Guild Wars 2

I’m probably going to get some hate/heat for this, but my thief has mostly been thematic, hence why I don’t play WvW often or PvP at all (unless I need an easy daily).

She’s basically someone who can kill fast (assassin) and escape at a moment’s notice.

DA, SA, and DD specs really gave me that feel, but I lacked was power and I felt stealth was hard to obtain.

So, my Deadeye is DA, SA, and DE (obviously). I may play around with other trait lines to see what’s most effective. My Deadeye test uses (brace for it) D/D and Shortbow.

D/D is actually really deadly as a Deadeye, though, I feel like CnD and Dancing Dagger are kinda useless as you have SO many stealth options as a Deadeye. Though, I feel like Death Blossom is pretty strong. And with the damage you can rack up quickly, Heartseeker becomes 100% stronger, IMO.

Short Bow is good for moving around fast (since no 3rd endurance bar and no more dash), but I haven’t tried it much for combat.

Shadow Meld—the elite skill is something I’ve REALLY wanted. It makes me feel like I can just hit and vanish, bypassing Revealed (makes Revealed Training kinda pointless. Might go with Panic Strike instead).

And then all the cantrips… most of them have awesome stealth abilities… so do I need Hide in Shadows or Blinding Powder?

Anyway, I’m testing in WvW since I… I’m not fond of PvP. I’ve been killing mobs and got a Vet Guard down… and they die fast! I imagine the Deadeye is obviously more effective with the rifle, but I wanted to keep my theme and see if it works.

So far, I like it, but I miss my Daredevil’s dash and third endurance bar, which made me feel like I can escape at any moment. Deadeye replaces that as “vanish at any moment.” With SA’s Hidden Thief (which stealths on steal and grants +50% movement while Stealthed), I feel like the “get away fast” is sorta fixed, but it doesn’t have the ground covered by DD’s dash.

Basically, I’m torn. Not sure if I want to make my DD when the expac comes out a Deadeye with the same theme or just stick with Daredevil.

Also, I REALLY miss Impairing Daggers. That ability was great for breaking bars (though, I haven’t run into a mob with a break bar yet in the beta).

Sorry for double post, but the first one was a long post, and I wanted to add more.

I’d like to add that Hidden Thief affects Deadeye’s Mark. So, basically with d/d…

Mark -> Stealth -> Backstab -> Revealed -> Shadow Meld -> Backstab -> If Revealed again -> Shadow Meld -> Backstab.

Basically, 3x Backstabs with Hidden Thief. Not to mention you can combo it with other stealth abilities.

Edit: Also, I could see a d/p build for Deadeye as incredibly deadly.

Yeah, Deadeye does feel clunky for not being as mobile as a Daredevil (I really wish they’d give back the core abilities they stole from Acrobatics in HoT), but it also feels very strong. I tried a DP set-up, and the ability to mark, kill, mark, kill, mark, kill was a lot of fun.

I’m interested in a non rifle DE that could be interesting indeed.

Right. Deadeye is just a different playstyle. We need to expect to lose the mobility and speed Daredevil gave us; we no longer have insane dodges.

However, as someone pointed out to me on reddit, some rifle builds can be viable (he used Trickery and SA). But he also use P/P and Short Bow and said it was a good combination.

It just goes to show that rifle may not be the best weapon for Deadeye.

The Shadow Stepping issue with the mark is a problem for melee Deadeyes, but if executed right, you’re deadly. Already people have posted about S/D being very useful as a Deadeye in other threads.

Since I do PvE, I’m torn between Deadeye and Daredevil. Deadeye provides killing power, but Daredevil provides mobility and speed (and ground coverage if you equip Dash in the traitline).

Which really shows it’s time for build templates. :p