Guild Wars 2

mouse.1689:

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.

What warrior do with GS
-auto, auto auto, Great justice,hundred blades, auto,auto
*All the mobs he is fighting is dead.
*Your combo doesn’t kill faster than warrior unless you are telling me you can pull these off within 8sec. In fact, other than thief, no class clear mob in Orr faster than GS warrior.

They are definitely worth making. No other profession has as exciting, or as fun, a play style as ele has. Personally, I love D/D and am having tons of fun with it in both pve and pvp. Of course, it is nice on occasion to use Staff or S/D in Dungeons or WvW.

There is definitely a steep learning curve, but once you get to know the prof really well and get pretty good with it you’ll do just fine.

boozer.7815

when I have some support to soak up some of the mob agro

And there probably lies the problem for a lot of people. Personally, I don’t have any problems running through Orr at all on my Ele solo (and the first few times I did it, I was a level 80 in level 40 non-transmuted armor because I liked how it looked and didn’t have my exotics yet, mind you, so I didn’t have any problems doing it in conditions far worse than anyone should ever need to), but unless you have a fairly defensive build or someone eating aggro for you, you really can’t put your AoE to much use.

That said, even with the removal of blasts from Evasive Arcana, sets like D/D are still tons of fun and a lot more engaging than my Warrior or Thief. It’s just a lot less fun for me, since I really liked rolling into specific fields in groups where you’ve got a bunch of different fields going down. It required a lot of attention.

Also, Ele water field + lightning conjure w/ 25 charges + someone with Quickness + something to hit = broken video card and super mass healing lol. Try it with a ranger and their water field healing ability.

I don’t think it’s possible to self-combo with Lightning Hammer and Geyser, absent a lot of set-up. (E.g., cast Hammer, drop the first copy, do the Geyser, pick up the other hammer, and bash.)

But it should work OK with Healing Rain, allowing for 2 or even 3 blasts, or double that if somebody picks up and uses the other hammer.

That’s why I said someone with quickness. I don’t mean for you to produce the blasts, but for someone else to pick it up and rip through the auto attack chain wih quickness. The ranger water field lasts 15 seconds, and with the water blast finisher visual effect, it’s pretty lol when you have blast finishers just beig ripped away in there. Throw in some quickening zephyr and you’ve got an interesting water show.

Creslin.1758:

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.

It is. Evasive Arcana was a playing style, not a build. It’s not a matter of the power of the skill (yes, it needed a nerf) but about the fact that we can now do a lot less.

It’s like removing a weapon from the warrior. Except that ill never happen, they’ll only get more options.

Creslin.1758:

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

EA was good for comboing the fire fields to might stack.

Elementalist is just plain ruined at the moment. I have a level 80 that has armor with toughness/vitality. My game ended on the Straights of Devastation because the damage output was very weak and my character had a 25% chance of dieing on a 1v1 and a 90% chance of dieing on 2v1. 3v1 it is run and with a 75% chance of not being able to run away.

The class needs to be totally reworked at this point. I mean remove everything and start from the beginning. Maybe in 2-3 years ANet will finally have it playable. In the end, I have a level 80 mule

LightningLockey.5938:

Elementalist is just plain ruined at the moment. I have a level 80 that has armor with toughness/vitality. My game ended on the Straights of Devastation because the damage output was very weak and my character had a 25% chance of dieing on a 1v1 and a 90% chance of dieing on 2v1. 3v1 it is run and with a 75% chance of not being able to run away.

The class needs to be totally reworked at this point. I mean remove everything and start from the beginning. Maybe in 2-3 years ANet will finally have it playable. In the end, I have a level 80 mule

you’re doing something wrong.

i was in straits with a fresh 80 today (elementalist with cleric/carrion gear, 80 master works) and i had no trouble taking on groups of mobs.

were you using a staff or something? low level gear?

oh and yes, elementalists are worth making. anyone that says otherwise are jaded or extremely angry.

You know it’s underpowered when using a staff is considered “doing something wrong”.

Some people simply don’t know how to play an elementalist. They either neglect gear, user the wrong kind of weapon for the job (staff is a long range support weapon, using it to go toe to toe is like a sniper using their rifle as a club) or they sit in a single element / do not switch often enough, or they don’t use their utilities correctly, or they don’t understand what their skills do and so on. Then they complain about dying to single mobs and other such nonsense.

Yeah, a warrior can just repeat a single skill chain over and over and not worry too much about it while an elementalist has to master a whole range of varied skills and tactics just to do the same job, but if you find it entertaining to push the same sequence of buttons for hundreds and thousands of times, then I guess elementalist is definitely not the class for you anyway.

Worth making? Not now. After the latest nerfs I can’t see anet ever remaking the class into what it should be.

Gaudrath.6725:

They either neglect gear, user the wrong kind of weapon for the job (staff is a long range support weapon, using it to go toe to toe is like a sniper using their rifle as a club) or they sit in a single element / do not switch often enough, or they don’t use their utilities correctly, or they don’t understand what their skills do and so on.

I don’t know, I have my Ele geared fairly well for my level, am constantly switching attunements, know my utilities, etc. and I definitely have had issues dying in PvE, especially in some of the personal story missions. One of the main issues we have is lack of aggro management, but the Thief doesn’t really have that and so far I am finding it much more effective. I can easily take on a Veteran and two regular mobs a level higher than me, something I could never have dreamed of doing with my ele.

magnafides.8136:

Gaudrath.6725:

They either neglect gear, user the wrong kind of weapon for the job (staff is a long range support weapon, using it to go toe to toe is like a sniper using their rifle as a club) or they sit in a single element / do not switch often enough, or they don’t use their utilities correctly, or they don’t understand what their skills do and so on.

I don’t know, I have my Ele geared fairly well for my level, am constantly switching attunements, know my utilities, etc. and I definitely have had issues dying in PvE, especially in some of the personal story missions. One of the main issues we have is lack of aggro management, but the Thief doesn’t really have that and so far I am finding it much more effective. I can easily take on a Veteran and two regular mobs a level higher than me, something I could never have dreamed of doing with my ele.

Hmm, I used to be able to solo champs or doing skill challenges involving vet+some adds. Clearly a L2P issue!

magnafides.8136:

Gaudrath.6725:

They either neglect gear, user the wrong kind of weapon for the job (staff is a long range support weapon, using it to go toe to toe is like a sniper using their rifle as a club) or they sit in a single element / do not switch often enough, or they don’t use their utilities correctly, or they don’t understand what their skills do and so on.

I don’t know, I have my Ele geared fairly well for my level, am constantly switching attunements, know my utilities, etc. and I definitely have had issues dying in PvE, especially in some of the personal story missions. One of the main issues we have is lack of aggro management, but the Thief doesn’t really have that and so far I am finding it much more effective. I can easily take on a Veteran and two regular mobs a level higher than me, something I could never have dreamed of doing with my ele.

And I’m the other way around – I have downed champions + veteran and assorted adds with my elementalist, while I wouldn’t be able to do the same with my thief.
Sure, took me ten minutes, but it can be done. Just pick the right weapons and skills for the job. Can mean the difference between an easy fight and a very hard one… for example I usually run S/D for PvE and those new crab things, well let’s just say that you can get them to do half the job for you just by equipping a focus instead. With an elementalist, you have unparalleled flexibility. Use it. Never stick to the same routine like with other classes. I change weapons, skill rotation, utilities and even traits according to what I want to do. Some would consider that a hassle and get disheartened when they see some warrior doing more damage with just one button, some people like playing on hard mode.

I found my Ele in PvE progress is significiant faster than my warrior, mesmer, guardian. I am almost done bloodtide coast but my ele just reached lv50.

When I found it is harder to fight 3+ foes then i just realized i was lv49 with lv35 armor vs 4x lv 55 foes. Yes i am not lv 80 yet but if traited right, my ele is able to fight multiple higher lv foes together. So it is your call whether ele worth your time.

Not really in my opinion. Not any more. Sad state of affairs.

I just made an ele alt after the Mesmer class just got bent over in the last patch. So far I’m really really loving it. I like the versatility.

Navzar.2938:

Creslin.1758:

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

EA was good for comboing the fire fields to might stack.

That it is, and I did that frequently pre-patch. What I am saying is that a good d/d build does not depend on EA. it’s just an option. There are many other options that are just as good or arguably better.

Creslin.1758:

Navzar.2938:

Creslin.1758:

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

EA was good for comboing the fire fields to might stack.

That it is, and I did that frequently pre-patch. What I am saying is that a good d/d build does not depend on EA. it’s just an option. There are many other options that are just as good or arguably better.

Honestly Creslin has it right D/D was affected but in a very marginal way. Staff and scepter have been kittened quite a bit but primarily staff. D/D is good at it was before the patch. Being a good dps a good kite tank and an ok support.

5v5, pwr/precision/vit amulet with berserkers jewel, runes of rage, double dagger, so kittening worth it.

No they are not…

Elementalists are NOT nor will ever be a bloody pocket knife. The class is intended to be that of power not utility. Ultimately the class needs to be redesigned simply based on that principle. The idea that a player is suppose to balance four different specs in a fight? That some of there talent points are going to be worthless at any given point?
Yes, players adapt and think us ways to deal. there will always be players who can do it… It just don’t cover up the fact the the foundations of the class are purely horrifying.

And don’t get started on PvP nobody should have to check the combat log to see if they just random died or a thief sneezed in their general direction.

It boils down to this, we had few viable builds that worked for us in tpvp. All of which were more or less gutted, healing spec builds ranging from support to bunker got hit hard by the 15point trait nerf, Fine we still have auramancer and a decent array of support builds ( I count support as you know buffing, ccing, healing) but EA’s “fix” gutted that aswell, and since most Ele’s, i know myself definitively, used 30Arcane if not simply for the Attunement swapping, there leaves very few viable choices. Maybe I’m wrong and I’m doing it wrong, okay fine but if I am please teach me because I love this class, just not the state its in now =p
tl;dr Ele’s are fun and when you play it solo man you feel epic, but sooner or later you wake up and see we’ve not upto par.

Stop comparing yourself to other classes. I don’t care that a warrior can do lots of damage with one button and I have to press eight (in a correctly judged sequence). That’s why I frikkin’ rolled an elementalist. I don’t want easy mode, I don’t want a boring repetitive class – in fact if I have a gripe with this game it’s that other classes are not as challenging and interesting to play as the elementalist so I find it extremely difficult to enjoy an occasional alt when I want a little break from my ele.

Every class should have stance/school/whatever skill disambiguation required to master in order to be effective. The main problem with how things are now is not that elementalists are weak as such, they are not, but that they are a complicated class in a relatively simplistic game.

If you want that, if you want things to be complex, to be punished for making mistakes and to get a really awesome feel of accomplishment when you do things right, then this class is for you. But don’t stop to compare your gameplay to other classes because it literally is not the same game they’re playing.

Hmm i still cant decide if i wanna make one lol….. :S

I just dont feel that the Elementalists has mastered the elements at all. Im whipping this lightening whip around and thinking doesnt a sword do the same thing? Kitten I am stupid! Why dont I pick up a sword? If only Id pick up a sword Id get a huge health boost and be able to wear heavy armor! Why did Anet send one lonely person to the basement office by them self to create this class?

Seriously though the elite skills make it worth it. Specifically the one called “Static Cling”. This thing is kitten epic…. Dont mess with me Im an Ele! I’ll cast Static Cling at you. Beware.

Nah its worth it so far Im having fun. Its nice to have some more buttons to push. If anything I will know for myself what they are about.

My only regret is not having named my Ele “Static Cling”.

It’s a play your way game.

For me reaching 80 was a too quick experience and I wanted something that would take longer and be more complex so I went with an ele. Luckily I started playing an ele a couple days before the patch and am barely lvl 15 right now so this patch isn’t something that will effect me.

If you’re not up to playing a complex class then as the asura say: Embrace simplicity.
And honestly sometimes it’s nice to just play something less complex. I’m also leveling a warrior that I play when my day’s been stressful and I want to play a more relaxing class. It’s also a fun class to play.

Gaudrath.6725:

Stop comparing yourself to other classes. I don’t care that a warrior can do lots of damage with one button and I have to press eight (in a correctly judged sequence). That’s why I frikkin’ rolled an elementalist. I don’t want easy mode, I don’t want a boring repetitive class – in fact if I have a gripe with this game it’s that other classes are not as challenging and interesting to play as the elementalist so I find it extremely difficult to enjoy an occasional alt when I want a little break from my ele.

Every class should have stance/school/whatever skill disambiguation required to master in order to be effective. The main problem with how things are now is not that elementalists are weak as such, they are not, but that they are a complicated class in a relatively simplistic game.

If you want that, if you want things to be complex, to be punished for making mistakes and to get a really awesome feel of accomplishment when you do things right, then this class is for you. But don’t stop to compare your gameplay to other classes because it literally is not the same game they’re playing.

Exactly, go play a Warrior if you want high damage and high survivability. My second level 80 alt is a Guardian, and after gearing him, I rarely ever touch him except for when I feel like Farming Orr on easy mode. While leveling, I only bought gear every 20 levels, and I still never really felt weaker then I needed to be.

I only got to level 30 with my Warrior before I couldn’t play anymore due to just how boring it was, it didn’t matter which traits I rolled or how outleveled my gear was, it was just stand there and auto attack until everything died.

If you like playing with 10% less screen space due to open inventory since you have to swap your weapons manually all the time, in order to fully play your class, go for it.

It’s really only good for feeding rogues and showing off how pro you are in pvp
My mes can effortlessly do everything my ele can in pvp, and die half as often.

But elementalists CAN run away at speed of light at the first sign of trouble. Elementalists can literally kite warriors until they die of exhaustion. A warrior actually /sit on me once.

I would say no, not worth it. Overall the weapons just aren’t very well designed.

D/d is excellent but it’s a niche play style that not all will like. Staff and sceptre both have annoying deficiencies – staff does crap for damage vs single targets, and the glacial speed odsceptre fire #2 is kitten irritating.

I’m having great fun with my elementalist. (And I have never used Evasive Arcana.)

I use my staff in dungeons, and like to lay down combo fields for the warriors and rangers to abuse (including healing fields).
I use dagger/dagger in WvWvW, where I like to do hit and run tactics. I switch to staff while defending towers, in order to rain death from above.
I use either dagger/dagger or scepter/dagger in PvE. Although I will admit I will probably be using my scepter a lot less with the Dragon’s Tooth bug.

My trait build is 10/0/30/30/0 (built for survivability), and I alternate my major traits and utility skills between a signet-based build for PvE and a cantrip-based build for WvWvW, without having to change my trait point allocation. I completely disregard precision and critical damage, and make up for this with +power and +condition damage equipment. Which is still mostly green, with some rares mixed in, and one exotic.

I do not feel like the content is too hard for me, not even in Orr, although I do know not to pick a fight with veteran karka when I’m alone. How easy or difficult other players have it in the game does not affect my enjoyment. I like how elementalist skills work, how I cycle through my attunements all the time, and how I can be successful by adapting my own tactics.

Also, I find it very rude that every single time someone starts a thread in this forum asking if the elementalist is any fun, the first reply is always “no, go play warrior”. These people want to know about how to play an elementalist, not something else. You don’t get to decide for them.

I decide where I get my own fun, thank you very much. So should everyone else.

I am playing D/D Ele and love it its SO much more fun and engaging as the staff build i was running before i got bored and lvled a few other characters (Mesmer and Necro) but i got the urge to play again and tried a D/D spec and i love it – Not the most amazing spec for PvE but does well enough but love it in WvW and S/Tpvp

I made an elementalist after getting bored of shortbow 1 spam with my ranger. So warriors can do more damage with 1 or 2 buttons, but that gets unbelievably boring after awhile. That’s not how I want to play the game. For that reason, I will always go back to my ele. The class needs some work, but at least it isn’t a snooze fest to play.

Elementalists are tremendous fun if you like active gameplay and flashy moves. If you’re skilled and keep your focus, you can compete against any DPS or Support class.

However, Elementalists also tend to be squishy, and mistakes get punished. They’re a difficult class to play well. Worse, that difficulty is not rewarded in concrete terms. This is not a class with a high ceiling, but one with a low floor.

I dropped my 80 ele, all in exos, a while back. I’m having a lot more fun playing nearly anything else.

(Speaking from PVE perspective, Ele is currently at 79 and I’m thinking of just not playing her up the rest of the way.)

Ele is not really great. Or really even good. Not having weapon swap kinda sucks, even with the attune dancing crap. I’d really like to be able to quick switch to staff without having to leave combat. I find attune dancing incredibly unrewarding, but I prefer to specialize in a weapon and magic type when I’m playing.

It takes them twice as long to do what another class does without switching around abilities like a spazz and they’re weaker while doing it. Heals are weak and utilities aren’t too great. Things that I would have no problem with on other classes are a chore or will kill you.

Also… they only have one elite that works underwater and it’s a 30 pointer. What’s with that?

@GeneralFreedom.2540:
You clearly do not enjoy the playstyle for this profession, so you are probably right if you decide to stop playing the elementalist.

Other people have different opinions, though, so the fact that elementalist is not working for you, does not mean that it won’t work for anybody else, either.

(And have you tried Whirlpool (the underwater elite)? Even after a 33% damage nerf and being limited to only 5 targets per damage pulse, it still rules under water.)

Jornophelanthas.1475:

(And have you tried Whirlpool (the underwater elite)? Even after a 33% damage nerf and being limited to only 5 targets per damage pulse, it still rules under water.)

It only rules because the rest of your underwater skills don’t.

Jornophelanthas.1475:

Also, I find it very rude that every single time someone starts a thread in this forum asking if the elementalist is any fun, the first reply is always “no, go play warrior”. These people want to know about how to play an elementalist, not something else. You don’t get to decide for them.

So you ask a question, and when it gets answered, you get angry becuase you disagree with the answer? Seriously, if you don’t want people to ‘decide for you’ then decide by yourself. Don’t come asking other people what you should decide.

You die easily and don’t have enough damage…
Is it worth making it? Yes, cause it’s the funniest class, imo.

While I enjoy the class and I have fun playing it, I feel it is quite lacking in a number of areas.

The weapons could be balanced a bit better. Long cast times just don’t belong in a game that is this fast paced, and abilities with long delays are just as bad. I’m also not a fan of limiting the range based solely on weapon, something no other class really has to deal with.

I didn’t like the Traits in beta, and I still don’t like them. There are a few decent ones here and there, but many just seem like filler or tiny bonuses that don’t really mean much for a class that is built upon cycling attunements. Yes, other classes have weapon swaps, but I’ve never really needed to swap unless going from melee to ranged, or vice versa.

I’d also like to see some better cross-element synergies. Not combos per se, but something to add more depth to the class. Technically, I’d say all the classes need a bit more depth.

Also, I despise their underwater abilities and I avoid it whenever possible. I’ll complete the Hearts and Skill Challenges, but I’ll never return to those areas ever again, and don’t get me started on underwater in Orr. Whoever designed that needs a swift sledgehammer to the nuts.

Still, with all the faults, I find the class fun to play. I enjoy stance dancing, and I think the overall concept of the class is solid. It just needs some work, but it is not alone in this area, as I think all classes still need a lot of work.

ThiBash.5634:

Jornophelanthas.1475:

(And have you tried Whirlpool (the underwater elite)? Even after a 33% damage nerf and being limited to only 5 targets per damage pulse, it still rules under water.)

It only rules because the rest of your underwater skills don’t.

Jornophelanthas.1475:

Also, I find it very rude that every single time someone starts a thread in this forum asking if the elementalist is any fun, the first reply is always “no, go play warrior”. These people want to know about how to play an elementalist, not something else. You don’t get to decide for them.

So you ask a question, and when it gets answered, you get angry becuase you disagree with the answer? Seriously, if you don’t want people to ‘decide for you’ then decide by yourself. Don’t come asking other people what you should decide.

The problem I have isn’t that I disagree with the “Ele sucks, go play warrior” answer, the problem is that it is well…wrong.

There are PLENTY of very good Elementalists out there that can win like 90% of 1v1 figths, and even a large amount of 1v2 fights. It annoys me when people make blanket statements like “Ele sucks” just because they are not good at playing the class, or prefer another playstyle. Statements like this may make a prospective Ele shy off from the class because they actually believe this BS.

It also annoys me when people whine that they have to “press more buttons” as an elementalist. I mean…what did you think you would have to do when you picked a class with TWENTY weapon skills usable in combat? And the reality is that once you get good with Ele, it doesn’t even matter. I am so used to Ele at this point that it is actually far EASIER for me to play than a warrior.

I would suggest you to roll it, try it in the sPvP lobby with all the weapon sets, get a feel of its skills, and decide if you really want to invest time in it.

Cyclone Jack.7268:

While I enjoy the class and I have fun playing it, I feel it is quite lacking in a number of areas.

The weapons could be balanced a bit better. Long cast times just don’t belong in a game that is this fast paced, and abilities with long delays are just as bad. I’m also not a fan of limiting the range based solely on weapon, something no other class really has to deal with.

I didn’t like the Traits in beta, and I still don’t like them. There are a few decent ones here and there, but many just seem like filler or tiny bonuses that don’t really mean much for a class that is built upon cycling attunements. Yes, other classes have weapon swaps, but I’ve never really needed to swap unless going from melee to ranged, or vice versa.

I’d also like to see some better cross-element synergies. Not combos per se, but something to add more depth to the class. Technically, I’d say all the classes need a bit more depth.

Also, I despise their underwater abilities and I avoid it whenever possible. I’ll complete the Hearts and Skill Challenges, but I’ll never return to those areas ever again, and don’t get me started on underwater in Orr. Whoever designed that needs a swift sledgehammer to the nuts.

Still, with all the faults, I find the class fun to play. I enjoy stance dancing, and I think the overall concept of the class is solid. It just needs some work, but it is not alone in this area, as I think all classes still need a lot of work.

I actually think there are plenty of cross element synergies. With D/D you have…

1. RTL + Updraft -> Burning speed. The updraft will knock your opponent back the perfect distance to connect with burning speed. Adding to this, if you have the grandmaster air trait “Grounded,” you will do +20% damage while your opponents are on their butt!

2. Fire fields -> Earth finishers. This is a no brainer, earthquake and churning earth are both blast finishers…do them in a fire ring or burning speed and that is 6 stacks of might.

3. Churning Earth -> Shocking aura. Try switching over to air while churning earth charges and hit shocking aura. Not only will the shocking aura give you some protection while churning earth charges, it will also give you fury if you have Zephyr’s Boon and make your churning earth 20% more likely to crit!

4. Chill (water) -> Damage (fire or earth). We have two chills in water, and they can slow opponents down enough to make them into much easier targets for your fire or earth damage skills. Especially something like drakes breath -> Fire grab that you want to be sure hits.

Just a few I can think of off the cuff…

Also, this isn’t a cross-element combo, but rather a utility skill combo that I absolutely love to do…

While in burning speed, arcane wave! Not only will you deliver two heavy PBAoE hits almost at once (burning speed explosion at end, and arcane wave), you will also get 3 stacks of might if you trigger the arcane wave while you are traveling in Burning Speed’s fire field.

People suggesting to not roll an ele have 2 motivations:
1) They don’t actually know how to play the class OR
2) They are still extremely peeved about the change to Evasive Arcana (EA)

Hell, I’m peeved about the change to EA, so instead of ragequitting, I found a different build that focuses on similar mechanics (auramancer using D/D, cantrips and power,vit, tough gear) by being able to stack a ton of boons. It is a really amazing way to play the class, no real weaknesses and its loads of fun.

TL:DR: This class has a ton of versatility if you are open to new build ideas, it is the most complex class in GW2 and it is the most engaging.

I’m always disappointed when I come to the forums. I finally found a profession I like and everybody is just ragging on it and saying it sucks and it makes me think I picked poorly yet again. I’m not experienced enough with the game to parse out the legitimate complaints but as long as I can effectively solo PvE stuff and do PvP (haven’t even tried it yet but I want to get into it), I’m happy. Can I do that with an elementalist?

I hate melee classes, so warriors, guardians and thieves are out…

I think you can generally divide the good and bad points about this class as follows;

The Good:

• The most versatile class bar none.
• The most involved class together with the Engineer (due to both having a bazillion different abilities).
• Mastering this class pretty much means you can easily master any other class in the game without breaking a sweat.
• Not boring.
• Complex class (though can be both bad or good depending on the player).

The Bad:

• Low solo survivability untill you get to know the class mechanics intimately.
• Long cast times make certain weapons unwieldy when soloing, thus limiting your options.
• Complex class (though can be both bad or good depending on the player).

The Ugly:

• In PvP, you are probably going te end up as shish kabob more often than not in it’s current state (unless, again, you put in a lot of effort to learn the class PvP-wise).

Note that I don’t like to use the phrase ’it’s a fun class’ or anything similar. This is because that’s something subjective and can and will differ for each individual person. As such, I don’t feel like you can actually compare classes to determine the ‘fun-factor’. Unless a player only finds the theorycrafted numbers ‘fun’, ofcourse.

Personally, I enjoy pretty much every class except for the necro (due to me not finding condition-based damage classes interesting at all). I really don’t look at ‘which class is better’, but more along the lines of ‘Does this class have a unique gameplay experience’. And so far, pretty much every class has satisfied me in that department. Kudos, ANet!

That all being said, it is technically true that the Elementalist is somewhat weaker than other classes in the game. Especially when you look at the effort : reward ratio. The elementalist requires you to put in a lot more effort to succesfully play the class. At least, in the beginning. But luckily, the AI in this game is about as smart as a dead cow that has been lit on fire. You’ll get ample opportunity to practice. And when you do get this class down, it is immensely satisfying.

The above goes for PvE, but moreso for PvP. It requires even more practice to perfect due to the fact that players are less stupid than AI-controlled mobs (although, with certain people, this is still a point up for debate :P). But once again, if you put in this big of an effort, the reward will be equally great. Just take a look at some of the Dagger/Dagger Elementalist PvP videos. Some of those are, bar none, the most awesome PvP videos I’ve seen about GW2. Everyone can set up a gigantic backstab/100b/etc/etc. But when you see a lone D/D elementalist completely owning a roaming thief and warrior in 1v2 by perfectly executing skill combos, knowing when to run and when to fight and using the class skills to perfect strategies, it’s simply beautiful.

TLDR; If you’re willing to put in the effort, this class is extremely rewarding. If you simply wish to see high numbers, another class might suit you better (and that is not a bad thing!).

Paul.2745:

I’m always disappointed when I come to the forums. I finally found a profession I like and everybody is just ragging on it and saying it sucks and it makes me think I picked poorly yet again. I’m not experienced enough with the game to parse out the legitimate complaints but as long as I can effectively solo PvE stuff and do PvP (haven’t even tried it yet but I want to get into it), I’m happy. Can I do that with an elementalist?

I hate melee classes, so warriors, guardians and thieves are out…

You can absolutely solo effectively in PvE and do PvP with an elementalist.

Don’t listen to people complaining about the class. They just are not very good players, and want to blame the class instead of trying to improve.

That said, it is quite possible to create a “bad” build with an elementalist, so I would highly recommend using a good “cookie cutter” build (like D/D 0/10/10/30/20) just to get started and get a feel for the class.

I dare ANY elementalist to solo my Mesmer. I don’t care how good you are or what you do. the Mesmer wins.

Torafugu.1087:

I dare ANY elementalist to solo my Mesmer. I don’t care how good you are or what you do. the Mesmer wins.

I dare your Mesmer to tank a champion and kill his adds, kill ten mobs at once, run faster than us, have 20 skills just for weapons, blah blah.

Good ele vs good mesmer if you wont lose I would leave its as simple s that. No good ele is going to fall victim to a class with very weak cc (beside a strong range on gs). It would likely be a draw.

Also what you do in PvP is inline with the strongest PvP class for ease of use and mechanics. While that is all well and good its not an I win button. We don’t have many duels and if we did mesmer would likely be a champion class at it. However if we were to list everything your class sucks at I doubt it would be worth winning 1 on 1.

Please exit our forums you have your own use them. Or you could go to SPvP everyone their knows for a fact their the best player in the world.