Help with a "starter" scepter/focus build
There really isn’t one, as scepter is terrible for anything outside of fresh-air burst builds. Also, the play-style you will learn will be completely different. Fresh air is all about rotating your defensive CD’s while under pressure, and pushing out heavy counter-pressure. This is one of the cases where your offense is a big part of your defense. The nice thing about s/f is that everything has the same range, so there is no reason to get close to your opponent unless you are doing a phoenix + lightning flash burst. Beyond that, try to keep your distance and use terrain to your advantage.
If you build for more passive defense, you are actually making things harder for yourself. In pvp, valkyrie amulet can kind of work, but it is still going to be harder for you than zerker. In wvw, you can run a few defensive/celestial trinkets to get your toughness up a little bit so you don’t get 1-shot by backstab builds, but don’t give up too much of your offense.
The most “sustain-y” fresh-air build you should be running is either:
0/6/0/4/4 or 0/6/0/2/6. Your utilities should be lightning flash (always) and arcane shield (always), with your choice of signet of air, mistform, or arcane wave/blast.
Thanks for the response! I see it’s go big or go home then LOL.
Here is the build I was working with. Does it look viable or should I change the trinkets to all zerk also?
Thanks for all the help!
Thanks for the response! I see it’s go big or go home then LOL.
Here is the build I was working with. Does it look viable or should I change the trinkets to all zerk also?
Thanks for all the help!
It’s your choice, but I would suggest zerker trinkets. Also, get rid of Cantrip mastery and take Vital Striking.
Another option is strength runes and battle + air as sigils. This is rather personal preference, but it works better for me than Pack and fire + air. Also, I think stones are better than oil, but I’m not sure about that one.
Another thing is that you might go for 6 in Arcana and just two in water/fire. It’s about personal preference, too. Just try it out and see what works better for you.
DONT LISTEN TO THE FOOLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Luckily, so far you’ve been given sound advice by knowledgeable individuals….
Anyway, enough joking around. You can build however you want. (for pvp)
For pve, you’ll want as much damage as you can do while staying alive. World bosses can’t be crit, so precision and ferocity is useless. However, world bosses are a very small part of overall pve. Find the right balance for yourself. I usually start all my characters in full zerker, and hop into wvw. If I find myself dying more, I add more defensive gear until I feel safe. Then I have a set for pve (full zerk) and a set for wvw (partial zerk/knight?/valkarie? etc)
Even for pvp, I generally prefer power damage. Even if many condi builds rule 1v1. I like being able to burst, while relying on conditions for utility (chilled, fear, immob, cripple, and burning for some added damage). This is my own preference, so you’ll need to find your own. (celestial is fun too if you want to make good use of all your skills)
Finally on the topic of scepter/focus. I’ve tried many builds, and they all work. One of my favorites is a fresh air build (0/6/0/4/4). I find it has great sustain and 1v1 potential, while allowing you enough damage to punish players who are out of position. I also enjoyed a mega burst arcane build (6/4/0/2/2). However you play, the amount you’ll improve from trying out builds and modifying them to your liking will far surpass any advice people can give you.
If you are looking for the fastest path to getting into tournaments and building a pvp team to compete with abjured, etc. Well, sure, there are some builds that don’t work. However, I’ve found that if you are a solo queuer, the mmr will put you with players you can compete with, and some games no matter how meta, you’ll lose. One player doesn’t win games, teams do. Some games, fresh air feels super strong, some, I can’t kill anyone.
My favorite build right now is a d/d burst build. But if you love sce/focus, try out all sorts of builds with the weapon set. If fresh air is too fast paced for you (it was for me 2 years ago), try something else. I made my gf a sc/f build for pvp. She is not very good, but she only dies a few times a game on mid. Its cause I made her a crazy staying alive build. (cleric/traveler 0/0/4/6/4) While people are trying to kill her, I try to slaughter them, if they focus me, with d/d I have lots of escapes.
TLDR: Try different set-ups, you’ll learn more than coming here.
For wvw, I don’t think you want to go “all-in” on zerker/valks. You really are going to need some more toughness (moreso than vitality) or thieves will 1-shot your from stealth. You can also give up a little bit of offense and still have enough to 1-shot them if you land phoenix.
I would suggest some soldier’s and knights pieces, with something like this (you want around 1300-1400 toughness, and ~15K HP, at least until you are more experienced) Also, I prioritize precision over ferocity, b/c I personally prefer to guarantee that air-attunement recharges reliably fast so I can burst more frequently:
Personally, I use a more “general” build that just lets me switch up traits and still have enough damage/survival depending on whether I spec for fresh-air, d/d, or staff. With the removal of stats from trait-lines, however, this will change. However, currently it looks something like this:
I built this way b/c I wanted some of the “free” stats on celestial and didn’t want to have to change-up my build besides trinkets (which are WAY cheaper than making new armor/weapons) to swap roles.
For wvw, I don’t think you want to go “all-in” on zerker/valks. You really are going to need some more toughness (moreso than vitality) or thieves will 1-shot your from stealth. You can also give up a little bit of offense and still have enough to 1-shot them if you land phoenix.
I would suggest some soldier’s and knights pieces, with something like this (you want around 1300-1400 toughness, and ~15K HP, at least until you are more experienced) Also, I prioritize precision over ferocity, b/c I personally prefer to guarantee that air-attunement recharges reliably fast so I can burst more frequently:
Personally, I use a more “general” build that just lets me switch up traits and still have enough damage/survival depending on whether I spec for fresh-air, d/d, or staff. With the removal of stats from trait-lines, however, this will change. However, currently it looks something like this:
I built this way b/c I wanted some of the “free” stats on celestial and didn’t want to have to change-up my build besides trinkets (which are WAY cheaper than making new armor/weapons) to swap roles.
Well, that’s really personal preference. When I bother to do wvw (even in first tier) I always run full zerker and never had any issues with a thief. I would suggest to try it out and if it doesn’t work for you then you can always switch back later.
For a starter set, I’d actually recommend Diva’s condi s/f build. The main reasons being:
- It slows down the game. This allows you to become more familiar with the tools at your disposal.
- It allows you to become more intimate with your opponent during a fight, giving you more experience of what to avoid at all costs and what you can safely absorb.
- It reduces the impact of mistakes which will allow you to recognize and adapt later on.
- Diva’s build also reduces build complexity, which allows you to think more about the mechanics of the fight then the mechanics of your build. Other builds are a bit more open when you want to add the attunement dance in, but even Fresh Air still centers around air attunement.
Fishsticks
For a starter set, I’d actually recommend Diva’s condi s/f build. The main reasons being:
- It slows down the game. This allows you to become more familiar with the tools at your disposal.
- It allows you to become more intimate with your opponent during a fight, giving you more experience of what to avoid at all costs and what you can safely absorb.
- It reduces the impact of mistakes which will allow you to recognize and adapt later on.
- Diva’s build also reduces build complexity, which allows you to think more about the mechanics of the fight then the mechanics of your build. Other builds are a bit more open when you want to add the attunement dance in, but even Fresh Air still centers around air attunement.
Well, he was asking about fresh air build. Condition scepter build plays completely different and I wouldn’t say it adds complexity, but rather takes it away. Fresh air centers around attuning to air, not the attunement itself. Most of the damage comes from air + fire, but yeah there are little things in each attunement you take in consideration. The fact you have no rotations on fresh air actually means you have to start learning what to do in different situations.
So, yes if you want something easy to play and learn the game itself. No, if you want to learn how to play fresh air. For some people it might be better to start playing very risky specs, for some not. That’s very personal, but I just want to point out that condition scepter ele build is something completely different than fresh air.
I answered the question directly. If OP wants to stay fresh air that’s fine, but condi s/f fits the bill as "a starter build more survivable than fresh air ".
Fishsticks
Thanks everyone for all your help and guidance! I really appreciate everyone’s response. Such a great community.
I use my ele for dungeons and fractals most of the time and have been playing s/f for a year now, switched from staff because staff bores me. Never have i recived a complaint about my weapon combo. Stacking might and providing fury for my party is allways wellcome. It gives decent dmg and fair range and great survivability.