Guild Wars 2

Introduction
This thread intends to serve as a way to brainstorm original elementalist traits. These traits should endeavor to meet the following criteria:
1. These traits should either be entirely original or such strong revisions that they no longer resemble their predecessors. Alterations to numbers or minor tweaks are discouraged.

2. The purpose of these new traits is to expand elementalist playstyles and offer interesting options. Balance is in no way the focus of this thread. If the next patch were to buff elementalist to God King Masters of the Universe, then the ideas presented here should be no less relevant. This leads us to 3:

3. Specific numbers and placement in the trait line need not be included. Because balance is not an issue, the traits can remain wholly conceptual; however, the author can propose numbers or trait line placement if they so choose.

4. If possible, the proposed traits should directly influence the user’s playstyle. Passive effects or traits that do not require active thought to play around are discouraged. Even traits that help certain builds more than others are considered less productive than traits that require conscious input during combat. For example, the traits “Burning Precision” and “Renewing Stamina” require no input from the player. They play exactly as they would before, except with the mindless passive benefit of the trait. On the other hand, traits such as “Evasive Arcana” and “Rock Solid” change the player’s dynamics in combat. The stability gained from rock solid is controlled by the player, and they are constantly faced with the decision to hold off from switching to earth in order to secure a cast or to thwart some cc or to switch to it regardless in order to continue their rotation. When using evasive arcana, the elementalist has the option to use endurance offensively to apply conditions rather than saving it for a timed dodge. In general, a trait should encourage a player to actively play around it rather than slotting it and forgetting about it.

Lastly, posts should remain purely contributive. Posts that do not propose new traits or review the traits proposed by others should be reserved.

I will begin by offering a few examples.

Frostburn
This trait would cause the chilled condition applied by the elementalist to deal damage in the same way that the necromancer’s “terror” trait causes their fear condition to deal damage. Naturally, this would not deal the same damage as the “terror” trait due to the relative ease of application of the chilled condition. In my opinion, this trait should be located at the master level of the water tree, and it should cause the chilled condition to deal somewhere between 1/3 and 2/3 of the burning condition, including scaling with condition damage. For example, if an elementalist’s burning ticks for 600 damage, then its chilled with this trait should tick for between 200 and 400 damage. The trait would need to be tested to find the actual acceptable value. I believe that this trait would expand elementalist playstyles by providing more options for elementalists who focus on condition damage as well as by changing the way the elementalist thinks about its chill applications. Instead of using a chill application as a peel or an escape, they may choose to apply them to the focus target in order to apply greater pressure. Also, they may save their blast finishers for freezing fields in order to obtain frost armor rather than using them on the first field that presents itself.

Fan the Flames
This master trait in the fire line would cause burning applied by the elementalist to produce an aoe effect every time it ticks. This damage would be proportional to the amount of damage caused by the burning tick, and it would not proc any on-hit effects. This aoe damage would occur in a small area centered around each target afflicted with the elementalist’s burning each time that stack of burning ticks. For example, if five burning targets were grouped tightly together, they would each receive the damage of “Fan the Flames” five times per tick of burning. Naturally, the damage inflicted by “Fan the Flames” would need to be extremely small in order to compensate for its stacking potential. Much like “Altruistic Healing” this trait should be relatively weak in small skirmish situations yet potentially powerful if utilized correctly and in the right situations. To demonstrate this trait, imagine that it deals 10% the damage of the applied burning. If each tick of an elementalists burning caused 500 damage, then “Fan the Flames” would cause 50 damage in a tight area with each tick of burning. Against a single target, this would only equate to a 10% increase in burning damage: fairly insubstantial compared to other master level traits. However, if used against a group of 5 targets, such as an mm necro, a spirit ranger, or a tight pack in a teamfight, “Fan the Flames” could deal up to 250 damage per second to each target in the area, a massive increase.

Feed the Fire
This master level fire trait would cause damage inflicted by the elementalit’s burning to heal the elementalist proportional to the damage dealt. This trait is more passive than I would prefer, but I accomplishes several important things for the elementalist playstyle. First, it adds sustain to the fire trait line without diminishing its flavor. Second, it provides incentive for the elementalist to apply burning to more opponents, even if those opponents aren’t necessarily the target he/she would rather be damaging. This introduces tradeoffs, which again encourages active play rather than passive play.

Disorienting Winds
This master level air trait would provide the elementalist with 1 second of distortion upon attuning to air (with a 10 second internal cooldown to account for fresh air). Traits like this and Rock Solid are, in my opinion, the gold standard of active traits. The player has full control over the trait’s effect and must continually choose whether to rotate into air in order to access its abilities or to save the attunement in order to counter their opponent’s actions.

Thunderstruck
Another master level air trait, this would give elementalits a buff once every 20 seconds that has the effect “The next time you blind an opponent, you also daze them for 1 second”. I say “gives the elementalist a buff” because if this ability simply acted on an internal cooldown, then neither the elementalist nor its opponents would feasibly be able to play around it. It would simply be a thing that happens every 20 seconds or so with no input from either player. Instead, if the trait is given an indicator (much like opening strike or virtue of justice), then the elementalist can intentionally save their blind as an interrupt, and the elementalist’s opponents know when the elementalist has its interrupt available.

Crystalize
I envision this as a grandmaster earth trait, likely to replace diamondskin. The trait would function as follows: Whenever you are struck by an attack, you gain a buff that lasts 1 second, stacks in intensity, caps at 10, and provides something along the lines of 50 condition damage and 50 toughness. Most importantly, the application of this buff would have no internal cooldown. The results would be a grandmaster trait that would be extremely underwhelming in a 1v1 situation or when not focused, but extremely potent when being focused or in the middle of a teamfight cleave. This simultaneously helps the elementalist survive while in the pocket, punishes opponents for spamming aoe or focusing him/her, and better fits the theme of earth attunement as well as the name when compared to Diamondskin. It also promotes highly active play. Does the elementalist expose itself to the aoe damage in order to obtain the benefit, or would the damage be too much? Do the elementalists’s opponents focus the ele despite the application of the buff, or do they ignore it and allow it to do as it pleases? To me, this feels like the grandmaster trait that earth deserves.

I really REALLY like these trait ideas. I have some, but I have to finalize them in my head and write them down in a second.

Again. Love the traits.

LordEarle.9754:

Frostburn
This trait would cause the chilled condition applied by the elementalist to deal damage in the same way that the necromancer’s “terror” trait causes their fear condition to deal damage.

Could be interesting, but a large part of the chill on a staff ele comes from combos with their ice field. You’d have to track carefully which player applied which stack of chill and that might cause extra strain on Anet’s servers.

Also, they may save their blast finishers for freezing fields in order to obtain frost armor rather than using them on the first field that presents itself.

You can already combine them with aura traits to give players in it Fury, but I get your point.

Fan the Flames
This master trait in the fire line would cause burning applied by the elementalist to produce an aoe effect every time it ticks.

Interesting, but I’d really be more comfortable with making it grandmaster level.

Feed the Fire
This master level fire trait would cause damage inflicted by the elementalit’s burning to heal the elementalist proportional to the damage dealt.

Even at low levels of condition damage, this would heal for more than things like regeneration, signet of restoration and soothing mist. If you take into account multiple targets and if it were affected by healing power, it could outdo all of them combined. Too strong imho.

Disorienting Winds
This master level air trait would provide the elementalist with 1 second of distortion upon attuning to air (with a 10 second internal cooldown to account for fresh air).

Too strong for master imho, might be ok for Grandmaster.

LordEarle.9754:

Thunderstruck “The next time you blind an opponent, you also daze them for 1 second”.

How would this function with Blinding Surge?

Crystalize
Whenever you are struck by an attack, you gain a buff that lasts 1 second, stacks in intensity, caps at 10, and provides something along the lines of 50 condition damage and 50 toughness.

+1000 stat points would be a bit too much for any skill, given that currently they grant around +200 at most. Also, if you only get it when getting hit 10 times per second, you’ll not live to appreciate it.