Elementalist or Necromancer?

cretin

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Jul 2008

N/Me

Hi, I've played GW before but I'm coming back to it now after a break. I want to make one character to play, and I'm torn between Elementalist and Necromancer. I prefer to PVE, and I'll be spending most of my time hunting for titles. I like E because of the damage they do, but N seem cool too (especially minion master).

Can someone just choose for me, so I can go ahead and make the darn char? Thanks!

Tyla

Emo Goth Italics

Join Date: Sep 2006

If I had the choice, Necromancer. The benefits of a Necromancer heavily outweigh that of an Elementalist.

wind fire and ice

wind fire and ice

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Oct 2008

There

[ToA]

Ele and Necromancer are both very good,and very different.
First of all,MM is bad for a human player,soo if thats all you want a necro for,dont make it.
Ele is a really really good prof for Normal Mode as far as damage goes,in Hard Mode they're more of a support char('till you have spent enough time in Eye of the North to get decent ranks in those titles,making the awesome PvE only skills good).

Necromancer has endless energy,but there flaw is that in Normal Mode there usually boring as there hexes seem really useless since things die before they do any thing really.
BUT in hard mode necromancers endless flow of energy really shines,and just like the elementalist the use of pve skills makes them godly.
Also hexes like Spiteful Spirit in Hard Mode can be very very useful.

In the end there both really very good professions,i like elementalist but 75% of people will say necromancer is better thanks to there endless energy flow.
Good luck and welcome back to GW.

snaek

snaek

Forge Runner

Join Date: Mar 2006

N/

as an ele:
u'll be frustrated wit teh high armor of monsters in hm
and will constantly be lookin for alternative ways other than direct dmg to be useful to ur team

as a nec:
u'll be suprised at how the necro is the master of exploitin gw's pve mechanics (aka flaws)
and u'll have fun playin around wit different (meta) builds


altho...eles can solo farm pretty well from wut i hear
also, they make some of the best shrine cappers in ab (teh other kind of pve)



edit:
Quote:
Originally Posted by wind fire and ice
First of all,MM is bad for a human player,soo if thats all you want a necro for,dont make it. wrong
hero's only run jagged bones better than human players
they suck at botm spamming or oop spamming for any other type of mm build

The Red Messenger

The Red Messenger

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Mar 2008

America

necro's damage bypasses armor a lot of the time. nearly all of elementalist skills are affected by armor.

a lot of title hunting is spent in Hard mode...enemies in HM have a ton of armor.

necro seems the obvious choice to me, but it all depends on your preference.

ele is more powerful in NM, necro is more powerful in HM.

HawkofStorms

HawkofStorms

Hall Hero

Join Date: Aug 2005

E/

Having both these professions myself, I find necro boring and my ele is my main. Necro hex spam, while dealing a lot of damage, is rather boring to play and doesn't have a lot of real finesce (archane echo + ss on the guys in the middle of a mob). Ele builds can be a lot of fun with knockdowns, blinding, snares, etc on top of a deccent damage output.

Konig Des Todes

Konig Des Todes

Ooo, pretty flower

Join Date: Jan 2008

Citadel of the Decayed

The Archivists' Sanctum [Lore]

N/

Of what I've noticed, Necromancers can pretty much run any caster build as long as there is a MM in the group. Unlimited energy. I personally like Necromancer.

Elementalist is pretty much only burn, deal damage, support, slowdown and blind.

Necromancer is hex, condition, steal life, damage, MM, support, degen, slow attack rate.

I'd go with Necromancer.

Aiden_Madrigal

Aiden_Madrigal

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Sep 2008

Hey Mallyx [icU]

I personally prefer Elementalist. Necros do have a lot of armor ignoring damage, but one necro won't make that much of a difference. In HM, your entire party's composition will be the key to success. They both have their advantages, and I personally prefer the elementalist's ability to solo farm-- after all, I doubt that any necro could farm as efficiently as an ele.

As far as the HM comments go, if you're going into HM it's because you either want titles or money (and let's face it, if you want titles you'll need money). With an elementalist, you'll be able to supply yourself with enough money to grind titles.

Another thing is survivability. Elementalists have both enchantments and glyphs that allow them to retain their energy and gain health at the same time. They also have armor-improving and melee-blocking enchantments and wards. Sure, necros have wells but many of these require sacrifice.

I would like to point out that both classes are outstanding, and this is in now way denigrating the ability of necro-mains. I'm just trying to provide some very important counterpoints.

gremlin

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Oct 2006

GWAR

Me/Mo

I would have to say Necro

I have both but don't understand the subtle more interesting ways to play an ele, that and I enjoy playing necro.

Yes the heroes are better in some ways at playing an mm but they are not that bright.
They cannot handle the Flesh golem as they randomly select what minion type to raise.
They do use jagged bones quite well so far as I can tell, so I let a hero do the MM side and either run an ss or degen build as my necro.

Rothan Celt

Rothan Celt

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Feb 2008

Aura

Mo/R

if u like pve then you will not regret going necro hands down. yet you props wont regret going ele : / its all down to choice but i would say necro as they are very intersting to play ele's do tend to button mash.

However i always Vanquish with discord-way and a ele can play a vital roll in that which is hardly button mashing.

I dnt suggest going necro just to be a MM seeing as heroes perform that roll better than players. But placing key hexs down in a pve mob totally owns and is very fun. talking about heroes ele heroes can handle any ele build perfectly when necro is better used by the player.

So overall although my main char is a ele

go necro Because of there ultimate ownage in pve hardmode.

unless ur going male then go ele necro males look naff : /

Squiffy

Squiffy

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Sep 2006

E/

I would go with Necromancer. Elementalist is my main profession atm, and it's quite boring in HM, ya dont get to see many big yellow numbers. If I had the chance to swap all of my titles over to a different profession, I would choose Necromancer. The things you can do with a Necro are endless due to Soul Reaping . So ya, gogo Necro :P

EDIT: Also some of the Necro armors OWN.

Squiffy

Luminarus

Luminarus

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Aug 2007

Sydney, Australia

Haze of Light [pure]

R/

Id pick ele coz I find necros boring. But overall, I dont like casters much anywayz. But the other points about necros being better is true. The question is do u enjoy winning the game, or do you enjoy playing the game?

For me I enjoy both which is why I like fighter classes (not saying others cant do this as well). My point is that Necros have the more overpowered builds, whilst (imo) eles have the more fun builds. But again, just my experiences. I know some people that love casters and hate fighters. I dont get them, but its their game they enjoy it that way.

realtalk916

realtalk916

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Sep 2008

California

Reign Of Judgment [RoJ]

W/E

go ele, let the necro heroes get the job done for u haha

_Nihilist_

_Nihilist_

Will Bull's Strike for $!

Join Date: Apr 2006

Isle of the Dead

Either one can be fun to play.

Both do well in NM and HM, but Necro skills really stick out in HM, as many deal armor-ignoring damage, and with the high HP of most mobs, their hexes will last the full duration, unlike in NM, when most mobs drop before half the duration expires.

Both can farm.

Necros have insane e-management with Soul Reaping, Eles have pretty decent e-management with Attunements and some of their skills.

Take your pick.

If you are already interested in the Necro, go with the Necro. Necros are probably the most versatile profession in GW. They can use just about any secondary, or stick with their primary and still come out on top.

my 2c

[ EDIT ]

imho, Necro armor is much better than Ele armor. And to the person who said go with an Ele if you are going to play a male toon... my Necro is male for the explicit reason that if I am going to play a Necromancer, I WANT them to look disturbing. Aside from the mini-Necros (sorta like the mini-Monks) who can elicit that "I'm gonna eat your soul" coming from a cute, innocent child kind of vibe, most of the Necros look like they've actually paid a price for the power they hold, unlike Eles, who look like silver spoon fed brats. Again, just my 2c...

Capua

Capua

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Aug 2008

N/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrael_Eveningsong View Post
imho, Necro armor is much better than Ele armor. And to the person who said go with an Ele if you are going to play a male toon... my Necro is male for the explicit reason that if I am going to play a Necromancer, I WANT them to look disturbing. Aside from the mini-Necros (sorta like the mini-Monks) who can elicit that "I'm gonna eat your soul" coming from a cute, innocent child kind of vibe, most of the Necros look like they've actually paid a price for the power they hold, unlike Eles, who look like silver spoon fed brats. Again, just my 2c... I agree with this.
The endless energy of a necromancer is too much to pass up imo. Eles are all well and good until they run out of energy, with a Necro you'll rarely have that problem.

Mayda

Mayda

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Sep 2007

Prague (GMT +1)

FTW

E/

would prefer ele (as its my prim char)

its true that dmg output especially at harder HM locations start to suck a bit, but thats just thing you have to count with when you start doing tough stuff

necro can farm, but ele has much more possibilities where to

if you omit damage dealing, ele can tank like a demi-god, which comes handy when you get bored by endless nuking

SmokingHotImolation

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Mar 2008

Odense, Denmark

E/

I'd say necro for the utility.
SR is alot better e-management attribute than e-storage.

Tyla

Emo Goth Italics

Join Date: Sep 2006

E-Storage really isn't energy management; it's just additional energy.

cretin

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Jul 2008

N/Me

Thanks for your help guys! It was a tough decision, but I went with necro!

faraaz

Banned

Join Date: Feb 2008

India

Hey Mallyx [icU]

A/

Soul Reaping

12 chars...

furanshisuko

furanshisuko

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Oct 2007

R/

get a ranger is the best of the best
but if you want a caster id go for necro

fenix

fenix

Major-General Awesome

Join Date: Aug 2005

Aussie Trolling Crew HQ - Event Organiser and IRC Tiger

Ex Talionis [Law], Trinity of the Ascended [ToA] ????????????????&#

W/

Necro is better in PvE because of broken mechanics (good job ANet).

Ele rapes necro in PvP though, which is more important.

Windf0rce

Windf0rce

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jan 2007

I still prefer an Ele in PvE because of the better looks and excellent farming options. I never felt I needed more Energy than I already have - if you know what you are doing, you don't really need the so called Soul Reaping broken mechanics.

Male Necros look sick, and female necros have a too fat butt/hips (LOL I can't stand it), could never make a Necro that I wouldn't delete the next day.

Ele all the way!

Now seriously both classes are an excellent option for PvE - versatile, with many working builds and fun to play.

Xenomortis

Xenomortis

Tea Powered

Join Date: May 2008

UK

N/

A necromancer is a much more fun and versatile character to play in PvE I find. Their ability to run a build fit for almost any HM job is wonderful and the Curses line is pretty much godly.
SR is a very powerful attribute meaning you won't need to worry too much about energy and requires pretty much no thought in use.
Plus, you synergise nicely with all the necro team hero builds out there, so you don't have to worry about wasting a hero slot on all the NF missions.

Although, Necromancers generally are not good looking - the male ones look pathetic and the armour choice is somewhat... distasteful.

Winterclaw

Winterclaw

Wark!!!

Join Date: May 2005

Florida

W/

SR is imba so go with the el, it'll force you to be a better player.

MegaVolti

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Aug 2008

Me/Rt

For PvE certainly the necro.

In hard mode, the Elementalists damage output is pathetic. It doesn't even come close to what a Necromancer can dish out with Curses or Death Magic (because Necomancer skills ignore armor, while the Elementalists skills are all reduced to nothing by the high monster armor).

The Elementalist in hard mode is not a damage dealer, it's a support character. You can blind, knockdown, slow, daze. But for those effects, you do not need to be a primary Elementalist!

So go with Necromancer, be happy with your unlimited mana supply and use your awesome armor ignoring damage spells for nuking. And if you ever feel bored and want to know what you missed out on, buy some fire spells and watch how little damage they do. And get some earth spells and knock down enemies for fun You can do that just fine as Necromancer since those conditions and knockdown do not depend on the skill level (e.g. they are just as good with 12 as they are with 16, only difference is some damage, which is too small to matter anyway in hard mode), while playing Necromancer as primary Elementalist is not that good due to the lack of Soul Reaping and since you will miss out on real (armor ignoring) damage then.

You could also consider a Mesmer. They, too, offer tons of armor ignoring damage and are great nukers. They got good energy management (Inspiration) and Fast Casting is an awesome primary attribute. Except for the minion master, any Necromancer style of play can be mirrored by the Mesmer, some even more effective, some a little less effective. As does the Necromancer, the Mesmer allows you to play any other caster class with great benefit from its primary attribute.
Personally, I prefer the Mesmer. Mainly because they look better