Daredevil's "Physical" Skills

[Bunny.9834]

I feel like this skill line has been completely left out to rot. 

They are not as good as the warrior ones and definitely won't be as good when the new guardian e-spec comes out. TBH, it was never that viable to begin with. 

 

The most viable skill from this line is the healing skill Channeled Vigor. 

 

Bandit's defense is a semi decent stunbreak/block but pales in comparison to Shadowstep, Blinding powder, and Roll for Initiative. 

 

Distracting Daggers... idk any decent builds that uses this. 

 

Impairing Daggers... it's part of a niche condi DD build but doesn't really add much

 

Fist Furry - never seen this used because it's hard to land and the payoff is not impressive. 

 

Impact Strike - since the nerf to CC damage, this has become even more pathetic. Why would you even consider this when you have Basi Venom and Dagger Storm? 

 

 

[Blood Red Arachnid.2493]

The only one I don't use is Distracting Daggers.  Otherwise I say the opposite:  Warrior physical skills are the ones that aren't that good, because they don't actually provide a toolbox.  They're 3 CCs and an immobilize.  

 

Bandits Defense:  I use this for fighting the sand giant.  The reason is simple: sometimes you need to block.  It's 1.5 seconds of invulnerability, which is great against channeled attacks that outlast dodge.

 

Fist Flurry: This is a staple in PVE builds due to it's high damage and CC.

 

Impairing Daggers:  People don't realize how much damage these do.  In WvW it's only 10% less than First Flurry does, which is why I use it there.  Also, I use it as the underwater version of Fist Flurry.  It really helps to lock down fleeing underwater targets.

 

Impact Strike: I use this for soloing Wyverns, and also against troublesome overworld enemies that require you to use a finisher on them.  Basilisk Venom is great in groups, but solo Impact Strike does more breakbar damage.  

[Vidit.7108]

Not a PVEr I assume?

Fist Flurry: This is a pretty important damage skill in PvE raids, fractals, dungeons, world bosses and bounties. Whenever you have a single target fight this is a part of your standard power DD
Bandits Defense: It's like one of thief's only blocks if you're doing Hero points you probably want this, maybe sometimes in dungeons but it's not aged well as a skill. Overshadowed by other thief cc utilities. 

Distracting Daggers and Impairing Daggers, have mostly fallen out of fashion because other utilities are better.

Impact strike: good single target CC where bask venom will hit trash mobs, also has some small mobility. I think thieves guild will use scorpion wire as an opener which is better CC iirc but it's on a longer cooldown and not as reliable as this.

[ASP.8093]

Impact Strike could use an adjustment (I feel like the chain "expires" way too quick, right now) but being able to really quickly finish downs is actually great value in SPvP and WvW.

[Doggie.3184]

I've played Daredevil main since it's release for all content and rarely ever use the physical skills. 

I might use the heal if I want to stand still cuz Withdraw can be annoying, and occasionally Fist Flurry for Strike missions~ if I feel like it but that's pretty much it. The Guardian ones are so much more useful and impressive looking so far and they literally get a 2.0 upgrade to Fist Flurry that merges shadowstep into it.

 

I'm really not a fan of the idea of making "PvP only" skills, they should have use in both modes, and I feel like the Dagger Throwing skills are just that, except they're not good in PvP and easilly avoided. Same with Impact Strike, it needs an extra oomph at the end in PvE because the finisher aspect is useless. 

Edited August 14, 2021 by Doggie.3184

[Naxx.6203]

"Fist Furry - never seen this used because it's hard to land and the payoff is not impressive. " wtf?

It's mandatory and meta pick for all pve content for daredevils.

[sneakytails.5629]

I have been trying for years to get the physical skills to work in WvW and PvP and its been a very mixed bag. Impact Strike is great for stomps in smallscale but the lack of damage on the CC hurts at times, I have been able to successfully use it as CC for a damage spike but it can be difficult to use due to targeting sometimes it can whiff.

 

I also use Bandits Defense quite frequently and it is very useful.

 

Fists of Fury and Impairing Daggers have been complete flops for me.

 

I also use the trait for physical skills for extra endurance. With active use of physical skills i get an extra few bare of endurance during a fight.

 

Its a fun playstyle, but I agree that its not the best that thief has for competitive play and some skills need to be looked at.

[SlitheSlivier.1908]

I actually really like bandits defense. However due to nerfs, esp to ever-increasing initiative costs and acro-nerfs other skills are more required. 

 

Edit: 

It's not as much of an issue of physical skills are bad, but Thief is in a bit of a bad spot in that there are utility skills that are straight up mandatory for each build. Such as Roll, Shadow step, Blinding Powder, etc depending what you are playing. It limits the options severely. 

Edited August 20, 2021 by SlitheSlivier.1908

[Leo Schrodingers Cat.2497]

The physical skills are pretty good in WvW. 

 

Bandits defense is like thiefs only block. The cool down is short enough to match the timers of things that would normally rip you open. And it gives a knockback as a quick disengage.

 

The distracting dagger is useful if you're not running dagger pistol so you can stop a class's heal and get pulmonary impact off.

 

The heal skill is very strong, just don't use it in the open or out of stealth.

 

And the elite is actually solid for finishing people quickly if you're in an out numbered fight. Immobilize with bow 5 and start the combo immediately.