Guild Wars 2

Think I’m gonna try out my current build with 500 HP, though I won’t be able to actually test it till after July 4

Supreme.3164:

You should aim for the following stats, I take in consideration my current build as roamer lightning rod:

Power= 2k+
Toughness=1.8k+
Vitality=15k+
Crit dmg= 185%+
Crit chance= 30%+
Healing Power= 420+

I’m power based so don’t really bother that much about condi dmg, with this said it’s still added pressure, so a little doesn’t hurt.

Use a mix of knight/Valkrye/sentinel for the armor; for the trinkets : captain-cavalier-celestial(rings and earrings are easy to come by)-zerker. As weapons go cavalier main and rest depends on you ( a vitality weapon maybe)

Those are very nice looking stats, though I am interested in how you attain them with the removal of stat points from trait lines. Been messing around a lot, can get all those stats except the crit dmg. Only at 170% (no food in build either)

Edit: Also with boon duration gone from Arcana (for the most part) do people still run Hoelbrak/Strength or are people looking at Pack now?

(Also I haven’t been able to get into the game so all my info is form theorycrafting, looking at other post, and research)

Been doing some theorycrafting lately. With trait lines losing their stats, how valuable is healing power for a elemenalist, especially D/D. It seems every 100 healing power adds about 10 extra healing to Signet of Restoration. PreJune22 most Ele builds had 300 base with water trait line.

How well does ele fair without any healing power? I think that either 0 Healing Power or 500 are good break points when investing into stats. Anyone have any other opinions?
My current build has 15k Health, 2875 Armor, 3.2k Attack(2200 power), 31% crit chance, and a measly 20% Crit Dmg. (No Condition Dmg)

Also I haven’t been able to actually test anything, as I haven’t been able to actually get in game currently. So I’m keen on hearing what everyone thinks that have actually been playing and messing with builds n’ such.
Hope we can get a good discussion going!

Cheers!

Edit: I am a roamer, so I am stating more for that. No zerg pls :’>

The best thief does well not to make himself known. :’3

Ok, I found the gw2.exe file and changed the compatibility to Windows 7 mode, and checked the “Run as Administrator” box. Everything seems to be working alright now. After a couple reboots I haven’t had the problem. This seems to only be a temporary solution.

This error started occurring actually when I installed DirectX, so I uninstalled it, but the problem persisted. Only after this did I try what I stated above. I don’t know if I can re-install directx though. Afraid that the problem may occur again.

Hope this helps for now.

I am having this same problem, and there has still been no response on the matter.

I am having this same problem.

For some reason I sense a bit of sarcasm and a sprinkle of kitten in this post.

Hey guys, I’d like to share how I got my Selfless Potion pretty quickly by myself and with a few others at times. Basically I would enter an overflow on the hour and wait till we reached the 1st tier reward at 100 citizens rescued. Then I hope overflows by going to character select screen and zoning back in; this usually puts me in a different overflow where I just wait until that map hits the rescue tier reward. I don’t stay in maps that have less than 10 saved, except the first overflow. Once I get out of the first overflow and start hopping, I don’t say in OF’s that have 101-200, 301-500, and 600+ rescue markers. It’s easier just to leave and find one that way you can get the most heirlooms per hour. I was averaging about 5-8 heirlooms an event by myself. With a group of friends searching for different OF’s you can get 10+ at times.

A bit of a selfish method :p

That is all.

oZii.2864:

Columbo.5924:

gw2buildcraft is a bit overconfident when calculating its values. For example if you take a thief and pick the “7% more chance to crit from behind or side” trait, it will ignore that there is a condition attached to that trait and simply add those 7% to your regular crit chance. You should be careful when taking those values for granted – it always makes a best case calculation.

Back to topic: I am fully in the boon duration boat. Take the protection boon for instance. Keeping that boon up reduces the damage taken by 33%. Given the diminishing returns of toughness/armor this can easily be the equivalent of 2000 or more toughness. The same could be said about fury as well. If i remember correctly you need 21 points in precision to increase your critical chance by 1%. So having the fury boon is like 420 extra precision. Or take the might boon: with 16 stacks (which is a more or less realistic value even if you opponent pushes you) thats 560 power and condition damage. And there is swiftness, regeneration or vigor on top of that.

Keeping all those boons up is in my opinion the best choice for your rune slots and is also one of the reasons I never run without 30 arcana (aside from the fact that it contains the key traits for a boon duration build – without it there would be no boons in the first place…).

With 10 air you can have perma fury with just 30% if you are being pressured this can drop off for a short time but not long. Protection difference with 30% boon duration vs 75% duration is 2.25 sec that is very little downtime unless we are talking about with Elemental Shielding then you can keep it up 100% with just 60% boon duration.

So those 2.25 seconds of protection in a 0/10/0/30/30 D/D build instead of:

60 to all stats 12 crit damage
or
30 to all stats 6 crit damage, 15% boon duration and 25 movement Speed
or
120 Power 84 precision and 12 crit damage
or
165 of one stat and 50 of another and whatever 6 piece bonus comes with it.

I was thinking of switching to the 75% setup, but I’m losing +50 to all stats and 10% critical damage. I don’t know if it is worth it. I would like to try both setups, but it would be expensive.

If you’re somewhat glass you can Cast Air 5 to lock the mesmer inside. Then switch to Earth and cast Earth 4 to CC more, and Earth 2 for damage. Then burst middle with Fire. If you catch them off guard they’re pretty much dead. If you have teammates and you’re support, all you can do is support and try and lock them down but your teammates will have to finish him.

My question is stated in the title. This is assuming a standard d/d build with 30 in Arcana. How much do you guys value boon duration within your build? Do you stay at 30% or do you try and max out duration? Just curious, as I’ve been experimenting with many builds, but gauging the effectiveness of boons is pretty difficult. So I just wanted some of your guy’s opinions. Thanks

Omg that added gameplay video is so funny, keep the vids coming bro

How is this “MANMODE” when you have 30 in Shadow Arts and you are using Shadow Rejuvenation….?

Why do fellow thieves even bother with these posts? They are so emotionally biased it’s funny. If you’re getting killed by these “inexperienced” thieves then it really is a problem on your end. You said you’re power/condi. Well then build for more toughness.

iBlasiannn.4279:

Aaroneous.6190:

Going to be pretty short on this, as I’m trying to my hardest not to let my anger govern this post. However anger is what finally pushed me to make my first post about a real issue.

I don’t play spvp, so I don’t know if this is an issue there, but in WvW perma-stealth thieves are pretty much beyond ridiculous and into the absurdity level.

Thieves IMO are completely busted in WvW because of how intangible they are to catch. But guess what? it’s not because of their stealth. let them be invisible all day, I don’t care.

Shadow step is the problem. Cut the range of that move in half. I have faced off against actual speed hackers before, and let me tell you, I always have to pay real close attention to whether it’s a real speed hacker or a shadows stepping thief.
I’d like to see what you guys think though. Surely I don’t know everything.

You complain about Perma-stealth thieves. I felt a point coming on, but you completely changed your argument to shadowstep. I don’t understand you stating that Perma-Stealth thieves then in order to argue your point about Shadow step.
The basis of your argument is basically that a thief can disengage from any fight if he pleases, and this is very true, but then you bring up the topic of speed-hackers. I have not seen a speed hacker since the the first two months the game has been out, and I highly doubt it is a high enough occurrence for you to make the comparison between a “speed-hacker” and a thief that is using shadow steps. In my 3000+ hours played on thief and 90% of that time occupied by WvW, I can say I have never seen a speed hacker. The thief is supposed to be a highly mobile class. The problem is I don’t see the problem with the shadow stepping mechanic as a tool to disengage. Yes it seems broken, but if a thief is running from you in a fight, you in a sense have won the fight. If they run to get OOC and come back to try again, then the fight has reset for both parties. What is the problem?

As a newcomer to the sPvP scene this was very helpful, hopefully the number of “stop queuing” and “wow you suck” type messages will decrease after I try implementing the tips in this video. Thanks, and please make some more!

Great Video bro! Not many videos have commentary that breakdown playstyle and how the build should be played. It’s great that you do that and can really benefit other players including myself. Make MOAR pls. Thanks

Didn’t expect this thread to really get much attention, but I do like seeing everyone’s current views/opinions on the class.
Thanks

FrownyClown.8402:

are you that opp thief that tries to one hit ppl then run away?

No, I don’t run that glassy

oZii.2864:

Why else do you pick a class and invest time and in it? Cause you enjoy punishing yourself? No you pick it cause you like it. If you don’t expect highs and lows on balance then your new to mmo’s. All 5 of my professions have received buffs and nerfs since gw2 came out but the buff and nerf train isn’t why I play a class I play it cause it’s interesting to me. Instead of I think it’s op I should roll one.

People that jump to the current strongest class make threads like this. Ele is my fav class and mine was my 4th 80 but my first character.

My warrior is my second favorite class and I played it when it was f-tier pre healing signet buff pre cleansing ire. My first 80 was Mesmer but it’s boring because the play is passive unless you go shatter and I been there done that.

I’m ranting but these threads pop up every time after a balance patch and the people that make them aren’t happy. People that are satisfied with their play or builds don’t make kitten threads like this. See state of elementalist thread also on first page which is a kitten thread.

I’ve mained thief since near the beginning of the game, My ele was my third 80. I have 7 80’s now Necro being the only non-80. Out of all the classes I play as alts, ele is by far my favorite and it’s been my second most played character. So no, People that jump from to the strongest class don’t make threads like this. And yes, I am new to mmo’s. I just don’t get how Anet thinks ele is comparable to other classes in so many ways.

Why do you guys even bother playing ele… They are just so underpowered…, etc. QQ wow. I’m mad.

I’ve recently gotten back into ele, and I’ve just been comparing utilities between us and other classes. Mainly Armor of Earth, Mistform, Lightning Flash, and RTL.

Why does Armor of Earth have a 90-second CD. I really cannot understand this at all. 30 in arcana, and you have 7 seconds of Protection and Stability? Not worth it.

Mistform has a 3 second duration, and allows you to move 66% faster. In reality you’re always going to be in combat when using this skill. So it’s more like say 50%? When a warrior has Endure Pain that is on a 60 second CD with a 4 second duration. You can use skills as well. This just seems unfair. Mesmer as well has a 60 second CD on their invuln. 46 seconds if traited. Can use skills as well.

I’m mainly comparing LF to the mesmer’s Blink. Yes Blink does not do damage, but it has a 10 second shorter CD (30). Personally I’d rather take the mesmer’s Blink over our LF. Oh I nearly forgot, it’s a stun-breaker as well.

RTL was nerfed a couple months ago. Warriors have insane mobility with GS. A warrior can use rush which is basically the equivalent of RTL, but it’s still on a 20 second CD whether they hit anything or not.

Just been really irritated lately with the state of elementalist. Maybe I’m not seeing something in my blind rage. Please feel free to leave feedback.

Um, one question. Why does light armor get a skin for tier 3, and medium and heavy get karma armor? Lol…

Peow peow.2189:

In pvp when I see thieves on my necro I literally use signet of spite and fear and they will die from the condis alone. After 10 dec when less people trait SA us necrosis and Engis are going to feast.

Glhf

Lol, OP confesses to his lack of skill “use signet of spite and fear” press two buttons, mad skillz yo.

yes.
15 characters.

Just Disappointed…

Excalibur.9748:

As for everything else….. (?°?°? ?)

S/D #3 spam playstyle is also cheesy as hell. I did not play it that way (hardly ever use #3), but most other thieves actually did spam #3 nonstop.

I want the thief to be a high skilled profession, not newbie friendly, but rewarding if mastered and good for all game modes.

Right now we’re good for roaming and ganking some up levels, and killing some yaks. Pathetic in PvE, GvG, ZvZ, PvP which is basically everything.

I agree with you on this, been running S/D since December.

Edit: I think the evasion as a spammable attack was kind of dumb, but I wish Anet would make non stealth thieves viable as well which would require some kind of defense via evasions or boons. Maybe even shadowsteps.

Agree with OP, happy with Infusion of Shadow trait change.

As for everything else….. (?°?°??? ???)

Excalibur.9748:

infantrydiv.1620:

Your thread doesn’t even have the two actual competitive builds available to thief…

10/30/0/0/30 D/P

and

10/30/0/30/0 S/D

This. Thief is low tier now even with these 2 best builds.

What he said

Hey guys lately, I’ve been running 0/30/10/30/0, with the same equips as my 10/30/0/0/30 build. It’s really fun and has way more survivability.

Been seeing a lot of questions about S/D builds on forum lately, so I think I’ll bump this. Hope it helps those trying to find a build, or gives you ideas.

Sizzle Hint.1820:

Nice thread keep it up !

I think 10 0 0 30 30 double S/D deserves a spot too. Lot of dodges / boons / sustain, moderate damage, can be played full glas with a bit valk

Works quite good with double D/P too it just focues more on the blinds + dodges + interrupts instead of the stealth like a traditional D/P build would do (even tho it can stack stealth to some extent because of the massive ini regen). But doesnt have the oomph damage because of lack of points in CS… it’s lot of fun tho

Hey, I tried your build and I have to say it’s pretty fun. As you said lots of dodges and mobility, and decent sustained damage. It’s actually very effective against other glassy builds, especially other thieves.

Sizzle Hint.1820:

Nice thread keep it up !

I think 10 0 0 30 30 double S/D deserves a spot too. Lot of dodges / boons / sustain, moderate damage, can be played full glas with a bit valk

Works quite good with double D/P too it just focues more on the blinds + dodges + interrupts instead of the stealth like a traditional D/P build would do (even tho it can stack stealth to some extent because of the massive ini regen). But doesnt have the oomph damage because of lack of points in CS… it’s lot of fun tho

Thank’s for the feedback I’ll be sure to try it out, I actually haven’t tried that yet! :p

Hey I’ve compiled a list of builds that I use in WvW if you want to check them out here’s the link. I also have a 10/30/0/0/30 build that you may want to try.
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/thief/Builds-S-D-builds-for-WvW/first#post2832846

~ Added a burst build.

Yea, I am pretty disappointed…

I was just thinking, why is there no new title for completing the Liadri, or at least finishing all the gauntlet challenges/achievements. This has to be one of the hardest mini-game/activity that Anet has implemented, but with no fruit at the top of the tree.

SallyStitches.4096:

After like 5 hours, I finally got her. This is what I did…

-Kill the orb first thing. I know some people leave it to rally, but if done right, you shouldn’t have to rally.
-Go counter-clockwise. You are guaranteed to be safe in the first phase if you go to where the AoE just was. It won’t spawn there again immediately. Just always go where the AoE was. Counter-clockwise for the last phase, you should always have a safe spot if you do this. Kill the orbs immediately, they can ruin the rotation.
-Eat a Bowl of Orrian Truffle and Meat Stew if you need more dodge.

I would highly recommend having reflects, endurance regen, and condition removal. You also need a ranged weapon. I just stayed ranged the entire fight. I did it on a Mesmer. My build was…

0/20/0/20/30
II X, IV VIII, I VII XI
Utilities were Mirror, Blink, Null Field, Feedback, and Mass Invisibility.
Weapons were Greatsword and Sword/Focus
I was wearing all berserker gear

I actually equipped Mass Invis by accident, but it worked in my favor. You can use it when too many of the adds are on you, get a clone out, and they’ll leave you alone. It relieves some of the pressure for a bit.

Quick rundown:
First phase, kite the adds into the circles. They will spawn the crystals. Do this 3 times. Make sure to always go where the AoE just was, so you can avoid it. Watch for the adds, they one-shot you. Kill the orbs when they spawn. Keep iwarden or Feedback on Liadri whenever they are off CD. It will help alleviate some of the damage, as she only auto-attacks this phase, so reflects will keep her from hurting you.

Second phase, go counter-clockwise, watch for the AoE. You should be able to have a safe spot if you stick to counter-clockwise. Try to keep clones on her at all times, and immediately shatter them once they are on her. They won’t live long enough to do much damage anyway, and you need all the dps you can get as this is timed. Use Mass Invisibility to alleviate some pressure from the clones. Use Temporal Curtain to gain speed, it will help tremendously. Just keep putting clones on her and shattering. Destroy orbs as soon as you see them.

Another quick tip; since you have Illusionary Persona, you can use Mind Wrack or Cry of Frustration to kill orbs if you’re on top of them. That way you don’t have to target them.

That’s what I did. Might not work for everyone, but it worked out for me.

Good Advice for mesmers!

Zaijin.5167:

I killed her, but in my honest opinion – as a fellow designer – I really think she is too strong.

The thing is, at some point its no longer skill but luck, which defeats the purpose of this challenge. The luck you get has to come from where the orbs spawn and if you are close enough to destroy them. Them being obstructed means that you cannot take them out from a distance, meaning you will be pulled into her AoE damage.

There are ways to counter this by all means, however, it requires insane amounts of timing and exploiting the cool down on the pull. (After you are being pulled you can choose not to destroy it and let it trigger again, with stability on you)

The second phase is another story in its own right. The pattern in which the AoE occurs remains the same, but the radius is twice as big (2 quarters of the area). The way how this works is fine because it is a pattern, yet the pattern is rendered useless because she can and will cripple you if you do not dodge, which means you either are lucky enough to be in a safe zone or you have endurance to spare, which is not going to be the case most of the time since you have to evade her attacks.

Now balancing this without breaking this is going to be hard, but at very least allow people to break the orb from a distance with ranged attacks. In addition let the orbs spawn in a certain manor so people can predict them.

For those who are having trouble in the second phase. The orb can actually help you in a sense that it pulls you away from her. At this point you will have to look extremely fast where the next safe zone will be. Take the short route towards the safe zone and safe you endurance for the right moment.

The Orb’s spawn in the same place at same time, every fight.

Durzlla.6295:

HiSaZuL.2843:

Evil Death Reaper.1408:

I just managed to beat her on my necro without using endurance food. For the first phase I just hit her with 3 orbs as fast as I could.
Once the 2nd phase started I did as much damage as I could to her while constantly running in a circle around the arena, once I heard the sound effect for a new Chaos Rift I used Spectral Walk followed by Lich Form. While I was in Lich Form I continued my path around the arena but a lot of the time I was facing backwards and auto attacking, when I had to turn around in order to make it to the safe zone I would put down the #2 and #4 skills. I would also use #5 to cure the cripple and weakness on me. By the time the duration for Lich Form ran out she was almost dead and I finished her off in DS. I was in full Sentinel’s gear.

And I have yet to see phase 2 that didn’t start with instant leap/smack clone spawn on opposite direction and u get boxed in making middle not an option. First phase may not be that bad… but w/o any vigor/blocks/invul or blinks or freaking anything if im condition I die to her incessant autoattacks long before she is dead. Or get insta gibbed by her plethora of rng traps.
Luck? I got none. Never did. kitten anet.

It’s actually not RNG in the slightest, she does the SAME skills, at the SAME time EVERY time, so if you failed enough you’d have her down to an art.

Also, keep in mind you can fear her, and her clones, as well as any KB w/e, i know on my ranger i can get through the first phase in the first 3 crystals, and then i get slaughtered by time because yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay no damage output!! God i wish i had some sort of WTFPWN elite like Lich Form…

Plague Form + Blind = Lawlz you can’t kill me since her clones behave exactly like plague bomber orrians do (IE they use a skill to kill you and thus can be evaded or “missed”) so you can always try that.

Yes the AoE’s are not RNG, they are the same everytime, and it can be hard to figure/remember things in phase two because it’s so hectic. As a Ranger I would just recommend putting as much condition gear on as you can and DPS her with Shortbow bleeds/poison. If you can put a trap in here or there. or you could use QZ to get more bleeds. The spike trap may come in use during this fight too. It’s really hard for DPS builds to burn her down because you have to turn and run to the safe spot if you want to make it without dodging, which means you’re not doing damage, but with Conditions you can hit her a few times turn to next safe zone, and still be doing damage. I also noticed that the AoE in phase two doesn’t actually cover 90% to 95% percent of the platform. There are two safe spots opposite of each other, saw this while watching other people fight her.

Nevets Crimsonwing.5271:

Which T3 boss did you do for high stakes gambler?

I’ve found Deadshot to be the easiest t3 boss

Evil Death Reaper.1408:

I just managed to beat her on my necro without using endurance food. For the first phase I just hit her with 3 orbs as fast as I could.
Once the 2nd phase started I did as much damage as I could to her while constantly running in a circle around the arena, once I heard the sound effect for a new Chaos Rift I used Spectral Walk followed by Lich Form. While I was in Lich Form I continued my path around the arena but a lot of the time I was facing backwards and auto attacking, when I had to turn around in order to make it to the safe zone I would put down the #2 and #4 skills. I would also use #5 to cure the cripple and weakness on me. By the time the duration for Lich Form ran out she was almost dead and I finished her off in DS. I was in full Sentinel’s gear.

There is hope for necro’s!

Err… Bump hehehe

akamon.2769:

thanks for this!

so you’re sayign that there is a safe spot, but could either go left or right, but once you figure out the direction, you can essentialyl just keep strafing in the same direction to avoid the AoE?

Yes exactly this

Gonna, bump for other’s that may need some advice still

I’m sorry that you guys are having trouble, I tried my best to give you everything that I’ve noticed while fighting Liadri, all I can say is try and try again. And yea, I’ve noticed that classes/builds with low mobility via dodges, are really hurting

Harrier.9380:

It’s easy to kill her as Thief.
Take P/P, lot of dodges and initiative regen.
Headshot can destroy the Rifts without need for meele set.

Here’s the build I used for her, killed on 1st try. (Gear is full zerk)

Ah very nice

Kajin.5301:

I’m still trying on my necro before I switch to my thief, but I got one question for you. Did you have to use the dodge food ? I guess you still will need to if you plan on getting her dead with 8 tosses of light crystals

I haven’t attempted the to throw the * light crystals at her yet, and no I used Mango Pies, but my traits gave me vigor for quite awhile, that’s why I said classes without access to vigor should find the safe spot right away, and if they have skills that allow them to evade or negate damage use them for this fight.