Guild Wars 2

Hey guys, I have 1.8 Million Karma that I have no use for. I want to turn it into gold FAST. What are the best methods these days? Cheers!

Have to buy HoT to be viable.

Just got into sPvP. Do you gain more pips as your winstreak grows? Like +2 or +3 etc?

Zintrothen.1056:

http://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Daredevil_-_Dagger/Pistol But learn it well before playing ranked. It’s not as easy you think. It’s not a build that can walk in and start attacking on a point. You can’t take much AoE damage before needing to run out and recharge.

A lot of thieves will sit back and use shortbow attacks or time Headshot for interrupts and get damage that way. When you’re target is low and can be finished off, jump in, kill and get out ASAP. Be ready to use stunbreaks and dodges.

Don’t spam attacks, as tempting it might be. Use shortbow and dodges to get around the map quickly for decaps and +1ing.

This build is weak to condis, so avoid places where condis are being spammed. Shadowstep is best used for mobility and escape. Its condi cleansing comes when you teleport back. But that spot might be still be under attack.

Play cheap and you’ll do well lol.

I know the playstyle of the set rather well from WvW roaming and such. Just adjusting to the skill changes and where I should be on the map is what I gotta learn. Thanks for the tips man!

Infernaeus.8473:

P/D is simply not viable in PvP. Not sure about WvW but it doesn’t really work in PvP. The thief meta in PvP is D/P thief or if you want you can even try staff. For more info you can go to metabattle.com

Yeah sorry, meant D/P

I’m coming from WvW after many years and trying out sPvP. I’m assuming I can’t just bring my roaming build from WvW into sPvP, so what’s the meta build and what is my role?

Hey guys, I run P/D and i’m getting tired of the Basilisk venom, so how do I properly make impact strike works so it all lands? Thanks in advance!

Hey guys, I need a build to run on my P/D Thief. I want to be able to roam and 1v2 and stuff. Been playing thief forever but I’ve stuck to D/D usually cause I want to to be viable but sadly, it just isn’t. So I need it all! Armor, runes, traits, etc! TY in advance!

Fat Disgrace.4275:

Don’t bother. Although how satisfying it is to kill someone with d/d most of the time you are out classed in every way. There is far too much aoe flying about theres days to be able to sit toe to toe as you once did and there has been a lot more defence added to some classes. Scrapper hammer for example is a huge offender here. I struggle sometimes as s/d because I lack the burst dmg… Unfortunately d/p is the most powerful set and 99% of thives in wvw use that set.

Really upsetting that the most skill based thief set (in my own opinion) is the least rewarding in pvp.

legenduu.4372:

Alright Daredevil is almost in every thief build condi or power, the reason why people use it is because it uses aspects from the trait line acrobatics while also boosting overall damage and mobilty to the thief. Most thieves i know dont use staves unless they are pve but in wvw i recomend d/p because it is VERY strong rn and i also recomend to start practicing it because d/d will get you no where in wvw with all the toughness condi cheesers running around.

I guess I’ve stuck with D/D for so long because the playstyle is perfect for me. I think I’’m holding out for a buff that isn’t on the way though..

Hey guys, I just came off of a HUGE break. I took a break when HoT came out because I sorta refused to buy it for some reason. Now when I go into WvW on my D/D Thief (Ineffective but SUPER fun) I find myself WAY less effective than I used to be. It feels like everyone counters me. I notice also that every thief I see is DareDevil. Is it that good? What is so good about it? How can a thief with a staff POSSIBLY burst harder than me with D/D (Just something I’ve noticed). An update on what the Meta is for thief would be great (Don’t say P/D cause I know it’s good but I HATE the playstyle.). THANKS GUYS!

RIGHT??!?!?! It’s soo loud now!

BrunoBRS.5178:

zzBlurryzz.7492:

BrunoBRS.5178:

zzBlurryzz.7492:

BrunoBRS.5178:

zzBlurryzz.7492:

BrunoBRS.5178:

D/D, being a stealth-oriented build, has better cleanse than most stuff on thief. hide in shadows + cleanse on stealth is a great heal and cleanse.

the problem with D/D is that when played as a condi (or even hybrid) set, it only has one useful skill, death blossom, and death blossom right now is really clunky (seriously, up those evade frames. there are top PvPers playing the game with ping higher than that).

my suggestions:

• death blossom gets a better evasion (either 1/2 or 3/4, leaving the very end of the animation, which already roots you, as the vulnerable spot)

• dancing dagger applies a single stack of torment on hit (so up to 2 stacks depending on how it bounces), to keep in line with its movement-impairing theme.

• dagger training should be merged with potent poison, and maybe buff the chance to 50%, or at least have the poison duration increased to 3-4 seconds.

this doesn’t solve the fact that heartseeker, CnD, and backstab remain useless to the kit, but at least it would be a nice condi set that could go for either tricks or traps for the utility.

as for your suggestions… i honestly disagree with half of them. basi venom is incredibly strong (also, it’s 40 seconds, not 45); revealed is already pretty kitten short (unless you count the times when someone sacrifices a utility slot specifically to spite you); SR needs some sort of counter that doesn’t rely on gimmick utilities (i.e. AoE reveal), plus it’s already the best utility skill in the whole game across all professions, last thing it needs is a buff; D/D and D/P have pretty much on-demand stealth even without traiting or bringing utilities (and yes, i mean PvP).

S/R is the best utility in game? Til a knockback comes in that WILL hit because we don’t have stability. Basilisk venom needs to be able to stack. And yes, when I’m referring to revealed, I am referring to 6+ second revealed. You’re a Dead D/D if that hits you. Another thing I forgot to mention. Make targeted skills drop if you stealth. I’m tired of getting an entire rapid fire into my kitten while I’m in stealth.

a knockback that the guy has to aim blindly at and hope it pushes you far enough out of it that you get revealed (hint, position your SR against a wall if you’re really that unconfident on your dodging skills).

basilisk venom does stack, if you actually wait. if you stealth, basi while in the safety of stealth, backstab, and heartseeker, that’s almost the full 3 seconds that you kept the guy stuck in place, all while dealing ridiculous damage. by then, panic strike will have triggered, giving you another 2 seconds of immobilizing to go ham on the poor guy.

channeled skills not dropping when someone stealths is a way to counter stealth. stealth isn’t a free “i win” card. one of the ways to deal with it is to start a channeled skill when you know the thief will panic-stealth (like, say, when they’re low on health and trying to drop a shadow refuge). also, channeled skills can be dodged and LoS’d. if you just hide behind anything, even a tree stump, you’ll be safe against the rapid fire.

By the way you’re talking I don’t think you’ve played much D/D in your time. Many knockbacks cover the ENTIRE circle of SR. I think of Mesmers GS 5 off of the top of my head. You’re also acting like ArenaNet and seem to be assuming you will land everything since your target isn’t moving…. A lot of the time you wont land your Basilisk venom due to Invuln, blind, block, etc etc.

so wait, you don’t want to be punished when someone manages to knock you back with a big, obvious skill that you didn’t dodge for god knows what reason (also, you could’ve considered shadowstepping away before using SR, to buy you time), and you don’t want to be punished when someone defends themselves against your elite skill, which you should’ve landed FROM STEALTH? are you not seeing the problem with your complaints here?

yeah, i’m “sounding like the ANet guys”, because the ANet guys actually put thought into their design decisions, even if you think it doesn’t seem like it, and they take it into account that this game isn’t just for thieves.

Jesus. Go play D/D in WvW for a few hours and come back with a different opinion lmfao. You clearly don’t use the set. It’s clear.

no, i don’t. i prefer D/P. none of those issues you raised are exclusive to D/D though, as they’re all utility-related, and honestly, they’re all L2P issues. shadow refuge, basilisk venom, and being hit by channeled skills while in stealth, none of those “issues” have anything to do with what weapon you’re using.

spend some time on sPvP, see what people better than you do in a live environment instead of just montages, then take what you learn back to WvW. ‘cause right now, it’s clear you just want an easy win and no way for your opponents to counter you.

LOL. No. You play a build that gives you on demend stealth whenever you want. D/P is a walk in the park compared to D/D. People who aren’t good enough to use D/D, use D/P. lol. Seriously. Try D/D. Enjoy missing one CnD and then getting destroyed because of it. Go try.

BrunoBRS.5178:

zzBlurryzz.7492:

BrunoBRS.5178:

zzBlurryzz.7492:

BrunoBRS.5178:

D/D, being a stealth-oriented build, has better cleanse than most stuff on thief. hide in shadows + cleanse on stealth is a great heal and cleanse.

the problem with D/D is that when played as a condi (or even hybrid) set, it only has one useful skill, death blossom, and death blossom right now is really clunky (seriously, up those evade frames. there are top PvPers playing the game with ping higher than that).

my suggestions:

• death blossom gets a better evasion (either 1/2 or 3/4, leaving the very end of the animation, which already roots you, as the vulnerable spot)

• dancing dagger applies a single stack of torment on hit (so up to 2 stacks depending on how it bounces), to keep in line with its movement-impairing theme.

• dagger training should be merged with potent poison, and maybe buff the chance to 50%, or at least have the poison duration increased to 3-4 seconds.

this doesn’t solve the fact that heartseeker, CnD, and backstab remain useless to the kit, but at least it would be a nice condi set that could go for either tricks or traps for the utility.

as for your suggestions… i honestly disagree with half of them. basi venom is incredibly strong (also, it’s 40 seconds, not 45); revealed is already pretty kitten short (unless you count the times when someone sacrifices a utility slot specifically to spite you); SR needs some sort of counter that doesn’t rely on gimmick utilities (i.e. AoE reveal), plus it’s already the best utility skill in the whole game across all professions, last thing it needs is a buff; D/D and D/P have pretty much on-demand stealth even without traiting or bringing utilities (and yes, i mean PvP).

S/R is the best utility in game? Til a knockback comes in that WILL hit because we don’t have stability. Basilisk venom needs to be able to stack. And yes, when I’m referring to revealed, I am referring to 6+ second revealed. You’re a Dead D/D if that hits you. Another thing I forgot to mention. Make targeted skills drop if you stealth. I’m tired of getting an entire rapid fire into my kitten while I’m in stealth.

a knockback that the guy has to aim blindly at and hope it pushes you far enough out of it that you get revealed (hint, position your SR against a wall if you’re really that unconfident on your dodging skills).

basilisk venom does stack, if you actually wait. if you stealth, basi while in the safety of stealth, backstab, and heartseeker, that’s almost the full 3 seconds that you kept the guy stuck in place, all while dealing ridiculous damage. by then, panic strike will have triggered, giving you another 2 seconds of immobilizing to go ham on the poor guy.

channeled skills not dropping when someone stealths is a way to counter stealth. stealth isn’t a free “i win” card. one of the ways to deal with it is to start a channeled skill when you know the thief will panic-stealth (like, say, when they’re low on health and trying to drop a shadow refuge). also, channeled skills can be dodged and LoS’d. if you just hide behind anything, even a tree stump, you’ll be safe against the rapid fire.

By the way you’re talking I don’t think you’ve played much D/D in your time. Many knockbacks cover the ENTIRE circle of SR. I think of Mesmers GS 5 off of the top of my head. You’re also acting like ArenaNet and seem to be assuming you will land everything since your target isn’t moving…. A lot of the time you wont land your Basilisk venom due to Invuln, blind, block, etc etc.

so wait, you don’t want to be punished when someone manages to knock you back with a big, obvious skill that you didn’t dodge for god knows what reason (also, you could’ve considered shadowstepping away before using SR, to buy you time), and you don’t want to be punished when someone defends themselves against your elite skill, which you should’ve landed FROM STEALTH? are you not seeing the problem with your complaints here?

yeah, i’m “sounding like the ANet guys”, because the ANet guys actually put thought into their design decisions, even if you think it doesn’t seem like it, and they take it into account that this game isn’t just for thieves.

Jesus. Go play D/D in WvW for a few hours and come back with a different opinion lmfao. You clearly don’t use the set. It’s clear.

BrunoBRS.5178:

zzBlurryzz.7492:

BrunoBRS.5178:

D/D, being a stealth-oriented build, has better cleanse than most stuff on thief. hide in shadows + cleanse on stealth is a great heal and cleanse.

the problem with D/D is that when played as a condi (or even hybrid) set, it only has one useful skill, death blossom, and death blossom right now is really clunky (seriously, up those evade frames. there are top PvPers playing the game with ping higher than that).

my suggestions:

• death blossom gets a better evasion (either 1/2 or 3/4, leaving the very end of the animation, which already roots you, as the vulnerable spot)

• dancing dagger applies a single stack of torment on hit (so up to 2 stacks depending on how it bounces), to keep in line with its movement-impairing theme.

• dagger training should be merged with potent poison, and maybe buff the chance to 50%, or at least have the poison duration increased to 3-4 seconds.

this doesn’t solve the fact that heartseeker, CnD, and backstab remain useless to the kit, but at least it would be a nice condi set that could go for either tricks or traps for the utility.

as for your suggestions… i honestly disagree with half of them. basi venom is incredibly strong (also, it’s 40 seconds, not 45); revealed is already pretty kitten short (unless you count the times when someone sacrifices a utility slot specifically to spite you); SR needs some sort of counter that doesn’t rely on gimmick utilities (i.e. AoE reveal), plus it’s already the best utility skill in the whole game across all professions, last thing it needs is a buff; D/D and D/P have pretty much on-demand stealth even without traiting or bringing utilities (and yes, i mean PvP).

S/R is the best utility in game? Til a knockback comes in that WILL hit because we don’t have stability. Basilisk venom needs to be able to stack. And yes, when I’m referring to revealed, I am referring to 6+ second revealed. You’re a Dead D/D if that hits you. Another thing I forgot to mention. Make targeted skills drop if you stealth. I’m tired of getting an entire rapid fire into my kitten while I’m in stealth.

a knockback that the guy has to aim blindly at and hope it pushes you far enough out of it that you get revealed (hint, position your SR against a wall if you’re really that unconfident on your dodging skills).

basilisk venom does stack, if you actually wait. if you stealth, basi while in the safety of stealth, backstab, and heartseeker, that’s almost the full 3 seconds that you kept the guy stuck in place, all while dealing ridiculous damage. by then, panic strike will have triggered, giving you another 2 seconds of immobilizing to go ham on the poor guy.

channeled skills not dropping when someone stealths is a way to counter stealth. stealth isn’t a free “i win” card. one of the ways to deal with it is to start a channeled skill when you know the thief will panic-stealth (like, say, when they’re low on health and trying to drop a shadow refuge). also, channeled skills can be dodged and LoS’d. if you just hide behind anything, even a tree stump, you’ll be safe against the rapid fire.

And channeled skills should drop target if the target stealths.

BrunoBRS.5178:

zzBlurryzz.7492:

BrunoBRS.5178:

D/D, being a stealth-oriented build, has better cleanse than most stuff on thief. hide in shadows + cleanse on stealth is a great heal and cleanse.

the problem with D/D is that when played as a condi (or even hybrid) set, it only has one useful skill, death blossom, and death blossom right now is really clunky (seriously, up those evade frames. there are top PvPers playing the game with ping higher than that).

my suggestions:

• death blossom gets a better evasion (either 1/2 or 3/4, leaving the very end of the animation, which already roots you, as the vulnerable spot)

• dancing dagger applies a single stack of torment on hit (so up to 2 stacks depending on how it bounces), to keep in line with its movement-impairing theme.

• dagger training should be merged with potent poison, and maybe buff the chance to 50%, or at least have the poison duration increased to 3-4 seconds.

this doesn’t solve the fact that heartseeker, CnD, and backstab remain useless to the kit, but at least it would be a nice condi set that could go for either tricks or traps for the utility.

as for your suggestions… i honestly disagree with half of them. basi venom is incredibly strong (also, it’s 40 seconds, not 45); revealed is already pretty kitten short (unless you count the times when someone sacrifices a utility slot specifically to spite you); SR needs some sort of counter that doesn’t rely on gimmick utilities (i.e. AoE reveal), plus it’s already the best utility skill in the whole game across all professions, last thing it needs is a buff; D/D and D/P have pretty much on-demand stealth even without traiting or bringing utilities (and yes, i mean PvP).

S/R is the best utility in game? Til a knockback comes in that WILL hit because we don’t have stability. Basilisk venom needs to be able to stack. And yes, when I’m referring to revealed, I am referring to 6+ second revealed. You’re a Dead D/D if that hits you. Another thing I forgot to mention. Make targeted skills drop if you stealth. I’m tired of getting an entire rapid fire into my kitten while I’m in stealth.

a knockback that the guy has to aim blindly at and hope it pushes you far enough out of it that you get revealed (hint, position your SR against a wall if you’re really that unconfident on your dodging skills).

basilisk venom does stack, if you actually wait. if you stealth, basi while in the safety of stealth, backstab, and heartseeker, that’s almost the full 3 seconds that you kept the guy stuck in place, all while dealing ridiculous damage. by then, panic strike will have triggered, giving you another 2 seconds of immobilizing to go ham on the poor guy.

channeled skills not dropping when someone stealths is a way to counter stealth. stealth isn’t a free “i win” card. one of the ways to deal with it is to start a channeled skill when you know the thief will panic-stealth (like, say, when they’re low on health and trying to drop a shadow refuge). also, channeled skills can be dodged and LoS’d. if you just hide behind anything, even a tree stump, you’ll be safe against the rapid fire.

By the way you’re talking I don’t think you’ve played much D/D in your time. Many knockbacks cover the ENTIRE circle of SR. I think of Mesmers GS 5 off of the top of my head. You’re also acting like ArenaNet and seem to be assuming you will land everything since your target isn’t moving…. A lot of the time you wont land your Basilisk venom due to Invuln, blind, block, etc etc.

BrunoBRS.5178:

D/D, being a stealth-oriented build, has better cleanse than most stuff on thief. hide in shadows + cleanse on stealth is a great heal and cleanse.

the problem with D/D is that when played as a condi (or even hybrid) set, it only has one useful skill, death blossom, and death blossom right now is really clunky (seriously, up those evade frames. there are top PvPers playing the game with ping higher than that).

my suggestions:

• death blossom gets a better evasion (either 1/2 or 3/4, leaving the very end of the animation, which already roots you, as the vulnerable spot)

• dancing dagger applies a single stack of torment on hit (so up to 2 stacks depending on how it bounces), to keep in line with its movement-impairing theme.

• dagger training should be merged with potent poison, and maybe buff the chance to 50%, or at least have the poison duration increased to 3-4 seconds.

this doesn’t solve the fact that heartseeker, CnD, and backstab remain useless to the kit, but at least it would be a nice condi set that could go for either tricks or traps for the utility.

as for your suggestions… i honestly disagree with half of them. basi venom is incredibly strong (also, it’s 40 seconds, not 45); revealed is already pretty kitten short (unless you count the times when someone sacrifices a utility slot specifically to spite you); SR needs some sort of counter that doesn’t rely on gimmick utilities (i.e. AoE reveal), plus it’s already the best utility skill in the whole game across all professions, last thing it needs is a buff; D/D and D/P have pretty much on-demand stealth even without traiting or bringing utilities (and yes, i mean PvP).

S/R is the best utility in game? Til a knockback comes in that WILL hit because we don’t have stability. Basilisk venom needs to be able to stack. And yes, when I’m referring to revealed, I am referring to 6+ second revealed. You’re a Dead D/D if that hits you. Another thing I forgot to mention. Make targeted skills drop if you stealth. I’m tired of getting an entire rapid fire into my kitten while I’m in stealth.

Karl, you’ve answered 1 thread today which is more than we usually see in a 3 month period, lets see if you stick around to answer a few more.

I’ve been playing thief since the first BWE, only ever playing D/D thief. ArenaNet seems to have neglected this weapon set all together and nerfed it into the ground via the changes to traits. Do you guys plan on being able to do anything about this? As D/D we have NO effective way to cleanse condi’s, we have a trait that clears 1 RANDOM condi every few seconds. That is pathetic when you look at what other classes are given.

I’ve tried MANY different trait set ups and I always feel like I’m missing something, If I take S/A, D/A, and C/S, I lack initiative to keep up a good fight. If I take Trickery, S/A, C/S I lose almost 40% of my damage and I’m still not very survivable AT ALL. I can’t even fit acrobatics into the build without losing a ton of damage. I’ve tried every possible combination of traits and NONE work. D/D Thief is in a horrible spot.

I have a couple suggestions that would help a little:

- Make Cloak n Dagger Blind as BASELINE, get rid of the vulnerability
- Revert Blinding Power to pulse more often
- Make it so If we leave Shadow Refuge early we DON’T lose stealth, and put in some sort of damage mitigation or condi cleanse or STABILITY!! (I don’t want to have to waste a trait line to get this)
- For god sakes give us some sort of trait that makes reveal not last as long! D/D Thief is already kittened enough! If we miss a CnD, we’re dead already, we seriously have to play perfectly! So please either tone down revealed or give thiefs a better way to deal with it. We’re screwed if we get revealed right now.
- We need more ways into stealth.
- Make Death Blossom make you invuln for the ENTIRE animation.
- 45 Seconds for a tiny “Turn to stone?” You’re kidding? Making it stack on both hits or slash the C/D down to 25 seconds (or so).

That’s just some things off of the top of my head. We need changes, we are underpowered, nearly useless. The only D/D players are the one who truly love the play style. I do… But something is wrong when I have over 3000 hours on my thief and I’m not as effective as on my Elementalist who only have 20 hours on him..

#UnleashTheThief

And another patch rolls by and another 3 months have began where D/D thief is still kittened. Still no changes to CnD to add a baseline blind, no changes to traits, nope, just a pistol damage increase.. sigh…

This guy has played Thief 37 hours, I’m sitting at over 3000 on D/D Thief. Go try D/D thief and then tell me all classes get treated the same.

Khyber.1284:

zzBlurryzz.7492:

Most people here seem to not know (even though I have stated many times) that I’ve only been playing mesmer for 5 days. I’m new to the class, not even a week in, yet I’m being judged as if I’ve been playing since BWE 1. “Ohh PU is such a crutch, you’re so bad” Yeah Im new, I want a crutch. I’ve played ONLY thief since BWE 1, never straying from D/D. I swear I’m going to have to make a thief montage next to show that I’m not an awful player, I’m just playing a new class. No wonder most people hate mesmers, the community is utter garbage for this class. The Thief forums are nothing like this. /endrant

Dare I ask, Why do you care about others opinions and why do you feel you have to go out of your way to make a whole entire video just to prove your not an awful player. I can’t say I’m ever…“excited” by any WvW video….So my opinion of yours is indifferent.

I used to do youtube for a living so making an entertaining video is something I strive for. With this video in particular I know the gameplay wasn’t 10/10, but with clean editing, I made a chill, enjoyable video IMO. Anyways. I’ve always wanted to make a thief montage but how bad of a state D/D is in has always drove me from it, but eh. w.e

Most people here seem to not know (even though I have stated many times) that I’ve only been playing mesmer for 5 days. I’m new to the class, not even a week in, yet I’m being judged as if I’ve been playing since BWE 1. “Ohh PU is such a crutch, you’re so bad” Yeah Im new, I want a crutch. I’ve played ONLY thief since BWE 1, never straying from D/D. I swear I’m going to have to make a thief montage next to show that I’m not an awful player, I’m just playing a new class. No wonder most people hate mesmers, the community is utter garbage for this class. The Thief forums are nothing like this. /endrant

lvis.3824:

it has nothing to do with the fact that this is mesmer video – thing is you are attacking out of stealth , clicking your skills and kill ppl that do not have any clue … gz -

Why do you think you should get upvotes for that ????

Yes… totally.. the 1v3… and multiple 1v2s beg to differ but uhh… sorry for using a class mechanic? (Stealth)… my bad? and how i use my skills doesnt negate the gameplay at all lol… Soo.. great point man. (You just confirmed it’s cause im using a mesmer btw)

It’s sad that mesmer videos get disliked for being mesmer videos

Just threw this video together. I’m still rather new to the class, so go easy on me.
Enjoy the video and I would really appreciate a like dropped on the video!

P.S. – I SOMETIMES CLICK SKILLS. Don’t judge me lol. Get over it!

Also, 1080p 60FPS will be available soon!

Just threw this video together. I’m still rather new to the class, so go easy on me.
Enjoy the video and I would really appreciate a like dropped on the video!

P.S. – I SOMETIMES CLICK SKILLS. Don’t judge me lol. Get over it!

Also, 1080p 60FPS will be available soon!

Exciton.8942:

Very well-made video!
Would love to see more after you get better with the class.

Since I am on SoS, I will look out for you in the future haha.

The next one is already in the works!!

zzBlurryzz.7492:

Just started using mesmer. This is what I’ve learned after 2 days of practice. Enjoy the video and please leave a like on it as well as a comment. I need to learn better skill rotations!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zNEQJHqZQs

People hating cause I click my skills sometimes XD. JUDGEMENTAL MUCH?!

Ross Biddle.2367:

zzBlurryzz.7492:

Ross Biddle.2367:

Ok so first fight-

When blinking you can pre-cast. So you can start a mirror blade, or phantasm summon and still blink without breaking the channel.

You were trying to range pressure the ele after your initial burst which was great, however after that shatter burst is often the perfect time to summon a phantasm to assist in apply pressure, especialy if they’re going to get off a few attacks.

Move away from mouse clicking your skills and ask after keybinds. Though idealy invest in a Razer Naga Epic like me, which is awesome. Awesome people make that investment. So you can’t go wrong.

Also you’re on Tarnished Coast, are you NA? Oceanic?

All solid tips. I don’t have a great mouse and I’ve never been able to find keybinds that work well for me (Most involve stretching my fingers too far). I’m an NA player but I play at all times. Sometimes NA primtime, sometimes 2-6am NA. All varies.

Well, be awesome
http://www.razerzone.com/store/razer-naga-epic

You don’t even have to use your fingers. It’s all in the thumb!

I might keep an eye out for you and come roaming. You look like a lot of fun

It’s all about having fun xD!!! May get a new mouse soon!

Ross Biddle.2367:

Ok so first fight-

When blinking you can pre-cast. So you can start a mirror blade, or phantasm summon and still blink without breaking the channel.

You were trying to range pressure the ele after your initial burst which was great, however after that shatter burst is often the perfect time to summon a phantasm to assist in apply pressure, especialy if they’re going to get off a few attacks.

Move away from mouse clicking your skills and ask after keybinds. Though idealy invest in a Razer Naga Epic like me, which is awesome. Awesome people make that investment. So you can’t go wrong.

Also you’re on Tarnished Coast, are you NA? Oceanic?

All solid tips. I don’t have a great mouse and I’ve never been able to find keybinds that work well for me (Most involve stretching my fingers too far). I’m an NA player but I play at all times. Sometimes NA primtime, sometimes 2-6am NA. All varies.

Just started using mesmer. This is what I’ve learned after 2 days of practice. Enjoy the video and please leave a like on it as well as a comment. I need to learn better skill rotations!

Just made a montage. I’m SUPER new to the class guys and still trying to learn! Enjoy the video and please leave a like on it and a comment about what I could do better or about skill rotations and stuff, I still don’t know this class very well.

Getting really bored of D/D power build. It’s just not in a good spot. Figured I’ll try some random stuff like D/D condi thief. Anyone have a build?

+99999999! I’m sick of taking this stupid traitline JUST for 3 initiative. It cripples any build I try to make.

Title. Got my buddy to make an account but he picked the wrong world. Deleting his character didn’t work.

Anyone else come up with better? I’ve been on hiatus.

Rin.1046:

Nice build. I actually run with Warrior Runes instead of Wurm, as I find the extra power gives a little more overal damage than the extra ferocity. But there’s really not a lot in it tbh.

Interesting idea.

Huntsman for oils.

Shameful bump xD Hehe

VladR.9827:

This will be a blow to all builds, but even if you will remove fortitude stacks those 2 will be way better then 12-13k hp ones.

I imagine they’ll boost overall Vitality in WvW

Xovian.8572:

DHawk.2687:

why don’t you channel CnD and then steal, it hits the target you go stealth and then backstab, why the hell minimize your burst for no reason? xD

Having an extra stealth option ever 20 seconds is not a bad thing to have and has uses other then just a setup for backstab. Why minimize global functionality and defenses just for the sake of burst that likely isn’t going to kill the target with just itself anyways?

Both ways have their pros and cons.

It’s all preference ^_^

DaBigMek.4873:

Hello, Blurry.
First off, thank you for sharing your build with us. I have been running something very similar and I completely agree with choice of traiting into CS instead of DA. I have been only using blind on stealth (have to try Shadows Rejuvenation, if it works for you!) and withdraw as heal with trickster talent to remove conditions. I have to ask: Have you tried this? For me, it works a little bit better than Hide in Shadows – but it also feels like waste of trait, because only one ability benefits from it. But yeah, after all, it is personal preference.
Second question I have is about runes. I simply cant play thief without +25% movement speed, so I use Traveler runes to have one extra utility to use. Ofc, Wurm gives you more vitality and crit damage, but is it enough to justify sacrifice of one utility slot?

I consider myself to be mediocre thief, so I am always trying to learn something. Thanks again for posting your build!

The heal skill is all personal preference, I like my opponents to not know where I am as much as possible. Keep them disoriented. My reason for Signet of shadows is that I don’t want to take Traveler Runes just to get my move speed. In D/D you need at least that 25% but with traveler runes, you’re sacrificing so much just to get it. Taking signet of shadows allthrough is not amazing, it is good. The blind when you get surprised or dived on is nice, and since I also run blinding powder, I can survive a couple of them.

DHawk.2687:

This is like almost the exact same build, my crit chance is a bit lower, but my health is higher
You swapped acro for trickery
Makes sense in the roaming 1v1 area
But imho signet of shadows isn’t very strong
Since you run high ini anyhow you can use shortbow for movement without really wasting any and you can give yourself speed with steal
I’d switch the signet for blinding powder, it’s more versitile ^^

The traits are different, the armor is different, the utilities are different. That’s rather far from exact. The similarites are food, runes. Besides that.there are obvious traits every thief will take.

MidoriMarch.8067:

zzBlurryzz.7492:

MidoriMarch.8067:

Wurm runes seems to be popular after the patch ;o

We need the added survivability and it allows us to not have to take Deadly Arts since we make up some damage in Critical Hits.

might try those out.

Anyway good to see many people still running d/d

seriously hope anet do something for d/d

Since I started using this build, my only things I want from Anet are Blind built INTO Cloak and Dagger, and combined 50% move speed in stealth with a grandmaster.

MidoriMarch.8067:

Wurm runes seems to be popular after the patch ;o

We need the added survivability and it allows us to not have to take Deadly Arts since we make up some damage in Critical Hits.

Hey guys. Blurry here. After much testing and theorycrafting for the past few days. I’ve found what has so far for me been the best D/D build for roaming thus far. It allows great 1v1 potential, as well as 1v2 and 1v3 if you have the skills. Quick shout outs to Dhawk. His post helped with deciding on my runes for my armor!

Base stats of the build: (Please keep in mind this is after WvW Guard Stacks, Food/Oil and Bloodlust!)

Power: 2800ish
Effective HP: 20,100
Critical Hit Chance: 50% (Goes up to 70% with fury and 77% from traits)
Critical Hit Damage: 247% (Goes to 262% after fury)

That’s really the important stats for Thief I guess ^__^. Let me give an overview of the build!

The build relies heavily on landing your cloak and daggers successfully but gives you room for error with the large HP pool. I chose to trait myself into the Critical Strikes, Shadows Arts, and Trickery trees (OMG NO DEADLY ARTS?!?!). Yes I dropped deadly arts. This is what allows our build to do so much damage while still have a large HP pool. (With 260% Crit damage, backstabs hit like a truck!)
Traiting into Shadow Arts increases our ability to survive by a fair amount. I take regen HP while in stealth over the blind on stealth trait. This is just a personal preference of mine (Please make CnD have blind built in <3). Shadow Arts also allows our stealth skills to last longer which is always nice. That’s really just about all I took SA for.

I decided to also take Critical Strikes to keep our DPS high. Having perma fury is amazing. Nuff said about that.

Trickery I obviously took so I could have a little more leeway on my initiative use as well as the reduced recharge on steal (This build gives a lot of buffs from steal, USE IT LOTS!!)

That explains most the traits portion. The skills itself in the build are just my preference. I’m trying to not use SR because I find it to be a crutch and we just get spammed in it anyways. I decided to take Blinding Powder to stay mobile and keep applying pressure, as well as to relieve it when I need.

On to the armor!!
I decided to take all Berserker’s except TWO pieces. I take Valkyrie Chest and Leggings. These two pieces of armor have the most stats so I decided to take Valkyrie on them for the extra HP. Simple as that. I decided to run Superior Runes of the Wurm on my armor (Thanks DHawk) as they give great survivability and increase of Critical Hit damage by a good margine. Also take full Berserker Trinkets, Rings, Etc.
I guess I should make a comment about the Food and Oils too. Furious Maintenance Oil is a MUST!! (Huntsman 450) and I take Plate of Truffle Steak for Power and Precision. Gives us that extra UMPH!

Anyways guys, I hope you enjoy using this build. It’s about as close as I could get to what we used to be. Play smart with it and I’m sure many of you will see success. We still have to play smart and patiently, but I feel this build has just the right mix of damage, survivability, and hp to be very effective in roaming the battlegrounds. If you want to add me and ask me any questions or make a donation (nudge wink nudge), feel free to.

IM BLURRY AND IM OUT!!

LINK TO THE BUILD: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vZAQNAoYVlsMhynYpTwzJw/EH7E1OAqt2kfCjQJ4nio4KA-T1SDwA9Uid4BAIc/BvKBTcKAeq84l6Kw13M4IEAwETMVKCAgAcz2sNvZA38m3MkCQPdWA-w

IGN: Z B L U R R Y Z
Playstyle: WvW Roaming / Small group encounters.
Server: Tarnished Coast
Experience with thief: Been playing Thief since Beta weekend one. My only character I’ve ever had was a Thief. Been playing my D/D Thief for over 3 years mainly in WvW. I refuse to change my weapon set as I feel D/D embodies what a Thief should be. Although the recent changes have made it difficult for me to be as effective as I once was, I continue to tweak my build every day till I find what will work. I’m a Thief for life and It’s all you’ll ever see me play. Over 3000 hours on Thief across two accounts.

In my opinion this is what needs to happen.

First. Increase base vitality by a couple thousand HP.

Second. Make CnD Blind on hit.

Third. Make regen while in stealth combined with something else we take.

Hitsuke.5304:

I refuse to bow down to the Anet nerf train on my Thief. I’ve been running S/D for two and a half years and I won’t be moved. Even though they nerfed S/D to the ground with the changes to LS & FS I’ve persisted. I’m waiting in hope for the day when they realise that Thief build variety is non-existent and reduce the ini cost of LS again.

They could even remove the root from pistol whip… all simple ideas that could add a bit more variety, but this is Anet :/

I refuse to stop D/Ding. But I don’t refuse to stop playing until this inexcusable mistake is fixed.

Hey guys, I’m Blurry. I’ve only played as a Thief since the release of the Guild Wars 2 Beta. I’ve never touched any other class as I have SO much fun on Thief

We’re all aware of the recent changed to the trait system and most of us seem rather irate and mad about them. They seem to be forcing us into the meta playstyle of the Thief which at the moment is obviously D/P. I thought I’d share my opinion on what I think the changes have done to D/D and if it’s good or bad.

Pre changes I ran the rather “normal” D/D Thief build. Except I ran it a little squishier running full zerker gear instead of mixing it up with Valk. I’d run Runes of the Eagle as well so I was the embodiment of a glass cannon, BUT I could still win in 1v2 / 1v3 situations. How is that? Well because if you played properly and traited properly as a D/D Thief, you could outskill your opponents. Like everyone else, I ran the Blind on stealth, regen while in stealth, and move faster while in stealth. (I’d swap between some when I felt needed) and this build worked INCREDIBLY well if you knew what you were doing! It wasn’t overpowered since if you got C/C’d you were basically screwed. It didn’t have insane damage (usually needed to land multiple backstabs to kill someone) and it took patience and learning to master. You had to manage your initiative properly, VERY carefully time your dodge rolls, and manage the revealed debuff while doing all that. It was the single most rewarding build and IMO it was the only fun one.
Now what has happened…..

With this update, ArenaNet has taken away the D/D build from us. I’m crushed. They re did the traits without thinking of who it would effect most. The people who were at a disadvantage already running D/D got put even further back, and the D/P Meta thieves now thrive even more. They made us a joke in the WvW roaming / sPvP community. Lets run through some points.

What did we gain?
Well no one can argue the damage of running D/D went up a fair amount. 12-15k backstabs are a normal now. Wow that was a short list of what we gained.

What did we lose?
We lost EVERY piece of survivability we had. We can’t regen in stealth without dropping a VERY important master trait, we can no longer fit Blinding on stealth into our builds successfully, don’t even think about taking the moving faster while in stealth anymore because your damage takes a massive hit if you do.

So what are we left with? A joke. That’s what we are left with D/D thieves where all they can do is steal in, cloak and dagger, backstab, and if we didn’t kill our target, we’re dead. Simple as that. We can’t take on 1v2’s or 1v3’s anymore. Most classes now have an invuln to not die to our burst anyways so we’re left with nothing. They invuln when we go in, they C/C us, and then they kill us. Literally any class can now burst as good as us and with our TINY health pool, we have no chance of surviving. I can’t see the point in playing anymore since the one thing I love is gone now. Classes do better than us in every category and we excel at nothing anymore. Want burst damage? Take a Mesmer! Want stealth? ALSO TAKE A MESMER!!(What sense does that make? Mesmers have more access to and longer stealth than us?), want long range burst? Take a ranger who has an invuln, a knockback, CC and burst. Seriously. Trying to fight a Longbow ranger now is a joke. We go in, they invuln, and then push us back, rapid fire. Since their rapid fire will trace us through S.R. We’re dead.

Please ArenaNet, don’t kill the one thing I’ve loved since release. I want my Thief back