The weapons that thieves can equip along with their associated skills can be seen in-game by opening the Hero window [H] and selecting the Skills and Traits tab on the left. We’ve also included a list of available weapons for the thieves below:

While thieves don’t have a huge variety of weapons, they have a good mix for both melee and ranged. In addition, special attacks become available for different weapons when the thief is in stealth. Other special attacks are also available through dual-wielding. These dual-wield skills vary by combination of main and off-hand weapons. When dual-wielding, these special skills will appear in slot 3 of your hotbar.

The thief is a deadly profession, proficient at stealth and surprise. Using a variety of weapons, they can strike from up close or far away. While not heavily armored, they do have good survivability through their agile fighting style and can use traps, tricks, and venom to ensure their victory.

Thief Quick Facts

• One of Guild Wars 2’s three Adventurer professions
• Able to wear Medium armor
• Can wield both melee and ranged weapons
• Uses Initiative to use a flurry of attacks
• Can use traps and venom to hinder foes
• Can Steal from enemies to gain an advantage
• Uses Stealth to strike from ambush or sneak away

Thief Themes and Combat Roles

Like most MMOs, the Thief in Guild Wars 2 can act from both melee and range, thus allowing a greater flexibility in combat. While being able to put out a lot of DPS, they are designed to strike quickly and move on. Limited to wearing medium armor, you don’t want to get bogged down in a grind-fest.

The thief is excellent at roaming the battlefield and attacking when opportunity arises. The thief can be an infuriating foe, shadow stepping from place to place or using stealth to change position. A smart thief chooses when and where to fight.

The thief is also adept at using conditions to damage their foes, especially bleeding and venom. Many of the thief’s skills and traits enhance these damaging conditions, so you’ll want to experiment to see what style suits your gameplay.

The thief is a great solo profession in that you can dish out a lot of damage and have a lot of mobility to dance around your foes or to put some distance between you. Having the ability to choose between melee or ranged attacks is a luxury that similar professions in other MMOs do not have.

When grouping with other players, the thief is best used as an opportunistic combatant, or support specialist. Let warriors and other meat shields be the focus of attacks. Use stealth to move from the flank or rear to unleash a devastating assault. Keep mobile and attack where you’re needed. Get into position, attack, and then move on.