Thief or Elementalist...

[BlueEyes.6832]

Hey all,I'm new to the game and I'm deciding whether to main thief or ele, I have a few questions, which is currently more viable in 5v5, which is more 'fun' to play?I'm also wondering if this https://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Elementalist_-_Ember_Hybrid_Signet_D/F ele build is viable still?Thanks :)

[Alatar.7364]

Hey there,it all comes down to a personal preference, really.Both Professions are very viable in PvP, but if you by "5v5" mean a proper fight of 5v5 on point, then Elementalist is definitely more viable.Regarding fun: Both professions are really really fun. However they are vastly different.

• Elementalist is more flashy and a lot more complex (skill rotation) with loads of different animations and ways to play/ builds. Is far more required and useful in team fight than Thief. And totally different role than Thief.

• Thief, while being quite hard to play, is more simple and a bit more straight forward than Elementalist with almost no flashy animations or no Cool effects. However as a Thief in a sPvP Match, your rotation and decision making will get much more complicated than the ones of Elementalist.

Elementalist = team support and healsThief = Decap/+1/steal beast, etc.

The Build you have listed is not only NOT Viable anymore it is also non-existen anymore as Celestial amulet was removed long time ago and such role this Elementalist was filling is not required/expected anymore. Of course you can play whatever you want but if you want to be Rank-Wise viable then you'd have to follow current Meta or Build with similar role as its Meta build is the reason why is Elementalist wanted in sPvP a lot.

[Alatar.7364]

If you had any questions regarding Thief, especially in sPvP, let me know or ask in some of the dedicated Threads on the forums.However I can provide almost no high-level insight on Elementalist except it's Role and Basic Mechanism and Rotation.

[Evil.1580]

If you are new to the game, take a thief.

However, if you play on a piano and if you have really fast fingers with the ability to press 5 keys per second and if you want to play with 25+ skills, and not just 1-2 (in the case of the thief), the ele is your profession.

This is how the things work currently:

ELE player:

Thief player:

Regarding PVP, here is a nice BUILD FOR ELE, an exploit. Now this is an old build but still work in 2017.

[Alatar.7364]

@bOTEB.1573 said:If you are new to the game, take a thief.

However, if you play on a piano and if you have really fast fingers with the ability to press 5 keys per second and if you want to play with 25+ skills, and not just 1-2 (in the case of the thief), the ele is your profession.

This is how the things work currently:

ELE player:

Thief player:

Regarding PVP, here is a nice BUILD FOR ELE, an exploit. Now this is an old build but still work in 2017.

I want to be smashing the Thumbs Down button like an autistic monkey right now, but I am just gonna respect others opinion instead =D

[Corrada.7304]

For new? ranger ;s but you want thief or ele.. so hmm take thief :)Remember you can create both classes, play few levels and decide :)

[BlueEyes.6832]

Thanks for the replies, so elementalist sounds more my thing, while I am totally new to GW2 I generally prefer higher focus, more skill rewarding classes. Thanks for that cheeky exploit vid ;) I think I'll avoid skubby builds however :PSo is there a particular "meta build" right now or is it more dependent on how well you learn the class? If so it would be cool if I could get a link to it :)

[Alatar.7364]

@BlueEyes.6832 said:Thanks for the replies, so elementalist sounds more my thing, while I am totally new to GW2 I generally prefer higher focus, more skill rewarding classes. Thanks for that cheeky exploit vid ;) I think I'll avoid skubby builds however :PSo is there a particular "meta build" right now or is it more dependent on how well you learn the class? If so it would be cool if I could get a link to it :)

Just use this site for Meta-Builds.However D/D Elementalist, which is not present in the list, is viable and very fun as well, as I was taught by my Guldie.

[Leo Schrodingers Cat.2497]

@Alatar.7364 said:Hey there,it all comes down to a personal preference, really.Both Professions are very viable in PvP, but if you by "5v5" mean a proper fight of 5v5 on point, then Elementalist is definitely more viable.Regarding fun: Both professions are really really fun. However they are vastly different.

• Elementalist is more flashy and a lot more complex (skill rotation) with loads of different animations and ways to play/ builds. Is far more required and useful in team fight than Thief. And totally different role than Thief.

• Thief, while being quite hard to play, is more simple and a bit more straight forward than Elementalist with almost no flashy animations or no Cool effects. However as a Thief in a sPvP Match, your rotation and decision making will get much more complicated than the ones of Elementalist.

Elementalist = team support and healsThief = Decap/+1/steal beast, etc.

The Build you have listed is not only NOT Viable anymore it is also non-existen anymore as Celestial amulet was removed long time ago and such role this Elementalist was filling is not required/expected anymore. Of course you can play whatever you want but if you want to be Rank-Wise viable then you'd have to follow current Meta or Build with similar role as its Meta build is the reason why is Elementalist wanted in sPvP a lot.

Adding on... Thief is heavily about decision making, situational awareness, prediction, and outplaying in PvP. Despite your weapon skills having no cool down (Unless you're talking about that piece of shit nerf on the stealth attack), You can't face roll like you can with other classes. And your defensive options aren't really the best. You have some of the worst condi-cleanse (You have billions of ways to remove movement based condis and stun, but when you get hit with Torment, Poison, Bleeding, and burning, you're kinda SOLed as you're now dealing with RNG and Condi-application order). It's bullshit that you don't have a lot of self-sustain (you have quite a lot) built into your kit, but you're very rarely speced for healing in most of your builds. This was better back when specializations affected your stats.

As a thief, you should never fight fair, even though you can do it. You should squeeze out every advantage you can.

Elementalist is more on the lines of positioning. Eles can 1v1 pretty well. And they certainly aren't squishy depending on how you built them. With Ele's it is all about being able to make the most out of your abilities. Trying to throw an AOE onto someone who's running at you is a bad idea. But placing the AOE at your feet is a much better idea as it not only punishes them for staying next to you, but it can force them to back off and put you at a range you'd much rather be in. Generally though, Ele's are all about team fighting. You'll rarely find one on the front line. And one that was built for Team fighting will die pretty damn quickly if a Thief comes out of no where and no one bothers to save you. Not a common occurance... as most pug players tend to have thieves as roamers and will rarely be found in team fights. I however... always look for some way to give my team an advantage.

[Demeth.5816]

Ele has a lot of tools to play with its pretty satisfying.

[Zenith.7301]

Thief is in a much better state than ele.

It is an easy top DPS spec in PvE.

It is king of roaming in WvW due to its unparalleled mobility and escape options.

It is irreplaceable in spvp. No other class can occupy their roamer/+1 spot, unlike ele who can be replaced with a druid.

As ele, you have bad, high risk low reward build options in PvE.

You are weak in WvW thanks to the meteor shower changes, utterly helpless in any 1v1 scenario as a staff ele.

You only have the option of a bunker healer in spvp since ele baseline survival and offensive options are not viable in spvp as you'll be food to thieves without a bunker spec.

[Player.9621]

Ele has flat feet whereas thief is highly mobile

[Ashantara.8731]

I think both professions are challenging for a new player. I would go with elementalist, though.

But in the end, really, no one can give you a recommendation, because everyone has to find out for themselves which profession(s) suit(s) their playstyle best and which they consider the most fun. :)