Guild Wars 2 - Thief Build Part Two

Stick 'em with the pointy end!

So far, I haven’t been a fan of condition damage based builds. They function well, but the counter of condition clears seems to be something I run into frequently. Most likely because of how deadly condition damage builds are for most classes, especially in the smaller SPvP setting rather than WvW.

For a Thief, going for direct damage by way of Berserker gear is as viable as bleeding someone out, and personally I find it more fun. The forced movement attached to Heartseeker is slightly less annoying than the flip with Death Blossom, which is a relief when running down ranged classes.

But let’s get stuck in.

The Build at GW2Skills.net

Traits

Deadly Arts, 25 Points. Sundering Strikes for frequent Vulnerability, Dagger Training for damage.

Critical Strikes, 30 Points. Side Strike for extra critical chance, Executioner to add burst for finishing, Practiced Tolerance because little else is directly useful in the line and this build is squishy enough that an extra thousand HP is helpful, though not greatly.

Trickery, 15 Points. This is primarily for the extra 3 Initiative at the 15 point mark. Playing with 30 Deadly Arts instead I found the lack of Initiative at the beginning of a fight unhelpful. Thrill of the Crime for the helpful buffs on stealing.

Weapons

Dual Daggers is primary, as seems common for the class. Secondary, I use a bow largely for the button 5 teleport shot for mobility.

Armour          

Berserker’s gear is a must for the Power, Precision and Critical Damage the build relies on. This will leave you with lower than average HP, so you will die quickly, but that’s the price for the damage output and the reason for stealth skills.

Slot Skills

Again, focus on stealth and movement. Hide in Shadows for the heal, Shadow Refuge, Blinding Powder for the slotted stealth skills, and Shadowstep for mobility and a stun break. Unlike with the condition damage build, Dagger Storm makes for a better elite here as the direct damage is higher than the bleed.

General Playstyle

If you’re fighting a pet class, particularly Illusion-dependant Mesmer’s, Dancing Dagger is very good. It has high damage as long as it can bounce between two or more targets, but against a single target Heartseeker is generally better. From behind, the last strike in the button one chain can hit significantly hard too, for no Initiative cost.

Shadowstep to close gaps, or against certain classes remove conditions. Steal is a good use to start a fight if you keep the buffs on stealing trait in Trickery. Use Dancing Dagger to keep a solo runner in range. Double Strike to wear them down, Heartseeker for burst. Heartseeker can hit extremely hard against someone with lower HP and functions well as an execute, especially with the short leap built in to catch someone fleeing.

The stealth skills are primarily to keep you alive. As an alternative to extra base Initiative, it’s possible to run the same build but swap the Trickery points 10 in Shadow Arts for the Initiative gain on stealth, and the extra 5 most likely back into Deadly Arts for the power.

There is room here for personal preference and finding out what works best for your playstyle. A bow certainly isn’t necessary off hand as you primarily use daggers. If it’s possible at all, this would be close to a build you could perhaps fit a main hand sword into, but it’s hard to justify against the solid attacks from daggers. It’s still something I’m working on figuring out, however.

If you plan on testing out a variety of changes to this, keep one thing in mind; Power, Critical Chance, and Critical Damage are the most important stats to keep your damage high enough to justify having a low tolerance for being clubbed. A little can be sacrificed for utility or something that gives play a better flow (in this case, the extra Initiative), but not much before you simply don’t kill people fast enough to survive.

- ED