THE GUILD WARS 2 BLOG KREWE LOVES THE THIEF!

Guild Wars 2 Thief

The sixth Guild Wars 2 profession to be announced, the Thief, is a deadly master of stealth and surprise. Able to wield a combination of pistols, swords and daggers, or a short bow for ranged attacks, this elusive acrobat uses deadly hit and run tactics to efficiently dispose of enemies. Unmatched in single combat, the GW2 Thief is able to steal items off foes and turn them into weapons to use against that foe!

To play the Thief requires a somewhat higher degree of skill than some of the other professions, as you're relying on mobility and evasion to keep alive. Unlike the Assassin in GW1, the Thief is more of a hit and run pressure character, dealing damage and then darting out of combat to safety using his stealth abilities.

The short video below is from the Guild Wars 2 closed beta, in February 2012.
It displays the contents of the hero panel, showing the various
weapon skills, slot skills and traits available to thieves in GW2.

Instead of having weapon skill recharge times, the Thief uses "Initiative" to power his offensive arsenal. Starting with 10 points of initiative, (which recharges at the rate of one point per second both in and out of combat), the Thief can attack with a flurry of rapid-fire attacks which have ZERO recharge time! There are Traits that will cause certain skills to cost less initiative. Thief Heal, Utility, and Elite skills do not cost Initiative and still have a recharge cost.
Here's a video from gamescom 2011 showing a Sylvari Thief in action.

WEAPONS

Guild Wars 2 Thief The thief can choose from a mixture of melee and ranged weapons :

  • Main Hand: Sword, Dagger, and Pistol
  • Off Hand: Dagger and Pistol
  • Two-Handed: Shortbow
A running, jumping female Human Thief wielding a sword and a pistol uses Scorpion Wire to dispose of an enemy.

SKILLS

Above their skill bar, Thieves have a special skill called "Steal" that can be used on enemies in GW2. Stealing doesn't break stealth and it can't be used often but it does give you a free Shadow Step to get to the target before stealing! It doesn't steal an actual item from an opponent, but instead generates an appropriate environmental weapon based on the monster or player that they stole from. Stealing always pockets the item, allowing you to use your regular skills until you decide to press F1 to pull the stolen item out, use it, and return to your regular skills. Steal does not start its recharge timer until you use the stolen item.

For example, when stealing from a moa bird, a thief might get a handful of feathers, store it for later use, continue using their regular skills, and at just the right time, use the feathers to blind the moa, (or a new target), and stealth the thief.

While the Thief is stealthed, the first skill for every weapon has a skill that replaces it. For instance, the first pistol skill becomes Sneak Attack, which is a rapid-fire attack that causes bleeding. Another example... the first dagger skill becomes Backstab, which does increased damage when used from behind the target.
In the video below the male Human Thief uses his Steal skill in a battle with a couple of overgrown trolls in GW2.

Thieves in Guild Wars 2 have a number of unique and deadly skill types at their disposal :
  • Stealth - Gives the Thief the ability to disappear, making them invisible to enemy players and able to ignore aggro. However, when a thief attacks it will end stealth mode. Also, when in stealth mode the thief can still take damage which will reveal them for a short time. Stealth has a limited duration and some stealth skills break when the player moves. Stealth is most often used as an escape mechanism.

  • Shadow Stepping - This skill allows Thieves to disappear from one location and then instantly appear at a different location, enabling them to get into and out of battle quickly. A thief may only shadow step where normal movement is possible and can't use it to teleport through a gate or other blocking area.

  • Traps - Thieves use traps to ambush enemies and control areas. The Shadow Trap for example, is a trap that puts the Thief into Stealth mode and Shadow Steps them back to the trap's location.
A shadow-stepping Asuran Thief destroys a group of foes using Cluster Shot...

The Thief's skillbar differs from other Guild Wars 2 professions when using a main hand and off-hand weapon combination. Skill 1 on their bar is always free, but the other weapon skills all cost Initiative instead of having a recharge timer. Their first two skills come from the main hand weapon, while the last two skills come from the off-hand weapon. The final skill, called their "Dual Skill", is determined by both weapons. Dual Skills are special skills that GW2 Thieves acquire in slot 3 of their weapon bar. A dual skill is determined by both main hand and offhand weapons, and can vary depending on the order.

For example, a Thief with a dagger and a pistol will have Shadow Shot as their Dual Skill while a thief wielding two daggers will have Leaping Death Blossom as their Dual Skill. The shortbow is the one exception to this rule as it does not have a dual skill.
A Charr Thief uses the "Dual Skill" Shadow Shot to quickly end a battle.

The Thief has probably the strongest support skill in Guild Wars 2. It’s called Blinding Powder; you ground target it, it hits all the enemies in that area and blinds them all and it cloaks all the allies in that area at the same time.

The thief’s traps can also be supportive, as they knock down and immobilise. Thieves have smokewall that they can throw up and block arrows; scorpion wire that allows them to pull enemies off others as well as cripples and dazes.

A female human Thief uses Leaping Death Blossom one a trio of bad guys...

Along with the Guardian profession and Norn class, the Thief made its debut as part of the Guild Wars 2 playable demo at PAX East 2011 in Boston, MA.

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