Guild Wars 2

My ego is destroyed.

How do I find a real profession I can feel secure in?

Spartyr.6795:

Slowed Pulse
10 point major trait option in Shadow Arts line is not working.

Description says it grants 10 seconds of regeneration with 5 stacks of bleeding, and the effect can occur only every 30 seconds. I am using the pistol auto-attack to get bleeding stacks of 6+ and I have not triggered this effect once.

Edit: Ok this appears to be intermittent. I have triggered this twice now using the same method, but I’m not sure why it’s not working on the others. I will keep testing.

You’re using the pistol to stack bleeds on the mob? It’s a defensive trait, it gives you regen when you have bleed on you.

Why are you chasing one guy across the WvW?

It’s not a bug, this is as it’s designed.

Thieves are always a topic of much discussion in my MMO experience.

Slic,

For some reason GW2Skills.net just refuses to load for me anymore. Any chance of seeing your concepts in a different builder?

Hardest one I faced was the Skritt and Destroyer mission where you have to set the bomb off. It was in my friend’s story and I went to help him, we were both about ten levels “over” it and it took about six tries.

When we did win, I had to put it down to our tactics and the way I was trying to play it, but it seemed to be overtuned.

I have heard that when you use Hidden Thief, if you’re MHing a dagger or sword, it’s fine, but a SB or Pistol somehow auto-shots and breaks you ASAP.

That sounds awesome, Fiennes. How did each Thief approach it?

I love the Thief because for it’s limited arsenal in comparison to other classes, I feel it plays the most differently. I know Warriors have different nuances depending on what you’re using, but it still doesn’t feel as varied or energetic as the Thief.

For the Thief, every Offhand and Mainhand choices changes things up drastically for me, and I also find new ways to Trait nightly. I thought I would be a Dagger/Dagger Thief from level one, and then I found myself really digging Sword and Pistol – not for Pistol Whip, I just loved the Shadowstep and Blind. Then I tried Sword/Dagger because I like the concept more and was determined to make it work.

I only recently discovered how awesome Dancing Dagger is.

At level 80, it’s the first time I’ve mainhanded a pistol after ignoring them for so long. And Utilities? The Ranger is the only other profession I’ve played where I wished I could slot them all. They all feel useful and change how I play.

I feel valued in groups, have a lot of fun in WvW, and do alright in sPvP.

I have a Warrior and played one all through Beta. I didn’t even touch Thief until a last minute impulse at launch.

I found the warrior really boring and slow in comparison. I actually feel my Thief can do everything my Warrior and Elementalist can, but better. I’m not saying any class is balanced wrong or slamming them; years of MMOs and RPGs (even pen and paper) have taught me that it all comes down to personal taste.

There’s a general issue with the game’s engine where the thief won’t appear on your screen even when they’re out of stealth on their end.

This applies to a lot of things, especially in WvW, where whole zergs might not appear until it’s too late. It’s called Player Culling.

Loving the rifle and torch concepts.

I think a sniper build would suit the class, especially since we’re scouts.

Stealth – Takedown – Roots thief, 2 second cast heavy damage, 1200 range. Piercing shot.
1 – Engagement – Fires a piercing shot.
2 – Suppressive Fire – Fires a quick barrage, applies Confusion.
3 – Die Tired – Immobilizes the target for one second, applies Weakness.
4 – Called Shot – Fire a powerful shot, less health the target has, more damage you cause.
5 – Entrenched/Backdoor – Stealth and Protection. While Stealthed, you may Shadowstep backwards, 900 range.

That sounds like fun. And I’m on JQ already.

Thanks for posting that pistol video. I never really mainhanded pistol all this time, I’ll give it a spin.

Ah well, lesson learned. I’m in no rush, I just needed some direction since the Whispers set was well out of my reach for the moment.

How much did you have? Did you just never spend any? I tended to grab upgrades as I went along, if the gear I had was ten or so levels behind. I quested through the human zones and a few of the Norn ones, in addition to my story. I hit 80 in the Straits in the 75 events, and still have story to go.

Maybe those WvW sessions “robbed” me?

As I hit 80 the other day and only had 3 gold and 30k Karma to my name and a random assortment of 71-78 gear, I was wondering what the best path to getting kitted out would be.

My thinking is to just start off with Masterwork 80 pieces and begin the hunt for exotics I’m after (for stats and skins). As I prefer to run S/D and D/D with Shortbow with a preference for Trickery or Shadow Arts (I change builds daily, just learning and experimenting), I was wondering what sets (Invader, Berzerker) would be the best investment for dungeons and WvW.

Any advice?

Thanks!

I find I score kills with heavy Trick, Acro, or Shadow Arts builds because of the survivability. You can outright outlast people with the right Acro or Shadow style.

Of course, I also tend to roam and assist teammates rather than pick fights. I’m no tournament level player, I just think glass cannon is only critting yourself, as it were.

Mug was the first Trait I went for as I leveled, because I thought the Poison and Damage would be most beneficial in those early levels, and I wasn’t wrong (for the way I was playing, anyway).

And though I’m now 80 for WvW and PvE, and I’ve also practiced with different builds in the Mists, I always feel like I’m missing something if I don’t take Mug. It’s just a noticeable chunk of damage, and I also feel weird when I don’t have Thrill, because it’s such a nice booster.

To me Mug (and the poisoning on the way) is a free hit, another reason to hit Steal as soon as it’s up (which makes me desire it in heavy Trick builds), and just a nice compliment if you’re going to be running Thrill/Bountiful or Hidden Thief.

Anyone else feel this way? If not, what makes up for the lack of Mugging in your preferred focuses?

I agree Initiative is awesome.

It works in combat. Everyone slows. You still move 25% quicker than them.

Very noticeable when I put time in on my Engineer and Warrior.

Man, I want your gear.

irongamer.6014:

Too general. I tried starting a thread with more specifics about the class I play and how it used it on a run in a specific dungeon. I’d love to hear how other people are using their characters.

However, given the response to the thread (zero, the first response is the second part of my post) I’d say many of the people on the forums are here only to complain and point out what they feel is wrong.

If enough people post specifically how they play their character in dungeon encounters other could learn what works and/or any glaring issues with dungeon design will be revealed in a more detailed light.

More specifics of how I played my guardian in a CM explore mode are at this link:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/dungeons/How-to-succeed-with-profession-X-in-a-dungeon/first#post236585

I’ve tried to do the same with Thief on GW2Guru and it didn’t take off and devolved into a “You’re doing it wrong” thing, despite my own and my group’s methods succeeding quite well.

I agree the rewards don’t seem to be worth the effort. I have nothing to add other than it’s early yet, and I do have faith.

With SB I Steal and Disabling Shot right away.

With Pistol/Dagger you can Shadowstrike out.

P/P is the only one I don’t see a way out with. Black Powder and Dodge, but it’s not as snappy.

I agree something needs to be done with Steal at ranged. Maybe if you have SB or P in your MH you would Scorpion Wire the item out instead? Mug still works in concept because you’re harpooning them in the process.

I like that idea. I think Steal’s cooldown is too long in any event, but those are nice tweaks.

Dronin.3957:

I think rifles has become a really popular theme on this forum recently!

It reminds me of my Sniper in Old Republic. That was kind of a novel class.

I’ve been wondering why Tailoring and Leatherworking seemed much more of a grind than they seemed at first.

I haven’t really kept up with either because I’ve been enjoying other aspects of the game, like PvE, and I admit I came to some severe stumbling blocks with Leatherworking because I simply didn’t have the wool and leather to get it running again. And I salvage and save everything. I finally bought my way out of the 150 level of LWing only to find that at 69 levels of questing, I have no cotton or leather squares for the next stage.

Why do we need to fix Stealth Stomps and Stealth Rezes in any aspect of the game?

What are these exploits with Smoke fields? Are they absolutely exploits or combo field mechanics?

Stealth is already a tool for increasing survivability, and the aforementioned smoke field with blind is where the juking lies.

What’s wrong with Shadow Step, why did it enter this conversation if the main concern seems to be Stealth Stomps? Is the concern that Shadow Step and Arrow help Thieves zip around to get the Stomp?

Not arguing, I’m genuinely curious what prompted this.

While I understand your intent, I believe that if one wanted to go power with Daggers, D/P and it’s HS → Backstab utility is where the concept is headed.

D/D is much more weighted around dropping bleeds and then hiding to wait it out/harass them more and crippling them as you kite.

More or less, I’m just trying to break it down simply, methods will vary.

How about we just take Initiative off and put it on the generic cooldown system.

Then we can sit back and watch as people who aren’t playing well still get stomped, and people who learn the system and find a new way to excel still do the stomping.

I’m for it.

First it was Hundred Blades and Bull’s Rush and even Endure Pain. This was before the game was even live. Then Heartseeker, and soon after Pistol Whip. Also Stealth in general. I can’t wait to see what the next target is. I’ve seen a lot of Guardian kvetching, but I want it to be Rangers so we can see all the Ranged is OP arguments within the context of GW2’s design and mechanics.

Those will be good.

Psychrome.9281:

this is why stealth mechanics shouldnt ever be in game, they arent fun…people cant accept being beaten by them and then they get nerfed to unplayability so imho just remove stealth classes and mechanics from all games especially mmos

So because “people can’t accept being beaten by them”, a personal or emotional issue that probably stems into any other form of competition or social interaction outside of a video game, they should remove the concept from games and MMOs?

I’m hoping your sarcasm just wasn’t laid out properly, in which case the joke is on me.

I didn’t know Pistol Whip’s stun could hit more than a single target.

That’s awesome.

“Just try to level some other class someday. And you’ll see for yourself how weak Thief is. "

I do. I must just be used to the speed and mobility and utility, because I find Warrior slow and tedious, Elementalist fun and mobile but too many keystrokes for not enough payoff, and pretty much fell asleep with an Engineer or Guardian.

They’re effective in their own way, but the Mesmer and Ranger are the only two classes that engage me as much as a Thief, and even then only the Mesmer is as fun to play.

Forward : W
Backward: No such animal.
Strafe Left: Q
Strafe Right: E
Assist: T
Skill 1: 1
Skill 2: 2
Skill 3: 3
Skill 4: 4
Skill 5: 5
Heal : R
Utility 1: A
Utility 2: S
Utility 3: D
Ultimate: Button 4 on generic mouse.
(F1)Steal: Button Z/F1
Weapon swap: Tilde/Button 5 on mouse.

X,C,V are also F-key alternates. It works for my hands on this keyboard.

Because this is how MMOs work:

Class A beat me, I’m Class B. Class A is overpowered and gimmicky.
I beat Class A, I’m Class B. What a noob, he needs to learn to play.
Class A beat me, I’m Class A. That guy has no life.
I beat Class A, I’m Class A. I’m the best player of this class, that guy will never learn how to play.

Also, a lot of the “I got rolled by…” stories always involve some epic 1 on 1 scenario that they should have had the advantage in, except in reality, odds are a second or third player was nearby and contributed to their demise. But you crit them with Move X, so you’re the overpowered one.

Shortbow since I first saw it in Beta leaks. And I do run it all the time, so it’s a must.

The Sword and Dagger are so cool, though. I’d take the Dagger for it’s “What the Heck” factor.

Thanks, Kaona. I do love the Shadow Arts tree, especially in dungeons. I think Flanking Strike just needs a quick tune-up and it’d be my favorite go-to set (I love the sword attacks + mobility + the dagger offhand tools over the pistol offhand).

I’ll second Kaona’s thoughts on Venoms. Basilisk really needs to drop the cast time, what it gives you isn’t worth the set up – increase the duration and then I’d say the cast time is worth it. Ice Drake and Devourer also need a duration tweak. I’ve only seen any Venom truly pull it’s weight in a share build.

I don’t disagree these Traits need work, although I may not agree with some of the solutions.

The only one that got dogged on that I disagree with entirely was quickly corrected – Shadow’s Embrace is useful and effective and on demand.

I agree with Trickster and the Shortbow/Harpoon skills needing a little more shine. I can’t really argue than any of these traits are a good choice in PvE or PvP outside of flavor.

I agree Flanking Strike needs work. Sword/Dagger is my favorite set in theory, but Flanking Strike is too expensive and wonky to justify itself right now.

I’ve had it crit and crit hard while trying to play to it’s flanking ability, but it just zips around way too loose – I’ve had it completely drop me away from a stationary mob in PvE.

In theory, I like the Evade and mobility (of the whole set) and boon stripping; in practice FS needs to be tightened up and give us something on top of the boon strip…maybe Quickness on Evade?

I love my Thief, I don’t agree with most of your issues because they seem to be biased for what you expected vs how the class actually is.

I don’t find your arguments without merit, though, there are a few points worth discussing.

Myself, I’d like Flanking Strikes to be a bit more “sticky”, and I’d love to know what Sword/Dagger’s intended role is in PvE, if any. With the right group coordinating, Pistol Whip is more “efficient”, but I’d love to play with S/D.

On the Heartseeker front, I don’t think the readjustment really impacted good Thieves. The execute still hits like a truck, and the gap closer aspect now doesn’t if the opponent isn’t in execution stage. Seemed fair to me.

It would be interesting, especially if they round out 4 and 5. Just imagining.

Sharpclaw.7510:

A gap closer with potential for some very useful skills? Why aren’t you using it? For PvP, it can be very useful, especially once you know what you’ll tend to get. You can really plan things well. Going up against a Necro? Have Runes of the Thief? Enjoy using that fear ability and attacking his back for more damage (and higher crits if you have Side Strikes).

See that warrior on that tight ramp? Shadowstep to him, use Whirling Axe for some initial burst, then Blossom a few times, drop caltrops, and watch as your stack of 20+ bleeds take them down.

This Thief knows what’s going on. I do enjoy seeing Fear and the Axe icon pop up in PvE and PvP.

I love Steal, especially traited. Sure, it’s not as useful if you don’t Trait, but it’s just fits the improvisational and kinetic nature of the profession.

Thanks for the tips, Classic. I love giving new builds a spin.

Didn’t they adjust the damage on 100%-50%? That’d be a damage number tweak.

Is it really an exploit? It’s a skin.

I expect them to have a vendor that sells that starting quiz gear for karma or for gems on the Trade Post soon enough.

I’m alright with it. The only qualm I have with the threshold change is I don’t know of a way to show Percentages on the UI for convenience since I’m used to what I already eyeball, but it’s not a big deal.

It still hits hard as an execute, right? This was the fix that was asked for, if I recall: it was a spammable all-the-time move, a gap closer, and execute. One part of that got dropped, and it’s the part that doesn’t affect those who use it a bit more strategically.