Guild Wars 2

Fortus.6175:

but unlike most other weapons in the game, we lack the options to say “oh welps, I guess i will use this other weapon whn the one im using now doesnt work in this situation” , we are already pidgeon-hole into one already before the fight even starts!!

What are you talking about? You can always change your weapon do before a fight starts. In fact, I always change to the best weapon for the the fight I will be having. It isn’t hard to do.

Yes, but it doesn’t kill people in 1 shot and doesn’t grant you perma triple-protection (99% dmg reduction) – that’s what they think.

That’s good point there, mate.

did i just read this right…
you want to have only 1 viable weapon ??

In a system where skills are locked into different weapons.
(fun test, but obviously a very flawed system).
Once you find a weapon that give you everything. wich in our case is DD.
you dont need any other weapon.
And because of that, you dont have any freedom at all in your choise of weapon.

we want freedom.
that is realy all we are asking for.
We dont want to 1 hit people..
and we dont want to have a perma tripple protection on us.

FREEEEEDOOOOOM…
(just had too).

What are you talking about? You can always change your weapon do before a fight starts. In fact, I always change to the best weapon for the the fight I will be having. It isn’t hard to do.

How good for you that you always change to best weapon.

but isnt it enough to have bad weapon system.
Do we realy have to be forced to run around with our bag open in pvp also.

but then again.. always having the best weapon is easy.
just go DD. untill you are inside a keep.

weapon freedom ????

From what you’re saying it seems that YOU (who uses basicly only #1 fire and cries how worthless ele is) want it.

I really like staff and D/D. Not really into s/f (after like 500hours on ele i unlocked skills on it 2 weeks ago).

You’re the one who is seeing problems with staff, not me. I think it’s pretty strong and highly team supportive weapons. On blob (?) fight it surely does better than any other ele’s weapon combination.
On versus it will be never as good as d/d or s/d. It’s like expecting lb/riftle on warrior to be as good as eg. gs/axe&shield.

And you do have choice. Why don’t you use almight effective D/D? Ah, cause that’s not the vision of mage? Too bad, that’s your problem.

Didn’t you think that with so much hate elementalist simply isn’t for you?

Lert.6287:

From what you’re saying it seems that YOU (who uses basicly only #1 fire and cries how worthless ele is) want it.

I really like staff and D/D. Not really into s/f (after like 500hours on ele i unlocked skills on it 2 weeks ago).

You’re the one who is seeing problems with staff, not me. I think it’s pretty strong and highly team supportive weapons. On blob (?) fight it surely does better than any other ele’s weapon combination.
On versus it will be never as good as d/d or s/d. It’s like expecting lb/riftle on warrior to be as good as eg. gs/axe&shield.

And you do have choice. Why don’t you use almight effective D/D? Ah, cause that’s not the vision of mage? Too bad, that’s your problem.

I dont like DD becuase of what you said. mage + melee.. no thanx.
So give me an option to stay ranged. (iam not alone to dislike DD).

I dislike the current staff.. because there is no freedom.
and i also dislike the staff because if you are trying range nuker..
you only have 1 element to use. Fire.
and fire have:
*1 Autoattack. abit weak.
*2 Lava font. (Bad AoE, can get max 1 tick for low dmg).
*3 Explosion with minimum dmg but makes a fire dot. (decently good).
*4 Blazing retreat.. our escape. could be abit longer.
*5 Our iconic Meteor shower.

You only have these to play with if you want to be a range nuker.
“you have 3 more elements Noob”. <— someone is bound to say that.

Yes. you are right.
I do have 3 more elements.
But do they help me to be a ranged nuker ? Nope.. not one bit. None of them.
they are more for the Support area. aka.. not a nuker specialization.
and most important. why whould i swap to a 50% weaker element ??

so in the case of becoming a ranged nuker.
you dont need the other 3 elements.. specialy not since you get locked out from your primary dmg element fire IF you swap…

Whould be fun to have 1 more element than fire for a ranged nuker.

How come you want to expect more if you use 1/4 of potential?
Earth 2 has decent AoE (pretty strong and bleeds)
Water 2 has really strong AoE as well
Air 1 hits 3 targets.

And to get more out of elementalist you HAVE TO swap for bonuses and most likely 3 stacks of might (sigil of battle).

It’s really really silly to use 1/4th of your power. Don’t be surprised if you get yourself killed or you can’t kill anyone.

eldain stenlund.4306:

How good for you that you always change to best weapon.

but isnt it enough to have bad weapon system.
Do we realy have to be forced to run around with our bag open in pvp also.

but then again.. always having the best weapon is easy.
just go DD. untill you are inside a keep.

weapon freedom ????

The weapon system isn’t bad at all. I love it and the way the class as a whole is designed. As I mentioned before, sure staff could use some very minor tweaks, but it most definitely isn’t horrible like you make it out to be.

Also, knock of the sarcasm towards me. I mentioned several times already that an out of combat weapon switch would be a nice feature to have. No I dont run around with my bag open, I simply hit ‘I’ and click on both daggers / or staff depending. It takes a second…..

Anyways, I am sorry that you have a hard time of knowing when to switch to what weapon. That isn’t a shortcoming of the game though and is something you can easily fix with a little practice and a little more situational awareness.

eldain stenlund.4306:

I dislike the current staff.. because there is no freedom.
and i also dislike the staff because if you are trying range nuker..
you only have 1 element to use. Fire.
and fire have:
*1 Autoattack. abit weak.
*2 Lava font. (Bad AoE, can get max 1 tick for low dmg).
*3 Explosion with minimum dmg but makes a fire dot. (decently good).
*4 Blazing retreat.. our escape. could be abit longer.
*5 Our iconic Meteor shower.

You only have these to play with if you want to be a range nuker.
“you have 3 more elements Noob”. <— someone is bound to say that.

Yes. you are right.
I do have 3 more elements.
But do they help me to be a ranged nuker ? Nope.. not one bit. None of them.
they are more for the Support area. aka.. not a nuker specialization.
and most important. why whould i swap to a 50% weaker element ??

so in the case of becoming a ranged nuker.
you dont need the other 3 elements.. specialy not since you get locked out from your primary dmg element fire IF you swap…

Whould be fun to have 1 more element than fire for a ranged nuker.

Fire offers more DPS options, but the other elements supplement your fire dps.

Hit them twice with water 2 and you have 10 stacks of vulnerability.
Earth 2 for extra dmg and might, but really you should place this under all of your AoEs.
Air 2 – good single target dmg

Obviously, pvp combat is more fluid and you cant stick to simple rotos like this. But you have offensive options in each attunement.

As for weapon switching – get in the habit of being aware of when you are in an out of combat. With practice, you can switch weapons pretty quickly. It’s not easy, but neither is this game, L2P

Um, scrambles? was there supposed to be more than a quote in that?

eldain stenlund.4306:

I dislike the current staff.. because there is no freedom.
and i also dislike the staff because if you are trying range nuker..
you only have 1 element to use. Fire.
and fire have:

*1 Autoattack. abit weak.
*2 Lava font. (Bad AoE, can get max 1 tick for low dmg).
*3 Explosion with minimum dmg but makes a fire dot. (decently good).
*4 Blazing retreat.. our escape. could be abit longer.
*5 Our iconic Meteor shower.

You only have these to play with if you want to be a range nuker.
“you have 3 more elements Noob”. <— someone is bound to say that.

Yes. you are right.
I do have 3 more elements.
But do they help me to be a ranged nuker ? Nope.. not one bit. None of them.
they are more for the Support area. aka.. not a nuker specialization.
and most important. why whould i swap to a 50% weaker element ??

so in the case of becoming a ranged nuker.
you dont need the other 3 elements.. specialy not since you get locked out from your primary dmg element fire IF you swap…

Whould be fun to have 1 more element than fire for a ranged nuker.

Oh god, this explains everything. You are going to do far far more damage by switching attunement than you will ever do spamming fire spells . They work in synergy with each other and you absolutely have to do this to be effective because this is how the class was designed to be used.

Before posting any more complaints, you need to learn how to fully utilize the class. In big fights, there are ways to cycle through attunements and abilities to cause massive AoE damage spikes on targets that cannot easily move out of the area because you have stunned, crippled, or chilled them. To give you a little clue, they basically get hit with ice spike, earth #2, and lava font at basically the same time for 10k+ damage while you have fury up …and meteors beginning to rain down on them to hopefully do even more. All of this from range…..

We have a projectile finishers, a blast finishers, and several combo fields to use them into both for additional damage, healing, and support as well that we don’t need any help in utilizing. I suspect you aren’t using them either.

Seriously, stop with the complaints and angry posts, and try learning to use the class effectively. This is a far far better option than trying to get the developers to completely overhaul a class to fit your individual preference.

stale.9785:

Um, scrambles? was there supposed to be more than a quote in that?

haha. Yeah. i had some formatting issues but it’s all edited and good now.

Wait, thread creator doesn’t even know how to use the dps from other attunements while using a staff? I think we found the problem.

Azaruil.3406:

Wait, thread creator doesn’t even know how to use the dps from other attunements while using a staff? I think we found the problem.

Yup, that appears to be the case. Not only that, he is repeating his complaints in multiple threads and topics. I can’t believe I wasted time responding with anything more than l2p

Staff is great for WvW and dungeons.

http://youtu.be/N1IdWnKhoyA

I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist, but did you know guardians also have AWFUL base health?

Also, you need to learn more, as staff eles we are great at stopping crowds dead in their tracks and dealing extreme collective damage to them. If you’re just going to sit in fire all the time, then you deserve to be called a terribad, especially since you’re meant to repeatedly swap attunements and generate combos. Yes, fire is great for damage, but that’s it – just damage. The other attunements aren’t “50% less powerful” at all, they simply work in ways that you don’t seem (and need) to, understand.

On a side note, d/d isn’t melee. Melee range is considered to be 130, and the lowest range an ele can possibly have is 300. Besides, you don’t actually hit anything with the daggers, they’re just there to help you channel magic.

Lindbur.2537:

On a side note, d/d isn’t melee. Melee range is considered to be 130, and the lowest range an ele can possibly have is 300.

Agree with the rest you wrote, but two of our Conjure Weapons have melee range. Just wanted to point that out. Dunno why though.

I love my staff, it’s just a group originated weapon rather than one you would use for soloing. I’m not saying it can’t be improved but I think it should sty primary a group support weapon. I see no issue with having weapons designed for different situation and there is no rule saying a mage class has to be long range. They just have to be primarily based around using magic. What other games do dose not matter. You might not like how they play but then you should pick a different class.

Some of you really need to play some of the older fantasy games. Daggers were one of the few weapons that mages were allowed to use. That and staff/fists/conjured weapons.

Also, the staff isn’t currently a “hardcore underdog” spec. It is made for groups/zergs. You have stun/chill/cripple fields and good aoe attacks as well as good heals.

I would not know, as another Mage pointed out above if all a Staff is good for is Group AOE. in WvW, then the Devs have not done their jobs or justice by the Iconic weapn of our Class, every Mage should have the option to Equip Staff.

For PvE I personally would prefer staff, but I have to play D/D most of the Time, except in Champion Fights where that will get you killed, and then. while My friends or temporary team mates are engaging said champion mob I have to run off to out of agg range so I can change weapons, which looks cowardly, is inelegant, and does not work for anyone.

Seriously Attunements are no subtitute for proper weapons sets having my choice of all short range, or all long range skills does not help me deal with the fact that you dont always have that choice. There is a real problem both with the Staff and more broadly with the class, and some of us who actually play the class would like the Devs to adress the issue.

Claudia De Anar.6304:

Some of you really need to play some of the older fantasy games. Daggers were one of the few weapons that mages were allowed to use. That and staff/fists/conjured weapons.

Also, the staff isn’t currently a “hardcore underdog” spec. It is made for groups/zergs. You have stun/chill/cripple fields and good aoe attacks as well as good heals.

I would not know, as another Mage pointed out above if all a Staff is good for is Group AOE. in WvW, then the Devs have not done their jobs or justice by the Iconic weapn of our Class, every Mage should have the option to Equip Staff.

Elementalists do not adhere to the classic ‘mage’ in other games at all. I am pretty sure this is intended, heh, as ANET did design them this way. The biggest problem I see is when people have a hard time accepting this and refuse to play the class as designed. The original poster is an example of that. Rather than play the class the way it was intended to be played, he would rather make repeated requests to change the entire class around the way ‘he’ thinks it ‘should’ work.

The same can be said for people’s preconceived notions about how they think a weapon ‘should’ work rather than how it ‘does’. Staff and Daggers are great, but I would agree with people that want to boost focus and scepter.

The devs did a great job with this class because it is actually fun to play and requires you to leverage attunement and ability cool downs while switching between roles multiple times in a fight. There is nothing wrong with the class as long as you stop trying to make it into something it isn’t.

Its really easy to create a sort of bunker elementalist who also deals pretty much damage (especially with evasive attunment). I’ve been playing D/D Elementalist but this is … well. It is a joke since its pure easymode. You can teleport, you got additional healing and instant cure conditions … It doesn’t really matter if D/D has a lack of rangeskills since he even has teleport. Which is good when fighting against mesmer and thieves who try to run.
I don’t think D/D is overpowered. I rather think that Staffskills are absolutetely a joke on Elementalist. Okay, you are able to have a lot of a powerful Damage over Time-condition: Burning. And AoE-Stun. But you almost got no sort of direct damage.

Earth-Immobilize and Wind-Knockback is WAY too slow if you fight within a range of 900-1200. You are forced to melee. With a staff. Which skills have a range of 1200.

Seriously … You absolutetely have no possibilities if you want to attack an enemy within a range of 900-1200 units because those skills are totally slow. You should be able to knockback and immobilize instantly with the staff.

Well … I’m sorry, I know ArenaNet calls themselves “gamers” who develope a game which they really want to play. But … Well. Forcing the player’s playstyle by his/her weaponchoice ain’t right.

[Quote] The devs did a great job with this class because it is actually fun to play and requires you to leverage attunement and ability cool downs while switching between roles multiple times in a fight. There is nothing wrong with the class as long as you stop trying to make it into something it isn’t.[/quote]

Glad it’s working for you, seriously, but it’s obviously not working for alot of us, and yes I do agree with the original poster; but my point just now was and is; cycling through attunements does not help if im cycling through all short, or all long range skills.

We were given attunements as a sub for Weapons sets, In my opinion and I think a fair number of others that does not work. I believe we got Attunements vs weapon sets
so we should not be tooo powerful, Just yesterday Im watching a Ranger (Lv 50) one shoting Mobs my Lv 60 is just whittling away at; sadly I doubt thats a rare experiance; given a good half of the posts on this thread we are clearly not tooo powerful by any definition.

We have been given weapons that are situation specific and we cannot control the situation 24/7 and so we are about useless half the time. I prefer to play an Ele, but I Honestly dont know why anyone would team up with an Ele in this game, not when we have to run off or hang back, like brave Sir Robin, to swap out weapons time and again, I know because I have to do it myself. In a game thats supposed to be about working together, why should you team up with an Ele, Seriously.

The I do agree about Scepter I have not touched one since Lv 10; Dragon tooth is a bad Joke, even half aware PvE mobs evade, and its the best skill on the bar. Staff might work well in WvW, but I have no interest in WvW, which leaves Dagger, which is useful 90% of the time but forces an inheriantly Squishy class to play Melee all the time; and is useless against champions, and suspect against Vets.

We are a Squishy Class we are expected to play back liners and we should have a decent Ranged Weapon. It really should not be too much to ask; especially as it is the Iconic weapon of our class. Sorry I respectfully disagree with our position the class is just fine but everyone who disagrees with you is obviously playing it wrong.

I do hope the Devs if they see how long this thread has become, will at least consider that this is a real issue in the minds of some of their players.

paleeshi.1924 “Personally I think the skill set up on D/D are more fun than on Staff.”

That is because the staff suxs.

Claudia De Anar.6304:

We are a Squishy Class we are expected to play back liners and we should have a decent Ranged Weapon.

We’re not a squishy class. We only have squishy armor. Our active defenses are among the best in the game.

We’re also not expected to play backliners. The only weapon that’s truly for backlining is the staff. That’s only 1 out of 4 weapons. The rest is midrange.

We have a decent ranged weapon. It’s the staff. The good thing about the staff is that it’s not just about damage, but has a ton of utility…but the catch is that you need to work with a team. What you’re asking for is basically for artillery to fight solo. That’s not what artillery was made for. Artillery hides behind the army in order to function properly.

Sorry to say it, but you just don’t get the staff, and you don’t get the elementalist. We’re NOT a World of Kittencraft mage. We’re something new.

scottmana.7658:

That is because the staff suxs.

Read what Covenn wrote Scott. He gets it. You don’t.

@thibash…

That should be the reason why our role was stolen by mesmers and necro……

vanensang.1389:

Well … I’m sorry, I know ArenaNet calls themselves “gamers” who develope a game which they really want to play. But … Well. Forcing the player’s playstyle by his/her weaponchoice ain’t right.

Except that is ‘exactly’ how it was designed. Maybe a few people are playing the wrong class …or game? Asking to change how staff is designed to fit someone’s preconceived notion on how ‘they’ think it should work is stupid.

So yeah, I think I should be able to throw my daggers and hit people 1200 away with them like a ninja. It is stupid that all we have are close quarters abilities with them. I want them to work my way…..

dot dot dot dot…….

Claudia De Anar.6304:

We are a Squishy Class we are expected to play back liners and we should have a decent Ranged Weapon. It really should not be too much to ask; especially as it is the Iconic weapon of our class.

Who says staff is the iconic weapon of our class? Who says staff is supposed to work how ‘you’ want it to? ANET designed the staff very specifically this way because it is how they want staff to work… and work it does, quite well. (a couple of minor tweaks like projectile speed increase is needed though).

Also, we absolutely are not a squishy class. If you think then it is due to the armor you are wearing and the utility slots you are equipping… or both. Elementalists can stand toe to toe with any class in the game.

covenn.7165:

Claudia De Anar.6304:

Some of you really need to play some of the older fantasy games. Daggers were one of the few weapons that mages were allowed to use. That and staff/fists/conjured weapons.

Also, the staff isn’t currently a “hardcore underdog” spec. It is made for groups/zergs. You have stun/chill/cripple fields and good aoe attacks as well as good heals.

I would not know, as another Mage pointed out above if all a Staff is good for is Group AOE. in WvW, then the Devs have not done their jobs or justice by the Iconic weapn of our Class, every Mage should have the option to Equip Staff.

Elementalists do not adhere to the classic ‘mage’ in other games at all. I am pretty sure this is intended, heh, as ANET did design them this way. The biggest problem I see is when people have a hard time accepting this and refuse to play the class as designed. The original poster is an example of that. Rather than play the class the way it was intended to be played, he would rather make repeated requests to change the entire class around the way ‘he’ thinks it ‘should’ work.

The same can be said for people’s preconceived notions about how they think a weapon ‘should’ work rather than how it ‘does’. Staff and Daggers are great, but I would agree with people that want to boost focus and scepter.

The devs did a great job with this class because it is actually fun to play and requires you to leverage attunement and ability cool downs while switching between roles multiple times in a fight. There is nothing wrong with the class as long as you stop trying to make it into something it isn’t.

Elementalists arent refered as a normal mage class.

Thats where the problem is.

If we create a mage class.
*Mesmer, Necromancer, Elementals.
we are creating it to be a range spell slinger in some way.
Thats what we expect it to be.

crap for survival. but a hell of a nuker.

A-net have more or less gone and said:
Ok people, how sad for you. you wanted your ferrarri to be a ferrarri.
News for you, the ferrarri have been moded into a skoda. Deal with it.

I get that some like a new twist, and to create melee mages just for the luls of it.

But, let the mage class be a mage class.

covenn.7165:

ANET designed the staff very specifically this way because it is how they want staff to work… and work it does, quite well. (a couple of minor tweaks like projectile speed increase is needed though).

do you have any idea on how anet designed staff?
look at pre launch staff and launch nerf….
Then you may have an idea…..

So i wouldn t act as if anet designed staff as it is because its clearly not so…
What we have is the result of the usual ovenerf without compensation by anet…..

Even anet knows that infact is slowly buffing staff…..the issue is they are fast and drastic in nerfs but takes months to them to give any minor buff unless is for warriors and thieves.

LordByron.8369:

do you have any idea on how anet designed staff?
look at pre launch staff and launch nerf….
Then you may have an idea…..

So i wouldn t act as if anet designed staff as it is because its clearly not so…
What we have is the result of the usual ovenerf without compensation by anet…..

Even anet knows that infact is slowly buffing staff…..the issue is they are fast and drastic in nerfs but takes months to them to give any minor buff unless is for warriors and thieves.

And sometimes the design doesn’t turn out as they intended it to be. How it was then and how it is now is no argument for how it should be. They call it beta testings of a reason.

This is why i wonder why A-net doesnt simply say on class description.
What each weapon is supposed to be special at.

Whould make it easier for them also. “ahh yes, staff, its supposed to be _”

Right now its more of:
“Staff. i dunno. just give it abit of everything. should make ppl happy”.

eldain stenlund.4306:

If we create a mage class.
*Mesmer, Necromancer, Elementals.
we are creating it to be a range spell slinger in some way.
Thats what we expect it to be.

crap for survival. but a hell of a nuker.

I get that some like a new twist, and to create melee mages just for the luls of it.

But, let the mage class be a mage class.

I don’t see a mage class, I see an elementalist, mesmer, and necromancer. “Uses magic” does not automatically mean “stands a mile away and casts fireball all day.” It means they use magic.

I’m pretty sure my supersanic ninja rat is using a lot of magic.

Oh, and it turns out he’s also that ranged spell-slinger you’re talking about. Guess he’s a power ranger AND a mage. And a medic. And a traffic cop. And a walking arsenal.

Maybe you’re just playing the wrong game.

Elementalist — master of the elements; elementalists change their elemental attunement in battle to adapt to any situation.

I’m just saying..

How I play my staff: sometimes I club them with the round end, sometimes I stick them with the pointy end, sometimes I get so mad that fireballs and lightning shoots out, sometimes I whirl around really fast and it makes a whooshing noise.

Somehow I just get the feeling that you’re hung up on MMORPGs of old. This game isn’t one of them, and I think I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen this statement.

If you really want to insist on mage/range/warrior stuff, can you explain the existence of the guardian?

paleeshi.1924:

LordByron.8369:

do you have any idea on how anet designed staff?
look at pre launch staff and launch nerf….
Then you may have an idea…..

So i wouldn t act as if anet designed staff as it is because its clearly not so…
What we have is the result of the usual ovenerf without compensation by anet…..

Even anet knows that infact is slowly buffing staff…..the issue is they are fast and drastic in nerfs but takes months to them to give any minor buff unless is for warriors and thieves.

And sometimes the design doesn’t turn out as they intended it to be. How it was then and how it is now is no argument for how it should be. They call it beta testings of a reason.

are you saying they are happy with current staff ?
If so i may delude you but even anet knows it was severely overnerfed….

The issue is the usual…they want to make complainers happy…

And people dare to complain about meteor shower because it SEEMS an OP spelll…
I mean meteors from the sky in a huge red circle?

Doesn t Worth anything is slow as hell so even mobs avoids it and that deals risible damage considering channeling time…. (churning earth does lot more).

Its clearly OP……(look at all posts about aoe cap…so many want to keep it because they fear meteor shower and they think is an OP spell already…..)

@lindbur….
Please look at old elementalist description…..if you find it…

You are just assuming tthat anet planned things they didn t at all….you have less proof of what you say than people asking to have a DPS build viable for staff.

I just read an interview with: Colin Johanson – game director of Guild Wars 2.
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/03/07/how-guild-wars-2-plans-to-survive#

Colin wanted to be Innovative.
This is the answear to every question we might have.
And this is also why we have a few very messy classes.

Taking a Ferrari, and being innovative in GW2 style.
Put in a half skoda engine instead… = Better for environment.
Make wooden tires… = More natural material for recycling.
Put in a Ship steering wheel… = Enable great turning, just spin the wheel.
Remove 1 wheel… = Less friction = less fuel.
Remove the gearbox and put in a bicycle one… = speed limits you know.
Remove a door… = Air conditioning is great to have in a cold day.
Let a blind man repaint the car… = Its ART. what can go wrong.

Call the finished product: Innovative green car.
(Iam happy colin is not working for a car company, and i think they are too).

@LordByron: I never said that, you don’t need to read in between the lines.

eldain stenlund.4306:

Thats where the problem is.

If we create a mage class.
*Mesmer, Necromancer, Elementals.
we are creating it to be a range spell slinger in some way.
Thats what we expect it to be.

crap for survival. but a hell of a nuker.

Who is this ‘we’ you speak of. I have been an ele since beta and it is my main, I don’t share the same expectations as you. I rolled the class because it allowed the ability to adapt and succeed in any given situation without being strapped into a singular role.

Oh …and I hit like a truck and have survivability.

covenn.7165: Who says staff is the iconic weapon of our class?

There is a reason when in the Two Towers Grima Say’s “I told you to take the Wizards Staff!” Its a powerful line, why people who might never have read a page of a single Fantasy story react to it. There is a reason why if you Google Images for Wizard, I would say its a safe bet Staffs outnumber Daggers 10 to 1 or more.

I know there are some Gamers who have never read any of the Genre in which our game is supposedly rooted; all they care about are Stats and PvP roles, but I dont think the Devs are well served Ignoring the Genre.

If we give Warriors, guns, and Asura Cannons, and Silvaria Biplanes, soon enough you simply have created Modern Warfare the Tyria Edition, which might appeal to a very small market of hardcore gamers but will ultimately be unsatisfying to Fantasy and Modern players alike. Our game does not exist in a cultrual vacumn, nor do I beleive the Devs best serve their game by treating it like it does, If you choose to create somethig in the Fantasy Genre there are expectations in that Genre, you can meet them, ignore them, morph them, but they are still there.

No I did not make the Wizards staff an Iconic thing, it is part of the Culture, part of our collective vision of what makes a Wizard a Wizard, every bit as much as a pointy hat.

covenn.7165:

Who is this ‘we’ you speak of. I have been an ele since beta and it is my main, I don’t share the same expectations as you. I rolled the class because it allowed the ability to adapt and succeed in any given situation without being strapped into a singular role.

Honestly, I find eles to be one of the less versatile classes when it comes to combat. Sure, I have a mixture of damage, healing, and CC skills that other classes may not, but as an ele, I have to choose between damage or ranged capability, zerging or roaming – I don’t need to do that as, say, a d/d-staff necro.

covenn.7165:

Oh …and I hit like a truck and have survivability.

Either we have different definitions of “hitting like a truck”, or you’ve got stats that don’t exist in SPvP – if it’s the latter case, that’s kind of like of like saying that you can outpace an olympic athlete by using rocket boots.

I tried what claudia said on google.

Wizard = Staff and wands.. staff and wands. and a couple of guitarr wizards.
Mage = Alot of belly pictures. But, Mages had: Staff and wand, staff and wand.
Elementalist = GW2 IMAGES… STAFF. and barehands..

So i whould say staff outnumber daggers 1 / 1000. maybe even more…

But then again, Colin have said he feels “innovative”.
Wich might explain why the Elementalist, doesnt realy give the feeling of a Mage-class.

I found these on GW2 Official website.

These are the Official pictures to get peoples interest in the game.
And as well working as a wallpaper art.

Elementalist… Staff.

What i wonder is.. Why The Hell, did i find this commando. (and more pictures).
On GW2 official website…

Can we expect a Commando class later ???
Talk about destroying the game if they do.

If A-net is gonna destroy their game with a Command class.
can you please release GW2 as open source also then ? so i can make my own server without infringements… please.

april fools of 2 years ago you can also find the vid about commando on youtube…

Lore wise the melee type Mages are as old as ranged mages.Although the range didn’t actually have to do with the weapon wielded.
Just because the mainstream archetype of the Wizard is “Elderly fella with a staff.White beard and pointy hat!” it doesn’t mean it’s the only one.

I love d/d and staff equally. On wvwvw staff is plainly awsome.But when i get out of wvwvw i find staff lacking quite a bit.

just going on a slightly different tune here -
i’m just so kitten happy with staff ele:

this works well for 1v1 – i like to troll players with…
1. 3 pets = 2 elementals and a parrot doing a tonne of additional dmg (i likem ice golems)
2. tonnes of cc at crazy range = from frost/earth/air
3. wide range of combos = with 2 earth finishers (roll/eruption) – love frost armor + bleeds
4. unlimited fun with cookie cutter build = 30arc,30wat,10air
5. no debuffs really stick to me with 30 water – making me very slippery, for LoS, etc.

edit: kitten… very funny anet, very funny.
edit2: while i hit for just 2k crits now, if you go 30fire,30air,10water = you can crit for 5-8k on meteor storm, but dont let anyone catch you pants down, simply dont stand a chance of running away.

If the commando is a april fools thing…
(wich it is, even tho our rifle warriors arent far away).

It also explains why i found the pictures of elementals using staff.
And not the dagger/dagger we see in game.
The Staff is just another april fools joke also…

I can only agree with the OP..
As playing the mage/wizard-class (whatever you want to call it) in various MMO’s I was fairly disappointed with the new elementalist. I’m using ‘new’ here because I also played GW1 where the ele still met my criteria. Not only did you have like a million different build setups and skills, you also were the high damage dealer ingame. As it should be!
The main thing i’m not getting is why an elementalist is almost inclined to use cantrips or knights/cleric gear stuffed with like dolyak runes. (I mean, i’m giving it the same gear as my warrior?? W T F … ) If not you’ll be getting onehits all the time while still not doing any significant damage in comparison to a warrior/thief/ranger… hell all the other classes!

I think the problem is that they tried to package the different playstyle capabilities an ele had in GW1 into one class with a select number of skills. It ended up being mediocre in everything, balanced if you will. This the primary reason why you can’t specialize in doing damage. The damage you gain can’t ever compare to the lack in survivability. To be fair you can’t really specialize in anything.

What are your options then? Give it armor with defensive stats and runes and use D/D as it has high mobility and high dps skills. (meaning you can run away while still doing some damage and surviving a few hits) And for slot skills: cantripsss.
Congratz, you have yourself a ’battle’mage. The only viable option for an elementalist.. Thats is unless you want to be hiding behind a rock doing dungeon runs, doing weak single target dps, waiting for your moment to shine when there are trash groups which you can FINALLY AoE-nuke. Oh yeah, and die every time you come too close.

There is no mage in this game. If you want one, play WOW. Or DND online. Or Neverwinter or Elder Scrolls when they come out.

Elemental is not a mage, and most of the problems I read about on these forums come from people not leaving their previous MMO experience and preconceptions at the door.

I love my ele despite its flaws (and it does have them).

Teevell.1684:

There is no mage in this game. If you want one, play WOW. Or DND online. Or Neverwinter or Elder Scrolls when they come out.

Elemental is not a mage, and most of the problems I read about on these forums come from people not leaving their previous MMO experience and preconceptions at the door.

I love my ele despite its flaws (and it does have them).

Just for fun.. what do you call a Master elementalist as class then ??
*Warlock ??
*Wizard ??
*Sorcerer ??
*Mage ??
*Elementalist ??
note. these are all mages.