Elite Speculation: Stormrender

[Dragon.4782]

Haven’t come up with any traits yet but thought I would share a fun elite specialization i though would be cool to see in the 3rd expansion: The Stormrender

 

Overview: Many generations ago, evil walked the shores of Cantha. It rode the wind, stalked in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike. When it did, forests turned to stone, seas turned to jade and the elements were thrown into chaos. Since the return and final defeat of Shiro Tagachi, the elements and those who harnessed them, found a new way to strike balance with them: by communing their storms. Through their bows, they channel shards of earth to bleed foes, fire to burn, ice to freeze, and bolts of lightning. These stromrenders are so adept in their communing that they can even even set traps that, once triggered, unleash a brief but powerful storm.

 

Weapon: Longbow

 

- Fire: condition damage

1. Burning arrow: Fire a bolt of fire that does some damage.

2. Double Dragon: Fire a series of fire bolts that weave and twirl towards opponent, burning them.

3. Teinai’s Heat: Fire an arrow that explodes over target area, causing an intense heat wave that burns foes and damages them.

4. Searing Savannah: shoot a heatwave that expands outwards, burning anyone that it comes into contact with.

5. Meteor shower: Fire a barrage at target area that causes a meteor shower, knocking down and burning foes inside.

 

- Water: damage

1. Ice spear: shoot a single arrow of ice that pierces enemies that get between the spear and it’s target.

2. Ice Spikes: shoot a volley of arrows that cripple and chill enemies they come into contact with.

3. Teinai’s Prison: Fire an arrow to target area. Arrow will explode over target area and causes shards to fall around the area. foes inside freeze, causing vulnerability and weakness.

4. Deep Freeze: shoot an arrow to a target area. Ice will slowly expand across that area till it reaches maximum range. Foes in that area take damage as well as become slow, crippled and chilled.

5. Shard storm: send a barrage of ice shards on target location, causing freeze and bleeding.

 

- Earth: condition damage and cc

1. Stoning: Fire two rocks at target foe.

2. Ebon hawk: Fire a powerful earth projectile that knocks down foes and causes weakness and vulnerability.

3. Teinai’s crystals: rapidly fire several sharp crystals at target foe, causing bleeding.

4. Obsidian seekers: Stomp on the ground sending shards of obsidian into the air and fire bow to send shards hurling towards targeted foe.

5. Crystal wave: send a wall of crystals towards foes, knocking them back and causing bleeding, cripple, vulnerability and weakness.

 

- Air: critical damage and cc

1. Micro bolt: Fire a small but fast moving bolt of lightning to target foe.

2. Chain lightning: shoot a lightning bolt that bounces between targets.

3. Teinai’s wind: shoot from your bow a whirlwind that I’ll send smaller whirlwinds in different directions, pushing foes away and damaging them.

4. Power surge: cause a storm around target area, where lightning surges both from the inside of target area and works outward, and vice versa, damaging anyone cause inside the storm

5. Gale: Generate a wall of wind that pushes foes away from you.

 

Mechanic: Harmony

Over time you begin to generate harmony that fills up a bar. Once the bar is full, press F5 and you will briefly be attuned to all elements at once as you create a dome around you that prevents projectiles from entering and providing benefits to friends and difficulty for foes. Your weapon skills are replaced by types of storms.

 

1. Raging inferno: cause enemies inside to burn and become weak and allies gain might and fury.

 

2. Diamond dust: cause enemies to chill and slow while allies gain regeneration, vigor and quickness.

 

3. Divine wind: cause enemies to be confused and tormented while allies gain retaliation and alacrity

 

4. Ash blast: cause enemies to blind, cripple and bleed while allies gain stability, resistance and protection.

 

5. Retributive duality: attune to all storms at once but you only periodically inflict benefits and conditions.

 

 

 

Utility: Traps

 

- Soothing rain: heals allies in a soothing rainstorm and cleanses them of conditions.

- Churning Quicksand: Soften the earth your enemy walks over, damages and cripples foes.

- Icy Maw: shards of ice rise from the ground, causing damage, chill and cripple.

- Hellfire: causes a burning ring of fire that damages foes from the sweltering heat, causing intense and prolonged burning.

- Galeforce: causes an intense windstorm that pulls and pushes foes, dazes them and damages them.

- The One that is Many [elite]: Cause an arcane storm that critically damages foes and causes them to bleed, burn, freeze, and become crippled.

 

[Json.5782]

All this sounds extremely versatile and creative. However its definitely too overpowered in its current state as it provides way too much utility. BUT i'd love for this to be released as a longbow mage really really sounds great. not to mention that the skills u mentioned are very creative unlike conjures ahem ahem.

[Kodama.6453]

I have 2 questions so far.

1. How would you build up harmony? Does it stack by healing allies like the druid? Do you have skills that give you harmony like necromancers get life force? How exactly does this mechanic work?

2. What would be the trade off of the elite spec? You are adding another key to elementalists by giving them a F5 ability if they filled their harmony meter. What does the elementalist give up to get this additional mechanic?

[Dragon.4782]

> @"Kodama.6453" said:

> I have 2 questions so far.

> 1. How would you build up harmony? Does it stack by healing allies like the druid? Do you have skills that give you harmony like necromancers get life force? How exactly does this mechanic work?

> 2. What would be the trade off of the elite spec? You are adding another key to elementalists by giving them a F5 ability if they filled their harmony meter. What does the elementalist give up to get this additional mechanic?

 

1. Very good question: my thoughts on harmony build up would be that it builds up when you attune to a different element since the core mechanic itself is inspired by several Asian cultures where you need to find balance in the world around you and be at peace all it’s aspects. I guess the easier way to answer the question is to switch elemental attunements and the more you attune to the elements, the more harmony you generate because you, the elementalist, are finding harmony in a specific attunement.

2. Well much like the weaver, this elite class is somewhat flexible and can be used in wide variety in different builds and for different scenarios. You can use a staff and go full support with the harmony mechanic, or you can use the longbow and traps to help deal with mobs or bosses. That being said, what you sacrifice to become a Stormrender is that you become a jack of all trades, but master of none. So you will be a bit of support, a bit of dps, and a little bit of tanking, depending on what other traits you have. Just like the other two elite specs, your build will also be influenced by the other two traits you have in your build. Unlike them, however, rather than being higly durable, super support-oriented, or a really powerful, you flip flop between the damage and support more frequently. I hope this helps.

 

 

 

[bossmitch.8037]

i would like to see the new weapon as the Trident (not just underwater).

 

attunements cycle on next (not on whim) like fire -> water-> air -> earth

 

or

 

weapons have fixed animations. the current attunements define the effect

 

[Kodama.6453]

> @"bossmitch.8037" said:

> i would like to see the new weapon as the Trident (not just underwater).

>

> attunements cycle on next (not on whim) like fire -> water-> air -> earth

>

> or

>

> weapons have fixed animations. the current attunements define the effect

>

 

I like the idea for the trade off to be that you can't chose the element you attune to directly anymore, but that you have to cycle through them in a fixed order.

[frareanselm.1925]

I agree with you with the longbow skills, but the weapon is too primitive, a crossbow fits perfect for engi.

[Dragon.4782]

> @"frareanselm.1925" said:

> I agree with you with the longbow skills, but the weapon is too primitive, a crossbow fits perfect for engi.

 

Crossbow? With respect, and as much as I like to see crossbows added (aside from the one that’s is already a rifle skin), I doubt Arenanet is going to make a brand new weapon that doesn’t already exist. At least with tridents and spears they already exist with skin sets and some animations that could be utilized for land.