"Specter: Support type of Thiefs" Then why Only Condition?

[Akym.6387]

Hi, Thief main here from the start. My question is "What are your toughts about this?" I like all classes of Thiefs  but I would also like to see Specter as pure healing and barrier applying class or at least boon applyer, but every single one of the Specter users are AlacDPS's or pure Conidition Damage dealers, there is a bit of a barrier but even with all of the support runes, armor, trinkets and weapons you cannot make a build that is purely healing or barrier or clensing. It must be Hybrid no matter what, yeah some of you will say that you guys use build to be support type, but it isn't, it's always Hybrid. If you use all Healing things I mentioned before, it...basicaly...doesn't do anything, you can heal, but the build and style does not do much, or anything.

[draxynnic.3719]

I think heal alac spectres exist, although they're likely to be using something like plaguedoctor's instead of minstrel's (but that's okay, most healers use something with SOME token damage stat, like harrier). Thing is, the build requires shifting between enemy-targeting and ally-targeting to work effectively, which makes it awkward for most people to use. AlacDPS, by contrast, is fairly simple to run.

[kash.9213]

I have a condition heavy template and a heal heavy template in WvW. They're both pretty close to the baseline raid templates because adjustments over time kind of bring them to that baseline. Both can hang in blobs and both are strong playing support, but that support sort of weaponizes allies anyway. 

I'm not saying Specter is where you want it, it's more of a responder and Fixer-Upper (I even use that title in WvW), but my healing template can be clutch, and I could go even heavier into healing and boon duration with stats, traits, and modifier slots like sigils. 

I'm pretty sure if you went hard into healing everything, you would probably end up with topped off Might and whatever else most of the time since you're supporting a group or squad. On both templates, Rot Wallow Venom is not slouch if your allies know how to light up an area. 

[Doggie.3184]

They are afraid of Thief doing burst damage cuz people will complain about getting hit hard out of stealth so they always favor us being condi builds where the damage can all be instantly deleted with cleanse as counter.

Edited January 23 by Doggie.3184

[draxynnic.3719]

5 hours ago, Doggie.3184 said:

They are afraid of Thief doing burst damage cuz people will complain about getting hit hard out of stealth so they always favor us being condi builds where the damage can all be instantly deleted with cleanse as counter.

The irony being that I recall a lot of people complaining about stealth+condis in the past because, as the argument went, a condi thief or mesmer could just deliver a pile of conditions and then hide in stealth while the conditions did their work.

[Za Shaloc.3908]

How do you arrive at the idea that it is always hybrid? Is it because in shroud you have to land your shroud skills on enemies in order to heal? Because of rot wallow venom causing passive torment application? You can very much make Specter to be a dedicated healer despite there being a bit of an inherent hybridity to it. It just means that if you are using stats like Minstrels, the significance of that hybridity is decreased since you are sacrificing potential damage stats in favor of tank/healing stats. But I wouldn't say that is a unique thing to Specter. Take Tempest, for example. You will still be rotating through plenty of skills that do damage due to the supportive/secondary effects on them. The relevance and impact of that hybridity is determined by your stats, traits, etc.

Are you of the opinion that Anet should rework shroud and scepter to be purely supportive? I don't think that will ever happen, nor do I think it needs to.  That is just not how ANet designs elite specs. Not to mention that a strictly supportive elite spec on Thief doesn't fit in super nicely to the core class itself. 

[Zacchary.6183]

On 1/23/2024 at 8:52 PM, draxynnic.3719 said:

The irony being that I recall a lot of people complaining about stealth+condis in the past because, as the argument went, a condi thief or mesmer could just deliver a pile of conditions and then hide in stealth while the conditions did their work.

Its actually just stealth. But even if anet somehow removed it, they'd still complain. So actually its just players being bad. Someone feel free to prove me wrong though.