Guild Wars 2

Hello I am looking for a class that requires a fair bit of thought when doing all content I recently rolled revenant and i liked the mobility but i found it kind of stagnant with weapons and builds. I was wondering how versatile is a theif I’m not looking for only x build is meta but overall is there a fair few that can be played around with?
How do they faire in WvW and Pve?
What roles can they fill? And is it generally daredevil or bust? (I kinda like bunkers)

They can steal stuff and sometimes get away with it!

If you want to play optimally and not end up rage-quitting fairly frequently out of how blatantly underpowered the weak kits on the thief are, there’s pretty much no diversity on the thief. Meta build or condi, and that’s about it, with a little wiggle room in weapons at best. Traits are pretty much locked in as they are with a small degree of change. OH dagger is godawful, especially post-HoT, unless going for some kind of offtank S/D Acro/Tr/Daredevil evade build, although this will not serve any real purpose aside from maybe trolling, since it probably won’t have the damage to kill anything.

If you do not play daredevil, don’t even bother with the profession. Frankly, the thief by far and large is Daredevil aside from a few gimmicky build options typically aligned with condi play. Otherwise you’re playing the weakest core profession against the astronomical power creep of the expansion. As an ex-core thief who has since changed professions out of hating the Daredevil and subsequent further nerfs to the core spec, if you play core, just reroll; it’s not worth the effort and frustration.

In PvE: Your role is DPS and maybe some break bar assistance given BV. That’s it. And it’s no longer optimal selfish DPS so eles are usually preferred since everyone runs around pretending they’re going to be setting the next speed-clear record in their pug runs. The support venom build was removed from the game,

In WvW: Small-scale/ganks only unless you really prove your worth on the profession, and in med-sized groups, you could go full healing power resbot “ninja nurse”, but it’s not really going to change a battle that much at that scale (again, works for small-scale WvW), but it can be done. The thief serves next to zero purpose in mass-scale since it lacks support and innate durability of other professions which is necessary in large groups since the amount of cleave and AoE CC will outright kill you otherwise. It does well at small-scale, but like the above, its options are very limited.

In sPvP: Your role is to run around the map and decap points your enemies control that aren’t being defended, and then make a fight outnumbered in your teams favor if there are no other undefended capped points (never go in to even up numbers or fight outnumbered, you will still lose as your contribution won’t be meaningful enough in most cases). For the most part, the thief is the poorest 1v1 spec in sPvP since sPvP stats are low and all its damage comes from scaling its stats, which since they are low, are still low when multiplied by a damage modifier; boons give more damage.

Based on the last statement, the thief probably isn’t for you :P

The role they fill is the running away role. They are good at running away cause they can’t do anything else as well as other classes.

If you thought Revenant was stagnant with weapons and builds, you’re going to hate thief as far as PvP goes. For example, only thing that ANet has been promoting (directly and indirectly) for thief for the past 4 years, as far as PvP goes (sPvP and WvW alike) has been D/P. Get used to liking that one single weaponset. Did you think you had an option as far as weapon swapping goes? WRONG! If you want to be effective, you have no weapon swap because your secondary weapon will always be SB, and get used to spamming that 5. Oh but wait, you have options regarding traits right? WRONG! 1/3 of your traits is ALWAYS locked out because trickery is a REQUIREMENT for you to function well on any build. Why? Because without it, your initiative usage will suffer and your steal will be as underwhelming as it can get. So, get used to only having a selection of 2 traits…but wait, there’s more…DD is just too good to pass up and is a requirement for you to function as a thief without melting in seconds at this point – therefore, get used to playing with only 1/3 of the traits to fool around with.

That was PvP. Let’s talk PvE. You can use literally anything in PvE and succeed. You can in fact not use a weapon at all and still succeed at PvE. It’s quite irrelevant. You can PvE on any class with any build.

As far as raid goes, get ready to either make your own groups so you can bring your thief, or learning a different class (ele is a good choice), so you can swap to it when you’re inevitably asked to do so.

So, wait…what can you spend your time doing as a thief in the entire game then? Simple, stand around cities, play dress-up-barbie, and afk – and if you’re feeling generous enough, spend your $ for some gems and buy those outfits that ANet has been trying to drown you in.

emilejuggernaut.1864:

Hello I am looking for a class that requires a fair bit of thought when doing all content I recently rolled revenant and i liked the mobility but i found it kind of stagnant with weapons and builds. I was wondering how versatile is a theif I’m not looking for only x build is meta but overall is there a fair few that can be played around with?
How do they faire in WvW and Pve?
What roles can they fill? And is it generally daredevil or bust? (I kinda like bunkers)

I think two of the DD dodge traits make it daredevil or bust. The extra dodge is nice but I rarely use it up anymore. That’s not to say I won’t need it, I pocket that endurance because the way the classes are now with Elites the action gets compounded the longer it lasts and it’s exponential with even with just a plus-1 fight. The new Elites feel designed for raid bosses and adds, there’s a lot of stuff going on now so that extra dodge is more for us to shake off the pve, it can be more difficult sometimes to counter stupid so it’s pretty much an afterthought insurance dodge.

… Just, don’t go this class if you’re looking for a variety of roles to fill, because you really don’t fill any other role than DPS, and as some said, Ninja-Nurse.

It’s still fun to play if you enjoy the “Make no mistakes or DIE” kind of gameplay, which is the reason I play it, but that’s because I am a bloody hipster with my own trenchcoat with a matching fedora, and I like playing the underdog of any given game I play

Wow some really shocking reponses so here is a follow up question. Most of you clearly have dropped onto alts or moved to something different what have you moved to I want something fast paced and mobile and I dont find a good mix with that on revenant shiro is fun and all but its kinda dull especially with the whole energy system I find it clunky. I like versatility and the chance to go bunker if i want as I said previously also why is shortbow still just a gimmick weapon?

SB is utility weapon – you use it for mobility and cleave. Thief is not meant for anything but running away and +1 (cause 3v2, 2v1 situations). Devs don’t want thieves to be anything else, that is why – they somehow think thieves are only class with mobility so thieves are OP kek.

Fast paced and mobile is rev – which was upgraded version more tanky version of thief. Try out mesmer maybe if you don’t like rev? Current build is condi but the burst can be still decent and they got few spells that allow them to live for a while. The only real bunkers in this game are all slow (wars, engis, guards).

All I can think of is maybe some kind of GS warrior build if not rev. Revenant is thief++ in pretty much every regard.

Excelsior!

Thief is a wonderful profession and I really enjoy it, sending my Engineer on vacation and do not care about other professions at all because I am very happy with it.The difference is that I am doing my stuff alone. I do not bother about PvP and a lot of the horror stories above feel like being written from people that have lost any faith anyways.

I do not care that much about what FOTM is, I do not theorycraft and I really like this profession’s design. That sums up to a great experience to me. Look, when I read about “nobody uses off-hand XYZ” or “Skill ABC” then I just shake my head and don’t give a kitten . Neither should you, because if it fits your needs and you get your stuff done, what is the matter what other people want from you?

The problem with forums is the theory. If you like the gameplay, the mechanics, the look etc. that is something that can not be conveyed. Also, I see so many thieves (and Daredevils) ingame – judging from the negativity here I must be the only one in whole Thyria shrugs

Since you narrowed your questions pretty much, you got the expected answers. But to really ensure if you (dis)like a profession you simply need to play it. Normally I am the archer or the mage in MMORPGs, in GW2 it’s totally different.

Zedek.8932:

Excelsior!

Thief is a wonderful profession and I really enjoy it, sending my Engineer on vacation and do not care about other professions at all because I am very happy with it.The difference is that I am doing my stuff alone. I do not bother about PvP and a lot of the horror stories above feel like being written from people that have lost any faith anyways.

I do not care that much about what FOTM is, I do not theorycraft and I really like this profession’s design. That sums up to a great experience to me. Look, when I read about “nobody uses off-hand XYZ” or “Skill ABC” then I just shake my head and don’t give a kitten . Neither should you, because if it fits your needs and you get your stuff done, what is the matter what other people want from you?

The problem with forums is the theory. If you like the gameplay, the mechanics, the look etc. that is something that can not be conveyed. Also, I see so many thieves (and Daredevils) ingame – judging from the negativity here I must be the only one in whole Thyria shrugs

Since you narrowed your questions pretty much, you got the expected answers. But to really ensure if you (dis)like a profession you simply need to play it. Normally I am the archer or the mage in MMORPGs, in GW2 it’s totally different.

Basically you play PvE and roleplay, where, as I previously mentioned, you can succeed by not using any weapons at all on any class of your choice.

I would second Shadowstep’s suggestion.

Try Mesmer.
They bring Alacrity and Quickness, along with a variety of boon applications, and boon/condi-strips and are even kinda tanky to some degree, and you can do damage while doing that, so It’s pretty fun.

Thief is fun too, but only if you’re a masochist.

But then again, if you play PvE a lot, anything goes, just play thief and roam free, like in WvW.

@ OP

Dodge forever

Play power thief. Do not listen others. see it yourself. YOu either love the profession (apart from periods of anger) or hate it completely. There is no middle in my opinion

^I am the middle. I have loads of fun with it, but i understand it is a crap class right now. at least in PVP.

Then you love it and no matter what ( for some time you will leave your toon to rot. But again it will re-connect with you instantly) you can not quit playing a thief. It is like a disease or something

emilejuggernaut.1864:

Hello I am looking for a class that requires a fair bit of thought when doing all content I recently rolled revenant and i liked the mobility but i found it kind of stagnant with weapons and builds. I was wondering how versatile is a theif I’m not looking for only x build is meta but overall is there a fair few that can be played around with?
How do they faire in WvW and Pve?
What roles can they fill? And is it generally daredevil or bust? (I kinda like bunkers)

Thief is very interesting and immersive to play and keep you always on the edge because it’s not forgiving to mistakes. If you want bunker don’t look at thief because thief is anything but the bunker. You might manage to make some bunker build but you will hit like wet noodle. Evade builds are more possible, but again you will lack damage.

If you want tanky stay revenant. It has somewhat thief-esque feel, but can take a good beating and still do lots of damage. I played for some time pure condi rev (dire/trailblazer, with Balthazar runes) and the survivability was much better than thief, could tank stuff I could only dream to tank on thief and I could still do serious damage (and much more AoE). On HoT maps durng events I could just jump into middle of everything without fear that I’ll get downed.

Look for Sindrener in YouTube and decide after that. I main a thief and I don’t regret it at all. It’s extremely fun to play but has a high skill cap. At first you’ll be extremely bad at it and people will rage at you but don’t give up. After some time and lots of practice you’ll see more often people telling you that you’re one of the “few” good thieves.