Guild Wars 2

Now there will be of course different thieves here with different builds, but I think that just means there’s more to discuss here.

I’m mostly talking about WvW/PvP here (obviously).

I typically find any condi-bunker builds to be problematic. Unfortunately almost every class has this option, so of all the condi-bunkers, I’d probably say a ranger or necro since they can outdps in a ranging contest while laying down condi AoEs if we try to get close.

I only consider myself a decent player, probably not even good, since I’m not experienced with all classes or all builds on the thief, nor is my timing in dodges exactly even great but due to how powerful conditions are in smaller fights, and the lack of condi removals compared to other classes, that would be my issue.

What about you?

None. ~flex~

But seriously — Any good mesmers, or p/d condition thieves. I have a love/hate relationship for both. Going up against a conditioned veteran using p/d condi makes for a very hard fight.

My weak spots include guardians, mm necros and bunker engis esp the turret kind

Condi PU mesmers are really tough for me. Luckily you can outrun them extremely easy. But if your dueling one, bye bye. I play d/p SA

kittenin condi-bunker Engis man. Best I can hope to do is annoy them enough so that they’ll chase me off point (PvP) and then run away.

I agree with that as well, at least in spvp ^ but in WvW i have more than enough condi clear and sustain to kill them. Shadowsteps are really helpful against engis. If they get all defensive and start spamming bombs everywhere, shadows yep in and immediately backstab, then immediately shadow step back out. The result is youve barely been scratched and they lost 6-7k health, which is nearly half their health pool

-Turret Engineers.
-Grenade+Bomb Engineers. Many counters, high armor, high condi dmg and CC’s along with 35k+ heal per minute.
-Condi Necros, usually dish out more conditions than I’m able to cleanse while staying offensive, forcing me to go defensive which will lead to an exhaustment of initiative and utilities.
-LB+GS Rangers, most are horrible and die easy thankfully.
-S/Sh+GS Warrior, any axe build can also be frustrating to fight, when you think you have them they suddenly eviscerate you for 9k.
-Sc/F+GS Guardian.
-D/D and Sc/D eles are tough to fight if they are played well, but there are many obvious counters against them.

1. P/D condi thieves
2. hammer warriors
3. Burn you forever guards or engies that don’t sit next to turrets all the time and can actually chase.
4. very good zerker mesmers/eles

It’s disappointing to see how many thieves jumped to P/D condi since the ferocity nerf. What makes them so difficult to fight is the combination of their high condi output and dire gear. I don’t even bother fighting them anymore, since most suck at chasing people, it’s rather easy to get away from them.

Hammer warriors – aoe cc ftw

Majority of engies are so used to melting thieves ez mode that they barely put up any decent fight and just keep camping turrets and allow me spam unload till they die. There are few that can fight, block at the right time and chase, not just sit next to healing turret.

In general, mesmers, even PU ones are not a problem to kill. I think mainly cos most rely on PU to carry them and they don’t improve their skills. Same rotations, very easy to predict. The only time a mesmer is a problem for me, if he is really zerky and knows what he is doing. Since I am also zerky, the phantasms cut through me really quickly.

Most eles are easy to kill, then there that one zerk ele that can burst me in 2 nanoseconds :<

In pvp on a point:
1. MM Necro
2. Hambow
3. Engi

in wvw:
1. med guard

I’m taking notes — Never knew people disliked fighting the classes above. I hope to run into them in WvW

Condi engi and medi guard.

In WvW:
well-played: med guard or sd eng
In PvP:
necro, some cond or sd engs, hambow (so ez in wvw), well played ele

MM necro and condi ranger…condi ranger is just meh

As a long time condition thief, not a ferocity nerf p/d thief, I’d say my biggest hardship is zerker thieves XD. A good BS d/d thief can cut right through my dire gear, and if he is well placed and knows what he is doing he can melt me twice as fast as i can him.

Besides that i’d say i only have trobules when im fighting 2 decent players.

a gaurdian and a mesmer
warrior and guardian
warrior and mesmer
mesmer and mesmer kills me
engineer and warrior is beyond me

i’ve been playing condi thief since death blossom with full carrion was the way to go XD

Condi bunker engi
Axe warriors (dat eviscerate)
PD thieves
DD ele
These are fights are lose more to but kitten it felt good as hell that one time a DD eke opened on me and I won the fight as a DD thief

Thief is not in the best of spots when it comes to 1v1, and you really have to outplay your opponents in order to have any chance of winning. Following match ups assume I’m running a berserker thief without any investment into Shadow Arts.

Warrior – Really comes down to if you can evade/blind the key skills (Earthshaker, Pin Down, Eviscerate, Impale). Matchup can go either way.

Guardian – DPS guardians are another hard matchup, especially the sceptre variants. Burning is your biggest enemy here. Sword and GS guards can be kited around. Bunker guards are a waste of time.

Engineer – Impossible to win assuming even skill level.

Ranger – As long as you land all your steals, this one should be pretty straightforward.

Thief – Depends on build/weapon set/personal skill, but a thief should strive to win all 1v1s against another thief.

Mesmer – Easiest class to win against. No contest here.

Necromancer – Depends on how much Death Shroud the necro has. If you don’t get spited and save your ports for fears, this is definitely winnable. Power variants are much easier.

Elementalist – Saving Steal for heavy boon rip will deal with D/D. S/D has a really easy time against full zerker elementalists.

As you can see, apart from mesmers, other thieves and to some extent, rangers (axe mainhand is still troublesome in conquest), there isn’t a single matchup that I feel I can easily win as a thief. It all comes down to outplaying your opponent. Tells you a lot about balance and that all classes are equally strong now.

for me easiest is Mez and hardest is another very skilled d/p burst thief is always a threat and turret build engies

I play D/P in WvW so that impacts my perception of other classes.

Generally though:

Warrior – not hard, although some are down-right immortal thanks to Healing Signet and Adrenal Healing. Generally the Blind spam counters most Warrior builds pretty hard but you have to watch out for those 12k Eviscerates.

Guardian – Most play some sort of tanky immortal build too. DPs Guardians can be extremely though to kill…or rather easy. Not sure why, but there seems to be a lot of variance.

Rangers – Most Rangers are crappy players and will kill themselves by shooting at Daggerstorm. Anything with a bow, except for Spirit Rangers, is generally a free-kill. The melee Rangers are generally immortal too and best avoided which is easy enough since they deal very little damage.

Engineers – Probably the most annoying class to fight in this game. Incredibly overpowered condition spam combined with a bunker/avoidance play-style make this class incredibly OP in roaming situations.

Thieves – D/P is probably the best Thief-build for dueling so it comes out on top more often than not. Some builds can be tougher than others but Blind spam is simply too hard a counter for most.

Mesmers – PU has turned into a cancer for this class. 95% of Mesmers seem to run some form of it and it is fekkin lame. When combined with condition spam it marks the pinnacle of low-risk/high-reward condition-spam game-play that has all but ruined active combat. I despise this build and what it has done to an otherwise interesting class. So no, I can’t beat PU Mesmers and don’t even try anymore. Just walk away…

Necromancers – can be tough. They have so much HP to beat through. But they have a number of builds as well, including condi-spam and Minion Masters. Both can be tough or easy, depending on the other player. In general though I don’t have a hard time killing them unless I eat a Signet of Spite.

Elementalists – are a wild card. Some are incredibly hard, borderline OP with good damage and insane sustain, while others are just…meh. I have met and fought some pretty good Eles, but killed plenty more easy kills. 9/10 times I will come out on top.

Running power/leech d/p build

- Medi burst guards require a lot of taunting, one wrong move and poof, doesn’t help they have 3 lives.

- Condi bunker or turret bunker engies, but that’s not new, in fact it’s getting worst every update and i’m amazed the community is fooled by the few who say “moar button mashing high skillzcap”.

Depends on the build. Overall, conditions give me troubles. I can clear them as they come but if I get shotgunned with a bunch I have to usually pull off and recover.

PU Mesmers and other bursty Thieves (Stealth is the problem)

MM Necro and Engis

Even when I play my MM Necro, I still have trouble with engi s….they are my bane

If I know a guardian or warrior is good, I won’t fight them alone.

Necros, but last night I fought and lost to this necro twice – the third time I managed to kite him enough for a stalemate using no SA. It’s all about adapting if you get the chance!