Guild Wars 2

The change to GS plus reliable tiger f2 almost makes moment of clarity builds top tier. If they had better condi management it would be

Test it with other skills. The trait buffs more than just maul

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vFAQJArYnMMAFOgdOAOOAcYilNAb4BEAugu71/6hlYFkBGBA-TJBGABus/wBnAAAeAAeXGAA

I see potential with s/d bruiser style of play. Ill test it after work

Even with the buffs i dont see this build being top tier due to dh traps dominating points and warrior pressure. The main thing is learning that d/d eles natural might stacking doesnt flow well with overloads unless overloading fire.

First of all what is your source for this info

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJATRnUqAtsg1CCOsActgl/Ab51lBCAPphu1RD+s2WvrlMtwA-TlCFABNcIAA4BAswRAoJlM6pLgPlg6s/ABXAgkUOpv6PkCwcRWA-w

I run this in pvp and its pretty fun, though risky

Warrior stands out as the strongest in smaller fights, only countered by necro. Its like fighting a reapershroud but more damage

Hi sorry if this is considered a necro thread but how come mauraders is used instead of demolishers? I recognize that it helps with condis but I feel that because every condi build runs some form of precision of power it actually is a better option to run with toughness

Listen, I am not going to bore you with long lines of text, but I need to say it. PvP has faced a serious problem since the launch of this game and that problem is the community.

The purpose of pvp is to ultimately have an enjoyable experience right? I want to make this clear. ANET has done a decent job at making pvp more enjoyable. They have lots of things to improve on for sure, such as being to slow to balance the game, but if you look at the product from season 1 to now I think you will find its much more engaging and fair.

The biggest challenge we face as a pvp community is we make the game less enjoyable for ourselves. All I see on the forums is people complaining about balance or ranting on about how MMR hell has ruined their family life. In game, all I see is people telling each other they are kitten.

I rarely ever hear people try to encourage each other or help a less experienced person learn. I see no one discourage raging during matches and often times they choose to rage themselves.

I think its time we take a look at ourselves and think about how we can improve our PvP experience . We need to come together as a community and put an end to this toxic behavior. We need to provide avenues for new players to learn the game. Our experience is just as much our responsibility as it is ANETs.

So I come to you with a challenge. A challenge that I hope you all will take to heart. Right now I pledge to be better. Better for the community and for myself.

PVP Community to-do List

-Discourage raging if you see it. Just say “hey that’s not cool man, everyone starts somewhere”

-Compile in-depth sources about classes, balance, rotations, team comp, everything there is to learn about the game

-Provide a place to put all that information (something like metabattle.com which is great for builds)

-Take time out of your day to help a less experienced player

ANET to-do List

Create a reputation system that degrades points earned for winning matches if your reputation is low (similar to dishonor)

You are playing a frontline build. If you are not in a party that gives stability you are doing it wrong. My recommendation is to play staff and play a mid support. Use look behind to cast while you run away. Sounds like you are getting caught in damage with no stability or cleanse

I would say in team fights its a bit safer to play than a thief simply because of the range. But yeah this type of build should be for roaming and 1v1

Here is how I matchup 1v1 with s/f

thief 50/50
Warrior 20/80
DH 30/60
engi takes too long
necro 50/50 depends on how well i kite
revenant 80/20
mesmer 50/50
ranger-havent 1v1 but will probably outsustain me
support ele-not enough dps unless I run berzerker

All of these fights take at least a minute (minus thief and rev) and none of them involve me being on point

We are lacking in damage and moblity (our sustain is fine do to combat speed)

I think reducing cd on phoenix is justified because its a harder to land burst than a thief spamming 5 on staff

I also think reducing FGS to 60s is fair because the build lacks in the out of combat mobility department which is necessary for roamer builds

This is bad for a couple reasons.
1. the skill has no animation and is instant making it strong already
2. Core FA ele is not viable because of its lack of mobility outside combat and its unreliable burst damage.

What I would do is
1. reduce recharge of pheonix to 12s
2. reduce fiery greatsword to 60s (map mobility and dps potential)
3. reduce cast time of dragon tooth or make it so dodgeroll or stun/daze doesnt cancel the skill
4. increase water auto attack damage by 10%
5. increase damage of shatterstone by 150-200%

I tried the build and it still isnt good enough. The sustain isn’t up to speed but the condi damage is decent with balthazar runes. Overloading isnt worth it for this type of build that requires using skills in a rotation to build might. I was getting kitten on by an average dh

arkaile is correct

My suggestion would be
-reduce iniative of flanking strike to 3
-increase speed of auto attacks by 10%
-increase range of larcenous strike to 200

I would rather get rid of soloq and do teamq. We have a LFG system that no one seems to use. If the community utilized that to make teams they could filter out who can join by their rank.

How does duo queue give you an advantage apart from using teamspeak? I duo with friends because I know they are reliable allies in a fight

going max heal is overkill in wvw imo. 600-800 healing power would be fine

message me in game and ill give you a 101

Idk whats with all these arguements. The question is if you feel ele needs a viable damage build. All I am trying to say is we do have one but its not viable at higher tiers because its outclassed by other dps builds.

A bigger look at the meta as a whole, the amount of blocks and evades people can spam is part of the reason its not that viable.

Either go full dps or full support. There is a guide out there too that goes in depth how to play staff in pvp. I cant seem to find it though

Oh yeah your right. I just kind of altered his stats without changing traits

As far as core fresh air its viable for 1v1. The main issue is the damage isnt consistent like a thief.

-Make phoenix 12 seconds
-Decrease cast time of dragons tooth
-buff water auto attack by 10%
-Buff shatterstone damage by 50%

Sw/d is fine the way it is. Its a good 1v1 duelist build, it just cant dish out the same consistent damage to be affective. It was strong at killing bunker builds which is obsolete these days.

Theyve got a dps build. Its just not good enough yet

Run cleansing water instead of powerful auras if you are going to play a backline build.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vFAQFAWn0XCdOgVYC+XCcYilNAb4BEAKgu71/6hlYFcBqAA-TFCBQBTQJIAuAA1Y/BG8AASg5P5pDQgq/IRlfkCYgtWA-w

Stats for backline

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vFAQFAWn0XCdOgVYC+XCcYilNAzdv+XPsErgLQFY4BEAKgA-TFiEABro+jQK/4QHApKBF+CAw0+DAY+r9HAApAycrF-w

for frontline

Depends. small man roaming condi and power are both pretty solid. For zergs people tend to go power unless you join a guild that does condi stuff. Id personally go power

shadowthejedi.3089:

SlayerSixx.5763:

Because specs not outfitted to heal and lack the required stability to repeatedly stomp/res are meant to get ALL the stats.

As far as my spec is concerned, I get the top stat I’m meant to get in almost every game I play. 36 games (ik it isnt a lot) with a 77% winrate. I’m not good, but I’m nothing like the kids who literally waffle about home and mid as they’re being contested and then die to the thief 1v1 off point while they struggle to make a decision.

I’ve gotten top heals as condi thief and ive gotten top kills as a pure medic. If you belong in plat, it’s obvious in every game

Unless you play support lel

For large scale wvw the main reason ranger isn’t that good is because half of its utility is tied to its pet. The only skills worth taking to benefit the team are shouts and if your pet is dead or in the wrong spot its useless.

Also staff ele is a better healer than a druid.

Ive noticed that most players just don’t know proper rotation to fit their comp. For example, I faced a team where the warrior would steal our home the entire game and win every 1v1 but my team wanted to win far/mid instead of try and take home back from the warrior.

Thats why a thief can make or break a team since a good one will harass their far and allow the rest of the team to secure mid/home.

1. You think you are tank
-Ele is no longer considered a tank and is support for team fights

2. You don’t know what builds are meta
-You can get shut down by power zerker
-You can get shut down by condi mesmer
-You can get shut down by a good boon corrupt
-You can get shut down by thief

3. You may fail to recognize that staying alive is more important than staying on point
-You sit in DH traps
-You fail to properly kite a power zerker
-You allow a necro to free cast and destroy your boons.

4. Your build doesnt fit your style
-I use magi for extra vitality and max out condi cleanse

Also dps ele is trash once you get to 3star gold. I spend the entire game being chased off point trying to live

It was reduced along with rtl because the old d/d meta 3 years ago was to run out of fight, heal and continue. Its a product of an old meta that anet will never revert

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vFAQJArdhUMokh9MwzB8RM0AYVh8KEFkKQA4DOpgOwME-TJBFQBA4BAEwyAE4EAoj9HAA

try this

With the direction they are taking in pvp you will likely never see celestial amulet.

Lordrosicky.5813:

Fresh air is horrible for the game. It is huge instant spikes with no visual tell and the burst is instant. It should not be viable.

This is only noticable if you run a berzerker amulet, which is not practical in higher tiers. Bad design? probably but the fact that the damage is instant and fresh air ele is still not considered meta says something IMO.

Either school started or they ded

You can’t teach ele. Practice and get a feel for it. Half of it is muscle memory the other half is knowing how to avoid damage.

Gokil.2543:

FrownyClown.8402:

First off, thief cannot one shot anyone these days. The reason they seem strong is because of their ability to spam skills. The passives and blocks actually make it hard for thief to stand out in the meta so many resort to spamming staff 5.

Scepter build is the closest we have to good dps since it utilizes a lot of active (earth 5, final shielding, arcane shield, one with air) however it is not as mobile out of combat as thief or revenant and does not do reliable burst damage. Its saving grace is its pretty fun to play and alot of the damage is hard to dodge since its instant cast.

Your build won’t work because it has no active defence or passive defence that will last long enough for you to sustain a fight since d/x is typically a bruiser style of play.

Purely out of curiosity, is thief not perceived as a top tier pick in NA? (deducing you’re NA from the staff comment)

Thief to me, and I believe many others on the EU region is one of the absolute strongest picks at the moment. Just based off its insane mobility and +1 with steal and pulm.

You could be right. I haven’t played too much so havent met a good thief in awhile. The reason I said that is I haven’t seen too many d/p thieves and the most likely cause is things like DH who can block for a long time and drop traps. This is from a lower tier perspective since I don’t play much.

First off, thief cannot one shot anyone these days. The reason they seem strong is because of their ability to spam skills. The passives and blocks actually make it hard for thief to stand out in the meta so many resort to spamming staff 5.

Scepter build is the closest we have to good dps since it utilizes a lot of active (earth 5, final shielding, arcane shield, one with air) however it is not as mobile out of combat as thief or revenant and does not do reliable burst damage. Its saving grace is its pretty fun to play and alot of the damage is hard to dodge since its instant cast.

Your build won’t work because it has no active defence or passive defence that will last long enough for you to sustain a fight since d/x is typically a bruiser style of play.

Why are you buffing tempest to make FA ele viable? The issue has always been about the weapon not doing enough damage and the sustain being subpar to other dps professions.

I just wanted to say i really enjoyed the duels. This build looks like a lot of fun to play and fight against. I think the biggest limitation we are seeing with some builds these days is they rely on mobility and active defence to survive and cannot fight on a point. FA ele is another prime example of this.

Why would you play a build that makes you win less than when you play a meta build? Pretty much my mindset when playing FA ele.

Phantaram is good for sure, but you can in his vids he doesn’t try to steal far too often. Primarily he was fighting home and mid. Playing FA you can see obvious setbacks not so much with the build, but with the role you are trying to fulfill. Pretty much outclassed by thief in every way in terms of reliable burst and mobility.

Are you a thief main?

Hey sorry for the late reply. I have found that elemental surge works better for burst and good if you take final shielding as well.

Sadly off-hand dagger with RTL reverted still wouldnt cut it as the utility from focus is more important than it was 2 years ago. The burst on offhand dagger is too unreliable or leaves you too vulnerable. This is all my opinion.

I tried sage over menders. Overall the damage is a bit higher. I wouldnt really rate it any worse or better than menders. Id prob just use if the other team had thief and rev

Hey players and developers. I just wanted to provide feedback on the buffs recieved to the elementalist in pvp. I am also going to post my thoughts on developing SC/x ele going forward.

Changes

Arc Lightning: The damage of this ability has been increased by 25% in PvP only.
Arcane Shield: The cooldown of this ability has been reduced from 60 seconds to 40 seconds in PvP only.
Final Shielding: The cooldown of this trait has been reduced from 75 seconds to 60 seconds. The health threshold for activating Arcane Shield has been increased from 25% to 50%.
Glyph of Elemental Harmony: The cooldown of this ability has been reduced from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvP only

Arc Lightning

First looking at the buff I wasn’t too impressed, however with the removal of bunker amulets the damage buff was a bit more noticeable. I think this auto attack is at the sweet spot in terms of damage. It does a good amount, but not enough to be considered strong which is fine.

Arcane Shield
A great and much needed change. I wish the developer response was much faster since this was requested over 6 months ago, but this is a step in the right direction for increasing the viability of SC/X.

Final Shielding
Pretty good as well. The only thing annoying is it conflicts with the minor earth trait. I feel that they CD is at a fair spot.

Glyph of Elemental Harmony

Great for those who use it. Its the heal I use now since I only have 11k hp.

Overall Thoughts on Changes

All of the changes directly buffed the build I use so I am pretty biased, but this brought DPS ele sustain to an acceptable level. The biggest issue the previous seasons was fresh air builds lacked the sustain and damage to defend point or +1 a fight. Now they just lack the damage to be considered an asset on the team.

Going Foward
Like I said, the sustain is there, but the damage is not. What I would recommend to Anet is to look into our other skills for damage.

Phoenix-The cooldown is too long to be reliable and can be hard to land. I would reduce its cooldown to 15-12 seconds.

Dragons Tooth- the skill is fine. It does a good job of increasing downed pressure which should be its main purpose other than baiting dodge rolls.

Shatterstone-My least used skill. Can you guys give it a real dps buff already? Either that or replace it with something useful.

Ice shards-Suprisingly decent damage, though doesnt come close to air. Buffing this auto attack by another 25% would bring it up to a level where it can be used regularly in conjunction with air autos.

On a side note, another issue with fresh air ele is that it is not fast enough to be a roamer. I feel that is an acceptable risk and one of the things that should be taken into consideration, however it shouldn’t be outmatched by other roamers who do more reliable damage (thief prime example) and offer greater mobility.

Final Thoughts

This is all my opinion on the direction they should take for a viable DPS build. I have played about 15 matches in s5, but I can already tell it lacks the performance necessary for high level play. Other veterans can confirm this as well. Feel free to post your own thoughts below.

Happy Holidays,

-Baddie