Staff Elementalist Build and Video Guide
Thanks for the head’s up about the Arcane Brilliance bug, I was unaware of that.
Fair point about Conjurer; I’ll likely switch that point to Burning Precision and see how that goes. Previous to the condition changes, keeping burning on an opponent wasn’t difficult (my normal fractal group includes two guardians) but now that it stacks intensity instead of duration, I don’t know if that changes things in practice. Either way, I wouldn’t be surprised if the dps increase was worth the loss of the extra charges. I tend to drop Ice Bow fairly quickly but keep Fiery Greatsword until all the charges are spent; I was under the impression that FGS had greater dps output than just sitting in fire attunement, but I haven’t done the math so I very well may be wrong about that.
I’m not a fan of fire aura either, as all its benefits are predicated upon getting hit, but I would think the aura sharing would have a lot more use with Magnetic Aura. In an actual run, I’d probably switch that point between each of the three options depending on what the fight calls for (Condition removal/projectile reflect/overall healing).
That’s a good point about Piercing Shards, and something I noticed just a few days after uploading the video. I was previously under the incorrect impression that it applied regardless of attunement. I’ve been switching to water while conjures are active since then.
Mixing in some celestial gear is a slight dps loss over full berserker, as I said, but whether the additional healing power, toughness, and vitality is worth the tradeoff is a matter of personal preference. Using about half celestial gear in place of berserker decreases damage output by about 10% (probably less now that conditions are better) and increases effective health by about 50%, and healing output by about 10%. If people are aiming for maximum dps, then I’d recommend going full beserker gear as well, but in my experience the tradeoff is worth it.
Everything you say about water fields is true, but not necessarily a negative. I agree that people should be cautious and intentional with their field usage, but I think that goes without saying. If the group is trying to stack might and not in danger of dying, don’t lay down water fields, obviously, or even be in water attunement for that matter (unless maybe you need condition removal from Healing Rain). However, if the group takes a lot of damage and people are in need of quick heals, blasting water fields can have its uses; you just have always be wary of the tradeoff between that and keeping might stacks up.
I presented the build in a level three area because those are literally the only PvE dummies in the entire game. It’s stupid, especially because there used to be dummies in the old Fort Mariner, but until ANet decides to change that, that’s how it is.
Thanks for the feedback.