Curse

waryath · Jun 29, 2005, 10:39 PM // 22:39

Hi people, i'm buying GW sooner, and i was thinking about my first character.
Looking all the information in this impresive web, i was thinking about make my character Mesmer and Elementalist. But i have 1 problm (like a lot of people), wich do you think is better for primary class Mesmer or Elementalist??
And wich type of element do you think could be better in each case?

I was thinking in a Mesmer/Elementalist(specialist in Air or Water),but im just a newby and i want your advice if it's possible.

(sorry if my english is not very good

)

Thnks to all!!

stumpy · Jun 29, 2005, 10:43 PM // 22:43

Elementalist spells mostly have a larger energy cost then others so the get access to a primary attribute called Energy Storage. Elementlaist can get a possible 100 I have seen energy.

Mesmers do not have this ... there primary attribute is fast casting. A 16 fast casting will make a 3 seconds cast time speeded to 1.5 seconds. So it depends here ...

If your loading up heavy cost spells I would jump elementalist primary, however if you have moderate energy costs , go mesmer ... really your choice. (1 note is air magic is already fairly fast casting) ... but fast casting could help out with some energy stealing spells like energy tap or energy drain.

Hope this helps ... at least a little ...

Indigo · Jun 29, 2005, 10:48 PM // 22:48

There is no "better element" as such... There are different uses for each element... I can't remember specifics (and therefor reduce my usefulness with a statement like that) but each elemental division has different bonuses to it...

Fire is massive amounts of Area of Effect damage. Earth has more "buffs" or personal bonuses (for you and/or your teammates). Water is about interruption. I keep thinking that there is one more element, but I can't remember what it is, if there is one...

And you'll figure out what you're most fond of when you start playing the game.

[EDIT]Air! That's the fourth element... but I can't remember what it does for the life of me[/EDIT]

waryath · Jun 29, 2005, 10:56 PM // 22:56

thanks!

1 problem about the element to take is that the energy costs would decide to pick Elementalist first or second, cause i've seen that fire spells have high energy costs and heavy loading times, and as you said stumpy, air magic is already fairly fast casting, it's really a question of quickness or energy as i see but i think some mesmer skills could be good to recover the energy you loose to gain more quickness

Arcanis Imperium · Jul 01, 2005, 06:37 AM // 06:37

Air is all about Armor Penetration and Conditions.

Marticus · Jul 01, 2005, 06:54 AM // 06:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcanis Imperium

Air is all about Armor Penetration and Conditions.

dang you beat me to it... but yeah all air spells have **% armor penetration... works great on warriors PvP...

the one thing about having a Me/e and using Ele skills is to be careful of those spells that cause exaustion (takes away max nrg therefor reducing your nrg stock and slowing your casting time down (Spells per Minute))

as a Me/e myself... I have learned to stray away from those spells seing as how i've only got ~1/4 - ~3/5 the total possible nrg of an ele with nrg storage at 16.

but with mesmer you will be able to spam the hell outta the longer casting AoE spells (with 16 in F.C.) and then if you add in Mantra of Recovery {elite} into this... Fire ele would be nothing... you will be casting as if you were using mesmer skills alone ^_^

the only bad thing about this is the lower nrg, as mentioned above. this could be a big problem without Energy Tap and (if you don't like Mantra of recovery) Energy Drain {elite} and if that isn't enough nrg regains you could always add in the ever helpfull interuption Power Drain. The downfall to the aforementioned plan is that if you end up doing what i have said there is the problem with your Attribute Points, because they will be all over the place.

That is the beauty of this game, the combos are endless!!

find something that works for you and stick with it!

Sammiel · Jul 01, 2005, 03:48 PM // 15:48

The main problem with the energy storage is that once that power pool is gone, they regen at the same rate as other casters. A mesmer primary can offset that a little with inspiration energy taps if that is their bag. Also, an Elementalist primary gets runes and can thus reach 16 in their primary damage dealing skill. A mesmer primary cannot.

Marticus · Jul 01, 2005, 04:05 PM // 16:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sammiel

The main problem with the energy storage is that once that power pool is gone, they regen at the same rate as other casters. A mesmer primary can offset that a little with inspiration energy taps if that is their bag. Also, an Elementalist primary gets runes and can thus reach 16 in their primary damage dealing skill. A mesmer primary cannot.

yup...that is one of the many downsides to having E secondary (the no 16 in primary dmg dealing spell attribute) but still... I love my Me/E no complaints from me!!

Dreamsmith · Jul 01, 2005, 11:03 PM // 23:03

If you're planning on being a nuker, you've got a tough choice. A lot of Elementalist nukes have a fairly long casting time -- Fast Casting (the mesmer primary-only attribute) would be nice. Since Inspiration beats Energy Storage (the elementalist primary-only attribute) any day of the week, that's not an issue, however, not being able to use Elementalist runes is an issue if you wanna nuke. So you have to decide, do you want a fast casting Mesmer/Elementalist or a rune-pumped Elementalist/Mesmer? Do you prefer better reaction speed or more raw power?

My preference would be for the elementalist power over the mesmer speed. But it should also be noted that mesmers have a much better sense of style...

waryath · Jul 05, 2005, 11:42 PM // 23:42

Thanks to all!!
Sorry if i haven't post here cause i was busy with some exams

Ok i've seen that i must decide speed over raw power, and i think the character i was thinking on it was more speed than powerfull, the problm is to know the apropiate skills of mesmer that i pick as marticus said,cause with the correct use of them engery won't be a problem. The next question is:

Once i have decided to be Me/e, what elems dou you think would be nice for this character? i think that earth is not my elem(i dont like it so much, but i don't say it's not powerfull), and Air or Water they sound well, i know that fire is powerfull area damage dealer.... what a heavy decission...

thanks to all

Marticus · Jul 06, 2005, 01:57 AM // 01:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreamsmith

My preference would be for the elementalist power over the mesmer speed. But it should also be noted that mesmers have a much better sense of style...

haha!! \(^_^)/

Marticus · Jul 06, 2005, 02:41 AM // 02:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by waryath

The next question is:
Once i have decided to be Me/e, what elems dou you think would be nice for this character? i think that earth is not my elem and Air or Water they sound well, i know that fire is powerfull area damage dealer.... what a heavy decission...

thanks to all

from my experience with elementalists throughout the past (realize that i'm a Mesmer first and foremost) is that:

Air = PvP; the reason i'm saying this is because with each air spell they are extremely powerfull they may not appear so on the score sheet, but when you add in that pretty much every air spell has some armor penetration...now we are talking HEAVY hitting. IMHO the only downside to air attacks is that they are only to one person (mainly) and that many of the good spells (i.e. chain lightning) cause exaustion.

Water = Special occasions (not a main focus); Water should not be a main focus, once again IMO, because it doesn't have that many good damage spells, and the good spells that it does have are either elites or cause exaustion. Water is used for armor bonuses and slowing poeple down (defensive purposes mainly). But then again you could always throw down Maelstrom and then you've taken care of the casters for at least 10 seconds (PvE) and since maelstrom lasts for 10 seconds that should be plenty of time to cast off a couple more spells, then steal some energy (by the time Maelstrom ends your exaustion should be back to normal).

Fire = PvE & (special occasions) PvP; Obvious (shouldn't have to explain). but just in case, PvE because almost every time you face an enemy it will either be in a group or surrounding you... and in PvP (HoH) it is nice to use on the enemy priest or hero (since they are, for the most part, immobile) and in GvG since the Guild msater, hero, ghost looking thingy (i don't play GvG very often, just incase you didn't notice ... ^_^ ...) never moves along with the guild guards (stationary)

Earth = Main element used by war/E for the aftershock and armor bonuses. An Earth ele (besides the water's elite) is the only one with wards... Earth has a very limited damage spell list, but the ones that do damage, Hit HARD!! doing in the ranges of 11-108 not including the fact that some of the earth damage spells COMPLETELY IGNORE target's armor (i'm talking about Crystal wave for when they are going Melee against you and Obsidian Flame (exaustion)). Also with earth one get the knockdown spells (i.e. Earthquake and Stoning) combine those spells with aftershock and your dealing some pretty hefty dmg!!

NOTE: that each element has its own version of attunement...saves you 30% of the casting nrg of the specific element!

Also, if you are concerned about not having enough energy remember to bring Energy Tap and (if it is free) Energy Drain {elite}, and if you indeed do choose to be a primary Mesmer, just grab ourself a full set of Enchanter's Armor (Energy bonuses on each piece)

remember that everything in this post is according to my elementalist friend's and my own oppinions!!

Tyrent Frath · Jul 06, 2005, 02:49 AM // 02:49

A lot of the more powerful fire spells cause exhaustion, so I would suggest staying away from fire, air is better at the beggining, but once you get the elite spell "water trident" water becomes quite easy to handle.

waryath · Jul 10, 2005, 11:24 PM // 23:24

First thanks to all for your help specially marticus for all the information about elems.

Ok i think that water could be nice but if you think, if you have equiped Water trident that is an elite skill, then you can't equip Energy Drain{elite}, but i still thinks water and air could be nice elems for an Me/e, but energy is a problem. Inspiration spells and the correct elem atunnement spell make a good energy management.. but are this spells with, like marticus said, a full set of Enchanter's Armor, enought?? or there is a big problem of run out of energy?, it allso depends on the spells u use and it needs time to get with the correct combination of spells that i will like to play.

Another time, sorry about my english if its not correct. ^^!

balinor limad · Jul 13, 2005, 03:45 PM // 15:45

elementslists have energy storage therefore can use more spells
mesmers have fast casting therefore can use spells faster
thewre is the big defference speed or quanity each can b what wins the battle
not having enough energy will make fast spells useless
but fast spells hlp get the attacvk out when u want it
they both have ups and downs...

rwt2006 · Jul 13, 2005, 06:13 PM // 18:13

Depends on what u want, more energy or faster casting

mesmer for faster casting [Fast Casting Attribute]

or

Elementalist for energy [Energy Storage Attribute]

on the downside i find is if u want the energy storage one don't go with mesmer probably the skillz do and don't go with it because mesmer has energy stealing spells for them because of the lower energy capacity as opposed to elementalists

so if you were to go primary elementalist, in my opinion, would be a different secondary because of the energy wouldn't be a problem

BUT im not saying mesmer isn't a bad secondary, i am a R/Me right now that is gr8 with mesmer secondary since i pretty much get nothing towards energy for ranger. Druid armor can only go so far i might say

rabwatt · Jul 13, 2005, 06:43 PM // 18:43

Go elementalist primary, as you have more chance of getting "chosen" for later missions.
People only seem to want Monk, warrior and elementalist... and mainly fire nukers at that

JoDiamonds · Jul 13, 2005, 08:35 PM // 20:35

If you are seeking to play through the storyline with your first character, I wouldn't worry about the planning stages too much. You are almost forced into the Fire line for the very beginning of the game, and with attribute refunds you can change things around later. Elite skills don't come until much, much later, when you will have earned a billion zillion refund points, and it won't matter what you choose now.

But, you can't change your primary class later, so it's pretty important. The energy from being Elementalist primary shouldn't be understated; there aren't many ways to get more energy in the game. Elementalists often have about double the energy of other classes.

As noted, however, Inspiration is a good way to regain energy also. A lot depend on if you want to be a damage dealer vs. an interrupter. It's hard to use powerful skills from more than 2-3 attributes at once, just because of attribute points and the limit of eight skills.

Sounds like you definitely want to pump up the primary attribute, Energy Storage or Fast Casting. That realistically leaves two lines; Fast Casting + Inspiration + Fire would be a good, sustainable nuker. Energy Storage + Water + Domination would mean you could have a lot of fun in PvP, because you'd be able to launch a ton of disruptive hexes and interrupts. Those can't be done on the same character, though.

Personally, I think I'd recommend Elementalist primary, but it's mostly because lots of energy and blowing stuff up is always fun, and you can still do most of the mesmery things.

In the end, though, Fast Casting and Energy Storage both have very few skills associated with them, so there's not much you wouldn't be able to do. You just might not be able to do it as well.

Marticus · Jul 14, 2005, 11:58 PM // 23:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by rabwatt

Go elementalist primary, as you have more chance of getting "chosen" for later missions.
People only seem to want Monk, warrior and elementalist... and mainly fire nukers at that

that is mainly for ToA... but what if he wants to play PvP?

then having a Me/E would benefit the whole crowd... he could very easily find a spike group, and pluss whatever attribute (in the mesmer outfit) that he puts points into has some sort of interuption spells and thus could help out in an ordinary group (POG's)...

But yeah, i do agree with you in that, UNTIL, you get known as a decent Me/E the Temple of Ages won't really be your friend...but bear in mind, that is END GAME stuff...

Marticus · Jul 15, 2005, 12:05 AM // 00:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoDiamonds

In the end, though, Fast Casting and Energy Storage both have very few skills associated with them, so there's not much you wouldn't be able to do. You just might not be able to do it as well.

On a side note... with F.C. pumped up all the way, if you feel like being an uberly fast caster, throw on Mantra of Recovery {elite}.

i realize that by this time (that you are able to get mantra of recovery [desert]) you will most likely already have what you want/trying hard to get it...

Mantra of Recovery {eite} with 16 (max) attribute points allocated into F.C. you will be able to cast a spell with its re-cast time HALVED!!!