Curse

C E N T Z · Aug 26, 2008, 06:32 PM // 18:32

Anyone have any suggestions for using earth magic in AB? I tried unsteady ground and other AoE spells, but they don't really synergize with one another. Any help is welcome, thanks!

AzNChicken · Aug 26, 2008, 06:59 PM // 18:59

Suggestions? Just don't.

Zidane Ortef · Aug 26, 2008, 07:04 PM // 19:04

http://www.pvxwiki.com/wiki/Build:E/A_Shockwaver

Martin Firestorm · Aug 26, 2008, 07:19 PM // 19:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by AzNChicken

Suggestions? Just don't.

Agreed, unless its just for kicks. Therr are much better ele skills for AB than earth stuf.

Ariena Najea · Aug 26, 2008, 07:23 PM // 19:23

I used to see Earth "tanks" in RA a couple months back, basically they functioned as self sufficient damage dealers with some limited self healing. Note that enchantment removal killed them miserably

Here are the core skills I remember:
[elemental attunement] [earth attunement] [stone daggers] [kinetic armor] [mystic regeneration]

As is, the build is rendered useless if stone daggers is disabled. For AB you might be fine as most rangers will only try (or be skilled enough) to interrupt spells with longer 2+ casting times (interrupting a meteor shower/savannah heat about to land on the shrine you're protecting > 1 stone dagger casting). Otherwise you could try adding another offensive spell such as [stoning] or [ebon hawk]

For added protection you could try [stoneflesh aura] and/or [vital boon] + [signet of pious light] as you won't be taking too much damage through [kinetic armor] except for degen and lifesteal. For added utility you could add [grasping earth] or a ward spell to help out a shrine versus a mob.

Generally your tactics shouldn't be as aggressive as if you were playing a fire capping build. You probably couldn't take out a monk shrine, but you'd be incredibly useful with a monk to help hold versus mobs, as many ABers are PvE players who are used to hurting something until it dies, rather than keeping tabs on the battlefield to get the most significant gain.

In conclusion, if you're playing to win, this build is probably nowhere near as useful as a capping build. If you're playing for fun, then enjoy

tmakinen · Aug 26, 2008, 07:45 PM // 19:45

The OP question is a bit in the vein of putting the carriage in front of the horse ... you start build making from the wrong end if you first fix the profession and skill line(s) and after that try to find a build that matches those requirements. Instead,

First, determine which tasks you want to be able to carry out.
Then, find out which professions/skill lines can be used to accomplish those tasks.
Then, decide on profession and skill lines, and your build will dictate itself.

I would also like to rant about the 'nuker' mentality of most ele builds. In a 4 player team skill bar real estate is really, really at premium. A monk who uses up his to load 8 different healing skills gets (hopefully) laughed at because a monk should be able to provide heals and much more. A warrior whose bar consists of 8 different attack skills is just plain bad. It should be exactly the same thing with elementalists. 2 skills should be enough to wipe out a shrine, possibly another 2 to provide point pressure. The rest should be energy management (if not implicit) and stuff like blinding, snares, party wide speed boost and whatever utility the team happens to need.

Mouse at Large · Aug 26, 2008, 08:02 PM // 20:02

Occasionally I'll run:-

[Earth Attunement][Stoneflesh Aura][Mantra of Resolve][Sliver Armor][Sandstorm][Eruption][Stone Daggers][Glyph of Restoration]

Stone daggers + Glyph is the main heal plus it deals reasonable, spammable damage, Stoneflesh + Sliver is to aid survivability (esp. v those pesky ganking Assassins

) Sandstorm + Eruption for capping/offense and Mantra to make sure you get your spells off

Energy can be a problem in prolonged battles, but it can work ok for capping.

However, if I'm playing in an organised group, esp with a healer/monk, fire would still be my first choice.

C E N T Z · Aug 26, 2008, 09:00 PM // 21:00

thanks for the tips, I guess I'll just stick with water ganker builds.

IllusiveMind · Aug 26, 2008, 09:13 PM // 21:13

The earth line is quite useless for the PVP environment. The only viable spells are the ward series. [[Iron Mist] can be used in synergy with air spikers to coordinate decent damage. Throw in a frontliner with [[Conjure Lightning] for better results.

Bobby2 · Aug 26, 2008, 09:40 PM // 21:40

You can be very successful depending on how stupid your opponents are.

Robbert Monga · Aug 27, 2008, 11:39 PM // 23:39

Earth eles are great for AB. You can load up with tanking and go have fun wasting people's time trying to kill you.

You can go anti-melee with something like this:
[Ebon Hawk][Stoning][Obsidian Flame][Sandstorm] then either [Magnetic Aura] or [Ward Against Melee] depending on how much you like your teammates, then standard gentleman's package: [Armor Of Earth][Earth Attunement][Mystic Regeneration]

You can go with bridge/shrine holding builds something like this: [Magnetic Surge] (for helping team on spikes) [Unsteady Ground] (grossly underestimated skill <3 ) [Eruption][Earthquake][Glyph Of Lesser Energy][Earth Attunement][Mystic Regeneration]

Or you can have fun with ["You're All Alone!"][Stoning][Ash Blast]

Or heres something lame I came up on the day of the patch when all elites got boosted: [MoM shutdown;OgpiwwqMB9BOsKsNwAmKIWVgBA] Though I dislike enchanted haste there since it kills MoM

In general earth eles tend to be much more balanced in terms of damage/defense. Decent damage output, great utility with blind and KD, good survivability.
No running skills make it kinda painful unless you willing to drop mystic regen for it.
Earth makes good fighting builds. Great for holding ground in tight areas on fort maps or saltspray.
Just don't do the PBAoE crap please... seeing those makes me a sad panda.