Guild Wars 2

This is, in a sense, a bunker build. But before you reject it on that basis, realize how much damage and control you will be outputting. This build is meant for front line combat in small group fighting(5~20). Staff just isn’t good for roaming, but the traits do still work decently well with s/d or d/d should you need to run somewhere alone. And in a big zerg as a staff ele.. it doesn’t super matter what your build is. Pewpew and collect all the loot.

0/10/30/0/30 or 0/10/20/10/30.
Air: Quick Glyphs (III)
Earth: Armor of Earth (III), Geomancer’s Freedom, Stability on Earth Attunment
Water (if taken): Cleanse on Water Attunement
Arcana: Vigor on Crit, Blasting Staff, Evasive Arcana

Armor: PVT
Accessories: PVT (ascended all stat if available)
Runes:
If in prefered build: Use melandru runes with lemograss poultry. On top of geomancer’s freedom, this means that all slows will fall of you nearly instnatly while bleeds and burns are nearly irrelevant.
If 10 points in water: 2 major water, 2 superior water, 2 superior monk and what ever food you feel helps you with your H20 fettish.

Consumeables: Lemongrass Poultry + Master Maintenance oil to maximize the vigor on crit trait while getting a nice damage boost considering the quantity of V and T you have.

Utilities:
Glyph Heal, Glyph of Power, Glyph of Storms, Mistform, elite of your choice (I use human racial avatar of grenth).

Staff: Knights or Soliders (I have knights) with Superior Sigil of Energy. Evades keep you alive in mele, and in this build you will alomst never lack one.

But Jester! You’re a staff ele with no water points lolusobad!
But naysayer! What’s the piont of water now that the clense trait is pretty heavily nerfed? 1 condition per use of water 5 is a drop in the bucket. Yes the trait is now on a five second internal cd, but the actual field is on a long cool down and only lasts so long.

What you’re doing isntead: This build is not about standing in the back and pewing, because that’s for baddies and you’re not a baddie. The durability of this build is huge with access to endless snares and heals, as well as a strong passive defensive buffing from the free armor of earth and toughness from 30 points in earth. With quick glyphs you are able to use glyph of power and storms over and over, laying down huge volumes of damage and keeping chill on the ball. Stay up in the fray laying down fields and dishing out damage. Constant AOE will help pressure more and more of the team into disengagments and recoveries rather than leaving most enemies at high health. It also will provide a bit of breathing room for your team as the area immediatly around you is constantly quite dangerous to the enemy.

Soon you will have the atention of the enemy group and find that you are more than able to tank them effectively while your group picks them off. I frequently battleheal in earth for the protection rather than the regen, or even swiftness since I am virtually immune to snare. Despite your tankiness, you can lay down large sums of damage. With all your toughness it really is no issue to stop dead and cast a meteor shower right on top of yourself, and glyph of storms can be cast on the move. Blasting staff means your Fire2’s will always find targets, and Air5 becomes a major mele lockdown. That said, a well placed earth 5 can ensure enemy deaths and Air 2 will still pack a punch in full power gear.

While not a 15second cd rtl, the build is also pretty solid at escape (not amazing, but you stand a chance). Immune-ish to snare/immobilize, you can jsut keep swifting yourself and head for the nearest body of water (remember that most classes cannot grant swiftness underwater and you still can).

Air 4 + Glyph is enough for perma swiftness even with no +duration other than the 30 points in arcana for those wondering.

Thoughts and suggestions? This is for the ele that misses the front lines and wants to feel like iron god, because you will when you are the last one up every single time.

What is the damage of the glyph of storms comparable to? The build seems like a self tank and not a whole lot else, but the stats look like you will, in fact, most likely be the very last person standing – and there is a lot to be said for that. I’m a bit confused on where the massive amounts of damage is coming from – its obviously not condition based.

Thanks for posting your build.

I don’t play an elementalist, I usually run around on my ranger or mesmer but my friend let me play his Ele in WvW last night. I didn’t want to try D/D so we switched it to your build. Dude, this build was amazing fun. I sat in the middle of a massive wave trying to get inside the north wall of SM. I don’t know how much damage I was doing but with the storm glyph and all the normal AOE fields staff brings it greatly help to slow numerous enemy pushes. I like how you can take a few hits as long as you play smartly. I was using the mistform skill to bug-out, heal, then get back into the fight.

Lots of fun, lots of loot and first time I really enjoyed playing an ele. I might create one now.

Question: The crit rate is real low so why pick renewing stamina? Granted we only had clerics armor and a level 62 ele but just wondering if elemental attunement would be of greater use for the boons.

Looks interesting. Tagged for future reference.

Expiatus: Glad you like it!!
I forgot to mentino this in the op, but I have a superior sigil of energy in the staff and I am using master maintenance oils (+crit based on vitality and toughness which I have in spades).

You can pick up the buff on swap, but not wearing any + duration runes I found they just don’t feel like they are doing much where as laying down constant aoe pressure means you don’t need a great crit rate to always have a proc. Plus, if you are on the front lines, you SHOULD be gettign frenzy from somewhere to help it even more.

Like 47:
The damage you are doing is spread out, this is a group pressure build. You will not do much to a single target (other than be able to lock them down with snares imobilizes adn so on). As I mention in the post its damage is more ability draining for the other team than it is about getting a signle kill. Just about every enemy passing through a chokepoint you are hitting will be an easy target on the other side laden with cripple, chill, affect of your choice from storms, some light burning and a decent amount of their health drained. Not to mention all the other aoes you trap them under from team members.

This build lets you sway the tide of the fight, not hammer one random loot bag. Advantage: you will get ALL the loot bags.

Glyph of storms is pretty decently powerful with quick hits in its area. If you use glyph of power in water first, its hits will be applying chill which is just awesome. The real point of this build is to control the movement of the enemy group while continually making them think about wasting heals and evades (so many people knee-jerk roll out of red circles that laying down so many will waste lots) so that your team can land more hits.

Ok, so the main point is to survive long enough to be able to really pressure people the entire fight. I was just confused why you went so high on the armor, I find that I can have almost the exact same effect from a bit further back and with 500 less armor with a good bit more damage.

I guess the real benefit to the tankyness is being able to give stability to the right people (the front liners – warriors/guards) instead of all the casters or people not in the direct line of fire.

It is also just to be able to stay with the front ball. We, at least, often end up pushing through zergs or defenses on long interior shorties especially at garrisons and SM and so on, where being able to survive with the guardians and warriors means you can actually make a difference. I also really don’t like standing in the back pewing as you are living only as long as it takes one or two enterprising thieves to notice and go in search of free loot. That said, I would not suggest rolling even the tankiest staff ele into a true zerg v zerg mele. Again, this is for small-mediums groups where your pressure can be felt.

Naysayer:
- Geomancer Freedom doesnt give “nearly snare immunity”
- 15 in water (cleanse and heal) gives more than quick glyphs, even if you use glyphs.
- You cant use glyphs in Mist Form anymore. Storms in earth is amazing but it is somehow hard to land on the frontline now.
- Elemental Power is good for kite situation but this wont happend when fighting a zerg

I play mage Stabmage in 0/0/30/20/20, full cantrip+Ether. Full boon duration. But thats the same spirit.

Any more info on this build? Utilities? Video?

Looks like a fun build.

Personally, I’d switch out Glyph of Storms (not enough damage or length of utility for its long cooldown) for a cantrips of your choice and use elite Glyph of Elementals (surprised you don’t use this with quick glyphs!)

I’ve always enjoyed glyph builds. Another thing to remember with Glyph of Elemental Power is that using it in Air Attunement gives 6 (six!) seconds of weakness. People often overlook that but in a group fight stacking weakness on enemies can be devastating.

Lastly, Elemental Attunement and Renewing Stamina could easily be switched out for one another. Both such good traits.

With high intelligence and BD Elemental Attunement becomes pretty awesome and overshines Renewing Stamina.

As for Elite pet, seriously that crap dies on every fight involving more than 10 people. Water Elem goes to melee, Air is the only decent one since he tends to stay at range and interupts a bit. Nothing beats Tornado in Ether fields to me.