Guild Wars 2

Apparently I didn’t STOMP in a PVP match. I’m using a STAFF Elementalist. So can anyone go over what and how to STOMP as a STAFF Elementalist?

the same way you do with other professions?

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Finisher

is that all that is? Then i have no idea what that Necro was talking about then because we were too busy getting destroyed by the burst damage by the mesmers. I think it was the mesmers?

A “stomp” is a finisher. When you reduce an enemy player to 0 HP, they enter the downed state. When an enemy player in a downed state is near you, you can push F to interact with them, with a “FINISH HIM” prompt. That will let you wind up for several seconds, leap into the air, and then “stomp” the enemy, killing him instantly no matter how much downed health he had left.

You don’t always want to stomp an enemy. It depends on the class and the situation. Most classes have at least one method to avoid a stomp, so you have to be mindful of what that is. There are precautions you can take to help you stomp successfully, too. Classes like Warrior, Engineer, Guardian, Necromancer and Ranger have crowd control skills on their #2 downed ability, so if you have Stability you can ignore that and stomp them successfully. Classes like Thief and Mesmer have teleportation abilities while downed, meaning that if you try to stomp them they can wind up moving out of range of it, wasting your time. Elementalist has Vapor Form while downed, which can basically counter any stomp attempt with invulnerability, so stomping them generally isn’t recommended unless you know their Vapor Form is on cooldown.

So that’s when to stomp or not to stomp based on class. Situation is also a factor. In some cases, while you’re winding up to stomp, enemy players might be reviving the downed character, and if they’re fast enough they can get him revived before your stomp occurs. That is bad! Similarly, if your health is low, you might get focused while you’re trying to stomp and wind up downed yourself before your stomp triggers. That is also bad! So, in some cases rather than stomping you’re going to want to ‘cleave’. That means inflicting damage on the downed enemy, and on other nearby enemies who aren’t downed but might want to revive him or damage you. Lava Font as a Staff Elementalist is a great ‘cleave’, a way to continually damage your downed foe while also discouraging revival attempts. But depending on your build and the enemy’s build, it might not be enough. Now, three or four of your teammates using ‘cleave’ on a downed foe usually will be enough! So you have to react based on the situation as well as the target downed class.