Help me git gud at raids

[Orimidu.9604]

Here's my current build:http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vFEQJAsYncMA9NglNAG5C0RgFBA7eVXrz1DBhdQRIIAUAKiA-jRjDQBVVJhR1B8BtEU4FB4ElBWVpwSVf5rKBdhKEI4ACAATM1b/AeoEDA-e

I want to be as prepared as possible before trying to join a VG group. Should probably swap back to Tempest, considering it's better at PvE than Weaver...

[Spiral.3724]

I haven't done any raiding yet either cuz I'm nervous I'm gonna suck!People have recommended MetaBattle to me for builds. I think they're currently testing optimal raid builds after PoF.https://metabattle.com/wiki/Raid

[Oglaf.1074]

To kitten with metabattle. Do something more productive and look up the boss guides on Dulfy or the Wiki.

A player in less than perfect gear with less than perfect build can still defeat a raid boss if they know exactly what to do.

A player in perfect gear with a perfect build who doesn't know the fight will die and be useless the entire fight - or worse trigger a wipe or two.

Knowing is more than half the battle!

[Orimidu.9604]

@Oglaf.1074 said:To kitten with metabattle. Do something more productive and look up the boss guides on Dulfy or the Wiki.

A player in less than perfect gear with less than perfect build can still defeat a raid boss if they know exactly what to do.

A player in perfect gear with a perfect build who doesn't know the fight will die and be useless the entire fight - or worse trigger a wipe or two.

Knowing is more than half the battle!

Except the other half is elitists demanding a meta ping or boot.

[Orimidu.9604]

@Spiral.3724 said:I haven't done any raiding yet either cuz I'm nervous I'm gonna suck!People have recommended MetaBattle to me for builds. I think they're currently testing optimal raid builds after PoF.https://metabattle.com/wiki/Raid

I actually found this just after posting my thread. Recently got Tailoring to 400 too, so I guess it's time to find the Viper's recipes by farming AB.

[Oglaf.1074]

If you run up against such a bunch, they'll probably not let you join anyway due to lack of LIs.

[Orimidu.9604]

I don't even know the abbreviations they use. What do they mean by "ping kp" and what is LI?

[Oglaf.1074]

@Orimidu.9604 said:I don't even know the abbreviations they use. What do they mean by "ping kp" and what is LI?

KP means Kill Proof. Each boss drops a random amount of these when killed once per week, usually around 2-5.

LI means Legendary Insight. Each boss drops one of these when killed once per week. I think there is enough to get like 15 or so per weekly reset.

In addition, you need 25 LI for each piece of Legendary Armour you wish to craft.

[Orimidu.9604]

@Oglaf.1074 said:

@Orimidu.9604 said:I don't even know the abbreviations they use. What do they mean by "ping kp" and what is LI?

KP means Kill Proof. Each boss drops a random amount of these when killed once per week, usually around 2-5.

LI means Legendary Insight. Each boss drops one of these when killed once per week. I think there is enough to get like 15 or so per weekly reset.

In addition, you need 25 LI for each piece of Legendary Armour you wish to craft.

Oh, so if you have't already started on the Legendary Armor stuff you have next to no chance to get into a raid. Wonderful. Anet, hope you're paying attention to the community raid interactions.

[CptAurellian.9537]

KP is "kill proofs" (usually minis or decoration items) and LI "Legendary Insights", both of which you get from boss kills.

Also, if I haven't overlooked it, qT has not been mentioned yet. Go to https://qtfy.eu/ and check their build guides. They are usually more up to date and higher quality than metabattle. Be aware though that those are speedrun builds and for normal groups, some small adjustments may sometimes be a good idea.

[Oglaf.1074]

@Orimidu.9604 said:

@Oglaf.1074 said:

@Orimidu.9604 said:I don't even know the abbreviations they use. What do they mean by "ping kp" and what is LI?

KP means Kill Proof. Each boss drops a random amount of these when killed once per week, usually around 2-5.

LI means Legendary Insight. Each boss drops one of these when killed once per week. I think there is enough to get like 15 or so per weekly reset.

In addition, you need 25 LI for each piece of Legendary Armour you wish to craft.

Oh, so if you have't already started on the Legendary Armor stuff you have next to no chance to get into a raid. Wonderful. Anet, hope you're paying attention to the community raid interactions.

Yes it is kind of a sucky Catch 22-situation, but thankfully not every single raid group is like that.

[savacli.8172]

@Orimidu.9604 said:

@Oglaf.1074 said:

@Orimidu.9604 said:I don't even know the abbreviations they use. What do they mean by "ping kp" and what is LI?

KP means Kill Proof. Each boss drops a random amount of these when killed once per week, usually around 2-5.

LI means Legendary Insight. Each boss drops one of these when killed once per week. I think there is enough to get like 15 or so per weekly reset.

In addition, you need 25 LI for each piece of Legendary Armour you wish to craft.

Oh, so if you have't already started on the Legendary Armor stuff you have next to no chance to get into a raid. Wonderful. Anet, hope you're paying attention to the community raid interactions.

Part of my wants to say this is a troll thread...but anyways.

Magnetite shards are awarded at a fixed rate depending on the encounter: This link has the specifics.

In regards to the build you linked? It's really all over the place. Also, not sure how you have asecended grieving weapon and backpiece without doing raids. The weapon I guess can be made through crafting marks, and the backpiece is legendary? But anyways, raids generally have players focus on one role rathe than be a jack of all trades. If you're a DPS, then make sure you go all in for DPS, survivabilty is put aside as your Support squadmates are supposed to be built to keep you on your feet. Granted, you can't expect to facetank everything so you'll still need to know tales to dodge kill-shots or attacks that otherwise are devastating.

@Orimidu.9604 said:Oh, so if you have't already started on the Legendary Armor stuff you have next to no chance to get into a raid. Wonderful. Anet, hope you're paying attention to the community raid interactions.

(this is why I'm thinking this is a troll post)Oddly enough, legendary armor gives no mechanical advantage in raids. In fact with the current build template tool provided through ArcsDPS it's slower to change your build if you have legendary armor compared to if you have multiple items for the various builds you use. Socially, Legendary armor is a means of proof of what you have accomplished. Some groups consider this a right of passage, but then again, groups like that are ones you'd want to avoid anyways since tend to be more demanding or are otherwise negative. In other words, you're probably not gonna have fun if you join groups like that anyways.

I mean, do your part and make sure you meet the requirements for the group you're trying to join, but otherwise the groups that are better to tag along with are ones that are more relaxed with their requirements or in their attitudes. I mean, it's super obvious to seasoned players if anyone is faking their way into a group based on your performance and adherence to mechanics. That's not to say you're in a Catch 22, but don't try to hop into a group asking for experienced players when you haven't even read a guide or watched a video. By that same, there are plenty of guilds/LFG groups that host training/tutorial runs because they know a good portion of the player base is still learning raids. My advice would be to look for groups like that. Not only do they tell you about the mechanics, but they go the extra mile to make sure you can fulfill your chosen role with what you have to offer (gear, skill, etc).

[UnbentMars.9126]

As an elementalist raider, please consider my advice (you don't have to follow it, this is just what has worked for me):

Specialization:For now, go for Tempest rather than Weaver. Weaver is still up in the air at the moment, and the 2 most important things in raids are CONSISTENCY and COMFORTABILITY. If you are too focused on maintaining a difficult rotation that you aren't comfortable with, you will miss mechanics. Also, inconsistent damage or being thrown off your rotation and having a tough time coming back to it are other reasons why you should strongly consider raiding with the build you are most familiar with.

META IS LIFE except when it isn't:Meta builds are ONLY meta because they allow for the maximized DPS output a character has to offer. These don't take into account moving targets, deaths or imperfect support, or a myriad of other things that can change how your real numbers show up. The most important thing you can do is live via following the mechanics and having a panic button in case you or someone else misses something. 1kdps loss by taking Arcane Shield over Glyph of Storms (as an example) is not a problem when compared to the whopping 0 dps a dead character does.

KNOW YOUR ROLE:Know the mechanics and how you as a player fit into them and the raid group. If you show up saying you are a PS warrior and get invited to the group as such, BE THAT PS WARRIOR. Don't be that guy who says he can provide a needed support build then shows up as a dps necro or whatever. Watch youtube videos, look up guides on Dulfy for detailed explanations. Join practice PUGs, ASK QUESTIONS, but for kitten's sake don't just walk in and expect to be carried or to hide your inexperience by not saying anything; you dying repeatedly will be the proof of that. Something to keep in mind: lack of experience is not a barrier to participation, and a group that won't take you due to it is not a group you wanted to be with anyway.

BE CHILL:You and your raid partners (both individually and as a group) will fail. Take it in stride and learn from it. Your reactions or overreactions are your choice, and no amount of skill will help you if you have a meltdown or get angry.

[Orimidu.9604]

I have Warpblade and Amnoon independence. Both are collection based ascended items. Working on the ascended warhorn at the moment.

[Daedraz.1650]

I tend to agree with @UnbentMars.9126. Weaver is an extremely difficult spec to play even for veteran raiders, let alone a complete beginner who hasn't even done VG yet. Not only is the weaver rotation way harder than tempest, it is also noticeably squishier because it no longer gets the dmg reduction from using overloads. I'd honestly suggest not taking an elementalist to raids until you've done some practice and know the mechanics. Raid content is a whole different animal from any other pve content, and there are so many things/mechanics that can go wrong at any given time and just blow up your run in a matter of seconds. Most raids have pulsing aoes, which means you constantly take dmg. On top of that, most raid encounters either have specific periods where bosses inflict heavy dmg pressure on the group (Like gorseval tantrums, cairn shared agonies, narella at bandit trio, VG seekers, etc), or mechanics which will inflict a 'nuke' style attack on your squad if they are failed (green circles on VG, not stopping jade scouts at MO and getting 2+ jade soldiers rushing you at once, etc). The sheer amount of dmg incurred in raid instances and the nature of ele in general being the most fragile class means that as a new raider, you will most likely be dying a lot. There's a reason why ele is somewhat of a meme class where people joke that downstate lava font/attacks are part of the natural dps rotation for ele.

[UnbentMars.9126]

@Daedraz.1650 said:I tend to agree with @UnbentMars.9126. Weaver is an extremely difficult spec to play even for veteran raiders, let alone a complete beginner who hasn't even done VG yet. Not only is the weaver rotation way harder than tempest, it is also noticeably squishier because it no longer gets the dmg reduction from using overloads. I'd honestly suggest not taking an elementalist to raids until you've done some practice and know the mechanics. Raid content is a whole different animal from any other pve content, and there are so many things/mechanics that can go wrong at any given time and just blow up your run in a matter of seconds. Most raids have pulsing aoes, which means you constantly take dmg. On top of that, most raid encounters either have specific periods where bosses inflict heavy dmg pressure on the group (Like gorseval tantrums, cairn shared agonies, narella at bandit trio, VG seekers, etc), or mechanics which will inflict a 'nuke' style attack on your squad if they are failed (green circles on VG, not stopping jade scouts at MO and getting 2+ jade soldiers rushing you at once, etc). The sheer amount of dmg incurred in raid instances and the nature of ele in general being the most fragile class means that as a new raider, you will most likely be dying a lot. There's a reason why ele is somewhat of a meme class where people joke that downstate lava font/attacks are part of the natural dps rotation for ele.

Agreed. Don't look at qtfy's numbers and builds and just mimic them, they are guides, not requirements. They are useful for what they are, but trying to make them more than that will cause you and your group no end of frustration.

Tempest has way more active sustain as well as being more forgiving with movement and self-buffs in a pinch. Weaver has good tools, but those are more in the realm of passive defenses. The other issue is that Weaver forces you to be up close and personal with the boss, compounding the fragility issue by putting you right on top of all the potential damage.