Guild Wars 2

Video:

Like? Give it a bump! =D

Even though Guards have it easy against thieves, please think for all the other classes that suffer against thieves.

I hope all you Guardians can help support my post here:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/thief/I-must-apologize/first#post5145321

Video:

I made a new Montage video, combining some previous fights with some new ones…hope you enjoy!

Please don’t apologize.
The problem isn’t about how difficult it is to play a thief.

The problem is a Master thief vs a Master [insert any class here] is going to be advantage to the thief, with the exception of a Master Guardian.

Of all the classes, a Master level Thief holds the advantage.
Only a Master level Guardian can proudly say that they have the edge over a Master level thief.

Thieves are OP to every other class except Guardian.

All classes under the control of superb Master level players, Thief comes out on top in every encounter except vs Guardians.

Of the 3 or 4 thieves I defeated in the video below, do you know that I would have died to thieves 30 or 40 times in the same period.

I am not a Master level Necro, but those thieves that killed me were not Master level thieves either. Thieves just hold too many cards against every class except Guardians.

Video:

Video:

I spent 6 hours on this baby. Hope you enjoy!

AWESOME wow one of the best GW2 vids i have watched

guys would appreciate some support in this thread on thief’s steal having some cost thanks!

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/thief/Make-steal-use-initiatives/first#post5143713

ronpierce.2760:

Daniel Handler.4816:

It’s funny that I don’t even main thief, but as a Mesmer I get annoyed by people complaining about instant skills.

What is your justification that steal is OP?

Simply put, with 60606 a 21 second cooldown that:

Deals damage
Heals
Gains initiative
Poisons for a long duration and weakens due to Lotus Poison.
Steals (not rips) 2 boons STARTING with stability (biggest joke of the skill imo)
Shares Boons,
Grants vigor fury swiftness and might~ aoe.
Stealth a for 3 seconds. (Instantly opening for a stealth attack)
Aoe blinds.
Teleports you to your target.
Dazes the enemy.
Gives you an additional skill.
And has a chance to reset some of your most vital skills.

Is too kitten much in one INSTANT skill on a 21 second cooldown. No one thinks that list is at all ridiculous?? Really? O.o

I think you hit the nail here Ron. I have chosen this as the justification to the answer which is yes, steal should have some cost to it in addition to the cooldown.

4 initiative cost would be a start. if traited to gain initiative on steal, then the cost would become lower. But still a cost to make the skill more balance.

I think most thieves will agree with me. I don’t think any of them wants to be OP without a challenge when the new patch hits with 3 traitlines.

A skill that can only be avoided by anticipation/luck is too OP with all those effects.

Even mesmer shatters and guardian’s judge intervention and ranger’s rapid fire etc etc either don’t give as much as steal or can be avoided actively by reacting to its animation/cast time.

steal can’t be avoided except by anticipation and luck.

Oslaf Beinir.5842:

your first fear did not miss. it landed but your luck was as rotten as a necromancer’s corpse since his EB(pet takes 3 conditions every 10 seconds) activated at that moment. check his spider for terror damage ticks in the vid.
he is likely running 4/4/6/0/0

the ranger also had a useless signet of stone.

now signet of the hunt is not that useful without a GS to make maul a killing blow on the active. even then it isnt as useful as the other 3 signets. for kiting purposes, LB has enough tools to kite and sword/dagger for ranger is an evade and kite set. also every power ranger should get swiftness (and fury depending on traits) on weapon swap to help kite.

signet of renewal would have changed how his battle would have ended with you. it cures 1 condition from the ranger AND the pet every 10 seconds. its active fully cleanses the ranger by having the pet pull all conditions from allies in the area. also breaks stuns. along with EB thats 4 conditions every 10 seconds. its more than enough for a ranger to kill a condi necro but even without it it is possible. the ranger played his cards poorly.

signet of the wild might have also been a game changer since the active gives the ranger and pet stability, damage and movement speed boost. you had no corrupt boon to counter it. passive is a minor health rejuvenation for ranger and pet.

those choices are far superior to hunt signet

i think you might already know this but if a ranger entangles u u better use ds 2 to port to them before u try to transfer the condis since more than likely if they got a wolf on swap they will have it fear u for a deadly combo. ds2+ds3>transfer/heal

about the pig, it has two items it can spawn, stealth/blind item and a plasma for all boons. pet is generally useless after

icic…or perhaps instead of emphatic bond, shared anguish trait?
I watched the video again and seems like only my fear was transfered, and the ranger had an immune sign on him

I also wondered why the ranger didn’t use his signet of stone especially at the end when I was lifeblasting him. He might just have survived long enough to swap to LB and turn around and end my life XD

Mmm while I agree that the other signets/utility offers much more, but for his particular kiting playstyle, assuming he had no other sources of movement speed boost, which I think he doesn’t, signet of the hunt really allows him to reposition and put himself out of my range quite a few times.

And I went to read up on his pet pig, it has a charge knockback too…on top of giving plasma or invis…that is quite a scary pet actually

we all know steal is instant cast, and traited has lots of terrifying effects.
TLDR steal is OP.
Even thief mains feel that steal is OP as it is.
when they can choose 3 trait lines when the patch hits, thieves will eat everyone for dinner.

so,

giving it a cast time will break a lot of thieves’ gameplay.

Why not make steal use up initiatives? like maybe 4 per cast?

That will help balance out an OP skill.

Thoughts?

Lynnie.7213:

Maybe i could pull it off, but not so confident. He is really good and my build lacks stun breaks, if i only pick Foot in the grave.

soon…when the new patch hits and we get to pick triple trait lines…

muahahahahahah
hahahahahahahahah
HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA

mistsim.2748:

if he had condi removal and no SoR, then likely he was 6/x/x/6/x for survival of the fittest. I used to run that as it’s fairly sturdy against condis. you get all the extra vit from the traits. that is another popular LB power build, and hits as hard as glassbow with the right gear. he still has no excuse for running signet of hunt though.

the main thing about killing glassbows is constant aggression while you move into them, and correct dodging of RF, pointblank shot, hunter’s shot, canine tackle, etc. do you run nightmare runes? landing one or two fears should secure the kill. you had trouble because you missed your first doom.

hmmm actually rewatching the video it does seem like he didn’t have any condi removal.
I asked for the ranger’s advice in their thread and actually I think the general sentiment is that signet of hunt is pretty good if they don’t have other forms of movement speed since as a LB ranger they need the MS to reposition.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/ranger/Video-what-build-is-this-ranger-using/first#post5141427

and I wonder why I missed my first fear? was I out of range? XD
and i use traveler runes =D

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/thief/Video-S-P-Thief-WvW-Duels/first#post5142530

he has a video in his post above. watching his timing and skills…he is insanely composed and skilled…i am quite sure he will eat my necro alive.

wow you are a beast. what a superb shortbow thief! why are u called dragoon?

Love the opening combo you pulled on the thief at the start and later on a few others!
that was devastating.

ah…ICIC
thanks for the info!
first time I fought a Siamoth pet…

Also is signet of the hunt a weak signet?

The ranger in the video was using it.
I have seen strong streamers using it too.

Is is a weak signet compared to the other utilities?

Personally I thought the signet of hunt suited this ranger’s build and playstyle. he was essentially a shoot and kite. and the signet of hunt movement speed would have helped him greatly in his kiting while in combat.

What are you ranger’s thoughts on the signet of hunt?

Oslaf Beinir.5842:

Signet of the hunt is a passive movement speed signet with a bad active

if you see a ranger running it it is likely a free kill. Rangers got some of the best signets in the game and that one chose not to slot something better.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Signet_of_Renewal
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Signet_of_the_Wild
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Signet_of_Stone
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Signet_of_the_Hunt

The fight might have turned out differently with either signets replacing signet of the hunt

hmmmm

Actually I felt that signet of the hunt was great for this ranger’s build and playstyle.
He is essentially a shoot and kite ranger and the movement speed from the signet gives him the ability to kite much better against me in combat.

Video:

Hi Rangers, I recently encountered this ranger who went invis 3 times in a row on me in a very short duration and opened the gap on me many times even without seeming to have swapped his longbow for his alternate movement weapons.

Are there more than one ways for a ranger to go invis? how did this ranger go invis on me 3 times in a row in like 12 seconds?

Also he seemed to be able to weapon swap very quickly?

Can someone look at his skills and figure out his build? also what pet is he using? one seems like a spider but the other one I can’t tell what it is.

Thanks in advance!

20/10
at least twice as good as mine =p

mistsim.2748:

you should always win this fight, no matter what. currently glassbow is a bad spec against anyone who’s not afk, and it’s hardcountered by a lot of things (good shatter mesmers, basically any good d/p thief, condi necros like yourself and condi rangers, Nike warriors if theyre good, etc.). only the bads complain. I have hundreds of hours on my glassbow btw.

HOWEVER, 6/6/6/0/0 will be very strong with Quickdraw and Wilderness Knowledge when the new specs come out. watch out for that one. if you think glassbow is difficult now, just wait.

hmm I dont know if he was a full glass ranger…he seemed to have some form of condi cleanse…emphatic bond? and i saw him fight a dragon-finisher thief and he didn’t take too much damage from the thief’s auto and also the ranger won. he seemed to be tankier than a glassbow.

Cecilia.5179:

Nice tutorial! Longbow rangers have become fairly rediculous in WvW to the point where their existence in a skirmish makes them the most threatening foe on the battlefield. On one hand, I’m happy to see Rangers become good, I’m also very annoyed by how threatening they are and how hard it can be to approach them.

Thanks! I also find rangers extremely threatening. the ranger in the video, I thought he kited well, but his pet choice was not the most threatening against a necro. As pointed out by Oslaf in his post. He was also unlucky/less skilled to not notice the blind on him and wasted two of his LB knockbacks which might just have killed me.

Oslaf Beinir.5842:

I hate the wolf+Krytan hound/snow owl pet combo…any other pet combo is more manageable

the SoS counter pressure is quite good though but I rarely ever slot it

I’ve fought kiting wolf+hound LB rangers and they are a terror. both pets can stun you, PLUS one can fear and one can immobilize. that is a hell lot of control on a no-stability necro. Usually against these rangers I am forced to use my elite plague early to gap close and negate most of their early pet + LB combos. Hard to win, but still possible!

Lynnie.7213:

Nice video. 10/10

You’re too kind! Personally I thought your own tutorial vs the medi guard video was way more organized and informative than mine. if mine is a 10/10, yours is a 20/10. At least twice as good as mine!

robertul.3679:

1/4 of the vid is random text. The rest includes insta spite signet, missing most of the transfers and pretty much every staff skill against a signet of the hunt ranger.

I thought of not replying to your comment since it seems you are being overly critical without offering anything constructive. Constructive criticism is welcome… But giving you the benefit of doubt, here’s my reply:

1) random text = i won’t insist anyone to like it or not, just how I wanted to open my video

2) insta spite signet = if you meant it as a criticism, here is why I like to open fights with it:
- I can gauge my opponent’s level early. if he dodges it, he is probably good. if not, then probably not that good.
- Even decent/good players don’t expect a SoS opening from a necro and seldom dodge/dodge in time
- I could fear then spite or count 2 dodges and spite but that’s not really my style

3) missing most of the transfers = I don’t think I missed any apart from my staff marks. My plague signet hit and so did my dagger 4.

4) missing most of my staff marks = Admittedly I am an average necro and I am going to miss things. I hope though that you give credit to the ranger for some of those misses because he used his roll back utility skill that took me by surprise as I was spamming the marks on him and the marks missed him.

5) signet of the hunt ranger = is something wrong with using signet of the hunt?

Video:

How to fight a kiting LB ranger.

Just some ways to do it.

Not exhaustive.

Just thought I should also add that my first signet of spite and later my dagger 4’s blind both caused him to miss his knockbacks lol…

I have fought better kiting rangers…and lost mostly…and barely won at times…but I thought this ranger was very close to as tough as they get…

=D

Video New: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHgxk_w7lyI&feature=youtu.be

quality skills as usual!

Donari.5237:

Eeep, Cynz, how could I have forgotten to include Glint’s Lair for the sheer wowness of first viewing?

Here’s one we haven’t seen since 2012: The mini-dungeon where we fought the Mad King under a ghastly moon.

wow…

wow truly a dragonfinisher necro…

seeing so many wow pictures…i went to take a few of my own and edited my opening post to show them!

MegumiAzusa.2918:

I like this one, dunno if others would say if it’s anything awe- :

I love this one! the feeling it gave me was one of desolation and facing a daunting journey ahead alone in the vast landscape

actually from what you said, i too think that perhaps for a hybrid necro, toughness is more important? we can transfer condis easily, but are weakest when out of DS and toughness will help allow us to survive better.

but is there a Condi(main) Power Toughness type of armor?

hmm well with low crit chance, ferocity in cavelier for Crit dmg becomes less significant.

Also I feel that 2K power should give you enough damage to break, say, a diamond skin ele.

the rest should go to condi and crit chance.

my current hybrid wvw solo roaming build → not applicable to HOT

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fRAQNArYWjc0UbbnNO2wfbCchSqeA6FIAaho/gJIfB-TFDFABNq+jc7PAwRA43TAgAHCAkUKkm2AmUWAlSs40BolSQlfAABAQAmZZWmzMwRP6RP6RPa7cmHdnH9olCAmlVA-w

Defora.3694:

Randulf.7614:

My Ele taming the Shai Hulud and one of the last photos before LA burned. It wasn’t caused by me though despite what the screenshot says. Honest…..

Now I want to read those books again. :/ Why u do dis?

I will break the rules a bit and show some LA nostalgia.

• First two are from miasma event. LA was burning one year and 3 months ago.
• Last three are taken about two years ago, we had Dragon Bash event in LA. Here is the song for the memories (volume button is at bottom bar): https://soundcloud.com/arenanet/bash-the-dragon

wow wow wow!

actually I thought vitality worked better for necros than toughness since vitality translate to more lifeforce.

other than that, I think its a bit hard to suggest now for HOT.
But generally I feel that a hybrid build needs to:
1) figure out the minimum defensive stats (vit, toughness) you need to survive most enemy builds if they have the initiative and you need to stay alive long enough to return the pain
2) the rest goes into offensive stats, burst them down!

both your weapon choice of staff/GS are very slow weapons. I honestly feel that this is not a good choice for WvW roaming solo.

but really i think its too early to say XD

just that, don’t go cavalier.

also will balthazar runes be better?

something like this?

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fVAQRAsf7dlsApaolDxbI8DNR8Ql5K2iW2BvQ1BwE8oA-TFSHABEq+TF7PIrSsAeCAnpf4OlgHp8AgTCQAAEgZWmlZZGc0je0je0j2Mn5Mn5MnZpAgZaE-w

also will it be better to drop the meditation trait line for the last line virtues? supreme justice trait seems very strong for your burning build.
every 3rd hit burn your opponents with increased 25% burn duration.
and get radiant fire on the radiance line for another 20% increased burn duration and torch CD reduction.

they will be burning and burning very often every third hit!

Saiyan.1704:

WvW Solo Roaming & Camp Assaulting

Full Carrion: Solo Roaming Build

Video: Condi Build vs Medi Build Camp Clearing

Key Condi Burst Rotations
Sword #2 + Torch #4 + Weapon Swap
Instant Burns + Bleeds + Poison. Total damage is 1500+ dps. proc.

Judge’s Intervention + Weapon Swap
Same as above.

Rune of Krait – Underestimated condi bursts
Acts as a ‘finisher’, sort of speak.
Use after Ele’s Water attunement splash effect, Engineer’s Water turret cleanses, Warrior’s Adrenaline bursts, or any other condi cleansing skill.
Pop All Virtues prior to using this elite.

Scepter Rotations
Start your rotation off with Scepter and auto attacking. Immobilize#3 with Smite#2 to maximize F1 procs. Feel free to continue free casting this rotation as long as you’re not receiving any damage.
Use Focus #4 & #5 to block incoming burst damage only.

Sword + Torch Rotations.
Flashing Blade #2 + Torch #4 is your big burn rotation. Count the dodge’s to ensure a near burn proc. If you’re going against a warrior who constantly hit and runs you, save this for when he comes back as the Flashing Blade will act as a dodge when a player is coming towards you with a range skill.
As always, try to save your Teleport skills for a 100% weapon switch proc. You can also Judge’s Intervention your Rune of Krait condi burst. Try to save only when the target is less than 50% health to ensure he’s used most of his cleansing cooldowns, if any.

hey would you post a video of your hybrid/condi guard roaming WvW?
I have only ever fought a condi guard once 1v1 on my necro and it was quite close, but the fight was interrupted halfway.

But the condi guard felt really strong, short but high burn ticks that well needed immediate transfers/cleanse.

Simonoly.4352:

Saves the Thief a bit of time (1 second to be exact) if he just wants to steal off you again without having to first consume the plasma already stolen. But this is dependent on a Thief saving his/her Consumer Plasma for….a rainy day? Never really happens as it’s such a powerful steal that you will want to use it immediately if just for the protection uptime and boon strip safety. Won’t be very noticeable therefore for the most part.

this 1 second unfortunately may decide the outcome of the fight
and this just makes it easier to play the thief which we shouldn’t encourage too much since they are OP when played by skilled players.

Maugetarr.6823:

As stated above me and probably throughout the thread in multiple places, you could already cast the stolen skill and then steal. The only thing that changes is the fact that you can steal without having to use the stolen item now, and you might now precast only to realize you have 3 seconds left on the steal cooldown.

Oh, and they actually stated some skills will be nerfed to compensate for improvisation, so this QoL change will be accompanied by a simultaneous nerf.

ah…now i understand…pardon me for my noobness…I had no idea it can already be done…

and yes i hope the nerf on the bundles will help even things out

Latest in the installment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHgxk_w7lyI&feature=youtu.be

TheDuck.4526:

I don’t know if this counts as awe… but it’s definitely bleak in an endearing way

wow i especially like yours!
where did you take those pictures?

Share your WOW moment!

true that it can already be done with instant blink skills

BUT those are on LONGER cooldowns and don’t give the insane things that a traited LOW COOLDOWN steal does

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/thief/do-not-allow-F2-F1-combo/first#post5123871

support?

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/thief/do-not-allow-F2-F1-combo/first#post5123871

i need some support here

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/thief/do-not-allow-F2-F1-combo/first#post5123871

pls support me here

this is supposed to be a QOL change
not a buff

so we should not allow F2 + F1 combo

meaning if for eg a fear bundle F2 is used, F1 should be locked to prevent the thief from activating at range then using F1 to steal and blink in for the fear to connect at close range

or imagine activating whirling axe bundle + steal to blink in on a warrior

or imagine doing a range daze on guards by activating F2 then using F1 to blink in

no chance for guard to reliably counter

when traited, steal already poison, dmg, daze, grant fury and more

it is too much to allow F2 and F1 to work together

this is too OP

or if F1 is used while F2 is casting, it cancels F2

true that it can already be done with instant blink skills
BUT those are on LONGER cooldowns and don’t give the insane things that a traited LOW COOLDOWN steal does

it was mentioned in the thief forum that they can now do a range F2 on us by using their fear bundle + their F1 steal together to blink to us for the fear to connect

meaning they don’t need to be near us anymore to activate fear

your thoughts? too OP?

I think all of you are missing the point.

They can now daze you from range!

Steal → then once steal finish CD → activate F2 daze → while its casting, quickly activate steal to teleport to you and daze you

they don’t need to be near you now to activate daze

and if they time it right, they got a 2nd daze in their F2 to use again.

can you imagine a blink daze on you now?

this isn’t just a qol…its a buff

it is a buff because previously

1) can’t see their steal cooldown
2) had to use their stolen bundle first before they can use their steal again

whether they use the bundle and cancel it immediately is another matter.

now they don’t have to, and have the option of using steal or bundle

this opens up more options and moves for them.

e.g. when they fight us, if they dont use their fear bundle, they can use their steal again and again on us until they want to interrupt us with the fear.

its widely agreed that thieves hard counter mesmers.
how will this affect mesmers now if any?

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/thief/F2-button-for-Stolen-Item-skill-usage#content

anet heard my plea?

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/thief/F2-button-for-Stolen-Item-skill-usage#content

thieves now have a separate F2 skill for their stolen bundle!

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/thief/F2-button-for-Stolen-Item-skill-usage#content