Specialization Advice

[Crymsyn.5037]

I need advice on what specializations would be good for sword...Am running sword/dagger (I HATE mixing ranged and melee weapons have two pistols on the second set) I eventually plan to go Staff daredevil when I unlock alas am just 32 (Yes, Yes just getting around to figuring this out now I tend to lock up with choices like this due to anxiety). I'm going for a power build as it seems more easy to learn with that said what spec's would fit with my weapon choices? 

[NorthernRedStar.3054]

Deadly Arts, Critical Strikes and Trickery. 

For grandmasters: (1) Executioner, (2) No Quarter (switch to Invigorating Precision if you need sustain against a boss or smthn), (3) Sleight of Hand (reduced Steal recharge and breakbar damage).

Trickery will grant you some boon strip and endurance regen, as some of the later mobs have protection application and hit harder and more often. Lead Attacks is a fairly substantial damage modifier than often goes unmentioned, but it's really good in longer encounters. Running double pistols, you'll benefit a lot.

Critical Strikes is a trait line you always go for when maximizing DPS. On top of that, Invigorating Precision trivializes most of the core game content. Assassin's Fury mixes in well with No Quarter when doing solo content (for instances, such as raids and strikes, your party usually grants you max Might stacks anyways). When in a larger group, take Twin Fangs, instead. Always take Practised Tolerance (maximizes damage). 

Same goes for Deadly Arts. Plus, the added poison on Steal gimps the regen of some mobs and bosses - i.e. scales. The power bonus from Revealed Training goes in really nicely with Cloak and Dagger for some of that added burst OOMPH, while Mug offers both burst and healing outside Invigorating Precision. 

Never ever take Deadly Aim. It's just plain awful. Pray, instead, that Anet grants us Ricochet back.

Acrobatics trait line might look tempting, but it's a bait. For roleplaying purposes, only.

Edited September 26, 2021 by NorthernRedStar.3054

[Crymsyn.5037]

I just started playing Thief recently so never played around with Ricochet. So do them in that order? (Deadly Arts,Critical Strikes, and Trickery)

[SeTect.5918]

2 hours ago, Crymsyn.5037 said:

I need advice on what specializations would be good for sword...Am running sword/dagger (I HATE mixing ranged and melee weapons have two pistols on the second set) I eventually plan to go Staff daredevil when I unlock alas am just 32 (Yes, Yes just getting around to figuring this out now I tend to lock up with choices like this due to anxiety). I'm going for a power build as it seems more easy to learn with that said what spec's would fit with my weapon choices? 

Tbh, Sword does really poor damage in PvE. Staff and double pistols doing good damage and are easy to learn. Also the rifle of deadeye is pretty good.
Both deadeye and daredevil do pretty good with double pistol. Rifle and staff are also both pretty good. The only thing that worries me is that u dont like to mix melee and ranged. The power focused dodge of daredevil does damage and that means u have to stay close to ur enemy. Would fit good with staff but not so good with double pistols. Tho there is also 1 other nice dodge. Its not power focused but gains nice mobility.
Deadeye on the other hand does really nice with double pistols. The "Steal" gets changed to a marker which gains bonus damage and is purely ranged so u never have to go near to the enemy. You also regain initiative when u reach max "Malice". Malice is a special thing of deadeye.

I prefer Deadeye always. I like the playstyle because it seems so "dark".
Imo Deadeye does better against single target and daredevil better against multiple targets.

If u really want to play sword...Its maybe daredevil because sword is melee focused and thief has pretty low hp so the mobility of daredevil gives u better...sustain?

Critical strikes and Trickery and sth like that is maybe the best option. Together with daredevil elite spec.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PaABwiprW2X3tcA-e Maybe something like this?

Edited September 26, 2021 by SeTect.5918

[Crymsyn.5037]

I was planning on Daredevil anyway and switching to Staff...I am though as I said just level 32 so can't get EITHER of those yet.

[NorthernRedStar.3054]

6 minutes ago, SeTect.5918 said:

Tbh, Sword does really poor damage in PvE. Staff and double pistols doing good damage and are easy to learn. Also the rifle of deadeye is pretty good.
Both deadeye and daredevil do pretty good with double pistol. Rifle and staff are also both pretty good. The only thing that worries me is that u dont like to mix melee and ranged. The power focused dodge of daredevil does damage and that means u have to stay close to ur enemy. Would fit good with staff but not so good with double pistols. Tho there is also 1 other nice dodge. Its not power focused but gains nice mobility.
Deadeye on the other hand does really nice with double pistols. The "Steal" gets changed to a marker which gains bonus damage and is purely ranged so u never have to go near to the enemy. You also regain initiative when u reach max "Malice". Malice is a special thing of deadeye.

I prefer Deadeye always. I like the playstyle because it seems so "dark".
Imo Deadeye does better against single target and daredevil better against multiple targets.

If u really want to play sword...Its maybe daredevil because sword is melee focused and thief has pretty low hp so the mobility of daredevil gives u better...sustain?

I'd never suggest rifle Deadeye for a new player. Not only is the optimal rotation + repositioning fairly hectic, but the spec completely lacks reliable AoE damage and is a bore against trash mobs as a result.

Staff is obviously the superior weapon for thief at the moment - both in terms of trash mob clear and single target DPS. But OP asked for tips before they manage to reach that point in the game. Additionally, sword damage isn't bad at all for core game purposes. It just pales in comparison with the expansion power creep.

 

6 minutes ago, SeTect.5918 said:

Would fit good with staff but not so good with double pistols.

Nigh' permanent 10% damage modifier per strike is good for pistols. The ability to finish off mobs who get close by dodging is an added bonus. In general, the extra damage you gain from daredevil traits is well worth it for non-deadeye pistols.

Edited September 26, 2021 by NorthernRedStar.3054

[Crymsyn.5037]

I admit the reason I like Daredevil is the more Martial artist/Non-Guild wars Monk feel it has plus there's only a few games (That I know of) where you can melee dps with a staff. The pistols are there mostly just for tagging event monsters so I can get xp though has come in handy in the story once or twice due to powerful enemies. As for my dislike of mixing ranged and melee its just a preference of mine it just looks and feels...out of place I tried it but couldn't do it as I said just felt out of place for me.

[SeTect.5918]

1 minute ago, NorthernRedStar.3054 said:

I'd never suggest rifle Deadeye for a new player. Not only is the optimal rotation + repositioning fairly hectic, but the spec completely lacks reliable AoE damage and is a bore against trash mobs as a result.

Yea i also said this in my post tho:

6 minutes ago, SeTect.5918 said:

Imo Deadeye does better against single target and daredevil better against multiple targets.

_____________________

2 minutes ago, NorthernRedStar.3054 said:

Staff is obviously the superior weapon for thief at the moment - both in terms of trash mob clear and single target DPS. But OP asked for tips before they manage to reach that point in the game. Additionally, sword damage isn't bad at all for core game purposes. It just pales in comparison with the expansion power creep.

Well yes staff is easier to handle and its also better against multiple enemies. But imo rifle does more damage against single target. And yes as a relatively new player u face more than 1 enemy often. But i suggested daredevil at the end anyway.

Well sword does low damage. In core you could use it but if u play one of the 2 e spec its always pistol/pistol and either staff or rifle. Compared to double pistols the damage is really not awesome. So yes it cant compete with the expansion power creep but since s/he said that s/he wants to go staff maybe, sword cant compete with staff or pistols. But everyone can still play what he wants obv. Its not that i would force someone to play anything. Its just a warning and suggestion i gave there.
 

7 minutes ago, NorthernRedStar.3054 said:

Nigh' permanent 10% damage modifier per strike is good for pistols.

Obv it is, I just meant its maybe not nice if s/he has to go for melee to hit the dodge and then go back again. Ofc u can still use it for strike damage only without trying to hit it. But imo its better to use the other dodge then because its easier to dodge and avoid things with the other one. Better for beginners imo. But the player can also try it and then decide by his/her own.

[Vidit.7108]

8 hours ago, Crymsyn.5037 said:

I was planning on Daredevil anyway and switching to Staff...I am though as I said just level 32 so can't get EITHER of those yet.

What @NorthernRedStar.3054 said is the best advice for what you want to do at the moment. I'd take Critical Strikes trait line first and then Deadly Arts, but if you're prioritizing damage then Deadly Arts or Trickery. The trait for increasing damage of sword is on Acrobatics, it's not really all that good in the grand scheme of things but if you're really into dodging it will help you out as you learn the class and give your sword a small damage boost. Dagger/Dagger is better melee damage in my opinion though. 

[Crymsyn.5037]

I'm open to dagger/dagger I just more or less got a really nice sword (think it let out a blast of fire around me on critical). And the number 3 skill wasn't as dangerous to use I've "flipped" myself into other mobs or off ledges more times than I can count with daggers. I do have a question on paper at least Shadow arts looks good for survival is there something wrong with it? It seems to be ignored by people.

[kash.9213]

2 hours ago, Crymsyn.5037 said:

I'm open to dagger/dagger I just more or less got a really nice sword (think it let out a blast of fire around me on critical). And the number 3 skill wasn't as dangerous to use I've "flipped" myself into other mobs or off ledges more times than I can count with daggers. I do have a question on paper at least Shadow arts looks good for survival is there something wrong with it? It seems to be ignored by people.

I use SA on one of my templates for fast revive and either ?-?-1 or 3 with Draining Sigil for sustaining in crowds like in a Keep or something and for control, but also for the leech and siphon which is maintainable and pretty easy to stagger out. On my main build I take Trick-Deadly Arts-Acro. I like Even the Odds and all of the minor traits in Deadly Arts and I can go either Mug or Dagger Training and Executioner and I feel like setting up a good Steal and whatever opportunities that hit will open or combo with makes sword passable, especially with Acro, but I'd try NorthernRedStars breakdown and see how that feels because that should be a good baseline for you.

Camera panning can effect skill movement and travel sometimes and being targeted or untargeted can make a huge difference in that range. I got used to untargeting for skills like Death Blossom and Flanking Strike but it's easier for me to toggle between Default and Action Camera a lot, since you can still control skill orientation and direction while targeted, but you have to feel out panning camera in real time to not mess up a pivot or something, that can get kind of wild.

Edited September 27, 2021 by kash.9213

[Crymsyn.5037]

Reason I mentioned it as since I've started trying higher level areas I've had more problems with surviving which I assume is natural for a thief (especially for someone who has little experience with rogue classes). So was looking to try and find something to give me a bit more survivability. I can handle the 15-25 areas well enough but the 30+ areas my health goes down fast ha ha.

[Vidit.7108]

Since you asked about damage/sword related specializations no one brought up SA, since it is more defensive.

Shadow Art's has some really limited combat use, it doesn't really have anything that adds more stealth's (I think just making you stealth on steal) it's more about improving what the thief gets from being in stealth. Such as longer durations, heals, and boons. If you take SA there is a little bit of a learning curve to generating and benefitting from stealthing, if you don't take the stealthing utilities then you have to either use dagger off-hand or make some combo blast/leap finishers on your weapon skills. If you're not already making use of that kind of gameplay you have to learn it.

If you have blinding powder already on your bar and use it a lot anyway then yeah it will help you out to have it also clear condis and heal you or help you escape easier with longer duration.

Edited September 27, 2021 by Vidit.7108

[ASP.8093]

4 hours ago, Vidit.7108 said:

Since you asked about damage/sword related specializations no one brought up SA, since it is more defensive.

Shadow Art's has some really limited combat use, it doesn't really have anything that adds more stealth's (I think just making you stealth on steal) it's more about improving what the thief gets from being in stealth. Such as longer durations, heals, and boons. If you take SA there is a little bit of a learning curve to generating and benefitting from stealthing, if you don't take the stealthing utilities then you have to either use dagger off-hand or make some combo blast/leap finishers on your weapon skills. If you're not already making use of that kind of gameplay you have to learn it.

If you have blinding powder already on your bar and use it a lot anyway then yeah it will help you out to have it also clear condis and heal you or help you escape easier with longer duration.

Quick note: one of the reasons people don't use Shadow Arts as much in PvE is that some baseline stealth numbers have been reduced in WvW/SPvP — there's more benefit to "+1sec stealth duration" when you're turning 1 second into 2 seconds than when you're turning 3 seconds into 4 seconds.

[Rezok.2709]

Deadly Arts, Critical Strikes and Trickery is a great core power thief build. Gives some options for you to play around with, but is also relatively straight forward and easy to understand when to change a few traits.

Deadly Arts got Dagger training or Mug, then Even the Odds or Revealed Training, then Executioner.

Critical Strikes got Twin Fangs, then Practiced Tolerance or Deadly Aim for P/P and lastly three cool choices. No Quarter is a great all around DPS boost. At lower level without max crit, Hidden Killer can be really fun. Lastly, Invigorating Precision is amazing for self healing.

Trickery Thrill of the Crime gives you some nice buffs, Bountiful Theft to remove boons and Sleight of Hand to give you an interrupt and reduced Steal CD.

[Crymsyn.5037]

Yeah after trying some things I'm thinking thief just isn't for me as much as I'd like it to be given I like Daredevil least how it sounds...I may come back to it after some time but I'm thinking thief classes just may not be my forte. Thank you all for the help!

[kash.9213]

2 hours ago, Crymsyn.5037 said:

Yeah after trying some things I'm thinking thief just isn't for me as much as I'd like it to be given I like Daredevil least how it sounds...I may come back to it after some time but I'm thinking thief classes just may not be my forte. Thank you all for the help!

Ya, can't really force yourself to get into something. I don't have a Daredevil template right now but I'd grab that Elite and mess around on it a bit. Not even super serious, just kind of play it like an arcade fighter or something, maybe toggling Action Camera some and really feel the animations and combos of dodges and skills. At least you'd have it on the shelf if you're feeling it again. 

Edited October 2, 2021 by kash.9213