Curse

expugnare · Jan 07, 2012, 07:52 PM // 19:52

Hey guys!

Been a while since I've been on the Elementalist forums, but that glorious day of updating has come! Now its time for us to make some builds that really utilize the updated elite skills--no one wants to be an PvE spammer or a Monk anymore, right?

With that in mind, I feel like this thread can be a collective brainstorm, and I can codify the ideas into a big list of ideas.

Lets break it down with regards to magic types, first of all.
Energy Storage
HERO BUILD: Double Attunement Fire Nuker

OPTIONAL ABILITIES:

Big thanks to Jeydra for suggesting this build as a possible replacement to the Invoke Hero!
Usage: This hero is big damage in big AOE. Make sure to bring Cracked Armor and the results will be startling.

Air
Thunderclapper
Placeholder

Earth
Glyph of Energy Quaker

Usage: Huge damage from Obsidian Flame. Couple this with mass knockdowns with Intensity for AoE from Earthquake and Dragon's Stomp. Throw in Ebon Standard of Wisdom for faster recharge times on all your abilities and you're looking at a pretty solid earth build.

Shockwaver

OPTIONAL ABILITIES:

Usage: Have a mesmer hero cast Fragility, and apply a bunch of conditions on a mob, run in, cast Tenai's Crystals, cast Intensity Shockwave, and Crystal Wave. Instantaneous 400 + dmg boom, ignoring armor for the most part, not to mention the 100's of damage from Fragility. Aftershock is an option too--perhaps the Mesmer with Frag could have Psychic Instability on him?

I can honestly see something like this becoming meta in area's like DoA, where the Shockwave, Tenais/Crystal Combo with 5 Ele's on a mob with Fragility on it would just melt everything. Obviously open to interpretation.

Fire

Mind Burner

Usage: Basically, as it would appear, this build is utilized to blast people with fire. Use intensity with Mind Burn, to do mass AoE and spread burning. Spam Fireball and Liquid Flame alongside Glowing Gaze to maximize energy management. Throw down a EBSoH for additional damage for you and your team. Maintain enchantments.

Starburster

OPTIONAL ABILITIES:

Usage: Go in, with your protective enchantments, blow shit up. Starburst is your main damage tool, and your main energy management tool, use it wisely. For optionals, I like Intensity as it gives the most AoE burst with Starburst. If running with more players, have them bring Ebon Vanguard Standard of Wisdom.

Starburster 2

OPTIONAL ABILITIES:

Usage: Go in with Death's Charge and some protective enchantments cast on you by your party. Blow everything up after casting EBSOH.

Double Dragon

OPTIONAL ABILITIES:

Usage: Cast Double Dragon on whatever other front-liner you have. Stay within EBSOH and watch everything melt. Since Double Dragon doesn't cause scatter, Lava Burst can be laid down without any real worry of scatter.

Water

Shatter Stoner

Mirror of Ice

Mist Form

Big thanks to Swingline, Bhavv and Fallen Angel for suggestions.
Couple Mistform with some Burning Speed for mass AoE healing. Maintain your enchantments, spam Burning Speed, profit!

DISCLAIMER: This is clearly a work in progress. I'm going to be saving space to edit/add other people's suggestions (which are very welcome) and I'm very open to criticism. I'm very aware that some of these builds are probably sub-par, and as is sort of to be expected with new builds after an update. Rigorous testing it really the only way to be assured of an optimal build, so if you guys could test some of these out it would be grand. With that in mind, lets get some ideas flowing!

Lanier · Jan 07, 2012, 09:33 PM // 21:33

I'v used a build very similar to your glyph of energy one. However, instead of using obsidian flame, I use the ebon hawk --> stoning --> ash blast combo alongside GoE and the two AoE KDs. The spell chain provides powerful single target and some nice defensive conditions to compliment the AoE damage and KDs that you get from earthquake and dragon stomp. Its worked pretty well and its fun to use

.

As for starburst, I haven't bothered with any of the defensive enchantments. There's really no reason to invest in earth magic when you could just put prot spirit on yourself. Basically, I just shadowstep in with deaths charge and spam the powerful PBAoE skills. For those who don't like the 30 sec recharge on DC, dash (or burning speed i guess) can be used to reach the enemies faster.

HigherMinion · Jan 07, 2012, 09:50 PM // 21:50

If people don't like melee heroes... Why would they like a caster in touch-range of mobs?

Xsiriss · Jan 07, 2012, 10:19 PM // 22:19

Whilst it's good that people are trying stuff other than mesmers and rits, you seem to forget that these things require decent coordination to be effective. This being especially the case when you have squishy targets up front, it's a recipe for disaster. You'll either have them ganked and rely on prot or you'll find them scattering to attack all people. That and the fact they scatter from AoE, which is the primary damage source.

You should't be putting in a bunch of eles in when it's necessary, so far all that's happens is eles can somewhat replace the damage dealing roles of rits and mesmers.

expugnare · Jan 07, 2012, 10:36 PM // 22:36

For those who seem to not understand-this is just a list of possible builds for the future for Elementalists to use with the update. This is not an organized team or anything. We are just brainstorming possible builds for Players (not heroes, yet, at least) to use.

ashes · Jan 07, 2012, 10:59 PM // 22:59

Shatter Stone + Intensity seems obvious - pop Intensity after the single target dmg ofc

Xsiriss · Jan 07, 2012, 11:10 PM // 23:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by expugnare

For those who seem to not understand-this is just a list of possible builds for the future for Elementalists to use with the update...

Ah I see, sorry. It's just a lot of people have either been saying nothing's changed OR that suddenly taking 4+ members of the same profession is viable.

Swingline · Jan 07, 2012, 11:46 PM // 23:46

It's too early for builds such as these but let me help you out.

I am not a fan of those earth builds you have up. UG + CE is actually very good atm. Much better than those 2 you have up

The Mind Burn build looks ok.

The Star Burst build looks like the one I posted a few hours before this thread was created except you have inferno instead of phoenix which is what I would have replaced it with once I found out Phoenix is a 2 second cast. Only 2 of the optional skills you have listed should actually be in the build and they are EBSoH and Armor of Earth. EBSoH if you don't need the survivability and Armor of Earth if you do. Make sure you get a earth rune on there so MoE can get another point up and if not taking Armor of Earth make sure your covering Stone Striker the best you can, MoE and SB should keep your energy afloat in case Fire Attunement gets stripped through Burning Speed.

DiogoSilva · Jan 08, 2012, 12:01 AM // 00:01

Unsteady Ground
Churning Earth
Eruption
Ward Against Foes
Ebon Battle Standard of Wisdom
Ebon Battle Standard of Honor
Glyph of Lesser Energy
Attunement

Gives great crowd control and anti-melee. Works well with heroes, where I usually put Ward Against Melee and Aura of Restoration into their bar. Has its strengths and drawbacks compared to an Ineptitude Illusion mesmer, but I prefer this one. Especially if you are yourself an elementalist, and bring with you the Ebon Wards of Honor/ Wisdom.

Double Dragon
Tenai's Heat
Searing Heat
[optional]
PvE skills and e.management skills above

EBSoH works great with Double Dragon, both because DD lasts 8 seconds without scatter, and can activate it twice.

I currently use this fire build and have an earth ele hero with the first build. Wisdom Ward, although great, has been giving some energy problems to both me and the hero, though, but the result has been explosive.

expugnare · Jan 08, 2012, 12:30 AM // 00:30

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll update the page soon. I'm not gonna knock the shockwave or GOE build until people test them.

FallenAngel_ · Jan 08, 2012, 06:48 AM // 06:48

I'm trying to design a build using Mist Form and spamming Burnning Speed to spam heals

Essence Snow · Jan 08, 2012, 07:29 AM // 07:29

Intensity is not worthy of an PvE only slot......there are better options

Jeydra · Jan 08, 2012, 08:36 AM // 08:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Essence Snow

Intensity is not worthy of an PvE only slot......there are better options

I'm not so sure. Intensity has the awesome property of working with no cast time. I think it's worth a slot when you have a heavy nuke (e.g. Rodgort's Invo, Invoke Lightning, etc). Besides, what else do you want to use?

Swingline · Jan 08, 2012, 10:59 AM // 10:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel_

I'm trying to design a build using Mist Form and spamming Burnning Speed to spam heals

Completely and utterly broken. The healing is fast as hell and it heals minions to.
As long as shit dies AoS will keep energy up.

Replaced GoLE with Channeling. Now its far over OP.

bhavv · Jan 08, 2012, 11:35 AM // 11:35

My Mist form PVE build did 30 healing at 20 water magic:

Burning speed
Frigid Armour
Mist Form
Glyph of Elly power
Fire attunement
Aura of Restoration
Elemental Lord
Armour of Frost

But its not any better than an E/mo for party support and requires a bip. It is far less powerful than healing burst, and nowhere near as broken IMO.

Swingline · Jan 08, 2012, 12:56 PM // 12:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhavv

My Mist form PVE build did 30 healing at 20 water magic:

Burning speed
Frigid Armour
Mist Form
Glyph of Elly power
Fire attunement
Aura of Restoration
Elemental Lord
Armour of Frost

But its not any better than an E/mo for party support and requires a bip. It is far less powerful than healing burst, and nowhere near as broken IMO.

I just used a bip with this in a vq and I only needed 1 healer. I also did use glyph of ele power for 30 heals. Best thing about this though is it heals minions and keeps them alive forever.

Jeydra · Jan 08, 2012, 01:15 PM // 13:15

^ I've been doing VQs with 3 heals in the party (Kaolai / Spirit Light / MBAS) since forever, and if you want to keep minions alive forever use a Dwayna Derv.

This is feeling like an effective hero Invoke template replacement at the moment:

16 Fire
10 Energy Storage
9 Command

Elemental Attunement [E]
Fire Attunement
Rodgort's Invocation
Liquid Flame
Fireball
?
Glyph of Lesser Energy
"Fall Back!"

It sucks to have to use GoLE with dual Attunements, but in the face of enchantment removal and the AI's tendency to cast Rodgort's Invocation with either attunement down, they can run dry without GoLE. In that optional slot at the moment I'm leaning towards Immolate, although maybe Meteor might be better.

Drawbacks vs. pre-nerf Invoke Eles are of course 1) severe reliance on enchantments, which means enchantment removal destroys them, and 2) they use Fire Magic, which is ineffective in many areas of the game.

Is it right to say that all monsters with huge armour to Fire has relatively little armour vs. Water?

bhavv · Jan 08, 2012, 02:00 PM // 14:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swingline

I just used a bip with this in a vq and I only needed 1 healer. I also did use glyph of ele power for 30 heals. Best thing about this though is it heals minions and keeps them alive forever.

I forgot about minions as I havnt used them in a long time, but that is good if it also heals them.

The thing is though, you didnt only need 1 healer (I assume you meant 1 healer plus the mist form build, not just the mist form as a healer) - This is still giving you two healers.

A Healing Burst monk would still be more effective than Mist Form, and doesnt require any where near as much energy as burning speed spam.

ashes · Jan 08, 2012, 05:21 PM // 17:21

The new Water Trident also seems quite awesome, 3 sec recharge and triple KD

Swingline · Jan 08, 2012, 05:50 PM // 17:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhavv

I forgot about minions as I havnt used them in a long time, but that is good if it also heals them.

The thing is though, you didnt only need 1 healer (I assume you meant 1 healer plus the mist form build, not just the mist form as a healer) - This is still giving you two healers.

A Healing Burst monk would still be more effective than Mist Form, and doesnt require any where near as much energy as burning speed spam.

The healer was a SoS/hybrid, so it wasnt a full healer. I also had Prot spirit on an ele to prevent spikes. I also hate monk heroes with a passion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashes

The new Water Trident also seems quite awesome, 3 sec recharge and triple KD

It is a lot better.