17 replies to this topic

[jthamind]

i've been a long time staff user in PvE, and my build and armor were focused on heavy heals, support and boon duration. i want to make the switch to D/D, because i feel they're a lot more fun; i've used them in PvP and loved them.

here's the build, let me know if there's a problem with the link. hopefully there isn't.

http://www.guildhead...bTM0G0xGzszVbzV

first of all, note that i roll Asura. because Asura elementalist is best elementalist.

ok, my main goal with this build is to be a viable source of damage (with high precision) while still being able to give support to my allies (namely with auras and attunement switching).

here are the reasons why i chose what i chose:

Air--10 points is a must for party aura builds, and since i had 10 points left over after filling up everything else i wanted, i took the increased Air skills cooldown as well. i'm still not 100% sure on this one, though. i realize that the increased CD helps for the Air aura, but is this worth it? is Bolt to the Heart better? or is 20 in Air not worth it?

Water--since i want to share the auras, 30 in water is a must, as well as the shared auras trait. Cleansing Wave always seems like a good trait for water, and the 20% cooldown would help for the frost aura. i know there's also the increased CD for Cantrips, would that be useful? i rarely have to use Mist Form, and i'm not sold on Armor of Earth (or really anything for the third slot yet).

Arcana--5 points in Arcana for added Fury, 10 points for 20% cooldown on Arcane skills, and then 20 points for Elemental Attunement, which seems like a must for almost any Ele build. i'm not really a big fan of Evasive Arcana, because i tend to dodge when i need to move out of the way, and not when i need to use it. i've had it before on my staff build, and i just found myself forgetting i even had it half the time. i'd much rather have the extra 10 points in Air.

Healing Skill--i went with the glyph since it gives a boon when i heal. i have used the signet before, though, and could be persuaded to use it again if people think it's better for this build.

Utility Skills--ever since somebody on this forum introduced me to the greatness of Arcane Wave, i've never left home without it. even when i go to McDonald's and get my Happy Meal, i say no toy, i only want Arcane Wave with that. it's awesome for adding Might with the ring of fire skill, and it adds some extra damage. it seems worth it to take the 20% cooldown of Arcane skills for this. as for the other two, i'm kinda up in the air about. Mist Form, i guess, since it's kind of an "oh shit" button just in case you're in trouble. for the third slot, i was really indecisive. i know i can switch out stuff depending on the dungeon, such as Frost Bow for CoF path 2, but as for my standard third one, i wasn't sure. would Arcane Blast be worth it since i have the Arcane CD? Cleansing Fire seems more PvP-based, and none of the signets seem worth it.

Armor--i'm thinking Knight's Armor. the power is obvious, and the toughness is so that what heals we get benefit our low health pool more. and precision is for more crits! i could see a mix of Knight's and Valkyria, though, for more crit damage.

Runes/Sigils--i'm guessing the sigil that adds might on weapon swap would be good for an ele who wants damage, since we switch attunements so much. either that or Bloodlust. what do you guys think? and as far as Runes, i really don't know yet, so i'm open to all suggestions.

Accessories--should i go Knight's with accessories too, or maybe switch it up to Valkyrie or Berserker on accessories for some added crit damage? i'm open to suggestions.


please give any suggestions or critiques on my build that you may have. i'm open to making any changes, so long as you have good reasons for them and they still fit the overall "theme" of my build, which is both to support my party and do damage myself.

Edited by jthamind, 11 January 2013 - 03:24 PM.

[AzureRogue]

Seems mostly fine, though I would forgo Arcane skills and traits with an Aura build (because you'll likely have relatively high crit chance and that, imo, means you can't take full advantage of their auto-crit).  Also, I never leave home without cantrips in an aura build.  Lightning flash is too great for repositioning during churning earth (for when your PUG pulls things out of your AoEs), cleansing flame is nice because I don't run the condition removal traits in water as often, and mist form is a great way to res teammates or just get out when you pull too much aggro.

As far as gear, I'm ALWAYS a proponent of mixing gear types.  I myself use a mix of knight's, berserker's, and soldier's gear.  If you want any armor pieces with +crit damage you're best off making them your upgrades (ruby jewels), followed by shoulders, feet, hands, amulet, and possibly earrings.  Those pieces have the best stat-tradeoff ratio compared to the crit damage you get in return.  I started with more knight's/soldier's than I currently wear and slowly rotate it out as I learn the areas I run most often better.  No need to for tons of survivability gear once you know the enemies you fight since our class is so mobile.

Speaking of which I find that Renewing Stamina (in Arcana) is invaluable and you should definitely include it over almost any other trait, imo.  Someone who'd never partied with a D/D asked me the other day how the hell I managed to keep dodging so much - it really is a lifesaver.

Best of luck with your decisions, though!  You van always retrait later

[jthamind]

you're right about Arcane Wave. it was awesome with the staff because of the different ways i could use it with all my combo fields, but for D/D i won't really need to worry about might (especially if i go Sigil of Battle), which is the only thing i would use it for.

i dropped the arcane 20% CD for the dodge/vigor and just went full cantrips.

[DerKomp]

Instead of extra 10 in air, you can put them into earth and get earth shield at 50% health. It is a cantrip, and you have 2 other cantrips on your bar, so change the 20% water skill recharge trait to "Soothing Disruption." This gives regen and vigor with each cantrip. So you get healing and dodging whenever you cleanse conditions, flee with mist, or hit 50% health. Think about that. At 50% health, you get stability, toughness, regeneration, and vigor without having to do a thing. Is there any better way to get back in a fight? Also, adding regen to mist and cleansing flame makes them small heals, and you have a better reason to use the signet heal as well.

[jthamind]

AzureRogue, on 11 January 2013 - 04:12 PM, said:

  If you want any armor pieces with +crit damage you're best off making them your upgrades (ruby jewels), followed by shoulders, feet, hands, amulet, and possibly earrings.  Those pieces have the best stat-tradeoff ratio compared to the crit damage you get in return.

just a quick clarification about this--are you saying i should use Ruby jewels as opposed to runes in my armor if i want the crit damage?

DerKomp, on 11 January 2013 - 04:32 PM, said:

Instead of extra 10 in air, you can put them into earth and get earth shield at 50% health. It is a cantrip, and you have 2 other cantrips on your bar, so change the 20% water skill recharge trait to "Soothing Disruption." This gives regen and vigor with each cantrip. So you get healing and dodging whenever you cleanse conditions, flee with mist, or hit 50% health. Think about that. At 50% health, you get stability, toughness, regeneration, and vigor without having to do a thing. Is there any better way to get back in a fight? Also, adding regen to mist and cleansing flame makes them small heals, and you have a better reason to use the signet heal as well.

i do run Soothing Disruption in PvP, and it's pretty good. i guess it is worth considering, but at the cost of losing extra crit %, crit damage, and CD on an aura? i mean, i won't be doing high level fractals or Arah, since i don't like either one, so would i really need that for the normal dungeons?

Edited by jthamind, 11 January 2013 - 04:40 PM.

[AzureRogue]

I've heard that Ruby Jewels in armor are better than all but Sup Divinity Runes.  I haven't checked it myself (as I use a specific rune set for toughness rather than crit damage - for now).  I'm just saying Jewels overall have the best tradeoff ratio for crit dmg to stats sacrificed (1:5) whereas other pieces (like chest) have a 1:16 ratio.

I can't give a direct answer on jewels vs runes, but I've heard jewels are quite good even for armor (and cheaper than 6x rune of divinity).

[jthamind]

i finally switched to this build today and bought everything i needed.

here's what gear i have:

2 Knight's daggers, one with Sigil of Fire and one with Sigil of Force. i didn't go with Battle because i don't like the 9 second ICD, and i didn't go with one like Bloodlust or anything like that because i don't want to lose all the stacks if i get downed.

power/vit/toughness chest piece, berserker shoulders, and knight's legs, feet, gloves and mask. six runes of divinity total, and man, that was a serious pain in the ass coughing up the gold for those. lol.

two knight rings and earrings, with exquisite rubies in the latter, and an assassin guild backpack with another ruby.

i have 67% crit chance with Fury up, and iirc 53 critical damage.

i just ran my first dungeon (CoF path 1), and it was really fun. the Vigor is freaking awesome, i love being able to dodge almost whenever i want. i still have to get used to not being so "tanky" like my heal/support build was, but i'm loving the fact that i have to be on my toes more, and i'm not useless anymore when it comes to damage.

Edited by jthamind, 21 January 2013 - 10:30 PM.

[AzureRogue]

Like you said, though, vigor makes all the difference in the world.  I often find myself downing less than almost any warrior/guardian I play with in high pressure battles because of constant vigor, near-constant protection, and the fact that I can swap to water and dodge roll for a quick (if light) double heal.

D/D takes more attention/effort than most guard/war builds but it's so rewarding - I hope you continue to enjoy it!

[jthamind]

i think another thing i have to get used to with this build is my rotation and how/when i use certain skills. while i've never run d/d before in PvE. i run a build that's 99% similar to this in PvP, so i'm used to having a certain rotation when fighting other players. i think a lot of the basic concepts of it can still apply, such as stacking might with earth in the fire ring after i use it, and keeping my auras up, but i think i'm going to need more practice until i feel more comfortable knowing when to hit what skill, and when to save it, and when i can or can't survive something and need Mist Form, etc.

i'm glad to have this challenge, though, because dungeons were getting kinda boring after many months of the same spec and weapon. lol.

[BZeeB]

I'm also in this dilemma - If I go auras I am going to go HARD into proccing auras

This would strictly be a dungeon & with re-traits/skill swapping -> a wvw build.

Something like this: http://gw2skills.net...4SJBFEgwogIiCPA

You have access to a TON of aura procs (each with fury, swiftness, and protection)!
-Fire: 4 field -> Earth 3
-Lightning: 3
-Water: 4
-All Signets (Firery Embrace Traited)
-You also have access to Ice Elemental's Frozen Field (utilize earth 4/5 blast finishers)
I figure 5 man group there will be a ton of fields down so I'd like to have access to a ice or ethereal blast finisher, hence arcane wave, and not need to be in earth to capitalize it.  Otherwise prolly be another signet or cantrip.

Gear: Full Rabid's & Rampager's Daggers (prolly malice and agony/might on swap) - for runes I'm leaning towards boon duration (like 2x Sup Water/Monk 2x Major water), since this would also effect party members.  I don't need to be maxing my dmg, as my auras w/ boon duration food would be justifying it.  Jewelry is a tossup atm...

I think it will be a lot of fun, and I can mess around with skills / traits till I find something I like.  Might try getting some arcane traits in there... maybe sacrifice the earth or fire traits.

Also quick question: Would Elemental Shielding be inc from boon proc?

Edited by BZeeB, 29 January 2013 - 04:27 PM.

[Fenice_86]

@OP:

modify the build you linked like this:

10 points from Air goes to Earth (making ur build 0/10/10/30/20)
You gain a extra toughtness, additional toughtness when casting Churning Earth thx to the minor trait (+190 total) and u gain the protection boon when activating an Aura which is way better than everything you can get from Air 20

Those 30 pts & traits in water are allocated ok.

About the 20 pts in Arcana drop the 20% arcane CD for renewing stamina which gives you Vigor on Crits that allow you do dodge more and also adds 2% dmg because of the last minor trait in Water

About utilities i think Arcane Wave is always a must... a Blast Finisher on demand to drop in any field (not only urs!),
Mist Form as "Oh Sh!t" button and to safe rez someone who has fallen in a dangerous spot,

Last but not least i use Glyph of Storms, since we haven't any Trait focused on cantrips or arcane there's no need of a 2nd Cantrip.
GoS offers you a 10 sec pulsing AoE blind + bleed which is extremely powerful to unleash all the best combos without worrying of being hit at all!
Combo than with Fire#3 + Earth #3 to gain an Aura + an Immobilize

Edited by Fenice_86, 29 January 2013 - 01:16 PM.

[Eliirae]

Or you can swap to a build like this: http://www.guildhead...bl9MaaxG9McsboV

which focuses more on cantrips.  Gives your "oh sh*t" panic button regeneration and vigor, so you're healing up for those three seconds and at the end you're able to do another dodge or two.  Lightning Flash is good because you can teleport around while casting churning earth and can also use it to catch people by surprise.  Cast CE, people will stand outside the AoE ring, lightning flash closer to them as the cast time nears the end, BAM.  It also breaks stuns, IIRC

[BZeeB]

So jewel wise im thinking to capitalize on the new Orr Rabid Jewelry ....

As for armor - Carrion vs Rampagers, thoughts?  If I want to do a Tank D/D condition heavy build in WvW - I'm leaning towards full carrion.

Ug hard to decide without a proper statistics sheet... anyone have a good one they use?

Edited by BZeeB, 29 January 2013 - 06:50 PM.

[Eliirae]

I don't think going full on condition damage as a D/D is a good idea, personally.  You get to choose between short duration burning, or short duration bleeding.  It's not like a necro where you're going to be able to put up and keep up 25 stacks of burning and bleeding at the same time.  In fact, you're lucky if you even get to have a stack of burning and bleed up at the same time.

[jthamind]

yeah, if you wanna go condition you'll probably be better off with S/D or staff.

[BZeeB]

true enough, my reference is coming from this type of gameplay - http://www.guildwars...ld-vids-inside/ but instead of healing... focus on power / precision for extra dmg.

Slap on a nice long burn and some bleeds, next target ;P

*Edit 1: I actually ended up going away from conditions, as my current staff gear transitioned well - full knights jewelry w/ armor a mix berserk & valk. I really like running the build with the inclusion of signets w/ fire's embrace  still so you can keep aura swapping for awhile, signet of air has no-startup so you can pop it if your knocked down etc.

Only downside is no arcane =/.  I'll swap the 20 pts from Fire into Arcane and see if I like that better

*Edit 2: Swapped 20 fire to 20 arcane, yea you lose out of some fire shields, but the inc boon duration and faster attunement swapping more then makes up for it (esp with a sigil of battle).  Still just rocking 2 sup water runes and beryl orbs, but might swap it to full boon duration set just to see.  Finally 20 pts in arcane lets you swap to staff and be more useful

Edited by BZeeB, 02 February 2013 - 08:33 PM.

[BZeeB]

Attunement & Aura Rotation:
Lightning - 3,4,5
Fire - 3,4 Arcane Wave, 5
Earth - 3,3,4,5* (you can tap forward to cancel and just get the blast finisher if your not going to hit anything)
Water - 3,4,5

Repeat, earth would just be 3,3,5 as your 4 recharges on the second rotation & same goes for lightning 5 (just do 4,3,2).

Edited by BZeeB, 06 February 2013 - 02:56 PM.

[Ashin Dreidon]

I ran something similar but have recently switched back to 10 Air 30 Water 30 Arcana.  After Evasive Arcana's nerf I switched to 10 Fire and ran a cantrip build that utilized Spell Slinger + Cantrip Mastery to get more might, but I've changed my pvp build to the above and decided to try it for PvE as well.  

I actually still prefer the 30 Arcana because with Sigil of Battle and boon duration runes (Fire/Water/Monk or Fire/Sup Water/Min Water or Monk/Sup Water/Min Water) I almost always have massive stacks of might.  I've switched to taking Vital Striking for any non-threatening PvE since I run that in sPvP now too.  My water traits are always changing.   The dmg. increase from Sig. of Force + Vital Striking + the might stacks with 30 Arcana lead to some pretty intense damage.

I run some P/V/T gear and Knight's, with Berserker jewels, Karka Shell, and 1 Valk jewel.  I'm still trying to find a way to replicate the Valk Amulet/Berserk Jewel I run in PvP.