Guild Wars 2

Your best bet is dodging their CnD. A lot of condi thieves I find don’t use P/D 3 as muhc as they should. I simply dodge their CnD and it messes them all up.

No class can 1vX against players of equal skill. Those instances of players 1vXing and winning only happen because the player in mention is better, and/or they are fighting a bunch of uplevels.

Jeknar.6184:

This week, yes… But T8 actually consist of EBay(or AR)/Kain/ET. And when we have Kaineng on the match, it’s a complete mess since they only play during off hours and have no NA primetime presence.

As someone who used to be on Kaineng for about a year and a half, I can confirm this.

Sigmoid.7082:

Its funny when people think I am a free bag and then they die. I love having people make a b-line for me in team fights since ranger has the second highest sustained melee evasion in the game.
I evade and my team kills everyone else because people are busy killing the “easy” target. Its even better when people expect you to lose easy and you drop them.

Good rangers are few and far but when you find someone who knows what they are doing you are in for one hell of a skirmish.

Edit: I play power ranger, no not the glassy stuff…they give us a bad name, and I have only lost badly vs pu mesmer.

Yeah good rangers are very scary.

There was a zerker longbow ranger with a bear pew pewing at me from above a sentry, so I casually walked around, got up to where she was and killed her in no more than 4 seconds. I really do appreciate the free bags, and I whole-heatedly support their adoption of homeless animals.

I too find that knights gear works better on my ele. I do run soldier daggers though just like your build. Seems good overall, although may I ask why you chose celestial accessories?

100% possible. I personally only have it there soemtimes if I know there are large groups out and about and I might need to get away fast. I see some people who prefer S/P offhand, and it’s pretty effective too. Any offset works imo

BlazinFyre.2410:

I’m looking for some help with getting a good build for a thief in WvW. I mainly play my thief in sPvP so I don’t really know what the meta is for one in WvW. The main thing I need help with is a weapon set. I’ve been playing D/D stealth build which is nice but the damage is kinda lack luster. I’ve been seeing other thieves running D/P which I plan to try next but I also see thieves going S/D which is my favorite weapon set in sPvP. The main objective for the build should be running with a guild group of 15-20 people and doing a thief’s job such as picking off people that are low and the back line So if I can get some tips on weapon sets or even a full build for a thief that would be awesome! Thanks in advance!

Imo D/D is perfectly suited for running in havocs. In a nice 10v10 or so there’s plenty of targets to CnD, and you can take down atrgets fast with your BS. And D/D has the highest burst potential because of CnD, so D/P is definitely not going to up your burst. I personally like D/D the most as it seems the msot fluid to me. I would also stay away from S/X in WvW because you lack lots of condition cleanse, and the vast majority of people run condi builds (I mostly see condi engis in WvW now). In all honesty though, play around and find what you like most.

Wintel.4873:

combined with their absurd burst/CC

I stopped reading when I read that thieves have absurd CC.

CrimsonNeonite.1048:

A good amount of toughness and Vitality can mitigate a decent amount of damage, I’d say at least 2.6 Armor and a good amount of Vitality from Acrobatics and Valkyrie gear should be enough, but against Condis that’s another thing all together.

I play 2/6/0/6/0 most of the time though or sometimes 3/6/0/5/0, and I also mix Cavalier/Knights Gear which gives a good amount of Crit/Precision/Toughness.

Personally I do not use up a Utility slot with Signet of Agility which would give me access to 6 dodges like some builds – especially the ones built around Might stacking, so the way I survive is through dodges and shadow steps.

Hmm might have to try this

EvilHero.1248:

http://tinyurl.com/kg9bmdn

not only it has high toughness and attack, it has decent CD as well. Although the crit rate suffer a little, you still get around 50+% chance. in addition, it has a good -condition duration and -stun duration which helps a lot against those pesky hammer users.

any comments?

Eh. Imo, you’re better off with full zerker armor and trinks w/ doly signet. Yes your stability is on a slightly longer cd, but you maintain around 3k armor, and get 47% crit, and 213% crit. The damage loss from soldier’s armor isn’t worth it if you ask me.
http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fJAQNAR3ejMd0FaZImdwJagfgC9t3C5gxAYAUmGzBA-TVCFABM8BAQ4gAIz+DAcEAuSJISKnSSJjhq/kmuhAAIA38mZz2M4oH9oH9oHtbezbezbezSBwkwI-w

Chaba.5410:

This is the effect of…
1) free transfers
2) gold league being only 6 servers
3) ratings isolation cause of leagues (servers at the league borders being prevented from fighting each other)
4) slow glicko adjustments for population changes
5) WvWvW’s lack of teams of roughly equal size

Going to PvE might be a good idea. Wait until the ratings adjustments finally blow over.

Yup. I’m done with WvW for a while. I’ll go and try (emphasis on try) to roam, but I find little other than large guilds.

Ty for putting us in an extremely unbalanced matchup again anet. Looks like this is gonna be a good week for pve……….

Warrior imo. And from my experience, guardians are freaking slow. Warrior can get around really fast because of GS 3 and 5, and GS is also great for pve so it’s a win win.

Carpboy.7145:

You’ve got 2 categories: power and condition

Then within those 2 you have several subcategories such as offensive condition, defensive condition, hybrid, berserker axe/GS, berserker hammer. There are TONS of viable roaming builds for warriors. So pick one and i can tell you more about it

Is Gs Axe/shield still good? I used to play that and it was a lot of fun

bigmonto.4215:

Given how many conditional users there are these days, going any types of power build is not a good idea unless you are just that good (which you won’t be asking this question) or like to run a lot.

based on my experience as a D/D thief main, I disagree. I play both a power based thief and ele and do just fine. I also see plenty of power based warriors who also do great. I am only asking because I don’t know too much about warrior and I’d like to start playing one.

Garambola.2461:

Very funny!

How do you know they were uplevels?

You can’t see it in the picture because I don’t have one of them selected, but I tabbed through them and they both have the green arrows next to their name

Ezeriel.9574:

FA is supremely bored this week.

Well they are completely destroying both my home of SBI and ioj. Can’t say I blame em for being bored

Just wondering what builds you guys are using for roaming. Any and all builds are welcome!

Ark Bladesteele.2943:

[USSR], shirtless, the 2 bears, the overall Russian thing really completes it.

I actually didn’t really see the USSR guild tag until now…. oh god this is too perfect

XPGAMER.7324:

lol dats my vid glad you liked. D/D just faster paced and more fun than d/p imo. Much stronger vs interupt builds as well. Just a lot harder to play, so not many thieves use it.

Yeah D/D is definitely much less forgiving, but I’m determined to get good with it! And yeah I personally don’t like d/p. D/D is just more fun for me

MightyMicah.7451:

Tim.6450:

Splatter Paw.7238:

All the while never doing damage cause revealed exists………

wrong, choking gas and caltrops don’t cause revealed.

Lol ok let’s duel. You get perma stealth, choking gas, and caltrops, and I get everything but stealth. Go!

That link in your signature just made me laugh so hard…………. So true it’s uncanny

I solo camps fairly easily with D/D. Just kill the scouts first (the blinds) and you’re set. Also keep an eye out for stuns and immob from the guards, and the knockdown from the supervisor. I do recommend running blind on stealth (which you should be doing anyways). Other than that, you can agro some of them by themselves, but you don’t need to. And as far as upgraded camps go they’re tricky. The problem I have is that by the time I almost take the camp some people will come to defend it as it takes quite a while. I personally agro the wizard(s) first and take them out, followed by the scouts or Zealots depending. You just have to be super aware of what’s going on. The upgraded guards hurt like crazy. it does take practice though, so don’t give up if you’re not successful!

XPGAMER.7324:

Basically there is a short period of time after their flanking strike where the game will not let them evade even if they have endurance. Most evasive skills have this period, so you just need to learn to time a cnd to hit exactly then. I use that a lot when I fight amon, but its pretty hard to land sometimes.

You can also fake a cloak and dagger, by pressing cloak and dagger and then a binded key to stow your weapon (Neat trick). This usually makes players waste dodges like crazy if you do it well enough, and it’s also handy to cancel a cloak and dagger that would get blinded, evaded, or blocked.

If this seems too hard though, you could just pickup d/p like most thieves and blind spam to win Hope my advice helped(:

Awesome advice thanks. I’m definitely going to try that stow weapon trick!

Let the “spam 2 more nub” raging commence.

So to you pro D/D users out there, any tips on how to fight S/D acro thieves?

No. Period. It’s imob is freaking long as hell to begin with and the bleed damage is not to be underestimated.

Ritt.3069:

This. Basic S/D AcroTrickery from PvP, but it works wonders in WvW as well if you can use it. Can swap Strength Runes for Pack (Fury instead of Might!), Hoelbrak (cheaper than Strength) or Lyssa’s (45s condibomb cleanse and good procs with #4).

The above build is a daze lock build utilizing Tactical Strike, but imo you shouldn’t really go for SA with S/D, as Dagger main-hands fare way better with stealth traitline. S/D is all about timing your evades and being an overall evasive swashbuckler. CnD is also a dangerous thing to depend on, even if you can root your foes with #2.

This seems more in line with other builds I’ve seen. Definitely gonna try this out thanks!

Domey.9804:

2/6/6/0/0 traveller runes. I play with para sigil

Okay thanks. I’m assuming zerk trinkets with a miz of zerk/soldier armor or so?

What setups are you guys using for S/D in WvW?

Skenderbeu.9102:

If an elementalist wielding dual daggers uses this combo too fast it will not work and the whole combo will get canceled. The elementalist will get teleported to the targeted location then redirected back to where it first was used from the beginning. The burning speed will not hit and it will be a complete disaster… I’ve missed a lot of very important comboes in PvP due to this bug, please look into this ANet, I shall try to edit this post later on and post a video containing visual information for the eye to behold.

Regards, Nori.

This happens to me all the time. Even when I’m not lagging at all.

Mystogan.4157:

Jst by looking at 0/4/0/4/6 your going to need alot of defensive stats seeing gow arcane gives no bonus stats. Id possibly try soldiers trinks zerk armor and knights weapon. You will be lacking in toughness i think. Cant check cus im at work :p

Or if u dont mind losing some dmage you can use knights armor and zerk weapons. Throw your build in gw2builder.com and try out the combinations above

Yeah I’m thinking of a mix of soldier and knight w/ zerker weps or so. Maybe a celestial amy thrown in too
Something like this build I found online:
http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fFAQJAoYhcMqcW4wzBd0APAC5fv2JKQ5qJfC-T1iFABjs/wJqEskSPrUCCwDAghTAAhqRQlygz0BcoqKopFIAACwNDAiQjbezje0bmMA5bB-w

Mystogan.4157:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fFAQJAodhcMKb23wuBd0AEAW4AQCIIOOH0DCCiuAA-TFCEABG8AAeTHgiq/0kyP/0Ckz+DAcCA2SJIpAkYZE-w
this is what i use

tried to keep tough and vit up while maximizing power followed by feroc and crit chance

Interesting build, but I’m kind of set on running 0/4/0/4/6 or 0/2/0/6/6 depedning. I was thinking of possibly going for a celestial set of armor? That takes a long time though so I was wondering what mix of armors would provide other useful stats. I don’t want pure dps, so I’m thinking of a maybe a mix of maybe soldier and zerk? I don’t really know about trinkets though. Ideas?

So I know some people choose to mix their gear up. I would like to get a gear set for my D/D ele which I love roaming with in WvW. What stat combos do you guys use?

Yeah I mean I don;t have a problem with them until there’s 3 or more pew pewing at me. Even worse is I’ll be in a nice 1v1 fight and all of a sudden my health starts dropping and I hear pew pew in the background. Then you try running away and they freaking chase you to the god kitten ends of the earth lol.

vincecontix.1264:

Dahkeus.8243:

People are getting bored and Ranger is something new and different for people that passed it up before. That’s my theory. =P

That might be part of it though standing in one spot pew pewing from range isn’t very engaging neither is spirit ranger.

Yeah I mean it might be kind of amusing, but being on the receiving end is not. I was in a match a little while ago and the entire enemy team was ranger, most of whom were just standing still spamming longbow. And for some reason they all decided they hate eles and decided to only attack me x.x
Pew pew wasn’t so funny when I got up in their faces.

Wiseman.4075:

Quakeman.9378:

You also have to realize that stealth is a thief’s only form of defense (unless you’re an acro thief). All classes have their own defense system: warriors are innately tanky and have a high health pool, Guardians regen a lot of health and are tanky, Eles regen massive amounts of health. Stealth is the only was a thief CAN survive. Also, thieves do still take full damage while in stealth, so they’re don’t go into god mode like you see to believe. Stealth kittenes most people off because it’s different, and takes an entirely different strategy to play against. It requires you to THINK, okay he went into stealth, what is he going to do now. After a few stealths you should be able to tell how the thief plays, and from this, how to counter him. And finally, if someone kills you as thief, remember that it is entirely possible that they are simply good (and yes, possibly better than you).
On another note, If you nerf stealth, you need to give thief another reliable means of survival (not all of us want to go acro thieves; I personally find it quite boring).
But ya, you shouldn’t be able to stealth off of walls etc.

You also need to remember many forms of combat require you to be able to see a target to continue to hit them. Warrior swinging a sword can still damage you but a gun will not do any damage. etc

My biggest problem with this constant stealthing is you can easily burst conditions every 4 secs as a thief or have clones constantly apply conditions while you just sit in stealth regening as the opponent swings around wildly. Mix and repeat until the opponent puts all their cleanses on cool down. It is Stupid easy to kill people with a stealth condition build…stupid easy…its fun and kind of funny but that combination that a condi thief has is just plain unfair for most professions to compete against.

You have a very good point m8. Condition thief builds are extremely annoying, and because most of them run dire equips they’re quite tanky also. I honestly just don’t fight P/D thieves anymore.

What the flip is with all the god kitten rangers recently. I swear to god every match I go into now has 5+ rangers in it (out of 10). Everywhere I go it’s just stand still let arrows rain then root + spam. What so many all of a sudden?

There’s a few ways you can build. I personally have been playing around with a condition D/D build for my ele and I’m absolutely loving it! I run 0/0/10/30/30 with a mix of dire and apothecary trinks, weps, and armor. I’m incredibly tanky with a huge amount of regen on water and cantrips, and the amount of damage I can put out is really surprising. If you want more details feel free to message me. otherwise, the 0/10/0/30/30 cantrip build still works great too. Feel free to play around- the best part about ele is how versatile we are.

Anyone?

Poplolita.2638:

Quakeman.9378:

You also have to realize that stealth is a thief’s only form of defense (unless you’re an acro thief). All classes have their own defense system: warriors are innately tanky and have a high health pool, Guardians regen a lot of health and are tanky, Eles regen massive amounts of health. Stealth is the only was a thief CAN survive. Also, thieves do still take full damage while in stealth, so they’re don’t go into god mode like you see to believe. Stealth kittenes most people off because it’s different, and takes an entirely different strategy to play against. It requires you to THINK, okay he went into stealth, what is he going to do now. After a few stealths you should be able to tell how the thief plays, and from this, how to counter him. And finally, if someone kills you as thief, remember that it is entirely possible that they are simply good (and yes, possibly better than you).
On another note, If you nerf stealth, you need to give thief another reliable means of survival (not all of us want to go acro thieves; I personally find it quite boring).
But ya, you shouldn’t be able to stealth off of walls etc.

Ya totally, thiefs are also the only class that can’t dodge.

You’re kidding right? Yes you can dodge skills, but no matter what things are going to hit you. Take axe warriors for instance- their AAs hit me for 1-2k on average and I can;t dodge all of them. Also, what do your dodges do against condis? I didn’t consider dodges in my argument because all classes have them, so discussing it is pointless.

You also have to realize that stealth is a thief’s only form of defense (unless you’re an acro thief). All classes have their own defense system: warriors are innately tanky and have a high health pool, Guardians regen a lot of health and are tanky, Eles regen massive amounts of health. Stealth is the only was a thief CAN survive. Also, thieves do still take full damage while in stealth, so they’re don’t go into god mode like you see to believe. Stealth kittenes most people off because it’s different, and takes an entirely different strategy to play against. It requires you to THINK, okay he went into stealth, what is he going to do now. After a few stealths you should be able to tell how the thief plays, and from this, how to counter him. And finally, if someone kills you as thief, remember that it is entirely possible that they are simply good (and yes, possibly better than you).
On another note, If you nerf stealth, you need to give thief another reliable means of survival (not all of us want to go acro thieves; I personally find it quite boring).
But ya, you shouldn’t be able to stealth off of walls etc.

Hey guys, I was wondering what armor you guys have been using to replace celestial since the introduction of ferocity, or if you guys still use it. Thanks.

bigmonto.4215:

Still use it, its definitely not bad. This is assuming you don’t have the full set.

You can roll a full set, but you will need to build hybrid to be effective.

What mix of celestial and other armors do you use?

What armor specs and traits are good now for ele? I’ve been meaning to start playing my ele again

I feel your pain. Thief was by far the hardest class for me to level (even more so than ele). Imho, your best bet is to use S/P for the blinds, which help a lot to keep you alive. The cleave is also a huge bonus. As far as equipment goes, if you’re not having too many issues staying alive, then go Zerker (or Power/Precision if you’re not high enough level). This’ll help you learn the most important thing about thief: dodging. Dodging is your #1 best friend. Learn how to dodge the really painful stuff, you it’ll make your life a lot easier.

My only main issue with axe warriors is the sheer damage pressure they put on you. I main thief and dodging the evis is just part of the struggle. Personally, I play it safe with axe warriors because I know they have the potential to do more damage tha myself, but I am more mobile and I have stealth. I’ll just stay away and wait for them to make the moves, CnD em, BS, and rinse and repeat. For me at least, these battles are quite drawn out but winnable. As far as countering one as a warrior, I can only recommend dodging, blocking, and anticipating their moves.

Dee Jay.2460:

I agree that D/P is slightly overpowered. Or maybe it’s just well-designed since it’s the only weapon-set that makes frequent use of all its skills.

It would be nice if other Thief weapon sets had equally well-designed weapon-skills.

I agree that D/D has the more attractive play-style but it evolves almost entirely around 2 skills. Same applies to P/D.

If D/D and P/D actually used all 5 of their weapon skills on a regular basis they’d be much more compelling to play.

I completely agree with this. My only dilemma about using D/D is that it has less useful skills than D/P. D/P is in general more useful, and I feel this needs to be reevaluated.

Yasha.5963:

stinkypants.8419:

Can’t go wrong with PVT in Wv3 IMHO.

That’s what I was told in game as well, but I don’t see any builds on intothemists etc that use that set up- also my damage at the moment is pitiful- against warriors they just stand in my blind stupidly but I can barely out damage their HS. Although that could be because I just have exotic weapons and one exotic armor (rest is"fine") and no food/gems/runes etc. I don’t know how much of a difference those things make yet.

Thanks for the other advice too Quake, Frans and Frigid- all extremely useful. I’ll try and pick up those runes of speed for now I think. It would be nice to have devourer venom on my bar instead of sig shadows.

I highly suggest getting all exotic armor before adding runes to them. There’s a huge difference in stats. Also as far as warriors go, they’re hard in general for power thieves. Although I prefer D/D, I swap to D/P JUST for warriors. They get special treatment. (reason is for the large quantity of blinds w/ D/P). And you’re welcome, that’s why this forum exists after all :o