Guild Wars 2

Hey everyone!
So far, I’ve only played heavy-armour classes like Warrior and Guardian because I can’t stand constantly having to dodge and dieing all the time. But I really like Elementalists, so I want to make a tank that can actually hold their own for a while. I don’t know much about builds and traits, so if anyone can tell me what the best options would be for a tank, I’d appreciate it.

Thanks!

If you gear up and trait an Ele to be very defensive, you’ll do poor damage, and you’ll still have to dodge.(Lowest armor and lowest health pool, combined.) I don’t think you’ll find what you’re looking for. I’d practice dodging and get proficient with it on one of your heavy armor guys, then try an Ele.

You are looking for pvp or pve build? Id say that if pvp its possiblr, but not tank, you will have to learn mechanics but dagger/scepter or other way around is quite good if you master water(healinig) swich into wind(invulerable) and same with earth. Ele takes time to master, cus you not only have to learn how to output dmg, but how to live forever. Once I get home(In around 9/10h) I will write traits and things I use on my ele. But if you look for pve its not good ide to build tank ele.

Well not dodging does result in dying all the time. Did it ever occur to you that those things might be related and should possibly cause you to reconsider this playstyle choice?

Seriously, if you don’t want to dodge, stick with your Warrior (that BTW, SHOULD be dodging as well).

Combat guide for GW2. Great for eles too.
http://youtu.be/dgyk71VRoUE

Refusing to dodge in this game is like refusing to equip armor in combat. You may be able to win, but it is very unlikely.
Dodging is an ability available to all professions for a reason. That reason is that everyone is expected to use it at some time, and it allows ArenaNet to design certain encounters that require dodging.
(A good example of this is the very first Queen’s Gauntlet opponent: Helmi Hammerhand. If you don’t interrupt or dodge his charge-up attack, he will one-hit kill you.)

If you really don’t want to dodge your best bet is to play a ranger, use a longbow (with shortbow as a secondary weapon) and use tanky pets like bears and drakes.

Your pet will rush into melee range and tank the enemies (you can actually order them in to attack by pressing F1 before you’ve aggroed the enemy) and you can stay at max range attacking them, using Skill 4 on the longbow to knock them back or Skill 3 on the shortbow to jump back yourself if they get close.

There are a lot of downsides: It’s not always possible or sensible to stay so far away from the fight, and some enemies will attack you even at max range so you’ll have to dodge or move away occasionally. It’s also absolutely useless in dungeons (mainly because it’s virtually impossible to stay at range) and any time you’re fighting a real person who (unless they’re an idiot) will ignore your pet and attack you. It’s also quite boring.

But it is the nearest you’ll come to never having to dodge.

The other option is to learn to dodge and get used to doing it, which is a much better long-term strategy. If necessary move the dodge button somewhere it’s easier/more comfortable to use (I have it on the side of my mouse). I recommend using wurms to practice dodging because they frequently use a rock spitting attack with a long, obvious wind-up animation before they fire it off which makes it easy to tell when you need to dodge.

Danikat.8537:

The other option is to learn to dodge and get used to doing it, which is a much better long-term strategy. If necessary move the dodge button somewhere it’s easier/more comfortable to use (I have it on the side of my mouse). I recommend using wurms to practice dodging because they frequently use a rock spitting attack with a long, obvious wind-up animation before they fire it off which makes it easy to tell when you need to dodge.

I recommend ettins for dodging practice. And I usually dodge by using the double-tap option on the movement keys. (That can be enabled in the Options Menu.)

I think what he meant isn’t that he doesn’t want to dodge, he just doesn’t want to have to rely on dodge to survive, probably have a safety net where he can miss some dodges and still survive.
Zealot gear can help that, it gives the power and the precision and healing power, so you attune to water, heal a bit and go back to the fight.

Thanks guys!
After rereading my first post, it does seem like I never want to dodge ever. But like Belzebu said; I just want a bit of a safety net. I’m getting used to dodging, and its really not that bad. But if I look away for just a few hits, I’m pretty much dead. I know I will get more tanky as I level, but I really want to focus on it so I can survive and heal/actually help with a fight.

I will definitely check out Zealot gear. Thanks again!

I came up with this build myself some time ago because i too wanted to play a tank ele.
Now, the thing with tank eles is that you have to play with conditions for damage, while healing yourself and blocking attacks.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fFEQJAoYnMISRE2zAGOAfEGQDII3u+NOIZpUPA-TRSAABBqHI6TAgjKB7UlGzU+VqKCA8AAYa/BUVHAA-e

Your main condition is bleeding, of course. I choose d/d because it gives a lot of bleeding while providing armor even on water attun.
You have to inflict conditions and heal a lot.
Use the shield to improve your defense.
Not sure if it works, I never tried it, but you’re welcome to modify it or use it as a start.

Azrael.5023:

I will definitely check out Zealot gear. Thanks again!

Not easy to obtain if you have not gotten the needed recipes and sprockets in the Living Story events. An easier to obtain suggestion is Knights / Clerics / Zerker combo. Actually Celestial, is best for an Ele, but it has the same issues with recipes and time-gated ingredients as Zealot (but just so happens the current Festival allows you to obtain the recipes and raw materials…..but the Charged Crystals are still time gated to one per day).

In equipment terms, Toughness gives you some buffer from direct damage, Vitality gives you the same for Condition Damage (less about a dodge buffer). NOTHING works better than not getting hit in the first place.