Guild Wars 2

Hi All,

Hoping some Elementals can give me some advice.

Only second time ive sat down to play GW2 and don’t feel im making the most of my guy.

day 1 had the starting weapon, got a nice little dagger and powers where quite cool, liked the lightning constant attach and a drop fire attack, wasnt high enough to get the earth magics at the time.

Then I got a staff, quite liked the healing spells (though it only seems to heal allies not myself) and damage seemed good on the attacks.

As things have leveled up and ive now got all 4 magics im starting to feel underpowered.

i’m constantly changing between magic types to try and see whats best, naturally some are best against certain enemies but im not finding they do much damage.

infact quest I was on let me pick up a stone and throw it at spiders and the stone did way more damage than I could, 1 stone = 3 spider kills, my powers take about 3/4 hits to kill each little spider.

using the skills you purchase with the blue skill points i get another healing spell, not realising that i can only equip 1 at a time, thought the passive ability would heal me each time i cast a spell but just clicked the reason it isnt working is i need to swap my normal healing ability for it, the normal one having lots of good extras.

Do the weapon spells change as I level up at all? and there ways to cast more than 1 healing spell and is there any advice anyone has of how to make the most of what the class has?

Thanks all

Your weapon spells remain the same, but are actually quite powerful with Staff.

My main is a lvl 80 ele and use staff exclusively. I also play exclusively PvE.

Do you know about combo fields and how to use them? They will definitely enhance your play. Check out this page, http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Combo

To get you started though, go to Earth and use the #2 skill eruption. Then switch to Fire and use the #2 skill lava font and place it over the eruption skill. When eruption goes off Area Might will be cast giving you and all allies around +3 might.

Others include:

Eruption + Static Field (Air #5) = Area Swiftness
Eruption + Geyser (Water #3) = Area healing
Eruption + Healing Rain (water #5) = Area regeneration

Also , as you level up you get Traits (this starts at level 10) and they can enhance your play. I suggest using the Arcane route and getting the trait which doubles the size of your AoE skills. Arcane traits will also decrease the cooldown of swapping elements which is something you should be doing a lot.

Another note: Eruption does quite a bit of AoE damage and applies bleeding to enemies. I use it a lot in PvE, and you just have to place it well because it takes a few seconds to go off. You can either time it well or use crowd control spells to help. (Examples of crowd control for Ele are Static Field (Air #5, stuns anything that passes through it), Unsteady Ground (Earth #4, cripples anything that walks over it), Frozen Ground (Water #4, chills anything that passes over it).

Feel free to PM me in game if you want any more in-game help!

Hmm, well let me start by saying that as an Elementalist, it’s very natural to switch between fire, water, air, and earth attunement during combat. Generally speaking Fire is geared toward higher damage and burning skills, Water is geared toward healing, Air toward hampering your opponents mobility and increasing yours, and Earth does heavy bleeding attacks and defensive spells.

From my experience if enemies are more than 2 levels above you they are gonna be pretty tough. I don’t know if your in over your head or not ikittenone, but keep that in mind.

As for the boulders you can through, yeah they do tons of damage. there’s no helping that really, it’s no measure of your strength.

Also yes, your number 6 skill is always your one and only straight heal. Some of your water skills will also heal you or your allies, fro the staff the two skill that heal are AOE so make sure you step in them if you want some healing for yourself.

And yes your “Passive” skills, Which are called signets, only activate their passive effect when they are in your skill bar. You may then click them for a different effect, and once on cool down they lose their passive effect until recharged.

Now to answer your question, No the weapon skills are always the same, and are specific to each weapon. You can cast your No. 6 skill and then use some water skills that heal as well, but make sure to learn to constantly move and dodge. As an Elementalist, you have one of the lowest base HP, So your a little squishy. make sure to pack in some toughness and vitality and probably condition damage or power if you like in your weapons and armor.

I just have to ask if you’ve been spending your trait points along the way, and upgrading your equipment every so often, as this will help you general ability to kill and survive.

Jemmi.6058:

Your weapon spells remain the same, but are actually quite powerful with Staff.

My main is a lvl 80 ele and use staff exclusively. I also play exclusively PvE.

Do you know about combo fields and how to use them? They will definitely enhance your play. Check out this page, http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Combo

To get you started though, go to Earth and use the #5 skill eruption. Then switch to Fire and use the #2 skill lava font and place it over the eruption skill. When eruption goes off Area Might will be cast giving you and all allies around +3 might.

Others include:

Eruption + Static Field (Air #5) = Area Swiftness
Eruption + Geyser (Water #3) = Area healing
Eruption + Healing Rain (water #5) = Area regeneration

Also , as you level up you get Traits (this starts at level 10) and they can enhance your play. I suggest using the Arcane route and getting the trait which doubles the size of your AoE skills. Arcane traits will also decrease the cooldown of swapping elements which is something you should be doing a lot.

Another note: Eruption does quite a bit of AoE damage and applies bleeding to enemies. I use it a lot in PvE, and you just have to place it well because it takes a few seconds to go off. You can either time it well or use crowd control spells to help. (Examples of crowd control for Ele are Static Field (Air #5, stuns anything that passes through it), Unsteady Ground (Earth #4, cripples anything that walks over it), Frozen Ground (Water #4, chills anything that passes over it).

Feel free to PM me in game if you want any more in-game help!

Small correction: Eruption is Staff/Earth 2, not Earth 5. That would be shockwave.

Eruption is a good blast finisher, but it might take a little bit of timing to get down.
In my opinion, the easiest way for a new player to get a feel for blast combos is with Arcane Wave.

It is a utility skill that can be unlocked for a single skill point, so it is available to you immediately.

Thanks for pointing that out LFK – edited!

wow thanks guys, that was even better replies than I was expecting, took a while to read through, combo’s are definitely the way to go

As for the traits am i right in thinking they are race specific? I went Sylvari if that matters.

TBH I think I am running into things way too early but the exp on the main quests are a lot higher and since the only other person I know if level 80 think im just being impatient

Got a good bit of leveling still to do anyway only level 8, last main mission was recomended level 10 so im trying side quests before doing the next one but some of these side quests are even harder,

Got saved in the spider cave when a queen came down even meteors did very little damage ill need to learn the combo’s so ill do some practicing on some stray animal life to get the timings down before I jump into another mission.

I was looking at the traders to try and find better equipment but the black lion traders are the only ones that have better stuff the two things I cant seem to find are light shoulder’s and a helm that has armour value they all seem to be more decorative and at high levels have nice abilities more than armour based.

For the rest as a elementalist im trying to balance out toughness and power boosts and considering buying on the black lion traders some better stuff ideally with some sort of life leach or heal but based on whats to offer think im better off waiting until level 10 as the difference from older levels seems to be better after that

Traits start at level 10. You can see them on your hero menu and selecting skills/traits and then the traits tab.

Before selecting your traits, you have to buy a manual from a class specific trainer (they are often in hometowns, so check for an NPC with a book above it’s head in The Grove). They also appear on your mini map I believe.

You will need a manual at level 10, 40 and 60 to unlock the 1st, 2nd and 3rd phases. Each phase allows 10 points in that line, so you can have a maximum of 30 points in a line. Every 5 points allows for a mini trait and every 10 points allow for a major trait. I understand this can be confusing and my explanation may be lacking. I refer you to here: http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Trait

You can also wiki anything straight from the game, for example in chat type /wiki Trait

Jemmi.6058:

Before selecting your traits, you have to buy a manual from a class specific trainer (they are often in hometowns, so check for an NPC with a book above it’s head in The Grove). They also appear on your mini map I believe.

The first manual is usually cheaper from the Trading Post than from the trainer.

Traits can and will make a big difference because as you sink points into a trait line, it will increase some of your basic attributes – e.g. points in fire raise power and condition duration, points in water raise vitality and healing power. Ten points in fire will give you 100 more power than you would otherwise have. You will find that at higher levels, as you get more trait points, you can control what you specialise in a lot more, and compensate for weaknesses if need be.

I usually try to pick one of power/pecision and one of touchness/vitality for a well-rounded character to solo with (though that is by no means required). Keep levelling and play around with things once you have traits, you should find it works out with some experimentation!

debating the skills for number 7 and 8 as not bought any went into healing instead

some of the skills say grants a chance but doesnt actually say what the chance is, if its a tiny percentage then the ones that do set damage look better, if its a high percentage id love it

Also does anyone know if arcane sheild is worth it, at my level its only 99 it protects against which seems rather low to be worth it

For utilities, use what sounds best to you.

I personally use Mist Form, Arcane Shield and Signet of Water.
Also, conjure frost bow is very powerful.

For chanced occurrences, check out the wiki – for example http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Glyph_of_Elemental_Power

I think you should try to use all the utilities you can afford to purchase with your skill points, to really get a feel for how they are applied

Elementalists, as one of the most versatile classes in the game, will wind up using a large portion of the available utilities to adapt to certain encounters. They are swapped out of combat, in preparation for the upcoming fight. Getting overly comfortable with 3 set utility skills is actually a bad habit to develop for this class, and I strongly suggest you try everything.

I can describe the skills that are frequently found on my hotbar:

Mist Form, Lightning Flash, Cleansing Fire, Arcane Shield – Defensive skills. Excellent for running, staying alive.
- Many dungeons are commonly traversed by running through certain sections.
- Encounters that inflict a large number of conditions on you will benefit from these so-called cantrip skills.
- It’s handy to know that Mist Form can be triggered when in the process of ressing an ally, giving you precious seconds of uninterrupted reviving.

Arcane Wave – Standard offensive blast finisher.
- Deals a good chunk of damage, and most importantly, is the most reliable way of triggering your many combo fields.
- This is frequently used in encounters that require more power, as you can throw an extra AOE attack / might blast.

Glyph of Storms – This is occasionally ignored by elementalists (particularly since the description is a little vague). This is a gigantic mistake.
- It is primarily used for the Earth Attuned storm, which is a long duration, AOE blind.
- This can make you essentially invulnerable against a group of non-champion enemies for the duration of the spell.

Conjure Frost Bow – Structure destroyer.
- Extremely handy for the Frost Bow #4 skill, which plows through structures very efficiently.
- Remember this skill conjures one in your hands, and one on the ground, so coordination with an ally is essential to maximizing the potential of this skill.

Signet of Earth – On-demand immobilize.
- Certain fights you encounter will benefit greatly from the ability to quickly stun a single target.

I occasionally have Signet of Fire (for purely offensive situations) and Armor of Earth (whenever the ‘stability’ boon is essential) there, but they are not staples.

A “base” PvE loadout looks like : Arcane Shield , Glyph of Storms, Arcane Wave
A “base” WvW loadout looks like: Arcane Shield, Mist Form, Lightning Flash
Again, these are often changed for skills that are needed in the upcoming encounter.

What you should do is look at your entire skill pool as a tool kit, and pick the right ones for the job as you learn more about the encounters you find yourself frequently repeating. Have fun!

am I right in thinking ill only get 70 trait points? as I want them all

hehe yep 70, though respeccing is quite cheap, the main issue is generally regearing, but if you have a beginner set of Power Vitality Toughness gear that works for basically everything while you’re learning.

speccing into Condition damage is generally not the best idea for eles until you know the class deeply :p

Hope you have fun, I enjoy elementalist a great deal message me if you ever want any kind of advice

done a lot of research and looking for some opinions and check my understandings are right

Think to start with im going to do arcane want that up to master and blasting staffs, little unsure how many trait points ill need to spend to get that if i understand right ill get that at number 20

grand master doesnt seem too worth while but might change my mind on that

water doesnt seem that great when it comes to skills but it is good for healing and il need to learn how to jump between them faster while will be easier with recharge boost from arcane so i do want to put points in this, just dont know how many yet

air i dont want to use up points in purely as I like other better but I really would like the speed boosts

so it comes down to fire and earth, fire i would really like up full so that it does crazy damage and im thinking meteor here but earth is something I have started using alot more, like the bleeding damage and the fact that on traits it says get toughness so that up full would be good

so im thinking either
Arcane – 20
Earth – 20
Fire – 20
Water – 10

or for more healing increase water to 20 and have either fire or earth up to full

or if earth to full will make me a tank take away healing to cover cost

what i cant work out though is from wiki it actually has 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and has minor and major in each section but the list of traits doesnt say which are minor and which are major or if it just means you can choose 1 skill for every 5 points

if thats the case I may be able to increase and decrease bby 5 to get a little more out of it

Though one other thing ive thought about is just being water and fire if i can get in with a good team and get out the way and heal at range and have meteors for damage

Ok, a few things:

1) At 5 points in a trait line you get a minor trait, which is set. At 10 points, you get a major trait, which you can choose from a certain list. At 15 points, you get another set minor trait. If you bring up the traits panel in the game, you can look at how it works and probably understand it better.

2) Points in a trait line don’t just open up the traits for you, they also boost basic attributes (again, go to the panel in-game and hold your cursor over the little icons at the start of the trait lines, you’ll see). Ten points in a line adds 100 points to a basic attribute. Bear that in mind when you’re putting a build together – 30 points in fire = 300 extra power, or in earth it’s 300 extra toughness, so decide what you need to boost.

3) As far as I know, the elemental trait lines don’t directly effect skills of the same element. So extra points in earth doesn’t automatically make your earth attunement skills better (although there will be traits available that do that). I’d advise figuring out what you like doing with your skills (damage? defence? conditions?) and then looking at what traits you can use to boost that. Often that will correspond to the element you like, but it’s not always that simple.

Think I may have read something wrong and just realising now

I thought I read that the boosts to stats ie power for fire and toughness for earth only worked when attuned to that element but am I wrong, ie if i put points on fire it gives me extra power even when im attuned to earth