7H elementalist centered team builds?

Marverick

Marverick

Forge Runner

Join Date: Aug 2006

R/

So I just started playing again and I'd like to go through Winds of Change with my elementalist. I'd really like to make a caster hero team centered around elementalists for damage dealing and shutdown. I'm hoping the new update might give this some viability.

I want to center this around air and water primarily, since those two lines have decent damage dealing capabilities combined with shutdown. That seems to be the combination that made mesmer teams really effective. Basically, Lightning Touch lets me blind lots of things. Thunderclap provides interrupts, shuts down physicals, and enhances damage. The water eles provide some damage, hexes, some physical and caster shutdown. The builds I was thinking of:


2x Air: (one of these will prob be the player, which will pack some PvE skills like EBVAS, Necrosis, and Technobabble instead of the dual winds.)

Thunderclap
Lightning Touch
Arc Lightning
Whirlwind
Teinai's Wind
Chain Lightning
Air Attunement


2x Water:

Mirror of Ice
Frozen Burst
Ice Spikes
Blurred Vision / Steam? do heroes use the latter properly?
Aegis
Maelstrom
Water Attunement
Res Signet


Domination Mesmer (since there aren't really good caster shutdown options with eles)

Panic
Mistrust
Cry of Frustration
Power Spike
Power Drain
Leech Signet
Empathy
Res Signet


Mind Blast Prot:

Fire Attunement
Aura of Restoration
Mind Blast
Rodgort's Invoration
Fireball
Meteor
Aegis
Protective Spirit


Channeling Rit/Heal:

Signet of Spirits
Spirit Siphon
Spirit Rift
Ancestor's Rage
Spirit Burn
Mend Body and Soul
Spirit Light
Life


Heal Monk or N/Rt:
standard stuff

Quack530

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Nov 2010

Detroit, MI, USA

Clan Etenal Legion [CEL]

Me/

I didn't read your post, only the title: http://www.gwpvx.com/Build:Team_-_SFway

Wielder Of Magic

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: May 2008

Netherlands

The Saviors Of [EviL]

D/

Comparing your ideas to the link Quack530 provided, I am tempted to say drop your own ideas and just run that build.

lightning touch and whirl/tenais wind are both bad, and require you to be in melee range.
Casters do not like being in melee range.

Mirror of ice is also bad for pve.
Once again, someone needs to stand close to an enemy in order for it to take effect.
We do not want our casters to be in melee range.
frozen burst, same story.
maelstrom is a bad version of panic that can be kited, has a longer cst, recharge, and cost, and less reliable in general.

With your damage lacking this much there is no point in looking at the other bars.

bleh

bleh

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Aug 2005

N.Z.

_

P/

If its a elementalist based party avoid close range spells and spells that cause heros to run leeroy jenkins all over.

I.e.
- Frozen burst,Whirlwind ,Lightning Touch ect...

The cost of supporting ele heros running into a group is far too much when compared to the practical damage actually gained (w/ what ive tried).

I currently run a Ele/rt water hero that complements my caster(hero) team quite well running:

Ward against Harm|Ice spikes|Shard Storm|Blurred Vision/MBS|Recovery|Spirit Light|GolE|Water Att|

As all the heros tend to clump together nicley for the enemy to spike them, WAH makes a huge difference at the start of the fight.
The snares tend to help with my 2x Dom mesmers for spiking and allowing time for minions to run in.

Shatter stone is a nice elite but i prefer to take WAH.

If you want point blank damage, run 2x dervish and 2x double dragon or something. (personally i'd run gust on 1/2 dervs for 2x/4x nearby KD)

Otherwise i would start looking outside the water and air as neither will get you very far in terms of damage ( bar a few meta builds).
I'd try something like :
2-3 Ele (w/ a warder)
1 MM/rt
1 Sos/ ST
1-2 Mesmer
UA Healer/prot (ele heros love getting spike killed)

Those bars you posted won't get you very far with heros, heros will run in all the time and get sploded, all to do one frozen burst.
+ as mentioned there is not much damage to speak of.

Wielder Of Magic

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: May 2008

Netherlands

The Saviors Of [EviL]

D/

Tbh i would just spread my heroes apart using flags instead of using wards.
Whatever aoe hits you while inside the ward will do more damage even while reduced from the ward then when you simply flag your team.
Main reason of death in pve is people not flagging their balled heroes out of aoe.
Never.ball.
Not even in wards.

Mouse at Large

Mouse at Large

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Dec 2005

Scotland

Fuzzy Physics Institute

E/

I play ele in an all caster team (admittedly I'm the only ele ). My line of choice is earth AoE, which you don't seem to be speccing anywhere. Maybe give it a shot?

As for the overall composition, I agree with the observation that you don't want eles in melee range. That having been said, and without a minion/spirit wall, you will be - a lot!

I applaud your intent, just not sure of it's viability in it's current form. Meta is meta because it (mostly) works.

Wielder Of Magic

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: May 2008

Netherlands

The Saviors Of [EviL]

D/

On a sidenote, if you insist on running an air bar on your human, I use the following bar for WoC HM:

E/Me

12+1+3 air ( because screw health since shelter)
12+1 energy storage

Thunderclap
arcane echo
glyph of lesser energy
shock arrow
chain lightning
ebon vanguard assassin support
technobabble
pain inverter.

As you see I like the idea of my ele being a toolbox.
energy managment with glyph + shock arrow is amazing.
Arcane echo provides extreme flexibility ( dual technobabble on massive casters, dual thunderclap for rupt chaining/giving melee a hard time/dual evas for epic balling power, dual chain lightning for loldmg, or simply 2x PI for 2 guarantueed priority kills).

If you insist on running air, that would be a good bet ( either this or an AP bar).

Gabs88

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Jan 2011



My take on the subject. Didn't have up to date ele bars saves but 1 EA + Fire mimicry works pretty well. AP fire or air caller is also very good and always preferred for leading hero teams, but when it all comes down to it I prefer mesmers. Try fighting a pack of Wind riders and it quickly becomes apparent why.