[WvW/sPvP] Is there a good way to run Deadeye without a huge reliance on stealth?

Anyone run a Deadeye build that isn't super reliant on stealth? Not using more than what you need for stealth attacks. This is mostly a WvW question, because of all the reveals in that mode but if I can get it to work in sPvP too that would be great.

What I got so farS/D or S/P would probably be better but I'm a kitten for D/D. The idea I have is to kite with Rifle until you have full malice stacks, infiltrators signet + cloak & dagger in, malicious backstab, repeat until dead. If I went S/D I could swap Infiltrators Signet for Binding Shadows for more boonstrip since I wouldn't need the extra gap closer but you sacrifice a stronger burst for more survivability with the extra endurance regen. S/P would probably be the best choice as I could chain Malicious Tactical Strike into Pistol Whip which would deal good damage/CC, regen endurance, and heal through Assassin's Reward while applying good pressure.

Why? Because rifle is fun and I hate reveals.

Thief is balanced with stealth in mind, trying to play without it is shooting yourself in the knee for no reason. There's plenty of ranged classes that don't rely on stealth, so if you want to play that way, pick your class accordingly.

@"Sobx.1758" said:Thief is balanced with stealth in mind, trying to play without it is shooting yourself in the knee for no reason. There's plenty of ranged classes that don't rely on stealth, so if you want to play that way, pick your class accordingly.

I specified "as little as possible", not "none at all". Im trying to not have a reliance on it as DE so I can play DE more reliably in situations where there is lots of reveal. Core S/D uses very little stealth. It relies more on evades and being able to kite with sword so I dont see why DE can't manage something similar.

DA trick DE works for rifle and S/X, I'm liking S/D at the moment as it lets you take out most things if you play careful. Just avoid holo, that's not exactly new advice to the average thief tho. Basically build as though it's a core S/D thief, just take DE over acro and rifle over shortbow, and remember that DE has good protection and might access, so dropping some power for some toughness is a viable choice in WvW.

Unfortunately D/D needs stealth to survive in its present state, it can work with a SA DE build but frankly going for a malicious backstab in WvW is a waste of time now warclaw is a thing. D/P is pretty much only used for the stealth stacking in the stealth gank build, rifle has the better odds of spiking something down especially since dismounting a player is basically a free binding shadow proc. You'll be hard pressed to make D/D work without heavy stealth and core steal, good luck to you if you do tho.

@Zexanima.7851 said:

@"Sobx.1758" said:Thief is balanced with stealth in mind, trying to play without it is shooting yourself in the knee for no reason. There's plenty of ranged classes that don't rely on stealth, so if you want to play that way, pick your class accordingly.

Then just use "your regular build" and use stealth "as little as possible", duh. Weird request.

If you're looking for fun build, then you can always go for Hybrid. I'm really a big fan of Panic Strike ever since they've added poison to it.

Dagger Training and Swindler's gives 80 and 120 power, respectively, even when using a Rifle. So I take those too.

You also need to take M7 for that 10 stacks of might at full Malice.

Using Skirmisher's Shot with Don't Stop gives you almost full CC immunity.

If you gear up using Viper, you can extend those conditions for easy Initiative management. Then take whatever rune that fits your playstyle. I personally use rune of the trapper and bring at least one trap for stealth. Most of the time I take Tripwire due to low CD, but I also take Needle trap sometimes.

With this build, Binding Shadows is devastating.

This build doesn't rely on stealth, but on CC and evasion. Also loading your target with a lot of conditions automatically puts them on a defensive.

Obviously, if you opted to use Rifle, you have no AoE.

rifle p/p kite like a boss

For WvW there were some good builds in that thread about fighting Holosmiths on Deadeye. Both the DA,TR,DE and SA,CS,DE builds there I think used Silent Scope but are also using M7 and using stealth attacks as consistent pressure while turning and dragging targets more so than lurking in and out of stealth for the big hit. If you want to keep Trickery you might try SA, Rending Shade can give you full stacks and along with other boon flipping and control skills you might find dismantling and influencing a targets positioning is more of a sure thing and even faster most of the time. You've got a gut feeling about s/d and Binding Shadows so roll with it, you're probably right. I like Premed also but I'd be happy enough with Silent Scope, a quick DJ for stealth modifiers when you need it can refund one Malice with MI anyway.

OP as @"kash.9213" said, check out the thread below for a few builds that use minimal stealth. Those builds are not specifically for use against Holosmith and will work against most opponents if you pilot them well enough.

https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/79679/advice-for-beating-a-holosmith-as-a-deadeye#latest