so ive currently got my lvl 40 elementalist and my lvl 40 thief
this is how ive set both up:
ele - http://gw2.luna-atra.fr/skills_tool/...m000k00ae8eaeu
thief - http://gw2.luna-atra.fr/skills_tool/...in2k5ak0008e8n ***
*** i'm using the 5% precision > vitality trait which isnt listed on the talent calc
now the dmg disparity begins with the thief. basically im doing this:
- turn autoattack (1) on
- run to 2 nearby mobs
- activate 7 and 8 (the 2 poison skills)
- spam skill 4 (dancing dagger)
- loot
^ i rinse repeat this, i never fight mobs alone because of the way dancing dagger works - its a lot more potent in groups.
so okay now im on m elementalist
- turn auto attack (1) on
- press 7
- use 5 to stun mob(s)
- let 1 do the damage
- press 4 when i'm near death (always happens due to low armour + dmg)
- use 8 after all of 7's charges are used (6th attack, basically)
- all the white im dying to a myriad of huge dmg
--
the dmg disparity between melee (in this case thief) and ranged (in this case ele) is huge - my thiefs damage is literally double, almost triple, what my ele does all the while being able to dodge/escape on command (death blossom evades, in addition to ur endurance, and cloak + dagger + ability 6 stealth you allowing escape). not only this but my elite skill lets me solo anything i want (excluding champions, naturally) cuz i let them tank while they unload huge dmg + conditions (in addition to my conditions).
my build is centred primarily around precision and conditions while my eles build is focused around precision + vital, with power + vital pieces (there are no triple stat pieces yet). and cuz of the way precision > vitality conversion works, i have 500 more hp than my ele - not only this but while my ele is sitting on 31% crit my thief is sitting on 59% crit.
this is just ridiculous.
ive heard from lvl 80 thieves (friends in guild on WoW) that they're running around practically invincible in WvWvW and spvp because whenever they get targetted they just stealth and let someone tank while they absolutely destroy people from the back - remember my lvl 20 trait? +7% more crit when attacking from side/back, meaning my crit is 66%.
as a game of numbers gw2 is just so imbalanced: i originally stated before the game that thieves were terrible (and they were), but i hadnt played in the final beta weekend to see the changes and it seems like eles got absolutely gutted (i remembered going around gendarren fields taking on 3-4 pirates at a time and killing them b4 they got in melee range).
it doesnt make sense for a melee to do 2/3 times the dmg of a range - especially the ele because the moment the thief gets in melee range its game over for the ele.
perhaps im playing the ele wrong and playing it like my thief where i can just lolol around and never die, but it seems a lot harder to play. to the point where im levelling in kessek hills (at lvl 40) because i know the massive zerg there can just farm DEs / hearts for me, essentially.