Guild Wars 2

Iv seen multiple threads over the last month or twoand can’t seem to find one again about hidden killer. I run full zerk everything currently except solider chest and legs and was gonna swap em out for valk.

My question is at what point of your precision do you take hidden killer over executioner? I wanna say it was around 55% but I’m not good with numbers. Currently I run 90% so I take executioner, but should I decide to more valk gear I wanna know the cut off so I don’t have to min/max gear again. Thank you in advance and if it makes a difference I’m speaking from a wvw standpoint.

As a general rule, follow this forumla:

Crit chance = (0.3 + Crit dmg % increase) / (0.6 + 1.2 * (Crit dmg % increase))

If your crit chance is higher than this, then choose executioner’s. If your crit chance is lower than this, then choose hidden killer. Obviously this general rule only applies to backstab thieves and not sword mainhand thieves. Usually it just means that if you’re running a backstab setup, you’re going to need fury if you want to run executioners. Sword mainhand should just use executioners.

Did that formula include Cloak & Dagger and autoattacks? And how?

In PvP, you don’t use math. There are far more important factors than these formulas.

If you backstab a lot and entering stealth is not a problem for you, then pick hidden killer. It’s better for more defensive play.

So, if you play 30 shadow arts and critical strikes, pick hidden killer. Otherwise, executioner.

frans.8092:

Did that formula include Cloak & Dagger and autoattacks? And how?

The formula is calculated by taking the expected damage from hidden killer and comparing it with the expected damage from executioners. It is a general, back-of-the-napkin calculation to help gauge what you will need. In almost all cases, you’re going to want to try and push your crit chance to the point where executioner’s is favorable as it benefits you even when out of stealth. However if you just REALLY want something in your build, and your crit level is “low” because of it, then you can always run hidden killer.

Ultimately, since its a generalization, it usually comes down to whether or not you have access to Fury. If you don’t, then use hidden killer. If you do, then it would make more sense to use executioner’s.

Keep in mind no one should think the the extremes would make any sense at all with this formula. It isn’t reasonable to think that a full Valk gear thief with hidden killer is going to do more damage than a thief who has some berserker gear mixed into it. You won’t be backstabbing 100% of the time and your damage out of stealth will suffer.

Thank you, damage beyond backstab was indeed what I was thinking about, but a handy quick rule of thumb is always welcome.

Awesome ty all, with some valk I can grab a fury trait to help, just a matter of playing with numbers seein what looks good nite. Thank you for the tips, I’ll probably stick to executioner if I csn, the big numbers never get old.