Thief role in WvW

[SlitheSlivier.1908]

In the past before mounts, Teefs could cross the map the fastest to take campus and such quickly.

Now with mounts, anyone can. Also teefs aren't super helpful in zergs, and with all the nerfs, they can't 1v1 well either.

So what is the role of thieves in WvW? ... obviously apart from free bags when they are on the opposite team.

 

Thanks

[Lan Deathrider.5910]

> @"SlitheSlivier.1908" said:

> In the past before mounts, Teefs could cross the map the fastest to take campus and such quickly.

> Now with mounts, anyone can. Also teefs aren't super helpful in zergs, and with all the nerfs, they can't 1v1 well either.

> So what is the role of thieves in WvW? ... obviously apart from free bags when they are on the opposite team.

>

> Thanks

 

Harassing others. Ports. Snipping the tail and edges of a Zerg. Helping with mass invis with shadow refuge.

[Dawdler.8521]

Thieves are as strong as ever, still have permastealth and can outrun mounts with ease. Their role is the same as before. Thieves have no excuses nor do they deserve any pity.

[Sariel.2143]

> @"Dawdler.8521" said:

> Thieves are as strong as ever, still have permastealth and can outrun mounts with ease. Their role is the same as before. Thieves have no excuses nor do they deserve any pity.

 

Yeah you can outrun mounts, but youll run out of initiative, they catch up and you have nothing to fight.

[Kovu.7560]

> @"Sariel.2143" said:

> > @"Dawdler.8521" said:

> > Thieves are as strong as ever, still have permastealth and can outrun mounts with ease. Their role is the same as before. Thieves have no excuses nor do they deserve any pity.

>

> Yeah you can outrun mounts, but youll run out of initiative, they catch up and you have nothing to fight.

 

I find the utility teleports or steal plus a pistol barrage is enough to knock them off their mount. Melee also works if they don't notice you coming. It's not _no_ investment, but rangers need to put sic 'em & rapid fire on cooldown plus possibly a leap just to start the fight so everyone's expending _some_ resources. Apart from those two and perhaps a lucky rev teleport most professions _can't_ dismount their opponent (unless they do so with their own mount) so that's a plus for thieves. Moreover thieves have a lot of tools to bide time (blinds, teleports, stealth, evades, blocks) if they need a few moments to regenerate initiative before initiating their rotation. Sure they've lost the element of surprise, but it is what it is.

 

~ Kovu

 

edit- I didn't come into this thread to say thieves are overpowered (especially with the current state of necro), just that they have better tools for dismounting than most. It'd put them at #2 below longbow ranger _at the lowest_. You could even place them above lb ranger as they have three instantaneous gap closers not tied to their weapon that allow them to keep up with the mounted player for longer. Ranger leaps are comparatively sluggish.

[Junkpile.7439]

Siege disabler is main job and they can stealth ress lord.

[Balthazzarr.1349]

We have a thief who plays FRONT LINE in our squads. He's a super killer survives as well as anyone. The way he plays and the dps and kills he gets without dying in the middle of a battle is amazing.

 

Anyone that can play a thief like this guy does deserves to be in the group with the most support. l2p is always the key. ?

[SlitheSlivier.1908]

> @"Balthazzarr.1349" said:

> We have a thief who plays FRONT LINE in our squads. He's a super killer survives as well as anyone. The way he plays and the dps and kills he gets without dying in the middle of a battle is amazing.

>

> Anyone that can play a thief like this guy does deserves to be in the group with the most support. l2p is always the key. ?

 

Any more info on the build he uses? Or maybe pm me his username if he is okay with that so he can let me in on the basis of his awesomeness (build)?

[Balthazzarr.1349]

> @"SlitheSlivier.1908" said:

> > @"Balthazzarr.1349" said:

> > We have a thief who plays FRONT LINE in our squads. He's a super killer survives as well as anyone. The way he plays and the dps and kills he gets without dying in the middle of a battle is amazing.

> >

> > Anyone that can play a thief like this guy does deserves to be in the group with the most support. l2p is always the key. ?

>

> Any more info on the build he uses? Or maybe pm me his username if he is okay with that so he can let me in on the basis of his awesomeness (build)?

 

I’ll check with him and get back to you sometime in the next day or so.

 

[Infusion.7149]

Staff daredevil does really decent damage for zerging. However, you must play it evasively along flanks and avoid pushing into opponents with protection unlike spellbreaker warriors , power reapers, frontline revs (power/condi mallyx), and DPS scrappers. You don't need to be in a firebrand subgroup because as long as you don't push ahead of the squad you'll be fine due to evades.

If you are low on endurance you can range pressure with cluster bomb (shortbow 2) and drop poison fields + daze with choking gas on downed.

 

For roaming the sword mainhand is better though, it has cleanses , weakness, and a larger gap closer. You could also try dagger pistol but revealed is everywhere and any AoE puts you out of stealth. Shadow portaling a mesmer into a tower or keep is always useful too if you disengage and survive after a failed capture attempt.

[Balthazzarr.1349]

There ya go. Some tips :)

[lare.5129]

there is easy rotation for thief on wvw: up tag, collect ppl,. find another blob, run, get combat, shadowstep and refuge, waypoint.

[Samug.6512]

IMO thief is still the fastest class even after implementing the mount. Besides, Warclaw was slowed down few weeks ago, and taking into consideration all the ports (sword 2, shadowstep, shortbow, rifle 4) thief can easily outrun anything.

[Aeolus.3615]

They should be pulling and wrecking while flanking players that fall of the herd...

 

I learned that in Discovery channel.

[Dawdler.8521]

> @"Aeolus.3615" said:

> They should be pulling and wrecking while flanking players that fall of the herd...

>

> I learned that in Discovery channel.

And people wonder why others run away from thieves that want to do what they do on the discovery channel.

 

[enkidu.5937]

Thief role? Troll, more than ever :#

[Sovereign.1093]

Tags keeps, kills stragglers , kills banner guy. Assassinates soft toons . So many things it can do and it is graat as long as you know your role

[kash.9213]

You don't need a role in WvW and you can be helpful in zergs. I use two mirror templates for Deadeye and Daredevil that are the same build apart from the Elite with life leech and siphoning packed into stuff I'm doing anyway so I can hang in the middle of everything but I have to stay alert and feel how the map is breathing. I'd stack damage reduction on the Daredevil version but it wasn't killing fast enough and kinda gassed out defensively after the initial burst of fighting anyway, plus the life steal ascended food is pretty cheap to make so that works out. Bring pulls or better control and mod them to do one or two other things.

[Bigpapasmurf.5623]

> @"Jugglemonkey.8741" said:

> > @"Bigpapasmurf.5623" said:

> > I just got called a hacker by a platinum symbol guard. Was a good time. could say i beat him many times to "Oblivion" HAHAHA

> >

> >

> > Claimed to have fam at anet so I told them to tell them that MC said Hi!

> >

>

> This is the point of playing thief, the hate whispers are hilarious.

 

Screen captured the whole convo and had a chuckle with my guildie fam. Once you mention you work at Anet or have fam an anet then discussion is over...you lose. (no he didnt have an anet tag like he didnt remember that its a thing for real anet employees lol)

[Strider.7849]

> @"Sariel.2143" said:

> > @"Dawdler.8521" said:

> > Thieves are as strong as ever, still have permastealth and can outrun mounts with ease. Their role is the same as before. Thieves have no excuses nor do they deserve any pity.

>

> Yeah you can outrun mounts, but youll run out of initiative, they catch up and you have nothing to fight.

 

As a roamer, don't run in a linear path or open field especially if outnumbered. You need to play smart abusing terrain (thieves can do this best). Porting up objects with shortbows (lots of port spots not removed, I spent a lot of time learning them and experimenting), creating jumping puzzles for enemies to get to you, juking, etc.

 

A good spot where you can practice all this is redlake on alpine borderlands, and work your way to discovering as many other areas through the maps. I would say the worst engagements to take as a thief are in open field (i.e. north east of bay, west of spawn on alpine, etc).

 

Also another big tip, make sure your underwater gear is on point both for chasing/killing opposing roamers and as an extra area to juke/kill people. Don't ignore water combat as it's crucial to roaming - as a thief, your best role is roaming and +1, spiking enemies and preventing downed reading in zergs you want to be adding stealth to allies, spiking/picking off people that stray or over extend, killing runners and enemy thieves/mesmers who kite slow moving pugs after capping towers/keeps/SM, and killing tails on enemy zergs. When I had thief I used to get behind enemy zergs and when they took engagements I'd hit their back lines as well.

[enkidu.5937]

> @"Strider.7849" said:

> Porting up objects with shortbows (lots of port spots not removed, I spent a lot of time learning them and experimenting), creating jumping puzzles for enemies to get to you, juking, etc.

thief role = travel guide for self-made jumping puzzles

So, finally we found a purpose :3

But an invisible travel guide doesnt make sense, so remove stealth from thief pls :p

[kamikharzeeh.8016]

the only role would be scouting, that's what the stealth technically is made for. that also is what Wvw thieves in 99,1337% miss to do tho. thieves excell in shitspamming teamchat, gank afkers and other single targets like respawners in thiefgroups or hide inside flipped keeps to portal their zerg in (which shouldn't really work, but does) etc

[Mikhael.2391]

> @"Dawdler.8521" said:

> Thieves are as strong as ever, still have permastealth and can outrun mounts with ease. Their role is the same as before. Thieves have no excuses nor do they deserve any pity.

 

Preach