Thief as of 7/10/2015

Hold on this voice amplification unit isn't working corrECTLY! Oh there we go.

Hey there taller...well everything. The world got turned around last update and you with it. Traits all over the place and things not were they used to be. Here's where we use the centripetal force to sling us to the correct spec setup.

So you still want to stab things and see large numbers? Well you came to right location. You can see our new trait setup in the holographic image below.



The top damage build is still using berserker armor and accessories/jewelery and back item.  Rune choice for armor is still Scholars.

Your weapons are still s/p for trash and d/d for bosses. Shortbow which got turned to poo with the "Can't warp to target" nonsense is still good for blasting fire aoes for some Might stacking; still good for aoe weakness from the poison aoe on 4.

Our utilities are pretty much the same. Can see in the screenshot above. Smoke Screen is our swap out spot. Can make this Shadow Refuge (SR), Shadowstep, Needle Trap, Scorpion Wire, or Signet of Shadows for moving around faster out in the open.

Our elites are pretty terrible. Thieves Guild for some more dps (make sure you're not using this when an ele is trying to iceblock something with icebow 5 as the thieves will using scorpion wire and pull which puts up a stack of defiance and ruins icebow 5). Basilisk Venom to help clear defiance stacks faster (make sure you're adding one by using this). Daggerstorm for the places you need reflects and can also be used in an emergency where you need some health back in a hurry as it will send you back to full health from around 25% with Signet of Malice as your heal.

Weapon sigils:
d/d - Force/Night for dungeons and fractals. I am trying out Force/Air for everything and will get back to you on this.
s/p - Force/Night or Force/Fire - Fire sigil is if you really want some more aoe damage.
Shortbow - Bloodlust/Fire - Not your main damage weapon so Bloodlust stacks can boost up your main weapon damage say prior to a boss fight by kill trash with the bow out and Fire for some more aoe damage.
p/p - Force/Night(Fire) Not a great weapon set by any means anymore (R.I.P. Ricochet) . Still a top choice for some encounters such as the kiting of the Elemental or Dredge mining suit in fractals to use 3 to immobilize the boss under the lava bucket.
d/p - Force/Fire(Night) Mostly used to blind tank certain mobs such as the tentacles during the Jade Maw encounter. This can be done by shadow stepping to one with 3 then using 5 for blackpowder. Just make sure blind is up before it tries to smash you.
Water weapons? Ain't no one got time for dat....not even Anet ooOOOOooOO #shotsfired

Your full damage trait setups will be Deadly Arts, Critical Strikes, and Trickery.

Deadly Arts:
Your first selection is between Dagger Training and Mug as the other is some sort of a joke. After testing, Dagger Training is just plain bad in a power build. Mug beats it by a lot and you now have a health boost every 20 seconds which is nice.

Next up is Revealed Training for that bonus power out of stealth. Nothing new here.

Improvisation got changed and lost its 10% damage bonus making it no longer the top choice. It's Executioner time for all that bonus damage on things under 50% health.

Critical Strikes:
Flawless Strikes is the top damage trait in the first selection here. If you're in a difficult area or don't think you can stay above the 90% health to keep it active, take Side Strikes for some more crit. If you're around 80% crit in a group and no one is giving out Might candy, take Signets of Power to give yourself some Might stacks.

Practiced Tolerance is our next top damage choice. Crit damage everywhere! If you're grouped and no one is putting up a decent amount of Vuln stacks, swap to Sundering Strikes as group damage is more important that personal and everyone wants faster boss kills.

Final trait choice in the line goes to No Quarter for another 250 ferocity. Sitting at 227% this boosts me to 243% during fury. Hellooooo backstabs! You also get the 250 ferocity from any source of fury not just from the trait itself.

If you're doing difficult content or having issues surviving or just want to make sure you're above 90% health for the bonus crit damage from Flawless Strikes and bonus damage from Scholar Runes, pick up Invigorating Precision.

This trait is crazy good now thanks to the fact we can get it and Executioner at the same time. Heal for 5k off a cloak and dagger? Yes, please! A great choice for fractals or any other place you expect heavy incoming damage.

Trickery:
Thrill of the Crime is our selection as it makes sure to give us fury for keeping that bonus from No Quarter active.

Bountiful Theft is up next for stealing things such as Protection and Might from normal mobs and more importantly Bosses.

The minor trait Lead Attacks gives us more damage per initiative so try to keep at least 5 for 5% damage bonus. No skill spamming here.

Finally, Slight of Hand for a faster Steal recharge which also lets you get that bonus damage and heal from Mug more often.

If you're still having survivability issues you can swap out Trickery line for Acrobatics.

Acrobatics:
First up is Pain Response for some Regen from bleeding/burning/poison and clearing the status.

Next choice comes down to what kind of mob you're fighting and what conditions they dish out. Lot of weakness incoming? Take Guarded Initiation to keep that off of you. Lot of knockbacks, stuns, and dazes? Hard to Catch. It's a 30 second cooldown but it gives that 100% Endurace regen so you also get more dodges out of it.

Finally, the cake icing, Assassin's Reward. Heal for any initiative spent. This is a minor heal but combined with the heal from Signet of Malice and Invigorating Precision you shouldn't be dying unless you're out of dodges and tied down to some train tracks with a blood thirsty mob running at you with rusty pitchforks.

You can also add to this massive healing amount with some regen food such as Mango Pie.

Now if you're in a place that has a lot of conditions flying at you and you can't stay on your feet, swap Trickery for Shadow Arts. Such a spot would be the Mai Trin fight in fractals as it's more a survival check than a dps check.

Shadow Arts:
First up is Shadows Embrace for removing conditions while in stealth. Not only do you get a breather from losing agro on whatever you were just stabbing you also get rid of a condition.

Shadow Protector is the next choice as it gives regen to allies you stealth which is fantastic with the initial minor trait in the tree Merciful Ambush which applies stealth to anyone you're reviving and picks them up faster.

Shadow's Rejuvenation is the final choice which allows you to regen health and initiative while in stealth.
So with all those choices just stay in stealth till it is about to drop and get rid of your conditions and get some health back then back to stabbing things.

Consumables:
These haven't changed much really.
For food you have Bowl of Sweet and Spicy Butternut Squash Soup or for us cheapos Plate of Steak and Asparagus

If you're being extra cheap (like me) there's also, Spicer Flank Steak

If you want some more life gain there's the life steal on crit food which I run from time to time. Omnomberry Pie for fractals and Blackberry Pie for everything else.

And of course the classic Mango Pie.

Potions didn't change any and can be found here:

Some dirty tricks for good times:
Change your heal to Hide in Shadows or gain stealth another way. Pick up an Ice Bow. Use 4...it now gets another 200 power from Revealed Training...that'll teach 'em to nerf Improvisation.

Using Ice Bow 4 you notice the aoe is all over the target area. If you want it to all hit your target, hold the attack down so you have the aoe marker up, dodge. While mid dodge let go of the attack. When you land you'll now have aoe all focused on the target so it takes all the damage. This will also work for other large aoe attacks such as meteor storm on ele staff...which you don't care about as you're a thief.

I'll be back if anything gets changed in the upcoming weeks which I'm sure it will. *dodges Nerf bat*
Any questions just post them here, ask in guild chat (which helps everyone), or in TeamSpeak. I'll see you in game but you won't see me.
-Phlimmphlam