Showing Posts For Morty.4721:
I did try sword+focus, but with the same set of traits as the hammer so far. It worked quite well. I considered using Radiance instead of Zeal, but it felt like most of its traits would be less useful than Zeal’s.
Both hammer and sword+focus are fun to run with in their own ways, so I’ll be using them as I please. I tend to switch builds often on most of my characters.
Fair points. I am indeed playing mostly solo. So far, the build is field-testing well, especially when I added Signet of Resolve and Renewed Focus for stun-breaking and a panic button like you suggested.
I realize that hammer isn’t really the best weapon in the guardians’ lineup, but I felt like giving it a try. I like trying out new combinations – the reason I dropped my mace/shield set-up is a change of pace, since it worked well enough. I do plan to try sword+focus later, though.
Thanks, this is quite helpful. I figured out myself that Writ of Persistence was something I needed. I’ll experiment between Virtues and Zeal for my “middle” speciality. If I’m dropping Shouts, I figure my utilities will be Purification, Smite Condition, Procession of Blades, Signet of Wrath and Feel my Wrath.
Scepter may be more effective, but I used it when running my mace/shield condition build, so I’d like something new now.
I recently finished the HoT campaign with my guardian, using a mace/shield build that worked much better than I’d expected. Now I want a chance of pace, and to actually use Dragonhunter. So, I put together a build:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vVAQJASTn8cC1ChVdCuCBEEhFLiSO2n9gHLAqtHIL8KwzD-TpQaABdu/AAlBAA
I splurged on Berserker gear and went off to finish training DH, and then on to the 3rd season of LS. The problem I encountered immediately is that this build is super-fragile if I try to go into melee. And even if I hang back with a longbow. Any advice on how to make it more durable? I’d like to stick to the hammer and longbow for now, although I might swap the hammer for sword/focus if I have to. Using a heal-on-crit sigil and food helped, but not quite enough.
I feel like Dancing Dagger doesn’t have much of a point to it right now. A cripple might be useful for pistol/dagger thieves to keep their distance, but in general it feels like they have better things to do with their time and initiative.
That is true. Oh well. It was just a random idea. I just wish S/D was a bit more PvE-friendly, recent nerfs notwithstanding.
I’m sure it’s been discussed at some point, but… in theory, what would the implications of making the sword/dagger dual skill a parry/riposte kind of thing, rather than a dodge? It’d kind of play up the fencer aspect and give thieves something they can’t normally do – although the latter might change with the elite spec.
A thief’s 3rd skill depends on what they hold in the off-hand, unless they use the shortbow, which is a two-handed weapon. It’s one of the profession’s unique features. The skills that appear if your off-hand is empty are more or less placeholders.
Those changes look pretty kitten minor all around, for all classes.
One of the main things that draw me to GW2 is that it doesn’t concern itself with what “makes sense” in terms of weapon selection, unlike most RPGs. Sense, of course, doesn’t enter into it – just fossilized tradition.
Gotcha. I am already pumping Trickery, so it’s not a problem. I might switch to Pistol at some point, instead of Dagger. S/D is stylish, but it does indeed seem somewhat impractical in PvE. Was it more useful there before the latest updates, or has it always been a PvP set?
I was sceptical about the staff thieves at first, but I think it makes sense. I still hope that they get rifles at some point, but a staff isn’t bad. It’s a two-handed melee option, something they’ve never had. Moreover, if Anet wants to introduce more melee staff moves apart from Revenents, thieves are probably the best way to do it, apart from maybe warriors.
Staff would go against the dual skill system thiefs currently have. Rifles would fill a space thiefs currently lacking (long range damage). Thiefs lost the ricochet trait which means no increased range anymore. These are strong reasons for the rifle.
You missed the part where I was arguing for staves, not against rifles. Sure, rifles would be good for rogues. So are staves.
I was sceptical about the staff thieves at first, but I think it makes sense. I still hope that they get rifles at some point, but a staff isn’t bad. It’s a two-handed melee option, something they’ve never had. Moreover, if Anet wants to introduce more melee staff moves apart from Revenents, thieves are probably the best way to do it, apart from maybe warriors.
I continue to be baffled as to why people want an off-hand sword so badly. Thieves are already well-covered in the dual-wielding department. It wouldn’t give them anything they don’t already have.
A slow firing, hard hitting weapon would be interesting for sure. For a while, I actually thought they could even give axe to Thief and make it a sort of Bandit/Pirate raider type of class. Not that I would use something like that though, not a big fan of axe.
That would be pretty cool too. Maybe we’ll see something like that in the future? I’m not crazy about new weapons being tied to elite specializations, to be honest, but that’s how it’s gonna be. I guess otherwise they’d have to rearrange traits every time they introduce a new weapon. Elite specializations can be slotted in more easily.
As far as rifles go, if rangers and thieves don’t get them, then they should at least try to make them more attractive choices for the classes that do get them.
Yeah I know what you mean. I would appreciate a rifle on Thief because it would turn them into a hitman kinda character which would be awesome but it would have to be done with skill in mind so new players hoping to become Snipers actually have to invest time into learning how to play the class unlike those types of Rangers who never even switch weapons in a fight because all they know is Longbow pew pew.
Giving rifles to rangers and thieves has the problem of making it sufficiently different from their existing ranged options, indeed. Especially differing it from longbows for rangers. With thieves, both pistols and shortbows are fast-firing weapon, so it’d be easier to make a slow-firing sniper weapon.
I don’t really get why people want off-hand sword for thieves. They’ve got plenty of dual-wielding. I could see them getting a mace main-hand, but a sword off-hand? It doesn’t really give them anything new.
Those are good points. Even though they might be the same category, the staves for rangers and thieves will not really be the same weapons, if thieves’ staff moveset is melee.
I mostly want rifle because it’s not too impressive on the two classes that can use it now, and I’d like for there to be a proper sniper option. But giving it to ranger or thief isn’t as easy as it sounds.
I think it’s confirmed that we won’t get the underwater weapons on land :o
Also, I don’t understand people that want the Rifle weapon. I hardly see how a new ranged weapon will help the thief, especially one that looks like it’s mostly single target focused. Do people really want something they can use to weakly autoattack stuff at 1200 range? That will help how? In WvW zerg fights?
There’s a reason rifle is the less used weapon : it’s cause it has no style nor class ! Engineer at least made something useful out of it by turning it into a shotgun :p
That’s kind of why I’d like the rifle on the thief or ranger, actually. To finally have someone who can do something cool with it, as neither the warrior nor the engineer is that impressive with the rifle. Also, to have a sniper archetype, since warrior uses it more like an assault rifle and the engineer like a gadget-riddled shotgun.
As much as I’d rather they got rifles, I don’t think staves are a bad choice for thieves. It’s a two-handed melee option, which is something they’ve never had. It’s also a good opportunity to give another melee staff moveset. My only real issue with it is the overlap with rangers, who also get staves.
I think staffs for thieves are all but confirmed. Didn’t we see a datamined art for the specialization that looked like a ninja? I’d rather they got the rifle, but that’s not happening yet.
I don’t think a situation where a certain weapon set requires a certain trait to work is a very good one. It’s a trait tax situation. I also had a P/P thief that I very much liked, especially after I managed to counteract his extreme squishyness through self-heal. When Ricochet was removed I decided to scrap him and start a new, sword-focused thief, because I just couldn’t see it working.
What P/P needs, I guess, is some way to better deal with groups without having a mandatory trait.
Okay, so I need to keep myself alive by dodging and staying on the move, rather than healing. Makes sense. It took me a lot of effort to max out Critical Strikes, so I’ll keep using them for now, I guess. At least until I hit level 45 and can pack two specializations.
If I do go for S/P, I guess gear remains the same, since I’ll still be relying on dodging and spammable blind for defence. What about traits?
(edited by Morty.4721)
For PvE, S/P might be the better choice. The long evasion of PW and the fact that mobs won’t dodge out of it will help. BPS + autoattack is great for damage and defense too. Finally, the stun from the PW and daze from the headshot are great for knocking off defiance stacks while the boon steal from FS has limited situational use in PvE. The multi-hit nature of PW will work better for your Signet of Malice too.
I might go for S/P in the end, but assuming for the sake of the exercise I stick do S/D, how should I go about it? Unless S/D is just a complete waste of time in PvE, then I’ll just go S/P.
After the inexplicable removal of ricochet put the future of my Pistol/Pistol thief into question – I don’t know if it could work without it, really – I decided it’s as good a time as any to start from scratch and try something new. This something being sword/dagger.
The problem is that the last time I played a sword-focused thief, I kept keeling over. Now, that was a while ago, and a lot has change since then, but I’m still concerned. That thief was sword/pistol, as well, so that’s different.
Self-healing from Invigoration Precision, Signet of Malice and food worked really well to keep my gunslinger thief alive, but I’m not sure how it’d work for sword/dagger. If I do go with such a set-up, do I need Healing Power gear?
Or maybe I’m completely off-base here and a sword/dagger thief needs something else. I’ve already reached level 30, and it’s been going well enough, but it’s not like personal story is much of a challenge anymore.