Guild Wars 2

Some general basic ele pvp tips.

Many eles will updraft immediately after RtL making them super predictable and easily dodged. Don’t be that ele. Don’t be afraid to bait out their first dodge before using it.

If you slot lightning flash as a utility, you can use it to help land churning earth. You can use the skill mid cast, so wait until the last moment before the cast ends then flash towards whoever you are trying to hit.

Also with churning earth, you can attunement swap mid cast and still finish it. Good for getting attunement swap bonuses like fury before the hit.

You can safely stomp someone who has downed state CC with mist form. Start the stomp and mist form, you will be invulnerable during the stomp. Mist form has a longer CD so I’d only do this if you need a crucial stomp in a team fight.

If you get caught in a cc burst (basilisk BS, haste 100b) without a stunbreak up and are playing MH dagger, you can swap to air attune and pop shocking aura to slow/stop the burst.

If you slot evasive arcana, don’t forget to dodge in the proper attunements for the effects you want.

0/10/0/30/30 is a very popular build with d/d in tourney play. It can be altered a couple ways to make it either more dps oriented or very balanced and versatile. Here are a couple different variations of it. Keep in mind there are a lot of ways to modify and still be viable, but this could get you started.

DPS oriented
http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-k33;2BJ-P0w47NkY0;9;59-TT;15;345A04BSN0;3sV2DsV2D5Bb

Balanced/boons
http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-k33;2BJ-V015sM-Z0;9;59-TT;10;328B34ASR1;3rRYCq7YB4BA

(copy/paste links instead of clicking)

Guild: Lego Trap [rage] (NA)
Activity: Med-High
Contact: Revyri.3487
Small guild, we play tourney pvp (r35+) and high end pve for those who enjoy both

My 2 cents as a high-ish rank tourney thief about 2 highly effective builds. Some of this might not be as effective in zergy 8v8s, which I try to avoid playing, but they can work. This is also more of a how to play these builds than how to rack up big point totals. Points come from a combo of playing well, playing smart, and map awareness / decision making.

1. D/D thief is typically a very standard, popular burst playstyle, but you really have to go all out on glass cannon and play smart with your shortbow to rack up the kills without going down yourself.

Very typical burst D/D build: http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-c33V;1Rwk0-J5N-Fd0;9;4OT;0E28-29A;44;0IRV4;2G3G3G3G35BH

The opener is typically basilisk venom + assassin’s signet, then CnD immediately followed by steal/mug. You will actually shadowstep to your target before landing CnD despite using steal second. Then backstab, and finish with some autoattacks and HS. I don’t tend to HS right after the BS because most people immediately dodge when the basilisk ends. Wait for them to burn those dodges.

Most decent players will see this coming from a mile away if you run in at the start with basilisk up, so I like to SB to start the fight. When I heal back up, I switch to D/D, pop the utils and elite, then burst out of the stealth. This works well against pretty much anyone in hot join.

When you aren’t bursting you should almost always be using SB. Keep your distance and don’t wade into big fights. You will be downed immediately. If you are 1v1 on an enemy point, don’t feel like you need to fight on the point. Use the poison field if you are anticipating a heal, use clusterbomb if you have extra ini, and make judicious use of the SB evade. If you are in a losing situation don’t be afraid to IA away and go contest a lesser defended point.

Battle and map awareness are the key to getting those big point totals you see. Blindly charging into a fight just gets you killed.

2. There is a lesser used P/D condi stealth heal build that is extremely resilient and great at assaulting points, but I find it a bit more boring than roaming burst and it can’t hold a point by itself. It’s pretty easy to play. Give it a shot if you want more survivability and prefer to play in the thick of things.

Build: http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-cR3V;1ZwFb0O5wOkd0;9;6TJJ;434A59-27-KNm6;2jwmAjwmA2VP

Keep the caltrops and ambush up at all times, use thieves guild if you need the help. Dagger storm is probably preferable in 8v8s, but not as effective in 5v5 or tourney. RfI is your stun break. Otherwise, almost the entirety of your damage comes from landing CnD and then racking up bleeds with the MH pistol stealth 1. Stay in stealth as long as possible for heals and condi removal. I like to count 4 heal ticks before I use the burst. If you’re really hurting you can just skip the burst and immediately CnD again for more stealth time. This will wear down anyone, including most bunkers, except a heavy condi removal spec.

The SB in this build is mostly used for mobility between points and to escape fights going sour. It’s also decent to open up with for poison and then immediately switch over to P/D.

Just note this build is not very effective in the new spirit watch map, especially in tourney. It works great in all the old maps though.

I feel like I’m constantly the focus target for the AI now. I ran a fractals and 3 explorables and I’m always the one being attacked now. Might just be me, but I don’t remember it being this tough.

Lego Trap [rage], a newly formed guild on Anvil Rock, is looking for more members!

Named after the deadliest ranger trap never harnessed, we are a smaller guild whose founders enjoy long relaxing walks through dungeons and secret trists in tournament battlefields. We’re looking for new members who would enjoy the same, namely reliving the childhood wonderment of forcing your enemies to walk over lego barefoot, causing endless fits of rage.

In particular, we are looking for people who would like helping build a new guild from the ground up. Our focus is in higher end PvE – speed runs, fractal clearing, legendary farming, etc – as well as tourney PvP (our founders are both high ranked and successful at the paid level). We may occassionally dabble in WvW as well.

If interested, contact myself, Revyri.3487, or Aerion Hemmelk.5192 in game.

Another good option is venom share, something kind of like this…

http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-c3RV-FCRwkZ0Z5BPFd0;9;4T9T;037B2;048Bo

You get all the venom sharing goodies… party might and healing, lots of weakness/vuln/poison and like a 5-6 second stun if you get a good basilisk share off (the range is short). Also offhand pistol utility (blinds/dazes), and good damage options with backstab and heartseeker. You can combo into stealth by using HS in a black powder field.

http://www.twitch.tv/revyri

NA Thief, Mesmer

<—- IGN
Burst Thief, Shatter Mesmer, or Trap Ranger
NA R34, 4 QP

My team is on hiatus and may be coming back soon, but until then I wouldn’t mind filling in for any teams who need another to keep sharp. I played heavily from beta to paids release (hence low QPs), but have been getting back in it doing frees with random friends recently.

Frees or paids are cool for me. Can stream as well if its wanted, or PM me for the channel to see my play.

It wouldn’t hurt my feelings to see HS get a little bit more toned down, but I also believe haste is a huge issue as well.

Full disclosure… I main thief in tourney, I have no trouble at all playing against HS spammers either on my thief or another class, and personally find it not hard to handle at all. I find the class decently balanced in the higher end, but it poses issues for newer players.

I could go on like some of you saying QQ L2P noob, but the honest truth is I understand how the thief class is a huge turn off for casuals and newbies. A new thief can go into hotjoin spamming 2 and beat the majority of people there. The required skill to execute (none) vs the required skill to avoid 5-6 HS in a row has too large a gap.

As someone who has no trouble at all playing against this, I still wouldn’t mind seeing it modified a bit to discourage new pvpers from leaving spvp the first time they get stomped by it. A strong casual base helps pvp, and this kind of skill can chase that base off.

And if you just want tips on how to lol at any HS thief that attacks you… the most straight forward way is chill/cripple/KB. Those are the bane of any kind of melee. Also any possible way for well timed extra dodges (vigor, weapon/util evades) or invulnerability while the thief dumps their entire initiative pool doing nothing works as well. If you can avoid 3 or 4 heartseekers from a spammer, they are ini starved and easy pickings.

This isn’t a new combo at all. It’s also not nearly effective against good players as it looks. You run this in paids and you’ll go against people who can react in half a second to stunbreak out as soon as they are petrified. Don’t need to see the thief to do that.

I got 590 but I only played it long enough for the achievements. 600 is a perfect score

Super easy, got it on my first try. Already miss the challenge of the clocktower.

Rukia.4802:

It’s called waiting a split second before coming out of stealth and using cloak and dagger again, you are only seen for maybe half a sec if that. I’ve done it before, it’s easy in big groups. With the 2 refund initiative trait when stealthing you can do this for days.

If someone actually stands there and lets you kill them 1 CnD at a time every 3 seconds, they probably deserve to die.

Sounds like someone died to a thief in WvW and decided to come whine on the forums without understanding any of their mechanics at all. Classic <insertclasshere> destroyed me, must be OP

PS Revealed debuff
PPS They still take damage while stealthed. AoE or spam 1. Your 1 chain will progress if you are hitting them

Some skewed opinions here…

I main a thief, and alt ranger and mesmer. Toyed with a few others. My 2 cents on the three I know best.

Ranger is a very easy class to play in many of their builds, with a difficulty bump if you are micromanaging certain pets, playing bunker, or playing MH sword well. Their lack of effectiveness makes them seem harder, but I think that’s false and has to do with their balance, not their difficulty.

Mesmers I find about in the middle. They have some slightly easier specs and some slightly harder specs. This class is a little harder to play well in higher level tourney imo. Easy in hotjoin against casuals or pugstomping tourney.

Thieves seem to have the most misconceptions. They are easy only with instagib burst builds in hotjoin against people who don’t know what they’re doing. I admit you will be godly there if you are a good thief. However, in competitive play against other skilled players, they are balanced and average to slightly above average in difficulty. They also have some clever tricks that I’ve seen maybe 1 or 2 very good thieves actually know about and pull off. That cheesy BS burst usually doesn’t work well there.

FWIW I think ele, engineer, and necro are probably among the hardest to play but that it evens out a bit across the board at higher skill levels.

I see chat in LA on Gate of Madness every few days of guilds organizing runs to complete it. I’ve never gone with them so I can’t confirm they finish it, but I’m pretty sure they do.

Massive chest….

I got 3 exotics, 2 rares, and a 20 slot bag. Someone in our group got Dusk.

If you don’t get the bounce (ie against a single running target), DD’s cripple is 2.5 seconds. I don’t really consider that very cost effective for 4i. And it’s certainly not worth using for any kind of damage. There are better, more efficient places to find a gap closer.

The animation isn’t as bad as it initially seems, you just need to be more aware of how it works. You always circle to the right. The closer you are to your target, the tighter the circle flank is. If you are further out, the circle is wider. You can move your character after the first hit and before the 2nd (and harder hitting) sword thrust to adjust appropriately.

The second hit is easy to land, though the first can sometimes be a problem imo. I think I’d like it better if the dagger/boon strip, that you can’t adjust for, hit before the flanking movement rather than after.

Probably my favorite weapon set, and one of my favorite abilities.

Some of these mantras aren’t very well understood (from a pvp perspective).

Mantra of Concentration is ideal for stun breaks and, most importantly, guaranteed stomps with a stab that can be activated mid stomp. If you have the timing right, there’s nothing anyone can do to stop you short of a downed stealth/port.

Mantra of Distraction should be used as an interrupt, not as a daze. This skill feels very gw1, for any of you who played a mesmer there. The best use is probably to prevent someone from healing. Hit them with this, and their heal is interrupted and locked out for 3-4s (iirc), and if you have another charge you can rupt it again. If you’re good at animation recognition, you can interrupt other key skills. It can also stop stompers.

I like to occassionally run a team support build that requires me to strip boons, interrupt key skills, and stab stomp. The above mantras are great for this type of setup.