Feedback: New Player Tips for Burglars

[Frelorn]

Over the next few weeks we will be focusing on the classes in our Tell the Community Team threads. In keeping with that theme, we want your help. If you could give one tip to a new player about playing the Burglar class, what would it be?

[Frieja]

TIP: Don't just run in and melee. You need to set up your attacks before you strike; i.e. sneak, reveal weakness, aim, etc. I died a lot when my burg was young cuz I was trying to play her like a champ

[olagaton]

If you go to the 'moors, be ready to be tracked non-stop, be run down by the excessive run speed buffs Creeps have, and only have 2 chances to escape (HIPS on 7-10 minute cooldowns, legacy dependent, and by using RnA) to counter multiple tracking talismans that only have 1 minute cooldowns. Once your HIPS and RNA are on cooldown, expect to be zerged repeatedly.

[Gumble]

You've got an arsenal of some of the most unique debuffs, abilities and skills in the game at your disposal. Experiment with them! Combine them in creative ways (especially the ability to Hide in Plain Sight) to accomplish some truly amazing things.

[Keene]

Patience is a virtue! Like someone else said if think burglars look like champs because of the critical response chain.... YOU'RE RIGHT! They do look like champs but don't play it like that. Honestly, they call hunters lazy but when I don't feel like fighting mobs for a collection quest, just sneak around people. It's amazing what sneak can do. More specifically and less generally: use enrage to get something off a minstrel but don't keep it on once you think someone else has it. Use provoke as much as possible when a target is on the tank, especially in the beginning of the battle. The worst is when a guardian runs in, tags all the mobs and then the minstrel grabs the healing agro.

[Sssnapdragon]

My tip would be to really learn the intricacies of the class. All classes can be played solo and in groups, and many of them you can button-mash well enough to get along. But a burglar, when played well, can be very effective. It can be a difficult class to play well so understanding each skill is imperative. Plus there is just something very satisfying about sneaking through an entire quest, getting the end loots, and sneaking out again. Burglars have a wide range of capabilities and it is up to the player to determine how the burglar can best fit each unique situation.

[muleskinner2]

Don't forget to HIPS every 10 minutes to get your leafwalker trait, even if you have to use a kitchen timer to remind you. Suppress the urge to save HIPS for the emergency that won't happen for hours yet. Leafwalker is a great trait.

Also pure awesomeness is to find a friend to rank a burg with you. Two burgs have crazy bad skills to get out of almost any situation, loads and loads of fun.

[forusrname]

Think beyond what each skills does, and strive to see what each skill can be MADE to do. For example, riddle can keep a mob out of combat but it can be used as an emergency "addle" as well. Or, enrage can be used in a skirmish to make a mob present its backside to you every other hit, bouncing aggro between you and your soldier. That sort of thinking outside the skill descriptions can really allow you to do amazing things.

[Mithrandir3]

Don't forget to HIPS every 10 minutes to get your leafwalker trait, even if you have to use a kitchen timer to remind you. Suppress the urge to save HIPS for the emergency that won't happens for hours yet. Leafwalker is a great trait.

Also pure awesomeness is to find a friend to rank a burg with you. Two burgs have crazy bad skills to get out of almost any situation, loads and loads of fun.

Have to agree with this.


My burg was 65 for months before I got Leaf Walker. Made my moors buddies awfully frustrated at me because I couldn't keep up.

I always saved it for those rare occasions when "you absolutely need it", and as such never finished the deed until long after I needed it.

[alibutterfly82]

Try to educate yourself on Fellowship Maneuvers. The system's pretty easy to understand once you pick up the basics (go around the color wheel in either direction, put the same colors all in a row, etc.) and a well-executed Fellowship Maneuvers can be a boon to group play at all levels. Since the ability to trigger Fellowship Maneuvers at will is one of the Burg's "claims to fame," why not make yourself a master on the topic?

[brasswire12]

Burglars have a very wide range of skills and abilities available to them. Learn and experiment with each of them to get the most out of the class.

[cicdle]

TIP: Don't just run in and melee.

This is the most important thing for a new player to know. Stop and think before running into a mobs.

[PackOfIdiots]

Provoke and counter defense are good low cost skills to fill out a rotation.

Traited counter defense is also a HUGE dps boost. Not only does it leave most enemies unable to block/parry/evade (so, about a 10-20% boost in overall damage) it also raises your chance to crit that enemy, which is not only even more damage, but gets you into your hard hitting crit response skills. Counter defense is your go-to trick when you don't have a particular reason to be using one of the special purpose ones.

Once you have your initial debuffs applied don't worry so much about secondary effects when fighting trash, just find what gives good damage for low power without a huge animation time. Once the fight is going 90% of your skills could be renamed in the fashion of "stab" and "more different stab"

Really watch out for the animation times. They're all over the place. A skill may sound good on paper, but not always work out so well in a rotation.

Use judgement with your bleed skills. They do rather unimpressive damage (bleed damage is mitigated in this game), and prevent much of our crowd control. Evaluate when the tradeoff is worthwhile.

Stealth openers are really nice early on. If Aim isn't ready, you may want to open with your bleed instead since it doesn't need the crit to get boosted bleed damage. Later, it's mostly not worth the time to stealth up to an enemy unless you have Aim up, or you need a from-stealth ability. Stealth will still save you a HUGE amount of time getting around trash. There's a lot of trash...

Your abilities are going to get resisted. A lot. Like, a crazy lot. Keep an eye out for that. Try not to get yourself into situations where one resist is game over.

Your long cooldowns can save you from just about anything. Remember them.

Use Hide in Plain Sight when you're standing around town. It takes a lot of uses to get Leafwalker, and Leafwalker is AWESOME when you do need your stealth.

Remember your positional bonus. Did you just stun something? Get behind it. When you get exposed throat you'll be getting random stuns from it (conjunctions when grouped). When that stun lands, get behind.

Most of your crit response skills eat a lot of power. Be mindful of their cost if you're getting low. Flashing Blades is the exception. It has a fantastic power to damage ratio. It just takes forever to animate.

[SeigneurDude]

If you decide to play in PvMP, play so everyone has fun. Go in and get tanked from time to time and players will enjoy seeing you out there. Only trying to gank creeps without ever getting ganked yourself will put a huge target circle on your back and won't help burglar rep at all. Remember, you're just one class out there. Play for fun and you won't be labeled as a warg wannabe.

[abzpress]

Tips for a NEW Burglar?

1)Read these forums and LEARN from the experience of thousands of hours of gaming by the BURGS that have come before you. Some of these people have answers to questions you'll never even think to ask.

2)Walk, don't run into combat. Only fools rush in to battle. Plan you actions like a chess game, know what you want to accomplish and do that. When that task is finished, go on to the next task. ALWAYS HAVE AN OUT.

3)Nothing worth having comes easy. Burglar is an ADVANCED class! It's going to take some time to understand, let alone master all the skills and the skills are a bit weak up to the mid 30's. At 40, try to control your excitement when you start to feel invincible, you're not (remember where you came from), stay cautious.

4)Burglars are VERY under valued because most players do not understand the class. Many people who start a burg lose interest because it's just "too slow" (really, it's just too difficult for some people, there's no easy mode for Burgs ) to level compared to .....
hunters, champs.... So most are clueless to what we really do to make a group better.
Burglars are not just about FM's. A good Burglar can make an average group good and a good group great. Yes, we can have that much impact.

And don't be afraid to take control of the groups FM choices. By LVL 40 YOU should be the authority on when and what FM is played. DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

5)Be creative, try different things. This game is full of those "aha" moments and the most fun I've had playing this game is the discovery of some "new" way to do something old.

6)When it stops being fun, go to a movie, take a break. When you get back, you'll have a new thirst for the game.

My 2 cents.

[Thayel_Windsong]

Exploit Opening is not just for starting FMs. When playing solo it is also a useful stun to let you get behind your target for a couple seconds.

[CHA_Dragon]

1. A burg isn't a power hitter like the champ or guardian. The most I've ever taken on solo is three at at a time, and that's at full health, armor, with a stomach full of cooked food and trail food. Keep fights to one or two at a time, riddle one and take out other one fast as possible. Cooked food and trail food are your friends, along with power and moral potions, since you can burn through both.

2. Use two weapons at all times. Find the combo that works for you, and trait the ambidextrous trait. This is important, since the burg doesn't have ranged weapons to soften the monster up.

3. There is a way around the no ranged weapons. Either craft or buy at AH throwing daggers or axes. They have same range as bows and a stack only takes up one item slot. Use them to draw aggro of one away from the rest of a mob and you can quickly whittle down a group. Make sure your target isn't too close to others or you'll end up running for it. Addle also works, but it's range is less.

4. Use sneak attacks when there is a lone target or rest of mobs are far enough away. Once you attack, you can't re-enter stealth unless you HIPS, and you can't enter mischief. Use that stealth to get the maximum positional and stealth bonus. Be prepared in case you are noticed before you get in position.

5. Enter mischief if you expect to be in a prolonged battle. Riddle and mischief mode combined are one of the most potent combos available. Just remember you can't riddle creatures of nature. Startling twist is your friend against beasties and bugs.

6. In a fellowship, your job is support, either with stuns, reveal weakness or conjunctions. A burg attacks from the sides or behind, and enhances the main fighters. There are rare occasions where I've acted as the tank, but don't try it until you've mastered working in a group, since it takes serious coordination

[Dars183]

Don't try to stand "toe to toe" with an enemy. It's like the saying in the realestate industry - Location (position) is everything

and

as others have said it's an advanced class, the forums are great sources of clues tip and tricks, so use them.

[txfalconer]

At 30 use enrage as much as you can. I slot blind fury when soloing and use it to bring ranged foes to me while taking out the melee mobs.

[lazjen]

Lots of good points already raised.

When it comes to CC, your riddle can be useful in situations that LMs don't handle well, e.g. undead. Also, you've got a number of "emergency" type stuns/dazes etc that can be triggered directly or with combos/traits (e.g. Startling Twist, Trip).

In groups, you can off-tank to a limited degree, which can be useful in some situations to lock down mob(s) while the rest of the group is dealing with something else. Be aware though that you have limited ability to grab aggro from others, besides DPS and enrage (while useful, it doesn't transfer aggro specifically and so therefore may cause other issues).

If you do your build right, you should have few power issues in most battles. If you do find yourself with power issues on a regular basis, review your will/fate/ICPR and your skill rotation (you might be using high power skills too often).

Remember to use the tricks - mischievous glee heals nicely and now has a chance for power return as well. Throw in Clever Retort when you can - you might get heals or power or damage.

FMs - there are a few ways to trigger them. For example, get yourself some marbles from a Weaponsmith. Remember also, that in groups, you can always do a HiPS and Trip for another FM.

[slack_n_hash]

Avoid the kill-everything mentality. Sometimes you have to fight your way through enemies, but there are often alternatives.

Successfully sneaking around - or even better, through - an enemy camp is possibly the most immersive experience for a burglar.

Learning when and how to sneak can make a big difference to the variety in the game. It definitely breaks up the grind.

It also improves the pace of advancement, as burglars are slower than average at killing quests but can take shortcuts in others to make up for it.

[Frieja]

Oh here's one I can't believe I forgot!

TIP #2: NEVER use enrage when grouped with others unless the group leader asks you to. Enraged Balrog = wiped group.

[Snowlock]

how about trait builds?

Pvp burgs, what are you traiting specifically (Not just quiet knife but which and why)

And raid burgs, is it the gambler line?

Best legancies?

What's with mischief maker devastate? It shows up on 90% of all bags I ID but the burgs I talk to say it sucks.

[Coil]

QK for moors, 5 qk capstone for maximize burst dps, leafwalker and your choice of aoe dust or traited cd. (because if you don't kill that guy in 20s or less expect 10 more creeps to show up and barrel you down)

QK again for pve with a slight twist, trait for improved disable (attack speed reduction = win), and lose your stealth based buffs, and try to gain passive buffs for maximized dps while maintaining your debuffing role. Don't be afraid to use ready and able in pve or other things if it allows your group to win.

[Virogar]

If you didn't roll a Hobbit, you're doing it wrong!