Guild Wars 2

So had a thought, and I’ll try to lay it out as succinctly as possible.

The problem with Ele traits is their discrete nature. Fire traits generally only affect Fire skills, Air for Air, etc. Which means most trait points spent in Elemental lines only link to 25% of skills.

Why not go with a more holistic approach? Instead of the current Ele trait design, in the new system traits would modify the basic weapon skills in some way, for example Fire has always been traditionally the “massive AoE” element in this and other fantasy games, so ANet would alter Fire traits to add an AoE damage component to ALL Ele skills. Already AoE damage skills could have their damage doubled and AoE extended (or some number thereof) while skills like Chain Lightning would have an AoE damage component added to each hit. Or casting Windborne Speed would have its current effect, and inflict a PBAoE Burning and/or Torment on foes caught in the AoE. Something like Cleansing Wave would inflict Burning and Blind to enemies caught in the radius.

Then you alter traits in each line along this approach. Water traits might cause Burning Speed to also inflict Chilled on enemies, while Air traits might cause the same skill to inflict Daze or Stun. Earth traits might cause Burning Speed to Knockdown all foes in the Blast radius.

In this way, a majority of Ele traits would then work ALL the time, rather than just in specific attunements, encouraging diverse builds and playstyles. Players who focus in Fire would do considerable damage in all attunements, whereas a player focused in Water would heal allies and Chill foes with every skill.

The traits would then be thematic. A certain Air trait could cause AoE Blind anytime a finisher is used in a Fire field, whereas an Earth trait could add any number of conditions (Immobilized, Crippled, Weakness) when casting Water skills. This would allow ANet to designate Fire as the AoE damage traitline, Air the single target, Water the heal and support, and Earth the heavy CC traitline. Further, if ANet didn’t want to make the majority of traits work with EVERY skill, then they could instead introduce Elemental dependencies, where each traitline would effect two attunements. Fire traits would double Fire skill damage and add AoE damage to Air skills, Air traits would add extra instances of conditions like Vulnerability and Blind to Air skills, or cause status effects like Stun and Daze on Water skills (electrocution), and so on.

I realize a re-design of the system as described above is highly unlikely at this time or any point in the future. But I do believe its the best way to long term fix the Ele’s competitive disadvantage with other professions without introducing the power creep ANet is apparently so afraid of.

Massive re-design, but one that should have been in the original game IMO. Or something similar to it.

Too bad it’s never gonna happen.

Ugh, just looking at this makes me think about the traits that become more effective the longer you stay in a single element. Eww.

It looks like you put a lot of thought into the Elementalist. I am afraid that this is the wrong place for the post.

Yes I know that this is the place to discuss the Elementalist, but you want feedback from Anet, which is not going to happen with posts here.

• I am pretty sure the Anet does not read the Elementalist forum.
• I have not seen them post something here in a long time (outside the Dec 10th update in which they did in every profession page).
• Anet does not understand the Elemenstalist (probably since they do not play it, take the Arcane Wave redesign or Lingering attunements as examples).

I agree with you that this is is a massive problem for the eles and it’s probably why the class is my second-least favorite profession (I dislike Thief more for other reasons). The Elementalist is designed as a generalist class, but the traits force specialization. The class design fights itself.

It’s seriously kitten ing me off. Stop calling elementalists “the ele”

Do you address other classes as “the warrior, the necro, the thief, the mesmer, the guardian”? No? Then stop.

When I am talking about the profession and not those playing it, yes. I do. That is the proper way to refer to it, after all.

imo we have got some penalties given us from useless traits.

for example lingering elements,is an useless trait and should be changed into something better,it’s really bad for 15 points trait .

soothing mist seems ok.
stone flesh seems ok.

zephyr’s speed and flame barrier are simply useless,this 2 traits should be changed.
zephyr’s speed should be changed with renewing stamina,remember that mesmer and guardian can put only 5 points to have perma-vigor and we have to put 10 points into arcana to have it,and both mesmer and guardian don’t need to dodge like ele to mitigate the damage.

flame barrier should be changed into something like,when you are attuned in fire and you got critically hitted,you burn your foe or gain 1xmight(2sec cd) it would be more useful.

elemental attunement shouldn’t be a trait but it should be installed into the profession rotation of the attunements or should be again an arcana adept trait because it’s the trait that gives to the ele a part of sustain it needs(protection-regen).

evasive arcana it’s another trait that all eles love and we can’t change it because it’s another trait that gives as a part of our sustain but it’s 30 points trait.
couldn’t be possible to split this trait into 15 points traits for every tree trait?
sunspot =>when you dodge in fire you use flame burst(10sec cd).
lightning strike should remain the same to not nerf the burst build.
earthen blast => when you dodge in earth churning earth counts as blast finisher(10sec cd)
healing ripple => when you dodge in water cleansing Wave (10sec cd)

off hands skill of every skill set like d/d-s/f-d/f-s/d should be reduced, updraft,cleasing wave,etc.
cleansing water shouldn’t have a 5 sec cd.
persisting flame => when you blast a field you gain fury but :
if you blast a flame field you burn enemy foes that is near the field and rip 1 boon every time you blast that field.
if you blast a water field you steal life from an enemy near to that field and gain also 5sec regeneration for each blast.
if you blast a light field you daze him.
and so on.

Shadowfall.6543:

It looks like you put a lot of thought into the Elementalist. I am afraid that this is the wrong place for the post.

Yes I know that this is the place to discuss the Elementalist, but you want feedback from Anet, which is not going to happen with posts here.

• I am pretty sure the Anet does not read the Elementalist forum.
• I have not seen them post something here in a long time (outside the Dec 10th update in which they did in every profession page).
• Anet does not understand the Elemenstalist (probably since they do not play it, take the Arcane Wave redesign or Lingering attunements as examples).

I know, this is the feeling I get to. It makes me wonder about having a forum in the first place. Is this here for the players to offer constructive feedback and gives designers a place that they can look for it without going to the tens of independent sites and combing through them for feedback?

Or is this here just for players to impotently rail against the unfair and senseless nerfs to the various professions, with a deaf ear from ANet ignoring the usefulness of feedback from a much wider testing base (the players) in favor of their vision which has deviated so incredibly far from their original manifesto?

arena, just give us back RTL, and dont touch other things, we know, you want to help, but “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

Unnerfed RTL would make fresh air scepter builds kittenedly OP though, and would push focus back to garbage tier.