User:Dark-Angelus/buildarchive/Build:E/any Multi-Purpose Farmer

All Elementalist solo farmers have very similar skill sets, because all of the vital skills are in Earth Magic and Energy Storage.

Kinetic Armor and/or Armor of Earth are a must, as is Aura of Restoration and either Ether Renewal or Elemental Attunement. Those are the mandatory skills for survival and energy management. The rest of the skills should be chosen to compliment whatever kinds of enemies you intend to farm.

The standard weapon is a Defensive or Hale Earth Staff of Enchanting. Any max armor will do. A Superior Rune of Earth Magic is a must, and other Superior Runes are a bonus but not required. Several popular build variations follow.

Troll Farmer
This build is designed specifically to farm the Trolls in Talus Chute in a cave directly outside of Droknar's Forge to the left, but with slight changes it can be used to farm a great many different types of enemies.

Usage
Use Windborne Speed (along with Aura of Restoration and Kinetic Armor when necessary) to run past the Avicara that may be blocking the way to the Troll cave.

When you get to the Troll cave, the first thing you do before aggroing the Trolls is to cast Aura of Restoration followed by Elemental Attunement.

Next, get close to the Trolls, cast Kinetic Armor, and then aggro them with an attack. When they get close, cast Ward Against Melee, followed by Whirlwind and Aftershock when they're all gathered around you. At this point, many of them will run away because of the area of effect damage you just did to them. Now, you have 10 seconds to wait before your combo is recharged, but Kinetic Armor will run out in 8 seconds (9 if you have +20% Enchantments on your weapon).

Do a normal attack 2 or 3 times, then cast Crystal Wave; this will do tremendous damage and recharge Kinetic Armor. Attack once or twice, and then do Whirlwind and Aftershock again. If your health is getting beat down pretty good, you should cast other spells like Windborne Speed or Aura of Restoration between combo recharge to get the health from Aura of Restoration.

After the second combo, you will need to cast Ward Against Melee again (which you can use to refresh your Kinetic Armor until your next combo).

After about the 5th combo, you may need to re-cast your Aura of Restoration and Elemental Attunement. You should have plenty of energy for all of this, as long as you don't overcast your spells too much.

If you do it right, most of the trolls should die around your 5th or 6th combo, which should take about a minute. The Troll cave has anywhere between 10 and 20 Trolls, so you will be raking in the experience and money.

Use XP scrolls, such as Scroll of Hunter's Insight, and you should gain a skill point every 3rd time you go into the cave.

Hydra Farmer
This build is designed specifically to farm the Hydras in Skyward Reach East of Augury Rock, but with slight changes it can be used to farm a great many different types of enemies.

Usage
Cast Aura of Restoration, Earth Attunement, Kinetic Armor, and Armor of Earth before you aggro the Hydras.

Once aggroed, try to get them in a group around you and cast Crystal Wave, Aftershock, and Stone Daggers as often as you can. Make sure to watch out for Meteor as it will knock you down and interrupt your spells.

If your energy or health is running low, cast Ether Renewal and then immediately spam Stone Daggers until Ether Renewal runs out. Make sure to cast a spell at least once every 8-9 seconds to keep Kinetic Armor refreshed, and make sure to recast your other enchantments when they start to run out.

How to modify the Build

 * Kinetic Armor, Aftershock, Aura of Restoration, an Elite energy management spell (Ether Renewal or Elemental Attunement) and most of the time Earth Attunement are staples of this build.


 * If you fear interrupts from knockdowns, use Ward of Stability. Obsidian Flesh will prevent interrupts from spells, and any other spell effects, but at the cost of the energy gain spells Ether Renewal or Elemental Attunement.


 * When facing a large group of enemies (6 and upwards), Ward Against Foes becomes quite a lot more useful than Armor of Earth. Essence Bond or Balthazar's Spirit can be also used to replace Earth Attunement, and Sliver Armor can replace an attack spell.


 * If the enemies can be knocked down, the combo Whirlwind -> Aftershock is most useful. Otherwise replace Whirlwind with Crystal Wave.


 * Use Ether Renewal in combination with Stone Daggers if the build still takes damage with your selected defensive spells.


 * E/Me's can use Mantra of Flame when fighting Hydras to reduce fire damage and manage their energy. It is recommended to use it around Inspiration Magic level 8.