Poll - Which is your favorite Path of Fire elite specialization.

[Cave Rock.4869]

Well I can't help to stop by and say Scourge hit the 100 votes! That's awesome :)

[KronosBaelfire.6289]

I'm torn between Soulbeast and Holosmith but I voted for the ranger because it's my main. However, the Holosmith has the coolest animation and weapon fighting sounds I've ever heard in any of the professions! I'm having a lot of fun with both elite specs right now.

[Daishi.6027]

I'm only gonna vote for my main, cuz I don't play any other class outside of PvP :/

 

But the most "neat" one to me might be holo.

[Kako.1930]

I chose undecided just because none of them really clicked with me. I like the heart of thorns elites much better. :P

[bearshaman.3421]

My opinions on the elites (with what experience I have so far):

 

First off, there are several elite specs that I feel were practically designed for pvp play, and have some pve functionality added just to make them useful elsewhere. Spellbreaker is a very good example of this. I like the elite, but there is no question it was designed to address boon spam in pvp and wvw environments. The Full Counter mechanic is thankfully useful in all game modes, and you can trait in ways that don't focus on boonstripping, so I do like this elite very much. I think I will actually enjoy playing a warrior with this. Berserker I was not a fan of (the concept nor the torch, my most hated weapon across all classes... just don't like the idea of using a torch to fight with... 0_o )

 

Revenant... I have had issues with this class from day one, and Herald didn't help. Renegade... might... not sure yet. I have created a revenant (again) to give it another chance. I'm actually going away from the Shiro meta and trying Mallyx, and so far enjoying it (the skills on mace/axe are actually very cohesive and synergistic with each other). If I make it to 80, I'll try renegade since that will give me a condi range weapon to use, and a traitline to go with it. We'll see...

 

Firebrand is everything I wanted for Guardian that DH was not. I wanted something that felt more like the armored caster that I've always felt Guardian was meant to be, and Firebrand delivers. I now have Consecrations, Signets, Spirit Weapons (so much better with the pre POF changes), Meditations, Shouts, and now Mantras, all very spell like abilities, and the Tomes of Virtue removing the weapon and having you cast effects just feels so good... Still my favorite of the POF elites.

 

Soulbeast... Just got a new ranger to 80 and got all the Central Tyria pets. working on the rest, probably gonna do a bleed/poison build. I am not keen on it because it basically was created because of pet hate (and I don't think getting rid of the pet is the answer; they need to improve the pet mechanic). Also not a true shapeshifting class. But it does have some interesting potential, so I am gonna give it a try for what it is, despite its origins and not being quite what I wanted. (Also, Norn elite skills disable your class mechanic, so NO, that isn't a way to have shapeshifting, thank you!) Radically different from Druid, so I won't even try to compare them.

 

Deadeye. While I like Daredevil, this should have been the first Thief elite spec. I mean seriously... sniper is a no-brainer. The execution of the elite I think does a good job of getting that sniper feel across, and the change to the Steal Mechanic is amazing (especially for the NOT SHADOWSTEPPING TO THE ENEMY WITH A RANGED WEAPON!). That it also has a good way to offer group support, combined with the baseline venomshare, makes thieves much more party-friendly than they used to be. I'm happy with this one.

 

Holosmith... I'm sorry, but this one seems like a lot of flash and boom, but I just don't like it. I don't have a good objective reason for it, it's an interesting design, and it's definitely a way to play a "kitless engineer" but is a class mechanic kit, while very visually appealing, what this class needed? I dunno.... Scrapper at least added something new without taking anything away....

 

Weaver... I like the idea, but I'm leery of a melee weapon on the squishiest profession in the game. It does have some traits that help with vitality, but I dunno... I'll have to test it out sometime.

 

Mirage. Definitely my favorite of the light armor elites. Fits smoothly into an existing playstyle, taking it to the next level. I think some traits need work, but still a good elite. Mirage mirrors are a little weird though. Not sure how I feel about stationary objects you have to run over to gain their intended benefit. Might be better if anyone could gain the distortion effect... make them a little more team friendly. Also I like that this doesn't hurt my brain like Chrono... never got the hang of that new shatter...

 

Scourge.... Ok I know this is the general favorite of the light armor specs for most, but I'm just not enthralled with the sand shrouds. It feels like you have to trait a lot into them to make them worth it, and on top of that, lower survivability cuz no death shroud (yes I know, barrier... but still... ) Also I'm just not a fan of the torch weapon (see berserker), on any class... It's a good condi elite, I've seen the builds, I'm just not a fan of the playstyle to achieve it I guess. Sticking with Reaper for now, for both condi and power builds.