Guild Wars 2

So many people are unsure what to grab as an offhand and rarely is focus considered because of how few offensive capabilities it has. With Ele’s low HP I find that it provides just the right amount survivability power to keep the fight going. I think the best way to highlight this is to explain the application of each skill.

Obsidian Flesh
Near invulnerability HELL YEAH. It will not protect you from already applied DoTs but it will prevent any and I mean ANYTHING from having a negative impact on you. Many people think that it just cancels damage but it also prevents condition and disabling effects. This can be used to walk through flames, prevent that incoming hard to dodge attack and provides a decent buffer to cast slotted skills especially when being zergged. Not to mention the field effect which works best when in a group.

Magnetic Wave
My favorite skill. Deflects any non-cone based(Fire Breath etc) projectiles back at the target. Also removes three conditions which is very welcome due to our low HP conditions can end us quickly. And what most people do not know is that it is an AoE cripple which provides a huge escape window. If used skillfully you can deflect snares and condition projectiles back to their source, not only negating the damage it would have done but adding to your output damage.

Gale
Few things are more fun then seeing your opponent charge up a powerful skill then slamming them into submission. Doesn’t work on champions, does not do any damage and only a single target which only kinda sucks for such a long CD but still a fun utility ability when used skillfully.

Swirling Winds
Another ranged damage nullifier. Many say that this skill us useless against melee but that is only partially true. When I am fighting a ranged enemy and a melee enemy, I have the speed to outrun the melee enemy most of the time and just need to stop the incoming projectiles from the nearby ranged attacker so that I can DoT one of them. This does the trick. In a group this skill is definitely what I consider “The Winds of Change” as you basically put a hard stop on all enemy ranged damage, no matter how much which in most cases is more than half.

Comet
Typically this cannot be run out of, only dodged because it comes down so fast. Does a little damage but the big thing is it inturrupts and dazes for a moment, but this one is an AoE. While kiting a melee attacker and being popped by ranged I like to charge the ranged attacker and drop the comet right as they both intersect dazing them both and giving me the distance I need to use my next skill. Only complaint is that the daze is very short but the CD is reasonably short

Freezing Gust
Slows enemies down which provides the perfect opportunity to drop fields around them. I use this almost exclusively for this. Occasionally I will use this to slow down a vet when too many adds have jumped into the fight so that I can bail.

Flame Wall
Not the best field but still a field that I put down when I have an opening before I change off Fire Attunement.

Fire Shield
Decent aura that does damage which works well close range builds.

Ok; honestly, focus fire is weak, but still has some advantages.

Focus skills should never be mindlessly fired off but calculated and timed. If using the right skills in a strategic order they can not only give you an edge but can completely change the outcome of a fight.
I think I might need to create a video tutorial for my Scepter/Focus build to really show how it shines.

Nice write up. Thanks!

np, any questions let me know

if scepter was even half way decent focus off hand would be amazing

Only thing I would like changed about scepter is to have Dragon’s Tooth drop faster but I would like some creative changes to Focuses fire skills. But I am not having a tough time with survival in PvE and I have soloed 90% areas 3 levels above me most of the time. I have a guide here on how I am managing my tankish scepter/focus build

Alexixiv.8125:

Only thing I would like changed about scepter is to have Dragon’s Tooth drop faster but I would like some creative changes to Focuses fire skills. But I am not having a tough time with survival in PvE and I have soloed 90% areas 3 levels above me most of the time. I have a guide here on how I am managing my tankish scepter/focus build

i meant for pvp

urinfamousr.7631:

Alexixiv.8125:

Only thing I would like changed about scepter is to have Dragon’s Tooth drop faster but I would like some creative changes to Focuses fire skills. But I am not having a tough time with survival in PvE and I have soloed 90% areas 3 levels above me most of the time. I have a guide here on how I am managing my tankish scepter/focus build

i meant for pvp

Your probably right, I haven’t done much pvp yet but I think if I were fighting an intelligent opponent I would get burned down pretty quickly because I rely probably too much on the ignorance of the AI for my tactics to work. I am considering putting together a video to show the speed and timing needed to use the scepter and focus

This is all nice I guess, but saying it has just the right amount of survivability is rather misleading because the survivability it provides is practically redundant with the current state of Elementalists as a whole profession. I have never needed it to have people accuse me of hacking for being too survivable. If anything, you’re just adding survivability you shouldn’t need and gimping your damage. I guess it’s alright for people who are new to the profession but it doesn’t really offer much at a higher skill level.

Leuca.5732:

This is all nice I guess, but saying it has just the right amount of survivability is rather misleading because the survivability it provides is practically redundant with the current state of Elementalists as a whole profession. I have never needed it to have people accuse me of hacking for being too survivable. If anything, you’re just adding survivability you shouldn’t need and gimping your damage. I guess it’s alright for people who are new to the profession but it doesn’t really offer much at a higher skill level.

I prefer to view it as you have your way of surviving and I have mine, neither is wrong and both can be extremely powerful depending on how much skill we develop. This game is highly skill based and you may not perceive it being a higher skill level weapon because you have not developed your skill set around it. I think that all weapon combinations are generally balanced at most stages of the game, even if the community as a whole has not discovered the winning strategies. There are simply too many variables for each weapon set to say “it doesn’t really offer much” when in reality it is just that you do not see what it has to offer yet. The community is still in a phase of learning and discovery, this is an attempt to contribute the knowledge I have gained to bring another perspective and hopefully help others branch out in their skill sets

Agony still hits through Obsidian Flesh unfortunately.

Don’t think you mentioned this, great thing about Obsidian flesh is that it doesn’t turn you into mist/vapor like mist form does. Meaning you can still use all of your abilities during the duration.

I think the topic is a bit misleading personally.

The issue is really with the Scepter main hand more than the focus offhand. Since the scepter is not a popular weapon the focus tends to get ignored. Its that simple.

I’ve been experimenting with a Dagger/Focus defensive build for sPvP and it’s been fairly successful so far. It’s sort of a hybrid auramancer/sigil build which exploits the power of lots of small heals on high toughness targets, and tries to stack +% damage effects to maintain a reasonable damage output.

It’s pretty amazing to have Obsidian Flesh in PvP. People just do not see this skill often enough to understand it. Swirling Winds also is a heck of a game changer, often holding snipers off mid points long enough to help overcome the melee presence and take the point.

Something else people rarely mention: Magnetic Wave and Obsidian Flesh are instant cast. You can use them while you’re channeling other abilities and what not.

As for Focus’ Fire abilities, I always though making the fire line ability work mechanically like mesmer’s Temporal curtain (i.e. you lay it down and for a few seconds, you have the option to pull foes through it). For wall of fire, after laying it down, you have the option of destroying it for a blow-out effect and a small splash of damage. THAT would make Focus too fun to ignore, IMO :P

With Focus you lose RTL, Updraft, EQ, CE, FG, RoF, FA, and CW…

Nuff said there. Not worth the tradeoff.

Alexixiv.8125:

I prefer to view it as you have your way of surviving and I have mine, neither is wrong and both can be extremely powerful depending on how much skill we develop. This game is highly skill based and you may not perceive it being a higher skill level weapon because you have not developed your skill set around it. I think that all weapon combinations are generally balanced at most stages of the game, even if the community as a whole has not discovered the winning strategies. There are simply too many variables for each weapon set to say “it doesn’t really offer much” when in reality it is just that you do not see what it has to offer yet. The community is still in a phase of learning and discovery, this is an attempt to contribute the knowledge I have gained to bring another perspective and hopefully help others branch out in their skill sets

Most people don’t use focus much because most of the focus skills are simply bad. Obsidian flesh, swirling winds and magnetic wave are great skills, but those 3 skills aren’t usually worth having 5 useless/very weak skills.

A single target knockdown from gale is bad when you consider that updraft is aoe, applies swiftness and has a lower cooldown. Flamewall deals less direct and condition damage than ring of fire. Ring of fire has a shorter cooldown and cast time. Ring of fire is also easier to hit with and use for combos. Fire shield just burns, which is redundant with both main-hand weapons. Scepter auto-attack and drake’s breath have permanent upkeep for burning by themselves. Fire shield isn’t even good for activating aura traits because it is tied for longest cooldown and you can make a fire aura with skills that recharge much more quickly, magnetic grasp and ring of fire.

Comet can be strafed easily, and a daze is much less likely to save you than an extra heal and condition removal. Freezing gust isn’t terrible, but a single target chill that recharges in 25 seconds should chill for longer than 3 seconds. If you compare the numbers and effects of freezing gust to every other chill skill, you’ll realize that no amount of strategy or knowledge will make it competitive with the others. You can use freezing gust effectively or even win a fight because of it, but neither of those will change the fact that it and most of the other focus skills are underpowered.

If this is an attempt to help, we should be brainstorming ideas for how the focus skills can be buffed and/or reworked.

Obsidian Flesh has no “field effect”, also the skill is called Magnetic WAVE and it cures three conditions, not one, and it has no AoE cripple

Xolo.3580:

Obsidian Flesh has no “field effect”, also the skill is called Magnetic WAVE and it cures three conditions, not one, and it has no AoE cripple

Ah thanks for the corrections, that is what I get for trying to “focus” with lack of sleep.
It does have an AoE cripple though, lasts 5 seconds, check it out, they just never put it in the tooltip for some reason. I have submitted it to the bug forums already.

Alexixiv.8125:

Xolo.3580:

Obsidian Flesh has no “field effect”, also the skill is called Magnetic WAVE and it cures three conditions, not one, and it has no AoE cripple

Ah thanks for the corrections, that is what I get for trying to “focus” with lack of sleep.
It does have an AoE cripple though, lasts 5 seconds, check it out, they just never put it in the tooltip for some reason. I have submitted it to the bug forums already.

Just tested it in the Mists, you’re right. I assumed the snare you mentioned must come from the 15p Earth minor. This skill really does too much :p

I had to get a new scepter and focus just for karka land. No other set up can provide the skills necessary to survive in that hell hole.

Leo G.4501:

Something else people rarely mention: Magnetic Wave and Obsidian Flesh are instant cast. You can use them while you’re channeling other abilities and what not.

As for Focus’ Fire abilities, I always though making the fire line ability work mechanically like mesmer’s Temporal curtain (i.e. you lay it down and for a few seconds, you have the option to pull foes through it). For wall of fire, after laying it down, you have the option of destroying it for a blow-out effect and a small splash of damage. THAT would make Focus too fun to ignore, IMO :P

That would be really cool. I really like moves with “trigger effects” like that.

Though my biggest problem with Fire Wall is that it takes forever to activate. Using your example of Temporal Curtain, TC is a quick wave of the hand and boom, the attack is up. Its very easy to drop Temporal Curtain in front of an enemy at any moment.

Fire Wall has a good second or more of cast time before anything happens, which means you need to lead your enemy an awful lot if you’re trying to wall them, and in general means you’re wasting a fair amount of time just doing the cast animation. Between the delay and the fact that enemies need to stand in the wall for a prolonged period to achieve a decent burn / damage, Fire Wall is ill-suited as any sort of actual wall, and really only useful to lay down on top of enemies in melee range or to use as an oddly shaped fire field.

Giving full burn duration just for crossing the wall and making the cast much faster would help a lot. A secondary “detonation” effect would be a cool addition as well, though.