Guild Wars 2

Heya, i just wanted to know if a Elementalist is worth making?

Not unless you are comfortable with 10x more keybindings to do the same thing some classes can do while only needing 5-6.

To me the risk vs reward is nice, but the time vs reward sucks. My Warrior can kill 6+ mobs in a fraction of the time my Ele can and not even break a sweat. It is really kind of sad…

Really the same number of key-binds any any other profession. Binding your 5 fire skills also binds the 5 skills of every other attunement. So, 5 key binds in all…

The Ele involves a lot of stance dancing and heavy skill usage. Mastering these makes it one of the best, if not best, profession in just about any situation.

Nautika.5376:

To me the risk vs reward is nice, but the time vs reward sucks. My Warrior can kill 6+ mobs in a fraction of the time my Ele can and not even break a sweat. It is really kind of sad…

You’re obviously doing it wrong. I can drop way more mobs than any of my other toons on my elementalist.

PvE-wise, I’d say they are definitely worth it. There is a steep learning curve, but once you master it, as said above, you can easily become a very versatile machine.

They are a little lackluster in PvP at the moment because our damage is very low in most builds and unless you’re running D/D it is insanely easy to dodge most of our attacks (without using the dodge button). You can still be effective but its more situational (great in group fights and in siege/defense situations).

Hopefully most of the problems we do have will be resolved in the ‘big patch’ coming tomorrow.

Kneemin.4235:

Nautika.5376:

To me the risk vs reward is nice, but the time vs reward sucks. My Warrior can kill 6+ mobs in a fraction of the time my Ele can and not even break a sweat. It is really kind of sad…

You’re obviously doing it wrong. I can drop way more mobs than any of my other toons on my elementalist.

PvE-wise, I’d say they are definitely worth it. There is a steep learning curve, but once you master it, as said above, you can easily become a very versatile machine.

They are a little lackluster in PvP at the moment because our damage is very low in most builds and unless you’re running D/D it is insanely easy to dodge most of our attacks (without using the dodge button). You can still be effective but its more situational (great in group fights and in siege/defense situations).

Hopefully most of the problems we do have will be resolved in the ‘big patch’ coming tomorrow.

What big patch is coming tomorrow? I haven’t heard about this :S

To me the Ele is what the Mesmer was in Guildwars 1. Its an elite class for the players who are in for the challenge. It has high reward and will help improve your gameplay across the board. It has a steep learning curve but I am happy that I rolled one. I have a thief, engi, guardian, and a necro, and my ele is my favorite. Also when you get a pvp kill it means more to you lol

cero.1209:

Also when you get a pvp kill it means more to you lol

This really in my opinion only shows how they may be a little imbalanced, but I agree. People will be surprised when you beat them, where if you kill someone with a one trick pony they will just blame the game.

Kneemin.4235:

Nautika.5376:

To me the risk vs reward is nice, but the time vs reward sucks. My Warrior can kill 6+ mobs in a fraction of the time my Ele can and not even break a sweat. It is really kind of sad…

You’re obviously doing it wrong. I can drop way more mobs than any of my other toons on my elementalist.

PvE-wise, I’d say they are definitely worth it. There is a steep learning curve, but once you master it, as said above, you can easily become a very versatile machine.

Would you be able to explain how you manage to drop mobs faster than a warrior in Orr? I play D/D and find I am killing very slowly. Im a new level 80 and advice would be great.

Acension.9270:

Kneemin.4235:

Nautika.5376:

To me the risk vs reward is nice, but the time vs reward sucks. My Warrior can kill 6+ mobs in a fraction of the time my Ele can and not even break a sweat. It is really kind of sad…

You’re obviously doing it wrong. I can drop way more mobs than any of my other toons on my elementalist.

PvE-wise, I’d say they are definitely worth it. There is a steep learning curve, but once you master it, as said above, you can easily become a very versatile machine.

They are a little lackluster in PvP at the moment because our damage is very low in most builds and unless you’re running D/D it is insanely easy to dodge most of our attacks (without using the dodge button). You can still be effective but its more situational (great in group fights and in siege/defense situations).

Hopefully most of the problems we do have will be resolved in the ‘big patch’ coming tomorrow.

What big patch is coming tomorrow? I haven’t heard about this :S

The big 15th november patch, apparently its about 5 pages of stuff.

If you are a mage at heart, then yes. If you usually play melee in MMO, then my answer will be no.

The Elementalist powerful spells take 3-4 seconds to cast… which is a long time when you have several mobs hitting you. Therefore… it can get frustrating for someone who usually melee.

An elementalist is really powerful when the other classes support it… for example stunning enemies or binding them in one place.

I just need the time to cast 2 AOE spells and enemies will be dead in 2 seconds. And I like playing mages since my first MMO.

Gisei.5749:

Really the same number of key-binds any any other profession. Binding your 5 fire skills also binds the 5 skills of every other attunement. So, 5 key binds in all…

The Ele involves a lot of stance dancing and heavy skill usage. Mastering these makes it one of the best, if not best, profession in just about any situation.

This.

I played a warrior to 80 and switched to D/D Ele. I can do everything I was doing on my warrior and more – and the combat hasn’t once felt old or stale. Then again, I like a fast-paced playstyle that rewards precision.

Heck yesterday I went out and was soloing champs in Frostgorge for fun and for practice. I could probably have done that with my warrior just by rifle kiting, but it wouldn’t have been as fun for me as dancing attunements and juggling combos for ten minutes.

zombyturtle.5980:

Would you be able to explain how you manage to drop mobs faster than a warrior in Orr? I play D/D and find I am killing very slowly. Im a new level 80 and advice would be great.

Go Scepter/Dagger. If you have gear worth socketing, socket for Might duration. (2x Hoelbrak, 2x Strength, 2x Fire). Get a Sigil of Battle on one of your weapons.

Generally, a rotation will go something like so: Target a group of mobs -> Ride the Lightning -> Updraft -> Switch to Fire -> Ring of Fire -> Phoenix -> Dragon’s Tooth -> Fire Grab -> Arcane Wave -> Switch to Earth -> Earthquake -> Churning Earth.

At this point a couple things will have happened:

• All the mobs you’re fighting will be at about 20% health.
• You will have ~16 stacks of Might with a ~30 second duration, because Ring of Fire is a combo field, and Phoenix, DT, Arcane Wave, Earthquake, and Churning Earth are all blast finishers that give you stacks of Might.

Now you’ll kite around for a few seconds while you wait for your cooldowns. Switch to water and use 3 and 5 to heal up a bit, and 4 to chill mobs that are attacking you, then switch back to Air and start again.

If you’re finding you’re taking a lot of damage during your rotation because your gear isn’t great, you can use Arcane Shield or Armor of Earth to protect yourself while you do it.

Basically, the build does massive AoE damage, has a ton of control, and has 22-25 stacks of Might up at all times during combat. It’s great for dungeons too, because you share your Might stacks with allies.

Might stacking runes are a little extreme vs. general boon duration. But in fairness, only one style of boon duration superior rune — Water — is easy to get.

I run with 2 Superior Monk, 2 Superior Water, and 2 Major Water. Alongside 30pts in Arcana, 4 or 5 of the boons are permanently applied in a fight and the others are semi-permanent.

I was solo farming crafting components for hours last night and I enjoyed every minute of it. I doubt I could say that about many classes.

mouse.1689:

Go Scepter/Dagger. If you have gear worth socketing, socket for Might duration. (2x Hoelbrak, 2x Strength, 2x Fire). Get a Sigil of Battle on one of your weapons.

Generally, a rotation will go something like so: Target a group of mobs -> Ride the Lightning -> Updraft -> Switch to Fire -> Ring of Fire -> Phoenix -> Dragon’s Tooth -> Fire Grab -> Arcane Wave -> Switch to Earth -> Earthquake -> Churning Earth.

At this point a couple things will have happened:

• All the mobs you’re fighting will be at about 20% health.
• You will have ~16 stacks of Might with a ~30 second duration, because Ring of Fire is a combo field, and Phoenix, DT, Arcane Wave, Earthquake, and Churning Earth are all blast finishers that give you stacks of Might.

Now you’ll kite around for a few seconds while you wait for your cooldowns. Switch to water and use 3 and 5 to heal up a bit, and 4 to chill mobs that are attacking you, then switch back to Air and start again.

If you’re finding you’re taking a lot of damage during your rotation because your gear isn’t great, you can use Arcane Shield or Armor of Earth to protect yourself while you do it.

Basically, the build does massive AoE damage, has a ton of control, and has 22-25 stacks of Might up at all times during combat. It’s great for dungeons too, because you share your Might stacks with allies.

Basically this! I run a S/D 20/0/20/20/10 carrion (power, vit, cond dmg) elementalist and i can practically face tank multiple mobs in Orr (or anywhere else) with no problem. I typically use the same move set as quoted above for the might stack and sweet aoe damage, but I use chrysocola orbs (for more carrion stats) rather than any sigils or runes in my gear. in dungeons, i’ll switch to staff and can usually outlast most teammates. Dungeons obviously require more kiting :P

I love my ele even within all our limitations. It’s very satisfying. I don’t feel like I’m doing more work for the same reward. I’m always having fun!

I have an 80 warrior, thief and elementalist. My main is now my ele.

Nautika.5376:

To me the risk vs reward is nice, but the time vs reward sucks. My Warrior can kill 6+ mobs in a fraction of the time my Ele can and not even break a sweat. It is really kind of sad…

I am a noob, but have yet to find in Orr any Warrior steamrolling at higher pace than me. Usually if I duo with warrior, by the time I finished my small crowd of victims he is halfway with its own and I put end to their misery.
Of course there is the chance that such warriors I met were all bigger noobs than me, but I think there might be room to improve your Elementalist’s skills…

YES!!! There so fun I never get bored with an elementalist.

I like the elementalist, but I would be lying if I did not say I was waiting for the patch notes to see if I will keep playing the game.

silvermember.8941:

I like the elementalist, but I would be lying if I did not say I was waiting for the patch notes to see if I will keep playing the game.

I have been waiting for these patch notes as well that will make me decide my main.

the question is wrong but the answer is… sure it is.

The question should be is the ele worth the time to master?

I think it will take much more time to effectively use the ele as compared to any other class and you still may never be as good as some PvPers that have high reflex skills/dexterity/muscle memory.

if you want to put the time into using it then its likely has the highest action value of any of the classes.

It really depends on how you want to play your elementalist.

I look at things from a PvP/WvW standpoint, because PvE doesn’t matter.

Bunker – very strong overall
Damage: poor
Tank: borderline imbalanced

Balanced – very strong overall
Damage: good
Tank: good

Glass – very strong in groups, somewhat weak solo
Damage: as good as anyone not using quickness
Tank: worst in the game and not even close.

Bunker and balanced builds don’t really need much discussion; just look at any thread that says ele is fine. Those builds are strong or even overpowered. Most of the people who complain about ele being a weak class play glass cannon and try to solo. It can be a very frustrating experience to die to thieves mug -> backstab instakill (or similar very strong burst damage) when you only have 10,805 hp in WvW with <1k toughness. There is simply no room for error in that build.

Your ability in group play is very effective though. The glass ele has pretty much the same damage output as other classes (again, when they’re not using the ridiculously broken quickness mechanic) but it’s almost all AoE. I’ve jumped into the middle of a big fight and essentially instakilled 5 people before they knew what was going on. The only other class you see pull that off is maybe a thief with dagger storm, and that’s an elite skill with limited situational use.

Beyond the survivability issue with glass eles, there are some frustrating bugs that will get you killed quite a bit. Most notable is Ride the Lightning leaving you frozen in mid air while your enemy beats you to death with impunity. This happens when the ground between you and the target isn’t essentially flat and clear of obstacles, when your target enters stealth after you initiate RTL, when you are CC’d in RTL, and some other less common circumstances.

The other significant issue, is that the scepter ele is a lot like a hundred blades warrior, in that we need the target to be immobilized in order to make them eat all of the pain that we can dish out (mostly dragon’s tooth and the direct damage from being hit by the phoenix 2x). However, ele doesn’t have reliable CC with sufficient duration to get it all off within our weapon skills. That means we have to use utility slots like signet of earth which has a long cooldown and obviously takes up a utility slot. In an organized group, this doesn’t matter as much, because other people can immobilize targets for you and then you can light them up.

Glass staff is a specialist zerg weapon. It does incredibly well in big fights and is one of the best WvW specs you will find for them. Just don’t get caught by yourself. Your ability to deal damage to a single moving target is very poor and you lack the CC and escape abilities that the other weapon sets give you. Outside of a zerg, your range means very little with all of the teleports and other gap closers available.

Overall, I really enjoy my ele and recommend it to other people, despite some of the frustrating moments. I find the playstyle fast paced and rewarding for the most part and I think anyone who puts in the time to master the class will feel the same.

Haha after this patch.

HELL NO!

Go make a warrior and 1 shot everyone.

Nope. Absolutely not.

NOT AT ALL.

Todays patch was make or break. And those lunatics even nerfed eles more and did not give us a single bug. Stay away from this profession. Better yet stay away from the game because anet doesn’t know frak about pvp balancing it seems.

i am so mad that the only thing keeping me from raging is that rangers got it bad. Oh ya, i am happy…only by comparing myself to the ranger.

I posted before reading the patch notes. I’m not sure what to think right now, but this seems like a rather horrible patch that has just devastated many of the better ele builds.

silvermember.8941:

i am so mad that the only thing keeping me from raging is that rangers got it bad. Oh ya, i am happy…only by comparing myself to the ranger.

Lmao I just checked out their forums and wow I literally laughed out loud. Honestly I feel bad for them but its pretty kitten funny, but still Anet dropped the ball with this one in a BIG way. I’m done with GW2 for a long time.

At least our conjured weapons got a buff!

The only real nerf was the removal of blast finishers on evasive arcana. But, that was a bug that people took for granted and built their playstyles around.

Fact remains that elementalist is still the most fun and challenging class to play. When you play it right, it’s very rewarding, because you know you’re good when you can make a “subpar” class shine. If you want easy mode, then no, this class ain’t for you.

Gaudrath.6725:

At least our conjured weapons got a buff!

The only real nerf was the removal of blast finishers on evasive arcana. But, that was a bug that people took for granted and built their playstyles around.

It also was our only viable spec.

Also boon duration nerfs, healing ripple nerf.

It wasn’t the only viable spec, not unless you play the game for numbers. I don’t. I still have loads of fun with the elementalist, and frankly, as I said… if I wanted easy mode, I’d be playing a warrior or something. But pushing two buttons for months ain’t my cup of tea.

I am not happy that they removed the blast finishers from evasive arcana, they were fun to use and required some skill, but it’s hardly the end of the world.

If you play competetive PVP you play for numbers, of course.

Fun doesn’t have anything to do with it.

Lol man, to each his own, but the moment I stop having fun playing a game, is the moment I stop playing the game. If I want serious stuff, I can get plenty of that in everyday life.

Gaudrath.6725:

Lol man, to each his own, but the moment I stop having fun playing a game, is the moment I stop playing the game. If I want serious stuff, I can get plenty of that in everyday life.

You don’t do competitive pvp then stopping talking about it kitten

If it was a bug, then they should have informed us it was a bug a LONG time ago and taken them out a LONG time ago, letting players get accustomed to it, building their character around it and spending countless hours grinding to get the gear for this specific build is just down right insulting.

@Aether, the OP wasn’t asking is the Elementalist the most OP FotM class in the game for competitive PvP, he was asking whether it’s worth rolling one. Lots of answers to that question, eh.

@MiniAchilles, yes, they should. I mean, it was pretty obvious it was a bug, but letting people know the goodies ain’t gonna last forever would have been nice.

With the huge update today Ele is trully worth it. Many skills are fixed and that’s nice.

Guizao.4167:

With the huge update today Ele is trully worth it. Many skills are fixed and that’s nice.

And many skills were nerfed, and that sucks.

Only 3 skills and a trait were fixed, conjures +ER buffed, the rest were just description corrections or nerfs.

I don’t no what that blast finisher thing was that they got rid of. Can someone tell me?

I’d personally say no, don’t make an elementalist, and any other profession would be a better choice. What role you are looking for is more important for what profession you pick.

I’ve found the nice thing about ele is the “versatility” you get, which arguably makes you a good solo profession. However I’m rather sure ele is not the absolute best solo profession. You will never be the best at any specific role even when specializing into it. Unless you count the specific role being a jack of all trades master of none, and I don’t know if another profession perhaps is better than ele in that too.

Feel free to tell me I’m wrong on this.

With Evasive Arcana, an Arcana tree grandmaster trait, you could roll to produce a spell effect + blast finisher, with the spell effect depending on your current attunement. Each was supposed to be on a 10 second cooldown, so you weren’t supposed to be able to stay in fire and double roll for double procs, but you could roll in fire, then roll in water for double procs (of one of each effect). The blast finishers on the end of roll made for strong combo potential and interesting gameplay trying to roll into specific fields. Many builds were based around this one trait.

The blast finishers were completely removed in the last patch, hence why there’s a ton of complaining right now. I think a lot of people expected it to be nerfed somehow, but I don’t think many expected them to just straight up remove all the blast finishers, because it just completely removed the playstyle.

I wouldn’t do it again. ANet seems intent on removing what little utility & strength this already-weak class has.

At least I didn’t waste fake (or, even-worse real) money on Exotic Weapons or Armor for my Level 80 storage/craft mule.

No, roll another class.

omgwtflolbbl.7142:

With Evasive Arcana, an Arcana tree grandmaster trait, you could roll to produce a spell effect + blast finisher, with the spell effect depending on your current attunement. Each was supposed to be on a 10 second cooldown, so you weren’t supposed to be able to stay in fire and double roll for double procs, but you could roll in fire, then roll in water for double procs (of one of each effect). The blast finishers on the end of roll made for strong combo potential and interesting gameplay trying to roll into specific fields. Many builds were based around this one trait.

The blast finishers were completely removed in the last patch, hence why there’s a ton of complaining right now. I think a lot of people expected it to be nerfed somehow, but I don’t think many expected them to just straight up remove all the blast finishers, because it just completely removed the playstyle.

ohhhhh thats what it is, awww thats so annoying

if you want are bothered by seeing another class out damage you by pressing 2 buttons, then elementalist is not for you.

If you don’t have good twitch skills, and want to be able to tab target everything, then elementalist is not for you.

If you want to be a traditional glass cannon caster, then elementalist is not for you.

If, however, you want a class that requires skill to play, offers more versatility than basically anything else in the game, and in the hands of a skilled player, can beat almost any other class 1v1, then ele may be for you.

Yes, they’re worth making, but they’re less fun with Evasive Arcana gone.

ThiBash.5634:

Yes, they’re worth making, but they’re less fun with Evasive Arcana gone.

Dagger/dagger isn’t all that effected by its removal.

even with the recent patch, yes it is worth it. I never understood people who complained about how long it takes to kill mobs with even a d/d build, but I kill stuff just as, if not faster than with my warrior.