Guild Wars 2

I completely agree with OP. As much as I love this game, I’m afraid I won’t be playing it much any longer… I love the graphics, the world, the lore and the very active combat that forces us to be on our toes to be competitive. Their initial idea of e-sports and their MMO Manifesto was great, if they could have just sticked to their initial ideas and ideals.

Now they just keep showing us that they really have no idea what the professions do, their weaknesses and strengths and how to balance this game… They wanted to keep updating this game often to make sure that things that were OP wouldn’t stay it for long – heh, almost a year of healing signet and adding hard counters. Their last Ready Up was just a big joke. They just proved that they have no idea. This game will never become an e-sport with the current developers, because all they can focus on is this living story. They really need to separate PvP, WvW and PvE balance, get a good PvP balance team together and get their kitten together, but they won’t.

I gave Wildstar a try the other day, and after reading the forums (yes, their devs are actually reading and replying in the forums instead of making excuses like; if we are on the forums we are not programming anything or balancing….) I realize that these devs really care about their game. Wildstar have a ton more content than Gw2 have, and that game is brand new! I even wrote on their Facebook wall and twitter and they replied. The devs in Gw2 doesn’t even have the courtesy to reply in their own forums….

Yeah well. I hope Anet get their kitten together, because I really love this game! It’s just very hard to stick around when the devs doesn’t care and never do anything.

I did this with my P/D build. I tried to just always time CnD to hit right after I left stealth, and then I just spammed evades like crazy and scattered caltrops. Very easy to kill bad players, but any decent player will quickly figure out what you’re doing and act accordingly.

If condition specced: P/D with caltrops, smoke screen and dagger storm = win.

I am too leveling an Elementalist – and enjoying it a lot! I stick with power / precision gear and swap traits/weapons on the fly. I got that idea of keeping every single weapon combination in my inventory from maiming a thief, and I’ve brought that to all other professions – which is something I have yet to regret.

I kind of like the idea behind not having any leveling guide, because if there were one, I would read it… It is way more fun to learn by yourself. By doing so you learn so much more about the profession than you would do by reading someone else’s guide. I always try to stick to learning by myself, and then use these forums to check up on what I have discovered.

That’s just my 2 cents

In sPvP thief is a “one error and you’re dead” profession. If we get caught off guard or focused in any team fight we are dead for sure. Maybe thief is strong in hot-joins, but that’s not PvP IMO. For WvW I agree with Ghostwolf. Thief is strong for roaming purposes, but is heavily outmatched in team fights or zergs.

I think it’s wrong that any profession should be able to maintain 25 stacks of any condition or boon permanently. It should be a team effort to achieve and keep those numbers, not a single runes job. So my opinion would be that rune of strength need a shave.

I see some here talk about boon stripping; no profession can strip boons as fast as this rune is able to apply them.

I too think they’re just fine.

Thieves Guild
I love this skill in duels. It can turn the tide with the chaos they create. Also, the ranged thief drop a black powder which he then proceeds to shoot through, blinding my target. He also uses a scorpion wire which can be used tactically to get an enemy alone for a few seconds. Useful in both WvW and PvP.

Basilisk Venom
One of the strongest when coupled with Lyssa runes. The low cooldown ensures a high uptime of boons and nice condition removal. Strong in most situations, but best for quickly bursting a target down.

Dagger Storm
Very situational, but very good when used right. This is the one I use most in PvE. Always use this when capping camps in WvW. It’s our only access to stability, which can be priceless when fighting decap engi or hambow warriors.

Lux.7169:

I use TG in high-end competitive play.

People will call you cheap but that’s the nature of PvP.

If you play to win, then all the mechanics of the game are at your disposal, cheap or not.

I made a thread about this not that long ago actually. I don’t find the need for basilisk venom any longer since the stun isn’t that long and lyssa have been removed from my build. Thieves Guild is a very strong alternative for us since we are often roaming and finding ourself in some tough spots.

Here’s my use for it:

• Turning the odds in our favor in an outnumbered team fight.
• Securing a quick decap.
• Winning a duel on home node fast.

The spawned thieves create enough chaos to dazzle most players. In team fights they die fast, but it can be enough to turn the tide if outnumbered. Assassinating a player in a group fight is easy with TG; just move a little bit away and make sure he doesn’t have stability, then pop TG and watch the scorpion wire drag your target right to you, ready to die.

For quick decaps it is pretty self explanationary. Just pop TG if you can’t down the opponent fast enough solo, if you lose now your opponent are very good ^^

A thief shouldn’t duel, but especially in solo queue I find myself capping close because the rest went mid. If the enemy decide to send a decapper or just two guys to ninja cap it I actually have a chance with TG. Even against two opponents I may have a chance to win and secure the cap.

I find that all thief elites have their uses in tPvP, it all depends on your build, team comp and taste.

kirito.4138:

Just let the MM sit on the point and afk all game and if they leave ninja decap it.

This. Unless they got a good decapper that constantly keep your home decapped you can just let him sit there. Your team will always have the upper hand on mid because of him, meaning you should win the match.

But if we are talking a 1v1 scenario; auto attack with shortbow, drop poison field and blast it with cluster bomb. Once you got his minions down and on cd you can just do your thing with him.

But if this is in tPvP and he are sitting on a point owned by his team, don’t engage him alone. That’s (usually) not beneficial for your team.

Not sure what really can be done to push thief out of berserker, but removing executioner is not something I’m voting for… As for celestial, the strength runes / sigils are the real problem here. Celestial is doing great because of the possibility for stacking might, and a lot of it too.

For Anet to have any chance in making this an esport they have to get rid of AI and all the passive procs. There’s no skill in running full spirit or minion master. There’s definitely no skill in having different conditions applied when struck…

Anet need to start promote skillful play. Something that’s interesting to watch instead of having 10 bunkers slapping each other with wet noodles.

I think it’s fine that it hit that hard, it is named “Kill Shot” for a reason. It is the attack in the game with the highest damage modifier, so it should hit harder than backstab. To make up for it they have to use all their adrenaline, it has a 2 second cast time and is very easy to spot and counter. Reflect that attack with the stolen skill from the warrior and then proceed to backstab him, instakill :p

For roaming and fighting outnumbered it do make your life easier. There are some builds that doesn’t use it, but I’m usually always 6 deep in SA while I’m roaming WvW.

There’s the Ninja Nurse and a venom share build. Both can be very viable in WvW small group roaming ^^

This would make this game so much better! I really miss the old Anet (gw1). They spoke to their players and gave us their thoughts on the upcoming patch. They also explained in detail why they did the changes they did… This Anet is just some guys no one know who is that just completely ignore their players…

I love it when they do this! I’ll just run away / in circles until I’m back to my normal form. Now I know their elite is on cooldown, so I have the edge. If they’re clever enough to use this skill when they’re reaching low hp, then I’ll just kill them with their own elite – hilarious!

My opinion is that we need diminishing return on CC.

zero.5316:

yay charr! I love charr so much

also pics

Pics coming later today.

I’m totally in love with this race now! All the animations, everything from running, jumping to sleeping just looks so awesome! Now I feel kind of sorry for not making a Charr earlier

I just created my third thief character in this game, and I felt like Charr was the right choice this time! My first was an Asura, I just felt like the animations (backflips, small, pistol whip etc) looked amazing and really fit the thief. After playing my Asura for two years I felt like the asuran lore didn’t match with the thief, and I feel like I’m cheating with him in PvP… So I created my second, a female human, guess I don’t need to elaborate this any more.

After some thinking I decided to create a Charr Thief. I figured the lore with the Ash legion fits the thief perfectly! The whole thing about a cat fits good, but the size of the Charr is just so absurdly wrong when talking about subtlety that it is just hilarious! After just an hour on my Charr I’m in love. I don’t think I’m going to play my Asura much more actually…

Well, my name is Fluff Backbreaker, a female Charr Thief! I love it and I’m definitely going to make this my new main!

• You don’t contest / cap points while you’re stealthed.
• A stealthed thief does not contribute in any way to the fight.
• Shadow Arts is a very selfish line, and PvP is about teamwork. Only time I’ve seen SA used with purpose is with venom share builds.
• Thieves have plenty of ways to survive without using stealth in PvP.

Human: females look hot as hell, nothing else to say about them. Males look pretty cool/kitten. By far the best cultural armor for thieves.

Sylvari: the fact that you can make them dark is awesome enough. Couple this with the glow they have at night it’s pretty cool as a thief. Ok looking cultural for thief.

Asura: small, looks really cool when they do certain attacks because of their size (pistol whip looks amazing!). The back/front flips and other animations fits the profession. Most medium armor skins look like crap on asuras, unfortunately.

Look up some youtube videos of all the races as a thief. Also take a look at gw2armor.com to see the different armors.

Ah, soloq. I have done some of it lately, but I always roam. I try to keep their home decapped (shadow trap to easily get back) and just stay in the outskirts of the team fights. I wait until I find a target below 50% and just burst it down within seconds. But yeah, it’s pretty much chaos 90% of the time…

I’m currently leveling my second thief. She is level 23, using Sword/Pistol and Shortbow. She’s using the food that give you extra experience and health regen and only power gear.

S/P makes me a complete god in PvE. Shortbow is for exploring the map faster. I drop Black Powder and just auto attack with it constantly down. I usually never take any damage from fighting mobs.

Putting in some condition damage and swap to d/d would make this a more tankier version of the old unicorn build. Could work pretty good as a sort of bunker for mid. Unless there’s some other condition profession on your team this could work as a good bunk / small condition pressure on top of the burst from other players. Need to test this out with my guild later ^^

Kind of curious how this would hold up in a team fight. Imagine using this with s/p for the extra evades. Must try this out later today

If played s/p I can heal about 2700 health with each pistol whip, per target hit. That should be able to keep the thief alive for quite some time! :p

I completely agree! Making it salvageable would fix this

Full berserker is what most thieves choose for PvE. A thief with a lot of toughness will die to a hit anyways, so there is no need for any of it. Just learn what to evade and you’ll be fine.

No it is not needed. The fact that stealth is so useless in PvP should be enough to revert the change. It would maybe bring d/d back to the meta with its much higher ability to burst. The auto attack chain would also feel like it matched again.

I remember Anet saying that they want PvP and PvE to feel the same. That you should be able to go to PvP from PvP without changing your play style too much. Having 4 seconds instead of 3 is really hard to get used to. You either do good in PvP with 4 seconds or you do good in PvE / WvW with 3 seconds, but not both. Those 3 seconds are wired into my brain, which is why I can’t count how many times I have died because of bad timing :/

Lopez.7369:

Mesmers got some condition cleansing, but it’s obviously not as much as other classes since that’s supposed to be a weakness for mesmer.

Regardless, mesmer’s problems are more related to thieves than conditions.

I’m very curious about this condition removal that all profession got buffed. As a thief I can’t say I got much defense against conditions, other than lyssa runes that is available to all, or a long cooldown utility….

But then again, conditions are meant to be a good counter to thief.

High level fractal runners would kick you if you didn’t do a good job. The mmr system should not put new players with veterans…

Liewec.2896:

CnD is still really good for any thieves specced heavily in to stealth traits.
with the healing and regen traits you can pretty much reset the fight on demand since you can reliably restealth over and over forever

if cnd did decent damage it would be hilariously OP since you can just keep using it the instant you reappear, its more of a very potent utility skill than a damage skill.

No thief in their right mind will ever go 6 in Shadow Arts for those traits in PvP…. In WvW it is pretty much obligatory, but in PvP – never. I do think reverting that nerf would indeed help brining d/d back to the PvP scene. It’s very uncommon to see d/d thieves since d/p do what d/d do, only better. If d/d would get more burst it could actually be viable again.

SpellOfIniquity.1780

Have you ever fought a d/p Thief? It’s like a game of who will trip over their own shoelaces first.

Ever fought a d/p thief as a d/p thief? Now that’s what I call hide and seek x]

I wonder how stealth can be OP when I can beat these “perma-stealthing thieves” on all my professions? My warrior can just /laugh while a thief burst, then my auto attacks can kill him…. Seriously, stealth is confusing for new players, which is why it’s considered OP. Experienced players have no problems countering stealth, so how can it be OP?

I’m running these in PvP actually. The speed bonus and keeping a utility slot open works way better for me than hitting a bit harder. I tend to rotate a lot between mid, far, close and objectives, so the speed are indeed needed.

As long as you have your traits unlocked from your profession trainer you are on even ground with the lvl 80s

I tried that build for a few matches and I hated it. I felt like a wet noodle spinning around doing pretty much nothing. Can’t decap far since there is now way this build can kill a bunker. Can’t push anyone off node to decap, can’t do anything but ripping boons from enemies. I have way more success with my d/p 6/6/0/0/10 build.

Wait, people are actually complaining about thief in PvP? I agree with vincecontix, thief is the one profession I really want the enemy team to have, this coming from a thief.

The fact that two thieves could effectively hold five people is more of a l2p issue for those five players. They could just move the fight to a node and cap it since the thieves were stealthing all the time. Stealth isn’t a problem in PvP really.

Just time your cc and that thief is fried, that’s pretty much it. S/D was a bunker buster because of larcenous strike that is unblockable and steal a boon – which it is pretty good at. Other than that it’s not good for anything else then duels…

I have found the Mists to be a more populated place lately. I am neither having any problems queuing up for arenas either.

Those bunkers btw: sweet free kills for my thief

AlbertoUlkesh.4517:

Geiir.7603:

I can get skill points and gold by doing PvP, but I’m not having any traits available to make me even remotely viable in hot-joins.

What? Which of the new Grandmaster traits do you find necessary, to be “even remotely viable”?

I was talking about starting a completely new character and how hard time they’ll have to get traits. All traits now cost gold and skill points to get, which is wrong IMO.

On a side note; some of the new traits were pretty awesome actually.

I also agree that this is an issue. I have a few toons that I created to do PvP. These toons are lvl 2-15, hence very few or no skill points… I can get skill points and gold by doing PvP, but I’m not having any traits available to make me even remotely viable in hot-joins. Those skill points and levels can I gain from doing reward tracks, which in turn require me to play PvP….

So here are my options:

• Do PvE until I have a viable build and then get back to PvP
• Choose a reward track, do hot-joins or be a complete liability in solo queue.
• Have some friends help me me by carrying me through enough matches to get what I need.

I am lucky enough to already have a few 80’s and a lot of gold, so I can just use one of them to farm reward tracks to get tomes and scrolls for my other toons. But what about new players? Some of them may be interested only in PvP. Why should we force them to do PvE? I don’t like the new unlocks. It feel like and is a grind, a long grind.

This build is the one I’m currently using. I tend to swap between Rage and Traveler runes (depends on the map wether I need the speed bonus or not).

I’m not having a hard time surviving, but I find condition builds to be the most annoying yes. In group situations I always open with Choking Gas and just auto attacking with short bow until I find a fitting target (squishy or below 50% hp). I then swap to d/p and bp + hs + pre-cast backstab → steal (mug). With this I get the backstab with revealed trainings 200 extra power. If my target isn’t dead yet I can just heartseeker to finish him off. In other words; targets sitting below 50% hp can and will die within the next few seconds ;p

Tachii.3506:

Thieves Guild is great in small fight settings. One of the thief does black powder while the other does scorpion wire. They also survive pretty well for the full 30 seconds as bait. I don’t know about going full burst in PvP though.

Full burst hasn’t been a problem so far. I usually just hit and run, because I normally just finish off someone, to give us the numbers advantage, and then I’m on my way to far for decap :p

Hey guys!

I have been running Thieves Guild lately in tPvP, and that with great results! Usually thieves run with Basilisk Venom and Lyssa runes. But after this patch I decided to go with Traveler runes since I need to get fast around the map.

I decided to go with TG instead of BV since I roam. I often find myself in outnumbered fights or aiding a group fight. TG can easily turn the tide of the fight (both group and outnumbered) and secure the cap faster, hence I can get along to harass far point faster.

Has anyone else been running with Thieves Guild in tPvP lately? And what do you guys think about the choice? I run a 6/6/0/0/2 burst build.

Cheers!

I stocked up on these a long time ago. Have like 5k or something…

I think they fixed it in one of the recent patches. Remember seeing someone say they had tested it, but I haven’t tested it for my self yet.

Ghostwolf.9863:

Eagle, Strength, Ogre, Scholar, Lyssa, Travelers, Wurm, Hoelbrak.

Krait for condition builds.

Same as I have been running after the patch. I find myself going back to Travelers all the time. Guess I like the 25% speed bonus since I usually run a lot.

DeWolfe.2174:

P/D condi has been an OP build for some time. I’ve said it before on here, you can pretty much just stay at range and Vital shot the person to death. The risk vs reward is quite broken on this play style.

inc… “no it’s not”, “L2P” excuses…. Just try it and see for yourself.

P/D in itself isn’t OP. What is, however are dire gear combined with crystals and food. The food and crystals pretty are the build. It makes it far more powerful than it should be. A P/D build with carrion gear is much more balanced. The survivability is less but it has a little bit more physical damage.

Dahkeus.8243:

johnpoc.8732:

Agreed, power thieves have been hit really hard. Condi P/D thieves are still OP tho, that might be the new source of hate lol

I’ll have to give condi a try eventually…I’ve heard it talked up a bit recently, but I’ve never seen condi thieves as particularly threatening. However, they do seem to be pretty few and far between.

Condition thieves are getting popular now indeed. The problem that makes them “OP” is the food and crystals in combination with dire gear. The condition pressure and survivability of those builds are insane. You get just as much condition damage running full dire as you do with carrion gear, but the survivability of dire is so much higher. I think that’s the main problem that make people feel p/d is OP.

Trueshots.9456:

I’ll chime in here (btw the build up top looks good, I could definitely work with that build). I’ve played P/D from launch and it is all that I’ve played, if i was force to do anything else I wouldn’t play thief. So you can take or leave my advice, but I feel I have a pretty good grasp on the play style. I am just back after a 4-5 month absence so I’m still catching up to all the new changes but it hasn’t affected my WvW play in the least so far. I actually feel quite a bit better than I was when I left, I guess that is due to the changes made (yes the ones I’m unaware of, lol). Anyway, I’ve posted what my build has been since day one, except for the new traits obviously. I go for max cond duration as apposed to cond damage. I go full Dire on everything. I stole this concept from Wild Bill, feel free to check out his YouTube channel for tips. Never the less this build is made for suitability and to out last you opponent and to avoid them at all cost, the longer you can stay under and let the bleeds tick (from max cond duration) the better off you are, especially when you get into a 1v3-1v5 situations. Its also a great build to toy with the back end of zergs. I’ve found the use of the confusion on steal and the #3 torment to be excellent additions to the original p/d thief on launch. It makes it hard for classes that can remove condi when you have so many cover up condi’s. Anyway I’d be glad to answer any questions on here or in game. I love talking p/d thief Take care!

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAq4alsMp0pdPxzJsPNBNRxdNsCzg312YshaFAA-TVSAABgcQAUUPg0nAAAeAAoq+zkKBHT5XP7P0nGhAAIAzsMjMDG6QH6QH6QbmzcozcozsUAwMNC-w

I also played P/D in the start. I have tried all weapon sets, but it was the one I felt for I guess. Wild Bill have inspired my style a lot! I play close to the same build (caltrops on evade and richochet instead). I usually swap around utilities, but I always have spider venom on my skill bar. Poison works wonders as a cover up for my bleeds as well as neglecting them a lot of healing.

Anyways, glad to see that I’m not the only one running this build for a long time ;p

First of all: thank you! I’m one of those who have played thief since beta, and that almost exclusively. I’ve given other professions a try, but I guess they weren’t something for me. :p Still rocking thief, and I’m going to do so.

Jayden Ennok.3687:

now people treat thieves like free kills

I play my thief like 90% of my time so I used to think it’s normal to be chased across the whole map by a bunch of enemies. Even lowbies go after me. Realised the above when I noticed I get chased a lot less when playing other classes.

OP, thanks for the post.

Yeah. I feel like most people have built up such a hate for us that when they realize they can beat me they follow me until they kill me or I escape inside a building… Kind of funny though. Especially if I’m traited in SA (which pretty much every WvW thief is) and can just surf them with CnD chains.

OP:

Thief was meant and designed to be the most mobile profession. Our style is get in, hit hard and gtfo. It’s the only profession with that style yes, but I find it challenging (for both the thief and when I’m playing against one). We were designed for superior mobility, hence the popular spot as roamer in teams. We are able to rotate fast, but our team fight capabilities suck. We can’t do kitten in a group fight if it wasn’t for our teleports, unless we figure we will spam shortbow, but then the team is better off with a warrior…