Guild Wars 2

innocent ouarior.1954:

Besides, Sekai is right, you should create a ranger and play the spec to check what to dodge and what are the weak spots. Even tho you may probably end up just playing the character because its awesome

That’s actually what I started doing last night. My Ranger is only level 16 right now but just for the heck of it, I took him into WvW to get a feel for the class. At this level though, he doesn’t have a great deal of abilities yet so other than respect for the SB speed, I have a great deal more to learn.

As for my Ele, I never really played much with the S/F or S/D but I’ve heard they do rather well. My Ele was my my instant favorite character as their mobility and, at the time, uniqueness, made them a good choice. Today though, it feels like half my team are D/D Eles. /sigh

I’m almost embarrassed to make this thread but I’m now at a complete loss on how to deal with this problem. I run a bunker build on my D/D Ele and though I’m still fairly new to being a level 80, I tend to hold my own most of the time. That is, unless I run into a SB/GS Ranger with half a brain.

Last night, one of these Rangers personally wiped out 3 of us as we were trying to run him down in such a way that we looked like complete fools. I’ve never been killed so fast! What made it worse was that he took us all out and then found the time to run back and drop the stomp. Pathetic isn’t it? Even though I love my Ele, this almost made me go back and start working on my Ranger again.

The other point of concern is that I’ve seen this class/build just tear through one of our roaming groups like we weren’t even a threat. In normal PvP, I never had much concern about Rangers but in WvW, I just about /crapmypants whenever I see one now.

Any suggestions?

Thanks Kardiamond!

As someone who started out as an Engineer, I think the only other class that is in par in the “fun department” would be a D/D Ele. The best way I can describe the play style is being ADD on a caffeine rush and then being given some matches.

Hello everyone!

After leaving the game for some time only to return a few days ago, I’ve really started to enjoy playing again and some of the new changes made available. One of my favorite characters was a lower-level Engineer that was built around a high condition/elixir build using duel pistols. Back then, it was a TON of fun to play as it appeared that many people had little ability to avoid the massive amount of condition damage the build could create.

I was wondering though, is this still rather effective in both WvW and PvP? I found it not only did a good bit of damage but had some limited burst options and appeared to have decent survivability.

Any thoughts/suggestions would be greatly welcomed!

Not sure if this is wise but for WvW, I tend to put most of my stats towards vitality and toughness with power being the third. My focus is on survivability and trying to support the group.

I used to play a Mesmer but just got bored with the class. They are very effective in WvW but it’s just not as fun as my Ele.

I have to admit that I’m one of those D/D players that actually REALLY likes the style. I gave up my Mesmer once I got hooked on the Ele.

However, I was running around last night trying to complete some world events and a “staff” ele showed up to help. Though I’ll never complain about the assistance, he stood around the entire time in fire casting the #1 skill. He did NOTHING else the entire time.

If my toon could do a facepalm, I think she would have.

Like every other MMO I’ve ever played in, crafting was something I did out of boredom instead of actually finding enjoyment with. For those who played WoW and their uninteresting crafting system will know what I’m talking about. However, after spending a few hours with it last night, I’m hooked and even found it to be the fastest way to level. I’ll explain…

I started yesterday morning at level 62 and by that evening, my Ele was at level 78. 16 levels in 6 hours? Sounds impossible doesn’t it? To be honest, I would not have believed it had I not seen it myself.

Essentially, I previously leveled a Mesmer to level 80 and never did much of anything with crafting. Because of this, I had freaking TON of materials in the bank. In addition, I spent about 4 gold on the market to buy those more difficult to find mats and a good bit of ore+cloth. What I found was that by going with learning to be a tailor and gem maker, you can use the discovery option to create a great deal of items and gain loads of exp quickly. I would basically make a glove, helm, pants, etc of one type of armor and then do the same thing again with another type. In each case, I would always use the discovery option and then make multiple items once I no longer had the options to discover a new pattern. Once you break the 300 mark, each discovery returned around 20K exp each. Combing with the two skills, you can see how well this could work.

In the end, it took some time to plan it out and, like I said, a couple of gold but the results are impressive. For someone fairly new to the game, this really motivated me to stick with it again. And as for the gold it cost, I’ve already regained almost half of it back in the sale of the items made.

Anyway, I hope this might help some of you trying to level faster.

Gaile Gray.6028:

A name change feature is definitely on the worktable. It’s difficult to say a release date with certainty, because sometimes a developer working on a project may have a few irons in the fire and priority changes may alter a release date.

I really believe this is coming soon. I don’t mean “sometime this year” soon but sooner than that!

Sounds great! Thanks for the update. I’ll look forward to this coming out.

Now all you have to do is make hair styles universal among races. THAT would be fun!

Anet, I’ve read that this feature will be available soon though I have not seen a release date. I currently have a level 80 character that I specifically do not play anymore due to some naming issues and would love to have this option available. Do you know about when we’ll be able to buy this on the market?

Thanks!

The problem I have is that in every MMO I’ve played, people will always come up with some sort of clever build+gear concept that once it becomes popular, too often the nerf it. Why can’t other players just come up with some clever methods of defeating it?

/sigh…

@ steelerade.8495,

For my Ele, I stack toughness gear and then mod it with power/vitality gems. Going as a D/D spec since level 1, I find this to be rather easy to level. Typically, I’ll pull 4 targets at a time and then mow them down using a typical Fire 2, 4 then Earth 4, 2 and finally change over to Water if I need any healing. As always, I’ll charge using Air 4 with Air 3 activated. The combined AoE damage with your survivability makes it fairly easy.

Here is my new Elementalist, Rayne. After spending all my time here on my Mesmer, I finally came to understand just how much I didn’t like playing the class and chose to look into the Ele a bit more. By far, this has been the most fun I’ve had in ANY MMO!

I have run into the same situation while leveling (lvl 20 atm) though where I’ve found it to be really fun is when you have 4+ mobs on you at once. In that case, I’ll start out with my typical fire attack, change over to earth and go for 4, then 2, and swap over to water for the CC and a heal if needed. Add that with a nice arcane burst and they are pretty much gone. This comes in handy when you have to take down a veteran who may have 2-3 goons protecting him. That quick AoE burst eats them alive in seconds.

As someone who’s played a Mesmer from the start only now to walk away from the class in order to play an Elementalist, I can say without much doubt that the class is not as tricky to defeat as some might think. Granted they can do some massive burst damage but the key point is what others have already said – the burst combo is VERY predictable if you know what to look for.

After playing a shatter build for awhile, people I faced came to expect the standard combo and learned to dodge out of the way. Once the combo was over, there is window there where I was almost completely vulnerable to whatever my target wanted to do. Because of this I changed back over to a GS build and then quickly became bored with the class all together.

So what’s my point? Yes, the Mesmer is a pretty darn nasty class to fight if the player knows what they are doing but there are many ways to defeat them. I personally now find it greatly satisfying to just eat one alive on my D/D Ele.

Mogar.9216:

I think it just comes down to play style. I always played the ranged caster class. Something about doing damage at range while moving suites me. Like I said my ele is a beast it’s just not the type of beast I wanted to be

Oh, I completely agree. I did the same thing in WoW and SWTOR for a good while until I found something I really enjoyed. It’s funny though, in ever MMO I’ve pladed, the class I start out with (thinking I’ll love it) ends up being something completely different in the end.

When I first started in GW2, I played the Ele for about an hour and absolutely hated it! Now, I wonder why I ever quit. Strange how things work out as I did the same thing in WoW only to end up as a Lock for almost 4 years. Go figured….

Of course, that’s why I enjoy GW2 so much as each class is so widely different from the other that it makes the game very refreshing to play.

@ OP,

It’s ironic as I started out a Mesmer and have now switched over to an Elementalist. After leveling to 80, doing some WvW and sPvP, I found that I just hated the class. Yeah, it’s pretty darn effective in many different builds but it just felt “boring.” So, after struggling with this dilemma for about a week, I picked up the Ele and have never looked back.

From my limited experience (only lvl 20 right now), the Ele has a much greater ranged of versatility and has something for just about any situation. There is also just something about a melee caster that I find really enjoyable. The fast-paced combat style is exciting and always makes me feel like I’m doing more than just pushing 2-3 buttons.

Anyways, I with you the best of luck though it’s kind of funny that you and I are doing the complete opposite of each other.

Do you ever use Air – 3 for the stun effect? Hmm… that’s probably more for just a 1v1 fight though right?

Hello again everyone!

So, after playing an Ele now for about two days, I have to admit, I’m hooked! I never really though I’d enjoy this class but the mobility and quick style of play are just amazingly fun to play. However, the one area I seam to struggle with is learning different combo’s or tricks to best take down a target. I understand the basic abilities of each skill for all atunements but I’m not certain on how I should do a decent setup. Can you all walk me through some of the more effective combo’s to use? Also, is there a decent guide available that gives general information on how to fight/defend against each other class?

I’m currently running the D/D spec with a focus on survival.

Oh, and last night I charged into a group of 4 mobs and before that little light in my brain could say “Seriously, this isn’t a good idea,” they were all dead! I love this class now!

Intigo.1653:

The 2 D/D Eles you had join your raid were most likely very inexperienced.

Oh, they were from the other team not mine. Those two jumped right in the middle of our group and before I knew what happened, they were dropping us left and right. It was impressive to watch from my dead position on the ground…

@Intigo,

For group combat in WvW, do you ever change over to staff for the increased ranged DPS or to you always stick with the D/D build? Reason I ask is the other night a 2 D/D Ele’s jumped into our raid group and really screwed things up for us while another stood on some rocks tossing down death with his staff.

Kodiak.3281:

I use a Phantasm Burst build and generally have no issues. I rock full Knight Armor, Centaur Runes and Beserker Weapons/Jewelry. iZerker can crit up to 6k in a single burst and even up close the weapon will hit for around 800 or so.

Kodiak,

Are you using scepter/sword for your weapon swap? If so, can you explain what your play style is?

Kodiak.3281:

1. Depends what you mean by exciting. I would describe the experience as more schizophrenic.

That is outstanding! After about an hour of playing one, I can see your point. I’m going to have to make that my quote for my signature…

Kodiak.3281:

3. Most people use S/D while leveling and some sort of variation with 10 points in Water. Personally I did 20/0/0/10/0 by 40 and went with a Cantrip/Conjure build where my utility were cantrips (that granted regen, vigor and might) and using Conjure Lightning Hammer to perma AOE blind stuff.

Ok, the S/D idea pretty much just adds a bit more ranged effects, right? I’ve only been doing D/D and the Staff so far so I don’t really have any idea how the S/D is played.

Kodiak.3281:

4. Nope. Just about any Ele build is weak in WvW compared to a mesmer due to a lack of active defenses. A class like a mesmer can dodge/avoid large groups of players focusing on them due to their ability to break target. Ele kinda has to take the brunt of it which isn’t always possible with 4-5 guys focusing you.

Perhaps I just really suck as a Mesmer but as of late, I have been eaten alive by several D/D Ele’s. They are just so quick that they burn right through my clones and stay in melee range of me. Even with the typical shatter build, they cut me down before I really have much of a chance to get into a good pattern. Oh, and let’s not even talk about what happens if I was running as a GS Mesmer. It wasn’t pretty. Course, with the fluffy outfits that a Mesmer wears, at least I looked good when I died.

Well, I made the plunge and rerolled my engineer into an Ele and started training around the D/D concept. I’ve quickly been able to see how it can be difficult at first to remember what each of your skills due based upon atunement and how to combine those into really powerful effects. However, even though I’m only a low level Ele, it’s a ton of fun! Being able to leap into a group of mobs during a dynamic event and then setting off a chain of AoE damage is so rewarding!

Oh, and correct me if I’m wrong but after reading a TON of information about the class and toying around with it myself, I really get the feeling that the Ele has something for just about any situation. The key is being skilled enough to know which skills to use and when.

Anyways, so far I’m really enjoying the class as it’s so much more fun than my Mesmer or Engineer.

@daphoenix,

After leveling a Mesmer to 80 and getting shredded multiple times by an Ele, I think it’s time I start playing this class and see what it’s all about. If nothing else, it just looks like a ton of fun to play.

Thanks for this great guide. I also subscribed to your YouTube channel.

@Intigo,

Your youtube channel has some amazing video’s on it. /subscribed.

@Inkubus,

Thanks for posting all this information for me! I have an 8-button “gaming” mouse at home which I got for SWTOR (only to quit once it went F2P) so I’ll dedicate a few of those to changing elements.

I saw one build that used a scepter/dagger as a burst “glass cannon” concept which looked like a good bit of fun. Squishy, but fun none the less. Is that still effective as well?

Hello folks!

After leveling my Mesmer to 80, I found that in many ways, the class just doesn’t have the appeal to me that it once did. I think much of that is due to how slow they are to move around the map and how common they tend to be on my server. Sorry, but I hate being a class that you see all the time.

After looking over a bit of the information on your class, I really love your mobility skills and if you go D/D, you have some great support/survival abilities. Generally speaking, the class just looks like a good bit of fun to play. That and last night, I got owned several times by an ele in WvW. I had to just bow and walk away with my tail tucked between legs.

So… with that said, here are a few questions I have:

1. Is the class really as exciting to play as it looks?
2. How high is the learning curve?
3. If I do roll one, what would be a good leveling spec to use?
4. Can you recommend a solid survival-based PvP/WvW spec?

Thanks!

Ok, not sure what I’m doing wrong but when I explode my clones, my damage to the target is fairly minimal. They average about 500 points each. What am I doing wrong?

Ok, I have another question and I apologize for my noobness….

In SWTOR and WoW, once you reach max level there were several things you can do solo to help get honor points or other items which you can turn in for gear. Is there something similar here? The reason I ask is because most of the time I’m limited to about an hour or so and that makes it very difficult to find a group.

Oh… nice trick!

@Osicat, Thanks for the advice.

You’re my hero now. My Mesmer is going to name her 1st born after you…

Ok, I have to ask. Where do you get the “glowing eyes” tick? That just looks amazing on some of those armor sets.

Nuka Cola.8520:

looked like something a mesmer should be wearing but the end we got pole dancer armors. I don’t know why gw2 doesn’t have profession specific armors like in gw1?? That was great. Now we have strippers running everywhere and the majority of armors are plain ugly.

Na, my Mesmer doesn’t look like she’s wearing a stripper’s costume. It’s more like the evil prom dress from hell.

xCrusadentx.2784:

www.guildwars2guru.com/arenanet-tracker/topic/243694-race-change-option/

Race change not happening

Well, that’s a bummer. Oh well, I’m not going to reroll 80 levels just for RP reasons.

Azzrael Deathbane.4965:

I hear ya mate, i have tried endlessly to have this implemented, alas, it’s not going to happen. ANet have already stated that they will not be implementing this feature.

Any idea as to why? I don’t see how it would affect anything significant in the game. At worst, you would have to do their origin quest for the new race.

Hello Anet!

I’ve been playing GW2 now for about a month and I have to say, this is the best MMO I’ve played!

With that being said, I would like to request an option through the in-game purchase system that would provide a potion to not only change the appearance of our characters but also our race. I have a Norn Mesmer and though I enjoyed the story, I would really like to make this character a Human instead. Can you please provide this tool for us? I’d gladly pay 350 + gems to get this changed on my character.

Again, thanks for making such a great game!

Osicat,

As a new level 80, do you have any advice on how/what gear I should be working towards? I assume that running dungeons is my only real method of getting better gear, correct?

Just wondering, how have you done against a shatter Mesmer? I have been toying around will rolling a ranger for some time though I’m not certain if I want to try something new or spend more time learning my original character.

Hello everyone!

After toying around with an engineer now for 26 levels, I’ve come to realize that other than the duel-pistol condition build, I pretty much don’t like the class nor do I see it all that effective in PvP. It’s fun at times but if I make one mistake, I’m toast. For that reason, I’ve been considering rerolling into a LB/melee ranger though I don’t have a clue where to start. I tested a full melee ranger with GS/S+D and it was a ton of fun though again, limited when it comes to WvW.

With all that being said, do you all have some good advice on how to build a LB/melee ranger? Should I go with the GS or stick with something else? Also, can you please link a build for me? What other advice can you give me about this class? From what I’ve seen, it has some great potential and survivability if you know what you’re doing.

I posted a video below of a ranger that I thought was really impressive. Her soloing ability is rather amazing. Skip to 1.56 to see what I’m talking about.

I apologize for all the questions as I’m just not sure what road I want to take in this game. I love my lvl 80 mesmer but something just feels like it’s “missing” and the engineer just feels like someone painted a huge target on my head. Sorry, I can’t explain it better than that.

Vanity.2506:

FinalPatriot.8034:

Just wondering, how strong is the RP aspect of your guild? I started on this server with the intent to later going a WvW/RP guild though even though I I’ve been level 80 for a few weeks now, I’ve still not found a home.

As always, thanks for answering my questions.

Hi there! Transcendent Veneration is not a role-playing guild. However, we are gathering our courage to try it soon (at least among ourselves). That is to say, we are very supportive of the role-play community that is on Tarnished Coast and we do have role-players that choose to represent us when we are out in WvWvW.

If you would like to discuss our guild further, I’d be happy to chat with you either in-game or through PMs here.

Good luck!

Vanity,

I appreciate you getting back with. Though my primary focus will remain WvW, I always build my characters around an RP concept and try to have a purpose/reason for how they act. With that, I wanted to make sure your community has that option available. I’ll try to grab you online then with a few more questions.

Like every other Mesmer, I’ll probably be running around wearing something that closely resembles the Prom Queen from Hell….

Just wondering, how strong is the RP aspect of your guild? I started on this server with the intent to later going a WvW/RP guild though even though I I’ve been level 80 for a few weeks now, I’ve still not found a home.

As always, thanks for answering my questions.

That was a great guide Vorch! I’ve done a few dungeons so far and they are quite different than what I was used to with SWTOR and WoW. They really keep you on your toes. As for my gear, it’s mostly mid-70’s “yellow” gear which from what I’ve seen, is about on par with level 80 greens.

As for WvW, you’re right… I really need to go ahead and join a guild. I didn’t want to join a guild until I hit 80 and could actually be a benefit to them. I suppose it’s time to find one now.

Hello folks!

Sadly enough, I just now got my main character (Mesmer :p) up to level 80 and this whole new world has opened up to me. Like every other MMO, the game itself really starts to begin once you max out your level. Course, it’s much better than that here but you all know what I’m talking about.

Anyways, my main question is what should I be doing now that I’m an all powerful level 80? I’ve been toying around with sPvP and it’s fun but the WvW just feels more exciting. Problem is, how to I obtain better gear?

Is there by chance a good guide out there on what to do once you hit 80?

Thanks for the help!

@Osicat,

I just wanted to thank you for this guide and all your video’s. I leveled a mesmer up to 80 and loved every moment of the class until I started playing a few sPvP matches. With every team, it felt like they were just full of GS mesmers and so I quickly got tired of the “unique” feel the class had when I first started. As I had no idea about this shatter style you listed, I quickly got bored with the class and quit.

After reading your guide and watching your video’s, you’ve renewed the love I had for this class and given me back my excitement for playing it! It’s funny too because your style of play is so much like how I used to play my warlock from WoW. Half the time, people would just get tired of trying to kill me and run away. They of course, didn’t get to run too far….

Anyways, thanks again for posting this!

I appreciate all the help with this folks! I’m clearly going to twist it around a bit based upon what ya’ll are saying. I’ve actually been using this to level with as well and it’s easier than when I was going with the GS + S/S. Who would have thought?

So, after playing as a mesmer for most of my time here, I’ve started to really enjoy my guardian and thought I might go back and make him my main character. After toying around with the typical bunker builds, I found the build below and really like the concept behind it. The idea is to balance DPS with defense while making the class highly mobile and still able to provide great team support. It’s a bit strange at first as the weapons are designed to play off each other but it seams very solid. I was wondering, is this actually a viable build and something I should continue?

My hope was to find something to my old shockadin/DPS prot pally from WoW. I loved that character and it just seamed like I had something for almost every situation.

Anyways, here is the build and video as well. As always, thanks a ton for your advice!

Build:
http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQRAse7dlYgSD3GyKEm4Eh1DCeQ/VVIeXPcIEbIA;TwAA1CnoQygkAJLSOkkItCZEyGjJGA

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhM3nNVKpQA&list=PL52D15A33EF872612&index=35

Yeah, that’s the build I’ve been running with in hotjoins and it’s rather impressive. I was never a fan of the shatter build though. I suppose it’s just play-style. Are they less common in tournaments because they aren’t all that decent or just that people don’t like the class as much?

This thread is mainly about my experience thus far in sPvP and a request that you all could provide me with your thoughts/opinions. With that, I’ll explain my issue and then leave it to you for your suggestions.

Basically, I leveled my mesmer w/o doing much of any PvP until I hit 80. Though I love the class, it seams like every team I face these days is either loaded with mesmers or thieves. I have always tried to play a class that isn’t common and therefore, my hope was to be in a situation where I can always be of use to the team w/o being the “flavor of the month.” Currently, playing a memser feels just that – the “flavor of the month.”

I have started messing around with a condition build engineer and a melee ranger and so far, they are both really fun though much more squishy than the mesmer. That could also be because I’m not a familiar with either class.

I spent 5 years in WoW as a tank and figured I’d enjoy the guardian only to find it highly boring. That and being kited around tends to get old.

With that being said, what do you all think would be a class/build that isn’t common yet very viable in solo/team PvP?

Again, I really want to avoid being the “most popular” class/build.

Thanks for your help!

I’ve seen it done a few times on some PvP matches and while it takes some decent skill to make work, it’s pretty darn impressive. The combat speed is amazing and feels something like a thief w/o stealth.