Guild Wars 2

I don’t wvw much, but when I do, I choose Ovaltine Milk.

(Insert polite laughter here for the sad attempt at levity)

I have a PvE optimized thief who I will sometimes play in WvW. It is a S/P and shortbow 0/30/20/20/0 build with mostly cavalier gar, which I absolutely love in PvE, and I do ok in WvW. I don’t think this is the current meta wvw thief build, or at least that’s not what I see most of the thieves I play with run.

I just finished up a few of my alts so I decided I’m going to make my thief a full time WvW character, so I want to optimize for wvw. Suggestions anyone?

Off the top of my head I know the dagger/pistol shortbow 10/30/30/0/0 all zerker with divinity runes used to be very popular for a while, I don’t know if it is what is most popular now.

EDIT: I also heard a lot of good things about an all zerker 0/30/10/0/30 build, this I hear does more damage than the 10/30/30 but not sure how viable it is in wvw

p/d and or d/p builds right now. its kind of switching over from d/p to p/d it seems .

To give Travlane’s post more detail: mostly switching between perma-stealth-backstab(ish) to stealth-sneak-attack (bleeds) builds. Honestly, I rarely see Thieves that use any other build than these two. Full of diversity this game is (/sarcasm).

well if the entire thief defense wasnt built into proccing on stealth then we could run d/d BS or d/d evade bleed or p/p even. unfor our heals…condi removal…blind aoe etc defense and half ofour init regen is based off of going into stealth so yeah we basically have 2 or 3 choices max….

Is there a specific build for the d/p? I don’t want to go to the bleed thief route

the two most common builds are 0 30 20 20 0 (i think this is best) or the 0 20 30 20 0 build.

the first uses hidden killer
the 2nd uses shadow rejuvenation.

The meta is using anything other than condition damage since most good players who are not on mesmer or thief run melandru runes and lemongrass or tons of condition removal.

i only see lemongrass runes prolly about 15-20% of the time. even so never noticed it bothering me. i played d/p for so long and ended up switching bc of its shortcomings .
i’d say half are condi half are d/p right now in wvw. in spvp id say 60 40 from s/d to p/d

D/D is still competly viable and just as good as d/p. The meta is d/d and d/p, condtions are useless in wvwvw really.

There isn’t really a thief-meta. I see p/d thieves, p/p thieves, d/p thieves, d/d thieves, s/p thieves, and s/d thieves all kick butt.

In general, a successful WvW thief has ample access to evasion and at least 5 seconds of stealth on demand though.

Turbo, nothing is wrong with d/d or shortbow thieves either

Big Tower.5423:

Turbo, nothing is wrong with d/d or shortbow thieves either

:o I said d/d thieves are great also.

1) d/d
2) d/p
3) s/d
4) sb

choose 2 of the above and go 0/30/30/10/0

d/p is the most popular build atm, by far.

Travlane.5948:

i only see lemongrass runes prolly about 15-20% of the time. even so never noticed it bothering me. i played d/p for so long and ended up switching bc of its shortcomings .
i’d say half are condi half are d/p right now in wvw. in spvp id say 60 40 from s/d to p/d

I’ve hardly seen any P/D thieves in WvW.

D/P is by far the most prevalent currently; upwards of 75% of thieves I see roaming are running it. Then would probably be D/D 2nd and S/D 3rd. P/D and P/P are rare to see, can easily go a few days without seeing a thief holding a pistol anywhere but in their offhand.

Big Tower.5423:

D/D is still competly viable and just as good as d/p. The meta is d/d and d/p, condtions are useless in wvwvw really.

wvw is ALL about conditions and survivability. actually. only time a zerk build helps is if u are roaming and doing 1 v 1 or small kitten like that. oh and yeah thats useless to the server :P hence…..zerk is useless

flossie.3054:

Travlane.5948:

i only see lemongrass runes prolly about 15-20% of the time. even so never noticed it bothering me. i played d/p for so long and ended up switching bc of its shortcomings .
i’d say half are condi half are d/p right now in wvw. in spvp id say 60 40 from s/d to p/d

I’ve hardly seen any P/D thieves in WvW.

D/P is by far the most prevalent currently; upwards of 75% of thieves I see roaming are running it. Then would probably be D/D 2nd and S/D 3rd. P/D and P/P are rare to see, can easily go a few days without seeing a thief holding a pistol anywhere but in their offhand.

oh? i see alot on my server nowadays. idk maybe its a lil diff here.

I don’t wvw a whole lot but generally I don’t run into too many condi toons that are roaming (most condi toons I run into are necros and engis and such and generally those guys like operating within a zerg).

d/p and sb 0/30/20/20/0 it is for now! I’ll check out how it goes

The best 2 builds for wvw will be a p/d condi build. Pros are good survivability against multiple opponents. Cons are slow kills and you beat an ele because if thier condi clears or a d/p thief with condi clears.

Second build is d/p + anything, I use d/d for the cnd→steal→bs combo then switch back to d/p. d/p pros are you can beat any class or build 1v1. Cons are its hard to beat multiple opponents unless your not running glass cannon armor.

I prefer d/p because its more fun to me.

I suggest trying each build out in spvp before committing to it in wvw,

I usually run 0/20/30/20/0 when I go d/p, and 0/30/30/10/0 for d/d.

Everyone has a different opinion on what is best though, some prefer p/d or s/d over the builds mentioned above. Personal preference at the end of the day. Although I feel d/p is an all around more complete weapon set, I enjoy roaming with d/d more.

Big Tower.5423:

D/D is still competly viable and just as good as d/p. The meta is d/d and d/p, condtions are useless in wvwvw really.

Yeah, viable. You just won’t be able to kill any heavy armored opponent who can pust 2 buttons. That’s all.

Travlane.5948:

p/d and or d/p builds right now. its kind of switching over from d/p to p/d it seems .

Qft.

Here is a guide to a really strong dagger pistol perma stealth backstab build. It has good damage, good sir ability, good condi cleanse, good gap closers, and high mobility

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/external?l=http%3A%2F%2Fintothemists.com%2Fguides%2F307-daggerpistol_backstab_by_rand_x_al_thor

pantsforbirds.9032:

Here is a guide to a really strong dagger pistol perma stealth backstab build. It has good damage, good sir ability, good condi cleanse, good gap closers, and high mobility

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/external?l=http%3A%2F%2Fintothemists.com%2Fguides%2F307-daggerpistol_backstab_by_rand_x_al_thor

watch out for zergs….groups of 4+ and AOE on ground or distance stuns….always bring blinding powder backup.