When did your Elementalist stop using Fire? - Guild Wars Guru archive powered by Guild Wars Legacy

Shifty Geezer

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: May 2005

The Luckless Marauders [OOPS]

E/Mo

16 Jul 2005 at 14:09 - 1

I'm a level 15 PvE only kinda guy whose just reached the Gates of Kryta. I keep getting new spells, and I keep deciding they don't seem any good

A lot of non-fire spells do stuff like Blind or Slow, but at higher energy costs and lower damage by a LOT than fire. I think of maybe sometimes using defensive spells, but then what am I supposed to attack with? My wand?! I've monk skills to and I've got a fair bit invested in those. At the moment me and the other memebers of [OOPS] can handle ourselves pretty well, and the area of effect damage from Fire is very good. I can't see that any benefit will be had by losing that AOE damage and replacing it with 'knock down and enemy' or 'blind them for 2 seconds' and whatnot.

When did the rest of you Elementalists ditch Fire as your primary spell class in PvE and stop spamming monsters with Flare?

At the moment my skills are...

Air 0
Earth 2 (with +1 bonus)
Fire 8 (with +1 bonus)
Water 0
Energy 8 (with +1 bonus)
Healing 7
Smiting 0
Protection 4

And I've 27 spells

Algren Cole

Banned

Join Date: Jun 2005

16 Jul 2005 at 14:11 - 2

'Knock down an enemy" stops casters from casting....'blind them for 2 seconds' can pull your monk out of a jam if he's being attacked.

the sooner you realize that you are a support character and not a damage dealer/tank you'll start to recognize the use of the other skills.

TGgold

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jul 2005

Flying Gophers

Rt/P

16 Jul 2005 at 14:19 - 3

I think fire in earlier PvE is better. Not as good in PvP. I stopped using fire after the mergoyles and undead in kryta. I only used it then cause it was super effective against them ^_^

generik

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Jun 2005

16 Jul 2005 at 14:22 - 4

Why not go for water magic? I remember this ele... the one who did ettin farming off beetletun

She did seem to weld her water magic pretty decently. Besides if you can do that you'd really gain the respect of many... good hydromancers are truly rare. What's more, you can smoke.. erm.. drench mobs in Ring of Fire, without Winter!

And last but not least, Superior water rune is *cheap*, dirty cheap.

Do not unestimate water though, try fighting a bunch of inferno imps, vs a bunch of ice imps, and tell me which you find more irritating

Galatea

Core Guru

Join Date: Feb 2005

The Drifters [DRFT]

E/Me

16 Jul 2005 at 15:12 - 5

For PvE, I stuck with fire for about 90% of the game.. I switched to water for the Ring of Fire missions, because it seemed to hurt them more & I needed a change, but fire is still my favorite for PvE (even if you're fighting stuff like fire imps, heh), because of it's AOE damage (the PvE monsters don't really run out of them, unlike in PvP where players do), and strong skills for small amounts of energy.

EternalTempest

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jun 2005

United States

Dark Side Ofthe Moon [DSM]

E/

16 Jul 2005 at 15:19 - 6

I stayed with fire for the entire game, looking at other types for change of pace better PVP. I was looking at earth but now leaning towards water.

Winterclaw

Wark!!!

Join Date: May 2005

Florida

W/

16 Jul 2005 at 16:03 - 7

My elementalist, whom I play rarely (working on my Me/Mo healer now), is phasing out her fire spells. As soon as I can get my hands on more ice and air spells, the quicker it'll happen. Flare won't be gone though until I can get ice spear.

I think my W/E switched over to air and ice by yaks I think... maybe a little earlier.

Aetherfukz

Academy Page

Join Date: May 2005

My own private hell

none

E/Mo

16 Jul 2005 at 17:44 - 8

I switchted my El/Mo from fire to water at around ascention, because by then I had some nice water spells too. And water, if used correctly is really nice. It's got snares, defensive buffs (the elite mist form rocks completely, especially for farming together with smiting) and some nice offensive spells too.

dansamy

Chasing Dragons

Join Date: May 2005

Lost in La-La Land

LFGuild

Mo/Me

16 Jul 2005 at 18:09 - 9

For PvE, I still use fire. Especially in UW/FoW runs where the tanks can hold aggro on several and I can set them on fire. For PvP, I am experimenting.

Red Locust

Site Contributor

Join Date: May 2005

16 Jul 2005 at 18:30 - 10

Fire is the best for PvE. Mass AoE damage and mobs never get out of the area if you have tanks keeping them there. Eles are not support characters. They are the heavy artillery, sitting in the back nuking everything to hell. Meteor shower, fireball and some firestorm, and you can clear out any mass of enemies in very little time.

The Great Al

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jun 2005

ALOA

E/Me

16 Jul 2005 at 18:49 - 11

dont stop using fire at kryta - its extremely useful once u get to the southern shiverpeaks...i stopped right after that, which is basically when i started pvp..ring of fire missions, etc - fire and air both work fine

Joseph Fallen

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jun 2005

E/N

16 Jul 2005 at 18:58 - 12

Honestly, if you max Fire and Energy and forego your secondary profession, you can walk through this game with fire magic.

Mariena Feladon

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: May 2005

Netherlands

Silhouette Stars [sil]

Mo/N

16 Jul 2005 at 18:59 - 13

I've recently started a Water Ele. Although it's pretty tough in the beginning and you have to rely on Fire and your secondary profession, later on it's more fun.

Though I admit I switched to fire when I reached the shiverpeaks. Fighting Ice Golems with Frozen Burst isn't gonna work.

I'm use Water Magic mainly because I want to be original and I like cold.

TheGreatBoo

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Feb 2005

PA

Once again I'm a free agent. Quality guilds ahoy?

16 Jul 2005 at 19:14 - 14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shifty Geezer

A lot of non-fire spells do stuff like Blind or Slow, but at higher energy costs and lower damage by a LOT than fire.

On the contrary. I have a level 20 E/Me air nuker, and I've taken down many fire nukers by just raw power. On a few occasions, you will find a fire spell that costs more than an air spell, but typically the air spell brings along a nice little condition with it. The highest spell that I equip, is lightning orb, its a 15 cost spell that does 106 dmg, plus 25% armor penetration, as opposed to fireball, which I think can do 106, with splash. Dono about the cost. Also, fires stronger skills bring along exhaustion. And common belief is that air does not have aoe. This is false. Air does have aoe, but not as many skills as fire. However, that nice armor penetration bonus adds up.

All the elements have their strengths and weaknesses, air is the best for single target smackdown, while fire is good for pve, and multiple target pvp. Earth and water are great for pvp, but they aren't as good as air and fire in the damage department, they're more technical.

I started my ele as an air nuker, and finished as one. I never changed from one element to the other.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joseph Fallen

Honestly, if you max Fire and Energy and forego your secondary profession, you can walk through this game with fire magic.

I combined my ele with mesmer for their energy boosting capabilities. The more energy and energy recovery, the more overcharged nukes.

Spike

Jungle Guide

Join Date: May 2005

In front of my PC

Kai

E/Mo

16 Jul 2005 at 19:20 - 15

Stick with fire its the BEST for pve. No contest. Don't know or care about pvp. Wow so you can do 106 damage to ONE traget I can do that to SEVERAL AT ONCE.

john little

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: May 2005

UK, EU Server

And All That Could Have Been [AATC]

E/Mo

16 Jul 2005 at 20:53 - 16

Quote:

Originally Posted by generik

Why not go for water magic? I remember this ele... the one who did ettin farming off beetletun

you can farm ettins off beetletun easily with fire... (ward against melee, meteor storm, fire storm, healing breeze, meteor, pick up loot), but apparently there are ettin 'death squads' there now so i'll have to see whether i can still farm there...

The Great Al

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jun 2005

ALOA

E/Me

16 Jul 2005 at 20:54 - 17

although at first i enjoyed it, being an elementalist does get boring after a while

john little

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: May 2005

UK, EU Server

And All That Could Have Been [AATC]

E/Mo

16 Jul 2005 at 20:56 - 18

you can just change element though, i'm experrimenting with a geomancer in pvp at the moment..

Ollj

Jungle Guide

Join Date: May 2005

16 Jul 2005 at 21:54 - 19

you stop using fire/sword/domination as soon as you notice this game is not about max damage!

Sekkira

Forge Runner

Join Date: Apr 2005

Canberra, AU

16 Jul 2005 at 22:15 - 20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ollj

you stop using fire/sword/domination as soon as you notice this game is not about max damage!

Parts of it are.

Great Gjl

Academy Page

Join Date: Apr 2005

16 Jul 2005 at 22:36 - 21

Since when did people take Domination to do damage?

Red Locust

Site Contributor

Join Date: May 2005

16 Jul 2005 at 23:49 - 22

Earth is also a great substitution for fire if you're bored of firestorm fireball meteor. Earthquake, aftershock, crystal wave, while you have armor of earth and ward against melee active, makes for a very decent tank and damage dealer at the same time.

TheGreatBoo

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Feb 2005

PA

Once again I'm a free agent. Quality guilds ahoy?

17 Jul 2005 at 02:08 - 23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spike

Stick with fire its the BEST for pve. No contest. Don't know or care about pvp. Wow so you can do 106 damage to ONE traget I can do that to SEVERAL AT ONCE.

It's pretty obvious that you've never experimented with air. I too can do 106 or more(gotta love armor penetration) to 3 targets. And yes, you can do it to more then 3, but I doubt anyones dumb enough to have 3+ people standing that close. And no, fire is not the stand-alone best for pve. In the aoe damage department, yes. I would have to say that earth or water is the best for pve, due to their large variety of skills.

Nasenbluten

Academy Page

Join Date: Jun 2005

VA BABY

Morbid Anihillation

R/Me

17 Jul 2005 at 02:19 - 24

my ele's fire and he'll stay fire, fire is good damage!, i love it for farming,in pvp it's good (if you know how to use it)yes you can run outta my meteor storm but try it when i got an air spell up, ill knock you down so i can get you caught in it, and try being a warrior when i got all my pbaoe spells up and attacking me, with some nice cast times on high damage spells, and maxed out energy and fire im a damage machine, pve and pvp, if you doubt me see me in pvp and we'll talk beacuse i can play my fire class.

Burning Hemrroid 20 E/Mo

Mariena Feladon

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: May 2005

Netherlands

Silhouette Stars [sil]

Mo/N

17 Jul 2005 at 02:22 - 25

If the mobs in PvE were actually smart enough to move out of the meteor/fire storm for once, the pyromancers wouldn't be *that* effective.

Right now, the basic formula is : Warrior tanking the mob, monk healing the tank, pyromancer casting fire storm / meteor storm / whatever aeo spell on mob.

Shifty Geezer

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: May 2005

The Luckless Marauders [OOPS]

E/Mo

17 Jul 2005 at 11:10 - 26

So it seems I was right in my first assessment that Fire is really there for a good while at least because the useful other elemental spells don't turn up til later. I've considered using something like the Earth Wards to reduce damage, but at long recovery times I can only cast it on myself and not allies, and without combat spells in the Earth category (least not at this point in the game) putting spells into some Earth or Air for defence only contributes to one or two spells, whereas I carry 5 fire spells all at maximal damage.

Currently I've got Healing breeze and Shielding Hands from my Monk secondary which are quick to cast and low cost energy wise. I can provide healing/protection for whichever party member is in the thick of things. We tend to work with the warrior/necro rushing in with protection, getting the enemies' attention, and while they're huddled, and I blitz them with FireStorm, Fireball, and Eruption. From the sounds of it this isn't going to change any time soon as it's too effective. Taking defensive spells that only work on one player due to cast times will see the party's strength greatly diminished overall.

Shame. At first the elementalists were for once a very powerful magic user, able to go toe-to-toe with warrior classes in usefulness. Unfortunately they seema rather static calls, at least for the first half, without much variety.

Interestingly I just started a Warrior character and I'm seeing how so far (just got 3 more skills from Barradin) swords remain the weapon of choive for combat. Nothing so far matches Bleeding for damage/cost ratio. My Ranger friend has also commented on a lack of Skills to replace the first ones. I think the game could have done with more variety from the off, giving more balance to types of skills/spells.

TheGreatBoo

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Feb 2005

PA

Once again I'm a free agent. Quality guilds ahoy?

17 Jul 2005 at 14:37 - 27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nasenbluten

Burning Hemrroid 20 E/Mo

I'm not sure, but I think I played against you in the competition arena. I don't remember how the battle went, but I'm pretty sure that my team was against yours. Yeah, another tidbit of useless info haha.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shifty Geezer

Currently I've got Healing breeze and Shielding Hands from my Monk secondary which are quick to cast and low cost energy wise. I can provide healing/protection for whichever party member is in the thick of things. We tend to work with the warrior/necro rushing in with protection, getting the enemies' attention, and while they're huddled, and I blitz them with FireStorm, Fireball, and Eruption. From the sounds of it this isn't going to change any time soon as it's too effective. Taking defensive spells that only work on one player due to cast times will see the party's strength greatly diminished overall.

Yep. In the later parts of the game though, earth destroys. Wards are invaluable in some tough areas like fissure and underworld. But yeah, the good stuff tends to come later.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shifty Geezer

My Ranger friend has also commented on a lack of Skills to replace the first ones. I think the game could have done with more variety from the off, giving more balance to types of skills/spells.

Yeah I started a ranger not too far back. Once you get across the mountains theres a changeup in variety.

EmperorTippy

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Jun 2005

17 Jul 2005 at 17:43 - 28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Algren Cole

'Knock down an enemy" stops casters from casting....'blind them for 2 seconds' can pull your monk out of a jam if he's being attacked.

the sooner you realize that you are a support character and not a damage dealer/tank you'll start to recognize the use of the other skills.

sorry if this is repeated but Warriors arn't the main damage dealers. Elemtalists are. The support characters are mostly Monks, Mesmers, Necros, and Warriors to an extent.

Monks are obvious they either heal, stop damage through protect, or deal some damage through smiting (but not as much as others usally).

Mesmers are again obviously a support character (very special builds excluded). They stop casters from casting, cause damage to the enemy when it attacks, slow the enemy, and do damage over time.

Necros are also support (with some builds they can be main damage dealers but not with most builds). They can summon help, recharge your casters energy (BiP and WoP are some examples), cause damage over time, and weaken enemies (hexes and the like).

Warriors are support for theses reasons: They can't compare to the damage that an Elemental can do (excluding very special builds again), they can't inflict conditions like a ranger can or attack from a distance, they can tank though. A warriors primary job in PvE is to get all the baddies grouped around him so that the ELEMENTALIST can use AOE skills effectivly.

Rangers can be both support or a primary character with mostly a few skill changes. With the trapping line they can deal damage before the battel starts pretty well. They can attack at a distance. They can use their pet as a meatshield to group baddies for AOE death.

So in conclusion YOU ARE WRONG. Elementalists are the primary damage dealers in the game.

Fire is the best PvE element for damage. If you go for wards then its water. If you want to tank (not reccomended) go earth. Air is good in PvP (quick cast time, armor penetration, enemy doest stand in firestorms and the like) but not so good in PvE (many skills cause exhaustion, 1 enemy attacked at a time usaly, other players can interupt, armor penetration isn't as needed, enemy will stand in stuff like firestorm).

TheGreatBoo

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Feb 2005

PA

Once again I'm a free agent. Quality guilds ahoy?

17 Jul 2005 at 23:27 - 29

Quote:

Originally Posted by EmperorTippy

So in conclusion YOU ARE WRONG. Elementalists are the primary damage dealers in the game. .

Who's wrong?

Aria

Sig Fairy

Join Date: Feb 2005

Once upon a time..

17 Jul 2005 at 23:37 - 30

Elementalists are spike damage. Warriors are sustained damage. There's a reason that some people call eles the "glass cannon." They're both damagers, but different types.

And who said warriors can't inflict conditions..?

But back to the original topic -- I rather like fire in PvE, especially because of meteor shower and the wider selection of AOEs. It loses much of its appeal in PvP, though.. and one of the primary reasons is that semi-intelligent people won't sit in that fire storm or meteor storm and wait to die.

Note, however, that I said "semi-intelligent."

WiseElben

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: May 2005

R/Me

17 Jul 2005 at 23:50 - 31

Do what my bro did. Switch to "Hidden Monk". He is a full support healer E/Mo, and this combination works very well in PvE and PvP. In PvE, battles are more about endurance than how much you can heal per second. In PvP, Eles are usually the third target (Monk, Mesmer, then Eles), making them a very good "Hidden Monk".

The Sensei

Academy Page

Join Date: Jul 2005

Brotherhood of the Horrati

Mo/Me

18 Jul 2005 at 00:53 - 32

I am going to start two new charas a Necro/Mes (he'll be fun), but my other is going to be a Ele/Monk. I am going to be one bad mofo that works on Air Spiking and Earth to protect myself. If I can do a straight up +100 to my armor I can have a higher armor class than warriors. Then when I Lightning Surge/Lightning Orb/Chain Lightning you, you will fall to the ground and I will move to the next team member and repeat my simple, but effective, process. This whole deal here cost me 35 energy to kill 1 person. This is how you spike. Now imagine if you have 2 Spikers doing thte same thing you can drop someone in 4 seconds, 3 for Surge to go off then 1 extra sec. for the other spell that you choose.

The
Sensei

TheGreatBoo

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Feb 2005

PA

Once again I'm a free agent. Quality guilds ahoy?

18 Jul 2005 at 03:02 - 33

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Sensei

If I can do a straight up +100 to my armor I can have a higher armor class than warriors

You're going to have to put alot of points into earth magic to get that kind of buff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Sensei

Then when I Lightning Surge/Lightning Orb/Chain Lightning you, you will fall to the ground and I will move to the next team member and repeat my simple, but effective, process. This whole deal here costs me 35 energy to kill 1 person

If you're going to be putting all these points into earth magic, how are you going to be able to put even more into air magic? Likewise, how are you going to have the mana to do this? If you already put that many attribute points into the 2 different elements, where are the other attributes that are going to fund your nuking going to come from?

Also, I have a 16 in air magic, and even I can't take a person down with that combo. And yes, I am an experienced ele. One thing that you have to understand while being an ele is that you don't have an unlimited mana pool. While air spells tend to be cheap in cost, they're fast to cast, and fast to recharge as well. This means that even though the spells are cheaper then most, you're going to be hitting them out faster, which ultimately means that you're getting about the same amount, if not more, energy cost of the other, more expensive spells.

I also found that lightning surge is rather tiresome in pvp. Sure, being able to group that with lightning orb can dish out 200+ damage in seemingly 1 hit is effective, but its not effective in the long run. You're going to run out of energy, and fast. Especially considering the fact that lightning surge and chain lightning both cause exhaustion.

If you want a real "bad mofo", you should focus on keeping that spike damage up during the fight, instead of just nuking for the first 30 seconds then having to take a breather. A continual assault of lightning is alot more effective than a spastic burst of it.

Adaria

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Apr 2005

Florida

Wayward Wanderers

E/Mo

18 Jul 2005 at 03:06 - 34

I'm ascended and have yet to leave my fire skills, they're just too good to me, PvE here, may switch to air or something else, but for the time being I don't see a good use for the rest at the moment. I have a ten in fire I think, with a rune.

Dreamsmith

Elite Guru

Join Date: Feb 2005

Minnesota

Beguine Guild [BGN]

18 Jul 2005 at 03:13 - 35

Quote:

Originally Posted by EmperorTippy

Elementalists are the primary damage dealers in the game.

This is a pretty common myth. Not sure why, except that it's a persistent role-playing stereotype. But in this game, warriors do the most damage, rangers second most, and elementalists come in third. Even before elementalists deplete their mana pool and start having to wait for mana, their long casting times and recharge times prevent them from being able to dish out the kind of damage rangers can dish out, much less come close to warriors in terms of damage output. They dish out their damage in bigger spikes, but they certainly don't come close to dishing out as much of it overall.

EmperorTippy

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Jun 2005

18 Jul 2005 at 05:15 - 36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreamsmith

This is a pretty common myth. Not sure why, except that it's a persistent role-playing stereotype. But in this game, warriors do the most damage, rangers second most, and elementalists come in third. Even before elementalists deplete their mana pool and start having to wait for mana, their long casting times and recharge times prevent them from being able to dish out the kind of damage rangers can dish out, much less come close to warriors in terms of damage output. They dish out their damage in bigger spikes, but they certainly don't come close to dishing out as much of it overall.

I should refraise my post.

Warriors do the most damage but are the easiest character class prevented from dealing damage along with giving the monk the least trouble to heal.

Rangers are harder to stop but the AI rangers are so very bad (IMO and experiance) that they arn't a problem and there are a surprisingly high percentage of badly played rangers in PvP.

Elemtalists are very hard to stop except with a mesmer. I know that the people who play the other classes well can also stop a Elementalist but is much harder than a mesmer. As a elementalist rarly attacks with their weapon they don't have to worry about most warrior or ranger disableing skills. As for damage in a period of time with fire magic or air magic I can deal about 250 damage in 5 seconds, and I can repeat this whole thing 2 seconds later with a knockdown as the last attack in the sequence. I personally have yet to see a warrior or ranger who can cause 500 damage in under 10 seconds reguarly. (Not to mention with my monk half I can disable them).

This is all from my experiance playing through the game with a primary in all 6 classes and all skills unlocked on 1 account (with the exception of Lighting Surge).

Phades

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Jun 2005

18 Jul 2005 at 05:22 - 37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aria

But back to the original topic -- I rather like fire in PvE, especially because of meteor shower and the wider selection of AOEs. It loses much of its appeal in PvP, though.. and one of the primary reasons is that semi-intelligent people won't sit in that fire storm or meteor storm and wait to die.

Note, however, that I said "semi-intelligent."

Well you have that, in addition to body blocking and people who like to sit inside wards or are generally immobile via earth armor types or snares.

Typically though, it falls to people who must be in a fixed position to fight aka warriors that take the shaft from these spells, much like they do from wards, smites, and other goodness...

Eclair

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Apr 2005

18 Jul 2005 at 06:23 - 38

I stopped using fire at around the crystal desert and switched to Earth. At the shiverpeaks I picked up Illusionary Weaponry and whacked a bit. FInally when I got to the Ring of Fire Islands, I picked up water along with earth and went support/disruption with 3 wards and maestrom.

Later on, I found that keeping my party alive and letting the warriors/rangers do their sustained damage was much more effecient than blasting a spell only to have its effectiveness cut back by AL, regen, heals, and recharge times =P

Beoulve

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: May 2005

:O

None atm

W/Mo

18 Jul 2005 at 06:24 - 39

I stopped using fire in, Believe it or not, Lions Arch.

Kishin

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: May 2005

The Twilight Vanguard [TTV]

R/

18 Jul 2005 at 06:45 - 40

Quote:

Originally Posted by EmperorTippy

.

Elemtalists are very hard to stop except with a mesmer. I know that the people who play the other classes well can also stop a Elementalist but is much harder than a mesmer. As a elementalist rarly attacks with their weapon they don't have to worry about most warrior or ranger disableing skills. As for damage in a period of time with fire magic or air magic I can deal about 250 damage in 5 seconds, and I can repeat this whole thing 2 seconds later with a knockdown as the last attack in the sequence. I personally have yet to see a warrior or ranger who can cause 500 damage in under 10 seconds reguarly. (Not to mention with my monk half I can disable them).

This is all from my experiance playing through the game with a primary in all 6 classes and all skills unlocked on 1 account (with the exception of Lighting Surge).

An interrupt Ranger is a born and bred Elementalist killer. None of the Ranger interrupts are tied to interrupting weapon use, so I don't know what you're talking about there. Distracting Shot and Savage Shot stop spells just as well as other skills (the second even does more damage because of it) and Incendiary Arrows and Choking Gas let you land multiple interrupts one after another (I think my record stands at about 7 with just Choking Gas) for total lockdown. 90% of Elementalist skills beg to be interrupted with their casting times, and Incendiary Arrows and Choking Gas, you can even nail the fast ones like Wards. Furthermore, Rangers are highly resistant to any retaliation by said Elementalist due to their armor.

500 damage is only 50 DPS. A warrior can do that. But that's a digression. Yes, Elementalist are the kings of damage, no one argues that. They are, however, slow to bring their power to bear and a good Ranger can ruin that as fast if not faster than a Mesmer.