Guild Wars 2

Hey everyone, I started playing this game a couple weeks ago and I just hit level 80 with my Elementalist. I have done some research into what builds are the strongest (metabattle) and what sort of gear those use, as well as some more quirkier builds which appeal to me. The overwhelming majority have suggested using Berserker gear, however that style of gameplay doesn’t really fit me as a person. I enjoy being supportive (in a defensive sense) and I also understand that this is looked down upon as less efficient.

So my question is, how can I be as efficient as possible, whilst playing a less efficient build? Exactly how important is stacking as much Power as possible?

I spent 30 mins doing some quick math on what sort of gear and stat spread I have as options to me and would love some insight on them from more experienced players. Please just bear in mind that my goal isn’t DPS, more of a roleplay / quirky build whilst trying to still remain as efficient as possible! Below is the stat allocation of each different set of gear with a total next to it.

Celestial

22 (x7) = 154
17 (x7) = 119
50 (x7) = 350
17 (x7) = 119
33 (x7) = 231
17 (x7) = 119

57 (x7) = 399
46 (x7) = 322
46 (x7) = 322
41 (x7) = 287
41 (x7) = 287

44 (x7) = 308
44 (x7) = 308

22 (x7) = 154

497 (x7) = 3479

Berserker

Power / Precision / Ferocity

47 / 34 / 34 = 115
35 / 25 / 25 = 85
106 / 76 / 76 = 258
35 / 25 / 25 = 85
71 / 50 / 50 = 171
35 / 25 / 25 = 85

126 / 85 / 85 = 296
103 / 68 / 68 = 239
103 / 68 / 68 = 239
91 / 60 / 60 = 211
91 / 60 / 60 = 211

94 / 67 / 67 = 228
94 / 67 / 67 = 228

56 / 35 / 35 = 126

1087 – 745 – 745 — 2577

Mixed

47 / 34 / 34 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 @Berserkers
35 / 25 / 25 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
106 / 76 / 76 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
35 / 25 / 25 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
71 / 50 / 50 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
35 / 25 / 25 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0

126 / 85 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 85 @ Zaelots
103 / 68 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 68
103 / 68 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 68
91 / 0 / 60 / 0 / 0 / 60 / 0 @Valkyrie
91 / 0 / 60 / 0 / 0 / 60 / 0

94 / 0 / 67 / 0 / 0 / 67 / 0 @Valkyrie
94 / 0 / 67 / 0 / 0 / 67 / 0

56 / 35 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 35 @Zaelots

1087 / 491 / 489 / 0 / 0 / 254 / 256

Power / Precision / Ferocity / Condition Damage / Toughness / Vitality / Healing

497 – 497 – 497 – 497 – 497 – 497 – 497

1087 – 745 – 745 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

1087 / 491 / 489 / 0 / 0 / 254 / 256

If I go full Celestial, I get 497 in every stat.
If I go full Berserker, I get twice as much Power as going Celestial, roughly 50% more Precision + Ferocity.
If I go with a mixed set of gear (whilst focusing Power as mainstat), I get twice as much power as full Celestial, roughly the same Precision / Ferocity, roughly half the Vitality / Healing as full Celestial and no Condition Damage or Toughness.

So, if you managed to follow my very quick and poorly organised math above, the question comes down to this:

Is Power so overbearingly strong that it is worth dropping so many other stats in order to max it?

Thanks for making it through my essay and for any input

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fFAQJAoIGQEII3tUNKo87YKA-T1RMwArUaETJGA9AI2fInygvKBvr+DpAMXoF-w

you can run something like this for small scale. D/D is probably the best way to be able to heal a decent amount to allies as well as dishing out good damage. You heal allies near you when you attune to water/ when you dodge roll in water and when you use dagger 5 and dagger 2 in water.

If you are doing large scale it is better to go staff. The great thing about staff if you dont need to build support stats to play support. When water fields are blasted, the amount it heals depends on the healing power of the one who blasted it, so your healing power actually doesn’t matter. It also has 2 hard cc and some soft cc which is good for controlling enemies.

While Power is a critical stat in certain builds it really depends what your goal is and what aspect of the game you are playing to be able to answer your question accurately

For PvE DPS is king so much that Berserker has been deemed the go-to gear set. There are a few instances such as Tequatl where Berserker stats are wasted, but for the most part that one gear set can be used universally in all content of that aspect. In this case focusing Power while being mindful of attribute caps and dimishing returns is very important as most groups espect a player to be contributing DPS directly. All classes have access to attacks that scale dramitically with Power so something as small as missing 100 power will be noticable.

PvP and WvW are different. In these game modes there is a mixture of builds that are both offensive and defensive. While Power can still be a valuable stat it may not be the primary concern of someone who, for example, is focusing on bunkering where a mixture of Vitality, toughness, and/or Healing Power is more important.

For Ele’s Power scales wonderfully with some of our weapons and conjured, and precision and ferocity make us a deadly offensive threat. Though at the same time Healing Power also scales well with a lot of our water traits and skills. We’re squishy so Vitality and Toughness are welcomed.

In short, Power may or may not be an important stat. As an Ele we can take advantage of any stat given to us whether or not it’s a “wasted” stat all depends on what we’re trying to do.

Thanks for both answers.

I am looking at playing WvW with some PvE splashed in

I’ll second FrownyClown’s recommendation for WvW d/d roaming. Celestial mixed with zerk/cav gives you a well-rounded distribution that slightly favors DPS.

For WvW staff, condi and healing are typically wasted stats. Whether or not you’re WvWing for PPT or zerg busting/GvG/open field should determine which stats you favor. If you expect to encounter and handle siege, power main stat is all that matters. Mix in toughness/vit to suit your needs. Zerker/soldier mix is an easy solution.

PvE: zerkzerkzerk