Stealth is one of the thief's most powerful tools in Guild Wars 2, allowing them to strike from the shadows or to run away if the fight isn't going in their favor. Stealth allows the thief to be invisible to enemy players in PvP and enemy creatures in PvE. While in stealth, the thief cannot be targeted but can be hit by AoE attacks. The thief will appear as an outline to allies while in stealth.Stealth is the thief's friend in Guild Wars 2, allowing them to approach enemies undetected, mount special attacks, and to maneuver around their foes. Stealth is broken when the character attacks. Once the thief is out of stealth, he is unable to re-enter stealth for a few seconds.
A good thief knows when to fight and when to run.
Stealth Weapon Skills
Stealth skills are weapon skills that replace a normal attack for a weapon with a new skill while the thief is in stealth. The stealth skill is determined by the weapons equipped and replace the first skill slot on the hotbar. Some of these stealth skills inflict a condition as well as damage upon a foe.
Stealth Weapon SkillsBackstab Dagger: Attack from the shadows, does double damage if you attack from behind Sneak Attack Pistol: Causes bleeding Tactical Strike Sword: Causes blindness. If you hit from behind, causes daze Surprise Shot Shortbow: Immobilizes foe for 2 seconds The Rippper Harpoon Gun: Causes bleeding Deadly Strike Spear: Causes bleeding and weakness
Skills and Traits That Grant Stealth
There are quite a number of skills and traits that impact stealth for a thief in Guild Wars 2. Some of these skills and traits grant stealth, while others impact the duration of stealth or add other additional benefits.
Skills That Grant StealthBlinding Powder Utility skill that blinds foes and grants stealth to nearby allies for 3 seconds Cloak and Dagger Weapon skill that grants 3 seconds of stealth Hide in Shadows Healing skill that grants 3 seconds of stealth Shadow Refuge Utility skill that applies stealth and healing to nearby allies every second for 3 seconds Shadow Trap Utility skill that applies stealth for 5 seconds when trap is triggered Smoke Bomb Downed skill that applies 2 seconds of stealth
Traits That Grant StealthHidden Thief Shadow Arts trait that grants 2 seconds of stealth by stealing Instinctual Response Trickery trait that grants stealth when you take more than 20% of your health in a single strike
Combos That Grant Stealth
There are also several combos that grant stealth to the thief in Guild Wars 2. For more info on combos, consult our Combo Fields and Finishers Guide.
Combos That Grant Stealth Combo Field: Smoke with Combo Finisher: Blast Combo Field: Smoke with Combo Finisher: Leap
Traits That Impact Stealth
As you can see from the list above, if you want to concentrate on using stealth as a thief in Guild Wars 2, it will behoove you to spend a lot of points on the Shadow Arts trait.Using stealth, a thief can position himself into a devastating opening attack upon a foe. The opening salvo, usually started with a stealth weapon skill, will not only do a great deal of damage, but can also inflict some debilitating conditions upon the foe. Using his various skills and traits, the thief can pop into stealth a number of times during a fight. This allows the thief to always look for an advantage. If the thief happens to be losing, then he can use stealth to run away. Hey, who expects a thief to fight fair? Stealth is a thief's best friend (with stealing being number two), so take advantage of it.
Traits That Impact StealthCloaked in Shadow Shadow Arts trait that blinds foes when entering stealth Cowardly Shadow Arts trait that regenerates health while in stealth Fleet Shadow Acrobatics trait that adds 33% movement speed while in stealth Hidden Assassin Shadow Arts trait that grants Might boon when you enter stealth Hidden Killer Critical Strikes trait that grants 50% critical hit chance while in stealth Infusion of Shadow Shadow Arts trait that grants 2 initiative when using a skill that stealths the thief Meld with Shadows Shadow Arts trait that adds 1 second to the duration of stealth skills Patience Shadow Arts trait that grants faster initiative regeneration while in stealth Shadow's Embrace Shadow Arts trait that removes one condition every 3 seconds while in stealth