Working on my ele air build.

Haven't you contradicted yourself there?

Surely if he puts hp on his skill bar he is no longer getting the maximum dps anymore? Since he'd have to drop two skills according to what you've said. One to replace with ele attunement and one for HP. Not to mention he'd also loose his elite attack skill. dps, damage per seconds, can potentially be equal whether im using 1 skill or 5 skills. its damage over a sec period of time. when you add a new skill into your chain, you add more casting time and another aftercast. this increases the amount of time used in the chain, balancing the added dmg from the new skill.

for example, at 16 air on a 60 armor target, hammer, invoke, and orb hit for 140 dmg while strike does 70. with a time of 7.25 seconds, the hammer/orb/strike chain comes to 350 total dmg, or 48.3 dmg per second. with invoke added in every other chain because of its recharge, it comes to 840 dmg (not counting the potential AoE of invoke) over 17.25 seconds which comes to 48.7 dmg per second, an increase of 0.4 dmg. the potential AoE and a lucky HRT will really help the chain.

now we factor in energy upkeep. with air attune and GoLE, you can actually keep up the hammer/orb/strike/invoke chain going for about two full chains (invoke/hammer/orb/strike/hammer/orb/strike/and repeat) before energy gets tight, which is actually really good. lots of mobs should be dead by then. so when you compare the two chains the invoke chain offers a potential higher dps at the cost of a short usage time. while the dual attune chain offers similar dps with no energy cost, and an extra slot for utility (which in this case actually goes to GoS+chant).

and this is all im saying; the dual attune options lets you keep up an indefinite dps chain, while the invoke, which has a higher potential dps, has a limited usage time, plus the downside of having to recharge your full energy reserve between battles. im not saying that the invoke chain is bad, i really like it and do use it when i know the AoE will pay off big. its the assertion that you would never drop below 50% energy is the part im contesting. if you arent dropping below 50% energy, then you arent casting the skills on recharge, so you are reducing your dps. the invoke chain on its own is great, im not bashing it.

as for hp, im not advocating dropping hp into your chain. its their for added support, to be used only in situation of heavy pressure. the fact that my energy reserve allows me to spam it when needed doesnt mean i should just keep recasting it every time it comes back. that would gimp your dps, so dont do it. keep it in reserve for when the team really needs it. yes, any use will drop your dpm, damage per minute, but your chain maintains its dps. note that blinding flash ill also lower your dps, so the two arent that different. one heals dmg, and other negates it.

as for fragility, i think any ele build that relies on any attunes is rather fragile. dual attune is just as dead as a single attune build if they are shattered, except for the the two skills from GoLE, as long as its recharged when you get shattered. if GoLE is also recharging, the invoke chain is just as dead. plus invoke will add exhaustion to deal with, though you wouldnt cast it without the enchant.

again, im not bashing you celest, and i hope i havnt rubbed you the wrong way. i just enjoy having debates with the smarter members on this board.

*edit*
didnt read your post sophitia before writing this, so ill comment here. yes i know there is more than dps to the game. but we are talking about an air ele right? its not a water ele, or a blackout mesmer, or any other build. an air ele is built around spiking and pumping out dps. and dual attune is not good because its popular, its popular because its good. and again, i like the invoke chain. im not bashing it. im just defending the power of dual attune in comparison.