Explain Fresh Air to me

[Harfang.1507]

I am a dilettante. I play all nine professions in open world PvE. I am definitely not in the elite set, but can generally pull my weight. I'd like to up my game or at least understand some puzzling things about two or three of the professions.

My oldest and most-played character is my elementalist. I run T1 and T2 fractals with him. Weaver confuses me, so I settled for a power DPS tempest that mostly follows the Metabattle one; I use water instead of arcane ([&DQYpKxE+MBl0AHQAywDrAFABywBCAU0BJgCWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=]). I have the full berserker ascended armor with Runes of the Scholar.

I must be doing something right because I can usually put out a performance comparable to the median player on the team, or better. But I feel I don't understand how to squeeze more out of my build. Part of that is how to take advantage of Fresh Air, something I don't quite get. I also don't have a feel of when to conjure that Lightning Hammer and maybe replacing it with a signet or a glyph would serve me better. What tips can you give in terms of rotation and priorization?

[Infusion.7149]

If you aren't using potions to hit crit cap with fury you're better off swapping some pieces of trinkets to assassin's or marauder's.
For fresh air , it's to maximize overload air on power tempest.

Before May 2021 patch discretize actually had water traitline instead of arcane too.

see  https://web.archive.org/web/20201229170713/https://discretize.eu/builds/elementalist/power-tempest

Edited June 11, 2021 by Infusion.7149
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[Zhaid Zhem.6508]

Fresh-air tempest is, in fact, a bursty build relevant for short phases/fights with the overlaps of a lot of effects : Air-overload, Hammer Storm, Glyph Storm, Lightning orbs, etc.

Once every skills are on CD ... erh ... DPS decreases significatively. The air overload loop and your build overall isn't enough for substantial DPS. DPS is even very low, to not lie.

 

So it works correctly for fractal, but you need your group to follow you and rythm the fight with your burst and with group buffs.

Edited June 11, 2021 by Zhaid Zhem.6508

[Harfang.1507]

4 minutes ago, Zhaid Zhem.6508 said:

What is your exact build ?

You play scepter, or dagger ? What traits ? What gear ?

The build is [&DQYpKxE+MBl0AHQAywDrAFABywBCAU0BJgCWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=]. I use sceptre and warhorn, but am quite comfortable with off-hand dagger as well. I use staff in mass, open world battles. I never really got the hang of main-hand dagger, or focus.

[Zhaid Zhem.6508]

Build is simple.

Every crit recharges Air Attunement, and so air overload.

Every time you go back to Air you earn a Ferocity buff that last for ~5sec, it reloads your air overload.

Try to cast all Air weapons skills + sotrm before air-overload to benefit the fresh air bonus, and quickly move to Fire or water after air overload, to instantly recharge the CD.

 

The easiest rotation : 

You do an air overload > quickly switch to Water > #2 (the most buffed skill of Elem) > quickly fire > #5 + #2+#3 > try to go back to air WHILE casting these lasts skills to benefit the fresh air buff before they hit the target > you do you air thing with lightning orbs etc. Repeat.

 

When hammer, greatsword, storms, available : Use air overload hammer in hand >  use storm > switch to water (for piercing shard bonus)> use hammer storm + AA > leave hammer > go back to "normal rotation".

[Zhaid Zhem.6508]

If you don't play hammer and FGS, you lose a lot of DPS.

All the point of the build is to stack the maximum of skills in a short period and, hopfully, benefit of all buffs and boons in your party, then prey it kills boss fast enough.