Daredevil - Acro Speardevil Roamer

This is a test build. You may comment and rate it.

Focused on: Strike damage, Mobility and Sustain

Designed for: WvW Roaming

Expansions required:

Difficulty:

Hard

This build was last updated on January 27, 2025.

Overview

A Daredevil roaming build focused on evasion and solid damage pressure, featuring the new Spear weapon from Janthir Wilds. This build is focused on typical roaming activities with the perk of being able to brawl with with others more directly in solo fights. It can also assist in zerg clashes thanks to good survivability and plenty of access to boon strip with

Bountiful Theft

on

Steal

and

Shattering Assault

(Spear 3.3).

Skillbar

Spear

Shortbow

Utility

Skill Variants

Heal

• Channeled Vigor
  for better endurance upkeep and access to dodges but no condition cleansing. Longer cooldown than
  Withdraw
  and can be interrupted.

• Hide in Shadows
  - more stealth access and a stronger heal but losing out on the condition cleansing and dodge of
  Withdraw

Utility

Swap

Bandit's Defense

with:

• Blinding Powder
  for better stealth access but less block and CC.

• Roll for Initiative
  for evasion and initiative regen.

• Seal Area
  for a funny surprise option and better lockdown for Spear's combos. Requires proper planning and baiting opponents.

• Haste
  for a different stun break option. Loses 2s block, but the instant quickness synergizes with
  Impact Strike
  for quick executes that catches many off-guard.

Elite

• Dagger Storm
  ⇒
  Impact Strike
  for better kill securing in engagements. Sacrifices the immunity and escape functionality of
  Dagger Storm
  , though.

Template Code

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Specializations

Variants

• Bounding Dodger
  for slightly higher damage while sacrificing some of the utility of
  Unhindered Combatant
  for condition cleanses (especially immobilize). Can take
  Don't Stop
  instead of
  Upper Hand
  to regain that cleansing, but that sacrifices access to Regeneration and initiative recovery.

Specialization Variants

Acrobatics ⇒ Critical Strikes for higher damage at the cost of less survivability.

• Invigorating Precision
  instead of
  No Quarter
  - gives more sustain, especially when paired with
  Relic of Atrocity
  and precision infusions to get close to 100% crit chance.

Equipment

Head
Dragon

Shoulders
Dragon

Chest
Dragon

Hands
Dragon

Legs
Dragon

Feet
Dragon

Backpiece
Demolisher

Accessory
Demolisher

Accessory
Demolisher

Amulet
Demolisher

Ring
Demolisher

Ring
Demolisher

Spear
Dragon

Sigil

Sigil

Shortbow
Dragon

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x7

Infusion
x14

Infusion
x10

Relic

Burstier Option

Head
Berserker

Shoulders
Berserker

Chest
Berserker

Hands
Berserker

Legs
Berserker

Feet
Berserker

Backpiece
Marauder

Accessory
Marauder

Accessory
Marauder

Amulet
Marauder

Ring
Marauder

Ring
Marauder

Spear
Berserker

Sigil

Sigil

Shortbow
Berserker

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x7

Infusion
x24

Relic

Stats

• Generally try to get at least 16k HP, then switch to Toughness to further increase survivability. Dragon stats can be swapped with Marauder stats based on personal preference of having higher Precision or Ferocity.

• Demolisher is a Toughness variant of Marauder, granting overall better survivability than just running Vitality. If that isn't a concern, switch the stats of the trinkets to either Marauder or Dragon stats based on preference.

• Try to aim for around 70-80% Crit Chance when not running Critical Strikes, filling in the rest of the damage stats with Power and/or Ferocity.
  • When running Critical Strikes with
    Invigorating Precision
    , the goal is to have 100% Crit Chance (or close to it) while under the effects of Fury.

Relics

• Relic of Antitoxin
  for better condition cleansing if fighting a lot of condi builds. Sacrifices the damage boost of
  Relic of Fireworks
  .

• Relic of the Daredevil
  when paired with high Ferocity for high burst and guaranteed triggering of
  Superior Sigil of Blood
  and
  Superior Sigil of Air
  .

• Relic of the Sunless
  for extra surprise burst when using
  Impact Strike
  .

• Relic of Atrocity
  for extra healing, especially if run in combination with
  Invigorating Precision
  from Critical Strikes.

Sigils

• Superior Sigil of Celerity
  over
  Superior Sigil of Air
  for a burst of quickness when using
  Steal
  ,
  Distracting Throw
  , and
  Impact Strike
  (if taken).

Runes

• Superior Rune of the Dragonhunter
  for a bit higher Ferocity over Power.

Consumables

Food

• Peppercorn-Crusted Sous-Vide Steak
  - good stats and passive damage mitigation; standard power food.

• Cilantro Lime Sous-Vide Steak
  - same stats as the above except with life steal instead of damage mitigation.

• Bowl of Sweet and Spicy Butternut Squash Soup
  - non-ascended version of the food above, without the sustain.

• Bowl of Meat and Winter Vegetable Stew
  - more dodging.

Utility

• Superior Sharpening Stone
  or
  Tin of Fruitcake

Usage

General

• This build leverages the more acrobatics and dodging / evasion playstyle of Thief instead of leveraging stealth access - though
  Shattering Assault
  (Spear 3.3) offers stealth access if successfully landed.

• Generally, this build is focused on mobility and dueling, as well as being able to escape when needed.
  Infiltrator's Arrow
  and
  Unsuspecting Strike
  (Spear 3.1) are good disengage tools.

Spear Combos

• Thief spear is a complicated weapon that takes a bit more practice and trial and error to learn how to wield effectively than other weapons available for Thief to use. There are several combo strings to use, for example the most damaging string for a power build is as follows:

1. Mantis Sting
   (Spear 2.1)
2. Vampiric Slash
   (Spear 3.2)
3. Falling Spider
   (Spear 2.3)
4. Distracting Throw
   (Spear 4)
5. Vampiric Slash
   (Spear 3.2)
6. Falling Spider
   (Spear 2.3)

• Initiative costs for spear are higher than in PvE, so the more common combo to use to not run out as quickly is:

1. Mantis Sting
   (Spear 2.1)
2. Vampiric Slash
   (Spear 3.2)
3. Falling Spider
   (Spear 2.3)
4. Distracting Throw
   (Spear 4)
5. Vampiric Slash
   (Spear 3.2)
6. Shattering Assault
   (Spear 3.3)
7. Ashen Assault
   (Stealth Attack)

General Spear Notes

• Barbed Spear
  (Spear 1) is a melee and ranged auto-attack, depending on proximity to the target. The ranged option is a considerable poke option and can whittle down opponents from distance. It can easily make a difference in a fight or chasing someone down, don't forget to use it.
  • Barbed Spear
    (Spear 1, ranged) and
    Distracting Throw
    (Spear 4) both share a strange quirk - they can be thrown in any direction without needing to face the target. The auto-attack won't activate automatically when facing away from a target, but pressing the button will still throw the spear behind at the target and deal damage. Use this while running away or repositioning, for example.

• Ashen Assault
  (Stealth Attack) regenerates initiative when the final stab hits, so make sure to hit at least that final poke.

• Mantis Sting
  (Spear 2.1) and
  Falling Spider
  (Spear 2.3) are the main damaging skills of the spear. These should be prioritized when not needing to gap close, stealth, or rip boons from a target.

• Unsuspecting Strike
  (Spear 3.1) is the main gap closer for the build, other than
  Steal
  . Really should only be used to stick to a target, otherwise prioritize
  Mantis Sting
  .

• Vampiric Slash
  (Spear 3.2) is the main sustain for this build and should almost always be prioritized over
  Entangling Asp
  (Spear 2.2). The lifesteal is significant at baseline without even factoring in Power, Healing Power, or taking
  Relic of Atrocity
  .

• Shattering Assault
  (Spear 3.3) is the source of stealth for spear, as well as ripping boons from the selected target. If the target is afflicted by Weakness, rip an additional boon from them.
  • Steal
    +
    Shattering Assault
    (Spear 3.3) allows Thief to rip a max of 5 boons from a single target in an instant, assuming the target is afflicted by Weakness, which can be applied through
    Vampiric Slash
    (Spear 3.2). Useful in duels and poking at zergs.

• Distracting Throw
  (Spear 4) is a low cost, spammable interrupt if the target is crippled, while also granting the Thief a 7s buff to Damage and Condition Damage when used after a combo finisher (Spear 2.3 or Spear 3.3). Try to maintain it as much as possible, unless you are being heavily pressured and need to block or run.

• Shadow Veil
  (Spear 5) is a 2s block that only blocks a singular attack before ending, unlike
  Bandit's Defense
  that blocks every attack for its 2s duration. It can be useful in a pinch, especially when fighting higher damage pressure.
  • When used after a finishing combo (Spear 2.3 or Spear 3.3), it instead will block 3 attacks. The blocking animation can be cancelled to continue attacking while still maintaining the block - seen as a buff on the bar 24px Shadow Veil (effect).

Shortbow

• WIP

Strengths, Weaknesses, and Counters

• WIP