8 replies to this topic

[Graham_Specter]

Hey guys,

First off, let me say that I'm loving the Elementalist quite a bit - It's nice to see that Anet have revamped the class to something that feels fresh and unique - and even the squishiness seems compensated by the sheer breadth and variety of spells I have at my disposal.

I've been looking for builds that facilitate my favored role in group play - that of a more backline/support type character. I've had people tell me about staff support, which sounds great, but I've heard just as many people tout something called "Auramancer" - which I can only imagine involves Aura sharing.

Now, I know of a defunct version of this for the Thief, so I figured I'd ask around here for input before I invested my time into this - What is the standard utility/trait/gear setup for this Auramancer build, and does it mesh well with dungeon groups, compared to a Staff? I plan to spend a good portion of my Elementalist time in groups - so anything that would offer support to them would be great.

[Featherman]

This is a the setup I use for dungeons.
http://gw2skills.net...HmgSJiCPUeMDO2A

Sigils: Bloodlust/Battle
Runes: 2x Superior Water, 2x Superior monk, 2 Earth/Major Sanctuary
Armor: Full Soldier
Jewels: Full Cleric

The idea is to stick close to melee players, giving them protection, swiftness, fury and absurd amounts of might (Ring of Fire/Burning speed + blast finishers), healing them with water attunement/Evasive Arcana. It takes practice but D/D allows for some epic kiting so you shouldn't have much problem with melee encounters, but if you have problems with certain mobs in melee the gear and rune setups fit well for a staff support and the trait distribution is the same for the standard staff support build.

After about 10-20 seconds of setting up, your DPS and that of the players around you should be very high. Usually I run around with 25 stacks of might and the players nearby get 17-20. This is in addition to near-permanent fury granted by signets. The Auras themselves are very useful. Shocking Aura helps against trash while Frost Aura is actually very good for kiting Bosses. In many dungeons I've been in, especially the ones with melee fighters, people have claimed that the run was one of the fastest they've ever done.

Edited by Featherman, 09 November 2012 - 08:41 PM.

[Aetou]

There are really two different Auramentalist approaches, either the Earth approach (for Written in Stone and making all the signets you're popping to trigger auras even better) or the Water approach (to share all your auras with those near you.)  Both are equally valid, but lend themselves to different gear and rotations.

After messing around with the Auramentalist approach for several weeks I eventually came to the conclusion that with Staff it is a bit like fool's gold - it looks good on paper and works reasonably well but other builds are really better (like the straight Signet/Condition build I now use.)  With D/D, however, Auramentalist approaches are probably the strongest builds available.  The downside, of course, is that D/D gives you quite limited range and in dungeons sometimes 300-400 just isn't far enough (leaving you in Water for extended periods.)  A S/D auramentalist is also not bad but will probably be doing less damage than either a D/D or Staff build can achievement (the AOE of Staff really makes it shine in a dungeon, while S/D's mix of direct and condition damage in Fire makes it a pain to really exploit fully.)  

Basically, if you want Backline support I'd suggest NOT going Auramentalist.  If you do want to run an Auramentalist then something like http://gw2skills.net...4lwLbNuuk1MKYKC is probably the best version of it.  PVE gear will let you get higher crit chance/damage and with both Fury and Protection up almost all the time both the damage output and survivability are higher than it at first appears - you're healing 400-500 a second just by using Dragon's Claw or Lightning Whip.

[Featherman]

Aetou, on 09 November 2012 - 07:47 PM, said:

After messing around with the Auramentalist approach for several weeks I eventually came to the conclusion that with Staff it is a bit like fool's gold - it looks good on paper and works reasonably well but other builds are really better (like the straight Signet/Condition build I now use.)  

I can attest to this. It's far too difficult getting allies within supportive blast combos with the staff given how kinetic the combat system is (eruption needs to explode faster!). D/D and S/D simply does it better since you're already positioned to buff allies.

Edited by Featherman, 09 November 2012 - 08:18 PM.

[Graham_Specter]

Aetou, on 09 November 2012 - 07:47 PM, said:

There are really two different Auramentalist approaches, either the Earth approach (for Written in Stone and making all the signets you're popping to trigger auras even better) or the Water approach (to share all your auras with those near you.)  Both are equally valid, but lend themselves to different gear and rotations.

After messing around with the Auramentalist approach for several weeks I eventually came to the conclusion that with Staff it is a bit like fool's gold - it looks good on paper and works reasonably well but other builds are really better (like the straight Signet/Condition build I now use.)  With D/D, however, Auramentalist approaches are probably the strongest builds available.  The downside, of course, is that D/D gives you quite limited range and in dungeons sometimes 300-400 just isn't far enough (leaving you in Water for extended periods.)  A S/D auramentalist is also not bad but will probably be doing less damage than either a D/D or Staff build can achievement (the AOE of Staff really makes it shine in a dungeon, while S/D's mix of direct and condition damage in Fire makes it a pain to really exploit fully.)  

Basically, if you want Backline support I'd suggest NOT going Auramentalist.  If you do want to run an Auramentalist then something like http://gw2skills.net...4lwLbNuuk1MKYKC is probably the best version of it.  PVE gear will let you get higher crit chance/damage and with both Fury and Protection up almost all the time both the damage output and survivability are higher than it at first appears - you're healing 400-500 a second just by using Dragon's Claw or Lightning Whip.

Ah - So your advice is essentially to nix the idea of Auras as a supportive aspect - and instead focus on buffing them for myself? That's a good way to look at it. I'm definitely going to be saving this thread - and this build - for consultation later on. Also, just being able to fire off Fury - and Protection - as much as possible seems like a lot of fun.

As for gear... what would you recommend there? All 'zerker's or Knight Jewels and Zerker gear?

[CepaCepa]

If you trait something like 0 0 10 30 30, you'd have several different options of play style. Auramentalist works, support healing works too, you just need to swap out major traits while running from one mob to another.

I typically use staff, but I have two daggers in my bags at all times. And I often swap into those 2 daggers and change one of the water trait to aura sharing. Some situations are simply better with a certain setup while other situations demand another setup, so being flexible will make your life a lot easier.

[Aetou]

I'd probably suggest that every Elementalist gets Soldier Chest & Legs with Monk runes on them (i.e., run AC Exp a few times and then transmute them to look however you want) as that gives you a good core of extra survivability and boon duration is useful to pretty much all our builds.  Once you have that you can then get Berserker Boots, Gloves, Shoulders, Amulet and Weapons (the most efficient places to get the +crit damage).  The remaining slots then largely come down to your own tastes, and how comfortable you feel being squishy - but if I was doing it for myself I'd probably then go Valkyrie in the ears and then Knight rings and hat.

[Graham_Specter]

Aetou, on 09 November 2012 - 09:01 PM, said:

I'd probably suggest that every Elementalist gets Soldier Chest & Legs with Monk runes on them (i.e., run AC Exp a few times and then transmute them to look however you want) as that gives you a good core of extra survivability and boon duration is useful to pretty much all our builds.  Once you have that you can then get Berserker Boots, Gloves, Shoulders, Amulet and Weapons (the most efficient places to get the +crit damage).  The remaining slots then largely come down to your own tastes, and how comfortable you feel being squishy - but if I was doing it for myself I'd probably then go Valkyrie in the ears and then Knight rings and hat.

I actually kinda like the AC look for my Charr - save for the bit where the dewclaw thing juts out through the trouser leg... though it's hard to compensate. Definitely suits my Charr in more of an "in character" way than the Flame Legion molten tail thing. And it has tail flap! Yay! I'll pick up 'Zerker boots and gloves - they'll be on the list, and a Knight hat. I can actually craft my own jewels... so I'll just need a shitton of Orichalcum and Ectoplasm. Hoo boy, I'm in for the long haul here. But it's all in the name of making Auras awesome, so it's all good.

I'd have thought I would have avoided the Crit Damage dependency as a Thief, but i have to admit - like all good dependencies - it just keeps pulling me back in. I just hope the Trading Post is back up to snuff by Christmas, I plan to sell some gems to make up for a lot of the costs of this stuff.

[Graham_Specter]

Aetou, on 09 November 2012 - 09:01 PM, said:

I'd probably suggest that every Elementalist gets Soldier Chest & Legs with Monk runes on them (i.e., run AC Exp a few times and then transmute them to look however you want) as that gives you a good core of extra survivability and boon duration is useful to pretty much all our builds.  Once you have that you can then get Berserker Boots, Gloves, Shoulders, Amulet and Weapons (the most efficient places to get the +crit damage).  The remaining slots then largely come down to your own tastes, and how comfortable you feel being squishy - but if I was doing it for myself I'd probably then go Valkyrie in the ears and then Knight rings and hat.

Just picked up the 'Zerker necklace. Gonna be a while before I can use it, but it's good to have it as a bit of insurance.