Preparation

Preparations are a skill type exclusive to thieves similar to traps, but they will not fire until the thief chooses to activate them.

Mechanics

• After the arming time, the area at the end of the casting animation will be marked. The mark is only visible to the thief and their allies.
• The recharge of a preparation skill is independent of the trigger skill.
• Certain situations will cause a preparation to fail to arm, such as mounting. Detonating results in no effect and a full cooldown will incur.

List of preparation skills

Preparation training.

Skill				Description
Thief
Prepare Pitfall		0.5½	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 Seal Area		0.5½	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.
Prepare Shadow Portal		0.5½	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 Thousand Needles		0.5½	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.

Trivia

The Guild Wars Wiki has an article on Preparation.

• Thief Preparation skills were released in the July 16th, 2019 game update, replacing thief trap skills.
• Prior to game release, the skill type Preparation was used by rangers and thieves.

---

Skill types and profession mechanics