Guild Wars 2

Short Gameplay Vid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL0SnGDCP5c

Build
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vZAQNAqaVn8lCFNhNNBGmCsPhFZCjLQ1D2BzdwQYKUbPNFCAA-TZxBQBGc/hldKAAwDAwLlBwwRAAA

So I’ve never really cared to play thief with the exception of running superfuntime p/p builds. So the other day I decided to put something together, and while I know the inherent weaknesses in p/p (along with thief in general atm) I found quite a bit of success with this setup.

It’s a team fighting build using venom share, thus it’s strength lies in fighting from range with allies nearby. The more allies, the better. It suffers poor soloQ comps, but shines if you roll up a couple healthy bunkers. It’s potential, though, is in a coordinated effort, but it’ll still do ok with a pug effort focusing a target.

Since it has no easy stealth access, I went with traited physical skills along with Unhindered Combatant to keep those dodges and mobility high. It has great kiting potential to keep enemies from thinking twice about spending time on you, which also lends itself to the double ranged approach. As for stun breaks, Bandit’s Defence on a 12s cd is a nice low cost considering it’s all you’ve got.

Won’t rabbit on as I’m sure you forum pros can see right through the build. I will reiterate that it’s at it’s weakest while solo (not that it can’t deal with various enemies). Being venom share, Bas venom might seem like an obvious elite choice but I find more power in Thieves Guild despite its long CD. It essentially buffs up my team presence, lending itself to a stronger condi bomb. I can reliably remove an enemy from the fight with it, or drag up my own support if I’m solo on a side point.

Anyway, good times.

You have access to stealth try swapping to bounding dodger. Damage +10% and leap finisher

That looks really fun, thanks for sharing

i’ll try it myself later on

cool but this is condi rev meta with perma resistance

Urejt.5648:

cool but this is condi rev meta with perma resistance

Perma resistance is gone today
Yay!! \o/

Rai.9625:

You have access to stealth try swapping to bounding dodger. Damage +10% and leap finisher

I actually started with that before moving to Lotus Training, but found my survival in Unhindered. I figure that if I can build so that I don’t need stealth then it’s good all the same.

Any of the bunker builds laugh at P/P damage. They can literally stand still and laugh while you dump Unloads into their hide. Even Vault hardly makes a dent these days.

In unranked low level fights, pretty much anything competently played works.

Straegen.2938:

Any of the bunker builds laugh at P/P damage. They can literally stand still and laugh while you dump Unloads into their hide. Even Vault hardly makes a dent these days.

In unranked low level fights, pretty much anything competently played works.

Carion + Unload obviously lets you overcome diamon skin, allowing for the application of your condi’s. Sure it’s not the be all end all, but it’s certainly something considering your general full force condi builds suffer eles.

As for something akin to chrono bunk, it’s fair that bunkers require a focused effort, so you shouldnt expect to breeze through them 1v1. However with even just two, or your thieves guild, if you time your attack between their blocks/evades (usualy thanks to team pressure) you can land your condi burst with ease. At that point their blocks/precog are usless and cleansing is the only option. If you play a little patiently you can let your teams venoms land and draw out cleanses, at which point you can spend your own. Otherwise just dump a few team members worth of poison on them and watch the easy 15-20 stacks do their work. Since poison mitigates healing, the 2-3k ticks are beastly along with whatever bleeds and torment are going.

Here’s a bunker chrono ready and waiting on mid who underestimated what was coming
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jRCmwfCEt0

maybe the bound dodge because of burst from pistol sneak attack? Ive seem some guys chainning stealthed p1 > unload and going back stealth shortly after seemed very nice and dynamic way of playing.

(also the stealth could give you more of window to use venoms on a good moment, not having to use them asap to not die without using them)

This supportive venom stuff is realy worth it? or is something that you like and realy wants to do it so you make it work? (one can make almost anything work if you play good enough and know to pick fights)

I think you could be more sucessful with a solo duelist aproach, using that “combo” I said.

Ross Biddle.2367:

As for something akin to chrono bunk, it’s fair that bunkers require a focused effort, so you shouldnt expect to breeze through them 1v1. However with even just two, or your thieves guild, if you time your attack between their blocks/evades (usualy thanks to team pressure) you can land your condi burst with ease. At that point their blocks/precog are usless and cleansing is the only option. If you play a little patiently you can let your teams venoms land and draw out cleanses, at which point you can spend your own. Otherwise just dump a few team members worth of poison on them and watch the easy 15-20 stacks do their work. Since poison mitigates healing, the 2-3k ticks are beastly along with whatever bleeds and torment are going.

Same problem different day so to speak. At best the thief becomes a +1 and simply put there are better plus ones. In Ranked play, Venom Share is laughable especially against the Tempest bunkers that are becoming unavoidable. If a class doesn’t have substantial AoE, high levels of utility and a lot of sustain it is dead weight to some degree.

Pretty much the only thing a thief is good for right now is decapping and sort of useful in +1 fights. P/P is one of the weaker weapon sets even though it does well against DH and Reapers (at least for a thief).

Kaliny.8265:

maybe the bound dodge because of burst from pistol sneak attack? Ive seem some guys chainning stealthed p1 > unload and going back stealth shortly after seemed very nice and dynamic way of playing.

(also the stealth could give you more of window to use venoms on a good moment, not having to use them asap to not die without using them)

This supportive venom stuff is realy worth it? or is something that you like and realy wants to do it so you make it work? (one can make almost anything work if you play good enough and know to pick fights)

I think you could be more sucessful with a solo duelist aproach, using that “combo” I said.

You could very well be right about it being a skill level thing. I’m not a master thief. I just checked and I have 58 games played on Thief, and I can tell you almost all of them were mucking around with p/p :p. That said, the problem I had with Bounding Dodger were two sides of the same coin. Without the trickery line I could easily find myself starved for initiative. The build also has no vigor access (though it does have the means to restore endurance). So if I’m out of one of those two things, there’s no way to get into stealth. Futhermore while in P/P mobility is pretty much non-existent. So even if I were to get down a smoke field and dodge out of it, I’m likely to suffer crippling conditions, or continued aoe pressure while in stealth. The whole thing became overly complicated just for the purpose of a target drop and/or firing off a sneak attack.

On the other hand, Unhindered Combat means I can drop all condi CC on dodge, and each and every dodge opens up a much wider gap with which to either continue a ranged assault, or to escape melee pressure, or los from ranged. It’s simple, instant, effective, straight forward. Once in the clear I’m also more able to heal for additional endurance, and after all that dodging I’m loaded up on swiftness which, without it, the build lacks. So yeah, UC fits the “keep it simple, stupid” profile while BD pains me if things dont line up.

Straegen.2938:

Ross Biddle.2367:

As for something akin to chrono bunk, it’s fair that bunkers require a focused effort, so you shouldn’t expect to breeze through them 1v1. However with even just two, or your thieves guild, if you time your attack between their blocks/evades (usually thanks to team pressure) you can land your condi burst with ease. At that point their blocks/precog are useless and cleansing is the only option. If you play a little patiently you can let your teams venoms land and draw out cleanses, at which point you can spend your own. Otherwise just dump a few team members worth of poison on them and watch the easy 15-20 stacks do their work. Since poison mitigates healing, the 2-3k ticks are beastly along with whatever bleeds and torment are going.

Same problem different day so to speak. At best the thief becomes a +1 and simply put there are better plus ones. In Ranked play, Venom Share is laughable especially against the Tempest bunkers that are becoming unavoidable. If a class doesn’t have substantial AoE, high levels of utility and a lot of sustain it is dead weight to some degree.

Pretty much the only thing a thief is good for right now is decapping and sort of useful in +1 fights. P/P is one of the weaker weapon sets even though it does well against DH and Reapers (at least for a thief).

You’re right about thief being +1. When I set out to put this build together I actually kept the common things said about thief in mind. For one they’re getting nuked in all the AoE spam, so sitting outside of that with ranged weapons was the go to answer. The other in this case was that they arent doing so well 1v1 and are a +1 class, so I figure why not build into that. Thus why this build is a mid point team fighter, or assist if you will. Can still speed around doing side node decaps, but when in the presence of others can create havok when focusing someone down.

Yeah in ranked there are better classes to bring right now, and an organized team vs a pug setup is more than likely going to go badly. That’s just how it goes.

If nothing else this is a fairly straight forward, easy build to introduce someone to thief that isnt entirely selfish, and isnt entirely ineffective XD