I agree with most that has been said in this thread:
Venoms are nearly useless unless used in niche builds.
Stealth is easily broken with channelled attacks and projectiles. I’ve even seen PvE mobs following me around, targeting me at close range or even putting an AoE on my feet while I was in stealth. Shadow Refuge should be just that: a refuge. Having no effect on the enemy, I think that revealing them where it is put is just unfair, just like “traps” being plain visible, and not just for the thief traps, while environmental traps are nearly invisible (anyone played the “swampland” fractal…?)
Some signets actives and passives have nothing to do with each other.
Most weapon combinations can’t compare with backstab builds even after the nerfs. Sure you get more survivability but the damage can’t even begin to compare. Most abilities are almost useless or rarely used compared to the range of options a weapon can give other classes, both offensively or defensively. Other classes get a CD system on their most useful skills, thus allowing them to use them without any effect on their other skills.
We get a half initiative bar cost for skills that on their own won’t do much damage or advantage us greatly like Black Powder, Dancing Dagger, Flanking Strike, Body Shot, Infiltrator’s Arrow, Choking Gas etc… These skills, while useful in PvE because of the dumb AI, in WvW or sPvP, well, they aren’t that great. Also the auto attack of the pistol is subpar unless traited for bleeding damage.
Traits are also really messed up. Our venom traits are on the power line. Some bonus have no place where they are (+7% damage behind a foe on the trickery line?). The obvious “condition damage” trait line is missing. We effectively have no traits to the conditions we deal, like immobilization, bleed, poison, etc. The ones we have now are bonus we get from other lines (“on venom activation”, “condition duration”). A big problem knowing that thieves can be deadly playing conditions. I play them myself. And If I had a condition trait line I would put my 30 points in it.
Everything to say the Thief right now IS a gimmicky class, because most builds we can come with have many, many problems, being from squishy weapon sets, squishy armour to get the correct stats, weapon skills being for the most part useless or costly on a specific build (to play conditions you will use maximum 3 of your 5 skills, to play backstab you will use only 2, to play pistol whip only 2, etc) because of the initiative system (I wouldn’t say no to a cripple or a blind, but if using it limits the use of my damaging skills then I have to make a choice other classes don’t have to make), stealth right now not being stealthy, trait lines forcing to play power because of very limited offensive options (elems can choose from 4 elements, rangers can choose their pet, their bow, their swords, warriors have endless weapons sets, etc…) Now I’m not saying playing backstab is the only way to go, but other kind of builds don’t get much love from traits or skills. I mean, critical strikes gives +20% damage to foes under 50%, Deadly Arts give + dagger damage, +dual skills damage (forgot to say that Pistol Whip is the only offensive, as in damage dealing dual skill) etc, while pistols have what, +5% chance to bounce, on the critical strikes trait line, when pistols are obviously designed for condition damage.
Time to work! Thief definitively needs an overhaul, in order for les QQing. If players were to be killed by poison thieves, backstab thieves, pistol thieves, trap thieves, sword thieves, stealth thieves in general, or even control thieves, people wouldn’t think that “this build” is OP. After all, all other classes have access to many, many builds that aren’t OP, like you promised it would be.
