Guild Wars 2 Thief Information

Guild Wars 2 Thief Information by Alaris

OVERVIEW

Initiative

The Thief uses a separate energy bar called initiative to pay for his weapon skills. This separate energy bar has 10 charges, with skills that can cost 5-6 charges at once. However, this bar recharges quickly, at 1 charge per second. This allows the thief to concentrate on movement or stealth while his initiative recharges, and then unload his attacks in quick bursts.

Other special thief skills:

• Shadow Stepping: Thieves can travel instantaneously to a location they can walk to by shadow stepping to it instead. This gives thieves a mobility advantage usable in combat.
• Stealth: Thieves can make themselves nearly invisible. While under stealth, taking damage will reveal them temporarily, and attacking will reveal them.
• Traps: Thieves can lay traps to control areas or surprise unsuspecting foes.

Thieves have a few weapons at their disposal:

• Shortbow (Two Handed)
• Sword (Main Hand)
• Pistol (Main Hand)
• Dagger (Main Hand)
• Pistol (Off Hand)
• Dagger (Off Hand)
• Spear (Underwater)
• Harpoon (Underwater)

SKILLS

Downed skills

1) Venomous Knife: Throw a knife that Poisons target foe. 1 second recharge.
2) Trail of Knives: Throw a knife that bounces off multiple foes. 12 second recharge.
3) Smoke Bomb: Drop a smoke bomb and use Stealth. 20 second recharge.
4) Help Me!: Call for help from allies. Makes you invulnerable for a short while. 20 second recharge.

Both Hands (skill slots 1-5)

1) Trick Shot Bounce an arrow off multiple foes.
2) Timed Charge: Light the fuse on a bomb, and fire it at target location. 3 initiative.
3A) Cluster Bomb: Fire a large cluster bomb that explodes at target location. Press again to detonate the bomb in mid-air. 5 initiative.
3B) ??: Detonates cluster in mid-air.
4) Choking Gas: Fire an arrow that releases a poisonous cloud in target area. 5 initiative.
5) Infiltrator’s Arrow: Fire an arrow to teleport to targeted area. 5 initiative.

Main Hand (skill slots 1-3)

1) Crippling Slash: Slash and Cripple your foe.
2) Dancing Blade: Leap to your foe and strike, before evading backwards. 3 initiative.
3D) Flanking Strike: Slash at your foe, then evade behind them to stab at their back. 5 initiative.
3P) Pistol Whip: Pistol whip a foe, Dazing them, then strike multiple times with your sword. 6 initiative.

Main Hand (skill slots 1-3)

1) Body Shot: Blast your foe and make them vulnerable.
2) Leg Shot: Cripple your foe with a shot to the leg. 4 initiative.
3D) Shadow Strike: Strike your foe with your dagger, teleport directly away and then shoot them. 5 initiative.
3P) Unload: Blast your target with both pistols. 6 initiative.

4) Retreating Shot: Fire a parting shot at your foe, then evade to a safe distance. 4 initiative.
5) Head Shot: Daze your foe with a shot to the head. 7 initiative.

Main Hand (skill slots 1-3)

1) Twisting Fang: Strike your foe to inflict bleeding, vulnerability or weakness.0 initiative.
2) Backstab: Leap at and strike your foe, more efficiently from behind. 3 initiative.
3D) Leaping Death Blossom: Become a whirling blur of blades, Bleeding foes with each strike. 5 initiative.
3P) Shadow Shot: Shoot your foe, flashing suddenly to them for a dagger strike. 5 initiative.

4) Dancing Dagger: Throw a dagger that Cripples multiple foes before returning to you. 4 Initiative.
5) Cloak and Dagger: Stab your target and then use Stealth to slip away. 6 Initiative.

Healing skills

• Withdraw: Retreat backwards to heal. 12 second recharge.
• Signet of Malice: Passive: You gain health by attacking.Active: You gain health.15 second recharge.

Utility – General

• Apply Poison: You will poison foes with your next few attacks. 45s recharge.
• Caltrops: Scatter caltrops around you to cripple and damage foes. 75 second recharge.
• Hide in Shadows: Gain stealth, lost by emerging to attack. 60 second recharge.
• Roll for Initiative: Evade backwards to recharge initiative. 120 second recharge.
• Scorpion Wire: Throw out a scorpion wire, and pull your foe to you. 90 second recharge.
• Shadow Step: Shadow-step to your foe. 60 second recharge.
• Blinding Powder: Blind all foes within target area. 60s Recharge
• Assassin Signet: Passive: You gain Fury.Active: Briefly immobilize your foe. 90 second recharge.

Utility – Traps

• Needle Trap: Lay down a trap that poisons and immobilizes foes. 90 second recharge.
• Shadow Trap: Set a trap, then use stealth and shadow-step to it when tripped, 120 second recharge.

Profession Specific Ability

• Steal: Steal an item from target foe.

TRAITS

Traits are acquired by completing profession challenges scattered throughout the world. Each profession focuses on different activities to develop his or her traits.

The Thief has two general trait lines: Agility, and Shadow Arts. They also have lines for each of the weapons they can wield, separately for main hand and off hand if applicable.

Agility Traits (Primary Trait Line)

• Minor Power: increases your Power by 10
• Power: increases your Power by 25
• Superior Power: increases your Power by 75
• Minor Precision: increases your Precision by 10
• Precision: increases your Precision by 25
• Superior Precision: increases your Precision by 75
• Minor Vitality: increases your Vitality by 10
• Vitality: increases your Vitality by 25
• Superior Vitality: increases your Vitality by 75
• Minor Toughness: increases your Toughness by 10
• Toughness: increases your Toughness by 25
• Superior Toughness: increases your Toughness by 75

Shadow Arts (general character improvement)

Major Traits

• Cloak of Darkness: Blind nearby foes when using stealth.

Minor Traits

• Sleight of Hand: Daze your foe when you steal
• Mechanically Inclined: Your traps recharge faster

Shortbow
Major Traits

• Shortbow Mastery: You do 10% more damage with shortbows.

Minor Traits

• Blinding Arrow: Shadow Shot blinds foe when it hits.
• Prepared Shrapnel: Cluster Shot creates additional clusters.
• Shortened Fuse: Timed Charge fuse is shorter.
• Potent Preparations: Poison from Choking Gas lasts longer.
• Prepared Precision: Trick Shot hits more foes.

Sword (Main Hand)
Major Traits

• Sword Mastery: You do 10% more damage with swords equipped.
• Sitting Duck: Pistol Whip Stuns your foe longer.

Minor Traits

• Go for the throat: Dancing Blade lets you Evade when you charge in.

Dagger (Main Hand)
Major Traits

• Dagger Mastery: While wielding daggers, you do 10% more damage.
• Dagger Mastery: While wielding daggers, you do 15% more damage when behind your foe.
• Ripping Fangs: Twisting Fang has a 50% chance to do two conditions.

Minor Traits

• Improved Backstab: Backstab deals critical hits from behind.
• Sharp Daggers: Your daggers bleeds last 10% longer.
• Snaring Fang: Twisting Fang can cripple foes.
• Dagger Precision: All dagger attacks have a higher chance [?].
• Death Blossom: Death Blossom[sic] gains an extra hit.

Dagger (Off Hand)
Major Traits
No known major traits.
Minor Traits

• Improved Shadow Strike: Shadow Strike immobilizes your foe on critical hit.
• Improved Dancing Dagger: Causes bleed if Dancing Daggers scores a critical hit.
• Lingering Shadow: Shadow Strike cloak lasts longer.

Pistol (Main Hand)
No known traits

Pistol (Off Hand)
No known traits