Curse

cr00mz · Jul 21, 2008, 07:39 PM // 19:39

I have had a fire ele now over 6 months and its getting boring, so i started using erath magic instead. I'm using unsteady ground at the moment but plan on capturing sandstorm soon or something like that. I have a question about those 2 which one is better when? sandstorm lasts longer with higher cooldown and damage, but unsteady ground has knockdown and lower cooldown. the duration i think is both good and bad. With sandstorm you get more damage for your "money" (mana) but since it lasts 10 seconds and with AoE enemies have a chance to flee from the middle of the AoE many seconds could be lost and it is not used to full effect. unsteady ground has 5 second duration. Again both good and bad it doesnt last as long as Sandstorm but since it has a shorter duration there is a bigger chance it will get maximum effect.

This skill combines very well with Ash Blast, to temporarily shut down melee characters, or Aftershock for additional damage. this is the only thing wiki has to say about the skill

So if anyone can give me some more information about them it would be really nice

(Sorry if this has be asked before)
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Hugh Manatee · Jul 21, 2008, 08:15 PM // 20:15

Use unsteady to shut down melee, rangers or anything in PvE that attacks you, usually you get 2 KDs in a row if they sit in it. I find sandstorm slightly less effective, while it does more damage it does cause scatter, and when they move they take less damage since they're not attacking anyway. Between Ward vs Melee, Erruption, blurred vision and Unsteady you're safe from a lot of different kinds of melee and physical damage(I vanquished most of elona with a hero set up like this, did real well), and you can let henchmen or heroes take out the casters with their crazy interrupt AI.

In PvP sandstorm might be a bit better, it's kind of a ward VS melee for about 10 second. People aren't automatically smart enough to run out of AoE.

Proff · Jul 21, 2008, 08:22 PM // 20:22

[Unsteady Ground] > [Sandstorm]

Imo, because you really only get 3 seconds out of the sandstorm and the 80-150 damage you do isn't worth scattering your enemies and potentially endangering your back line, Unsteady Ground also has the benefit of a knock down which makes it much more useful at preventing/inflicting damage especially when paired up with Churning Earth and Ash Blast.

cr00mz · Jul 21, 2008, 08:38 PM // 20:38

ok thanks for the information i was leaning towards unsteady ground being a bit better (maybe i should have mentioned general pve) with knockdown. since that can take out abit of pressure some of the physical attackers can do

KMVRanger · Jul 21, 2008, 08:55 PM // 20:55

I'm gonna have to cheer for Sandstorm. I have 16 into earth (I created dedicated elementalists - fire, water, earth). You can add Glyph of
Ell power + Intensity before casting Sandstorm. Pve AI always takes a second or so to react to AOE so even if you don't get the full duration you can weaken much of a mob quickly with that combo.

I've also combined Earthbind+whirlwind+aftershock+shockwave as a spike. That killed the unbound Energy in Grandcourt in one hit.

AOE is always a crap shoot though as far as how fast your foes scatter. I have noticed that rangers/archers are particularly "stubborn" when it comes to fleeing AOE damage. Eruption is great for that reason, it blinds first and formost so even if you don't do much damage you've cast a condition over multiple melees.

I'm a big earth magic fan can you tell.

N1ghtstalker · Jul 21, 2008, 09:00 PM // 21:00

if you get flooded by enemies and throw in [unsteady ground] while they're fighting your enemies will be open for large amounts of damage from your teammates
[sandstorm] is good damage but [unsteady ground] is still beter for less energy and shorter recharge
it's much more effective this way

Boogz · Jul 21, 2008, 09:32 PM // 21:32

[Unsteady Ground] > [Sandstorm] for PvE imo
[Unsteady Ground] = [Shockwave] > [Sandstorm] for PvP (HA specially)

like said, sandstorm will only do dmg, unless you have some kind of snare, like [Deep Freeze], it will scatter mobs away.
Since [Unsteady Ground] is a melee hate, I'd say make a build with it and some other kind of supportive skills, like [Blurred Vision][Ward Against Melee][Ash Blast]

Stormlord Alex · Jul 21, 2008, 09:39 PM // 21:39

Unsteady Ground all the way. It does something note-worthy.

All Sandstorm really does is damage, and if I wanted damage I'd be running Fire with a ward or aegis thrown on.

Pesi · Jul 21, 2008, 09:52 PM // 21:52

[skill]unsteady ground[/skill] ftw
[skill]sandstorm[/skill] ftl

miskav · Jul 21, 2008, 10:31 PM // 22:31

[Unsteady Ground] is to [Meteor Shower]
What [Sandstorm] is to [Fire storm]

No better way to say it.

KMVRanger · Jul 22, 2008, 05:17 PM // 17:17

Ok I’ll acquiesce about unsteady over sandstorm mostly because it coincides with my love of WaM and Earthbind+Whirlwind+Aftershock spike.

Actually if you add Unsteady and WaF as well, you have the starting of a good build.

It’s just too bad Earthbind is so slow to cast and you risk your spirit getting killed.

Tyla · Jul 22, 2008, 06:02 PM // 18:02

Unsteady, because of the KD.

Molock · Jul 22, 2008, 06:08 PM // 18:08

Unsteady ground is by far superior imo. The 10 second duration and higher damage of SS can't compare to the knock-down caused by Unsteady ground. Also, unsteady fits in more with the majority of earth spells, it help support/prevent instead if simply dealing damage like fire magic.

God I M Stoned · Jul 26, 2008, 04:57 PM // 16:57

i've been using elementalist for about 15 months now... i found that after i left noobiness behind that sandstorm is eew... unsteady ground, with strategic placement, can be much more useful considering it can relieve pressure from the backline if melee are on those targets, and also you don't seem to be taking into consideration the 20 second recharge time of unsteady ground.... use a 40/40 set and that could be a devestating shutdown for your melee enemies along with a few other choice earth skills

Bob Grunter · Aug 07, 2008, 06:05 AM // 06:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by miskav

[Unsteady Ground] is to [Meteor Shower]
What [Sandstorm] is to [Fire storm]

No better way to say it.

very true

imo UG is better in pve and sandstorm is more suited for pvp(althought its not that great there either)