Hi guys,

So, since I returned from 4 years absence, I have been leveling and boosting 4 characters. Necro, Ranger, Mesmer, and Ele. I love my Mes (Chronomancer), but lately, Ranger (druid) has been my go to. Druid is very fun to play turns out.. exceeding my expectation. Ele though, I boosted her through Tomes of Knowledge I accumulated somehow 4 years ago. So she doesn't have a guaranteed exotic weapon and armor. I had to buy them through a TP.

Now, when I play chrono and druid, the damage number is flying through the roof and constantly too.. I enjoyed seeing the number above 1,000 popped up against enemy of lvl 80+. However.. with my Ele, even with Fire attunement I maybe get the damage number above 1,000 in like 2/10 times. I wonder what's wrong with my Ele and build tbh.. Because I have read a lot that Ele in GW2 is a glass canon. The glass part was true (I died soooo much with 2 hits in HoT), but the canon part is missing for me. I cant kill fast enough that can make me say "ok, worth it.. I am so fragile, but I deal tons of dmg".

This is my approximate build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vFUQFAWhcMothFNwyB0RMIAYzPYHUEqNZYINEBgCwDA-jhhDwA9U+9S9nEKBBY+TxDAg4+DAA-e

the armor was the cheapest that I could find, which is Mhenlo's set.. (maybe this was the mistake? but couldnt be all of this just due to the armor bonus?)

Can anyone tell me what I did wrong?

For PvE? Everything. Might be an okayish WvW zerg surfer. Mhenlo armor comes with dwayna runes, not mesmer runes. If that build is something you're trying to build for, I'd recommend reconsidering.

Yes your weapon, trinket, and armor stats are very important. Go full berserker stats. Even without the defensive stats you shouldn't notice much difference in your survivability but a ton more difference in your damage output.

If it's just too much, you can mix a bit of marauder stats in there to beef up your HP.

You can mess around with a spare ring or two that you can switch out that gives more defensive stats, though I wouldn't go for anything that sacrifices power. There are a few sets that add some vit and toughness without forgoing power.

Welcome back.

Welcome back! Hope you will have fun gaming

1. Elementalist’s build needs to be full Berserker. Since you want the dps.
2. Elementalist’s rotation is complex, especially weaver staff, you mess up the rotation, dps drops significantly but surely will above 2k.
3. Elementalist needs a lot of repostioning, cant faceroll mobs as other classes, you will need to kite and calcutate the mobs’s approach patch toward you so you can cast skill in advance and they will be in the AOE, otherwise ooppsies
4. Elementalist just got big nerf recent balance patch. You had bad luck.

Hope you enjoy your Ele. Good luck

Gear

You can't play a glass cannon with wet powder. If you want to deal damage, you need berserker or marauder stats.

Traits

From the build you've posted your traits seem to be specced for condition damage? You literally have 0 condition damage on your gear and use a power-based weapon. Pick some traits that increase your power damage.

Skills

Signet of Restoration is weak. The heal you get passively is already weak, but when you really need a heal and use it actively, it feels even weaker. I recommend using Glyph of elemental Harmony for a strong heal or Arcane Brilliance if you like blasting combo fields and often end up in melee range. Heck, even your racial healing skill is stronger than SoR.You should really use Glyph of Storms. In air attunement it's still one of your stronger damage skills, but in solo pve it really shines when you cast it while attuned to earth. It creates a pulsing aoe that blinds enemies. My favourite strategy is to cast sand storm, position myself in the middle of it and cast lava font and other damaging aoes right under my feet.Signet of Water is also more of a group-thing and even then it doesn't shine. A traited Geyser is quicker and more reliable at rezzing downed players than the signet. If you have problems with conditions, I recommend using Cleansing Fire or equipping your weapon with a Superior Sigil of Cleansing.Glyph of Elemental Power... meh. The conditions aren't that good, especially since you're playing a power build and Armor of Earth and Arcane Shield are both better stunbreakers. The 25% damage boost only applies to the first 5 hits.

Elementalists (especially when playing staff) use a lot of pulsing damage sources that pile up together. You usually don't have that one big hit and instead use weak hits in rapid succession. Though even these weak hits should be higher than 1k.

I've played Ele for years. I am not perfect at it by any means, but I am decent enough that I can do what I want when I want and my deaths have been few and far between. I mostly play PvE with a sprinkle of WvW and sPvP here and there when I get to big for my own britches. Here's the basics on what I run. You can mix and match and find what's best for you...:

Gear: All Berserker in Exotic, Zojjia's or Svaard's in Ascended (you'll have to level Tailoring and Artificing to 500 to make them) including weapons. Search the TP and use the filters to look for Power, Precision, and Ferocity. Take the cheapest you can afford, and then worry about what they look like later when you can use transmutes to play with your wardrobe. In your armor, use either Superior Scholar runes, or if you can't afford them, use the best "power" runes you can. For Jewelry and accessories, find some with power and expertise. For sigils in your weapons, you can mix and match, but Force will add damage and Air will add some benefits for your character.

Skills: Use whatever heal you need for the situation you're in. I switch them out depending on the fight. Same with the other utility skills. Each one is specific to the type of environs you are going to be fighting in. I use a lot of signets and AoE DPS. WHen I'm out in the world all by my onsies, I take the glyph that summons an elemental. Keeps the enemy focused no something other than me. :dizzy:

Here's the thing: Even with base armor and weapons, you can hit hard. The biggest problem you'll find is that you're squishy as a sponge. You can't take too many hits, so the idea is to nuke the baddies while hiding behind a warrior or necro with 22K health...lol

Good luck to you, and you are more than welcome to add me to your friend list and give me a yell if you need help and I'm on. I would be more than willing to come give you a hand if you need it

If you're running full berserkers in solo content you're going to have a rougher time than other classes due to 11K HP and lowest armor. Running full soldier's isn't going to help that.

Likewise with full soldier's you'll do barely any damage (150% crit chance vs 200+% or 250% on weaver) especially with elementalists' recent damage nerfs. The most defensive stats for staff I would use is 2 pieces of soldier's (amulet+chest or chest+leg) if not running pieces of marauder or Valkyrie. The only reason to run more defensive (if not tanking on tempest) is if running dagger or sword mainhand.

I'd drop Glyph of Elemental Power for Ice Bow , glyph of storms, or Lightning hammer for more damage.

Glyph of Elementals is pretty much a crutch, most players use Conjure Fiery Greatsword for the extra damage.

I'd drop the signet heal for arcane Brilliance and get adept at blasting water fields (staff skill on water 3 / 5) to increase its potency , or bring Glyph of Elemental Harmony. In doing so you can use stone Heart in the earth line. You can then drop signet of water for another defensive skill such as Arcane shield or armor of earth.

You should be running Final Shielding instead of a revive trait as well.

For WvW most run marauder's gear. In the past it was soldier's armor (or Valkyrie for some pieces) + berserker everything else.

@torakun.9638

dont start ele now. wait for future changes and save yourself some nerfs. class is outdated and overshadowed in every gamemode.

yea the devs have given up on ele and game balance overall... save ya self the trouble with the ele class

I basically never comment on the forums, but your post reminded me of what it felt like when I started my Ele, so here's at least what I've learned maining one. I'm almost always doing open world PvE, with some WvW sometimes, so my perspective is based solely on that. GW2, for me, is a way to de-stress after work and have some fun, so a lot of the below won't apply for fractals, raids and PvP.

People have already talked about using Berserker gear, and I personally use Viper's (condition damage build), but in general just make sure the damage stats are the ones being maximized. Power, Precision, Ferocity, Condition Damage, Expertise. I remember getting Soldier's gear for free for buying the game, and I used it for a long time as I was learning. But stats like Vitality and Toughness can just be ignored. Honestly, if you're in a situation where you're about to die, the extra protection you might get from Vitality or Toughness ain't gonna save you. Dump everything into damage stats and you'll start seeing the numbers you want, and more =)

Up until very recently, I've been a die-hard fan of the Tempest elite specialization. I have just always loved using Overloads, a little for their damage, but mostly for their utility. Depending on your build, each Overload can by default give Stability, Swiftness, Protection, break stun, apply auras that do damage or reduce incoming damage further, and give you combo fields/finishers. Plus, each element does something extra that the others don't. Overload Water, for example, also does an almost 50% heal. For open world, in my opinion, Tempest at least gives you ways to survive and not be as glass cannon-y.

Speaking of your build, in addition to swapping out Arcane or Earth for Tempest, I also used Air, so the three specs were Fire/Air/Tempest. Bolt to the Heart in Air, for example, gives you a flat 20% damage increase when the enemy is below 50% health. Not to mention Fresh Air, if you decide to use that particular build. Also, in terms of skills, I always slotted Signet of Fire. You basically never cast it, so you keep the constant Precision increase. For your weapon sigils, I would go with a Sigil of Force (+5% damage) and then a second sigil of your choice that also increases outgoing damage. Overall, your Precision and Ferocity should be north of 50% and 200%, respectively, and with all the Might stacking you do naturally in Fire, your Power should fluctuate in the high 2k to low 3k, as stacks come and go.

Lastly, HoT isn't exactly an easy place for an Ele to stay alive if you're alone, so I wouldn't judge the glass cannon-ness there. Enemies can hit like trucks, leaving you downed and wondering what in the world happened. Dying in HoT is basically just #EleLyfe, until you get better with the profession. Instead, I would get comfortable with Ele in some of the lower level zones and work your way up.