I see very, very few people running focus. That is sensible. It is the least offensive and, in some ways, least mobile weapon that elementalists have in their arsenal.
I made this build right before the game launched, and thus had little time to test it. The more I played it, the more I loved it.
This build is very defensive. Both for yourself and for your allies, although moreso for yourself.
That being said, it still deals “acceptable” DPS via bleeding and burning.
I originally designed it as a SPvP-only build, although I used it in PvE without any issues. I would not recommend it for dungeons or WvW though, although I’ve personally done so-so with it in both.
http://www.gw2build.com/builds/d-f-ele-dagger-focus-5010.html
Your main DPS is going to come from burning and bleeding. The most consistent way to spread these conditions is via Fire #2 – Dragon’s Breath and Earth #1 and #2 – Impale and Ring of Earth.
Focus is chock full of very useful defensive abilities.
Fire’s #4 and #5 are both very lackluster. A combo field and a fire aura that deals minor burning damage when you are on top of enemy’s.
Water’s #4 and #5 abilities are also lackluster. A chill and a daze+damage – if it hits. Water’s #5 ability is similar to Scepter’s Dragon’s Tooth in that it spawns above the enemy’s head and falls to the ground for a small AoE, although it casts faster than Dragon’s Tooth.
Air’s #4 and #5 are quite nice. A projectile deflector(destroys, doesn’t reflect) and a knockdown.
Earth’s #4 and #5 abilities are my favorites. #4 is an earth aura that removes three conditions and briefly reflects projectiles. #5 is a 4s invuln that is on a 50s cooldown. One of the best invulns in the game, in my opinion. You can still move and use abilities while invulnerable.
Using focus well takes a lot of practice. You need to remember to save the abilities but you also need to remember to use the correct one[s] when it is necessary. The focus will drastically increase your survivability.
The build relies on self healing. Although it’s HP is lower than many other builds, it more than makes up for it by being able to self heal with any and all attacks (thanks to the signet). The build also has about 3k armor. Once you take into account the defensive capabilities of the focus, it’s a very sturdy build.
Despite this build’s lower-than-average health, I’ve never had a problem with spike damage in PvE or SPvP.
As I’ve said numerous times, this build is not oriented around and thus does lack DPS. It’s important to constantly keep bleeding and burning on your enemy’s, although I don’t usually ever have any issues with that.
Thanks to the focus and certain utilities, you can, if necessary, become virtually invulnerable for several seconds. This can allow you to get through a huge mob of enemy’s, or revive an ally, hold a control point, distract your enemy’s, etc.
I enjoy using this build a lot, and while it certainly has its downsides, it’s still my favorite ele build, and I just wanted to share with you all a D/F build that I feel, based on my experiences, is quite viable for what it is.
GL and HF.