Guild Wars 2

So I’ve got an Elementalist in their mid teens.

I recently tried the d/d build that’s really popular right now.
I play pve and I feel like either everything dies before I get through a “rotation” which is more complicated than it seems to be worth since things are dying. Or things are out of hand and I’m just smashing buttons.

So help me understand how to use this build and/or is there something that stands out for dungeons right now?

In the teens you have like what, 2-3 trait points?

The stuff you get for switching attunes (and how it interacts with the dagger abilities) is what really makes the build flow.

If you read the D/D guide, you probably know the essences of guide are creativity and efficiency. If you can kill early mobs quickly in one attunement, extra rotation is a waste. D/D is not about rigid rotation, but about adapting to the enemies and environment.

Even at 80 vs normal mobs I can stay in fire and be fine. Maybe a swap at the end to water for a quick heal while I finish off the mob.

Only in wpvp and vs vet mobs do I stance dance.

I have run into the same situation while leveling (lvl 20 atm) though where I’ve found it to be really fun is when you have 4+ mobs on you at once. In that case, I’ll start out with my typical fire attack, change over to earth and go for 4, then 2, and swap over to water for the CC and a heal if needed. Add that with a nice arcane burst and they are pretty much gone. This comes in handy when you have to take down a veteran who may have 2-3 goons protecting him. That quick AoE burst eats them alive in seconds.