Guild Wars 2

I’m relatively new to actually trying to play my ele right lol and I’m looking for the best weapon combo for someone just starting out. That being said I’ve read the stickied guide and a few others as well as watched videos. While I found them very intuitive they all assume you aren’t completely fresh to the scene, I’m just looking for some advice/ direction to the easiest build to start out with and possible a solid guide line to the build as people tend to give you a lot of if and or buts about the builds, I guess I’m just asking if anyone knows of a completely straight forward guide however I wouldn’t mind an answer to the original question, what’s easiest and what’s the best d/d , d/f ,s/f ? Which should I use to solo and which should I run with a group?

Any sort of constructive advice is much appreciated and thank you in advance for it.

I dont think there is an easiest ele build at least imo, however if you are any decent in general you shouldnt have too many problems picking up on ele at the start (like leveling etc) , my first character was guardian and i quit him once i hit lvl 50 and switched to ele, ele is obviously more difficult but its not to the point where you have to be pro player to play the class ( i mean for leveling since im still leveling it, its top3 class in terms of difficulty to in pvp from what i’ve read though). D/D to me seems most straight forward for leveling and such, you stack might and you destroy everything with air1, its also tons of fun to play it and explore the world with it since with sigil of air+ air4/5 + fire 3 (also fiery greatsword) you are insanely mobile not to mention combat skills are really fun to use too. Just dont be afraid to switch around and try out other weapon builds, i like s/d a lot too but its not as straight forward as d/d to me so i use it more rarely than d/d, didnt like s/f or staff at all but again its all personal preference.

If you are looking for an extremely easy yet super effective build for PvP and WvW, here is one, there is a video link in the post with a small guide and gameplay. Let me know if you like this sort of build, else I would post some other build. For PvE however, it’s all about max damage output hence, it won’t be easy for you to survive. Please check Dekeys pinned post for pve builds.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/elementalist/Diva-s-Condi-Signet-Build-Video-Added-1/first

All GW2 content can be done while staying in fire attunement with staff or scepter.

But if you wanna feel like a boss go for D/D… After my ranger it was like : “WTF is this swapping and long CD’s and the like…”

You can basically lock down enemies, heal through hard encounters, dodge lethal attacks and make your PUG members say: “Where da hell is dat damage come from…”

Meanwhile you are going to learn to dodge and use your defensive skills wisely.

Ele is Hardcore mode with hardcore reward. And the reward is: FUN!

I got a tanky build I’m still using and it’s good to learn the basics, since you actually tend to survive some hits before you drop. The dmg-output is very low, so you will see a lot of flaming from zerker-fanatics who oppose everything that isn’t a glass-cannon.

The build is signet-heavy. Signets give you passive boons, so you can focus on the different attunements. As you grow more confident with your twenty skills in the front, take the signets out one by one and experiment with your traits accordingly.
First off: Full celestial gear. It gives you the versatility you need for the different attunements and their different strengths.

Traits: (Some people will hate me for this)
0-0-6-2-6
In earth you run with Signet Mastery(faster recharge on signets), Geomancers Freedom(less mobility-debuffs) and Written in Stone(keep the boni of your signets even while they are in cooldown).
For water you either go with healing on critical hits or the falling dmg-reduction. Important is the passive boon you get in water-attunement from the first point.
In Arcane you take Blasting Staff, even though you will have your dmg spread further, crowd control and supportive use of fields becomes easier. Second is the trait that refills your endurance with the use of arcane- and signet-skills(forgot the name again). Last is Evasive Arcana, a great trait that gives you different effects on dodging(with a cooldown though): Water(aoe-heal and condition-removal), Earth(a blast-finisher that causes aoe-dmg and -bleeding on enemies), Air(aoe-blinding), Fire(aoe-dmg + -burning).

Healing-, utility- and elite-skill:
As I mentioned, this build is signet-heavy so you can focus on your attunement-mastery first.
You take the Healing Signet. With the Signet Mastery you can use this skill more frequently for larger heals, while you still gain health with every skill-use, thanks to Written in Stone. Healing power from the celestial gear further improves your healing-capabilities, while the vitality increases your health-pool greatly.

For utility you go with Arcane Blast(an additional blast-finisher for your many fields), Signet of Air(passive +25% movement-speed, active aoe-blind and -dmg) and Signet of Earth(Passive toughness + active ensnare).

In addition your healing-skill and all your utilities fill up your endurance-bar on use, giving you more dodges and therefore more chances to avoid attacks and gain benefits from Evasive Arcana.

For the Elite Skill I suggest the Glyph of the Elemental. The earth-elemental is great to keep enemies from you, the water-version heals and gives some crowd-control, fire is a glass-cannon and air pretty much just gives you swiftness.

The build is so friggin tanky, that you can experiment with the weapons as you like. While you will get a good feeling for the combos, be aware that this build is weak regarding dmg-output. You should be a patient person when you engage larger enemies.