Returning to the game

I'm returning to the game after over two years, and I'm trying to get my Elementalist back in shape. Three questions:

1) My old Pyromancer armor is now "Pyromancer Flameforged" armor. In other words, I have Pyromancer insignias in every slot. Should I replace them? If so, with which insignias? Which runes are best? Right now I have minor vigor, minor fire magic, minor earth magic, and minor energy storage.

2) I'm Ascended, but I still haven't completed the Prophecies storyline. Should I change to Air for the last section, the fire area? Any other suggestions for that area? I've gone Fire so far, and like it.

3) What Fire build should I be aiming for? I've read the very helpful thread on builds for just one campaign, but I'm wondering what a strong build is if I have all the expansions. (I just ordered Nightfall and Factions.)

Thanks for your help.

1) Doesn't really matter imo. Different areas are easier with different armor. I would probably keep the Pyromancer insignias for until you beat the last 3 missions, as their will be a lot of fire damage. after that Radiant insignias are probably best for casters.

2) Fire until the very last mission (Hell's Precipice), then change to Water, as ice deals more damage to those foes. Until then it shouldn't make much of a different.

3) PvX has all the gimmick and basic builds, I suggest looking at those for a basic idea. If I posted my (hardly used) fire ele build, it would just get flamed :P. Despite it working. Best fire elites would be Mind Blast (NF) and Searing Flames (NF), at least imo.

Edit: Forget what I said for 1) as it seems Eles are much different then other casters (don't use an ele ).

1) Replace them with survivor insignias as soon as possible. Radiants are bad, and even worse on a class which has their primary for e-management, or gives a higher energy pool.

2) Go with fire if need be, but try to fit some utility in there!

3) [mind blast][rodgort's invocation][no skill][no skill][no skill][no skill][fire attunement][resurrection signet]
Infinite energy, slots with no skills in can be things that are high energy and spammable, like [[blinding flash] which can be spammed while using Mind Blast.

1) All that's happened is that armor looks and functionality have been split; you can now have any armor mod on any piece of armor, regardless of where you made it or what it looks like. Don't bother changing the armor you already have - if it worked before, it'll work the same now. If you craft new armor, you'll need to worry about insignias; until then, use what you already have.

(I use Blessed, because all my builds keep me enchanted. Radiant is unnecessary for an elementalist with an already high mana pool, but can be good for Mind Blast users. Prismatic is good for +AL, but only if you're willing to gimp your effectiveness.)

2) Fire is still the best overall damage-dealing element for PvE. The only mission you should consider switching for is the last one (Hell's Precipice). Partying with someone who brings Winter (the ranger spirit that turns all elemental damage into cold damage) would let you run fire even there, but you're not that lazy, are you?

3) I'm guessing you don't have anything but Prophecies (Chapter 1) skills. Something along these lines worked for me way back when. You should be fine with it still.

[skill]Mark of Rodgort[/skill][skill]Rodgort's Invocation[/skill][skill]Fireball[/skill][skill]Meteor Shower[/skill][skill]Aura of Restoration[/skill][skill]Fire Attunement[/skill][skill]Elemental Attunement[/skill][skill]Resurrection Signet[/skill]

A fire weapon will trigger Mark of TROGDOR along with dealing otherwise insignificant wand or staff damage, which will give you something to do between spells. Among DoT AoE spells, Meteor Shower causes foes to scatter the least (because they only try to get away after getting hit twice, at which point MS is already 2/3 through doing its job), and should work very well for tough-to-roll bosses (Willa the Unpleasant, I'm looking at you). Dual attunements will let you cast everything on recharge, which is kind of important for TROGDOR's Invocation. If you prefer not to wand things, Immolate is a good replacement for Mark, especially considering dual attunements will let you spam it.

If you fancy Water, or are at least considering it for Hell's Precipice, bring one big shutdown skill (Maelstrom), AoE damage spells (Ice Spikes, Deep Freeze), and something to round out your build (Blurred Vision for utility, Ice Spear/Rust/Shard Storm for more damage). Again, dual attunements will let you cast everything on recharge, though Ward Against Harm + Glyph of Lesser Energy may provide you with decent energy management and even more utility (which is pretty much what you have to go for, considering fire is the damage line in PvE). And of course, a Resurrection Signet (or Rebirth, if available) should let you recover if your henchies decide to kill themselves for no apparent reason

Welcome back

To answer your Fire magic issue, I had the same problem when I first completed Prophecies, with my Elementalist, I always used Fire Magic and I didn't have any experience using other types of magic. Fire is awesome EVEN in last missions if you have a Ranger in your party, because they usually bring Winter with them, and that converts all damage to cold damage. If you don't have Ranger in your party swap to Water Magic in last missions.

As stated earlier SF and MB are both good elites.
I like MB, Rotgort's, Searing Heat, Fire Attunement. This is PvE so you're already killing mobs with those 4 and have good energy management. Then you have 4 more slots for whatever you like. You can bring Maelstrom ( no need for high water attributes, might want to add GolE if u do though) or Ward Against Melee (just a couply of points in earth). Anything that will help the team is a good choice.

Thanks a lot for the responses.

I like the fact that armor functionality is now separate from looks. I bought this ugly Pyro armor because it seemed like there was more fire damage than other types. Once I get some new armor in Factions or Nightfall, I'll replace with Survivor. (I like HP.)

Once I get past Prophecies -- I've ordered Nightfall and Factions, but they haven't arrived yet -- what kind of build should I aim for? I've been looking at PvX and this build seems like a good start:

http://www.pvxwiki.com/wiki/Build:E/...s_Elementalist

Also, any thoughts on which runes are best? Vigor, Minor Fire Magic, Minor Energy Storage, then what? Vitae? Absorption?

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I believe he means Mind Blast. In which, if you are an Ele, your energy should be stapled roughly at 72. Should be enough energy I believe.

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Well, make sure you stick to minors and survivor runes. Higher health that protects against anything and is universal is extremely strong and they're a good all around choice in general.

Maybe a -20% daze rune for PvP, but whatever.

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For AB and RA then, gtfo Tearz.

But trolling you is my job :-(

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