Guild Wars 2

Sifu.6527:

Please reread the post title. This is about WvW.

25/30/0/0/15 D/P is asking for death in WvW. And in my opinion, it is a subpar build for WvW.

I agree, 25/30/0/0/15 is not ideal for WvW. My earlier post outlines my variation of this build for WvW, which is 10/30/15/0/15, taking Infusion of Shadow and making up for the loss in power with stacks from Sigil of Bloodlust. You still hit as hard as full glass but the 15 in SA allows for near perma-stealth, really important for escaping in larger battles and 1vX situations.

grometsc.2375:

Dont fall into the same trap as the other poster you talked about…

Sure D/P is run 25/30/0/015…many do run this (and I’ve started seeing alot more D/P users, which is nice, since I’m grow tired of people telling me I’m hacking in /map and tells). I’ve been D/P since game has come out, I have run multiple builds….Each has its plus. I personally enjoy 0/30/30/10/0, others will want 15 in trickery as they feel they need the extra regen from a steal/and 3 larger pool. I use my spec and gear to make a very balanced build (17k hps, 3k armor, 3k attack, 43% critical dmg), I almost always hit back harder than you hit me.

I run mainly sPVP and hotjoin…I more of a soloist vs party player

I think we are on the same page here, I agree there are multiple viable specs for D/P in WvW based on how you want to play. Unfortunately I think the Thief class is pretty pigeon-holed in sPvP to burst only specs so personally I can’t see any other spec besides 25/30/0/0/15 being viable but to each his own.

Iohanna.4863:

You misunderstand, I completely agree with what you’re saying. My post emphasizes the severe disadvantages a 0/10/30/30/0 build would have in high level tournaments.

I believe 25/30/0/0/15 hasted Pistol Whippers and Backstabbers are most in-demand for high level tournaments – and a Thief’s skill correlates heavily with her ability to use Infiltrator’s Arrow

My mistake, we are definitely in agreement here.

Iohanna.4863:

Hi, I am the author of Unseen and Deathess + Slayer Thief – and I am also a good friend of Soko D Medo. I’d like to clarify the strengths and weaknesses of Dagger/Pistol (0/10/30/30/0).

In the context of WvW, this allows you to constantly apply pressure to a disorganized zerg. As long as you are present, their Staff Eles, Rangers, Grenadiers and so on are all threatened. It doesn’t matter if you’re only able to engage 1 person at a time. You are like a living condition debuff on the entire zerg, constantly removing/disabling players one at a time. Removing you requires the attention of several players, which leaves the enemy zerg vulnerable to an allied push.

Unfortunately the most you can do to organized zergs like Red Guard is tail them (powerful in its own right, but that’s a topic for another time). When every one of your available targets is located inside a kill-zone, there is nothing your regeneration, blinds, and evasion can do to kill even one of them. Your role is to cull the weak and the lonely, and no one in Red Guard is weak or lonely. Even if you manage to catch someone away from the zerg, you have about 5 – 10 seconds to kill them before 2 more zerglings arrives.

In sPvP, the Dagger/Pistol is god mode for hot-joins and low level tournaments. Because almost everything’s a 1v1 duel. Even if 5 players hunt you, you can keep them busy as long as you play defensively.

However your utility in high level tournaments is dramatically reduced. You can duel a bunker Elementalist or Guardian for eons, but you will never be able to take the point from her (all damage is nerfed in sPvP, and every point will have a bunker on it). If you decide to ignore the bunkers, you must face the enemy 4-man group of AOE burst builds (maybe one bunker among them) – designed to wipe other 4-man groups let alone one Thief.

Dagger/Pistol only shines 100% of the time in WvW scouting, and WvW duels (although you’ll have some trouble against Phantasm Mesmers in the duels because Phantasmal duelists are almost another player unto themselves). I’ve had multiple people show me variants of Dagger/Pistol and I’ve experimented with many different modifications myself, but the only other effective implementation I’ve seen is essentially a camping perma-stealth Steal-Backstab Thief (by Noell of Jade Quarry).

Any questions?

You are just flat out wrong about D/P in sPvP tournaments. There are no high level Thieves running 0/10/30/30/0 in tournaments; the spec is exactly the same as D/D, 25/30/0/0/15 so there is no reduction in utility or damage. I’ll point you to two of the best Thieves in high level tournament play for reference, Jumper: http://www.twitch.tv/loljumper/videos?kind=past_broadcasts
Caed: http://www.twitch.tv/narcarsis/videos?kind=past_broadcasts. Watch any past broadcasts or live streams for reference.

As for the D/P (0/10/30/30/0) set up, I think your descriptions are likely accurate.

The misinformation that needs to be dispelled in this thread is that D/P is not a “burst” weapon set. You are not required to run 0/10/30/30/0 with D/P, and the traditional 25/30/0/0/15 set up is just as viable with D/P if not better than D/D.

LyzeUH.1398:

Brassnautilus.2941:

Hotcake.2137:

You’re only further proving how ignorant you are on the subject, you’re obviously clueless. Burst D/P builds are almost identical to burst D/D builds, with only a couple modifications to suit WvW i.e. less power from the DA trait line, all of which is made up from Sigil of Bloodlust stacks. In sPvP, the build is EXACTLY the same, but you wouldn’t know that. I’m only pointing this out because people like you provide wrong information to people trying to learn.

too bad you are the only one on this thread that thinks that way. I’ll just ignore you like the others.

Eh? Hotcake isn’t wrong about this for sPvP…the usual 25/30/0/0/15 D/D build can also be played with D/P instead and is how I run it myself.

Its also how every single top Thief in sPvP specs, but there’s no point arguing with fools. The same build is also perfectly viable in WvW, but some people prefer 15 in Shadow Arts for perma stealth rather than a full 25 in DA since its really easy to make up that loss of power in WvW.

Brassnautilus.2941:

Hotcake.2137:

Brassnautilus.2941:

d/p lacks reliable burst.

I would just like to point out this is completely false, this person obviously has no idea how to play D/P correctly. The burst opener for D/D is Cloak and Dagger + Steal (used during the CnD cast), and then backstab, with damage coming from CnD, Mug trait (damage on Steal), and then a backstab. The burst opener of D/P is Blinding Powder + Heartseeker, Steal (while you are mid-air from Heartseeker), and then backstab, with damage coming from Heartseeker, Mug, and then backstab. Most players do not realize that Heartseeker and Mug hit BEFORE you stealth, allowing for a backstab. The burst combo for D/P is equivalent if not superior to D/D opener.

10 points in crit, 0 in DA = lack of burst
20 points in crit, 0 in DA = slightly better lack of burst

trait more into those and play d/p = you are dumb

You’re only further proving how ignorant you are on the subject, you’re obviously clueless. Burst D/P builds are almost identical to burst D/D builds, with only a couple modifications to suit WvW i.e. less power from the DA trait line, all of which is made up from Sigil of Bloodlust stacks. In sPvP, the build is EXACTLY the same, but you wouldn’t know that. I’m only pointing this out because people like you provide wrong information to people trying to learn.

Brassnautilus.2941:

d/p lacks reliable burst.

I would just like to point out this is completely false, this person obviously has no idea how to play D/P correctly. The burst opener for D/D is Cloak and Dagger + Steal (used during the CnD cast), and then backstab, with damage coming from CnD, Mug trait (damage on Steal), and then a backstab. The burst opener of D/P is Blinding Powder + Heartseeker, Steal (while you are mid-air from Heartseeker), and then backstab, with damage coming from Heartseeker, Mug, and then backstab. Most players do not realize that Heartseeker and Mug hit BEFORE you stealth, allowing for a backstab. The burst combo for D/P is equivalent if not superior to D/D opener.

EasymodeX.4062:

This item spread is not quite correct.

Use Valk exquisite jewels and other crit% gear in the order listed in the table: http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Item_nomenclature#Comparison_of_numeric_vs._percentage_attributes

Low ratios = use crit% gear (Valk/Zerk), high ratios = use “stat” gear (Knights).

Based on your recommendation above, you would be looking at approximately:

Knight’s Jewelry with Valkyrie Exquisite Jewels

[sidenote: I think Knight’s jewelry had a stat swap from armor, so you may want to use Valk Earring + Amulet + Exquisite Jewels, but use Knight’s Rings, and then drop Berserker Boots/Gloves for Knight’s]

Berserker Boots/Shoulder/Gloves

Knight’s Chest/Leg/Helm

Appreciate the input, I definitely don’t think I’ve completely min maxed my gear but I don’t think your gear suggestions make any substantial difference. I will try it when I get the chance to see if I can squeeze out some tiny improvements to my existing stats, can’t hurt.

Cygnus.6903:

1. First, the trait distribution. I don’t like 25/30/0/0/15, that’s too glass (even for me). Was thinking about 0/30/0/25/15, to pick up Power of Inertia and Fleet of Foot (I can imagine cripple being a pain in WvW). Still get the 10% increased damage and a lot of dodges/swiftness, which is also nice because I don’t plan on using the speed signet. Thoughts?

2. Then the runes. I like Divinity, but due to the cost I wonder if it really is that much better then the alternatives? And what are those alternatives?

3. Also, about sigil of Air. How much damage does that do? Does it outway sigil of force or accuracy?

4. And the sigil of night, does that stack with sigil of force? I know force+force doesn’t stack.

5. Using sigil of force along with sigil of accuracy will grant you both bonuses, right?

1. To start, use Dagger/Pistol for a backstab build in WvW. There are Thieves that will tell you D/D is better, trust me its not even close. D/D builds dont even use Dagger 3 or Dagger 4, whereas every single skill in D/P is useful. There is a reason every single top Thief in sPvP is playing Dagger/Pistol. D/P allows you to stealth on demand with Pistol 5 and then Heartseeker three times through the Smoke combo field. With the right trait set up, you can basically perma stealth. The traits are: 10/30/15/015, taking Mug, Practiced Tolerance, Critical Haste, Executioner, Infusion of Shadow, and finally Thrill of the Crime. Utility skills are Hide in Shadows, Shadow refuge, shadowstep, Signet of Shadows.

2. Here’s the best gear set up I can recommend to maximize damage and survivability: Knights exotic armor with Ruby Orbs (Ruby Orbs are better than Divinity Runes), Berserker D/P with Sigil of Force and Sigil of Air, Shortbow with Sigil of Fire. Also get a cheap Pistol or Dagger and slot Sigil of Bloodlust. When you enter WvW, equip that weapon and build to at least 15 stacks for the bonus power, then swap back to your Berserker weapon. Lastly get full Valkyrie Jewelry. For food and oil, I take Orrian Frittes for 100 Power and 70 Vit, as well as Master Maintenance Oil. With the stacks from Sigil of Bloodlust, you will hit like a truck with 1400 toughness and 16.7k health and the ability to perma stealth and escape (assuming you manage your initiative correctly).

Finally the most important part is learning the combos with D/P. The stock burst rotation is Dagger 5, Heartseeker towards your target, hit Steal WHILE YOU ARE MID AIR FROM HEARTSEEKER, then backstab. The beauty of this combo is that you will land your Heartseeker, Mug, and then you will land on top of your target in stealth, ready for the backstab. This is a tougher combo to master compared to Cloak and Dagger, Steal, Backstab but it is far superior. Use Dagger 3 to catch running targets, and Pistol 4 is amazing for interrupting heals or any other abilities. When you fight melee opponents, drop a Pistol 5 to blind them continually. Good luck and be prepared to destroy most targets including all D/D and S/D Thieves.

It has nothing to do with the difficulty level of the dailies, it has to do with the tasks themselves…

Its the fact that “Revive X players” and “Dodge X attacks” are really unimaginative and DO NOT accomplish their stated goal to “drive players to different areas of the world and play together”.

Horrorscope.7632:

I like your idea, perhaps each daily should have been focusing on a particular map.

I was only expecting this because of what Colin Johanson said in his blog: “We’ll add support so daily achievements will be different each day of the week, which will help drive players to different areas of the world and play together.”

My daily achievement list today:
-Kill 13 different types of enemies
-Revive 10 allies
-Dodge 15 attacks
-Gather 20 things
-Complete 5 events

Can someone please explain to me how those daily achievements work to “drive players to different areas of the world and play together”?

I was expecting a daily that would bring me back to lower tier zones that I haven’t visited since I leveled. Instead, I’m doing things like finding someone willing to die 10 times so I can revive them and finish my daily.

I understand they are going to be fleshing this system out in the months to come, but this first step isn’t very promising.

I feel your pain Bitwise. I have had this problem on and off since beta. I play Planetside 2, Diablo 3, and SWTOR with ZERO issues. The crashes are random and are not related to heat or a faulty PSU (I monitor my temps). The screen will go black or pink, the sound will loop, and sometimes the drivers will recover and I can continue playing. Other times the entire computer locks up and requires a hard restart. I am using an EVGA GTX 570.

Yep, been in queue since the match reset. This is game breaking and completely unacceptable.

Am I the only one who doesn’t notice any increase in movement speed with all three illusions up? Is the trait busted?

davisjack.5283:

oh then most likely you need a new graphics card.

Why do people even post this kind of nonsense? I’m having the exact same issue with a GTX 570 and I run all other games flawlessly. We most likely DO NOT need new graphics cards – this is obviously an issue with GW2.

I feel your pain OP. I thought I fixed the problem when I rolled back to 296 drivers for my GTX 570 since I didnt have these issues for over a week, but they returned after Friday night’s patch.

I’m having the same problem. No overheating, my PSU is fine, and my machine runs all other games flawlessly. There is something up with GW2 and certain cards it seems.

I’m having this same issue. I’ve noticed from browsing these forums and the Guru forums that people are having this issue very often with a GTX 570, the same card I am using. I tried rolling back the drivers to 296 and the issue went away for about a week, but now today I have had two system lock ups while playing. Both times the game completely froze and my system became non responsive (no access to ctrl + alt + dlt, alt-F4, etc) and forced me to hard restart the system. I had this problem a couple times during the BWEs as well. All temps are fine, the PSU is functioning perfectly, this is the only game I have ever had this issue with. I hope they fix this soon as it seems to be an issue with GTX cards and their drivers.

My incident number: [Incident: 120904-006837]

I am also unable to purchase Gems from the store. The last time I tried (3 or so days ago), I received a message saying “Card Approval Failed”. The fraud department at my bank called me and verified that it was me trying to make this purchase and removed the hold on my credit card. I have been trying ever since to make a purchase to no avail – I still receive the message “Card Approval Failed”. I have even tried using PayPal with no luck. Please fix this soon as I’m trying to give you my money…