I just dont like the trait. Then again, i don’t like any of the ele traits enough for me to think “wow i should change my build and add that” 1 Blind every 5 seconds is simply not Grandmaster quality. It being in the Fire line i was really hoping for something that would benefit Condition builds a little bit, like Increased Burning Damage.
So you’d rather get the Guardian trait?
From a damage perspective I get that. But what Elementalists lack when going deep into Fire is survivability. That is where this trait comes in handy if you can’t spare the trait points for other defensive trait lines. It will also work extremly well with Burning Precision even when not attuned to fire.
If you want more damage on the Grandmaster level in fire ANet should consider altering Pyromancers Puissance. If they added just another +damage trait it would be pretty redundant. Kindled Zeal and Amplified Wrath ‘cough’.
Currently the tree has very few reasons to go into it, this trait will not change that. Without control over who gets the blind as i said it could easily be wasted on Clones, Ranger Pets, Minions, Spirit Minions and such. I just don’t think that a trait for 1 blind every 5 seconds is going to really do much for the class.
You are right with the minion thing although it certainly is not impossible to hit the right target. You just can’t spam your area effects. And instead of that, try to see the advantage. As long as you don’t face a Spirit Ranger or Minion Necro the trait will be pretty good. Even against Mesmers, although, they probably have the highest innate defense against it.
Try to think of it this way: In a 1vs1 petless scenario the 1 Blind every 5s equals 1 Aegis every 5s. And please, don’t tell me that this is weak. It is not. It is extremly powerful. Especially against Thieves which really hinder Elementalists in PvP at the moment.
If you are concerned it is not GM worth you might want to look at Go for the Eyes (Engineer). I got to admit that this trait is… eh… well. Not that great. But balancewise Blinding Ashes appears to be reasonable. Just don’t take it for large scale fights. That is not what it is designed for.
When the update comes and we have had a week or so with them – i reckon i will be proven right. Most of these traits will be FoTM for a bit and then replaced when people see that they don’t really offer enough to make the losses of traits and stats elsewhere to be worth it.
Most of the complains going on right now arise from people expecting the GM traits to improve overall class performance. But that is not what they were created for. Balance has to be done through altering existing traits, utilities and weapon skills. The new traits are supposed to open up new builds and playstyles and I personally feel ANet actually did a nice job on most of them. People will try them and maybe stick with a new build. But it won’t make them FoTM. The only trait I’m seriously concerned about are Resilience of Shadows and Dual Whield Agility.
My issue with the trait is simple: It is not Grandmaster quality.
Then again, same could be said for pretty much all the new ele traits. Even the Earth one is going to be rather pointless seeing as it will not work with Lingering Elements and is in an attunement that is no threat to anyone.
Again, I think it is GM quality. And I think this is the case for the other traits. Aquatic Benevolence is very interesting for group support in PvE (as long as you are not one of those speedrun people…) and also for WvW where I personally do not see the need for Cleansing Water. New/niche build opportunity. Stone Heart will work extremly well against bursty builds which is something that can wreck Elementalists. In combination with Blinding Ashes you will be quite strong against Thieves and might finally enable builds outside of high Water/Arcane. Elemental Contingency looks boring but increases the up time of some of the most important boons. It might become pretty important since we can expect the maximum amount +% boon duration to decrease (rune change).
The only one I’m a bit confused about is Lightning Rod. While I like the concept (damage + weakness) I feel that D/D would benefit the most but it already got enough of both. But maybe it was meant to increase the damage and survivability of Staff.
