Gaiscioch Select Chapter
POPULAR ADVENTURES:



ACTIVE ADVENTURES:





ADVENTURES:
Blood of Steel
Enshrouded
Conan Exiles
Elder Scrolls Online
Albion Online
Once Human
Skull and Bones
Ashes of Creation
Path of Exile 2
Throne and Liberty
Pax Dei
- Full List -
CHAPTERS:
Chapter 8:
Conqueror's Blade (2019)
Chapter 7:
New World (2021)
Chapter 6:
World of Warcraft: Classic (2019)
Chapter 5:
Elder Scrolls Online (2014)
Chapter 4:
Guild Wars 2 (2012)
Chapter 3:
RIFT (2011)
Chapter 2:
Warhammer Online (2008)
Chapter 1:
Dark Age of Camelot (2001)
Community
Events
CHARITY:

LEGACY EVENTS:


Search Gaiscioch.com:
137 Tuatha Guilds:
8,319 Members:
14,047 Characters:
11,709 Items:
  • Views: 4,670
  • Replies: 36

help with playing an elementalist (Part 2)

Seaimpin de na Capall
Denji
Seaimpin de na Capall
  • GW2: thundermittens.2831
Posted On: 08/27/2012 at 01:52 AM
  • Twitch
  • Extra-Life

Hi again guys, first of all, with all the info you gave me from part 1, I've gotten way better. I've tried all the builds, but I think staff is the only one I really enjoy.

Okay, so at level 26, 1 normal mob can 2-shot me.  Also, if they have a bow, they will win, I will lose.  

The other way around, it seems to take a good 15-20  hits for me  to take a normal mob down.   That's not including all the work we need to do just to do crowd control, keep them blinded, etc.    

Could you look at my stats, and let me know if you see anything?


level 25
power 196
precision 168
toughness 166
vitality 233

attack 438
critical chance 5%
armor 302
health 2500

 

I really wanna love my ele, but when I play engineer, Its like playing an ele, but with no attunement cooldowns.  When I play my warrior, things just look at me and die. Then when Im done playing the other classes and come back to my main, it just gets down right frustrating :/  I don't mind challenging, but for right now, it just seems like more work than it's worth to play elementalist unless you're in wvw. 

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Fellowship Rank 10Scholar Rank 4Artisan Rank 16

Response:

Muintir de na Faolchu
Starfire
Muintir de na Faolchu
  • ESO: @Truwen
Replied On: 08/27/2012 at 03:23 AM PDT
  • Steam

With that said, I am feeling the frustration too. When some of the other people I play with regularly are surviving pretty well, I'm getting 1-2 shotted fairly regularly unless of course someone else is getting hit, at which point I do a mass load of damage. I guess that is the nature of being a glass canon. One thing I do notice, you're focusing on vitality. Depending on your build I would focus on power and precision and throw some toughness in there. I was focusing on just precision for a long time and had a hard time killing stuff. Now I focus on power primarily, I kill much faster, but it still takes very little effort to kill me. I use 2 daggers right now, but I am looking into making a staff to carry around to see how it goes now. Honestly I think the elementalist is great in groups, they can dish out a ton of damage, but they can't get hit or its like a hot knife through butter. I have read on guild wars 2 guru a lot of elementalists are having the same issues with survivability. So this is not just a limited focus problem. It is just a matter of us learning how to play the elementalist to meet our play style and circumstances. Find yourself a nice pair of heavy hitting daggers, gear up for power and trait out in the fire line and the earth line for now and see how that works for you. Let me know, because I have been feeling a little better about the profession since I switched stuff with this in mind. Needless to say, I believe the game will get harder to solo/small group. And hey, its much more fun to play with friends any way, right.

» Edited on: 2012-08-27 03:47:30

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Fellowship Rank 5Scholar Rank 1Artisan Rank 1
Seaimpin de na Fhiaigh
Glielhry
Seaimpin de na Fhiaigh
Replied On: 08/27/2012 at 09:34 AM PDT

I am experiencing the same issues with my Elementalist. I am finding it very hard to level through the into zone. I will try to concentrate on Power, Precision, and some Toughness. I have started throwing some skill points into the fire attribute and it giving me more success in defeating enemies, but I really am having trouble with survivability. I enjoy using the staff, but will work on training the other weapon types to see if I get improvement.

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Fellowship Rank 10Scholar Rank 2Artisan Rank 11
Seaimpin de na Iomproidh
Nuuli
Seaimpin de na Iomproidh
  • GW2: Nuoli.5087
Replied On: 08/27/2012 at 09:51 AM PDT
  • Twitch
  • Twitter

I'm not up there with my ele, level 9 atm. It seems with the 4 elements, you,re one thing or another. Glass cannon = fire, etc I,m trying to have the self heals... Probabaly know more when I get there. Maybe a scaling issue. Ben Aile, Asura Ele Mean time, group up when possible.

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Fellowship Rank 10Scholar Rank 3Artisan Rank 11
Seaimpin de na Capall
Denji
Seaimpin de na Capall
  • GW2: thundermittens.2831
Replied On: 08/27/2012 at 11:01 AM PDT
  • Twitch
  • Extra-Life

Thank you everyone, I mainly needed reassurance that it's not "just me". I enjoy playing staff mainly, so at this point, Im not even "cannon", Im just "glass". Gonna give upping my power a whirl, and maybe play dagger for a bit before I move on to warrior/necro/engineer. Ele is stil my #1 favorite class, but it's too long and painful to play solo.

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Fellowship Rank 10Scholar Rank 4Artisan Rank 16
Seaimpin de na Iomproidh
Nuuli
Seaimpin de na Iomproidh
  • GW2: Nuoli.5087
Replied On: 08/27/2012 at 01:14 PM PDT
  • Twitch
  • Twitter

Basically, soloing prbly the classic pet player combo such as ranger.

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Fellowship Rank 10Scholar Rank 3Artisan Rank 11
Caomhnoir de na Capall Corcra
Kethryveris
Caomhnoir de na Capall Corcra
Replied On: 08/27/2012 at 02:09 PM PDT
  • Steam
  • PSN
  • XBOX

I haven't gotten my Elementalist (lvl 15) up very high, but from what I've seen staff works much better as a party weapon, it has your bigger heals and your bigger dpsers, but it takes awhile to get abilities out. For solo I think Scepter and an off hand would work best, probably focus. It's a more even build, a little more heals than the dagger and a little less dps, but still mostly ranged, where as the dagger main hand gives you mostly higher dps, but in melee.

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Valor Rank 11Fellowship Rank 12Explorer Rank 1Scholar Rank 2Artisan Rank 5
Muintir de na Capall
Mezz
Muintir de na Capall
  • GW2: mezzi.7938
Replied On: 08/27/2012 at 09:07 PM PDT
  • Twitch

Hmmm where to start, I normally aim for power and precision as a stat but I wont complain about vita or toughness. Currently I am using scepter/dagger, with signet of fire, the toughness signet (can't remember what its called) and elemental armor. I have 10 points in fire trait with the extra damage when attuned to fire rune, and the rest are starting to go into the earth trait line. My build is no where near perfect and has had very little thought put in it beyond what I have needed at the time. With this style of play I must stress that you HAVE to either CC the mob, use your dodge or kite them. Even Guardians and Warriors struggle to simple tank and spank, you need to be dodging and avoiding the mobs. In all honesty if you play it perfectly you shouldnt even get hit, realisticly though that isnt the case but thats what you should be aiming to do. In my experience a properly played/built elementalist should be the kings of pve (and pvp, but thats because staff is OP in wvw). Saying all that though I do feel your pain it can be quite difficult at times, especially if you get caught in a string of knockdowns. Best advice I can give is to never stay still, keep moving and strafing as your spells will still cast on the move providing the mob is in front of you (some ground targetted spells dont even need that).

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Fellowship Rank 5
Seaimpin de na Capall
Denji
Seaimpin de na Capall
  • GW2: thundermittens.2831
Replied On: 08/27/2012 at 11:10 PM PDT
  • Twitch
  • Extra-Life

Does Gaiscioch allow stupid people in the guild? I really hope so, cause I like it here :p -the armor I was wearing was from drops. At level 26, I had level 18 armor and weapons on, with stats that were whatever came with it >_< One Good thing came out of this though, trying to level with junky gear made me have to get alot better at the game just to get by. So when I finaly got lvl 25 gear on, I said heck with this, put on 2 daggers, and nom-nom'ed a level 30 chieftan :D I can't really blow my own horn though, since im an average player that learned everything I know from this forum. Thanks for the help everybody XD

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Fellowship Rank 10Scholar Rank 4Artisan Rank 16
Curadh de na Faolchu Donn
SAI
Curadh de na Faolchu Donn
  • GW2: SAI Peregrinus.8410
Replied On: 08/28/2012 at 02:38 AM PDT
  • Steam
  • Twitch
  • Extra-Life

Lvl 30 Ele here... If you don't want to get 2-shotted, just don't take damage. 90% of the time you can avoid it, and the other 10% you can normally heal it back before you have to take damage again. Currently my build has 10 points in Arcana for Elemental Attunement, and 10 in air for Soothing winds. I stack Precision > Power > Vitality ~= Toughness. Planning to get 20 more in Air for Aeromancer's Alacrity and Air Training, 20 in fire for Internal Fire and Burning Precision, and 10 in water for Vital Striking. In PVE vs multiple mobs, I use staff, Glyph of Elemental Harmony as my heal skill, Cleansing Fire, Signet of Earth, and Signet of Water as my Utility, and Glyph of Elementals for the Elite. I mostly stay air attuned, swapping to water/earth if needed to heal/block projectiles. I kite everything. Air has a great autoattack (skill 1) for kiting down groups of enemies. As long as they're all melee it's easy to take 3-5 at a time, sometimes more, without taking much if any damage. That makes up for the lower damage output. For overland travel I use a staff, switch a Utility skill to Arcane Wave, and use the following rotation to get 100% swiftness uptime: Swap to Air: 5s Swiftness AOE. Windborne Speed: 11s Swiftness AOE, 30s cd. Static Field + Arcane Wave when inside: 10s Swiftness AOE, 40s cd. Swap to Earth or Water. Wait for Air CD (13s). This just barely works out to keep Swiftness (33% speed, the max possible boost currently) up in a small aoe around me. Good for party travel. If solo I can add Glyph of Elemental Harmony (11s) to make it a little easier to maintain. For PVE vs 1 mob, I go Sceptre/Dagger. Kiting/poking mobs down with air attunement is easy enough, and Ride The Lightning + Updraft is a nice burst/cc/reposition to make it easier. Then swap fire, Dragon's Tooth, Signet of Earth to hold the mob in place so it hits, phoenix just behind the mob so it hits 3 times and then Fire Grasp since it will be burning from Tooth and thus do 2x damage. Then Ring of fire, and evaluate options: if unhurt, go to Earth and finish the Ring of Fire combo, if hurt go to Water and heal up (keep kiting.) Then back to air. PVP is about the same, but swap to Cleansing Fire, Signet of Earth, and Mist Form for utility skills, and trait Cleansing Wave in Water. With Cleansing Wave from traits that will be two stunbreakers, a triple condition remover, and a single condition remover. That's enough to win quite a few matchups, and damage output doesn't suffer much (cleansing fire does do damage.) A note on kiting: Kiting melee is easy, imagine dividing your screen into 9 sections: 1|2|3 -|-|- 4|5|6 -|-|- 7|8|9 Keep Melee mobs in sections 1 or 2 while strafing and mouse-turning. Don't keyboard turn. Also don't double-tap to dodge, bind it to a key (I use mouse 4). Double-tapping stops you briefly and gets you hit. For kiting ranged mobs, you actually want to get right up next to them and keep just behind them. They can't hit you when you're behind them, and can't turn fast enough with your small run radius. I tend to run through the mob and turn around rapidly, repeatedly. Oh, time your dodges, blinds, knockbacks, roots, stuns, etc. Use them when the mob is charging up a big attack, or is just about to hit you. When they get in range to hit you they should be blinded for the attack, then you should dodge or knock them back before the next attack. I used this (PVE Staff above) to solo a lvl 25 Veteran Earth Elemental and 4 lvl 25 Earth Elementals at lvl 22. I got hit a few times, but was always able to heal to full and swap back to doing good damage for a while before getting hit again. Took a while though, they have high toughness.

» Edited on: 2012-08-28 02:42:05

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Valor Rank 7Fellowship Rank 10Scholar Rank 3Artisan Rank 6
Seaimpin de na Capall
Denji
Seaimpin de na Capall
  • GW2: thundermittens.2831
Replied On: 08/28/2012 at 10:25 AM PDT
  • Twitch
  • Extra-Life

wow,nice post with lots of useful info. Ill follow this exactly, and see what happens, thanks Sai!

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Fellowship Rank 10Scholar Rank 4Artisan Rank 16
Saighdiuir de na Faolchu Donn
Corpus
Saighdiuir de na Faolchu Donn
Replied On: 08/28/2012 at 11:27 AM PDT
  • Twitch

Denji, ive had those kinds of moments before. It is kind of satisfying to have been undergeared for so long and then suddenly have decent/high quality gear. you feel invincible, lol.

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Valor Rank 5Fellowship Rank 9Scholar Rank 2
Seaimpin de na Capall
Denji
Seaimpin de na Capall
  • GW2: thundermittens.2831
Replied On: 08/28/2012 at 08:26 PM PDT
  • Twitch
  • Extra-Life

@corpus yeah, I totally felt b@d@ss. Im still an average to below average player, but it was nice to kill 1 thing without dying XD. @everyone If any of you folks dont mind, and have the patience, could I follow you around and watch you do "elementalist stuff"? Some things are just easier to learn by watching other folks.

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Fellowship Rank 10Scholar Rank 4Artisan Rank 16
Saighdiuir de na Capall
Psypher
Saighdiuir de na Capall
Replied On: 08/29/2012 at 07:51 AM PDT

I'm happy to have you follow me around! I'm not saying I'm worth following around, mind you, but even with being highly, highly squishy I do okay. One thing to bear in mind when building the elementalist is this: crits are good, but crits with power are much, much better. In fact, from a general leveling perspective, power probably trumps crit/precision in many cases. I'm about a level 22 ele right now by accident (I say that because a fairly significant chunk of my exp has come from mat farming and crafting). I have around 60-70% crit right now depending on what weaps/skills I have equipped, which I find quite sufficient for the time being. Generally what I do from there is stack power, as power also increases the effectiveness of crit. There's a passive skill I have that grants +crit...I think 10%?...plus my first ten trait points all went to air/crit, plus many of my armor pieces were cratfed with a crit modifier. Then I use garnets to boost my power in any open slot I can find, and craft my weaps with +power modifiers. So far I can do some pretty decent damage, and if I use my root skill combined with a scepter or staff then many mobs never touch me before they die. One thing that I *KNOW* I need to learn is how to "stick and move." Dodging, kiting, strafing...all techniques that I must master. For now, though, I have no problem just plinking away until they're dead.

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Valor Rank 2Fellowship Rank 9Explorer Rank 3Scholar Rank 1Artisan Rank 4
Seaimpin de na Capall
Denji
Seaimpin de na Capall
  • GW2: thundermittens.2831
Replied On: 08/29/2012 at 05:10 PM PDT
  • Twitch
  • Extra-Life

Thanks psypher, hopefully ill see you around :) If anything, Ill give you something to laugh at when I get squished O_o

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Fellowship Rank 10Scholar Rank 4Artisan Rank 16
Curadh de na Iomproidh Oráiste
JibbitsJr
Curadh de na Iomproidh Oráiste
Replied On: 08/31/2012 at 07:30 PM PDT
  • XBOX

@ Denji Hit me up in game, and I will be happy to help as well.

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Valor Rank 8Fellowship Rank 10Scholar Rank 3
Seaimpin de na Capall
Denji
Seaimpin de na Capall
  • GW2: thundermittens.2831
Replied On: 09/01/2012 at 10:16 AM PDT
  • Twitch
  • Extra-Life

@Jibbs yay! thank you, i will =) @ everyone Im sharing this because as mediocre a player as I am, this rotation I've been using is eating through pve, and I die way less than I was playing as a staff or s/d. This took me from 30-40 yesterday. I say I died 3 times total from being careless or from staring at the TV. FIRE Burnning Speed [3] Drake's Breath [2] (apply burning) Fire Grab [5] Earth Earthquake [4] (the 1 second between [4] and [5] will be the only time you get hit, so if you want to be cautious use arcane shield (i use AS in boss fights, but not often) Churning Earth [5] (most things are dead by here) (possibly 2) Water (by the time you hit this part of the rotation, you'll know if you're in trouble with health or not, so use 5 whenever) Frost Armor [4] Cone of cold [2] Frozen Burst [3] Air Lightning Touch [2] up Draft [5] Shockin Aura [3] Ride the lightning [4] updraft[5] then start again at fire burning speed. Gear: Im using the vanilla gear you get from the armorer, and a hero's band.

» Edited on: 2012-09-01 19:17:05

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Fellowship Rank 10Scholar Rank 4Artisan Rank 16
Caomhnoir de na Iomproidh Donn
Ceadda
Caomhnoir de na Iomproidh Donn
  • GW2: Moitz.9632
  • ESO: @Jedgars
Replied On: 09/14/2012 at 11:27 AM PDT
  • Twitch
  • Twitch
  • Extra-Life

Please check out my posts in the Elementalist Guide for a rundown on my elementalist and what i feel is a nice way to play the profession. Also don't hesitate to ask questions to me in game. -Jedgar

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Valor Rank 7Fellowship Rank 12Scholar Rank 2Artisan Rank 7Social Rank 1
Ban Finsceal de na Iolair
Morigana
Ban Finsceal de na Iolair
  • GW2: imagetaker.6807
  • ESO: @Morigana99
Replied On: 10/02/2012 at 05:23 AM PDT

OK - I totally redid my elementalist - that means I deleted her and started over. The main reason is I wanted to do a human instead of norn and change her appearance entirely. I am a vain old lady and she needs to look just right or I won't play her. I have to really relate to her - and now I do. I have gone mainly scepter/dagger although she is trained in everything and I keep a staff in my inventory for specific situations (such as keep takes and defenses in WvWvW). I love scepter/dagger although I give up the earthern armor - I would rather have ride the lightning, updraft, earthquake and churning earth. I am only level 22 at this moment but I am having no problems taking 3-5 equal level mobs as long as my rotations are up and ready to use. I start with Ride the Lightning, blinding flash, Updraft, Earthquake, Churning Earth, Dust Devil, Ring of Fire, Lastly switch to water and do cleansing wave hit my heal - and usually everything is dead. If they aren't it is usually some minor cleanup. I just do the cleansing wave and heal to make sure I don't die from bleeds or poisons that might have hit me. Last night there was a group of 5 of us taking the Champion in the Savnir (sp) camp where the lion guard go up in the hills and take out the camp to spawn the champion. Somehow I ended up kiting the champion and the other 4 did damage on it... honestly, I know there was a hunter and another ele (using a staff) but the last two joined in after I was already kiting it but I think one or both were warriors. I got stuck kiting since I was doing a lot of damage on it and never let up and the damn thing hated me - A LOT (I could see it in it's eyes). Luckily, I never tripped over my own two feet as I usually do. I was using the signet of fire whenever it was up as well as the cleansing fire signet. But basically I just rotated through the 4 attunements - using updraft and eathquake whenever they were ready to keep some distance - as well as the trident and phoenix to help heal - and was sure to be on water whenever I hit my heal to get regen also. It took 20 minutes of kiting with just the 5 of us and I just kept back peddling in a circle - I never stopped long enough to use churning earth - but when I was on lightning and updraft was ready - I would ride the lightning in - and use updraft to get away( I love doing that) I was literally exhausted after it was over (it may have been longer than 20 mins - I lost track). But it sold me on my ele - once again - and on Scepter/Dagger. I know it may not be the best - I know she might die more than some of the others - but it is really fun and it is for moments like this that I play the game - and will continue playing my ele now. Safe journ all! Keep riding the Lightning and burning butts :)

» Edited on: 2012-10-02 05:31:35

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Fellowship Rank 20Explorer Rank 1Scholar Rank 7
Curadh de na Faolchu
Arowefell
Curadh de na Faolchu
  • GW2: Quigley.9236
Replied On: 10/02/2012 at 06:11 AM PDT
  • Twitch

I can't really speak to the Elementalist, but I will say that all of my characters have felt incredibly weak for the first 30 levels or so. Even on my warrior, I spent a couple of levels using ranged weapons because I just couldn't take the hits mobs were dishing out. Once I got past the early 30's, however, I finally had enough trait points to access the more powerful synergies, which has completely changed my character. At 25, I was carefully pulling, peeling, and LOSing to make sure I only got one mob at a time, and I fought everything by running in a circle around it, and dodging it's every attack. At 53, however, fighting less than 5 at once feels like a waste of time, and I don't even bother to move if I'm fighting anything less than a champion. My mesmer, at 32, is just barely starting to feel like she's got some horsepower, and I've stopped feeling like I'm doing it wrong. It seems to me that traits make all the difference in the world.

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Valor Rank 3Fellowship Rank 10Explorer Rank 2Scholar Rank 3
Ban Ridire de na Iomproidh Buí
LilyAinwe
Ban Ridire de na Iomproidh Buí
Replied On: 10/02/2012 at 07:41 AM PDT

I have only one character, and its an elementalist. I can say that I did the maps in order of level, and I am sure that helped because my gear at least had higher stats that I would normally have for my scaled down level. (As in I did all the 1-15 maps first, then the next lvl bracket, and so on.) I am able to kill many mobs at the same time, though my HP drops to below half, but thats okay, they die before I do... and isn't that what a glass cannon is all about? hehe I won't go into my rotations but mostly I just switch attunements all the time. I start with earth because i run with double daggers in PvE and with my earth traits and condition damage plus stats, the mob just bleeds out while i switch around different attunements. Never wait for a cooldown, switch it to something other element, even if its just water to get some heals. I am happy to see the kiting information, but I just mage tank it all the way. I can kill three to four mobs in less than 10 seconds, and thats good for me (Mind you I take a beating, but lucky we heal up fast when out of combat). Good luck and send me an ingame invite or whisper and I'd be happy to group up with you. <3 -Lily Ainwe

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Valor Rank 6Fellowship Rank 10Scholar Rank 4
Seaimpin de na Capall
Denji
Seaimpin de na Capall
  • GW2: thundermittens.2831
Replied On: 10/02/2012 at 02:27 PM PDT
  • Twitch
  • Extra-Life

@ Morigana, that's so awesome! As much pain as we've been going through with our ele's Im glad to hear your input with scepter/dagger. You're taking 3-5 mobs!?!?!? Holy shmoly, that is total pwnage for us =O I did try Jibbs' build for a weekend and I did really well, but I didn't go much further beyond that. I guess I'll have to give S/D a try again. Right now Im enjoying my engineer. with all that we learned playing an ele, and dancing through attunements, engineer is super easy to jump into. Swapping in and out of kits is actually way easier than being an ele. (where we'd have to invest 30 points into arcane to get a 9 second penalty between attunements, all the kits for the engineer are instant which is so awesome XD ) I purposely avoided s/d because Im so set on d/d and staff, but looks like I may have to give in. @Lily Ainwe, Im glad you're doing well with the d/d ele. I was burning through levels with my d/d, but once mobs started doing lots of condition damage and cc, my d/d came to a halt. 3 or more mobs in Orr would be a 50/50 chance of survival for me. If I bumped up vitality then i wasnt taking down mobs quick enough, and if i bumped up dmg, i'd melt too quickly from condition damage, even with all the cleanses I had from my skills and traits :/ I usually juggle stuns/knockdowns/etc so they don't touch me, but with mobs in orr taking turns knocking me down, i could just never recover fast enough. Then I tried staff at orr, but with pretty much every mob having frenzy and moving 2x the speed, my holds would slow them down only a little, then they'd be right back in my face again :/ I got through the whole game with my main, (ele) but the last part was pretty darned painful for me :( If you have any secrets for dealing with orr then share, so I can give it a whirl, ill try anything at this point.

» Edited on: 2012-10-02 14:30:24

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Fellowship Rank 10Scholar Rank 4Artisan Rank 16
Curadh de na Faolchu Donn
SAI
Curadh de na Faolchu Donn
  • GW2: SAI Peregrinus.8410
Replied On: 10/02/2012 at 04:09 PM PDT
  • Steam
  • Twitch
  • Extra-Life

For Orr (warning, this makes the whole zone mind-numbingly easy, except champions. Veteran risen giants can be soloed): Traits: 20/20/0/10/20 Fire: VI, VIII (Internal Fire, Conjurer) Air: VI, VIII (Bolt to the Heart, Inscription) Water: V (Cleansing Wave) Arcane: VI, VIII (Renewing Stamina, Blasting Staff) Weapon: Staff Gear: Valkyrie, runes of the Scholar Skills: Heal: Glyph of Elemental Harmony Utility: Conjure Lightning Hammer, Armor of Earth, Your Choice (I am lazy and slot signet of fire for the 105 precision passive bonus.) Elite: Glyph of Elementals. In Air mode, Staff 4 + Glyph of Elemental Harmony = Permanent swiftness. For most single mobs, fight in fire. Use skills 1-4 only, meteor shower is suicide when solo. Skill 4 (Burning Retreat) is ONLY to be used as an extra dodge. Almost all your damage comes from skill 2 (Lava Font). When they start bashing on you, pop armor of earth if needed, or just if you feel like it. Use your heal for 2 might stacks after you've taken a few hits. To fight anything "difficult" Stop. Pull out the hammer. Laugh maniacally, shout "HAMMERTIME!" Charge in (skill 2), use Armor of Earth, and watch as your short-cooldown AOE blind (skill 1, should autoattack) makes you invincible long after Armor of Earth wears off. If you're about to run out of charges pick up the spare hammer. WARNING: This will remove all challenge from Orr, and turn it into the same tedious grind from place to place through hordes of risen that every other class gets to experience. EDIT: For dungeons, swap out Conjurer for Pyromancer's Alacrity. Swap the hammer to the skill of your choice, I vary it depending on the dungeon/fight (eg the teleport for CoE to get out of crystals, arcane blast for combo fights, etc).

» Edited on: 2012-10-02 22:09:42

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Valor Rank 7Fellowship Rank 10Scholar Rank 3Artisan Rank 6
Seaimpin de na Capall
Denji
Seaimpin de na Capall
  • GW2: thundermittens.2831
Replied On: 10/02/2012 at 05:24 PM PDT
  • Twitch
  • Extra-Life

"this makes the whole zone mind-numbingly easy" That's what you think, i bet I could prove you wrong :/ Thanks for the build Sai, Ill follow your directions exactly, and give it a try tonight! My irl job is challenging, and makes my brain hurt at the end of the day, so honestly, i actually do just wanna login, be a superhero, and watch things die around me while I bash on the keyboard and look awesome XD I actually haven't played with the hammer yet, Ill remember to shout "HAMMERTIME" =D

» Edited on: 2012-10-02 19:09:07

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Fellowship Rank 10Scholar Rank 4Artisan Rank 16
Ban Finsceal de na Iolair
Morigana
Ban Finsceal de na Iolair
  • GW2: imagetaker.6807
  • ESO: @Morigana99
Replied On: 10/03/2012 at 12:53 PM PDT

Thanks Sai... I laughed (and am still chuckling at I write this) "Hammertime"... "Lauch manically" soooooo funny I wanted a good staff build and technique because I feel I look "cooler" with the staff /fondly remembers her Bright Wizard days and sighs I'm not quite there yet to obtain all the traits and skills but I shall jot them down and keep applying as I go. I tried dual daggers again last night and after just a few encounters went back to my scepter/dagger but I also keep my staff at the ready. Thanks again for the build/technique and for the chuckles. :)

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Fellowship Rank 20Explorer Rank 1Scholar Rank 7
Curadh de na Faolchu Donn
SAI
Curadh de na Faolchu Donn
  • GW2: SAI Peregrinus.8410
Replied On: 10/03/2012 at 03:09 PM PDT
  • Steam
  • Twitch
  • Extra-Life

The Fire 20 point skill Conjurer is the most important (for the hammer). After that the Arcane 10 point skill Renewing Stamina (aka never run out of Endurance), then the 20 point skill Blasting Staff. Water & air are about equal, the Air 10 adds damage the water 10 gives easy condition removal. The Air 20 adds a good effect whenever you heal, and lets you have permanent swiftness in Air attunement. Do YOU long for a mount? Ride an Air Elementalist today! Also, the 20/20/0/10/20 setup is pretty flexible, you can get quite a few builds for different situations by swapping the major traits and utility skills around.

» Edited on: 2012-10-03 15:11:28

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Valor Rank 7Fellowship Rank 10Scholar Rank 3Artisan Rank 6
Ban Finsceal de na Iolair
Morigana
Ban Finsceal de na Iolair
  • GW2: imagetaker.6807
  • ESO: @Morigana99
Replied On: 10/03/2012 at 08:41 PM PDT

Can't seem to reset my traits using the Adept's Training Manual - it makes a noise like it's opening and then nothing happens. Everything else in my inventory works fine... logged out and back in - still nothing. hoping the maintenance fixes it as I have bugged it but see nothing else noted on it. Maybe I'm doing something wrong :( I was able to add points just fine - theya actually show as usable - actually have 2 since I bought one from a different vendor just to see.... Well - I'll wait and see....

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Fellowship Rank 20Explorer Rank 1Scholar Rank 7
Tiarna de na Capall Dearg
KooZ
Tiarna de na Capall Dearg
Replied On: 10/03/2012 at 11:43 PM PDT
  • Steam

To reset traits you need to talk to to trainer and ask for a traits reset, cost 5 copper each traits.

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Valor Rank 15Fellowship Rank 12Explorer Rank 5Scholar Rank 3Artisan Rank 8
Tiarna de na Capall Dearg
KooZ
Tiarna de na Capall Dearg
Replied On: 10/03/2012 at 11:55 PM PDT
  • Steam

Here is how I set up my traits on me ele, I'm trying to stack vitality, power and crit damage. http://www.gw2builds.org/create/bwe_1/elementalist#0.0-2.16.10.15.3-30.20.0.0.20-7.11.10.8.6.6.5 Note that persistant flame can be traded with pyromancer's puissance for more stacks of might (I will run further test to see which one is better) Also, Final shielding is not so great in arcane tree and could be replace by Elemental attenument (for more boons) or Renewing stamina (for recovering faster your endurence) For heal skill you might want to consider getting Prayer to Dwayna because it heals for more, however longer cooldown and you don't get the boon from the heal + the boon from one of the air traits but it cast faster and brings you out of bad situation better than the glyph which is slow and more a heal skill to keep your hp high (using it when hp at 60%)

» Edited on: 2012-10-03 23:59:11

» Edited on: 2012-10-03 23:59:36

» Edited on: 2012-10-03 23:59:52

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Valor Rank 15Fellowship Rank 12Explorer Rank 5Scholar Rank 3Artisan Rank 8
Ban Finsceal de na Iolair
Morigana
Ban Finsceal de na Iolair
  • GW2: imagetaker.6807
  • ESO: @Morigana99
Replied On: 10/04/2012 at 03:52 PM PDT

Thanks Kooz.... The Book states on it "Resets Traits" so I bought it... I didn't see the option on the trainer when I bought the book - but then again, maybe I didn't look to good.

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Fellowship Rank 20Explorer Rank 1Scholar Rank 7
Curadh de na Faolchu Donn
SAI
Curadh de na Faolchu Donn
  • GW2: SAI Peregrinus.8410
Replied On: 10/04/2012 at 11:55 PM PDT
  • Steam
  • Twitch
  • Extra-Life

Prayer to Dwayna is human only, and will tend to heal for less than Glyph of Elemental Harmony in water attunement with Inscription. EG For me Dwayna heals for 6605, Glyph heals for 8246. And that's ignoring the Soothing Mist healing. Then I just pop Staff 2 on the enemy for vulnerability and go back to fire.

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Valor Rank 7Fellowship Rank 10Scholar Rank 3Artisan Rank 6
Tiarna de na Capall Dearg
KooZ
Tiarna de na Capall Dearg
Replied On: 10/05/2012 at 08:44 AM PDT
  • Steam

You say it heals for more but that's over time correct? But in WvW I feel like instant big heal is better because I feel like when you take damage, you are getting focused so hp goes down quick. Goes with personal preferance. And from what I saw and thanks for telling me because I had no clue, only humans can have that 4th healing option in utility 1. So if not human, go for glyph.

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Valor Rank 15Fellowship Rank 12Explorer Rank 5Scholar Rank 3Artisan Rank 8
Saighdiuir de na Faolchu Donn
AzhureRake
Saighdiuir de na Faolchu Donn
Replied On: 10/05/2012 at 08:52 PM PDT
  • Steam
  • Twitter

Hi, I thought I'd add my two cents here. I have a level 80 Elementalist. I've tried various builds and styles while leveling and even after I hit 80. What I've found that works the best for me is: Traits: Fire - 5 Air - 5 Earth - 30 Water - 30 Arcane - 0 In the earth trait I have 10 - Signet Mastery 20 - Geomancer's Alacrity and 30 - Written in Stone. I Water I have 10 - Aquamancer's Alacrity 20 - Shard of Ice 30 - Powerful Aura Shard of Ice I'm still testing, but so far I like it. Weapons: Dual Daggers and Staff Currently I have 6 Superior Rune of the Undead on my armor, it breaks down to this per piece: 1 - +28 Condition Damage 2 - +15 Toughness 3 - +55 Condition Damage 4 - +35 Toughness 5 - +100 Condition Damage 6 - +5% of Toughness becomes Condition Damage Dual Daggers for pve and some dungeons, and I use staff for WVW and some dungeons. It's more situational in the dungeons depending on the boss and mobs. Utilities: 7 - Signet of Water 8 - Signet of Air 9 - Signet of Earth 0 Elite - Glyph of Elementals After I switched to earth/water, my survivability has increased dramatically. And I still feel like I'm killing pretty quickly. In earth, you do need more condition damage, which is great for kiting, you put bleed on them and then let them bleed to death while you kite them. When I'm pve, using dual daggers, I rotate through all my attunements. I start in fire, use 3 to initiate attack, drop 4 then 5, then 2 while kiting around the mob/mobs. I will also hit 7,8,9 during this as well. Then I switch to earth, use 4 to stun, then 5 asap, wait for the channel, then 3, then 2, sometimes cd's on 7,8,9 are done and I reuse them again. Then switch to water, Hit 4, then 5, then 3 then 2, again with the 7,8,9 depending on cd, I usually use the Glyph of Elementals in water for the extra heals. I will usually spend some time in water autoattacking and using 2, then 3 again. After that switch to air, hit 4, then 3, then 2, the 5, then immediately switch to fire and hit 3 again and start over. *Note* In air 5 will knock-back the mobs, and push you away, that's why I switch to fire, and hit 3, 3 will bring you back into range again. Staff: I use almost the exact same rotation with my staff, putting down combo fields etc... Most of the time, the mobs don't live long enough for me to go all the way through the rotation, unless I'm in a dungeon. I'm currently saving the money to acquire a set of Cleric's Exalted armor, it would be a set of healer gear mostly for dungeons. Like I said, this has worked for me, and I don't feel that I've lost much if any damage per second...it's just been redirected into bleeds instead of burst damage. But the fact that I can survive much better has made it a much more enjoyable character class to play. Don't get me wrong, you're wearing light armor...you're still very squishy....but not nearly as bad as a full blown glass cannon.

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Valor Rank 6Fellowship Rank 8
Seaimpin de na Capall
Denji
Seaimpin de na Capall
  • GW2: thundermittens.2831
Replied On: 10/06/2012 at 05:39 PM PDT
  • Twitch
  • Extra-Life

cool, I havent tried a d/d condition build yet. Ill give it a shot :)

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Fellowship Rank 10Scholar Rank 4Artisan Rank 16
Lorgaire de na Faolchu
Spenc
Lorgaire de na Faolchu
Replied On: 10/08/2012 at 03:37 AM PDT

This was a very interesting read; My Elementalist is currently level 24, I only use the fire element with the Utilities: Arcane Wave, Arcane Power and Arcane Blast with the use of a staff. My gear is upgraded every 5 levels from the AH. Playing solo in PvE I die somewhat regularly and this is mostly due to my negligence. In a group in PvE, I rarely die. I am commenting in this thread as I was astonished to find out people were using all 4 elements in a fight. I don't know why but it had never occurred to me to do that, I must give that a try. I also have on ever used a staff and this was from reading a bit before playing a Elementalist and it was recommended to do so. Again after reading this thread I must try the other weapon combos. Thank you for a very informative thread.

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Fellowship Rank 6
Curadh de na Iomproidh Oráiste
JibbitsJr
Curadh de na Iomproidh Oráiste
Replied On: 10/09/2012 at 06:23 PM PDT
  • XBOX

Hello Fellow Ele’s, We all have our own play style. What works for me, might not work for you. However, here is something to think about. Damage mitigation is the niche of this game. DOT vs Direct Damage: I am a dot kind of guy. So my opinion is bias in that respect. I do not need fancy graphics or big numbers on my screen. I need the red bar to go down as fast, and as consistently, as possible! Direct damage can be mitigated through boons, utilities, and player used skills. This is also true for enemy mob buffs. Direct damage requires LOS to do damage. DOT’s can only be cleansed. Never mitigated!!!! DOT’s do not need LOS to do damage. Even if you mitigate all of the application attack damage, the dot still goes on and ticks for full value. This is true even when the mob has been knocked into a wall, and you are getting the invulnerable text on your screen. This is also true for the guy trying to los you around a corner in wvw. If they blew their cleanse getting away, the dot will keep them running to lick their wounds or flat out kill them. Shall we do some math? Burning damage is determined by the following formula: 8 + (4 * Level) + (0.25 * Condition Damage) per second Bleeding can stack in intensity up to 25 times and each stack does one pulse of damage per second. The damage dealt by bleeding is determined by the following formula: 2.5 + 0.5 * Level + 0.05 * Condition Damage= per stack per second Current Gear: 888 cd= 550 bu 888 cd= 86.9 bl 86.9*12stacks = 1042.8 a second Bleed=1042.8 a second Burn=550 a second 1592.8 dps just off dots Final Gear: 1200 cd = 628 bu 1200 cd = 102.5 bl 102.5*12stacks = 1230 a second Bleed=1230 a second Burn=628 a second 1858 dps just off dots ****** This does not take into account the application attack damage ;}******** 12 stacks build just off of 4 applications of stone shard. So 8-10 seconds into a fight you have this melting them away + whatever fruity rotation you chose to use through your other elements. Remember to come back to earth and re-apply 12 stacks ;} If spec'd right you should be able to carry your bleeds for 9 seconds. o.O Plenty of time to fine tune your rotation. More info if you care. http://www.gw2bnc.com/2012/07/guide-to-bleeding/

» Edited on: 2012-10-09 23:50:58

» Edited on: 2012-10-10 02:47:36

Awards & Achievements
Devotion Rank 20Valor Rank 8Fellowship Rank 10Scholar Rank 3
[0.2643]