Curse

RazielFirestorm · May 07, 2006, 01:06 AM // 01:06

i have also won hoh as a nuker, it spikes just fine. mainly because in pvp your opponents dont have a silly amount of armor or life like npc mobs do like dwarfs who seem to resist fire really well. however apart from ranger and warrior you can certainly spike a player for half his hp, not to mention anybody silly enough to stand close to your target.
somebody said earlier mes is most versatile primary, i actually use mes as 2ndary for all of my characters, i would definatley consider it the most versatile 2ndary class as it has something every class may need, but 1st i dunno. in my opinion eles are the most versatile becasue they are usually given more than 1 task to do, ie run the flag, and help heal, o and also help finish off that target, and maybe stop that guy hitting me aswell. no other primary class can do all of these things in 1 character, none

in pve this will differ as in reality mobs are stupid and you dont need to do more than 1 job, in this respect eles are still useful damage dealers as no other class can spike up as much dmg in a few seconds except necros, and even then they only compare to an eles dmg when they hit large groups and ss stacks up.
i think iv argued my point enough, im sure there are things i have missed, my point is eles are the utility class, and the reasons eles are the utility class is because of their energy pool and their energy managing skills,
(e prodigy in particular and arious glyphs). they arent the most "rounded" class clearly that would be a ranger but they are the most able to multitask.

Francis Crawford · May 07, 2006, 01:50 AM // 01:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by RazielFirestorm

they arent the most "rounded" class clearly that would be a ranger but they are the most able to multitask.

Hmm.

I think your argument is that elementalists, with their extra energy, can sprinkle in skills from other caster lines and use them effectively. E.g., they can do something else and also interrupt -- presumably via mesmer interrupts -- just as ranger, mesmers, and necros can each do without going beyond their primary professions.

You have a point. Even so, in PvE, my elementalist builds are commonly damage/self-defense/self-heal, and nothing more. When I go just with my wife and henchies, I'll commonly leave out rez, and put in an interrupt or something, because she doesn't mind the former and has a strong preference for the latter. And there are other times I'll take Heal Party or Mend Ailment. And I've begun to experiment with warding builds, in which of course I'll do some damage too, and since it's Earth I won't resist the temptation to add in self-defense.

But does that make me more of a multitasker than a typical necro, mesmer, ranger, or monk? I don't really see it.

RazielFirestorm · May 07, 2006, 12:32 PM // 12:32

yes in pvp that is what i mean, in pve the argument is not so strong but then pve is so different in the requirement of a single character.
if i am interrupting yes usually definately mesmer skills, i actually dont take attunes as they get interrupted or strippeed too often, i take 2 inspiration interrupts that give me a lot of energy back and have the added benefit of stopping enemy casters.
in pve ok i wont say eles are more able to multitask, but thats because quite honestly no class needs to multitask. however when it is required i would say the skills u take usually have a mid or high end energy cost eg convert hex, hp, aegis, heal other (as you can see its hard to think of secondary class skills other than interrupts that you would use in pve becasue quite honestly you dont need to and in most cases its mesmer skills in my experience or helpful healing spells) threse spells are usually too draining to a character to use except eles and necros.
if you are experimenting with a earth build for pve i have used successfully the following:
obs flame,crystal wave,eq,ward vs melee, glyph of energy, stoning, reversal of fortune/ heal other, pacifism/ rebirth.