Got Tyrian cartographer on my main (E/Mo) before titles were rolled out because I loved the game. Got Canthan because I thought I wanted it too, and while it was a pain (as opposed to Tyria, where I simply loved exploring zones), I believe I used the same build all over the place. Heck, I still use it today:
"Good Old Fire Ele"
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[skill]Rodgort's Invocation[/skill][skill]Fireball[/skill][skill]Mark of Rodgort[/skill][skill]Meteor Shower[/skill][skill]Aura of Restoration[/skill][skill]Fire Attunement[/skill][skill]Elemental Attunement[/skill][skill]Rebirth[/skill]
Technically, exploration can be done just fine with henchies, as I did it before heroes, textmod, guides, etc. It simply takes more time that way, and that kind of dedication requires you to love the game rather than grind for a title. That's why in the early days of Factions people would be amazed that my ele had the Tyrian title: "How'd you do it?! E/Mo can't run all over the map!"
Take whatever builds and heroes work best in the area you're , and have an idea of what enemies you're going to face. Generally though, Wards work well in most areas, substituting for the most suitable wards (for instance, Ward of Stability = WIN in Snake Dance). Other forms of passive defense is always good, Paragon Style, and most places have corpses, so a Hero MM can help with his large array of undead punchbags. The most useful builds for your Ele I would imagine would be Blinding Flash/Blinding Surge + Cracked Armor + Epidemic, or a Mind Blast + Rodgort's Invocation build.
-2 sf eles (you and hero)
-hero ritualist mm (or necro if you like)
-hero monk healer (word of healing)
-1-2 hench eles (always take fire hench if possible)
-1-2 hench monks
-some additional