Guild Wars 2

So far I’ve:

1. In quite a few cases needed to ask for assistance from other players to do skill challenges and jumping puzzles with multiple mobs because I just couldn’t handle them
2. Seen people openly gloat at elementalists’ horrible survivability and damage in map chat
3. Seen people point out, repeatedly, how I should have chosen another profession to play (again, in map chat)
4. Had people jump onto a veteran I’ve been killing for half a minute, finish off its remaining 50% health in 2-3 seconds, say “lol ele” and leave
5. Seen People drop everything they were doing and chase me half way across the map in WvW because I’m an elementalist.
6. Had people oneshot (Warriors) and twoshot (Thieves) me in sPvP
7. And I saved the best for last. I’ve had people refuse to take me into their dungeon groups because I’m an elementalist, and they are apparently “useless”.

Now, for the record, I really enjoy playing elementalist. But those kind of things really make me question my choice.

Elementalists’ kittenness is probably the worst-kept secret of GW2 these days. Everyone but a small crowd of “L2P elitists” seems to agree that we are a weak profession with very low survivability and ridiculously bad DPS for the effort it requires, easy targets in PvP despite our seemingly good utility, and just generally a waste of party space. And I would not even care about any of that in any other case because after all, I’m playing to have fun and not for someone else’s amusement. But when I was told to shuffle off due to my being an elementalist when I asked for a dungeon invite… I guess it really put things into perspective for me.

For now, I think, I’ll make a Mesmer and wait until Elementalists are fixed. I suppose the valid question here is “what are ArenaNet waiting for?” Soon there won’t be any eles left playing for those fixes to apply to.

Thats exactly why i will reroll my mesmer for an elementalist. I love the challenge!

igneous.8153:

So far I’ve:

1. In quite a few cases needed to ask for assistance from other players to do skill challenges and jumping puzzles with multiple mobs because I just couldn’t handle them
2. Seen people openly gloat at elementalists’ horrible survivability and damage in map chat
3. Seen people point out, repeatedly, how I should have chosen another profession to play (again, in map chat)
4. Had people jump onto a veteran I’ve been killing for half a minute, finish off its remaining 50% health in 2-3 seconds, say “lol ele” and leave
5. Seen People drop everything they were doing and chase me half way across the map in WvW because I’m an elementalist.
6. Had people oneshot (Warriors) and twoshot (Thieves) me in sPvP
7. And I saved the best for last. I’ve had people refuse to take me into their dungeon groups because I’m an elementalist, and they are apparently “useless”.

Now, for the record, I really enjoy playing elementalist. But those kind of things really make me question my choice.

Elementalists’ kittenness is probably the worst-kept secret of GW2 these days. Everyone but a small crowd of “L2P elitists” seems to agree that we are a weak profession with very low survivability and ridiculously bad DPS for the effort it requires, easy targets in PvP despite our seemingly good utility, and just generally a waste of party space. And I would not even care about any of that in any other case because after all, I’m playing to have fun and not for someone else’s amusement. But when I was told to shuffle off due to my being an elementalist when I asked for a dungeon invite… I guess it really put things into perspective for me.

For now, I think, I’ll make a Mesmer and wait until Elementalists are fixed. I suppose the valid question here is “what are ArenaNet waiting for?” Soon there won’t be any eles left playing for those fixes to apply to.

If you stop playing elementalist and start playing another class = ANET “oh fine no need to fix he just plays another class”

If you stop playing altogether = ANET “kitten we gotta do something people playing class x stopped playing our game altogether”

I either play my ele, or don’t play at all coz I am not interested in other professions.

I am currently only doing the daily challenge, and just bits of PvE. I do not want to do anything else as I am waiting for them to buff the ele. This way I hope ill enjoy the game more then they fix this over sight.

Mato.1345:

If you stop playing elementalist and start playing another class = ANET “oh fine no need to fix he just plays another class”

If you stop playing altogether = ANET “kitten we gotta do something people playing class x stopped playing our game altogether”

I either play my ele, or don’t play at all coz I am not interested in other professions.

I highly doubt that ANet will see the dramatic decline in elementalist playership as the reason to ignore the problem rather than fix it.
And it’s much easier for me to jump ship to Mesmer because it was always my second choice.

Ironically, I chose to play elementalist knowing they were a kitten class (since BWE3 nerf). I just expected ANet to fix them in a matter of days like they would in GW1 days.

Today’s patch notes – absolutely no mention of the Elementalist … Documented Fixes since launch:
——————————————————————————————————-
Signet of Air: No longer has infinite range.
Whirlpool: Now works underwater in PvE.
Glyph of Renewal: Resurrection effects of Earth, Fire, and Water now surround the caster, not the target.

There are only two logical conclusions I can draw from ArenaNet’s actions:

A) They are looking into Elementalist class synergy and have a large rebalance in progress and will let us know when they’re ready to release it (this is my hope and the only reason I’ve stuck with mine since BWE3)

B) They agree with the 3% “L2P noob” crowd and don’t give a rat’skittenabout the other 97% of us, don’t care about the perception of the class as a whole and feel justified with the hard nerfs that hit us during the beta cycle although realistically we were as effective as the warrior is today without the extra survivability that they possess now.

ArenaNet why the silence?

Are they really that fast to fix complex classes balance glitches in other games?

Dunno i come from a fighting game where i used a bottom tier….after 1 year i t was finally “nerfed” XD

so i can give them some more time….

Also its probably my fault because everything i use seems to end up in bottom tier area…
And i’ll soon start a mesmer (not because i’ll drop ele but because i want to play 2 classes) so you are warned on next bottom tier profession u.u

MarzAttakz.9608:

Today’s patch notes – absolutely no mention of the Elementalist … Documented Fixes since launch:
——————————————————————————————————-
Signet of Air: No longer has infinite range.
Whirlpool: Now works underwater in PvE.
Glyph of Renewal: Resurrection effects of Earth, Fire, and Water now surround the caster, not the target.

There are only two logical conclusions I can draw from ArenaNet’s actions:

A) They are looking into Elementalist class synergy and have a large rebalance in progress and will let us know when they’re ready to release it (this is my hope and the only reason I’ve stuck with mine since BWE3)

B) They agree with the 3% “L2P noob” crowd and don’t give a rat’skittenabout the other 97% of us, don’t care about the perception of the class as a whole and feel justified with the hard nerfs that hit us during the beta cycle although realistically we were as effective as the warrior is today without the extra survivability that they possess now.

ArenaNet why the silence?

It can’t possibly be B because then, like I said, it won’t be long before there won’t be any elementalists left playing. And short of getting rid of the profession altogether, ANet can’t just leave it as it is. Even shiny spell effects won’t save the profession if it’s

a) much harder to play than every other profession
b) squishier than every other profession
c) does less damage than every other profession

I already see a dramatic decrease of elementalists running around in PvE from the first week. My sPvP-savvy guildmates report that they see elementalist in maybe 1 or 2 matches out of 10. Sure, there may still be eles in WvW, but their current status as “free kills” will eventually turn the players away.

I remember when Turbine made some changes to Minstrels in LOTRO that caused a mass exodus of Minstrel players from the game. And Minstrels being a healing class, the whole player population whined up a huge storm when they found themselves unable to do dungeons and raids.

Now, Elementalists may not be as crucial to GW2 gameplay as Minstrels are to LOTRO, but something tells me ANet still don’t want to see their game where one of the core professions is virtually unrepresented because of the way it was designed by the developers.

Yeah mate I was an endgame Warden and Minstrel in Lotro, a Minmatar player in Eve Online when the AC speed nerfs kicked in and an Elementalist main since BWE1.

It has become a joke in my guild that nobody should pick a class I play because they always end up destroyed.

Deepblue.1237:

Thats exactly why i will reroll my mesmer for an elementalist. I love the challenge!

Yea, I’ve noticed over the years that there seems to be a decently good (and vocal) portion of any game community that very much enjoys working twice as hard to less (or at best equal) effect. I’ve also frequently seen at least a portion of that group bitterly complain and actively fight against any buffs to the class. Even going so far as to say the developers saying the class as a whole was under-performing were in error (not lying, just that they were wrong). Oddly I’ve usually seen this with low defense ranged classes (City of Heroes’ Blasters for instance).

Not to imply that you’re one of those people mind you, just taking your comment as a segue into mine as those people usually talk about how much they like the challenge of the class and how effective/powerful they are when nothing goes wrong.

I laughed at 5). Happens to me everykittentime I am in WvW. All the pr0 100blades and heartseeker guys single me out and are willing to chase me half way across the map so all 5-6 of them can try and stomp me in the end.
As a staff elementalist I have to say one thing – I became quite good at running away from these chasing parties =)

2. Seen people openly gloat at elementalists horrible survivability and damage in map chat.
3. Seen people point out repeatedly, how I should have chosen another profession to play (again, in map chat).
4. Had people jump onto a veteran I’ve been killing for half a minute, finish off its remaining 50% health in 2-3 seconds, say “lol ele” and leave.
7. And I saved the best for last. I’ve had people refuse to take me into their dungeon groups because I’m an elementalist, and they are apparently “useless”.

Unfortunatly i have seen all of these ones.

ArenaNet you destroyed my elementalist dreams from GW1 when you did THIS SHAMEFUL THING CALLED AN “ELEMENTALIST” IN GW2.

Guys, I agree that Ele is underpowered, BUT

ANET posted already that they work on class issues, but dont wan to make rush decisions not to screw something even worse.

Obviously it is wiser than geting histeric/paranoic about “OMG ele is weak buff him, fast, we are dieing!”. ANet guys said they need more data, so just give them time…
And try posting data instead of screams ^^

Yeah, I’m sure the devs have already discussed this issue, and as the meta establishes with few to no elementalists, they’ll take action. However, official word of how they see the current ele’s state would be nice, there has been some dev comments for the necromancer, but not for us yet.

I also love the challenge, but I’m also re-rolling Mesmer because it’s disheartening to work so much for so little. It doesn’t helps that we have some attunement skillsets that feel a bit bland/ unfinished, with no cohesive strategy, like Scepter’s water, among other questionable skill placements, especially when it comes to most of our auto-attacks, which feel like filler.

I much prefer the elegance behind 5 strong weapon skills than 20 weapons skills with some messy placements and several filler slots.

Is there even a Mod on these forums? Or are we allowed to recreate the same topics over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over….

The most worrying thing about the whole situation is that ANet spent no time at all to ponder the implications of nerfing elementalists into oblivion. It didn’t even take them that long, everything happened in a matter of days between two stress tests. One day elementalist was fine, the next it was not. But now that the elementalist population has dwindled to an all-time low (and the decline continues every day) and every other profession is laughing at us, we hear nothing from the devs and no changes are even on the horizon because apparently they want to “let the basic meta-game stabilize before making too many changes”.

I am sure changes will take their time to come, and we should have some patience. That being said, I’ve rerolled already, and Mesmer with swords is my greatest new thing. <3 My elementalist is still waiting, though, at level 80 with 40% of the map explored.

Odd though, it appears to be one of the most popular professions, based on what I see levelling. If I encounter a caster, it is very likely it is an Elementalist instead of Mesmer or Necromancer.
Though I’m only at 40 so can’t speak for higher levels, and it is my unscientific observation at that.

morandipag.5134:

Odd though, it appears to be one of the most popular professions, based on what I see levelling. If I encounter a caster, it is very likely it is an Elementalist instead of Mesmer or Necromancer.
Though I’m only at 40 so can’t speak for higher levels, and it is my unscientific observation at that.

Elementalist still prevails in lower level areas. Though admittedly there is still fewer of them now than there were at launch. In higher level zones, however, elementalists are nearly extinct. I guess by then most players realize that if it takes 30 seconds, 15 skills and a whole lot of dodging and kiting to kill a something, while getting two- or three-shot by most mobs, when a warrior nearby can charge in and kill the same mob in a quarter of the time using 2-3 skills while ignoring all the incoming damage, something is very very wrong.

Ouch, depressing list there OP! I’ve never experienced any of those, but probably because my Ele is only level 30 and I don’t PvP or do jump puzzles. Having Ranger and Necro alts, the difference in “ease of killing stuff and not dying” is rather depressing.

Still, I’m not scrapping my Ele because it is unfortunately the only class that fits my character, and I like the concept of the profession. I see a lot of Eles in the starter areas, and honestly I think it is because the concept of the profession simply has a wider appeal than the other two scholar professions do, not because people think they are powerful to play (though, our flashy spells may give that impression, haha).

I really hope that they do “fix” or “buff” Elementalists sometime in the foreseeable future though. I level slowly, though will likely be spending more time on alts as my Ele gets higher in level.

I have faith in Arenanet, I believe they will make elementalist strong once more. But right now, there’s lots of bugs in the skills and traits.

Of the things the OP listed, only #5 has happened to me, but there is no way I (or you) would know if they chased you just because you’re an elementalist, that’s just silly. Regardless I ran a good 10-15 of them all the way to my base without dieing, was sorta funny, in a sadistic bloodthirsty kind of way.

DreadShinobi.4751:

Of the things the OP listed, only #5 has happened to me, but there is no way I (or you) would know if they chased you just because you’re an elementalist, that’s just silly. Regardless I ran a good 10-15 of them all the way to my base without dieing, was sorta funny, in a sadistic bloodthirsty kind of way.

Elementalist’s flashy skills are a dead giveaway to anyone who has even half a functioning brain hemisphere.

If anything, I have become very adept at running away in WvW thanks to being able to maintain 100% uptime on swiftness while wielding a staff.

Yeah we run good, not as good as a shortbow thief though XD

If you like the idea of the class.. Get it to 80 and park it. That is what I did. In the meantime I am leveling up alts.

I too… gave up. I don’t have time to play good games… so I regret I wasted my time getting an ele to lvl 80. The difference is so obvious that just for fun i’ve started shouting damage numbers with my friends that i played all the way to max level just for the kicks. Eles are good at nothing – pretty much.

But I also don’t feel like investing that time again in another class just because ANet doesn’t care about their balance. So I am thinking it’s time to take a break – have fun some place else.

ANet always asked: “is it fun?” – a definitive NO is my answer.

igneous.8153:

I guess by then most players realize that if it takes 30 seconds, 15 skills and a whole lot of dodging and kiting to kill a something, while getting two- or three-shot by most mobs, when a warrior nearby can charge in and kill the same mob in a quarter of the time using 2-3 skills while ignoring all the incoming damage, something is very very wrong.

This is exactly what is happening with me. While I absolutely love the profession, and I’d probably be fine if this was single-player, seeing other professions at or even slightly below my level steamroll through the same stuff I’m working hard for is frustrating. I feel I get no discernible reward for the extra effort I have to put in. So my Elementalist is on hold while my Engineer is getting all the attention.

These threads get so old. I wish I could log onto the forums, click on Elementalist discussion and see something other than crying. Balanced or not, the level of repetition that goes on here far surpasses that of all the other sub forums combined.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/info/news/Balancing-Guild-Wars-2/first#post92064

Deal with it or go play mesmer for the time being. The majority of the community has voiced their opinion and continuing to voice it even after Jon Peters flat out said “be patient” is simply annoying.

Clearly you’ve never seen them balance GW1, pretty much daily balancing til they got it sorted.

And who’s going to return my time leveling up a broken class?

Ravenheart.5134:

Clearly you’ve never seen them balance GW1, pretty much daily balancing til they got it sorted.

And who’s going to return my time leveling up a broken class?

I guess that’s what I expected when I rolled elementalist in GW2. I knew the profession was recently nerfed and thought it would be fixed in a matter of days after GW2 launch. But it’s been 3 weeks now, we are still just as kitten and all we hear in response to our please and complaints is silence.

It’s all very fine to talk about profession synergy and balancing, but I don’t think elementalist has any problems with that. We work great with others, and we don’t have any obviously overpowered or game-breaking skills like Heart Seeker or 100 Blades. We are simply weaker than every other class, both DPS- and armour-wise, while being considerably harder to play.

Go figure.