Guild Wars 2

hi everybody =) so i played thief recently up until level 30 experimenting with traits and i came up with this build:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fYAQNAoYFoI4ZYUl6fAsaFoZnirqVA-jwxAorAm9KiGbZTjt2KEpXw0lER1e8ioVDA-e

its not zerker but its a build that quite fits my playstyle, its tanky with knights or soldier gear and zerker trinkets, im not decided yet(would appreciate some help on the gear as well^^) and has decent dps.
can you give me any tips on how this build will be at higher levels? basically just rate this build and i know its no points into deadly arts or critical strikes.. but bear with me this build strays a bit away from the typical crit zerker backstabbing builds.

so please! everyone ^.^ tell me what you think of my build!~

AdolOfYs,

hi, any help please?

I wear something like that when Im CnDing siege in the middle of 30+ people (you cant crit siege) but youll never kill anything like that in PVP, and in PVE just offhand a gun and drop blinding powder and youre invincible.

Hi. I think you are sacrificing too much for defensive behavior.
But while you think you are doing fine – whatsoever, no one would kick you, or give you a word about your build. But, it is kinda obvious for me that investing in both SA and Acro traitlines is overtroll on thief, because you are losing so much damage and acquiring lesser defene instead, that, in my opinion it is not worth it.

wish.1027:

I wear something like that when Im CnDing siege in the middle of 30+ people (you cant crit siege) but youll never kill anything like that in PVP, and in PVE just offhand a gun and drop blinding powder and youre invincible.

hm.. okay wel i prefer dagger/dagger over pistol,

@dDuff, so what would you suggest then? i know im going a bit too defensive but thats the point of my build and to make my thief less squishy, so is there any other possibility to be non zerker and keep the build that i have? maybe change a few things to have more power? should i take out some from acro and put into power? or critical strikes? i just dont want to lose out on assasins reward because that trait seems very good!! but then again i dont want my dps so low that i have to kite a mob forever. Thanks for your help =)

ok i improved my build a bit, i took points out of acrobatics and now my build is:
20/0/30/0/20

Deadly arts: mug and dagger training
Shadow arts: infusion of shadow,patience,master of deception
Trickery: flanking strikes,thrill of the crime

how is it now?

I think we are mostly in “wtf” mode.
I see what you are trying to do, but the truth is – Soldier gear won’t save you, because theives rely on stealth and evades much more than being able to tank through hits. All this full soldier gear does is make you deal low dmg, while being only slightly more survivable. I have never heard about direct damage thieves, that didn’t rely on crit dmg and did well. You’d do much better with full knights gear and 0/20(3, 6)/30(4, 6, 11)/20(2, 9)/0 build(you will deal more damage than soldier, while being just as tanky with good evades and SA health regen), until you are ready to switch to more glassy gear(valkyrie and berserker pieces).

Pavel.8531:

I think we are mostly in “wtf” mode.
I see what you are trying to do, but the truth is – Soldier gear won’t save you, because theives rely on stealth and evades much more than being able to tank through hits. All this full soldier gear does is make you deal low dmg, while being only slightly more survivable. I have never heard about direct damage thieves, that didn’t rely on crit dmg and did well. You’d do much better with full knights gear and 0/20(3, 6)/30(4, 6, 11)/20(2, 9)/0 build(you will deal more damage than soldier, while being just as tanky with good evades and SA health regen), until you are ready to switch to more glassy gear(valkyrie and berserker pieces).

thanks=) i sent you a private message

Pavel.8531:

until you are ready to switch to more glassy gear(valkyrie and berserker pieces).

Lulz, not this crap AGAIN.

Seriously.

Mixing Soldiers and Berserkers gives more defense and damage than mixing Valkyrie and Berserkers.

How many times do I have to go over this?

Math can be found by clicking thief in my sig and following links at the bottom of that post because Im not posting it again in yet another place.

Have you tried Sword/Dagger? You can pull off some pretty cool maneuvering, and the Stealth skill on Sword #1 makes more sense for a ‘tank’ Thief. Plus, unlike D/D, the Dual skill is quite useful for a power-based build.

An aside: If my memory serves me right, Patience only yields 1ini/3seconds while in stealth, which is really low. If you want more Initiative regen, take Infiltrator’s Signet (also doubles as a Shadowstep and Stun Break).

Now, I’ve never actually tried a ‘tank’ Thief before, but, I suspect, if I did, I would do it like this:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fYAQNAsYVlYmSOHdy9E+5Eh/Byqzgmvs7BXtq8B-jwyAoLBRCCI9BiKAk9KiGblLsV3gUejmeBTdSEV7PKiWtMAVjB-e

Sword/Dagger as the main set. Slice/Slash have a nice arc for auto attack, and Crippling Slash cripples your target so you can keep up, and, more importantly, also causes Weakness, which lowers your target’s damage so you can eat hits more effectively.

Soldier’s Weapons and Armor with Knight’s Accessories yield a solid mix of defensive stats. Before food buffs, you have:
-3038 Attack (2038 Power)
-2774 Armor (1710 Toughness)
-23% Crit Chance (0 Crit Damage)
-60% Boon Duration (80% for Might)
-25% Percent Condition Duration

Runes enable you to keep yourself full of boons more easily. This includes:
-Vigor lasting 13seconds instead of 8 when you Heal
-Regeneration lasting 16sec on a 20second cooldown for getting hit below 75% health
-Thrill of the Crime lasting 18, 16, 16 seconds for Might, Fury, and Swiftness respectively (30second cooldown on Steal)
-Each dodge giving you 9seconds of might from your food source

Weapon Sigils focus on improving base damage.
-Force/Bloodlust on main set
-Energy on Shortbow for when you need to get out of dodge

Your base stats aside, you have a lot of base evasion to prevent yourself from getting hit.
-Flanking Strike
-3 dodges in a row
-high Vigor uptime
-Bowl of Orrian Truffle and Meat Stew for even more dodge rolling

As far as Utilities go, keep Shadow Step and Shadow Refuge, the third slot is basically for flavor. I put Infiltrator’s Signet initially, but Signet of Agility seems like it may fit the build better, as it will give you an on demand condition removal, as well as the ability to chain six dodges in a row. A couple other utilities make a good choice as well.

Overall, it’s not going to win you a beauty pageant, but it looks fun. If you want tankier runes and don’t like the Boon duration mimic, either Dolyak Runes or Emerald Orbs make solid replacements. You can also drop Pain Response for Power of Inertia (two stacks of Might per dodge!) and pick up Runes of Melandru or Hoelbrak.

Yeah. Definitely looks fun.

It’s almost like you are nerfing yourself if you don’t put 30 points into critical strikes. In terms of killing things/players it is by far the most powerful trait line. The real question is what to do with your other 40 points after that.

On the other hand if you are just doing a build to have fun and do crazy stuff, or you want to try to make a thief based on condition damage, etc, then Critical Strikes is the most boring trait line.

incandescence.6784:

It’s almost like you are nerfing yourself if you don’t put 30 points into critical strikes. In terms of killing things/players it is by far the most powerful trait line. The real question is what to do with your other 40 points after that.

On the other hand if you are just doing a build to have fun and do crazy stuff, or you want to try to make a thief based on condition damage, etc, then Critical Strikes is the most boring trait line.

in fact i do want a direct damage thief, ut condition damage as a secondary damage output so i made this build:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fYAQNAoYFmQ2eUh7EPxpwoQKPFkFYB-jgxAYsAmALiGbfoIas6FM1JRUtHvIa1A-e

it has 30 in criticalstrikes,20 in shadowarts, and 20 in trickery.

i think it’s decent.