Curse

quanta_nomad · Nov 26, 2008, 11:09 AM // 11:09

My ele hit level20 on Prophecy last week, finishing about 13 missions. So far I got about 23k faction points and no elites; so as you can see, I'm a brand new player. Now, before I invest more time on this toon, there are some things I need to know.

1. A lot of people are saying that after some nerfing ele's are useless in GW. Should I roll some other class then?
2. I hear in HM ele's are all about support roles. I don't mind being in support; what I do mind is being of little use in a party. Hence, I gotta know, how useful is ele in epic dungeons? (I don't know what they call WoW's epic dungeons in GW

) What about Arenas?

I'm currently focusing on Fire. Got Me as secondary. Like to do both PvE and PvP. I plan to do decent amount of RA, TA, and HA. Got Prophecy and EotN but gonna buy the rest this Christmas.
Sorry for the long post.

Darth Durgason · Nov 26, 2008, 11:27 AM // 11:27

1. imo opinium it never hurts to have more then one toon. This depends of course on what you wonna do in the game. BUt knowing other professions weaknesses and strengths is intresting, and seeing what other classes have to offer too.
Elementalists are not useless. They are still a caster type wanted in most groups. I can speak only about pve though.
2. imo the elementalist is one of the greatest damage dealing classes. In hard mode its true that they are no good in the heat of fireline (they will die faster under pressure, unless when running a very specific build) but are placed in the 2nd line where most of the damage happens. In short they stand safe and cast spells causing massive damage.

imo there are no super or bad classes, some things are just better for certain things then others. I think its quite obvious the monk and elementalist are not supposed to do the same.

last thing i add that there are several (easy) builds a elementalist can use to solo farm in both hm and normal mode. In dungeons/elite area's/missions there are always groups looking for an elementalist. Elementalists got a wide variety of builds and uses so can cover lots of things. Overall i think its a good character to discover many aspects in the game.

tmakinen · Nov 26, 2008, 11:38 AM // 11:38

Speaking as somebody who has a GWAMM elementalist and thus has done pretty much everything there is to be done on the PvE side with an ele, it is a very feasible profession to play and excels in a multi-purpose offense / shutdown / defense / party support role. While the primary attribute of an elementalist is - as such - inferior to many other professions like necromancers, the elementalist has access to some extremely powerful (according to whom you listen even completely broken) energy management skills with which to fuel any kind of utility. Some specific things that make an elementalist a valuable team member are blind spam, defensive wards and snares and keeping Great Dwarf Weapon (a PvE only skill) on your physicals. If you can at the same time support your team and subdue enemies you have what it takes to become a very successful elementalist

cataphract · Nov 26, 2008, 12:02 PM // 12:02

*signs what tmakinen said*

As for 1) and 2)...

1) Whoever told you that has been drinking, not from the Stupid Cup, but from the Stupid Barrel. Just ignore them.

2) While it is a painful truth that eles dish out a lot less damage in HM due to mobs having higher AL, I wouldn't put them in the niche of a support-only role. Fire is still able to deal a considerable amount of damage with its AoE spells. Earth gives you an opportunity to play offense+defense all at once. It's wards are very useful in protecting your team and elites such as Sandstorm or Unsteady Ground are a very nice thing to have. Air is capable of dealing massive amounts of damage while spreading several conditions. Lightning Orb = cracked armor, Enervating Charge = weakness, Thunderclap = dazed, Blinding Flash/Surge = blind. Water magic excels at slowing enemies down, which is of great help in HM since mobs have increased movement speed. Ward Against Harm, Blurred Vision and Slippery Ground are all great additions to a water ele's skillbar.

Great class to play, them eles.

Cebe · Nov 26, 2008, 12:16 PM // 12:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by quanta_nomad

2. I hear in HM ele's are all about support roles. I don't mind being in support; what I do mind is being of little use in a party. Hence, I gotta know, how useful is ele in epic dungeons? (I don't know what they call WoW's epic dungeons in GW

) What about Arenas?

Blinding packs of hard-hitting hard mode physicals could never be considered "little use". Yes, Elementalists excel at Supportive roles in Hard Mode, but it doesn't mean they're less useful. Blinding foes reduces pressure greatly, knocking foes down stops them doing anything, Wards provides unstrippable protection for those stood within it.

In Normal Mode, Elementalists work just fine at blowing things up to be perfectly honest. Just because a D-Slash Warrior might be able to pump out more dps doesn't mean you as a damage dealing Elementalist sucks. It also doesn't mean you should aspire to be able to churn out that level of damage on an Elementalist. Each class performs different tasks well - just play to your strengths and enjoy the character.

Rothan Celt · Nov 26, 2008, 01:11 PM // 13:11

my "main char" is a ele and has been for a year and i have done a lot of high end pve on him. Blinding a whole pack of foes = gr8 decrease in pressure atm however i just use my ele as a trigger for Discord if you don't know about it already necromancers are godlike in pve. If my account got wiped i would start again as a necro imo in pve they can not be beaten for overall......ownage

. But Eles can be used for many various rolls in HM if i am not AP nukeing then i enjoy blindspam or KD spam.

___________________________________

*insert lame ass signature here*

Limu Tolkki · Nov 26, 2008, 01:17 PM // 13:17

Elementalist is very variable profession in both pve and pvp. Tho, i gotta admit that in certain places elementalist is a bit underpowered (some hm pve to be exact). Also, the only real option for pve is fire (some support skills from earth are also very usable tho pve only skills are often overpowered and better than those). Id say play elementalist if you want to, in pve everything works anyway and in pvp elementalist has more choices.

-GWAMM elementalist

cataphract · Nov 26, 2008, 02:14 PM // 14:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmakinen

a GWAMM elementalist

Quote:

Originally Posted by Limu Tolkki

-GWAMM elementalist

My ele is 3 HM Canthan missions short of smelly guild hall.

Raku Clayman · Nov 26, 2008, 03:41 PM // 15:41

My preferred main character is an Ele. I have 15 titles and am working on finishing all missions in HM, and vanquishing titles, which I can do with ease with Heroes and Henchies. I prefer H and H in PVE because I don't have to be locked in to a certain build that some moron believes is the flavor of the moment. Ele's are extremely versatile. I have at least 15 different builds, and minor variants, that I use for any given situation. As far as taking damage, as a caster, it is an added challenge to evade being attacked while at the same time dishing it out. This adds a little something fun to the position.

Don't listen to what anyone tells you. Figure it out for yourself. As I said before, in most groups, you'll be forced to use the build of the moment. First it was the Searing Flame Ele, then it was the Savanah Heat Ele, then Ursan. The current flavors are Terra Ele's and Cryers. While these are fun, there is so much more to work with. For one thing, you can chose between AOE spells and specific spells. With the use of Arcane Echo and Mindkeeper(or whatever it's called) you can cast any spell multiple times and fast. Create a build that is compatible with your playing style.

It is important to get the Elites. Get the Mapping Out program, which you can find, here, at the Guru site. It shows you where all the Elites are.

Rhamia Darigaz · Nov 26, 2008, 03:48 PM // 15:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darth Durgason

2. imo the elementalist is one of the greatest damage dealing classes. In hard mode its true that they are no good in the heat of fireline (they will die faster under pressure, unless when running a very specific build) but are placed in the 2nd line where most of the damage happens. In short they stand safe and cast spells causing massive damage.

since the OP is new to gw and probably very impressionable on matters concerning how to play effectively, i feel obligated to point out that this advice is bad.

Mouse at Large · Nov 26, 2008, 04:12 PM // 16:12

I would just like to point out that to compare the DPS of a Dragon Slash warrior to an ele is not comparing apples with apples. Eles have AoE so their damage will generally be spread around more than one target.

As for no direct damage in HM, I find keeping groups constantly on fire (Destroyers apart) worked fine

Tyla · Nov 26, 2008, 04:16 PM // 16:16

cuz degen in pve is pro shit rite?

wind fire and ice · Nov 26, 2008, 05:43 PM // 17:43

no matter how much hate eles get,they are one of the 3 best professions for pve.

Ele,Necro and Paragon(nightfall profession) i would stick with ele,they are very versitile,and effective.
when you get to Hard Mode you will need to drop fire though,wait till you have factions and nightfall before you even attempt hard mode,elites like[blinding surge] and [unsteady ground] are both very useful in high end areas like dungeons/ect. because they lower preasure from melee,also skills like[ebon battle standard of honor] can be very useful for buffing your damage output at the same time.

daze · Nov 27, 2008, 04:23 AM // 04:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyla

cuz degen in pve is pro shit rite?

Its more effective than wanding enemies to death.

Tyla · Nov 27, 2008, 04:35 AM // 04:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by daze

Its more effective than wanding enemies to death.

I see what you did there. The only difference is that wanding isn't and shouldn't be the only damage output. If degen is all you're going to do, and for the cost of a skill slot, why not save your skill slot and do something that has potential?

MisterT69 · Nov 27, 2008, 04:48 AM // 04:48

How bout [Mark of Rodgort]+[Teinai's Heat]+[Glyph of lesser energy]+[Assassin's Promise] and the 3 PVE staple skills + discord for ub3r degen lol damage. Because you don't always need the big numbers to have fun, watching stuff burn to death is great for the lolz. And if it gets the job done quick, who cares

You can vanquish most areas w/just that because in HM the ele becomes less about damage and what kind of conditions/pressure they can lay down.

Tyla · Nov 27, 2008, 05:07 AM // 05:07

The term "usefulness" implies "efficiency". Degen in PvE isn't efficient. Fun depends on the personality of someone. The enjoyment of one doesn't have an impact on efficiency.

daze · Nov 27, 2008, 05:31 AM // 05:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyla

I see what you did there. The only difference is that wanding isn't and shouldn't be the only damage output. If degen is all you're going to do, and for the cost of a skill slot, why not save your skill slot and do something that has potential?

[glyph of immolation][steam][slippery ground]

there is more to burning than just degen.

cataphract · Nov 27, 2008, 08:02 AM // 08:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raku Clayman

With the use of Arcane Echo and Mindkeeper(or whatever it's called) you can cast any spell multiple times and fast. Create a build that is compatible with your playing style.

Mindbender.

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Mindbender

Mouse at Large · Nov 27, 2008, 11:43 AM // 11:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyla

cuz degen in pve is pro shit rite?

No, AoE degen and damage + utility is "pro shit". Take Mark of Rodgot + twin heats then add in whatever you want for PvE skills/utility and e-management and you have a viable build for HM.

If that doesn't square with your worldview................I really don't care