Curse

Lady Vireo · Aug 18, 2008, 05:03 AM // 05:03

I've been playing GW PvE for two years now, but I haven't tried farming before. Now I'm trying to get the hang of it.

I'm having a slow start because I'm not used to thinking like a farmer. I *have* read the beginner's guide in this forum and similar advice for those of us who are complete noobs at this, so hopefully I'll be able to avoid annoying all of you with stupid questions.

I decided to start with a 330 ele build, since it's so versatile and ele is my favorite profession. I've tried variants of the version on PvXwiki and Joshua Ed's version. I'm having no problem staying alive, but I can't seem to output enough damage to kill stuff (esp in HM). Am I missing something important? Is this build unable to kill harder creatures? Is it not designed for solo? I would really like to use this for soloing areas of Nightfall in HM and farming for greens. Is this build weak in those areas?

Thanks in advance.

silavor · Aug 18, 2008, 10:05 AM // 10:05

You might not have enough monsters attacking you. There are areas of all three campaigns where I've tried farming with a similar build only to fall flat on my face because not enough opponents are attacking me. [Sliver Armor] requires a lot of monsters attacking you to be effective, so more agro is a good thing.

Nechtan Thaumaturge · Aug 18, 2008, 04:48 PM // 16:48

As alluded to before, you want to put your trust in Sliver Armor and augment its damage however you can. Glyph of Renewal is probably the best option, assuming you have your elite slot open; Glyph of Swiftness helps if you don't. Ebon Battle Standard of Honor is an excellent boost, even at low levels of Ebon Vanguard rank. Other options are Intensity and Glyph of Elemental Power.

Incidentally, a good portion of the Earth Magic damage skills are affected by armor, which makes them undesirable in Hard Mode. Stick with Crystal Wave and Teinai's Crystals, for the most part. Radiation Field is good, assuming your targets can be Diseased. Also, Obsidian Flame can be useful against bosses.

The 330 Ele build is fairly good against bosses, mostly due to Sliver Armor; it's not as good as Shadow Form-based builds, but I'd say it's more or less equivalent to anything on the next tier. You have to stay away from creatures with attack-based interrupts, and use Obsidian Flesh around most Mesmers and Necros.

As far as farming in Nightfall in Hard Mode, I know you can do the First City of Fahranur. Djinns are doable, and so are most of the insects. In general, you should be able to do almost anything a 55 or Terra Tank build can.

Winterclaw · Aug 18, 2008, 04:50 PM // 16:50

Yeah, number of mobs around is important. You might consider adding glyph of swiftness to the build to help recharge Sliver. Also those AoE spells might be causing melee mobs to break off their attack on you. If you insist on using them all, remember not to quickly chain all three off.

Shanny · Aug 18, 2008, 06:05 PM // 18:05

[Echo] and [Arcane Echo] are 2 other skills you can use to have sliver up almost permanently. But really mobs are the best thing to be more effective.

unkleanone · Aug 18, 2008, 07:34 PM // 19:34

try using air of superiority in place of any kind of echo. If you have enough mobs it should get you a recharge or two.

Lady Vireo · Aug 19, 2008, 12:56 AM // 00:56

Thank you, everyone. Great suggestions! Aggroing enough enemies was definitely what I was missing. I didn't realize how important that was to keep up my dmg output with Sliver Armor. Without changing any skills, I'm now having good luck with insects in hard mode as long as I fight enough at once.

For now I'm using Glyph of Swiftness, until I can get Glyph of Renewal. I've had Obsidian Flesh in my skill bar, but I'll definitely switch that out for Glyph of Renewal when I'm not around hexes, etc.

For areas where I need Obsidian Flesh, I'm interested in using Echo to copy Sliver Armor, but if I changed my secondary to mesmer, what skill could replace Protective Spirit? The build seems to hinge on that skill. Is there an alternative I don't know about?

I'd been using Aftershock to augment dmg from Sliver Armor. What do you think of this as an alternative to Teinai's Crystals/Crystal Wave or Obsidian flame? It recharges faster than one and doesn't cause exhaustion like the other...

It appears it would be a problem to try to farm Kournans (such as the Acolytes) with a 330 ele since I think some of them have attack interrupts...any suggestions for another farming build I should look into, one that could tackle them? If an ele can't farm Kournans, what profession do you like to use for that?

Once again, thanks for the input and the willingness to help!

Rhamia Darigaz · Aug 19, 2008, 01:17 AM // 01:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shanny

[Echo] and [Arcane Echo] are 2 other skills you can use to have sliver up almost permanently. But really mobs are the best thing to be more effective.

E/Mo/Me amirite?

Nechtan Thaumaturge · Aug 19, 2008, 05:31 AM // 05:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady Vireo

For areas where I need Obsidian Flesh, I'm interested in using Echo to copy Sliver Armor, but if I changed my secondary to mesmer, what skill could replace Protective Spirit? The build seems to hinge on that skill. Is there an alternative I don't know about?

E/Me generally means a Terra Tank build. Basically, you replace Protective Spirit and Balthazar's Spirit with Stone Striker and Mantra of Earth (Geomancer armor is also popular). Armor of Earth may also be necessary depending on what you're trying to farm.

Terra Tank gives you access to Echo/Arcane Echo, the Visage spells, Cry of Pain, and a couple of other nice skills. Energy comes a bit easier also and you usually have more spare attribute points to splash into other skill lines.

330 Ele (aka Stoneguard, which I'm going to use because I like it better) is a bit more resilient; all damage is reduced to zero whereas Terra Tank is susceptible to armor-ignoring damage and very large packets of ordinary damage. Also, Stoneguard has an easier time dealing with conditions and can at least put up a fight against life-stealing with Spirit Bond. On the other hand, the casting schedule is a bit tighter, i.e., you're going to spend more of your time casting the spells you need to stay alive. If you're running Glyph of Swiftness plus Obsidian Flesh on top of everything else, you sometimes run into "collisions" where you need to cast several things at the same time.

All in all, I would say that the two are about equal in strength, although there are probably more people in the E/Me camp.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady Vireo

I'd been using Aftershock to augment dmg from Sliver Armor. What do you think of this as an alternative to Teinai's Crystals/Crystal Wave or Obsidian flame? It recharges faster than one and doesn't cause exhaustion like the other...

It really depends how much armor your foes have and whether you can trigger the bonus damage from Aftershock with a knockdown, e.g. Whirlwind, Unsteady Ground, Dragon's Stomp. In general, If you're fighting creatures about level 20 or lower, go with Aftershock. Above that, try Teinai's Crystals/Crystal Wave (or both). For a definitive answer, just check how much damage you're doing with Aftershock; if it's below 50 or so, swap it out. The Crystal spells are also less likely to cause scattering, by the way. Incidentally, Radiation Field is probably better than any of these options if you have Eye of the North and are fighting fleshy, non-human creatures.

Obsidian Flame should really only be used against bosses when you're trying to run in, kill the boss, and /resign, although it's fairly good in that situation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady Vireo

It appears it would be a problem to try to farm Kournans (such as the Acolytes) with a 330 ele since I think some of them have attack interrupts...any suggestions for another farming build I should look into, one that could tackle them? If an ele can't farm Kournans, what profession do you like to use for that?

Kournans are generally tricky, because they appear in such great variety and therefore offer a blended threat which is difficult to counter. However, I did just try farming the Kournans in Arkjok Ward (the several groups around the Acolyte of Grenth) and was able to do it, slowly and with some difficulty. There are three things to watch for: the Seers can break enchantments and interrupt, so you need Glyph of Swiftness + Obsidian Flesh; some of the Guards carry an interrupt, so take them out as soon as you are able; and the Scribes have Meteor, which isn't too bad, but will occasionally knock you down at an inopportune moment.

You might want to try one of the Assassin perma-Shadow Form builds if you are really serious about farming these. Otherwise, I'd just look for greener pastures.