Guild Wars 2

Hello all!
I pre-ordered the game a while ago, and played since the pre-release date.

I’ve tried all the calsses, but I really want to play the elementalist, however I seem to be having a difficult time.
Currently I am level 8, but it seems like my Damage output is very low. For example I had no issues with my Warrior (when she was level 8 ) killing the Golden Moa and Bandit level 8 mobs that are outside a garrison in Queensdale, however it’s an entirely different issue with the Elementalist.

I can survive as an elementalist, I am pretty good at using blind and evading, however it always seems like I do not have enough damage output to make it worthwhile. I chip away at the enemy health slowly, but I can never seem to get anywhere with it.

And when I am close to killing them, they run away and regain health.

Aren’t Elementalists supposed to have the highest damage output of any class?
Please let me know what I am doing wrong :>

Thanks!

Hello!

I happen to be an elementalist as well!

I just hit level 80 the other day, so it will be hard to remember low level issues. I play dual dagger the VAST majority of the time. Up to about level 60 I was using the fire skills almost exclusively. With only one utility skill slot, I would use arcane blast. The typical fight at that low level would go:

Line up, then use 3 skill to charge and blast (distance is critical since blast does more damage.
Then use 4 skill to create a ring of fire, and immediately use arcane blast to get the fire ring combo.
I would then dodge and use 2 skill to burn them, and then the 5 skill which does more damage to burning enemies.

That would usually get their health pretty low, and i would be running around them while doing this. Normally switch to water and use the 3 skill to chill and 2 skill to finish them off.

This works great until you hit higher level areas, where you need to learn all 20 skills and when to use them (not as hard as it sounds)

Also I find that Bleeds (earth skills) are pretty amazing and bypasses toughness, so lately I have been stacking condition damage to get high bleeds while i run around the enemy.

Remember that every battle is different, and being an elementalist, you need to adapt more than other classes, but thats what all our skills are for

Hope this helps a little!

-Ice

Thanks a lot for your help!

I really like the ele, and no matter how hard it is to play as the class, I will still master it!
I was using dual daggers as well, but I just can’t seem to get a grasp on how to get that right damage output.
Perhapps the reason I am struggling is because improper skill usage (most likely), or the fact that I haven’t unlocked traits yet (soon).

What do you put your stats into?

Thanks again for your help!

At the beginning of the game I was stacking as much power as I could, since the early mobs are easy to dodge. Later in the game this is impractical since mobs have various CC skills that prevent you from dodging and moving, and the “glass cannon” approach doesn’t work very well, which is why I am switching to Vit and Toughness and condition damage.

Right now, my traits are 20 in fire, 20 in earth, 10 in water and 20 in arcane. I haven’t bought the last trait book, as this setup is working nicely. I would start off with fire traits, then add earth.

Here is a link to my Ele guide. Its still very much a work in progress, but hopefully you find what is there so far helpful

Link

Don’t forget to switch attunements. When using double daggers, I use fire, ice and air quite a lot. If a big hitting ability is down on one of them, I switch to another that I know has recycled.

Focus on Power and Precision at lower levels. I also felt I wasn’t doing a lot of damage until about 12 or so. From then on, I notice when I hit a mob and it is quite fulfilling.

Wow, nice guide

That looks like it should be pretty comprehensive when it is finished!

I use a staff as my main weapon on the elementalist, and compared to the dagger stuff described above it is a slower paced form of combat, with loads of AoE spells.

Generally, Fire deals lots of AoE damage, but has almost no conditions (apart from skill #3). It also has a nice escape in the form of Burning Retreat.

Water is supportive for the most part, weakening and slowing enemies and providing AoE healing.

Air is about movement (either pushing enemies away or moving faster yourself) with strong direct damage, and a blind and am AoE stun.

Earth is all about area denial basically, keeping enemies in place while using conditions to kill them. Eruption explodes for a good deal of damage and applies a stack of 6 long bleeds, but is visible and can be avoided (NPCs won’t though), Unsteady Ground cripples enemies, slowing them dramatically. Shockwave immobilises briefly and applies a single long bleed.

The style of play is quite different from dual daggers, but quite rewarding in my opinion. It relies on positioning and rewards forethought.

That is a good guide. Especially the important part about planning around attunement cooldown (which I neglected to mention in my earlier post). So ya, read that guide and you should have a better idea what to do.