Guild Wars 2

My concerns are mostly about the staff.

Elementalist skills have to short range in general. As the squishiest class, Elementalist atleast should have the longest range.

All Staff Elementalist skills are easily avoided, even without dodging.
All number 1 skills travels so slow and have no “homing” system the enemy only have to move slightly to the side to avoid it.

Theres no way to continuasly cripple/slow enemies like other ranged classes can, for example ranger. The CC in Staff is quite weak and only last a second.

We have to be in air to keep up our speedbuff, all the while, the other classes next to you can use it all the time, and even when you have the 25% air talent specced, other classes run just as fast as you, or faster, without having to spec into an “attunement”
This also makes is extremly easy for enemies to escape you, since it only works out of combat, or to keep up with you trying to run away.

The damage in staff is quite weak, it might hit for 2k+ on a crit, but the damage ticks comes in so slow compared to other classes. A ranger attacks for example hits you 3-4 times as fast for the same damage per hit.

I Would also like to see a talent that makes all attuenments have some kind of built in cc. Like all fire having a chance to knockback/knockdown- All Water having a chance to chill. All air having a chance to stun and all earth having a chance to cripple.

That was all i had for now, please free to say what you want changed/added. And please dont turn it into a pointing fingers topic, if you dont agree, dont post.

I think I would change is give elementalist a better 1200 range single target option.

As you mention the staff would be the perfect choice (seeing as it’s our only 1200 range weapon). I think the staff itself is pretty great as it is; but it lacks an attunement that specializes in single target damage (which would logically wise be air).
Staff is too much group oriented at the moment, and that is an absolute killer for anyone that wants to play a more traditional mage style; or any situation that requires ranged single target dps.

Staff damage isn’t low, is low for single target as nyth said.

What would be interesting to see is being able to choose between 2 different sets of weapon for each element (ie staff for fire/water and d/d for air/earth) Sounds a bit crazy, but it would fix the problem of being “confined” to one type of range.

Realistically we just need some traits to be less specific to attunements. D/d probably needs buffs though.

Weapon swap. I’d like to go from MELE D/D to Range STAFF like all other classes can do.

Especially when I feel that I do the most damage with my D/D MELE set up. Sometimes I feel that I need to go RANGE in certain situations, but I cannot because I don’t have a WEAPON SWAP.

Okay, I’m going to admit, I haven’t a clue what CC means, and it bugs me that everyone knows it and I don’t lol.

As for the thing that I wish would change, I believe Water (and Earth to an extent) magic needs a bit of a run through. Sure I know it’s support, but the damage is just laughable outside of Shatterstone and Ice Spike, and to be honest, specializing into the Water Magic trait doesn’t help too much. I mean gee, just look at Water Trident and you’ll get my point.

Cast times and bugs would also be on my hit parade.

Ukaei.8694:

Weapon swap. I’d like to go from MELE D/D to Range STAFF like all other classes can do.

Especially when I feel that I do the most damage with my D/D MELE set up. Sometimes I feel that I need to go RANGE in certain situations, but I cannot because I don’t have a WEAPON SWAP.

This too, but it would unleash a whinestorm of immense proportions.

Hate it when I run around in WvW with a staff for ranged combat and group support and I stumble upon a 1v1 situation where I’m SOL because I can’t swap to a close combat damage set like S/D or D/D.

So far I’ve been trying to write it off as our ‘major class weakness’ but, seeing how bad eles are off in pvp (and also in a lot of pve situations) my conviction of this is wearing thin :P

drake.2135:

Okay, I’m going to admit, I haven’t a clue what CC means, and it bugs me that everyone knows it and I don’t lol.

CC is crowd control. It includes everything from immobilizes to slows and from stuns to knockdowns.

Some people don’t consider immobilize and slows to be CC as you keep control of your character to some extend, but they technically are by definition of the word. (And frankly if i mange to slow or snare a whole group of mobs/players in a big pile of AoE that counts as proper CC to me).

Nyth.3492:

drake.2135:

Okay, I’m going to admit, I haven’t a clue what CC means, and it bugs me that everyone knows it and I don’t lol.

CC is crowd control. It includes everything from immobilizes to slows and from stuns to knockdowns.

Some people don’t consider immobilize and slows to be CC as you keep control of your character to some extend, but they technically are by definition of the word. (And frankly if i mange to slow or snare a whole group of mobs/players in a big pile of AoE that counts as proper CC to me).

Oh, in that case yes, Elementalists cc is pretty bad lol (though I do like signet of earth, even if it’s only three seconds).

Weapon swap. I’d like to go from MELE D/D to Range STAFF like all other classes can do.

No, just no. Weapon swap would make the Ele horribly overpowered (unless we’re talking about an out-of-combat swap button, which I’m on board with).

A preferable “fix” would be to add a few longer range actions to the D/D skillset (such that it would still be preferrable to be in melee range, but not near worthless outside of 600 range), but that would mean giving up some of the currently useful skills in the D/D ability set, so I wouldn’t be excited about that “fix.” I currently use all 20 skills in the D/D set, so I wouldn’t want any to go away.

Staff not having “melee range” skills is not an issue as there is no minimum range on the skills, it’s a non-issue.

Personally, I don’t think this is as big of an issue as some people make it out to be. That’s my 2 copper…

The CC in Staff is quite weak and only last a second.

The CC is staff is quite strong in my opinion, with the best “CC skill” simply being 1200 range. After that you have a free dodge-roll in fire, an AOE chill in water, a knockdown and AOE stun in Air, and a cripple and immobilize in Earth. Add an utility skill or two (signet of earth, active, for example) and you have plenty. The only addition I would argue for would be a projectile shield/deflect, but at 1200 range, many projectiles can be easily dodged by strafing and/or using one of your 3 dodge rolls.

Edited to add: And I actually forgot magnetic shield w/ staff, so it DOES have a deflect ranged shield.

Staff not having “melee range” skills is not an issue as there is no minimum range on the skills, it’s a non-issue.

Going into a fight at melee range with a staff is idiotic. That’s why they want weapon swapping, so that they could stand a chance when at melee range.

Technically they could just carry Scepter/Dagger or Dagger/Dagger the whole time, but scepters lack anything that could help a team out, and running double daggers the entire time is also idiotic.

Unless you’re in sPvP, then everything but the staff is good.

Going into a fight at melee range with a staff is idiotic. That’s why they want weapon swapping, so that they could stand a chance when at melee range.

I wholeheartedly agree, so do your best to ensure that they don’t get into melee range when you’re running a staff. Hopefully your teammates can help you with this, especially if a stealthed thief pops up next to you (throw them some heals and maybe they’ll help you peel the thief).

Bottomline is that the ability to swap weapons in combat w/ the Ele would make them horribly overpowered. Start the fight at range, throw some fireballs and burns out. Switch to air and gust/static field/windborne speed to keep them at range. If they ever do get close, quickly switch to D/D for RTL/updraft/burning speed/ring/arcane blast/fire grab combo. Switch to earth, earthquake, tack on some bleeds. Back to staff for shockwave, switch to water, drop some water fields (then blast combo to heal yourself to full). Attune to fire, burning retreat then resume kiting at range. That doesn’t sound ridiculously overpowered? A weapon swapping Ele between Staff and D/D would be practically unkillable.

If staffer gets to fight in close range he should use CC skill (for example frozen ground) and than escape on better distance.
What about the conditions apply on skills: That is what Glyph of Elemental Power does.

About the staff itself… there are just 3 mayor flaws:
1. Unsteady Ground is useless in PvP. It should make some combo field instead (“Magnetic Wall”, “Dust Wall”? ) for example blinding everyone who walk through. Being a Dust field it would also protect against arrows if they come from behind this wall giving so precious survivability. Much more versatile usages than small cripple everyone just roll through. Puting it around ourselves will help against melee spikers (2 like a boss!). It would change a lot situation of Ele in sPvP.

2. Chain Lightning is simply annoying. Deals hardly any damage and in PvE it has not-nice tendence to chain onto neutral mobs (like nearby stags or fireflies) making another target you need to kill. Would work very well as a single-target bolt with increased critical chance instead.

3. Gust is often useless as it can push just 1 enemy. It does no damage, so having ability to push at least 2 of them would be much appriciated.

1. Unsteady Ground is useless in PvP…. Much more versatile usages than small cripple everyone just roll through.

somewhat agree, although there is something to be said for making another class waste a dodge roll just to avoid your cripple.

2. Chain Lightning…it has not-nice tendence to chain onto neutral mobs (like nearby stags or fireflies)

OMG yes. This is ridiculously annoying. It should not, under any circumstances, jump to a neutral mob. It’s so bad, I almost consider this a “bug.”

3. Gust is often useless as it can push just 1 enemy.

Somewhat agree. If staff is “king of the aoe”, then gust should pushback similar to updraft (where the aoe isn’t that large, but slightly effective).
Gust travels along the ground in a line, this could be fixed by simply making it travel in a narrow cone (expanding outwards slightly as it covers ground).

If you’d ask me I would say the funniest replacement for the Gust would be some 1 second little tornado in arget area pushing enemies out. It would allow for example preventing their escape from AoE fields if put on their way x) (if Staff is Crowd Control than let’s control the Crowd not to escape from our AoE so easily…)

But cone would also be nice

problem with ground aoe cc is that enemies can easily avoid it by running around it, dodging it or simply using a movement skill. like our favorite heartseeker.

alot of classes have skills that makes them immune to cc for a mucg longer duration then our cc lasts

im ok with it, the homing thing is a much more annoying

Selo.1250:

We have to be in air to keep up our speedbuff, all the while, the other classes next to you can use it all the time, and even when you have the 25% air talent specced, other classes run just as fast as you, or faster, without having to spec into an “attunement”

With a Staff you can simply use Earth #2, Air #5 and #4 for Swiftness, couple that with Elemental Attunement and you have consistent Swiftness, not only on yourself but everyone around you.
The +25% speed trait is next to worthless, and worthless if you use a Staff.

The biggest issue with the Elementalist right now is that the weapon choice pigeon holes the player into a certain playstyle. Other professions have a weapon swap system that allows them to either range or melee.

The Staff could definatley use the following…

-increased projectile velocity
-lower cooldowns
-2 attunments that focuses on single target damage
-2 attunments that focuses on multi-target damage