Fundamental Gameplay and Skill Changes that I'd do with Thief

Here I want to go now a bit more into details in regard of what I've written already in lonamis Thread about how I'd redesign the Thief, in regard of Skills and Gameplay Elements of the Thief after theoretically removing Daredevil and Deadeye first and replacing them with Rogue and Saboteur.

General Changes

• Steal has now following traits baseline: Mug, Hidden Thief, Kleptomaniac and Bewildering Ambush, these now integrated traits wil lget replaced with new Traits that give the Thief Class more build divresity and define better various roles of the Thief in combat. Additionally does stealing now boon steal 1 Boon from your foes always if they have one.
• Steal Skills have been increased, you have now the chance to steal 1 of 3 possible Skills from each Class, not anymore always the same Steal Skills, like always getting only this All Boon Skill from Mesmers, now you can receive eventually two other Steal Skills from a Mesmer. Same for all other Classes, thus making Steals from Thieves a bit lesser predictable for their enemies.
• Stealth has been changed from a Buff into a Boon, but therefore is the Reveal Mechanic now removed and Stealth Durations can now be possitively affected by everything Boon Duration related, like Buff Food, Concentration ect. If you want to reveal a Thief now, the Class needs to have a AoE Boon Removal Skill and needs to use it skillfully at the right moment, what is somethign that lesser Classes will have then, than how many Classes now have Reveal Skills
• Shadow Steps of the Thief are now an Ability of the Thief and not a Skill anymore, so if Skills make usage of this Ability, then the Shadow Step wil lcost the Thief no Initiative anymore. But As an Ability, do have Shadow Steps now for each Skill individual Cooldown Times that add together in a shared Cooldown Pool basically like the Ammo System.So if you use like Infiltrators Arrow, which has now an Ammo of 3 for Shadow Steps, you can Shadow Step with it then 3 times, without that they cost Initiative, but after these 3 usages, Shadow Steps will have a Cooldown and you can't Shadow Step with the Skill then anymore, until that internal Shadow Step Cooldown is over and if, while the Skill will have under the Cooldown a different effect. So the Shadow Step Cooldown will split up Shadow Step Skills now into two differente Effects based on if you have Cooldown, or not. If you have Cooldown, the Skills turn into Shadow Spells, which will cost you as usual then Initiative. This will help in making Shadow Steps for Thieves again unique over those from other Classes and it will help in making Thieves mobile, without beign at the end a dry fish, due to running out of Initiative, only because you tried to catch a foe that wanted to flee...
• Staff, Rifle and Offhand Sword are now baselined Weapons of the Core Thief Class as part of the merging of the old Elite Specs into the Thief and merging of Rifles with Harpoon Guns, as Thieves practically had then this way already Rifles baseline and don't need for this extra the Deadeye Spec anymore.
• Dodge Styles from the removed Daredevil are now baseline for the Core Thief together with the increased Endurance Bar for 3 Dodge Rolls instead of 2. Dodge Styles are now integrated within F3 to F5, so we have now F1 = Stealing, F2 = Stolen Skill (Pocket), F3 = Dash Style, F4 = Bounce Style and lastly F5 = Lotus Style to swap between the Dodge Styles in Combat with Cooldown Times. This making this the fundamental gameplay in the future for all Thief Specs that the Class has F-Skills from F1 to 5, with F1 and 2 always beign the same, while F3-5 can change from Spec to Spec, while Dodge Styles will always be part of the Core Thief. Other Specs can have then different new Dodge Styles eventually that fit more to their gameplay design
• Malice has been removed as Gameplay Mechanic, but the Deadeye Rifle Skills are taken over for the baselined Rifle in a slightly rebalanced and redesigned way, that they work now with an automatic Kneeling Mechanic that is integrated in theSkill, and doesn't require for it anymore an extra own skill just to switch between kneelign or not kneling, which feells like a wasted skill slot that could be used rather for something more useful, like actually a WEAPON SKILL.
• A new Healing Trap Skill has been added: Signet Trap = Heals yourself and deactivates for some time all the Signet Effects for the foe which runs into it and nearby foes.
• A new Elite Trap Skill has been added: Mirror of Shadows = Deals Damage, and causes Bleeding and Confusion. Copycats the Elite Skill of the Enemy trapped inside and you gain Stealth. Your Stealth Attack causes additionally under the Effect of this Skill Fear for 2s.
• A new Elite Signet Skill has been added: Signet of Thievery = Passive: Gain Endurance when you steal or use Stolen Skills back. Active: Disarms your target foe and steals up to 3 Boons from your Target which get shared with your next nearby 10 Allies. The disarmed foe cannot use under this debuff for the duration of it any Skills that would deal Damage. On PvE Enemies, it are 3 randomized boons you will receive and share.

Skill Changes

Shortbow

• Surprise Shot: This Skill has been removed
• Night Raid: New Skill, which replaces Surprise Shot. Deals Damage and steals 2 Boons which are shared with up to 5 nearby Allies. Causes Weakness and Confusion.
• Clusterbomb: The Velocity of this Shot has been increased by 50%. The Range has been increased to 1050. The Angle has been raised by 15%, so that you don't shoot theis SKill anymore in WvW into the Wall Curbs due to a too low shooting angle that the arrow collides with the own tower wall >.< /facepalm. This Skill deals now Burning on Detonation, 1s per Hit that deals damage and 5 Stacks Vulnerability, if you don't detonate it
• Disabling Shot: This Skill has been renamed to Evasive Shot, the Evasion Frame is now 1 full second. Cripple has been replaced by a long lasting Weakness (5s). The Leap is now 300
• Choking Gas has now Ammo and can be shot 3 Times and costs with those 3 Shots no initiative, after that is Choking Gas on Cooldown and gets replaced with Crippling Daggers, letting you throw several Daggers, which Cripple per Hit foes for 3 seconds, which work also as guaranteed Combo Finishers for Combo Fields like Choking Gas to cause additional Stacks of Poison, which cost then 3 Initiative per thrown Dagger. Choking Gas Ammo Cooldown is is 5 Seconds per Ammo, so you have a 15 Second Time Frame for Daggers, until you can shoot Gas again.
• Infiltrators Arrow hasn ow Ammo and can be shot 3 Times with the same Cooldowns like Choking Gas. After your Ammo has been shot, changes Infiltrator's Arrow into Bandit's Staccatto, which is shooting a volley of 5 arrows in like a cone shape, that costs you then 5 Initiative per Shot, with each arrow having the chance to hit a target and steal a Boon.

Daggers

• Double Stike > Wild Strike > Lotus Stike: Damage of this Chain reduced by 33% on all 3 Attacks, therefore have all 3 Hits now baseline a 10% increased Chance on being Critical Hits and cause a Stack of Bleeding, if they deal Critical Hits. Endurance Gain in Wild Strike increased by 20%
• Backstab: This Attack is now Unblockable and 100% critical and can now instantly kill downed enemies
• Heartseeker: The Leap has been increased to 600. This Skill uses now the Ammo System and has an Ammo of 3 and Heartseekers cost no Initiative anymore, but instead their Ammo. If Heartseeker is on Cooldown, then the Skill is replaced with the new Skill Flashing Blades, which is a 4 Initiative costing 300 range unblockable Leap Attack, which causes Vulnerability and Blindness and a new Thief Skill unique Debuff called "Deep Wound", which significantly reduces an Enemies Healing Power temporarely by -67%, which stacks with Poison, so that you can temporarely stop Enemies from having Health Degeneration's being boosted by Healing Power, if you poisoned them and hit them with Flashing Blades.
• Twisting Fangs: Initiative Cost reduced to 3, and grants a Stack of Might
• Shadow Shot: This Skill uses now the Ammo System and has 3 Ammo. If all Ammo has been used, Shadow Shot gets replaced with the new Mark of Instability Shadow Spell, which is costing you then 5 Initiative for using it, which is a Trap that causes Weakness and foes to lose Stability and Protection if foes run into it and grants you therefore Stability and Protection for 3 seconds.
• Death Blossom: The Evasion Frame is now 1 full second. Bleeding has been exchanged with Torment that lasts not 10, but 6 seconds. The Number of Targets is now 5 and the Attack reflects now Projectiles.
• Dancing Dagger: Cripple has been replaced by Vulnerability
• Cloak and Dagger: This skill costs now 5 initiative and causes long lasting Weakness and Cripple, instead of Vulnerability. If this Skill hits critically, then you will regain now also 1 Initiative back

Pistols

• Vital Shot: Grants now for 2 seconds Regeneration if you cause Critical Hits with this Skill.
• Body Shot: Vulnerability is replaced now with the Debuff Deep Wound.
• Repeater: This Skill deals now more Damage, so lower the Health is of the Target and costs now only 4 Initiative and you regain 1 Initiative back, if all 5 Shots hit.
• Shadow Strike: This Skill uses now the ammo System and has ammo of 3. After the Skill is on Cooldown, the Skill is replaced with Unsuspecting Strike which costs you then Initiative, which is an Attack, which deals extra increased Damage and costs 1 Initiative lesser on foes, that have still over 90% Health. Unsuspecting Strike steals also a Boon, if it hit Targets with over 90% Health.
• Headshot: Daze has been removed and replaced with 5 Stacks of Vulnerability and 2 Stacks of Confusion.
• Blackpowder: Renamed to Black Powder Shot. The Initiative Cost has been reduced to 5 and its Radius has been increased to 180. Black Powder Shots daze and burn now also for 2 seconds, if being hit by them from direct near in frotn of you.

Swords

• Slice > Slash> Crippling Strike: This Skill has been removed
• Golden Lotus Strike > Golden Fox Strike > Golden Phoenix Strike: This New Attack Chain replaces the Slice > Slash > Crippling Strike AA.The first Attack deals damage and causes Poison, followed by the second strike which has a short Evade Frame integrated of a half second, and finished by the last strike, which causes for a 2 seconds Burning and heals you for the 50% of the amount of condition damage per hit foe that burns now, as long it isn't removed by the foe(s).
• Tactical Strike: Blindness has been replaced by Deep Wound. The Skill has been renamed to Malicious Strike.
• Infiltrator's Strike/Return: This Skill has been changed to the Ammo System, havign 3 Ammo. If Infiltrator's Strike/Return has ben used 3 times, the Skill will get replaced then with Disrupting Stab which is an attack, that deals Damage, dazes, interrupting foes that were about to attack or use skills and causes Deep Wound and Bleedings, which costs then 4 Initiative.
• Stab: This Skill has been removed
• Expose Defenses: This Skill replaces now Stab, dealing damage and giving the foe a temooral debuff, which makes it for the foe impossible to block your attacks with Shield Skills or Stances/Signets that make you otherwise immune to Damage, this Skill will make Thieves ignore those defensive Effects.
• Flanking Strike/ Larcenous Strike: the Effects have ben merged together now under Flanking Strike as Flanking Strike deals now 2 Hits in 1 Animation. The first on evade and the second and the end of the evade which Steals a Boon and deals more Damage, if the foe had none. Initiative Cost is now 5
• Pistol Whip: This Skill has been renamed and redesigned into a Split Skill with first Mantis Touch followed by Black Mantis Thrust. Mantis Touch is a Daze Attack, like previously, but then follows with BMT a second Skill, that you can now decide by yourtself when you use it, while not being rooted anymore, when you want to perform a Thrust Attack, in whose Animation you evade incoming attacks and deal up to 4 Hits to all foes in line of sight of your Thrust Attack, turning the second part of the Attack now into a little Gap Closer.
• New Combo Skill #1 is Dance of Blades: Which is a whirling attack with both swords, similar to the Warriors Whirlwind Attack with such an arrow mechanic so that you can decide with it into which direction you want to dance forwards, dealiong damage to all targets in that line of sight. Costs 4 Initiative. (Sword/Sword)
• New Combo Skill #2 is Desperate Strike: Attack a foe and deals two attacks with extra damage on second strike with the Offhand Sword, so lower your Health is (Dagger/Sword)
• New Combo Skill #3 is Unseen Fury: Shoots a Target and Shadow Steps on impact of the Bullet to the back of a foe to strike it with the sword surpringly from behind, granting you Fury. Ammo of 3. If the Skill is on recharge, it is replaced with Vampiric Assault, an evasive backhand sword strike performed after blocking an incomign attack, which leeches some health from the dealt damage, which costs 4 Initiative (Pistol/Sword)
• New Combo Skill #4 is Way of Perfection: A Self Buff Condi Removal Skill that removes two Conditions from you and grants you Fury, Swiftness and Might (Empty/Sword) for 5 Initiative. Works as Stun Breaker.
• New Offhand Sword Skill #1 is Precicision Strike: Deals Damage. Causes Vulnerability. Can cause Deep Wound against foes with less than 50% Health that suffered from Vulnerability. Costs 4 Initiative
• New Offhand Sword Skill #2 is Phantom Blades: Collect your Shadow Energy in your Blades to shoot out two massive Phantom Blades towards your Target Enermy. These Blades cut through anything. They will hit you even if you try to hide yourself behind a big rock. These Blades are unblockable and have a range of 900. Costs 6 Initiative. This Skill will destroy any Traps also between you and your Target, if there were any Enemy Traps between you and your Target.

Staff

• Weakening Charge: The Range has been increased to 600
• Debilitatign Arc: The Evade Frame is now 1 full second and the Skill removes now also Cripple and Chill and is placed now on Skill Slot 4
• Dust Strike: Initiative Cost reduced to 3 and now on Slot 3
• Vault: The Evade Frame is now 1 full second and using it against a Target with over 90% Health will grant you now also Stability and Resistance for 2 seconds

Rifle

• Kneel is now an Ammo based Ability on all Rifle Skills that allows to to use upgraded forms of the primary Ammo based Rifle Skills when you Kneel.If Kneel on your ammo Skill is on Recharge, then the Rifle KSill will get replaced with one that costs you Initiative and is weaker than the kneeling version.
• So basically saying, with this change on the mechanic, get all Rifle Skills turned around with each other.
• Only Exception is the Auto Attack, it will always be now Brutal Aim and won't have anymore a Kneel Version

Example:

Spotter's Shot is now the Ammo Version of the Skill, which lets your Charactr automatically kneel before performing the Attack as part of the animation. if you used up the ammo and Spotters Shot is on recharge, the Skil lis replaced now with Skirmishers Shot, the weaker version, which costs now Initiative and isn't used while kneeling. Therefore that oyu are with the weaker version more mobile and you can spam the weaker version more oftenly . The more powerful versions will get automatically through the Ammo System also rebalanced better, so that using the Rifle won't feel anymore like power creep, due to the more powerful rifle skill versions being each now limited to 3 usages.This will make the whole Hit 6 Run Gameplay Design of this Weapon then also better balanced, because you surely don't want anyways to shoot more oftenly than 3 times inm kneel, before it is better for you to change your positioning with this gameplay from the Rifle ... while waiting on your Utilities to recharge for Stealth ect. so that you have again a time frame in which you can safely use the ammo Versions, before you get spotted by the enemy...

Healing & Utility Skills

• Mostly all Deadeye related Healing and Utility Skills have been removed
• Channeled Vigor: The Effectof this Skill gets partially merged with Signet of Malice now, where on activation of the Signet, you regain now Endurance and the Heal is now stronger, based on how much Endurance you regained with Signet of Mallice's Activation. But the Endurance Regain is weaker than earlier with CV
• Blinding Powder: This Skill has now a Recharge Time of 30 seconds and its Stealth lasts now for for 5 seconds. This Skill works now underwater as Flashlight Mine, which blinds foes and causes such a bright light for a short moment, that you can disappear underwater into Stealth.
• Shadow Refuge: This Skill has now a Recharge Time of 50 seconds and you won't lose anymore your Stealth if you leave it, before the skill expired. The Animation will create also now not anymore a red circle which tells enemies practicalyl where you are. The Skill has been merged with Smoke Screen, so that projectiles will be blocked, as long the SKill Animation hasn't expired. This Skill works now also underwater as Shadow Sphere, which will be essentially the same, just that a sphere like aoe effect area is created now, like a huge bubble that makes you disappear
• Shadowstep/Shadow Return: This Skill has been removed
• Shadow Clones: This Skill replaces now Shadowstep and lets you create 2 Doppelgangers of you which attack with lesser health, but the same skills like you your nearby foes for the next 30 seconds. if the Doppelgangers get defeated, then they will steal on their death up to 2 Boons which you will receive and share with your allies. Shadow Clones will feel also, if Traps are around you and will act as Decoys for you to savely remove them., without that you can get affected by them, thus are basically Trap Shields for you.
• Bandit's Defense: This Skill has been changed now into a Deception to replace the free slot, that is there now due to Smoke Screen beign merged with Shadow Refuge/Sphere
• Assassin's Signet: This Skill has been renamed into Signet of Assassination and merged partially with Distracting Daggers, as Distractive Daggers becomes now part of the Active Effect from Signet of Assasination. Therefore does get the Damage Boost lowered to +400 Power, but the Duration increased to 8 seconds. Passive Power is now 200. On Activation you receive Ammo of 3 Distracting Daggers to throw, before the Skill begins to recharge.
• Infiltrator's Signet: This Skill has been renamed to Signet of Infiltration and merged partially with Impairing Daggers, therefore has the Shadowstep Effect been removed
• Ambush: This Skill has been removed
• Binding Shadow: This Skill replaces now Ambush as a Trap Skill and gets renamed into Shadowbind Mine, which deals damage, immobilizes foes and knocks them down, if the foe had less than 50% health. Underwater becoems this skill then Shadowbind Mine and sinks foes instead of Knockdown and deals more damage, than the trap version, therefore that mines are visible traps.
• Shadow Trap: This Skill has been removed
• Dust Trap: This new Trap replaces Shadow Trap, it deals damage, blinds foes and grants you and nearby Allies Barrier. Underwater this Skill turns into Mud Mine, dealing there the same effect, but deals due to its visibility more damage.
• Tripwire: This Skill has been removed
• Flame Trap: This Skill replaces now Tripwire with a Trap, that deals damage and causes Burning and Deep Wound. Underwater this Skil is called then with same effect "Explosive Mine"
• Caltrops: This Skill works now also Underwater and is called there then Venom Mine with the difference, that is causes Poison instead of Bleedings and deals more damage, than the on land trap version.
• Haste: Recharge Time has been reduced to 20s. Fury and Swiftness have been removed. Cures now Slow and Confusion
• Roll For Initiative: This Skill has been renamed to Evasive Roll and its recharge Time has been reduced to 30s
• Scorpion Wire: Causes now Poison and Deep Wound, if the Skill dealt Critical Damage. Recharge Time has been increased to 25s. Range decreased to 900
• Devourer Venom: This Skill has been removed
• Firefish Venom: This Skil lreplaces now Devourer Venom and adds to your Attacks 3s Burning per Charge when used as the wounds you deal with this will burn like hell cause of pain. Dazes periodically foes, if the burning by this venom doesn't get removed within 3 seconds.

Elite Skills

• Daggerstorm: This Skill will work now also underwater as Dagger Stream with the same animation as like an Eles Maelstrom whre you spin around your own axis horizontally, instead of vertically like on land.
• Basilisk Venom: This Skill has been removed
• Deadly Venom: This Skill works now essentially as like Impact Strike and Fist Flurry merged as an improved Basilisk Venom: If you hit a non downed Target, then you will stun the foe, and ifthe target doesnt use a Stun Breaker, he wil lreceive Damage from an Pulmonary Impact seconds later that is the Deadly Venoms direct Side Effect. If you attack Downed Targets with Deadly Venom on, then will your Attacks instantly defeat them...
• Thieves Guild: This Skill has been removed.
• Shadow Doppelgangers: This Skill replaces now Thieves Guild as a stronger more portent version of Shadow Clones whre the Doppelgangers of you have stronger stats and more Health to live longer, while they copy your Skill Builds based on the two Weapon Sets you have equipped, while the third Doppelganger has its own unique build. Recharge Time is now 150.

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This would be basically my current dream version of the Core Thief into which the old Specs get kind of merged into in regard of looking only at the Skills and Gasmeplay Mechanics so far and without listign up Trait Changes and my wishful other two E-Specs Rogue and Saboteur, how these two would complement the thing lastly ^^

While I can appreciate the time it must have taken to put all of this together, at this point you're basically making up an entirely new class that just happens to use some thief mechanics, but with ammo/cooldowns everywhere and way too many goodies baseline.

uhm, the only things in this whole thread I have made baselike are only the Weapons from Daredevil and Deadye, because I think these absolutely should be baseline Thief Weapons... due to Rifle basically being already baseline when you look at the Harpoon Gun, if Anet would finally merge Rifles with obsolete Harpoon Guns which are basically already in essence rifles with a different looking skin only.A few imo absolutely obsolete Steal Traits, which should get made baseline, so that their spots can be used for better in general more useful Traits that help the Thief gettign better Group Support. The Thief class as of now has been way too much focused in regard of Traits in these Traits, thefore that it is just only one skill skill mechanic you can use around every half a minute or lesser, if traited for it, by using the stuff, that i haven't baselined into Steal, which shows how much Traits are beign wasted here just only for the Steal Mechanic, when there is so much more the Thief could be useful for, than only Steal!! Boon Stealing, Trap Control, Disarmament of Foes, Stat Debuffs - just saying.. the Thief Class has been held over the last years way to one dimensionally, when it could be so much more. Even the Steal wer have now is without Disarmanent/Boon Steel beign part of it just a stupid Pseudo Steal, as we actually steal nothing at all from our enemies in cobmat.. we gain just effects, but we haven't taken away anything at all from our foes..its laiughable how ANet can call somethign stupid like this even "Steal" right now ...

Aside from the two Weapons from which basically 1 could be already baseline for Thieve - the Rifle - if ANet would have done a better job with the Underwater Content from begin on, I baselined only the Daredevil Healing and Utility Skills and 1 Deadeye Skill into the existing Healing and Utility Skill of the Core Thief, to help this way rebalancing out the Core Thief Skills getting nearer to the level of the removed E-Specs.

That the Thief Class makes alot of usage of the Ammo System just fits perfectly fine to the whole design of the Thief Class and its Initiative System, because essentially both system works the same way, just only that still to Ammo are Recharge Times attached to them at the end of it.I thought it would be a perfect combination to put both systems together here in regard of Shadow Steps, which is why all skills which make you Shadow Step have been changed by me here into Ammo Skills.No other Skills have I changed into Ammo Skills at all, except for Rifle Skills, because there it works perfictly fine as solution for the current bad Kneel Mechanic that is integrated as Rifle Skill 5It will help balancing the whole Mobility Gameplay of the Thief alot, while solving at the same time the problem with ending up as initiative dry fish, if you try to catch a fleeing foe, that you have to burn all your Initiative up for this, just to be able to follow your quick foes, when in fact it should be Ammo first that you need to use for that, while you can keep your initiative back for the Combat then, if you have catched up the fleeing foe.When your Ammo is on Recharge and the Skills flipped over to the Skills that require then Initiative, so that you aren't at the moment when your fleeing foe suddenly decides to fight back not already empty of initiative after a few Shadow Steps from Infiltrator's Arrow..You clearly in my opinion overexxagerate here with your "Ammo/Cooldowns everywhere" statement.

uhm, the only things in this whole thread I have made baselike are only the Weapons from Daredevil and Deadye, because I think these absolutely should be baseline Thief Weapons... due to Rifle basically being already baseline when you look at the Harpoon Gun, if Anet would finally merge Rifles with obsolete Harpoon Guns which are basically already in essence rifles with a different looking skin only.Harpoon gun operates completely differently from rifle, even if they may have similar appearances, so no Rifle is not the same mechanically and thief does not "pretty much have rifle baseline already".

You also made the steal traits baseline, which might seem small to you but that loads a ton of free power into our steal at no cost, while also giving us more power from whatever new traits we'd get.

And then daredevil's 3rd dodge and dodge styles you made baseline, which A) is extra survivability from the extra endurance, B) is extra power gained from the bonuses attached to those dodge styles, and C) makes all thief specs have to integrate dodging into their dps rotation, whereas right now if you don't want that playstyle you don't have to be daredevil.100% crit chance on backstab (we currently have to trait for 100% crit from a stealth attack) and making it unblockable.The removal of revealed debuff and allowing stealth to be affect by boon duration will make it incredibly easy to stay perma stealthed, and no one will be spamming their limited aoe boon strip in an area because there's a chance that it might happen to hit a thief.More evade frames, condi clear, condi application, boon rip, personal boon application, buffs to utilities, and the list goes on, which is just tons of power creep that you're making baseline.That the Thief Class makes alot of usage of the Ammo System just fits perfectly fine to the whole design of the Thief Class and its Initiative System, because essentially both system works the same way, just only that still to Ammo are Recharge Times attached to them at the end of it.I thought it would be a perfect combination to put both systems together here in regard of Shadow Steps, which is why all skills which make you Shadow Step have been changed by me here into Ammo Skills.No other Skills have I changed into Ammo Skills at all, except for Rifle Skills, because there it works perfictly fine as solution for the current bad Kneel Mechanic that is integrated as Rifle Skill 5It will help balancing the whole Mobility Gameplay of the Thief alot, while solving at the same time the problem with ending up as initiative dry fish, if you try to catch a fleeing foe, that you have to burn all your Initiative up for this, just to be able to follow your quick foes, when in fact it should be Ammo first that you need to use for that, while you can keep your initiative back for the Combat then, if you have catched up the fleeing foe.When your Ammo is on Recharge and the Skills flipped over to the Skills that require then Initiative, so that you aren't at the moment when your fleeing foe suddenly decides to fight back not already empty of initiative after a few Shadow Steps from Infiltrator's Arrow..You clearly in my opinion overexxagerate here with your "Ammo/Cooldowns everywhere" statement.Of the currently core weapons, they all have a shadowstep that would now be on an ammo CD: Sword 2, Shortbow 5, D/P 3, P/D 3, plus rifle as well. You're also giving shortbow 4 and dagger 2 ammo and zero initiative cost (aka a glorified weapon CD), and when you use up all of these attacks you get a regular skill as well, at least until the ammo recharges at the exact moment you wanted to use the regular skill and you find yourself rudely shadowstepped to some place that you didnt want to be.

You're also shoe-horning in things that don't really fit with thief, like burning or barrier. And you're turning both dagger and sword into weird hybrid condi/power weapons without any real identity. It feels like you're trying to smash stealthy/mobile core thief, evasion heavy daredevil (an elite spec), boon rip spellbreaker (another elite spec) and condi/boon corruption scourge (yet another elite spec) all into one core profession. Then you want to top off all of that extra power by introducing two more elite specs that presumably further enhance all of that overloaded gameplay.

You do make solid points that I'd like to agree with, such as having more relevant thief clone summons, more utility skills that function underwater, offhand sword, and mobility options that aren't tied to burning initiative in shortbow. So now not to attack you personally, but the whole post being littered with spelling/grammar/word choice errors, renaming skills that have perfectly fine names, and seeming lack of understanding of certain mechanics really undermines many of your arguments as well. One such example being how your Deep Wound "reduces an Enemies Healing Power temporarely by -67%, which stacks with Poison, so that you can temporarely stop Enemies from having Health Degeneration's being boosted by Healing Power", which ignores that poison is a flat reduction to healing received, not a debuff to healing power. Or that you don't seem to know how the ammunition system actually works, "Choking Gas Ammo Cooldown is is 5 Seconds per Ammo, so you have a 15 Second Time Frame for Daggers, until you can shoot Gas again.", ammo recharges 1 use at a time on the ammo CD, not all at once on ammo CD times max charges, so it's only a 5 second window to throw daggers (which fits the theme of a shortbow how???) until you'd need to use choking gas again.

I like the amount of thought that you put into these posts orpheal, but this is the 3rd or 4th post I can remember you making with a longwinded rework that totally changes thief and powercreeps it to the moon. Maybe it would be easier for you to just reroll another class, find something you like more?

uhm, I see, I have to improve some things here n there, or at least explain better ^^Theres some good points that i have to overthink, but I also don't agree with all of your points Aplier