Guild Wars 2

I’ve recently returned to GW2 and I plan to roll a thief. From what I’ve seen so far, everyone is suggesting Berserker gear, D/D + S/P with a SB in reserve, but I’m REALLY bad at dodging (worst dodger I know of). Is there something that can survive a bit better than running all Berserker gear yet still do a good amount of damage? What’s a good build (armor, trinkets, weapons, traits, runes, skills) to start with?

What I’d like to do on my Thief is:
1. Open world PvE (map completion, world bosses and farming mats)
2. WvW (I’d like to learn to roam/scout, but I can always zerg if necessary)
3. Might jump in some dungeons every once in a while (not sure about this one though)

This may not be favored in the eyes of everyone, but when i started out in the game and on thief, I used the 0/6/6/2/0 for just about everything. I used valk armor, zerk weapons and trinkets. This was good for 16k-ish hp and decent power and crit.

Im on my phone so I dont want to hassle with a build editor. Traits for crit strikes were practiced tolerance, hidden killer, and whatever else you want.

Shadow arts traits i used shadows embrace, blind on stealth, and shadows rejuv. For pve and wvw, the stealth boosts can be a life saver.

1. This build was fine for me in just about every aspect of pve to start. You shouldnt use this to run in a speed clear group, but you should stay away from these for a while anyway. Normal mobs die very easily to a backstab and maybe a few hits. I almost always use d/d or d/p for open open world. For most world bosses, you could do these with no armor and your eyes closed and it wouldnt matter, except for some of the higher tier bosses. But even then, you will probably be ok with this build, especially after the megaserver. As you get more comfortable, you can get more zerk and maybe go with a non-stealth dependent build, like 6/6/0/0/2.

2. The 06620 build is still viable for wvw roaming too. There are a few threads already on it. It was nerfed some in the patch but some of that can be made up with runes of strength or hoelbrak to build might stacks to make up for dmg lost. S/d builds are gaining popularity also, 0/2/0/6/6 or 2/6/0/6/0. You get more dodges with those builds. If you cant afford strength runes, there are other options. I prefer to stick with the power runes but there are a few others that could be useful in certain situations if they feel right for you: speed, traveler, wurm, pack, hoelbrak, scholar maybe.

3. Use s/p against dungeon trash mobs and lay down a black powder for area blinds. It makes trash basically insignificant to the group. Blind doesnt really work on champs or above so then swap to d/d if its single target. Sword hits up to 3 targets in close proximity and dagger is single target only.

For utilities, swap them for different situations. Shadow refuge is your rez cover or your oh kitten skill. Use it to rez a teammate safely or save yourself if you mess up. I really like signet of agility also. Refills endurance and clears one condi on you and everyone else around you. Pretty good, and if you dont need to use it, 9% crit is pretty sweet especially when you have some of that defensive gear. Other that can be good in different situations: assassins sig, blinding powder, shadowstep, infil sig, smoke cloud.

Sorry that was long. Hopefully something there can help you. Speccing into shadow arts is always a dps loss, but a dead thief doesnt help anyone. Once you get more used to thief, then try to work towards full zerk, at least for pve

I like to run a tougher thief, something like this: (http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZEQNAoYVl8Mp0pdPxyJ0PJRPRsdwyD3RZhA-TViDwA8Ui9S9nQ6bCq8Ag5PEKB3t/wlnAQhTBAZA03CA-w). Ascended trinkets get you a better cavalier stat so you can throw more offensive trinkets in there. The heal skill, sigils and the last trait points are really up to you and what you’re doing. Mug and thrill of the crime are great for PvE. I like fleet shadow for WvW sometimes too. Shadow refuge is your 2nd heal skill really plus a nice might source. Also, instead of stacking power per kill, I like to stack swiftness. It’s addictive and i can’t stop. With all the fury you get, you won’t really miss the precision.

I’ll play around with these builds and go from there. Thanks guys. You’ve been a tremendous help.

Castien.1872:

I’ve recently returned to GW2 and I plan to roll a thief. From what I’ve seen so far, everyone is suggesting Berserker gear, D/D + S/P with a SB in reserve, but I’m REALLY bad at dodging (worst dodger I know of). Is there something that can survive a bit better than running all Berserker gear yet still do a good amount of damage? What’s a good build (armor, trinkets, weapons, traits, runes, skills) to start with?

What I’d like to do on my Thief is:
1. Open world PvE (map completion, world bosses and farming mats)
2. WvW (I’d like to learn to roam/scout, but I can always zerg if necessary)
3. Might jump in some dungeons every once in a while (not sure about this one though)

Want a thief build that can take some damage and not die? No problem, here you go – preview of best thief build:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk8zw1i7s10

Lol… Warrior is next on my list to get to 80 once I’m finished with my Thief. Then Guardian, Engineer and Mesmer to have all maxed professions. Problem is, I found each of those classes boring when I tried them. I’ve taken an Engi and a Mes to around 50 and deleted them (Did that twice with Mesmer!).