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Question regarding shadow arts.


Axl.8924

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I do not think it needs a nerf at all. Thieves don't have much in the way of high armor, barrier, plethora of blocks, aegis, stability, etc. It comes down to stealthing (mostly to reposition) and evading to stay alive. Also they nerfed Acro a while back a bit too hard so evading isn't quite as good as it could be. People also forget that you can't make multiple attacks in stealth like you can with arcane shield or other blocks. 

If anything with thief needs a nerf its condi thief imo, cuz applying lots of condis and hiding in stealth is annoying and does go against "thieves can't deal constant damage while stealthed". (I realize devs haven't actually said that, but that's what makes it so strong). Or people just need to bring some more condi cleanses...

BTW, Im sure more builds run Trickery than SA. If you are really looking to nerf a thief trait line, that would be where i would first look. 

Edited by SlitheSlivier.1908
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15 hours ago, Psycoprophet.8107 said:

What about the always forgotten CS ? Lol most dont take it cuz it offers 0 utility while only providing slightly higher DPS gains over kitten.

All things considered, SA grants superior damage options as well (concerning the nature of PvP and thief gameplay). CS is, of course, taken over it in PvE where the over-time gains are vastly superior.

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1 hour ago, NorthernRedStar.3054 said:

All things considered, SA grants superior damage options as well (concerning the nature of PvP and thief gameplay). CS is, of course, taken over it in PvE where the over-time gains are vastly superior.

Kinda makes sense really since both are completely different and in SPVP you are focusing on ways to get in free hits  and all the mobility you can muster to be deadly, especially since SA has stealth mobility related stuff and some cc combined

Edited by Axl.8924
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It doesn't need nerfs if sustained stealth is nerfed.  It's mostly why SA is inherently problematic more than anything.

SA's problem is it promotes and rewards thief for maintaining a very specific and very unhealthy style of play that is inherently catering to the safest and easiest method of playing thief while denying the opponent any real agency in a fight, and offers way too much utility that isn't found elsewhere for promoting doing so.

Conversely, damage-oriented lines like CS offer minimal actualized purpose because when the thief is good enough to not depend on some broken design mechanics people still cry foul anyways, so playing all-aboard the stealth-sustain train is just the way to go about doing it.  Then there's DrD which covers all of SA-based build's problems by also providing a ton of safety, while DE dials the problem of lack of interactivity of the design to 11.

I've been making these statements since 2012 when the trait line was even more egregious than it is now in its design when it offered even more damage and relative sustain for camping stealth, but if thief wants actual, real upfront combat power and playstyle changes/options, the concept of rewarding sitting in stealth needs to go.  Not so much "nerfed" so much as reworked alongside its playstyle.

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