Guild Wars 2

So, I was wondering, are there good non-burst builds out there? I feel like the thief is kinda pigeonholed into going burst simply due to how the initiative mechanic works.

Though, I have never been partial to condition builds either. So, I’m wondering what other options thief has out there.

Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

Sword/Anything has no burst capability. There’s simply no other abilities that offer more DPS than spamming auto attack. Any initiative spent is to gain some kind of situational advantage, but not to dump for damage. As a result the sword mainhand plays really nicely with the “conserve initiative, get a damage boost” traits.

I’ve also seen some acrobatics-heavy dagger builds that rely on lots of auto attack and dodging to sustain a ton of might stacks, and passive damage boosts. That is more a play style choice though, since the option to spam heartseeker isn’t gone, just something you choose not to do.

Heh, that’s funny, because as it stands now, s/p is my favorite weapon set. Are there any trait builds that will be good for it, though?, I’m particularly concerned about being bulky enough to not need to kill the enemy really fast before they have a chance to deal damage back. I also wish pistol whip was a more utility skill, it seems really bad for damage and it is a crappy short stun that locks you in place

Is anyone able to assist?

If you don’t want to burst, S/D and Condition builds are pretty much your only options. Sword autoattack hits like a truck, DPS-wise, and actually does more damage in the same amount of time it takes for Pistol Whip to finish its animation. /D gives you reliable stealth so you can daze frequently. If you want to stick to a Power build, Sword main hand is your best option.

Dagger is best known for its burst with Backstab and Heartseeker, but since you don’t want to burst, you would have to rely on Condition D/D and Death Blossom. D/P has a large reliance on Backstabs and Heartseeker so it’s out of the question.

Same situation with Pistol: P/P is very limited in general and Unload is a burst skill. The other option is P/D which works best when you’re built for Condition damage and stacking a ton of bleeds with Sneak Attack.

So, it’s either Sword main hand or Condition damage if you want to play non-burst. The other option is to play another profession. You’re shutting yourself off to a ton of options by not wanting to burst as well as not being partial to Condition damage builds.

Well, it seems that all the other classes have a good number of builds available to them, but thieves feel like a one trick pony. I do like sword/pistol a lot, but I don’t know how to build my traits to compliment not being burst…

There’s only 3 options for thieves:
1. Condition build
2. Burst build
3. Ineffective build

Pick whatever you like.

FluffyFox.2756:

Well, it seems that all the other classes have a good number of builds available to them, but thieves feel like a one trick pony. I do like sword/pistol a lot, but I don’t know how to build my traits to compliment not being burst…

30 Critical Strikes, then some combination of Acrobatics and Trickery for the remaining 40 points works well. I’m a big fan of 20/20, with 30/10 the pressure is on to constantly be burning endurance so you keep your damage boost. 15/25 is also very underappreciated, netting you both the extra Might-dodges from 15 Acrobatics as well as the coveted 15 % passive for 25 Trickery. Crit strikes passive + Trickery passive = 25 % bonus damage for staying full-initiative while you use auto attack.

Haha, that’s such a load… Here’s to hoping the December updates fixes that.
Thanks tulisin, I’ll try that out when I get the chance.:)

Jefzor.7145:

There’s only 3 options for thieves:
1. Condition build
2. Burst build
3. Ineffective build

Pick whatever you like.

Aside from the fact that burst and conditions aren’t mutually exclusive, this determination is highly situational.

Heh, I can vouch for the 15/25 acro/trickery build too. With S/D, I usually don’t pump a lot of initiative into skills (the high cost of C&D notwithstanding), and as such, the damage bonus for initiative is quite consistent. If your playstyle with S/P is similar, then I’d recommend trying this trait setup (0/30/0/15/25) out. But if you find yourself running low on initiative frequently, you might want to try 20/20 instead.

I’d also recommend S/D over S/P though, since in my opinion the dagger off-hand skills complement the sword main-hand’s skills (well, mostly Infiltrator’s Strike, heh) better. I’d say that neither Flanking Strike nor Pistol Whip are very useful now, but FS at least removes a boon from your opponent with its first hit, which is also unblockable.