ScorpioSpork

In the matter of a week or so I've rushed my Elementalist to (almost) 80 now, and I still haven't really decided on a build. I've decided on d/d mainly for the mobility and dps, especially since I love flailing around in WvW with twitchy classes. I've read/watched my way through this wonderful guide by daphoenix on the official forums, and while those videos are awesome, I think I'd like a little more burst.

So I'd really like some input on what I've come up with. I'm looking for something that would work well in dungeons, WvW, and maybe fractals (I've never done fractals above level 10). It seems no matter what I'm doing I'm always running around in a small group, so I figured aura-sharing would be nice.

Here's the build.
Here are the armor plans.
And I slapped a quick description of both in the spoiler if you don't feel like checking those links:

Traits:
0/20/0/30/20
Air: I, VI
Water: V, IX, XII
Arcana: V, X

I can't really bring myself to drop any more from Arcana, but should I add 10 more points? I know it's really common to grab Evasive Arcana, but I'm not convinced that that's stronger than another 10 points in Air or Water.

Gear:
I hate dropping below 50% crit chance whenever I'm building crit damage, which is why I've built 40% crit chance in my armor without Fury. Do you think I could drop that crit chance further? If I went with Valkyrie trinkets instead of Knight's and a Berserker's back instead of Soldier's, I would drop to 30% crit chance and deal 74% crit damage (up from +56% crit damage).

I guess my question is (since I haven't gotten to play with much boon duration yet) how much Fury up-time am I really looking at? I know a lot of Elementalists boast 100% Fury up-time, but how realistic is that? In my case, is trading 10% crit chance for +18% crit damage a good idea?



Thanks for making it through my wall of text! And thanks in advance for any comments.

So it's been a while since I played Ranger, and I thought switching my build would help me get back into it. I was running Axe/Torch and Sword/Dagger with Appothecary gear for a while, but I miss Shortbow. I'm thinking of switching to this:

My Build - 20/30/5/0/15
It's pretty standard. I really like all of those utilities, too. I swap Flame Trap for Viper's Nest whenever I'm fighting something fire-resistant or if my group doesn't apply much poison. I would love to put at least 15 points into Wilderness Survival, but I don't think I want to take points from anywhere else.

My Gear -  Rampager Armor and Weapons, Thief Runes, Carrion Trinkets
I've planned it out so that I have exactly 50% crit so I can take defensive trinkets. I really don't like playing a glass cannon, not that I'm expecting this build to be tanky. And I'm not building any crit damage, but at least I can make use of the +30% crit damage I get from Skirmishing.

Torch is an obvious choice. But I chose Sword as my secondary weapon instead of Axe because I like having an evade/poison and that awesome leap backwards. I don't expect I would use Sword much unless I needed space. But with a Superior Sigil of Earth on it, at least I could cause some bleeding if I had to auto-attack with it.

Thief Runes seem like they match Shortbow really well. Ranger would also work. It's hard to say which would provide more dps. Knowing me, I'll probably go with whichever is cheaper (unless someone gives me a good reason as to why a certain rune set is better).


So before I spend gold gearing up, I figured I'd post here to see if anyone had some input. Thanks in advance!

First off, my guardian is only level 70. It's just one of my many alts, though I do prefer it over Warrior. I'm leveling it for fun and to use in dungeons whenever I need something tanky. But I've seen a lot of people hate on sword in PvE, and I really don't understand why.

Early on I settled on this build with Sword/Focus and Scepter/Shield. I get all the precision I need from Right Hand Strength, the 300 precision I get in that trait line, Lyssa Runes, and Emerald jewelry (my crit chance hovers above 50%). That means my back piece and all of my armor is Valkyrie (Power, Vitality, Crit Damage), but I could mix in Soldier's if I needed to.

I get the benefits of Fiery Wrath, Elusive Power and Radiant Power for an extra +30% damage. I also have Powerful Blades for another 5% increase with Sword. Empowering Might triggers on every other attack. I also use Sigils of Strength (30% chance on crit to gain might) for all the might I could ever want.

So this is definitely a dps setup, but I could easily wear full soldiers (armor and weapons, not jewelry) and still keep my high crit chance. I'd gain 368 Toughness but lose +27% crit damage when comparing exotics. But I have yet to feel fragile in my Valkyrie gear.

Unfortunately I miss out on Altruistic Healing. There's just no way to get Right Hand Strength, Empowering Might and AH. But I still get to support with Shouts, and I get to take Pure of Voice. Since Shouts are my main way to support a party, I tend to swap Signet of Judgement for "Hold the Line!"


I won't deny that Greatsword is awesome. But why do a lot of people look down on PvE Sword builds? Granted, I haven't taken this into Fractals yet, but this build has preformed very well in dungeons and WvW.

The wiki says:
20 Destroyer Lodestones
1 Orichalcum Axe Blade
1 Small Ancient Haft
3 Orichalcum Imbued Inscriptions

GW2DB says:
20 Destroyer Lodestones
1 Orichalcum Axe Blade
1 Small Ancient Haft
1 Orichalcum Imbued Instription

Which recipe is correct? I'm wanting to craft the Apothecary's version, which means one recipe requires an extra 10 Ectos and 60 Karka Shells. I'd like to know which recipe is correct before I decide whether to farm or buy the materials.

And bonus points if you have a screenshot of this weapon! I can't seem to find one.

I know, there are already tons of these topics. But after looking around a bit, I didn't see anyone running builds quite like the two I'm considering. My guardian is still below level 40, so I haven't gotten to play with the awesome traits yet.

Side note: I play my guardian when I'm partying with friends in PvE or WvW, so the Consecration combo fields are very much loved. We also tend to pass aggro around in PvE, so I'm not really trying to build a tank.


Sword + Torch / Scepter + Focus

I honestly don't know if this is even viable. I know good condition builds rely on constantly applying different conditions, and Guardian only has burning (and a little bleeding with Sigil of Earth). This build lays down a lot of AoE burning and applies bleeds on crit. This weapon set has a very "skirmisher" feel to it, since I can jump in and out of melee.


Greatsword / Staff (Previously: Greatsword / Staff)

This is much closer to a lot of the builds I've seen in this forum. Greatsword is awesome and staff happens to benefit from the two-handed cooldown trait. Instead of the shouts I've seen most people run with, I've stuck with my beloved Consecration utilities. I've been using this while leveling, since it's not as fragile as the build above. I also feel like the sword/scepter build won't really work without full traits and sigils.


Any advice/insight is appreciated!