Guild Wars 2

Last Sunday I bought Guild wars 2 and have been playing a thief, I am lvl 19 now and am running into a serious problem. My damage is okay but I am very very weak, I can’t even take on 2 mobs at once.

I find myself dying way too much and it’s really killing my enjoyment of the game, I run with a dagger/dagger and Shortbow as a swap. I usually use the short bow now because entering melee usually gets me killed.

I thought it could be my gear but I don’t really see how that could be the case as I am a completionist and do all zones and quests so 100% so I’m able to buy all my gear off of Karma vendors.

I was just wondering if anyone could help me out, I don’t really follow a rotation and I can’t really say I know the most opertune moments to use my abilities so maybe I could also get some help with that. I can’t really find any thief guides to help me out.

Thanks in advance.

Thief is not a PVE class, we are almost useless in dungeons compared to every other class, except ranger. (but they are getting spirits fixed and major buffs.)

Daecollo.9578:

Thief is not a PVE class, we are almost useless in dungeons compared to every other class, except ranger. (but they are getting spirits fixed and major buffs.)

Can I get some honest advice instead of melodrama please?

I have a level 56 thief (PvE) that I’m loving. Up to level 40 I was rolling with this setup -

http://guildwars2grandmaster.com/builds/thief-dual-pistols-daggers/

It worked well. I’m currently running this -

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fYAQNAoYVlUmKOHfy9E95Ex2jeuTiy9woKtpdF4KA

…minus the mastery traits, I’m not there yet.

Eagleowl.2458:

Daecollo.9578:

Thief is not a PVE class, we are almost useless in dungeons compared to every other class, except ranger. (but they are getting spirits fixed and major buffs.)

Can I get some honest advice instead of melodrama please?

No from Daecollo, no.

Give sword mainhand a try, open-world PvE is honestly most efficient when fighting multiple mobs and using AE weapons. Aside from that, focus on avoiding NPC damage via movement. You’ll find that simply holding the right mouse button and strafing around enemies will allow you to avoid the vast majority of damage. Try practicing 1v1 against something like a moa until you can kill it without taking any damage.

Thieves are great in PvE, but you do have to stay mobile. Always being on the move plays to the strengths of thieves just like taking hits directly plays to the strengths of professions with more innate durability.

Daecollo.9578:

Thief is not a PVE class, we are almost useless in dungeons compared to every other class, except ranger. (but they are getting spirits fixed and major buffs.)

Wow, you are a terrible thief if you are useless in dungeons. No offense if you are bad as a thief in dungeons then you are bad at every profession. It is about being smart and skill. Learn to melee effectively, if you are playing a purely ranged thief in a dungeon you are doing it wrong. Simple.

Tips to playing a Double Dagger Thief:
1. Steal, steal on recharge if need be. If I see a thief that doesn’t steal I get sick to the stomach.

2. Death Blossom is your main damaging source in PvE. Right now I can get 6 Death Blossoms off consecutively. About a 150 hours in I got my achievement of killing 5,000 enemies using daggers. I was level 80, full exotics, 74% of the world complete, beaten every dungeon path with the exaction of two Arah paths. Condition Damage is great for Double Dagger thieves.

3. DON’T GO BERSERKER GEAR! I don’t know why some people split gear stats. Carrion armor is all you need to bust out huge damage at the same time have nice defense.

Thieves do however suffer hard until level 40. Their best traits are not available until Master trait level.

I can show you how I use my thief Eagleowl, message me in game. My IGN is Abyssal Atmos.

Nova Stiker.8396:

3. DON’T GO BERSERKER GEAR! I don’t know why some people split gear stats. Carrion armor is all you need to bust out huge damage at the same time have nice defense.

With the caveat that you’re specifically giving him advice for D/D, I agree. Berserker gear in PvE is a great idea with a sword, shortbow, and even some pistol setups, but with D/D investing into condition damage and synergizing LDB is a good solution.

Try Sword/Pistol and Shortbow.

Black Powder creates a Smoke field around you which constantly blinds nearby foes; so always try to position yourself next to any ranged foes and let the melee ones come to you; unlike the Dagger’s the Sword’s auto attack hit multiple foes so even though you may deal less DPS overall you kill foes faster because you hit 2-3.
Signet of Malice is well-suited for this weapon combo because both the Sword’s and the Shortbow’s auto attack, Sword #3 and Shortbow #4 hit multiple foes frequently. Caltrops, both from the utility skill and the trait [Uncatchable] have also good synergy with that signet.
Put your trait points into Power, Precision and Prowess, at lower levels the actual traits are not that important yet but +100 in any stat can make a huge difference.

Like those above me have said, go sword/ pistol. The area of effect from the sword and the blind from black powder are a must for leveling. I was like you too, I almost gave up on my thief because comparing it to other classes, it just felt underpowered in pve.

I learned that the thief is about not getting hit, whether through blind, stealth or mobility, we just can’t allow ourselves to take damage in pve or we will die very quickly.

It’s all worth it in the end though, thief is my favorite class and my main. Just stick with it, and try sword/ pistol.

Shortbow or dual pistols are a very good way level but not required by any means. If you want to go dual dagger then I suggest you get use to using leaping death blossom and your dodge a lot.

Keep behind enemies and keep moving when using daggers. A stationary thief is a dead thief.

Early game, I used twin pistols with my Thief and kited most of the mobs. Caltrops is also useful, as is Ambush Trap. Otherwise, just gear up on Vitality and Toughness early on. I suppose Sword and Dagger could also work, with Infiltrator’s and Flanking Strikes.

I solo’ed through a lot as D/D using Caltrops and Death Blossom and signet of malice.
You just drop caltrops and death blossom inside it as mobs try and kill you. They get snared and bleeds to death. The ticks of bleed you get from caltrops also triggers the life gain on signet of malice therefor if they DO manage to land some hits on you, you will just gain life back.

Just make sure you focus the range npc’s first and let the melee npc bleed. You wont have any problems soloing anything if you stay mobile and evade/dodge at the right moments.

In my opinion thief is an awesome mob farmer