Started to love this for TPvP to be honest. Quite good in my opinion. Not sure about what type of team comp it can work.
Advantages;
Tanky as hell.
Stripping boons.
Stripping boons and giving them to your allies every 30 seconds.
Nice, this is slightly more along the lines of the kind of stuff I play.
One question- why do you run SoA? Sure, it’s nice for evades/condi removal, but you already have pretty good condi removal via Shadowstep/IoS/Shadow Return, and SoA is only any good for condi removal when you have a bunch of allies nearby. It’s also OK for evades, but remember that you’re stripping boons and applying lots of vigor anyways, so… Not sure that it’s so necessary for that.
Started to love this for TPvP to be honest. Quite good in my opinion. Not sure about what type of team comp it can work.
Advantages;
Tanky as hell.
Stripping boons.
Stripping boons and giving them to your allies every 30 seconds.
Nice, this is slightly more along the lines of the kind of stuff I play.
One question- why do you run SoA? Sure, it’s nice for evades/condi removal, but you already have pretty good condi removal via Shadowstep/IoS/Shadow Return, and SoA is only any good for condi removal when you have a bunch of allies nearby. It’s also OK for evades, but remember that you’re stripping boons and applying lots of vigor anyways, so… Not sure that it’s so necessary for that.
Reupdated the link cause I forgot to change utilities.
What is SoA?
I just read that I got banned for 71 hours for inappropriate language so yeah I can’t really think straight right now. Quite hilarious.
Started to love this for TPvP to be honest. Quite good in my opinion. Not sure about what type of team comp it can work.
Advantages;
Tanky as hell.
Stripping boons.
Stripping boons and giving them to your allies every 30 seconds.
Nice, this is slightly more along the lines of the kind of stuff I play.
One question- why do you run SoA? Sure, it’s nice for evades/condi removal, but you already have pretty good condi removal via Shadowstep/IoS/Shadow Return, and SoA is only any good for condi removal when you have a bunch of allies nearby. It’s also OK for evades, but remember that you’re stripping boons and applying lots of vigor anyways, so… Not sure that it’s so necessary for that.
Reupdated the link cause I forgot to change utilities.
What is SoA?
I just read that I got banned for 71 hours for inappropriate language so yeah I can’t really think straight right now. Quite hilarious.
Ah, I see.
SoA: Signet of Agility. But it appears that you’ve removed it with your update, so.
Started to love this for TPvP to be honest. Quite good in my opinion. Not sure about what type of team comp it can work.
Advantages;
Tanky as hell.
Stripping boons.
Stripping boons and giving them to your allies every 30 seconds.
Nice, this is slightly more along the lines of the kind of stuff I play.
One question- why do you run SoA? Sure, it’s nice for evades/condi removal, but you already have pretty good condi removal via Shadowstep/IoS/Shadow Return, and SoA is only any good for condi removal when you have a bunch of allies nearby. It’s also OK for evades, but remember that you’re stripping boons and applying lots of vigor anyways, so… Not sure that it’s so necessary for that.
Reupdated the link cause I forgot to change utilities.
What is SoA?
I just read that I got banned for 71 hours for inappropriate language so yeah I can’t really think straight right now. Quite hilarious.
Ah, I see.
SoA: Signet of Agility. But it appears that you’ve removed it with your update, so.
Lolwut
Well it might be the worst build in the world but if I can have fun with it so be it. Not feeling squishy is an amazing factor.
Started to love this for TPvP to be honest. Quite good in my opinion. Not sure about what type of team comp it can work.
Advantages;
Tanky as hell.
Stripping boons.
Stripping boons and giving them to your allies every 30 seconds.
Nice, this is slightly more along the lines of the kind of stuff I play.
One question- why do you run SoA? Sure, it’s nice for evades/condi removal, but you already have pretty good condi removal via Shadowstep/IoS/Shadow Return, and SoA is only any good for condi removal when you have a bunch of allies nearby. It’s also OK for evades, but remember that you’re stripping boons and applying lots of vigor anyways, so… Not sure that it’s so necessary for that.
Reupdated the link cause I forgot to change utilities.
What is SoA?
I just read that I got banned for 71 hours for inappropriate language so yeah I can’t really think straight right now. Quite hilarious.
Ah, I see.
SoA: Signet of Agility. But it appears that you’ve removed it with your update, so.
Lolwut
Well it might be the worst build in the world but if I can have fun with it so be it. Not feeling squishy is an amazing factor.
G-Unit style yo.
How are you doing my old time forum friend?
Hell no it ain’t. I love it. I never run any CS or DA traits any more, simply because of it. And it’s worked wonderfully.
Oh dear. I never much enjoyed that utility, I swear.
I’m doing quite well, actually, although a dear friend of mine passed away recently. :/ On a brighter note, though, here’s the build I’ve been trying out the past couple of days:
Which is… Fun, I guess, but it really relies on those boons, which I’m beginning to dislike. Also, I always hated the /D offhand attacks, so I think I’ll be swapping back to D/P soon. It’s simply sturdier and overall more reliable… And how have you been?
Started to love this for TPvP to be honest. Quite good in my opinion. Not sure about what type of team comp it can work.
Advantages;
Tanky as hell.
Stripping boons.
Stripping boons and giving them to your allies every 30 seconds.
Nice, this is slightly more along the lines of the kind of stuff I play.
One question- why do you run SoA? Sure, it’s nice for evades/condi removal, but you already have pretty good condi removal via Shadowstep/IoS/Shadow Return, and SoA is only any good for condi removal when you have a bunch of allies nearby. It’s also OK for evades, but remember that you’re stripping boons and applying lots of vigor anyways, so… Not sure that it’s so necessary for that.
Reupdated the link cause I forgot to change utilities.
What is SoA?
I just read that I got banned for 71 hours for inappropriate language so yeah I can’t really think straight right now. Quite hilarious.
Ah, I see.
SoA: Signet of Agility. But it appears that you’ve removed it with your update, so.
Lolwut
Well it might be the worst build in the world but if I can have fun with it so be it. Not feeling squishy is an amazing factor.
G-Unit style yo.
How are you doing my old time forum friend?
Hell no it ain’t. I love it. I never run any CS or DA traits any more, simply because of it. And it’s worked wonderfully.
Oh dear. I never much enjoyed that utility, I swear.
I’m doing quite well, actually, although a dear friend of mine passed away recently. :/ On a brighter note, though, here’s the build I’ve been trying out the past couple of days:
Which is… Fun, I guess, but it really relies on those boons, which I’m beginning to dislike. Also, I always hated the /D offhand attacks, so I think I’ll be swapping back to D/P soon. It’s simply sturdier and overall more reliable… And how have you been?
My 15/30/0/15/15 was probably the strongest build for a Thief for TPvP for team utility. I would be roaming nonstop and countering easily most Full Glass Cannon Thieves (not killing them) because I would be able to surpass them in roaming and helping my team mates more effectively and more efficiently (swiftness, 25percent movement speed).
I started to realize that when I was TPvPing with a really good group.
Now that things have changed because mug is not criting, I wanted to move towards a more defensive build. Also noticed that the new “meta” is less DPS and more team fight endurance so probably write now 2 bunkers + one semi bunker does the job. Seemed to work quite well with two guardians, one ranger and one engie cant remember.
DPS with this build is not a problem because what is important is giving your team every 30 seconds 5-7 boons (depending what you steal) and stripping boons from targets of main threat. You would be surprised how easily main threats go down because they don’t have boons. Kinda of shocked at first because I didn’t think they would be so easy to go down without their boons to be honest. Wasn’t really sure whether some classes where that boon-relied.
But that is my opinion as an average thief really so.
How have I been? Well currently I am finally going to be quite a beauty [affordable gaming pc] which is quite exciting. Speaking of death, there was this guy I was talking to the other day and after 2m of silence, he randomly said “Well it is all good. I have got a funeral at 2pm so I have got lots of time before I get there” which made me burst into tears [of laughter].
It is hard to say but since you are going to be quite squishy from what I can see it is going to be hard to support your team to the max if your role is to give boons as well. I still need to play around with some runes as a support S/D thief just to see if I can increase my DPS and Crit without losing too much in the long run.
Though it does look interesting. I will probably check it on Monday and might provide another version similar to yours.
It is hard to say but since you are going to be quite squishy from what I can see it is going to be hard to support your team to the max if your role is to give boons as well. I still need to play around with some runes as a support S/D thief just to see if I can increase my DPS and Crit without losing too much in the long run.
Though it does look interesting. I will probably check it on Monday and might provide another version similar to yours.
I was hoping to mitigate a lot of the squishiness with the acrobatic traits for more dodges and evades via weapon skills… I have not played it at all so you may be 100% correct. I really want to like S/D but standing toe-to-toe is typically bad news for a thief – I guess liberal use of sword#2 is the key here. Could also go into the SA tree instead of healing on stealth which is always nice…
Running this in guild group tPvP as a roamer. An absolute NIGHTMARE to fight against. Tried slotting Mug in today and it’s a great compliment to how the build plays. A ton of staying power and systematic shutting down of boon hogs and bunkers.
It is hard to say but since you are going to be quite squishy from what I can see it is going to be hard to support your team to the max if your role is to give boons as well. I still need to play around with some runes as a support S/D thief just to see if I can increase my DPS and Crit without losing too much in the long run.
Though it does look interesting. I will probably check it on Monday and might provide another version similar to yours.
I was hoping to mitigate a lot of the squishiness with the acrobatic traits for more dodges and evades via weapon skills… I have not played it at all so you may be 100% correct. I really want to like S/D but standing toe-to-toe is typically bad news for a thief – I guess liberal use of sword#2 is the key here. Could also go into the SA tree instead of healing on stealth which is always nice…
Well let me know how it i working for you so far. Some builds can work because players make them work so if your build works for you and your reasons for having it then keep on using it.
I have some, and I find it fun. Now with S/D, this build will melt a guardian like nothing else. It’s ironic, because I spent the first half of my thief career avoiding guardians…
“Premade”
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
I think that is the most balanced stats you could get out of from your build.
What’s your opinion on removing 5 from acro and adding 5 to trickery? Is the +1% damage per initiative good on paper not in practice?
I can see it working for high sustain damage against dumb PvE mobs, but probably not so good in WvW were you’d be using your initiative to Infiltrating strike/ steal boons, CnD stun, etc.
I think that is the most balanced stats you could get out of from your build.
What’s your opinion on removing 5 from acro and adding 5 to trickery? Is the +1% damage per initiative good on paper not in practice?
I can see it working for high sustain damage against dumb PvE mobs, but probably not so good in WvW were you’d be using your initiative to Infiltrating strike/ steal boons, CnD stun, etc.
Well I have never been to WvW properly. Also every time I try to do PvE it lasts for 15 seconds before I go back to the Mist; so I do not want to tell you something in an area that I do not have any experience in.
But generally speaking, 1percent damage per initiative is not that strong in my opinion because you wont be able to take advantage of it since you will be using most your initiative as a thief.
@Authority. the 1% per intiative is like a sarcastic joke to me its like heres an extra 15 % dmg but only for auto attack and ONLY if u dont use initiative. it prolly averages around 3% dmg extra. i mean its prolly nice for an opening mug burst…..oh…wait nvm…we dont have that….yeah its not a good trait :P
Added one more just for the fun of it. Everything about this is invested on stacking might. You should be able to have 10-13 might every 30seconds or 15+ with steal. Plus 15percent sustained damage with 10percent from not having your endurance full and 5 percent from being under the effects of might.
@Authority. the 1% per intiative is like a sarcastic joke to me its like heres an extra 15 % dmg but only for auto attack and ONLY if u dont use initiative. it prolly averages around 3% dmg extra. i mean its prolly nice for an opening mug burst…..oh…wait nvm…we dont have that….yeah its not a good trait :P
Still need to do a few twitches with some builds just so you know. That 1percent per initiative might have other uses (I assume pve only). Same thing with Assassin Rewards (I assume again).
Started doing some PVE lately so I might add a build in the future just for that.
im doing ok. doing alot of wvw before the 19th… i feel this anti stealth trap stuff may be a real antithief item. will have to wait and see. making a nicce video too . gathering footage etc form wvw/spvp etc
im doing ok. doing alot of wvw before the 19th… i feel this anti stealth trap stuff may be a real antithief item. will have to wait and see. making a nicce video too . gathering footage etc form wvw/spvp etc
Didn’t hear anything about anti stealth trap. So what is going on exactly.
@authority Why not for tpvp? …im notsaying its wierd i have my own thoughts but id like to hear more details.
It is the same thing when going from D/D to D/P and going back to D/D. You realize how much team-utility you miss; including blind and safe/effective stomping. Boon Stripping, Boon Acquiring (through i.e runes of Lysa), daze, evading and dodging as well as having a spamable shadow step are all parts that make the sum stronger.
S/D right now is far superior to D/P for TPvP. Your team can duo with you and contest any points with bunkers. The only negative thing about S/D is that you do not have the easy of stomping as you did with D/P.
With S/D, you also realize the same thing from going from D/D to D/P; more chances to survive, less risk involved, more smart play.
@authority Why not for tpvp? …im notsaying its wierd i have my own thoughts but id like to hear more details.
It is the same thing when going from D/D to D/P and going back to D/D. You realize how much team-utility you miss; including blind and safe/effective stomping. Boon Stripping, Boon Acquiring (through i.e runes of Lysa), daze, evading and dodging as well as having a spamable shadow step are all parts that make the sum stronger.
S/D right now is far superior to D/P for TPvP. Your team can duo with you and contest any points with bunkers. The only negative thing about S/D is that you do not have the easy of stomping as you did with D/P.
With S/D, you also realize the same thing from going from D/D to D/P; more chances to survive, less risk involved, more smart play.
Can’t it just be summed up as Swrd/D good for team fighting while D/P better for roaming/1v1? Also, don’t forget headshot in D/P which is awesome. Maybe it’s just my playstyle but I have been having better lukc with GC D/P lately…
@authority Why not for tpvp? …im notsaying its wierd i have my own thoughts but id like to hear more details.
It is the same thing when going from D/D to D/P and going back to D/D. You realize how much team-utility you miss; including blind and safe/effective stomping. Boon Stripping, Boon Acquiring (through i.e runes of Lysa), daze, evading and dodging as well as having a spamable shadow step are all parts that make the sum stronger.
S/D right now is far superior to D/P for TPvP. Your team can duo with you and contest any points with bunkers. The only negative thing about S/D is that you do not have the easy of stomping as you did with D/P.
With S/D, you also realize the same thing from going from D/D to D/P; more chances to survive, less risk involved, more smart play.
Can’t it just be summed up as Swrd/D good for team fighting while D/P better for roaming/1v1? Also, don’t forget headshot in D/P which is awesome. Maybe it’s just my playstyle but I have been having better lukc with GC D/P lately…
In all honest I feel more confident using S/D for 1v1 than what it felt with D/P. I am sure you have your reasons for saying that D/P is better for one versus one so feel free to put your 2cents in here as well.
d/p if played perfect will never lose to s/d…… and d/p has blinds for group play which is better than what sword does…..s/d doesnt do anything for group play other than being able to hit more than 1 target if they group up. p/d does the most for group play when running condi hp build.
d/p if played perfect will never lose to s/d…… and d/p has blinds for group play which is better than what sword does…..s/d doesnt do anything for group play other than being able to hit more than 1 target if they group up. p/d does the most for group play when running condi hp build.
S/D strips boon and splits attention – you either ignore the S/D thief teleporting around and stealing protection/stability/vigor/regen while doing solid DPS, or you attempt to engage, at which point the S/D thief teleports away/plays evasively effectively making that player waste his time. Bonus points if you become annoying enough to garner the attention of 2 or more players and waste their time.
D/P takes advantage of surprise and burst, S/D takes advantage of making players waste a disproportionate amount of resources attempting to deal with them.
If you’re a thief and haven’t
pre-ordered HOT at this point,
save yourself the money and don’t bother.
d/p if played perfect will never lose to s/d…… and d/p has blinds for group play which is better than what sword does…..s/d doesnt do anything for group play other than being able to hit more than 1 target if they group up. p/d does the most for group play when running condi hp build.
S/D strips boon and splits attention – you either ignore the S/D thief teleporting around and stealing protection/stability/vigor/regen while doing solid DPS, or you attempt to engage, at which point the S/D thief teleports away/plays evasively effectively making that player waste his time. Bonus points if you become annoying enough to garner the attention of 2 or more players and waste their time.
D/P takes advantage of surprise and burst, S/D takes advantage of making players waste a disproportionate amount of resources attempting to deal with them.
I’d say it’s an hybrid between a S/D daze build i used to run and jumpers. Great survivability (stealth and evades) + boon stealing + dazes + moderate damage
I’d say it’s an hybrid between a S/D daze build i used to run and jumpers. Great survivability (stealth and evades) + boon stealing + dazes + moderate damage
not sure if tpvp viable tho
Thanks for sharing!
I am playing with some builds I have posted on the initial thread and I will most likely do some cleaning this week or the following. I also wanted to ask what is the perfect PVE condition build as a Thief.
Do any of these builds work with full PvT gear? Or would I need to switch to berserker?
Can you be more specific about which builds?
In general PVT works fine for builds requiring Power, except maybe some builds that depend on a lot of on-critical effects. Just give it a whirl, switching armour is a lot more expensive then switching traits.
I see. I updated the main thread and included 3 builds for TPvP in which my main was re-tweaked. The second one is not viable but it might serve in the future for different weapons sets since you would be able to have a load of boons every 30 seconds combined with runes of lysa.
its like heres an extra 15 % dmg but only for auto attack and ONLY if u dont use initiative. it prolly averages around 3% dmg extra. i mean its prolly nice for an opening mug burst…..oh…wait nvm…we dont have that….yeah its not a good trait :P