Worst Elite Skill

peace and harmony

100 Blades

I never seen Practiced Stance actually work well, unless you want an elite in your slot and have nothing else to put there. I wish I could do Practiced Stance and Incendiary Arrows... but I can't so I say Practiced Stance, but thats just my opinion.

cleave (axe skill)
Ward against harm

Both don't deserve to be elites. Watch yourelf > wah and several attack skills do as much or more than cleave and are not elites.

Let me explain QuickShot again. Bows take over 2 seconds normally to fire (type of bow changes this alittle). Then theres a airtime that the arrow takes to get ot the opponent.

What QuickShot does is turn that >2 sec bow speed into 1 sec (making it over twice as fast there) AND reduces airtime by half like the desp. says.

Remember - Casting Times on Bow Attacks are GOOD unlike casting times on Spells. Casting times on bows that are 2 secs or under means it is acutally maknig the bow attack faster - even though if you look at it from a casters point it looks like it has a cast time and others dont so its bad.


And Cleave has proven itself numourous times and that discussion should'nt even be brought up. Cleave Outdmg's Eviserate in striaght amount of dmg over time, this is without the Deep Wound factored in. The only reason Evis. is better is because Deep Wound adds so much to the attack (DW is actually a pretty nasty condition, second only to Dazed in its power).

I think it's one of the Best Elites for a PvE Warrior built around Doylak Signet + "Watch Yourself!" There is a ton of interesting secondary stuff you can do with it. I like /Ele for Point blank nukes. If I'm a monk and you use /Mo to throw up Aegis...

You've just become my favorite warrior ever.

Anywhere critters can't handle cold damage... Greater Conflag + Winter is devastating. GF also will shut down an orders necro if it can be protected.

now the rest of what i started this morning:

Mesmer:
Energy Surge - good E-denial+dmg
Panic - one of the funnest Elites
Power Block - can shutdown a caster
Mantra of Rec - Less used because of more popular choices that work better. This has to be Bottom Three. Just the way its linked is bad.
Crippling - I dont get the hate :\ This can totally shutdown a runner.
Fevered - got a boost, its decent.
Illusionary Weaponry - Owns anyone not prepared for it
Ineptitude - Bad Picture, marginally decent effect...its pretty low on charts too.
Migraine - better, is useful.
Energy Drain - Not as bad as people make it out to be. Its good energy return for e-denial in the same skill.
Keystone - Signet builds arent all popular, but they might be, and at 16 it only disables others for 4 secs. People use other skills that blackout their own skills..why not use it as a cost.
Mantra of Recall - one of the most popular Energy regens
Echo - Builds based on it
Signet of Midnight - Not that bad at all on a caster.

So Mesmers have some of the best, and some of the worst...

Eles:
Glimmering Mark - Has to be down there low. Why? not because its useless or any garbage response like that, its because it requires teamwork and constant supervision by the ele. Its uses are definately more pve (where warrior mobs crowd up) - the ele has to keep it up on 1 target thats not being bashed atm, thne has to keep constant lightning dmg on the target, or have teamwork and a nobody hitting it with a lightning mod weapon and thats teamwork you will not get in pve...
Lightning Surge - Isnt that bad. Was given timed hex status so it wouldn't pwn as hard. almost 100 dmg and knockdown? yea.
Mind Shock - good dmg'ing elite
Thunderclap - Down there with Mark for the same reasons...
Obsidian Flesh - Like the monks spellbreaker except selfcast only,since its duration is almost its recharge they added speed reduce as a sideeffect.
Ether Prodigy - energy...
Ether Renewal - Is actually good in the right build. Prodigy is easier though
Mind Burn - like mind shock - the minds are ok spells
Mind Freeze - worst of the mind elites, but still their all decent
Mist Form - Acutally pretty good defense to get warriors off you. Ele's dont attack much anyway.
Ward - put in water as a balance..cause its good..
Water - can Peeve a warrior on your tail.
Elemental Attunement - energy management..
Glyph of Energy - not the best glyph, but can make those better spells easier to handle.
Glyph of Renewal - the reason people go /ele.

Ele has some bad ones too..

So Whats worse? Who knows, its a toss up betwee na a few mesmer elites and a few ele ones. (not the ones you'd expect).

I think most of the people here listing are guessing or have never used or tried a build that could utilize the skill mentioned.

That is why my list was limited to Memer, range, ele, and Monk skills, because those are hte primary classes I have played the most.

Every elite seems to have some sort of use (except for Keystone Signet) therefore I think that one is the most useless. But the others I listed are ones that can be replaced by one or two non elite spells and do the same or more, and still have an elite spot open.

A GREAT elite is one that a build can be built around...like SS, Barrage, Oath Shot,Ferocious Strike(sort of), Aura of Lich (sort of), SOJ (sort of), Ether Renewel (used to be super overpowered), Mist Form(used to be overpowered), Life Barrier(used to be moreso), BIP(used to be moreso), and even Greater Conflagration. Those are the best elites I have ever used in the game. They are theones that can be used to make a build around, and are almost irreplaceable in a certain build structure.

What makes the other skills/spells "elite" are that they either cost less energy, or have a quicker recharge or cast time. Hardly Elite, More aptly called "better" skills, but certainly not elite.

IMO there are nt many ELITE skills in the game. Some are very good, Hell Protective Spirit is better than 75% of the elites in the game, relative,y cheap, relatively long lasting, and almost instant cast. AND you can build more than a few builds around it.

As for quick shot, it is still one of the few ELITE skills in the game. It is not nearly as overpowering as it was, but it is still very powerful, not as stand alone as it was, but in conjunction with a couple other skills/buffs it is still super powerful/practical elite skill. People that don't like it simply haven't tried it in the correct context yet, or haven't even captured it(since it is a hard one to get spawn).

It used to be FAR more popular than Barrage, but now Barrage is back to the flavor of the month, and people are saying that IT is overpowered.(which it isn't even close to being).

Certain cookie cutter builds make or break "elite" skills. Give someone a build that works for them and they will suddenly change their tune. if someone made a build that could somehow utilize Keystone Sig then that one would quickly gain notoriety. I haven't really tried to make a build to use it, but I don't think I could even if I did. What would make it a MUCH better skill would be to actually have a few more signets with Mesmer based magic. There are a total of 5, and 2 are elites. Plus for a mesmer skill and an elite, it has a LONG cast time.

the worst elite of all time is Marksmans Wager. I have NEVER used this skill in pvp or pve

Thnx for the info. It'll probably change my mind about IW

No one hate quick shot...

Rangers have some pretty bad elites.

Marksmans wager gives a lot of energy, I've only ever really used it once in combo with spinal shivers and that was mostly a gimmick; its hard to work into builds and 2 sec cast kills it even more.

Melthandru's Resilliance must be bad, I dont think I've ever seen anyone play it.

Greater Conflag is fairly useless in practice, since it dies with about 3 hits from a warrior and you can't take oath shot to put it back up again. Also not much good if the enemies are attacking from out of range of it.

Practiced stance isn't great because you can only have one preparation up at a time, and just because there are better ways to use the elite spot.

So I'd guess one of the ranger ones has to be the worst.

care to explain this 5 second 3 interupts or 3 elite cancel build?

seriously, tell me cause I number crunch and I'd rather give keystone sig to a foe than use it on myself every single day of the week and 100 times on tuesday. But I'd love to see this this.

I made a nifty KS build last summer and its pretty fun to play... I'll post it up in it's own thread in a few seconds.

i'll have to echo the guy earlier and say no elite is useless, just because nobodies thought up a great way to use it doesnt mean there isnt one.

after mastering skull crack timing and being able to daze about anything i disagree, my vote for worst is wither

Ya honestly every elite has its builds. Melrunders Resiliencs someone said has practicualy no use. Well if im correct for every enchantment and condition you have on you, you gain x amout of health regen and x amount of energy regen. Get a bonder on your team in pve mabey pvp and you got nice mana and health

Skull crack is only viable vs 2+ second cast. If you interrupt anything else its pure luck. For a 9 adrenaline skill that adds no dmg I don't think I want to rely on luck for it to be effective. Then when dazed in inflicted its going to be removed within a few seconds.

Concussion shot is 10x better than skull crack and is not an elite.

Melandrus res does have a very good use. Draw conditions and mel's is so good.

You can strip conditions from you teammates, gain energy regen to pay for more draw conditions, and gain hp regen so the conditions won't kill you. Only problem is mo/r or r/mo are not good combos.

No its for every hex and conditon, and my mo/r uses that while boon protting since everyone thinks they can just pile the hexes and boon prot = owned.

Right now it seems the two main contenders are Quickshot and Keystone Signet. But Quickshot is also getting a lot of support as well as hate so that leaves the universally hated Keystone Sig leading the race as the most hated elite.

at the moment, UNDERLINE MOMENT, keystone signet is the worst elite skill. But as twicky said it will have its day, everyone just wait!

War:

Cleave: Not really usefull for pressure dmg..
Backbreaker: If that's 4 seconds, I'll be damned..
Skull Crack: Should be an instant attack, hard to intrupt monks and mesmers
in all other skills I can see some point for either pvp or pve..


Ranger: None


Monk:

Peace and Harmony: better ways to get energy for monk w/ less restrictions..
in all other skills I can see some point for either pvp or pve..


Necro:
Wither: very easy for target to reach 0 energy (switch wpns, ect)
in all other skills I can see some point for either pvp or pve..

Mesmer: None


Ele: None

Wither -> Malaise -> "Haha, what a noob using those" -> mind wrack; *switch weapon* -> "AHHHH!!!" -> Rinse & Repeat

I'm the same way

I can't think of any elite off hand thats really useless... since I only use a couple anyway.

I have a few.
Monk:Amity (unyielding aura is good for keeping them wammos in line)
Ranger:Greater Conflagration
Warrior: Hundred Blades(Oh god..help me)/Flourish
Mesmer: Keystone Signet
Elementalist: Hmm....They're all pretty good
Necromancer: Hmm...Nothing really catches my eye

Congratulations, you've just spent 7 seconds and 20 energy to do 100 damage. You'd do almost that much damage by wanding them, and save yourself the energy as well..

I agree with you on that, but other than the 'fun' factor of Unyielding Aura, I'd still have to say it's useless.

Actually, 2+seconds is the optimal window for an interrupt, especially for rangers. Anything else is normally interrupt spam (choking gas or punishing shot/savage shot spam for a spike) or precognition which can be attributed to skill in some cases.

Givin that it seems most likely that this condition will be countered with removal the instant its known to be in play is the biggest draw back.
How do you time the use of a skill that takes so much to invest in but is bunched up with a number of skills that demand for its counter to stay in play? Maybe have it covered with apply poison? There are better combos that can get the job done for a warrior.
If its possable to remove a skill from its elite status then this would be one.

Does Divine Intervention no longer keep people alive when you cancel Unyielding Aura?

I'll eat the mind-wrack. You've just spent 20 energy to inflict 95 damage. Not into energy efficiency are you?

Peace and Harmony. Hands down.

Oh, and Quick Shot is a great skill. Judicious use of it can double your rate of fire.

Not really worth the slot in PvP, but good for PvE.

When you're under pressure you can't afford to eat 95 damage and spend 5 seconds "completely shutdown". I mean that during the time you're switching focuses and stuff, you can't do anything else.

Amity. Useless because of duration and because most people don't stop attacking amity-hexed monsters.

Also 45 sec recharge but roughly 18 second max duration.


Lightning Surge is runner up. Exhaustion + 3 second delay + 2 cast +no armor penetration+elite = bad.

EDIT: for PvP Unyielding Aura = worst. For PvE you can use to avoid getting any DP.

Heheh, I was thinking Fiery weapon, mark of rodgort, conjure flame and hundred blades myself Mass burnination

Its Warriors Endurance, comon, why do warriors need energy at a bulk just use a zealous mod...

You are trying to compare a melee interrupt with casting time of 1.33 or 1 (IAS) to a ranged interrupt with 1/2 casting. That is far from anything alike. 2+ seconds is not the optimal window of interrupts. Rangers can hit 1 sec cast very easily when you get good at it. I've also hit 1/4 cast with timing (mainly rof). If the monk is under a lot of pressure count 1 second from the last time he used it then fire. By the time your arrow is in the air he will be casting it again.


Amity is junk because pacifism is much better.

Bulls charge is bad because it ends when you use another skill and bull strike is better adding some dmg. Remove the ends when you use a skill and this would be useable. Its a stance so you cannot use any IAS.

All Elite preps are not good because you cannot maintain them constantly. Besides apply poison is stronger than them all. There is no way to balance them with oath shot around.

Soul leech is bad because spiteful does more dmg and triggers off of any action. Give soul leech the power to interrupt the spells being cast and steal the life. That would give it some punch.

Cleave will never be able to match eviscerate because of deep wound's 100+ dmg and 20% healing reduction. Give cleave crippling if you hit a moving target or cannot be "blocked" or "evaded". That would be a nice boost without making it too strong.

Water trident needs to move faster. Any experienced player knows to just sidestep GG.

Remove exhaustion from the ele Mind spells. The only one that is even close to being considered is Mind shock. Knockdown is worth the exhaustion but a very short hex (freeze) and short conditions (burn) just isn't worth it.

Hmmm, Keystone Signet seems to be the least liked? But consider a Me/Mo build that uses mostly sigs (bane, judgement, leech, humilty, weariness)...and I'd imagine that would work just fine?

Anyways, I haven't collected too many elites outside of the W/E and N/W professions...out of those, I'd have to say Defy Pain. I know you get armor bonus and such, but in a pinch Endure Pain usually comes out on top.

Another close vote would be Hundred Blades...its good to charge up adrenaline, but nothing else really. Or if you had a Zealous hilt...*shrugs*

I vote for nearly every elite.

Your just awesome, thats all there is too it.
Factor in flight time and reaction time and you can hit a 2 second skill farely standard. Anything under 2 seconds (1 second or less) is often hit or miss. It hits if you guess well or if your lucky from spamming...or if you have subhuman reflexes.
Just out of curiousity I made a skull crack warrior to see what I could do. The only time I could catch a monk is if I could catch thier rythem. (like you discribe - count 1 second from the last cast, which is the precognition I was refering to)
It took a bit of time to survey the situation to find my b*tch. Then Id apply 3 conditions with my axe on top of daze. Pretty fun.
But,... it takes to much time and skill to keep it up reliably.