I'm having second thoughts on Second Wind.
Ether Prodigy -- somewhere over 40 energy per casting. Can be used twice a minute, or slightly more. Advisable to use when you're low on energy, but can start being used earlier. Causes a little damage. Causes a LOT of damage if you use it before you've spent most of your initial energy.
Second Wind -- can be used twice a minute, with an energy per casting of up to 42 or so once you've built up some exhaustion from prior casts. But only gives that much if you were truly out of energy when you cast it. Causes no damage. Adds some energy beyond the above from being used 4-5 times early in the fight to build up your exhaustion.
Maybe Second Wind isn't so bad after all.
That said, I haven't actually tried it in real life.
Second Wind vs. Ether Prodigy
Francis Crawford
LightningHell
In my opinion?
Second Wind is too rigid. Prodigy is more flexible. Much harder to manage Second Wind.
Actually, if you get the +15/-1 focus/wand, you can get up to 48 Energy, at the cost of two pips.
Second Wind is too rigid. Prodigy is more flexible. Much harder to manage Second Wind.
Actually, if you get the +15/-1 focus/wand, you can get up to 48 Energy, at the cost of two pips.
Francis Crawford
Well yes. Using the two items would allow you to gain 15 energy more per casting, ideally, twice a minute, for a total of 30 energy per minute.
But how much of that do you lose back because you actually have to hold them for a while to use the energy?
But how much of that do you lose back because you actually have to hold them for a while to use the energy?
Francis Demeules
Well, I started a discussion about Second Wind if you havent forget Francis (not me).
carbajac
When I saw Second Wind, I thought that it would cause some major problems. It causes exhaustion and the energy return didn't seem very good since exhaustion is something you would rather stay away from to a point. I saw someone use it in a Guild Battle and often. I was surprised he didn't exhaust himself out of the game because of how often he used it. I haven't tried it yet myself but I was afraid of using Ether Prodigy too until I figured out how to actually use it.
LightningHell
Quote:
Originally Posted by Francis Crawford
Well yes. Using the two items would allow you to gain 15 energy more per casting, ideally, twice a minute, for a total of 30 energy per minute.
But how much of that do you lose back because you actually have to hold them for a while to use the energy? If you use the +15/-1 offhand/wand, you gain 63e (including regen) per 30s. I assume you cast Second Wind once every 30s.
If you use Ether Prodigy (as usual; without the +15/-1 offhand/wand) and have it on for 21s out of 30, we would get 82e. Including regen.
Wait, that doesn't sound right...
But how much of that do you lose back because you actually have to hold them for a while to use the energy? If you use the +15/-1 offhand/wand, you gain 63e (including regen) per 30s. I assume you cast Second Wind once every 30s.
If you use Ether Prodigy (as usual; without the +15/-1 offhand/wand) and have it on for 21s out of 30, we would get 82e. Including regen.
Wait, that doesn't sound right...
Francis Crawford
Lets suppose Energy Storage is at 13. Then you go into the fight with 69 max energy before items, 84 with a normal item, and 111 with the -regen set.
Let's suppose you cast Second Wind so that you wind up with 55 energy from it at 55 exhaustion (with the last point gone due to slippage). You cast a Fireball or Rodgort's immediately and, realistically, put away the -regen set after 4-5 seconds of unfavorable regen. You're low on energy before long, and wind up having to pull them out one or two more times in the 30 seconds, for a total of 9-12 seconds, i.e. 6-8 forgone energy. You also benefit by 5 energy/30 seconds because you only have to cast Aura once a minute instead of twice, if you're running it. (Which you do with Ether Prodigy as a cover enchantment if nothing else). So you're at an effective return of 50+ per casting, vs. 42 to Ether Prodigy.
What's more, with Second Wind you can have Fire Attunement up all the time if you choose (strippers aside), for 7 energy, whereas with Ether Prodigy it would cost you 20 energy to have it up merely most of the time.
But in Ether Prodigy's favor, you may be able to cast it more than twice a minute in a reasonable fraction of all battles.
Let's suppose you cast Second Wind so that you wind up with 55 energy from it at 55 exhaustion (with the last point gone due to slippage). You cast a Fireball or Rodgort's immediately and, realistically, put away the -regen set after 4-5 seconds of unfavorable regen. You're low on energy before long, and wind up having to pull them out one or two more times in the 30 seconds, for a total of 9-12 seconds, i.e. 6-8 forgone energy. You also benefit by 5 energy/30 seconds because you only have to cast Aura once a minute instead of twice, if you're running it. (Which you do with Ether Prodigy as a cover enchantment if nothing else). So you're at an effective return of 50+ per casting, vs. 42 to Ether Prodigy.
What's more, with Second Wind you can have Fire Attunement up all the time if you choose (strippers aside), for 7 energy, whereas with Ether Prodigy it would cost you 20 energy to have it up merely most of the time.
But in Ether Prodigy's favor, you may be able to cast it more than twice a minute in a reasonable fraction of all battles.
The Great Al
i still say elemental attunement ftw
Francis Crawford
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Great Al
i still say elemental attunement ftw
My preference too, but it has several drawbacks.
LightningHell
I don't like Elemental Attunement. Strippage; and the potential energy is only there for Elementalist spells.
anonymous
well you say you lose aura and ele attunements, as for aura no self respecting ele should waste a skill on that. You spend 25 energy for a 75 hp heal. As for ele attunements, you dont need them because prodigy IS your enegy management.
Chilly Ress
Ether Prodigy still best for emanagement imo. Also, very flexible.
LightningHell
Ether Prodigy is still best. I wouldn't be playing the Elementalist class if not for it.
Haggard
I'm experimenting with it for boon protting.. Hey, I can try, right?
Francis Crawford
Quote:
Originally Posted by anonymous
As for ele attunements, you dont need them because prodigy IS your enegy management.
Evidently, I prefer for my character to do more damage than yours does.
LightningHell
Quote:
Originally Posted by Francis Crawford
Evidently, I prefer for my character to do more damage than yours does.
In PvE? Right?
Ensign
Quote:
Originally Posted by LightningHell
Wait, that doesn't sound right...
Ok. 13 Energy Storage. Ether Prodigy guy using an enchanting staff, 79 max energy (though that isn't important). Ether Prodigy gives 44 energy per cast over 22 seconds, net 39. 40 energy regenerates naturally over 30 seconds. Stable exhaustion energy gain of 79 energy per 30 seconds, or 7.9 pips (+3.9 bonus). Can be used with any amount of exhaustion to get this benefit. Trivial to maximize benefit.
Second Wind, with an Insightful Staff, same Energy Storage (84 max energy). Used under perfect conditions every 30 seconds for stable exhaustion - 5 current energy with 31 points of exhaustion. Second Wind is used, exhaustion goes to 41, down to 40 by resolution for 40 energy gain with 40 exhaustion. Current energy goes from 5 to 0 on cast, regenerates just short of 3 by resolution, just short of 4 before you can cast your next spell. End condition of 44/44 energy with 40 exhaustion when next spell can be cast. Net 35 energy bonus, plus 40 energy regen, for 75 energy per 30 seconds, 7.5 pips, +3.5 pip bonus. Must be used in that exact situation (31 exhaustion, 5 energy) to get this benefit. Virtually impossible to maximize.
Same setup, two +15/-1 weapons. 13 Energy Storage (111 max energy). Perfect start condition is 5 current energy, 45 exhaustion. On use, exhaustion goes to 55, regenerates to 54 by resolution. Energy goes to 0, regenerates to 1 by resolution, 2 before you can cast anything. Second Wind gives back 54 energy, net 49. End state - 56/57 energy, 54 exhaustion. Can't do anything with that odd energy unfortunately. Two pips of regen return 20 energy over 30 seconds, net energy 69 over 30 seconds, for 6.9 pips (+2.9 pip bonus).
The +15/-1 foci are not good with Second Wind, though you aren't punished as severely for going onto them. You can approximate the no-swap scanario by swapping up after Second Wind and only swapping down to keep going, but you're going to have so much exhaustion to use this optimally (27 max energy on first focus using the sets above) that you'll never be able to sit on first focus for long, and probably won't get more energy out of the exchange than you would if you had never swapped in the first place.
Due to the weaker returns, the inflexibility, the requirement that you sit at awful exhaustion, and the cast time, Second Wind is strictly inferior to Ether Prodigy as a long term energy solution, by a very wide margin.
Interesting cases: ramping up for more energy while building exhaustion.
Ether Prodigy: Cast every 22 seconds, permanent 6 pips of regen. 68 net energy and change every 22 seconds, net +5.3 pips regen. Accumulate 2.6- exhaustion over 30 seconds.
Second Wind, maxed ramp: fired off on recharge. Net 97 extra energy over 30 seconds from 5 casts, net +9.7 pips regen. Accumulated 40 exhaustion over 30 seconds - right into steady state mode. Percentage of those 30 seconds spent casting Second Wind: 45.83-% Energy in surplus of Ether Prodigy in that 30 second window: 44.
Second Wind, Prodigy level exhaustion accumulation: One cast every 22 seconds. 13 casts before you hit steady state wall. Net energy returns of 4, 7, 9, 12, 15, 17, 20, 23, 25, 28, 31, 33, 36. Total energy returned: 260 over 266 seconds. Average net pips: +2.93. Over the last 6 casts: 176 energy over 6 casts of taking 134 seconds. Average net pips of the 'power zone' on Second Wind: +3.94 pips regen at Prodigy level exhaustion usage. Second Wind never outperforms Ether Prodigy when used at Prodigy levels of usage.
Second Wind, powered every 15 seconds from 11 to 40 exhaustion: 5 casts for 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 net energy over 62 seconds. 125 energy net, +6.04 pips regen over those 62 seconds. Energy over Ether Prodigy during those 62 seconds: 8.
The situation where Second Wind outperforms Ether Prodigy is over short timeframes of less than a minute. The ability to spam Second Wind in those situations allows you to net upwards of 40 more energy in less than 30 seconds, though scaling down to around 10 at the minute mark. This benefit, however, comes at a serious cost to your time spent casting, and thoroughly trashes your exhaustion in the process. The cost to casting time is significant enough to nullify the energy benefit entirely. For example, when maxlining Second Wind over 30 seconds, you only have 16 seconds of free time in which to cast spells with your extra 9.7 pips of energy. The only spells in the entire game that can consume energy at that rate, in that timeframe, would have 15 energy costs and 1 second cast times, or 25 energy, 2 second cast spells. For all other spells, casting time is a bigger limit than energy, spacing out the Second Winds even more and minimizing the benefit.
Hence, in a straight comparison between the two, there is no reason to use Second Wind over Ether Prodigy. In order to justify using Second Wind, you need to have a build that uses other enchantments, which cannot be used with Ether Prodigy, or you must be playing in an environment where Ether Prodigy is unreliable due to enchantment removal (but Second Wind is not unreliable from interrrupts). Straight up, the two aren't even close.
Peace,
-CxE
Second Wind, with an Insightful Staff, same Energy Storage (84 max energy). Used under perfect conditions every 30 seconds for stable exhaustion - 5 current energy with 31 points of exhaustion. Second Wind is used, exhaustion goes to 41, down to 40 by resolution for 40 energy gain with 40 exhaustion. Current energy goes from 5 to 0 on cast, regenerates just short of 3 by resolution, just short of 4 before you can cast your next spell. End condition of 44/44 energy with 40 exhaustion when next spell can be cast. Net 35 energy bonus, plus 40 energy regen, for 75 energy per 30 seconds, 7.5 pips, +3.5 pip bonus. Must be used in that exact situation (31 exhaustion, 5 energy) to get this benefit. Virtually impossible to maximize.
Same setup, two +15/-1 weapons. 13 Energy Storage (111 max energy). Perfect start condition is 5 current energy, 45 exhaustion. On use, exhaustion goes to 55, regenerates to 54 by resolution. Energy goes to 0, regenerates to 1 by resolution, 2 before you can cast anything. Second Wind gives back 54 energy, net 49. End state - 56/57 energy, 54 exhaustion. Can't do anything with that odd energy unfortunately. Two pips of regen return 20 energy over 30 seconds, net energy 69 over 30 seconds, for 6.9 pips (+2.9 pip bonus).
The +15/-1 foci are not good with Second Wind, though you aren't punished as severely for going onto them. You can approximate the no-swap scanario by swapping up after Second Wind and only swapping down to keep going, but you're going to have so much exhaustion to use this optimally (27 max energy on first focus using the sets above) that you'll never be able to sit on first focus for long, and probably won't get more energy out of the exchange than you would if you had never swapped in the first place.
Due to the weaker returns, the inflexibility, the requirement that you sit at awful exhaustion, and the cast time, Second Wind is strictly inferior to Ether Prodigy as a long term energy solution, by a very wide margin.
Interesting cases: ramping up for more energy while building exhaustion.
Ether Prodigy: Cast every 22 seconds, permanent 6 pips of regen. 68 net energy and change every 22 seconds, net +5.3 pips regen. Accumulate 2.6- exhaustion over 30 seconds.
Second Wind, maxed ramp: fired off on recharge. Net 97 extra energy over 30 seconds from 5 casts, net +9.7 pips regen. Accumulated 40 exhaustion over 30 seconds - right into steady state mode. Percentage of those 30 seconds spent casting Second Wind: 45.83-% Energy in surplus of Ether Prodigy in that 30 second window: 44.
Second Wind, Prodigy level exhaustion accumulation: One cast every 22 seconds. 13 casts before you hit steady state wall. Net energy returns of 4, 7, 9, 12, 15, 17, 20, 23, 25, 28, 31, 33, 36. Total energy returned: 260 over 266 seconds. Average net pips: +2.93. Over the last 6 casts: 176 energy over 6 casts of taking 134 seconds. Average net pips of the 'power zone' on Second Wind: +3.94 pips regen at Prodigy level exhaustion usage. Second Wind never outperforms Ether Prodigy when used at Prodigy levels of usage.
Second Wind, powered every 15 seconds from 11 to 40 exhaustion: 5 casts for 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 net energy over 62 seconds. 125 energy net, +6.04 pips regen over those 62 seconds. Energy over Ether Prodigy during those 62 seconds: 8.
The situation where Second Wind outperforms Ether Prodigy is over short timeframes of less than a minute. The ability to spam Second Wind in those situations allows you to net upwards of 40 more energy in less than 30 seconds, though scaling down to around 10 at the minute mark. This benefit, however, comes at a serious cost to your time spent casting, and thoroughly trashes your exhaustion in the process. The cost to casting time is significant enough to nullify the energy benefit entirely. For example, when maxlining Second Wind over 30 seconds, you only have 16 seconds of free time in which to cast spells with your extra 9.7 pips of energy. The only spells in the entire game that can consume energy at that rate, in that timeframe, would have 15 energy costs and 1 second cast times, or 25 energy, 2 second cast spells. For all other spells, casting time is a bigger limit than energy, spacing out the Second Winds even more and minimizing the benefit.
Hence, in a straight comparison between the two, there is no reason to use Second Wind over Ether Prodigy. In order to justify using Second Wind, you need to have a build that uses other enchantments, which cannot be used with Ether Prodigy, or you must be playing in an environment where Ether Prodigy is unreliable due to enchantment removal (but Second Wind is not unreliable from interrrupts). Straight up, the two aren't even close.
Peace,
-CxE
Francis Crawford
Thanks for the very detailed analysis, Ensign. It's pretty convincing.
I am confiused by one thing, however. It would seem that one could swap weapon sets, then immediately swap back down to have 25ish max energy, and methodically cast 10-15 energy spells (which are the sweet spot of most elementalists' skillbars anyway, especially if exhaustion is an issue, with perhaps the single exception or Rodgort's Invocation).
If you addressed this scenario, I misunderstood some of the lingo and missed it.
I am confiused by one thing, however. It would seem that one could swap weapon sets, then immediately swap back down to have 25ish max energy, and methodically cast 10-15 energy spells (which are the sweet spot of most elementalists' skillbars anyway, especially if exhaustion is an issue, with perhaps the single exception or Rodgort's Invocation).
If you addressed this scenario, I misunderstood some of the lingo and missed it.
anonymous
Quote:
Originally Posted by Francis Crawford
Evidently, I prefer for my character to do more damage than yours does.
Um did a miss something on the attunements that add damage to skills?
Francis Crawford
Quote:
Originally Posted by anonymous
Um did a miss something on the attunements that add damage to skills?
No, but it requires energy to cast damaging spells.
LightningHell
Quote:
Originally Posted by Francis Crawford
No, but it requires energy to cast damaging spells.
And Ether Prodigy also provides that Energy.
Ensign
Quote:
Originally Posted by Francis Crawford
I am confiused by one thing, however. It would seem that one could swap weapon sets, then immediately swap back down to have 25ish max energy, and methodically cast 10-15 energy spells (which are the sweet spot of most elementalists' skillbars anyway, especially if exhaustion is an issue, with perhaps the single exception or Rodgort's Invocation).
Yeah, I didn't address it directly, just kinda touched on it. Basically the exhaustion is so bad from working with the third set (+15/-1 x2) that you only have that 25ish energy before you have to swap again, and to get the good results you do have to empty that third set by the end of the 30 seconds. You have to cast immediately after Second Wind resolves, too, or you're wasting energy, so you're not going to be spending a lot of time on the first set. After focus swapping like a fiend, you'll probably be spending roughly even amounts of time on all 3 sets - remember that you're locked onto the worst set for 3 seconds while casting Second Wind - netting you roughly a pip for your trouble. If you're still getting perfect 3rd focus Winds off, you can get a pip over that result, for +3.9 pips net - basically right on par with Prodigy, but taking a whole lot more work than any of these scenarios.
Peace,
-CxE
Peace,
-CxE
Francis Crawford
Quote:
Originally Posted by LightningHell
And Ether Prodigy also provides that Energy.
Not as much as Dual Attunements do, in the absence of annoyances such as stripping and interrupts.
Ether Prodigy + Attunement vs. Dual Attunements is indeed close, but in the absence of Aura Dual Attunements should still win -- and that's just on a per-minute basis, without considering the huge advantage to Dual Attunements in exploiting your initial store of energy.
Ether Prodigy + Attunement vs. Dual Attunements is indeed close, but in the absence of Aura Dual Attunements should still win -- and that's just on a per-minute basis, without considering the huge advantage to Dual Attunements in exploiting your initial store of energy.
LightningHell
Quote:
In the absence of
Yes, in the absence of.
TheOneMephisto
How often do you face a team with no interrupts or enchant stripping? Almost every warrior, mesmer, most-some necros, even half the monks out there have enchant removals/interrupts.
BaconSoda
On the topic of second wind again, (since everything with energy management in the ele section ends up a dual attune v.s. ether prodigy war) I used it in the following build and worked wonderfully, in PvE of course.
Energy Storage 13 (12+1)
Earth Magic 16 (12+3+1)
Stone Daggers
Obsidian Flame
Stoning
Dragon Stomp/E.quake
Churning Earth
Second Wind
Earth Attune
Res
Equiptment: Galigord's Stone Staff
Seeing as how I had half of my bar in exaust most of the time, I gained back half of my energy, with which I threw Stoning, Stone Daggers, and Churning Earth in. When I had reached the halfway point I ceased using my exausting skills, and only used Second Wind, when I pulled back up to 3/4 of my energy without the exaust, I used Obsidian Flame an average of 3 times, and Dragon Stomp once or twice to get the exaustion back for Second Wind. What Second Wind really does (in my opinion) is make exaustion not really an enemy, but an ally in energy management. It also made a great build for my 2nd favorite element (Earth is second only to Water Magics
)
Energy Storage 13 (12+1)
Earth Magic 16 (12+3+1)
Stone Daggers
Obsidian Flame
Stoning
Dragon Stomp/E.quake
Churning Earth
Second Wind
Earth Attune
Res
Equiptment: Galigord's Stone Staff
Seeing as how I had half of my bar in exaust most of the time, I gained back half of my energy, with which I threw Stoning, Stone Daggers, and Churning Earth in. When I had reached the halfway point I ceased using my exausting skills, and only used Second Wind, when I pulled back up to 3/4 of my energy without the exaust, I used Obsidian Flame an average of 3 times, and Dragon Stomp once or twice to get the exaustion back for Second Wind. What Second Wind really does (in my opinion) is make exaustion not really an enemy, but an ally in energy management. It also made a great build for my 2nd favorite element (Earth is second only to Water Magics
)
Peewee
Ether Prodigy vs Second Wind
Here is the maths i have conducted. Its fairly rough.
First lets assume an elementalist has 80 energy base, when energy storage is added in.
3 nrg regen=1 nrg every 1 sec.
Etherprodigy lasts 15 secs
10 exhuastion (the result of casting one exhuastion causing spell) wears off in 30 seconds.
Ether prodigy gives 2 nrg extra every second for 15 seconds. So in total it gives 30 energy. Taking into accoun initial cast cost thats a net gain of 25 nrg every 30 seconds (assuming you want to remain un-exhuasted)
Second winds calculation is slightly more complicated. The ideal level of exhuastion for second wind is 50%. Assuming the ele has a total energy of 80 then exhuastion must be at 40. This means with second wind you can make 35 energy net gain every 30 seconds.
The last peice of maths is what makes second wind the more attractive on paper. With a +15-1regen wand and focus the elementalists total energy can be increased to approx 110. This means the new optimal exhuastion is at 65. This gives second wind a net gain of 60 every 30 seconds, more than double that of Ether prodigy. However 2 energy regen is lost as a result. 2 nrg regen over 30 seconds equates to a total loss of 20 energy. Subtract that from net gain of 60 and it gives 40 energy every 30 seconds. While 5 more energy every 30 secs may not seem like a large difference it means that total energy while using second wind is 15 higher than it might be otherwise. In addition, where possible the user should be using normal wand and focus for the extra regen, and only switch up when using second wind or requiring the extra energy reserves.
It can be seen that Second Wind actually gives a greater net energy gain than ether prodigy. I will now assess the other advantages and disadvantages of the 2 elites
Prodigy advantages:
1)It allows the user to have a greater total pool of energy
2)Becuase the energy is gained over time it allows the user to use it before energy is required in order to recude the strain from casting high nrg spells.
3)Its relatively easy to use, no focus switcing is required.
4)Relatively difficult to interupt the casting of the spell.
5)Effectiveness is no diminished relating to exhuastion or the current energy level of the user. ie, it is as effective when used at 40 nrg as it is at 5. Second Wind is not.
Second Wind advantages:
1)Actually gives better energy management than Ether Prodigy.
2)While 2 sec cast is long, it cannot be drained/ripped unlike Ether Prodigy.
3)It can be used in quick succesion when required. Ie, 2 sets of 60 energy can be delivered within 5 seconds if needed, at the expense of exhuastion. No additional benefit can be gained from recasting Ether Prodigy after 5 seconds, as the regen will not stack.
4)Second Wind can be used with other enchantments, specifically attunements
5)Second Wind does not cuase damage as direct result of its use.
Really in conclusion there is little to seperate the 2. I think use of either one is down to the preference of the player. Ether Prodigy suffers from the fact it is an enchantment, and is therefore too easily countered. Second Wind by contrast is harder to counter, at least with the current Meta Game (look it up if you dont know) and gives a greater supply of energy in perfect conditions. Second wind suffers becuase conditions arnt always perfect, If played correctly it has the potential to be a better choice, but keeping things simple is often the better way to go. My personal opinion is that many will stick to prodigy, and never learn to use Second Wind. For those that decide to switch to second wind i think in the long run as the develope the skills to use it they will be able to manage their energy much better than Prodigy users.
One final important point before i stop ranting, contary to popular opinion using other exhuastion skills on the same bar as Second Wind hinders not helps energy management. Exhuastion is still not an ally, as suggested above, but rather a dangerous enemy that if manipulated correctly can be beneficial. The idea is to be able to use Second Wind as much as possible, without overdoing exhuastion. While spells causng exhuastion are acceptable until that half way exhuastion point is reached, beyond that spells that cuase exhuastion will hinder energy management.
Here is the maths i have conducted. Its fairly rough.
First lets assume an elementalist has 80 energy base, when energy storage is added in.
3 nrg regen=1 nrg every 1 sec.
Etherprodigy lasts 15 secs
10 exhuastion (the result of casting one exhuastion causing spell) wears off in 30 seconds.
Ether prodigy gives 2 nrg extra every second for 15 seconds. So in total it gives 30 energy. Taking into accoun initial cast cost thats a net gain of 25 nrg every 30 seconds (assuming you want to remain un-exhuasted)
Second winds calculation is slightly more complicated. The ideal level of exhuastion for second wind is 50%. Assuming the ele has a total energy of 80 then exhuastion must be at 40. This means with second wind you can make 35 energy net gain every 30 seconds.
The last peice of maths is what makes second wind the more attractive on paper. With a +15-1regen wand and focus the elementalists total energy can be increased to approx 110. This means the new optimal exhuastion is at 65. This gives second wind a net gain of 60 every 30 seconds, more than double that of Ether prodigy. However 2 energy regen is lost as a result. 2 nrg regen over 30 seconds equates to a total loss of 20 energy. Subtract that from net gain of 60 and it gives 40 energy every 30 seconds. While 5 more energy every 30 secs may not seem like a large difference it means that total energy while using second wind is 15 higher than it might be otherwise. In addition, where possible the user should be using normal wand and focus for the extra regen, and only switch up when using second wind or requiring the extra energy reserves.
It can be seen that Second Wind actually gives a greater net energy gain than ether prodigy. I will now assess the other advantages and disadvantages of the 2 elites
Prodigy advantages:
1)It allows the user to have a greater total pool of energy
2)Becuase the energy is gained over time it allows the user to use it before energy is required in order to recude the strain from casting high nrg spells.
3)Its relatively easy to use, no focus switcing is required.
4)Relatively difficult to interupt the casting of the spell.
5)Effectiveness is no diminished relating to exhuastion or the current energy level of the user. ie, it is as effective when used at 40 nrg as it is at 5. Second Wind is not.
Second Wind advantages:
1)Actually gives better energy management than Ether Prodigy.
2)While 2 sec cast is long, it cannot be drained/ripped unlike Ether Prodigy.
3)It can be used in quick succesion when required. Ie, 2 sets of 60 energy can be delivered within 5 seconds if needed, at the expense of exhuastion. No additional benefit can be gained from recasting Ether Prodigy after 5 seconds, as the regen will not stack.
4)Second Wind can be used with other enchantments, specifically attunements
5)Second Wind does not cuase damage as direct result of its use.
Really in conclusion there is little to seperate the 2. I think use of either one is down to the preference of the player. Ether Prodigy suffers from the fact it is an enchantment, and is therefore too easily countered. Second Wind by contrast is harder to counter, at least with the current Meta Game (look it up if you dont know) and gives a greater supply of energy in perfect conditions. Second wind suffers becuase conditions arnt always perfect, If played correctly it has the potential to be a better choice, but keeping things simple is often the better way to go. My personal opinion is that many will stick to prodigy, and never learn to use Second Wind. For those that decide to switch to second wind i think in the long run as the develope the skills to use it they will be able to manage their energy much better than Prodigy users.
One final important point before i stop ranting, contary to popular opinion using other exhuastion skills on the same bar as Second Wind hinders not helps energy management. Exhuastion is still not an ally, as suggested above, but rather a dangerous enemy that if manipulated correctly can be beneficial. The idea is to be able to use Second Wind as much as possible, without overdoing exhuastion. While spells causng exhuastion are acceptable until that half way exhuastion point is reached, beyond that spells that cuase exhuastion will hinder energy management.