Curse

papaschtroumpf · Mar 13, 2009, 06:31 PM // 18:31

New to the game, I own only Prophecies and EoTN so I don't have access to some of the other campaign builds. In fact I don't have a lvl20 yet.
With EoTN heroes, I get support and tanking, and I enjoy AoEs, so i came up with this, which seems to serve me pretty well, but I'd love to get feedback. I have used Fireball instead of Immolate too.

[build=OgVDo7WsC4S7vFH8SqjM]

I don't know how well it will work in the later game. I am currently in the Maguuma jungles and not having any real problems.

I like the versatility of Arcane Echo, although I mostly use if on Phoenix or firestorm.

I'd love to get he Rodgort (sp?) skills, but I haven't really been in the southern shiverpeaks (one trainer in grotto, another one in mines for example).

tmakinen · Mar 13, 2009, 06:48 PM // 18:48

Considering where you are in the game and which skills you have available it looks like a pretty decent effort that gets the fundamentals right. The only thing that I might change right away would be to swap Phoenix to Fireball because half of Phoenix's effect is PBAoE which as a rule of thumb one should stay away from. Fireball provides better ranged damage, is cheaper and has faster recharge time.

I would also recommend doing some stuff in EotN to unlock its elementalist skills (you can buy them at Gunnar's Hold) and some PvE only skills that will give you new tactical possibilities.

Zodiac Meteor · Mar 13, 2009, 07:28 PM // 19:28

If your using [deep freeze] for [fire storm] I would drop it. The energy cost is to great considering the only counter is glyph of lesser energy. Bring another AoE spell like [searing [email protected]] or heck, [meteor [email protected]] at this stage of the game. Plants in maguuma jungle hate fire

. However, later in the game your gonna have to drop [[meteor [email protected]] for something else.

iVendetta · Mar 13, 2009, 08:37 PM // 20:37

You should really never have to go for two elements. I would recommend you drop Water Magic completely and stick to Fire for the time being.

Hanging Man · Mar 13, 2009, 08:40 PM // 20:40

For the time, since your in the Magumma Jungle nothing is really too difficult. But later on, you should choose between one element to max yourself in.

Id say fire is the way to go, alot of enemies hate being set on fire.
get [skill]meteor shower[/skill] but like Zodiac meteor said, you will have to drop it for something better, it becomes a hassle later on.

Trenixz · Mar 13, 2009, 08:41 PM // 20:41

i think he is just putting leftover points into water to make deep freeze do a bit more damage, not really speccing into water.

papaschtroumpf · Mar 13, 2009, 10:26 PM // 22:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trenixz

i think he is just putting leftover points into water to make deep freeze do a bit more damage, not really speccing into water.

that is exactly what I did. Deep freeze duration is constant regardless of water attribute, but hte initial damage help until I put them somewhere else.

_Nihilist_ · Mar 14, 2009, 01:10 AM // 01:10

Good job on the basic build papa. Shows lots of promise that a newer player thinks about not only the BOOM from the AoE, but how to keep the enemies in that BOOM as long as possible.

tmakinen is correct about dropping [Phoenix], since half the damage is dealt PBAoE, unless you are adjacent to the target, you're wasting energy. If you aren't getting the full effect (except for in very rare circumstances), or should I say, the best effect out of your skills, they aren't worth taking.

As far as everyone suggesting Fire Magic for your single focus as an Elementalist? No. Not even close. The main enemies you'll face towards the end in both Prophecies and EotN are resistant to Fire damage. In Proph you face the Titans - Burning Titans, Risen Ashen Hulks, Hands of the Titan, Fists of the Titan. All cause Burning with their attacks. They are usually surrounded by Imps known as Sparks of the Titan. Go figure, they like to burninate stuff, too. In EotN, it's the Destroyers. Their guts glow. Fire tickles, it doesn't torment.

Don't take this as me saying Fire is bad. All of the Elements have their purpose. Fire causes Burning and does lots of AoE. That can be good. But when facing enemies that use Fire as well? Makes sense that they have good defense against it, don'tcha think?

Water, as you understand, has great Snaring capabilities. Those Snares can help your party (be it a full player party, or Heroes and Henchmen, or a combination of the first two) by limiting enemy melee mobs from getting close enough to deal damage, and by keeping the ranged ones from running off and avoiding your damage output.

Try out all the Elements, learn what they all do. Some work better in certain areas or against certain enemies. That's the beauty of GW - you can swap up your skills in any town or outpost, so you can always set your build to be the best it can be for a specific area or against a specific enemy you are going to encounter.

Have fun!

Also, read the Elementalist Sticky, lots of great info!

Cebe · Mar 16, 2009, 08:42 AM // 08:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmakinen

Considering where you are in the game and which skills you have available it looks like a pretty decent effort that gets the fundamentals right.

Couldn't agree more. It's quite refreshing to see it!

The format of your build is fine on the whole. You got energy management (Attunement + Glyph is fine for energy management), a Snare to work with your AoEs, and some other build enhancing stuff like the echo and Aura of Restoration.

I would look into dropping Arcane Echo, and possibly Aura of Restoration, when you understand the game more. Arcane Echo will be OK for now until you can get hold of some more useful skills. Aura of Restoration is alright, but could be dropped as you get better at the game and access to more useful spells.

You have [[Meteor] coming up to buy from Amnoon Oasis when you reach the desert. It's not the best skill ever, but it might be a good replacement for Phoenix or Arcane Echo. You should be able to get your hands on [[Fireball] now also (either from a quest reward from Cynn in Ascalon or from the skill trainer in Yak's Bend. Fireball would be a better replacement for Phoenix I reckon.

You could consider swapping out Deep Freeze for [[Ward Against Melee (PvE)] and [[Ward Against Elements] when the situation changes. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with Deep Freeze, but some regions may benefit from the passive defense of Wards, such as fighting Hydra or Siege Ice Golems. An Elementalist can provide some excellent party support if managed well.

Fire magic is OK for much of PvE, but as others have said before me, it will fall out of favour as you travel through the game. The Ring of Fire Islands (last area in Prophecies) would be worth stocking up on some Water Magic spells for, in preparation for the final mission.

Quote:

Originally Posted by iVendetta

You should really never have to go for two elements. I would recommend you drop Water Magic completely and stick to Fire for the time being.

That wholly depends on the secondary element. Admittedly, dual elements works better with full attribute points, which may not be available to the OP yet, but your statement does seem somewhat ignorant.

faraaz · Mar 16, 2009, 09:50 AM // 09:50

Seriously consider getting your toon to EoTN ASAP and getting PvE skills such as [Mindbender],[Finish Him!],[Great Dwarf Weapon],[By Ural's Hammer!] etc. They will make your job a lot easier.

For a new guy, your build looks okay, Invest in more non stationary AoE if that's your thing. [Fire Storm] is bad. [Liquid Flame] is good...although I'm afraid the last one is NF only. Look at the wiki list of skills and see what suits you.

papaschtroumpf · Mar 20, 2009, 06:42 PM // 18:42

Thanks. I also just purchased NF and Factions so that opens up my options a lot.
also lvl20 and ascended, so while I have a lot more to learn, I'm starting to get the hang of things. Still so many skills to learn about though. Out of the ones your pointed out, I'm only familiar with [Liquid Flame].
since I'm planning on capping a lot of skills soon, I am also working on a "boss killer" build with more shutdowns (where the memsmer secondary helps) and single target damage

thanks to everyone for the advice

faraaz · Mar 21, 2009, 02:53 AM // 02:53

Try out earth magic too at some point, now that you have all the campaigns. You'll be pleasantly surprised with how oober it is.

D A R K S O I F O N · Mar 23, 2009, 11:02 PM // 23:02

firstly what type of ele do u want 2 create {Earth/water/fire/air} etc etc. I have some builds if ur interested that are effective for pve and pvp if u need them. Msg me online to D A R K S O I F O N

papaschtroumpf · Apr 20, 2009, 04:20 PM // 16:20

there is a reason why there are so many Fire Ele: in a lot of the game, they simply rock. I have tried both Earth and Air, and where Fire works well, I haven't been able to make an Earth or Air build that works as well.
On the other hand, where Fire doesn't work, it really sucks. I've had good luck with an Earth/Water combo, I can do Hell's Precipice pretty easily now with heroes and maybe a few henchies. I can usually take a team through, but generally people don't pay attention and screw it up, so I find it easier to do on my own.

I find Air is pretty decent against a single target (boss killer) and PvP.
I find Water to be pretty weak on its own, but it has good utility when combined with something else (Steam, Mist form, Maelstrom, Rust, ...)

I haven't come up with an Earth build I really like, I still don't have access to whichever skill turns all damage you receive into earth damage (the name escapes me). I can see how you can be really hard to kill with that skill, although I still have my doubt as to how much damage you can put out.

expugnare · Apr 21, 2009, 01:17 AM // 01:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by papaschtroumpf

I haven't come up with an Earth build I really like, I still don't have access to whichever skill turns all damage you receive into earth damage (the name escapes me). I can see how you can be really hard to kill with that skill, although I still have my doubt as to how much damage you can put out.

Earth is less about the "damage" persay as compared to the killer effects you can get.

This, however, applies to all magic. In the end, once you reach higher end PvE damage from actual spells is largely negligible. You will probably rely on spells such as [ebon vanguard assassin support], ["finish him!"], ["you move like a dwarf!"] and [pain inverter] to dish out any significant damage. Anything else, even some highpowered fire moves are largely supplementary.

For example, a generic AP build involves synergy of [glyph of sacrifice] and [meteor shower], paired with ["you move like a dwarf!"], [ebon vanguard assassin support] to create and effective knocklock. Although the actual damage from meteor shower will be moderate, the utility it provides can be quite helpful, allowing for a quick kill and the repetition of the whole chain.

Good luck! Have fun!

Mouse at Large · Apr 21, 2009, 10:43 AM // 10:43

With all campaigns, esp in normal diff, [mind blast] + [mark of rodgort] and twin heats, hell even [fire storm] can give a viable AoE fire/burning damage oriented build.

Enjoy the trip