Curse

iliketoeat · Jul 19, 2005, 07:33 PM // 19:33

I was thinking of making a fire elementalist/mesmer, do you guys think this is a good idea?

also, what skills and attributes should i do?

i've heard that arcane echo is a good skill, but Ihave no idea what it does...

do you think i should be a dmg dealer mesmer, or a energy gaining one?

Enigmatics · Jul 19, 2005, 09:00 PM // 21:00

Archane echo copies a spell that you use right after it. If you want pure damage, don't be a fire elementalist in the first place.

Let me rephrase that: Fire elementalists are very useful and effective in pve.

elenna · Jul 19, 2005, 09:23 PM // 21:23

I suggest putting points into Energy storage to start.

Then the rest depend on what you want to do.
If you want to interrupt casters and fighters go with Domination and any element, really. They all have knockdown spells (at higher levels) that really mess with casters and fighters. (Air does have an interrupting spell at a lower level which is nice.)
If you want to have plenty of energy for big elemental spells, put points into Inspiration.

Tozen · Jul 19, 2005, 09:35 PM // 21:35

My opinion? DO IT. Between Arcane Echo and Echo (elite) you can triple the power of your favorite spell. While I wouldn't recommend this for many strategies, I once made a Guild Lord spiker with triple obsidian flame... a very tasty combo indeed.

And don't let anyone tell you that fire doesn't work in PvP. I have a very effective combo right now with my Ele/Me that inflicts 700-900 damage in an AOE that can't be avoided once started... in other words enough juice to fry a whole enemy army in PvP if pulled off correctly (which is difficult; I'm not going to lie). I'm not going to tell you how (although you could find it by signing up for my guild at www.guidedbyvoices.net), but my point is to never knock an element until you've tried it all the way. Here are a few of the more "unique" combos for you to give some ideas besides straight direct damage...

Fire/Illusion- You get burns that can be combined with fragility (26 points of damage for getting a condition and then 26 more when it ends) and also fevered dreams (passes every condition a player recieves to surrounding enemies.)

Water/Illusion- In addition to severe disruption moves like deep freeze, this combination lends itself well to making use of illusionary weaponry. Water has armor bonuses that give speed increases as well, so slow opponents, get to them faster, and whack away! (Remember though, you won't be a tank)

Earth/Inspiration- There a lot of moves in the earth set that increase defense. Combine with inspiration magic to suck enemy energy away like a siphon while staying alive yourself.

Air/Domination- You've got gale, thunderclap, and about a billion other disrupts from domination magic. Take this to a monk and they'll never get a spell off again.

iliketoeat · Jul 19, 2005, 10:26 PM // 22:26

aight thanks guys,
I dunno if I wanna go fire, water or air...
and illusion, inspiration or domination...

iliketoeat · Jul 19, 2005, 10:41 PM // 22:41

is arcane echo and meteor shower a good combo?

Tozen · Jul 19, 2005, 11:02 PM // 23:02

In PvE yes...
In PvP it's better, but I'm not going to tell you how to pull that one off

iliketoeat · Jul 19, 2005, 11:08 PM // 23:08

thanks for the info tozen

iliketoeat · Jul 20, 2005, 02:51 AM // 02:51

so would it be okay if the only mesmer skill i got was arcane echo?

TheGreatBoo · Jul 20, 2005, 02:53 AM // 02:53

I have been an elementalist mesmer for a long time. First of all I have some questions. Before making any character, you should have a general purpose for him. What do you want to accomplish with this build, pvp wise?

iliketoeat · Jul 20, 2005, 03:07 AM // 03:07

im not sure, ihavent thought much about pvp yet, but im thinking that i wanna be a crazy dmg dealer, defense doesnt matter... im just gunna stick behind my teammates

TheGreatBoo · Jul 20, 2005, 03:48 AM // 03:48

Hmm, well thats pretty much what I designed my build as. What I did was combine air magic with inspiration magic to keep the lightning assault on a team for as long as possible. I'll post the build that I'm currently using and you can take it at that, or change some things around.
Attributes:

Air Magic:16(+3 with superior rune, +1 with headpiece)
Energy Storage:13(+1 with minor rune)
Inspiration Magic:3

Spells:
Energy Tap: Steals 9 energy from target
Enervating Charge: Does 53 damage with 25% armor penetration and makes target suffer from weakness for 21 seconds
Lightning Orb: does 106 damage with 25% armor penetration
Lightning Strike: Does 53 damage with 25% armor penetration
Chain Lightning: CAN do 106 damage to 3 targets with 25% armor penetration but causes exhaustion
Whirlwind: Adjacent foes attacking are knocked down and take 63 damage
Glyph of Lesser Energy: Makes a spell up to 15 mana cost 0
Mantra of Recall: After 20 seconds you get 22 energy

This build is great for doing heavy damage and being able to keep up a strong pace even during a long battle. Only 3 of the skills have an actual cast time, Energy Tap, Lightning Orb, Chain Lightning, which enables this build to fire spell after spell off. Also, elementalists tend to be high on the target list, so whirlwind really helps here. If a warrior or two start to assault you, stay calm, whirlwind, and then run away. Don't give them the extra damage bonus by running away while they are hammering on you. Before the battle starts, cast glyph of lesser energy, then follow that up with mantra of recall. This is basically taking the 79 energy max, and adding on 22 more. Once the battle actually begins, instead of firing off lightning orb and chain lightning, the two strongest, hit them with enervating charge and lightning strike. This ensures that if they're going to run, you wont have wasted 15 energy, or caused useless exhaustion, on a spell that was just evaded. After firing these 2 off, people tend to fall into positions. Now is when you want to start hammering the called target. Fire off lightning orb, and if there is another enemy or two, chain lightning. By the time this happens, the cooldowns are almost done, but not quite. Also, the mantra of recall is beginning to wear off. What you could do is wait a few seconds and then fire off another barrage, or use energy tap to get their energy down, and take some for yourself. After this routine, you've done a raw 318 damage. Not as high as what tozen mentioned before, but you are able to maintain this through the course of a long battle.

This is a just a base build, and it works for myself and my play style. If you do like this, and would like to test it out, be my guest. If you want to make some changes, I do have some suggestions:

Avoid Lightning Surge: While it is a good plan on paper, firing off lightning surge and then casting chain lightning or lightning orb to get 212 damage in around 4 seconds, it is ultimately not a good plan. Lighning surge causes exhaustion, and in the long run will take away your ability to cast powerful spells in conjunction. Especially considering the fact that chain lightning is also exhaustion inducing.

Lightning Touch: If you know that you are going to be in a party with a water elementalist, I would recommend bringing this spell. Without a water hex, this spell only does 42 damage to adjacent foes. However, with a water elementalist adding a hex to the enemy doubles the damage of this to 84 to all adjacent foes. Not bad. This is risky however, because you need to be in the general area of the enemies, and this becomes tricky around warriors.

Aura of Restoration: If you want to be more independant during a fight, and want a means to heal yourself, put this into your skillbar. You regain 367% of the energy cost each time you cast a spell.

This is just what I use, and if someone else thinks their idea is better, then just make a recommendation, and don't flame my build. Basically, experiment, and find out what build fits your playstyle.

iliketoeat · Jul 20, 2005, 04:13 AM // 04:13

WOW, thanks for the info
I was originally going to go for a fire elementalist, but Ill look into this.
Ive heard that domination mesmer does a lot of dmg, but Im assuming u went Inspiration because the Elementalist already does enough dmg by itself?

TheGreatBoo · Jul 20, 2005, 04:17 AM // 04:17

Yes. I went with inspiration to keep my lightning damage up. Domination could be an effective partner to it as well.

iliketoeat · Jul 20, 2005, 05:49 AM // 05:49

hey, thanks a lot for the build...
now i jus gotta refund my fire points, lol

how many of ur listed spells are mesmer spells? it seems like there is only 1, which is mantra of recall... should I also use arcane echo?

are any of those lightning spells AoE? cause that was the only thing i liked about fire attacks.

TheGreatBoo · Jul 20, 2005, 06:22 AM // 06:22

Well, energy tap and mantra of recall are the only ones I use. You can use arcane echo if you want, experiment and see what works for you. The only aoe spells that I normally use are chain lightning, which does 106 to 3 people, and whirlwind, which does 63 to everyone around you. Another that you could use is lightning touch, but its risky because you have to be in close quarters.

Satire Elexus · Jul 20, 2005, 12:53 PM // 12:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGreatBoo

Spells:
Energy Tap: Steals 9 energy from target
Enervating Charge: Does 53 damage with 25% armor penetration and makes target suffer from weakness for 21 seconds
Lightning Orb: does 106 damage with 25% armor penetration
Lightning Strike: Does 53 damage with 25% armor penetration
Chain Lightning: CAN do 106 damage to 3 targets with 25% armor penetration but causes exhaustion
Whirlwind: Adjacent foes attacking are knocked down and take 63 damage
Glyph of Lesser Energy: Makes a spell up to 15 mana cost 0
Mantra of Recall: After 20 seconds you get 22 energy

Hey Boo. I would just like to ask u a question as I am myself an Ele/Me. How effective do u find Mantra of Recall? I mean it costs 15 energy to cast it, so really ur only making 7 energy with this build. I find it a waste of an Elite slot IMO but I might have overlooked it's usefullness. I would like to know how it works for you

Mithie · Jul 20, 2005, 01:39 PM // 13:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tozen

Air/Domination- You've got gale, thunderclap, and about a billion other disrupts from domination magic. Take this to a monk and they'll never get a spell off again.

Agreed. Air/dom is scary scary effective for shutting down a caster. I recall this one player I've played against (maybe it's you, who knows?) who was an air/dom who shut down both our monks single-handedly. The air/dom build is a very very fun one to play.

TheGreatBoo · Jul 20, 2005, 04:38 PM // 16:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Satire Elexus

Hey Boo. I would just like to ask u a question as I am myself an Ele/Me. How effective do u find Mantra of Recall? I mean it costs 15 energy to cast it, so really ur only making 7 energy with this build. I find it a waste of an Elite slot IMO but I might have overlooked it's usefullness. I would like to know how it works for you

Whoah, wait a second here. You don't just fire off mantra of recall, you first put up the glyph. Once the glyph is up, its free of cost. If you wait for a second or two, it doesn't even cost 5 energy. Don't forget, one of the most effective and underused skill for elementalists is glyph of lesser energy. With a decent cooldown on both, you can keep this up for awhile.

iliketoeat · Jul 20, 2005, 05:03 PM // 17:03

i showed this build to my friend, he says its really good, but the skills trainers dont show up until late in the game...is this true?