Daredevil - Hybrid Pistolwhip
The Official API is experiencing issues; skill, trait and item data cannot be loaded at the moment.
Note: Please note that builds will default to plain icons, these may not be as accurate. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Note: Please note that builds will default to plain icons, these may not be as accurate. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Contents
Overview
A hybrid daredevil build with strong utility and mobility
Skillbar
Slot Changes
Utility
- - a short cooldown stunbreaker against CC heavy builds that grants endurance and an additional interrupt from .
- - gives up poison sharing for a more situational attack that inflicts multiple conditions and grants endurance.
- - another stunbreaker which cures mobility impairing conditions and provides initiative.
Healing
- - only take this if you still have problems with mobility impairing conditions, be aware that you lose out on the 55 endurance that provides.
Specializations
Equipment
Superior Sigil of Compounding Deal 1% extra damage per condition on your foe.
Superior Sigil of Venom Increase Inflicted Poison Duration: 20%
9
Superior Sigil of Cleansing Remove 1 condition when you swap to this weapon while in combat. (Cooldown: 9s)
9
Superior Sigil of Energy Gain 50% of your endurance when you swap to this weapon while in combat. (Cooldown: 9s)
Superior Rune of the Lynx (1): +25 Power (2): +35 Condition Damage (3): +50 Power (4): +65 Condition Damage (5): +100 Power (6): +25% Movement Speed
Wizard Amulet +1050 Power +560 Precision +560 Vitality +1050 Condition Damage
Variants
Sigils
Short Bow
Cleansing can be swapped out for
Superior Sigil of VenomSuperior Sigil of Venom Increase Inflicted Poison Duration: 20%
if you fight against power builds or builds that don't apply a large variety of conditions, such as a burn guardian.
Rune
- Provides more condition damage than power and an entire dodge's worth of endurance on heal, sacrificing movement speed.
Superior Rune of the Adventurer
Superior Rune of the Adventurer(1): +25 Condition Damage (2): +35 Power (3): +50 Condition Damage (4): +65 Power (5): +100 Condition Damage (6): When you use a heal skill you gain 50% endurance. (Cooldown: 10s) - A good alternative that gives increased boon and condition duration whilst maintaining the movement speed bonus.
Superior Rune of the Traveler
Superior Rune of the Traveler(1): +8 All Stats (2): +5% Boon Duration (3): +12 All Stats (4): +10% Condition Duration; +10% Boon Duration (5): +16 All Stats (6): +25% Movement Speed
Amulet
If you wish to have a higher health pool, less power and greater condition damage, then take
Carrion Amulet
Carrion Amulet +900 Power +900 Vitality +1200 Condition Damage
.
Usage
General
- You should always go to the Middle or Far point, in order to share venom and provide group stealth by using the blast finisher (shortbow) into the smoke field from (pistol). Wait for the combo finisher sign to appear as spamming cluster bomb can lead to losing out on the blast finisher and triggering instead, which is not a blast finisher.
- When initiating a fight, try to attack from behind a column or a wall with on sword in order to have a safer escape if you are under too much pressure. Note that has a greater range and will expire after 15 seconds.
- Just before the match starts, Cast and then just as it finishes casting in order to share both venoms with your teammates. If you use the stealth combo, you can cast the venoms after you stealth as your teammates will be within the radius of your venom share.
- Try and share your venoms with as many teammates, minions, clones and pets as possible, as this will lead to more overall damage.
- Dropping over a downed foe will pulse blind, making stomping much easier as the downed foe will be less likely to interrupt you. Be aware that Mesmers, Thieves and Elementalists can move out of the field with their respective downed skills, so it is recommended to cleave them or let them bleed off a node.
- Another option for a safe stomp is beginning the stomp, casting to a safe distance away, then hitting just before the stomp finishes casting. This uses a valuable cooldown and should only be used when you have no initiative left or the enemy is cleaving too hard to stomp on the spot.
Dealing Damage The bulk of your damage will come from applying poison and proccing conditions
Poison not only damages, but reduces enemy healing by 33% per stack.
Immobilize will also poison the enemy due to , and occurs every time you apply Immobilize. Striking a foe under 50% health will inflict Immobilize, following the 20 second cooldown listed on the trait.- The main source of Immobilize is , but the Can't find such skill "Surprise Shot (thief)"! Please refer to our skill index. can be used if the opportunity arises.
- Your dodge is replaced by , which applies bleed, torment and cripple. It is a whirl finisher in combat and can be used in a combo field for various different effects such as:
- A poison field for poison bolts (for example )
- A smoke field for blinding bolts (for example )
- When you dodge you also proc , which applies bleed and cripple every second for 3 seconds to enemies standing in it. if you have opened with the immobilize from then it is more likely the enemy will be affected by all 3 pulses of the caltrops.
- will bleed foes but using as the bomb is mid air and in a foe's hitbox will cause them to recieve all hits of the detonation, inflicting more bleed and considerable power damage.
- is a spammable poison field that dazes foes above 5 stacks of poison. (Note that the poison stacks do not have to come from the choking gas itself all the time, you can hit someone who already has poison stacks above the threshold and still daze them.)
- and your downstate skills also apply poison.
Interrupts
- Interrupting a foe procs . This attack cannot critically hit and the damage cannot be mitigated, meaning it synergises with the high power and low precision of the .
Wizard AmuletWizard Amulet+1050 Power +560 Precision +560 Vitality +1050 Condition Damage - All of the Hard CC in the build comes from: , , , (from behind), and if the foe(s) have 5 or more stacks of poison when the skill lands. (foes dazed by the choking gas will be dazed for ½s every second provided that they remain above the poison threshold. this makes this skill particularly strong as it applies condition pressure and interrupts.)
- poisons, deals damage, heals, grants 2 initiative, rips 3 boons, grants vigor and dazes. The damage from steal () cannot crit, favouring the high power of the build.
- The reason that there is some precision in the build is that there are many power based attacks aside from Pulmonary Impact that can critically hit, and the small amount of precision allows for a significant power damage increase over while having a slightly smaller condition damage output. Carrion AmuletCarrion Amulet+900 Power +900 Vitality +1200 Condition Damage
Defense
- Conditions can be instantly cleansed via and (3 each) however these are important cooldowns and should only be used when you know that the conditions currently on you will be fatal. Due to the thief's outstanding kite potential, frequent cleansing from and switching to shortbow in combat, there should normally be no need to blow your shadowstep and signet in a 1v1 scenario, but do not hesitate to do so if you know you cannot handle the current conditions on you.
- There is also good survivability through all the evades the build has, including , which should be used when you are expecting a burst but don't want to waste a dodge.
- Don't be afraid to camp on shortbow in a teamfight as the weapon can apply a lot of pressure with a hybrid build. It also gives you range and a low cost, on-demand evade.
- The vitality from is the same as what Wizard AmuletWizard Amulet+1050 Power +560 Precision +560 Vitality +1050 Condition Damageprovides, meaning many thieves who are used to playing with the marauder health pool will be comfortable with the wizard amulet. (the power is also identical, therefore the Pulmonary Impacts do as much damage as a power build.)
Marauder Amulet
Marauder Amulet+1050 Power +1050 Precision +560 Vitality +560 Ferocity - in an excellent choice if you know that you will be focused as it is a low cooldown stun-break and knockdown (Hard CC) all in one, which also grants some endurance.
Counters
- Condition transfers
- Chain CC
After S/D Condition's damage output was nerfed, it's been on the steady decline. This is an interesting way to try to remedy that-- give it additional direct damage pressure after going in with the Shadowstep and dodge in the form of pistol whip at the cost of losing flanking strike and slightly less condition damage output and health. The question then becomes, does that trade-off improve the build?
I'm actually going to go against the grain here and say that it's not a downgrade by any means. It still has the same core playstyle of the sword condition thief which is typically 2 in, dodge, faff around, 2 out, repeat. I do really like headshot for interrupting key skills as well. Pistol whip is much easier to play around than larcenous strike, but offers a potential pulmonary impact proc and an evade window almost twice as long, giving it defensive utility as well.
The amulet really doesn't seem to need precision, as the page itself notes, mug and pulmonary both cannot crit. The loss of thousands of health and a fair chunk of condition damage doesn't seem to be worth the net ~12% damage increase on pistol whip.
I kind of like all these ideas and this build certainly has a higher skill ceiling than S/D. That being said, neither build feels particularly great right now. If I had to recommend someone play sword condition thief though, I would likely recommend pistol offhand over dagger currently, with the amulet choice up in the air.