Thief PvE | Open World Dagger/Dagger, Shortbow | Damage Simple Thief Leveling Build for New Players

by Last Updated:
81% (39) Approval 63 Votes - 100241 Views

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

Rabid Dagger
  • Weapon Strength: 924-981
  • Condition Damage: 120
  • Precision: 85
  • Toughness: 85
Carrion Dagger
  • Weapon Strength: 924-981
  • Condition Damage: 120
  • Power: 85
  • Vitality: 85
Rabid Shortbow
  • Weapon Strength: 905-1000
  • Condition Damage: 239
  • Precision: 171
  • Toughness: 171
  • Weapon Strength: -
Rabid Harpoon Gun
  • Weapon Strength: 905-1000
  • Condition Damage: 120
  • Precision: 85
  • Toughness: 85
Carrion Harpoon Gun
  • Weapon Strength: 905-1000
  • Condition Damage: 120
  • Power: 85
  • Vitality: 85
  • Hook Strike¾
    Attack your foes with stealth, knocking enemies down.
    Damage: 163Knockdown: 2sRange: 130
  • Double Strike
    Strike your foe twice.
    Damage (2x): 188Range: 130
    • Wild Strike
      Strike your foe again. Gain endurance with a successful strike.
      Damage: 286Endurance gain: 10Range: 130
    • Lotus Strike¼
      Strike your foe and inflict poison.
      Damage: 286Poison: 4 s (336 damage)Range: 130
  • Heartseeker¾ 3
    Leap and strike your foe. The less health your target has, the more damage you cause.
    Above 50%: 420Below 50%: 504Below 25%: 672Combo Finisher: LeapRange: 450
    • 0
      Vigor:
    • 0
      Vigor:
  • Death Blossom½ 4
    Dual wield. Do an evasive attack over your opponent, striking nearby enemies three times. Each hit causes bleeding.
    Damage (3x): 201x3Bleeding: 10 s (1275 damage)Combo Finisher: WhirlRange: 130
    • 0
      Vigor:
    • 0
      Vigor:
  • Dancing Dagger¼ 3
    Throw a dagger that cripples nearby foes and returns to you.
    Damage: 168Maximum targets: 4Crippled: 5 sCombo Finisher: ProjectileRange: 900
    • 0
      Vigor:
    • 0
      Vigor:
  • Cloak and Dagger½ 6
    Stab your foe and vanish in stealth, leaving them vulnerable.
    Damage: 504Stealth: 3 sx3Vulnerability: 5 sRange: 130
    • 0
      Vigor:
    • 0
      Vigor:
  • Withdraw15
    Trick. Roll backward while healing and evade attacks. Cures immobilized, chilled, and crippled.
    Healing: 3,960Vigor: 10 s
    • 0
      Vigor:
  • Caltrops 1 30
    Trick. Scatter caltrops that bleed and cripple foes.
    Duration: 10Bleeding: 3 s (128 damage)Crippled: 10 sRadius: 240
    • 0
      Vigor:
  • Ambush 35
    Trap. Set a trap that, when triggered, calls in a thief that attacks nearby foes for twenty seconds.
    Triggered thief duration: 20
    • 0
      Vigor:
  • Shadow Refuge ¼ 60
    Deception. Create a pulsing refuge at the target area that heals allies and cloaks them in stealth.
    Stealth: 3 sHealing: 1,420Combo Field: DarkRange: 600
    • 0
      Vigor:
  • Thieves Guild1½ 180
    Deception. Call more thieves to support you in combat.
    Number of thieves: 2
    • 0
      Vigor:

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

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

  • Aegis
    Block the next attack.
  • Distortion
    Allows mesmers to evade attacks for some time.
  • Frenzy
    Increases damage taken by 25%. It typically seen as a mechanic to offset a beneficial effect such as quickness.
  • Frosty Armor
    Chills foes that hit you.
  • Fury
    20% critical chance increase. Stacks in duration.
  • Haste
    Regenerate endurance at 50% effectiveness when under the effects of this skill. It's typically seen as a mechanic to offset a beneficial effect such as quickness.
  • Invulnerability
    Prevents the target from taking damage or receiving conditions. It is also placed on rallied players for one second.
  • Might
    X damage per attack increase. Stacks intensity.
  • Protection
    33% damage reduction. Stacks in duration.
  • Quickening Zephyr
    Prevents healing. It typically seen as a mechanic to offset a beneficial effect such as quickness.
  • Quickness
    Makes all skills and actions 50% faster.
  • Regeneration
    Regenerates X health per second. Stacks in duration.
  • Rejuvenation
    Regenerates health. This effect is exclusive to the guardian profession through the Virtue of Resolve.
  • Resistance
    Resistance temporarily negates the affected target of all effects caused by conditions.
  • Retaliation
    Does X damage to an opponent each time they hit you. Stacks in duration.
  • Smiting
    Causes every fifth attack to apply burning. This effect is exclusive to the guardian profession.
  • Stability
    Cannot be knocked down, pushed back, launched, stunned, dazed, floated, sunk, or feared.
  • Stealth
    Allows the user to be invisible to enemy players and avoid being spotted by enemy NPCs.
  • Swiftness
    33% movement speed increase. Stacks in duration.
  • Vigor
    Faster endurance regeneration. Stacks in duration.

Conditions

  • Agony
    Agony is an effect unique to Fractals of the Mists that removes a percentage of the player's health every second and reduces received healing by ~50%.
  • Bleeding
    Bleeding is a stackable condition that deals damage over time.
  • Blind
    Causes the target's next hit to miss instead.
  • Burning
    Inflicts X damage per second. Stacks in duration.
  • Chilled
    Reduces movement speed and skill recharge by 66%. Stacks in duration.
  • Confusion
    Inflicts X damage each time a foe uses skill. Stacks in intensity.
  • Crippled
    Crippled is a condition which decreases movement speed by 50%. Stacks in duration.
  • Fear
    Causes the target to run directly away from the caster.
  • Immobilized
    Immobilized is a condition which prevents movement and dodging. Victims also can't turn. Stacks in duration.
  • Poison
    Inflicts X damage per second. Reduces outgoing heals by 33%. Stacks in duration.
  • Slow
    Slow is a condition that reduces the activation time of skills and abilities.
  • Taunt
    Taunt is a control effect that forces the affected target to run towards the source of taunt with all skills except stun breakers disabled while using their auto-attack skill.
  • Torment
    Deals damage every second; deals additional damage if moving; stacks intensity.
  • Vulnerability
    Increases damage the target takes by 1%. Stacks in intensity.
  • Weakness
    Causes 50% of attacks to be glancing and reduces endurance regeneration by 50%. Stacks in duration.

Control

  • Break Stun
    Stun break is an effect which can break control effects on a character.
  • Daze
    Interrupts and prevents the target from using skills for a period of time.
  • Float
    Forces the affected target(s) to move towards the surface.
  • Knockdown
    Interrupts and causes the foe to be unable to move or use skills for a short duration. Knocked down foes fall to the ground.
  • Launch
    Interrupts and tosses a character into the air.
  • Pull
    Shortens the distance between the user and the foe by drawing one of them to another. If a foe is pulled, this can result in an interrupt.
  • Push
    Physically pushes foes away from the player and interrupts them.
  • Sink
    Forces the affected target(s) to move away from the surface.
  • Stun
    Interrupts, immobilizes, and incapacitates foes for a short duration.
  • Teleport
    Teleport to target location.
  • Teleport
    Teleport (alternatively, flash) is a mechanic that causes the user or target(s) to instantly move from one location to another.

Fields & Finishers

  • Dark Field
    Dark Combo Effects

    Blast Finisher: Area Blindness
    Leap Finisher: Blindness
    Projectile Finisher: Life stealing
    Whirl Finsher: Leeching Bolts
  • Ethereal Field
    Ethereal Combo Effects

    Blast Finisher: Area Chaos Armor
    Leap Finisher: Chaos Armor
    Projectile Finisher: Confusion
    Whirl Finsher: Confounding Bolts
  • Fire Field
    Fire Combo Effects

    Blast Finisher: Area Might
    Leap Finisher: Fire Shield
    Projectile Finisher: Burning
    Whirl Finsher: Burning Bolts
  • Ice Field
    Ice Combo Effects

    Blast Finisher: Area Frost Aura
    Leap Finisher: Frost Aura
    Projectile Finisher: Chilled
    Whirl Finsher: Chilling Bolts
  • Light Field
    Light Combo Effects

    Blast Finisher: Area Retaliation
    Leap Finisher: Retaliation
    Projectile Finisher: Remove Condition
    Whirl Finsher: Cleansing Bolts
  • Lightning Field
    Lightning Combo Effects

    Blast Finisher: Area Swiftness
    Leap Finisher: Dazing Strike
    Projectile Finisher: Vulnerability
    Whirl Finsher: Brutal Bolts
  • Poison Field
    Poison Combo Effects

    Blast Finisher: Area Weakness
    Leap Finisher: Weakness
    Projectile Finisher: Poison
    Whirl Finsher: Poison Bolts
  • Revealed
    Revealed is an effect applied when stealth is broken, for example by entering combat or exiting a Shadow Refuge circle prematurely.
  • Smoke Field
    Smoke Combo Effects

    Blast Finisher: Area Stealth
    Leap Finisher: Stealth
    Projectile Finisher: Blindness
    Whirl Finsher: Blinding Bolts
  • Super Speed
    Activate your slick shoes, enabling you to move at superior speeds.
  • Water Field
    Water Combo Effects

    Blast Finisher: Area Healing
    Leap Finisher: Healing
    Projectile Finisher: Regeneration
    Whirl Finsher: Healing Bolts
Combo
  • Blast Finisher
    Blast Combo Effects

    Dark: Area Blindness
    Ethereal: Area Chaos Armor
    Fire: Area Might
    Ice: Area Frost Aura
    Light: Area Retaliation
    Lightning: Area Swiftness
    Poison: Area Weakness
    Smoke: Area Stealth
    Water: Area Healing
  • Leap Finisher
    Leap Combo Effects

    Dark: Blindness
    Ethereal: Chaos Armor
    Fire: Fire Shield
    Ice: Frost Aura
    Light: Retaliation
    Lightning: Dazing Strike
    Poison: Weakness
    Smoke: Stealth
    Water: Healing
  • Projectile Finisher
    Projectile Combo Effects

    Dark: Life stealing
    Ethereal: Confusion
    Fire: Burning
    Ice: Chilled
    Light: Remove Condition
    Lightning: Vulnerability
    Poison: Poison
    Smoke: Blindness
    Water: Regeneration
  • Whirl Finisher
    Whirl Combo Effects

    Dark: Leeching Bolts
    Ethereal: Confounding Bolts
    Fire: Burning Bolts
    Ice: Chilling Bolts
    Light: Cleansing Bolts
    Lightning: Brutal Bolts
    Poison: Poison Bolts
    Smoke: Blinding Bolts
    Water: Healing Bolts

Stat and Effect Details

Focus on Condition Damage, Condition Duration, Toughness, and Vitality.


IV. Food, Armor, Trinkets & Upgrade Items

Food Nourishment

Rare Veggie Pizza
Duration: 30min
Condition Duration: 40%
Condition Damage: 70
Experience from Kills: 10%
  • (30min)
  • Condition Duration: 40%
  • Condition Damage: 70
  • Experience from Kills: 10%

Utility Nourishment

Master Tuning Crystal
Duration: 30min
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

Vatlaaw's Mask of Flame Legion
  • Defense: 97
Carrion Emblazoned Shoulders
  • Defense: 97
  • Condition Damage: 45
  • Power: 32
  • Vitality: 32
Vatlaaw's Coat of Flame Legion
  • Defense: 338
Carrion Emblazoned Gloves
  • Defense: 157
  • Condition Damage: 45
  • Power: 32
  • Vitality: 32
Vatlaaw's Leggings of Flame Legion
  • Defense: 218
Carrion Emblazoned Boots
  • 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

0
    0
      (Infused)
      0
        (Infused)
        0
          (Infused)
          0
            0

              Accessory Totals

              Weapon Set Sigils

              Rabid Dagger
              • Weapon Strength: 924-981
              • Condition Damage: 120
              • Precision: 85
              • Toughness: 85
              Carrion Dagger
              • Weapon Strength: 924-981
              • Condition Damage: 120
              • Power: 85
              • Vitality: 85
              Sigil of Minor Corruption
              You gain +10 condition damage each time you kill a foe. (max 25 stacks and ends on down)
              Sigil of Superior Earth
              60% chance to do a 5s bleed on critical.

              Weapon Set I

              Sigil of Minor Corruption

              You gain +10 condition damage each time you kill a foe. (max 25 stacks and ends on down)

              Sigil of Superior Earth

              60% chance to do a 5s bleed on critical.
              Rabid Shortbow
              • Weapon Strength: 905-1000
              • Condition Damage: 239
              • Precision: 171
              • Toughness: 171
              • Weapon Strength: -
              Sigil of Superior Earth
              60% chance to do a 5s bleed on critical.

              Weapon Set II

              Sigil of Superior Earth

              60% chance to do a 5s bleed on critical.
              Rabid Harpoon Gun
              • Weapon Strength: 905-1000
              • Condition Damage: 120
              • Precision: 85
              • Toughness: 85
              Carrion Harpoon Gun
              • Weapon Strength: 905-1000
              • Condition Damage: 120
              • Power: 85
              • Vitality: 85
              Sigil of Superior Earth
              60% chance to do a 5s bleed on critical.
              Sigil of Superior Earth
              60% chance to do a 5s bleed on critical.

              Water Weapon I

              Sigil of Superior Earth

              60% chance to do a 5s bleed on critical.

              Water Weapon II

              Sigil of Superior Earth

              60% 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.


              Main Skill Rotation

              Ambush 35
              Trap. Set a trap that, when triggered, calls in a thief that attacks nearby foes for twenty seconds.
              Triggered thief duration: 20
              Caltrops 1 30
              Trick. Scatter caltrops that bleed and cripple foes.
              Duration: 10Bleeding: 3 s (128 damage)Crippled: 10 sRadius: 240
              Death Blossom½ 4
              Dual wield. Do an evasive attack over your opponent, striking nearby enemies three times. Each hit causes bleeding.
              Damage (3x): 201x3Bleeding: 10 s (1275 damage)Combo Finisher: WhirlRange: 130
              Death Blossom½ 4
              Dual wield. Do an evasive attack over your opponent, striking nearby enemies three times. Each hit causes bleeding.
              Damage (3x): 201x3Bleeding: 10 s (1275 damage)Combo Finisher: WhirlRange: 130
              Death Blossom½ 4
              Dual wield. Do an evasive attack over your opponent, striking nearby enemies three times. Each hit causes bleeding.
              Damage (3x): 201x3Bleeding: 10 s (1275 damage)Combo Finisher: WhirlRange: 130
              Death Blossom½ 4
              Dual wield. Do an evasive attack over your opponent, striking nearby enemies three times. Each hit causes bleeding.
              Damage (3x): 201x3Bleeding: 10 s (1275 damage)Combo Finisher: WhirlRange: 130
              Withdraw15
              Trick. Roll backward while healing and evade attacks. Cures immobilized, chilled, and crippled.
              Healing: 3,960Vigor: 10 s
              Death Blossom½ 4
              Dual wield. Do an evasive attack over your opponent, striking nearby enemies three times. Each hit causes bleeding.
              Damage (3x): 201x3Bleeding: 10 s (1275 damage)Combo Finisher: WhirlRange: 130
              Death Blossom½ 4
              Dual wield. Do an evasive attack over your opponent, striking nearby enemies three times. Each hit causes bleeding.
              Damage (3x): 201x3Bleeding: 10 s (1275 damage)Combo Finisher: WhirlRange: 130
              Death Blossom½ 4
              Dual wield. Do an evasive attack over your opponent, striking nearby enemies three times. Each hit causes bleeding.
              Damage (3x): 201x3Bleeding: 10 s (1275 damage)Combo Finisher: WhirlRange: 130
              Death Blossom½ 4
              Dual wield. Do an evasive attack over your opponent, striking nearby enemies three times. Each hit causes bleeding.
              Damage (3x): 201x3Bleeding: 10 s (1275 damage)Combo Finisher: WhirlRange: 130

              Comments

              Post a Comment
              @ 10:20 AM, Sun August 18 2013 Reply
              Great guide! I've leveled and Ele and Warrior and was totally lost on how to play a thief, constantly going down. As cheesy as it may sound, this guide completely turned things around for me and I'm flying through the levels. Thank you!
              kurtosis @ 01:39 AM, Thu August 22 2013 Reply
              Great, glad to hear it! A few things I forgot to mention:

              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.
              @ 12:14 PM, Sun October 06 2013 Reply
              Made an account just to reply here. Thanks a million for this guide, its made me fall in love with the Thief class and rekindled my enjoyment of the game. You sir or madam are a hero/heroine.
              kurtosis @ 01:13 PM, Mon October 14 2013 Reply
              Great, glad it helped!
              @ 08:05 PM, Tue October 29 2013 Reply
              I really appreciate this build. I do have a question about the armor and the Runes. Thanks
              kurtosis @ 04:30 PM, Fri November 08 2013 Reply
              Happy to answer any questions.
              kurtosis @ 04:35 PM, Fri November 08 2013 Reply
              PS - I didn't specify the Runes & Jewels just b/c as you're leveling you tend to just pick up random gear upgrades as you find them. Focus on Condition Damage and Precision, then pick up Toughness, Vitality, and Power if you can't find anything better.

              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.
              @ 10:09 AM, Thu February 27 2014 Reply
              Thank you, this is a great guide and I really enjoying playing my thief with it.
              @ 01:03 PM, Fri March 13 2015 Reply
              I would like to know what "SB" means ?