Guild Wars 2

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vZAQNAqaVn8lClOhVOBePB8PhFkiaO+r/+nrBCgFwLHuheA-TlCEwAMVmh4BA84IAsVJYiTAAL1fcq0I2+Dd0HA4QAQKgAHDA-w

Hey, havnt played thief for a while but was rolling this last night in wvw.
Aside from dropping p/p (it’s trolley and I love it), are there any improvements to be made to a build like this?
Thanks for any feedback to come,
Drae.

Oh and it’s a backline havoc/semi roaming type of build.

I would go with strength runes for the 5% extra dmg. You specced SA but only have 1 source of stealth, Shadow Refuge. I would drop SA for Acro and grab bound. Now you have a stealth leap finisher.

If your objective is to use double pistols as a CC source and a Might source, perhaps you could try something else than a bow.

Of course you’d loose the mobilty of the bow but you could be able to incrase the power of an other set (staff, etc.).

Finaly the idea could be to replace the bow by 2 pistols as a secondary weapon set, making a choise between mobilty, AOE and power, CC improvement.

@set
Ye, strength runes are the long term goal (if I stay interested in this idea), but dropping 30-40g on a build I may only play for a week isnt something I would do.

and that acro idea is something I will definitely try out.
Had SA for emergency stealth (steal) and stealth regen.
What acro traits would you recommend? Was thinking 3-1-1 or 2-1-1

@anvil
In WvW, I dont think I could drop bow. I have tried that before and its just not good.
Thanks for the input though.

I already use such a build in two different thieves WvW.

One uses high crit chance medium power in a staff alternate hand build using stealth. Use the pistols to stack might, switch to staff and steal in with hidden thief for a hook strike/ vault. This works great with a vault as well against clustered enemies if you manage your ini. Stack the might switch to staff and vault in on the cluster. You can pump out huge damage. The AA chain also hits very hard if you get some in before might wears off.

The other uses with an s/d off hand. This latter build has high power toughness, vitality and low crit strike rate. It uses PI. Stack up might with a couple of unloads then swap over to s/d. Use Scorpion Wire ,distracting daggers and basi venom to time interrupts without using ini and rely on the might stacked AA of the sword to lay down damage even as those might stacked PIs go off.

In both builds due to might stacking you can afford to drop CS or DA if you want more survival. With s/d I like acro taking swindlers , upper hand and instant reflexes, the latter acting as yet another dodge. Trickster is traited meaning withdraw removes up to 6 conditions.

With staff I take the SA line with hidden thief along with daredevil and trickery. SE traited along with hidden thief and the falling trait. Even with SA traited Condi cleanse was low so I took escapists here over the PI.

In the staff build I prefer SA over getting stealth off a bound as UC just so useful in a p/p build. High swiftness uptime and those immob and chill/cripple cleanses are invaluable.

Draeyon.4392:

@set
Ye, strength runes are the long term goal (if I stay interested in this idea), but dropping 30-40g on a build I may only play for a week isnt something I would do.

and that acro idea is something I will definitely try out.
Had SA for emergency stealth (steal) and stealth regen.
What acro traits would you recommend? Was thinking 3-1-1 or 2-1-1

@anvil
In WvW, I dont think I could drop bow. I have tried that before and its just not good.
Thanks for the input though.

For acro, I personally go with 1-3-2 on melee builds but in your case, 3-3-3 would be good. The second tier (Hard to catch) is too good. It’s a free stun-break and it refill all your endurance. In WvW, it’s a guarantee proc in every engagement. One thing I would mention is your crit chance is pretty low for P/P. I would suggest slotting signet of agility to replace SR. The active and passive are really good. Bumps up your crit and 2 free dodges. I use to love SR but it becomes a liability. Thieves will cluster bomb, vault spam it, revs will reveal, Necros will mark it, etc. Reveals are strong and having SR in WvW is like saying, “Hey, I’m over here.”

Low HP. In WvW this build will get blown up by anything half way decent or any thief just waiting for a soft target. One backstab and a full AA will drop this build.

I would definitely suggest Bandit’s Defense instead of that Signet. Far more survivability and its up time is much higher. SoA would also be a better choice since that drops condition(s), gives precision and is good for two extra dodges.

I would consider switching the armor from Zerk to Valk. Consider Orian Truffle and Meat stew food. Nearly twice as many dodges and might on each dodge. If you are in a pack of players, Venemous Aura is actually pretty powerful when running BV. I like Channeled Vigor but HiS is going to synergize better since you need a lot of escape with such low HP.

If you really want to up this up a notch, go with 3-3-3 acro as someone above recommended and switch dash for bound. Way more damage, some of the best condi removal in the game and more slippery than Shadow Arts in my opinion.

Maybe try out the food “Orrian Truffle and Meat Stew”. Gives you 100% guaranteed Might on Dodge, could possibly be better than a 33% chance on Crit (especially if you do pick up Acrobatics instead of Shadow Arts). You could also benefit of “Furious Maintenance Oil” if you got those, the extra Vitality is probably quite welcome when you’re running such a squishy build.
I’d also consider dropping the Soldier Rings in favour of Valkyrie ones, Toughness is just a wasted stat on Thieves unless you build extensively for it.