Guild Wars 2

I guess in GW1 assassins observed both grenth and lyssa, so both are close enough for government work!

Hi Zaku, welcome to the thief!

What god you choose will not affect your character. In fact, none of the character story really affects your character long term.

The stories are different for each race, and slightly different for each biography you choose (are you a noble, etc), for about half of the story. After that point, the stories merge and are the same, though there is one more branch to choose, which order you want to be a part of. Different orders have a few different missions during your personal story.

You can only ever join 1 order with your character, so that decision is really the only ‘lasting’ one. Each order provides unique armor skins. So that’s your biggest choice to make!

Some helpful links:
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Personal_story
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Biography
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Order
http://i.imgur.com/doaX6.png <—-personal story flowchart

Concerning gods. Lore-wise, Lyssa would probably be the closest (human) god to match a thief’s “magic”. However (and I’m no Lore expert), this is just a very magic rich world, and you don’t need to honor a god to have magic.

S/P in the “S/D Meta” build is great! Once they balanced FS/LS to only steal one boon I switched over to S/P for more burst and have great fun! I’ll generally run 30056 or 50036. S/P has a place in acro for sure. I find that picking up the weakness condi from 3 DA helps to mitigate damage further, especially since you get weakness from your “opener” steal, and then a few seconds in to the fight with your third sword swing.

New trait system will make it even better! 60066 with panic strike and executioner, and tricks remove condis, hard to catch is actually useful, and there’s a GM to evade projectiles??? WUUUUUT? Can’t wait. Gonna run the same S/P style with withdraw, roll for initiative, scorp wire and dagger storm (all tricks!), can’t decide if I’ll take Haste or Sigil of Accuracy for final util.

It’s a strange choice. I agree the stun break is a bit odd. However, consider two things:

You can attack someone from the side/behind instantly with a Mug Steal, so that could act as a poor mans stun break – which is what I use a stun-steal for now in some situations, anyway!

Also, Haste is a trick. So it would remove a condition, if you have that traited.

You’d lose both of these things if it was converted to simple quickness.

I’d like it and be interested in it either way tbh.

mompen.7952:

Runes are cheap anyways :-)

So true, I have three zerker sets all transmuted and fancy – one holds my str runes, one holds my pack runes, and one holds whatever crazy cheap rune I’m experimenting with this week!

Some might argue strength runes, or even scholar for similar boosts, but with the price — it has a great cost:effectiveness ratio!

To go on a wild tangent, the new flanking strikes looks interesting as well – especially when tricks clear condis – though I wonder how that stunbreak would be useful (considering you have to be able to move, to use it – outside of mug steal i guess).

Seems cool! I like basing builds around runes.

On another topic, I can’t wait for all the new builds we get to try with the new trait system!

You’ve really gone all in with the damage modifiers, which makes me wonder why you you aren’t 06305 for the “if” scenario of +15% !! Seems like a fine trade to lose 2 ini on stealth.

It would be interesting to see how this compares in backstab damage vs some other runeset with full DPS stats.

Nice vid thanks for sharing!

Best: Eat Egg — 6 ini!
Worst: Tooth Stab — Seriously? 1 Stack of bleed? I dont care how long it lasts. that will get cleansed, or maybe not. 2k damage over 1 minute!? Just wait it out.

Thanks all!

Ink.9058:

Would you mind if I message you in-game with some questions?

Sure anytime

Maugetarr.6823:

…it was nice to see someone running around without SR on their bar.

Thanks! I’ll still swap to it if I see group mates in trouble (mainly cause I warn them ahead of time I don’t have SR and to request if needed!), but otherwise I feel like a well placed x/P Black Powder+SB or Blinding Powder serves the same purpose in most cases. I do really miss x/D access to stealth tho.

Red Vagabond.8613:

I really enjoy SP … but i wasn’t sure how to play it effectively. I’m going to try your build and see if it helps.

Let me know how it goes! One thing you may not like is how exposed you are to enemy focus. It helps if you stay way back in fights, and Sword #2 + steal in to engage (from way back, once your select your target), always keeping the ability to return.

Great video and nice fights! You certainly own the area — great s/d!

Having fun with S/P. Wanted to post another video of the gameplayin this point spread before a transition in to other builds (probably still S/P for a while, have a strange amount of fun with it!).

Over-all, this build (30056) is very fun. There will be an upcoming video with 60053, which is also extremely fun, both are surprisingly survivable in group context due to their mobility.

Another alternative, 50036 does probably the most amount of damage while retaining Sleight of Hand, outside of 6 CS, which ofc sacrifices feline grace. I think overall, S/P stealthless/lite can survive in all of these trait setups while having fun, high risk/reward encounters.

Taking Blinding Powder, along with the SB Blast, makes black powder a nice super-stealth for your group as well and gives you an extra ‘out’.

I must admit that S/P 26006, with sigil or rage/air and critical haste, is much better in a duel. I think, in the end, I may slot sigil of rage in any s/p build, because it generally fires off on the opening.

Anyhow, I hope you find this short video entertaining!

Video: “The Dragoon”
Build

ricky.2679:

But the best tip of all for S/P is use Pistolwhip for evades combined with Acrobatics Feline Grace. Don’t spam it for damage instead use it defensively.

This is so true. I’ve played thief almost exclusively and only recently got in to S/P like for-realsies. The moment it clicked for me to punish people for over aggression or just to anticipate incoming damage and Pistol Whip defensively got me completely hooked on the weapon set.

That, and the whirlwind blind vs warriors is so great. Speaking of which, I started having a whole new level of fun using x/P skills and combos that are more about the blinds than the stealths.

witcher.3197:

you’re basically going back in time making a less viable, outdated S/D build.

I find it off-putting when people say things like this. It’s one thing to constructively criticize a build or certain trait choices; it’s another to completely discount someones choices because it’s not considered the best at the moment. The world is not flat.

There was a LOT of criticism when people first started playing Trickery in zerker gear.

I actually agree with the spirit of all your bullet points, but with a less deterministic tone.

• Mug is great
• Daze on steal allows you to interrupt rezes, which is a function S/D thief can’t easily pull off otherwise (CnD+Tac Strike takes a long time)
• Pack and Strength runes will result in more DPS, all things considered

But lets keep in mind that there will be another shift, and another, and another — lets have fun with the theory crafting along the way and not keep our minds closed to change.

Maugetarr.6823:

So condi duration in the power line is really useful for utility condis such as immobilize, weakness, and poison. I usually go 5 into it which boosts the total immobilize duration of DV by 1 second. That’s an extra heartseeker into the target, potentially finishing them off.

Agreed!

I’m just glad we don’t have Malice+Precision in our second trait line (war, guard, nec, engi i think). That combo has always seemed very niche to me.

As to the one question asked (since you labeled this a QA)

Nephrite.6954:

why not pare 30% condition duration & 300 condition damage (malice) together?

That trait stat combo does not exist for any class. All classes top trait line is Power+Expertise. It’s the same reason many complementary traits are separated. As Amon said: Balance.

Klowde.9876:

What do you think about replacing the sigils on the weapons to air/ strength for more might on crit?

Pain response is there to help with conditions, as is the hoelbrak

And yes, the poison is a potential problem, but I have yet to see how regen plays a role in my battles. Thanks for the feedback!

IMO probably 1 or 2 more str sources is enough, 3 might be overkill (Signets, Dodge, or On Crit), but maybe not, depends on if you like the tradeoff.

Fire/Air is great with your burst theme, tough to decide what’s best!

Poison helps tremendously vs Warriors, Cantrip Eles (Cele Ele esp), and that rare condi bunker/regen ranger, etc. or anyone else who often applies short duration regen. Also just helps in general vs someones heals of course. It helps you “get over the top” of their bunker and start applying Executioner damage.

Klowde,

I like the build! I’ve tried something very similar.

My one complaint is that it does not have any poison application outside of shortbow. That, in and of it’s self isn’t too bad, but the poison every ~21 seconds helped to deal with regen, which even boonrip builds often can’t clear fast enough since regen is often quickly reapplied.

I miss the heal from mug too, but that’s manageable. I just have to join a Muggers Anonymous group and talk through my feelings.

Overall though, I think it does take a lot of other advantages. It does more damage, no doubt about it. It also ends up with slightly more HP than 6 acro funny enough, due to practiced tolerance.

One thing I’d do, with two signets, is take one of the signet traits, or even both (at the sacrifice of HP obv), since you still get fury from steal. — Then again i’d probably be running pack instead of Hoelbrak. But looking at Hoelbrak I actually like that, it’s interesting. Might you be tempted to lose Pain Response in favor of Power of Inertia? That, combined with the might from signets and the rune passive, in a build like this, might take you even further in to crazy damage territory. I know Might’s not what it used to be, but with might runes, you can definitely take advantage — and power is power!

I like how this build still keeps all the boonrips and, as importantly, the vigor, of 20066 (or 20246 as well, my personal fav s/d build).

Great build!

Welcome back!

X/P weaponsets are fine in general PVE without any specific build. Just lay down blackpowder and attack.

No matter the class I’m leveling, my “leveling spec” is to b-line for as much +movement speed as possible.

Once 80 you can get fancy but it really wont matter until then. With the new player experience system (where you have to go quest for your traits.. ugh) +movement will be your friend.

I’d recommend SB+S/P. Stealth is not at all necessary in PvE leveling.

So b-line to shadow sig, or b-line 3 points in acro for all the swifts/dodges.

Yes I transferred to YB with the rest of the filthy casuals in [EP]. I often run a [Grim] or “Ancient Vampire [Lord]” tho, depending on my build ;p

Jayden Ennok.3687:

Remember to always plant a tree for a dead ranger <3

Yes!

This is a tradition in [Grim] and I hope it’s a tradition among all thieves.

When I forget to plant a tree on the corpse of a ranger I get a little sad.

I’ll quickly shadowstep back and try to plant the tree, but they rez just as I start!

If I could run away and emote /shake-head-disappointingly I would.

So this is a ‘So Proud Moment’ for me as well ;p

I generally play S/D or S/P stealthless so I have plenty of evades. Obv being stealthless means I always need to worry about mitigating damage without stealth.

vs Ranger in general, I find it way way way better to interrupt their barrage rather than dodge through it. With that said. When revealed try:

D/P: Shadow Shot and Black Powder and Headshot
S/D: Flanking Strike
S/P: Pistol Whip and Black Powder and Headshot
SB: Disabling Shot or point blank Infiltrator’s Arrow then move behind them
P/P: Black Powder, combo through smoke fields, Head shot
P/D: Die
D/D: Death Blossom then die

Also infil sig, steal, infil strike, forward withdraw/rfi, shadowstep closer to them to lessen damage. Or Smoke Screen. Scorp Wire can help too, tho the cast time hurts you, same with Tripwire. Sig of Agil dodge spam is also an option. As is good ol’ Dagger Storm. Oh, I also keep whirlwind axe from warriors more than I used to, esp in large fights, save it for that special occasion.

This all assumed 1v1 or small group. If vs a large group just GTFO. If you can’t gtfo change your build so you can, or suffer the consequences.

I’m a casual(ish) GW2 player who primarily wvw’s.

My suggestion is not to worry about ascended at all in wvw.

Over-time, you will get plenty of ascended accessories just through random drops and/or by purchasing them through wvw vendors.

Until then, simply run exotic versions of the gearing you need. The stat differences are just too small to care about, even for dueling/solo roaming.

Heck, when I first turned 80 (granted this was only a few months after release), I went in to wvw in rares and it’s been non-stop pwnage ever since.

Play what you want class/build wise, gear them appropriately (in exotics) for the build(s) you wish to play, and be sure to keep it casual my friend!

I know that I’m late to this conversation, but it is truly the scoring system, tied to servers, that creates these sorts of unbalanced matchups. Attempting to fix these matchups by introducing new wvw mechanics will only be treating the symptom, not the cause.

As has been mentioned elsewhere in this conversation, people will flock to the top arena of competition, or they will stack a lower tier server and see how high they can get it. Both of these behaviors are tied directly to the scoring system and perceived “success” based on that scoring system. If you want to be “the best” you compete against the best, those who are at the “top”. You can’t change this behavior in a person through mechanics.

So to fix this systemic issue, you need to change two things:

1. Remove servers as a method of “grouping” and find a new method of grouping such as the mentioned “Battle Groups”, among others.
2. Score those groupings in a way that anyone can see their progress/contribution and be rewarded cool points/bragging rights and be rewarded for ‘loyalty’.

Here would be my proposal

Grouping

No more servers. Just three “world teams” or whatever you want to call them. The teams:

Green Team
Red Team
Blue Team

These teams could then be included in the ‘mega server’ environment. When you log in, if you are green, you’ll get placed in a green team instance.

There could be some lore for these colors, but of course from a mechanics standpoint it isn’t needed. We humans seem to have no problems rallying around and rooting for arbitrary colors as far back in history as you want to go (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_riots).

How we initially get put in to these colors is beyond the scope of this post, but the initial mix could be done by server/pop/rank until each color had the right initial mix. New players would simply be asked to choose a side when first logging in to wvw. You could switch colors using similar methods to switching servers today, but there would be less reason to because:

Scoring:

The teams themselves are merely the space in which individuals and guilds compete for the top spots. Imagine three columns on a website scoreboard. Red, Green, Blue.

You organize by:

Top guilds by timezone (scoring based on things like length of tower/keep/camp claims, gvg events and amount of investment in victory (who invested the most in upgrades, siege, etc).

Top players (scoring based on individual k:d, individual investment, yak kills, etc).

At the end of a wvw season, the top few guilds of each team could compete in a GVG tournament, and the champions from each color would compete in a World Cup/Superbowl. This shifts focus from “worlds” and on to “guilds”. It still allows guilds to move about freely, and still gives everyone plenty of bragging rights on who’s best.

How to mega-group

Much like the megaserver tries to put you in an instance with people from your guild/friends list, the same could be applied to megamists. In addition, guilds could register who their “allies” and “rivals” are, and so the placement could also take that in to account.

Lastly, guilds could send out a “challenge” to rival guilds, and both could meet in a common instance right away to solve their differences!

Conclusion:

There needs to be some system of scoring that ties large scale combat back to guilds, not worlds. It needs to be some sort of system that will allow ‘mega server’ for constant population for any player, while still creating a sense of comradery and permanence among a group of people.

With Red/Green/Blue, even if “Red” is consistently the best grouping for some reason, that will only mean that Green and Blue become more viable destinations for your guild, because if you make it to the top of Green at the end of the WvW season, you’ll face off against those evil Reds and show them who’s really boss!

Hi MM, thanks. Ya I’m on SoS, I’ve fought with you a few times!

mango.9267:

Have you considered dropping devourer venom and picking up signet of agility for 60026?
It really doesn’t seem like pain response is doing much work for you, since you’re clearing with generosity/purity and sword 2.

I have, didn’t like it as much. I do miss pain response, and prefer it.

This build is also about no stealth and mobility. So swift on evade+feline grace+pack runes is necessary for what I am trying to do, I feel.

This build is very much like a s/d build, if 20606 is very much like a s/d. Yet you have shown that it works well in d/d. You certainly had your detractors. I think people get too stuck on “this point spread or that trait or this util is only for X build”.

I do think that 50036 works, and works well, to your point. Improv is fantastic, and that extra power is great. I just prefer the extra vit, boon duration, dodge, swift, regen, and condi clear.

If going 6xxx6, I think 60206 with SR/BP utils and maybe even HiS heal would be great, or maybe 60026 as you say, but then these are different builds, and not what I intended. I think S/P exists perfectly fine in this point spread.

Anyhow, thats part of the point of course, to have a discussion on these things! My opinion is that, after having tried all the spreads, I like this one.

Hello all. Since acquiring my ‘end-game’ weapon skins of Whisperblade and Lyss, I’ve been obsessed with S/P.

I’ve tried all the previous S/P builds, and tho all work well, and revolve around Sword#2 for positioning, I also needed that extra dodge from feline grace. What can I say, I’m addicted to acrobatics. Please don’t judge!

Video: “The Dragoon”
Build

A friend of mine runs the traditional panic strike, and it’s certainly potent! He even goes so far as to include +power/condi duration food, and all those immobs last FOREVER. I may also incorporate that food (or the +condi duration/lifesteal), but for now I use prec/lifesteal.

Hope you enjoy my short video.

It’s not my bag, but, I was roaming with a support thief who used venom share.

The venom heal (shared) is actually quite potent! He also ran:

Regen on stealth
-50% damage in stealth
Blind on stealth

He made a noticeable difference to the survivability of our party.

More than just a set must be chosen for optimal 1vMany. The build is as/more important.

By far, the best 1vMany trait line in WvW is shadow arts. The AoE blind, condi cleanse, and heal on stealth allow nearly unlimited sustain.

As such, ‘sets’ with ready access to stealth are also ideal.

D/P – Why? — Targetless stealth, high burst, blinds, interrupt to break rez
D/D – Why? — Cloak and Dagger, high burst — most access to stealth for the ini
P/D – Why? — Cloak and Dagger, sustained damage, moderate burst, positioning

Build 20606 – Why? —
Mug for heal+small damage+poison to reduce healing
6 SA for sustain
6 Trick for utility/interrupt/buffs/debuffs
If P/D, you could have a great time with trickery ‘pwning’ groups of ‘nubs’ by choosing ricochet and taking krait runes/condi equipment

Build 26600 – Why? —
Same mug/SA reasons, plus higher damage.

If you don’t choose both, then:

Air is 3sec CD and higher single target damage than fire
Fire is 5sec CD and multi target damage

So the logic behind that is, these people want higher single target damage.

I typically choose both. I have a these zerker shortbows:

SB1 – Air/Fire
SB2 – Purity/Generosity
SB3 – Air/Energy
SB4 – Energy/Hydromancy
SB5 – Air/Strength

I’ll use any one of them depending on build.

Don’t even get my started on my vast zerker sword/dagger/pistol collection, or my variations on other sets. The bank/inviso bag space is REAL.

No problem!

It sounds like you really want to stay in stealth while not having to engage the enemy at all (which rules out taking x/Dagger builds, since dagger stealth requires a target in melee range).

It also sounds like, if caught outside of stealth (revealed, etc), you want the ability to dodge incoming damage.

Lastly, it sounds like you want to cover great distances quickly.

Generally, you can always fit mobility in to a build (find a swiftness source, and equip bow, done) but then you usually have to choose between stealth or dodge. Giving you both sacrifices a lot, but that seems to be a trade-off you’re comfortable with.

When it comes to gear, you specifically mention toughness and vitality, which limits your options, but you may also want to consider making two sacrifices here, and still doing a large amount of damage.

Maybe go all Valk gear, d/p+sb, and 06602 trait points, take hidden killer. You’ll have all sorts of mobility, lots of stealth, and still throw up some impressive numbers for backstabs. Your only other drawback would be less initiative pool, so perhaps less access to stealth, but not by much, if you take every stealth utility.

Good luck! Report back and post a video of scouting if you have the setup for it!

mango.9267:

Woaden.9425:

I think you point out a good synergy with sword/x builds and 6 DA. The immob you get from panic strike is a great way to preserve your infil strike, and let your return either expire, or save it for a juke, saving ini while still doing immob!

I’d say it goes even further because +30% condition duration means landing infiltrator’s strike confirms a flanking strike, which is a huuuuuge advantage. But yes, knowing panic strike will proc also saves you from using return too early.

That’s true, I hadn’t considered the condi duration bonus but you’re very right. That lines up way more combos with the immob that you’d otherwise have.

Nice video, thanks for making it!

This method of play that you’ve described is a fun style. Relying on sword 2 as a main weapon and using your plentiful immobilization to dominate the positioning game is fun, and it also goes a long way towards both sustain, and mitigation, which is great!

I think you point out a good synergy with sword/x builds and 6 DA. The immob you get from panic strike is a great way to preserve your infil strike, and let your return either expire, or save it for a juke, saving ini while still doing immob!

On the one hand, I think this play style works best with S/P, with the greater potential for DPS since most S/D dps comes from, or fs/ls, or mug+cloak and dagger. This style does less of that, taking less advantage of x/D, in favor of sword 2 using the ini.

In your video, though, you do still manage to use the dagger quite intelligently, especially for condi clear, or for combos with steal/infil sig, when appropriate, followed by a tactical strike. Those are things you miss out on with S/P. You also miss out on c&d, weapon swap, shortbow immob, which this build really likes, for that extra kick of immob!

I wonder how it would work if you fit in quick venoms and slotting devourer, maybe to replace infil sig.

Do you feel immob focused build is less advantageous vs -condi duration builds, like nike warrior?

I think this build would be tanky enough to withstand some pressure, and stealthy enough for near perma stealth. This is as far as I’d ever go in to tanky side with gear/traits.

The standard 20606 dire p/d d/p is also fairly fast, super tanky, and still do loads of condit damage.

If you wanted to be super obnoxious and just unkillable, but not able to kill anything, you could also go something like this which has enough power and might stacking that you might be able to flip camps while you scout. Or you could take it even farther, do all nomad, use sigils of cleansing and energy.

You’re probably not winning any duels with this point spread, but it’ll be hard to kill you, even outside of stealth!

It’s super easy for a thief to self-stack 25 might if you build towards it.

I often use this combo:

Strength Runes
Sigils of Strength (50% chance to gain +1 might, 1s cd)
Might on Dodge (2 points in acro, 1 might) – combine this with the food that gives might on dodge for +2 each dodge

This combo alone is good for 15+ might.

If you went SA instead of Acro, you can hang out in a full duration Shadow Refuge and stack something like 12 might just from that.

Then we also have:

Might on stealth (5 points in SA line, 2 might per tick)
Might on Signet use (2 points in CS, 5 might)
Might on Steal (2 points in Trick, 1 might)
Might from Stealth Trap return (10 might)
Might from venom application (2 points DA, 2 might)

Also, might on weapon swap (sigil, +3 might)

Edit: I know there are many rune sets that give might various ways, but i’d assume str runes are best for dps.

Did I miss any?

Maugetarr.6823:

Do you find the added sustain from IP is worth giving up that damage boost?

It’s really more about making sure a build has a few main components when I build.

It’s gotta be traited for at least one, ideally two “bonus heals”. That can be mug & shadows rejuvenation, mug and pain response, etc.

So with this point spread I didn’t have much better options than IP and Pain Response.

I think that, no matter the point spread, 6 points in CS line would always do more damage with executioner, sure! It’s certainly better in a glass duel, there’s not a lot of time to heal in such situations.

However this build works good in glass duels (they die fast, and mistakes are more costly than traits), and it works great in small groups or in the ganksquad of zergbusting, etc, where the sustain can work it’s magic.

Hey guys, thanks for your feedback.

Yes I get some grief from my fellow thieves in game as well, for running RFI instead of infil sig, or even BP or sig of agil.

To be fair, there are three fights in this video, and in the first two I didn’t use any of my utils! The fights were just that fast.

In the last fight, I do use RFI, a couple of times iirc. This lack of usage is more a symptom of the 3 minute length.

The thing that bothers me most in this vid is my fight vs that p/d dire 20606 perplex thief, where I blow a withdraw heal while stacked with confusion and poison… all while a perfectly good shadowstep sits there unused!

RFI is also used throughout the other, longer matador video.

RFI is there, I believe, to keep up pressure even when I’ve blown all the ini, such as in that opening fight with the ele in the first vid.

However I take your point, I’m sure many folks would take infil sig in this build, and I’m sure it would work out fine, maybe even better!

Hi All,

This vid takes the same point spread as the previous Vampire, but goes back to Sword/Dagger main with that tasty tasty shortbow companion. I’ve found this build to be very fun, I hope you enjoy the video.

The Matador
Build

I was surprised by the amount of healing Invigorating Precision gives, especially in moment of high sword cleaving and cluster-bombing. Dagger storm also makes for crazy heals, especially when combo’d within a shadow refuge for life leaching.

IP, with Pain Response, along with aoe blinds and a condi clear on stealth make for a ridiculous amount of damage mitigation, all while hitting like a truck. That said, the super steal from 2xxx6 is painfully missed — definitely a different style.

It’s a struggle to fit enough footage in to short, single song vids, but I like the format. I’ve got another hour of interesting gameplay in this build that I may continue to release before I go on to another point spread.

If you’re looking for some longer footage of this build, I posted another a week ago: Here.

Hello,

Since the most recent reset, for some reason, EB has had extremely bad lag for me. All BL’s are fine, even when there are a large number of players on the screen.

This is not a framerate issue, this is not my ISP. Framerates are consistent and never dip below 28 under heavy load (generally hover around 80, this range is normal for me and totally fine, nothing has changed here)

The lag behaves like the old performance issues with skill lag we used to encounter during big fights (like SMC), but now it occurs sporadically all day, every day, no matter if there are a large number of people on the map or not.

It doesn’t happen the entire time, it comes in spikes, my character will stop responding, then everything will “catch up”, usually with my char taking a dirtnap. Other player models will port around, and even their corpses will skip forward a bit sometimes.

Like I say, this is not my hardware, and it is not my ISP. Framerates, pings, tracerts, and speedtests all perform wonderfully. BL’s also perform great even with large GvG, zergfests, etc, no latency whatsoever.

It is only EB, and happens even with few players on the map.

I’ve searched around but find no acknowledgement of this specifically for NA EB, so I wanted to make sure to add my voice/experience to this, and to point out that this is only EB, does not have anything to do with FPS, and happens even at odd times of day with few players on the map.

I will happily help with testing to verify, if needed. Also, if there is an acknowledgement of this (specific to EB latency, even under light load) that I’ve missed, please point me towards it, thanks.

edit: I also want to note that I do see some threads on lag, but I also see a mixture of it happening ‘everywhere’, and that it not being latency, but being fps issues, etc. I’ve read through those threads. I see that it’s frustrating for both anet and players, but I want to reiterate that this is not an FPS issue, an overheating issue, poor latency from ISP, or any of that. It’s also odd to me that this is only impacting EB for me.

I think a lot of thieves go with the cultural tier armor because it’s a bit of a ‘first stop’ in fashion, above the terrible blue/green/yellow/exotic sets. That said, all of those skins can make a cool armor motif if combined in the right way.

I think with any outfit, on any class/race, it’s all about the mix and match.

I understand your point about all thieves looking the same, but I don’t necessarily agree that it’s much different from other classes. I think the biggest difference is most thieves are in black, in those same outfits. Where as other classes might go with more dyes.

Edit: also I wanna post my pics too! Anyone wanna join my guild Fashion Police [PD]? ;p

If you haven’t been before, you should head over to http://www.reddit.com/r/GuildWarsDyeJob/

Here’s an outfit I posted to GW2dyejob a year ago: http://i.imgur.com/wSlu9TY.jpg

Here’s my current outfit:

Hearing that you’re going valk, I’d recommend you go 26600 with hidden killer. If you were going full zerker, I could see room for 20606, which is also a great point spread.

Yes, thrill of the crime makes up for your lack of crit chance somewhat, but I think overall 26600 would be the best damage, and also give you a bit more HP through practiced tolerance, since you’re going for that via valk anyhow.

6 shadowarts is the best defensive traitline we have in wvw, bar none, so as long as you stay in that, you’ll have an easy time whatever you choose.

For a non-stealth build, where you are specifically trying to mitigate condi’s as much as possible, I would recommend these, in order:

*Shadow Step (vs people with condi food buff, don’t be afraid to open with forward shadow step, then return at their first burst, or just double tap)
*Signet of Agility
*Sigil of Cleansing & Sigil of Purity (on off-set)
*Lyssa Runes
*Pain Response
*More Evades
*More Initiative (for more Infil Returns)
*More HP
*Food

edit: For an easy anti-condiburst “combo”- Shadowstep In, do your damage. At this point conditions applied Shadow Return (-3 condi), weapon swap to shortbow (-1 condi), auto attack (-1 condi). Kite/dodge, lay down poison, dodge, dodge (if need be, agil sig -1 condi and refill endurance). Now swap back to sword, Infil Strike in, damage, Infil Return if need be. Rinse repeat.

For S/P, i feel like IS/IR for 5 ini is too expensive in every case except when you have confusion applied or they have Retaliation up. For every other situation, it’s better to use that ini+1 for a PW. Otherwise just run, you’re not going to do enough damage before their condi burst rotation comes back around.

For anyone still trying to use Lyssa in high condi scenarios like WvW, the fact that Basilisk is 40 instead of 45 seconds is kind of annoying.

I’ve met a few great charr thieves in my day, and while it’s true that larger models ‘telegraph’ their moves,, it’s not really much of a disadvantage.

The main reason for that is, other than the asura player who purposefully chooses the smallest model in order to exploit the animation/tell system, we’re all basically in the same boat. Seeing a human do the big windmill loopdeeloop with their arm to apply basilisk or hide in shadows is essentially just as telegraphed as a charr.

To avoid this, you just apply those things from within stealth, which you should be doing as a general rule of thumb anyhow!

The most annoying characters to me are purposefully ultrasmall afro asuras, I just know they are going to be bad news on sight.

Great use of immobs! Love that this is a 6 DA build with P/P, looks fun.

edit: it is interesting that you have shadows embrace with the one access to stealth, do you notice a big survivability drop without it even still? I’ll bet you’re tempted to go 2 in to CS for +10% pistol damage!

Good job!

I’m not a fan of voiced commentary, but yours was well paced, and I can see how it would be helpful to people seeking out class/build videos.

Likewise I’m sure there are people who dislike music-only vids, or just straight up gimmick videos like I post ;p

Regardless, I’m a fan of thief videos and watch pretty much every one that is posted!

Yours was great, looking forward to more.

edit: Oh! and one thing I’m a fan of in instructional type vids is a way to click the youtube overlay to go to specific fights, you know? I don’t know how to do this or if it’s a pain, but it’s always cool to see for me!

Black Frog.9274:

I can’t find anything about this… I’d like to read the original information very much.

It’s from the Ready Up thing

https://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/2jjk8h/ready_up_pvp_balance_and_class_balance_otes/

Personally, I don’t use Venoms because I’d rather have a stunbreak or condi cleanse in that spot. If skelk venom (heal) removed or transferred condi’s (like per hit), I may be convinced to make a build around venoms. In that case, I feel like we could easily fit 3 venoms on our bar, the heal, 1 util, and the elite. Suddenly venoms aren’t so bad!

His health is 12.2k, he’s getting the other 3k from wvw guard stacks.

He’s getting HP over base health due to practiced tolerance. Without that, he’s at around 10.9k.

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAoYVlsMp0pdPxzJ8PNRLRtdHEdfgXnh2PQAEiA-T1RBwAX3fU+dT9H86BQpp5xJAAwDAwsSQSBExyI-w

Edit: That said, I really wouldn’t go this route for roaming. Run in to the wrong necro, ele, or guard and you’re gonna have a bad day.

Do something more balanced with some built in mitigation. You can still go 2/6/x/x/x and get some decent opening burst and have points to spare for some survivability.

Here is a guy still doing d/d 6/6/x/x/x, you can still achieve decent numbers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10doqNw3IVE

The main difference between “back in the day” and now, is that people are on to our lil tricks. You never see this guy 1v1 from a /bow for a reason, it’s more about surprise.

If you want something d/d but more balanced, there is always the ever present “yishis” x/6/6/x/x “outnumbered” build.

xXBurningEmberXx.6085:

… I was a d/d roamer …is d/d [still] viable…?

Yes it is viable.

Evalia, you are correct about mist form causing death in cases where you’re stacked with conditions, and it triggers. I agree that vampire runes can be a handicap in those situations.

I’m glad to see you really committed to S/D in this build and it looks like a lot of fun. I’d echo Jayden’s excellent advice on condi cleanses.

Regarding runes, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Pack at all, its great! Lyssa gets poo’pood these days due to it’s balance change, but that could be a great way to get some extra condi cleanse and still keep your high crit chance.

You probably have enough fury from Thrill, to not “need” pack.

Also, with all that initiative, I’ll bet you can afford to IS/IR a lot to clean onesies and twosies of condis.

I like your utility layout.

My only suggestion would be to give Pain Response a try, and to swap infil sig for sig of agility. Infil and Quick recovery are the weakest of all our +ini access, especially after they buffed passive ini regen. Add to that all of the ini you’re getting from GM acro/trick, and 2 on steal, and 6 on Roll for Initiative, and the extra 3 in the bank, to me that’s more than enough, and you wont really notice less ini by dropping Infil Sig and QR.

You will, however, notice a huge survivability increase by taking Sig of Agility (which has so much synergy with your build and style), and Pain Response is a great passive cleanse and works well as a micro heal in tandem with mug heal.

S/D S/D without stealth may also be the only build that can take full advantage of Hard to Catch, since you wont be ported out of Shadow Refuge at the worst possible time, and you can always IS/IR to regain situational awareness.