Looking for PVE Thief Builds

[RagiNagi.1802]

Hi,

I just recently revisited GW2 and I am kind of enjoying the game so far. Going trough PoF story currently with my Thief.

What kind of builds are you guys running these days? Is P/P Deadeye the meta now? I feel like P/P is pretty decent when it comes to Veteran and below mobs. But when it comes to bosses, I don't get the benefits of killing enemies quick.

What is the most efficient boss killer build in your opinion? And what is the best for regular map roaming - events, skill points, explo.

Thanks.

[saerni.2584]

There's plenty of options for PvE. You might consider a Deadeye rifle build for at least some of it because you can have perma-boons with high single target damage.

I think a number of options work well though.

[RagiNagi.1802]

Do you have a trait bar for me? And some basic rotation of skills?

[saerni.2584]

@RagiNagi.1802 said:Do you have a trait bar for me? And some basic rotation of skills?

I will put something together but give me a little time. I don't PvE so it's not something I keep on hand.

[Blood Red Arachnid.2493]

Well, honestly for PVE I don't have a "build" insomuch as I have a bunch of utilities and traits that I swap around, depending on what I need to do. For soloing bosses, there's two builds I run. First is the deadeye build:

Weapons: Rifle in a group or when fighting a projectile based foe, Pistol/Pistol when solo, + Sword/Pistol.
Gear: Full Marauder or full BerserkerSigils: Force, ImpactingRunes: x6 Rune of the ScholarUtilities: Signet of Malice, Filler Space, Signet of Agility, Assassin's Signet, Shadow Meld

Deadly Arts: Dagger Training, Revealed Training, ExecutionerCritical Strikes: Twin Fangs, Practiced Tolerance, No QuarterDeadeye: Malicious Intent, Premeditation, Maleificent Seven

This is the closest thing to a base build that I use for Deadeye. In reality, I'm constantly swapping around traits and utilities, depending on what I need. I.E. for more survival I go with Invigorating Precision, for more CC I go with Basilisk Venom, Smoke Screen to stop projectiles, etc. The strategy is really simple: run around in circles while shooting at an enemy. Or, if you're fighting a ranged boss, camp with the sniper and use Sniper's Cover to stop most incoming projectiles. If cleave is needed, or if the boss attacks in slow intervals, use Pistol Whip to time dodges and avoid damage right in their face.

---

Next up is the daredevil build. I haven't run this one as of late, but it does let me do crazy things like dodge-tank the Sand Giant.

Weapons; Staff, Pistol/PistolGear: SameSigils: SameRunes: SameUtilities: Channeled Vigor, Fist Flurry, Signet of Agility, Assassin's Signet, Basilisk Venom

Deadly Arts: Dagger Training, Panic Strike, ExecutionerCritical Strikes: Twin Fangs, Practiced Tolerance, No QuarterDaredevil: Marauder's Resiliance, Staff Master, Bounding Dodger

Again, swap out traits and utilities as they are needed. I.E. against the Sand Giant I run Bandit's Defense, Signet of Agility, Shadowstep, Signets of Power, and Escapist's Fortitude. The main strength of this build is its ability to dodge endlessly. Combine Vault with Bounding Dodger, and you can stay close and aggressive against most enemies. You'll be swimming in endurance with this build, so use dodges liberally.

[Demonhead.7584]

For PVE (and WvW Sometimes), I run mostly this build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PawAgqVlNw2YgsLGJe2WrNVA-zRZYBRHsFqiYI1Llmig2Kg+SgeDB1OIhxe4SeA-e

You can swap out Staff for Shortbow, and you can replace Daredevil with Deadly Arts (Mid - Top - Mid) if you want to, as well. You can also swap out "Unhindered Combatant" for "Bounding Dodger" if you want extra stealth and heals from your leeching venoms that you get from Shadow Arts.

This build is good for fighting a large group of mobs by yourself, and for general PVE use. The healing you get from blinds is significant, so pop your Black Powder's from your pistol and your Smoke Screen's when you're in need of extra healing.

[kash.9213]

Cloaked in Shadow in Demonheads build is nice for staying in crowds and even if it's not super bursty, it's a decent kill rate to plow through adds.

I hover around a generic baseline and flip through build templates that adjust for stuff like traveling with a small group or hanging in a big fight, need a couple sets of gear or more though. You can probably get by being super bursty but I still use Core and Deadeye versions of my wvw build everywhere since some story and expansion stuff can catch you slipping.http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PaxAwiVlNw4YasN2JOsLbrbA-zVZYBhmDcICGxojY6rM6uSDPt04AEwvtXzEOjA-wWhatever build you use, skills and utilities you should flip around a lot for whatever you're doing and to remember how they feel. Try out some sigils in the spvp lobby and see what feels right for how you move around, I usually like Draining and Absorption (I interrupt a lot though) but Quickness always feels good and sometimes I like to gradually build might from crits instead if I'm funneling groups or peeling around. I'll flip Runes between stuff like Divinity, Pack, or Infiltration and bring Health or Power & Precision (trying to stay capped on crit chance in combat at least) up or down to what I feel like are my Health thresholds of like 17k to 20k to adjust for a utility change (I might want more precision or run speed and a Vulnerability spike) and group sizes or group splits. Think about setting up buffs, debuffs, and control to make an opening to overwhelm when the time is right.

With your traits, think about skills or actions you do a lot. You might want a lot to happen whenever you Stealth Attack because you're vibing with those setups or you might be all about the burst in reveal or you might drag and funnel groups to bounce crits around. Just keep tabs on what you find yourself doing along the way. Also think about an easy to use keybind layout without a lot of lift off if you're aiming for efficient kill rate.

[Zacchary.6183]

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?PaQAQlVwiYXMJGJO8XnvKA-zRRYDhJGF4zoCFQMTApsMUI-eDE Rifle. Ez, braindead, high damage, hard to die with if you know what you are doing.