Thief WvW | Small Group Sword/Dagger, Shortbow | Roamer S/D Full Accro//Dodgin' for Days
Table of Contents
Summary
Account: MedievalMemer.6392
Primary Toon: Archêx
Region/Server: NA/Sea of Sorrows
First things first, if you are new to thief it is unlikely you will have much success with this build as it is one of the more difficult thief builds to use. One exception being if you have an average to deep understanding of EVERY other class as this build relies just as much on knowing the other class' animations and the unique play style of each of the other classes' builds as your personal mechanics as a thief. A quick thing to note is that this build uses very little stealth and if you dislike that idea... this isn't the build for you.
Personal best running this build: 1 v 4
(will have videos just as soon as I get an elgato)
I. Weapons and Skills
- Slash½Slash your foe again.Damage: 269Range: 130
- Crippling Strike½Cripple your foe with a final strike.Damage: 437Crippled: 2 sWeakness: 2 sRange: 130
- Shadow Return2Return to your original location. Cure one condition.Range: 1,200
- 0
- Larcenous Strike2Dual wield. Deliver a quick strike that steals up to two boons from an enemy.Damage: 504Range: 130
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
- 0
-
- 0
- 0
- 0
- Shadow ReturnReturn to your starting location and cure three conditions.Break stunRange: 1,200
- 0
Weapon and Skill Details
A huge mistake I see many thieves make, even some more experienced than I, is that they almost never use their shortbow. The thief shortbow has not only some of the best utility in the game with its port on 5 and evade on 3 but also has damage comparable to the auto attack on sword if you fire and detonate a cluster bomb in melee range. It took me some time to get used to using the shortbow almost as much as my sword and dagger but I found the closer I got to about a 50/50 balance the better I did. Also, after the specialization update, with the changes to power, the auto attack on shortbow is not to shabby either (especially if the target has an ally standing next to them for the arrow to bounce off of).
Sword/Dagger
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Slice>Slash>Crippling Strike: This is the bread and butter of this
build. A significant part of the s/d weapon set on thief comes from its auto
attack but Crippling Strike in particular.
Infiltrator's Strike>Infiltrator's Return (AKA "IS"): Infiltrator's Strike is an amazing skill and also
this builds primary way of removing conditions. You can use this skill as a
makeshift dodge vs certain skills such as a warrior's Greatsword 5 Rush or an
engineers Rifle 5 Jump Shot.
Flanking Strike>Larcenous Strike: Flanking Strike should be used as a dodge
first and foremost and to unlock Larcenous Strike as a secondary use.
Larcenous Strike is unblockable and rips up to 2 boons from your target and is
therefore incredibly useful against Elementalists who are trying to might stack
and Guardians with their crazy block uptime (Read the "Delicious Boons" combo
later in the guide for an interesting interaction between Basilisk Venom and
Larcenous Strike.)
Dancing Dagger: As hipster as I may seem even I cant find a good use for
this skill outside of maybe a ranged basilisk venom proc every now and then.
The skills can be fairly useful against rangers as the dagger can bounce
between the ranger and his pet hitting them both 2 times which can add up to
a lot of damage for only 3 initiative but generally I would rather just cleave
the ranger and their pet with my auto attack.
Cloak and Dagger (AKA "CandD"): A very large Initiative gamble especially since most
players have learned its animation by heart after Yishis d/d became popular.
The skill can do a huge amount of damage though and obviously it is your quick
access to stealth with this build. Personally I try to hide this skill behind a
daze, stun, or immobilize. By that I mean I will daze stun or immobilize my
target... THEN I will use Cloak and Dagger. For example, I would steal to my
target WITHOUT queing up Cloak and Dagger behind it (as that is perhaps the
most overused thief combo ever) then wait to see if my target is going to dodge
in anticipation of my Cloak and Dagger and use it after the dodge.
Tactical Strike: This skill can be devastating as your auto attack chain
can hit very hard in the short 2 second daze this skill provides you with but
I generally only use this skill to interrupt heals and key skills like a
Guardian's Greatsword spin.
Shortbow
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https://wiki.guildwa...-Trick_Shot.png
Trick Shot: This skill does decent damage after the specialization update
and can be even better than a sword auto attack chain if you can get the arrow
to bounce to your target and hit them 2 times. It is also invaluable for
cleaving mesmer clones and hitting them in stealth.
https://wiki.guildwa...luster_Bomb.png
Cluster Bomb: IF YOU DETONATE THIS SKILL IT IS NO LONGER A BLAST FINISHER!
This skill is absolutely amazing for stacking might if an ally drops a fire
field in the middle of a fight. I will often times spend upwards of 9
initiative simply blasting an Elementalists various fire fields (and if you can
also hit a target with the Cluster Bomb while still blasting the fire field,
all the better). Also this skill can be used as a melee attack by immediately
detonating but most people already know that.
https://wiki.guildwa..._bow_skill).png
Disabling Shot: Just like the 3 skill on your Sword/Dagger set this skill
should be used as a dodge before anything else. 4 initiative is a big
investment for the little damage and cripple this skill does but 4 initiative
is definitely worth dodging a necromancer's life blast.
https://wiki.guildwa...Choking_Gas.png
Choking Gas: This skill can be used to find stealthed targets and prevent
banners from getting downs up from their rightful place on the ground.
https://wiki.guildwa...tor's_Arrow.png
Infiltrator's Arrow (AKA "IA"): Best. Skill. Ever. End of Story. A 900 range blink
without a cooldown is godlike. In the future I will have a link to my Youtube
in which I hope to compile a series of videos demonstrating various useful
blink locations throughout the many SPVP maps and WvW Borderlands.
https://wiki.guildwa...rprise_Shot.png
Surprise Shot: A ranged 2 second immobilize is always decent but it can be
blocked or dodged fairly easily. I generally only use this in combo detailed
later in this guide or as support during larger fights.
Utilities
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https://wiki.guildwa...px-Withdraw.png
Withdraw: As far as I'm aware this is the only heal skill in all of Guild
Wars 2 that cannot be interrupted and that alone makes it amazing. But not only
that it is also a very long dodge and can be used as such without feeling
guilty as it has a very short cooldown.
https://wiki.guildwa...adow_Refuge.png
Shadow Refuge (AKA "SR"): It's almost a 2k heal and is very useful both
offensively and defensively. SR can save your allies lives by causing the
enemies to drop target, fail a stomp, or simply healing them. The offensive
capabilities of SR are detailed in a combo later in the guide. All you have
remember though is that the SR ring paints a very large and obvious target on
the floor so be smart about using it.
https://wiki.guildwa..._of_Agility.png
Signet of Agility: Before the specialization update this skill was
essentially just a panic button that would give you 3 more dodges. After the
change I have ended up actually using the skill much more often. All I can say
is to not be too worried about popping it and losing its passive.
https://wiki.guildwa...urn_(Shadowstep)
Shadowstep/Shadow Return: Wow. I could't count the number of times this skill has won me
a fight and saved my life. This skill is not only a makeshift dodge but also a
triple condition clear, a double stunbreak, and a double 1,200 range
re-position. This skill can be used both offensively and defensively with just
just one cast. I use this skill to move myself quickly around while channeling
Dagger Storm and then escape when things go bad. It is also worth it to note
that this skill has no cast time and thus can be used to que up skills behind
such as a Cluster Bomb or Cloak and Dagger.
https://wiki.guildwa...agger_Storm.png
Dagger Storm: Whether you run Dagger Storm or Basilisk Venom is entirely up
to your personal preference and the situation your faced against. I personally
roam around with Dagger Storm on my bar by default due to the sheer number of
rangers that are in WvW and the fact that every time I hit Dagger Storm I know
it WILL help me whereas Basilisk Venom can easily be wasted by dodges, blocks,
or invulns.
Steal
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https://wiki.guildwa.../48px-Steal.png
Steal: Due to its double boonstrip prioritizing Stability and Aegis it can
interrupt almost any heal skill. In addition Steal is half of this builds
perma-swiftness and perma-fury and also its easy access to vigor. Also, Steal
can be seen as a secondary heal as it heals for 2k on a fairly short cooldown.
It is also worth noting that duels against other thieves will be almost
entirely determined by who can land more steals.
Full weapon combos will be detailed later in the guide.
Traits
Deadly Arts
- Serpent’s TouchStealing inflicts 2 stacks of poison for 10 seconds. Your attacks while in the downed state apply 2 seconds of poison.
- Dagger TrainingDagger attacks have a 33% chance to poison enemies for 2 seconds.
- MugDeal damage and gain life when stealing. This attack cannot critically hit enemies.
- Trappers RespiteDrop a needle trap when you use a healing skill. 30 second icd
- Lotus PoisonWeaken targets for 4 seconds when you poison them.
- Deadly TrapperTraps apply vulnerability to enemies and grant you might. Trap recharges are reduced.
- Panic StrikeStriking a foe that is below the health threshold immobilizes them for 2.5 seconds. This trait has a 20 second internal cooldown.
- Revealed TrainingGain up to 200 extra power while you are revealed, based on current level.
- Exposed WeaknessDeal 10% more damage if your target has a condition.
- Potent PoisonPoison you apply has a 33% increased duration and deals 33% more damage.
- ImprovisationOne random skill category is immediate recharged when you steal. You can use stolen items twice.
- ExecutionerDeal 20% extra damage when your target is below the health threshold.
Acrobatics
- Expeditious DodgerGain 4 seconds of swiftness upon dodging.
- Fleet ShadowMove 50% faster while in stealth
- Vigorous RecoveryGain vigor for 7 seconds when using a healing skill.
- Pain ResponseGain regeneration for 10 seconds and remove damaging conditions when struck while below 75% health.
- Feline GraceGain 4 seconds of vigor upon successfully evading an attack. This effect has a 1 second internal cooldown.
- Guarded InitiationRemove vulnerability, weakness and slow from yourself when striking an enemy while above the 90% health threshold.
- Swindler’s EquilibriumSuccessfully evading an attack while wielding a sword recharges steal by 1 second. This effect has a 1 second internal cooldown.
- Hard to CatchBreak stun and refill endurance when you are disabled (stun, daze, knockback, pull, knockdown, sink, float, fear, taunt, or launch)
- Endless StaminaThe effects of vigor on you are enhanced by 50%.
- Assassin’s RewardHeal yourself whenever you use a skill that uses initiative. Heal yourself for each point of initiative spent.
- Upper HandGain one initiative when you evade an attack. This effect has a 3 second internal cooldown.
- Don’t StopThe effects of cripple and chill on you are reduced by 50%, meaning your movement is decreased by 25% and 33% respectively, rather than 50% and 66%. If you would become immobilized, you are instead crippled for 4 seconds. This effect can only occur once ev
Trickery
- KleptomaniacStealing gives you 2 initiative.
- UncatchableLeave behind Caltrops when you dodge.
- Flanking StrikesGain haste when attacking a foe from behind or the side.
- Thrill of the CrimeWhen you Steal, you and all nearby allies gain fury, might, and swiftness for 10 seconds.
- PreparednessIncrease maximum initiative by 3
- Bountiful TheftStealing grants you and all nearby allies vigor. You rip boons from your target and grant them to nearby allies.
- TricksterReduce recharge on tricks. Tricks remove 1 condition when used.
- Pressure StrikingEnemies you interrupt are inflicted with 3 stacks of torment for 5 seconds.
- Lead AttacksIncreases 1% damage per initiative. Steal recharges 15% faster.
- Quick PocketsGain 3 initiative when swapping weapons while in combat.
- Sleight of HandDaze enemies for 1 second when stealing. Steal’s recharge is reduced by 20%.
- Bewildering AmbushStealing also applies 5 stacks of confusion for 5 seconds.
Trait Details
If you played Guild Wars 2 before the specialization update you will notice the traits for this build are almost identical to what they were before the update. This is my personal setup for the build but I have experimented with almost every conceivable trait change and the following list will be the details regarding my experimentation (I ended up always coming back to this setup due to personal preference).
Deadly Arts
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II//Mug - MUST STAY
This trait acts as a secondary heal and is invaluable, never change it.
V//Panic Strike - can be swapped with VI//revealed training
Personally I find immobilize to be perhaps the strongest condition in the game,
stronger than even a full blown stun, especially if you immobilize someone in
mid air. Revealed training will add more raw damage to your personal output but
I often roam with 1-4 other players and that immobilize can be invaluable for
setting up bursts for my friendlies.
IX//Executioner - can be swapped with VIII//Improvisation
Executioner is VERY helpful in closing out duels or finishing squishy targets
in both team fights and outnumbered fights. It was a great trait before the
specialization update and, as all percentages go, only got better when everyone
started hitting like trucks. VIII//Improvisation can save your life sometimes
resetting the cooldown on pretty much any of your utilites and though that
second warrior spin is fun I highly dislike RNG and with a 33% chance that it
wont refresh any skills if you don't run basilisk venom (I don't) or a 17%
chance that it wont refresh anything if you do (but how useful will refreshing
basilisk venom's cooldown really be?!), I simply dislike it.
Acrobatics
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III//Pain Response - can be swapped with I//Fleet Shadow
With the strength of conditions nowadays, especially burning, having that
triple condition removal every 20 seconds is incredibly useful. I//Fleet
Shadow is helpful for re-positioning. The only reason I say this change is
viable is because I didn't find myself dying to conditions much more often
without running III//Pain response.
V//Swindler's Equilibrium - can be swapped to either IV//Guarded Initiation or VI//Hard to Catch
Personally I not only like the flavor of V//Swindler's Equilibrium but it also
encourages actually evading attacks rather than spamming evade skills or
dodges, and the shorter cooldown on steal can be amazing when dueling other
thieves as your steal will likely come off cooldown before theirs. IV//Guarded
Initiation can be helpful against certain builds such as a melee condition
ranger who spit out weakness like nobody's business. VI//Hard to Catch is,
again, very helpful in certain situations. Against hammer warriors or hammer
guardians it can save your life, even allowing you to ignore a hammer
guardian's ring if you have evaded the rest of their cc. All in all the other 2
options are simply too situational for my tastes.
IX//Don't Stop - MUST STAY
This trait is amazing. It lets you almost completely ignore ALL soft cc since
this build has perma-swiftness which neutralizes the weakened chill and even
lets you stay faster than someone without swiftness even while crippled. It
also lets you ignore the ever devastating immobilize in mid air sometimes.
Trickery
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III//Thrill of the Crime - MUST STAY
DO NOT CHANGE. III//Thrill of the crime is half of your perma-swiftness and
perma-fury.
https://wiki.guildwa...tiful_Theft.png
IV//Bountiful Theft - BARELY debatable
Though I did try using V//Trickster I found that the 1 extra condition removal
every 15 seconds was simply not enough to save me if the rest of the build's
condition clear was't able to. Also, if you didn't already know IV//Bountiful
Theft prioritizes stability and aegis above everything else that way steal can
even interrupt someone who has stability such as an Elementalist trying to
channel Ether Renewal under an Armor of Earth.
VIII//Sleight of Hand - MUST STAY
Yet another trait with no room for change. Interrupting heals and key skills is
devastating to any class and the 1 second daze is useful in chaining other
combos together. Of course we can't forget that 10 seconds of vigor that will
help with vigor uptime when you aren't getting it from Feline Grace (Feline
Grace is the second minor in Acrobatics)
III. Stat Specifics & Effects
Primary Stats
- Health 18095 (+6450)
- Vitality 1645 (+645)
- Armor 2118 (+0)
- Toughness 1000 (+0)
- Attack 3596 (+1556)
- Power 2556 (+1556)
- Critical Hit 50% (+50%)
- Precision 1961 (+961)
Secondary Stats
- Agony Resistance 85 (+85)
- Critical Damage 73% (+73%)
- Damage 1040 (+0%)
- Defense 1118 (+0)
- Experience from Kills 20% (+20%)
- Ferocity 1109 (+1109)
- Swiftness Duration 30% (+30%)
Boons
Conditions
Control
Fields & Finishers
Stat and Effect Details
With this build you will have 17-18k hp (depending on the amount of money you wish to put into your gear and food) and around 2.1k armor (that is with ascended armor) and as long as you have fury (which you will) you will still be criting most of the time. I prefer having the extra health as it is enough to soak up 2 hard hitting bursts and still walk away. Also something that may be important to some people, this build has permanent swiftness out of combat if you are willing to keep you signet on cooldown as well as you steal as well as having no endurance. I generally don't mind using the cds for swiftness as I can decide if I'm ready for a fight with shadowstep and my various teleports so if someone engages on me and I'm not ready its not hard to get away.
IV. Food, Armor, Trinkets & Upgrade Items
Food Nourishment
Precision: 100
Vitality: 70
Experience from Kills: 10%
- (30min)
- Precision: 100
- Vitality: 70
- Experience from Kills: 10%
Utility Nourishment
Vitality: 100
Ferocity: 10
Experience from Kills: 10%
- (30min)
- Vitality: 100
- Ferocity: 10
- Experience from Kills: 10%
Armor & Runes
- Defense: 102
- Power: 63
- Vitality: 45
- Ferocity: 45
- Power: 25
- Swiftness Duration: 10%
- Power: 50
- 25% chance when struck to grant nearby allies might, fury, and swiftness for 10 seconds. (Cooldown: 20 seconds)
- Power: 100
- +20% Swiftness Duration; +125 Precision
- Vitality: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
- Defense: 102
- Power: 47
- Vitality: 34
- Ferocity: 34
- Power: 25
- Swiftness Duration: 10%
- Power: 50
- 25% chance when struck to grant nearby allies might, fury, and swiftness for 10 seconds. (Cooldown: 20 seconds)
- Power: 100
- +20% Swiftness Duration; +125 Precision
- Vitality: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
- Defense: 355
- Power: 141
- Vitality: 101
- Ferocity: 101
- Power: 25
- Swiftness Duration: 10%
- Power: 50
- 25% chance when struck to grant nearby allies might, fury, and swiftness for 10 seconds. (Cooldown: 20 seconds)
- Power: 100
- +20% Swiftness Duration; +125 Precision
- Vitality: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
- Defense: 165
- Power: 47
- Vitality: 34
- Ferocity: 34
- Power: 25
- Swiftness Duration: 10%
- Power: 50
- 25% chance when struck to grant nearby allies might, fury, and swiftness for 10 seconds. (Cooldown: 20 seconds)
- Power: 100
- +20% Swiftness Duration; +125 Precision
- Vitality: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
- Defense: 229
- Power: 94
- Vitality: 67
- Ferocity: 67
- Power: 25
- Swiftness Duration: 10%
- Power: 50
- 25% chance when struck to grant nearby allies might, fury, and swiftness for 10 seconds. (Cooldown: 20 seconds)
- Power: 100
- +20% Swiftness Duration; +125 Precision
- Vitality: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
- Defense: 165
- Power: 47
- Vitality: 34
- Ferocity: 34
- Power: 25
- Swiftness Duration: 10%
- Power: 50
- 25% chance when struck to grant nearby allies might, fury, and swiftness for 10 seconds. (Cooldown: 20 seconds)
- Power: 100
- +20% Swiftness Duration; +125 Precision
- Vitality: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
Armor Stat Totals
- Defense 1118
- Power 614
- Swiftness Duration 30%
- Precision 125
- Vitality 345
- Ferocity 315
- Agony Resistance 30
Rune Bonuses
Superior Rune of the Pack- Power: 25
- Swiftness Duration: 10%
- Power: 50
- 25% chance when struck to grant nearby allies might, fury, and swiftness for 10 seconds. (Cooldown: 20 seconds)
- Power: 100
- +20% Swiftness Duration; +125 Precision
Accessories & Jewels
- Vitality: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
- Vitality: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
- Vitality: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
- Vitality: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
- Vitality: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
- Vitality: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
Accessory Totals
- Power:692
- Precision:376
- Vitality:120
- Ferocity:466
- Agony Resistance:45
Weapon Set Sigils
- Weapon Strength: 950-1050
- Power: 125
- Precision: 90
- Ferocity: 90
- Weapon Strength: 970-1030
- Power: 125
- Precision: 90
- Ferocity: 90
- Vitality: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
- Vitality: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
Weapon Set I
Sigil of Superior Air50% chance to cause a lightning strike on a critical hit. (This effect cannot trigger more than once every 3 seconds)
Sigil of Superior Fire50% chance to cause flame blast on critical hit causing AoE damage. (This effect cannot trigger more than once every 5s)
- Weapon Strength: 950-1050
- Power: 251
- Precision: 179
- Ferocity: 179
- Weapon Strength: -
- Vitality: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
- Vitality: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
Weapon Set II
Sigil of Superior BloodlustYou gain +10 power each time you kill a foe. (max 25 stacks and ends on down or weapon change)
- Weapon Strength: 950-1050
- Power: 125
- Precision: 90
- Ferocity: 90
- Weapon Strength: 950-1050
- Power: 125
- Precision: 90
- Ferocity: 90
- Vitality: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
- Vitality: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
- Vitality: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
- Vitality: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
Water Weapon I
Sigil of Superior Air50% chance to cause a lightning strike on a critical hit. (This effect cannot trigger more than once every 3 seconds)
Water Weapon II
Sigil of Superior Fire50% chance to cause flame blast on critical hit causing AoE damage. (This effect cannot trigger more than once every 5s)
Upgrade Item Details
Armor
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Valkyrie Armor: With full Valk Armor you still have 70% crit chance as long
as you have fury (which you will) so I find the extra 7-8k hp more useful.
Pack Runes: Pack runes are the second half of this build's perma-swiftness
and perma-fury. With a 50% chance to proc fury, might, and swiftness when hit
you will essentially always proc it and when combined with the fury, might, and
swiftness from Thrill of the Crime you will have perma-fury and
perma-swiftness.
Sword/Dagger
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Berserker Sword/Dagger: Um... damage?
Fire/Air Sigils: These sigils are simply there to boost your damage output
when using your sword auto attack chain.
Shortbow
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Berserker Shortbow: Um... more damage?
Doom/Bloodlust Sigils: The doom sigil is there to simply pressure warriors
with the signet heal and also to identify where thieves in stealth are (If you
have a doom sigil proc on your bar it will disappear if you land a hit on a
thief that is in stealth). I have used both fire and bloodlust on my shortbow
and frankly it's entirely personal preference. The extra damage from a fire
sigil proc is easily outdone by 25 stacks of bloodlust but that requires 25
stacks. Also a fire sigil proc on a stealth target will tell you EXACTLY where
they are as the fire originates on the target. Choose whichever you prefer.
NOTE: I updated the armor to the most Ideal Stats including a full set of infusions. It is obviously not necessary to have a full set of fully infused armor.
***I don't use double air sigils as i find that to be fairly cheesy and borderline an exploit. For all who don't know: the major sigil of air does the same damage as the superior one but its cooldown is the same as the superior fire sigil's thus it ends up with higher single target damage with the chance for a double air sigil proc***
V. Basic Gameplay
In this section I will be listing all the classes in Guild Wars 2 and any tips I have for dealing with them. I shall provide tips for battling the class in general and more specific tips for fighting some of their more specific builds. All difficulty estimations are based on a player of a similar skill level to you.
Guardian//Hard
- Open fights by plinking the guardian with your shortbow to clear their passive aegis (if you pop their aegis ONLY you will not be put in combat so it is possible to swap weapons w/o it going on cd)
- Know the cooldowns of their most prominent blocks (Shelter= 30 seconds, Renewed Focus= 90 seconds [untraited], and Shield of Wrath= 36 seconds [untraited])
- Shield of Wrath only does damage if NOT broken and a well executed melee cluster bomb will break it immediately
- You can be more loose with when you steal from a guardian as most of their key skills either block, cause invuln, or are instant cast. Therefore I will often just use it to keep pressuring when they start whirling wrath by putting it on cd
- The guardian stolen skill is good for setting up windows to cloak and dagger as it is an unexpected skill and it can chain into another daze from tactical strike
- When fighting a burn guardian, do not go through their ring IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM. This seems obvious but teleporting through the ring will also stack burning on you so bouncing around with Infiltrator's Strike can be dangerous
Necromancer//Easy
- When fighting a power necromancer and they enter Death Shroud, teleport away and wait for them to channel as many Life Blasts targeting you as possible THEN pop Dagger Storm just before the oldest one hits you. This will maximize the use you can get out of THEIR Death Shroud by reflecting the maximum number of Life Blasts.
- Life Blast does more damage to targets within 600 range, remember that when reflecting it
- Always be aware of your health pool. The full Valkyrie armor will prevent a power necromancer's Chill of Death from insta-gibbing you but it is still unavoidable so make sure you know when you health pool will cross that 50% line
- When fighting a condibomb necromancer, if they fear you, break the fear IMMEDIATELY. They rely very heavily, if not completely, on fear to drop their condibomb
- Normally I would never encourage dodge spamming but in the case of a condibomb necromancer, if they are in death shroud MAKE SURE YOU ARE DODGING. If you can keep pressure up by using flanking strike and steal while evading, all the better
- Dark Path when used by a condibomb necromancer will land even if you are channeling Dagger Storm and also gives them a window to fear you as it will remove our stab. Generally I find Dagger Storm to be virtually useless against condibomb necromancers
- Consume conditions is perhaps the easiest heal skill in the game to interrupt and thus should NEVER be allowed to go off without being interrupted at least once
- When fighting a Minionmancer your Shortbow is, surprisingly, your WORST weapon. All of the damage on the shortbow will be dispersed throughout the minions and so it is better to simply jump in and out with Infiltrator's Strike
- Dagger Storm is a strong counter to Lich Form but decent necromancers will know Lich Form significantly outlasts Dagger Storm and simply wont attack, waiting out your Dagger Storm. Therefore if the necromancer knows this I will use Dagger Storm to try and retreat
Mesmer//Medium
- Shortbow is your best friend when fighting a Mesmer. Whether it be a power or a condi Mesmer if they don't have clones they can do absolutely nothing
- With the new Prismatic Understanding (bullshit btw) Mesmers easily out-stealth thieves thus you must either learn to track targets through stealth or try to chain ccs onto them during the time JUST BEFORE they
RE-enter stealth as the revealed debuff does the work for you for the few seconds just after they exit stealth - Remember that it is possible to cast Infiltrator's Strike without a target and if it lands it will still immobilize so if you can track the Mesmers for just a second into stealth you can extend the time you keep pressure up
- Condi Mesmers are based on attrition and building their conditions on you over time so remember to be constantly be using Signet of Agility and Infiltrator's Return to keep those stacks low
- Dagger Storm is a VERY potent skill against Mesmers as it will hit stealthed targets and reflect condi Mesmers' scepter and staff auto attacks but be careful because though it is hard for clones to get near you, a power shatter Mesmer can still land a burst if they are good
- To be perfectly honest I personally don't even fight Mesmers unless I can kill them quickly as, frankly, I simply don't enjoy the upwards of 3 minute fights that can arise from trying to beat a condi Mesmer :/
Ranger//Easy
- Longbow Rangers are a fairly simple ordeal for this class, interrupt their first Rapid Fire, if they live long enough to cast another one simply use Dagger Storm, and if they still aren't dead then you need to apply more pressure
- When a Ranger starts using their greatsword block after you go stealth to stop you from opening on them, swap to shortbow and drop as many cluster bombs on them as you can before they realize what's happening
- Be INCREDIBLY cautious around melee condi rangers, they have an absurd amount of weakness which will completely counter all of your damage. I haven't fought many and the few I did I couldn't kill even in 1v1 scenarios and that scares me so I repeat... be careful and if you figure out something to counter these guys go ahead and tell me in-game or post a comment I will be glad to hear
- When fighting a full melee power ranger treat them like a mirror match. They can evade just as much as you and they have a significantly higher hp pool
- Full melee power rangers damage all comes from Maul and their sword auto attack chain, so dodge Maul every time but beware of that 66% shorter cd trait (the first skill after they swap weapons has a 66% shorter cd) and watch for double Mauls
- You have more mobility than a full melee power ranger despite their MANY leaps so use that to your advantage by dodging a Maul or two by simply Infiltrator's Returning away for example
Main Skill Rotation
Something I see absolutely no thieves doing but I have found to be quite devastating is to open a fight by firing a cluster bomb from your shortbow before rolling through a standard IS>Steal combo. This can add up to 5k more damage to your burst which is not shabby at all.
NOTE: you can also add a dancing dagger in just before you Infiltrator's Strike to add further damage to the burst but I generally find the Initiative-to-damage ratio of dancing dagger as simply not worth it.
Delicious Boons
If I land a flanking strike and it flips into a Larcenous Strike I generally try to use the Larcenous from range in combination with a steal which will rip up to 4 boons from your target. Even if your target begins blocking Larcenous Strike is unblockable and will therefore still land and rip up to 2 boons. If you are running with basilisk venom it is particularly fun to use a Basi Venomd Larcenous Strike to interrupt a Guardian's Shelter heal.
Withdraw Cancel
If you weapon swap in the middle of a Withdraw it will cancel the dodge roll. I generally only use this when inside an SR and need to heal but am to close to the edge to do a full withdraw before the SR disappears.
Dagger Storm Cancel
Just as with Withdraw it is possible to cancel a Dagger Storm by swapping weapons. I use this often when rangers and necromancers swap to a melee weapon after realizing I am reflecting their projectiles.
NOTE: It is also possible to cancel Dagger Storm by stowing your weapons if you still need the weapon set you have out at the time.
Proc those Ranger Traps Safely
Often when fighting decent players I will find them dropping traps marks or other various dangerous skills on my shadow return point. It is fairly simple to counter these potentially devastating counters. All you have to do is start dodging the instant before you press Shadow Return, this will result in you dodge rolling in place on your Shadow Return Location which will proc all traps and marks on the return point and avoiding the dmg that is being placed on the return location.
NOTE: It is also possible to do this using your Withdraw heal skill rather than a standard dodge though with withdraw you will not stay in place the whole dodge roll
NOTE: It is also possible to do this with Infiltrator's Arrow on shortbow. Simply fire the arrow at your target location and begin dodging or withdrawing just before the arrow lands
Offensive Shadow Refuge
Most thieves use SR as a purely defensive utility but experienced thieves also know its capabilities as an very powerful offensive tool. If you drop your SR then immediately attack to reveal yourself, the SR lasts just long enough to re-stealth you at the very end just as the revealed debuff goes away. This combo is particularly devastating when used in tandem with the SB as the SB's stealth attack is a 2 second immob and is also a projectile combo finisher (therefore the Surprise Shot will heal you for a small amount and also do a little extra damage as SR is a dark field). Within the time you have the revealed debuff you have just enough time to use Infiltrators Strike to change that 2 second immob into a 3 second immob and add in 1 little auto attack for more damage. Then you can use Infiltrators return to get back into the SR just in time to become re-stealthed for another 3 seconds for you to do with what you wish.
NOTE: If your target is within your SR or close enough for you to hit them without exiting the SR you will still receive the full healing from the SR despite not being in stealth
Surprise! Cluster Bomb
If you begin channeling cluster bomb then immediately steal to a target the cluster bomb will fire from your new location and if you then detonate it you can do massive damage while still using SB which most people don't expect.
Counter Backstabs
Most people know that if a thief goes into stealth they are going to try and get behind you, and if you are a thief yourself you will also likely know the duration of the particular stealth that thief has just used. Thus you can time a Choking Gas and follow it up with an un-detonated Cluster Bomb so as to apply a short weakness to a thief that is trying to sneak up behind you so as to try and mitigate much of the damage you know will be incoming. That does NOT mean you should just let them land the backstab.
NOTE: Technically you can use this against anyone, not only thieves, but I find this particularly effective against Backstab thieves.
To be completely honest I find running full zerker gear after the specializaton update (despite what the theif forums on the official gw2 website say) to be pointless. The only thing your getting from running full zerker gear as opposed to valk gear is extra crit chance. The key being the word chance. It is possible with full valk gear to do EXACTLY the same damage as someone wearing full zerker gear. I think many people get caught up thinking that having, in this case, 70% chance to crit as opposed to, lets say, 100% chance to crit is a 30% damage loss when in fact that is not exactly true in the small timeframes that fights generally last. If you had 2 people with exactly the same stats but one had 70% crit chance and the other had 100% crit chance and they were both hitting an immobile target w/o any interference for 100 years straight then yes the person with 70% crit chance would have almost exactly a 30% damage loss but normal fights dont last that long. Since the time frame of a normal fight is so short the true AVERAGE damage that a build should do isn't actuallized. It is entirely possible (however improbable) for someone with 1% crit chance to land 100 crits in a row and someone with 99% crit chance to attack 100 times and never crit. As this is the nature of crit chance, in any game that has it, I generally either stack it: 1. not at all, 2. to around 65% (I like to think of this as an artificial 100% due to the nature of chance), or 3. all the way to 100%. With me being at my artificial 100% and thus seeing any more crit chance as useless unless I can get all the way to 100% I find myself looking for a better stat to invest it. Since everyone's damage has gone through the roof in gw2 lately I have found that the extra vitality is simply invaluable as, like I stated in the guide, I can survive entire bursts from say, theives or mesmers, that someone wearing full zerker couldn't. If you can survive with even 100 hp that means you have a chance to turn the fight. Generally a full zerker thief wont survive those bursts anymore and thus will have no chance to retaliate.
TLDR: crit chance in games kinda sux beyond 60-70% unless you get to 100% and with everyones damage having been cranked up so high I find it infinitely more useful to have 7-8k more hp than even 10-15% more crit chance. All in all, yes the extra HP is in fact that important ;)
TLDR; If your comfortable losing the condi removal and control nullification from acrobatics in favor of bigger numbers it's entirely viable. I'm sure you have seen other builds that are essentially my build but running crit strikes instead... it's a slightly different style of play and I simply prefer accro.