Guild Wars 2

Berserker’s = Power > Precision > Crit%
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I’m a Sword/Pistol Thief… if I switch out to a full set of Power/Toughness>Vitality gear… how will that affect my damage output? Does anyone have any ballpark figures on how much I would take a hit on my damage?

You know, you really didn’t have to respond to the thread. As a matter of fact, I would have preferred if you didn’t. Some people actually enjoy helping the mathematically impaired like myself.

If you are not one of them then you could have simply moved on and ignored this thread instead of coming in here and being rude and condescending.

Also, in case you wondering I have Dyscalculia.

One great thing about GW2 is the Heart of the Mists, which gives you free access to all the weapons, runes, sigils and named armor configurations, plus unlimited trait resets and all skills are unlocked.

Go to the hearts, “buy” (everything’s free) a set of Berserker’s and Soldier’s jewels, and you can try both side by side on a target golem.

Aeden.5896:

One great thing about GW2 is the Heart of the Mists, which gives you free access to all the weapons, runes, sigils and named armor configurations, plus unlimited trait resets and all skills are unlocked.

Go to the hearts, “buy” (everything’s free) a set of Berserker’s and Soldier’s jewels, and you can try both side by side on a target golem.

Unfortunately as nice that the spvp part is, it does not really reflect into ‘real’ world since you cannot acquire the stats as amounted in the spvp amulets at pve/wvw side which is kinda sad. Stucked to run with 1kittenp @ 40% crit and 87% crit dmg with berserker+valkyrie jewelry exotics which is rather… sad compared to the 22k hp 54% crit, 80% critdmg in spvp.

Ok well let me answer you.

I use Power/Toughness/Vitality everything.

My end-game crit will be ~28-30%, I am not all the way there yet as Badges of Honor are still a restricting gear factor for this type of gear (ring/accessory, 3 more to go).

The crit is from 15% with 30 in Critical Strikes, around 7.5% with Emerald gems for Accessory items, a Sigil of Accuracy on my offhand dagger, and usually at least one Orb.

Crit damage will end up being 30% due to Traits alone.

Power will be only 90 less than someone who went full Power/Precision/Crit damage gear.

This is the key point actually. Your power is about the same. Your raw damage output is about the same. Add on top of this the Backstab build, where really, crit chance doesn’t matter, and you’re hitting only slightly worse than a Berserker build. Now, a Berserker guy will have higher numbers based on the + 70% crit damage, but is that worth dying to every two hits? No.

The PvP gear is there for a reason. For a Thief, it’s for 100% Backstab crits, being in the mix, keeping stealth and downing targets left and right. If a Backstab is 2000 damage, a Backstab crit for you will be 3600 vs. 5000 from someone with +100% crit damage. I don’t want for crits, and I enjoy surviving huge fights.

You also get to play around with Rune sets to suit your playstyle as each one will give a benefit which doesn’t impact your overall effectiveness. For example, a full-damage build who picks a tiny bit of toughness with Runes will not see any benefit. However if all your gear is Toughness/Vit, and you use some damage or utility Runes, you will see a large benefit with only a small loss in survivability.

tldr: PvP gear is there for a reason.

I think the Toughness + Vitality gear is especially useful in WvW, but not so much in sPvP, Chaos, Zergs and large scale fights are what define WvW in most PvP cases. There’s a lot of unpredictable damage flying around and avoiding it can be near impossible at times. On the other hand you rarely fight people 1v1 so damage isn’t nearly as important.

That’s what makes Toughness + Vitality gear good in WvW. I wouldn’t say it make it good in sPvP though.

I am one of those no vitality/toughness Thieves. I started out with them. Then I realized “I don’t need” the 5K larger healthpool or the xx% damage take reduction. My build and weapon choice allow me to get out the way if needed. I run all dungeons explorable mode. I don’t die when taking two hits. Sad thing someone said so, maybe to make his own story look better, I don’t know.

It all comes down to personal preference. Vitality and Toughness can be useful indeed, you should try them out both. I won’t say it’s bad because I’m biased towards my own build.

Mix in Valkyrie items in your trinkets (power, vitality, crit damage)

I am all berserkers with 3-4 valkyrie items. i hit like a truck and have 16.5k hp.

I have no problems in dungeons – in fact, our mobility and stealth makes it so I typically die less than other classes

Nefarious.2014:

Mix in Valkyrie items in your trinkets (power, vitality, crit damage)

I am all berserkers with 3-4 valkyrie items. i hit like a truck and have 16.5k hp.

I have no problems in dungeons – in fact, our mobility and stealth makes it so I typically die less than other classes

I concur. So much survivability comes from our utility, mobility, and stealth. I know I usually am eaten alive by conditions, which would make vitality more keen.

I went Valk/Berserker after researching and seeing Nefarious’s recommendations on my way up to 80, and that’s what I invested in for my first Rares. I’ll back Nef and Vexus up; you still hit like a truck but now you can take hits.

For PvE/WvW I went 4 Valkyrie, 2 Berserker on Armor, and I have a mix of Berserker and Valk trinkets (Maybe a Rampager or two, if I recall – it was a light day on the TP). With the healthy HP buffer and our own mobility and stealth (both of which offer Condition wipes) I’m always the last man standing in dungeons. In WvW I can jump into the fray with little fear.