Guild Wars 2

I’ve been reading through the forums, and have a few questions.

Firstly, I see that staff is described as a “support” weapon in WvW. I’m guessing that means it’s not viable for solo/small group roaming?

Secondly, why do all the builds ignore fire? It seems decent to me, especially for staff. I hear that everything needs 30 in Arcana and Water… is this just for survivability? Is it possible to build a dps-heavy staff elementalist?

Currently, I find it works better than D/D at low levels, although I’m only PvEing at the moment.

In my experience the staff is too AoE based to be viable for roaming/small group. You can however put out massive dps in larger situations.

Fire builds can actually be viable too; I often run 30/0/0/20/20 picking up more fire damage, quicker fire recharge and might from casting as teh fire traits and it works uite well. However having 30 in arcane and water tends to make you a lot more useful to everybody else.

D/D is a lot better for pvp/wvw in my opinion, I usually stick on staff for pve.

Staff Elementalist is required for group play in WvW.

Role: Support/CC/Utility.

Manly deploying combo fields (staff ele is the only weapon that carry all the 3 you want to use: Fire, Water and Lighting for Might, Heal and Swiftness), have stronk CC with Static (AoE Stun ignoring 5 target limit) Frozen Ground Unsteady Ground and Shockwave. Massive AoE condition cleanses with proper spec and gear.

The DPS is not your job. Soldier gear is a solid choice (and will give you almost 3k power), but i see a lot of ppl running this build with 0 offensive stats, like Shaman (massive Vit and Healing). It’s designed for group play + full support and thus horrible in roaming and dps, but when your Static/Frozen is the ultimate lock for bombing the enemy and the Healing Rain + blasting a massive lifesaver, i don’t care the less of dmg.

I think it comes down to the question: how can I use my class to help my group be successful? is it going to be AoE dps or are we all going to benefit from support? (cc, condition removal, AoE heals ect.) usually the choice is clear as other classes usually have the dps down and the group as a whole benefits more from a support ele than a dps ele. this is purely group size dependent, in a smaller group I prefer to run dd or sd, leaving support staff for groups of 10+

Nah, I don’t do support. I’m there for damage, and so far staff damage is good. I honestly don’t see the point in using daggers… a caster should be a ranged class. Why would I want to be up in someone’s face when I’m wearing cloth armour?

because it superior to staff in damage, sd way better than staff for single target burst. dd is far better than staff for mobility / damage combination. it dsnt matter what you think a caster should do, all that matters is what Anet designed the class to do.

On a staff ele, you can do good support and still throw out a helpful amount of damage (especially to siege).

Here is what I do:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fEEQFAWhEmKbzR5gjDAkCnEeQADJUeMzO2A-j0xAoLAqAQ2rIas1sioxqmJiq1LYuEMA-w

The Goat.1940:

because it superior to staff in damage, sd way better than staff for single target burst. dd is far better than staff for mobility / damage combination. it dsnt matter what you think a caster should do, all that matters is what Anet designed the class to do.

That’s funny, because staff seems designed to do a lot of damage, especially attuned to fire… scepter I find to be lacklustre at best, and the animations are horrible.

I run a condition staff build with max fire, earth and a dash of air. Balanced by having a lot of toughness, it’s quite durable but requires being in a group.

In terms of direct damage is quite mediocre, but it is mainly designed for area denial and maintaining conditions on foes who are otherwise engaged.

I may not be much of a threat alone, but when with at least one other person, I count for two. It’s combat support, rather than healing support.

mathras.2450:

The Goat.1940:

because it superior to staff in damage, sd way better than staff for single target burst. dd is far better than staff for mobility / damage combination. it dsnt matter what you think a caster should do, all that matters is what Anet designed the class to do.

That’s funny, because staff seems designed to do a lot of damage, especially attuned to fire… scepter I find to be lacklustre at best, and the animations are horrible.

really? then why on the forums are there so many s/d and d/d damage/ roaming/ sPvP builds and so little staff damage builds? I’ll tell you …. because s/d and dd are superior. if you find s/d burst lackluster then you are either totally geared wrong or you are not playing it correctly.

Edit: animations are horrible? lmao not 1 person drops because of an animation.

Condition damage with staff is a joke against anyone with a cleanse available or anyone standing near anyone with AoE cleanses. You cannot reapply your conditions reliably and quick enough to be more viable than dealing direct damage.

Oh… and I hit like a truck AoE with my staff build while keeping 15k tough / 20k health with stacks.

The Goat.1940:

mathras.2450:

The Goat.1940:

because it superior to staff in damage, sd way better than staff for single target burst. dd is far better than staff for mobility / damage combination. it dsnt matter what you think a caster should do, all that matters is what Anet designed the class to do.

That’s funny, because staff seems designed to do a lot of damage, especially attuned to fire… scepter I find to be lacklustre at best, and the animations are horrible.

really? then why on the forums are there so many s/d and d/d damage/ roaming/ sPvP builds and so little staff damage builds? I’ll tell you …. because s/d and dd are superior. if you find s/d burst lackluster then you are either totally geared wrong or you are not playing it correctly.

Edit: animations are horrible? lmao not 1 person drops because of an animation.

Hahaha, “not playing it correctly”… if staff is so bad, why aren’t more people crying for a buff?

And yes, I “drop” weapons because of animations. If I wanted to just mindlessly dominate others without caring about what my character looks like, I’d play an FPS game. I think you’ll find most people who play this game care about minor details like animation, skins etc.

Not really, most players do not care about animations/skins. MMOs are a different play style than FPS and that is why most players play… not because of lame little dragon wings on your back.

covenn.7165:

Not really, most players do not care about animations/skins. MMOs are a different play style than FPS and that is why most players play… not because of lame little dragon wings on your back.

You’re deluding yourself, friend. I’ve been playing MMOs for over 10 years, and I guarantee that visual elements are a huge reason for the majority playing, especially in this game.

mathras.2450:

covenn.7165:

Not really, most players do not care about animations/skins. MMOs are a different play style than FPS and that is why most players play… not because of lame little dragon wings on your back.

You’re deluding yourself, friend. I’ve been playing MMOs for over 10 years, and I guarantee that visual elements are a huge reason for the majority playing, especially in this game.

Yeah, I have been playing for over a decade too. There are two groups of players, those who cares about visual elements and those who farm those players in PvP. I am a member of the latter.

What I disagreed is you saying ‘most’, not that they exist. The majority is also not true …at least in games like this one. If you are referring to games like WoW or EQ, then you would be accurate.

mathras.2450:

covenn.7165:

Not really, most players do not care about animations/skins. MMOs are a different play style than FPS and that is why most players play… not because of lame little dragon wings on your back.

You’re deluding yourself, friend. I’ve been playing MMOs for over 10 years, and I guarantee that visual elements are a huge reason for the majority playing, especially in this game.

by drop I means downing a person in sPvP or WvW (pve is a different story). Staff is just fine for support, I won’t endorse using it for the sole purpose of dps, that’s just a terrible idea, most of the skills for staff are support focused (combo fields, blast finishers) go solo with a staff and ur putting yourself at a disadvantage. no one is stupid enough to stand in your red circles for long enough to do any damage. with that said you seem bent on disagreeing with fact so go enjoy the pretty animations and be some awesome rally fodder. : )

Edit: I think it should be known that i do, in fact, run a staff build in WvW. in a group as support. why? because that’s what the team needs, think about what the team needs most. a staff ele comes in handy it’s just not the dps part the team is really going to need, as stated before other classes have damage covered. I prefer 0/20/0/20/30 static field up every 31 seconds. cc is so important to a successful team.

When your tower is under heavy siege fire and your commander screams “Someone AoE that FEMALE DOG!” then you realize how useful Staff Ele is.

Until that kind of scenario happens, people will stick to doing damage to other server’s assaulters

And I’ve seen that scenario more than once. It’s the entire reason I switched from healing focus to mixed.

Staff ele’s cc are all short lived, but most are AoE, and imprisoning people in Air 5 is always sweet

Staff ele is NOT for solo combat, leave that thing to other classes. It’s entirely for support. Sure, it’s not as Chuck Norris as getting up close and kill people with fire (which you totally can do), Staff Ele is to others what Artillery unit is to Strike Team: they don’t get to see enemy’s face, but they provide extra firepower (pun intended)

And when your team is falling back, spam those CCs, they can cover an entire bridge

mathras.2450:

I’ve been reading through the forums, and have a few questions.

Firstly, I see that staff is described as a “support” weapon in WvW. I’m guessing that means it’s not viable for solo/small group roaming?

…..

Staff works real well in small group wvw in all ways except one, single target dps and aoe dps that is effective for pvp combat. The cripples, stuns, immobilizes, and freezes from skills and Glyph of Elemental Power are very effective. With a build that grants high vigor and some swiftness, keeping one’s distance is not a problem. Neither is preventing players from running away. It’s killng them that is the issue unless the others in the group are doing that well. So, if I get caught out in the open running and have not switched out of staff, I can survive often, but not be at my best.

Very simply, dps is highest for small aoe and single target in melee range with daggers and this is what is needed in small group and single combat. The ranged aoe is best with staff. The scepter is in-between, combo ranged and melee. We don’t have good ranged single target dps at all.

Whatever build we go for, we have to have condition removal and self healing. Many of our builds don’t have the hit points to eat up conditions and damage like many classes. The is why you see so much water and arcane traits. Even in large groups, we get hit with many conditions, especially if we get up close to the front where we have to be placed to land our staff aoe. The 1600 range is the farthest effect of the aoe circle. To place that aoe circle where it does the most good, we want the mob to be as close to us as possible and that is juicy target range for opponents.

Like others have already said, some of you don’t understand the role of staff ele’s in wvw. And unlike the OP, I have seen and read through hundreds of pages that outline viable builds, strategy/tactics, etc. regarding use of staff in wvw. It’s about knowing when to use staff vs d/d vs s/d and also understanding your play style.

I prefer to run in larger groups, controlling zergs at choke points, sieging towers from below, speed boosting those mesmers that always fall behind, removing conditions from allies, spreading stability and other boons, and laying AoE all over the field. Not only do I provide support with staff, but I can also get “respectable” damage without dying every time someone pokes me with a stick.

I run with 0/0/25/25/20

Soldier Armor
Ogre Runes
Mix of Celestial/Berserker Ascended Trinkets

Get about ~17k HP, 2100 Power, 3200 Attack, 2450 Armor, 35% Crit, 60% Crit Dmg

With the build, I can also switch to d/d, tweak a few traits, and can run in smaller groups and still be an asset instead of a liability.

Staff has pro/cons. D/D has pros/cons. They are both good.

I switch to staff for very large scale battles, especially in chokepoints like bridges. Also for attacking people on keeps. Other than that I find it far better to roam with d/d since it’s much more dangerous being caught in a 1v1 scenario with staff than a zerg vs zerg scenario with d/d (much easier to stay back and switch to staff from d/d while the zergs begin fighting). I will say staff is amazing for kills in the large battles though.

If you don’t understand why people pick d/d ele’s look at daphoniex’s mastering d/d guide and watch some of his you tube video’s you’ll understand why they are so strong.

Sir Erighan.9260:

Get about ~17k HP, 2100 Power, 3200 Attack, 2450 Armor, 35% Crit, 60% Crit Dmg

Just some advice: Play with your gear/food/stacks some.

I run an offensive staff build for WvW with heavy fire. 30/0/20/0/20. With Knight/Soldier armor and berserker accessories/rings/amulet etc. And while it isn’t spectacular for defensive support it still supports the group well by more or less spamming Fury and Might for my zerg. And I hit pretty hard with my AoE, often downing people up on walls because they stood in my lava font a bit too long. More importantly it’s still pretty tanky with high toughness, and Ether Renewal tends to deal with conditions just fine so long as I don’t get condi-focused by four or five people.

And of course, no matter how you build you do still have access to water fields and static field. It’s literally impossible to spec out of your support abilities while keeping your ranged damage, so always remember to use them as often as needed.

Staff is pretty great in group play, once you swallow the 20 Arcane Required pill.

You don’t need any special gear, or special build beyond that. Your job is very simple.

If you want people to move away from something you drop Meteor/Ice Spike (and Eruption) on it.

If you want them to stop moving toward something you drop Ice/Air/Fire fields on it (and Eruption).

If you want to buff/heal your allies drop the relevant field near them (and Eruption).

If you want to do aoe damage just dump your damage skills in a large melee, where people can’t really see what’s going on (and Eruption).

Most important rule of Staff Ele. NEVER NOT ERUPTION!

PinCushion.7390:

Staff is pretty great in group play, once you swallow the 20 Arcane Required pill.

You don’t need any special gear, or special build beyond that. Your job is very simple.

If you want people to move away from something you drop Meteor/Ice Spike (and Eruption) on it.

If you want them to stop moving toward something you drop Ice/Air/Fire fields on it (and Eruption).

If you want to buff/heal your allies drop the relevant field near them (and Eruption).

If you want to do aoe damage just dump your damage skills in a large melee, where people can’t really see what’s going on (and Eruption).

Most important rule of Staff Ele. NEVER NOT ERUPTION!

Nice. So true. Players talk all the time about moving out of our fields. In a large battle, there are fields of one kind or another everywhere the opposing player wants to go or be, if the fields are placed well. The elementalist ranged aoe skills are strategic weapons. They deny an area to opponents unless they want to pay the consequenses.

Dps min/maxers will point out that our conditions can be removed, but there is only so much condition removal a character has. For the sake of argument, say an advancing zerg has cleansed an elementalist’s chills, cripples, weakness, and stuns to get to the front line. If he could then cleanse our burns, bleeds and immobilizes, one has to wonder what he is doing about all every other classes conditions, take confusion to mention one very powerful one.

If you’re not running a staff in a ZvZ encounter, I don’t quite know why you’re there. D/D is a wholly selfish and small group/roaming spec, and S/D is meant for single-target burst. Neither really brings a whole lot to the table if we’re talking about ele builds in a zerg context. However, your frontline can benefit from one or two D/D eles for their utility and aurashare. Your zerg can also benefit from an S/F ele because of the extreme utility and strong burst that the spec brings. However, the majority of your eles should still be staff. Preferably a mix between support (0/10/0/30/30 or some variant thereof) and glass (points in fire, essentially).

Why you would forego the ridiculous utility, support, and AoE pressure provided by staff for some sub-par soloing build is beyond me.

On the topic of roaming, it’s usually D/D or bust. If you have multiple eles, turning a few into S/Ds can be very powerful, too. I just wouldn’t recommend Staff because roaming is far too mobile to properly utilize Staff’s skills.

covenn.7165:

Sir Erighan.9260:

Get about ~17k HP, 2100 Power, 3200 Attack, 2450 Armor, 35% Crit, 60% Crit Dmg

Just some advice: Play with your gear/food/stacks some.

Well, that’s constructive feedback. I, and I’m sure others, would love to know what optimal staff builds you run.

I run a staff boon build for pve/wvw but I mostly stick with large groups and do lots of support, but I throw out some damage, I don’t expect to be major dps though, but if I can keep the group going a bit longer, I feel accomplished.

mathras.2450:

That’s funny, because staff seems designed to do a lot of damage, especially attuned to fire… scepter I find to be lacklustre at best, and the animations are horrible.

Staff doesn’t have reliable damage like s/d or d/d. If meteors all hit instantly then sure it has high dps otherwise in terms of pure damage s/d or d/d does more.

GW2 is about what you can contribute to a group than individual plays. Sure you should be skilled but every game mode in GW2 makes you work with a group. PvE dungeon, WvW groups, and sPvP team based objectives and plays. In terms of support staff brings a lot of group utility to the table. It is bad solo because in a 1vX or solo situation you have to have reliable dps, mobility, quick sustain, and CC to name a few. Staff doesn’t have this, s/d and d/d weapon sets do.

Fire is one of the weakest trait lines that an Ele has compared to the other trait lines. Air you can get reduced cooldown which allows you to use your static field (one of the strongest CC fields in the game) more often. Bolt to the heart allow you to finish people when you or your team cannot stomp them right away. Earth is good for some personal protection but you can spec for stability (one of the most important boons in WvW) on attuning to earth.

Water is just amazing for group play and it gives you personal survivability and it helps your team through healing power. More hp for you and your team from heals and regeneration. On top of that you can spec for condition removal for your team. 20 Arcana is required since the staff trait is really good to lay down bigger CC fields against group of enemies. Then going EA helps your team survive more (AoE heal and blast finisher into water fields). On top of that lower attunement helps you when you need to do multiple runs into enemies in a short period of time.

It is possible to build a high burst damage staff Ele. However, it would be a “greedy” build because you will not bring as much for your team as other staff Ele builds.

Sir Erighan.9260:

covenn.7165:

Sir Erighan.9260:

Get about ~17k HP, 2100 Power, 3200 Attack, 2450 Armor, 35% Crit, 60% Crit Dmg

Just some advice: Play with your gear/food/stacks some.

Well, that’s constructive feedback. I, and I’m sure others, would love to know what optimal staff builds you run.

Oh it was constructive.

If you want details and are on my server, hit me up in game. Otherwise, get to playing with different equipment layouts

I play a staff elementalist in WvW. I use a build that is primarily focused on DPS, but it functions secondarily as group support via extensive access to combo fields and blast finishers.

Here is my current build.

With Persisting Flames, I am able to maintain perma-Fury and perma-Might (about 15-20 stacks if no one else uses blast finishers) on myself and nearby allies. I also have near-permanent Vigor, allowing me to dodge frequently. This synergizes with Evasive Arcana: dodge in Earth for a blast finisher + bleed + cripple, Water for condition removal, Air for blind, and Fire for burning. The bonus to group damage via Fury and Might is incredible and should not be underestimated.

My usual strategy in zerg fights is to drop some form of CC (usually Frozen Ground or Static Field, or both) and hover near the combat line between the zergs. This lets me get Fury and Might while still damaging their front line. I back up using Burning Retreat, then throw down Meteor Swarm, then throw down Unsteady Ground to cripple more foes.

I can provide plenty of defensive support in terms of condition removal from Healing Rain and dodging in Water Attunement. If you want more support, you could drop Bolt to the Heart and add 10 points in Water Magic for the Cleansing Wave adept trait. I just use the build for both PvE and WvW, so I like to keep the damage-centric setup.

Don’t forget that besides Dragon’s Tooth from scepter, Meteor Swarm (especially with Blasting Staff to increase AoE size) is arguably one of the best skills in the game for clearing enemies from out-of-reach siege.

Staff is the king of group and support.

Also, yes, most people care about visuals. A LOT.

See Hamartia’s guide for a fire-focussed scepter/dagger build designed for PvE. Well worth a look for levelling. Terrific DPS, about five blast finishers and a big long-lasting fire field for huge might stacks.

Like AndrewSX and others I prefer staff on my Ele in WvW. I typically run with a guild of 20-30, or with a Zerg if I’m just messing around. Staff eles are wanted mainly for water and lightning fields, plus general ranged DPS.

Staff is terrible for small scale fights. The AoE attacks are slow to cast and easily dodged. Mobility is limited. Single target DPS is very low. Dagger/dagger is the clear 1vX winner. Scepter/dagger for maybe up to 10 a side. Staff for big fights and sieges.

Staff is what you want to carry if you are running with an organised group.
You are the pillar of organised play..You provide fields for might buffing(fire field)
water field for healing at regrouping…stun and slow effects…there is nothing that can match it…not a weapon..no class.
Good thing is that staff is basicly viable with almost every build,providing you have some points in arcana to take Blasting Staff trait..its really usefull.

Solo play…definitly NOT viable..you will be needing at least 1 or 2 partners to get the job done.
Btw..2 elementalists can destroy a castle wall full of defenders..no joke…Meteor was made for these monster blobs that run in WvW atm.

Because your main job is laying water and static fields, and fire can’t help you with that.

I’ve pretty much become a staff only elementalist since the recent updates…in WvW at least. I do 25/0/0/15/30 and I do half berserker and half knight armor. I have a funny set up..but it works great! I do a lot of CC and team heals mostly. It’s funny to drop meteor shower and see an entire zerg move away. A lot of times I can snare a couple people and kill them. Like everyone is saying, it’s for support and CC.

If you wanna see why more people run d/d ele…simply watch the YouTube video of the RG leader commanding…not only is he the best ele I’ve ever seen(d/d in zvz combat too) he’s hilarious to listen to

Staff has static field and its the only reason anyone wants to see an Elem in WvW. Everything else can be done better by other professions.

innocent ouarior.1954:

Staff has static field and its the only reason anyone wants to see an Elem in WvW. Everything else can be done better by other professions.

Frozen ground is the better CC. Static field gets skipped by Stability.

Absolutely Staff in WvW, in a coordinated group! Might stacking, C/C, Heal Bombs, The AOE swiftness isn’t bad either.
http://youtu.be/R-SoliJEK8c
You really want daggers on while you’re roaming, though…or when you just wanna have a lot of fun.
I’ve found that being heavily traited in fire is not very survivable in WvW.