Guild Wars 2

I currently main an ele, but haven’t been playing it very long. I often sPvP, but also want to PvE level so that I can fully grasp the class. I do pretty good when leveling, and while I know it’s different, I get downed super quick in PvP. I’m having trouble grasping the combo fields, finishers and such. I’ve also been told (not to start another debate) that Ele’s aren’t viable for tPvP teams (my ultimate goal). If Ele isn’t the best option, I was debating on Mesmer, Engineer, or Thief. Let me know what you guys think…

Ele certainly is viable on tournament teams, and more so now than ever because the recent patch reverted some of the old nerfs that make the 0/0/2/6/6 build so great, and also buffed celestial so eles can also actually DPS things while being difficult to kill. Combo fields aren’t as important for D/D as PBAoE is, thats more of a staff thing and it seems that staff is still a horrible choice outside of zerg gameplay in wvw.

As for the other classes, mesmer is only viable for tpvp at really high skill levels with lots of coordination with portal and whatnot. The PU builds are lower skill and easier to learn but less effective for the real deal from what I know. Engineers seem to make good bunkers and S/D trickery theives seem to be really important in pvp right now, but thats beyond what I really know.

TCG won the EU Tournament of Legends fielding a D/D elementalist played by Minishee. So yes, they’re viable.

And NA Tournament of Legends finals had 2 Staff elementalists.

Okay, great it must be just me then. Is there a certain build and weapons that you recommend I use for leveling and PvP?

The best advice is to learn other classes, what they are trying to accomplish, their mechanics, their important skills to dodge.

Right now 0/0/2/6/6 is popular in running that with D/D or Staff. Still I would put equal value on learning the other classes just as much as your own. Either practice ask on their subforum(people will usually tell you how to fight X class/build).

Just make sure you clarify that your asking about s/tPvP not solo roaming and dueling because nobody solo roams on hambow warrior really but you will see hambow all day in s/tPvP.

Yep, I’m talking about s/tPvP. I will be solo queuing for PvP when I’m not grouping with friends, but not worried about dueling…

Which would you recommend for leveling? I wasn’t sure if same weapons/build applied with that also…

Matt.1938:

I currently main an ele, but haven’t been playing it very long. I often sPvP, but also want to PvE level so that I can fully grasp the class. I do pretty good when leveling, and while I know it’s different, I get downed super quick in PvP. I’m having trouble grasping the combo fields, finishers and such. I’ve also been told (not to start another debate) that Ele’s aren’t viable for tPvP teams (my ultimate goal). If Ele isn’t the best option, I was debating on Mesmer, Engineer, or Thief. Let me know what you guys think…

XD I main elementalist and am often the one on top of the list or the one who didn’t die once. I play tPvP almost exclusevely.
Just look for an experienced elementalist and ask for help.
Could also just go for the standard 02066 D/D build and just practice a bit in the heart of the mists on the npcs

Are there any “set” combo field rotations?

Matt.1938:

Are there any “set” combo field rotations?

For Dagger/Dagger, it’s fairly simple:

Staff is remarkably more difficult to ‘rotate’, but this is my best attempt at showing you a similar rotation:

Keep in mind — any good elementalist will tell you that a rotation is just your bread and butter. You’re a dancer, and your rotation is your most basic step. As the fight evolves, the beat will change… and you’ll need to alter your Rumba to a Tango… the more fluidly you can do this, the more successful you’ll be.

Thank you very much!! I’ve been running lightning hammer so far to level (haven’t done too much PvP just yet) since LH knocks the crap out of stuff. I have (maybe) a dumb question…I know how to do the rotation and stuff, but my issue is understanding how you get that rotation. Or better yet, you mentioned the PvP example where you may need to adjust based on the fight….Is there a guide or anything anywhere that explains how to chain certain skills together and combo fields? I could just follow the rotation, but I wouldn’t really be learning anything because I’d be just pressing buttons…

If you go on the GW2 wiki there will be a list of the combos and what they achieve, posted below.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Combo

It shows you all the fields that an elementalist is capable of (only if specced correctly) not sure about the smoke one myself, though perhaps thats from a conjured weapon i have never donated time into.

DD is probably the most viable build right now and i advice using it if you are even semi new to elementalist as staff is like learning an entirely new profession over again and only really viable in the right team but never the less very effective at times and in these teams. (i have been kited for like 5 minutes by one before and he would occassionally stop to drop his meteor shower).

You have 2 basic builds to consider without considering all of the viable builds out there. These are;

celestial with 2 points in air;

http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-k33;2B2-V0y47NkY0;9;59-TT;10;328A57ASB0;3H7W3H7W30X

Berserker with 2 points in earth;

http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-k33;2B2-V0y47NkY0;9;69TT;44;028A57ASB0;3H7W3H7W30L

Basically if you are going more physical dps and burst berserker is good however i feel you need the protection up-time to really last in a group fight.

If you are going celestial you are already a solid survivalist without the protection hence why going into air will give perma fury for the increased dps.

Both are feasible and berserker is better at the start of a fight as the increased power is certainly better for initial burst and might stacks scale this massively, however celestial will get much stronger as a fight drags out due to increased sustain and the might stacks increasing your dps to that of a berserker stat. Personally i find the celestial one stronger overall and is the one i currently use. (theres no reason other than survival why you cant take perma fury with berserker either)

The rotation that KrazyFlyinChicken.5936 mentioned is the general opening rotation to any fight, if the target is low on health and you want to burst them down fly through that rotation with as much speed as possible otherwise if the target is full health fly through air magic fast and fire magic up until where chicken guy mentioned fire hands then slow it down and use a few more skill one attacks and dragons breath (do not underestimate this skill at all as burning with 20+ stacks of might will deal 500+ damage per second) basically in a long fight you dont want to go into water attunement just because thats the only attunement on CD you want to save it for condition cleanses and heals.

Was getting rather long that post so i decided to split it.

when it comes to combo fields and finishers i will take the time to explain what to look for on skills etc if you know this already i am sorry but nobody explained this to me when i started the game so for several months i never fully understood it.

On a skill at the bottom it may say something like “combo field: fire” this means that this is a field that is placed on the floor which can either appear as a line ( so a rectangular field) or a circle ( so a spherical field) depending on the skill used. If you look at the table on the wiki posted above you will see what the “combo finishers” will achieve on top of this field. As an elementalist you have only one physical projectile which is magnetic grasp and one “leap finisher” magnetic leap, this combo should be utilized as often as possible as with the leap you gain a fire aura which means you get fury or protection from it depending on how you trait.

The next set of combo finishers an elementalist has is all blast finishers, this is where a large portion of your dps comes from stacking might. A blast finisher on a fire field gives 3 stacks of might as the table shows. So check the rotation posted and learn which ones gives a finisher and which don’t, also at the start of a fight on switching to earth its a good idea to dodge roll in the field ( if evasive arcana is equipped) to get another might stack, you must be in combat for this one to work though. but generally save your evasive arcana for a heal until you understand that mechanic better and get used to subconsciously counting the CD for it.

overall its purely a matter of experience, i mean i have played about 1000+ hours on an ele and still find new rotations for different classes. feel free to message me ingame if there anything you need.

Most other classes still have infinitely easier-to-play and more effective builds than what Ele’s have.

D/D Ele became slightly more viable after the patch, otherwise nothing much has changed.

So basically go D/D for sPvP or play another class.

Wintel.4873:

Most other classes still have infinitely easier-to-play and more effective builds than what Ele’s have.

D/D Ele became slightly more viable after the patch, otherwise nothing much has changed.

So basically go D/D for sPvP or play another class.

That’s definitely not true, as mentioned before… there were 2 staff eles in the finals for the NA tournament… So staff is still viable.

I think the jury is still out on scepter, though

Wintel.4873:

So basically go D/D for sPvP or play another class.

I disagree!

I played a lot of d/d ele in sPvP but I have recently tried out staff ele.

Going Zerker staff ele allows you to really pressure areas. While 1v1 does challenge you, in team fights you really can turn the tide. Dropping a meteornado on mid while your team is fighting puts the enemy team into a panic. 1v1 is possible though, you just need to know your rotations well and keep the cc’s up.

I usually go 6/4/0/0/4 or 6/4/0/4/0 for the staff. There are a lot of builds out there that you can play around with. 4 in water gives you the various cantrip advantages, while arcane gives you the various buffs as well as blasting staff or vigor to keep mobile.

As far as s/d, it’s a lot more bursty. The fresh air build is always pretty lethal and really good against some zerker players. Not too many Eles run s/d in sPvP though, but it is fun to try something new!

sPvP is all about experimenting! Find out what you like, run it!

it sorty feels like the fresh air lightning strike got nerfed….

s/d fresh air is viable but in my opinion if a team is well organized they kill you quite fast … as first target putting 1 melee on you

nearlight.3064:

Ele certainly is viable on tournament teams, and more so now than ever because the recent patch reverted some of the old nerfs that make the 0/0/2/6/6 build so great, and also buffed celestial so eles can also actually DPS things while being difficult to kill. Combo fields aren’t as important for D/D as PBAoE is, thats more of a staff thing and it seems that staff is still a horrible choice outside of zerg gameplay in wvw.

As for the other classes, mesmer is only viable for tpvp at really high skill levels with lots of coordination with portal and whatnot. The PU builds are lower skill and easier to learn but less effective for the real deal from what I know. Engineers seem to make good bunkers and S/D trickery theives seem to be really important in pvp right now, but thats beyond what I really know.

So if combo fields aren’t important to you as a D/D. How do you increase your over all power and condition damage with celestial amulet outside of general fire field might stacking?

The Primary.6371:

nearlight.3064:

Ele certainly is viable on tournament teams, and more so now than ever because the recent patch reverted some of the old nerfs that make the 0/0/2/6/6 build so great, and also buffed celestial so eles can also actually DPS things while being difficult to kill. Combo fields aren’t as important for D/D as PBAoE is, thats more of a staff thing and it seems that staff is still a horrible choice outside of zerg gameplay in wvw.

As for the other classes, mesmer is only viable for tpvp at really high skill levels with lots of coordination with portal and whatnot. The PU builds are lower skill and easier to learn but less effective for the real deal from what I know. Engineers seem to make good bunkers and S/D trickery theives seem to be really important in pvp right now, but thats beyond what I really know.

So if combo fields aren’t important to you as a D/D. How do you increase your over all power and condition damage with celestial amulet outside of general fire field might stacking?

Read what I said. They’re not AS important as they would be in a staff or S/D build but that doesn’t mean I don’t think they’re important at all, and I find that a battle sigil works fine to keep the might up. And for general D/D taking persisting flames means a lot less survivability, especially from conditions. Staff builds use more than just fire fields, they use blast water fields for healing, and their ice field for frost aura and the static field in zergplay for swiftness.

So basically when I run D/D, if I can blast the ring of fire field once or twice, thats a great thing to do, but I certainly don’t rely or depend on it.

nearlight.3064:

The Primary.6371:

nearlight.3064:

Ele certainly is viable on tournament teams, and more so now than ever because the recent patch reverted some of the old nerfs that make the 0/0/2/6/6 build so great, and also buffed celestial so eles can also actually DPS things while being difficult to kill. Combo fields aren’t as important for D/D as PBAoE is, thats more of a staff thing and it seems that staff is still a horrible choice outside of zerg gameplay in wvw.

As for the other classes, mesmer is only viable for tpvp at really high skill levels with lots of coordination with portal and whatnot. The PU builds are lower skill and easier to learn but less effective for the real deal from what I know. Engineers seem to make good bunkers and S/D trickery theives seem to be really important in pvp right now, but thats beyond what I really know.

So if combo fields aren’t important to you as a D/D. How do you increase your over all power and condition damage with celestial amulet outside of general fire field might stacking?

Read what I said. They’re not AS important as they would be in a staff or S/D build but that doesn’t mean I don’t think they’re important at all, and I find that a battle sigil works fine to keep the might up. And for general D/D taking persisting flames means a lot less survivability, especially from conditions. Staff builds use more than just fire fields, they use blast water fields for healing, and their ice field for frost aura and the static field in zergplay for swiftness.

So basically when I run D/D, if I can blast the ring of fire field once or twice, thats a great thing to do, but I certainly don’t rely or depend on it.

They are “AS” important as you will not have enough dps with your direct damage or condition damage. Plus a good d/d ele stacking might to the “team” can increase over all damage, this obviously occurs while multitasking.

I’ve never had any problems in spvp with my damage without might stacking with combos. Then again I’m just getting back into the game after a long break so what do I know? You’ve already proved to everyone how little I know when I was just trying to help someone with their decision.

We could continue with this pathetic display of you trying to flaunt something but in the end, it’s meaningless. The best option for this new ele player is to use a d/d celestial amulet ele with either dolyak or strength runes with sigil of battle and energy sigil. A 0/2/0/6/6 spec should do it for him to start off with. You can also use a staff with this setup too. If you need traits…that can be answered.

Traits would be helpful, if you don’t mind. I’m at the point where I have 2 to spend so far. Also, as far as utility skills, am I better going with certain ones? I know this isn’t a LH build so I haven’t been using that. So far, I’ve been taking arcane blast, arcane wave, and signet of air, although I switch that 3rd one around depending on what I’m doing.

The Primary.6371:

We could continue with this pathetic display of you trying to flaunt something but in the end, it’s meaningless. The best option for this new ele player is to use a d/d celestial amulet ele with either dolyak or strength runes with sigil of battle and energy sigil. A 0/2/0/6/6 spec should do it for him to start off with. You can also use a staff with this setup too. If you need traits…that can be answered.

Okay The Primary, if you are going to be confrontational and borderline rude about my posts, then I’m going to get defensive.

I personally think the build advice you are giving is great, and I really don’t understand why you were attacking my posts. Originally you thought that I didn’t like might stacking rotations for D/D, which is not what I meant at all. That has to do more with how you play a D/D build than the build itself, I never intended to say anything in my original post about the types of rotations you’d want to use in such a build. All I was saying is that to be successful in a pvp staff build you need to be more intune with using different types of combo fields to gain an advantage. D/D only has fire fields to blast for might, while staff also has water, lightning and frost to take advantage of. Using these different types of fields and other AoE attacks/CC effects in a coordinated way with your team is what staff ele in tpvp is all about. With D/D its much more about the point blank AoE and extra mobility and active defenses and using those things masterfully to win both 1v1 and group fights, while providing team support through boons, passive heals/condition removal, and yes might stacking rotations should an opportunity present itself.

The trait line up I originally suggested for D/D is 0/0/2/6/6 which is barely different from the 0/2/0/6/6 build you suggested. The core traits are the same, and those last 2 points can go in earth or air depending on personal preference. Zephyr’s boon however does provide better sustained crit damage with the fury uptime, but I think that 2 points in earth are worth mentioning as well, because earth’s embrace is a good defensive trait when learning the ele, and stone splinters is an excellent flat damage increase to every D/D skill, so I believe those traits are worth looking into as well, but feel free to respectfully disagree with me on those points. And also OP, to your questions on the utilities, typically at least 2 cantrips are used, such as mist form or lightning flash or armor of earth because they provide active defense and synergize with traits that can be taken in the water traitline.

Anyway, I hope this clarifies what my original posting about the ele was all about and The Primary, I hope that you will be nicer and more polite when pointing out flaws or disagreeing with people in the future, because even if you didn’t mean it, I felt a bit under attack with the way you phrased your responses towards me, which even caused me to panic a little. But I hope we can be better than that if when discussing things in the future.