Solo Thief

[Relenterx.6149]

What is a good build for PvE, being able to survive mobs? Because mobs of 3plus enemies especially if there is a veteran are hard to beat.

[Mercurias.1826]

When you get into multiple enemies, I believe the best thing is to swap to Sword/Pistol and Pistol Whip things to death until there is only the one or two veterans, at which point you swap to Dagger/Dagger and focus them down. Keep light on your feet and cross distances with steal so veterans can’t gang up easily,

With Daredevil, utilize the staff and dodges rather than S/P.

With Deadeye, I like to focus on Ranged Combat and pick off enemies one by one, from the weakest to strongest.

[Cirrion.8951]

If you're having issues surviving multiple mobs in PvE I'd suggest S/P. Use the #5 skill to keep a permanent smoke field up and you should be able to cleave down the mobs while taking minimal damage; as long as you are facing 5 or fewer enemies that attack at melee range you should be able to stay alive indefinitely. #3 can be used to speed up the killing, but will leave you open to taking more damage as you won't have the ini to keep the smoke field up permanently. If you're playing with a condi spec then D/D spamming #3 can be quite effective against multiple mobs.

[Cameryn.5310]

I've had amazing luck playing dual-pistols Deadeye with Critical Strikes and Trickery, even up against groups with a veteran in them. You have 900-range constant DPS (via Unload) and ranged steal instead of close-up, and with full Berserker gear (power, precision, ferocity) you're almost always crit'ing down those pesky mobs. For packs with Veterans, you have the elite skill Thieves Guild which gives you leeway to take down the lesser mobs while the Thieves are focused on by the veteran. (I do have a rifle as my other equipped weapon but almost never use it.)

Running dual pistols with this build, I've almost never died except if I've really gotten into trouble... With full malice and full boons, I've pulled off almost 30K in damage occasionally on ONE round of Unload. Run it with a food that gives you health back on crits (some of them are expensive but there's a holiday version that's very cheap, just search for that type of food.)

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vZEQNAqaUn8MBtFjFOBWOBsPhFcCjPXGMPmbHgAQDyLLcF6CA-jhRDwAJUC+c/heK/ApvBg5vXq/AA-e

[reddie.5861]

just use the signet to get HP back on wacking?

tbh i play D/P in PvE with DA/Tri/DD (basically the PvP build)tho if u just 1111 wack mobs to dead u could drop Trickster i suppose for crit strikes and get more HP return on dealing dmg.but i never really have problem with sPvP build in pve.

[OwliciousMuffin.4312]

This could work for you:http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vZAQNAsaWn8lCFOhFmCmOB8PhFwiaLEXrebO4H+m3LAOgGA-jBSBQBA4MAkQ1fMpSwH8AAyn+gIcIA8x+DZU5HA-e

-With sword/Pistole you can drop a blindfield so enemys will barely ever hit you-you have a lot of dodges to stay alive with a Signet to restore your endurance-the critical strikes grandmaster allows you to heal as long as you keep attacking-you have a low CD stunbreak/block-you can quickly teleport away if things go bad with shadowstep-if things go worse the rune will automatically stealth you before you die, giving you time to recover or run away

[Blood Red Arachnid.2493]

For PVE, there are two builds that I like to use: Daredevil and Deadeye.

Gear: Full BerserkerRunes: x6 Superior ScholarSigils: Force + Air

Daredevil Build:Deadly Arts: Mug, Panic Strikes, ExecutionerCritical Strikes: Twin Fangs, Practiced Tolerance, No QuarterDaredevil: Havoc Mastery, Staff Mastery, Bounding Dodger

Weapons: Staff, Pistol + Pistol.Utilities: Channeled Vigor, Fist Flurry/Bandit's Defense, Signet of Agility, Assassin's Signet, Basilisk Venom.

Change utilities as needed. The build works by being highly mobile and using the staff to do a lot of AoE damage in a short time while also evading attacks. The build is a bit trickier to use than the deadeye, but in peak content it is overall better. To use the staff, you'll want to do the following:

1: Dodge twice to get the damage buff with bounding dodger.
2: Use Weakening Charge, then use steal when the animation begins. This will teleport you to the enemy, but fix you in place so you hit with all 3 hits of weakening charge.3: If you want to take things slow, alternate between auto attacking and using staff 4 to blind enemies. If you want to take things fast, spam vault twice then follow up with another dodge + Fist Flurry.

There is a lot of leeway in how the build fights, but that is my general opening. If you want to pace yourself, you can use vault to dodge attacks while doing damage, or use dust strike to blind enemies while doing damage. If you can position yourself, weakening charge is the highest DPS skill the Daredevil has. Enemies with breakbars can't be blinded, so keep that in mind. If you need to disengage you can easily bound away and use unload with P/P. Remember that you get damage bonuses when you don't have full endurance, and for a few seconds after you bound.

It is a bit harder to learn, but a perfectly played daredevil can beat everything in the game. The amount of dodges you get is insane, so you can literally dodge everything.

---

If you want something easier to play, the Deadeye is the way to go.

Gear: Full BerserkerRunes: x6 Superior ScholarSigils: Force + Air

Daredevil Build:Deadly Arts: Mug, Revealed Training, ExecutionerCritical Strikes: Twin Fangs, Practiced Tolerance, No QuarterDeadeye: Iron Sights, Unforgiving, Be Quick or Be Killed.

Weapons: Dagger + Pistol, Rifle.Utilities: Malicious Restoration, Shadow Flare, Signet of Agility, Assassin's Signet, Basilisk Venom.

Change utilities as needed. The build works by either chaining marks to get permanent quickness in melee, or by playing it safe at range with the rifle. The build can be adjusted to be for more group support or for fighting at range with the rifle, but this version is the selfish high-DPS build.

The important thing with this build is that Mark, formerly steal, recharges whenever the marked enemy dies. With Be Quick or Be Killed, you get quickness every time you mark, and with Mug you do damage and heal. Against groups of smaller enemies, they die surprisingly fast. Usually you'll Mark -> Shadow Shot -> Auto attack to death-> Mark another enemy and repeat. By chaining marks like this, you'll have permanent quickness, along with all the buffs you get from spamming the stolen skills. For defense, you can drop Black Powder in a spot, which renders most enemies helpless. Shadow Flare is good for AoE damage. But, for the most part you will be auto attacking with the dagger and using Heart Seeker when enemies get low.

The rifle has weirdly paced damage output, so I'll explain how that works. Against small enemies you'll usually kneel, then Mark -> Three round Burst -> Auto once or twice until the enemy dies -> mark another and repeat. If they're clustered together, use Spotter's Shot to pierce and damage them all. Against a large enemy, you want to pace yourself. Kneel, Mark, Use Three Round Burst, then wait for initiative to reach maximum before using another 3 round burst. When Malice stacks reach their maximum, indicated by suddenly getting a lot of buffs, you'll want to use the stolen skill and spam Death's Judgement. Death's Judgement does a crap ton of damage at maximum malice, so enemies rarely live long afterward.

The Deadeye is easier to play, and it is a lot better at buffing and ranged engagements, but it isn't as evasive or defensive as the Daredevil. If played well, both of these builds cap out at 31k DPS, so it isn't a question of which one is better insomuch as which one you want to play.

[Sifu.9745]

Get more Vitality and/or Toughness if you have problems with survivability. Off course you don't take Berserker gear/weapons, instead take Marauder: you sacrifice maybe up to 7% dmg but you get 30% more health. Or you can go condi d/d + SB Carrion stats (condi, power, vitality) : you get 20k health + "perma" dodge, that really is more then enough to survive veterans. You do maybe 10% less dmg then full zerker power builds.