Curse

Veth · Apr 18, 2006, 12:39 AM // 00:39

Haven't seen this much elsewhere, but one of the problems I ran into with an elementalist is running out of energy. You have lots, but when its gone, it just doesn't come back fast enough. This thought in mind, I decided to build a N/E that focused almost entirely on the E.

Build Template
Profession: N/E
Name: Nukromancer
Type: PvE
Category: Nuker

Armor
Tatts all around for max energy

Attributes
Soul Reaping: 12+1+1 =14 (you can go 16 if you want, but I'm cheap)
Fire Magic: 12
6 pts left over

Skills Set
Flare
Immolate
Fireball
Lava Font
Incendiary Bonds
Glyph of Energy {E}
Rodgort's Invocation
Rez Sig

Max soul reaping gets me lots of energy back, making it much less of a problem. Max fire magic is for damage output; you don't get the benefit of a rune or hat, but you can still dish it out. Best of all, if you hang out with an MM, you're not taking his corpses, and he's keeping you in a lot of energy with his minions croaking.

Why not Meteor Storm? I've messed around with MS a lot, and decided that its so freaking slow (cast+delay before the first hit) I can't stand it. Often the mob is no longer there when it finally triggers. Oh, and the exhaustion if you're not carrying GoP, or forget to mash it.

Why not the Attunements? Wow, it seems so crazy how quickly those go away, especially when faced with enchant-breaking mobs. With Soul Reaping, I generally have ample energy anyway.

Why that set of spells? Here goes:
Flare -- spam away
Immolate -- a good start-off...set them on fire
Fireball -- use when you can nail 3+ mobs in one punch
Lava Font -- when those melee close in, this seems to scare them off despite its pitiful damage...silly AI
Incendiary Bonds -- okay I'm fine if you want to switch this out; its good for setting more fires if the mob carrying it doesn't anti-hex and isn't dying rapidly
Glyph of Energy -- intro to Rodgardt's Invocation
Rodgort's Invocation -- my favorite; a fair amount of AE damage and sets them all on fire
Rez Sig -- don't leave home without it

You can play backup battery if need be...dump the last 6 pts into blood and swap out IB with BR, or IB/GoE with BiP/GoLE. Can also cut down a little on Soul Reaping if you want to kick blood up for more regen. You can be a monk's friend and still set everything on fire.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

kaldak · Apr 18, 2006, 12:54 AM // 00:54

i considered this at one point but sort of dismissed it because i figured the limit of 12 to you ele stat(s) would keep damage too low.

but its probably worth testing. there may be some ele spells that a necro could spam more recklessly than an ele.

the important thing to keep in mind whenever using a majority of skills from your secondary is whether that build would be more effective if your secondary was your primary. ususally that is the case, though there are exceptions (touch ranger comes to mind). of course if this is just for fun without the hassle of making a new char then you wont be that concerned with optimization.

necr0mancer · Apr 18, 2006, 01:25 AM // 01:25

umm.... why is this better than ele/mes?

Shadowfang · Apr 18, 2006, 01:51 AM // 01:51

Actually, I have a N/E, and going through the Droknars Forge area, I used this type of build, but using these skills (if i can remember correctly):

Meteor
Meteor shower
Glyph of Lesser Energy (for meteor shower, of course)
Rodgort's Invocation
Fireball
Immolate
Vampiric Gaze (this was Thunderhead keep specific, so I can continue to live when the monks focus on the warriors and the king and them selves, etc.)
Rez Sig

I realize mine is different in many ways, especially since it was PvE, but I found that it was flawed, for a couple of reasons.

To boot, you almost are required to have scar pattern armor, which, at least in PvE, I found to be a disadvantage. Also, people underestimate you and refuse to accept you into their group. And lastly, if you want the spells that will deal more damage while only having 12 Fire magic, they cause exhaustion, which is a hell of a problem to deal with.

Veth · Apr 18, 2006, 02:58 AM // 02:58

Quote:

--blurp-- of course if this is just for fun --blurp--

It is a game, of course its for fun. The enjoyment of this game (for me) is trying new things. And E/N doesn't get me Soul Reaping, which is essential to this idea.

Quote:

umm.... why is this better than ele/mes?

Play style I guess. I don't have to slot an energy drain and I don't have to slot/maintain enchantments to save energy -- it happens without me doing anything (except killing, of course). Besides, I can't get the hang of mesmers.

Quote:

Actually, I have a N/E, and going --blurp-- cause exhaustion, which is a hell of a problem to deal with.

This is a PvE character. I won't even attempt a PvP build since I have little experience in that area. I generally don't seem to have a problem getting into a group looking for a nuker, though I do get questioned on it sometimes. As for lack of damage compared to a real ele...its a trade off for sustained output. The exhaustion can be a stinker which is why I don't slot any of those spells. Also, the recharge on them (meteor, meteor shower) is slow.

chrislee149 · Apr 18, 2006, 03:37 AM // 03:37

Ironically, I run the complete reverse of this build. A PVP E/N focused on Energy Storage and Blood Magic.

Legacy Virus · Apr 18, 2006, 03:43 AM // 03:43

you know what else works really good, using an ele and having energy storage so you dont have to worry about getting energy back...

SkyeFerina · Apr 18, 2006, 08:48 PM // 20:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Legacy Virus

you know what else works really good, using an ele and having energy storage so you dont have to worry about getting energy back...

Apart from when a mesmer hits you with Power Leak while you're casting those big energy spells.

holden · Apr 18, 2006, 09:09 PM // 21:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Legacy Virus

you know what else works really good, using an ele and having energy storage so you dont have to worry about getting energy back...

it doesn't work well smartass. you'll eventually run out of energy no matter how much you start with.

General Typhus · Apr 18, 2006, 10:41 PM // 22:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by holden

it doesn't work well smartass. you'll eventually run out of energy no matter how much you start with.

That's what I hate about echo nukers. They can kill one mob, then 10 minutes regening exhausted energy.

Hella Good · Apr 19, 2006, 03:07 AM // 03:07

Blood spike is far superior because it is armor ignoring, protection ignoring (cept for Spellbreak), self-heal spike. Only ele spike that is ever any good is the armor ignoreing Obsidian Flame and Crystal Wave.