Guild Wars 2

Evening guys, I am so new in fact I am still downloading. I have been doing a heap of research on the game and the professions and I am leaning toward Thief as my primary profession, I was just wondering about some pros and cons. I have read in forums out side of the game that theifs are suffering and a lot of people who typically play rogue types dislike the fact that the stealth is not toggled. Thanks in advance for any insight offered. =)

pros: stealth, trolling wvw players via culling, good damage, awesome mobility
cons: low hp pool, average armor, random nerfs, no support builds

what is culling? I couldn’t post on the threads but i could read them here, I saw that mentioned a lot.

“Culling” is a side effect from the game engine.Basically it delays the speed with which the server is rendering the objects when they appear near you.In other words it makes objects that should be already visible at your screen,invisible.And naturally Thief benefits from this the most,because he is already invisible at some moments and with culling it’s like perma stealth.
Hope it makes sense.

indeed it does thank you

@Peccavi,just to respond to your initial post: not having perma Stealth is not a problem.
Instead of toggled Perma Stealth who will only allow you to strike first initially ,in this game you have limited Stealth,which you can perform many many times.Conisider it like many mini-Vanishes.This results as a play style which you will find both very different from what you have played until now,but also very very satisfying as well.

ZLE.8293:

“Culling” is a side effect from the game engine.Basically it delays the speed with which the server is rendering the objects when they appear near you.In other words it makes objects that should be already visible at your screen,invisible.And naturally Thief benefits from this the most,because he is already invisible at some moments and with culling it’s like perma stealth.
Hope it makes sense.

Just thought I might add that this ONLY occurs in WvW and some highly populated world events (but it gives you no advantage in PvE).

Additionally, it’s not like perma-stealth, people exagerate just how much culling actually affects Thief/Mesmer stealth. It’s a couple of extra seconds at the most 9 times out of 10.

Incurafy.6329:

ZLE.8293:

“Culling” is a side effect from the game engine.Basically it delays the speed with which the server is rendering the objects when they appear near you.In other words it makes objects that should be already visible at your screen,invisible.And naturally Thief benefits from this the most,because he is already invisible at some moments and with culling it’s like perma stealth.
Hope it makes sense.

Just thought I might add that this ONLY occurs in WvW and some highly populated world events (but it gives you no advantage in PvE).

Additionally, it’s not like perma-stealth, people exagerate just how much culling actually affects Thief/Mesmer stealth. It’s a couple of extra seconds at the most 9 times out of 10.

Indeed nice addition.You can’t fool the mobs,and in SPvP(the equivalent of battlegrounds) it’s not a problem.

thanks guys this has been most helpful, my download is nearly complete I am very excited to check out this new game. I had to update my mac for this, so it better run well =)

I also always play stealth classes and was originally disappointed when reading about the Thief stealth. Wanted good ol toggle stealth! It took a good 40 levels of playing to to realize I actually love this system. Stealth is no longer a tool for scouting and an initial surprise attack (it still can be to a point) but part of the flow of combat.

Pros:

1. Highest access to stealth of any of the professions, and stealth in this game is a very powerful in-combat tool.

2. One of, if not the highest burst damage professions when specced for it, you have the capability to kill someone in seconds if they can’t react fast enough.

3. In group fights, you are great at finishing fights your allies start. When traited, if an enemy is below 50% damage they are as good as dead when you catch them unless they can do some serious kiting.

4. A fairly wide variety of build options, unlike some other professions I’ve played (Ele, Necro..) Also, most of our weapon skills mesh very well with all sorts of builds.

5. Stealth res, which can save you from a party wipe in dungeons, also fairly useful in PvP/WvW.

Cons:

1. Initiative. Many people who don’t play thief think it’s brokenly OP, but really it’s one of our biggest hindrances. Instead of individual cooldowns on each skill, we essentially have a global CD. Thus, timing and pre-planning are important, as we can’t use as many skills overall as other professions, even though we can repeat the same one twice.

2. Lowest base health in the game along with guardians and ele’s, both of whom can easily make up for it.

3. Having very high burst comes at a price: You typically get ripped up if you get caught in a combo or just run out of defensive options.

4. Lack of combo fields. Typically, once you get more into PvP, you’ll realize how important these are. We do have spammable combo finishers though.

These guys pretty much summed it up.

Thief is a very fun class if you can play it properly. If you can’t it will be very frustrating. When I first played I made a thief and I found it very frustrating because I died a lot and generally I had no clue what I was doing.

After learning the game I find leveling a thief should have been the easiest profession to level with stealth.

Best advice…go in the SPvP and play around with the different skills and traits. Read up on forums and look at playstyle videos…find what thief is the one that will fit your playstyle most!

Best way to learn…don’t be afraid to die and try things out.

Have fun!