conjure earth?

A Sad Snowman

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jul 2009

AKFD

E/R

is there any reason why no "conjure earth" skill exists? frost, fire, and lightning are all there, why not earth?

HawkofStorms

HawkofStorms

Hall Hero

Join Date: Aug 2005

E/

Used to be requested several times. The general consensus is that Earth is by definition a defensive line. If you let this skill exist, the potential for tanks to run this plus defensive skills would render other conjures obsolete in PvE. Plus, very few things have earth resistance.

The reasoning isn't exactly great, but that's the best reasoning I've heard.

Trenixz

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jun 2008

A/

The reason I heard was that "earth damage" did not exist until very close to the release (earth skills dealt blunt damage). Thus when they made the shift to earth damage, the skills were already mostly finalized.

Killamus

Guest

Join Date: Oct 2008

It also could be because of the fundamental idea behind the conjure skill.

You're basicially just making part of your weapon stronger.

If it's firey, you make the fire bigger.
If it's icy, you make it colder.
If it's shocking, you add more electricity to it. Or puns, not sure which.

How do you make an earth weapon more powerful? Attach a stone to it?

Bob Slydell

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jan 2007

Quote:
Originally Posted by HawkofStorms View Post
Used to be requested several times. The general consensus is that Earth is by definition a defensive line. If you let this skill exist, the potential for tanks to run this plus defensive skills would render other conjures obsolete in PvE. Plus, very few things have earth resistance.

The reasoning isn't exactly great, but that's the best reasoning I've heard.
Sounds like a pretty good reason to me. It would make terra tanks overpowered I guess...

Curseman

Academy Page

Join Date: Dec 2007

Elementalist secondaries would get an awful lot of benefit out of that, don't you think? Bonus damage and a large defensive boost, just for investing in one skill line?

A Sad Snowman

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jul 2009

AKFD

E/R

The whole defensive nature of earth reason makes sense i guess, but on another note, how many people use the conjure spells, as an ele primary or secondary. I'm an ele myself and i've been using conjure flame lately, just so i can help out a bit more when my other skills are recharging, but i can't say i've heard of that being too common.

Have i just not heard of it? or is it really not all that useful? I used to use flare so i'd have a nice spammable skill when others were recharging, but conjure does nearly as much damage, and once its cast, doesn't require all the extra energy.

Xenomortis

Xenomortis

Tea Powered

Join Date: May 2008

UK

N/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Killamus View Post
How do you make an earth weapon more powerful? Attach a stone to it?
What on earth is earth damage anyway?
I've always regarded being hit by a rock or something to be blunt, physical damage, not "earth". Could be slashing if the rock was sharp and pointy.

Perhaps swords should deal metal damage instead.


Earth magic has a lot of defensive buffs and so adding a passive offensive enchantment that a frontliner could make good use of would be a bit risky.

HawkofStorms

HawkofStorms

Hall Hero

Join Date: Aug 2005

E/

Quote:
Originally Posted by A Sad Snowman View Post
The whole defensive nature of earth reason makes sense i guess, but on another note, how many people use the conjure spells, as an ele primary or secondary. I'm an ele myself and i've been using conjure flame lately, just so i can help out a bit more when my other skills are recharging, but i can't say i've heard of that being too common.

Have i just not heard of it? or is it really not all that useful? I used to use flare so i'd have a nice spammable skill when others were recharging, but conjure does nearly as much damage, and once its cast, doesn't require all the extra energy.
It is quite common on professions that spend the majority of their time attacking, like warriors, especially in PvP, although it has gone out of fashion reccently.

BrettM

BrettM

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Aug 2008

Fuzzy Physics Institute

E/

Earth magic also includes magnetic spells (eg, Magnetic Surge), ash/dust spells (eg, Sandstorm, Ash Blast), and tremor effects (eg, Shockwave, Earthquake, Aftershock), so it isn't just throwing rocks. Blindness, weakness, and knockdown are common effects in the earth magic biz, so why not a Conjure Earth that causes one of those instead of +damage? (See, for example, Ebon Dust Aura for dervs, which requires a weapon dealing earth damage and causes blindness.) A couple of seconds of blindness or weakness, or a small chance of a KD, would make a nice defensive conjure.

Darcy

Darcy

Never Too Old

Join Date: Jul 2006

Rhode Island where there are no GW contests

Order of First

W/R

I vote for NO NEW SKILLS. We can't handle the ones we have now.

Guardian of the Light

Guardian of the Light

Forge Runner

Join Date: Sep 2005

Radicals Against Tyrants

W/

You I've been wondering this ever since the game came out.

Still haven't got a good reason. It's one of those "just because" things in GW.