs with standard D/P builds.

Playing thief well does require a lot of game knowledge and experience.

The best way to start playing would be to focus on outnumbering fights and looking for decap opportunities.

If you play with a focus on these two things you’ll start gaining the experience over time.

Besides playing, one of the most valuable tools you have at playing thief well is watching people stream. Magic Toker and Sizer are the best thieves that also currently stream. You’ll get a lot out of seeing the tendencies of a good thief. They play S/D, but if you ever see Caed start streaming again he plays D/P.

http://www.twitch.tv/magictoker
http://www.twitch.tv/sizer2654
http://www.twitch.tv/narcarsis — Caed

D/D is more of a WvW set.

The 3 viable PvP sets are D/P, S/D and S/P.

because the 20k backstab is bullkitten in spvp. only if you are fully buffed you can dish out those damages in WvW. and that’s saying he isn’t tanky in any form.

in spvp you do by average like 8-9 k dmg.
if you happen to buff yourselves with signet trait and on a cloth like elementalist, you may deal around 13k BS, put 4-5k cloak and dagger and it’s a one-shot since we’re talking spvp.
but that’s super rare and you will find yourself succeding with what you wanted after like 10 attempts failing the 9 other attempts just ending up dying. if you don’t backstab, you’re dead, you’ll end up thinking thieves are only good at capping with shortbow, which isn’t entirely true.

DeviantCanuck.2587:

Hi All,
For over four weeks I have been playing sPvP, and not been having a great time.
The build I play is a D/D thief using 56003, so a lot of burst lol (http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAoYVlsMp0pdOxsJ8PNRLBtdHi+H87N6+gAA-TZRBwAz2fQzRAgcZAAnCgHPAAA)

Anyways, it seems like every other class can out beat it or counter it.
From guards, rangers, warriors, engineers, and even elementalists, it almost seems they “have it all”. High damage, high CC, great sustain/armor, and even some skills that allow 0 damage (Signet of Stone, Endure Pain etc).

Not sure what others think or say, but I can’t even get past a 20k backstab (as they say). I can’t even get past 10k or let alone let my attacks get evaded, invulnerable, or get countered with CC or conditions, etc.

I am not looking for pity, I am looking for strength here. I know Thieves are strong, but not as strong as other classes.
Anyone have any tips for sPvP Thieves? Should I change my strategy, build, weapons, traits? Or should I suffer another few months until I figure something out.

Thanks for any tips/suggestions.

I assume you’re referencing my signet stab variant burst build regarding high stab outputs like 20k+. 5/6/0/0/3 signets is only useful in WvW, and numbers like mine can only be achieved via a tri-signet build with Signet Use. In PvP, stats and skills have been substantially nerfed to the point where a D/D stab build is useless and brings nothing to the table due to the kit’s nature paired with sPvP-only nerfed skills, stats, and abilities, as well as everyone having inherently higher HP from offensive amulets giving extra vitality. Pure stab builds are countered by everything in the game if they do not dispatch their targets immediately. D/P is widely-considered as a far-superior setup in this format due to the blinds and ranged interrupt to permit the damage while giving enough of a defense to not die instantly. Many running D/P will utilize a lot of condition-removing effects like S/x infil strike, Shadow Return’s condition cleanses, Withdraw, and Shadow’s Embrace.

To put things into perspective as to why you’re not hitting your desired numbers, reference my own:

My personal record for a stab in sPvP is 12k on another glassy player. Keep in mind that my build has a tolerance of dealing only around 3% more damage if I run no heal and use it instead for damage/might, and 23% more on a given stab if I get a lucky critical on around 40% crit chance while using executioner on a target already reduced to low health (so I run HK instead); otherwise my build offers the single-highest burst damage available on a given backstab. My max noted in WvW is 26k.

That’s a 54% reduction in damage.

Hope that helps why you’re getting your numbers. People talking about high stabs are referring to WvW-only builds.

hey.. i found d/d usefull only if u play very smart.. i mean.. follow ur target, wait till he loses line of sight with u, then eng with infiltrator signet, c&d + steal combo.. in this way he can t see u coming.. choose ur target and pray.. still, playing thief is very funny and sometimes very annoying.. fighting warriors with 10 secs of invulnerability suck a lot, as well as fight a ranger, with endure pain, dog and stealth ( and the arrows that follow u after stealth ) or a engineer ( does really exist only a build??). But i find my role ( when i play with my team): i don t often engage 1v1 ( or, at least i have to be sure that can be a fast fight that ends soon..) but i just roam and help to finish targets who are contesting our points.. D/P is quite better, like others said, dued to interrupt and blind spam ( and endless close the gap ). Studying carefully others builds will help u to know what skill has primary importance to be dodged and which classes ( or build ) u have to avoid. In the end, thief’s power depends to own skillz. Watch streams and play

Swagginator.3246:

because the 20k backstab is bullkitten in spvp. only if you are fully buffed you can dish out those damages in WvW. and that’s saying he isn’t tanky in any form.

in spvp you do by average like 8-9 k dmg.
if you happen to buff yourselves with signet trait and on a cloth like elementalist, you may deal around 13k BS, put 4-5k cloak and dagger and it’s a one-shot since we’re talking spvp.
but that’s super rare and you will find yourself succeding with what you wanted after like 10 attempts failing the 9 other attempts just ending up dying. if you don’t backstab, you’re dead, you’ll end up thinking thieves are only good at capping with shortbow, which isn’t entirely true.

Not fully 20k though.

DeviantCanuck.2587:

burst

The biggest thing when playing a burst spec* in sPvP is to get the idea of fighting even remotely fair out of your head. If they as much as glance in your general direction, you run away, sneak back and stab them when they look the other way. The whole point of burst is killing them before they can react, so the worst thing you can do is give your victims an early warning.

Of course, even I don’t follow my own rules, but more often than not if I die, it’s because I decided to gamble it all on the enemy not dodging an attack they see coming.

*My idea of a burst spec involves having 3 or more signets. It’s a little less forgiving than yours, so take my advice with a grain of salt – if my burst fails, I die :P