Thief PvE | Open World Dagger/Dagger, Shortbow | Damage Simple Thief Leveling Build for New Players
Table of Contents
Summary
This is an uncomplicated thief leveling build primarily intended for new players who may be confused about how best to level a thief.
Play style is simple:
1. Round up a bunch of mobs.
2. Kill them with condition spam (Poison, Bleed).
3. Avoid damage with continuous Death Blossom (Dagger #3) and Dodging (both of which are evasion abilities).
4. Repeat.
For anyone who has played WoW, it works similarly to leveling a Frost Mage with AoE Grinding - round up mobs, CC them (Freeze), AoE them down (Blizzard).
Except here we CC them with Cripple (Caltrops), and AoE them down with Poison and Bleed stacks.
I. Weapons and Skills
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- Wild StrikeStrike your foe again. Gain endurance with a successful strike.Damage: 286Endurance gain: 10Range: 130
- Lotus Strike¼Strike your foe and inflict poison.Damage: 286Poison: 4 s (336 damage)Range: 130
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Weapon and Skill Details
Key Skills
1. Choking Gas (SB #4): Applies Poison
2. Death Blossom (D #3): Applies stacks of Bleed, longest duration (10s) available
3. Withdraw (Heal): Grants Vigor 10s = more dodges = more Caltrops (thanks tothe trait Uncatchable)
4. Caltrops (Utility): Combined with the trait Uncatchable for max Bleed and Cripple spam.
5. Ambush (Utility): For tough fights, get help from a fellow thief for 20s.
6. Thieves Guild (Elite): For really tough fights, have two more fellow thieves help out for 30s.
Optional Utilities
Remaining utility skill is optional, player preference. Other useful ones are:
1. Shadow Refuge: useful if you get overwhelmed, and need to hide, heal, and run away.
2. Infiltrator Signet: increased Initiative regen, useful for more Death Blossom spam.
3. Signet of Shadows: +25% movement speed, useful for map travel, which you do a lot of while leveling.
4. Shadow Step: Another skill useful for running away. Teleport anywhere 1200 range, then Infiltrator's Arrow away till out of combat.
Healing Utility
1. Feel free to swap in Signet of Malice for the Healing Utility, it's really strong with this build too.
II. Traits
Deadly Arts
Critical Strikes
Shadow Arts
Acrobatics
Trait Details
Above is the core of the build. Suggested trait assignment order as you level:
1. 20: 0/0/0/0/10
2. 30: 0/0/0/10/10
3. 40: 10/0/0/10/10
4. 45: 10/0/0/10/15 (requires level 40+ and Master Trait book)
5. 50: 10/0/0/15/15
After this point all traits are optional, player preference. The following is just one suggestion:
6. 55: 10/0/0/20/15
7. 65: 20/0/0/20/15 (requires Grandmaster trait book at level 60)
8. 75: 30/0/0/20/15
9. 80: 30/0/0/25/15
The build focuses on three things:
1. Increasing Initiative regen for faster Death Blossoms and Choking Gas fields.
2. Increasing Endurance regen for more Dodging (and hence more Caltrops and more Evades).
3. Increasing Damage, particularly Condition Damage and Duration, and Dagger damage.
III. Stat Specifics & Effects
Primary Stats
- Health 14955 (+3310)
- Vitality 1247 (+331)
- Armor 2065 (+85)
- Toughness 1001 (+85)
- Attack 2078 (+181)
- Power 1097 (+181)
- Critical Hit 4% (+4%)
- Precision 1001 (+85)
Secondary Stats
- Boon Duration 15% (+15%)
- Condition Damage 705 (+705)
- Condition Duration 40% (+40%)
- Damage 981 (+0%)
- Defense 1064 (+0)
- Experience from Kills 20% (+20%)
- Steal Recharge Rate 15% (+15%)
Boons
Conditions
Control
Fields & Finishers
Stat and Effect Details
Focus on Condition Damage, Condition Duration, Toughness, and Vitality.
IV. Food, Armor, Trinkets & Upgrade Items
Food Nourishment
Condition Duration: 40%
Condition Damage: 70
Experience from Kills: 10%
- (30min)
- Condition Duration: 40%
- Condition Damage: 70
- Experience from Kills: 10%
Utility Nourishment
Gain Condition damage equal to 6% of your toughness
Gain Condition damage equal to 4% of your vitality
Experience from Kills: 10%
- (30min)
- Gain Condition damage equal to 6% of your toughness
- Gain Condition damage equal to 4% of your vitality
- Experience from Kills: 10%
Armor & Runes
- Defense: 97
- Defense: 97
- Condition Damage: 45
- Power: 32
- Vitality: 32
- Defense: 338
- Defense: 157
- Condition Damage: 45
- Power: 32
- Vitality: 32
- Defense: 218
- Defense: 157
- Condition Damage: 45
- Power: 32
- Vitality: 32
Armor Stat Totals
- Defense 1064
- Condition Damage 135
- Power 96
- Vitality 96
Rune Bonuses
Accessories & Jewels
Accessory Totals
Weapon Set Sigils
- Weapon Strength: 924-981
- Condition Damage: 120
- Precision: 85
- Toughness: 85
- Weapon Strength: 924-981
- Condition Damage: 120
- Power: 85
- Vitality: 85
Weapon Set I
Sigil of Minor CorruptionYou gain +10 condition damage each time you kill a foe. (max 25 stacks and ends on down)
Sigil of Superior Earth60% chance to do a 5s bleed on critical.
- Weapon Strength: 905-1000
- Condition Damage: 239
- Precision: 171
- Toughness: 171
- Weapon Strength: -
Weapon Set II
Sigil of Superior Earth60% chance to do a 5s bleed on critical.
- Weapon Strength: 905-1000
- Condition Damage: 120
- Precision: 85
- Toughness: 85
- Weapon Strength: 905-1000
- Condition Damage: 120
- Power: 85
- Vitality: 85
Water Weapon I
Sigil of Superior Earth60% chance to do a 5s bleed on critical.
Water Weapon II
Sigil of Superior Earth60% chance to do a 5s bleed on critical.
Upgrade Item Details
Intothemists doesn't show low level gear you'll pick up while leveling, so the above gear is all level 80 stuff you can't get till 80.
It's just used here as an example of the stats you want to try to find as you level - Condition Damage, Toughness, and Vitality.
Sigil of Earth: If you can't find Condition damage gear, then Precision is your next best damage stat, for Sigil of Earth procs.
V. Basic Gameplay
With Daggers:
1. Ambush Trap
2. Round up a group of mobs, pull into Ambush Trap
3. Caltrops (Utility skill) on mobs
4. Death Blossom till out of Initiative
5. Dodge through mobs for more Caltrops till out of Endurance
6. Continue swapping between Death Blossom and Dodge till dead
With Shortbow:
1. Ambush Trap
2. Round up a group of mobs, pull into Ambush Trap
3. Caltrops (Utility skill) on mobs
4. Choking Gas (SB #4) on mobs
5. Cluster Bomb (SB #2) on the Poison Field = AoE Weakness
6. SB Autoattack (hits 4 mobs)
7. When out of Intiative, Dodge through mobs till out of Endurance, then switch back to Poison Field and Cluster Bomb spam.
Again, for anyone who has played WoW, it works similarly to leveling a Frost Mage with AoE Grinding - round up mobs, CC them (Freeze), AoE them down (Blizzard).
Except here we CC them with Cripple (Caltrops), and AoE them down with Bleed stacks (Caltrops, Death Blossom), Poison (Shortbow #4 Choking Gas), and optionally Shortbow autoattack.
1. Other good Sigil choices are Sigil of Energy (restore 50% of your Endurance on weapon swap) and Sigil of Stamina (refill your endurance on kill).
2. This build also works well as a WvW roamer, great for killing yaks and 1v1'ing other players - With constant Death Blossom + Dodge you're almost unhittable.
For Runes, anything that looks fun and/or useful - off the top of my head, Minor/Major Undead, Nightmare, Hoelbrak, Citadel, Rage will all give you a nice damage boost. You can't get Superior Runes till 60, but I wouldn't bother with those till 80 anyway since you may prefer a Power build instead of a Condition Damage build at 80.