Guild Wars 2

Leiloni.7951:

No Ele is definitely fairly dependent on their trait setup IMO.

is that your experience or your opinion.

My opinion based on my experience, still pretty nooby, is that i can spec all kinds of ways and as long as i have about 14k+ HP everything feels about as hard as it ever does.

gems, armor and weapons seem to make the most difference. can not say that the traits make or break me in any way.

I have a theory that the ele can unset all traits and do about as well as having set them.

My theory is that the ele is much more dependent on how i play the game rather than how i set up my character.

I am banking that if i played with no traits set i would not really notice the difference.

i used this set up for several hours of spvp as well. although lightning flash just got wasted fat fingered too much for my taste. so i generally used arcane shield/cleansing fire(for the burn)/mist form.

I think this setup is one of the first levels of the ele learning curve. it works.

I have found though that it doesnt really matter how i trait as long as it is somewhat reasonable.

I do about the same no matter what i do.

currently im runing 25/0/25/20/0 s/d arcane shield/flaming axe/mistform/tornado

Playing the ele really seems to come down to more about how good i am at the game and where the buttons are more than how i trait.

as long as my build is somewhat reasonable i seeem to do about the same in spvp.
My 1v1 ability is ok but sometimes i just get dominated
My biggest issues are mesmers and thieves.
mesmers because i spend all my time attacking, stomping and being killed by illusions.
thieves because they do a lot of damage.
and both of these issues are game skill things.

case 1 is true in pve not in pvp.
i had a situation last night where a guy did not know how to stomp or didnt want to.
i mist formed 5 or 6 times and always came back with the same health.
His pet was constantly attacking me so i could not heal.

That would have went on longer but i got 500 points and won the match.
he could not kill me before the mist form came back.

trokiijs.5947:

Greatsword is much better:)

i like the great sword too but not as much as the axe.
60 second CD vs 180 and a faster ae. 2 of them.

im thinking im going to try to build a little around the conjurs… i think im about to level in my ele know how.

I like the greatsword SO much better than the tornado.

What i was doing, and my again, was taking the runes of lysaa and the fiery great sword elite.
Then when i cast it i got every boon. fury and haste and all that other stuff.
Now that i know i can use the conjures from mistform it will make that even better.

scepter fire autoattack is not that bad when i have specced for condition and power.
thats 600+ fire damage on top of the base damage.

thats spvp.
conjured axe auto does about 500 but its faster. hmmm. with a crit power build the axe would be hitting for near 1k per hit.

the axe is a better, if shorter ranged, scepter/dagger.

It does pretty good fire damage.
It makes me feel cool to lay down two rings of fire on top of eachother.

been using it for a few pvp fights.

the auto attack is fast and does decent damage.

I like to have 14k+ HP.
for spvp runes i generally go for effects i like around stats that i like.
so right now im running with
25/0/25/20/0
arcane shield/flaming ax/mistform.
centaur runes for the run buff when using a healing skill.
that will change im sure.

but i have done all kinds of variations.
It seems to me it just does not matter all that much.
What matters a lot more is that i get my combos down and i like what i am doing.
i do about the same no matter what i try.

i did 30/30/0/10/0 build once and just stayed in air mostly. that worked too…

im just saying that… a few points difference does not really seem to be a game changer. to me…
weapon choice… now that changes things.

that could be because everything i have tried was all kittened up or… it could be i just suck at the ele… or whatever. i dont know.

i know its painful but eles have only a few HP. not getting hit is their best defense.
In spvp it feels like im getting slaughtered but im not. my score is above average often and sometimes on top.

Im just saying it feels really bad i know. but you are likely doing about the same as anyone else. that warrior may not get 2 shotted but he dies a lot too.

go into mist form then cast the axe and i can use its abilities while in mist form.

that is was it appears anyway.

yeah i have used this some. it may be the mistform ends when the ax comes but not the graphic or something i dont know.

The axe is actually a pretty good weapon.

are you doing at level or lower content or higher or dungeons?
at level content doesnt mean a whole lot IMHO.
for instance my warrior can not be killed by 1 or 2 at level mobs.

first what area are you building for?
spvp, tpvp, pve, wv3

no if both go down at the same time and are nuking eachother, maybe there is a better down strat here than just trying to nuke eachother down…, when i get to low health i mist and come back and more than half and they are still well under half
then the nuke war starts again and i kill them.
.

if i take the trait that allow mist form to do damage then i can do about 3k damage while im at it.

+10% when endurance is full.

can someone explain this effect?

When i add to earth it ups my weapon damage.
+condition damage does not.

I tried this with a steady weapon in the mists.
this is from memory so the number may be a little off.
cleared all trait points.
added full earth
weapon damage went from 49 to 56
added full fire.
weapon damage went from 56 to 64

is this normal?

Oh it must have been from a minor trait. i only set the grandmaster trait to get all the points.
like +5% vs vbleeding or something….

yeah pay attention to those combo fields and the delayed damage of some abilities.

Say you start the fight off in something other than air. Fire burns, earth bleeds and if you say start the fight in earth then you can switch to fire and then to air almost as soon as you finish casting 1 spell from there.

and then switch to air for the main fight.

AVHero.7382:

Haette.2701:

tarnin.1690:

BobTheJanitor.4936:

Engi downed 2 does still interrupt a stomp though.

downed state 2 does NOT interrupt a stomp. It’s a root, thats it. It might prolong it if the stomper isnt ontop of you but that’s about it. At least the engi can knock people away.

Engineer’s pull does interrupt. Elementalist’s root does not.

Ele is only class that can’t readily interrupt a stomp then I guess. So, ele downed state is the worst in a PvP situation (more specifically 1v1. Both classes are screwed if two people try to stomp them simultaneously, whereas classes like mesmer and thief can escape multiple stompers).

I think the downed mechanic is really cool theory wise, but combined with the stomp mechanic adds an extra layer of complexity that needs to be balanced, which is annoying. Perhaps if the root interrupted initially as well? But then the elementalist clearly overtakes the engi.

the ele downed state is the worst at preventing a stomp.

Its OK IF you both go down at the same time. Its not great its just ok.

arcane wave does pretty good damage. and in combination with all the other stuff it likely is fine but i have trouble believing that any ele combo will kill someone at full health. Unless they are another ele maybe.

I am just not impressed with ele damage in any combination in S/D
Im getting better at the ele but kitten if it is not hard to play. H2P.

Try the build out on the NPCs in the mists. The thief there has enough burst damage to kill an ele much like pvp.

If you can kill that thief in one combo…. then that is cool.

guy said this to me tonight.
he had an engineer…
I laughed a bit at this and then i realized hes right IF we both go down at the same time.
ele has a pretty big heal by turning to mist.
then can turn that offensive trait wize as well.

But i explained to him that if an ele is downed there nothing they can do to stop the stomp.

please note that the ele is a true 80 and the ones she killed are not.

Still a skilled ele is fun to watch and frustrating to realize… im not that good. lol.
I mean i get in there with the ele and at best i can see where i screwed up…

I guess thats a good thing. So i can learn from mistakes.
err. i have no idea what video im talking about now…

the thing the tooth is that its a pretty quick cast. takes a while to land but i can move on after i cast it.

so primarily what i use the tooth for is combo field buffing. its pretty easy to get 10+ stacks of might setup with scepter/focus in a few seconds. and with a ranger laying down water fields now i can get some decent healing going on while i sort of blindly cast offensive spells.

but… imho unless you are doing higher level mobs or dungeons you can pretty much do whatever.

sorry levian i was really not trying to be a kitten. i was completely serious.
Fight higher level mobs too. do dungeons.

There are huge debates about attument switching and if its the right thing or not. ultimately you will have to find what you like and you can only do that by seeing what the effect is.
That said i liked scepter focus and attument switching for tough pve content. all other content does not really matter in my humble opinion. Its all easy mode.

on a side note. something i think is missing from the mists is combo fields to see what effect those have

problem with the ele is that they are hard to play to get pretty much the same effect as other classes.
thats a blessing and a curse.
the class with dagger off hand is fun. it makes me want to drive fast.

lol.
Strangely true story donkey as most beginner eles can not switch attunements quickly and so they get comfortable with 1. so they are sort of seperated… waiting patiently to get combined.

There are no noob ele builds.

You dont think the mists is good advice? Interesting.

go the pvp section of the character screen. its near the bottom.
on the left of that screen is a rectangular button.
“go the mists” i think.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Hero_panel

!http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/File:Hero_panel_pvp.jpg!

focus has a 4 second invulnerability… which is pretty golden for the skillless.
Which all ele initiates are.
i used focus in spvp for a long while and it was my favorite for running dungeons with.
the anti projectile stuff stops some attacks like kohlers pull.

I have come to the conclusion, with help from some others, that playing the ele in spvp wihthout already having some other character that you have ranked to 10-20 in spvp is asking for a lot of frustration. doesnt really matter what you choose. I kind of like that uphill grind myself…

a good ele runner can make most of the stuff work. its just a matter of how you want to play it.

dagger off hand is a much more exciting build. in spvp.

welcome to the ele. please keeps your hand and feet inside the car…

Go to the mists. everything is there for free and they give ways to test it in variety of ways.

go to the mists. you get access to everything there and ways to test it.

Dude… Go to the mists. They have a bunch of tools there to help you figure this stuff out and you get access to all skills and traits. No need to buy stuff you’re not sure you want.

Target dummies. weapons that have no damage variance. most of the armor and weapon bonus items.

I like the complexity of the ele and various play styles.
But i am pretty certain that other classes are just easier in spvp.

In pve i like the ele.
I think i like the warrior more.

I have more fun playing the ele when i play it with scepter/dagger.
when i play with focus i can stay alive but i have trouble killing stuff which results in me dying.

PUG spvp is hard. when the opponents have voice chat or are just good its hard to compete when learning an ele. nothing feels strong enough.

run away more.

I like using fast ground target but i cant see my cursor when things are hectic so it is hard to use.

Would it possible to surround the cursor with a smaller green targetting bullseye or target symbol. Either by a new toggle or as part of the fast ground target toggle.

i just cant see the cursor when the screen is filled with stuff.

I think you are right. there are no noob builds.
the ele has a learning curve like eve pvp.

im thinking that there is a progression on learning here though.
at one point i was doing a scepter/focus build designed around air where i swapped not at all.
30/30/10/0/0
that was weak but it showed something about how the stuff worked in pvp…

so to learn it has to be a heavy defense build. to stay alive long enough to learn the finger mechanics.
how to flip atunments and get used to utility placements.

scepter/focus or dagger/focus.
i like scepter because it has more range and the air skills are faster.

i found that once i got the atunement flipping a little more under control it was not so hard to swap out focus for dagger.

I think after getting that more down it would not be so hard to swap scepter for dagger.

There is an arrow over their head? wow… i guess i need a bigger monitor….

Sorry I guess i meant not a noob to mmo pvp. a noob to this game.
im leaning towards the build that eurosdown points out.

0/0/10/30/30 cantrips.
scepter/focus.
but maybe and certainly later
scepter/dagger.

Hey guys i was wondering what you all think is the best pvp ele noob build. not wvw.

think of someone who has done little spvp. has played ele in mostly pve.
likely doesn’t really know how to play the class.

something to keep them alive under pressure so they can learn the finger dex needed and how to use the get out of jail cards.

not really a noob to pvp but a noob to pvp in this game.

i was going to say how do you all defend against this.
i just do not see myself getting hit by 100 blades unless i am in a world of hurt anyway and then only by looking at the logs.

my vote is condition.
condition will bump power as well so you do more condition damage and regular damage. at least that is what it appeared to be for me.

the illusions on down is rough.

guys how do you counter this and other mesmer illusions. they make me target crazy… once things are hectic i can not tell what is happening.

sort of off topic but conditions really should not concern an ele.

I wish that the npc mesmer training target used illusions.

I feel your pain.
I try to not get hit by that.
mistform.
focus earth 5.
arcane shield.
dagger air 5

Ele can move. I dont mean that in a negative way. i mean they can move around really well.

yeah once i get the basic finger mechanics needed in pvp scepter/dagger has some good fighting ability.

I think i still recommend scepter/focus for people that need things to go a little slower. Focus doesnt need quite so much work to use.

but wow scepter/dagger is… well fun.
the mobility is outstanding. at least in burst it is. i still get locked down and hacked to pieces sometimes but taking out noobs is much much easier with this setup.

RamataKahn.4283:

Far from underpowered http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBDpx3UtCao&feature=em-uploademail-new

Oh of course. that makes a lot of sense. Maneuverability.
Plus tank and dps.
oh wait no focus…
the tank is maneuverability.

i get it. this scepter dagger seems to be the next level of these builds. maneuverability tank… more difficult.
I just got not bad at scepter/focus.
scepter/focus is/was useful for me to learn to play. get my finger skills going.
i can see that dagger off hand is pretty good.
dagger/dagger may be too offensive for my blood.

well thats considerably easier than i thought it was.
that is interesting.

What about the combos?

at one point i had a 30 earth build and was using the signets keep their passive… i may have to revisit that.

I see it mentioned in the traits and in posts but I have not seen how to make them. I feel I’m missing out on some basic elemental ability and could be a big reason the class has so hard to play

I know the feeling. the fact of the matter is that the ele … at least so far that i have found… is not a good solo class.

I generally get in the top half of 8 man pvp with a few days of playing the ele.
Yes the ele is squishy. I use offhand focus to help with that.
I think that once i have some skills down that i could get off the focus and learn to survive in other ways.

Nevertheless its not often i win a duel but i do win matches.

So my advice… dont solo. Find someone and follow them.
make sure you know your defenses so that heartseeker doesnt make you rage quit.
there are a few times that i almost gave up learning the basics of ele because of that one move.

When i stay with a group and i spam boons i do a lot better. When i really want to kill something i use fiery great sword.

i have been using this build lately.
http://www.gw2db.com/skill-builds/1827-supporty-greatsword

i have tried a few different setups and i like this ones survivability.

I am not sure the fiery great sword needs any tweaking. its seems pretty good to me.

I have used scepter focus for a few levels and i like it. being defensive means i can do higher level combat. not that in itself is better but the fights are also much more interesting. they say higher level content gives a higher magic find… I get a lot of items too high level for me but they sell ok.

focus for me in dungeons is a life saver both for myself and others. emergency res. knockdown. the anti range attack stuff can prevent some of those yanks that boss mobs do if they are projectiles. least it seems to work.

although its taken quite a few tries to start to get a feel for how i like to use it i can finish in the top half of the 8 man spvp pretty regularly. but im only rank 10.

in a group i try to combo off my fire wall and get about 10 stacks of might built up for everyone. I use this in pvp at well. I use it a lot. everytime i stop i rebuff that combo. at one point we were getting 20 stacks of might. having a ranger in the group is good too. lay down fire in the water field and stack up regen and might.

The ele is hard to play. its squishy. if i go up against anything that hits hard im going to feel it. the invulnerability in the earth focus is so powerful that i have trouble not using it because when i feel like i might get squishy I’m suddenly not.

I stack this up with mist form sometimes to hold out a little longer.
pop the earth invulnerability so i can stand safely cast tornado or fiery great sword. that sword is awesome.

In regular pve though… it does not matter. unless i go into dungeons or try to hit content about 5 levels higher than me.

tornado form
the “superior rune of lyssa” does not grant all boons when entering tornado form.
Conjuring fiery great sword does.
The combination of mist form, rune and lyssa, and tornado would be a nice build concept. Doesnt work in multiple ways.

orlen.7810:

it’s hard not to find arena net are being ridiculous about the ele, they wanted all classes to be able to solo everything to some extent that’s why they keep going on about not having the holy trinity of tank dps healer as an individual class.

so why is it then that ele has such terrible defencive capabilities? and is not by any stretch of the imagination suitable for a game that doesn’t have tanks and healers.

they want they best of both worlds here, they want glass cannon but they don’t want the trinity of classes…well sorry but you can’t have your cake and eat it, either ele gets buffed in defence or it gets a freaking massive buff in offence to offset the absolutlely terrible defence.

one or the other arena net, you can’t nerf them both and expect ele to be remotely fun.

The ele has some very powerful defensive abilities. I can completely negate multiple spinning axes and other stuff pretty easily in spvp. my warrior can do that too but he cant move or fight. the ele can.

It is the dps and getting it to all work together that is hard for me. I can stay alive for a long while 1v1. but the rare solo’s that i have run into recently generally end up with me trying to dissect the information from the fight while the walk away with half health.