Guild Wars 2

So I’m just about done getting my gear together for my lvl 80 alt Ele that I will be running exclusively in WvW soon. At least for now, I’ll be running Staff focused on DPS, with P/V/T on the 6 gear slots and Zerkers for the Staff and Accessories. I’ve decided on the Sigil of Fire on the staff for now, with Bloodlust on another staff to get the stacks up then swap. Here is the build I settled on ….

(copy and paste into new browser window)

http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=VlZ;3R0VV0z4cN-Z0;9;4T9-9J56B5;35;047T

So my final quandry is on which Runes to use.

I was thinking of Scholar, as the 10% damage bonus when above 90% health stacked with the 10% bonus from Vital Striking sounds really good, especially when dropping AEs from range. Not to mention the static Power and Crit Damage bonuses. But I don’t know how realistic it is to be above 90% health often enough to offset a more consistent damage source. The initial BOOM sounds pretty fun though.

I was also looking at Strength, as the Might related bonuses seem to work well with the 30 pt Fire trait and other ways for Eles to generate Might.

Then there’s Divinity of course, or just plain ole stats via Orbs and Crests.

So, what do you all recommend?

As exclusively a staff ele in WvW, I chose to do the Ruby Orbs in all
of my gear (GC). The scholar runes are what, 25g for the set? Not worth
it in my opinion.

Keep in mind, if you’re in range to deal damage, you’re in range to take damage. With that consideration, how much time are you really going to be over 90% health?

from what it looks, ur walking the middle ground of glass cannon and bunker. divinity would be simpliest solution since it basically does some of everything for u. however with how expensive divinity is right now, u might want to consider using orbs for ruby or emerald for dmg or go along with ur pvt and try to find something suited there.

What kind of stats are you looking at with p/v/t armor and berserkers trinkets? I’ve been interested in a versatile staff build myself but cant decide on stats such as that above or possibly all carrion with some toughness.

The build you linked is high damage on paper, but low survivability and over-reliant on staying in fire attunement.

Go 0/10/0/30/30 with a couple of traits swapped in (notably Bolt to the Heart and Blasting Staff), grab a superior sigil of battle for your staff, and rune for boon duration and might duration.

You will have better damage, better support ability, better boon uptime, and most importantly, you will actually benefit from swapping attunements instead of being ‘penalized’ by it, so you will be able to execute the full range of AE damage + control combos that exist.

Give it a try and see what you think. In my opinion it outshines a Fire XII build in every way, even including raw damage output, since you are better at keeping people in AE damage areas, and can stay in longer due to more survivability. Give the Fire XII build a try too, just don’t dump a lot of gold gearing for it because you may very well be disappointed.

Kintari.4172:

The build you linked is high damage on paper, but low survivability and over-reliant on staying in fire attunement.

Go 0/10/0/30/30 with a couple of traits swapped in (notably Bolt to the Heart and Blasting Staff), grab a superior sigil of battle for your staff, and rune for boon duration and might duration.

You will have better damage, better support ability, better boon uptime, and most importantly, you will actually benefit from swapping attunements instead of being ‘penalized’ by it, so you will be able to execute the full range of AE damage + control combos that exist.

Give it a try and see what you think. In my opinion it outshines a Fire XII build in every way, even including raw damage output, since you are better at keeping people in AE damage areas, and can stay in longer due to more survivability. Give the Fire XII build a try too, just don’t dump a lot of gold gearing for it because you may very well be disappointed.

Thanks for the input on the build. I’ve considered a build similar to what you listed, specifically along the lines of a 10/10/0/30/20 staff build, but decided to try this route first and see how I like it.

I also heavily considered going this route: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6AqOVsaizY&list=UUSg9n14zRvCIgGrXynP5eWQ&index=4

… but it’s just too support based for where I want to play my Ele for the time being. In time I’m sure I’ll find my sweet spot.

EDIT – Oh I forgot to ask you. Would you still keep the Berserker’s stats for the staff and accessories for the build you suggested or would you use something else, assuming I keep the 6/6 P/V/T set?

Also, thanks for the comments on Runes thus far. I didn’t realize that Divinity runes are basically 50g for the set so that’s out, and Scholar ain’t cheap either. Strength is reasonably priced though. Maybe it’s best to focus on Boon/Might duration like you suggested. I could keep 2 Monk runes from the AC set, add 2x Sup Rune of Water and 2x of the cheapest Might duration rune.

Liquid.9672:

Kintari.4172:

The build you linked is high damage on paper, but low survivability and over-reliant on staying in fire attunement.

Go 0/10/0/30/30 with a couple of traits swapped in (notably Bolt to the Heart and Blasting Staff), grab a superior sigil of battle for your staff, and rune for boon duration and might duration.

You will have better damage, better support ability, better boon uptime, and most importantly, you will actually benefit from swapping attunements instead of being ‘penalized’ by it, so you will be able to execute the full range of AE damage + control combos that exist.

Give it a try and see what you think. In my opinion it outshines a Fire XII build in every way, even including raw damage output, since you are better at keeping people in AE damage areas, and can stay in longer due to more survivability. Give the Fire XII build a try too, just don’t dump a lot of gold gearing for it because you may very well be disappointed.

Thanks for the input on the build. I’ve considered a build similar to what you listed, specifically along the lines of a 10/10/0/30/20 staff build, but decided to try this route first and see how I like it.

I also heavily considered going this route: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6AqOVsaizY&list=UUSg9n14zRvCIgGrXynP5eWQ&index=4

… but it’s just too support based for where I want to play my Ele for the time being. In time I’m sure I’ll find my sweet spot.

EDIT – Oh I forgot to ask you. Would you still keep the Berserker’s stats for the staff and accessories for the build you suggested or would you use something else, assuming I keep the 6/6 P/V/T set?

Also, thanks for the comments on Runes thus far. I didn’t realize that Divinity runes are basically 50g for the set so that’s out, and Scholar ain’t cheap either. Strength is reasonably priced though. Maybe it’s best to focus on Boon/Might duration like you suggested. I could keep 2 Monk runes from the AC set, add 2x Sup Rune of Water and 2x of the cheapest Might duration rune.

Yeah a lot of people go 10 fire for the might on cantrips trait. I tend to keep cantrips in reserve for defensive use, so the thought of burning them for a few stacks of might does not appeal to me, but it’s a solid trait and a lot of people use it.

I feel like it’s hard to go wrong with boon and might duration runes. You can use them with a fire might-stacking build just fine if that’s what you want to do, and you can use them with an arcane attunement-swapping build. Plus as you noted they are much more affordable than the other popular choices.

P/V/T armor + berserker’s accessories and weapons is a good starting point if that’s what you have already or are working towards. I use mostly knight’s with a mix of berserker and valk accessories, but am in the process of trading out some of that crit for more power.

Another reason why I like staff builds closer to the prevailing d/d builds is that it gives you the versatility to retrait on the fly depending on whether you will be zerg busting or roaming. Staff’s major weakness is 1v1 so it’s really nice to be able to just get out your daggers, swap a few major traits, and roam solo. But see what works for you.