Curse

makosi · May 21, 2006, 11:13 PM // 23:13

I was testing out the new Elementalist Fire elites in RA and this build proved quite promising:

Fire Magic = 16 [12+1+3]
Energy Storage = 13 [12+1]

Bed of Coals
Flame Burst
Star Burst (E)
Inferno
Fire Attunement
Shock
Aura of Restoration
Resurrection Signet

The general idea of this build is to take advantage of the fact that you, as a squishy ele, will probably be the first target if a monk isn't around.

1) Cast enchantments
2) If the enemy are a mix of melee and casters, lure the melee to the casters and place a Bed of Coals (possiblity of 310 dmg to all nearby foes)
3 ) Use Shock on any enemy to cause burning for 7 seconds and prevent them from damaging you, running away or healing allies temporarily.
4) Hit Inferno when they are down followed by Flame Burst for up to 289 damage. (If someone uses Frenzy and/or Healing Signet they're in serious trouble)
5) Finish them off with Star Burst - cheap and cheerful at only 5 energy (+5 if more than one enemy is hit).
6) If they still aren't dead, keep spamming Flame Burst and Star Burst for quick, cheap spikes.

The main advantages of this build are that the spells used are cheap and fast casting which means they are less likely to be interrupted and won't overstretch your energy. Aura of Restoration gives a fairly generous health boost considering the spammage of the flame spikes too and if your team support you, you could survive 4 warriors circling you.

The obvious disadvantage is that you are susceptible to damage being at melee range. Kiters can be a nuisance although Shock keeps them where you want them.

As for a weapon, the 20/20 +30 +30 fire Staff does the trick. The HP boost means you can hold out longer in the middle of the battle scene.

Try it. I'm not a great fan of PvP so criticise it all you want and I won't be offended.

sno · May 22, 2006, 01:20 AM // 01:20

The great thing about eles in 4v4 is that they not only have decent damage output, but they can also provide a considerable defense, such as wards, blind, or snares (earth, air, and water, respectively.) Your build is solely devoted to damage, which is all well and good, it's not going to help your team very much.

It's very important in 4v4 to have some element of defense in most if not all of your characters, since your monk is the only source of direct healing, which can be overwhelming. Typically your warriors provide knockdowns, which is defensive, mesmers shut down things (... it's what they do

) which is defense, and eles typically provide anti-war defense, usually in the way of blind, but also using wards or snares.

Since Fire doesn't really have much defense at all, I wouldn't recommend using it in 4v4. If you feel you must use fire, use a secondary attribute, like earth, and run ward vs melee (and perhaps stability, or maybe utilize your secondary profession for something useful.)

makosi · May 22, 2006, 12:07 PM // 12:07

^
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Yeah that all makes sense. Before Factions was released, I would never think of using fire magic in the arenas because the majority of Fire Magic spells are slow casting and rangers and mesmers would have a field day interrupting me. The crux of this build is that the fast spams that don't allow warriors to do much in return because they panic and try to heal themselves or run from the AoE . Its an extremely powerful spike that takes the opposition down quickly leaving not much room for enemy retaliation.

Edit: Aura of Restoration is a great self-heal. Up until yesterday, I shunned it.

Zazoo · Jun 01, 2006, 08:00 AM // 08:00

I am also not much of a PvPer but i have been playing a similar build for quite some time.

It is an Ele / Warrior and I run with a Fiery Sword and Shield or Wand and Shield. The shield tends to help with the damage. (I need to get me one of those -5 damage 20% chance shields)

I have not collected many of the new Factions skills but i have already been using Bed of Coals.
The Elite I currently use is Elemental attunement that helps with keeping up with the energy requirements.

My current skillbar:
Bed of Coals
Flame Burst
Inferno
Fireball (When she needs to keep her distance)
Mark of rodrick (Cant remember off hand the exact name, the hex that makes the target burst into flames if hit by a fire weapon)
Fire Attunement
Elemental Attunement {E}
Aura of Restoration

I swap in Res sig for mark for PVP

I will definately be looking into Star Burst.

I have played this char in PvP and PvM and in both cases the class does not last long without support.
If it has support and a wall to fall behind it deals out massive damage in a short period of time.
I love catching a few casters grouped together and spamming the aoe spells, makes them scatter.