Guild Wars 2

This is what I use for WvW:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQRAoY8YlsMp0pdPx8J8PNBNBt9DGeE4uGrYGaFAA-T1TBABlqSgK6Be4BAkgJoIOBAXpc5GVI6SJBWKhGa/BU0MMhSwFOIA5ouCAHBASB8wWA-w

A combination of zerker, Valkyrie, and Cavalier.

I’m pretty sure a mix of Zerker/Valkyrie and Cavalier is the best option for thieves. You keep the damage but gain survivability which is awesome.

frans.8092:

Kukchi.6173:

Seeing how you play mostly thief and very little of the other classes your opinion is very biased and unwelcome.

Seeing how you don’t play thief and know even less about it, your opinions about it are without any value.

@ OP
Coming from someone that plays lots of classes in pvp, I can say that thief initiative does not need nerfed. Ive played it since release along with a good amount of time on guardian mainly. If you’re dying to 2 pistol whips in a row you need help, or you’re sitting there, not attacking, letting yourself die. You have to play aggressively against thieves.

And no, you can’t use pistol whip more than twice in a row. Do your research.

Simple solution:
Get a mistforge weapon, unlocks skin, put it on a sentinel weapon.
PROBLEM SOLVED

They should rework death blossom so it has a better evade, slightly more damage, and stacks vulnerability instead of bleed.

What I do on my D/D build is go for the scouts first, basically spam CnD backstab combo until they die, then go for guards, then supervisor. If you get low heal up with HiS, but you’ll be CnD’ing most of the time. for the scout blind field, you just have to stand right outside it. Also don’t be afraid to refuge if you need to.

Didn’t the OP already make a QQ post?

I prefer cavalier over soldiers on thief, but if it’s just one ring it won’t make too much of a difference. Every point of crit damage counts, but if you are less reliant on crits go for soldiers.

I main a thief too, and if I were to spam HS I would surely die…

If you’re killing or watching people kill players with HS spam they must be killing very inexperienced players. I know if a thief tried that on a good player they’d swat them off like a fly.

Warriors can be pretty tough to deal with. THe problem I have with them, (I play some warrior in spvp) is that they can do everything at once. With a warrior you can have 2.8k armor with 7k+ eviscerates, along with healing signet and overall tankiness. Basically they’re very tanky with high damage.

Either you’re a level 2 upleveled staff ele in WvW solo roaming, or you’re just trolling.

Best troll tactic as thief:
If you know you’re going to win, just totally spazz out and use all of your teleports that way they literally don’t know where you are. Proceed to use the rabbit finisher.

Are you guys kidding? This trait gives you a very good boost in damage…Just precast backstab and hit steal with mug trait. In pvp I can hit up to 11k on squishy targets… I don’t know why everybody hates this trait.

Condition bombing. And many enemies converging around the thief. Contrary to popular belief thief does not have a particularly great condition removal. Sure we have Hide in Shadows and Shadows embrace but its really not a lot. And that’s our only condition removal other than pain response tbh. Plus we usually have low vit.

Karolis.4261

Trait should not punish player for playing aggressively. Even if i do play aggressively when im low HP I probably doing it for a reason and I might pull it off, and that kill im seeking might win me the whole fight, cause I just took down the biggest threat of enemys group 5 s before he got healed/fled/etc. No bullkitten trait that I don’t have direct control off should be able to make me disengage when I could win the fight if it didn’t exist in the first place.
Like the trait? Great. Move it to Major instead of Minor spot. Put “Power shots” instead of it for kittens sake. Or 5% shortbow and harpoon damage is too OP for adept minor trait and it has place in Master Major slot, huh? Don’t want Power shots? Good. Put shadows embrace in last refuge spot. Too op? No its not, every SA thief is already using shadows embrace and is forced to use this wonderful trait last refuge(might like it or not) in combination anyway. Or you think noone would pick last refuge if they could chose and pick something else instead? Thats right, everyone would pick smth else instead.

This.

Even though this trait can sometimes save you, it’s really not worth it. Either remove or fix/change. But it looks like anet doesn’t care about it, in fact, it seems like they want us to be nerfed to oblivion. (I mean look at all the nerfs we’ve gotten, but that’s besides the point) Change it to a Major trait and put shadows embrace in its place. Or replace last refuge with a new, better trait.

The thing is, if you play passively all the time you’re gonna kill a lot less things. We want to kill things Also, I always try to CnD before I heal so when i’m trying to CnD to heal when last refuge pops it totally messes me up and I usually die. Even when you’re playing correctly you get punished.

Make it so that it triggers when you hit 25% health, not struck after 25%. And they should just make it so that an icon pops up on screen and you can choose to use blinding powder, rather than it just randomly popping. That way even if you’re not focusing on HP you can still use it.

In WvW I have about 15k because of bonuses.

Edit: Besides, I see a lot of newer thieves with only 2.2k armor and full zerker, I’m just trying to help them out and for those that don’t know about the tankier gear setup. I’m aware that a lot of thieves already do this. It still can’t hurt to give out this setup.

Gear setup for mor survivability but keeping the dmg

Ya I basically just told everyone that but slightly diff gear lol

I think I’ve made a pretty good dagger dagger gear setup/build for WvW roaming. Here it is:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQRAoY8alsMp0pdPxyJ8PNBNBtdFGeE4uGrYGaFAA-TlTBABlqSgKaBe4BAExJA4KlLopEsLlE3oCBWKhGa/BU0NswBBIH1VA4IAQKgI2CA-w

Basically a standard 2/6/6 mug build. I’ll run through my gear choices.

I went for a mix of Valkyrie/Zerker with a Cavalier chest, ring and backpiece. I love cavalier on thief, most people just try to go for the most burst but I believe you can get so much more survival while keeping the same damage if you use cavalier. So I have 2.5k armor, which will sustain you enough in most situations, 2.3k to 2.4k power, and 225% crit dmg. In WvW I have about 15k hp, which could be better.

Ogre runes are awesome. They’re much cheaper than a lot of the good runes, and provide lots of power and ferocity. Rock dog is a small boost too.

Air + Fire sigils on daggers are great. You can always swap one of them out if you want.

I chose sword/pistol offhand because of the chase ability and crowd control. You can also choose sword/dagger or shortbow. I don’t use shortbow as much in wvw because of disabling shot’s nerf but that’s just me.

So, tell me what you think?

Edit: Renamed to Dagger Dagger gear setup

In my eyes the bigger problem is the fact that condi builds are just naturally able to sustain themselves better. Think about it, with direct damage you have to risk getting hit to deal damage and get in there. With conditions you can passively deal damage while staying away from the opponent. Also, with conditions you don’t have to worry about as many stats, allowing for much tankier builds. This is one of the problems. Dealing very high condition burst while not taking much damage. Low risk, high reward.

Sooo…What you’re trying to say is no ranged skills in an MMO?

K

Yes, revealed is 4 seconds in spvp.

sword pistol is a good offhand set for the chase and control. Also black powder. S/D is also good.

Staff Eles
Glass Mesmers
Very Squishy Rangers

This is my build:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQRAoY8alsMp0pdPxyJ8PNBNBtdFGeE4uGrYGaFAA-T1TBABlqSQRKN8Z/BV0C8wDAIiTAwVKTuRFCsUChiuhJUCuwBBABTT5ouCAHBASBY1WA-w

Amonatory.2453:

My 6/6/6/6/6 build is working out very well, you guys should try it sometime.

Why would you steal my build

Hidden thief nerfs O_O

Yeah Im having this issue too, and my internet is fine.

This is my build:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQRAoY8alsMp0pdPxyJ8PNBNBtdFGeE4uGrYGaFAA-T1TBABlqSQRKN8Z/BV0C8wDAIiTAwVKTuRFCsUChiuhJUCuwBBABTT5ouCAHBASBY1WA-w

I still think D/D is viable in WvW. I think D/D has been one of the harder to use weapon sets, but it has a higher reward. I refuse to go condi lol. You can still find some D/D thieves out there.

Being able to move during pistol whip would be op. You would be stunning, dealing a ton of damage, AND evading. Not moving is a drawback from all of this, it makes it so that the thief has to have good positioning to get the full hits in.

I use D/D S/P for wvw. When I need to burst someone down quick, I just pistol whip + steal and Keep them pinned with #2. I also use pistol whip when I think a big attack is coming, like bull rush. I either evade it or interrupt them. (I have an AWESOME video of pistol whipping this warrior’s eviscerate)
So I think pistol whip is great already.

Asura is not the problem…Soon quaggan will rise and take over.

Guild Wars 2: Rise of Quaggan

BEWARE

tbh, Im a thief and a lot of these seem ridiculously op. However, I do like the trickery GM trait “Abduct” That would be really cool to see. Also making thieves more thief-like.

Possible solution:

Just make it so that right before blinding powder activates you teleport away and THEN blinding powder. Also make it so that it has a higher threshold (like 33%) and change it to when you REACH that threshold, not when you are struck below it.

What I try to do is spread out the enemies and make sure I have lots of room to work. What’s even better is if they’re distracted. Thieves guild is great for outnumbered fighting.

But basically spread them out so that it’s harder for them to defend each other. Go for the squishiest targets first. (Eles, mesmers, thieves, etc) and also the most dangerous. Watch out for other thieves, too. Play VERY carefully, don’t take risks. Move where they least expect you to move.

alchemyst.2165:

Possible Solution:

Have a “visibility cone” stretch out for about 200-300 inches in front of the player. If a stealthed player walks through this cone, you can see their distorted stealth image that the player sees, but still untargetable.

Also, maybe if a stealthed player attempts an attack you can see them attemping the attack for a split second.

Can anybody please elaborate on my idea..lol. Whenever somebody has a good idea on thief I feel like people tend to ignore it. I main thief and I do want issues to be solved.

You know, not every thief LIKES stealth. Some of us DO want a different playstyle. Quit complaining to US like WE’RE the ones doing it wrong. (I know not everyone does this but lots do) People who say “stealth is op l2p” need to realize that they’re trying to put self imposed limits on other players just so they can win. I think it is better to instead learn how to counter it and win that way, not because the other player was holding back.

Possible Solution:

Have a “visibility cone” stretch out for about 200-300 inches in front of the player. If a stealthed player walks through this cone, you can see their distorted stealth image that the player sees, but still untargetable.

Also, maybe if a stealthed player attempts an attack you can see them attemping the attack for a split second.

We all know Last Refuge is a bad trait…Anet just hasn’t done anything about it for some reason.

Maybe smoke screen could work…and add a higher health threshold. This would be not really an escape trait but more versatile, so you could stealth from it with HS if you wanted, or you could escape from ranged attacks.

At 40% health, set down a smoke screen. ???

Or maybe it could reset the cooldown of blinding powder/shadow refuge. It IS called last refuge, maybe it could do a “mini-shadow refuge” With less stealth time.

In PvE situations:

1) I just do autoattacks or HS until I can then backstab from behind.

2) Depends on your build. If you’re running full glass with scholar I’m guessing pistol whip does more damage…plus it evades. Without full glass in dungeons ive gotten 10k on pistol whip with might. I don’t really autoattack with sword unless im out of initiative.

3) I think so…Not entirely sure though. Ive done it on the crystals in CoF p1.

Ive never led a group before, but you should be killing the squishy backlines as a thief (burst, at least). You don’t need as much cavalier gear as you did before because of the crit dmg nerf. I was running cavalier before with 2.7k armor, now I have 2.4k armor with only the chest and exotic backpiece. Im running Valkyrie/Zerker mix.

Thieves shouldn’t really be in the frontlines, just kill high priority targets on the side or back. You can also blast with shortbow for AoE if you want to weaken everybody you’re fighting. If you’re burst, though, it’s quicker to just kill. Watch IamMugi’s videos on youtube. Mugi handles group and outnumbered fights very well.

This is my build:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQRAoY8alsMp0pdPxyJ8PNBNBtdFGeE4uGrYGaFAA-TFUBABlqSgP7PExJAYhDCACmkKSJRCmCe4BAoiWgrUmdjKEToEEFdDHpUIH1VA4IAQKAr2CA-w

I use infiltrator runes cus they’re cheap, extra precision, and I can double cloak if I’m low hp :P gives me like 8 seconds of stealth.

Dagger mainhand is still plenty strong, especially with revealed training build. You just have to use more damage based gear. I used to use cavalier so I had about 2.7k armor, now I only use cavalier chest and backpiece for 2.4k armor. Because of the nerf I can survive better with less armor.

Also, executioner <3

I don’t know about you guys, but I LOVE mug.

Mug is one of the main reasons I choose 2/6/6/0/0 over 0/6/6/2/0. 2k heal every ~30ish seconds + damage? Combined with a CnD combo if im close to dead I can get back in the fight much quicker. And actually, I like mug better than when it just dealt damage. I think it is good that we have the option to have an extra quick heal. Not sure why people don’t like it.

I think a cone about 300-450 units ahead would be a good idea. I think a good idea is that they can partially see you but they still can’t target you.

However, not sure how this would work with shadow refuge. True, they already have an idea of where you are because of the glowy circle. But they might be able to burst you down if they can see you.

@ OP this is a good idea. Even as a thief I think a good solution would be to pop out of stealth for like .5seconds if you attempt an attack while in stealth. Not revealed unless you hit them, but like you can see them trying to backstab you. This could make for some cool visual effects too.

I like this idea :P

wow this thread is turning into blind rage threats. But oh well, every 2 threads there’s a thief nerf thread and it always ends up like this so I wont even bother

As a thief, I believe that a possible solution would be this:

Across all classes, whenever you activate a skill while in stealth, you are temporarily visible for 3/4 of a second. Basically you have to come out of the shadows to attempt an attack.

This would help players find the thief better and make it so that thieves have to be more careful and not so reckless.

Also maybe backstab could cost around 2 initiative to activate.

I tried out a p/p build in spvp.

Basically uses signet of malice, caltrops, and the other 2 given utilities. (Shadowstep and Shadow refuge) All you really need is 30 in trickery and get the ricochet trait. It’s somewhat useful in team fights, but still not on par with other builds.

Merlin Dyfed Avalon.5046:

Best thief counter:
Turn around in circles spamming #1

man that gameplay.

LOL that’s exactly what I do when im on my thief fighting another thief. I tank so much damage just by doing that…A lot of times they don’t even try to backstab.

cyyrix.6105:

Cygnus.6903:

This is a thief nerf.

therefor, it should never be implemented without significantly buffing thief survivability options out of stealth. D/P and D/D would become unusable instantly otherwise.

IMO, stealth is not a problem right now.

I almost never side with thieves, but he’s right. That reveal change would destroy dp and dd.

My solution is to make backstab cost 3-4 initiative. If you spam backstab and miss, you should be punished somehow (but not revealed). Maybe move BS to f2 and then give a stealth auto attack so that the intelligent thieves can still clear blind/aegis at no cost.

That’s a very creative and possible solution…3-4 seems a bit much though. Only problem with it is the initiative cost…maybe 2-3 init.

I do feel that I should point out that Stealth is, in fact, an immunity.

A stealthed player is completely immune to the following skills:

Elementalist:
Flame Strike
Arc Lightning*
Lightning Strike
Blinding Flash
Impale
Steam
Air Bubble
Rock Anchor
Arcane Blast
Signet of Earth
Signet of Fire
Signet of Water
Discharge Lightning
Grasping Earth
Flame Wave* (from Firey Greatsword)

Engineer:
Analyze
Magnet

Guardian:
Chains of Light
Bane Signet
Signet of Wrath

Mesmer:
Diversion (Shatter)
Spatial Surge*
Confusing Images*
Illusion of Drowning
Arcane Thievery
Mantra of Distraction/Power Lock
Mantra of Pain/Power Spike
Signet of Domination
Polymorph Moa/Tuna
Mind Blast

Necromancer:
Doom
Rending Claws
Ghastly Claws*
Blood Curse/Rending Curse/Putrid Curse
Feast of Corruption
Life Siphon*
Dark Pact
Spinal Shivers
Sinking Tomb
Summon Blood Fiend
Signet of Vampirism
Blood is Power
Corrupt Boon
Plague Signet
Signet of Spite
Life Leech
Fear
Feeding Frenzy
Death Curse

Ranger:
Hunter’s Call
“Sic ’Em”

Thief:
Steal
Infiltrator’s Strike
Infiltrator’s Signet

Warrior:
“On My Mark”

*: If the cast activated before the target entered stealth, it will continue to hit anyway. If the target enters stealth before the skill is activated, they are immune.

The above list is skills that cannot affect a stealthed target. Period. I did not include possible Ranger pet skills. I also did not include illusion generating skills, as it is theoretically possible for those to affect a stealthed target, such as would be the case with a Sword clone having cleave. Likewise, skills that require a target, but do have an AoE effect were left out.

Stealth =/= immunity. Some classes aren’t as reliant on targeting as others, but many of the target skills you listed can still hit them, and a lot have cc effects. Also, preventing stealth in the first place helps.

I think “specialized” builds have more trouble in general, since they’re only capable of doing one thing. I think utilities should be fairly defensive. You have your weapon skills which are for offense pretty much, now you need to balance it out. Having good amounts of stunbreakers and shouts, heals, etc, helps a lot in the long run against many things, including stealth.

So if you want to counter stealth, you have to have fairly balanced utilities, (fairly balanced build in general) think about what they’re trying to do, and probably play a stealth class for a good amount of time. That way you learn how they work.