Guild Wars 2

I’m level 80 now with full exotics so I feel I can now give my thoughts on the profession.

The only thing I find to lack in the profession is the mix between range and melee. I have three other level 80’s, Warrior, Guardian and Mesmer. I never have a problem with range and melee because of their ability to weapon swap and they were designed well. Now I’m not saying, give the Elementalist the ability to weapon swap since that was replaced with attunement swapping, but at least give the Elementalist a weapon that has good range as well as up close combat.

The fiery great sword would be a good example of such a weapon. It has good distance attacks as well as up close attacks and defense. None of the other weapons, in my opinion, have a combination of both. Too bad the great sword was made into an elite weapon with a short time period of use and no attunement swaps ( none that I know of ).

Other than that, I dig the profession. It’s definitely a keeper.

Akerhage.5419:

I think the jewelry are account bound on aquire and soulbound on use. But the armour itself are soulbound

Oh okay.

Thanks.

I was wondering if you can buy karma armor that isn’t the armor class of the character I am using at the time, put it in the bank and give that armor to a character that the armor is meant for ?

Example: Lets say I finished a temple event with a warrior. Can I buy light karma armor from the temple vendor, put that armor in the bank and give it to my elementalist ? or would that armor be soul bound to my warrior even though he couldn’t wear it ?

maeggle.6021:

I don’t often do PvE-stuff, and I did the map completion stuff a long long time ago, however I didn’t have any problems with sth like one of my WvW roaming builds (modified for easier equipment acquisation). I know there are those hardcore players who like to run total glass, but you should equip some condition remove and stun breaks / teleports to get out of rough situations. Ele is no cake walk, so you should get into stacking rotations, train your reflexes, train effective positioning (use line of sight, height differences, range, etc) and never ever spam skills which could – wisely used – save your character’s life in critical situations (e.g. use updraft as an additional dodge roll or interrupt).

Agreed. Elementalist, in my opinion, is the hardest class to play.

Appreciate the suggestions. Thank you.

Malchor’s Leap is downing me in certain area’s. Got most of the map completed just having trouble with some of the skill point challenges that harbor mobs and vets.

Thanks for the suggestions. Appreciated.

I’m attempting to solo Orr with D/D and can’t at the moment. I’ve finished quite a bit of the map but still having trouble in certain area’s that I didn’t have with my guardian. Guardian is pretty much easy mode so I know an elementalist can’t compete when soloing however, I like a challenge and if I can solo Orr with D/D I’m going to go for it.

If any of you have successfully soloed Orr with D/D can you share your traits, gear and slot skills ?

Thanks.

EverythingXen.1835:

There are simply too many free to play/buy to play options out there for me to ever consider paying a sub for an MMO again.

Agreed. See, some people understand what I’m saying. It’s not hard to grasp.

Thanks for the reply.

Cactus.2710:

GuildWarsPlayer.5608:

It’s not the price of the subscription for sub based games that turns some players off, it’s the idea of continuously charging a player to simply play a game that has already been purchased.

Sorry, but that sounds inane. An MMO isn’t some game that you play offline on your computer. It requires ongoing support in the form of server costs and (if it wants to survive) some level of fresh content. One way or another the player community as a whole WILL be continuously paying for a game it has “already paid for.” Whether that comes from a subscription fee or some coerced demand (notice I didn’t say forced) from a cash shop is irrelevant on a macro basis … the cost is still there that needs to be covered.

And to say that it’s the principle of the fee and not the amount is pretty incredible. However you look at it, less than 50 cents per day is trivial compared with other entertainment options such as cable/satellite TV, or a movie, or a concert, or your internet connection, or a ticket to a basketball game, or Netflix, etc.

There are many things I like about GW2 but several more that I greatly dislike (gear grind, broken and imbalanced WvW, poor communication between devs and players, WAY too much RNG, etc), and if the next MMO comes from devs who care enough and are smart enough to avoid those deficiencies then I will gladly pay a modest subscription fee to reward them for their ongoing efforts.

It may sound insane to some but it’s obvious GW2 is proving my point by not having a subscription fee. I never said I don’t support games, I simply said I see no point in paying a sub for an mmo that doesn’t meet the standards of GW2. From what I’ve played thus far, and I’ve played many mmo’s, none of them stand up to GW2.

This will be the last time I make this point. I don’t want to continue going in circles around this subject.

They stop, but always return.

Danikat.8537:

I feel the same way, but for me it was playing subscription games that put me off them.

Also I find it odd that some people would prefer to pay a sub and get expansion packs than pay nothing and get free updates. The subscription doesn’t pay for that expansion pack, you will have to pay extra for it, quite likely the same price you paid for the original game. The subscription just grants you permission to play the game you’ve already paid full price for, and the opportunity to buy more things from the now inevitable in-game store.

I think that’s what really put me off – it never seems to be one or the other these days, it’s just piling more ways to pay on top of each other.

“Free” to play games have a cash shop and rely on that for all their income so they’re constantly pushing you to buy, usually through literal pay to win where you can’t get anywhere without cash shop items. (Or even have to buy access to anywhere outside the starting zones.)

Buy to play splits the income between selling copies and cash shop sales and likewise splits the pressure between trying to draw in new players and trying to get existing players to buy new items.

Subscription games sell you the original copy of the game, then sell you a subscription then sell you extra items in a cash shop. And then sell expansions on top of that.

Aside from f2p which I’ve never seen done well none of the models is guarenteed to be good or bad, it depends on a lot of different factors. But I’ve not found a subscription game where I feel it’s justified to keep charging me for the game I’ve already got and any updates it gets. Whereas I think GW2 has been well worth the price I paid and I could easily have never spent a penny more. (I have spent more, but only for cosmetics, mainly minis, which I don’t need.)

Well put. I agree with this outlook. I think people are more prone to support games where they don’t feel forced to pay in order to enjoy the game they have already paid for.

It’s not the price of the subscription for sub based games that turns some players off, it’s the idea of continuously charging a player to simply play a game that has already been purchased.

bAss ackwards.7205:

I tried to play some subscription based MMOs, and they couldn’t keep the content coming fast enough. I’m spoiled by GW2’s updates every 2 weeks.

Another fact that I agree with. I’ve played quite a few mmo’s, which I no longer do, because the content is pretty much the same. Why would I PAY to run the same content over and over again when GW2 doesn’t charge for new content ?

If GW2 for some reason, ceased to exist ( which I highly doubt at this point ) I wouldn’t go back to subbing for a sub par mmo. Simply can’t do it.

daimasei.4091:

GuildWarsPlayer.5608:

Don’t take this the wrong and I’m not trying to spark an argument but I have to ask you one question. If you don’t see the point in a post, why would you make a comment on the post you say you don’t see the point of ?

Mmh, I suppose I did it for the same reason you started an argument even after saying you aren’t trying to spark an argument.

Clearly you have " starting an argument " confused with " asking a question" so with that said, I will be the bigger person and bow out of what you perceive to be an argument. The last word is yours sir/mam.

Appreciate your reply, have a good day.

Vayne.8563:

Dark Catalyst.1028:

Why are people complaining about sub fees? They are typically trivial amounts per month. Like, eat at McDonald’s one time less per month and there you go.

I’m certainly not complaining about sub fees. I’m complaining about the games that have them, because I think they all suck (at least all the ones I’ve tried have). So why would I pay a sub fee, not to have fun. I don’t want another sub fee game, because I think the content of those games is inferior. I don’t believe they fix bugs faster. I don’t believe they are generally less buggy. I don’t believe they’re more fun.

Sub fee games, to me, have been crap…but it’s not because of the sub fee.

I agree. I mentioned this point in the original post. The games I used to sub just aren’t as good as GW2, IMO.

Cool vid. I’m a big fan of D/D

Dark Catalyst.1028:

Why are people complaining about sub fees? They are typically trivial amounts per month. Like, eat at McDonald’s one time less per month and there you go.

No one is complaining about sub fee’s. Some of us just prefer the buy to play genre that is available at the moment.

daimasei.4091:

I don’t see the point of this post but I agree with all but the new content, not against it but hate the rush or lose policy. The whole point of B2P is not to be forced to play to avoid missing content.

Anyways, the dodge system, the ability to fight while moving, the lack of endless LF DPS/Healer and WTS spam, the stunning graphics/animation (though the seems to screw a little that) and the “we will not milk you like a cheap cow every single month so you can kill the same re-skinned mobs over and over” is what keep me from playing other games.

Don’t take this the wrong and I’m not trying to spark an argument but I have to ask you one question. If you don’t see the point in a post, why would you make a comment on the post you say you don’t see the point of ?

Vayne.8563:

Pay to play MMOs don’t bother me. I’d gladly pay to play an MMO I enjoyed playing. My problem is, pay to play MMOs don’t match my play style at all, and I’ve tried most of them.

Yes, I’d love to ride this eagle for five minutes to get to where I’m going. Yes, I’d love to run the same dungeon over over over again for a chance to get this piece of gear that I’ll NEED for the next dungeon.

I don’t mind running stuff over and over again for options…because that leaves the choice up to me.

Pay to play MMOs are gear towards specific types of players. I’m not one of them.

I’m like you when it comes to play style. I really like GW2’s combat mechanics. Some of the other mmo’s I’ve tried didn’t keep me around because of their lack of a combat system I find appealing. GW2 has really done a good job with their combat system IMO.

Kalla.4290:

Meh, GW2 is good value unless you are a member of a larger gaming community that wants to play together. The Guild System in GW2 is atrocious. Graphics and whatnot are all nice but once you start trying to communicate and organize the glaring defaults in GW2 become apparent (such as the commanders tags).

I gotta agree wholeheartedly with Cloudwalkernz. Instead of giving us some more skins to by with gems give us private chat channels or a redesign of the commander tags or at least the ability to form groups larger than 5 or give guild leaders the ability to see when people last logged on or

Maybe the reason I like this mmo above others is because I like to solo. This game is very solo friendly. You don’t have to put up with elitism and players who look to make gameplay difficult for others just because they can if you choose not too. There seems to always be something for a player who likes to venture off on their own, to do.

eisberg.2379:

Cloudwalkernz.1328:

LOL unlike the OP, I actually looking forward to a sub based MMO. Why? you may asked. It is because like a lot of people I am sick of all the so called free to play MMO. I always end up spending more money than I am on a sub based MMO. Also I am sick of the RNG and P2W rubbish.

As far as GW2 goes, it is fairly good value for money. Sadly, maybe because it has no sub, Anet don’t seem to be able to afford to make an expansion like a sub based MMO lile WoW which has just announce yet another expansion. Something that no doubt will help them to bring back a lot of old players and new alike.

As far as B2P, I think only Ever Quest Next is following that model. Every other new MMOs are either sub or f2p.

Their not making an expansion because they can’t afford it, it is a choice of theirs. They plan on release expansion style content over time and for free instead. Guild Wars 2 is making more money per month then the vast majority of the sub MMOs are, I think Lineage and WoW are the only sub games that beat it, and both of those games have been released world wide and in the biggest MMO markets in the world, where as Guild Wars 2 has not.

So do ya think, as time goes on, GW2 will beat them ?

Cloudwalkernz.1328:

LOL unlike the OP, I actually looking forward to a sub based MMO. Why? you may asked. It is because like a lot of people I am sick of all the so called free to play MMO. I always end up spending more money than I am on a sub based MMO. Also I am sick of the RNG and P2W rubbish.

As far as GW2 goes, it is fairly good value for money. Sadly, maybe because it has no sub, Anet don’t seem to be able to afford to make an expansion like a sub based MMO lile WoW which has just announce yet another expansion. Something that no doubt will help them to bring back a lot of old players and new alike.

As far as B2P, I think only Ever Quest Next is following that model. Every other new MMOs are either sub or f2p.

I see. I see. I will be looking into this ever quest next you speak of sir. As far as expansions, GW2 has added quite a bit of new material since launch. I think they are looking to go in a different direction than traditional mmo’s and judging by all of the servers staying full, they seem to be doing something right at the moment. Time will tell I guess.

Thanks for the reply.

Was a main weapon instead of a conjured weapon. The things I could destroy with such a weapon.

( sigh ) That’s all…..Thanks for reading.

Seras.5702:

posthumecaver.6473:

As an Ele I always feel I have to stay in Water Trait line or Arcana and wear PVT gear so I can survive and do something useful, then nothing is left to take from other trait lines.

Ele is versatile but is also boring because of these restrictions, I see they are trying to put some nice traits in fire to cleanse and so but kitten CD will be enough to ignore 30 points to water.

This statement scares me more than any others in terms of looking forward at my new Ele. I hate boring. It’s why I stopped playing ranger and couldn’t get a warrior past lvl 18. And while I think Ele is dynamic and fun to play, I really hope creating builds doesn’t become boring when it seems everyone is forced to take so many Arcane and Water traits just to stay alive. And while I understand Anet’s resistance to making really strong traits Adept, they gotta see the trend that everyone is taking them not just because they’re awesome but necessary to living long enough to kill something.

A lot of people say warrior is a boring profession. I’m the opposite. Warrior has so many weapons to choose from, I never get bored with the profession. I will admit, warrior is kinda easy to play and doesn’t take much skill to survive in pve.

Seras.5702:

Mesmer has very little in the way of ooc movement enhancement, while Ele has plenty of access to swiftness, RTL, 25% speed signet, and a blink. Makes running around the world and doing events/hearts much faster.

Whether you find Ele easier than Mesmer is subjective. I feel that since they’re both very reliant on traits, they both kill at the same speed whilst leveling. But Ele is a faster explorer.

Both of these professions took getting used too after mainly playing guardian and warrior.

I guess it took longer for me to catch on with the elementalist over the Mesmer because of the attunement swap.

jazzllanna.1278:

This is the one class I keep deleting! Maybe it is time for me to try again.

Usually people stick it out after they either get bored with the professions they stuck with or simply looking for something new. I too deleted this profession a few times before finally sticking it out and now, this is the main profession I play out of the 4 professions I have leveled to 80…..go figure.

I’m fond of D/D and Staff. D/D seem to be the most exciting out of the weapons and staff is great for group play. Some even say staff is great for pve soloing.

These changes seem good for what I’m running at the moment.

Carlos.4371:

Map completion shouldn’t be a problem with any class. On top of that, the Ele has great survivability, don’t know what problem you see at Orr’s environment.

If you run the typical 30 water, 30 arcane D/D build with some or many Berserk parts, you should do enough damage to kill stuff quickly and also have enough heals and boons to sustain

Haven’t made it to Orr yet with the Elementalist. Thanks for the tips.

Ah Okay, I’m speaking from a pve point of view.

What is your outlook on wvw ?

Lunar Sunset.8742:

In PvE some ele builds have the most damage in the game. FGS when abusing fiery rush can go over 100k damage, LH build has steady auto attacks for 10k, glass cannon staff build can hit 6-8k in fire. You can also be unkillable with the right trait setup and still do mediocre damage.

What is the unkillable trait set up ?

After hitting level 80 with everything unlocked I can now say that, elementalist is not a weak class if used correct.

I will admit, at first, I had difficulty leveling this class. I think the reason for the difficulty was, I gave up at least 4 other times and leveled different professions and it took a moment to get used to attunement swapping and finding the correct weapon set that fit my play style.

The more I play this profession and get useful information from experienced elementalist, the easier this profession is to play.

If you’re just starting off and feel frustrated by the profession, have patience and it will pay off.

After leveling a warrior, guardian, mesmer to 80 and thief to 71 ( I’ll get around to the thief one day ) elementalist, for me, has been the most enjoyable thus far.

oiseau.6481:

Me has high burst but low rate dmg on long time.
It has it’s place on grp mostly by reflecting projectiles and curing cond

Ah Okay. Thanks for the reply.

Though level 80 I’m still a rookie to the profession. The attunement cool down reduction seems to be a plus.

This was the hardest profession for me to level but the most fun.

Ah okay. I was going to focus on my Memser for end game but on second thought, I think I’m gonna stick it out with the Elementalist since the dps seems to be higher. Plus D/D is just awesome. The attunement switches keep gameplay exciting and the powers of this profession are cool, not to say the powers of the other professions aren’t but the powers of the Elementalist just stand out.

Thanks for the replies.

Are Elementalist the hardest hitting mages out of the 3 ? Seems like this profession hits hader than Mesmer’s. Not sure about Necro’s since I never leveled one to 80.

LightningBlaze.4913:

Pve is extremely easy so of course you can. I did 100% map completion back when i was still spvping and roaming with d/d weapon set.

Thanks for the reply.

To get 100 % map completion ( Not including wvw ) with D/D ? Reason for asking is I have with a Guardian and Warrior but who can’t with those professions ? Elementalist, at least for me, are far more challenging to play which makes this profession so fun.

I know everything on Ore pretty much poison you so I’m wondering how D/D would fair against that type of environment.

Just hit 80 and wanted to thank those who helped with useful hints and tips. This is my 5th and final level 80, until I purchase another slot and I must say, out of all the professions I’ve leveled, Elementalist was by far, the most difficult lol.

Seems this profession is more of a group oriented profession so if I ever decide to roll with a guild, this will be the profession I do it with.

As far as continuing further on, I’m gonna sit this one down and focus on one of the other professions for end game. I’m thinking I’m gonna focus on my Mesmer. That profession isn’t as difficult as this one but isn’t as easy as a warrior or guardian, which should keep game play exciting.

Thanks for all the help, it’s been fun.

Update: I see now. I thought you could actually conjure the weapon without a cool down. I thought the " Charges " meant you could actually conjure the weapon “Immediately” when it went into cool down.

Bare with me I’m still new to the profession lol.

Once again thanks for the reply, it helped once I grasped the answer.

I go between This game and Dc Universe. When I get bored with one I simply switch to the other.

Axelifus.3269:

GuildWarsPlayer.5608:

How does this skill work ? It says conjured weapons have more charges. I have no idea how to use this skill. I selected it but I am not seeing how anything different is happening with fiery great sword once summoned.

You can use 25 skills instead of 15.

Essentially adding 10 charges to the weapon.

Completely lost but thanks any way.

How does this skill work ? It says conjured weapons have more charges. I have no idea how to use this skill. I selected it but I am not seeing how anything different is happening with fiery great sword once summoned.

STRanger.5120:

GuildWarsPlayer.5608:

STRanger.5120:

GuildWarsPlayer.5608:

Scepter is good for range but not very good up close ( IMO )

Staff is good for range and group play but not very good up close ( IMO )

Thanks for the replies.

Well, those opinions are not very correct, if you realize how to do combos with those weapon sets, you are practically required to go close range for it (for example ROF + dragon tooth, phoenix, arcane wave, earthquake, churning combo = 15 stacks of might for everyone in range).
And for the staff, the closer you are, the more reliable the autoattacks/“projectile” spells (like #3 in air) are.

Ah Okay. Like I said, I haven’t tried out scepter to its full potential because I simply love D/D.

As Far as staff goes, D/D seem to be more efficient up close with the quick main hand attacks and the off hand AOE’s.

Thanks for the reply.

My comment about the scepter applies fully to staff also (you also want the boons you make by blasting fields), plus the addition which is in that post too

Thanks.

STRanger.5120:

GuildWarsPlayer.5608:

Scepter is good for range but not very good up close ( IMO )

Staff is good for range and group play but not very good up close ( IMO )

Thanks for the replies.

Well, those opinions are not very correct, if you realize how to do combos with those weapon sets, you are practically required to go close range for it (for example ROF + dragon tooth, phoenix, arcane wave, earthquake, churning combo = 15 stacks of might for everyone in range).
And for the staff, the closer you are, the more reliable the autoattacks/“projectile” spells (like #3 in air) are.

Ah Okay. Like I said, I haven’t tried out scepter to its full potential because I simply love D/D.

As Far as staff goes, D/D seem to be more efficient up close with the quick main hand attacks and the off hand AOE’s.

Thanks for the reply.

Kamui.3150:

I figure Greatsword could work well as a long range single target nuker. We have Staff for area damage, mainhand Dagger for melee range, and Sceptre for medium range (and it covers both area damage and single target well). Having a good weapon for spiking from a distance with fast, single target attacks would be very useful for an Ele.

Agreed.

Thanks for the reply.

I like D/D for pve. Most Elementalist I have come across swear by scepter and dagger.

Primernova.5791:

We don’t need a full weapon swap, but a staff swap would go a long way to bring Eles in line with what other classes are capable of.

Agreed.

Like I said before, Elementalist don’t seem to have weapon set that utilizes melee and range as efficient as the other professions.

Nikkinella.8254:

I doubt they’ll give us a weapon we can summon. Personally i’d prefer dual 1 handed swords and dual pistols.

Dual swords would be nice.

Thanks for the reply.

Great as a weapon choice for Elementalist. I read somewhere that Anet would be adding certain weapons to certain professions. It would be nice if the great sword would be a consideration for Elementalist.

cheshirefox.7026:

i don’t know where you’ve been for the last year
but it’s an un-written rule that you can’t let an elementalist bring a gun to a gun fight

Now that’s funny, I don’t care who you are.