Guild Wars 2

I want to roll a DPS class, but these forums seem to indicate that the elementalist has sub par damage, which kind of confuses me.

“DPS class”

Wrong game.

You know what I mean.

What is the damage output of the class? I’m asking because I’ve played a Guardian to 80 and found it rather stale with how slow things die.

I’d suggest Warrior or Theif then, as my warrior kills mobs twice as fast as my elementalist.

Thanks for your input, I really wanted to go for a caster this time around

Might check out the warrior then as thief was a bit too squish for me to handle.

I’d say level each up to 20 and see which one feels better and fits your playstyle. That’s plenty of time to get a feel for the professions.

If you have the right build gear and so forth, the DPS is ok, if you dont it kinda sucks.

But condition builds generally arent that good for PvE, and unless you think its a better playstyle to let the enemy hit you more while it lives longer, vs just killing it quickly…

You will find the class is too squishy or too low DPS, and the sweet spot is about 80-90% offense.

But expect battles to take forever, or to die often, until you get good gear at a high level.

Oh quiet you. Elementalists are fine, if not OP in certain situations.

Yes, it takes pressing more than one key to kill your average Orrian zombie. But if you know how to play one, you will never lose a 1v1 fight against another player. Ignore all these blockheads who came here from WoW, where mages could spam one button and win – here you have to know what you’re doing.

@Amnon

Thanks for insulting people stating their opinion. Also thanks for adding nothing.

You will never loose 1v1 ?

I think most all of the posts on this board talking about PvP would beg to differ.

What is your build/gear since you have it all figured out?

Anyways back to reality…he said the thief was too squishy for him, and the Elem isnt any better.

And if you think Elem DPS is amazing, its a comparison, how hard do we have to work for what result vs other classes.

Answer is twice as much for almost as much as some

You know what, I feel entitled to insult people who cry like babies over something they simply don’t understand. “Elementalist is weak! Elementalist is underpowered!” – truth is, Elementalist is “different”, perhaps more difficult to play, but not weak or UP. I’ve stated it many times before, but there are always more whiners who come from WoW and expect “Mages” to be 1-button facerolls.

Just because the Elementalist playstyle doesn’t suit certain people, that’s their problem, not the class. It suits me just fine, and I find it really strong in sPvP. So yes, when 5 people come here and spam “Ele is weak”, I will show up and call them blockheads, crybabies, or whatever it is I feel like calling them. Don’t like it? Play a warrior. Don’t like that? Play a Ranger. Don’t like that? There are many more classes to choose from.

Would you care sharing some of your skill chains/rotations then, Amnon? I love my d/d ele but i know i don’t play it to its potential, because i have a hard time killing someone (unless they suck). I know my weak points (like i lose 0.x secs because i’m slow at swapping attunements, i don’t dodge enough etc) which aren’t things that anyone else can help with, but i also could use help on increasing my dps output by better skill chains.

The game rewards you for being up close in melee range so melee classes deal more dmg.

Ranged dps wise ele in PvE is about as good as any other class 1v1, but excels in aoe dmg.

Sai Ree, the first thing you need to know as an elementalist: This is not the WoW mage. Elementalist is a melee class which relies on dodging, slowing, kiting, and self-healing to survive. It’s not as easy as having heavy armor, but I believe it makes for much more fun gameplay.

Normally, when I’m running between fight to fight, I’m in Air attunement. When I see a target, I immediately open with Ride the Lightning and Updraft. Due to RtL’s long range, you’ve immediately opened the fight with the advantage of instant knockdown. If using a Scepter, throw in a 2 & 3 combo to damage and blind (but not if using a dagger, since you’ll be too far away).

Switch to Fire. If using a dagger, use 3 to move straight on top of the enemy and burn him – otherwise run there. Throw a ring of fire, and hit with an Arcane Blast (+might). If using a scepter, throw 2 & 3 for more might. If using a dagger, use fire breath.

Switch to Earth.
Knockdown again using Earthquake.
If using a dagger, use Magnetic Pull to immobilize your opponent, then Churning Earth. He’ll have to be pretty good to get out of that one, or dodge right on time.
If using a scepter, blind.

Switch to water.
Use healing wave for a quick heal, which you probably need by now.
Use 4, because it’s instant and could chill your enemy if he hits you.
If using a dagger, use 3 to instantly chill the enemy, then 2 to do some damage.

Back to lightning.
Rinse, repeat.

EDIT: Of course, not all your enemies would be puppets – most of the time things don’t go according to plan. Learn to utilize your attunement switching buffs – switch to Water for healing and condition removal, switch to Earth for defense, lightning to run away.

Always have a Cantrip in your skill bar, I use Mist Form. Utilize your defensive moves, such as the lightning shield (dagger). Most importantly: Be in control of the fight. Knock him down, blind him, burn him, and run around him until his head spins.

Cezton.2415:

I really wanted to go for a caster this time around

Try Mesmer or Necromancer. Mesmer is quite fun to play as, Necromancer I’ve barely played, so I can’t say.

problem is ele has crappy base defenses and dps is not better than other classes. they kinda make up for that with support abilities.

Amnon.4769:

Oh quiet you. Elementalists are fine, if not OP in certain situations.

Yes, it takes pressing more than one key to kill your average Orrian zombie. But if you know how to play one, you will never lose a 1v1 fight against another player. Ignore all these blockheads who came here from WoW, where mages could spam one button and win – here you have to know what you’re doing.

I agree, except with the 1v1 comment. I lose 1v1’s against people who know what they’re doing all the time, the point is I usually come back around in the match and kill them too. The only real class I can’t beat is illusion mesmers, and bunker guardians/engies (it’s ends in an eternal stalemate with the last two).
This is R10+ tournies we’re talking too, I was hotjoining games last night for kitten and giggles and I won 4 matches in a row never dropping from the top 3 players. I didn’t die once.

Most people who say elementalists are unplayable don’t know how to play the class. Right now, it’s not a glass cannon, it’s a sustained fighter with some strong mobility at best and relies heavily on landing combos to get anywhere. Most people gave up on the class before even bothering to figure this out.
They do need a few changes, though.

To answer your question OP, when eles are played right in pvp they are mid-range damage at best. In pve they can still be glass cannons.