Rebalancing the Elementalist.
Here’s my futile attempt of suggesting balances for Elementalist (PvP/WvW) without buffing meta support builds too much. This focuses on buffing class mechanics, offensive trait lines and reducing reliability on Water and Earth traits. Ideas were not all from me. Most buffs to Fire and Arcane traits were from FrownyClown while a few were modified by me. Others were repeated suggestions here in the forum.
Our main problem – Elementalists have the lowest base HP and Armor in the game. To make up for that, we were given 20 different weapon skills and access to a wide variety of boons and healing. However, these defensive boons and healing have become more and more mandatory to survive but are mostly locked into defensive traits which is why we are forced to go bunker/support in PvP or WvW (outside of zergs).
Solution – Add much needed defensive traits, boons, and effects across weapons and skills. Buff offensive skills and traits that are of no use to the current bunker meta. Balance long CD skills.
Sub-motif – Make Elementalists the kings and queens of Fire and Ice as were supposed to be.
Class Mechanics
Our main class mechanic based on the official GW2 website is having access to 4 different attunements resulting into a lot of weapon skills. As we all know, having 20 weapon skills are not enough.
Elemental Attunement is now a class mechanic. Grant a boon to yourself when swapping attunements. Activate Healing Ripple (base healing lowered to 651) when swapping to water attunement.
Trait Changes
Tempest:
• Tempestuos Aria – ADD EFFECT – Reduce shout cooldown by 20%.
• Elemental Bastion – Increase base healing when applying auras by 200. Decrease healing power scaling to balance it out. End result – having the same healing power pre and post balance results to the same overall healing.
Water:
• Piercing Shards – ADD EFFECT: Critical Hits has a chance to chill an enemy. 5s CD, 30% chance on Critical Hit, 2s Duration.
• Healing Ripple – Remove the Heal. New Effect – Increase healing ripple effect by 50%.
Reasons for Healing Ripple changes – Since healing ripple is now a class mechanic, this removes the “mandatory need” to trait water for sustain. If the current healing ripple heals you now for 1302 without healing power, it will now heal for a base 651 if not traited to Water. Healing Ripple trait from water will increase the base healing back to 1302.
• Aquatic Benevolence – Reduce Outgoing healing to allies to 10%. (Elementalists gained a selfish class mechanic from Elemental Attunement, need to lower support ability).
• Soothing Power – ADD EFFECT – Increase chill duration by 20%. Apply 2s chill when interrupting an enemy. (Need opinions on this)
Earth:
• Rock Solid – Gain 1 stack of stability when attuning in and out of earth.
Fire:
• Burning Precision – Increase burn duration to 3s.
• Sunspot – Increase radius to 240.
• One With Fire – Activating a signet grants you Fire Aura. Blasting Fire fields grant you additional 1 might.
• Persisting Flames – ADD EFFECT – Remove 1 condition from yourself every 2 seconds while inside a fire field.
• Pyromancer’s Puisance – ADD EFFECT – Applying burn and attacking a burning foe heals you for 180 HP.
Air:
• Zephyr’s speed – Increase movement speed by 25% on all attunements.
• Tempest Defense – ADD EFFECT – Gain Protection (2s) When disabled. 5s ICD.
• Lightning Rod – ADD EFFECT – Increase duration of hard disables by 20%.
Arcana:
• Arcane Precision – Skills has a chance to apply a condition on hit. 20% chance, 5s ICD.
• Elemental Enchantment – Now synergizes with attunement recharge after using Overloads.
• Elemental Attunement – Nearby allies gain boons from Elemental Attunement when swapping attunements. Heal yourself when applying boons to yourself and your allies (35 HP)
• Elemental Surge – Change effect: Arcane skills remove 2 boons from enemies hit.
*Arcane Power will remove 1 boon per attack.
Skill Changes
Cantrips:
• Ether Renewal – Lower total cast time to 3s.
• Armor of Earth – Reduce CD to 60s. Reduce Stability stacks to 5. Reduce incoming direct damage by 5% and reduce incoming condition duration by 10% (6s).
• Lightning Flash – Reduce base damage (399 to 299). Reduce CD to 30s.
• Mist Form – Reduce CD to 60s. Apply 2s chill (1s ICD) when attacked while in mist form (Need opinions on this)
• Tornado – Reduce CD to 100s.
Signets: (Needs a lot of opinions)
• Signet of Fire – Passive: Add 2 stacks of torment. Passive: Daze your target for 1s.
• Signet of Water – Passive: Timer now starts after clearing a condition. Active: Freeze your target for 2s. Increase CD to 40s. Increase cast time to 1s.
• Signet of Earth – Active: Launches nearby foes (3 targets, 300 radius). CD increased to 50s. Breaks Stun.
• Signet of Air – Active: Teleport to your foe and stun them for 1s on a successful hit. 900 range, requires target (may not be in range, works like Phase Traversal). Increase CD to 30s. Breaks Stun.
• Signet of Restoration – Active: Create a water field around yourself and gain 3s regeneration. Field duration 2s. Radius 180.
Arcane:
• Arcane Power – Your next 5 attacks are unblockable.
• Arcane Shield – Reduce CD to 45 seconds. Blocks incoming attacks for 2s and can be self detonated. Reduce base damage from 399 to 320.
Weapon Skills
Dagger:
• Lightning Touch – Reduce cast time to 0.5s ADD EFFECT – Daze your target for 1s.
• Ride The Lightning – Reduce CD to 20s. Change to ground targetting. Blind foes upon hit (180 radius). Reduce damage from base 355 to 280. Now works like Ancestral Grace to remove travel-related bugs.
• Cone of Cold – ADD EFFECT – Chill enemies for 2s (can only be applied once).
Scepter:
• Dragon’s Tooth – Increase Radius to 240. Increase delay by 0.5s
• Phoenix – Now removes 1 boon from enemies hit.
• Shatterstone – Add a frost field before explosion (1s chill).
• Water Trident – Removes 1 condition.
Warhorn:
• Heat Sync – ADD EFFECT – Grants Fury (10s). Convert up to 2 conditions into boons from you and your allies.
• Wildfire – Increase animation speed and reduce burn damage. Ground Targetted. Increased pulses from 8 to 9. Remove 1 boon for every 3 pulses. Boon removal starts at 1st pulse. Cast Range – 600.
• Tidal Surge – Remove Delay. Reduce knockback to 180.
• Cyclone – Increase animation speed. Increase pull strength (similar to Temporal Curtain)
• Dust Storm – Ground Targetted. Reduce incoming condition damage by 20% while inside the area of effect. Reduce Bleed Damage. Cast Range – 600.
Summary
• Class Mechanics: Increased overall survivability by making Elemental Attunement and a weaker Healing Ripple a class mechanic.
• Fire Trait line: Increased burning application and added survivability options on GM traits exclusive to fire related skills. Reverted One with Fire and made might stacking better.
• Air Trait line: Increased overall mobility and defense when CCed.
• Earth Trait line: Didn’t really touch it aside from buffing Solid Rock to grant stability when attuning in and out of Earth.
• Water Trait line: Nerfed a couple of minor traits to balance the new class mechanics. Added chill effects.
• Arcane Trait line: Buffed offensive and defensive prowess by giving boon removal, small heal on boon application, and fixed synergy with overloads.
• Tempest Trait line: Increased offensive potential with shout cooldown and increased base survivability by rebalancing Elemental Bastion.
• Cantrips: Reduced cooldowns and added defensive effects.
• Signets: Changed the actives to be more useful and offensive. #BringBackTheControlEle
• Arcane: Reworked less used arcane skills and buffed Arcane Shield.
• Dagger: Improved mobility, added access to daze and more chill.
• Scepter: Added defensive and control effects.
• Warhorn: Buffed weaker skills, reduced clunkiness, and buffed defensive prowess.
Note: I know some of these look overpowered or underwhelming. Not all these needs to be implemented. I just hope Anet would pick up some of these.
Am I going too wild with these suggestions? Discuss!