Help with Ele in sPvP

[Bamm.6975]

Hi all,

 

Returning player here. I was gone for about 3 years.

 

My questions have to do with Ele's in sPvP. I bought HoT but do not have PoF yet. I jumped into sPvP and tried a few different builds. I find d/d to most comfortable but I am struggling nonetheless. After completing my placements I was placed in platinum rank. I am currently running water, arcane, tempest with the usual cantrip utilities. I have tried a few different runes like leadership, scholar, rage, divinity, etc and a few different amulets like celestial, marauders, menders and others.

 

Some matches will go pretty well and I feel I am contributing to the team while other matches I roll into a fight and within seconds I am burned down. I look at the combat log to try and make sense of how I was nuked so fast but am really struggling to understand.

 

Any tips for HoT and below builds that are viable in sPvP? All of the builds for conquest on metabattle look to be weaver which I am excited to try but I want to get through all of the HoT content first.

 

Thanks for your feedback.

[Tapps.1479]

You can usually find the most used builds at metabattle.com I'm not sure hot ele has much use but I think core freshair is still considered pretty strong. Most ele's I see though are playing pof freshair. However, if you made it to plat playing hot then you seem to be doing just fine.

[Razor.6392]

None of the current ele builds are fun to play.

 

Sword dagger PoF weaver does zero damage. All it can do is survive.

 

Scepter focus PoF weaver is feast or famine. Nothing in between. Either you kill them quickly, or you spend the rest of the fight on the defensive. and eventually die.

 

Tempest is outclassed, core FA ele burst is bad nowadays and staff anything is worthless.

[Mr Godlike.6098]

This last thing that as tempest worked in Hot Meta:

 

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vFAQJAodn0XC9XiVYCeOAcYilNAb4BEAKgErgLwIwdv+XPsA-jJRWABPfCAAY/BIfAA4WGAA

 

It does purely the same thing that bunker firebrand does - keeping necro alive and that's it -super boring. You can try to run it with avatar amulet to get some damage but generally tempest is dead for me at least in pvp.

 

PoF weaver sword builds are outclassed by current meta - playable on any rating but basicly you need to be ele psycho fan to play this vs everything meta.

 

PoF weaver s/f FA is completly difent story - imagine core s/f much even glassier but with amazing spike melting stupid people in seconds...

 

Personally if nothing dramatic happen with current meta DON'T BUY POF JUST TO PLAY ELE - IT"S NOT WORTH YOU'RE MONEY - you will get similar results with just core S/F FA.

 

 

[Bamm.6975]

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll give that build a try too Mr Godlike.

[witcher.3197]

D/D is no longer a thing, you missed 2 years of Tempest being the best support in PvP. After PoF tho ele got the short end of the stick, hopefully the next balance patch brings other spec in line so ele gets to.. not suck?

 

Also i find it hilarious that after first logging in following a 3 year hiatus you get placed in plat quite possibly top 250 range.. says a lot about the state of the game.

 

 

[BlackBeard.2873]

The "best" build for eles are either:

 

- Core scefter/Focus Fresh air ele - not as must eye-melting dps as weaver, but not nearly as easy to kill. In current meta, slap on a demolisher amulet and you can do ok vs. everything that isn't s/d thief or mesmer. Of course, this is really a teamfight/+1 build, so its really just like a worse version of mesmer, but if played well can kinda compete.

 

- Sage or avatar sw/dagger bunker ele. You will never kill anything, but can troll a point almost endlessly if you cycle your evades and heals well. Its not very fun, and can be countered by just competent rotations by your opponent, but it sorta works.

 

Beyond that, you are best off going with something completely unexpected and hope that people get caught by surprised and don't figure out the counter before the end of the match. Marauder staff or burn-stacking build would fall into this category. They are bad....but if you play well and catch someone who expecting one of the "usual builds" you might be able to beat them. Usually, these gimmick builds are 1-trick ponies that kill quickly before your opponent figures out they aren't fighting what they thought they were.

[Bamm.6975]

> @"witcher.3197" said:

> D/D is no longer a thing, you missed 2 years of Tempest being the best support in PvP. After PoF tho ele got the short end of the stick, hopefully the next balance patch brings other spec in line so ele gets to.. not suck?

>

> Also i find it hilarious that after first logging in following a 3 year hiatus you get placed in plat quite possibly top 250 range.. says a lot about the state of the game.

>

>

 

Kind of a bummer but like any mmo classes and spec viability comes and goes. When I was playing years ago on my D/D ele it was god like. I'd say bordering unfair but in order to be that good you had to put in the time and know how to play the class. I don't know if my stats from before played a role in my placement but I was pretty good back then. When I look at my stats my win percentages are all really high.

 

I also may have just got really lucky in my placements. I think I went 7 wins - 3 losses...meanwhile last night I went 1 - 6 in ranked.

[Eddbopkins.2630]

Plays.tv/eddbopkins

 

I got tons of core ele gameplay. This season im dedicating my self to weaver fa sc/f sc/d.....i have no problems surviving with my initial burst if it fails as long as im not out numbered. Im not the best at all and i make mistakes for sure. But its fun and hits like a truck. Please no harsh criticism im delicate.lol

 

Weaver hits 10x harder then core. But less condi cleans and a very high chance you wont have obsidian flesh whem actually needed.

[Ryan.9387]

Play s/f weaver full zerk with no sustain. Serious.

[Eddbopkins.2630]

I use avatar ammy so i got some healing capabilities....i wont lie it gets real tough some times... But i just cant use the water trait line for a 6th year in a row. 5 year of water spec cuz at this point i consider water its own specialization im done, i want to do full on damage and hurt people....and i do.

[Velimere.7685]

> @"Eddbopkins.2630" said:

> I use avatar ammy so i got some healing capabilities....i wont lie it gets real tough some times... But i just cant use the water trait line for a 6th year in a row. 5 year of water spec **cuz at this point i consider water its own specialization** im done, i want to do full on damage and hurt people....and i do.

 

Water is its own specialization, though?

 


[Wolfric.9380]

Well always this meta thinking and optimisation. Tempest is useable and the less necros occour the better. Yes i also struggled hard after PoF launch due to boon corrups ruining all my teamfights but it got better. I hope that after next balace patch FB does not outperform support tempest and he will be fine.

And playing non meta builds can be more fun and work too as long as you build reasonable and adapt to what is played.

The support build shown is fine. I personally would use sage or avatar + stone heart due to more power builds running around (those power mesmers will blow you to pieces ^^).

[Hydroclasm.8572]

> @"Velimere.7685" said:

> > @"Eddbopkins.2630" said:

> > I use avatar ammy so i got some healing capabilities....i wont lie it gets real tough some times... But i just cant use the water trait line for a 6th year in a row. 5 year of water spec **cuz at this point i consider water its own specialization** im done, i want to do full on damage and hurt people....and i do.

>

> Water is its own specialization, though?

>

> 

 

I think he was trying to compare Water to an elite spec like Tempest or Weaver, since it's usually considered mandatory on anything not full glass.

[Velimere.7685]

> @"Hydroclasm.8572" said:

> > @"Velimere.7685" said:

> > > @"Eddbopkins.2630" said:

> > > I use avatar ammy so i got some healing capabilities....i wont lie it gets real tough some times... But i just cant use the water trait line for a 6th year in a row. 5 year of water spec **cuz at this point i consider water its own specialization** im done, i want to do full on damage and hurt people....and i do.

> >

> > Water is its own specialization, though?

> >

> > 

>

> I think he was trying to compare Water to an elite spec like Tempest or Weaver, since it's usually considered mandatory on anything not full glass.

 

You mean to tell me Water isn't an elite spec? I don't believe you.

[Eddbopkins.2630]

> @"Hydroclasm.8572" said:

> > @"Velimere.7685" said:

> > > @"Eddbopkins.2630" said:

> > > I use avatar ammy so i got some healing capabilities....i wont lie it gets real tough some times... But i just cant use the water trait line for a 6th year in a row. 5 year of water spec **cuz at this point i consider water its own specialization** im done, i want to do full on damage and hurt people....and i do.

> >

> > Water is its own specialization, though?

> >

> > 

>

> I think he was trying to compare Water to an elite spec like Tempest or Weaver, since it's usually considered mandatory on anything not full glass.

 

yes exactly this.....water has become practically mandatory. But if you know the 5 D's of dodgeball and inplement them into gw you can make magic happen. Lolol

[Mr Godlike.6098]

I amazed people are nostalgic about tempest....it was so boring!

 

But ok what else worked during HoT as tempest:

 

During dreadful season 1 meta was cele staff that looked like this:

 

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vFAQFAWn0XCdOg9XCWYCcYiFRAzttGXzrEdgEQFYIAMAufA-jJxHABKfBA0Z/hiKDAwDAAA

 

And then cele was removed and we run cleric till...cleric was removed...and then we where stuck on mender to end the HoT....build that i posted earlier.

There was only one variation played during payed tournaments run by Denial's Draze:

 

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vFAQJAodn0XCdOgNOAOYCcYilNAb4BEAKgu31/6hlYFkBGBA-jJxHABAcCAKqMgz7Po8DAAA

 

To be honest during season 1 it was the only time when had some kind of build variety and was possible to tweak healbot builds:

 

water:

powerful aura is option if there is no condi in enemy team

earth:

stone heart: again if there is no condi in enemy team

Rune's

1.scrapper->to stack passive power damage reduction's-> with cele you should get the idea:

scrapper rune (-5%)+earth: geomancer defense (-10%)+earth:elemental shielding and tempest:hardy conduit (permanent mostly protection -40%)=-55%damage reduction in close range and cele's toughness so with stone heart actually get's quite memy.

2.leadership - to boost boon up time to infinity

3.monk- to boost healing

 

About water status in ele builds:

 

I my opinion it's a must vs more then 1 build condi in enemy team and it's must if you run healing power amulet to fully benefit it. After last EU monthly at (weird one also) it seems that scourge is the only viable condi build...so power damage is main enemy now

 

There is one case in ele build's that water trait's are mandatory...like it's complete NONSENSE TO NOT USE IT...tempest.

You simply cannot go tempest without healing power and water - Karl&friends decided that any trait's that isn't scaling with healing power is GARBAGE.

Maybe just maybe grand master trait warhorn would be good but ,,they" kept this offhand to this day clunky, hard to practically use in pvp and hard to see if you cc guy or not.