Hibuki Kye Menio.4723

Yeah, I don't want to just deny the facts in front of me for some flimsy pride. Feels too much like losing the plot entirely then, I think I've managed to cobble together some builds separate for group/ vs solo ventures. I at least *think* I've come to understand the finer points of Power and Condi -- being that.... insert "Both? Both. Both is Good." El Dorado meme here. I'm gonna get back into it all now and get back to trying out this Catalyst in the testing-grounds and making some of the mentioned tweeks above. Thanks to EVERYONE for being both honest and patient with me lack of expertise on the subject!

I know, right!? I think you managed to word it better your way too. The thing I grind against the most is not understanding the "how it works" part. I'm okay with being slightly less optimized for enjoyment's sake, like I tend to avoid targeted abilities just because my brain can't handle having to break focus and let go of the camera to aim. (I hold right click a lot, it's an issue, I know....) I just want to be good enough to not catch hell for it, is all. Good to see another healing connoisseur!

That's SUPER helpful! I wasn't thinking that maybe the starting points had an effect like that; it totally skipped my mind. That's also a very apt description of the "power boss" thing, thank you! No one's really explained that to me before... so it's more about uptime and seeing the stacks to their completion, and if I have to divide my attention or not. I've been doing my research again to see if I can make anything work out and I've been thinking that maybe I should just scrap this build as the group content build and just enjoy it as a worldly build instead. I'll drop it here for all to see but I've been wondering if a Catalyst would be better? I've been thinking that this would be ok for a build? I've fixed the 100% Condi time things, I've managed to boost both Power and Condi to even greater heights with the Catalyst stacks. For those that see, is this better?? Catalyst Build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PGRAIlZwuYasKGJOqPmRXA-DSRYmRBWOszoDJQIKAF+LgFePrgKA-e

That was very educational and explained some of my lingering questions, thank you. I'm not really engaging in open conversations over the build but it's hard to keep secret when so many of the LFG groups want proof at the door, or worse, half-way in when something specific comes up like who in the (often-times)death-ball is tanking. I'd also rather not lie if asked. I've come to see that the build is not good for groups, I'm just struggling with the elitism and my sunk costs now. As for the one question that did pop up from reading this: You mentioned that I should take Power and [Persisting Flames] into consideration but during one of my test iterations I had 3000 Power vs just 1500 Condi, but after my friend clocked the damage on ArcDPS, we found my statuses still accounted for 54% of my damage even on my most-perfected rotation at the time. I was lead to think then that, at least for the condition-rich Elementalist, that Power was largely wasted effort against just sheer Condi. Is that not the case? And if so, what's the missing element in my test-runs, is the Scepter/Horn or Focus combos that much better at returns on Strike Damage?

That's...... real sad. If that's really the case I can't see the game ever improving, rather than slipping into an irreversible power-creep spiral. Why bother giving us an "option" at all if there was only ever one "right" one, as per even the Dev's? Also, thank you for the up-front honesty, I appreciate you leveling with me. As far as PvE goes I'll keep using this build or maybe even use the tweeked gear further up, I'm just destroyed over literal weeks of grinding and research turning me into an elitist's Public Enemy #1. I had made this build at all b/c I was trying to get into higher contents.

Thanks, this is very helpful as an alternative. I'm just going to lament going back to being one-shot by most stuff. Hopefully the VIT will be enough for that not to be the case. 👍

It helps, believe me. All this info is useful and noted, I promise. I'm being really reductive with the healer part cuz it was just kinda a side note, but yes, I do use my healer to it's fullest. It's just feels real passive for all but stuff like the T4's and "Killer" stuff like Boneskinner. That to the side though, I've been told about a Fire Camping Scepter/Focus build. Might that be the one people call "Fire Wizard"? If so, my friend I mentioned showed me that one and was flat-out just mashing the keys on cooldown-- like actual face-rolling behavior-- the damage was good, don't get me wrong, but that one really looked like prime brain-off gameplay! 😆

Yeah, I do actually use Alac-Heal Tempest too, nice to find another! I use it for most content at the moment but it just really doesn't feel active. Maybe it's my groups never needing it, or maybe we're overcompensating but most of the time I'm just camped in Water Attunement and Overloading on cooldown. I have piddly for damage so I don't help there, but I also never get to heal because no one ever gets past 80% at worst. Unless of course someone soaks a mechanic or is trying to win a stupid-prize, but those really aren't the norm. It's like I said for that earlier, I just feel like a side-liner, warming a bench and granting passive regen, only to bubble on cooldown. I also feel like I might need to rethink my wording in the main post but I'm not actually all that reluctant to use META things, in fact I used a lot of them as reference material. It's more so that I really don't want to be a 1-to-1 copy of something I have no working understanding of just because it's the approved response. It just..... saps fun just so I can get big numbers I don't know why I got. It's like it's just some written exam at that point. Just memorize and repeat the *right* answer.

Hello to all that see this. Plainly, this is a cry for help. I don't know what to do and I've been constantly tweeking my build, double and triple-reading through menus I can find everywhere and anywhere, seeking better and better versions or my current iteration of the build I want. I'll do my best to explain the issue as clearly as I can, please be patient with me as I try to explain why this is ruining the entire experience for me. For Context: To begin, I started playing Elementalist almost on a whim after being largely disappointed with some 6 years of Ranger and Druid, I really wanted to play with bows but quickly found they were very underwhelming against other choices like axes, swords, and such. I made a bunch or tester characters to see what felt nice. Eventually I bumped into the idea of a Tempest healer with Dagger-Horn, it works just fine, but feels unnecessary in all but the most intense battles. I feel like a total side-liner instead of useful. So I tried fitting into some DPS Tempest shoes. I went into a deep-dive of reading and learning abilities/traits/moves/etc because as much as they might be "good" I strongly dislike just grabbing some cookie cutter build off the META and becoming someone else's work/preferences. I want to get to "good" and maybe eventually "great" on my own merit and builds, whether they be similar or totally out there in nature, not ignorantly on the back of another (as rude as that sounds I mean it respectfully). I found I really enjoy Duel-Daggers, learned that Condi has a higher return than Power with them in the training area, talked over build choices with a friend for good measure, triple checked with a calculator build site (I'll link that too for good measure here, so that others can see exactly where I'm trying to go with this), it goes on and on. I really felt like I was doing good improvements, little by little, until I got where I am. I watched my DPS go up, 6K. 9K. 12. 16. I'm now hovering somewhere just below 16/17K in REAL boss fights as long as they aren't this supposed "Power Fight" that I've been told of (I really don't know, people just say that some bosses are weaker to Power or Condi, I have no real proof). Here's that calc-site for those who want all the context on the build or to just see it outright: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PGhAgilZw0YLsGWJOqPmtLA-DSRYMRDmMsxIeB0JB8dMgFe/0gKA-e TL;DR: I'm REALLY trying to build the best I can, I really am. The Issue: I started heading down a path involving a Bleed-Condi Tempest build that should ideally be proc-ing Burning that, in turn, should be proc-ing Blind in a vicious cycle, allowing me to safely apply more stacks while abusing Blind to occasionally score a free dodge, and building a lot of damage off of the 2k Condi while resting, and 2800+ Condi with might. Part of this involved me taking Rabid/Trailblazer gear to get Toughness up to capitalize on [Strength of Stone] while managing my Precision so that I can maintain a 60% Crit-rate because I've been told Crit still effects Conditions?? The end result is me being able to utilize buffs from shouting and sigils to quickly reach full Might, even on my own, while using my toughness to survive in the meantime because it is WAY to easy to die in a lot of expansion content. That toughness is added to the loop boosting my Condi even more until I have notable stats of: a "meh" 1750 Power, a dense 2000 Toughness and 2990 Armor, an "ok" 60% Crit with Fury I can also apply myself, a whopping 2829 Condi, with +88% Bleed Time and +38% Burn Time. I thought all of this was at least "pretty good". I've no illusions of this being some world-shaking build, but it's my build and I like it. I also have no issues with me tanking because of my toughness. I can change my moves to block/aegis/invuln and stay alive just fine, and I love Tanking/Healing more that DPS anyway. (you might think it's masochistic, but rather than "hit it until it dies", I just find it more fun and rewarding when it is "it's going to hit you, try not to die" or "it's going to kill them, don't let it") Anyway, I have all I think I need but people now treat me like in the kittening devil himself. I shouldn't ever tank, "not supposed to be tough at all, why did you build it at all", "your (16K) damage is kitten", god-forbid if fight a "Power Fight" and it get anywhere near 10K-- I'll be flat-out kicked from any public anything. The list of complaints is infinite and I truely don't know why I'm so hated when I'm (excuse the egotism) tap-dancing through the same PvE content that would gib me before this. In fact I'm the one doing the gibbing now. Why am I so wrong???? The extreme responses from anyone other than my closest friends is sapping my will to play the game anymore and that hurts. It's just spit and vitriol from everyone but no-one will let it fly when it seems to it's user to work just fine, much better than before even....... TL;DR: It seems like everyone hates me but I genuinely don't know why. Edit: Quick disclaimer: I want to express that I don't hate the META or am avoiding it, I actually use it as reference material to gain a better understanding of the class. It just doesn't feel fun to copy stuff 1-to-1 and never know why the big, funny number is what it is. It doesn't feel like me, more like memorizing and answer and repeating it for a test. It's just... kinda unsatisfying to parrot the crowd. Also, I've been doing some more diving and I'm seeing that Elementalists are lauded as the worst possible class in the game, being the most complex with the worst returns in damage, as well as the lowest health and more. I'm seeing that just about any class can do better easier, for less. Is this true? Am I trying to fight gods with @#$% on a stick?

Hello, hoping you can fix me as well please! Account Name: Hibuki Kye Menio.4723 Guild Represented for WvW: Wayfinder Exiles [EXIL] (Only 2 of us wound up together) Region: NA (Tarnished Coast?) Current Team: Stonefall Expected Team: Skrittsburg Please and thank you for your help!