Guild Wars 2

Anomaly.7612:

Hey Chicken! Is this build good for WvW as well? I’m about to hit 80, and it’d be nice to use this build as some direction as to what I should shoot for gear wise.

Thanks!

This build will work fine for WvW. But it really depends. The trouble with WvW is that it’s really two different games rolled into one. If you want to roam, then you may need additional mobility. Try swapping out Cleansing fire or Arcane shield for Lightning flash.

If you’re playing with your guild or a zerg, it is likely they will want you to build for support. x/x/x/6/6 is standard for this because it lets you clear condis with your healing rain, and your water fields can have shorter cooldowns.

This build will work in OS duels. I would recommend a set of celestial armor with a spattering of PVT trinkets until you feel comfortable with your survivability.

Good luck!

Astaso.4806:

Must have been a bad dd ele in the video, if he lost against a staff ele.
I never lost against a staff ele on my dd ele.
And I can’t imagine that this will happen anytime. But maybe someone proves me wrong.

Often times, players will lose to a staff ele because they gravely underestimate what can be done with one when played correctly. Opponents very seldom know the combos/rotations of a staff ele and so are unsure what abilities to dodge and which to absorb.

Very few people expect to be beaten by a staff ele because frankly, it’s the hardest weapon/class in all of Guild Wars 2 to play. This means that even a very talented staff player will have issues beating even a novice player on another class.

But once mastered, it can be just as potent (if not more potent) than a D/D ele. And I think once you reach that level of play—you’ll find a simple joy in taking apart the meta builds with an ‘underpowered’ weaponset

Thanks for watching!

Eucalyptus.9784:

The arrogance in this forum makes me want to never come back sometimes.

“Wait he’s Staff? Well I’m the best D/D Ele there is, so the guy he won against must be really bad. Only way Staff wins.”

Haha. I get a lot of that on all of my videos… I try to remember that it’s exactly these kinds of players that are the reason I play staff ele in the first place.

By and large, the majority of players are good-spirited and swell my ego with private whispers telling me that I’m really good. Sometimes even when I lose, which is really encouraging.

And of course this community which (on the whole) generates very positive feedback.

manveruppd.7601:

By pivot, do you mean just by holding down RMB and turning again? Cause I’m using A and D to strafe, don’t have turning by keyboard bound anymore. If you can do it with the RMB then I think I could manage it with practice. Neat trick though! How did you even discover it?

Yes – when I pivot, i’m usually holding down my right mouse button—changing my camera’s direction by 90 degrees and tapping “W” to walk forward in that direction to change facing.

I use A and D in the same way, only to strafe. So I think our keyboard mechanics are the same. It shouldn’t be too hard for you to pick up (I’d wager you’ve probably already figured it out by the time you’ve read this).

And actually I discovered it by accident… and I actually found it more of a nuisance.

I play most of my games by holding down RMB to keep my camera facing the right way (Most players do this). So when thieves would steal to me, shadow step back, etc. etc… they’re literally jumping all over my screen.

To keep up with them, my camera would be zooming past and my character would change direction very frequently…

So when I started using the ‘defensive combo’ on thieves… you can imagine my frustration when the unsteady ground consistently came up facing the wrong way….. seemingly at random.

So I tested it, to see if I could figure out how to stop it from happening. But when I realized how easy it was to pivot….. I couldn’t help it. It’s way better this way as a ‘bug’.

I hope that Anet never fixes it. But I don’t think they will. It seems like one of those issues that lies in the core mechanics of the game, and not so much related to the spell itself.

You can do the same thing with any wall, on any class where the wall isn’t insta-cast. And it’s not exactly game-breaking… just handy knowledge.

Great question Thanks for asking

Astaso.4806:

Eucalyptus.9784:

The arrogance in this forum makes me want to never come back sometimes.

“Wait he’s Staff? Well I’m the best D/D Ele there is, so the guy he won against must be really bad. Only way Staff wins.”

Well I didn’t want to be arrogant or offend somebody.
I think dd ele will always win against staff ele on same skill lvl.
Its my opinion. Maybe I choose a bad way to say this. English is not my native language.

No offense taken My gradeschool teacher once told me “True knowledge can come only from experience.”

Give it a try if this sounds like it might interest you—it might change your mind!

I cant understand why this is still not a sticky. But anyway, are there ans Updates since the last feature patch?

Bump for justice.
Where is that STICKY

Solid build. Looks more useful than the standard kamakazi glass staff builds without sacrificing much of the dps.

Hi Azilyi
Thanks for this great guide. Truly inspired me to try out staff ele and I’ve been constantly practicing the combos to improve my skills.

Dennis.3068:

I cant understand why this is still not a sticky. But anyway, are there ans Updates since the last feature patch?

Hey there Dennis. As of this morning, I made a post with a new build for the new feature patch. Thanks for remembering this post. Sorry it took me so long to reply.

The Dueling Video Post

Ralkuth.1456:

Bump for justice.
Where is that STICKY

Lol – im flattered people like you are still watching this thread at all.

Bhima.9518:

Solid build. Looks more useful than the standard kamakazi glass staff builds without sacrificing much of the dps.

Definitely, and it still works in the current meta as well. It’s just too bad they took away our meteor + Tornado combo

keenlam.4753:

Hi Azilyi
Thanks for this great guide. Truly inspired me to try out staff ele and I’ve been constantly practicing the combos to improve my skills.

Awesome! And now with Sigil of Earth, there opens up a whole slough of new ones too

KrazyFlyinChicken.5936:

keenlam.4753:

Hi Azilyi
Thanks for this great guide. Truly inspired me to try out staff ele and I’ve been constantly practicing the combos to improve my skills.

Awesome! And now with Sigil of Earth, there opens up a whole slough of new ones too

Very exciting indeed. I’ve been experimenting a lot based on your build since the patch, playing around with the new signet of earth and tornado.
Yes Meteornado combo got nerfed but its not the end of the world.

I’m trying to make full water (instead of full fire) ele that can actually kill people in pvp and I’d like your opinion on this build I’ve come up with. Other pro staff eles, feel free to comment as well.

Link to build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fFAQFAWnMISdD23AuMArEGwCQI/6ULRBKfbXQA-TJxHwADeAAAuAAi2foYZAA

Now in your video, you said the defensive combo (earth + water) doesn’t deal much dmg but with this build I’ve been consistently getting total dmg of 4k+ (not counting the bleeds) from Eruption and Ice Spike. I use both Shockwave and Signet of Earth in the combo to trap the enemy more reliably.

It usually goes like this: Eruption + Unsteady Ground + Shockwave, switch to water, Frozen Ground + Ice Spike + Sig of Earth.
The signet will apply Vulnerability which in turn grants u the 20% dmg boost for both Eruption and Ice Spike as you are now Water attunement. If the enemy on low health, BTTH kicks in and thats another 20% dmg boost.

Another nice thing about this build is that with the new Tornado whirling out brutal bolts that inflict Vulnerability, Meteornado combo in this build is very devastating as well.
Meteor, switch to water, then Tornado for 20% dmg boost for both skills.

Please let me know what u think about this build and the effectiveness of these combos.
Thanks and cheers.

Yes, please post more videos! I checked your YouTube every day for like three months hoping you’d post more. Glad to see you’ve jumped back into it!

keenlam.4753:

KrazyFlyinChicken.5936:

keenlam.4753:

Hi Azilyi
Thanks for this great guide. Truly inspired me to try out staff ele and I’ve been constantly practicing the combos to improve my skills.

Awesome! And now with Sigil of Earth, there opens up a whole slough of new ones too

Very exciting indeed. I’ve been experimenting a lot based on your build since the patch, playing around with the new signet of earth and tornado.
Yes Meteornado combo got nerfed but its not the end of the world.

I’m trying to make full water (instead of full fire) ele that can actually kill people in pvp and I’d like your opinion on this build I’ve come up with. Other pro staff eles, feel free to comment as well.

Link to build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fFAQFAWnMISdD23AuMArEGwCQI/6ULRBKfbXQA-TJxHwADeAAAuAAi2foYZAA

Now in your video, you said the defensive combo (earth + water) doesn’t deal much dmg but with this build I’ve been consistently getting total dmg of 4k+ (not counting the bleeds) from Eruption and Ice Spike. I use both Shockwave and Signet of Earth in the combo to trap the enemy more reliably.

It usually goes like this: Eruption + Unsteady Ground + Shockwave, switch to water, Frozen Ground + Ice Spike + Sig of Earth.
The signet will apply Vulnerability which in turn grants u the 20% dmg boost for both Eruption and Ice Spike as you are now Water attunement. If the enemy on low health, BTTH kicks in and thats another 20% dmg boost.

Another nice thing about this build is that with the new Tornado whirling out brutal bolts that inflict Vulnerability, Meteornado combo in this build is very devastating as well.
Meteor, switch to water, then Tornado for 20% dmg boost for both skills.

Please let me know what u think about this build and the effectiveness of these combos.
Thanks and cheers.

Your build might be interesting with FGS, since you can drop vulnerability on a target and then enjoy the increased damage associated with Piercing Shards (+20% dmg to vulnerable foes while in water attunement) with many more attacks. FSG also has much higher up-time than Tornado.

The problem is that the elite has a high CD and, with water attunement in staff there aren’t enough damaging abilities to pump out the damage and down a foe. If you used FGS and Axe, you might have enough outgoing damage while in water that you could be more effective.

I might also drop the signets in favor of other skills—in particular, Arcane Power (utility slot arcane ability that causes your next five attacks to deal critical damage), since it procs 3 stacks of vulnerability for every one of the next five attacks. That would end up being a stack of 15 vulnerability (15% increased damage), on top of every attack dealing critical damage, as well as enable the 20% added damage while in water. Taking this approach reduces your dependence on needing that immobilize on the signet—which is probably better considering the number of immobilization-breaking abilities out there.

There is merit in possibly considering Arcane Retribution in the arcane tree as well, since, at 75% health, it will proc another Arcane Power all over again, serving to increase pressure on your opponent.

Just my general thoughts after a few moments of looking at your build and trying to understand what your goal is.

I’d suggest something like this as a starting point: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fFAQFAWnMISpDWzAuMAfEGwCQI/6ULRBKfbYQA-TJxHwADeAAAuAAi2foYZAA

keenlam.4753:

…

Hey Keenlam

I spoke with you ingame but I thought i’d reiterate how awesome that idea is regarding the Meteor/Nado while attuned to water. I’m not sure how well this build will work out due to it having a bit too much reliance on water, but the concept would definitely be cool to test out.

Another cool idea would be to put 5 pts into Earth for Enduring Damage (10% more damage when endurance is full) and Stone Splinters (another 10% more damage at 600 range)

That would give your Tornado a 40% damage increase before runes or sigils which would just be hilarious.

A bit of a one-trick pony though, but an interesting interaction to say the least.

Magusaero.5740:

…

+1 because you have flame axe in there

But you may need at least one stunbreak

Hi guys, thanks for your feedback.
I just have some questions
Would a staff build be still viable without going 4pts into Arcana and grabbing Elemental Attunement trait?

If the answer is yes, then can you guys comment on what I came up with below:

1) This is based on Magusaero’s approach to conjured weapons: Link to build
With 25 might stacks (which u can easily achieve in this build), Flame Axe AA hits for around ~1k, and FGS AA hits for ~1.5kx4 = ~6k.

2) Keeping the Meteor-Nado 1-trick pony from my original build but supercharging it further (because it’s fun and it wreck faces xD): Link to build

Also, I noticed that Arcane Power only gets 1 stack of vulnerability per attack (using Shard of Ice trait in Water line), so thats 5 stacks in total (instead of 3×5 = 15 stacks). Is this a bug or intended?

PS: Sorry if I might have derailed this beautiful thread, if its the case, please PM me if u guys have any comment on the builds I just showed. Thank you so much.

keenlam.4753:

Hi guys, thanks for your feedback.
I just have some questions
Would a staff build be still viable without going 4pts into Arcana and grabbing Elemental Attunement trait?

If the answer is yes, then can you guys comment on what I came up with below:

1) This is based on Magusaero’s approach to conjured weapons: Link to build
With 25 might stacks (which u can easily achieve in this build), Flame Axe AA hits for around ~1k, and FGS AA hits for ~1.5kx4 = ~6k.

2) Keeping the Meteor-Nado 1-trick pony from my original build but supercharging it further (because it’s fun and it wreck faces xD): Link to build

Also, I noticed that Arcane Power only gets 1 stack of vulnerability per attack (using Shard of Ice trait in Water line), so thats 5 stacks in total (instead of 3×5 = 15 stacks). Is this a bug or intended?

PS: Sorry if I might have derailed this beautiful thread, if its the case, please PM me if u guys have any comment on the builds I just showed. Thank you so much.

I think your ideas are good. The only issue I see with jumping out of the arcana line is the loss of the shorter cooldown on attunement switching.

I didn’t realize that Arcane Power didn’t trigger additional vulnerability—that seems odd. It does trigger on each hit for the Elemental Surge trait (Based on your current attunement, arcane skills cause a condition to foes that they hit). I wonder if it’s a bug.

Keep the fun build ideas coming!

Magusaero.5740:

I didn’t realize that Arcane Power didn’t trigger additional vulnerability—that seems odd. It does trigger on each hit for the Elemental Surge trait (Based on your current attunement, arcane skills cause a condition to foes that they hit). I wonder if it’s a bug.

Fixed in this latest patch (https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/info/updates/Game-Update-Notes-October-21-2014)

Elementalist
Arcane Power: Fixed a bug that caused attacks enhanced by this skill to only inflict one stack of vulnerability with Shard of Ice.

keenlam.4753:

Magusaero.5740:

I didn’t realize that Arcane Power didn’t trigger additional vulnerability—that seems odd. It does trigger on each hit for the Elemental Surge trait (Based on your current attunement, arcane skills cause a condition to foes that they hit). I wonder if it’s a bug.

Fixed in this latest patch (https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/info/updates/Game-Update-Notes-October-21-2014)

Elementalist
Arcane Power: Fixed a bug that caused attacks enhanced by this skill to only inflict one stack of vulnerability with Shard of Ice.

Awesome! I wonder if they read our posts here.