Guild Wars 2

This sounds like a really interesting build! Unfortunately I’m still an elementalist novice and I have trouble with survivability. Would it be possible to provide a video demonstration in HoT or in other open world instances of how I can stay mobile while maintaining the rotation? Thanks!

obal.3218:

I looked at condi and it was like 11k compared to zerker 20k. Sword is op and torment isn’t a good condi for pve so it’s not worth running if you want to be optimal or anywhere near it. I assumed all buffs and shiro/mallyx with optimal gear.

Hi Obal. I understand that torment isn’t a good condition for pve but what if I specced for burning instead? Would this make a condi revenant or a hybrid revenant viable?

Shard.4372:

Can I ask why you chose the backpack you chose? Healing power seems like a waste on that build, plus it is such a small amount that it is very negligible and you are going to be much better off picking something that will give you more damage. Other than that, it looks good on paper, but condi rev is kinda crappy right now, so you’ll have to test it out somehow.

Thanks for the feedback! I guess you’re right with the backpack, Rabid would probably be more useful. And unfortunately I don’t have the funds to craft this set yet so hopefully we hear from a more prominent figure in the community

Hi everyone,
I’m a returning player for HoT and I’m interested in playing a condi/power hybrid build on the revenant. I really like the Mallyx legend, and want to focus on burning damage as opposed to Torment since PVE mobs may not necessarily move around. Please let me know what you think!

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vlEQRApX8nn3geNSuQvJRfoLlsR0jS4GaSJ4EtrkFNFqdBBoBpd4DlwugJshA-TRiAABJcQAgZ/hrV+B9JAAgHAQ06HqW9nKVCy9RAIAwBwu1tu1NY8xHf8xHvd3d3d3d3SBsoyK-e

Does anyone know if this has been fixed? For me this problem persists every day..

Hi OP,

Do you have a viable Necro build that takes advantage of the trait path of corruption or is centered around path of corruption? Would you recommend using condi or power necros for that trait?

Thanks in advance

TheDevice.2751:

izzuedotcom.2498:

Could we get a quick write-up of how you would use each build? Perhaps a quick rotation or tips of using each build effectively? I’m especially interested in the Lich Bomber build and how you intend to remain effective when Lich form is on CD

Well I was able to do a little rotation/play example for Lich bomber. I’ll be doing the same for the rest and some vids.

That would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Could we get a quick write-up of how you would use each build? Perhaps a quick rotation or tips of using each build effectively? I’m especially interested in the Lich Bomber build and how you intend to remain effective when Lich form is on CD

jcbroe.4329:

As far as the damage goes, you absolutely most run, at least in PvP, Axe/Dagger and Sword/Torch with and be fairly comfortable at dueling with that playstyle.

The builds I run for chill builds are:

BM: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fNAQRAnY8fjMq0vaBLWsQ0agDhqdJ8rjArA4dxusXdBPqA-TJhHwACOJAh2fAwTAwYZAA

Hi! I’d just like to let you know I’ve been using your chill BM Build for the past day with amazing results Both 1v1 and in a team setting (although I only play hotjoins atm) I’ve had great success and often end up top player on the team. Will definitely try out your other variations soon. Thanks!

Hi everyone. Aspiring to be decent pvp ranger here. I have a silly beginner’s question: Does Malicious Training actually work? I was trying out extra chill duration with arctic wolves, owls, and even Lynx, but none of them seemed to have a longer duration on practice dummies in PVP lobby. Is it still worth it to invest into this trait then?

jcbroe.4329:

StickerHappy.8052:

I think sources are a priority foremost because even you have a high duration but with only limited sources for it, it will get cleansed leaving you with limited options to re apply it

The best chill output I’ve found per duration is just going all in on chill. Axe/Dagger and Sword Torch, Sigils of Ice and Hydromancy, with Grenth Runes and 4 in Marksmanship (also, Malicious Training and an Owl).

That hits 50% duration (no, I didn’t calculate for food, somebody else that WvWs more can do that) which turns all of the 2s chills to 3s, meaning than on any given weapon swap, with sigils alone, you have 6/9 (2/3) chill uptime.

Axe now has kitten of chill, healing skills also do and AoE kitten chill, and an unlucky person is going to hit you and get kitten of chill. Oh, and the double hit of the owls F2 with Malicious Training should be 9 seconds of chill.

So, lots of chill lol.

But even with near permanent chill or a good uptime of chill and constant applications, will you do enough damage compared to your opponents? In a pvp setting its one thing to keep your foe chilled all the time to drag them down, but you’re still not too helpful of a player if you do no damage. How would you suggest we can still be effective? I’ve tried this kind of full chill build and I didn’t find myself as useful as other ranger builds

Cufufalating.8479:

It benifit is simply that it screws with your opponents entire playstyle and rotation and can really throw them off. It can be hard to see the impact it makes because there are no shiny numbers to look at on our end, but its like poison and weakness.. it just sits there in the background completely ruining your opponent, possibly without them even realising it, by slowing their CDs and more obviously stopping them moving more or less at all.

Perma chill is obviously the dream but it will never go down like that, but even a 50% chill uptime will mean melee opponents cant get to you, they cant effectively run away, they cant kite you if they are ranged, their skills will be taking 33% longer to come off CD which will hit their DPS and defence, it just all round messes them up.

I see. Thanks for the insight Now would it be possible for someone to have a video showcasing the potency of a chill oriented ranger? Or a chill build in general from any class?

I really like the idea of a chill ranger as its different (and we have lots of pets that apply the condition for some nice variety away from the “meta”) but what exact benefits would I have? I feel like going into chill or taking chill traits takes away from my effectiveness of just power burst or just condi, so what benefits would I have from my enemy having perm chill for example? Thanks for the feedback in advance

Anomaly.7612:

Mist form on D/D isn’t good. Replace that with Lightning flash for the Blazing speed/Lightning Flash combo.

Also, take that two out of Fire and put it in water for Cleansing. Super necessary.

What is the blazing speed/lightning flash combo?

I feel like there’s a lot going on here but your guide just kind of stopped. Is there more to the guide to come at a later time after the boons section? Also, would it be possible to supplement your guide with a video tutorial? thanks

oZii.2864:

CMC streams http://www.twitch.tv/cmcgw2 he is live right now

Thanks! I’m actually watching that right now. Are there any others you would recommend?

Hi All

I’ve recently taken a liking to Elementalists for sPVP and I was wondering if there are any good videos or streams that I could learn from. I wouldn’t say that I’m the best pvp player in general (I’m fairly new to that too) but I’m really looking for players or videos that could help me get better. I’m hoping to learn from some experienced players with D/D or perhaps staff as well.

Thanks in advance

I run/used to run Flamethrower kit too, but I’ve recently discovered that FT kit auto attack only tags 3 people. Since other AOEs tag 5 people, and in large zerg vs zerg its hard to miss anyway, grenades can be a good idea. You don’t really need to aim if you just throw the nades at 1500 range in the opposing zerg’s general direction as their mob will probably run into it. Food for thought

Fluffball.8307:

izzuedotcom.2498:

How does this build fair in the midst of a large wvw zerg? :P Or perhaps following a commander? I use the frontline sentanal build if I zerg on my ranger but I was wondering if this set up would work too

At one point during the video he shows himself joining the zerg by swapping in — I think it was soldiers armor, but the fight is over by the time he gets there. The toughness and vitality are already there, although protect me becomes pretty much useless and there is no stun breaker. So probably risky.

Thanks for the update, I didn’t get that far in the video

How does this build fair in the midst of a large wvw zerg? :P Or perhaps following a commander? I use the frontline sentanal build if I zerg on my ranger but I was wondering if this set up would work too

Ron Cordova.9824:

For BM, why do you recommend apothecary instead of cleric? Is it just personal preference or is there something about BM that synergizes better with condi?

Cleric works too, but I think the toughness line already gives condi damage so it just synergizes more. Having power works as well but it wouldn’t be a main or a side stat like condi would

Oh and your healing spring is a water field that lasts 10 seconds and pulses to clear condi. Amazing group utility right there with combos

Ron Cordova.9824:

Hi, ranger forums!

I am trying to figure out which class I want to call “home” or play as my main, but I’m having trouble

The issue is that I find the full-zerk-only pve meta to be somewhat boring, so I want a class that can play different, funky builds without totally gimping the group. I like support play like sharing boons (especially fury, protection, regen and aegis, those ones are the ones I find the coolest) so that’s cool with mesmer or guardian, but I’d prefer a medium armor class (I like the skill effects of those 3 classes most, even if their armors mostly look kinda kittenty). I’ve noticed that spotter/frost spirit/guard gets much less hate from groups than the mythical “bearbow 3 signets” build, but are there any OTHER ranger builds that can strongly support a group?

Are you looking to dungeon? Open world exploration? What kind of content do you want to play mostly?

I’ve played around with the spirit petting zoo, which basically has you traiting completely into spirits and then whatever you see fit (although spotter and frost spirit really is the best a ranger can give). It’s fun to give protection or burning on hit while giving other effects upon activity your spirits but for dungeon purposes your spirits will die easily.

You could also play a BM variation, use apothecary gear and spec for healing and play a regen ranger. With one of the shouts (I don’t remember but I think it’s guard) you can give the group permanent regen, swiftness, and some protection too, although these builds won’t be as “useful” as a pure zerk spotter frost spirit ranger.

For general support your pets can also be of use. Fern hound has a regen for example, krytan hound has an aoe immob, brown bear can condi clear, moas can give boons of sorts, and drakes can tank while providing blast finishers and various utilities

Hope this helps a bit

It’s great to keep garnering interest and posting our suggestions but do you think any of our ideas will ever be implemented? From the April patch so far all I really see being a changed is pet responsiveness, and this change isn’t really ground breaking. Personally I don’t think much has come out of the cdi so do you think there are other ways we could make ourselves heard? :/ spamming one thread doesn’t seem like an option there

I have all three of the classes you’re looking for and I dungeon on all of them. From strictly a weapon perspective, I’d say their survivability goes from rangers to ele and finally necro in that order. Reason being ranger great sword auto has a Dodge on every third hit, gs 2 (maul) has good burst, gs 3 can leap you away from danger, gs 4 is a block and gs 5 can daze/stun. However, the gs is not optimal for damage as much as sword is, but it is more durable. Ranger sword auto is a little tricky with the third hit but sword 2 and sword 3 give an evade each.

Ele is second since dagger in lightning has the highest rage of all melee attacks at 300. Aside from being able to cleave you can also stand at a reasonable distance while still being able to do damage. As well dagger dagger eles have a lot of cone attacks that are useful in dungeons such as fire 2 and water 2 that can do damage at range, although the skill cap for ele will be highest (yet most rewarding)

Necro is last in survivability from a weapon standpoint since dagger cannot cleave and the auto requires you to be in the closest range to a mob possible. The good news is that dagger auto attacks pretty quickly so with the right gear you pump out a lot of damage.

From a class mechanic perspective necros are potentially the most tanky since their death shroud saves them from high dmg hits (when used properly). Rangers have their pets to res them and have higher base armour than light armour classed. Ele again require the highest skill cap to stay alive since they have low armour and require active maintenance to stay alive.

Hope this helps and sorry if I went on tangent lol. I typed this from my phone and kinda forgot the initial question :P

All the builds you guys are submitting involve the bomb kit. So is it safe to assume that bomb kit is our most useful utility in a zerg? If yes, is it better to spec for power bombs or condi bombs? Thanks again

Phineas Poe.3018:

The bomb kit and is more than viable in WvW, whether solo roaming or at the front of a zerg. I comfortably plant myself on commanders in WvW with a 0/0/30/30/10 spec on my engineer.

When solo roaming, I suggest making a point to running with a weapon with a torment sigil. That on top of your burning and confusion will give you considerable condition damage.

Celestial is a good armor choice. It’s what I run pretty much everywhere in WvW, as it’s my ascended armor set. Durable enough to outlast most other enemies on the front line, but powerful enough to kill players in 1v1/2v2 situations.

You should run Rabid/Rampager over Dire for your jewelry, as you want the precision for on-crit effects like Incendiary Powder. Burning damage is actually one of the biggest contributors of our condition damage across the board in PvP/WvW, and I think a lot of players don’t value it enough. Full Dire may be a good survivability increase, but your damage output will go down the tubes.

I personally like running 20/0/10/30/10 when roaming, paired with a couple Giver’s weapons for additional duration, usually pistol and shield. I prefer rolling with my rifle for Jump Shot mobility when zerging (if I overextend), but if roaming the pistol/shield is ideal. Explosive Shot’s bleeding is marginal but it’s a nice cover condition if you’re facing someone with a lot of cleanses. Static Shot is also a nice blind, but Poison Dart Volley’s poison is one of the better conditions to use against guardians, warriors, and necromancers. Any class that relies on passive healing will crumble under poison.

Phineas do you mind sharing your zerging wvw build please?

Stewie.3549:

izzuedotcom.2498:

My shatter turret Engineer build

Not sure how viable this is, but it’d be fun to try out. I’m currently playing around with this as I level

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vcEQFAUlUUpmq1WxqKseRSMqAjD9Ix3fxgUo38+pAdB-zkxAorgQRAyeFRjtQWENWlNm6lIqmUAjKMC-w

I have never thought of that before… I need to try it. DESPERATELY

:) Glad to contribute something crazy yet possibly rewarding

My shatter turret Engineer build

Not sure how viable this is, but it’d be fun to try out. I’m currently playing around with this as I level

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vcEQFAUlUUpmq1WxqKseRSMqAjD9Ix3fxgUo38+pAdB-zkxAorgQRAyeFRjtQWENWlNm6lIqmUAjKMC-w

Having recently taken am interest in the engineer class and hoping to be useful in a wvw zerg, I was wondering if there are any builds that can make an engineer a useful addition. Thanks in advance

I run d/focus and d/warhorn as per stickied guide in necro forum. Very effective. 10/10 would recommend

Hi

I am in no way considered a pro, I just speak from experience since I’ve tried all 3 of the styles you’ve mentioned so take everything I say with a grain of salt

From a dungeon perspective, it is most effective to play a power necro since you’ll be able to help your team kill bosses and clear obstacles the fastest that way. Since almost all bosses can one shot you anyway, a large amount of your survivability comes from dodging and actually eliminating whatever it is that is damaging you, so that is why the power necros shine.

However, which style of necro you play is really up to what you like, and what you’re comfortable with. Personally speaking, I was new to this style of game whilst levelling so I found the “hit and run and watch them die” style of condition necros to be most effective for me. Power necros usually use single target weapons such as dagger and axes, and I found the aoe of scepter 2 and dagger 5 to be a lot more effective in taking out mobs while allowing me to survive, and thus I played conditions. However as I grew more comfortable with the class and staying in melee range, power necros seemed like a better idea since they helped my teams clear mobs faster, and I grew fond of the large numbers the builds are capable of.

So essentially I would say pick the weapon set you like the best and start from there, since what weapons you use dictate which build you’ll follow, and use that as a starting point to finding out what is fun and works for you.

As a side note, you can also play the largely controversial minions master necro, so there is actually more than just 3 ways to play this class :P I play a zerk minions master in dungeons sometimes and you’ll be surprised how effective that actually is. More targets to eat damage coupled with multiple sources of life siphon allow me to do my fair share of dmg while ensuring I never die. I’m usually the last one alive in my team and do enough damage to hold my own.

Hope something in here helps

Just curious, what exactly would the MM build in question look like? Thanks

Interesting idea. I’d love to see how this plays out

Hi. I’m new to rangers in a wvw scene and I was just wondering if this build / these builds are still viable. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I’ve recently picked up my ranger again and I was wondering if there is a build that makes rangers viable for wvw. I know rangers are great for dueling and roaming purposes, but are there builds that can make use of a ranger in large zerg fights as well? As far as I can think of the most useful additions a ranger can provide are water fields, fire field on torch, and might/fear/immobolize from pets. If anyone can provide some insight into this that would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

There’s a great thread stickied on this forum by dekeyz that answers your question. Her work is great so be sure to check it out

rasmataz.2309:

izzuedotcom.2498:

bettadenu.5483:

My Elementalist, rocking two Incinerators.

Front shot, back shot, side and action shots:)

https://dviw3bl0enbyw.cloudfront.net/uploads/forum_attachment/file/126565/gw016.jpg
https://dviw3bl0enbyw.cloudfront.net/uploads/forum_attachment/file/126566/gw017.jpg
https://dviw3bl0enbyw.cloudfront.net/uploads/forum_attachment/file/126567/gw004.jpg
https://dviw3bl0enbyw.cloudfront.net/uploads/forum_attachment/file/126568/gw011.jpg

X Marks the spot yo.

Does anyone know what this set is?

Oh my, male light I’m not so good at, compared to female.
Head: Hood of Grenth
Shoulders: human culture tier 3
Gloves: crafted masquerade (the rare ones)
Leggings: feathered

Miracle worker! Thank you boat loads. Do you also happen to know what the top is then?

bettadenu.5483:

My Elementalist, rocking two Incinerators.

Front shot, back shot, side and action shots:)

https://dviw3bl0enbyw.cloudfront.net/uploads/forum_attachment/file/126565/gw016.jpg
https://dviw3bl0enbyw.cloudfront.net/uploads/forum_attachment/file/126566/gw017.jpg
https://dviw3bl0enbyw.cloudfront.net/uploads/forum_attachment/file/126567/gw004.jpg
https://dviw3bl0enbyw.cloudfront.net/uploads/forum_attachment/file/126568/gw011.jpg

X Marks the spot yo.

Does anyone know what this set is?

This guide has just about everything you’re looking for. Written by DEKeyzToChaos and it is stickied on the ele forum

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/elementalist/Guide-DPS-Elementalist-Builds-for-PvE/first

Hi Everyone,

I recently got my ele to level 80 and I was looking to get full map completion. Are there any builds that are recommended for doing so? Preferably I’d like to be able to move across the map quickly with skills like Ride the Lightning and such, but also be able to take on groups of mobs if needed and not die quickly. If someone could link me a few builds that would be highly appreciated. Thanks!

Happened to me today. 1/6/2014. Would have thought an issue that occured a year ago would be resolved by now.

spoj.9672:

I hope this answers your question.

Great explanation. Yup this covers everything I need, thanks!

spoj.9672:

But if anyones serious about dungeons then they should go for optimized builds which are accepted by the top guilds. My build is regarded as the only way to build necro for optimized play by all the top dungeon guilds and players.

Sorry I’m kind of new to the whole power dungeon necro thing and could you explain how that build is more optimal than Nemesis’s build for example? From the traits of your build and his build it appears that his build has higher damage boosters (such as axe training giving +10% dmg, close to death +20%) while your build is mostly based off target the weak which only gives 2% damage for each condition. Realistically speaking a dungeon boss won’t have 10 conditions on him in every party right? So wouldn’t the damage bonus from his build coupled with the might/vulnerability stacking be more powerful? Once again I don’t mean to attack or insult anyone, I’m just new to this scene and would like to inquire more. Thanks

Faux Sheaux.6179:

Your regenerations apply passively for the most part. The main one is the trait that applies then when you take burn/bleed/poison damage. There’s another one but I forget the name at the moment. Regenerations applied by the fern hound stacks on top of your regular duration, but during the time that the regenerations applied by the fern hound are in effect, you are healing for less than you would have with your own regenerations applied. Since you will have 100% uptime of regeneration when you fight, you don’t need fern hound because it will heal you for less than you would have healed for anyways.

And yes it is normal. The only effects applied to your pets are those explicitly saying that they will in your traits. The toolbar error is a known bug that the developers have ignored for over a year for whatever reason.

Oh thanks OP!

Faux Sheaux.6179:

Don’t use regenerations applied by the hound. It doesn’t apply any buff or stat attributed to the player. In fact, unless you have less than 300 healing power, I’d swap out the hound. Any regeneration you apply will heal for much more otherwise.

What other regenerations can I actively apply then? Other than the regeneration that comes from the Dwayna runes and the regeneration from the healing spring I don’t really think there are other regenerations. Additionally, is it normal that the regeneration duration increases don’t apply to my Fern Hound’s regeneration? Thanks again

Sorry if this is a silly question, but I recently wanted to try this build and I wanted to go the power variant (So full exotic cleric’s with GS and Axe/Warhorn just to try things out) and I’ve noticed that my regeneration boon applied by the Fern Hound doesn’t benefit from Nature’s Bounty 33% regen increase nor does it benefit from my Superior Runes of Dwayna +20% regen duration. It doesn’t show on the tooltips nor does it actually last longer than 11 seconds. Is this happening to anyone else? When I tried this on the gw2 calculator the regen durations lasted appropriately, they just don’t work with the bonus durations in game.

I don’t know if its just me but I would love to be able to have Braham’s hair..

I very much so agree. I was actually looking to make a new Norn character after seeing this NPC’s new hair but was saddened to see it wasn’t an available option.

Also, what is the armor the Braham NPC is wearing? What is the weapon and armor called? And is that a shield he’s holding? Does anybody know?