Guild Wars 2

I’ve been out for 6 months if not longer. just got back and I get recked by pretty much everything. What significant things did I miss? like did other classes get big buffs or did we get nerfed much? or do I just need to get back into it again?

Disclaimer: I have no concept of time.

Your 2 biggest problems (most likely).

X/P – Black powder now pulses every 2s, instead of every 1s.

S/D – FS now costs 4 init, LS 1 init, and you cant use LS unless FS hits first.

There were buffs to other classes that might contribute, but one of those are most likely your most immediate problem.

Thief has received numerous miscellaneous changes that have done nothing significant.

Long story short the builds that you may of enjoyed in the past are either unchanged or nerfed or changed for no greater good. Overall same class just a different log-in date.

Prolly a bit rusty tbh. The skill curve will have turned against you.

NinjaEd.3946:

Thief has received numerous miscellaneous changes that have done nothing significant.

Long story short the builds that you may of enjoyed in the past are either unchanged or nerfed or changed for no greater good. Overall same class just a different log-in date.

This is….very inaccurate.

BP’s nerf (standing outside of circles is hard!) made it so that anyone with half a brain can land an entire AA chain or an important skill on you while standing in the circle. That changes BP’s function from a good utility skill to an overpriced entry gate to stealth.

FS→LS’s nerf made it so that your opponents can dodge both your FS and LS with a single evade/immune/blind/etc while also increasing the init cost of FS (the skill you have to land to gain access to the 1init LS). Making evades more spammable is viewed as a “buff” by some, but it wasn’t. S/D already had all the evades it needed, it relied on LS’s damage/boon steal to be threatening – without it, it’s a fairly kittenty set.

Trying to play either of those sets the way you did pre-nerf to would put you at a disadvantage and confuse a player who wasn’t aware of said changes.

Oi…I’m helping a thief….I hate thieves.

Engi got a 6 second reveal on analyze, the toolbelt skill for utility goggles, it is instant and 1200 range if I remember tight, along with applying 10 stacks of vulnerability. Most don’t use utility goggles from what I’ve seen, but if a thief is being really annoying, they’ll slot.

Also your poison bomb? Sorry don’t play thief…at all, that got a small damage process, so you’ll be forced outta stealth and into revealed. Ummm, sic’ em also applies revealed, think it did that before though. Crud what else, am I missing something non thief related that would affect thieves?

evilapprentice.6379:

NinjaEd.3946:

Thief has received numerous miscellaneous changes that have done nothing significant.

Long story short the builds that you may of enjoyed in the past are either unchanged or nerfed or changed for no greater good. Overall same class just a different log-in date.

This is….very inaccurate.

BP’s nerf (standing outside of circles is hard!) made it so that anyone with half a brain can land an entire AA chain or an important skill on you while standing in the circle. That changes BP’s function from a good utility skill to an overpriced entry gate to stealth.

FS->LS’s nerf made it so that your opponents can dodge both your FS and LS with a single evade/immune/blind/etc while also increasing the init cost of FS (the skill you have to land to gain access to the 1init LS). Making evades more spammable is viewed as a “buff” by some, but it wasn’t. S/D already had all the evades it needed, it relied on LS’s damage/boon steal to be threatening – without it, it’s a fairly kittenty set.

Trying to play either of those sets the way you did pre-nerf to would put you at a disadvantage and confuse a player who wasn’t aware of said changes.

Like I said,“Long story short the builds that you may of enjoyed in the past are either unchanged or nerfed or changed for no greater good.”

BPS nerf was not that bad since people could simply sit outside the field and still hit you, and fs-ls nerf although wasn’t necessary imo all it did is make repeated use of this skill less attractive turning s/d into a hit and run rather than a “wana dance?” build. It’s still viable otherwise no one would use it, but it warrants a higher skill level to be as good as it was in the past.

It could be worse… much worse…

BP was broken. A good thief with offhand pistol could literally be untouchable to all melee attacks. Over-nerfed? Maybe for its init cost, but the ability as it was was just way too strong.

Frankly I miss the old old FS when it wasn’t a two-part skill. It was a lot more fun and a lot less situationally imbalanced.

DeceiverX.8361:

BP was broken. A good thief with offhand pistol could literally be untouchable to all melee attacks. Over-nerfed? Maybe for its init cost, but the ability as it was was just way too strong.

Frankly I miss the old old FS when it wasn’t a two-part skill. It was a lot more fun and a lot less situationally imbalanced.

Please explain how player skill (“A good thief with offhand pistol”) has any bearing on the radius of the BP circle? With a radius of 120 and a melee range of 130, it’s possible to melee the thief from outside the circle no matter where he is in the circle.

Pre-nerf BP was a multi use skill. It was
1 part skill check – If your target just stands in the circle and keeps whiffing, you’re probably winning that fight.
1 part repositioning tool – if your target moved out of the circle like anyone with a weeks worth of pvp experience would, you had a momentary breather to change your position/consider your options.
2 parts stealth access.

This made the fact that BP costs 6 init while having a ridiculously kittenty damage multiplier Ok – it wasn’t a 1 note skill.

All BP is good for now is stealth access – nearly any spec of any class can just sit in the circle and pummel you, because 1 blind ever 2 seconds wont even interrupt most AA chains. Any player with experience will see BP now and know with nigh certainty the thief is going into stealth – and it still costs 6 init and does laughable damage.

What of the blind shot aspect, you might say? Shadowshot does it better – it’s cheaper, the blind portion is unblockable, and it does 5 times as much damage. For situations where you might not want to end up directly next to your target, Headshot is cheaper, instant cast, and still a projectile finisher. There will be situations where neither of those options are as good as BP’s blinding shot, but they’re few and far between.

BP needs a cost reduction or a damage buff, because at the moment it’s an extremely expensive gate to stealth access that announces loudly to everyone around you “HEY! I’M PLANNING ON GOING INTO STEALTH!”

As for missing the old FS, do you really miss people standing and eating the low damage FS so they could punish you in the .5 seconds you were locked in the LS animation? Besides FS’s old pathing problems, it was akin to CCing yourself for your opponents benefit.