Make sure you don't cancel your scepter 3s. Each cast has 2 cast bars (one to summon the projectile, one to send it) and if you cancel it with steal, enter shroud or (I'm not sure about these ones) by queuing another weapon or utility skill your damage will disappear
Good video again! Some notes - as you experienced with Heal Specter, this build's Alacrity is granted around another player, not the Thief themself. That can be annoying on fights with random spread mechanics. - F1 Siphon grants boons, restores 2 Init, applies long duration Poison, and grants 25% Shadow Force. That last point is crucial on fights with high incoming damage pressure like Boneskinner. - the 'below 50% target HP, apply immobilize to poison' is rather unremarkable damage - it's noted on the SC page for Condition Alacrity Specter, but when swapping out Prepare Thousand Needles we lose our only source of Bleed to trigger Relic of the Fractal. Simplest option is to swap Quick Pockets (Trickery grandmaster) to Deadly Ambush. Can also swap to Relic of Akeem and use Shroud 5 off cooldown to trigger the relic.
On boneskinner 3 things to remember, 1. is to have bubble, whoever in party can block projectiles will help with shroud health 2. IF after spending it initiative we have like 1-3 initiative, wait a sec so we can use skill 3 again so we have ZERO initiative while going shroud, that one tick will allow you to use one more skill in shroud. 3. Third thing is to use shroud 3 skill, it has EVADE FRAMES, so it helps prolonging shroud. So adding point 2 with 3 will give at least 2 more skill usages. Instead basilisk i use thiefs, more dps but less CC (yes, those clones do CC) , shroud 3 has fear so its also a CC, using it doesnt hurt because we will give more alac. Most of the times CC is enough so shroud 3 does the job, even thou we dont have to.
One of the better adps spec in the game. Specter adps can basically become your backup support for no dps drop. Skill 6 is a group heal. Scepter has barrier, protection and heal for free. The same trait that specter needs to give group Alac also spread out the Might from Shroud autoattack, cleanse from Shroud 2 and heal from all Shroud skills to 5 targets. It even gives 3 stacks of Stability from Shroud 5 in cases of emergency. For a tiny dps drop, pick Traversing Dusk trait over Larcenous Torment and now your Skill 6 well also gives group Resistance.
I don't see anyone saying it for some reason so i'll add here: 1) same as specterheal+deadeye it has countersynergy. Yes, thieves fucking hate each other. So, when you are playing condi thief make sure you don't have another condi thief in your party. It includes condidps daredevil, deadeye and adps specter. Huge chunk of condi thief damage comes from venoms and VENOMS DON'T STACK. If two thieves use venoms at the same time, they will overlap; 2) the preparation cast, along with long activation time and channeling, has a downside of being stuck to one place. Unlike traps which go off immediately when you cast them under enemies feet you have to keep in mind that for this thing to work properly you need at least: 0.5 sec of channel 3 seconds of arming time 0.5 sec of you reacting to armed icon and pressing it again 5 seconds of pulsing aoe + time for conditions to actually deal damage. It applies 16 seconds of poison per pulse, so overall to get full value out of this skill you need 9 seconds of boss standing still at the same place, and 25 seconds overall of said boss not going invulnerable or anything like that. It is a huuuuuge downside of this skill because there's not too many encounters in the game that actually make it viable. 3) just as a specter healer, the alacrity boon pulses around tethered ally. If that ally starts running away from the group etc. you are not providing alac anymore; 4) due to poisons, when the amount of players alive drops, your damage natually lowers.
A lot of people mentioned (and also in the video mukluk states) that they dont like the trap and run another venom or utility or whatever... in that case make sure to adjust the build to have another bleeding source as u wont proc relic of fractal otherwise or choose another relic I didnt see it in the comments or video so just to keep in mind
Like others said, I stay in shroud longer because the alac it gives seems like it is just barely enough, and never seems to give me 100% uptime without a few more haunt shots. This class and Power Quickness Herald are my two favorite classes, since I don't like going full DPS, but healers do so little damage by themselves that I end up playing support DPS instead. You should definitely check that one out as well!
When I'm playing group content it's usually non-CM fractals, and power Rev (either quick Herald or alac Renegade) are easily my favorite. Easy to gear and play, bring crazy utility that fill in really well for your comp between stab, reflect, mob pulling, boon stripping, etc. Just a really flexible tool set that I find is rarely unwelcome. even if power alac Rene isn't favored as much anymore I've never been kicked for it or gotten any flack.
@@Lazergicianyep, power ren is an old times favourite Unfortunately after the GS nerfs it got hit pretty hard But i hope the devs will give it some love soon The rework to kala was pretty awesome!
One of the cool things about alac specter is that they're one of a few specs that can apply boons at a substantial distance, you do not always have to stack and this makes them great picks for roles like flak and pylon kiting that not every boondps can reasonably do effectively.
I've kited twice as alac specter in Sabetha. First time was when wells gave alacrity, which works since I drop my wells into group after flak then go back. Second time was after shroud alacrity, which is even better since I don't even have to leave. Also, I could take Shadowstep and bait greens as well, since the flip skill recalls you back to your kite position. Frankly one of the most fun times I've had playing a specialized role.
I kind of often run the Venom that gives Immobilize instead of the trap doe to the trap clunkyness (unless the boss is very stationary). It works because you have a trait that makes all Immobilize you do also apply poison. Offhand pistol usage should be rare. It's nice for the Cosmic girl on 98 or Sorrow on 99. And yeah, I'd also stay in shroud for a bit longer. Golem DPS isn't accurate cause you're not giving the venoms to others, and that's a TON of your dps. As for Boneskinner, yeah, that's just not a good fight for Specter. F1 gives you a good chunk of shroud, so you just have to try and get enough in between your shroud dips. Not your fault for playing badly or being inexperienced, it's the communities fault for deciding that ignoring mechanics is the way to do that fight.
I KNEW I could count on you for an honest evaluation of this build. I have been running it for almost a year and have really enjoyed it. I, too, get around 20K DPS, but the intangibles make it not only fun but a benefit to the team (not so much with 10, but 5 works really well). Not the best regarded class or build out there, but I appreciate your honesty. Who knows? We might see a few more Specters out there now. 😊
Small suggestion: instead of the Thousand Needles trap, I prefer to use the Well of Sorrow (the green one) because even if it's less damage and no CC (TN gives a bit of Immobilize and Cripple), not having the 3s delay and having a shadowstep is more comfortable.
I cannot WAIT until Anet finally makes poison application off-healing/healing a real thing. As it stands right now, one trait in shadow arts gives a healthy amount of lifesteal on allies for venom usage, but the corresponding trait that applies venom when going into stealth only applies it to your character and not those around you so the lifesteal component can't be maintained. Imagine if it could be, it would be an absolute blast for a dps/support off-healer. Probably not enough to main heal, but it could supplement a main-healer for sure.
I love your vids about the support/support dps builds. I was so excited when specter came out so thief could support and charr thief is my main/first toon I made when GW2 came out. Looking forward for the other support dps
I swap out the preparation for Devourer Venom, because if a boss is very mobile that preparation is absolutely ineffective and breaks the flow. Devourer Venom works amazingly well with Panic Strike in Deadly Arts. Devourer applies immobilize condition. Note about Panic Strike: There isn't a cooldown for applying Poisoned on immobilize. The tooltip is just confusing to read. Every single immobilize will apply poison which is enhanced by Potent Poison - Poison you inflict has increased damage and duration. Other Deadly Arts traits apply additional stacks of poison. TLDR: Devourer Venom is a great replacement for the preparation without changing a single trait vs bosses that move around a lot.
alacdps thief was my first boondps and is still my main for doing daily fractals etc, thief is just my overall main now, has been for a while. very strong solo open worlding builds. strong boondps and strong pure dps, also very mobile and fun in pvp so ye :p fairly simple to learn class but also has a fairly high skill ceiling if u wanna go ham
To maximize both damage and alacrity uptime, you want to enter shadow shroud when you're nearly or completely empty on initiative (barring the start of the fight maybe, just so you can get alacrity up on the group). You then want to stay in shroud until your initiative is either nearly full, or has just finished filling up. Basically this should mean you're in shroud long enough to use the 4 skill twice usually, if you want an easy way to time it. You should also be using siphon off cooldown, but you can delay it slightly to also refill initiative for a slight dps boost. Also the boneskinner kicking you out of shroud is not you. They nerfed the amount of damage shadow shroud can take a while back for PvP and PvE and never really unnerfed it for PvE,, which in my opinion it didn't need as bad of a nerf as it got.
on Dhuum fight, you can enter shroud when taking the greens and you will not get yeeted to get the orbs. I usually do this on 10% so I won't have to fight with others collecting orbs. But you will get bugged after the fight tho, you will get constant damage.
Mukluk, you should play into the youtube meta and make a good/fun to play tier list for each support class compared to its respective supports once you are done with each section. (like compare all the QDPS supports, then once you are done with all of these compare all of the AlacDPS supports). Might make the feedback easier to initially digest for Anet too with it being condensed in a few videos rather than one for each support.
Wells do not apply alacrity anymore with Traversing Dusk. Instead of Alacrity they grant resistance on their initial impact. Only Shadestep trait and the Shadowshroud abilities generate alacrity now. Or is there something I am missing about wells? Your comment I assume was for release specter but it got nerfed to this version, because you would get 100% alacrity uptime just spamming wells, teleporting like a maniac.
I saw on Discretize fractal guides that they were running few different builds, and one of them contains both enough ritualist to have boons duration and keep alacrity up 100%, and Viper, to get more dps, and since you're running a little bit of Ritualist you're also not that squishy, I think it can be a great option to increase your overall utility ! I myself isn't advanced enough in the game to have full Ascended stuff + Viper stats but if someone has tested it please give feedback !
i love condi thief in general, but i really hate that trap, honestly i'd just go for another venom, even the healing one isnt that bad imho, and maybe, as second weaponset, i would probably go for shortbow instead of pistol, i mean, you would spam 4 as well, but at least it would build poison and make aoe damage easier if there's a lot of adds my specter is parked on a chest in cantha for ages, so i'll probably try this someday
I have palyed this for over a year. but i had made some changes. dps loss but more suport. i use well of silence insted of the trap. 200 extra cc + it cure condision. the steel is an excellent boonrip. really usefull in fractals ansd on every mob that use boons. Howevrt. i never try to be a top dps whle playing alac. more like a swish army knife.
Hey Muk, I do have same issues with Bone on ALAC DPS spec. I dont know if anyone could have a tip on that one. Id rather switch to Mech as far as what Toons I have.
i dont have problem with this if party brings bubble. Thats the MAIN reason you cant keep up alac. With bubble you can stay a bit longer on shroud and be sure to use up all initiative - if you have 1-2, wait a sec and use it to zero then go shroud. With one food concentration (cheapest you can get) and party bubble its 100% ez. Ofcourse, you wont be doing max dps because you're not doing standard rotation, you wait a bit here and there but who cares. 100% alac is a priority.
the preparation traps need to be reworked (again). the whole 3 second wait mechanic is bad, feels bad and makes it extremely hard to hit moving targets
Thief identity usually is: Forever in 1 button prison 99%of all fights because that's how Initiative works. HOWEVER Specter shroud temporarily lets us escape 1 button prison.
@@biyaogw2 Deadeye recovers your Initiative at max malice. So I'm using 1 even less than 3 and as much as 5 on dual dagger. If you're in 1 button prison, then it's the build you chose.
![[GW2] Greatsword Mirage Is Still My Favorite Mesmer WvW Roaming Build](/img/n.gif)
Make sure you don't cancel your scepter 3s. Each cast has 2 cast bars (one to summon the projectile, one to send it) and if you cancel it with steal, enter shroud or (I'm not sure about these ones) by queuing another weapon or utility skill your damage will disappear
Good video again! Some notes
- as you experienced with Heal Specter, this build's Alacrity is granted around another player, not the Thief themself. That can be annoying on fights with random spread mechanics.
- F1 Siphon grants boons, restores 2 Init, applies long duration Poison, and grants 25% Shadow Force. That last point is crucial on fights with high incoming damage pressure like Boneskinner.
- the 'below 50% target HP, apply immobilize to poison' is rather unremarkable damage
- it's noted on the SC page for Condition Alacrity Specter, but when swapping out Prepare Thousand Needles we lose our only source of Bleed to trigger Relic of the Fractal. Simplest option is to swap Quick Pockets (Trickery grandmaster) to Deadly Ambush. Can also swap to Relic of Akeem and use Shroud 5 off cooldown to trigger the relic.
Nicely said
On boneskinner 3 things to remember,
1. is to have bubble, whoever in party can block projectiles will help with shroud health
2. IF after spending it initiative we have like 1-3 initiative, wait a sec so we can use skill 3 again so we have ZERO initiative while going shroud, that one tick will allow you to use one more skill in shroud.
3. Third thing is to use shroud 3 skill, it has EVADE FRAMES, so it helps prolonging shroud. So adding point 2 with 3 will give at least 2 more skill usages.
Instead basilisk i use thiefs, more dps but less CC (yes, those clones do CC) , shroud 3 has fear so its also a CC, using it doesnt hurt because we will give more alac. Most of the times CC is enough so shroud 3 does the job, even thou we dont have to.
One of the better adps spec in the game. Specter adps can basically become your backup support for no dps drop. Skill 6 is a group heal. Scepter has barrier, protection and heal for free. The same trait that specter needs to give group Alac also spread out the Might from Shroud autoattack, cleanse from Shroud 2 and heal from all Shroud skills to 5 targets. It even gives 3 stacks of Stability from Shroud 5 in cases of emergency. For a tiny dps drop, pick Traversing Dusk trait over Larcenous Torment and now your Skill 6 well also gives group Resistance.
I don't see anyone saying it for some reason so i'll add here:
1) same as specterheal+deadeye it has countersynergy. Yes, thieves fucking hate each other. So, when you are playing condi thief make sure you don't have another condi thief in your party. It includes condidps daredevil, deadeye and adps specter. Huge chunk of condi thief damage comes from venoms and VENOMS DON'T STACK. If two thieves use venoms at the same time, they will overlap;
2) the preparation cast, along with long activation time and channeling, has a downside of being stuck to one place. Unlike traps which go off immediately when you cast them under enemies feet you have to keep in mind that for this thing to work properly you need at least:
0.5 sec of channel
3 seconds of arming time
0.5 sec of you reacting to armed icon and pressing it again
5 seconds of pulsing aoe
+ time for conditions to actually deal damage. It applies 16 seconds of poison per pulse, so overall to get full value out of this skill you need 9 seconds of boss standing still at the same place, and 25 seconds overall of said boss not going invulnerable or anything like that.
It is a huuuuuge downside of this skill because there's not too many encounters in the game that actually make it viable.
3) just as a specter healer, the alacrity boon pulses around tethered ally. If that ally starts running away from the group etc. you are not providing alac anymore;
4) due to poisons, when the amount of players alive drops, your damage natually lowers.
got it no honor among thieves even in a video game 🤣
A lot of people mentioned (and also in the video mukluk states) that they dont like the trap and run another venom or utility or whatever... in that case make sure to adjust the build to have another bleeding source as u wont proc relic of fractal otherwise or choose another relic
I didnt see it in the comments or video so just to keep in mind
Like others said, I stay in shroud longer because the alac it gives seems like it is just barely enough, and never seems to give me 100% uptime without a few more haunt shots.
This class and Power Quickness Herald are my two favorite classes, since I don't like going full DPS, but healers do so little damage by themselves that I end up playing support DPS instead. You should definitely check that one out as well!
When I'm playing group content it's usually non-CM fractals, and power Rev (either quick Herald or alac Renegade) are easily my favorite. Easy to gear and play, bring crazy utility that fill in really well for your comp between stab, reflect, mob pulling, boon stripping, etc. Just a really flexible tool set that I find is rarely unwelcome. even if power alac Rene isn't favored as much anymore I've never been kicked for it or gotten any flack.
@@Lazergicianyep, power ren is an old times favourite
Unfortunately after the GS nerfs it got hit pretty hard
But i hope the devs will give it some love soon
The rework to kala was pretty awesome!
One of the cool things about alac specter is that they're one of a few specs that can apply boons at a substantial distance, you do not always have to stack and this makes them great picks for roles like flak and pylon kiting that not every boondps can reasonably do effectively.
I've kited twice as alac specter in Sabetha. First time was when wells gave alacrity, which works since I drop my wells into group after flak then go back. Second time was after shroud alacrity, which is even better since I don't even have to leave. Also, I could take Shadowstep and bait greens as well, since the flip skill recalls you back to your kite position.
Frankly one of the most fun times I've had playing a specialized role.
I came to say what an awesome thumbnail! Love it! :D
I kind of often run the Venom that gives Immobilize instead of the trap doe to the trap clunkyness (unless the boss is very stationary). It works because you have a trait that makes all Immobilize you do also apply poison.
Offhand pistol usage should be rare. It's nice for the Cosmic girl on 98 or Sorrow on 99.
And yeah, I'd also stay in shroud for a bit longer.
Golem DPS isn't accurate cause you're not giving the venoms to others, and that's a TON of your dps.
As for Boneskinner, yeah, that's just not a good fight for Specter. F1 gives you a good chunk of shroud, so you just have to try and get enough in between your shroud dips. Not your fault for playing badly or being inexperienced, it's the communities fault for deciding that ignoring mechanics is the way to do that fight.
I KNEW I could count on you for an honest evaluation of this build. I have been running it for almost a year and have really enjoyed it. I, too, get around 20K DPS, but the intangibles make it not only fun but a benefit to the team (not so much with 10, but 5 works really well). Not the best regarded class or build out there, but I appreciate your honesty. Who knows? We might see a few more Specters out there now. 😊
Small suggestion: instead of the Thousand Needles trap, I prefer to use the Well of Sorrow (the green one) because even if it's less damage and no CC (TN gives a bit of Immobilize and Cripple), not having the 3s delay and having a shadowstep is more comfortable.
I cannot WAIT until Anet finally makes poison application off-healing/healing a real thing. As it stands right now, one trait in shadow arts gives a healthy amount of lifesteal on allies for venom usage, but the corresponding trait that applies venom when going into stealth only applies it to your character and not those around you so the lifesteal component can't be maintained. Imagine if it could be, it would be an absolute blast for a dps/support off-healer. Probably not enough to main heal, but it could supplement a main-healer for sure.
I love your vids about the support/support dps builds. I was so excited when specter came out so thief could support and charr thief is my main/first toon I made when GW2 came out. Looking forward for the other support dps
I swap out the preparation for Devourer Venom, because if a boss is very mobile that preparation is absolutely ineffective and breaks the flow.
Devourer Venom works amazingly well with Panic Strike in Deadly Arts.
Devourer applies immobilize condition.
Note about Panic Strike: There isn't a cooldown for applying Poisoned on immobilize.
The tooltip is just confusing to read.
Every single immobilize will apply poison which is enhanced by
Potent Poison - Poison you inflict has increased damage and duration.
Other Deadly Arts traits apply additional stacks of poison.
TLDR:
Devourer Venom is a great replacement for the preparation without changing a single trait vs bosses that move around a lot.
alacdps thief was my first boondps and is still my main for doing daily fractals etc, thief is just my overall main now, has been for a while. very strong solo open worlding builds. strong boondps and strong pure dps, also very mobile and fun in pvp so ye :p fairly simple to learn class but also has a fairly high skill ceiling if u wanna go ham
Glad to hear it as a thief main I love to see it
this is my favorite build in the entire game, super satisfying to use.
I sometimes use shadowstep instead of thousand needles. The Shroud 3 (forward leap that causes fear) does big break bar damage too.
To maximize both damage and alacrity uptime, you want to enter shadow shroud when you're nearly or completely empty on initiative (barring the start of the fight maybe, just so you can get alacrity up on the group). You then want to stay in shroud until your initiative is either nearly full, or has just finished filling up. Basically this should mean you're in shroud long enough to use the 4 skill twice usually, if you want an easy way to time it. You should also be using siphon off cooldown, but you can delay it slightly to also refill initiative for a slight dps boost.
Also the boneskinner kicking you out of shroud is not you. They nerfed the amount of damage shadow shroud can take a while back for PvP and PvE and never really unnerfed it for PvE,, which in my opinion it didn't need as bad of a nerf as it got.
on Dhuum fight, you can enter shroud when taking the greens and you will not get yeeted to get the orbs. I usually do this on 10% so I won't have to fight with others collecting orbs. But you will get bugged after the fight tho, you will get constant damage.
I do miss bringing my ADPS into different raids. It has interesting utility that you can't really find anywhere else.
Mukluk, you should play into the youtube meta and make a good/fun to play tier list for each support class compared to its respective supports once you are done with each section. (like compare all the QDPS supports, then once you are done with all of these compare all of the AlacDPS supports). Might make the feedback easier to initially digest for Anet too with it being condensed in a few videos rather than one for each support.
If it’s hard to upkeep alacrity you can swap some skills for wells. Basically trading dps for Alacrity uptime.
Wells do not apply alacrity anymore with Traversing Dusk. Instead of Alacrity they grant resistance on their initial impact. Only Shadestep trait and the Shadowshroud abilities generate alacrity now. Or is there something I am missing about wells? Your comment I assume was for release specter but it got nerfed to this version, because you would get 100% alacrity uptime just spamming wells, teleporting like a maniac.
I saw on Discretize fractal guides that they were running few different builds, and one of them contains both enough ritualist to have boons duration and keep alacrity up 100%, and Viper, to get more dps, and since you're running a little bit of Ritualist you're also not that squishy, I think it can be a great option to increase your overall utility !
I myself isn't advanced enough in the game to have full Ascended stuff + Viper stats but if someone has tested it please give feedback !
thats why i think support dont NEED TO provide so many boons , lots of dps / support DPS provide some might and random buffs
i love condi thief in general, but i really hate that trap, honestly i'd just go for another venom, even the healing one isnt that bad imho, and maybe, as second weaponset, i would probably go for shortbow instead of pistol, i mean, you would spam 4 as well, but at least it would build poison and make aoe damage easier if there's a lot of adds
my specter is parked on a chest in cantha for ages, so i'll probably try this someday
Great video! Love this series!
Personally I stay in shroud longer than the rotation says just to make sure I always have alacrity up.
Using shroud 2 for 3-4 times usually is enough
Instead of preparing a trap use the green well to apply poisons and torment. Much better than the poison trap.
It’s my class! Thanks Muk!
In memory of the Sniff.
I have palyed this for over a year. but i had made some changes. dps loss but more suport. i use well of silence insted of the trap. 200 extra cc + it cure condision. the steel is an excellent boonrip. really usefull in fractals ansd on every mob that use boons. Howevrt. i never try to be a top dps whle playing alac. more like a swish army knife.
The thumbnail is bomb 🤣
for straight 15min and then i came back to druid for eternity xD
Question for the audience/Mukluk: Why use scepter instead of axe?
I'm still searching for an easy to play power alac dps that also provides good dps. Power alac mech just feels so bad when it comes to dps.
I stay in Shroud longer and get 25k+. I think it was just a not enough practice thing.
Hey Muk, I do have same issues with Bone on ALAC DPS spec. I dont know if anyone could have a tip on that one. Id rather switch to Mech as far as what Toons I have.
i dont have problem with this if party brings bubble. Thats the MAIN reason you cant keep up alac. With bubble you can stay a bit longer on shroud and be sure to use up all initiative - if you have 1-2, wait a sec and use it to zero then go shroud.
With one food concentration (cheapest you can get) and party bubble its 100% ez.
Ofcourse, you wont be doing max dps because you're not doing standard rotation, you wait a bit here and there but who cares. 100% alac is a priority.
Seal Area is always an option for Thief.
Waiting for the power and condi quick untaimed
Does it have boon rip? for fracs and shit.
Yes, F1 steal is a boonstrip
the preparation traps need to be reworked (again). the whole 3 second wait mechanic is bad, feels bad and makes it extremely hard to hit moving targets
Thousands needles is just aids to use.
LOL it really is
I am not a fan of Specter. The builds requires being in shroud too much, when Thief identity is about dual weapons and evasion.
Thief identity usually is: Forever in 1 button prison 99%of all fights because that's how Initiative works. HOWEVER Specter shroud temporarily lets us escape 1 button prison.
@@biyaogw2 Deadeye recovers your Initiative at max malice. So I'm using 1 even less than 3 and as much as 5 on dual dagger. If you're in 1 button prison, then it's the build you chose.
easily worst alac provider... such unfun mechanic should have been removed in pre-alpha.
I disagree, but I do respect your opinion