Guild Wars 2

Thief is my main and I have always enjoyed a ranged playstyle using only P/P and SB. I would definitely like to see a 1200 option. It seems ridiculous that all other classes have this and more, Guardian is a great example.

Perhaps it will be introduced in the next round of elite specializations, limiting us to 2 endurance bars and gaining access to Rifle or Longbow. But how long do have to wait for that?

Any thief who plays melee and is happy with the current state of the profession, then great I’m glad for you. I want 1050 range and ricochet back while we wait for the next elite!

P/P and SB seems so mixed to me between being power and condition damage, given skills like Cluster Bomb, Choking Gas, Vital Shot, and Sneak Attack. So, this is my attempt to make the most out of both damage types.

I also wanted to get a high enough precision so that Ankle Shots, Invigorating Precision, and other on crit effects trigger often. I thought 50% should do it.

However, maybe I should consider dropping the Critical Strikes line for Deadly Arts and not go beyong a 10% crit chance as PopeUrban suggests. I just like the idea of leeching health with Invigorating Precision and Signet of Malice.

Sinister gear also sounds like a great idea, however I think I would still like so stats towards vitality, as conditions can be difficult to shed as a Thief. I don’t think going full glass would suit my playstyle (or ability for that matter)!

Thanks all!

Hi,

I’m returning to the game for the expansion and I had a chance to try out Daredevil during the beta weekends. Now that P/P gets access to stealth via Black Powder + Bounding Dodger, I wanted to get more condition damage into my build.

So, I was trying choose gear where I could get some good stats for Power, Crit Chance, Condition Damage, and Health. This build is for PvE, world and dungeons. I don’t know if there are better combinations to achieve better stats, or if maybe I should consider going for more Condition Damage over Power?

Here’s the build I currently have:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vZAQNAqaVn8MBNPh9OBemC0PhlfCzbI0meCbjpAw/ZOAmAbgA-TVCBABUqEsT1fEc/hlViBxJAAgHBQe6D4S5h2HBgAAIA8xhLchLchDA-w

I play rather casually, so it takes me a while to gather gear up and I want to invest wisely. Thanks for any advice!

I’m a returning playing, but Thief has been my main since release. I prefer playing at range, so I’ve nearly always been P/P + SB. After the last balance patch that changed how traits work, two specific changes very negatively affected my spec. Those being Ricochet and Feline Grace. As this is a thread about Daredevil, I’ll try and not go into too much about these traits. However, having the Daredevil tree impacts all specs and playstyles of the Thief, which is perhaps the dev’s intention.

Daredevil Extra Endurance
Having an extra endurance bar so that you can dodge up to three times without waiting for the endurance to recharge helps a lot to bring the Thief back to feeling like a very mobile and evasive profession. However, because of the nerf to Feline Grace, from my perspective it makes the Daredevil tree mandatory and Acrobatics obsolete. I still think the devs need to consider bringing the old Feline Grace back as it’s far too punishing to have to successfully dodge an attack to gain the benefits of the trait.

Impacting Disruption
Traits like this and Pressure Striking I think are great additions to P/P gameplay. They give so much more benefit to using Head Shot and make less mandatory to spam Unload all the time.

Bounding Dodger
Finally, with this trait P/P has access to stealth! Not only does this open up P/P to a lot of traits that would previously provide little benefit, but it makes playing the spec so much more fun! Now Black Powder doesn’t seem like a skill only useful for melee specs. P/P can take advantage of the blind for any mob that gets too close, and then reposition and Sneak Attack.

Summary
As I prefer a range playstyle, I was disappointed that Thieves didn’t get Rifle and some means of having 1200 range. As it is, Ricochet is still a very missed trait giving us P/P players 1050 range and the chance to bounce attacks. It added tons of fun and the removal of it has weakened an already weakly regarded spec. Again, I know this is about Daredevil, but I really wish the devs would find a way to add this trait back into the game.

I think the extra endurance that comes with Daredevil is great, but it’s a band-aid to make up for the Acrobatics tree being so worthless now with the nerf to Feline Grace.

As I mentioned the new dodges and other traits make it so playing a P/P spec is less 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 etc all the time. Very good thing!

Oh, and Staff
I haven’t spent significant time with the Staff, but my overall opinion is it doesn’t feel amazing. Perhaps not the most useful or detailed feedback, sorry. It feels like it is lacking weight and substance, perhaps that is down to sound effects and animations. Also, I kinda expected it to have a better cleave feel, so that when surrounded by mobs I’d be unleashing some tornado of bark and bumps!

Greetings,

I’m returning the game after nearly a year hiatus. I prefer ranged combat in any game, so I’m looking to make a good build for my Engineer that plays towards my skills and playstyle. I should mention I haven’t liked playing Grenade, Bomb, or SD (Static Discharge) builds. I’m well aware that leaves me outside the DPS meta.

I should also mention that I play mostly open world PvE. I do some dungeons and some WvW. No tPvP.

Seeing that turrets have received some major buffs (finally), I’m really interested in trying to incorporate them into my build and playstyle. Experimental Turrets sounds like a great trait, as it adds support and I like the idea of helping other players (or my team in a dungeon).

So, I figure the best trait point distribution is 2/6/0/6/0. But works best? Rifle or Pistol? Power or Condi?

Power Based Build with Rifle:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fdAQFAUlUUpmqVVxvLseNCdBB6BugKI6F2wR/pAA-TBSBABBu/Alq/gmSwrU61lyA80BswDAAgLAAA-e

Condi Build with Pistol/Shield:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fdAQJAqelUUpmqVVxvLseNCdBB6BGhvK6F2wR/pAA-TByCABAcCAsUtgjfAA7t/AWK/uUVH90DMmSQA-e

Would really appreciate people’s advice! I’d like to start gearing Ascending items, but choosing optimal stats is so overwhelming!

TL/DR: What’s better for Turret Engineer builds? Power or Condition damage?

On the Thief changes, I don’t see where we are given more or different survivability options. You want to buff Assassin’s Reward, but then move it to the Grandmaster Tier, so many builds won’t have access to that!

We need other buffs to help us mitigate or avoid damage. For example…

• 1200 range on bow and pistols
• Bountiful Theft now also grants you Protection
• Reduced init cost on Pistol #5 Black Powder and/or increase radius

Sorry to be so critical, but you go through all this philosophy able giving Thieves other means of staying power in exchange for nerfing evasion and stealth without actually offering up anything.

With previous nerfs to Mug, Assassin’s Signet, etc we are no longer the extremely lethal, but fragile profession we use to be. It seems more and more we do average damage, but are even more fragile.

-Cowboy

I agree, Pistol #1 needs some buffs. I also wish there was some tie-in with Pistol #3 Unload to make it beneficial not to spam it all the time. Like having increased damage on bleeding targets.

Looking at the upcoming balance changes, it looks like the issues with P/P and ranged Thiefs in general is being overlooked again. We still have no 1200 range option, and now less evasion.

-Cowboy

Hi,

I decided to give 10/30/0/0/30 for Thief P/P a try, and wow I really like how power Steal becomes and how often I can use it! I haven’t used the Mug trait in a long time, but I love the spike damage it adds (wish it still could crit like before the nerf).

Anyway, I don’t think I can live without Feline Grace for extra dodging. I just love hoping all over the place! So, I’m experimenting with a 10/10/0/20/30 build:
http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fYAQNAqaVlcmKO3eS4E+JFxWBg69gsj1saFoZniraVA-jEDBYfCiEFgkFQUBAJPKrZPCilhFRjVZDT5aIyqXomxERrmywA-w

I play PvE most of the time, but I like having some survival stats. FYI.

Don’t know if anybody else has played with a build like this, or where people have tweaked it differently. Just interested in getting some thoughts, opinions, ideas on it.

Thanks!
-Cowboy

Stooperdale.3560:

The top end rewards are out of reach but that is probably true in other MMOs as well. At least in GW2 you can do everything even if you can’t get everything.

That’s just it, GW2 is (or was) not other MMOs. To my understanding, the top end rewards are suppose to be Legendaries, basically the best skins in the game to show the achievement of top/hardcore players. However, everybody should be able to achieve the same level of stats progress given time.

A couple points…

(1) I don’t equate “casual” with lesser skilled or bad, just short on time to spend in the game. So, things like fractals are going to be less accessible. I’ve always thought, assume skill being equal, that if I spend 40 hours as a casual progressing my character over the course of a month and a hardcore does 40 hours over a 3 day period we should both end up with the same amount of progress. 40 hours is 40 hours, regardless of it being continuous.

(2) Although I see Legendaries as the top top rewards, I still think these should be accessible to everybody. They should require lots and lots of effort (as they already do). However, I think a determined casual should be able to acquire one over the course of several months to a year, while a hardcore player logging many hours a week might be able to pull it off within a month. (I haven’t even looked at getting a Legendary, so my numbers may be way off what it is actually.)

TL/DR: Guild Wars 2 was suppose to break the MMO paradigm, but it seems to be falling into it.

Kite.2510:

The normal way to get such an end-item, is by beating some impossibly hard.

Well, we differ greatly on opinion there. Perhaps more challenging content could increase the speed in which a player progresses. But making all Ascended gear accessible that way would seem to go against established mechanics.

Right now, the back pieces and weapons seem like a grind. That goes against what I thought ANet was trying to achieve for the game. Not to mention, I don’t like it!

Also yes, I have seen the mentions that Exotics came to players quicker than expected by ANet. However, these have always been available through many routes. It does seem though with the nerf to karma, if Exotics are now deemed okay to acquire relatively quickly after reaching endgame, then the costs for them from the temple vendors needs to come down. But perhaps that is a separate discussion.

I always thought Legendaries were the items that the hardcores where suppose to flaunt. While everything else was to remain reasonably accessible to the rest of the player base.

-Cowboy

TL/DR: We need more ways to acquire Ascended gear, so that players of all types are rewarded with progression.

I’m a casual player. That doesn’t mean I’m a bad player, but I have limited play time so I cannot participate in all game activities. On top of that, some activities just don’t appeal to me as I would assume with most players. I’ve been able to acquire Ascended amulets, accessories, and rings through dailies, guild missions, and WvW. However, I find it very difficult to acquire Ascended weapons and backpieces.

For the weapons you are required to craft them through a crafting profession. This can be a long and arduous task (read grind), especially if you don’t already have the required crafting profession at level 400. As for the back pieces, they require that you participate in Fractal of the Mists dungeon runs.

Endgame gear acquisition has a radically shift from Exotic to Ascended. Exotic gear can be acquired via Karma vendors, loot drops, WvW Badge vendors, Trading Post, crafting, Dungeon tokens, etc. Ascended gear doesn’t offer that diversity in acquisition, and that needs to change.

I believe that endgame progression should be achieved by just playing the game as you did from 1 to 80. Over time, your character(s) should be become stronger without feeling you are grinding. I think Guild Wars 2 achieves this more so than other MMOs, but with Ascended gear this is changing for the worse. Again, this needs to change so that players are not forced into activities they’d rather not do and grind them over and over again.

Thanks!
-Cowboy

Hi,

I’m sorry but I don’t get it. How can I craft an ascended backpiece without stepping foot in fractals? Is it even possible?

I’ve tried reading the wiki page, but I go crosseyed. If it is possible, could somebody please be so kind to post a step-by-step guide?

Many thanks!
-Cowboy

Has anyone tested to see if the radius is also a tooltip error? I run with this in groups and WvW to help support my allies. One of the few Thief utils that actually help your allies and kinda makes yah feel like a shout Warrior!

Anyway, I hope the radius is still 600.

Hi group, my name is Cowboy and I am a P/P Thief.

I’m happy to hear the devs are looking into Thief P/P. From the posts on these forums it seems a good number of people like a ranged playstyle with their Thieves.

There’s a couple issues with P/P and ranged combat with Thieves that I think are very important.

Vital Shot – Pistol #1
The skill is suppose to take 0.5s, but with after cast it is over 0.75s. Others on the forums have done more accurate testing than me. This needs to be fixed cause a Thief Pistol fires as fast or slower than a Warrior’s Rifle. It makes players rely on Unload as their main damage skill, rather than a source of quick burst.

Body Shot – Pistol #2
I hope this is the mainhand pistol skill you are looking into regarding support options. Nobody likes the Vulnerability. What many Thieves want to see is Body Shot become a Blast finisher. Alternatively, it could add an evasive leap backwards and be a Leap finisher similar to Heartseeker. This would give P/P more defensive options and mobility.

Range
Both WvW and PvE have many circumstances where having a 1200 range weapon matters. I would really like to see a trait added that gives either Shortbow or Pistol 1200 range. We are the only profession without a 1200 range weapon, which seems quite an error for a game that was trying to be flexible and do away with the existing paradigm.

Thanks and I look forward to the updates!
-Cowboy

Hi Lokheit,

My first post wasn’t meant to the be-all-end-all of P/P suggestions. If you know of some good posts, by all means please point them out!

That goes for everybody! I will add them to the first post.

Regarding Daecollo, I think your opinion of him is too harsh. Perhaps you don’t agree with his suggestions, but I do think he has a few goods ones and the issues he brings up are common ones brought up by the community here. At any rate, let’s try and keep this thread constructive.

Hi,

With the mention that Thief pistol main hand is getting a look at, it seems a good time to bring up all the issues of the P/P weapon set. There have been so many good suggestions over the past year, but unfortunately they’ve gone unacknowledged.

First, I wanted to mention these three star Thieves and their feedback regarding P/P (it goes without mentioning there has been lots of great posts from many players, however I’ve noticed these the most). Here are some of their key posts:

Daecollo.9578
Pistol/Pistol Revamp

Einlanzer.1627
Simplest Way to Fix P/P

Jumper.9482
Pistol Suggestions by Jumper X

THE ISSUES
Vital Shot – Pistol #1
Vital Shot has too long an after cast. It simply needs to be reduced. This has been brought up so many times I don’t know why it has not be acknowledged or addressed.

Body Shot – Pistol #2
It appears fairly unanimous, nobody likes Body Shot. If any skill in the Pistol mainhand weapon set is to be reworked, then it is this one. It also appears that what people would like to see most is a Blast or Leap finisher, as that would give P/P Thieves access to Stealth.

Mobility
It was mentioned in a GW2Guru SotG that the developers felt P/P lacks mobility. While this issue was brought months ago, nothing has been done to address it. Basically, P/P have little in defense outside of traits and utlity skills. If Body Shot was changed to include an evasive leap backwards, that would be a great change.

Range
Thieves are the only profession without a 1200 range weapon set. It would be good to see a trait that extends the range of either Pistols or Shortbow. This would address issues where Thieves playing defensively in WvW towers and keeps can have something to do at range. Also, some PvE boss encounters really benefit from ranged strategies.

and more…
Other issues have been brought up concering the set, some more or less important depending on the player’s opinions. Unload being too good not to spam, Head Shot not having Confusion built-in, Black Powder radius and general usefulness in a ranged set, etc. All of these concerns should at least be looked at.

I really hope the developers will take some time to read this post, and the many good suggestions made here on the forums. I know they are busy, and would rather spend time working on the game rather than replying on the forums, but we’ve been very patient and would appreciate their acknowledgement of these concerns and their support.

Thanks!
-Cowboy

I also play a P/P + SB Thief. I can’t remember all that you have access to at level 14, but here are my tips for PvE survivability.

• Black Powder (Pistol #5). Blinds targets, great against melee. You can even get into melee with ranged mobs via Stealth than pop it. The only downside is because of its’ high initiative cost, you can’t spam this and Unload.
• Caltrops (Skill). Drop an AoE field that cripples and bleeds mobs. Helps a lot with kiting.
• Ambush Trap (Skill). Bro Thieves! Ambush Trap is great as it has a low cooldown and the summoned Thief hits hard.
• Shadow Refuge (Skill). Creates a dark field for a few seconds. I generally will throw this down at mid health, then immediately spam Sneak Attack (Pistol # 1) followed by Unload (Pistol #3) to recover a ton of health.
• Uncatchable (Trait). This is a great kiting ability, and PvE mobs run right into the caltrops.
• Feline Grace (Minor Trait). Ranged Thieves are more about evasion than stealth, so the Acrobatics trait line is your best friend. This minor trait means more dodges!

Be sure to get some +Power armor and a Sigil of Bloodlust for your main hand weapon, to help you plow through the lower levels more easily.

Also, unless you trait for Ricochet, get a Shortbow to handle multiple mobs. Spamming Cluster Bomb is for the win!

Good luck!
-Cowboy

Currently, my P/P Thief is a Jeweler and Leatherworker. However, I’ve always found it easier to buy things off of the Trading Post, rather than craft things myself.

I’m wondering if I should drop both for Cooking and Huntsman. They just seem like less fuss, and more useful for what I do in the game.

Any thoughts? Thanks!
-Cowboy

Hi,

I use to WvW often, but now I’m backing off a bit. Nowadays, I’m playing mostly solo / open world PvE and I would like to get more into Dungeon runs too.

As a P/P + SB Thief 0/30/0/20/20, I’m not quite sure how I should be gear my armor. Right now I have a full set of exotic soldier armor. However, for PvE I’m wondering if the best defense is a good offense. I’m considering switching the Valkyrie or Berserker armor. Does anybody have any advice?

Soldier:
http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/thief/?7.0|a.1g.h1.a.1g.h14|5.1g.h17|1c.71m.1c.71m.1c.71m.1c.71m.1c.71m.1c.71m|2s.e13.2s.e13.3s.e17.2s.e13.3s.e17.2s.e13|0.u56b.0.k29.k35|2e.1|58.5g.5b.5i.5w|e
Effective Power 5228.96
Effective Health (EHP) 19986
Damage Reduction 17.82%
Reference Armor 1836

Valkyrie:
http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/thief/?7.0|a.1g.h1.a.1g.h14|5.1g.h17|1p.71m.1p.71m.1p.71m.1p.71m.1p.71m.1p.71m|2s.e13.2s.e13.3s.e17.2s.e13.3s.e17.2s.e13|0.u56b.0.k29.k35|2e.1|58.5g.5b.5i.5w|e
Effective Power 5482.18
Effective Health (EHP) 17982
Damage Reduction 8.66%
Reference Armor 1836

Berserker:
http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/thief/?7.0|a.1g.h1.a.1g.h14|5.1g.h17|1g.71m.1g.71m.1g.71m.1g.71m.1g.71m.1g.71m|2s.e13.2s.e13.3s.e17.2s.e13.3s.e17.2s.e13|0.u56b.0.k29.k35|2e.1|58.5g.5b.5i.5w|e
Effective Power 5909.22
Effective Health (EHP) 15652
Damage Reduction 8.66%
Reference Armor 1836

Thanks!
-Cowboy

Spirit Rangers definitely were nerfed, no question.

My personal opinion is that turrets are weaker than spirits. Mobility is the biggest issue. With cooldowns being so long and activating on despawn, you have to play a very stationary role. I’d love to see a trait that added treads to make turrets follow you around like minions, but of course that would homogenize the classes making us like Rangers and Necros… still I don’t care!

I just think it’s ironic this nerf to Spirit Rangers I would consider a godsend for Turret Engineers!

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/info/updates/Game-Update-Notes-September-3-2013

Ranger:
Storm Spirit, Frost Spirit, Sun Spirit, and Stone Spirit: Recharge has been reduced from 60 seconds to 25 seconds.

Bah! I’d give my left kitten to have turret cooldowns for Rocket, Thumper, and Net to 25s. That would make turret builds so much more portable… that and treads to make them moveable!

Bah, I say! >.<

I play a 100% ranged Thief too. I used to WvW on a regular basis running in a 15-20 man guild group. Basically, ran with Shortbow spamming blast finishers as much as possible, switching the P/P only to finish off people and runners. Dagger Storm is also very nice in zergs.

This is the build I use for large groups, with support buffing from the Trickery line.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fYQQNAqaVlYmaOHcS6E+5Ex2DgmTe6pgsjtTRUtKA-j0CBYLCiEFQkFgEBAZPFRjtqpIasqFYKXER1WzCRW0p2bATIAdjBA-w

For roaming, I go with this. Stealth is just too useful.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fYQQNAqaVlUmaOHcS3E95Ex2DgmTe6p4rjtTRUtKA-j0CBYLCiEFQkFgEBAZPFRjtqpIasqFYKXER1WzCRW0p2bATIAdjBA-w

With open world PvE, again I just swap out a few things. I am however wanting to focus more on PvE, and thinking about swapping my PVT armor for Berserkers.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fYQQNAqaVlcmaOHcS3E95Ex2DgmTe6p4rktTxVtKA-j0CBYLCiEFQkFgEBAZPFRjtqpIasqFYKXER1WzCRW0p2bATIAdjBA-w

I will have to consider Sigil of Purity/Generosity for handling conditions. It would allow to me to free up a utility skill.

Still wishing for a trait to get us 1200 range on P/P and/or Shortbow. (Crosses fingers)
-Cowboy

I would love to see all racial skills get buffed to be compelling choices and become available to all races in the game. As a story/lore mechanic perhaps being able to acquire these skills would require completing a skill challenge for the race the skill belongs too. For example, defeat a Charr trooper to learn the Charrzooka elite.

This would be an good instant addition to horizontal progression.

Thanks!
-Cowboy

Hi,

I would love to see a preview on the upcoming skills and traits to add to horizontal progression in the game. Even if it was more of a high level post about the general types of skills and traits they’d like to add for a profession to address balance issues.

What I would also love to see is all racial skills get buffed to be compelling choices and become available to all races in the game. As a story/lore mechanic perhaps being able to acquire these skills would require completing a skill challenge for the race the skill belongs too. For example, defeat a Charr trooper to learn the Charrzooka elite.

Could we please get some information about what’s to come? As someone who’s having a hard time choosing a main, I want to know what’s in store for us!

Thanks!
-Cowboy

Thanks for all the advice guys! Really appreciate it!

I’ve avoided leveling my Warrior further for exactly the reasons some of you have posted. It’s just tempting cause Longbow can be so strong.

Going to start a Ranger and see how I get on. Just want a good ranged class that doesn’t require the button mashing the Engi does.

I do wonder if I should consider the Necromancer, seems the FotM lately. But I’ve never been into caster classes aesthetically. Plus, they don’t have the mobility a Ranger does. Do they fair well or better in zerg v zerg?

Thanks again for opinions, please share more if you have any more insight!

Hi,

Having a hard time picking a main for WvW (and the rest of the game for that matter). I like to play from range as much as possible. Right now, I’ve got an Engineer at 80, but not a Warrior. I find the Engineer requires a lot of button mashing to make grenades work, which can be exhausting after awhile, but fun when it works.

Strongly considering making a Longbow Warrior. I was wondering what people think of the playstyle and what it brings to the group vs a Grenade Engineer? I would even consider a Longbow Ranger, but I don’t want to be burdened by a pet getting stomped by zergs.

Here’s how I see things:

Warrior:
+ Several viable Longbow builds.
+ Good support through shouts.
+ Low skill cap.
- 1200 range.
- Lacking mobility (outside of weapon sets).

Engineer:
+ 1500 range.
+ Lots of mobility, able to keep Vigor up most of the time.
- High skill cap.
- Group support through Elixirs is random and has to be targetted.

Ranger:
+ 1500 range.
+ Lots of mobility.
- Longbow not as strong as Warriors(?)
- Pet
- Pet
- Pet

What does everybody think? Anybody playing these classes and can share their thoughts and comparisons?

Thanks!
-Cowboy

I miss GW1 profession system entirely. I really thought GW2 was going to be every bit as flexible, but sadly no. All of the adventure classes seem to have ways to spec into evasion, which I like as a playstyle. Unfortuntely, each one has a major drawback. Engineer requires a lot of micromanagment and skill, Rangers saddle you with a pet to babysit, and Thieves have no range beyond 900.

I’m looking forward to the new traits and skills they are going to add to the game, but if they don’t introduce something that basically lets me play a petless Ranger in next couple months then I’m gone.

I like what I’m hearing about EQNext and TESO, class systems where you can mix and match and make something suits your playstyle fully. I’m a big fan of ANet, especially after what they achieved in GW1 with that class system. I’m hoping they can turn this around.

TL/DR: I agree with op. You peeps who like to do the teleport melee thing more power too yah, but that’s not the way I want to play my Thief.

I would love to see the build too! Seems to rely heavily on stealth and I’m curious what tree you sacrificed going into. My general build (not sPvP) is 0/30/0/20/20. Since there is less initiative pips, looks like you skipped the Trickery line, but what else?

Thanks!
-C

Anything that gives us Thieves a viable 1200 range option I’m all for!

-Cowboy

Not going away? Probably not. Lessened? I think there’s a good chance, especially when they already addressed Toss Elixir U. Before it use to give a chance of 3 spells effects, now it’s only 2 both of which protect you from projectiles.

Regarding Elixir H + Toss , I don’t regard Swiftness/Vigor the same way as Protection/Regeneration. The former allows you more movement to actively avoid damage, while the latter actually impacts your health passively.

Same goes for Toss Elixir B and Swiftness, I don’t see Swiftness as an offensive boon. It should consolidated to be Might or Fury. To be honest I’m not even sure Retaliation fits as it requires getting hit to increase your damage output.

And wow… I forgot about Elixir X. Yah, that needs a complete redesign.

Hi,

The ANet philosophy with profession changes is to iterate in small steps, rather than big sweeping changes. Several patches ago we saw some Engineer skills loose some of the RNG (ex. Toss Elixir U). I think it’s time for more!

Toss Elixir S
Can this just grant Stability?

Elixir H
Protection or Regeneration only, not Swiftness. In fact, I don’t know why this could be like Elixir B and grant both Protection and Regeneration.

Toss Elixir H
I’m not sure about the Vigor, it is a defensive boon, but different from Protection and Regeneration. I would just have it grant Protection or Regeneration.

Clumsiness
Now that Rocket Boots don’t have a self knockdown, maybe some other skills don’t have to be so clumsy. Perhaps Engineers have honed in on their gadgets since release!

Overcharged Shot
This should continue to launch you backwards, but without the knockdown.

Poison Dart Volley
Not sure about this one, I would like to see it change to shot the 5 shots straight ahead. But perhaps it is better as a cone effect. What do other people think?

Any feedback would be great. Would like to hear what other people would suggest too.

-Cowboy

W.A.C.K., the World Auxilary Command Konsole, is a web application using the official Guild Wars 2 API to bring you the latest status of all World vs World match ups in the game. Using responsive web design techniques, this application will conform to fit on any HTML5 compatible browser. No need for a native app for your computer desktop or mobile phone, just use your web browser!

http://www.gw2wack.com/

Hi, so this is a simple web app I’ve been working on using the current API. I’m a front-end developer / designer only, therefore I’m limited to what information the current API provides. The app uses RWD (Responsive Web Design) so that it will look good on desktops as well as phones.

Hope you all will find it useful. Please feel free to make suggestions or whatnot below!

-Cowboy

http://www.gw2wack.com/ – Web App for WvW Status using HTML5, CSS3, and RWD.

-Cowboy

I think some are missing the point. Guild Wars 2 was suppose to offer grand flexibility, especially since picking a secondary profession was off the table (like we had in Guild Wars 1). Warriors could range, Mages could melee, cats and dogs living together in harmony!

This is not we have, we are getting pigeon holed.

If you want to play ‘petless’ Ranger → GTFO!

If you want to play Engineer, grow a third hand or → GTFO!

If you want to play an all ‘range’ Thief → GTFO!

This thread isn’t about what a Thief can do with S/D or D/P or how to perma-stealth . It’s about that is now all we can do, all that we are suppose to do, and I think the game suffers for it.

-Cowboy

Cluster Bomb: Decreased the range set from 1200 to 900.

I cannot express how disappointed I am with this change, and the confirmation it brings with the design philosophy behind the Thief and the game in general.

At launch I debated hard between the Thief, Engineer, and Ranger as my first and main character. I desired an Adventure class, high in manueverabilty, and attacking from range. The Thief was a great choice with the ability to build for evasion or stealth along with my favorite weapon of the game the Thief Shortbow, however it didn’t have good range options with only one skill from one weapon set at 1200 range (excluding utilities). The Ranger looked strong having a traited weapon reaching 1500 range, but was hampered by having to manage a pet (a playstyle I don’t appreciate). The Engineer offered tons of flexibility, but as time would tell requires a great deal of player skill to perform well.

I went Thief. I accepted that only Cluster Bomb would let me attack enemies from a great distance, and allow me to defend keep walls in WvW. I hoped in time ANet would recognize the limitation and add a trait for either Shortbow or Pistols to reach 1200 range that all other professions enjoy. Surely a design philosophy that would let Warriors, a long time melee centric class mind you, rain death with Rifles and Longbows…. surely they would give players the option to be a ranged rogue. I COULD BE GARRETT! YAY!

Sadly, as today’s patch has confirmed, that won’t be the case ever. Thieves are meant to be a close range profession, and with the state of Pistols mostly a melee only profession.

I really thought this would be the MMO to last me years. The game itself I still find to be awesome. But the profession design, just doesn’t offer the flexibility I hoped for (in some ways what I thought we were promised, especially after the flexibilty found in GW1). Now, I’m looking into the MMO horizon hoping that some other game will provide the class flexibility and design I long for.

I write this not to offer my stuff, rage quit, or otherwise. I write this hoping ANet devs will read this and realize their error. The Thief is the only profession in the game without a 1200 range option! There’s a lot of content that makes being limited to 900 range a problem. I hope in the near future they will add a trait so that Shortbow or Pistol range can be extended. I hope they give Pistols the mobility change it deserves (and fix Vital Shot while they are at it).

Until then, I’ll be playing profession roulette, and hopeful find one that I can overlook the shortcomings. Adios!
-Cowboy

Snowreap.5174:

I think https://api.guildwars2.com/v1/wvw/match_details.json needs to include timestamps to show the last time ownership changed (or to show when the current ownership took effect).

^ This!

Totally need this. I’m a frontend web dev, so to my understanding the only way to do this current is to purchase a web server that can run a backend script every second and record when changes occur.

So, please please add this!!!

-Cowboy

I’m a noob when it comes to PHP, but by borrowing from other scripts and a little experimentation, I can pass this script a ‘url’ parameter and it will fetch the data for me.

I have a condition statement to only use this if the browser doesn’t support CORS via XHR.

	<?php

	$post_data = $HTTP_RAW_POST_DATA;

	$header[] = "Content-type: application/json";
	$header[] = "Content-length: " . strlen( $post_data );

	$ch = curl_init( $_GET[ "url" ] ); 
	curl_setopt( $ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1 );
	curl_setopt( $ch, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, 10 );
	curl_setopt( $ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, $header );

	if ( strlen( $post_data ) > 0 ) {
		curl_setopt( $ch, CURLOPT_POST, 1 );
		curl_setopt( $ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $post_data );
	}

	$response = curl_exec( $ch );

	if ( curl_errno( $ch ) ) {

		print curl_error( $ch );
		
	} else {

		curl_close( $ch );
		header( "Content-type: application/json" );
		print $response;
		
	}

	?>

I really hate Microsoft. :S
-Cowboy

I running into this issue now too. I’ve been trying to access the APIs with both jQuery and AngularJS. Both do not support MS XDR.

So, for the moment my web app can’t support IE8 or IE9!

I’m hosting my app via HTTP. Does anybody have a link to a good tutorial on how to get XDR working HTTP>HTTPS? Or is it not possible from a pure JavaScript solution?

Thanks!

Hi all,

I’ve created an Excel Spreadsheet that spits out each row of data as JSON objects. So, you can just cut’n’paste the JSON Output column into a text file.

I’ve kept the id and name fields, and added full_name, type, points, map_id, map, and location.

map_id
I don’t know the value for these, but I imagine we’ll know sometime in the future.

map
This is placeholder until I get values for the map_id. I’ve abbreviated the values to keep the file size light. E – Eternal Battlegrounds, R – Red Borderlands, G- Green Borderlands, and B – Blue Borderlands.

location
This is really for my purposes where I want to know the general location of something on the map (e.g. NW = North West). You may want to replace this with coordinates or add coordinates in another field.

Enjoy!
-Cowboy

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3559414/objective_names.zip

I haven’t done any experimentation with the game files. I know with WoW people built tools to go through all the art. I was hoping somebody might have found a way to grab all the maps assets from the game files.

I would not know where to start. :/

Hi,

Can somebody tell me where or how one could acquire the maps at various zoom levels, say if you wanted to throw it into the Google Maps API or something?

Also, might be good to have access to icons and such too.

I’d like to try experimenting with the new API, but I don’t know where to source these images.

Thanks!
-Cowboy

Thanks for the feedback guys. Being that I mostly just use Shortbow with my zerg, does anybody have some numbers I should shoot for? Does 1400 for both Toughness and Vitality sound like enough?

I can mix and match gear, just need stat numbers to shoot for. I don’t want to overdo defensive stats however, and hit like a wet noodle.

Hi,

I’m finally starting get some Ascended gear via Laurels and such. But since I’m a casual, I’m not realistically going to be able to grind out multiple sets easily, so I need to get this right.

Right now I have PVT Exotic Armor with Melandru trinkets. I’m spec’d 0/30/0/20/20 and play ranged with a group of 15-20. My Toughness is 1305, Vitality is 1340. I don’t feel too squishy now, but still so so many people recommended higher Toughness and Vitality for WvW than what I have.

My original plan was to stick with Berserker / Valkyrie Ascended trinkets. But, do people think a Thief needs more Tough / Vit than what I have?

Thanks for the advice!
-Cowboy

awge.3852:

However I think straffing should be allowed against any ranged weapon, it’s more realistic to force you to manually dodge them.

I’m not sure what your advocating here, but straffing shouldn’t allow you to miss projectile attacks, just AoE. If players want to avoid getting hit by a projectile, then they should have to dodge.

Ranged damage is lower across the board vs melee, so to further penalize it by having players to just side step seems like a slap in the face. This just isn’t an FPS, so there definitely needs to be a degree of auto-targeting.

“That’s great. That’s just kittening great, man. Now what the kitten are we supposed to do? We’re in some real pretty nerfs now, man!
…
That’s it man, game over man, game over! What the kitten are we gonna do now? What are we gonna do? " – Hudson, Aliens (1986)

I would not want to see any change that made the cooldowns any longer. I like things being around 30s.

My (humble) opinion:
Ambush Trap – Absolutely love it, no change needed. If anything, change the cooldown back to 30s.

Shadow Trap – To be honest, I don’t use this trap. But others seem pleased with it’s current state.

Trip Wire – Change name to Barbed Wire. When first triggered it knocks down players within X range. Adds a line field of caltrops that persist for Y seconds and cause crippled for 5s.

Needle Trap – When first triggered it immobilizes players within X range. Adds a line combo field of poison for Y seconds that poisons for 6s.

In the end, I feel Trip Wire and Needle Trap don’t add much to a 1v1 fight. I’d rather them offer more group offensive utility as AoE.

-Cowboy

Well, thank you. The build site I linked to says it ‘cures conditions’, whereas the wiki says it cures one condition. Doh! Anyway, it’s frustrating as it seems any build will require Elixir R, Elixir C or traiting for 409.

It’s a shame, cause it seems that non of the Turrets offer a condition cleanse or stun break (if I’m correct). Well, I’ve heard you can blast finish the Healing Turrent for a cleanse, but I’ve never tried or looked into it.

Anyway, if my Bomb Kit build is rubbish for WvW, I’d love to see some that are not.

AlietteFaye.7316:

Med Kit #4 will cure one condition. Good luck with that.

Thanks, I guess…

Well, true no stun break, although I’m hoping to have some coverage from teammates. Cure conditions via Med Kit #4.

Still, wondering if Healing Bombs is worth it? And if full Cleric’s makes it disappointing, then well what’s the point?!

Maybe should just go full DPS, forgo Inventions altogether. Maybe go more into Tools for the Endurance benefits like Adrenal Implant.

Hi,

I’m trying to come up with a good build for medium to large group WvW play. So, I wanted to see what I could come up with when using the Bomb Kit.

Here’s my first go at a build:
http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-V70;2sP-9-66NTFx0;9;4T-T-9278;104A;15;06;5F-03F-033NM

1-5 – Rifle – Good for control and mobility.
6 – MedKit – For condition cleanse, health, and swiftness.
7- Bomb Kit – Can’t be a bomb kit build without it!
8 – Mine – More control and blast finisher.
9 – Thumper Turret – Toolbelt blast finisher, extra control with cripple.
10 – Supply Crate – What else you going to use?

Already experimenting with the build in Orr and on NPCs in the Mists. Finding that both cripple and vigor really help when kiting opponents. Don’t know if I can get more of that into the build.

I’m really confused about what stats to go for. I’ve done a few searches, but no thread has consistent information. Some go for Power + Healing with Cleric, others say +Healing is worthless just go for Soldier. And surprising I don’t see anybody entertaining the notion of Condition gear, like Shaman, Rampager, or Rabid!

Anyway, everything is up for debate with my build, but I could especially use some tips on the gear. I’m wondering if the +Healing is so worthless, is it even worth traiting into Inventions for Elixir-Infused Bombs?

Thanks!