Guild Wars 2

Is it okay to ask what improvements have been made for Elementalist in, lets say, the past year ?

I’ve been active on the boards here and there but I haven’t actually played the game in about a years time but will be returning soon and starting fresh. I really like this profession and am just wondering the state of the profession as of now.

Thanks in advance for any who care to converse on this topic.

Guess not, sorry for asking ( sigh )

I’m not sure about the actual history, but Elementalist is in a great place right now. We have a place in every game mode as a top tier profession. There are a few things that still are lackluster, like our elite skills, but overall, Elementalist is in a good place.

Elementalists are arguably the best class in the game at the moment.

fracture.9754:

Give them party stealth and reflects and you can remove all other classes from the game, as they’re not needed anymore (a bit of an exaggeration, but I’m trying to make a point here, kitten it!).

Would still need a Guardian to share blocks

fracture.9754:

Yeah, I was considering this. Then I remembered arcane shield, obsidian flesh, sigil of energy, …

Anet pls, give us a smoke field and delete other professions.

Personal blocks, sure, but no party-wide ones. We need Persisting Flames to also say “every 2 seconds in a fire field, all allies gain stability and aegis”.

Altair.8402:

Elementalists are arguably the best class in the game at the moment.

Forgetting to mention something? Like the fact that we are only such with one single build, the same single competitive build we have had since launch. I guess we have two if you consider the WvW staff build a ‘build’ at all, I don’t see how though with how little individual build hardly even matters in WvW.

You want to know the real improvements that have been made to the class over the last year? You remember the DD cantrip water/arcane build? They destroyed that build, leaving us with pretty much nothing for nine solid months, then buffed celestial gear and gave daggers another blast finisher, bringing the exact same build back, except under celestial gear and with slightly less escape-ability because of the RTL nerfs.

That’s the big improvement everyone is lauding. Clerics is now celestial, on the still single competitive build we have. Woohoo…

EDIT: Oh, and they heavily nerfed two of our three elites… none of which were particularly useful in any game mode in the first place. Yeah…

Thanks for the replies. I’m a one character player now for mmo’s which is the reason for this thread. I will be starting fresh and maxing this character out. This will be the case for every mmo I play although GW2 and DCUO are the only two mmo’s that have heald me through out the years.

Out of all the classes I have played in GW2 for some reason Elementalist holds me which is odd since they do not have the ability to weapon swap.

Weapon swapping during combat is a big draw for me to this game yet the profession I like the best isn’t able to utilize that option…..go figure lol.

Anyway, thanks for the replies and all have a wonderful day.

cheese.4739:

fracture.9754:

Give them party stealth and reflects and you can remove all other classes from the game, as they’re not needed anymore (a bit of an exaggeration, but I’m trying to make a point here, kitten it!).

Would still need a Guardian to share blocks

Guardians are arguably the best class in the game for people who can’t play Elementalists.

Conncept.7638:

Altair.8402:

Elementalists are arguably the best class in the game at the moment.

Forgetting to mention something? Like the fact that we are only such with one single build, the same single competitive build we have had since launch. I guess we have two if you consider the WvW staff build a ‘build’ at all, I don’t see how though with how little individual build hardly even matters in WvW.

You want to know the real improvements that have been made to the class over the last year? You remember the DD cantrip water/arcane build? They destroyed that build, leaving us with pretty much nothing for nine solid months, then buffed celestial gear and gave daggers another blast finisher, bringing the exact same build back, except under celestial gear and with slightly less escape-ability because of the RTL nerfs.

That’s the big improvement everyone is lauding. Clerics is now celestial, on the still single competitive build we have. Woohoo…

EDIT: Oh, and they heavily nerfed two of our three elites… none of which were particularly useful in any game mode in the first place. Yeah…

Forest for the trees. Or trees for the forest. However, that kitten does.

We are one of the fundamental classes for speed clearing dungeons in PvE.

Staff in WvW is fundamental to a solid zerg backline.

D/D is strong in sPvP. So strong, every team composition in the last world tournament had one or two.

And the same D/D build used in sPvP has strong solo power in open world content like silverwastes.

Warriors and Guardians are the only other classes that have the same kind of strong presence in all three facets of the game that we do.

And if you approach the argument of “best” in terms of variety in what the class can bring to the table, it really is a toss up between us and Guardians as the best class.

I love how people forget our evil foes… Medi guardian and shouts warrior…

Conncept.7638:

Forgetting to mention something? Like the fact that we are only such with one single build, the same single competitive build we have had since launch. I guess we have two if you consider the WvW staff build a ‘build’ at all, I don’t see how though with how little individual build hardly even matters in WvW.

Do you play in NA? Because if you play in EU, you’re way off. In fact, elementalist is probably one of the professions that has the greatest number of viable builds, with ranger maybe, but while rangers technically have three good builds (LB power, SB condi survival, melee condi survival), none of them are meta. Elementalist has DD, which is probably the strongest build in the current meta, but you conveniently forgot celestial staff, which is widely used, and clerical bunker staff: 55HP Monks, one of the best team in EU, has two in its roaster. In addition, scepter-focus zerker elementalist is still good, but a bit too vulnerable to thieves to be really competitive I’ll give you that. You run into a lot of zerker staff in unranked as well, but I think this build is just bad and the people who play it just can’t get over the big numbers their meteor shower shows.

Conncept.7638:

EDIT: Oh, and they heavily nerfed two of our three elites… none of which were particularly useful in any game mode in the first place. Yeah…

Not only was glyph of elemental recently buffed, but Fiery GS is and always has been amazing in WvW, so your statement is simply not true. I would agree however that elementalist didn’t get the best elite choice in the game.

Ele is in good spot, kinda, maybe. Yes we have place in all game modes, yes we are versatile. However there are still ton of problems with ele, all of which have been present since launch. Our elites are not really elite, we have no built in survivability and are squishy which leads to well known builds – no build diversity. Anets pitiful attempt to fixing diversity led to nerfing our most useful utilities(cantrip) while making others barely any better then they were. Some of our grandmaster traits are inferior to other classes Adept/Master of similar nature. There also is the part where ele got to work harder then some other classes to accomplish similar or inferior result. To top that off it seems that in back of some people heads ele is still op class which doesn’t help with resolving our issues.

TLDR; Ele is good in all aspects of game but got lots of issues with no resolution in sight.

At release the elementalist became OP once people learned how to use all of the skills.
Then because of the QQ from our victims in wvw we were nerfed to the ground.
I’ve been playing elementalist exclusively ever since I started with gw1 but it was so bad that I just couldn’t play elementalist any longer so I started playing other classes. Until the April 2014 patch after which the elementalist became a force to be reckoned rather than just another free-kill.

Ever since then we’ve been nerfed and buffed slightly to a point where I’d say we are quite well balanced versus other professions. I still think thieves and mesmers are OP in pvp though…

Swimsasa Stoon.8936:

I still think thieves and mesmers are OP in pvp though…

I would agree if viewed from the perspective of dueling or 1v1, but in other facets of the game, they get pegged into niche roles where we don’t.

MadRabbit.3179:

Swimsasa Stoon.8936:

I still think thieves and mesmers are OP in pvp though…

I would agree if viewed from the perspective of dueling or 1v1, but in other facets of the game, they get pegged into niche roles where we don’t.

interesting… never looked at it like that.
I just figured GS for mesmer at long range and thieves can pick off low hp ones easily in team fights.

Swimsasa Stoon.8936:

MadRabbit.3179:

Swimsasa Stoon.8936:

I still think thieves and mesmers are OP in pvp though…

I would agree if viewed from the perspective of dueling or 1v1, but in other facets of the game, they get pegged into niche roles where we don’t.

interesting… never looked at it like that.
I just figured GS for mesmer at long range and thieves can pick off low hp ones easily in team fights.

Some examples of what I mean:

There was a time when you didn’t see a thief in dungeon groups until stealth stacking to skip trash mobs became a thing. Mesmers arent even listed in the dungeon meta and most of the time when they are wanted, its for portal to do skips.

Mesmer’s primary mechanic, illusions, die really fast inside of WvW zergs, making their usefulness limited. Thiefs don’t really have a place either outside of a couple of niche builds or taking a role to try and assassinate backliners which is a role with a short life expectancy.

So both are really awesome at sPvP and WvW roaming where they can excel at what they do best, but they aren’t really desired in other facets of the game.

MadRabbit.3179:

Mesmers arent even listed in the dungeon meta and most of the time when they are wanted, its for portal to do skips.

http://metabattle.com/wiki/Team:Team_-_Standard_Dungeon_Meta

the entire functionality of a Guardian/Mesmer

Variations
General

Mesmer running Empowering Mantras DPS can replace Guardian in similar functionality.

Mesmers have the most reflects in the game and share the reflector role with the Guardian.

MadRabbit.3179:

We are one of the fundamental classes for speed clearing dungeons in PvE.

No, we’re accepted, there’s a difference. I have never once seen a speed clearing demand an ele like they do for zerker gear.

MadRabbit.3179:

Staff in WvW is fundamental to a solid zerg backline.

If that counts, then sitting on an arrow cart is the eles most optimal build. Thinking your build actually matters in WvW, is possibly the biggest delusion of grandeur, ever. You are a number contributing to a total which will decide who wins, you do not matter beyond that.

MadRabbit.3179:

D/D is strong in sPvP. So strong, every team composition in the last world tournament had one or two.

And the same D/D build used in sPvP has strong solo power in open world content like silverwastes.

I mentioned this in my post. You posted without reading. Shame… SHAME!

MadRabbit.3179:

Warriors and Guardians are the only other classes that have the same kind of strong presence in all three facets of the game that we do.

And if you approach the argument of “best” in terms of variety in what the class can bring to the table, it really is a toss up between us and Guardians as the best class.

Who on earth would measure usefulness as having a breadth of mechanics available? That’s saying you should bring a swiss army knife to a gunfight. Ever heard the phrase ‘Jack of all trades but master of none’? PvP is team based, jack of all trades is a soloist mentality. There is one thing we can do best as compared to other classes enough to warrant use in the meta, we have an optimal combination of sustain, survivability, and DPS; in laymans terms, we can bunker with daggers. That’s pretty much it. And under certain team compositions, you may be able do the same with the staff as someone pointed out above, that is still the exact same build excepting weapon choice, and is a poor excuse for build diversity.

Sorel.4870:

Not only was glyph of elemental recently buffed, but Fiery GS is and always has been amazing in WvW, so your statement is simply not true.

It isn’t great and never has been, what it is our only substitution for what we lost in the nerfs that were misfired at RTL instead of cantrips where they were actually needed. And it is still worthless in Zerg vs Zerg, what actually matters in WvW anyway. Furthermore, glyph of elementals wasn’t buffed, they gave us the ability to activate the skills the elementals already had, however the elementals still cannot attack while moving and move like molasses in the dead of winter, and are entirely worthless against any player. They are however, good for soaking up damage in PvE, if you can get anything to aggro on them.

Conncept.7638:

Sorel.4870:

Not only was glyph of elemental recently buffed, but Fiery GS is and always has been amazing in WvW, so your statement is simply not true.

It isn’t great and never has been, what it is our only substitution for what we lost in the nerfs that were misfired at RTL instead of cantrips where they were actually needed. And it is still worthless in Zerg vs Zerg, what actually matters in WvW anyway. Furthermore, glyph of elementals wasn’t buffed, they gave us the ability to activate the skills the elementals already had, however the elementals still cannot attack while moving and move like molasses in the dead of winter, and are entirely worthless against any player. They are however, good for soaking up damage in PvE, if you can get anything to aggro on them.

Along this vein:

- FGS is still primarily used as a running/disengaging tool in WvW, rather than a weapon. It’s not at all useful for actual combat in the open arena that is WvW.

- Elementals got a ‘buff’ by allowing us to activate their active skills. This was done by turning them into some kind of short-duration pet similar to the old and useless Ranger pets: when the caster tries to use the active skill, it gets added to the end of the summon’s attack queue. This makes the activated abilities impossible to time accurately, so pretty useless in a PvP setting. At least they dropped the 1s cast time for the summons’ active abilities…?

If you want a class that’s solid in every game mode go elementalist, thief, warrior, guardian.

The elite skills are the only complaint I have about the Elementalist as a class.

Community around here can be down right toxic at times as well, but that’s most class forums.

robertul.3679:

If you want a class that’s solid in every game mode go elementalist, thief, warrior, guardian.

These are the 4 classes that I have level 80’s of. In terms of open world PvE, where let’s face it, any build is viable, the Thief, Warrior, and Guardian are all easy-mode compared to Ele. I just hit 80 with a thief and my autoattack on sword is doing like 4k damage, not to mention I have basically a perma-blind. I don’t think the inherent squishiness of the class is justified except to the really top tier players who care enough to have like 15 skills on cooldown and spend time to get 20+ stacks of might.

The Great Al.2546:

robertul.3679:

If you want a class that’s solid in every game mode go elementalist, thief, warrior, guardian.

These are the 4 classes that I have level 80’s of. In terms of open world PvE, where let’s face it, any build is viable, the Thief, Warrior, and Guardian are all easy-mode compared to Ele. I just hit 80 with a thief and my autoattack on sword is doing like 4k damage, not to mention I have basically a perma-blind. I don’t think the inherent squishiness of the class is justified except to the really top tier players who care enough to have like 15 skills on cooldown and spend time to get 20+ stacks of might.

Totally disagree. Yea you cant faceroll everything in melee range like a warrior that only hits 1 over and over again, but a staff ele hitting 1 and 2 isnt that much harder to play and is way more effective once you get used to having a bit less hp than everyone else (and the range more than makes up for that).

Nothing beats sandstorm + meteor shower + ice bow 4 + lava font dropped on top of a group of mobs. Plus you look cooler, because medium armor is just terrible in this game.

fracture.9754:

cheese.4739:

fracture.9754:

Give them party stealth and reflects and you can remove all other classes from the game, as they’re not needed anymore (a bit of an exaggeration, but I’m trying to make a point here, kitten it!).

Would still need a Guardian to share blocks

Yeah, I was considering this. Then I remembered arcane shield, obsidian flesh, sigil of energy, …

Anet pls, give us a smoke field and delete other professions.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Murky_Water
;-)

I wonder if we can blast stealth under water with Murky Water

Iris Ng.9845:

I wonder if we can blast stealth under water with Murky Water

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Tidal_Wave
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Detonate_
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Arcane_Wave

Detonate propels you backward while Tidal Wave is like a mini Rush that can risk revealing. I was thinking of group stealth for the underwater skip in HotW. But it seems possible in a way.

:o

I am SO glad to see ele is doing well as a class these days… It has been more than a while since I played, and I always felt underwealemed by my level 80 ele. But this was around one and a half years ago.

Happy to see returning to gw2 on my main may not be nearly as frustrating as playing it back then.

Justine.6351:

Iris Ng.9845:

I wonder if we can blast stealth under water with Murky Water

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Tidal_Wave
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Detonate_
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Arcane_Wave

Iris Ng.9845:

Detonate propels you backward while Tidal Wave is like a mini Rush that can risk revealing. I was thinking of group stealth for the underwater skip in HotW. But it seems possible in a way.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Arcane_Brilliance

A group with a couple of Eles could stack a bit, with Brilliances and then a Detonate sending them in the intended direction.

Issue: accurately casting Murky Water without a target. Good luck.