Guild Wars 2

Was looking at some articles on the wiki and became inspired:

Frostbite: Chill you apply deals damage and lasts 1 second longer

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Glyph_of_Elemental_Power
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ice_Storm_
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Conjure_Frost_Bow
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Glyph_of_Lesser_Elementals
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Superior_Rune_of_Grenth
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Superior_Sigil_of_Hydromancy

chill dealing condition damage would help a ton
but it would probably be put in the water trait line cuz it’s ice, and water trait line is not good for doing condition damage. need fire and earth for that. but if it were in fire or earth I’d play condition ele all day

this trait existing would be super awesome. one of the best trait ideas I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot. and the best condition ele idea I’ve seen

Agreed. Shame it doesn’t fit in earth or fire lines thematically, but I hope that’s not too much of a problem.

Alternatively, if Anet finds they have to put frostbite in the water line, we could go with the thermal shock idea. An extra effect when target is both burning and chilled. That could go in the fire line without too many problems.

The advantage of that idea is that it introduces some interesting counterplay particularly with frost aura and fire aura.

pretty sure devs don’t look at profession sections, so I’m going to post this in the balance section in a bit (waiting a bit so I don’t miss any good input)
unless someone else does it first, of course

Skim through this thread before you post it. This is where the idea originated

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/elementalist/New-Improved-Skills/first#post3501401

I’ll come and support you when you post it in profession balance. Don’t have the time to post it myself atm

Great idea. Though the main problem we have when it comes to condition builds, IMHO, is that we have not a single skill that applies more than one condition. This is what we need most, some skills that apply 3-4 conditions at the same time, or at least a way to apply more conditions in different attunements (i.e. ways to burn in air, or bleed in water, etc.)

I think if this trait got some reasonable buffs we could be close to a viable condi spec:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Burning_Precision

Honestly a bleed on crit trait would be awesome, but that might be too much to ask for in one go. Although I really don’t understand why we don’t have one.

Thematically, the name of and function of the proposed Frostbite trait would likely place it in the Water Magic line; this would be a bummer if one wanted to run a “pure” condition build rather than an Apothecary, Settler’s or Shaman set up.

As much as I love the flavor that trait lines add to the characters we construct, I find the current trait system too artificially limiting in trait selection and build creation process. But that’s neither here nor there.

If the trait were Adept level in Water Magic, it would be reasonably accessible and worth the 10 point investment, but perhaps far too powerful for that tier depending upon the damage value Frostbite would add to Chill.

The problem isn’t so much the application of conditions, it’s the conditions we apply. Burning stacks in duration. Chill, Vulnerability, and Blindness all do no damage. Leaving Bleed as our only strong option.

Chill doing damage would be a huge help, but I don’t think it would be enough. No ability can stack it. Giving it the same problem Burning has, albeit for a different reason.

@zilcho: I can definitely understand the concern about not being able to stack Chill in high enough levels as a damage dealing condition.

However, I think that a build with 2-3 of some of the skills/gear listed in the OP (i.e. full set of Superior Rune of Grenth + Superior Sigil of Hydromancy) would be more than enough to keep a high amount of Chill on enemies in combination with the what is already provided by the Elementalist’s weapon skill.

Indeed, if the damage value decided for Frostbite was high enough, it might be inappropriate (read “OP” )if there were too many ways to apply or stack Chill.

Moreover, I’d be worried about the overpowering ability to keep “perma” Chill on enemies- particularly in a PvP environment. We need to remember that even without a damage component, Chill is already very potent: reducing movement speed and skill cool down by 66%.

This trait would both extend Chill duration and make it deal condition damage. “Perma” levels of Chill without Frostbite are powerful enough on their own. With Frostbite it would be imperative that Chill remain relatively rare- not as easily accessed as Burn or Bleed.

In many respects, I envision Frostbite as the Elementalist’s analogous response to the Necromancer’s Terror traits: giving them a unique trick that reflects mastery over their field of magic. And much like the use of Fear with Terror-mancers, Frostbite would allow Elementalists to use Chill as a powerful, strategic weapon condition weapon rather than an element of constant pressure a la Bleed and Burning.