Guild Wars 2

Sword torch? I thought pistol would be a better choice dps wise? As pve is easy as hell anyway..

And just invest fully in power? What about traits?

Any advice?

I mean, she’s lvl 10 now, and I want to get her to 80. After reaching 65, I’m gonna craft the remaining 15 levels. But I’d like some advice as to what traits/build to use getting there…

Thanks!

There is main ‘show us your mesmer’ topic on this forum. Human female gear looks the best IMO.

bettadenu.5483:

Where did you get this? We need a source for that information.

I couldn’t care less about the nerfs, patch after patch I remain on top of the sPvP scoreboard so doesn’t affect me.

Authority.6145:

cool story bro

Sunflowers.1729:

The problem with your argument is that you assume backstab instant-death build is the only thief build.

I don’t, and I play 0/30/30/10/0, BS, with HK instead of Exec.

Sunflowers.1729:

Your argument of ‘that passive aegis counters a burst D/D thief hard’ doesn’t work anymore. Yes it does counter that one build, but to use a quote from above, just learn, adapt, and overcome. Must you absolutely pull of the combo of instant death within 3 seconds of the fight starting?

Not pulling it off quickly will destroy said thief, yes, or at least so after the stealth patch. Ask any experienced D/D player, not being able to C&D out of stealth right after getting revealed will be a tremendous blow to D/D thief survivability and offensive capability as well (as you will not be able to position yourself to land BS a lot of times).

Not being able to attack zergs solo as we are now is a good thing in my opinion, so no rant about that. But this proposal right here will hammer us in 1v1 situations as well. Again, just run in the other direction, and the thief only has so much utility to catch up… All the while being visible right after the chase, getting stomped by w/e skills all other classes can spam at you.

Sunflowers.1729:

Maybe it’s a sign that that build has a counter

Come on man, try harder. Every build has a counter, as does the BS build without this farfetched nerf. If anything, the BS build has more counters then any other build (because it get’s hampered so much by missing just a few C&D’s or BS, and every class has ample ways to achieve this, again with the running). To be sure we’re in the same book here (not gonna say as much as same page), I’m talking about players with half a brain. Ganking newbies is a universal wvw thing.

The discussion is taking on a rather cynical form, so I’d like to end with an advice. Just wait out the stealth nerf, then suggest more nerves. It’s the way of (no)life…

Sunflowers.1729:

You can remove the passive aegis by shooting him once with a shortbow, then swapping weapons and doing the rest of the combo. Really difficult stuff right there. Besides, that’s 1 out of 8 possible classes.

Anyway, how does that combo even take 8 seconds?

0 seconds – Backstab
3 seconds – 1-auto-attack chain completed + CnD
3.5 seconds- Backstab

As I said – missing your attack shouldn’t take you out of stealth, but blocking should. Consider that backstab has a pretty short effective cooldown while most skills that give invulnerability or aegis have much, much longer ones.

First of all, any class can get aegis through runes, even though that might not be popular (which this proposal might change single handedly). Secondly, that was just an example of how easy it would become to completely ruin the opening game for any BS thief.

The difference between aegis completely ruining a stealth opener (in this case BS) and just ruining 1 move of any other class is huge. When I play another class, I can simply use the 1-key to remove aegis before I rain down hell. For the BS thief to really rain down hell, you need BS. For BS, you need stealth. Well, no need for more explaining here, difficult stuff right?

The reason those invulnerability and aegis moves should have longer cooldowns then BS, is not that difficult either I think?

We are one of the only classes that need to rely on using the auto-attack a lot for damage. Using your defensive utilities to block or evade the first 2 BS can very well decide the outcome of a battle against a thief. After the stealth nerf is implemented the thief won’t be able to run if this happens either. Which is a good thing, because that will actually promote skilled-play. Unlike this.

About your shortbow comment to remove aegis… Yeah, really difficult stuff… You can do that with dagger 4 as well. But that’s completely missing the point. Any BS build is based for a great deal on the element of surprise, during but also before the battle begins. Shooting them with your shortbow for a whopping 900 (IT’S OVER 900!!!!) damage is going to ruin that for you. Opening like this is simply saying ‘hey, run the other way because otherwise I will BS you and bake a pancake on my hotness afterwards’.

That’s a trick I’m not familiar with, but I asume it has something to do with transmutation? But how do you get it to work with the whole soulbound thing?

bhagwad.4281:

I never wanted this to turn into a backstab damage thread. The fact is that it can easily do 5-6k and a skill that offers such damage potential should not be spammable with no costs.

Like I said, I want even ranged stealth attacks like Sneak Attack to come under this umbrella. It’s a bit ridiculous to see the shots coming and having the thief still stealthed and untargettable.

So what damage potential are we talking about here? You do a successful backstab, and hit for 6k (i can testify to this being normal damage, with 100% crit damage and hidden killer to ensure the crit, ~3100 power). Then you get the revealed buff for 3 seconds. Then you have to reapply stealth, reposition again, and try and land your backstab again. Let’s asume you rock like a beast, or let’s asume a more realistic situation, where your target needs to L2P and you manage to do all this successfully, multiple times in a row. Then you do 1 backstab, maybe 1 complete chain with the 1-key, another C&D and another backstab in, say, 7-8 seconds? Thats 6k from BS, another 4k from the chain, 2.5k from C&D and another 6k from your next BS. Thats 18,5k damage in 8 seconds… That really isn’t unmanageable for any class, even glass cannons (you need to know how to avoid damage as a GC, right?).

Now we remove the first backstab, because a lot of times you won’t be able to open with backstab on a target with something like aegis (omg guardians will be unkillable by BS thieves if you get your way, even though it’s hard enough as it is), or them just running away from you leaving you with too little time to catch up while in stealth. The second one is also very unlikely to hit if your target has the slightest idea of what they’re doing, because they will dodge/block/invulnerable your next BS. On top of this it’s actually quite easy to avoid just by using mobility skills which are hard to predict (for example, blink, flash or even GS 3 for a warrior can be detrimental to your positioning). Your damage will become laughable.

IMO you will completely ruin this spec by inserting something like this. Your talking about the need for skill, that need is already there (again, positioning) and will become more important after the stealth nerf. On the other hand, you will lower the need for skill of all classes fighting thieves a lot.

@ Ororo: how do you get the eyes like that?

Reckless.6325:

The stealth nerf isn’t really a nerf its more of a “side-effect” to “fixing culling” I think. And coming from someone who plays multiple classes, the stealth bug is pretty annoying. Anywho, if they are nerfing shatter that don’t affect my build horray! thanks for notifying me

Making it so that even if you don’t attack from stealth, you still get the revealed debuff, is a nerf.

Thanks for all the help!

I’ve made my choice, Mesmer it is.

@ Aberrant: Good points, however I plan to make my mesmer tanky anyways. It can get pretty solid (although off course never achieve as high an armor rating as guardians or warriors), with a bit more confusing defensive moves and great escapes.

LordByron.8369:

confusion mesmer if they don t nerf it ….

D/D ele is good at running and Killing thieves/fetching supplies and extremely bad at doing anything in zergs…

But you can actually run away better than mesmers……
While mesmers can do lot of useful things for a Group/zerg.

I have to say I am starting to lean towards mesmer. I can always use my thief for roaming and fun solo stuff, so this character will be devoted to team/zergplay.

Any other advice?

I didnt think the speed was going to be a problem as youre saying. But the elementalist obviously has more damaging aoe which might be more helpful in zerg v zerg.

@Pyro; nice build in your link! How does that work for you in wvw?

So the main downside to mesmer is the speed?

But the ele can be to fast? Isnt the elementalist limited to d!d only?

What about the on demand portal bomb capability?

Hi all!

I’m deciding what character to level next. After already having played warrior and thief up to 80, I want to play a new class, and these two have caught my eye.

I like to play WvW, and would like to make my next character a commander. Which would you choose, and why? Also looking for some advice as to the aesthetics, so which race/gender would you choose?

Thanks!

Hi all!

I’m deciding what character to level next. After already having played warrior and thief up to 80, I want to play a new class, and these two have caught my eye.

I like to play WvW, and would like to make my next character a commander. Which would you choose, and why? Also looking for some advice as to the aesthetics, so which race/gender would you choose?

Thanks!

kirito.4138:

Cygnus.6903:

kirito.4138:

• Stay alive
• Shadow Refudge to save party member or skip mobs
• Smoke screen very useful in blocking projectile & blind
• Black Powder gives more blinds

I play 0/30/0/25/15 S/P P/P SB & constantly switch out utility/weap/traits for the specific boss encounter or map.

What about Lotus Poison? Seems useful to apply weakness every time you poison something (both in single target with dagger 1 and multitarget with SB 4).

I use Scale Venom consumable

http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#mMkMMc9rx0pfVsqMsV08kiG7khT7kiQ7070M7kGL70V7ofD70m

30 in critical for damage
25 in acrobatics lets me have more dodge , damage and initiative. You can avoid most damage in Fotm by dodging.
15 in trickery lets me have larger initiative pool, more steal and buffs, i switch to uncatchable when running/skipping mobs or neeed to kite bosses.

This actually sounds pretty sweet. Gonna try this one. You’re geared with berserker and valkyrie also?

ensoriki.5789:

They explained part of the reason Thief has such high damage was to power through boons. However they feel it’s possible to give them boon removal so they can deconstruct defenses, but in return they don’t need such high damage.

So right now we can’t kill bunker ele/guardians because they have crazy buffs, and after the patch we can’t kill them because our damage is too low… I’ll just continue to avoid bunkers, not worth the time.

But how are those classes getting butkittened?

Figured as much, but there is this great build edit tool that stated it like that. Which is why I started wondering which is which.

Hi all!

Question about this Deadly Arts trait for thieves. The wiki says;

’Stealing recharges all skills of one type (venoms, signets, traps, tricks, or deceptions). Deal 10% more damage while wielding a bundle. ’

Now I’ve read on some other sites that it only increases the damage done by environmental weapons by 10%. So what is it? Does it increase overall damage by 10%, or just the bundle’s damage?

Thanks!

kirito.4138:

• Stay alive
• Shadow Refudge to save party member or skip mobs
• Smoke screen very useful in blocking projectile & blind
• Black Powder gives more blinds

I play 0/30/0/25/15 S/P P/P SB & constantly switch out utility/weap/traits for the specific boss encounter or map.

What about Lotus Poison? Seems useful to apply weakness every time you poison something (both in single target with dagger 1 and multitarget with SB 4).

Other thieves in an area with mobs (wvw). I often leave, not worth the time!

Hi all!

As I’m playing thief more and more, mostly in WvW, I want to get into fractals with her as well. As for the set and gear I use, it’s a combination of zerker and valkyrie with w few soldier pieces in there for high crit damage combined with some survivability. Trait set-up is 0/30/30/10/0, so I do have some toughness as well. I find this build to be extremely rewarding and, more importantly, a lot of fun in WvW. But I have my doubts as to how well it will function in Fractals.

So the thing I want to ask you Fractal playing thieves out there, is advice on how to add the most to the group as a DPS oriented Thief. Tips on utilities, playstyle, trait set-up, perhaps even some new weapons, (I use D/D+SB), without swapping my entire set. Valkyrie exo’s+divinity runes are expensive enough, so I don’t want to purchase whole new gear, and I don’t think it’s nessecary either.

I’ve played a bit of fractals on my warrior, but I get bored with how unchallenging that is. So playing thief in fractals will obviously be a L2P thing for me as well.

Thanks!

This is not a new build… at all. I use pretty much the same one, but with hidden killer and the 25% speed boost signet instead of smoke screen, which isnt as useful in wvw. It’s a great build, but calling it ‘the way thieves are meant to be played’ hints at your god-complex. Saying it is a new and innovating build entirely is just ignorant.

I’d advice you to use the two init on stealth trait over the 20% deception when going wvw.

Have fun

I have used this build, in pick up pvp matches and to lvl my thief. I believe I used the exact same trait set up as well.

A problem I had with it is that you burn through all your skills and initiative very quickly, just to apply around ten stacks of bleeding. One condition removal and you will have done kitten damage while being left very vulnerable.

I can’t say much else, because after this build I went for a backstab HK build.

…what’s your point?

Is there a tool to maximize your gear? Seems a bit tedious..

@ pantsforbirds: Thanks for your reply, and I’m honored to be the first one! Your build seems slightly different from what I’ve seen, but I do have some questions.

You use Hidden Killer instead of Executioner. Doesn’t this dampen your damage a LOT? I mean, you already have 62% crit (82% when you get your target to 50% due to the fury trait). Is using HK over Exec really worth that increase in crit chance just for backstab?

Also, check this out : http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/thief/?7|8.1g.h4.8.1c.h2|5.1c.h1j|1g.71j.1g.71j.1p.71j.1g.71j.1p.71j.1g.71j|2t.0.2t.0.3t.0.1p.61.1p.61.8c.0|0.u13b.0.p27.f5|3a.0|e
That’s the build I intend to use. I believe vitality is more useful then toughness for thief survival, especially when not using shadow’s rejuv. Could you fit in your build in this calculator and see how it fares against the survivability/damage output of mine?

On a sidenote, i plan on using dagger+bloodlust and dagger+force (or night), until I get enough stacks. Then I switch out bloodlust for a dagger with the accuracy sigil, increasing further to ~58% crit chance without fury. I’m going to test if Air or accuracy is better with such high crit damage.

Also, you say you solo camps with a shortbow? Do you lure them? Or just face all NPC’s head-on?

The might on stealth trait, how much might does that actually grant you usually? 6-8 stacks? May very well be better then the 10% increased damage trait I pick up with 25 in Acro.

I guess I will be testing with 25 in Shadow Arts as well as Acrobatics.

Thanks!

What build do you like using?

Hi all!

So yeah, I’m almost reaching 80 now, already collected enough tokens and gold to buy pretty much anything I want on my thief. I intend to play mostly WvW with her, cause I don’t care much for PvE, and I have other chars for that. Also, I want to play glass cannon D/D, cause it’s fun

Do have a few questions about the build.

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?

Thanks for any help, much appreciated!

Have fun.

As I play both warrior and thief I can say warrior is more useful in PvE then in PvP. Frankly, 1v1 you will have a hard time as a warrior, because the things you can do are easily predicted (and thus evaded).

Thief is pretty much the other way around. Easier to get semi-good in PvP, but harder to do so in PvE. Apparently, if you spec your thief right, you can do high level fractals (which are the hardest dungeons to do in this game). But overall, warrior seems to bring a bit more to a group then a thief. Lots of people will disagree, but they are really awesome whereas I am just a casual PvE player.

I guess the classes that perform extremely well in both PvE and PvP are the elementalist, closely followed by the mesmer.

brunohstein.9038:

Rultrath.1679:

Yeah I know people use it for the extra vitality, but what I was mainly confused at is why not use a constant stat build that gives you vitality throughout all your gear not just in your main 6? I see a very common theme of zerker weapons and trinkets but Valk main 6 armor, was wondering why it was so much preferred over full one or the other?

Valkyrie doesn’t give you any additional critical chance. You hit like a truck when you crit, but you rarely crit. Mixing Berserker with Valkyrie can give you around 16k HP and more than 50% of critical chance.

You’re talking about 50% crit chance with fury right?

Thanks for all replies, back to the drawing board!

So hammer 4 does apply this, but hammer 5 does not?

Two questions about a few warrior traits. Been theory crafting a bit, cause I can’t be online right now and I’m bored
Anyway, I believe the trait ‘Merciless Hammer’, which says to increase hammer damage by 25% when a foe is disabled, means stunned, knocked down, feared, frozen, pretty much anything that disables your foe from controlling his character, correct?

Does the same thing apply to Unsuspecting Foe? It says stunned in the description, but there are some obvious similarities between being stunned and knocked down, or even feared.

Thanks in advance!

Question about this warrior trait. Does it stack with normal crit chance? So if I have 30% crit chance and i stun a foe, will i t be 80%?

Hi all!

I’m looking for two dyes, a silver one and a gold one. Which dyes get the best effect?

Have fun!

Like BobSort, my guild is gone?? I am still in another guild, which I wasn’t representing when I logged out yesterday… But my own guild is gone..? Had quite a few upgrades already, so I wasn’t planning on deleting it… Is there a way to get it back?

Which is gonna be a long time still :P

Get in… While you still can…

We’re getting more and more active in WvW, now doing parties almost daily!

@ Embolism:

Where did you get this information? I for one never noticed that to be 200% of PvP damage..

Still open! Ring of Fire baby!

The guild is currently discussing the next steps in our development..

How to spend this influence..

We’re getting there… Get there with us!

Breaking news:

We have recently begun to recruit English speaking members as well!

Hi guys,

I’m trying to learn some more about crafting. Have a question about armor with power, vitality and toughness. Is it possible to get such armor? I’ve seen that Norn can get cultural armor with these stats, but what about other races? I play a Charr…

Is there a way to craft/find/buy/transmute armor with power/vit/toughness on it?

Thanks!

Warm welcome to our two newest members!

First dungeon run will be today!