List of thief skills
This is a list of core thief skills. For additional skills available to thief's elite specializations, see:
Note that after you've unlocked Weaponmaster Training, you can use all weapons that are normally tied to an elite specialization even if you don't have it active.
Profession mechanic[edit]
The thief has 4 profession mechanics.
Stealing is the main mechanic, with Steal occupying the F1 slot above the skill bar, and the stolen skill occupying the F2 slot. For a list of the available secondary skills related to stealing, see stolen skills.
# | Skill | Description | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
F1 | Steal | 25 | Shadowstep to your foe and steal from them. |
Stealth Attacks are the second mechanic, with a distinct stealth skill for each main hand weapon. While in stealth, the skill in slot 1 is replaced by a stealth attack skill and hitting an enemy with it will break stealth. These skills are listed in the weapon tables below.
Dual Wield skills are the third mechanic, with a distinct Dual Wield skill for each possible combination of main- and off-hand weapons. These skills are always in slot 3, and are listed in the weapon tables below. A table with the various combinations can be seen on the Dual Wield page.
Initiative is the fourth mechanic. Unlike most other classes, a thief's weapon skills have no recharge; instead, they are activated by spending one or more points of initiative, which is passively generated over time. The Initiative page has a full breakdown of initiative costs and skills/traits that can restore or increase maximum initiative.
Weapon skills[edit]
indicates a main-hand weapon's Stealth Attack. All stealth attacks have 1 .
Two-handed[edit]
# | Skill | Description | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Short bow[edit] | |||||
1 | Trick Shot | ½ | Fire an arrow that bounces between nearby foes and inflicts bleeding when striking poisoned enemies. | ||
1 | Surprise Shot | ¼ | 1 | Stealth Attack. Shoot an arrow that bleeds and immobilizes your foe. | |
2 | Cluster Bomb | ½ | 3 | Fire a cluster bomb at the target area. Detonate in midair for multiple explosions. | |
2 | Detonate Cluster | 1 | Detonate your cluster bomb in midair. | ||
3 | Disabling Shot | ¼ | 4 | Leap away from your foe while firing a crippling shot. | |
4 | Choking Gas | ½ | 4 | Fire an arrow that dazes enemies on impact and poisons the target area. | |
5 | Infiltrator's Arrow | 6 | Fire an arrow and shadowstep to the target area, blinding nearby foes. |
Main-hand only[edit]
# | Skill | Description | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sword[edit] | |||||
1 | Slice | Chain. Slice your foe. | |||
1 | Slash | ½ | Chain. Slash your foe again. | ||
1 | Crippling Strike | ½ | Cripple your foe with a final strike. | ||
1 | Tactical Strike | 1 | Stealth Attack. Blind your foe by bashing them with your sword hilt. Daze them instead if you attack from behind or they are defiant. Applies vulnerability. | ||
2 | Infiltrator's Strike | 3 | Shadowstep to a foe and strike them. Use Shadow Return[sic] to shadowstep back and cure one condition. | ||
2 | Infiltrator's Return | ¼ | 2 | Return to your original location. Cure one condition. | |
3 | Stab (without offhand) | ½ | 4 | Stab your foe. | |
3 | Flanking Strike (with offhand Dagger) | ½ | 4 | Dual Wield. Evade and stab your foe. | |
3 | Larcenous Strike (with offhand Dagger) | ½ | 2 | Dual Wield. Stab your foe and steal boons from them. Deals increased damage if it hits a foe with no boons. | |
3 | Pistol Whip (with offhand Pistol) | ¾ | 5 | Dual Wield. Pistol-whip your foe, stunning them, then slash repeatedly with your sword. |
Main- and off-hand[edit]
# | Skill | Description | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dagger[edit] | |||||
1 | Double Strike | Chain. Strike your foe twice. | |||
1 | Wild Strike | Chain. Strike your foe again, bleeding them. Gain endurance with a successful strike. | |||
1 | Lotus Strike | ¼ | Strike your foe and inflict Poison. | ||
1 | Backstab | ¼ | 1 | Stealth Attack. Attack your foe from the shadows, striking for double damage if you hit from behind or they are defiant. | |
2 | Heartseeker | ¾ | 3 | Leap and strike your foe. The less health your target has, the more damage you cause. | |
3 | Twisting Fangs (without offhand) | ½ | 4 | Spin in place, hitting nearby foes. Each hit causes bleeding. | |
3 | Shadow Shot (with offhand Pistol) | 4 | Dual Wield. Fire an unblockable shot at your foe, which blinds them, and then shadowstep to them for a dagger strike. | ||
3 | Death Blossom (with offhand Dagger) | ½ | 4 | Dual Wield. Do an evasive attack over your target, striking nearby foes three times. Each hit causes bleeding. | |
4 | Dancing Dagger | ¼ | 3 | Throw a dagger that cripples nearby foes and returns to you. | |
5 | Cloak and Dagger | ½ | 5 | Stab your foe and vanish in stealth, leaving them vulnerable. | |
Pistol[edit] | |||||
1 | Vital Shot | ½ | Bleed your foe with a shot to the vitals. | ||
1 | Sneak Attack | 1 | 1 | Stealth Attack. Sneak attack with rapid fire from your pistol and make your foe bleed. | |
2 | Bola Shot | ½ | 4 | Fire a set of immobilizing bolas at your foe. | |
3 | Repeater (without offhand) | 1 | ¼3 | Blast your foe with rapid fire from your pistol. | |
3 | Shadow Strike (with offhand Dagger) | 4 | Dual Wield. Stab your foe, then shadowstep away and shoot them. Unlock Repeater at reduced initiative cost for a short time. | ||
3 | Repeater (with offhand Dagger) | 1 | ¼3 | Dual Wield. Blast your foe with rapid fire from your pistol. | |
3 | Unload (with offhand Pistol) | 1 | ½3 | Dual Wield. Blast your foe repeatedly with both pistols. Gain initiative if all attacks hit. | |
4 | Head Shot | 4 | Daze your foe with a head shot. | ||
5 | Black Powder | ½ | 6 | Fire a black-powder shot, blinding your target and nearby foes with smoke. |
Aquatic[edit]
# | Skill | Description | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Harpoon gun[edit] | |||||
1 | Piercing Shot | ¼ | Bleed multiple foes in a line with a piercing shot. | ||
1 | The Ripper | ¾ | 1 | Stealth Attack. Fire a shot from stealth to bleed your target. | |
2 | Deluge | 1 | ¼5 | Fire four shots at your foe. | |
3 | Escape | ½ | 4 | Shoot a harpoon and retreat, leaving a trail of poison. | |
4 | Crippling Shot | 1 | 4 | Fire a harpoon that cripples your foe. | |
5 | Ink Shot | ¼ | 5 | Shoot an ink shot that blinds foes in a line. Detonate the shot and shadowstep to it. | |
5 | Smoke Trail | Detonate your ink shot and shadowstep to it. Gain stealth if enemies are struck by this skill. | |||
Spear[edit] | |||||
1 | Stab | ½ | Chain. Stab your foe. | ||
1 | Jab | ¾ | Chain. Strike your foe again. | ||
1 | Poison Tip Strike | ¾ | Poison your foe with a final attack. | ||
1 | Deadly Strike | ½ | 1 | Stealth Attack. Attack from stealth, bleeding and weakening your target. | |
2 | Flanking Dive | ¾ | 3 | Evade your foe and then strike, dealing increased damage from the side or behind. | |
3 | Nine-Tailed Strike | 1 | ½5 | Block your foe and counterattack with a series of strikes. Gain initiative if you are not attacked. | |
3 | Break Stance | 2 | Spend initiative to break your blocking stance and immediately initiate the nine-tailed strike. | ||
4 | Tow Line | ½ | 4 | Throw a spear that pulls enemies to you. Gain stealth and access to Hooked Spear if this skill hits. | |
4 | Hooked Spear | ¾ | 3 | Spin around quickly, bleeding enemies caught in your spear's path. | |
5 | Shadow Assault | ½ | 5 | Strike your foe repeatedly with a shadowy assault. Evades while active. |
Slot skills[edit]
Healing[edit]
Skill | Description | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Hide in Shadows | 1 | 30 | Deception. Vanish in stealth and cure conditions. Then gain regeneration and heal yourself. | |
Signet of Malice | 1 | ¼12 | Signet Passive: Heals when you attack. Signet Active: Gain health. | |
Withdraw | 18 | Trick. Cure conditions, then roll backward while healing and evading attacks. | ||
Skelk Venom | 1 | 25 | Venom. Heal yourself. Your next few attacks heal you. |
Utility[edit]
Skill | Description | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Deception[edit] | |||||
Blinding Powder | ¼ | 20 | Deception. Blind nearby foes and grant stealth to nearby allies. | ||
Shadow Refuge | ¼ | 60 | Deception. Create a pulsing refuge at the target area that heals allies and cloaks them in stealth. | ||
Shadowstep | 30 | Deception. Shadowstep to target area. Becomes Shadow Return, which returns you to your starting area and cures three conditions. | |||
Shadow Return | Deception. Return to your starting location, and cure three conditions. | ||||
Smoke Screen | ½ | 25 | Deception. Create a smoke screen that blocks missiles and blinds foes. | ||
Preparation[edit] | |||||
Prepare Pitfall | ½ | 25 | Preparation. Mark your current area with controlling magic, readying the location to crush enemies when Pitfall is released. | ||
Pitfall | 3 | Unleash your pitfall on the area, knocking down foes and delivering constant damage over time. | |||
Prepare Thousand Needles | ½ | 30 | Preparation. Mark your current area with inhibiting magic, readying the location to poison enemies. | ||
Thousand Needles | 3 | Unleash a hail of needles that immobilizes enemies on impact and poisons the ground, inflicting conditions over time. | |||
Prepare Shadow Portal | ½ | 60 | Preparation. Mark your current area with shadow magic, which can be detonated. | ||
Shadow Portal | 3 | Unleash shadow magic at your prepared location, creating a one-way portal for you and your allies. Allies traveling through the portal gain stealth. Weakens foes around the portal's exit. | |||
Prepare Seal Area | ½ | 35 | Preparation. Mark your current area with stifling magic, readying the location to seal enemies in. | ||
Seal Area | 3 | Create an area that blocks projectiles and prevents enemies from entering or leaving. | |||
Signet[edit] | |||||
Assassin's Signet | 20 | Signet Passive: Grants increased power. Signet Active: Power is massively increased for a short duration. | |||
Infiltrator's Signet | 24 | Signet Passive: Regenerates one extra initiative every ten seconds. Signet Active: Shadowstep to your foe. | |||
Signet of Agility | 30 | Signet Passive: Grants increased precision. Signet Active: Refill endurance and cleanse conditions from nearby allies. | |||
Signet of Shadows | 16 | Signet Passive: Grants a 25% increase in movement speed. Signet Active: Apply conditions to foes near your target. | |||
Trick[edit] | |||||
Caltrops | 1 | 24 | Trick. Scatter caltrops that bleed and cripple foes. | ||
Haste | 20 | Trick. Gain quickness, fury, and swiftness. | |||
Roll for Initiative | 28 | Trick. Evade backward to regenerate initiative and recover from crippled, chilled, and immobilized. | |||
Scorpion Wire | ½ | 1 | Trick. Throw a scorpion wire and pull your foe to you. | ||
Venom[edit] | |||||
Devourer Venom | 40 | Venom. Your next few attacks immobilize foes. | |||
Ice Drake Venom | 36 | Venom. Chill foes with your next few attacks. | |||
Skale Venom | 30 | Venom. Apply vulnerability and torment with your next few attacks. | |||
Spider Venom | 30 | Venom. Poison foes with your next few attacks. |
Elite[edit]
Skill | Description | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Thieves Guild | 1 | ½120 | Deception. Call more thieves to support you in combat. | |
Basilisk Venom | 1 | 40 | Venom. Your attacks are unblockable and turn foes to stone. | |
Dagger Storm | 2 | ¾90 | Trick. Spin around, reflecting projectiles and throwing daggers that cripple and bleed nearby foes. You can move while spinning. |
Downed and drowning skills[edit]
# | Skill | Description | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Downed[edit] | |||||
1 | Trail of Knives | ¼ | Throw a knife that bounces off nearby foes, crippling them. | ||
1 | Venomous Knife | Stealth Attack. Throw a knife, bleeding and poisoning your target. | |||
2 | Shadow Escape | 15 | Teleport to the target location. | ||
3 | Smoke Bomb | ½ | 20 | Drop a smoke bomb and vanish in stealth. | |
4 | Bandage | 49 | ¼5 | Call your allies for help. Restores health while you channel it. | |
Drowning[edit] | |||||
1 | Diving Knife | Throw a knife at your foes, bleeding them. | |||
2 | Cheap Shot | ¾ | 5 | Knock back your foe with a kick. | |
3 | Vanish in the Deep | 20 | Stealth into the depths. | ||
4 | Bandage | 49 | ¼5 | Call your allies for help. Restores health while you channel it. |