Guild Wars 2

Personally, I don’t think a player should be able to survive through a 2v1 match, unless he outwits/outskills the other two significantly. Currently, that is the case with Elementalists IMO.

Grevender.9235:

+1 for weapon swap DURING combat (why we can’t change range as everyone else do? we are the squishiest anyway, so why worry?)
And boost our damage while you are at it, thanks

Allow me to explain.

Today, when Elementalists tell each other what skills they use, we must specify attunement and attack number (which leads to 20 combinations). For example:
F1 (Fire 1), W5 (Water 5), A2 (Air 2), etc.

Similarly, all other classes can specify a weapon and skill number:
Rifle 1, Dagger 5, etc.

Now imagine, if you may, that Elementalists had to talk about skills this way:

ScF1 (Scepter Fire 1), DE5 (Dagger Earth 5), SW4 (Staff Water 4)

With 4 weapons (focus only having 2 skills, and scepter only having 3), we’d have 60 possible skills to switch between during combat.

This is why.

draxynnic.3719:

the concept of there being 6 easy professions and 2 hard ones is one that’s been coming up a lot. What the second one is, however, seems to vary according to the speaker – some would say thief, some mesmer, some necromancer.

Spot on, my friend… spot on.

As for the rest of the post… Picture a pro elementalist from one of the videos shared here. Now picture them with 30% more survivability.

The common issue to all these skills is that they’re leaps, and probably use the same targetting/movement methods. It’s not that they made a list; “Let’s fix all class bugs… except Elementalist! trollface” It’s just that fixing one of these skills, by definition, would fix the other ones if they use the same code.

I’m sure some developer out there has a ticket in his backlog system, saying “FIX RIDE THE LIGHTNING” with priority “URGENT!!!!1!!one!!!1!2!!eleven!”.

You’ll have to excuse them for the time being, I’m certain the developers are working very hard these days. Not many people have noticed that, over the first couple of weeks, we had regular updates – even on weekends. This means there were people sitting and working on Saturday just to make sure our game experience ran smoothly.

And besides, if you were an ArenaNet developer, would you really want to start a discussion with a militant kitten like myself? Heck, I wouldn’t want to

Nobody is arguing that bugs shouldn’t be fixed, and numbers “tweaked”, MarzAttackz. I only want to keep the level of complexity of the class.

I use the Frost Bow in Dungeons only, to Freeze + AoE the target. I believe it even works on a couple of bosses (definitely on one of the Asura champions in CoE Story). Vulnerability stacking is also very good for boss fights, as each stack provides +1% damage, and it stacks quite a few on there.

Trust me, the conjured weapons are far from useless.
Lightning Hammer is excellent at solo PvE against groups of monsters (AoE blind faster than most mobs attack you).
Frost Bow is excellent in dungeons (Deep freeze, stacking vulnerability, and an AoE attack that deals loads of damage)

I’m sure there are uses for the other weapons that I haven’t figured out yet. The greatsword for wPVP would make sense, as it has mainly AoE attacks.

I get you, Wulfrim, you’re good in my book. But this “reward-centric” attitude displayed by many people, to me, feels like a remnant of “that other MMO”. GW is about having fun playing, it’s about becoming better because you became a better player – not because your character got better gear.

I’m just afraid to wake up next year and see a GW expansion featuring Pandas -_-

Can I ask you all a question? If you enjoy playing Elementalist, and you think other classes are not as much fun despite getting results more easily — then why are you expecting a reward? Since when has gaming become about being rewarded, rather than playing for fun?

Guild Wars 2, from its inception, had tried to put Fun at the center rather than Reward. Is this not enough?

Emerald.8653:

• If a hit of the storm consumed a charge of arcane power, it will proc elemental surge. Thus, if you pop arcane power and then earth arcane storm, the first five ticks of the tornado will each cause immobilize to all targets hit.

Now this sounds … interesting.

Excuse me for a moment while I change my spec.

I’d imagine each individual hit from the storm would be counted as an attack, and not the whole storm.

@Killah
All I can tell you is that I regularly score amongst the top 2 in sPvP matches as an elementalist, and I don’t find 1v1 fights difficult. I do, however, find 2v1 difficult to survive through.

Forget about them nay-sayers, Elementalist is a great class and is not broken; anyone who says it is just needs to Live 2 Party.

@Dire, if you see ‘difficulty’ as an indication that something is broken, then WoW has just launched Mists of Panderia – you’re welcome there where everything has been nerfed to the ground. Want to mash just one button over and over and get top scores? They’ve got a class for that. Meanwhile, in the land of the people who like challenge in games, we’re all looking at folks like you and think “Like 2 Pretzels”.

Wulfrim, don’t you already need to switch to an element every 10 seconds to make sure you have the buff?

Those are really nice ideas; removing RNGs and build restrictions in favor of more predictable yet balanced buffs.

Elric of Grans.7684:

You do realise, then, that most of your militant personal attacks are against people asking for one or more of the things I listed above, right?

You, perhaps; but what I’ve seen so far were “Elementalists are Underpowered”, not “The Elementalists’ skills are broken”. Yes, I don’t like it when RtL goes in the completely opposite direction, and it should be fixed; but to say Elementalists are underpowered and comparing them to classes that spam attacks — this is what I don’t want. Because those players are saying “A Thief can spam attacks, why can’t Ele?”.

I’ve had enough spamming a set rotation in WoW, I like the way this game keeps me on my toes regarding my next attack.

EDIT: Regarding your redesign vs fix argument, all I have to say is:
Blizzard would argue otherwise. Just take a look at how every class was dumbed down over time in WoW.
And anyone who played the beta knows that we had the same arguments here back then; and ANet nerfed the game between Beta and Release to please all the whiners who found it too hard.

If you sit complicitly, they will change things to please the whiners. That’s how life works.

Of course he’s trying to, but he’s using strawmen arguments to do it. The amount of points you get in a match is dependent more on the other team than on yourself, while whether you win or lose depends on your own team.

If you face a group of AFKers who stand like lambs to the slaughter, then you can rack up 500 points. Does this mean you are good? Of course not.

However, when you’re facing organized teams, with players helping each other and defending capture points, there will be a lot less deaths – hence a lot less points.

Which to me makes his whole “385 points as a ranger” argument completely insulting.

Excellent gameplay video! I only wish the camera wouldn’t jerk around so much so I could see which skills you were hitting.

THIS
More of this, please!

Vaerah.4907:

Well I can prove I was “good enough” in past games while he has yet to prove anything in here beyond he’s a troll.

“I can prove”
“He has yet to prove”

See, the funny thing is, you have yet to prove anything yourself, either. The difference between us, is that I’m not here to prove anything. I’m here because I like this class the way it is, and I don’t want crybaby voices being the only ones ANet sees if they look over the forums.

I don’t want to be dragged into a 1-up contest with you, because I’m not here to embarrass you. I’m here to make my voice heard that Elementalist is fine the way it was designed, by this game’s excellent designers.

Vaerah, you know what, I don’t care any more. Whine all you want, cry to change the class for whatever arbitrary reasons. I’m enjoying it. People who are actually playing the game – are enjoying it. Perhaps I will record a video of me singing the L2P song.

And seriously, you think I’m somehow impressed by the fact you made PvP videos in other games!? Dear lord, I’m soooooooo intimidated. I could 1-up that in a heartbeat, but that’s not the kind of person I am.

The video itself was fine, and of course your editing skills are very nice. I didn’t want to sound like a plain hater, but it’s just that the “Elementalist” here could have been interchanged with any thing.

Turpo.9458:

Amnon obviously doesnt approve anyone else than himself as "pro"elementalist. No offense, but thats just what picture I’ve gotten from you.

I would love for nothing more than a video to shut all the haters up once and for all, but watching the last 5 seconds of one fight after another in slo-mo, to me, doesn’t show the player’s skill. If you could show me videos of whole matches, or even just a whole skirmish, I’d be more than pleased.

As someone who knows how to play the class, I don’t expect nor WANT a bonus for playing it right. I don’t WANT to be overpowered.

Utilizing elementalist 100% should yield the same result as utilizing a Thief 100%. I don’t care how hard it is to utilize either to 100%.

Agreed. This is why I’m so militant about those players here who want to “buff” (aka simplify) the Elementalist class.

With scepter/dagger you have to make sure to circle the target rather than kite it. The idea is to run and dodge behind it, to keep the enemy more or less standing in place. If you can do that, then hitting with Dragon tooth or Phoenix is simple and easy AoE damage. Not having to run around far also means you’re less likely to unintentionally pull something else.

This is also why I don’t use S/D in PvP, because any half-witted player would know to not stand under the big floating tooth that’s gonna crash down on you any second now.

Obviously Staff can also get you the kill; chill + lava font, enough stuns/blinds/knockbacks to keep you alive for quite a while… I just find it faster to kill NPCs with the scepter. But again, I am me, you are you; if you look at my posts they were all “recommendations”, I tried never to force any decisions.

Personally, I’m disappointed ANet chose only 4 elements for this class to attune to. What about Psychic, Poison, Steel, and Grass?! I want a gosh darn PSYBEAM ATTACK!

If you open this combo with RtL/Updraft, then it works fine.

Arheundel.6451:

Ring of fire-burning speed -double arcane-earthquake….with a naga you can do that in 3s flat…this or simply I have learned to to cast spells on the fly

Shhhhh! Before they implement a GCD.

tom.7468:

why not just give them railgun and peacemaker gatling gun aswell they should both do 100k dmg per shot and grant permanent shield to projectiles!

That’s fine, but then you gotta give thieves Sniper Rifles with Invisibility Cloaks, and Warriors get Nukes.

Ahhh, the good ole’ days of ASSAULT MUD…

No need to fight over this, Incisorr. I can see why staff is good for organized team-play, where you are communicating via TS/Vent during the right. However, for normal sPvP, where people run off and you end up alone a lot of the time, Dagger/Dagger (And even Scepter/Dagger) is better than staff.

suroktheslayer.9346:

Btw I’m talking d/d. D/D is crazy strong but you have to play the class like a grand piano. Any ele worth their salt knows when you get in that zone of skill rotation its an awesome feeling. No other class comes close. I just can’t relate to the whine posts.

Wish I could +2 you

Novalight.7568:

So many arguments why ele doesn’t suck are quite bad. You have this and that skill, you have utilities and whatnot, you can dodge…oh sure, like all the tools are up 100%, and god forbid you’d have something on cooldown, or if you don’t predict the future and see the thief teleporting to you or that warrior that came behind you and bullrushed you, I totally agree that 1 single mistake must cost you your life, it’s a harsh world out there, must not get spoiled!

Lame excuse. An enemy with
20 might can’t kill an Elementalist if he’s downed and
Paralyzed all the time.

Now let’s see if you can find the hidden message.

If you’re planning on mixing Solo PvE and dungeons, set your traits to Dungeon mode. When it comes to solo PvE, you honestly can do it without the trait bonuses.

I wouldn’t recommend using a Staff for solo PvE. For that, I recommend Scepter/Dagger, as they give you good mobility with AoE damage.

I always carry a scepter, dagger, and staff in my inventory. When I enter a dungeon, I use the staff. For PvP, I use Dagger/Dagger.

I agree that Elementalists could use a PvP-themed downed skill. As for Mesmers, oh how I hate you guys! The first 10% of the fight is killing you, and the following 90% is trying to finish you off in downed state!

I’ve posted a (few) tips for Dungeons as an Elementalist. I’d gladly answer more specific questions if you have any.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/elementalist/Elementalist-tips-Dungeoneering

@Vaerah
Elementalist is not a “Mage”. Heck, it’s more a Melee class than ranged anyway.
You want a “Mage” get a Necro.

Elric of Grans.7684:

Amnon, serious questions.

1) Would fixing the bugs make the class less enjoyable?
2) Would improving underperforming skills (eg Arc Lightning) make the class less enjoyable?
3) Would some animation tweaks (eg Dragon’s Tooth dropping quicker) make the class less enjoyable?
4) Would replacing bad/never used Traits with more interesting options make the class less enjoyable?
5) Would making all weapon options equally appealing make the class less enjoyable?

No sarcasm, not intent to troll or anything like that. These are the points most of those dissatisfied are asking for change in. Do you honestly believe these changes would make the class worse/less enjoyable?

Of course not, but I just don’t want Elementalist to turn into an overpowered spam-fest, leave-your-brain-at-the-door class like a thief spamming HS.

@DaedalusDragon.3754
Shot myself in the foot? Why, because I feel like Elementalist is the most fun playstyle for me, providing me with a good amount of challenge while not feeling handicapped?

There’s something seriously wrong with you if you’re here to force me to change the one class I actually enjoy playing most, just because YOU don’t enjoy it. Would it make any sense for me to go to the Thief’s forum and whine that they aren’t complex enough? Of course not.

Why don’t you all just concede to the fact that not all classes are easy, and that shouldn’t be changed? Just accept it and play a class you enjoy, while I play a class I enjoy.

If you find no “focused” traits for Elementalists, it’s only because you haven’t given them enough thought yet. What about those traits about Auras – getting free Aura from the Fire tree, getting Vigor/Regen for every Aura from the Air tree, all Auras apply to allies from the Water tree.

Or perhaps the vulnerability traits from Water/Arcana?

Or weapon charges + frost bow grants regen from Fire/Water?

It’s there, it’s just not that obvious to see.

By the way, the word “earth” applying to both land and the planet is more of a Latin thing – it is not the same in all languages.

In German and English, Erde (Earth) applies to both Ground (dirt) and the Planet Earth.
In Semetic languages this is not the case.

DaedalusDragon.3754:

Where are we without reason and logic? I’ve never played WoW…. are you being sarcastic…. I’m a little confused by your post.

And Amnon…. I hadn’t meant to include you. Your only post in this topic befuddles me.

My apologies then, I’ve just been arguing on pretty much every other “Elementalist is underpowered” thread that’s it’s hard to keep track. I don’t believe Eles are weak, I believe they simply take some more practice than others, and perhaps more nimble fingers.

If you master attunement switching, and know what each skill in each attunement does, you’ll be A-OK.

Kaine.3501:

So the cavemen named the dirt earth?

Let me find my time machine and ask.

DaedalusDragon.3754:

Depends on what came first. The name for dirt and the like, or the name for the planet on which we preside?

Logically, I’d imagine the name for dirt would come first. Cavemen saw dirt long before they knew what continents or planets were.

Note by moderator: Quote deleted since the original message does not exist any longer

Please, I posted a thread with tips for dungeoneering as an elementalist. And when some guy asked on one of the other threads, I gave him my entire PvP lineup.

EDIT: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/elementalist/How-s-the-DPS-for-elementalist-Best-Mid-range/first#post211952

@Deinonychus.1498
I tried my best not to force you into any specific build, and even I play around with the talents between each run. ATM I have 10 points in Earth for the 50% Earth Shield trait, as I find the defensive traits useful when reviving allies who are a bit more towards where the action is.

In my opinion, reviving downed allies is key to a successful fight.

Regarding Meteor Shower, I seem to recall doing AC Explorable with the staff trait from Arcana, and my Meteor AoE being larger than the gravelings’ burrows. I could be wrong here though. Either way, I don’t find that it gives much use to me – but if you find it useful, go ahead and take it.

@Jikap.6547
I believe I mentioned it, but I mainly use Arcane Blast for the AoE healing. I put down a Geyser or Healing Rain, make my way to the player (or hopefully group) who needs it most, and blast! If it’s a really faceroll fight, I put down a Lava Font instead for the might.

http://xkcd.com/1112/

I’m getting the feeling he might be reading these forums…

An overflow server would almost always have fewer players than a normal server, because by definition it would require at least one normal server to be full for people to even reach overflow. Of course, if that server IS full, nobody from there would want to go to Overflow, because they have no problem finding players on their full server.

In GW1, you had the ability to swap servers as you wished; you could go to the German server, and back to English, or “International”. Most of the time, you’d find the most players in the plain old default English one.