Elementalist the new Mesmer?

You do realize that FoW armor has the same al rating as comparable armors from Droks? Anyways, the reason you would use Lightning is for single target spikes (lightning surge + lightning orb times exactly right + the knockdown) and the armor penetration. When a w/e uses armor of earth and dolyak signet, besides running away cause he cant move, the 25% armor penetration is the only thing that will allow you to damage him. Lightning is also useful because is costs the least of all elemental magic.

I'm a PvE'er, by FoW I mean the mobs in FoW such as Abyssals, Shadow warriors, Obsidian Drakes, etc. As I said in a post awhile ago, speednuking has some advantage in PvE. However if a W/E is using Armor of Earth and dolyak signet in PvP ... you could just kill him with degen, or the myriad mesmer skills that ignore armor (ie: all)

Hearing people say they play the oddball Elementalists has got me wondering... Do you get any work? I tried a couple times, but people aren't willing to accept it most of the time, and out of despair I always come crawling back to fire...

Well no, I don't. Hence the primary reason for starting the thread. I'm not even sure you can call a Geomancer truly oddball... I stick to mostly Earth, Energy Storage, Inspiration, and non-attribute spells.

Mostly I run with my henchbots. They're pretty stupid and Mhenlo/Alesia is next to worthless, but after using them so long you get used to their shortcomings. Playing support with them seems alot easier than if I was tanking and/or otherwise actually relying on them to keep me up. The only problem I have is when I come across that rare mission/quest that requires a group to split up and work independantly. I've been stuck on the Priest Alkar part of Sorrow's Furnace for a month now. I can get close with the bots but not good enough to beat it.

Typical local chat in Deldrimor War Camp though is either WTS crap that should be in the trade channel, or GLF SS/MM/bonder/etc. for 5-man Oro farm.

Sorry about that. I misunderstood your comment. Degen in PvP however, is less useful than it used to be. With all of the necros and mesmers running around using SS or SV or Empathy, i carry atleast one hex removal. I realize that mesmers are also an underestimated class, but my point is not to defend them, but the elementalists.

In PvP, I actually don't use my secondary. I use all Mes skills. If there were alot more intelligent ppl playing out on PvE, they'd understand how helpful a Mes can be. Unfortunately, most times I have to hype up a Echo Nuker in order to get into Tombs, UW or FoW with PUGs.

Sounds picky but good. Some of the other posters already added in other things to watch out for, and there are a few more things we can add in too.



* Players who lack patience while others prepare their skills set and attributes
* Players who refuse a certain primary profession just because of it
* Players who uses a monk and leave when things go bad the first time

That's what I did with my first Mesmer build months ago. By the time I got to the high-end places, all I was using with my Mesmer was Mes skills, not Mes and Necro skills. You're right about a wish for more intelligent, flexible players in GW, then maybe more people will see how useful Mesmers are along with good Rangers and Water Ele's.

one deep freeze before the double meteor shower makes SO much difference... but then, if ele's WERE mesmers, they would have the brains to think of it

Lol. Perhaps that may be true.....

I first started the game on the elemental path but after the aoe update I deleted her. Last week I reconsidered and decided that I wanted to give the elemental path a second chance. My character is at present up to the frost gate lv15

I use 2 set-ups the first is a water & Air combo (Frozen burst, ice spikes, Enervating charge, Chain lightning, whirlwind, windborne speed, Glyph of lesser energy & aura of restoration)

My second set-up is Fire & Earth combo (Flare, fireball, firestorm, armour of earth or Ward aginst fores / malee, eruption, earthquake, aura of restoration & glyph of lesser energy, )

I can still use my firestorm to inflict huge damage. When the mob is grouped together I cast my storm and before they can escape the aoe I cast earthquake so that they get knocked down. Generally my 2 spells will kill the mob with only a small mopping up operation required.

Elementalist was my second character, and admittedly, I don't play this character very much anymore since I prefer Mesmer and Ranger. However, after reaching a high enough level to have earned decent air spells, I left fire magic and have never returned. And this was long before the AOE patch.

Fire is just one way to play an elementalist, and admittedly, you do a lot of damage quickly with the various area spells, including the ones that affect adjacent foes. But I find this incredibly boring. When I went to air I never wanted to use fire again; I became more of a support player, blinding, knocking down and weakening enemies, although to one target at a time I could also do a lot of damage. More recently I have been trying out combinations of water, earth and air (two at a time).

So I never miss fire when playing my elementalist. Its just too bad that most players expect you to be a fire nuker.