Guild Wars 2

Hello,

I’ve had an 80 thief since shortly after launch but I’ve not done a lot of PVE in the game. I play a necro when I PVE but honestly I just prefer thief’s playstyle sometimes. I mostly PVP and I’ve done my fair share of WvW. I’ve played most thief builds and played many classes and builds in pvp. Just an intro in case any of that is relevant in upcoming discussions. I’m very confident in my PvP but extremely unsure of my PvE knowledge and skill.

My main question would be is S/P thief far behind D/D in damage?

Is S/D thief far behind D/D in damage?

Is 25/30/0/0/15 the best DPS in dungeons and for swapping Shortbow to like S/D for flanking strike?

Should I dismiss some DPS to hit blast finishers(fire I suppose. maybe light?) with SB during boss fights?

What utilities do thieves run besides shadow refuge for dungeons? I normally run infiltrator’s signet and shadowstep but would def think shadowstep is not extremely useful in dungeons. Is there a meta on the utilities or just swap based on scenario?

Is there anything I should know about thief for dungeons that PvPing and WvW may not have taught me?

i use d/d or s/p in dungeons. not much else. sometimes SB depending on the situation. but the evades while pistolwhipping let you keep up with warrior dmg without having to “take a break” to heal.

grey.8504:

Is there anything I should know about thief for dungeons

yes, it is the worst pve class as far as i know

For dungeons you need to start with smoke/blind on trash and dodge/evade on bosses. You can get blind from lots of places such as offhand pistol, smokescreen, stealth traits. Cripple is another major defense and again there are a number of sources for that. Always consider smokescreen for ranged mobs. Shortbow is always available if you don’t have a better plan.

Sword is a really good utility weapon in dungeons and although people always post on the forums that dps is the only important thing, dps is less important than utility for a thief that can’t stay upright in a group.

S/D will pretty much always beat D/D in sheer DPS in PVE, due to cleave and the reliably consistent damage output. A backstab is far from guaranteed and Heartseeker misses half the time due to foes dropping too fast.
The only exception to the rule are some higher-level fractals with strong but (comparatively) fewer trash mobs.

DanH.5879:

grey.8504:

Is there anything I should know about thief for dungeons

yes, it is the worst pve class as far as i know

It’s not. With D/D + S/B and traited for damage (only 15 in acrobatics) I have little problems surviving and I outdps most other classes. Even zerker warriors die way before I die on a lot of bosses. Only condition fights can be annyong, but SoA helps.

Even a safer 30 Shadow Arts buid is not too bad. You don’t die that fast and you still do more damage than some other classes that are considered subpar for pve.

I use P/P bouncing shots for trash mobs. SR to skip the stuff you can avoid. D/D for pressure on bosses. Scorpion Wire never leaves my bar: it’s great for putting a boss right where you want them to be.

I use: S/P because of the built-in evade on Pistol Whip (skill 3). You can literally just stand there and solo facetank some mobs with it (e.g. wurms in TA). P/P for situations where mobs aren’t melee-friendly, or for single target ranged dps. Shortbow for large groups of trash mobs – Cluster Bomb does decent AOE damage, and skill 5 helps you to skip them if you want, along with Shadow Refuge of course. D/P for other situations.

I think the point was, outside damage and stealth rez (but a good group shouldn’t die in the first place), thieves don’t bring enough to the table.

Wish they’d buff venoms or add some unique mechanic.

There is the constant blind build but its so kitten boring.

DargorV.8571:

thieves don’t bring enough to the table.

wut?