Guild Wars 2

To be honest, Ele Glass Cannon is not in need of help. If you are playing D/D, try to be mobile. Don’t go for extended fight. Bring cantrip for escape. The dmg is not as high as a thief but we have AoE dmg and CC. We don’t need high number on Auto attack because we rarely have to use them unlike many other professions that rely heavily on auto atk for dmg.

Scepter skills are not that hard to land. Even if DT doesn’t land all the time, it helps to zone, to bait dodge and clean trashs (clones, pet, turret, minion,….) And if it hit, it hurts.

Necroes destroyed Valkyrie Ele because of the abysmal low HP. With low crit and constant weakness on you, your dmg will be reduced significantly. Necro doesn’t have a lot of stun break or Stability. They are weak against burst. Without death shroud to absorb dmg, they fight is over by the initial burst. Glass cannon ele can put enough pressure while absorb enough dmg to do the job. Tanky/Hybrid ele is gonna have a difficult time. Don’t cont on Ether Renewal because good necro will fear you out of it.

Staff skills are slow and much easier to avoid. There are not many options to do dmg when you are 1 vs 1. Many skills in D/D have decent scaling ratio and can be landed more reliably. Staff CC are soft and easily be cleansed by most D/D build. The stun and knock back from Air are nice but Staff doesn’t have a quick burst to follow the CC. If you run Glass Staff in PvP you will die when you get focused.

PvE and WvW are a different story. Range and AoE are much more valuable in these environments. In Spvp or 1vs1, it is hard to outplay opponents. Not that D/D is better than staff. It is just that each has its own usage in different situation. In small scale pvp, the Staff vs D/D match up is heavily on D/D favor.

The reason you don’t see impressive number is probably because S/F is not really meant for dmg. Scepter itself is a very defensive weapon. It has damage but not too impressive. Most of the S/D burst builds rely on Dagger offhand skill such as RoF, Fire grab, Earth Quake, Churning,…..and double Arcane skills to do the burst. DT + Phoenix is a wonderful combo itself and the only AoE dmg if you run S/F.

Focus is purely for control and defense. I think they way S/F plays is similar to Necro: to poke and win slowly through sustain dmg and controls.

30 in Arcane + 30 boons duration from runes make the vigor stacks incredible well :P Even if you use a glass cannon build, it is still an option to take arcane and boon durations. It is not a major nerf I would say.

I would expect much more nerf. This is nothing really. We should be grateful

Only if Zephyr’s Boon is a grandmaster instead of an adept trait, the build 0/10/0/30/30 would never happen

Switch attunement counts as 1 skill. Dodge while having Evasive Arcana counts as 2 skills. Flame blast from sigil counts as 1 skills. Each of the lv 15 minor trais might count as 1 skill but I am not so sure about that. Overall, Signet provides very good sustain that stacks with Regen. If you use glyph on Water, the regen duration is extended but the intensity is not. Signet is better when you have another burst heal options.

Every one who says the base Healing of ele is high is …..wrong. Base healing is pretty small, but the scaling is high. Our 6 Heals have medium CD with low base value. Heal in weapon skills are relatively low but they all have 1:1 scaling. Think heal base value is high? Please try a build with 0 point in water and no healing in gear/amulet and see for yourself :P

More likely, they will buff base healing and reduce scaling. Thus offensive build will benefit and bunker build will suffer. Probably increase CD of certain D/D skills and minor CD reduction in Focus. If they nerf scaling of Cleansing Wave (Dagger water 5), it will, 1 stone 2 birds because it is an indirect neft to Evasive Arcana. Might be reduce the passive healing of Signet of Restoration and increase the CD of active.

I dont think Ranger would have any problem 1vs1 any class.

Gears don’t really matter that much at low level. But there is an option for Power/precision for sure. When I level up the only thing i need is blood lust sigil. The rest is whatever you want. Vitality helps a lot earlier on. Power also scales very well at low lv. Don’t waste a lot of money on low lv gear because you lv up relatively fast. By lv 60, you can spend like 2-3 golds and a few thousands karma (which you already have if you don’t spend them all) to craft to 80.

I thought we can destroy the Shaman’s shield with bleed ticks so I just Eruption the shield. Shaman is an easy fight for ele, especially staff. AoE cleanse + heal + Ether Renewal and you can keep the group save. Healing Rain = No Burning.

ELe has an answer to most situation in fractal so I dont know why we r unwanted. If you don’t do enough dmg or die as a Staff ele, I might afraid you are not using the waepon efficiently. Staff ele is like one of the safest and most destructive spec in dungeon/fractal…..A lot of CC, Burning Retreat is hax xD, reflective shield, hax cleanse + burst healing…… If you don’t suicide and go in first, it is really hard to die as staff ele. You should be the last man standing and use Mist Form to rez those who are down.

Hey, this is a question I ask a lot of good ele player:

What does it take to make DPS Staff ele viable in spvp.? Doesnt have to be the glass one with Berserker but the standard one with Valkyrie or Soldier. I know it is pretty bad right now so what changes do you think would help?

Thanks ahead Powerr.

Knox.3748:

Areann.1304:

I hope they see One Hundred Blades as an aoe, so much damage on an eight seconds cooldown

Are u serious? Because u dont even need to dodge HB.. Just one step back and he missed.

Same thing can be said about most of Ele’s skill my friend. And the Dmg/CD is nowhere near 100 blades. I know 100B is hard to land and I don’t think it need an adjustment. But same go for Ele’s skill. Actually they need to vamp some of the staff skill. Who care about AoE when the delay and dmg are surprisingly bad

I like sword. I like gauntlet too. They fit the play style of Ele

http://www.twitch.tv/mmorpgcom/b/358339359

So they discussed various topics in detail. I really recommend watching it. IF you are ele’s fan, you might want to skip around 25-30 when they talk about AoE and some balance.

From what Colin said, they select a few AoE that is too strong and bring them back to balance. I might be a little optimistic but I think Staff Ele is safe from the upcoming change. None of Staff skill is too strong or “can be used all the time”. Staff skills usually have high opportunity cost because of their high cast time or activation time and high CD.

If you know about the coefficient. Staff skill have low coefficient. The only two that potentially be strong are Lava Font (with above 3 coefficient if all hit connects) and Meteor Shower. However, Lava has 1 sec activation time and really small AoE (with or without blasting staff). Thus, it is very easy to dodge. Even in choke point or very small area, it is mostly impossible to connect all hits. Meteor Shower is random and I don’t see it as a problem at all.

I think these change might be directed toward burst AoE skills . Sad but true, Fire Grab and Churning Earth are potentially in danger. I think Warrior’s Hundred Blade is also one of the burst AoE skill. ( Yes it is AoE).

I think we should calm down a bit about the upcoming change.

Humposaurus.5764:

There will be no january patch. The january patch will be released in february.

It is in Jan 28th I think.

I hope they don’t nerf staff ele anymore because honestly I don’t think Staff deserves a nerf right now.

Hi,

When the developers mentioned the AoE nerf, is it the Elementalist that they implied? I just wonder because Staff Ele is barely on a good spot right now. Any nerf and the weapon will be a very tough challage to use.

Thank you

Leo G.4501:

Vanillea.5764:

Cute look….

Can I be the only one who thought that looked similar to another fantasy dog-catapulting female character?
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ha40b38ZxRo/T8_ajcvioTI/AAAAAAAAADs/ZiP1_MTXMos/s1600/FF8-Rinoa.jpg

Supposed to be this one…

Cirax.9231:

Sunreva.8714:

There is no escaping a D/D. A D/D can prevent any opponent from ever getting away (RTL—>mistform—>teleport)

There is no catching a D/D. A D/D can prevent any opponent from ever catching them (through same mechanics as above)

If you’re winning the fight, the D/D gets away instantly and survives. If you’re losing the fight, the D/D prevents you from ever getting away. Either way, the D/D has the advantage at all times, win or lose.

This is what makes the build utterly broken (and yes, i agree with the OP) and boring to play!

Glad others are seeing this as well, and I doubt these blaring issues have gone unnoticed by Arenanet, hopefully they do something about it.

Replace part of your post with (shadowstep, stealth, and steal), and now you’re talking about thieves :p

U forgot Infiltrator’s Arrow and Heart Seeker

Sunreva.8714:

Cirax.9231:

Replace part of your post with (shadowstep, stealth, and steal), and now you’re talking about thieves :p

Except that the extreme mobility of a D/D is also coupled with their insane regeneration/healing, Tankiness, and utility. Whereas thieves by and large lack all that.

Also for what its worth, a well played thief will not be able to outrun or get away from a marginally well-played played D/D. The D/D holds all the cards. Tankiness and heals of a guardian, mobility and movement of a thief, and utility and finesse of a mesmer—-all wrapped in one.

Its broken, and it needs to be addressed.

Ele has it all: tankiness, mobility, dmg and utility but:

Not as tanky as Guard : ageis, block, retaliation and even base armor make guardian talkier. It is arguable that ele has more heal than guardian
Not as bursty as thief, mesmer and warrior
Not as much sustain dmg as ranger and necro or engi.
Not as mobility as Thief . S/D and staff ele might not even as mobile as warrior
And we have different utilities from Mesmer and Engi. I wouldn’t say Ele has more thou. Not thing can replace Portal and Time Warp. And we all know it is a nightmare to face a good engi.

Churning Earth blast finisher registers the moment you cast it and comes into effect when the cast is finished

A lot of Field/ Finisher people usually not take advantage of:
Burning retreat and burning speed are fire field.
Stoning and Shockwave from staff are Projectile finishers. use them together with Frozen Field and Unsteady Ground can heavily disable a target for a very long time.
Earth auto atk from scepter has a chance to be a projectile finisher
Rock Barrier is 5 Projectile finishers
Comet and Magnetic Wave are Blast finishers.

Burning Retreat can be use to running away if you face the enemy. It is also a very long dodge.

Windborne Speed also remove chill, cripple and immobilize

Churning Earth blast finisher registers the moment you cast it and comes into effect when the cast is finished

A lot of Field/ Finisher people usually not take advantage of:
Burning retreat and burning speed are fire field.
Stoning and Shockwave from staff are Projectile finishers. use them together with Frozen Field and Unsteady Ground can heavily disable a target for a very long time.
Earth auto atk from scepter has a chance to be a projectile finisher
Rock Barrier is 5 Projectile finishers
Comet and Magnetic Wave are Blast finishers.

Burning Retreat can be use to running away if you face the enemy. It is also a very long dodge.

Windborne Speed also remove chill, cripple and immobilize

EvilSardine.9635:

Your whole build revolves around your shatter clones. An ele has a few AOE attacks that can take them out fairly easily. If the ele misses his chance to take out the clones and happens to take too much damage then just mist>teleport>RTL away, regen instantly, come back and try again. Rinse and repeat until the ele wins since the mesmer cannot outrun the ele. Ele is free to harass any player indefinitely this way.

Most of the issue is the silly mobility. Seriously, the cool down on RTL is like 15 seconds. Really?

Shatter Mesmers have very potent clone regeneration ability and they usually shatter them before you can kill them all. Yes, you can run away with mist and flash but they will be on CD. Do you really want to go back in with your cantrips on CD? One immobilize and you might be bursted down. I think the problem here is you underestimate what other professions can do.

So ele are calling for nerf now after all the complains earlier…..? If you feel bored with D/D then go play S/D and staff, the challenge is right there. D/D is good for skirmishing and 1vs1 so of course you feel strong 1 vs 1 or run in/out of fight. But I don’t think people appreciate the dmg from staff or the support from focus.

While D/D is running around looking cool, a staff ele is dropping a ton of dmg and heavily CC them and a ele with focus is nullifying the heavy pokes of enemy. I used to not like staff and still not playing it but I can’t deny they have really strong presence in group fights.

I do believe D/D status is in much better place than other weapon sets but the problem is not in the off hand but main hand. Still don’t know if it deserves a nerf thou.

Cute look….

SoS is uncontested now.

Hi, I am from SoS. I am trying to organize a group for Temple of Balthazar. If you are in SoS and interested, please let me know.

Thanks

S/D Ele has 4 Blast finishers , 5 with Arcane Wave and 6 with EA. Dragon tooth can be tricky to land into fields but doable. Not to mention, S/D has some AoE healing as well.

If you don’t like S/D, how about D/D? I know poison hurts badly but what if you have really good mean of cleansing? xD

Thx

Arcane Shield and Armor of Earth is good to keep your pressure while Mist Form help you to loose pressure from other players. It depends on your playstyle and builds.

Personally I like Mist Form because of its juking potential. Arne Shield wont protect you from something like Hundred Blade, Pistol Whip, Blurred Frenzy,…..And Armor of Earth CD is just a tad long and it doesn’t give you protection against cc :P

We dont have enough reliable AoE and we cannot stack condition on single target fast enough. That is why. And because of attunemnet swapping, it is harder for us to keep constant pressure on target. After all, only fire and earth can pressure with condition dmg. Generally, power/crit can still do decent condition dmg (as a nice little bonus) while hybrid or condition builds suffer from low direct dmg.

Frost Bow or Meteor Shower, Treb suddenly disappears after 3-5 s :P

Attunement CD used to be 5, then 10 and now 15 :P

Arheundel.6451:

I mean really? With so many bunkers in the current meta do we really need eles who go around using a tanking/healing s/d build?

I’m just wondering what people hope to achieve running around with 14k HP, cleric jewel, 30 water, 3 cantrips+final shielding.
You simply become an annoyance, you won’t kill anything even during full focus fire, you chase people down despite having your best combo rotation dealing something like 20-30% HP dmg.

I can’t believe people come the forum to complain when using these builds :" my ele does no dmg "…lol really? no wonder…

I think most S/D don’t run Cleric. S/D have amazing burst heal thou. And being tanky is probably the only viable option for roaming ele at the moment. Do you prefer to get jumped by any class (thief, mesmer, warrior or even guardian) and blow up instantly or to heal up and win a sustained fight?

Yes, our dmg is bad and even with offensive dmg spec it won’t make a different because you will rarely have a chance to do any dmg.

My inspiration is Tifa from FF 7

Without my trait i will probably do nothing and die fairly quickly if not instantly

The catch is even without the rune set up you still can get really good up time of all the boons. The difference is a matter of 1-3 second (except for might which can make a difference). Thou, boons dont need to last forever, and only when you need them. Even with this set up, you wont get perma protection unless you switch to earth right when it is off cd and then switch to other attunement immediately. 7 sec or 9 s of protection is not that important in my view cause you probably only need the first 3-5 s of protection for a quick mitigation. And perma regen doesn’t change the equation either because regen doesn’t stack in intensity. Sometimes I notice I have regen up when I am fully healed. It all come down to personal preference but I would say pure stat is more reliable than boons especially in WvW or PvP.

At early stage lv, I would recommend using S/D and D/D. Dragon’s tooth and phoenix will clear most mobs relatively fast. Burning Speed and Dragon’s Breath are the same. Burning is really a strong condition especially in teh early stage. Dont use staff if you are not in a group. Not that staff is bad or anything, it is an AoE weapon and require a little timing. There are not many AoE situation early lv either.

And dont fight mob with high lv gaps just because your dmg will be glanced and they will 1 shot crit you as ele.

Ele just needs a bug-fixing treatment like Necro and a minor changes in traits and certain weapon skills. The profession does not desperately need buff or re-make. I dont think it is a top priority for either nerf or buff at the moment. Let’s get all teh bug fixed first and see how we go from there.

I am in FA too so if you want to do dungeon for the gear, just pm me. And Healing is just as good if not better than vit for sustainable tank( especially ele) so I would recommend keeping cleric gear

S/D is more of a control/utility set up with high burst and mediocre sustain. The burst is similar to D/D. After that you basically either stay in Air for single target spike and wait for cd or water to support the team.

Dragon Tooth is good in pve. Just pick a target that is in the middle of the pack. In WvW dont use it without updraft unless the target is being cced by others. Playing S/D you need to be a little more aware of combo field and cd management. Expect to do less dmg and more utility. Believe it or not, S/D is more defensive than D/D.

It actually complements the fast play style. You will have very high burst from d/d and fast attunement swap. However after the initial burst and first cycle, you have exhausted many of your cd. That is when Drake’s Breath and Cone of Cold come in picture. Instead of spamming auto atk you can use those skills to do your sustained dmg and wait for CD. You know that if you do Burning Speed → Dreak Breath → Fire Grab, by the time you finish fire grab, you can auto atk one or twice and Fire breath is up again.

Overall it is a good for sustain and pressuring, much better than its counter part which is Lava Font and Dragon Tooth. The channel is relatively short and the effect is instant compare to the delay from lava and Dragon’s Tooth.

Isn’t it one of the most powerful skills of ele across all weapons?
The dmg is pretty high and the burning is ridiculous even with 0 condition dmg. 6s cd cone damg too. I wouldn’t complain about it. It is one reason that D/D is desirable for me.

Hmm, if you want more toughness and still decent dmg, I would go:

Cleirc Gear ( keep it, ele utilize it the best), Precision, Toughness, Condition Trinket and Power, vitality, toughness weapons.

All sets have toughness, 2 have powers and 1 for each vit, precision, and condition dmg. You lose a little power which is not a big concern given you take bloodlust and battle.

Rune of divinity for sure.

Total Bonus stat (with trait and without backpack):
Power: 464
Toughness: 842
Precision: 490
Vit: 388
Condition dmg: 646
Healing: 575

Oh I am fighting Blackgate as well. Are you on FA or TC?

If you take evasive arcana, you should consider Signet of Restoration because dodging counts as 2 skills ( so it heals twice) and atonement counts as 1. You never really have to active the skill because switching to water and roll is all you needed for burst heal.

Oh, consider rune of divinity too cause it offers all stat you need, literally all :P

In my opinion, Ele has one of the strongest sustain healing to compensate for their low health pool. Ele is considered UP mostly because the class mechanic is relatively different from the other professions and takes time to learn. I do feel we have the tool to be competitive.

I feel you, man. When you are used to ele, playing other class seems so slow and facerolling. Press 1 if you are ranger, press 2 if you want to be Thief,……Not many professions has 4 attunement and can multi-task like ele can