Guild Wars 2

First of all, I´m a casual gamer, I play a couple hours a day and watch videos on youtube of guys doing amazing stuff, XunleashedGW2 cheers to you.
But as a casual gamer, I was never able to be that good…that is until I changed my approach to building an elementalist. So given I’m really happy about this I decided to share the info with you guys.

The concept:

First of all as a casual gamer I’ve always read that unless you want to hit like a kitten you need to invest in critical chance and critical damage…problem is, to do so something has got to go, to most theory crafters the choice is obvious, in with critical chance and damage and out with healing power. Ok, I said, problem is…I´m not a pro so I really need healing power and toughness to stay alive, so that lead me on my crusade, to substitute critical chance and damage for conditional damage in a high power and healing power build.

Advantages:

Conditional damage bypasses armor (nice to get tanks down)

Conditional damage makes the opponent press skills to remove conditions, in that seconds he isn’t trying to kill you.

You manage to hit with solid numbers (not berserker solid, but still solid)

Healing power, I can’t stress enough how good for a casual player this is…we make mistakes, we don’t dodge as much as we should and so on…so we need to heal.

Disavantages:

Well you don’t hit like a freight truck, no 4000 plus damage here

You lose a bit on the armor and on the healing power, so you won’t be a mega tank, but trust me you’ll still be able to take a beating and keep on moving.

No procs from critical sigils…I know they are awesome

Still interested? Nice, so here is the build:

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fEAQJAoYhEmmbwR5gjDAkHucCLjCiUeQzM2A-jkCB4MBkEBkKAILSIKPSjtquIasqZER16kYmxDRzSO1CBMZOA-w

If you miss some more armor you can easily swap one cantrip for signet of earth and you should be fine.

Build analysis:

Traits:

Earth V – Elemental shielding, protection helps…a lot, being able to get protection whenever you cast water 4 or air 3 is amazing and helps you to trade blows in close quarters with just about everything.

Water III – Cantrip Mastery – no way to go around this, cantrips are the bread and butter of an overpowered elementalist, they give you short amazing survivability, regen and vigor, and more vigor means more evasive arcana which is really good.

Water IX – Soothing disruption – See above.

Water XI – Cleansing Water – Conditions are lethal, if you ever been tormented or confused in the middle of a large scale fight you know how vital it is to get rid of them as fast as possible, this helps a lot…trust me.

Arcana VI – Windborne Dagger – You’re like a hornet, you need to sting the enemy fast and often, so if the enemy tries to run you need to keep all over him, this makes you able to do just that.

Arcana VIII – Elemental Attunement – It’s a no brainer, as an elementalist you swap attunements…a lot…to get rewarded to do so, yes please

Arcana XI – Evasive Arcana – Goodness all around, are you bad in a fight dodge in water, are you wining? Dodge in fire or earth and sting the enemy. Are you trying to protect someone? Dodge in lightning. A must have.

Equipment analysis:

Lets suppose you get around 20 might stacks (normal for an elementalist), we want over 3000 power, over 1000 conditional damage, around 2500 armor, over 1200 healing power and around 16000 hp. The choice of equipment allows you to get this all, I´m casual so there could be room for improvement but I´m pretty happy with this.
And that’s it guys, hope this helps you in some way. If you have any suggestions or ideas please comment.

Expect those players that don’t take initiative to ask you for videos. It looks great for surviving more but the damage output must be extremely low.

I had a similer build in pvp and created a build for wvw as well. Don’t expect to be killing any necros. That being said condi is good against mesmer and thief and even engi. I’d suggest taking out some apothecary, invest 20 into earth and get the 10% condition damage trait. You can replace the apoth with some knights. Too much invested in healing power. I’ve been running condi builds for months. I know.

lol. almost old school d/d cantrip build.

about zero crit chance, low power. pff. booooring.

wall of text without sense.

OneManArmy.9732:

lol. almost old school d/d cantrip build.

about zero crit chance, low power. pff. booooring.

wall of text without sense.

Its better than traditional bunker. You get more damage from burns. About 450 per tick with that amount of Condi damage. Without might.

Nice feedback FrownyClown. Will check your suggestions. Glad there is someone out there that understands the point in burning damage on an elementalist. How much would you say thoughness and healing power should be (no foods) ?

I feel comfort able at 800 healing power and close to 1.8k toughness

Thanks think ill change healing power to 800 and increase thoughness and see how it feels. Earth at two is a nice idea but i believe it leaves you too vulnerable to conditions. But apart from that is a nice tweak.

To LightningBlaze: Thanks for the feedback…means a lot, been a fan of your builds. True damage numbers are nowhere near as impressive as in other builds, but the porpose of this build is that a dead dps is a no dps. Most ele players I’ve seen with more offensive builds die way too fast so I tried to do a casual friendly strong build…for more advanced players I’d go with more offensive builds like yours

I’m joining the conversation too if u don’t mind
D/D Ele damage is something not easy to learn, as it comes 80% from the player and 20% from the gear.
D/D “classic” damage comes from combos, fury and might stacking, fury stacking is easy, might stacking is not easy, I can stay over 20 stacks of might self and when u have 20 stacks of might u get the boost.
More.. Burning speed, Firegrab and Churning Earth are our strongest spells, all of them are hard to land but super rewarding. Master them, master might stacking and u get the damage.
What I suggest to every ele that wants to play as dd is to start with a defensive build with high toughness and healing and focus on learning our complicated damage mechanics. This is how I started too, decreasing defensive stats for offensive over time.
I don’t think condition is the way to go, but u can give it a try why not.
The secret of the dd is mastering his offensive spells, master burning speed first, churning earth for group fights, master lightning flash for both offensive and defensive play, master ur firegrab, always blast on ur fire field.
Also, maximize ur equip slots to get as more stats as possible: not every slot of our inventory is good balanced, get critical damage where u get the most (accessories in general), use celestials if u can. We have low base stats so we need to get the max we can.
Hope it helps some casual ele over there

Xunleashed.5271:

I’m joining the conversation too if u don’t mind
D/D Ele damage is something not easy to learn, as it comes 80% from the player and 20% from the gear.
D/D “classic” damage comes from combos, fury and might stacking, fury stacking is easy, might stacking is not easy, I can stay over 20 stacks of might self and when u have 20 stacks of might u get the boost.
More.. Burning speed, Firegrab and Churning Earth are our strongest spells, all of them are hard to land but super rewarding. Master them, master might stacking and u get the damage.
What I suggest to every ele that wants to play as dd is to start with a defensive build with high toughness and healing and focus on learning our complicated damage mechanics. This is how I started too, decreasing defensive stats for offensive over time.
I don’t think condition is the way to go, but u can give it a try why not.
The secret of the dd is mastering his offensive spells, master burning speed first, churning earth for group fights, master lightning flash for both offensive and defensive play, master ur firegrab, always blast on ur fire field.
Also, maximize ur equip slots to get as more stats as possible: not every slot of our inventory is good balanced, get critical damage where u get the most (accessories in general), use celestials if u can. We have low base stats so we need to get the max we can.
Hope it helps some casual ele over there

And after they learn that they gotta learn what works best to kill certain classes=]. Its a long road to learn power. I took a break from power for like 5 months bur came back to it because condi was too easy. Rather than get frustrated I realize I learned something I can improve on. How does your toughness fair solo roaming xunleashed?

Not that bad, but I’m working on increasing it with ascended armor for future, ascended armor with defensive infusions opens new options, probably cavalier legs

I don’t see anything noteworthy about this build. It’s a typical defensive DD build.
You talk about conditions, but you have very little to boost them. just a few points of condition damage. Your burning does roughly 25% more damage than a similar build that doesn’t invest into condition damage.

To Xunleashed.: Thanks for your time and feedback means a lot for a casual ele such as me. This only motivates me more to keep learning as an elementalist It gives me hope to know you also had this kinda evolution. And nice videos you’re one of my favorite elementalist players.

To reikken: Keep in mind that this isn´t a top of the line elementalist build…just a build that helps casual elementalist such as me to be able to do a bit more damage (25% increase for me is very good) and also keep the training wheels of healing power Hope this helps some elementalists out there to not feel frustrated with the class and to point them in the direction you guys are on.

@Xunleashed How can you maintain 20 stacks of might in a classic D/D build?
Or do you go Fire traits with might on cantrips and fire spells?(maybe + Arcane Blast)

Graendall.4765:

@Xunleashed How can you maintain 20 stacks of might in a classic D/D build?
Or do you go Fire traits with might on cantrips and fire spells?(maybe + Arcane Blast)

75% boon duration:
sigil of battle 35 seconds 3 stacks (9 internal cd), total of 9 stacks always up from that
fire attunement 1 stack 26 seconds, atleast 2 stacks from it
blasts on fire field, this can go from 1 blast (evasive arcana only) to 3 blasts (+ earthquake, churning earth), this can be another 9 stacks.
Rest comes from fire aura that u can get with magnetic grasp leap.
As u can see from my vids, stacking might is an important part for the boon build, I don’t mind wasting an earthquake or something for that

I know but fire aura is not so easy to get especialy in WvW where things are very random.Gonna try to use it with more tactic but usualy i use magnetic grasp to catch runners or mesmers/thiefs running around

thanks for this thread. ive learnt a lot.

just a question, can i use scepter/dagger instead of dagger/dagger with this build? i like the combo i can make using the scepter.

Xunleashed.5271:

I’m joining the conversation too if u don’t mind
D/D Ele damage is something not easy to learn, as it comes 80% from the player and 20% from the gear.

d/d ele is faceroll machine with zero punishment for mistakes. deal with it.

also condi ele must be s/d, but it still sux cuz all ele’s abilities shares direct damage and condi, there is no pure condi dmg ability. that’s why condi ele sux.

fgj all ele’s builds sux

OneManArmy.9732:

Xunleashed.5271:

I’m joining the conversation too if u don’t mind
D/D Ele damage is something not easy to learn, as it comes 80% from the player and 20% from the gear.

d/d ele is faceroll machine with zero punishment for mistakes. deal with it.

also condi ele must be s/d, but it still sux cuz all ele’s abilities shares direct damage and condi, there is no pure condi dmg ability. that’s why condi ele sux.

fgj all ele’s builds sux

^
Must have been owned and trolled by a D/D Ele lmao.
You obv don’t play or have even attempted to play a D/D ele. Its no where near a faceroll machine. You actually have to set up your combos and damage. You can’t just spam you skills when the come off cool down. This is why we get nerfed 80% from the player and 20% from the gear since they can’t nerf the player they nerf the class.

OneManArmy.9732:

Xunleashed.5271:

I’m joining the conversation too if u don’t mind
D/D Ele damage is something not easy to learn, as it comes 80% from the player and 20% from the gear.

d/d ele is faceroll machine with zero punishment for mistakes. deal with it.

also condi ele must be s/d, but it still sux cuz all ele’s abilities shares direct damage and condi, there is no pure condi dmg ability. that’s why condi ele sux.

fgj all ele’s builds sux

You sound like a kitten Heartseeker spamer.Its a good thing elementalist is a REALLY hard class to play properly,saves us the incopetent players who want an overpowered class that can win everyone.

30 Water + 30 Arcana + Triple cantrips? That’s about as old-school as D/D builds get.

Sorry but the damage capability of this build is just PATHETIC now that I’ve experienced what a real PvP class like Mesmer, Engineer, Guardian, etc can accomplish.
They’ve got builds with defense on-par with that D/D ele build + double the damage output and pressure, AND significantly easier to play with more breathing room.

But I’m glad that such threads keep coming up, it’s good to see people trying to make something work out of this sorry excuse of a class in SPvP.

These days I’m just running hotjoins as staff zerker, way more fun.

Talyn Sneider.1825:

To LightningBlaze: Thanks for the feedback…means a lot, been a fan of your builds. True damage numbers are nowhere near as impressive as in other builds, but the porpose of this build is that a dead dps is a no dps. Most ele players I’ve seen with more offensive builds die way too fast so I tried to do a casual friendly strong build…for more advanced players I’d go with more offensive builds like yours

I think It goes more towards individual playstyle. I have alway played bursty non glass cannon type on every mmorpg as a Mage profession. Wielding dagger and being on close combat most of the time still doesn’t feel right in my book as a caster light armor class…..that’s probably why I got away from the d/d bunker spec in general.

I am playing 95% of time as ele. s/d d/d staff.
d/d – faceroll braindead machine with zero skill. don’t tell me d/d require skill, because it’s not.
yes – with d/d you’ll get fun and adrenaline, but it still no brain faceroll.

To Xunleashed.: Thanks for all the info…can’t tell you how much help you giving us casual elementalist players. I’m now working on the second version of this build In which I’ll try to take another step in the direction of more damage and less healing power (but still keeping some healing power).

To Valentin.: Glad to be able to help out but the true masters are the guys that been giving their insights here. To help you out I adapted the build to scepter. Don’t miss the second part of this guide where I’ll try to get one step closer to the pros

Build:

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fEAQJAoYhEmmbwR5gjDAkHucCLjCiUeQzM2A-jkCB4MBkEBkKAILSIKPSjtquIasqZER16kYmxDRzSO1CBMZOA-w

Talyn Sneider.1825:

To Xunleashed.: Thanks for all the info…can’t tell you how much help you giving us casual elementalist players. I’m now working on the second version of this build In which I’ll try to take another step in the direction of more damage and less healing power (but still keeping some healing power).

Keeping healing power is important, never leave it. And sry for those trolls posting about sPvP that have nothing to compare with a WvW (both small and large scale) build and style

To OneManArmy.: I understand that you might be able to perform with the pro builds of D/D unfortunately not all of us are able to do so, this thread is oriented to help players like me…a bit clumsy and casual, that love the class and don’t want to be frustrated with it You’re welcome to help us out.

Talyn Sneider.1825:

To OneManArmy.: I understand that you might be able to perform with the pro builds of D/D unfortunately not all of us are able to do so, this thread is oriented to help players like me…a bit clumsy and casual, that love the class and don’t want to be frustrated with it You’re welcome to help us out.

i am not against d/d. just don’t call bunker d/d skill based build. it’s great build for newbies to start. i’ve started my pvp with the similar build (0/10/0/30/30), it was fun, until I realize that zero damage don’t help team, playing this build is being ballast. sad, but true.

go play zerk staff, even if you die faster then can imagine, you’ll bring more for your team than playing bunker d/d.

To LightningBlaze.: I must admit my play style involves a suicidal tendency to jump in the middle of the fight (usually zerg vs zerg clash zones) sting as many enemies as possible and get out…rinse and repeat. I also like dueling…in a casual sort of way.

To OneManArmy: Believe me, I’ve tried that and i admit that even in a wvw situation a berzerker staff mage is helpful…but…not that fun to play with, the D/D is fun because of the adrenalin, the pace…for me it’s like being an wasp, always pursuing the enemy, fiercely and relentlessly. It’s just a matter of having fun for me as casual player, and a well placed series of stings in the middle of a zerg can be really helpful too.

OneManArmy.9732:

i am not against d/d. just don’t call bunker d/d skill based build. it’s great build for newbies to start. i’ve started my pvp with the similar build (0/10/0/30/30), it was fun, until I realize that zero damage don’t help team, playing this build is being ballast. sad, but true.
go play zerk staff, even if you die faster then can imagine, you’ll bring more for your team than playing bunker d/d.

Playing zerker you aren’t just a ballast, you feed your enemies. Ok, if you team is already (without you) better both in power and in tactical sense you can supplement it with good (but pretty slow) damage and decent CC. But how often this happens? And otherwise you can as well hide in the deepest hole and go afk – just pressing ctrl+t on you will oneshot you.
Non-bunker build grants some good games, but like in 3-to-1 ratio to complete humiliations.
D/D instead grants you with stable sub-average effectiveness. With decent skill (kinda another kind of skill, more about APM and action while staff is about positioning) you can even be decent support/roamer.

So that’s a choice, a fork. The only “right” answer here is to play warrior unfortunately.

Hi guys, to check the first iteration of all your feedback please see:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/elementalist/Guide-to-an-Overpowered-D-D-Elem-part-2/first#post3436582

Talyn Sneider.1825:

Hi guys, to check the first iteration of all your feedback please see:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/elementalist/Guide-to-an-Overpowered-D-D-Elem-part-2/first#post3436582

1) In all those builds I think it’s a huge mistake not to take Rock Solid. With 20 points in Earth it’s silly to take anything other than Rock Solid. I can see you’re going for some kind of condi build but it just doesn’t make sense to sacrifice such awesome traits for minor condi traits.
2) Renewing Stamina = best Arcana adept trait. After the latest patch Ele is the only class that can maintain perma-vigor now, without it D/D has no source of vigor. Vigor = lots of dodges, dodges = lots of Evasive Arcana, live longer, you get the idea.

It’s nice to see people trying out different things, but I think it’s just a fact that Ele’s are hard-locked into their absolute best traits in order to stand a chance against other classes/builds. There’s almost no room to experiment with Arcana traits, and especially no room to attempt condi builds with a class that is absolutely horrible at applying conditions.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/elementalist/Guide-to-an-Overpowered-D-D-Element-Final/first#post3441542

For the final part with all I’ve learned.

OneManArmy.9732:

Talyn Sneider.1825:

To OneManArmy.: I understand that you might be able to perform with the pro builds of D/D unfortunately not all of us are able to do so, this thread is oriented to help players like me…a bit clumsy and casual, that love the class and don’t want to be frustrated with it You’re welcome to help us out.

i am not against d/d. just don’t call bunker d/d skill based build. it’s great build for newbies to start. i’ve started my pvp with the similar build (0/10/0/30/30), it was fun, until I realize that zero damage don’t help team, playing this build is being ballast. sad, but true.

go play zerk staff, even if you die faster then can imagine, you’ll bring more for your team than playing bunker d/d.

You’re so wrong it isn’t funny lol. But from past interactions with you, I’m not going to waste time on you.

All I’ve got to say is: Post videos of your ‘skill’ with D/D ele. When you show how good you are, I’ll fully admit it’s a face roll class that requires no skill.

But I know you won’t, and I know it isn’t. Also if you believe you don’t do damage, you really have played ele wrong.

Good day.