Guild Wars 2

Staff is in a good spot but with just one flaw.

Lightning Surge.

This skill needs a buff or change.

Buff suggestions:

• Decrease cast time from 1 1/4 second to 1/4 second. This way it is easier to defend from a burst. It also helps the elementalist support allies by blinding downed enemies. However, this won’t give the elementalist a free stomp with Lightning surge like how Blinding flash is.
• Make Lightning surge bounce 5 times. This way, target has a chance to be blind two to three times. It will stop around two to three attack. Which can be vital to stopping a burst. Reduce cooldown to 3/4 second.
• Add 5 stacks of vulnerability. Ice spikes + Lightning surge will give 10 vulnerability.

After a positive change to Lightning Surge, I feel that staff elementalist will be complete.

Its still not good in WvW unless you’re in a zerg though…

I’d like to just see it back to what it was in alpha lol, you can charge it up longer for better results, all charges had blind, max charge was kitten daze and a lot of aoe damage, but noooo anet had to go and remove all the charge up skills…

skullmount.1758:

Its still not good in WvW unless you’re in a zerg though…

So you’re saying that Lightning Surge is good only in a zerg or do you mean that Lightning surge isn’t good in a zerg?

New Lightning Surge is for small group battles. Old lightning surge isn’t going to do much in a zerg anyways.

runeblade.7514:

skullmount.1758:

Its still not good in WvW unless you’re in a zerg though…

So you’re saying that Lightning Surge is good only in a zerg or do you mean that Lightning surge isn’t good in a zerg?

New Lightning Surge is for small group battles. Old lightning surge isn’t going to do much in a zerg anyways.

I meant the staff in general not being that good in WvW. Even in normal PvE, lightning surge needs some kind of buff, even if its just a shorter casting time.

skullmount.1758:

runeblade.7514:

skullmount.1758:

Its still not good in WvW unless you’re in a zerg though…

So you’re saying that Lightning Surge is good only in a zerg or do you mean that Lightning surge isn’t good in a zerg?

New Lightning Surge is for small group battles. Old lightning surge isn’t going to do much in a zerg anyways.

I meant the staff in general not being that good in WvW. Even in normal PvE, lightning surge needs some kind of buff, even if its just a shorter casting time.

I disagree with that.

But that is another topic. I am focusing on sPvP staff.

runeblade.7514:

skullmount.1758:

runeblade.7514:

skullmount.1758:

Its still not good in WvW unless you’re in a zerg though…

So you’re saying that Lightning Surge is good only in a zerg or do you mean that Lightning surge isn’t good in a zerg?

New Lightning Surge is for small group battles. Old lightning surge isn’t going to do much in a zerg anyways.

I meant the staff in general not being that good in WvW. Even in normal PvE, lightning surge needs some kind of buff, even if its just a shorter casting time.

I disagree with that.

But that is another topic. I am focusing on sPvP staff.

Can’t comment on it in PvP, ‘cuz I don’t play that mode. When I do play WvW, I find staff only good in zergs, cause in 1v1 I can’t ever really do anything, especially if its a thief.

Durzlla.6295:

I’d like to just see it back to what it was in alpha lol, you can charge it up longer for better results, all charges had blind, max charge was kitten daze and a lot of aoe damage, but noooo anet had to go and remove all the charge up skills…

Wow, anet is very competent in nerfing.

DrTenma.7249:

Durzlla.6295:

I’d like to just see it back to what it was in alpha lol, you can charge it up longer for better results, all charges had blind, max charge was kitten daze and a lot of aoe damage, but noooo anet had to go and remove all the charge up skills…

Wow, anet is very competent in nerfing.

oh i know, you shoulda seen the utilities that rangers used to have… like a pet rez, a stealth, a mimic of the thieves “steal” skill except it generated an item based on the environment instead of enemy (IE if you’re in woods you’d get a branch, ruins a rock, places like orr would be a skull etc), i know churning earth was also a “charge” skill so you could blow it up early if you wanted for a lower radius, less damage, and less bleeding.

skullmount.1758:

runeblade.7514:

skullmount.1758:

runeblade.7514:

skullmount.1758:

Its still not good in WvW unless you’re in a zerg though…

So you’re saying that Lightning Surge is good only in a zerg or do you mean that Lightning surge isn’t good in a zerg?

New Lightning Surge is for small group battles. Old lightning surge isn’t going to do much in a zerg anyways.

I meant the staff in general not being that good in WvW. Even in normal PvE, lightning surge needs some kind of buff, even if its just a shorter casting time.

I disagree with that.

But that is another topic. I am focusing on sPvP staff.

Can’t comment on it in PvP, ‘cuz I don’t play that mode. When I do play WvW, I find staff only good in zergs, cause in 1v1 I can’t ever really do anything, especially if its a thief.

My Lightning Surge suggestions is good in small group battles and/or 1v1. Lightning surge gets a short cast time to blind enemies on you or on someone.

The thing about Lightning surge that bothers me the most is its recharge.

Staff #2 skills:
Lava font (6 second recharge)
Ice Spike (4 second recharge)
Lightning surge (10 second recharge)
Eruption (6 second recharge)

^hmm…

well, when i consider we have aoe dmg in fire, air could get a single target dmg buff along with lightning surge buff suggested above…

i would suggest chain lightning change so it does overall the same dmg, but regressively… when its now 100% over 3 bounces = 33% per bounce, i would change it to be 50% on first target, 35% on second and 15% on last, maybe with small buff to dmg, so it would deal more single target dmg then fireball, to be worth using… it would be nice buff for single target dmg or aoe dmg with 1 focus target

air should definitely deal more single target dmg then fire… so combo fireball + lava font should be less powerfull on 1 target then chain lightning + lightning surge imo… otherwise its no point staying in air then for control and swiftness and thats not good concept

I agree with MaXi: staff’s air attacks are very weak.
This means that fresh air is not a good option for staff.
This, in turn, implies that staff is bad for PvE.

Zelyhn.8069:

This, in turn, implies that staff is bad for PvE.

LOL !!!!

To me this skill (gust) is the real lackluster in air staff http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Gust
I’d rather something like that http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Illusionary_Wave

skullmount.1758:

Its still not good in WvW unless you’re in a zerg though…

Not made for small teams of 5 and under for sure… but 10+? Staff ele is enormously important to the team. Yeah we have our issues (Air 2 on staff is horrible and Air 3 still takes too long and rarely hits anything), but we do have some nice CC, buffs (Rock Solid), and our water fields will allow a 10 man team to beat much larger teams that don’t have a staff ele.

runeblade.7514:

Staff is in a good spot but with just one flaw.

Lightning Surge.

This skill needs a buff or change.

Buff suggestions:

• Decrease cast time from 1 1/4 second to 1/4 second. This way it is easier to defend from a burst. It also helps the elementalist support allies by blinding downed enemies. However, this won’t give the elementalist a free stomp with Lightning surge like how Blinding flash is.
• Make Lightning surge bounce 5 times. This way, target has a chance to be blind two to three times. It will stop around two to three attack. Which can be vital to stopping a burst. Reduce cooldown to 3/4 second.
• Add 5 stacks of vulnerability. Ice spikes + Lightning surge will give 10 vulnerability.

After a positive change to Lightning Surge, I feel that staff elementalist will be complete.

Considering that skill hits as hard as a single meteor, you’re getting a little silly with the buffs. 1/2 or 3/4 second cast time, no bouncing (it’s a kitten aoe already and iirc it’s not even a projectile…), no vuln. Increase movement speed on gust and widen the area is applies to.

Durzlla.6295:

DrTenma.7249:

Durzlla.6295:

I’d like to just see it back to what it was in alpha lol, you can charge it up longer for better results, all charges had blind, max charge was kitten daze and a lot of aoe damage, but noooo anet had to go and remove all the charge up skills…

Wow, anet is very competent in nerfing.

oh i know, you shoulda seen the utilities that rangers used to have… like a pet rez, a stealth, a mimic of the thieves “steal” skill except it generated an item based on the environment instead of enemy (IE if you’re in woods you’d get a branch, ruins a rock, places like orr would be a skull etc), i know churning earth was also a “charge” skill so you could blow it up early if you wanted for a lower radius, less damage, and less bleeding.

OMG!! That sounds so fun and interesting. Were they unable to figure out a way to effectively balance it, or did they just want to simplify the game?

I wish they had some of these mechanics. It would actually make some skills usable (i.e. Churning earth would be usable more than 1x in a blue moon).

BlackBeard.2873:

Durzlla.6295:

DrTenma.7249:

Durzlla.6295:

I’d like to just see it back to what it was in alpha lol, you can charge it up longer for better results, all charges had blind, max charge was kitten daze and a lot of aoe damage, but noooo anet had to go and remove all the charge up skills…

Wow, anet is very competent in nerfing.

oh i know, you shoulda seen the utilities that rangers used to have… like a pet rez, a stealth, a mimic of the thieves “steal” skill except it generated an item based on the environment instead of enemy (IE if you’re in woods you’d get a branch, ruins a rock, places like orr would be a skull etc), i know churning earth was also a “charge” skill so you could blow it up early if you wanted for a lower radius, less damage, and less bleeding.

OMG!! That sounds so fun and interesting. Were they unable to figure out a way to effectively balance it, or did they just want to simplify the game?

I wish they had some of these mechanics. It would actually make some skills usable (i.e. Churning earth would be usable more than 1x in a blue moon).

I have no idea why they changed them… i know the main reason i was going to roll an ele was because they were one of the few professions with access to the charge up skills (i believe warriors had a few, as did necros and i think rangers had a bow attack for it, they were taken out before engi came in), woulda been so much more interesting..

They forgot to replace the traits “while channelling” by something more useful, or to improve that trait.

The only things im not happy about:

Air 2 is too long of a channel that doesnt really have that good of a final tradeoff. I would like for it to work as a ‘suppression’ skill that hits for a few smaller ticks of damage with multiple—but shorter—blind procs.

Air 3 has too long of a range for what players use it for, yet is very unreliable at a short range when staff eles need it most. Have it work like a shorter ‘wave’ (Mesmer GS 5) instead of a ‘projectile’.

Earth 5 aftercast seems lengthy and out-of-place with the rest of the elementalists’ repertoire. This may be a balance decision, however, especially now that immobilize is a low priority condi that a staff ele can easily cover.