Thief is Guild Wars 2’s medium-armor profession built around Initiative and Steal. Weapon skills have no individual recharge time — instead, every weapon skill spends from one shared Initiative pool that regenerates over time, so a thief can chain its hardest-hitting skills back-to-back as long as the pool holds out, then has to wait once it’s empty. Steal shadowsteps you to a target and creates a makeshift weapon “stolen” from them — mechanically a bundle skill drawn from a pool tied to that enemy’s creature type, not a literal item transfer — giving you a situational bonus skill on top of your normal kit. Thief also gets a unique Stealth Attack on each weapon: while stealthed, your first weapon skill is replaced by a bonus attack unique to that weapon. Thief has no restriction on swapping between its two weapon sets in combat.

Stolen skill: what Steal actually gives you

Steal has a longer reach than most thief skills: it shadowsteps you to a target within 1,200 range and, on landing, grants a stolen skill on your F2 slot by default. Which skill you get depends on the target’s creature type — a different pool for players, for example, than for a given monster family — so Steal doubles as a situational tool as much as a gap-closer. Weapon skill 3 works differently too: with a one-handed weapon in each hand, thief combines both into a single Dual Wield attack that takes the place of the normal third weapon skill, so your third skill changes depending on the exact main-hand/off-hand pairing you’ve equipped.

Thief has no weapon cooldowns; instead every skill spends Initiative, a shared pool you can dump into your best ability as long as it lasts. Steal (and its spec variants) closes the gap and swipes a situational bonus skill.

Stealth Attack: sneak attacks by weapon

Every thief weapon has its own Stealth Attack — while you’re stealthed, it silently replaces your first weapon skill with a bonus attack unique to that weapon, usually with a payoff (bonus damage, extra conditions, or a control effect) that a normal auto-attack doesn’t have. Because stealth in Guild Wars 2 only lasts for a short duration per application, landing a sneak attack cleanly and then re-engaging before it wears off is one of the core skill checks of playing thief well — stealth here is a burst window, not a permanent hiding spot.

Shadow Arts: the stealth specialization

Shadow Arts is core thief’s dedicated stealth trait line: it focuses on extending stealth uptime and blinding enemies, and enhances venom and deception skills specifically. Traited well, it gives access to longer or more frequent stealth windows than the base kit alone provides, which is why it’s the natural home for a stealth-attack-focused build rather than a pure damage rotation.

Core Thief specializations

Before touching an elite spec, core thief already offers five trait lines. Deadly Arts focuses on poison and exploiting low-health enemies, and enhances dagger skills. Critical Strikes is built around critical hits and critical damage, and enhances pistol, harpoon gun and signet skills. Shadow Arts, covered above, focuses on stealth and blinding enemies. Acrobatics focuses on dodging, mobility and healing, and enhances sword and spear. Trickery focuses on stealing and managing initiative, and enhances trick and steal skills. All five core lines are available from level one; the four elite specializations below unlock only once you own their respective expansion.

Each elite spec swaps in a new weapon, new skills and a changed profession mechanic. You run one at a time.

Thief is viable in every game mode — open world, fractals, raids, strikes, WvW and PvP — but its low health means it rewards players who stay mobile rather than stand and trade hits. Daredevil is a strong, fluid solo and open-world pick, since its extra dodge and staff cleave help it survive and clear packs without much downtime; Deadeye excels at single-target power burst on bosses that don’t need cleave; Specter brings real alacrity support with a condition-damage backup plan built around Deadly Arts and its scepter’s conditions; Antiquary is the newest option for players who want thief’s speed with more build-defining choices mid-fight.

Every Thief build we publish lands here automatically. Each links to the full write-up with gear, skills, traits and the in-game build code.