36 replies to this topic

[NoctisCaelum]

I am wondering if it is possible to have an elementalist with good damage, decent healing, and decent survivability? I was wondering if a 30/0/0/20/20 would work with a mix of Cleric and Berserker equips. This is mainly for dungeons so I can useful to the party.

Here is something I was thinking for traits and utility skills.
http://www.guildhead...bTMx9MGGckbzVzR

This is my first time trying to make a build so if possible I would like some help. Thanks

[NoctisCaelum]

I would like some help making a good damage and support hybrid for dungeons if that is possible.

[Raif89]

NoctisCaelum, on 31 December 2012 - 07:31 PM, said:

I am wondering if it is possible to have an elementalist with good damage, decent healing, and decent survivability? I was wondering if a 30/0/0/20/20 would work with a mix of Cleric and Berserker equips. This is mainly for dungeons so I can useful to the party.

Here is something I was thinking for traits and utility skills.
http://www.guildhead...bTMx9MGGckbzVzR

This is my first time trying to make a build so if possible I would like some help. Thanks

What weapon set would you plan on using? Staff? S/D? D/D? any of the weapon sets are viable in dungeons (yes, even D/D in explorables) but If i were to critique your build and help you I'd like to know what you wanted to use.

Also, I find fire to be lackluster, you'd probably be better off using Air or so for the crit/crit damage, but this truly does depend on the weapon set you want to run.

[DarkOrange]

I run a D/D support build in dungeons, giving auras and boons to me and my party. I run 10/10/0/30/20, with boon duration runes. but you can run pretty much any trait setup for it as long as you have 10 in air and 30 in water for aoe auras. This build gives me good survivability, a nice amount of damage and very good party support (100% uptime on fury and swiftness, and I can trait for about 80% uptime on protection if it is needed for high level fractals etc.)

Edited by DarkOrange, 02 January 2013 - 11:46 AM.

[Fenice_86]

DarkOrange, on 02 January 2013 - 11:46 AM, said:

I run a D/D support build in dungeons, giving auras and boons to me and my party. I run 10/10/0/30/20, with boon duration runes. but you can run pretty much any trait setup for it as long as you have 10 in air and 30 in water for aoe auras. This build gives me good survivability, a nice amount of damage and very good party support (100% uptime on fury and swiftness, and I can trait for about 80% uptime on protection if it is needed for high level fractals etc.)

I guess ur 10 points in earth goes for elemental shielding right? Is it better than going 30 into Arcana for EA?

[DarkOrange]

Fenice_86, on 02 January 2013 - 01:10 PM, said:

I guess ur 10 points in earth goes for elemental shielding right? Is it better than going 30 into Arcana for EA?

I don't take 10 points in earth normally, but yea, that would be what it is for. (I only take 10 in earth when I do fractals above 20 or so with my guild).

I find EA doesn't suit my playstyle at all cos of its 10 second cooldown. I dodge around alot to avoid attacks cos I need to be near the front to give out my boons, and I take the 33% chance to gain vigor on crit to keep my dodging up. This means I usually end up proccing EA at useless times when I dodge a big attack or whatever, and it's just not worth the extra 10 points in arcana for me.

[DarkOrange]

also, in reference to the OP, I would avoid speccing for party healing, it is not worth it. Guild Wars 2 was made to get rid of the idea of having a designated healer, so speccing to try and be one will result in mediocre heals at best, (two 3-4k heals every 20-30 seconds), and a very poor damage output. (IMO, obviously.)

[Fenice_86]

DarkOrange, on 02 January 2013 - 02:02 PM, said:

I don't take 10 points in earth normally, but yea, that would be what it is for. (I only take 10 in earth when I do fractals above 20 or so with my guild).

I find EA doesn't suit my playstyle at all cos of its 10 second cooldown. I dodge around alot to avoid attacks cos I need to be near the front to give out my boons, and I take the 33% chance to gain vigor on crit to keep my dodging up. This means I usually end up proccing EA at useless times when I dodge a big attack or whatever, and it's just not worth the extra 10 points in arcana for me.

oh crap i dont know why i saw 10 in Earth while u actually got 10 in Fire
Hell i'm too tired maybe, nvm, i guess u have Spell Slinger than ?

[DarkOrange]

Fenice_86, on 02 January 2013 - 02:30 PM, said:

oh crap i dont know why i saw 10 in Earth while u actually got 10 in Fire
Hell i'm too tired maybe, nvm, i guess u have Spell Slinger than ?

hehe I swap between spell slinger and internal fire depending on what utilities I end up taking. I always take at least 1 cantrip, but I don't think spell slinger is really worth it unless I take 2 or more. It's really easy to swap things around as I go, and I find that this trait setup gives me the most versatility. (20 points in arcana for blasting staff is so useful.)

[Nabuko Darayon]

In my mind, ele builds are divided into Balanced, Full Damage and Support.
Balanced add toughness and/or vita into a power build.
Full Damage goes pwr/pre and a mix of +Crit damage +tough spread through armor/jewels
Support, full Cleric's.

If you want real nuke numbers go Full Damage build, a well Balanced build still does very good numbers but has more health and armor, and a Support build also does mediocre damage while granting healing abilities for allies and boons. I have tried going 30/0/0/20/20 but for my PvE experience the +Might from 30Fire isn't really needed as mobs go down easily and I'm used to having 9 second attunement recharges so I missed that part.
I have Balanced build and Support build, while having Full Damage build setup for MF (that free acolyte armor for completing maps in 75+ areas).
I run Balanced most of the times while changing to Support against hard hitting mobs. Support isn't really needed that much because if you have a Guardian in your group they'll probably be enough of support so you can focus on your damage.

For WvW I'd only go Full Damage (as Support is now only limited to healing 5 people so it's not worth it) and *maybe* for PvP, but I still go Balanced there and have no problem to run away when things get tough.

EDIT: Yes it's possible to heal with a damage oriented build, but the healing won't be as near as effective when you do it with a Support build. You can still go damage and cast Healing Rain/Geysir/Healing Wave/Cone but the healing numbers won't be impressive. Still, as an Ele you should switch attunements and learn to adapt to situations (when to go earth, or water, when to go air). If you're up against easy mobs Fire is your friend all the way. But in a teamplay learn to cast your combo fields

Edited by Nabuko Darayon, 02 January 2013 - 02:55 PM.

[Danael]

Nabuko Darayon, on 02 January 2013 - 02:51 PM, said:

In my mind, ele builds are divided into Balanced, Full Damage and Support.

Don't forget condition. What you call full damage is a crit/power build. With a staff or a scepter and earth you can easily go up to 17 bleeds or more yourself (I manage 10-15 bleeds with dagger main). The carrion armor gives vitality as third stat and with 30 in earth you have a solid amount of toughness before choosing jewels.  This is the build I'm using atm http://www.guildhead...owZ70c��I'm sure it's easily tweaked for staff.

Edited by Danael, 02 January 2013 - 03:07 PM.

[Nabuko Darayon]

Danael, on 02 January 2013 - 03:05 PM, said:

Don't forget condition. What you call full damage is a crit/power build. With a staff or a scepter and earth you can easily go up to 17 bleeds or more yourself (I manage 10-15 bleeds with dagger main). The carrion armor gives vitality as third stat and with 30 in earth you have a solid amount of toughness before choosing jewels.  This is the build I'm using atm http://www.guildhead...owZ70c��I'm sure it's easily tweaked for staff.

Yeah but I find Condi builds more pvp orriented because in a teamplay or anywhere in PvE there will always be someone who can also stack bleeds (without condi setup) and ruin your numbers. And mobs die way to quickly for the full condi effect to take place.

Edited by Nabuko Darayon, 02 January 2013 - 03:31 PM.

[Danael]

Nabuko Darayon, on 02 January 2013 - 03:30 PM, said:

Yeah but I find Condi builds more pvp orriented because in a teamplay or anywhere in PvE there will always be someone who can also stack bleeds (without condi setup) and ruin your numbers. And mobs die way to quickly for the full condi effect to take place.

Not always. I've been in dungeon groups with where we were two warriors, two guardians and myself the only Ele. It happens (just not very often). Also in Solo-PvE the vitality from the gear and toughness from the traits help a great deal with staying alive. And having two condition dealers is never a bad idea. The shortest dungeon run I ever took part in was 2 warriors, 1 guardian, 1 staff-fire ele and myself. Worked like a charm.

[Nabuko Darayon]

Danael, on 02 January 2013 - 03:42 PM, said:

Not always. I've been in dungeon groups with where we were two warriors, two guardians and myself the only Ele. It happens (just not very often). Also in Solo-PvE the vitality from the gear and toughness from the traits help a great deal with staying alive. And having two condition dealers is never a bad idea. The shortest dungeon run I ever took part in was 2 warriors, 1 guardian, 1 staff-fire ele and myself. Worked like a charm.

I'm glad it worked for you. I'd lose my patience waiting for the perfect timing that's why I never gave Condi build a shot. But who knows I might just go crazy and get myself forth exotic gear for Condi

[Danael]

Nabuko Darayon, on 02 January 2013 - 03:59 PM, said:

I'm glad it worked for you. I'd lose my patience waiting for the perfect timing that's why I never gave Condi build a shot. But who knows I might just go crazy and get myself forth exotic gear for Condi

Waiting for perfect timing means you'll never give it a shot   I just... grew into condi because my playstile favored survival over raw damage output and that works better for me with condition. A pure crit build won't have much stats in survival (hence they're called class cannon). I have a lot of fun with this and if there're enough players in a group to keep aggro I have no problems switching to staff and stay at range. It depends on your playstile and how you like to play your Ele.

I recommend trying everything out with green gear and try the same path in a dungeon once in every different build (eg crit, condi, support, tanky... etc) then you can see what happens in tough situations where the damage output from mobs is relatively concentrated on five players rather than hundreds in big events.

[BZeeB]

http://gw2skills.net...VUekzO2A;TEAjPA

After many revisions this is what I've ended with, back to EA.  I usually go a more cantrip heavy build (edit water traits accordingly) if I am doing Arah Expl.  But for everything else this works wonderfully.  I have a combination of Zerker & Valkyrie armor with a full Knight's set of jewelry (with several replaced with beryl upgrade components).  I only use two sup water runes, rest are beryl orbs. I have ~430+ toughness over base, 40% chance to crit, 61% increased crit dmg, &14.7K health.  I don't think its worth it to stress balancing pouring 100's of points into healing as it scales so poorly unless you pump it up A LOT.  I have enough of a heal just from swapping to water, blast finishers, and water EA to get me out of trouble.  I've been using the sigil of enegry for arah expl runs as dodge is so important against lupi and sacrifice some precision / crit dmg for ~575+ toughness over base & ~15.7K health...  It's served me well.

Edited by BZeeB, 03 January 2013 - 03:18 PM.

[NoctisCaelum]

I am starting to lean more towards damage now instead of supporting since the heals won't be as great if I don't fully dedicate it to support. The balanced build seems interesting to me, but I am not sure how to build it. What would the traits be and the equipment? I am planning to use staff and sometimes S/D.

[NoctisCaelum]

Raif89, on 02 January 2013 - 11:39 AM, said:

What weapon set would you plan on using? Staff? S/D? D/D? any of the weapon sets are viable in dungeons (yes, even D/D in explorables) but If i were to critique your build and help you I'd like to know what you wanted to use.

Also, I find fire to be lackluster, you'd probably be better off using Air or so for the crit/crit damage, but this truly does depend on the weapon set you want to run.

I want to use Staff majority of the time and sometimes S/D. I sort of want to change it more damage and less supporting. Are there any builds for that?

[DarkOrange]

to be honest, the best thing to do is just to try lots of different trait set ups and see which works for you. There isn't really such a thing as a 'best build' in GW2, as long as it is good for you then you can run it. A good starting point might be trying 20/10/0/20/20, or something like that, and then move trait points around to get a balance that suits you.

Something I have found for ele is that if you want to deal a decent amount of damage, you can still spec into water or earth, but never both heavily at once.

[NoctisCaelum]

DarkOrange, on 03 January 2013 - 12:42 AM, said:

to be honest, the best thing to do is just to try lots of different trait set ups and see which works for you. There isn't really such a thing as a 'best build' in GW2, as long as it is good for you then you can run it. A good starting point might be trying 20/10/0/20/20, or something like that, and then move trait points around to get a balance that suits you.

Something I have found for ele is that if you want to deal a decent amount of damage, you can still spec into water or earth, but never both heavily at once.

So traits are flexible but now the question is on equipment. I want equipment that helps me do more damage and allows me to stay alive or take some damage. I am not sure on the combination of items. Would Berserker, Valkyrie, and Knight work together?

[AzureRogue]

Gear depends on what weapon you use and what role you play.  I like D/D and like to deal damage so I went with a mix of berserker/soldier/knights gear.  (I would go with more berserker, but some pieces give better ratios of stats sacrificed compared to crit dmg gained).  I use some soldiers armor and soldier weapons, soldier backpiece, berseker armor / amulet, berserker jewels, and knights earrings and rings.  I like it.

It provides me with enough damage to feel I do decent DPS, enough armor to live through most major hits, and a decent amount of HP.  I also run 30% crit (50% with fury) with that setup.  I have fun and can stay in melee range 100% of the time in most cases.  Just need to dodge big hits.

[Fenice_86]

This is what i'm going to try asap:

http://gw2skills.net...K8QRROzA;TEAjPA

Full Boon Runes: Superior Monk + Water + Major Sanctuary for a 40% Boon Duration; coupled with 20pt Arcana = 60% Boon Duration
With Consumables up to 100% Boon Duration

Full Zerker trinkets (except Valk Amulet)
Full Knight armor
Full Zerker weapons

I sit around 1300+ Toughtness and Vit (2900 Armor & 16k HP), 1900+ Power (2800 attack), 38% Crit Chance and 55% Crit Dmg
I just have to try it out... massive attunement switching + skill rotation playstyle

edit: thinking about making an armor mix: 2 Zerk + 2 Soldier + 2 Knight

Edited by Fenice_86, 04 January 2013 - 08:56 AM.

[DarkOrange]

AzureRogue, on 03 January 2013 - 07:21 AM, said:

Gear depends on what weapon you use and what role you play.  I like D/D and like to deal damage so I went with a mix of berserker/soldier/knights gear.  (I would go with more berserker, but some pieces give better ratios of stats sacrificed compared to crit dmg gained).  I use some soldiers armor and soldier weapons, soldier backpiece, berseker armor / amulet, berserker jewels, and knights earrings and rings.  I like it.

It provides me with enough damage to feel I do decent DPS, enough armor to live through most major hits, and a decent amount of HP.  I also run 30% crit (50% with fury) with that setup.  I have fun and can stay in melee range 100% of the time in most cases.  Just need to dodge big hits.

This is pretty much what I run too. Deals some nice damage whilst not dying whenever someone breathes near you. Combine that with party-wide perma fury and you have a very nice dps/offensive support setup.

[Geeri]

As many have said before me, if you want both damage and healing, you're better off going support. It will be less frustrating and there's a lot of fun builds that let you do this.

If you really want your heals to matter, you're better off going full healing as it doesn't scale well enough to be worth it "just adding in 200 healing on gear".

I do wonder, though, what the worth of a healer build in a party is. In my experience, the fights that benefit the most from more healing are also the most chaotic. People run away from me when I try to heal them with EA/Cleansing Wave or run out of my Geyser. Playing the healer generally just frustrates me as I want to compensate for people who "forget" to dodge stuff. But I can't. And I also don't think that the idea in this game is that you'll ever fully be able to - all you can do is give people boons, occasional heals if they happen to be close by and get them back on their feet when they're downed.

Anyway, I'm wondering how people who do play the healer feel about this. How do you feel that you're contributing to a party in comparison to an auramancer support build or even a full DPS build?

[Fenice_86]

What do u guys think about this trait? http://wiki.guildwar...ne_Resurrection
Does it have an internal CD?

Ofc using it in an Auramancer build instead of Renewing Stamina

edit: maybe coupled with a Sigil of Energy to make up for the Vigor's loss

Edited by Fenice_86, 03 January 2013 - 02:00 PM.

[DarkOrange]

Geeri, on 03 January 2013 - 01:42 PM, said:

As many have said before me, if you want both damage and healing, you're better off going support. It will be less frustrating and there's a lot of fun builds that let you do this.

If you really want your heals to matter, you're better off going full healing as it doesn't scale well enough to be worth it "just adding in 200 healing on gear".

I do wonder, though, what the worth of a healer build in a party is. In my experience, the fights that benefit the most from more healing are also the most chaotic. People run away from me when I try to heal them with EA/Cleansing Wave or run out of my Geyser. Playing the healer generally just frustrates me as I want to compensate for people who "forget" to dodge stuff. But I can't. And I also don't think that the idea in this game is that you'll ever fully be able to - all you can do is give people boons, occasional heals if they happen to be close by and get them back on their feet when they're downed.

Anyway, I'm wondering how people who do play the healer feel about this. How do you feel that you're contributing to a party in comparison to an auramancer support build or even a full DPS build?

I agree with you here.

I used to play a healer in GW1, and made my ele in GW2 to try and do the same. After about 5 or 6 full AC runs it became very clear to me that trying to be a pure healer in GW2 just doesn't work, and there is no point in doing it.
For a start, the heals you can throw out are mediocre at best, and poor without full clerics gear. Speccing for healing ruins your dps, since you get low crit chance and crit damage, and lower than ideal power.

The main issue though, is that the game mechanics just aren't designed with healing in mind. For example, there are no targeted heals, there are only area heals (either near you or at target location). This relies far too much on people being in the right place at the right time, and means that quite alot of the time your heals 'miss'. People always dodge out of geyser and healing rain, or move away from me when I tried to EA dodge to heal them.

I much prefer supporting my team with boons (such as fury, swiftness, protection and might), while still throwing out great damage

Edited by DarkOrange, 03 January 2013 - 02:06 PM.

[Fenice_86]

Fenice_86, on 03 January 2013 - 01:57 PM, said:

What do u guys think about this trait? http://wiki.guildwar...ne_Resurrection
Does it have an internal CD?

Ofc using it in an Auramancer build instead of Renewing Stamina

edit: maybe coupled with a Sigil of Energy to make up for the Vigor's loss

Just to self answer... Arcane Resurrection doesnt have any CD on its effect

[DarkOrange]

that is cool I've been thinking about swapping this in sometimes for difficult bits of dungeons/fractals. Do you find it useful, or is it more of a gimmick?

[Fenice_86]

It's hell fun, as you can see my build above i always go first to rez and always do it in Air Attunement which provides me, the downed guy and ppl around me a free Shocking Aura with all the bonuses related (5 secs Prot and 12-13 sec Fury + Swiftness),
works also on ressing 2 ppl consecutive so i can mass stack those bonuses and works also on ressing NPCs!

I'll say that it's situational ofc... but as long as i dont find the need of Vigor to survive/dodge more i will run it

edit: the 10% rez speed also help a bit

Edited by Fenice_86, 04 January 2013 - 08:54 AM.

[Segraine]

Geeri, on 03 January 2013 - 01:42 PM, said:

As many have said before me, if you want both damage and healing, you're better off going support. It will be less frustrating and there's a lot of fun builds that let you do this.

If you really want your heals to matter, you're better off going full healing as it doesn't scale well enough to be worth it "just adding in 200 healing on gear".

I do wonder, though, what the worth of a healer build in a party is. In my experience, the fights that benefit the most from more healing are also the most chaotic. People run away from me when I try to heal them with EA/Cleansing Wave or run out of my Geyser. Playing the healer generally just frustrates me as I want to compensate for people who "forget" to dodge stuff. But I can't. And I also don't think that the idea in this game is that you'll ever fully be able to - all you can do is give people boons, occasional heals if they happen to be close by and get them back on their feet when they're downed.

Anyway, I'm wondering how people who do play the healer feel about this. How do you feel that you're contributing to a party in comparison to an auramancer support build or even a full DPS build?

I am biased toward healing/support since I don't find killing things all that much fun.

Generally speaking I am disappointed with the ability to play a proper support role. However, I found the ele is very good if your allies use the healing you put down for them. You can only do so much on your own with the fields. Eles truly shine as powerful healers if your party uses the fields with their own skills.

The Healer Ele is essentially a stopgap while an ally waits for their self heal to recharge. I play more like I played my GW1 Ritualist than my protection hybrid monk. I lay down heals when needed to keep people either topped off or alive long enough to self heal. I also toss out weapon spells and attunement dance while I wait for cool downs.

The problem with the support ele is how dependent it is upon your allies cooperation. If they use the fields and weapons you create, support eles really shine. If allies run toward you for your auras/boons when in trouble (or you toward them), eles can really help. However, if your allies don't use the fields, ignore the weapons, or let you help them with boon stacks then you are pretty ineffective.

The support ele could benefit greatly from decreasing cool downs on the healing spells and even changing some of the skills to directly create auras or damage barriers for allies.