Thief - Core Power Thief

The community gave this build a rating, making it second-tier: Good

Focused on: Strike damage

Designed for: Open World, Open World General and Open World Core

Difficulty:

Normal

This build was last updated on September 01, 2023 and is up to date for the March 19, 2024 patch.

Overview

A solid core thief build that can be used in most areas of open world. This build is ideal for playing by yourself or with a small group but thanks to its high mobility and the nature of Trick Shot it can perform very well in zergs.

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Skill Bar

Dagger/Dagger

Shortbow

Utility

Weapon Variants

• Pistol (offhand) provides more mobility with Shadow Shot.
• pistol + pistol provides ranged damage with Unload.

Skill Variants

• Withdraw - instant heal + evade
• Hide in Shadows - stealth
• Signet of Agility - if condi cleanse is needed.
• Prepare Pitfall - delayed AoE damage and CC.
• Shadowstep - alternative stun break + condi cleanse.
• Roll for Initiative - reliable stun break
• Tripwire - cc
• Shadow Refuge - to escape from enemies or stealth past them.
• Thieves Guild - high burst on a long cooldown
• Basilisk Venom - strong crowd control if there are allies nearby.

Specializations

• No Quarter is a massive damage boost but at the cost of most of your sustain.

Acrobatics Variant

This variant provides additional defense in the form of extra dodges through Feline Grace and sustain from Assassin's Reward. But all the other traits are very situational, so pick whatever you want.

Equipment

Ascended gear and stat infusions are not required; you can use exotic gear with the same stats.

Standard Equipment

This set uses gear similar to Build:Daredevil_-_Power_DPS, making it an excellent option for general PVE.

Head
Berserker

Shoulders
Berserker

Chest
Berserker

Hands
Berserker

Legs
Berserker

Feet
Berserker

Backpiece
Berserker

Accessory
Berserker

Accessory
Berserker

Amulet
Berserker

Ring
Berserker

Ring
Berserker

Dagger
Berserker

Dagger
Berserker

Sigil

Sigil

Shortbow
Berserker

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Relic

• Rune of Superior Rune of the Dragonhunter and Rune of Superior Rune of the Scholar are interchangeable.
• Other relics include Relic of the Thief, Relic of the Adventurer, Relic of Cerus, Relic of the Cavalier, and Relic of Durability.
• For defense, equip the highest tier Jade Core you can afford. Use defensive food, traits, or skills if required. If necessary, use Knight trinkets.

Consumables

Budget consumables are acceptable for use in open world.

DPS

• Prioritize Steak Ascended food.
• /
• /

Farming

• Prioritize Steak Ascended food.
• /
• (and variants)

Usage

• This build is very easy to play. Open with Steal to get close to your target, then Cloak and Dagger, and Backstab. Then just auto attack until Revealed wears off.
  • When the enemy is below 50% hp, and more so below 25% hp, you can start using Heartseeker, but don't use all your initiative on that because Backstab is still better.
• Against groups of trash mobs, use Trick Shot from range.
• Use Smoke Screen to destroy projectiles and blind enemies.
• Use Basilisk Venom for CC, especially when near other players so they can also gain its benefits.
• Shortbow gives you excellent ranged tagging potential, mobility, and even some CC.
  • Use Infiltrator's Arrow to get around quickly. This skill can take some effort to use, but having your abilities set to Ground Target with Range Indicator (quickcast) can be a good help.

Combo Fields

Main article: Guide:What are Combo Fields

A lot of new thieves are unaware how potent their Combo Blast potential is.

Cluster Bomb is a blast finisher and Heartseeker is a leap finisher. Both of them can be used inside Smoke Screen to gain Stealth. Cluster Bomb inside a smoke field will provide nearby allies with Stealth, the fastest and most reliable way to do it is to click the skill icon on the UI, which fires the bomb directly at your feet completely eliminating all travel time.

By using this combo, you can stealth up to five people, including yourself. This stealth has a maximum duration, so it's a good idea to stack it and then move, finding a spot to stack again before the existing stealth runs off.

In a good party, the thief will only need to use a few blasts; the party will contribute some of their own. Five blasts is sufficient for max stealth, so a common tactic is to use Black Powder with a few blasts from the thief and a few blasts from the party to very rapidly stealth before moving to a new area and repeating the process. Note that you must have Autotarget turned off in the settings to do this efficiently.