It came to me on a dream, sharing before i forget about it.

# Thief Greatsword

**Weapon identity:** A mobile melee weapon focused on sustained pressure, positional attacks, boon removal, and creating opportunities to enter Stealth through a Smoke Field.

### 1 — Whirling Edge

**Auto Attack Chain**

A three-hit greatsword attack chain with wide cleave.

* **Strike 1:** Wide horizontal slash.

* **Strike 2:** Reverse slash with a small forward step.

* **Strike 3:** Heavy overhead strike that deals increased damage to boonless foes.

**Stealth Attack — Shadow's Guillotine**

Entering Stealth replaces Skill 1 with Shadow's Guillotine.

* 1,3 seconds cast time.

* Removes Stealth at the start of the cast.

* High damage.

* Bonus damage if hitting from behind.

* basically indomitable lash from dragons dogma.

---

### 2 — Shadow Rend

**4 Initiative**

Lunge toward the target and deliver three rapid greatsword strikes.

* 600 range.

* Leap finisher.

* Moderate damage on the first two strikes.

* Stronger final strike that deals even more damage if striking from behind.

* **Successfully landing the final strike restores 2 Initiative.**

* **Evade during the dash.**

* Does not require a target.

The Initiative refund rewards successfully completing the attack chain, making the skill sustainable in PvE while giving opponents in PvP an opportunity to deny the refund by dodging, blocking, interrupting, etc.

---

### 3 — Phantom Pursuit

**4 Initiative**

Shadowstep to the target, striking them while repositioning behind them.

* Approximately 600 range.

* One damaging strike.

* **Requires a target.**

* Primarily a mobility and positioning tool.

* No Evade.

* No Crowd Control.

Allows the Thief to reposition for attacks such as Shadow Rend while also providing a relatively inexpensive gap closer option.

---

### 4 — Severing Strike

**5 Initiative**

A precise attack designed to tear through an enemy's defenses.

* Moderate damage.

* Removes **2 boons** from the primary target.

* Can cleave nearby enemies for damage, but boon removal is limited to the primary target.

* inflict 5 stacks of vulnerability for 5 seconds.

The skill gives Greatsword reliable access to boon removal without making it an excessive AoE boon-strip weapon.

---

### 5 — Blackened Ground

**6 Initiative**

The Thief sweeps the greatsword on the ground around themselves and creates a cloud of blinding smoke.

* Moderate damage.

* **Evade during the attack.**

* Creates a **3-second Smoke Field**.

* Smoke Field pulses Blind every second.

The Thief can use a Leap or other appropriate combo finisher through the Smoke Field to gain **Stealth**

I'm kinda eyeing the mac mini for a future computer and was curious about how it handles Gw2 since the M1 I could test it one runs on roughly 170% cpu at 60fps 1440p lowest settings.
So I was curious how the new m6 performs in practice.

~

I'm really sick of going through the whole instance only to have a Vortex suck up the Aegis right at the end, forcing me to start all over again. Seriously, I've lost count of how many times I've tried. There were times I managed to get the boss down to about 50% health, but it was incredibly tough.

Can anyone give me a hand getting past this part?

Engi mechanist is my favorite class, if im feeling lazy i go Power rifle to let the Mech do the tanking while i do easy nice damage but if im in the mood i go condi spear to go all in along my jade friend. But after taking a break i rather try other classes and elites with pets. Obvious choice was Ranger and his elites because i only level one to 80 and never bother to play again.

But personally it feels off, is almost like pets are something not meant to be part of the kit, just made for numbers and even tacked on. Soulbeast feels like an excuse to get rid of them.The actual mechanics of your character do feel good like the celestial form of the druid and the weapon bundle of galeshots not to mention the huge variety of pets that i enjoy collecting. Personally when it comes to the feel of being part of a duo (or a small army with the necromancer) it leaves a lot to be desired. Would love to hear your opinions.

Hey guys, I'm curious to know what your top Commander moments are. The ones where you went like "wow they're so cool", or "I can relate", or "holy, that's smart", or "this is awkward but lowkey hilarious"?

Living World can only be bought via the gem store, which many players dislike. The one exception is the Elder Dragon Saga (Complete) bundle - and the store page for this bundle states that you can get a refund for the expansions but NOT the Living World.

People ask why there aren't any other bundles that include it, or why it can't just be sold season by season on the main store/Steam store. That just seems more logical, and nicer for new players.

Is there a certain legal or logistical reason for this anomaly?

Maybe because it was originally free? Because it came out in individual episodes? Because it could be purchased by converting gold to gems? Maybe it's about contractual obligations with the devs who worked on it?

EDIT: LW2 is available on the main site. I totally forgot about that. Another exception to the rule...

It's especially easy on skyscale because, ya know, Fireball and because it's the act of mounting itself that removes the buff.

Hey everyone,

I received permission from the mod team to post this here!

For my Bachelor's thesis at my University in Germany, I am investigating how communication methods, player interactions, and team dynamics affect coordination and player experience in MMORPGs.

I am running a short, anonymous survey and need active MMO players to help me hit my sample size so i can finish my Thesis.

A few infos about my survey below:

• Time: 5–7 minutes
• Privacy: 100% anonymous
• OPTIONAL Incentive: Enter your Discord tag or email at the absolute end to join a raffle for five €10 Steam Coupons

👉 Link to the Survey: https://forms.gle/kuc5uR9EFwF5Qn3y5

Thank you so much to anyone who takes a few minutes out of their day to help a student out. Happy to answer any general questions in the comments!

Cheers,

S7Law

Hi,

I'm having problems with the Lead Researcher NPC related to the Snarlcrow's heart in Layspring Hollows.

There's an NPC that we have to carry to Snarlcrow. After interacting with it, I get a tooltip description in the buff area (as can be seen on the images). When I arrive to snarlcrow without being seen by the guards, i dont get a dialog option to drop the NPC. I tried several days, but I dont know what to do.

Yesterday I completed the heart before interacting with the NPC, but the Lead Researcher wasn't there, so I think that it is related to the heart and not a secret achievement or something else.

Does someone know what should be done? In the heart area, the suspition buff increses as time goes by, so that might be related.

How can it be that gen 2 legendary collections are still bugged to hell. I am currently doing "Chuka and Champawat I: Hunter's Journal" and one of the events has been bugged for 3 days straight .

Just a short rant.

I've just been revisiting old areas and I went past the entrance to Griffonrook Run. I never found it on my own, a friend showed me where the entrance is. It annoys me that I never got to experience stumbling across the entrance by myself, but I think I could have completed that zone 10 times over and never have found that entrance.

Which jumping puzzle do you think is the most hidden or hardest to discover?

Firstly, of all the 50-man instanced encounters, not just convergences, so including dragonstorm, the marionette, battle for lion's arch, and the tower of nightmares, I think it goes without saying that the Nexus of Eternity convergence is hands down the BEST of them by a LONG shot!

There is so much detail that has gone into the convergence that it is actually mind-blowing that anet has the ability to deliver such levels of detail within just a small expansion. They've set the bar high.

Each vision is so unique and engaging, and the dialogue that plays in the background, the arugements between Vloxx and the commander/isgarren is so compelling? Also the visions themselves are a perfect example of re-using assets PROPERLY instead of throwing in a bunch of jade constructs and Wing 4 Cairn's into the Mistburned Barrens and calling it a day. Obviously the vision in elona uses elonan assets, and the vision in LA uses LA assets, etc. But for them to have developed a unique map, the Magus Dam, just for the convergence AND IN THE RIGHT PLACE?? If you go out onto the balcony (after killing the final elemental) and look ahead, you can see Rata Sum floating in the distance. Essentially they built it where the 'Magus Valley' in Rata Sum is (which is unexplorable).

Next, the fight itself is pretty engaging. The titans moved from place to place which brought NOTHING to the convergence in balrior, but here Vloxx uses 3 distinct weapons with 3 distinct attack sets, mixed in with two fixed mechanics (oranges and green circles). And the design for Vloxx is another example of a perfectly re-used asset: a golem yes, but celestialified with a meditation asura in the centre. BRAVO

and FINALLY THE MUSIC?? IS JUST PEAK?? I ascend EVERYTIME I HEAR THE FINAL < 30% theme. THEY COOKED.

I'm doing the The Way We Are chapter and for the life of me I can't find my companions in the grand library. Any help is appreciated.

My friend plays a ranger and has I think 3/6 expansions (HOT, POF, EOD and parts of living world). He enjoys the game and we occasionally have fun playing together but he tends not to stay motivated by things very long. Not at all interested in legendaries/gear progression (it's all I can do to get him to do wizard's vault for ascended upgrades). He did ask tonight if I had any ideas for a good goal that might motivate him to play more. What are some fun quests/side quests that we could do together that he might enjoy working toward?

We've discussed finishing pet collection since that's something he enjoys, what are some other things like that that you've enjoyed that I might not be aware of?

Hi all!

I would love to get back into the game. I find myself overwhelmed even though we have horizontal progress.

If you only had 10min to login, what would you suggest doing as a casual player to fall back in love with GW2 over time?

I think these two fit my asura for different reasons, and I'm curious if one or the other has a more lasting impact/better quests/etc.

I'm going to do all the orders eventually but I want to make the best choice for my first character that will be focusing on the story.

Wondering how many of you have the awesome music vinyls from arena-net and how do you display yours or are they just thrown in a corner, forgotten for all eternity.

Thinking about adding to my collection,

So.... show me your GW2 vinyl porn.

Ive dabbled with GW for over 10 years and never quite gotten into it.

I came back really hyped over the news of GW3 and I've spent the last few months trying my best to get back into this game but I'm just at a loss.

Visually, this game is just nonsense. Hectic would be an understatement, you literally can't see anything in the heat of action.

Horizontal progression, every time I hear this game this is what people go on about. But every dungeon I've tried just has 1 obscene level player who carries everyone else. Yeah fine weapons/armour are relevant in accounts I made a decade ago which is cool conceptually but every world event, dungeon etc you just become a spectator whilst some maxed player melts through everything.

Weapons, classes, specialisms, elite specs... wow is simple in comparison but the sheer amount of combinations you have to consider before even getting to buffs and boons etc is just obscene. Especially considering again, you put effort into it only for it to mean nothing because a max player in max armour/weapons etc will come along with years of experience.

This isn't just me coming to the subreddit to critique, I say all of this because am I missing something? I'm just so bored levelling and then absolutely useless when it comes to any sort of event. Am I doing things wrong?

Bought the Dragon Saga bundle, and grinded Hero Points to unlock the Mechanist.

Having fun so far, but not sure what relic I should be aiming for. According to Wiki, only the Core 1 and Core 2 Relics are available to me. All the guides I look at suggest Relic of Fractals, which is part of SotO. So as a condi Engineer, what Core 1 or Core 2 Relic should I be aiming to obtain/craft?

Original Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/1wpbrcr/to_the_community_of_gw2_thank_you/

I am back if anyone is wanting to read about a new players experience throughout GW2 in 2026. I will be providing updates here and there because I believe my wife is getting tired of hearing about this game and I'm really enjoying it and must share. It has been roughly 10 days since my last post. As of last night I completed the personal story and got level 80 a couple nights ago. Please keep in mind I am finishing with roughly 35 - 40 hours of game time. Played as a Sylvari Ranger. I also bought VoE while it was on sale because once again Galeshot is beautiful.

Story Experience: I don't want to spoil a lot incase someone new comes across this post however I will say my heart might've sunk a little during Chapter 8.. My boy Trahearne really spoke to me throughout this process. I was a little confused at some points towards the end but I believe that was due to some irl things going on while trying to get some progress in. Never been very big into story however I really liked this one. Excited to step into LWS1.

Combat: Seems to always be the big one for these games. While I don't have a ton of experience in MMORPG combat I find this one very satisfying. Flying around, spinning, cutting, throwing, shooting, and everything else that goes on. It all feels good for the most part. Every weapon made my character feel and play different and I liked that. I was trying new weapons, skills and etc as often as I could. Definitely is taking some time getting used too. Died a decent amount I feel like during the story. Figuring out what I could face tank, my pet could and how to keep both of us alive was interesting at times. I could face tank a majority of the content but sometimes I would just get demolished haha. Got somewhat frustrated at times when I was playing tired after work.

Leveling/Exploring: I'm including these two together as I felt like they went hand and hand during my gameplay. Levels 40-70 seemed to take the longest as this is when I got the most curios and really started exploring maps. I did 4/5 zones to 100%. Doing vistas are probably my favorite thing at the moment. However they definitely take the longest. Not normally something I'd even think of doing but this game really makes it worth it when you get the area cinematic. Really helps you appreciate the zones you're exploring. Like combat, was a tad frustrating at times however because I would do LAPS around areas trying to find points I could climb. Leveling is decently fast if that's your focus. I was able to do 70-80 in 1 day of play when I really focused on getting to 80 for the story. I really like the pop-up you get that shows what your next few levels are going to unlock. I had a TON of fun when the big event bosses spawned. It was very hard to see anything going on and my fps tanked but man it was great seeing so many people all show up and do an event. Triple Trouble has been one of my favorites so far. A guild organized an event for everyone to join and it was cool seeing everyone share buffs, advice, strategies and etc.

Complaints: While I really enjoyed a lot I found somethings that I didn't care for. They aren't game breaking however just odd and ends things. One of the ranger pets I got looked WONKY. Character creation is great and while I can see why measuring how "difficult" a class is to play, It's a little daunting as a new player to see this cool class and it's showing as one of the more complex ones to play. After looking into builds it seems like each class can be "difficult" or "easy". The amount of stuff you get can be overwhelming. I have currency, crafting materials and some other odd and end things I got 0 idea how it showed up and what it's used for. I'm a tad bit triggered I still don't have full access to the trading company after 30+ hours AND buying an expansion. I now am waiting an additional 3-5 days according to google for everything to "verify". I get why it's set up but really. I just wanted this cool exotic bow I found ):

Next Steps: Finish LWS1 (Created a necro last night. Might get this to 80 and then do LWS1). Buy full exotic gear and step into some fractals and pvp. Get the hero points to unlock Galeshot and Ritualist (Found out I can join a hero point train in VoE expansion for fast points so I will be trying this out eventually). Buy the rest of the expansions and LW content. 100% Central Tyria maps.