I was trying to buy a complete set of superior runes then I hit upon the orbs and boom full orbs for 4 copper pieces and an old hair piece. Or something like that. Can’t be beaten on price that’s for sure. Sadly I now have 2 unused superior runes..
As I always play thief type classes that don’t fare well playing normally I can add to the guys above in that the class cannot be played normally. Observation and quick reactions are paramount, it’s why I like them. They’re sneaky and can go down very quickly buy also vet fast paced and on the edge type of play. Guardians on the other hand are pretty tough so they’re like chalk and cheese. I joined WvW as a level 10 thief and in all honesty I did even die much then becuase I was so used to play that type of class that kinda ‘dances’ around and I’m usually always surviving any onslaught because evasion is a large part of the class. Classic WvW moments for me involved being chased by someone who I loop back on and cath off guard -very thiefy, they shouldn’t know youre coming.
I’ve run S/P for a long time I think its good for taking camps and fun otherwise. However tried S/D and used cloak and dagger last night for seriously the first time and that’s plain easy mode in comparison. So I’d agree S/P is fun but may need some love. Pistol whip has an evade, stun and interrupt but that root is hella annoying and very unthief like.
I suppose it could be tough. I always equip Shadow Step and SB – just cant do WvW without them so those coupled with Swiftness on evade means I move about quicker than with a flat 25% boost.
Yeah I’ve kicked the habit, I think SOS is a waste of a slot now tbh. I quite like Signet of Agility also as its nice for the crit extra and also the endurance refill and condition removal is useful in defence when needed. SOS can be slotted for mindless travelling over terrain and thats about it for me.
People always get frustrated by thieves and much of this is because they haven’t learned how not to fall prey to a backstab. However even though I have played a thief since pre-launch I only tried using Cloak and Dagger in WvW last night (I mean it wasn’t even trained as I have a natural aversion to running builds everyone else is doing) and man – is it easy mode or what. Stealth every 3 seconds and stun lock. despite that good players will always be good but add this easy mode with culling issues no wonder people hate on the thief.
No senior methinks you are wrong..we have plenty of stuns/cc available and a backstab 1 second stun – are you crying out for a return to threads of tears?
We are very good at getting away and catching up (with the exception of dagger ele’s whom I can just about get away from but find catching up can be hard). In addition to those mentioned above we have Trick shot when shot from stealth is surprise shot a root – that means we have two abilities – Basilisk and surprise shot that can stop someone in their tracks and at range and you don’t even have slot anything for the surprise shot root as you can fire it from any stealth. no matter where you got it from. This doesn’t amount to the mass cc I recieve when mowned down by a zrg that flings me about like a rag doll (although sometimes i manage to shadowstep away which is great fun) but delicately placed its plenty.
(edited by Elmuerto.9840)
Thieves use a pistol not a gun. Pistols in the traditional advanced medieval sense had a range of about 20 yards these are, you know gun powder pistols. Thieves also do not run about with longbows which are a hunter and battle tool to which weapon users are dedicated. Anyway enough of the common sense lets get back to game which really has nothing to do with common sense as it’s a game. No and No thieves have enough tools they don’t need extra range we have gap closer’s aplenty.
I’ve just skipped to the end to say I’ve been hit by a guardian for over 7k. Ele’s and Mesmers for 16k in about 2 seconds, and other thieves C&D 6-7k and backstab over 7k.
I think the days of wowsers backstab damage OMG threads are pretty much through.
Leo Paul – lol yakslapping – I’ll be keeping that one for saturday night. Guardians I expect but hey what’s what really when it comes ton WvW – good teams make good performance I guess. Stop dissing those thieves mind you they have some nice tricks up their sleeves for team WvW and aren’t all just backstab wonders.
Yeah I use PW alot it roots and with steal you can deploy it and follow someone evading. I usually Infiltrators Strike → PW→Steal. The root is a doober at times but the skill is not entirely without its uses and the evade can be nice too. I was defending a camp against 3 enemies they had most of the mobs down when I arrived, I think they had 2 thieves and a guardian. the thieves were spamming whirling whatever its called. i was ???? with pw and black powder and 3 of them that camp should have been down before I arrived. Anyways I digress. S/P I enjoy mucho.
Signet of Shadows is not the fantastic use of a slot some may think it is. Use it only for travel if you must and swap out for combat.
Is a member of the list of pretty much useless utilities for me.
Interesting question although I kicked the SOS habit a while ago. I noticed I slowed down in Stealth anyway although swiftness from a Dodge applies.
As a note I always run Shadow Step with Infiltrators strike in WvW not only is SS a great survival tool coupled with Inf Strike it covers a massive distance to a foe instantly so many have died thinking they were at a safe distance. Signet of Shadows should also be renamed – Signet of the Past – this bad boy isn’t much use anymore I believe.
Yeah I actually followed a Ranger and BS thief in WvW who were fighting over a long period of time, kind of pondering who to pounce on. They kept it up well and nobody died as I decided to go after the thief just because it was a BS thief who had been trying to get me in previous raid well the thief stealthed off anyway. Other than that I consider rangers a relatively easy target (as a thief myself) I play S/P and use Shadow Step and Infiltrators strike and generally keep them as blinded as possible. Seems to work. Some do know what they’re at and if they see me first I may have to Shadow Refuge and come back at them when they think I’ve legged it. I also use the ability that dodge removes cripple you really have to get out of the way if you’re at range with nothing to play with these guys.
Also shadow step can be used and you think he’s disappeared at least that’s what I use. There are occurances however when nothing seems to work for me when some blob of enemies drop on me. I’m not sure what causes this as I don’t seem to be able to use any abilities at this time which rarely occurs (when I hit a guardian with Steal I get a mace smash skill that dazes and prevents the use of abilities for 4 seconds is it something similar maybe). However usually for me shadowstep always gets me away from any CC as long as I’m quick enough.
For other classes some pretty good players can deal with it, if you cannot then simply get away from them. This culling issue frustrates people however and I can understand that as it cannot be seen – it is broken and a bug there’s no point defending it however by saying be a better player. I play a thief who doesn’t use this stealth playstyle but I am very slippery using shadow step abilities and I am very hard to catch. To do this my reactions have to be very quick or I die and that’s why I like the class. Thieves also in GW2 are a great group class oddly which I like (if played that way). In the permastealt issue case the thief seems op, its just broken if they play it then woohoo for them. You can’t blame them for not playing their preferred playstyle at the same time. If you encounter one and can’t deal with it them get away from them and use cc etc.
heh nice one. Using S/P it does get randomly annoying that infiltrators return from the strike can’t be cancelled any other way. I however switch to bow and use its infiltrators arrow to shadow step ahead of fleeing target then evaluate different options from there.
Ambush is a blast with Thieves guild for small fights and I hear ya. They can however attack mobs as said so be careful where you pop them. SIGNET OF SHADOWS some day friends you’ll realise what a waste of a slot that is. Took a while but I kicked the habit too. Till then keep chasing you won’t catch me. Slots change but my general WvW is s/p and sb with Hide in Shadows, Shadowstep, Shadow refuge and Signet of Agility. Coupled with feline grace and expeditious dodger the removal of condition and refill on endurance through the Agility Signet is a nice escaping balance to its Precision boost for crits in attack. Seriously few people catch me and I’m always last man standing to res my group after we’ve been zerged. That’s an optional 2 nontarget shadowsteps and a target shadowstep to shadowstep around wvwvw with roughly 7 consecutive – 14 secs swiftness boost every 30 seconds and whatever in between. Very few catch me if I have to escape and that doubles as getting there first to any map point. Sorry got kind of off topic there when SOS was also mentioned.
Since the start they’ve been broken, alas rendering 3 utilities a bit dodgey although I played around with ambush and it was fun. Having said that I gave up trying to use basilisk venom as it actually rarely worked for me. Probably works better from stealth.
Some nice ideas for the combo I haven’t tried yet here. I find I’m able to take some camps solo with this ability which does make it a bit of ’can’t hit me’ even against multiple npcs . The power of the blind is for the wise. There are many nice tricks up thieve’s sleeves which make them a strong group class as well. I enjoy the old sword and pistol with bow combo, always found the backstab signet thing very underwhelming in WvW.
Yeup – all covered. Fear the gear. You were lvl 41.
You are correct Guardian is the actual OP class. I play with a guild member who is a guardian, and they are very honest about how op they even think they are. Thieves are very niche and I enjoy they’re fun factor. But I play very carefully based a lot on reactions. Guardians like my guild friend can be very tough.
So many Ele’s now…yeah not so good Ele’s I get them to chase me and blow cooldowns then turn on them, good Ele’s..I eventually give up and leave them to it or they leggit off. They are definitely the fastest class at escaping.
Yeah I’ve seen this where it teleports you back but not quite as far, I would assume this is a range issue.
I can’t really see me wandering around WvW spaming 3 buttons without a care in the world. And those thieves that do certainly don’t kill me.
Seriously what is the deal with people that do that, crash out when they’re being stomped. It’s a whole new lame.
Considering 27 enemies sometimes just disappear off my screen and I have premium dedicated broadband and a decent pc I think this is currently a problem with no answer.
I’m a thief and I don’t play that style, but its there, the culling. All I ask is if you’re a thief who insists on capitalising on this major BUG don’t run around WvW emote/laughing…you probably haven’t taken me out but possibly have taken out 5 noobs, nothing to be proud of when they can’t see you.
I’ve dropped SOS for the poop it is, once in combat it doesn’t matter. And yes Eles are the new mobility specialists.
I’ve never even noticed diffculties with Shadow step targeting, I just assumed natural imperfect positioning as part of any MMO’s limited camera angles. Anyway Shadowstep is and absolute must for me and I’m very quick deploying it=survivability and using it also offensively I can cover alot of ground quickly to a target with a shadowstep and then infilitrators strike/arrow. The ability and return is also very confusing when avoiding enemies. RFI looked good on paper but i found it quite limited in use due to immobilise and well you can only roll backwards as far as I could see.
Actually that was off topic…this was about catching thieves wasn’t it. You can class and spec for it but if you don’t you won’t. Just like I spec for getting away. If i don’t I won’t.
The rest of us have to use skills with CD’s and dodge rolls to run away – Why should you have it so easy?
OK..shadowstep which is a skill I have to choose above a damage skill is most certainly on a cool down. I also have to dodge. SOS does not give much of a buff in speed when combat is initiated, so much so I don’t slot it. Infiltrators arrow costs initiative and therefore is limited and essentially on a cool down until initiative builds.
But you’re right I don’t want to be caught and rarely am. I’m trying to figure out however if this is a proper discussion or a discussion for people who don’t have reactions. A friend of mine is a glass canon warrior and man do I res her all the time or what. Obviously survival is not on her menu. I like not dying as much as killing, in fact the latter without the former is pretty pointless to me so I play with an eye on not dying. Some players do not do this. Is this a thread from someone who expects not to die without actually trying not to?
Well my gear isn’t the best but its all exotics that could be better, I crit for about 2.3k MAX in any one attack (S&P – SB) which is well below what I’m hit for in one attack loads. However I spec for utility and mobility, I spec for the chase and the escape. Its my strength and the most important part of the is the playstyle which requires – situational awareness; this is the make or break of my play the do or die, and to be fair I die rarely, because I try to be very aware of distance and location and actions of enemies. It becomes like instinct. Sometimes I think people expect the very excellent quote about from Farmer – stand still til’ I come over and hit ye. Our class dynamic is to not. I’m far from any awesome thief but I really don’t think thieves are OP in any way. I learnt early if I didn’t want to die I had better not stand still. I’ve also advised other players that in some instances in WvW like D&P culling dancers, just ignore them and leave them. As a thief I’ve learnt to not allow other thieves kill me, and I think other classes probably can do that too.
I saw something similar last night. The thief took down a group of maybe 5 – I was around, ressing, and being focused at times and I legged it when too many others drifted over from his team. It was the group not really knowing what was going on and culling.
The thief really didn’t appear for any more than 1 second unless attacking, and even then it wasn’t for anymore than a couple of seconds. I know I was watching for him like a hawk and wasn’t even able to get an arrow shot off in short range to immobilise him from stealth he was popping so fast, but ey. I’m sure this annoys players no end, it is a bug however and does occur and its the reason why this can happen. Experienced players can deal with it but it don’t make it right.
Yeah…its actually Lyssa’s Prayer also. Might even be Deity linked. It’s pretty fun tho.
Nope I’m probably still wearing a lvl 1 breather too. But I’m a WvW player and water plays a tactical role only.
Good point always check your auto attacks aren’t on it’s as smart as them folks you try and res-up who insist on firing pretty useless downed attacks and breaking the stealth.
I likes the steal, I like the random component ability too. With trait elements its arguably the best ability – instant gap closer (also you’re lost as a target possibly?), mug damage, initiative regen, extra ability..dance.
Stealing in on a dagger storm thief is particularly fun.
Yeah I agree with evil
Hilariously I kicked the habit finally and in glorious ridiculousness with…..Lyssa’s Boon.
Who needs SOS with Infiltrator’s arrow, swiftness from dodging, feline grace and this 12 second cool down beaut. Which sometimes gives swiftness, aegis, fury, might, protection, all of the above and more I can’t remember then can also afflict your target with all sorts of party tricks. I love WvW roaming and was actually getting away quicker when needed to be as well as seeing some nice effects on my enemies like daze, bleed, stun, immobilise, all sorts.
I’m always looking for fun alternate playing and totally loving the random yet mostly quite useful little ability.
Auto attack on?
Infiltrator’s Arrow.
The end.
The SB has so much utility as well as the aoe I’ve never ever considered any other weapon swap. Add to that the ability to drop choking gas and make every one’s missiles poisonous and pop surprise shot from stealth which brings a nice immobile, plus shooting through smoke screen for blindness aoe where appropriate.
Correct however the Gw2 eye was supposedly on e-sport, and at the end of the day all classes are simply variations of the same thing with different implementations, I mean what is really the difference between 100 Blades and pistol whip essentially, or Stealth and any other ability that makes a player invisible. As a former P&P RPG player here that kind of immersion belongs there and MMOs just aren’t really for that depth of play. There have been a few good Single Player games that may have some of those elements tho.
Yeah it can be fun there’s nothing worse for a player gettin’ Scorped. Be it from walls or the ground. Just like the venoms however you can easily miss wasting a ability entirely..sheesh..I’m going all into the abilities that actually work these days.
Shadow Refuge is indeed probably the best ability for teamwork and roaming solo, whereas I find the venom’s increasingly less attractive as they’re often blocked. I just love pulling of Ambush and Thieves guild together in small and solo fights and the surprise confusion it induces as well as hefty DPS when I start looking like a Mesmer with 3 buddies. Thieves guild again is the best Elite I think although the 3 min cool down is probably deservedly long. In big fights mind you I switch to Basilisk which is nice when it works and helps with Stomps and a cool down that enables it to be used more repeatedly.
I think Thief is quite varied..yes BS build is the biggest hitter but I’d be loosing my fun utility skills, and thats where thief shines fights full of movement and variation. Fought a ranger last night (was a poor approach from my point as I was mucking around switching abilities) but he had me pounded 50% down then boom heal and stealth and called in the calvary, Ambush and THieves Guild, poor guy didn’t know what was happenning with 4 thieves at him..good times. I wouldn’t roll around with those abilities all the time at all but its fun to change up which a thief does well imo.
I play S/P and SB just because I like it. I do no where near any 18K in 2 seconds damage and don’t even haste. But eh I do well enough and like the mobility in my build, it’s fun.
I’m all for scaling walls to liven things up from pew pew barney magoo. Oddly in Warhammer few melee used their bypass powers, I was in like flynn.