The Ryph Build: A Control/Mobile Thief Build

[Ryph]

Based on what I've managed to scrounge up on the wiki, I've come up with this highly mobile, hard to kill build. It could quite as well be called the Bastard build because it will have many players yelling bastard and other obscene things at you as you continually harass and evade people. http://www.gw2tools.com/skills#t;fak...fUa;cYba;bjfZY

The Build's main point is control and mobility with the Sword/Pistol set while having the pistol/dagger to play keep away when needed. This build is full of shadowsteps and dodges galore, just enough to make people through their keyboards in frustration of how slippery you are at getting away. The Sword/Pistol combo is the bread and butter as it provides the control and mobility all in one weapon set. Lots of pvpers will tell you that the kill doesn't always come in the form of burst, and control arguably is the most important factor when it comes to downing someone. My choice of utilities were picked because of the mindset behind the build:

Withdraw - Mostly everyone goes for Hide in Shadows and it is indeed powerful, but I choose this heal because of its extremely short CD(shortest in the game IIRC), built-in evasive mechanic because when you heal, you're typically in danger of some sort and having an escape that grants you a fraction of invulnerability is very handy, and again reinforces mobility on the most mobile profession in the game. What I think is MOST important is the lack of a casting animation. You simply roll back like you are dodging and gain health. Not to mention I don't want to be like every other Thief out there.

Shadow Refuge- for support for allies and another stealth, which would in turn grant you a boost to Ini regen.

Infiltrator's Signet- This is somewhat an enigma because we don't know exactly how much initiative regen the signet gives. I'm going off the modest and reasonable expectation that it gives 10%. Initiative gains are 1 iniative per 1.66sec or .60241 ini per Second(pips for here on out)...

so with the signet you get .662651 pips[.60241+10%=.662651] Now add the trait Quick Recovery 2ini per 10sec [.2 pips] and you have .862651 pips. Now our initial rate of 1 initiative/1.66sec is now 1 initiative/1.15922sec

Spider Venom - This one is mainly used to net a kill on someone. When someone gets low, they'll use a heal. Seeing as how in GW2 you don't have to watch out for healers laying off in the back to pop their guys back up to 100%, the only reliable healing is through self heals. Ideally you would like to put this on as they are getting low, and with the Sword/Pistol just repeatedly spam skill-3 (Pistol Whip, 1sec stun). My traits play into this because of Combined Tactics(Dual Skills return initiative when completed). *OR*...
Roll for Initiative - This could be subbed in place of the venom if you further want to go salmon on your pursuers and slip away.

Basilisk's Venom(Elite) - While looking around the other night, I fell upon something that I thought was absolute pure WIN for the Thief, and frankly if it's still in the game come next BWE, I'm going to use it to cause thousands of players to cry in frustration of how amazing I am... Oh, I'm not talking about this skill itself. Oh no. What I'm talking about is this little gem right here **Rune of Lyssa**http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Rune.
Lots of talk about trait builds and weapons, but not so much about runes. Just scroll down on that page to find that set. That entire rune set would shore up some crit for my build, give a boon whenever I use my low CD heal, and most importantly every 36sec(Remember, Quick Venoms lowers my Basilisk to 36sec CD) I would have a very reliable and powerful tool on such a short CD to cleanse my conditions and give me all boons. The Thief's biggest weakness comes from their inability to shed conditions. They only have 1 utility to do so, and then a trait that removes 1 condition every 3 sec in stealth. Hardly ideal and one that the devs should look into IMO.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

10pts in Deadly Arts - Center around the build using steal as it's primary trump card and get the Quick Venoms.

0pts in Critical Strikes - IMO weakest pvp trait line by far

20pts in Shadow Arts - More Defense, More Healing, Longer Stealth, Stealing Stealths you AND gives you initiative.

20pts in Acrobatics - Remember I said this is a highly mobile build for a highly mobile class right? Shore up some of that low HP and get some higher Initiative gains from Combined Tactics and Quick Recovery. Not to mention swiftness on evade and gaining back endurance whenever you dodge.

20pts in Trickery - Ahh, My favorite line by far... Lower the absurd CD on Steal(45sec! with 20% would make it 36sec), leave behind caltrops on dodge(more synergy yet again with acrobatics line and overall theme of build), and give a powerful buff to yourself and allies whenever you pull out the ace up your sleeve: Steal.

Sorry for the lengthy post, but I've been eyeing this build for a while now and I constantly make tweaks to it. Of course, this could be all for naught when the BWE comes and all the skills/traits are all tweaked and nothing is remotely similar to what I've researched. But for all intents and purposes, I will be using this extensively in the BWE if it is still intact and I will be recording videos throughout the weekend to showcase some things off. I've scoured forums and videos, and I have yet to see anything closely resembling this build. If I've overlooked a forum or video and all this is just pure coincidence, please direct me to said video/forum so I may look incredibly stupid to everyone on these forums, much more so than I already do. Thank you for your time.

[Delias]

http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...ief-Discussion
Doesn't really need it's own thread. :P

[Ryph]

I apologize I didn't think of posting it there. Although on second thought from reading the last few pages it looks like it doesn't fit in with the flow of the thread, oddly enough lol.

[Glytch]

just toss it in we'll rip it apart

[Delias]

I apologize I didn't think of posting it there. Although on second thought from reading the last few pages it looks like it doesn't fit in with the flow of the thread, oddly enough lol.

We (as a subforum, I don't post there much) get off topic pretty easily, ignore the flow.
It belongs where it belongs, whether they like it or not. :P

[Glytch]

We (as a subforum, I don't post there much) get off topic pretty easily, ignore the flow.
It belongs where it belongs, whether they like it or not. :P

kinda like this

[Deleted]

Good choice posting it here instead to the sub forum, mostly nonsence there (to me) . Going to try this since i like to annoy people.

[Hellspawnxxx]

http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...ief-Discussion
Doesn't really need it's own thread. :P

I disagree I never go on that thread anymore because of how offtopic it has become so therefor i would never have seen this well put together build. To the OP thank you it looks great and apprecait you taking the time and courage to create your own thread.

[Ryph]

I disagree I never go on that thread anymore because of how offtopic it has become so therefor i would never have seen this well put together build. To the OP thank you it looks great and apprecait you taking the time and courage to create your own thread.

Thanks! I was up late last night and decided to finally put this build out there for people to critique. While I do like seeing big crits pop up on my screen as much as the next guy, I don't like seeing them show up on me. This game isn't necessarily the killfest that WoW is when it comes to PvP and builds that aren't extremely deadly are very viable. I just enjoy the thought of being highly mobile and annoying, perfectly suited to the territory control PvP found in GW2.

[Deleted]

Thanks! I was up late last night and decided to finally put this build out there for people to critique. While I do like seeing big crits pop up on my screen as much as the next guy, I don't like seeing them show up on me. This game isn't necessarily the killfest that WoW is when it comes to PvP and builds that aren't extremely deadly are very viable. I just enjoy the thought of being highly mobile and annoying, perfectly suited to the territory control PvP found in GW2.

I like the build, and I can see why you've put it together like that. I admit, I'm tempted to nick it myself but I'd rather try for a dagger/dagger + pistol/pistol build. Dont know why, really, just rather like the look of it.

[Squirrelbanes]

Looks like everything I've ever wanted from a thief build

[Ryph]

Looks like everything I've ever wanted from a thief build

The only thing that could be a problem is the lack of offense. Thieves aren't very powerful compared to some other professions, and honestly they need more offense. IMO, Warriors are the cheapest thing in this game and from everything I've seen they are extremely powerful in unskilled hands whereas the Thief requires a lot more finesse to play well. I'm anxious to try this out during the BWE to see if Thieves have to trait heavily into damage just to net kills at the cost of survivability, or if killing is still possible even with more defensive builds such as mine.

[Squirrelbanes]

The only thing that could be a problem is the lack of offense. Thieves aren't very powerful compared to some other professions, and honestly they need more offense. IMO, Warriors are the cheapest thing in this game and from everything I've seen they are extremely powerful in unskilled hands whereas the Thief requires a lot more finesse to play well. I'm anxious to try this out during the BWE to see if Thieves have to trait heavily into damage just to net kills at the cost of survivability, or if killing is still possible even with more defensive builds such as mine.

I'm honestly hoping they are more about subtlety than power. If it's not a glass cannon I'll be very very happy.
I want some more stealthy, that combines cunning with gradual hard to avoid death.
what I want from the thief is exactly what you said: finesse. It just feels like what a thief should be.

[Deleted]

The only thing that could be a problem is the lack of offense. Thieves aren't very powerful compared to some other professions, and honestly they need more offense. IMO, Warriors are the cheapest thing in this game and from everything I've seen they are extremely powerful in unskilled hands whereas the Thief requires a lot more finesse to play well. I'm anxious to try this out during the BWE to see if Thieves have to trait heavily into damage just to net kills at the cost of survivability, or if killing is still possible even with more defensive builds such as mine.

From what I've heard from different sources thieves are supposed to have an just insane output of damage combined with "500" stealths... I've even heards such absurb numbers as 7k heartseeker. If that's true then it has to be nerfed.
But they're also supposed to be like a glass cannon when not stealthing all the time so it requires a little finesse to master the Thief.

[Kelveaux]

I did like the build, but I don't think it's as mobile as it could be. I don't like stealth much at all. So I went with a more mobile build as opposed to a more rounded one.

I tweaked your build a bit and found something that would make me scream in aggravation if someone used this to its full potential against me. It's a sword/dagger main weapon setup with pistol/pistol for emergencies and taking down foes that might counter you (of which I have no idea who it may be, maybe tanky warriors and tanky guardians?)

gw2tools.com/skills#t;kaapk;ecaaaaaaaeUYfUa;cYca;bhYZY

(can't post links since this is one of my first posts on this board)

I think the traits really synergize well, capitalizing on poisons, stealing, and most importantly: evading. The sword/dagger setup will give you some tasty melee combat while evading with your dual skill (3), which, with the minor trait in acrobatics (Expediteous Dodger), gives you swiftness. Top that off with Roll For Initiative, your heal: Withdraw, AND the ability to dodge, you're basically going to be in the heat of the battle the entire time, running with swiftness on constantly, not focusing on stealth, but rather being a squishy distraction that leaves foes throwing their weapons on the ground and begging for you to stand still while your allies pound away on them while gaining from your poisons (Venomous Aura) , your stealing (Thrill of The Crime, Improvised Venoms, Serpent's Touch), and ultimately the sweet victory!

I don't see very high damage in either of our builds, but you will certainly be that fly that will be buzzing around the battle field with constant swiftness, evading, and survivability to make a guardian awe in wonder. I find this to be more of a support/control build as well that will most possibly become nerfed in the future, since with how much evasion you will be capable of, you should almost never get touched if you are skilled and not caught unawares.

[Deleted]

Who cares where it's posted? Nobody's really commenting on the build itself!

It looks good. It looks very good. Having not actually seen the game yet, there's no way I can tell, but on paper that looks incredibly solid. Was reading through the traits thinking "Yeah, they've really put time into finding traits that mesh together well." Bravo!

[Ryph]

I did like the build, but I don't think it's as mobile as it could be. I don't like stealth much at all. So I went with a more mobile build as opposed to a more rounded one.

I tweaked your build a bit and found something that would make me scream in aggravation if someone used this to its full potential against me. It's a sword/dagger main weapon setup with pistol/pistol for emergencies and taking down foes that might counter you (of which I have no idea who it may be, maybe tanky warriors and tanky guardians?)

gw2tools.com/skills#t;kaapk;ecaaaaaaaeUYfUa;cYca;bhYZY

(can't post links since this is one of my first posts on this board)

I think the traits really synergize well, capitalizing on poisons, stealing, and most importantly: evading. The sword/dagger setup will give you some tasty melee combat while evading with your dual skill (3), which, with the minor trait in acrobatics (Expediteous Dodger), gives you swiftness. Top that off with Roll For Initiative, your heal: Withdraw, AND the ability to dodge, you're basically going to be in the heat of the battle the entire time, running with swiftness on constantly, not focusing on stealth, but rather being a squishy distraction that leaves foes throwing their weapons on the ground and begging for you to stand still while your allies pound away on them while gaining from your poisons (Venomous Aura) , your stealing (Thrill of The Crime, Improvised Venoms, Serpent's Touch), and ultimately the sweet victory!

I don't see very high damage in either of our builds, but you will certainly be that fly that will be buzzing around the battle field with constant swiftness, evading, and survivability to make a guardian awe in wonder. I find this to be more of a support/control build as well that will most possibly become nerfed in the future, since with how much evasion you will be capable of, you should almost never get touched if you are skilled and not caught unawares.

The point is not being as mobile as it could be but have enough to where it makes sense. I could load up evasive utilities and take the shortbow if I wanted to flicker around the battlefield, but that wouldn't accomplish much. I looked up your build and there are some things that I offer for you to consider. You have 3 utility skills as venoms, and seeing as how you want a support/control build, you need to tweak other traits and utilities to do so. Mainly Shadow Arts, which from the last few CBTs it has been the staple trait line in PvP. Frankly, no build should be without a few points in it because it offers some defense and healing for the Thief who is very squishy. Venomous Aura should be taken with you build because you have 3 that you will be using often and noticing how you built around venoms, you should be applying these to your teammates for the support.

Also, you have no support utilities on your bar and that's why I chose Shadow Refuge because it has an amazing AoE and is very very powerful for everyone. You said you don't like Stealth, but having a dagger offhand(at this point so far in the game) means you are going to be using it mainly for C&D which is very useful now. Keep in mind that any setup with a sword is a duelist setup. You are going to be highly mobile with it and is the best singular weapon for a 1v1 setup. Sword/Dagger is the best for dueling but noticing you also wanted control, it has very little in terms of that. I chose Sword/Pistol because of the cripple on the chain 1-skill for the sword, Pistol Whip Stun, Blind on Black Powder and the on command Daze from Headshot. Not to mention the stealth skill for sword can daze if hit from behind. So you have a weapon set that only has 1 ability that doesn't offer a control/defensive skill(Infiltrator's Strike).

As for Pistol/Dagger, I chose that when I encounter a nasty warrior or situations that would not suit me jumping into melee, i.e. lots of AoE, traps, etc. The Pistol's 1-skill is a bleed(condition) that benefits from the Malice in trickery and is very good against those heavy armor types. Unfortunately, you have to trait into pistol traits to get the most out of the weapon, and seeing as how neither of our builds focuses on them for offensive purposes, you should drop the double Pistol setup.

Lastly, for Acrobatics, I personally don't like it's Grandmaster minor trait. All of Grandmaster minor traits provide some kind of damage increase, with the best one being from Deadly Arts(Do more damage if they have a condition), and I don't like ones that are very situational or unreliable. It's the reason i didn't go for the one in Trickery, 2% dmg per initiative. I'm not going to be stockpiling initiative to build up my damage as I will be using lots of it on dazes and stuns. But I might revise this opinion later after seeing how my build comes out in practice. For your build, grabbing both the GM minors in Deadly Arts and Acrobatics would be very very nasty seeing as how you have poisons galore and will be dodging. Might want to look into that...

Just food for thought but overall you got the right idea.

[Jovanaar]

Continue please in the Thief Topic