Hi. Read Me. This is (still) the best Ele Nuker Build.

Div

Div

I like yumy food!

Join Date: Jan 2006

Where I can eat yumy food

Dead Alley [dR]

Mo/R

Just so I don't have to read through 20 threads of people asking what the best E/X nuker build is, or what the "best" fire elite is:

Fire attunement
Mind blast
Rodgorts invocation

The others are really optional. You can take stuff like fireball, flame djinns, and immolate for more damage. Go /Mo for rebirth, aegis, or heal party. Go /P for There's nothing to fear. Go /Me if you want Arcane Echo-Meteor Shower. Go /Rt for splinter weapon, ancestors rage, and flesh/death pact. Go /D if you don't trust your monks and want mystic regen (not recommended if you have good monks). Spec into air for gale and blinding flash. Spec into earth for ward against melee/stability wherever needed. General PvE only skills such as pain inverter (bosses), technobabble (non-bosses), great dwarf weapon (physical support), breath of the great dwarf (heal party), finish him (target killer), you move like a dwarf (snare+kd), and I am unstoppable (no kd=nuke more!) are also great to use.

Edit: Because idiots like to flame for little things like me saying go /Mo for rebirth, I included it for completeness, not because I'd personally take it. Rebirth, while horrible on a monk (because they should actively use all 8 skill slots), is strong on a midliner, who can run away from battle and prevent a whole teamwipe (like missions). Having it on an ele makes just as much sense as having it on any other midline caster. You'll be using this outside of battle anyways, and even if you do use it in battle, mind blast can easily get your energy back up much faster than any other caster nearly instantly (so the bigger energy pool lost isn't even an argument).

Comments on different elites:
Mind blast: Decent damage by itself. Essentially infinite energy output to power other big damage or support skills. Has perfect synergy with just about everything. Does slightly less damage than Searing Flames with a standard bar, but provides a lot more party support.
Searing flames: Great damage and AoE. More frontloaded damage than mind blast, but can't keep the large damage output in prolonged battles unless you devote a whole bar to it. This makes it pretty useful for NM but not nearly as powerful for HM.
Savannah Heat: Massive AoE damage with low energy costs. No real support for other skills. AoE causes monsters in HM to scatter and possibly wipe your team.
Mind burn: Massive one target damage, but can't be sustained at all. No easy synergy with other skills due to exhaustion. Can take down a single target easily in NM, but elite becomes completely useless for the entire duration of the mob, and is for the most part completely useless in HM.

Cherng Butter

Cherng Butter

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Jan 2006

Maryland

The Mirror Of Reason [SNOW]

E/Mo

Yay for Mind Blast!

mrmango

mrmango

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Oct 2006

Southern California

Charter Vanguard [CV]

Me/Rt

Total win. Thanks for your services.
(Can't wait for some flames to counter-flame.)

karunpav

karunpav

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Jul 2005

/signed for sticky.

Tyla

Emo Goth Italics

Join Date: Sep 2006

w00t for mindblast!
Nikki, i /sign to your sticky idea!
gg divine

Turtle222

Turtle222

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Oct 2007

:D:D

D/W

lol@ so true, this made vanquish a blast for me (lol @ unintended pun)

I pwnd U

I pwnd U

God of Spammers

Join Date: Oct 2005

in the middle of a burning cornfield...

Scars Meadows [SMS] (Officer)

Mind Blast pwns all.

/signed for sticky

Shuuda

Shuuda

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jul 2006

Guildless

Me/

The original post in this topic is 100% fact. No questions asked.

/signed for stickiness.

shru

shru

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Apr 2006

my gawd...why does it take people so long to realize the potential of an elite flare? I mean that skill has been out over a year now, but it takes having to be a staple skill on an PvP ele's bar before people will even think about using it.
/vote for sticky

[DE]

[DE]

Hugs and Kisses

Join Date: Oct 2005

Scars Meadows

Quote:
Originally Posted by Marverick
I stopped reading there.

Rebirth sucks. Again? Rebirth sucks. One more time? REBIRTH SUCKS.

Seriously, lose all energy and black out the target's skills for 9 seconds? Why the ^@%$ would you ever use this? I heard the point of rebirth is to not use it in battle; but instead to prevent unlucky party wipes. GFG

Lady S Shiva

Lady S Shiva

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Dec 2005

CA

LOD???

W/Mo

if u don't want to rez ppl, just bring some other 2ndary
but in pve aoe damage, mind blast>sf/sh ? and on aoe burning Rodgorts invocation> mark of rodgorts ?

Keekles

Keekles

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: May 2005

Floating amongst the ethereal seas of placating breezes.

Like A [Boss]

Mo/

mind blast gives you virtually infinite energy. You can spam rodgort's invocation to your heart's content. You also have 5 extra slots you can fill up with anything you want.

I agree with the OP.

shru

shru

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Apr 2006

It's all a personal preference Shiva. while SF is very power full, you must devote your entire bar to keeping it up and running, not leaving much room for anything else. And while SH is a very powerful skill, it's long recharge makes it a bit unweildy for use in PvE where the mobs will scatter quickly. Mind blast is a viable alternative to dual attunements and can be used to run many energy itensive skills, namely rodgorts spam, on the same bar, including the option to delve outside of your primary proffesion for good support skills. It is an easy to maintain skill that provides a little bit of preasure coupled with insane amounts of energy that fuel a large amount of great combo options.

Coloneh

Coloneh

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Nov 2006

D/W

Quote:
Originally Posted by shru
It's all a personal preference Shiva. no, its not. its about good and mediocre.

shru

shru

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Apr 2006

Quote:
Originally Posted by Coloneh
no, its not. its about good and mediocre. Thanks for your opinion, but in PvE anything that gets the job done is a good build, it realy all depends on what you enjoy playing. An SF ele is a very powerful build, and so is Mindblast, but mindblast gives you some variety. Both work, but which do you prefer, 1 2 button mashing? or using an actual bar to play the game? You'd be surprised at how many people actualy prefer the 1 2 style of play, and it's not just "noobs".

MisterB

MisterB

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Oct 2005

Planet Earth, Sol system, Milky Way galaxy

[ban]

W/

Quote:
Originally Posted by shru
Thanks for your opinion, but in PvE anything that gets the job done is a good build, it realy all depends on what you enjoy playing. An SF ele is a very powerful build, and so is Mindblast, but mindblast gives you some variety. Both work, but which do you prefer, 1 2 button mashing? or using an actual bar to play the game? You'd be surprised at how many people actualy prefer the 1 2 style of play, and it's not just "noobs". An empty skillbar gets the job done in PvE, too. But if you are going to put skills on your bar(you should), they should be good ones. Only way to solve this is 1v1, IMO.

Coloneh

Coloneh

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Nov 2006

D/W

Quote:
Originally Posted by MisterB
An empty skillbar gets the job done in PvE, too. But if you are going to put skills on your bar(you should), they should be good ones. Only way to solve this is 1v1, IMO. ah, thats not fair. SH would probably win.

I pwnd U

I pwnd U

God of Spammers

Join Date: Oct 2005

in the middle of a burning cornfield...

Scars Meadows [SMS] (Officer)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Coloneh
ah, thats not fair. SH would probably win. He was being sarcastic...

And they were talking about SF not SH as being spammed by "noobs". And many players just like it easy when doing PvE which is why they run SF, it's spammable and they prefer just to sit there and hit 1 2 instead of actually combining skills to make more powerful attacks. Easy and autopilot over more thinking.

Stormlord Alex

Stormlord Alex

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: Dec 2005

Beyond the Forest of Doom, past the Cavern of Agony... on Kitten & Puppy Island

Soul of Melandru [sOm]

W/E

/signed for sticky.
Mind Blast > all.
Fact.

Holy - congratulations. You have joined the elite. You have a kitten.

hurdlebeast

hurdlebeast

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jan 2007

W/Mo-Smashing Beast; Mo-Monk Beast

E/Me

/signed for sticky. would answer a whole ton of questions.

xDusT II

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Aug 2006

Melbourne

Rebirth is really only useful when someone was stupid and died at the feet of a large number of enemies.

LifeInfusion

LifeInfusion

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: May 2005

in the midline

E/Mo

I agree Mindblast + rodgort's allows for flexibility. It also allows you to deal with enchantment stripping a lot better than dual attunements or searing flames and stuff that doesn't burn.

Quote:
Originally Posted by xDusT II
Rebirth is really only useful when someone was stupid and died at the feet of a large number of enemies. it has zero recharge, and if you energy swap there's no drawback

...Though flesh of my flesh has 0 recharge also but it is harder to chain it.

Death Pact signet works for fast resurrects when you don't have Glyph of Sacrifice for Resurrection Chant.

xDusT II

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Aug 2006

Melbourne

Quote:
Originally Posted by LifeInfusion
it has zero recharge, and if you energy swap there's no drawback

...Though flesh of my flesh has 0 recharge also.
Recharge time really isn't what sells ressurect skills. If you managed to party wipe, you can probably wait the extra 8-20 seconds for a res to recharge.
Other than that Rebirth isn't a bad Ressurect skill, it's just that it's drawback is it's inability to be used anywhere else but outside battle. It's nice to have one copy for insurance in case someone dies at a bad location. Otherwise I wouldn't go overboard on it, there are better resses which have much more versatility (ie, usable in battle) that are really more valuable to have more of in your party.


Quote:
Originally Posted by LifeInfusion
Death Pact signet works for fast resurrects when you don't have Glyph of Sacrifice for Resurrection Chant. Death Pact Signet is your best bet for combat-res seeing how it doesn't really jeopardize someone's situation by bringing them back only to be killed again, or creating discomforts for the caster.
I've only really brought Glyph of Sacrifice and Ressurection Chant when I'm using Glyph of Sacrifice for something else as well, otherwise blowing 2 skills on a ressurect is pretty wasteful.

Lord of the Yoshis

Lord of the Yoshis

Academy Page

Join Date: Apr 2006

Litchfield, MI

F L O U N C E [hmmm]

E/

/signed

I have been playing Ele for close to two years, and Mind Blast has stayed on my bar longer than any other Elite.

Grammar

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Aug 2005

There are four kinds of Elementalists in Guild Wars:

1. Ele that does relatively high (but not crazy high) damage and has little to no utility
2. Ele that does decent damage and has a decent amount of utility
3. Ele that does low damage and has a lot of utility
4. Ele that does crazy high damage


Can you figure out which builds each of the 4 Eles use?
If you haven't figured it out, here are the answers:

1. SF Ele
2. Mind Blast Ele
3. Utility Ele (elites vary, but Blinding Surge is a good example)
4. Imaginary does-not-exist Ele from make believe land

The real question that needs to be addressed is which of the 4 (ok, 3) Eles is the most valuable to their PvE party. Your answers may vary, but I'd suggest Ele #2.

My beef with threads like this is that no one discusses why it's a good idea to run Mind Blast in PvE over other Ele builds that have higher damage such as SF (as well as dual attunement echo RI, and sometimes triple heat and AP nukers).
Running Mind Blast is a good idea because, as en Ele, you're never going to be able to do crazy high damage anyway, so you might as well sacrifice some of that less-than-stellar damage potential and throw in some utility to help the party out.
That said, it's probably not the best idea in PvE to sacrifice ALL of your damage potential to run a pure utility Ele; you want your damage to at least be respectable. And this is where Mind Blast comes in. Mind Blast builds are like a happy medium. You still get to do a decent amount of damage thanks to Rodgort's Invocation, and at the same time you free up half of your skill bar to run whatever utility you want. THAT'S why Mind Blast is a good idea.

So in the future, please realize that threads like this aren't really as helpful as you might think, because people will see the word "best" in the title and take it to mean "highest damage" (which is not the case with Mind Blast) because of the old and misguided idea that Eles are nothing but damage and the best Ele is the the Ele that does the most damage.


EDIT: For the record, Mind Blast didn't become a good skill until the day RI's recast was reduced from 15 seconds to 5 seconds. That was one of the biggest buffs in the history of Guild Wars IMO.

arcanemacabre

arcanemacabre

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: Feb 2006

North Kryta Province

Angel Sharks [As]

I haven't capped this on my Ele yet, but I can completely see where this is simply amazing. The questions I have are: Will this be nerfed if it's so good? Is this being used/abused in PvP to warrant a nerf? Or is this mainly a PvE thing and will likely remain untouched?

Div

Div

I like yumy food!

Join Date: Jan 2006

Where I can eat yumy food

Dead Alley [dR]

Mo/R

This is added to the beginning:
Because idiots like to flame for little things like me saying go /Mo for rebirth, I included it for completeness, not because I'd personally take it. Rebirth, while horrible on a monk (because they should actively use all 8 skill slots), is strong on a midliner, who can run away from battle and prevent a whole teamwipe (like missions). Having it on an ele makes just as much sense as having it on any other midline caster. You'll be using this outside of battle anyways, and even if you do use it in battle, mind blast can easily get your energy back up much faster than any other caster nearly instantly (so the bigger energy pool lost isn't even an argument).

cellardweller

cellardweller

Likes naked dance offs

Join Date: Aug 2005

The Older Gamers [TOG]

Quote:
Originally Posted by arcanemacabre
I haven't capped this on my Ele yet, but I can completely see where this is simply amazing. The questions I have are: Will this be nerfed if it's so good? Is this being used/abused in PvP to warrant a nerf? Or is this mainly a PvE thing and will likely remain untouched? The skill has always given you practically limitless energy, the problem was that before the august skill balance, there wasn't that many uses for it. In aug, rodgorts went from 3c/15r to 2c/5r which gave eles spammable high energy high damage non-elite and in the same update LoD was nerfed bringing the previously outclassed Heal Party back into play. That being said, I don't see the use of MB in these contexts as creating degenerate play so it will probably slide by for at least the next skill balance.

LightningHell

LightningHell

(????????????)???

Join Date: Aug 2005

Hong Kong

Guildless

Mo/

Quote:
EDIT: For the record, Mind Blast didn't become a good skill until the day RI's recast was reduced from 15 seconds to 5 seconds. That was one of the biggest buffs in the history of Guild Wars IMO. I'd beg to differ - from what I remember, even before the Rodgort's Invocation buff, people still ran Mind Blast. It was that good - I seem to also remember it having to be nerfed.

EDIT: Poster below is right.

Kale Ironfist

Kale Ironfist

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Jul 2006

Australia

Venatio Illuminata [VEIL]

W/

Quote:
Originally Posted by LightningHell
I'd beg to differ - from what I remember, even before the Rodgort's Invocation buff, people still ran Mind Blast. It was that good - I seem to also remember it having to be nerfed. Only after its damage was buffed from [email protected] to [email protected] Fire Magic.

Kale Ironfist

Kale Ironfist

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Jul 2006

Australia

Venatio Illuminata [VEIL]

W/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Celestial Beaver
I disagree. The additional damage was just a bonus thing in my mind. I was using it chuck out Immolates and Fireballs along with Snares / Wards / Utility of my choice from other elements or secondary professions before the buff to R.I.. The reason Mind Blast is good is the energy return.
I was referring to the nerf, which only affected its damage, and was only after its damage was buffed.

Stormlord Alex

Stormlord Alex

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: Dec 2005

Beyond the Forest of Doom, past the Cavern of Agony... on Kitten & Puppy Island

Soul of Melandru [sOm]

W/E

Quote:
Originally Posted by holymasamune
This is added to the beginning:
Because idiots like to flame for little things like me saying go /Mo for rebirth, I included it for completeness, not because I'd personally take it. Rebirth, while horrible on a monk (because they should actively use all 8 skill slots), is strong on a midliner, who can run away from battle and prevent a whole teamwipe (like missions). Having it on an ele makes just as much sense as having it on any other midline caster. You'll be using this outside of battle anyways, and even if you do use it in battle, mind blast can easily get your energy back up much faster than any other caster nearly instantly (so the bigger energy pool lost isn't even an argument). Actually, I should've commented on this...

...

...

... I agree with recommending Rebirth.
Rebirth, in the hands of a good player/team, is a very bad skill and a wasted slot. People who don't suck, don't wipe. If something goes awry, they either hit their DP Sigs and finish the fight with ease; or retreat swiftly before a wipe can occur.

Bad players, on the other hand - who are exactly the kind of people who would be needing to be reading this - rely on Rebirth because they do suck, they do wipe, and they need it as a crutch to avoid failure.

Grammar

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Aug 2005

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kale Ironfist
I was referring to the nerf, which only affected its damage, and was only after its damage was buffed.
Yeah, didn't it get buffed to from 60 to 75 (@15), and then nerfed back down to 60 shortly thereafter? There might have been some other changes to MB's damage in there too, I'm not sure. I seem to remember a period of time where it seemed Anet couldn't make up their minds with this skill.
MB did indeed see some love when the damage was at 75, but it was far from taking over as the Ele elite of choice.

Then they buffed the living crap out of RI during the time when SF's burning duration was still down at 5 seconds (now back at 7), and everyone and their freaking grandmother jumped on this skill like it was the second coming of Christ.
Some people went back to SF after the burning duration was restored, but by then MB had become the Ele elite of choice (and with good reason).

My point is, it was RI that made the difference, and it still is RI that makes the difference.
If they ever change RI back to the way it was for some reason (3c,15r), I'll drop MB in a second and go back to SF for PvE.

To the poster that asked about the possibility of MB being nerfed, I say don't worry about MB (which I think is safe), worry instead about RI. I believe an RI nerf to be inevitable. Not back to the way it was before, but likely a middle ground; something like 2c,10r or maybe 3c,7r. Or they could simply reduce the damage down to that of Fireball (117 @15) or down to that of SF (100 @15). Whatever it will be, something is coming, it's only a matter of time.


EDIT: there's nothing wrong with Rebirth on an Ele in a PuG, especially in areas with no rez shrines like missions. So can we please stop debating Rebirth and get back to Mind Blast?

Div

Div

I like yumy food!

Join Date: Jan 2006

Where I can eat yumy food

Dead Alley [dR]

Mo/R

Added:

Comments on different elites:
Mind blast: Decent damage by itself. Essentially infinite energy output to power other big damage or support skills.
Searing flames: Great damage and AoE. More frontloaded damage than mind blast, but can't keep the large damage output in prolonged battles. This makes it pretty useful for NM but not so much for HM.
Savannah Heat: Massive AoE damage with low energy costs. No real support for other skills. AoE causes monsters in HM to scatter and possibly wipe your team.
Mind burn: Massive one target damage, but can't be sustained at all. No easy synergy with other skills due to exhaustion. Can take down a single target easily in NM, but elite becomes completely useless for the entire duration of the mob, and is for the most part completely useless in HM.

Ensign

Ensign

Just Plain Fluffy

Join Date: Dec 2004

Berkeley, CA

Idiot Savants

Savannah Heat is only good if your bar is good without an elite; it's the most efficient elite in the game but doesn't do anything for your bar. Searing Flames and Mind Blast on the other hand are really money elites that do a ton, and fill out your character. I don't think Fire is deep enough to run Savannah on a serious bar.

Brian the Gladiator

Brian the Gladiator

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: May 2006

Michigan, USA

Us Are Not [leet]

E/

Quote:
Originally Posted by holymasamune
Searing flames: Great damage and AoE. More frontloaded damage than mind blast, but can't keep the large damage output in prolonged battles. This makes it pretty useful for NM but not so much for HM.
I disagree. Searing Flames elementalists can easily keep energy up for extended periods of time. If the bar has [skill=text]glowing gaze[/skill], [skill=text]glyph of lesser energy[/skill], and [skill=text]fire attunement[/skill], energy can be kept up quite easily. Truly, the only problem with this elite is that it is only worth bringing if you have another searing flames in the party. Most people want to bring the three N/Rts so that means this build wont be as good as a Mind Blast build.

You may want to explain further what a good [skill=text]Mind Blast[/skill] bar may look like. As of now you only have three skills listed with some options of skills to use out of a secondary profession. This still leaves a lot of slots empty with no guidance on how to fill them. suggest some more fire skills to bring, like liquid flame, searing heat, etc.

E/Rt is a good option for [skill=text]death pact signet[/skill][skill=text]ancestors' rage[/skill][skill=text]splinter weapon[/skill] (if you have melee on your team)

Quote:
Originally Posted by arcanemacabre
The questions I have are: Will this be nerfed if it's so good? Is this being used/abused in PvP to warrant a nerf? Or is this mainly a PvE thing and will likely remain untouched? This skill has seen some play in GvG. It has never appeared to be overpowered however. Midline skill bars in the current meta really reflect what the Nightfall powercreap has brought. Basically they are used for two purposes, to shutdown the overpowered enemy defenses (monks, block-way, B-surge, etc) or to shutdown overpowered enemy offense (mitigating warrior damage or interrupting offensive casters). With this midline mentality, there is little to no room for mind blast.

I must admit, I don't know nearly as much about HA as I do about GvG. From what I do know, i would say that mind blast isn't being abused here either. HA mostly consists of IWAY, Ranger spike, and AoE-way using Savannah Heat Elementalists and stuff. Therefore, I don't believe that Mind Blast will be nerfed any time soon. It seams to be a pretty balanced skill in my book.

LifeInfusion

LifeInfusion

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: May 2005

in the midline

E/Mo

Brian, try running that Searing flames of yours in areas with enchantment stripping and burning resistance or condition removal. I'll stick to mindblast thank you. I'll tell you first hand, Mindblast with fire attunement rocks and even without any attunements, at least you won't be useless.

Dr Strangelove

Dr Strangelove

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Dec 2005

Wasting away again in Margaritaville

[HOTR]

Searing flames does about 5 DPS higher than mind blast, if I remember correctly. However, mind blast has a lot more bar space for useful stuff and isn't completely screwed over by enchant stripping, edenial and interrupts.

Cherng Butter

Cherng Butter

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Jan 2006

Maryland

The Mirror Of Reason [SNOW]

E/Mo

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr Strangelove
Searing flames does about 5 DPS higher than mind blast, if I remember correctly. However, mind blast has a lot more bar space for useful stuff and isn't completely screwed over by enchant stripping, edenial and interrupts. It's really that little discrepancy? Ooh, that makes me feel even better about my Mind Blasting