(edited by Sparks The Rescue.5043)
25/30/0/0/15 for traits. Mug, Sundering Strikes, Side Strike, Furious Retaliation, Executioner (if crit% is above 60%, Hidden Killer if below), and Flanking Strikes.
S/P and #5 for blinds and #3 for aoe. Shortbow on swap.
I find that dungeons get tremendously easier when I’ve run them a couple times, to really learn what weapons and utilities are best where, and the mechanics of each part of the path. I was in your same boat a couple weeks ago, dungeons were just dreadful. I’ve blocked out the first time I ever ran CoE on my thief, (which happened to be my first time running the dungeon) and it was so kitten frustrating. But… needless to say, CoE is one of my favorite dungeons to run for daily gold and tokens and xp now, because once I learned proper dodging time (thiefs have it easy with s/p #3) it really became a new dungeon and I could appreciate it a lot more (alive). Its really just practice and experience.
But, as for general tips, when you’re stacking, spam s/p #3 as it is a constant evade, and with the new buff to 1s initiative regen, along with the trait that gives initiative on crit, I am able to keep up high amounts of dodges. I also swap out my heals according to to which path of which dungeon I am doing, for example, when I stack, I either bring HiS or SoM (when I am not stacking, I sometimes bring withdraw for the evade and short CD). SoM is a really poweful heal in higher leveled dungeons where the ticks combined with pistol whips multiple attacks are really beneficial. A nice combo I’ve found for a quick burst heal, if needed, is black powder coped with daggerstorm and SoM if there are multiple mobs around. A thief is a bit different from other classes in that it doesn’t really have a set rotation defined by ICD’s, but the general positioning and rotation is always start the boss from the back and use CnD – > BS → AA chain → CnD. Anything with defiant and unshakeable, I personally wouldn’t waste my initiatve for black powder on, because blinds are only 20% effective, I believe, so I stick with either pistol whipping it to death (in some cases where a mesmer has pushed it to the wall) or just d/d backstab.
Lastly, utilize stealth when running past mobs with shadow refuge and blinding powder and HiS, along with shortbow #5 to really gain ground while in stealth. The only dungeon where 13s+ stealth isn’t enough is maybe some parts in TA if you don’t stop at the safe spots.
I recently just unlocked some new traits that give me 3 initiative when I steal, steal causes poison, and I cause weakness when I poison. In combination of these, should I steal as frequently as possible even mid-fights or is there a tactical time and way to steal or simply use it as a shadowstep to engage mobs? Also, is it more beneficial to run a signet build for open world PvE for the +initiative when activating a signet ? I tend to swap out infiltrators for shadow refuge when I run ascalonian catacombs though.
All of you have offered some really great advice. I will definitely be sure to give caltrops a try and be sure to use CnD and AA more often than DB + HS.
Hello fellow thiefs, I recently decided to pick up a thief and I can say that I really enjoy the gameplay tactics, but I feel as though I have to put 100% more effort into killing something than my ranger does (as weak as they are in the meta right now.) And as much effort that I have to put into it, I wouldn’t have a problem with it if just my effort had clear results, but probably a good 75% of my veteran fights result in death.
I’m currently a level 27 thief, and as I consulted the forums for advice, I’m finding that what looks great on paper does not equate so well to actual gameplay. For example, I’ve read posts that swear by both D/D and S/P. The problems I am having are that while D/D is great dps, it burns through initiative so quickly that I end up running around hopelessly trying to find the back of the monster that I usually take way too much damage… and don’t even get me started if there are two enemies, and i’ll be kittened if one is ranged. So, I read that D/D is good for single target DPS and I figured that was my problem in the open world where it’s not uncommon to aggro two or three enemies at once. So, I shelved the D/D until I come across a vet, and pull out my D/D + cloak + backstab + cloak and find that the veteran is only at 60% health and then I’m out of initiative and, alas, I get killed trying to dodge until my initiative regenerates. So, I hopelessly came back to read about black powder + pistol whip and while it is definitely easier, I still find myself dying way too frequently due to 1. black powder’s blind not encompassing all the monsters that I aggro leaving me vulnerable to damage, 2. running out of initiative after one black powder + pistol whip combo, or 3. getting stunned, dazed, knocked back, conditions, and other sorts of damage that go through blind, and 4. ranged mobs being outside of BP’s AoE. So, in turn, this leaves me with no use for D/D in any situation leaving me feeling like I’m not using my thief to it’s full potential, and also still struggling with S/P because I rely so heavily on black powder, that when I run out of initiative or face a ranged mob, i I essentially lose god mode.
And so here I am. Is there anything I’m missing, or are there any tips or tricks that I may be missing that can drastically help me in these situations? Or is it just something that I’m going to have to stick out and hope that it gets better in the long haul once I can utilize traits to their full ability.