Guild Wars 2

Bummer. I was hoping I’d find a way to not have to carry 2 stunbreakers all the time.

Is stun a condition? And therefore, does signet of water work on it?

Cast times is something I can definitely agree with. And fixing all our bugs, of course. Maybe if the air attunement was looked at too for staff (i like air staff spells but it definitely doesn’t represent what they initially portrayed about the air attunement)

But my point is that I don’t want big buffs to the ele that change how we play. I don’t want every character to be able to burst and kill each other in 2 seconds. It’s not fun dying in 2 seconds—no matter what character you play. Something needs to happen to burst damage and just frankly dying so kitten quickly in this game.

I’m not saying I want super long drawn out battles, but I’m sure you guys get what I mean.

Yeah, but if everyone was nerfed, we could use more builds. :]

Imo, the only real problem I have is in pvp and w3. PVE is fine, even if we kill stuff slower. So, IF WE NERF EVERYONE ELSE so that combat isnt a boring spam 2-3 skills snoozefest for other classes, then it’s an INDIRECT BUFF to the ELE. The ele will now stand toe to toe with other characters.

I am not hating on the ele or telling people to L2P (because hell, ele is hard. I still have tons of room for improvement and die so easily in pvp). What I would like is that everyone was on an equal playing ground but rather than doing it through buffs, I’d rather they did it through nerfs (on everyone but ele).

Arcane Shield isn’t a stunbreak so I’d never use it in PVP or WvWvW. Personally, MF has too much utility in PVP or WvWvW not to use over Armor of Earth. I love the invulnerability but I can see why some people like AOE.

Yeah, but see, if everyone’s damage/burst was nerfed, it wouldn’t matter as much. It’d be ok to roam around with 12khp and you wouldn’t have to worry about dying to one kittening backstab. Burst is the main balance problem and classes doing too much damage and it ends the fight too quickly.

Fixed. Yeah. That would be nice. But I don’t want a higher base HP. I want everyone’s burst damage to be nerfed in general. Damage over time is much funner than dying in 2 seconds. I hate getting caught without any stunbreakers and dying because its all on CD. The low HP isn’t that big of a problem. It’s everyone else’s stupid burst that is.

Sure, some changes would be nice here and there. But imo, it’d be funner if everyone was just nerfed and we did away with bursts that killed you in 2 seconds. It’s not fun at all to die in 2 seconds because you didn’t react quick enough or your stunbreakers are on CD.

Nah man. It’s fun. I have to cycle through attunements carefully and dodge and combo into my AoE fields at the right time and constantly move so I don’t get hit by anything and die in seconds. Plus, why else are you playing the ele if you don’t like the challenge? What are you? Masochistic?

Other classes, it’s a lot more simple. You don’t have to do much to achieve the same or better results than the Ele. But that’s what makes it boring. You don’t have to try as hard and that makes it boring.

I like a challenge. I like becoming more skillful and getting better everytime I play. It’s why I’ve played a lot of online action games and generally liked than more than MMOs.

So, yes, I do think every other class should be nerfed until all classes are challenging and therefore, fun.

But rather, every other class should be nerfed.

I like how weak Eles are. It makes things challenging. Other classes bulldoze their way through everything. Eles have to be quick and tactical and be constantly deciding their best choice of action for any situation. Eles move and roll and combo while other classes spam 2-3 buttons. I can’t even play other classes because theyre so boring compared to the Ele even if they are better.

I love your idea OP. That would be awesome. And it’s a game. It doesn’t have to make sense. Why does a rain of meteors falling on your face do less damage than heartseeker? It’s a game.

Xolo.3580:

The OP’s logic is sound. Since it is called “Air” attunement, we should consequently be allowed to fly while in it

This person understands what I mean. Flying would totally fix all the problems Eles have. Eles have low hp? Low DPS? Low Burst? It’s ok! Eles can kittening fly.

But to be realistic…

I understand the AoE swiftness helps with traveling, but I’d just rather have a buff that’s useful in combat (like fury which totally makes sense for an air attunement combo). So, no, AoE swiftness isnt useless in general, but I find it very underwhelming compared to might stacks (or even frost armor).

Also, as a staff ele, leap isnt available to me unless I pick up conjures and that’s a NO CAN DO in PVP. I need at least 2 stunbreaking cantrips to survive. Of course, I also carry arcane wave because I like comboing and that’s why I made this thread.

I just feel like Staff Eles rely a lot on combos and I just wish they were a little better and more pivotal rather than just a small freebie for placing your spells in the right way.

Swiftness is good in WvWvW. I just wish it was better in battle.

And yeah, I use frost armor a lot, I like it. The only thing that bugs me is the small duration that ends when frozen ground does.

I just wish all the fields were equally as good as a fire field. 30 seconds of might stacks just seem much better than swiftness or frozen armor.

Winds.3087:

Think of frozen armor as extension of frozen ground itself, blasting right before it goes off will lend more chills.
And lightning field is still rocking vulnerability.

You have a point about the extension thing but I guess it just bugs me about how short the boon duration is. I dont think It’d be OP if it lasted a few seconds more.

Ah, I forgot about the vulnerability. I don’t combo projectiles out of frost fields very often. I’ll remember that.

Cruzyo.7304:

hmm i kinda gotta disagree here :S

On my ele i’m doing pretty fine in underwater combat, the only thing that’s a pain in the kitten there is when you get attacked from behind, especially in Orr.

But other than that, my key for underwater combat is switching the attunements as many times as possible and beat the hell out of an oponent that way.
Could do a skill point in Orr without big issues where a warrior died short before i arrived.

In WvW I can do pretty well in a underwater 1v1 aswell, havent got to many 2v1 situations yet

What do you do underwater? Do you have any combos you use or anything? I have no idea what I’m doing underwater.

Staff is very hard to use in PVP. I’d advise DD for PVP and Staff for WvWvW. If you want to use Staff in PVP, get to know all your spells well and all your combos (fields and blast finishers) and when you need to use them. You have to learn how to kite around your AoE spells to get people to walk into the AoE or stand far away where you can blast them with Fire 1.

Btw, if you’re gonna PVP with Ele, carry at least 2 stunbreakers with you. I like Mist Form and Cleansing Flame or Lightning Flash.

Yeah, but it’d be nice if lightning field had a nice boon too.

I do find frost armor a little strange too though. The duration is too short. It’s like 2 seconds and it runs out by the time frozen ground run outs which makes it a little pointless. When I cast frozen ground, I’m always dancing around it anyway. It’d be nice if the frost armor lasted a little bit longer even after frozen ground has faded away.

So, mostly, I just combo fire field and stack might.

I hate how a blast finisher in a lightning field only gives swiftness which is pretty much useless in battle. Sure, I’ll use it when I run long distances but I want something useful in battle. Imo, since air is about single target damage and precision, the lightning field should give AoE fury. Or it should give elementalists the ability to fly. Or an air ball to ride on (like in Avatar).

Who’s with me?

In this case, yes. Because eruption takes so long to cast. You use eruption and while it’s doing it’s stupid little dance, you cast the combo field over it. Eruption will finish kittening off and it’ll blow it’s kittens while the combo field is still there.

But usually, you cast your blast finisher while in the combo field. Eruption’s just a special case.

It’s hard to land it in pvp/wvw because it’s so slow. Sometimes, in pve, a dolyak will just walk through it too. -Elementalist sigh-

Irnhide.3428:

Had fun till about level 40-50. Story turned into garbage… the DE’s felt repetitive, the dungeons are a chore with no defined healer or tank class, the systems in which you find/buy gear are flawed and I really wish I could get a refund and buy something like borderlands 2

I really enjoyed my elementalist but yeah, I cant stand lvling up anymore. Quests are repetitive. Storyline blows. Combat is getting dry. It’s becoming a chore rather than a game. Things feel kinda pointless and I’m just lvling for the sake of lvling—which is why I haven’t played much in the last few days even with the Halloween events. Sigh.

Dishonored seems like it’s going to be fun though.

emikochan.8504:

Wow some nice outfits here, It’ll be a while til i manage to build something I like… mucho golds :p

My armor costed me… 30 silver. It’s not rare armor. Bought it off the trading post.

I predict that…

1. D/D Buff
2. Bunker Nerf
3. HP Buff
4. Elite Buff
5. S/D Buff
6. Focus Buff
7. Staff Buff
8. Trait Line Buff

Winged Armor. :]

incisorr.9502:

i have over 2k rounds with my elementalists and i can assure you that staff is the most reliable and highest dps you can possibly get.

lol at the joke guy whos claiming s/d or d/d have any dps at all

staff in pve > 20% less cd on fire spells = 24 sec meteors = beats churning earth beats everything tbh. lava font w/ 90% uptime (+the combo field with which u can get 3 might stacks for 20s which is a lot for pve)

staff in pvp > much more reliable damage compared to the joke that is dagger or scepter or focus

90% of the elementalists in tournaments use staff cuz its superior, the other 10% blow and get carried by their team

and staff is still in a desperate need of a boost

What’s your DPS build? The only build that’s worked for me as a Staff Elementalist is a bunker build. I only die when I get swarmed or my stunbreakers are on CD… or do something stupid.

It gets boring though not being able to kill stuff…

DesertRose.2031:

If the quote option isn’t there just post some non-sense like “I want to quote”, once you posted in a thread you’re able to quote and edit/delete your own posts (weird bug, huh?). Just delete your non-sense post afterwards.

It worked! Thanks. :]

Personally I wish comboing with static field did something else. Swiftness is boring—especially in pvp/wvw. Id love if it blinded or pushed or really anything other than swiftness.

@DesertRose

Not sure how to quote someone, but anyway, it’s something I cast while running. I use windborne speed and then glyph of restoration and then I cast static field ahead of me and when I run into it, I cast arcane wave. And depending on what traits/boons I have, this always equals at least 30+ seconds of swiftness. Great for traveling.

I’m a Staff Elementalist. Here are my go-to combos. They require having evasive aracana (a grandmaster arcane trait that gives you combo finishers upon landing a roll) and arcane wave. Both act as combo finishers. The recipe is: Use a skill that’s a combo field (i.e. static field, frozen ground, lava font) and use a combo finisher inside it (evasive arcana, arcane wave, eruption).

1. For getting 13 stacks of might in one combo:
Eruption > Lava Font > Roll into Lava Font and trigger Evasive Arcana > Arcane Wave > Burning Retreat > Roll Forward and trigger Evasive Arcana

2. For getting 10 seconds of frost armor (which gives chills nearby enemies):
Eruption > Frozen Ground > Roll into Frozen Ground and trigger Evasive Arcana > Arcane Wave

3. For healing massive amounts of HP (pretty much your entire bar):
Eruption > Geyser > Arcane Wave > Healing Rain > Roll into Healing Rain and trigger Evasive Arcana

4. For getting 15 seconds of swiftness which I use when I travel long distances (in conjunction with glyph of restoration and windborne speed [air4] to get a total of 30+ seconds of swiftness):
Static Field > Arcane Wave

Those are about all the self combos you can do as a Staff Elementalist. I use them a lot and basically everything combos with Arcane Wave and Evasive Arcana. They work really well if you get runes that increase boon duration (superior runes of monk, water). I love comboing with an elementalist and love it when another staff ele is around who knows how to combo. I end up having 20+ stacks of might and frost armor on a lot.

@DesertRose
Yeah, but it happens so slowly you can’t self-combo with it. I’ve tried to use lava font and then summon lightning hammer and tried to use the blast finisher of the auto attack combo. Doesn’t work.

You need to combo with someone else (or the ice elemental).

I enjoy playing my elementalist a lot but I do wish a few things were better (as a staff user). I do wish I didn’t have to use so many stun breaking cantrips and I wish the elementals were permanent like necro minions and were less stupid. I wish I didn’t have to put 30 points into a trait line just to get one useful trait while the rest are kind of so-so. And I do wish I wasn’t so kitten squishy and I’m a little envious of other classes’ dps.

Other than a few wishes though, I like my elementalist a lot. She’s really fun to play and she’s going to be my first lvl 80 char after experimenting with a lot.

Hey Revitte, which conjured item is your favorite for comboing (or general use) and why? I’ve been thinking of picking up a conjured spell for pvp and wvw, but I’m not sure which one to use.

I really like the AoE blind for lightning hammer but Im not sure how practical it is for a staff ele. Definitely like the staff finisher though. Frost bow has the really nice AoE that inflicts confusion too.

1. Yep.
2. The first one it passes through.
3. I get the boon right when I hit Arcane Wave (not until the blast finisher animation completes)
4. It appears to be longer than the blast finisher from what I’ve noticed.
5. You can get two more blast finishers if you put 30 into arcane traits and get evasive arcana. It’s really nice.
6. Yes. You can use the ice elemental as a frost combo field and obtain frost armor. I do it all the time. Also, the fire elemental has a blast finisher when it does that diving move. If the fire elemental combos with me, I can stack up to 17-ish might in one combo.

Eruption > Lava Font (3) > Evasive Arcana Roll (6)> Arcane Blast (9) > Burning Retreat + Evasive Arcana Roll (12) > Fire Elemental Blast Finisher (15) > Glyph of Elemental Harmony (With Inscription Trait) (17)

17’s a lot of might stacks and I can get that if everything goes well. During long fights, I can stack up to 20 ish might stacks (probably due to the inscription might stacks and +%boon duration runes).

7. I believe they do. I’ve seen mine have frost armor when I use a blast finisher in a frost field. I wish frost armor lasted longer.

EDIT
I’m not sure why they’re underlined…