Guild Wars 2

Can someone tell me why the majority of players believe that the new thief specialization will have a rifle? I understand many people saw the norn carrying a rifle in the Heart of Thorns trailer however, one must consider that there are three medium armor classes.
That being said, the ranger can be counted out as it has been confirmed they will become the druid. This still leaves the engineer and the thief. I can understand how many will argue that the character carrying the rifle was wearing a mask looking like a thief but remember that engineers can also equip ANY headpiece that is considered medium armor. For instance, the emblazoned helmet can be equipped on both engineers and thief alike.

People make the assumption, because when Anet makes trailers with player characters they generally clothe them in a manner that’s themed with their profession.

They generally clothe engis in either neutral browns, or if in flashier colors more magictech looking stuff, they usually put warriors in the more utilitarian heavy sets, guardians in the more fillt looking sets, necros are usually given darker colors and themed gear than eles, and mesmers are usually in pinks/purples etc.

people are assuming it’s a thief becuase in trailers Anet usually depicts player thieves in dark colored minimalist leathers, and usually with bandana style facemasks or no headgear, while they generally select brighter colors and very rarely use the bandana style masks for engis, and when they do they usually use a more “engineer-style” leather set.

Basically, beome assume it’s a rifle-thief because the norn depicted is dressed like a thief, and anet tends to “dress to class” in trailers.

The engineer can already use the rifle and it is speculated they are getting hammer. The Ranger is confirmed getting a Staff with the Druid Specialization. That leaves thief.

Secondly, this post is the most well thought-out and well-recieved weapon suggestion in the thief forums. If anet had any sense they would take it and make it their own because the OP not only went through the trouble of providing tooltips and math, but he also designed a few traits to go along with it. On top of all that it looks fun to use AND it gives thieves a long range option.

yolo swaggins.2570:

The engineer can already use the rifle and it is speculated they are getting hammer. The Ranger is confirmed getting a Staff with the Druid Specialization. That leaves thief.

Secondly, this post is the most well thought-out and well-recieved weapon suggestion in the thief forums. If anet had any sense they would take it and make it their own because the OP not only went through the trouble of providing tooltips and math, but he also designed a few traits to go along with it. On top of all that it looks fun to use AND it gives thieves a long range option.

That weaponset suggestion looks…kittening godawful (IMO, of course).

All 3 of the AA’s and the stealth attack look disjointed and weak (the stealth attack hits as hard as TRICK SHOT WITHOUT THE BOUNCES and has a measly cripple attached to it). The rest of the set looks like an uninteresting Ranger LB/ Warrior rifle clone with MUCH less power and less versatility (which is at least somewhat understandable, because of thief’s inherit mobility). Ghillie suit is useless once you’ve been seen, shadow retreat would be fine except your AA is crap and 600 range isn’t enough to set up snipe, and snipe just looks silly – a giant initiative sink with a base 1x multiplier? Good thing it has bleeds attached to it, because that’s what a weaponset where every other skill gains absolutely nothing from condition damage needs on its high damage finisher.

This set will get chewed up by every other weaponset in the game.

Let’s also note that in PvP, this would leave thief exactly where it is meta wise – 1 shot wonders who +1 fights and deliver killing blows (Only infinitely more poorly, since the damage across all of rifle is pure crap). Since the thief would still need to be highly mobile, you’d still be forced to take ShBow as your second weapon, leaving you without a melee option and making rifle’s AA an even more unattractive option when compared to ShBow’s options.

Teleporting LB ranger/Killshot warrior mashup without any of the damage and hard cc – this is what thief players want?

The only weapons that hold absolutely no interesting possibilities for thief (again, IMO) are LB and Rifle.

yolo swaggins.2570:

The engineer can already use the rifle and it is speculated they are getting hammer. The Ranger is confirmed getting a Staff with the Druid Specialization. That leaves thief.

Secondly, this post is the most well thought-out and well-recieved weapon suggestion in the thief forums. If anet had any sense they would take it and make it their own because the OP not only went through the trouble of providing tooltips and math, but he also designed a few traits to go along with it. On top of all that it looks fun to use AND it gives thieves a long range option.

I preferred mine

That auto attack on the idea you linked is a little underpowered to say the least (especially the cone thing, guard staff auto has a 0.6 multiplier on it for reference). That bullet to the knee is pretty weak as well(DancingDagger has a 0.5 multiplier on it, so the only benefit from this is the longer cripple). If a lot of our damage doesn’t come from a decent auto, we’re gonna end up with another P/P unload initiative sink. I think we should have the option to have decent damage at long range, but get more powerful as we get closer as opposed to mesmers and rangers. Damage is really low on that overall.

Maugetarr.6823:

yolo swaggins.2570:

The engineer can already use the rifle and it is speculated they are getting hammer. The Ranger is confirmed getting a Staff with the Druid Specialization. That leaves thief.

Secondly, this post is the most well thought-out and well-recieved weapon suggestion in the thief forums. If anet had any sense they would take it and make it their own because the OP not only went through the trouble of providing tooltips and math, but he also designed a few traits to go along with it. On top of all that it looks fun to use AND it gives thieves a long range option.

I preferred mine

That auto attack on the idea you linked is a little underpowered to say the least (especially the cone thing, guard staff auto has a 0.6 multiplier on it for reference). That bullet to the knee is pretty weak as well(DancingDagger has a 0.5 multiplier on it, so the only benefit from this is the longer cripple). If a lot of our damage doesn’t come from a decent auto, we’re gonna end up with another P/P unload initiative sink. I think we should have the option to have decent damage at long range, but get more powerful as we get closer as opposed to mesmers and rangers. Damage is really low on that overall.

I once stated I thought your idea was complete ludicrous because it was the opposite of what it should do. Seriously, hit your foe with the butt of your rifle, your a thief who is slippery and going to be at a distance!! If they get near you switch to daggers or something I still think that. However………

Some of your skills game me ideas for my set

All 1200 range
Skill 1: Sniper Shot – 1/2 second cast
Shoot a bullet that deal more damage the further away you are Inflicts one stack of vulnerability.
Skill 2: Shadows Retreat – 3 Initiative –
Shadow step away from your foe and blast them with a crippling shot
Skill 3: Furious Shot – 4 Initiative – ½ cast
Fire a piercing shot that grants fury for 5 seconds.
Skill 4: Shot from Shadows – 5 initiative – ½ cast
Stun you foe with a powerful shot – stun duration 1 second
Skill 5: Meld with Shadows – 6 initiative
Gain an active camouflage for 3 seconds that is broken when movement occurs. Gain 2 stacks of might for 5 seconds. Your next attack deals +20% damage.
Skill 6: Stealth Skill – 1-2 second channel
- Headshot – 1500 range
Fire a brutal shot that deals high damage. Also dazes your foe for 2 seconds.

That is my old set. If I changed it up a bit, added some shadow steps and similar, it could become the powerful long range weapon as well as have molbility and some combo fields.

for rifle to have mobility it needs to be done in the shadows, not evading becuase you can’t evade with a kitten rifle

The Engineer was shown in the first half of the trailer carrying a hammer.

Maugetarr.6823:

yolo swaggins.2570:

The engineer can already use the rifle and it is speculated they are getting hammer. The Ranger is confirmed getting a Staff with the Druid Specialization. That leaves thief.

Secondly, this post is the most well thought-out and well-recieved weapon suggestion in the thief forums. If anet had any sense they would take it and make it their own because the OP not only went through the trouble of providing tooltips and math, but he also designed a few traits to go along with it. On top of all that it looks fun to use AND it gives thieves a long range option.

I preferred mine

That auto attack on the idea you linked is a little underpowered to say the least (especially the cone thing, guard staff auto has a 0.6 multiplier on it for reference). That bullet to the knee is pretty weak as well(DancingDagger has a 0.5 multiplier on it, so the only benefit from this is the longer cripple). If a lot of our damage doesn’t come from a decent auto, we’re gonna end up with another P/P unload initiative sink. I think we should have the option to have decent damage at long range, but get more powerful as we get closer as opposed to mesmers and rangers. Damage is really low on that overall.

That’s the trade-off for 1200 range. Rifle will be awful, because they don’t want to give Thief a viable ranged main DPS weapon.

BFMV.3198:

Maugetarr.6823:

yolo swaggins.2570:

The engineer can already use the rifle and it is speculated they are getting hammer. The Ranger is confirmed getting a Staff with the Druid Specialization. That leaves thief.

Secondly, this post is the most well thought-out and well-recieved weapon suggestion in the thief forums. If anet had any sense they would take it and make it their own because the OP not only went through the trouble of providing tooltips and math, but he also designed a few traits to go along with it. On top of all that it looks fun to use AND it gives thieves a long range option.

I preferred mine

That auto attack on the idea you linked is a little underpowered to say the least (especially the cone thing, guard staff auto has a 0.6 multiplier on it for reference). That bullet to the knee is pretty weak as well(DancingDagger has a 0.5 multiplier on it, so the only benefit from this is the longer cripple). If a lot of our damage doesn’t come from a decent auto, we’re gonna end up with another P/P unload initiative sink. I think we should have the option to have decent damage at long range, but get more powerful as we get closer as opposed to mesmers and rangers. Damage is really low on that overall.

I once stated I thought your idea was complete ludicrous because it was the opposite of what it should do. Seriously, hit your foe with the butt of your rifle, your a thief who is slippery and going to be at a distance!! If they get near you switch to daggers or something I still think that. However………

Some of your skills game me ideas for my set

All 1200 range
Skill 1: Sniper Shot – 1/2 second cast
Shoot a bullet that deal more damage the further away you are Inflicts one stack of vulnerability.
Skill 2: Shadows Retreat – 3 Initiative –
Shadow step away from your foe and blast them with a crippling shot
Skill 3: Furious Shot – 4 Initiative – ½ cast
Fire a piercing shot that grants fury for 5 seconds.
Skill 4: Shot from Shadows – 5 initiative – ½ cast
Stun you foe with a powerful shot – stun duration 1 second
Skill 5: Meld with Shadows – 6 initiative
Gain an active camouflage for 3 seconds that is broken when movement occurs. Gain 2 stacks of might for 5 seconds. Your next attack deals +20% damage.
Skill 6: Stealth Skill – 1-2 second channel
- Headshot – 1500 range
Fire a brutal shot that deals high damage. Also dazes your foe for 2 seconds.

None of these suggestions (yours, Maug’s, or Zach’s) are anything new for a thief – all you’ve created is a backstab thief who can fight at range, and that’s boring for many, many reasons.

A) Immobile stealth is silly. It’s primarily good for when you’ve seen a target and they haven’t seen you.
B) Rifle thief cannot operate like LB Ranger. It can’t be designed to do more damage the farther it is from it’s target because thief is insanely mobile and it would be nearly impossible to correctly balance in PvP.
C) Since the intent of your weaponset is burst damage, you’ve left thief right where it’s at in the PvP meta – roaming burst that +1’s fights. This means every thief will still be using a ShBow, because without a ShBow thieves can’t roam effectively. That means no melee weapons.

I get how everyone want’s to see “Boom, headshot!” from 1500 units away, but how is that fun after the first handful of times? Just lot’s of standing far away and pressing buttons. At least D/X and S/X force you to constantly watch your positioning and weave in and out of combat. At least LB ranger has to have some sort of plan for when their target closes the gap. Thief will just hit one of it’s many, many escapes and go back to pressing 1.

I’d honestly like to see a weaponset that shifted the thief dynamic instead of just piling on to what we’ve already got in spades.

Focus OH could turn thief into a Shadow Caster of sorts that plays like a necro/thief hybrid. Low(er) damage, lots of debuffing and support.

Axe/Mace in MH/OH could turn thief into more of a Thug that plays like a warrior/thief hybrid. More centered around landing combo’s and controlling the pace of the fight through short duration stuns and dazes – big damage from correctly executing combos.

Torch OH could turn thief into a Warhammer style Witch Hunter, that would focus more on picking 1 target and disabling it through unique debuffs rather than big crits.

I want rifle so I can be a true thief/robber:

burst in to jewelry store “Alright put you hands up this is a hold up, just gimme your jewels and no one gets shot!”

Leon Heart XIII.4609:

I want rifle so I can be a true thief/robber:

burst in to jewelry store “Alright put you hands up this is a hold up, just gimme your jewels and no one gets shot!”

what?

a true thief / robber will use a pistol. clearly because it’s so small and it has the same effect. you can’t walk through town with a rifle on your back.

If one wants to play a sniper, just go play rifle war.

I’d really prefer to see an emphasis on the long-range and highly mobile sustained DPS model (longbow) in that it would actually work and create a play style that does not exist currently in the game. Rangers had a failed sustained damage model on the longbow because of a lack of mobility with it and dependencies on the pet/absolutely no burst whatsoever before RF got changed into the meganuke that it is (RF before the buff had lower DPS than the longbow auto-attack including the vuln).

I’m pretty sure the weapon will end up being the rifle seeing that so many people want to be “snipers” being all cool shooting people from invisibility and whatnot… but frankly, that’s just less exciting than a stab build and it can’t be as effective from initiative + ranged making it overall less risky, especially when paired with stealth skills and utilities like SR and BP.

The rifle’s just too weird to be a mobile set, too, imho, and the competition with blinds from pistols would render that set useless as well.

Would like to see something more unique happen to the class, but I have a feeling we’ll just end up with a killshot war rehash because a lot of people seem to want it.

I have had a change of heart!! I Agree with evilapprentice.6379 and DeceiverX.8361

You guys are right we can’t get both mobility and burst on rifle. Longbow WOULD be a lot more cooler !! Holy kitten I have had a compelte change of heart. Long, 1200 solid range and mobility would be insane

DeceiverX.8361:

If one wants to play a sniper, just go play rifle war.

I’d really prefer to see an emphasis on the long-range and highly mobile sustained DPS model (longbow) in that it would actually work and create a play style that does not exist currently in the game. Rangers had a failed sustained damage model on the longbow because of a lack of mobility with it and dependencies on the pet/absolutely no burst whatsoever before RF got changed into the meganuke that it is (RF before the buff had lower DPS than the longbow auto-attack including the vuln).

I’m pretty sure the weapon will end up being the rifle seeing that so many people want to be “snipers” being all cool shooting people from invisibility and whatnot… but frankly, that’s just less exciting than a stab build and it can’t be as effective from initiative + ranged making it overall less risky, especially when paired with stealth skills and utilities like SR and BP.

The rifle’s just too weird to be a mobile set, too, imho, and the competition with blinds from pistols would render that set useless as well.

Would like to see something more unique happen to the class, but I have a feeling we’ll just end up with a killshot war rehash because a lot of people seem to want it.

I would like to see mobile, solid sustained damage as well, but with my rifle skins instead of my LB skins. That’s why didn’t have any higher than a 1.5 mult or stealth on the set and had a gap closer and 2 gap creators on my wishlist.

BFMV.3198:

Some of your skills game me ideas for my set

All 1200 range
Skill 1: Sniper Shot – 1/2 second cast
Shoot a bullet that deal more damage the further away you are Inflicts one stack of vulnerability.
Skill 2: Shadows Retreat – 3 Initiative –
Shadow step away from your foe and blast them with a crippling shot
Skill 3: Furious Shot – 4 Initiative – ½ cast
Fire a piercing shot that grants fury for 5 seconds.
Skill 4: Shot from Shadows – 5 initiative – ½ cast
Stun you foe with a powerful shot – stun duration 1 second
Skill 5: Meld with Shadows – 6 initiative
Gain an active camouflage for 3 seconds that is broken when movement occurs. Gain 2 stacks of might for 5 seconds. Your next attack deals +20% damage.
Skill 6: Stealth Skill – 1-2 second channel
- Headshot – 1500 range
Fire a brutal shot that deals high damage. Also dazes your foe for 2 seconds.

That is my old set. If I changed it up a bit, added some shadow steps and similar, it could become the powerful long range weapon as well as have molbility and some combo fields.

for rifle to have mobility it needs to be done in the shadows, not evading becuase you can’t evade with a kitten rifle

given engineers have been complaining since day one that their rifle was used in melee exclusively(like the other 90% of their skills), and not as a sniper rifle. I find it both hilarious and 100% likely thief rifle will be a sniper rifle.

ib4 anet releases mace for teefs. I want to bop my enemies’ heads.

If we were to get Rifle, it would be a hell of a task to NOT make it cheesy, boring, uninspired or a direct clone of another ranged spec. I’m simply not interested. Give me something wacky like using a Staff as a melee weapon or a Focus for various shadow magic shenanigans.

Simply having a Killshot-wannabe would be incredibly disappointing.