Guild Wars 2

just want sum feedback starting a thief and i really wanna get into it so i can get it to lvl 80 its lvl 6 right now i know its pretty low but like lvling up wise is it easier to kill things or do thiefs just not a class to go if u want to pve x.x?

not really any easier to kill things. Depends on the situation, but generally about average in combat. A lot easier to explore than on other classes, though.

They are good lone pvers.

They’ve got the best combo finishers in the game, and multiple skills that can ensure a rez in PvE.

Bring a shortbow if you’re concerned about lack of group damage.

there’s absolutely nothing wrong with thieves in pve. my main is a thief and it’s my favorite class in the game period. if you’re really good at dodging and knowing when to get out of a fight, then your damage would be godly if you have full berserker gear.

they’re great for single targets but their shortbow skills make up for that with it’s aoe attacks.

Being a thief essentially means have an unfair advantage on every “Dodge or die” mechanic in dungeons. And they are everywhere.

jayem.2630:

Being a thief essentially means have an unfair advantage on every “Dodge or die” mechanic in dungeons. And they are everywhere.

True, though a lot of “dodge or die” mechanics aren’t “dodge or die” mechanics at all for some classes

ok good thanks guys for the feedback cuz from what ive been reading from other posts they make it seem like thief is completely unplayable for pve wise. but this gave me sum hope as i start lvling my thief for real tomorrow ^^

well, not sure how the above thieves play, but I generally do 9k dps an unload and from what I’m told this is pretty good.

considering it’s 900 range (so medium safe distance) and I have stealth to get out of combat when I pull too much aggro. (i.e. the boss you hide behind the boxes in arah, I had him kited for 90% of the fight because of too much damage).

think what you want, but every class is viable in pve and pvp, this is what anet have worked hard to achieve.

edit: also arah is the hardest dungeon in the game, so that should tell you something.

You can do fairly well damage wise, at least I do, and I’ve tried both ways conditions and critical damage.

But the profession specially shines on being able to make hard stuff look easy if you want, and also to make other players do it. Shadow Refuge is IMO the best skill in the whole game (at least in PVE, except for Jumping Puzzles where Mesmer’s Portal is incredible to help other players). It’s incredible at resurrecting players (that said, some times you will need to ask them to stop attacking while downed as many players don’t understand how stealth work) and enables a big number of tactics (like stealth taking the barrels on Caudecus path 2 to put an example). You will be able to skip 90% of Orr skill challenge fights, as most of them are commune type SC, but most have champion bosses on them. Infiltrator’s Arrow will do wonders for you when they try to multi-pull you too.

I think the Thief is really good in PVE. Many that haven’t played it (and even some that have but haven’t explored its potential, sticking to backstabbing and similar stuff they saw on previously generated builds) think: This profession is designed for PvP, but is crap at PvE. But it couldn’t be more wrong.

When I play in a dungeon with the support I can bring, my condition damage, my ability to make downed players lose agro and give the entire team a break, and my ability to switch to the best combo finisher in the game, I always feel like I’m the most useful player in the party.

The thief is a VERY UNDERATED support profession, many thief players are guilt for this as they insist on going 100% dps so other players see us like that, when this is the wrong way to play. We’re Thieves, not Assassins, we can do our share of damage (but contrary to popular opinion, there are professions much better than us at this), Thieves in role games bring a lot of support and intangibles to the table, and we have enough utilities to bring that. At least I like to play supportive, I enjoy it, I keep helping the team in many different areas and I feel like I’m doing a lot more than when I build just for damage. Plus, the feeling of resurrecting so many teamates all the time while playing as a really fragile profession, is great for your self steem xD

So yep, I think the Thief is really good at all aspects of PvE as long as you play it to its advantages.

I find my S/D SB thief does pretty well in PvE soloing. S/D’s fine apart from the whole flanking strike thing, and SB can be amazing when used correctly, especially if you make full used of Cluster Bomb’s blast finisher. And Shadow Refuge is godly. Especially if you want to gather crafting supplies and do communing skill challenges without dealing with the mobs. Ideal for gathering Mithril and Orichalcum in Orre.

Rukia.4802:

They are good lone pvers.

No they’re not. Why would they be?

Thief is one of the worst PvE profs.

I found the thief’s damage in pve to be quite lackluster to be honest. My warrior did more damage and had an easier time at every stage of pve. Also, Warriors are much tankier.
Most people will tell you that the thiefs defense is good dodging – well, last time I checked Warriors could dodge too.
Overall I thonk the thief’s damage does in no way compensate for it being squishy as hell.
Just to give you an example:
As a lvl 70 thief in straits of devastation in full lvl 70 blue equip a PINK MOA can bring you down to 10% health before it dies if you only autoattack it.
Warrior doing the same will hardly take a scratch because your healing signet can reg against the moas damage with ease.

Lokheit.7943:

The thief is a VERY UNDERATED support profession, many thief players are guilt for this as they insist on going 100% dps so other players see us like that, when this is the wrong way to play. We’re Thieves, not Assassins, we can do our share of damage (but contrary to popular opinion, there are professions much better than us at this), Thieves in role games bring a lot of support and intangibles to the table, and we have enough utilities to bring that. At least I like to play supportive, I enjoy it, I keep helping the team in many different areas and I feel like I’m doing a lot more than when I build just for damage. Plus, the feeling of resurrecting so many teamates all the time while playing as a really fragile profession, is great for your self steem xD

This so much. After realising my damage was at best en par with most other dedicated dps classes I tried support. Shadows refuge really is THAT good. Many people will love you when you help them cap a commune typ skillchallenge with ease or ress them in the middle of a bunch of mobs.
Throw in some aoe cripple and blind and you got a lot of damage mitigation for your entire team.

Thief is easily the best PvE class aside from perhaps Warrior or Mesmer. Using S/P or S/D with SB and Shadow Arts/Acrobatics trees properly invested, I can steamroll from one side of Orr to the other and any dungeon with relative ease. We have an INSANE amount of blinds, evades, stuns, stunbreaks, escapes and condition removals at our disposal, and we can choose any and every battle with mobs via stealth.

Of course, this only applies if you do what I said (invest in survivability trees). If you roll pure DPS, you’ll get ruined in PvE. I mean COMPLETELY ruined.

There’s nothing better than running a sword support build in a dungeon. You can manage enemy aggro all by yourself, revive any teammates without issues, kite/pseudo-tank efficiently and deal formidable damage while you’re at it. Thieves are SEVERELY underrated in group play because of the many bad apples that think backstab builds are still viable in large-scale PvE.

Kefke.2435:

I found the thief’s damage in pve to be quite lackluster to be honest. My warrior did more damage and had an easier time at every stage of pve. Also, Warriors are much tankier.
Most people will tell you that the thiefs defense is good dodging – well, last time I checked Warriors could dodge too.
Overall I thonk the thief’s damage does in no way compensate for it being squishy as hell.
Just to give you an example:
As a lvl 70 thief in straits of devastation in full lvl 70 blue equip a PINK MOA can bring you down to 10% health before it dies if you only autoattack it.
Warrior doing the same will hardly take a scratch because your healing signet can reg against the moas damage with ease.

Sadly that’s not a valid example.See. the thieves’ forte is stealth and burst damage.You try to outlast and tank a mob or player? You’re doing it wrong.That’s what a warrior does.75% of the warrior class is their auto attacks, 15% other 4 skills and 10% utilities.
The most problematic thing for warriors(mine is 80 mind so I do know a little) is exactly that – aside from auto attacks, they don’t have all that much going for them, and it’s boring as hell.Warrior pve?Auto attack till bleeding, with occasional swiftness skill.

Point is, every class has it’s problems and shortcomings.So comparing them on such base level is pointless and not valid at all.

Auesis.7301:

Thief is easily the best PvE class aside from perhaps Warrior or Mesmer. Using S/P or S/D with SB and Shadow Arts/Acrobatics trees properly invested, I can steamroll from one side of Orr to the other and any dungeon with relative ease. We have an INSANE amount of blinds, evades, stuns, stunbreaks, escapes and condition removals at our disposal, and we can choose any and every battle with mobs via stealth.

Of course, this only applies if you do what I said (invest in survivability trees). If you roll pure DPS, you’ll get ruined in PvE. I mean COMPLETELY ruined.

There’s nothing better than running a sword support build in a dungeon. You can manage enemy aggro all by yourself, revive any teammates without issues, kite/pseudo-tank efficiently and deal formidable damage while you’re at it. Thieves are SEVERELY underrated in group play because of the many bad apples that think backstab builds are still viable in large-scale PvE.

QFT. Was doing a CM run Asura path yesterday. In situations where the guardian was dying I wasn’t, I was even at full health while collecting equal agro.

After a while the party leader mentioned “someone was doing a lot of damage in the party” so I went back to repair, came back, started attacking and was doing as much damage as the rest of the party combined (ranger+warrior+guardian, we had another thief but he was horrible and ended up rage quitting after agroing 15 mobs with a stray DD).

If built properly I’d argue thieves are one of the best PvE professions but if you’re going glass cannon BS build naturally you’re going to fail at dungeons and any high-level areas like Orr.

Auesis.7301:

Thief is easily the best PvE class aside from perhaps Warrior or Mesmer. Using S/P or S/D with SB and Shadow Arts/Acrobatics trees properly invested, I can steamroll from one side of Orr to the other and any dungeon with relative ease. We have an INSANE amount of blinds, evades, stuns, stunbreaks, escapes and condition removals at our disposal, and we can choose any and every battle with mobs via stealth.

Of course, this only applies if you do what I said (invest in survivability trees). If you roll pure DPS, you’ll get ruined in PvE. I mean COMPLETELY ruined.

There’s nothing better than running a sword support build in a dungeon. You can manage enemy aggro all by yourself, revive any teammates without issues, kite/pseudo-tank efficiently and deal formidable damage while you’re at it. Thieves are SEVERELY underrated in group play because of the many bad apples that think backstab builds are still viable in large-scale PvE.

Sadly to say thieves are not the best PvE class. If your talking about Orr Eles (D/D usually), Necro (Staff Mark), Engi (Alchemy any weapon set really) and Guardian (just about any build that’s not glass) will do better there in survivability can dps also. That’s if their played correctly obviously.Everything you say about what thieves can do is true.

In dungeons thieves are not my favorite class to have around. Honestly its due to a lack of support and weak Aoe outside short bow. Thief doesn’t suck but its also one of the classes that brings the least to the table.

I would love to see thieves get more support outside of heal when you stealth an ally and transfer/give boons of steal. I honestly believe thieves should have gotten more group support put into tree. The support / survivability is all very solo friendly. Blind on stealth, regeneration on stealth, heal on stealth, wipe a condition on stealth, are all very solo not group support.

BTW warrior is strong in regular mob auto attack 100b PvE. Mesmers ok but has the lowest base damage in game. Crazy PvE comes from necro and ele taking on 5-8 and sometimes 10 mobs at a time. I was literally soloing a champion in Orr (you know the one that summons the maggots) on D/D ele. I know I can’t do that on my thief effectively.

ddrake.5436:

well, not sure how the above thieves play, but I generally do 9k dps an unload and from what I’m told this is pretty good.

No you don’t, unless you’re putting out nearly 20,000 damage per unload. Unload’s DPS isn’t that good, but you’re right in that it is somewhat safe due to its ranged nature.

Kefke

As a lvl 70 thief in straits of devastation in full lvl 70 blue equip a PINK MOA can bring you down to 10% health before it dies if you only autoattack it.

As an any class at any level in any equipment a PINK MOA can’t bring you below 100 % if you simply walk in a circle while hitting auto attack. There are some mobs that have attacks that are difficult to dodge with simple (non-dodge) movement…moas are not one of those mobs.

If your point was that warriors are easier to play because hitting movement keys is a lot of effort, you’ve made your point. Their healing signet isn’t even as good as thieves’ in most PvE situations.

Auesis

Of course, this only applies if you do what I said (invest in survivability trees). If you roll pure DPS, you’ll get ruined in PvE. I mean COMPLETELY ruined.

For dungeons I don’t think going glass cannon is worth it, but it is absolutely effective in open-world PvE. I still advocate something like 15 in Acrobatics for awesome Might stacking, but I think a lot of thieves in PvE get the impression that if they’re having survivability issues they need to increase their defensive stats when really draining stats away from offense makes fights last longer and means you have to avoid or mitigate more damage. Going full Berserker and simply killing groups of mobs at 80 in a few seconds before they get the chance to be a threat is very viable.

Ivanov

Sadly that’s not a valid example.See. the thieves’ forte is stealth and burst damage.You try to outlast and tank a mob or player? You’re doing it wrong.That’s what a warrior does.

And yet thief does it just as well, if not better. Thieves can stealth and do burst damage, but your “forte” is whatever your build and playstyle has you specialized in at the moment. Thieves are very effective at a variety of roles (including long term melee range brawler) if you’re willing to look beyond the first build you enjoy.

TheGuy

Crazy PvE comes from necro and ele taking on 5-8 and sometimes 10 mobs at a time. I was literally soloing a champion in Orr (you know the one that summons the maggots) on D/D ele. I know I can’t do that on my thief effectively.

10 mobs at a time isn’t hard as a thief, especially if you’re bringing AE and Signet of Malice, heck just pop caltrops followed by Dagger Storm and most of them will be dead. For champions you can kite most of them but for the one you’re talking about in specific I bring a sword so I can heal off the maggots, definitely doable as a thief.

Tulisin.6945:

For dungeons I don’t think going glass cannon is worth it, but it is absolutely effective in open-world PvE. I still advocate something like 15 in Acrobatics for awesome Might stacking, but I think a lot of thieves in PvE get the impression that if they’re having survivability issues they need to increase their defensive stats when really draining stats away from offense makes fights last longer and means you have to avoid or mitigate more damage. Going full Berserker and simply killing groups of mobs at 80 in a few seconds before they get the chance to be a threat is very viable.

Of course. I’m talking about the types that attempt consistent stealth and Backstabbery and wonder why mobs can still bring them down (if a mob begins an attack and you stealth, it continues the attack regardless). Without some form of defence (doesn’t have to be a trait, could be a little investment in toughness in 1 or 2 pieces of gear etc), you have to be on your toes a lot more than you would by just balancing out your build a little.

Tulisin.6945:

10 mobs at a time isn’t hard as a thief, especially if you’re bringing AE and Signet of Malice, heck just pop caltrops followed by Dagger Storm and most of them will be dead. For champions you can kite most of them but for the one you’re talking about in specific I bring a sword so I can heal off the maggots, definitely doable as a thief.

Indeed. Multi-mob fights are actually a speciality for my S/D build. DD alone is a fantastic burst that wipes weaklings extremely fast, with my specifically tailored initiative regen, stealth bonuses and healing, the Champion Giant (I think that’s what it it is) isn’t too difficult. It’s still boring and takes a while, but it’s doable.

hmm about his unload damage he probably does tht much.. cuz if ur power prec and toughness u can put out 9k damage an unload i was literally doing almost as much in pvp about 7k to 8.3k damage glass cannon ofcourse was funny as hell downing eles and warriors. as those are the classes. ive been pvping with for the last 5 days >.>

Lordryux.9785:

hmm about his unload damage he probably does tht much.. cuz if ur power prec and toughness u can put out 9k damage an unload i was literally doing almost as much in pvp about 7k to 8.3k damage glass cannon ofcourse was funny as hell downing eles and warriors. as those are the classes. ive been pvping with for the last 5 days >.>

9K damage an unload is not 9K DPS, unload is not a 1-second channel and it isn’t even a lot of damage, sword auto attack and dagger auto attack do more damage in the same timeframe (sword does way way more vs. multiple targets). Big numbers are not big DPS.

alright then w.e on that xD but yea as for warrior people told me to go that path if i wanted sum solid pve.. but ive done warrior and boy was it boring as hell.. all u do is the same skills over and over.. like i really dnt wanna be doing that constantly. untill lvl 80 thats basically why i choose thief i like the way the class works the mechanics is pretty good

OH and i love pvp on her so much xD

and pretty much things go for backstab.. tbh i never use it.. like never.. to kill some 1 idk its just i never needed. it i see sum players talking about if it gets nerfed thier goona quit.. like so wat happens if all that hard work u put into ur thief all that blood sweat and tears xD lol i dont care if they do nerf it wont effect me cuz ive rarely used it.

I truly hope they just somehow nerf the Burst builds…nerfing Backstab would be really devastating for D/P Thieves like me who don’t have crazy 18k Mug/Backstab every 30 sek. builds

Xerxes.9823:

I truly hope they just somehow nerf the Burst builds…nerfing Backstab would be really devastating for D/P Thieves like me who don’t have crazy 18k Mug/Backstab every 30 sek. builds

That’s why I chose S/P, its already been nerfed so my gear won’t become trash since they aren’t gonna nerf it again.

TheGuy.3568:

In dungeons thieves are not my favorite class to have around. Honestly its due to a lack of support and weak Aoe outside short bow. Thief doesn’t suck but its also one of the classes that brings the least to the table.

Smoke Screen is — situationally — one of the best party-defense abilities in the game.
Thieves are better at ripping Unshakeable stacks off of bosses than any other profession. Which allows the other characters in the group to actually use their strong long-cooldown CC skills in a boss fight.
Black Powder is massively powerful against anything that’s not a boss or champion (or, okay, Dredge).

I don’t assume any ol’ thief will actually do this stuff in a dungeon group. But the tools are there for people who want to use them.

The thief is the worst class to level solo in PvE. It is a glass cannon that isn’t much of a cannon for how squishy they are.

I get angry seeing all the posts that thieves are overpowered blah blah blah….yeah that is in PvP and only because of the culling issues that is making stealth more powerful than it should be.

I rolled a guardian and was amazed how faceroll easy they are to play in PvE. I was doing my personal story quest that was 5 levels over my level on the guard easily where I would have to wait until I was over-leveled on my thief.

I can also run into a pack of 4-5 mobs at or 3 levels (or more) over my level on the guard and just destroy them where as my thief would get owned if I tried that with mobs equal level and made 1 little mistake.

@Kizee idk man my friend john he has a 80 thief and all he does is pve he hasnt even pvped or WvW at all so. he says he is doing just fine farming and doing dungeons… thats why im a little questionable about ur statement and aswell that u cnt compare a guardian to a thief.. come on look at that class compared to it. u have like the best armor in the game ofcourse u can plow through mobs without much of a problem.

as for the nerf ive been reading most posts on how they say backstab is OP u need to nerf it anet blah blah blah

ok now. let me mind some of u guys that the people who are complaining about this skill bieng OP is a glass cannon themselves? or from wat ive seen. now we all kno if u go glass cannon u have no barely any armor so ur asking to be killed in a matter of seconds. i had one post that one guy was comparing a glass cannon ele to a glass cannon thief and he said he got killed in 2 seconds well BUT OF COURSE ur a glass cannon ELE DUH LOL plus ur wearing light armor come on man thts just a bad way to connect the 2 x.x ur just asking to be killed by any class..

There’s no question that thieves are one of the harder profs to level in PvE, but they have this odd issue where they are very weak at the baseline but have some extremely powerful traits and skills. Because of that, they seem ridiculously weak at low level but get substantially better as you get into the mid levels.

Even so, they require a lot more strategy and player skill to be as effective in PvE as other professions and even then their damage output isn’t particularly good relative to their extreme squishiness and they don’t really have amazing tools for damage mitigation, just a few good danger avoidance tools.

Anyone who thinks thieves are elite in PvE is just being prideful and is in denial. They’re playable, yes, but not optimal by any stretch. Guardians are total PvE cheese in comparison.

I love my thief in pve i run a sword and dagger build with 0/30/30/0/10. The 10 in trickery is to give a little buff to my allies when i steal and the 3 initiative in case i screw up on cloak and dagger which does sometimes happen (human error not much you can do but account for it) The main focus of this set up is to constantly daze the target with some OK damage and survivability the sword has a cleave so you can hit multiple targets and i really liked it. I’m still in the process of learning how to play this weapon set and I’m able to upkeep daze like 75% of the time and when i get to 80 with the right runes and sigils I’ll be able to keep it up maybe 95% of the time xD I really like how i have to focus on my positioning and timing for it to be effective

“Harder”?

Thief does start slow until you get the right traits — a lot like a mesmer — and really punishes bad builds (and, by extension, mucking around with a build trying to find a good one).

However, you can get through most of PvE by learning how to corral mobs together (takes about 5 minutes to master — they all pretty much have the same positional behavior, so the strategy really won’t change much from mob to mob) and then hitting 5 every couple of seconds while you autoattack them to death.

@Lordryux.9785

At 80 it is “ok”…..not great….just ok.

Getting there is more of a pain than other classes and it will just get worse with the backstab nerf and most likely more nerfs after that because Anet won’t fix the root of the problem (CULLING).

Why can’t I compare warriors and guards to thieves? They do about the same DPS with the best armor in the game. What makes thieves unique besides stealth?

I am an old school MMORPG player and maybe I am set in my ways but there used to be a trade off for high dps like less armor (thief)…. while the more tanky classes (like warriors and guards) would do a bit less dps but take hits better. It is not the case in this game…warriors and guards get to have their cake and eat it too.

Again, I am talking about PvE..not PvP.

jayem.2630:

Being a thief essentially means have an unfair advantage on every “Dodge or die” mechanic in dungeons. And they are everywhere.

I’m getting really sick of the community equating “this class has a specialization” to “unfair”.

I wouldn’t roll a thief for pve, they are just too weak but give it a try though maybe you could prove me wrong?

You probably might have to switch traits and change your armour/accessory setup every time you decide you want to pvp or pve.

SFtheWolf.5179

jayem.2630:

Being a thief essentially means have an unfair advantage on every “Dodge or die” mechanic in dungeons. And they are everywhere.

I’m getting really sick of the community equating “this class has a specialization” to “unfair”.

Go see a doctor son.

I have absolutely zero problems with my thief in PvE, 0/30/30/10/0 Sword/Dagger – Shortbow with toughness/vit armor and berserker accessories, all with beryl orbs (power/vit/critdmg).

Although this was intentionally my WvW build, (albeit D/D) it works fine for PvE as well… Stealth/Minor AoE healing with constant Daze and AoE Blind support is pretty good.

I’m sure there are plenty of better builds/class combos you could run with, but this plenty good enough!

well i found a good build on this forums thief does pve and pvp and he said it works well with his condition build i actually use his build in spvp it does wonders for escaping and stacking those bleeds

Tulisin.6945:

TheGuy

Crazy PvE comes from necro and ele taking on 5-8 and sometimes 10 mobs at a time. I was literally soloing a champion in Orr (you know the one that summons the maggots) on D/D ele. I know I can’t do that on my thief effectively.

10 mobs at a time isn’t hard as a thief, especially if you’re bringing AE and Signet of Malice, heck just pop caltrops followed by Dagger Storm and most of them will be dead. For champions you can kite most of them but for the one you’re talking about in specific I bring a sword so I can heal off the maggots, definitely doable as a thief.

Your going to have to note my use of the word effectively. I make an effort to choose my word carefully. I never meant it cant be done what I am saying is that the build that does it will rely on caltrops. I admit I have done this before and it has been sufficient to drop the mobs. However, strictly from a factual point (note the whole Thief is BEST in pve) the aoe isn’t all that strong on thief. Caltrops will do some strong tick damage but it really doesn’t compare to warrior, ele, necromancer or engi unless your using a SB in which case if your not power your not doing much dps. I don’t use this criticism to lower thieves (like I said I wish it was better myself) but through blunt comparison thief aoe is very weak.

By no means does this mean thief cant aoe but its not designed around it and does no do so as effectively as other classes. My comparison does not come from not being able to do these things on thief. To the contrary I find thief capable of doing it all (except effective group healing) its just that other classes do this particular thing much better ie more dps aoe, more aoe skills, and more aoe cc.

The more classes you level the more you get to know the weaknesses and strengths of each one. Thief is not the weakest class by any means nor does it have the weakest builds but for general dps, tank, cc, heal, in PvE a few other classes have better options.

My hope is that they look at thief support and see the gaps like shadow protector providing regen vs a big direct heal to the team, the fact we have limited ways to stealth the team in pve and often need them to stealth themselves through fields etc etc. I am not saying the grass in greener, but I can see both lawns and one needs watering. I have openly said BS is OP but I am not going to pretend the other builds are great. They do need help in places. It makes more sense to me to call it like it is where a class is weak so that hopefully the devs see that and empower it. Not only this class but any.

yea i admit that too on group support thiefs are poorly lacking in that area but. that pretty much sums up the class is a solo. class it can be equally effective in groups aswell because of shadow refuge and other stealth skills that stealth ur group members aswell so u can get that chance if they are downed to heal them or need a quick break

Chakuna.6325:

I have absolutely zero problems with my thief in PvE, 0/30/30/10/0 Sword/Dagger – Shortbow with toughness/vit armor and berserker accessories, all with beryl orbs (power/vit/critdmg).

Although this was intentionally my WvW build, (albeit D/D) it works fine for PvE as well… Stealth/Minor AoE healing with constant Daze and AoE Blind support is pretty good.

I’m sure there are plenty of better builds/class combos you could run with, but this plenty good enough!

The problem though is that PvE is still easier with other professions. You may find little challenge with a really good set-up, but that doesn’t change the fact that thieves still rely more on optimized builds than other professions do. You can’t just experiment with traits and let your armor go 10 levels without updates and still faceroll through PvE the way most professions can. Maybe it’s a problem with the thief class, maybe it’s a problem with other professions, but it’s still a problem.

Lordryux.9785:

yea i admit that too on group support thiefs are poorly lacking in that area but. that pretty much sums up the class is a solo. class it can be equally effective in groups as well because of shadow refuge and other stealth skills that stealth ur group members as well so u can get that chance if they are downed to heal them or need a quick break

I agree this can be a powerful tool when things go wrong. I remember a month or 2 back my first run through AC I was doing this. My logic is this “Stealth can save a team from wiping.”, and it still is. When i started playing ele as I leveled I didn’t think that i was better on it. I came to the realization that other classes simply have more tools than thief. The thief bag of tricks imho seems to be sorely lacking.

If we continue to say things are fine the devs will think that BS is all that needs to be looked at. While I am in favor of the BS nerf I am not in favor of abandoning the class when their are other builds that need some positive attention. Flanking Strike for instance is rather weak. The responsiveness is too iffy. P/P could use a lot more utility and a little more burst. Pistol 2 is nearly worthless on P/D. There are more however my point is that we should recognize these things now.

I rather poke holes in the thief are best in pve ship now so that a few month down the line players don’t just wake up a realize their are better options out there. Lets hope the devs shore it up.

TheGuy.3568:

I never meant it cant be done what I am saying is that the build that does it will rely on caltrops.

You know those god-statue skill points in Orr, with a bunch of enemies? A few of them gave me a lot of trouble as a warrior. On my thief, a bit of positional cleverness is enough to just roll through ’em.

Now, I’m a better thief player than I am a warrior player, and my thief has better gear. Both those factors certainly contribute to my improved performance. But it’s also because thieves have better active defense than warriors, and active defense scales much better than passive defense does.

Pure crit build. No Caltrops, ever. I think the only time I’ve equipped Caltrops on my bar was for running past dungeon mobs.

As someone who has a Mesmer, Ele and Thief at 80, all equally geared, I have to say that I enjoy Thief the least in dungeons, because I’m in danger of dying WAY more often than with my Mesmer or even my D/D Ele and I don’t do more dmg than those two to potentially offset the risk.
Being in melee range is just a terrible gamble in this game and most of the time if you die it has nothing to do with skill or a lack thereof.
For farming, on the other hand, I enjoy Thief a lot, because Shortbow is amazing vs groups of mobs and Pistol Offhand guarantees easy fights against most Veterans.

I mainly PvE with my Thief and I really enjoy it. I am often the last one standing and I’m the one who keeps the boss from resetting while others run back. My suggestion is Accrobatics 15 minimum for Dungeons to make your life easier.. and longer…

Some things are simply unavoidable or too hard to see in all of the action, and you will end up on the floor. Some AI is terrible as the mob will continue hitting you if you’re on the ground. Aside from those instances you can survive quite well even in melee range for the most part with practice and it is very rewarding soloing the last 15% of the boss..

With no real way to gauge our damage output vs other classes it’s hard to say but I think I have found a condition build that truly does very good damage, at lest that is how it seems after I switched things up and ran some dungeons with guildies.

Thief in PvE is challenging but very fun, just don’t forget to bring your short bow.

Blood~

Maybe a bit off topic, but what do you guys think is best trait line for leveling, and are there traits you consider mandatory for quick exp-ing?

For the past couple of weeks after hitting 80 on my thief, I been running a support venom build in dungeons with P/D and SB – focusing on that bleeding. It’s been a blast running in with venoms and superior rune of lyssa for all condition removal/buff. I can’t say even tell you how great it is to stone lock a boss for almost 5-6 game time seconds if coordinated.

I find shortbow (4) posion is amazing combined with (2) to create the area weakness in which helps mitigate damage for the entire group. Coupled with Blinds, Steath, and Cripple, thieves have a lot of way to migitate damage for the party.

@OP If you’re gonna do pve. Reroll to warrior.

@Kraven u do realize warrior is like the most boring class to pve with right pose no challenge i would like a challenge this is why im rolling a thief.

I do fine. Gotta make a decent build and play it right. If you die a lot, find out why. Most people seem to get hit too much. If that’s the case, learn avoidance, or reroll a class that can stand toe to toe.

Lordryux.9785:

@Kraven u do realize warrior is like the most boring class to pve with right pose no challenge i would like a challenge this is why im rolling a thief.

I’m gonna give you a wall of text as a reply.
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/thief/I-once-loved-thieves/first#post655540

But I do agree with you, warrior pose no challenge in pve. It’s a class you can play with your foot.

just saying ive tried warrior till 50 it was pretty dull. deleted it to make room for my ranger x.x lol.

Kizee.2184:

@Lordryux.9785

At 80 it is “ok”…..not great….just ok.

Getting there is more of a pain than other classes and it will just get worse with the backstab nerf and most likely more nerfs after that because Anet won’t fix the root of the problem (CULLING).

Look, I get that you’ve got issues and really want to express them all over the forum, but an as-of-yet unrealized “backstab nerf” and culling have almost nothing to do with thief PvE.