Current State of Ele

[Nawazake.1963]

Hello all,

 

So im just testing classes atm as i have been back to the game for about 2 weeks. I have been familiarising with fractals wvw open world etc.

I have been thinking of creating an Ele and wondered who it fairs nowadays in the various roles.

Is it meta in fractals raids and wvw? Or can you easily get in a team for these? 

[Mini Crinny.6190]

In terms of meta, no it's not but Weaver will be somewhat accepted in fractals and possibly raids if you know what your doing

[Touchme.1097]

27 minutes ago, Nawazake.1963 said:

Hello all,

 

So im just testing classes atm as i have been back to the game for about 2 weeks. I have been familiarising with fractals wvw open world etc.

I have been thinking of creating an Ele and wondered who it fairs nowadays in the various roles.

Is it meta in fractals raids and wvw? Or can you easily get in a team for these? 

I strongly suggest you to avoid creating Elementalists as they are useless and saturated in all modes. Pick another profession which is way more useful and in demand, but not Ele. This profession doesn't have a clear identity since 2012.

Edited September 27, 2021 by Touchme.1097

[Jski.6180]

Its lacking for the amount of skill you need to play it.

[bluberblasen.9684]

in large zerg fights you can play staff weaver or heal tempest.

in small scale / solo roam you can play all elem classes but you need a little more personally skill level than your opponents.

 

I can 1 vs 2 ( sometimes 1vs3) with core elem .. but i have over 7000 hours on it.

 

I really like new Elem players or returning elem players but the reality is that Elem get no love from Anet.

It is much easier to play another class 😞

 

[Sunshine.5014]

In low level fractals, Weaver can be accepted as an ok DPS, only if you have a strong HB.

In Fractal CM or Raid, Ele are generally unwelcome. They die too fast, and it takes more work for HB to keep them up. Scourge on the other hand takes work off HB, allowing them to focus more on boons and block timing.

[Guybrush.4762]

The general consensus is that the class is on the weak side at the moment. It boils down to the fact that there is often two or three classes that outperform an Elementalist for most roles you would want to play. The one exception I have in mind is WvW roaming where celestial fire weaver share the spotlight with a few other options. I have also heard some good things about fire weaver in PvP but I don't feel experienced enough with it to make a personal assessment.

 

Now, I don't want you to leave this thread under the impression that Elementalist is unplayable, because it is not! If you are a casual player you can very much play an Elementalist in all game mode and feel like you are contributing. But... it is not optimal in most scenario and if you aspire to integrate an hardcore guild or if you are looking for meta build you should probably be prepared to play other classes too.

Edited September 27, 2021 by Guybrush.4762

[Infusion.7149]

If getting into fractal/raid groups is your sole qualifier you're much better off with firebrand or renegade.

Weaver right now only fills in as "just DPS", a heavily boon reliant and fragile one at that.

For WVW it's perfectly serviceable as a support (staff or dagger + focus or dagger+warhorn) but pales in comparison to scrapper.

[Widmo.3186]

Dont. Just dont.

Ele is a class for connoisseurs, you dont get anything with it what cant be done better with other classes. You either boost ele with your mechanical skills to level of other classes or you stay at being mediocre at best.

[ClickToKill.8473]

For fractals, you can run Scepter/warhorn Tempest and do fine in a group. You stack and share might and have some decent hard CCs. You can probably run this build in a WvW zerg too, but for roaming, Weaver has more survivability and Core D/D is still a thing if you know how to play it well. 

[Stallic.2397]

If you love the class. Play it. I don't pve but even core D/D got me to plat in Pvp. Especially if you know what you're doing, you'll be fine. I can't imagine tempest or weaver being worst than that

Edited September 28, 2021 by Stallic.2397

[Tom Hsiao.9705]

Elementalist in this game is more like a melee character with some magic animation to it. It's really garbage and not what you probably have in mind. It's a shame Anet just don't know how to make a elementalist mage

[Infusion.7149]

25 minutes ago, Tom Hsiao.9705 said:

Elementalist in this game is more like a melee character with some magic animation to it. It's really garbage and not what you probably have in mind. It's a shame Anet just don't know how to make a elementalist mage

Eh, scepter FA tempest and weaver are usable they just take more effort than playing something else. Power tempest is heavily hitbox reliant due to lightning orb and overload air.

("Pretty nice build considering your entire damage is ranged (except transmute fire aura).")

Edited September 28, 2021 by Infusion.7149

[AliamRationem.5172]

48 minutes ago, Tom Hsiao.9705 said:

Elementalist in this game is more like a melee character with some magic animation to it. It's really garbage and not what you probably have in mind. It's a shame Anet just don't know how to make a elementalist mage

 

It's a shame you're stuck on that mage fantasy.  Dagger and sword builds are really fun to play.

[Jovianus.3108]

45 minutes ago, AliamRationem.5172 said:

 

It's a shame you're stuck on that mage fantasy.  Dagger and sword builds are really fun to play.

It's a shame ANet gave Elementalists the armor, health, and defenses (or lack of all three) of a mage then. 

[Blood Red Arachnid.2493]

I don't know what you guys are talking about.  I haven't faced one ounce of discrimination playing Ele in Fractals, Raids, Overworld, or WvW.  Heck, my current raid static has someone who mains ele for DPS, and everyone there is fine with it.  Anyway, to answer the question without all of the dhuum and glhuum, Ele right now is mediocre.

Overworld: can be a bit frail in the harder maps, but if you figure out how to use Sandstorm most mobs are trivialized.  There's also some trailbazer builds that can facetank most things while doing good condi damage.  

Fractals/Raids: Ele's are relegated to either healer or DPS monkey, because Ele's don't provide a unique utility aside from fire fields.  Their frailty is only an issue in select few fights, and usually this means swapping out arcane blast for arcane shield/stone resonance/mist form.  

WvW: They're not in super-high demand, but it's good to have at least one or two in a squad.  The staff provides excellent control options, and they make for good healers.  For smaller scale, the celestial builds are incredibly strong, which is why celestial weaver is my go-to profession for WvW.  This is the part of the game where they're actually hard to play, because you have to get a good feel for attunement swapping and the cooldowns for all of their skills.

PVP: Don't play PVP myself, so I can't speak much here.

 

[SeTect.5918]

I played condi ele a looong time in t4 fractals and i used trailblazers instead of vipers. I was nearly always top dps.

Sure the class has low sustain and thats also why i played trailblazers but the damage weaver can output is insane in a group. 

If you are playing alone the self boons are pretty meh.

But in open world there are also good builds for it. Good enough that i Was able to solo balthasar heropoint in ab and mushroom queen in td.

Also in wvw fresh air weaver with scepter is pretty nice. 

In pve power ele gets no love thats true and the barrier buff Seemed like a joke. But condi weaver got a buff on may 11. And 38k dps is rly not bad. 

Ele is not recommended to New players but it can do really well in the right hands. I dont get this kitten u r writing here with "ele is useless".

14 hours ago, Touchme.1097 said:

I strongly suggest you to avoid creating Elementalists as they are useless and saturated in all modes. 

🤨

[Aru.2534]

I main Ele.

On this class you must answer one question for yoursef: you want to play it or just fool around?

Because if you want to "be" Ele you must play it. Fooling around is ok anytime on warrior, ranger, they are way easier. But if you want to fool on Ele it's just open world pve.

Myself mostly on pvp, and sometimes wvw zerg.

In wvw it's Tempest heal with dagger-horn/staff it's fun and like meant for it. And like, zerg - just fun for all. Weaver roamer is out of topic for me right now due to equipment needs.

In PVP it's two styles: semi-heal armoured control supporter, fo much fun and here weaver also adds flavour, but not always top stats at the end, and dual dagger fast burst hit-and-run assaulter with cantrips, some true daredevil to me. There is ofc auramancer bunker Tempest which is great, but because I main Ele it's boring and predictable to play.

Fractals I do with Revenant.

 

So, if you want to play Ele, do it. If want to be simply in meta, take some onetool, not multitool, it'll be much easier.

[Puck.3697]

If ur interested in ele, make a Ele.

Weaver is a Fine DPS, It can perform well in Any game mode, it has its downfalls and is not a meta choice however. Weavers Survivability is Fine its just not as high as other proffessions, if you play mechanically correctly you will survive its Just u cant facetank mechanics as easily as other classes however have Plenty of active survivability to realistically stay alive.

Tempest is a Decent support, has the the highest healing potiental in the game whilst providing several boons, again its not a meta choice but it can easily do all content on the market right now realistically. it also offers Some really nice solo Condi builds which will help alot in Open world content.

Elementalist isnt as "hard" as most like to make out. but it defintly wont get away with just ignoring mechanics like other classes can potientally manage.. Power Weaver is a very easy rotation to manage, Condi weaver does defintly get harder.. and is rather boon reliant due to how weave self works but hybrid weaver can answer alot of those problems.

Elementalist overall is fine realistically, There are plenty who show the proffessino can work very well in content. its not a Meta choice it isnt perfect there are complaints around it.. (the "Survivability problems" are overexaggerated.) U will get into all content withj it and ur perfectly competitive doing so.

Check out Im_Grimjack or Blam if ur looking to visually see Elementalist gameplay. their both very good Ele players.

people like to meme on downstate but thats all it is 😛 because most ele Players Die alot lmfao but no different to people calling Dragoons in FFXIV Floor tanks, its not because its Entirely true. I'm a New player (few months in) and tbh doing fine with Elementalist in all content. i wouldnt listen to forums on the matter when it comes to this sorta thing though most people beleive anet hates their proffession and every day is doomsday.

[fuzzyp.6295]

From a WvW Point of View:

Power Staff Weavers have a place in the Zerg if you're willing to learn your positioning and listen to your commander. They excel at fights on choke points like the lord room fghts or finishing down players with their large AoEs. They aren't considered Meta, but they aren't really unwelcome or bad.  Most pugmanders will take you no problem, but more organized guilds may ask you play something else. That said, considering Staff Weavers are still effective, the commander may prefer you play the class you know the best, even if that is Staff Weaver.

Support Tempests are still run in smaller groups but aren't used as much in large zergs anymore. In groups between 3-7, a single Tempest can really carry with their heals and defense buffs. If you're looking to run with a smaller guild or a roaming group, its a worthwhile investment. Tempest is probably the best class for this kind of heal/support play. I don't usually see Tempest ever getting turned down though even in Zergs they usually find a spot for them in one of the groups.

Sword Fire Weavers are a fantastic roamer spec and can usually fight 2 on 1 pretty easily. They have high sustain and damage output through burns and raw dps. Barrier and Evades help they stay alive. Still very weak to high burst damage and range pressure can shut down Sword pretty easy if you're not prepared to kite.

Fresh Air Weavers are also a pretty dangerous spec. This is the high burst, glass spec of the Elementalist. Very strong in duels and 1v1s but takes a lot of time and skill to master if you want to use it in fighting out numbered. Also very good at ganking out of position players in zergs if you're looking to play that way.

These are the probably most prominent examples of Elementalist in todays meta. You will always find players who run other builds like power tempest or core d/d ele but these are a lot less popular (although whether or not they're better is debatable)

Edited September 28, 2021 by fuzzyp.6295

[SexyMofo.8923]

I play ele because I like being carried. I’ll die 5 seconds into the fight and let my teammate do the work while I go make some coffee and a sandwich. 

[Solstace.2514]

Ele still had some decent power and condi builds that are easily viable for raids and fractals.  I’ve also been a healer as well.  I just find that the rotations are a little more complex than many other classes for equal or lower payoff.  It’s not a useless class by any means but simply isn’t the best at what it does ( though it’s weaver condi is pretty good!) and lacks utility of some other classes.

Edited September 28, 2021 by Solstace.2514

[draxynnic.3719]

22 hours ago, AliamRationem.5172 said:

 

It's a shame you're stuck on that mage fantasy.  Dagger and sword builds are really fun to play.

True but missing the point. Elementalist was advertised as a ranged profession with a melee option. The melee options are a lot of fun, and that's good, but it should be rewarding to play as advertised too.

[Touchme.1097]

21 hours ago, Solstace.2514 said:

 I just find that the rotations are a little more complex than many other classes for equal or lower payoff.

And you are not capable to generate Quickness or Alacrity for your party or squad either. Double the efforts for half the reward. 

Playing this profession is like working twice as hard in an office to get paid half the salary earned by your other working colleagues, I wonder why we are being told that Elementalist is balanced as it is. I think I must have a different definition of balance because at the moment the benefits are not balanced.

Edited September 29, 2021 by Touchme.1097

[ClickToKill.8473]

6 hours ago, Touchme.1097 said:

And you are not capable to generate Quickness or Alacrity for your party or squad either. Double the efforts for half the reward. 

Playing this profession is like working twice as hard in an office to get paid half the salary earned by your other working colleagues, I wonder why we are being told that Elementalist is balanced as it is. I think I must have a different definition of balance because at the moment the benefits are not balanced.

Well then I will ask you:  Which class do you think is the most balanced in the game currently?