Guild Wars 2

Hi;

I have been using elementalist since GW 1, and always focusing on water spells in offensive and defensive/support ways. But in GW2 there does not seems to be many options for an offensive staff water build. Does anyone has any idea or builds that use water in some kind of effective and offensive way? That should be cool…

i would like that to be possible,as i enjoyed using water a lot in GW1,as well

but unfortunately,that’s not the case in this game

the only real way to pump out the most damage in water attunement,is to use a scepter and a dagger,and focus on trying to land your other attunement abilities with long-casting hard-hitting spells,such as Dragon’s Tooth,or Churning Earth,with the trait “Piercing Shards”,and some Arcane spells to give vulnerability on-cast with the other trait “Shards of Ice”,so you’re dealing 20% more damage with those spells

this is not very reliable outside of spike damage on unsuspecting targets

Staff only has Ice Spike to deal damage with in water,and it’s just not enough for any situation at all to be sticking with,and should probably only be used if you’ve already burned through every attunement to activate,say,Static Field and Magnetic Aura in a really heated moment,or if you’re hitting siege that’s just out of reach for lava font/fireball in wvwvw

you should be manipulating every attunement in most situations with a staff when the need arises,and use lava font/fireball for the most part,unless a moving target,then chain lightning

Your only real choice from a viability standpoint is a conjure build. It’s the only way camping a single attunement is even remotely justifiable. Ele’s are simply built to use all 4 elements together (which is humorous considering the additions to the earth trait line).

If I wanted to camp the water attunement, I would try something like this:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fFAQFAWnMISPD2yAGQAfEIYAwIXFaCJxQBgR1gidh5AA-TBDBABGpMgH1fOSJW07PYxFAQClgA8AAa10QCmhWVpxp6AazEDZA0nAA-e

For PvE/Dungeons. I wouldn’t advise PvP with this kind of mentality.

You’d use hammer for DPS while using staff water skills for support when needed, the arcane skills supplementing your DPS while providing utility and blasts for self and group healing, boosted by the grand master trait and a balanced amount of healing power so nothing is really wasted. Unfortunately camping one attunement is never a good idea, but this is something that you -could- do if you really wanted and still be useful.

Bluefox.9580:

Your only real choice from a viability standpoint is a conjure build. It’s the only way camping a single attunement is even remotely justifiable. Ele’s are simply built to use all 4 elements together (which is humorous considering the additions to the earth trait line).

The best DPS rotation with Staff is camping fire attunement, so….

Axelwarrior.9084:

Bluefox.9580:

Your only real choice from a viability standpoint is a conjure build. It’s the only way camping a single attunement is even remotely justifiable. Ele’s are simply built to use all 4 elements together (which is humorous considering the additions to the earth trait line).

The best DPS rotation with Staff is camping fire attunement, so….

For raw damage output, yes. However I’m sure you know there’s far more to DPS than just the pretty pretty numbers. Setting up proper killzones for the AOE fields requires all 4 attunements. You won’t catch even a full 6/6/0/0/2 zerk ele camping fire 100% of the time.

Bluefox.9580:

Axelwarrior.9084:

Bluefox.9580:

Your only real choice from a viability standpoint is a conjure build. It’s the only way camping a single attunement is even remotely justifiable. Ele’s are simply built to use all 4 elements together (which is humorous considering the additions to the earth trait line).

The best DPS rotation with Staff is camping fire attunement, so….

For raw damage output, yes. However I’m sure you know there’s far more to DPS than just the pretty pretty numbers. Setting up proper killzones for the AOE fields requires all 4 attunements. You won’t catch even a full 6/6/0/0/2 zerk ele camping fire 100% of the time.

With the max-DPS Staff build, you’re only using the 3 other attunements for utility. In most situations in PvE, you’ll be staying in Fire. The only way that the other attunements will ever increase your DPS is by making sure your attacks land in a scenario they would otherwise miss. That almost never happens in PvE, therefore you stay in Fire.

Either way, what you said in your original post was false. Staying in one attunement can be justifiable in many situations, when you’re trying to output as much damage as possible.

I read the OP’s post as asking for a way to literally spend 100% of his time in water and responded in kind, grouping the same concept with trying to camp other attunements without changing, like many have tried to do with earth and Stone Flesh. This is not justifiable to me, unlike spending 95% of your time in fire and swapping through attunements occasionally for high DPS output, which is indeed an effective fire build.

Though now that I reread the post I suppose he didn’t actually say that.

Well thank you for your responses. I have tried most of your suggestion, but still is not that useful on battle and you could be killed by a thief in 5 seconds. I wish GW2 had more options for those who wants to be specialize in one magic.

I’m using staff because I have bifrost so changing to scepter ain’t gonna happen!

conjure weapons can deal HUGE damage in water attunement,
but as you just said, you are very squishy.
imho you’ll find it difficult to maintain damage and survival using only water attunement.

STRICTLY FOR PVE ONLY (maybe)
just go 6/2/2/2/2 staff ele
camp fire attunement spam 2 and 5
4 fireballs between each lava font
use arcane briliance as healing skill
utilities : arcane wave, signet of fire, one free utility skill

free utility skill : icebow for huge objects/mobs (AC P1 and P3 graveling boss, CoF P1 Effigy boss, world bosses)
glyph of elemental power/harmony (i forgot which one) : use in air for weakness on bosses, use in earth if solo (crippled so they are more likely to stay in your lava font)
glyph of sandstorms : cast in earth for 10sec of blinding
mist form/armor of earth/cleansing flame/arcane shield : extra survability

lifesteal food to increase uptime on scholar bonus and vital striking

joelice.4690:

Hi;

I have been using elementalist since GW 1, and always focusing on water spells in offensive and defensive/support ways. But in GW2 there does not seems to be many options for an offensive staff water build. Does anyone has any idea or builds that use water in some kind of effective and offensive way? That should be cool…

Hey I used to focus on Water Spells in GW1 as well. Mainly for offensive, lots of chill crowd control and hexes. But sadly Anet skill designer force us to play the way he wants/approve… which is rolling all the four elements. (boring!)

I try to set up my Ele as close to Water Ele as possible. Conjure Frost Bow / Signet of Water / Mist Form / Ice Golem Elite. But Staff ele is very difficult to stay in Water for pure damage, you can stay in Water “longer” then other elements but you would be force to switch to Fire! (thanks to Anet’s narrow-minded playstyle!)

You can use blast finish from Staff Earth 2, or arcane skills to blast your Staff Ice Field, but this only boost your damage if you are wearing Superior Runes of the Ice. (Its a good survival rune for Ele, at least I have one set of armor using it)

Daggers/Daggers or Dagger/Focus deal more damage in Water! (With Piercing Shard trait) Try to always have a Conjure Frostbow with you too.

I’d really wanna protest to Anet, allowing us to have a “main” elements and buff the main elements for us! (Remember we get to choose which elements we love when you create the character but that’s just soooo pointless!) I was thinking if we can choose a “main” elements, and our weapon skills become a veteran version skills, while losing two other attuntments that we don’t use. If player doesn’t want this, they can remain 4 elements without any buff effect. I hope anet can provide such option in the future.

Nikaido.6739:

joelice.4690:

Hi;

I have been using elementalist since GW 1, and always focusing on water spells in offensive and defensive/support ways. But in GW2 there does not seems to be many options for an offensive staff water build. Does anyone has any idea or builds that use water in some kind of effective and offensive way? That should be cool…

Hey I used to focus on Water Spells in GW1 as well. Mainly for offensive, lots of chill crowd control and hexes. But sadly Anet skill designer force us to play the way he wants/approve… which is rolling all the four elements. (boring!)

I try to set up my Ele as close to Water Ele as possible. Conjure Frost Bow / Signet of Water / Mist Form / Ice Golem Elite. But Staff ele is very difficult to stay in Water for pure damage, you can stay in Water “longer” then other elements but you would be force to switch to Fire! (thanks to Anet’s narrow-minded playstyle!)

You can use blast finish from Staff Earth 2, or arcane skills to blast your Staff Ice Field, but this only boost your damage if you are wearing Superior Runes of the Ice. (Its a good survival rune for Ele, at least I have one set of armor using it)

Daggers/Daggers or Dagger/Focus deal more damage in Water! (With Piercing Shard trait) Try to always have a Conjure Frostbow with you too.

I’d really wanna protest to Anet, allowing us to have a “main” elements and buff the main elements for us! (Remember we get to choose which elements we love when you create the character but that’s just soooo pointless!) I was thinking if we can choose a “main” elements, and our weapon skills become a veteran version skills, while losing two other attuntments that we don’t use. If player doesn’t want this, they can remain 4 elements without any buff effect. I hope anet can provide such option in the future.

If you aren’t using all 4 attunements you aren’t utilizing Ele to its full potential. Having an option to disable attunements would leave us with even more fire/water camping staff eles.

Reokie.7809:

Nikaido.6739:

joelice.4690:

Hi;

I have been using elementalist since GW 1, and always focusing on water spells in offensive and defensive/support ways. But in GW2 there does not seems to be many options for an offensive staff water build. Does anyone has any idea or builds that use water in some kind of effective and offensive way? That should be cool…

Hey I used to focus on Water Spells in GW1 as well. Mainly for offensive, lots of chill crowd control and hexes. But sadly Anet skill designer force us to play the way he wants/approve… which is rolling all the four elements. (boring!)

I try to set up my Ele as close to Water Ele as possible. Conjure Frost Bow / Signet of Water / Mist Form / Ice Golem Elite. But Staff ele is very difficult to stay in Water for pure damage, you can stay in Water “longer” then other elements but you would be force to switch to Fire! (thanks to Anet’s narrow-minded playstyle!)

You can use blast finish from Staff Earth 2, or arcane skills to blast your Staff Ice Field, but this only boost your damage if you are wearing Superior Runes of the Ice. (Its a good survival rune for Ele, at least I have one set of armor using it)

Daggers/Daggers or Dagger/Focus deal more damage in Water! (With Piercing Shard trait) Try to always have a Conjure Frostbow with you too.

I’d really wanna protest to Anet, allowing us to have a “main” elements and buff the main elements for us! (Remember we get to choose which elements we love when you create the character but that’s just soooo pointless!) I was thinking if we can choose a “main” elements, and our weapon skills become a veteran version skills, while losing two other attuntments that we don’t use. If player doesn’t want this, they can remain 4 elements without any buff effect. I hope anet can provide such option in the future.

If you aren’t using all 4 attunements you aren’t utilizing Ele to its full potential. Having an option to disable attunements would leave us with even more fire/water camping staff eles.

Thank you for your lecture! But after playing gw2 ele since day one until now, you think I didn’t know? Would I suggest a self sabotage for Ele? Geez! I’ve already said Anet force us to use all four elements and me and some other gw1 players find it boring.

I was only suggesting anet rework ele, giving us more options! If only you can read what I type… I was suggesting if we can choose a main elements, and we gain a veteran powerful weapon spells (like an extra 5 skills) but at the same time lose something.

(just to elaborate… for example, if you choose Water as main element, you gain extra 5 new stronger water skills, they are stronger then normal weapon skills, but by doing so you need to disable one element or something)

Its just an idea and it can make ele more fun to play with! Other profession get to focus a more specific playstyle while we have to be jack of all trade.

I don’t think getting rid of a profession mechanic gives you any fun. But if you really want to camp an attunement, fire staff and maybe conjurers builds are for you. But even then you’ll swap out of combat for party swiftness, blast finisher available, or might stacking before using your conjure.

Nikaido.6739:

Reokie.7809:

Nikaido.6739:

joelice.4690:

Hi;

I have been using elementalist since GW 1, and always focusing on water spells in offensive and defensive/support ways. But in GW2 there does not seems to be many options for an offensive staff water build. Does anyone has any idea or builds that use water in some kind of effective and offensive way? That should be cool…

Hey I used to focus on Water Spells in GW1 as well. Mainly for offensive, lots of chill crowd control and hexes. But sadly Anet skill designer force us to play the way he wants/approve… which is rolling all the four elements. (boring!)

I try to set up my Ele as close to Water Ele as possible. Conjure Frost Bow / Signet of Water / Mist Form / Ice Golem Elite. But Staff ele is very difficult to stay in Water for pure damage, you can stay in Water “longer” then other elements but you would be force to switch to Fire! (thanks to Anet’s narrow-minded playstyle!)

You can use blast finish from Staff Earth 2, or arcane skills to blast your Staff Ice Field, but this only boost your damage if you are wearing Superior Runes of the Ice. (Its a good survival rune for Ele, at least I have one set of armor using it)

Daggers/Daggers or Dagger/Focus deal more damage in Water! (With Piercing Shard trait) Try to always have a Conjure Frostbow with you too.

I’d really wanna protest to Anet, allowing us to have a “main” elements and buff the main elements for us! (Remember we get to choose which elements we love when you create the character but that’s just soooo pointless!) I was thinking if we can choose a “main” elements, and our weapon skills become a veteran version skills, while losing two other attuntments that we don’t use. If player doesn’t want this, they can remain 4 elements without any buff effect. I hope anet can provide such option in the future.

If you aren’t using all 4 attunements you aren’t utilizing Ele to its full potential. Having an option to disable attunements would leave us with even more fire/water camping staff eles.

I was suggesting if we can choose a main elements, and we gain a veteran powerful weapon spells (like an extra 5 skills) but at the same time lose something.

I think Anet already has enough problems balancing the 20 weapon skills we already have, let alone the extra 20 it would take to realize that you’re asking for here.