Effective elementalist guide

''Note: this article is intended to provide guidance for experienced characters playing a new elementalist or experienced elementalists looking for additional options. If this is your first time playing Guild Wars, please see Getting started in Guild Wars Prophecies.''

An Elementalist's Place
As an elementalist, you are the artillery, causing massive damage from the rear lines. You are not a tank. Elementalists have low armor, and few healing or survival skills, and, except for certain situations, should not be in the front lines. Elementalists have the most expensive skills, the largest energy pool and energy management skills (such as the elite Ether Prodigy, attunement spells and Glyphs such as Glyph of Lesser Energy).

Specialty Skills and Unique Conditions
Elementalists have one type of skill unique to the elementalist profession:
 * Glyphs are quick casting skills that modify the next spell, not skill, used by the caster. Glyphs last for 15 seconds from when they were cast. Glyphs cannot be removed or stripped, and have no target. All glyphs have a 1 second casting time, and can be interrupted.

Elementalists have a unique spell cost, Exhaustion*. When an elementalist casts a spell that causes exhaustion, the top 10 points of the elementalist's energy pool are “greyed out”, and cannot be used. Exhaustion expires at the rate of 1 point every three seconds. Exhaustion stacks, so a second exhaustion spell causes an additional 10 points to be deducted from the caster's energy pool.


 * Note: The mesmer spell Arcane Languor will also cause spells to cause exhaustion.

Being an Elementalist
Elementalists are master spell casters, calling fire from the heavens, freezing foes in their tracks, blasting enemies with lightning, and crushing them with stone. Stay to the rear of the party, and communicate with monks and necromancers for health and energy management. It is usually best to wait for foes to settle on a target, preferably the warriors, before beginning your siege.

Target enemy monks and ritualists, as these characters have low armor but are very effective at extending the life of the opposing party. Move on to other casters and warriors. It is best to leave rangers for last unless you have armor ignoring spells, as rangers have higher armor against your attacks.

Choose an Element
Elementalists are most effective if they concentrate on a single element, and maximize the effect of that element. Additionally, each element has an attunement spell that refunds 30% + 1 of the cost of elemental spells after casting. These attunement spells should be kept active constantly. See Runes and Armor for suggestions on creating an elementally flexible character.

Fire Magic
The Fire element contains some of the most powerful Area of Effect spells. Fire elementalists must be careful when casting these spells that they do not scatter foes.
 * Interesting Fire Skills:
 * Meteor Shower, Fire Storm, Rodgort's Invocation, Incendiary Bonds and Searing Heat are powerful directed area of effect spells.
 * Phoenix, Lava Font, Inferno, Flame Djinn's Haste and Flame Burst are excellent point blank area of effect spells.
 * Flare is a fast cast, inexpensive, highly repeatable spell that can be used to cover the space between larger "Nuke" spells

Air Magic
Most air magic spells cause Lightning damage, and many have 25% armor penetration. Air magic spells are most effective as spike skills against warriors or rangers with high armor.
 * Interesting Air Skills:
 * Lightning Strike, Enervating Charge, and Lightning Orb can be combined into an effective spike.
 * Gale, Thunderclap and Shock can be used to knock down targets.
 * Arc Lightning, Chain Lightning, and Chain's elite brother Invoke Lightning are the only multitarget spells available to Air elementalists.
 * Blinding Flash and Glimmering Mark cause blindness and can be used to suppress warriors, assassins or rangers.

Water Magic
Water magic is the bastion of hexes and snaring. Most water magic spells cause cold damage, and many cause the target to be slowed for several seconds (called "snaring").
 * Interesting Water Skills:
 * Armor of Mist and Armor of Frost grant additional armor.
 * Mist Form can make you impervious to the efforts of rangers, warriors and assassins.
 * Blurred Vision and Swirling Aura can help defend against attacks.
 * Maelstrom and Rust can be used to shutdown casters or inhibit signets.
 * Deep Freeze is an area of effect snare with high-damage output but high energy cost. This is one of the most versatile and powerful snares in the game.

Earth Magic
Earth magic has several powerful protective spells and more than a few spike and area of effect spells. Earth is more balanced than the other elements, providing both powerful offensive and powerful defensive skills.
 * Interesting Earth Skills:
 * Earthquake and Aftershock are a powerful area of effect combination when chained (cast right after each other) and also provide knockdowns.
 * Kinetic Armor, Armor of Earth, and Obsidian Flesh grant additional armor bonuses.
 * Ward Against Elements, Ward Against Foes, and Ward Against Melee provide defensive bonuses for all allies in the area of effect.

Energy Storage
For each rank of Energy Storage, your maximum energy increases by 3, thus energy storage is important for all elementalists. Energy Storage also contains the only two skills which allow Elementalists to heal themselves (unless they use skills from another profession)
 * Interesting Energy Storage Skills:
 * Aura of Restoration is an enchantment spell which can be useful for healing yourself small amounts of health with every spell you cast.
 * Glyph of Restoration can be used to heal yourself for a good amount of health with the next spell you cast.

Runes and Armor
Because of the high cost of elementalist skills, it is very important to have the maximum skill level in your chosen attribute. For a flexible elementalist, purchase 4 separate Auras or Third Eyes: Then choose the armor set you prefer, then apply the following runes to the body armor
 * 1) A Fire headpiece infused with a Superior Rune of Fire Magic
 * 2) A Water headpiece infused with a Superior Rune of Water Magic
 * 3) An Air headpiece infused with a Superior Rune of Air Magic
 * 4) An Earth headpiece infused with a Superior Rune of Earth Magic
 * a Minor, Major, or Superior rune of Energy Storage.
 * a Major or Superior rune of Vigor
 * a Rune of Vitae. Contrary to popular belief, Vitae does in fact stack with Vigor.

Choosing a secondary
For ideas on choosing a secondary profession, see Secondary professions for an Elementalist.

Suggested Strategies

 * Armor of Earth, Kinetic Armor and Aura of Restoration: at 16 Earth magic and 13 Energy Storage, these skills provide 146 armor (roughly 85% reduction in damage) and nearly 20 points of healing for every 5 points of energy spent. Further, Attunement spells can extend the longevity of the caster by increasing energy efficiency.


 * Glyph of Energy and Glyph of Lesser Energy: these glyphs are great energy management skills, and can reduce or eliminate the cost of more expensive "nuke" or "spike" spells.


 * Elemental Attunement and Air, Earth, Fire or Water Attunement: when combined, two attunement spells can return 80% of the cost of completed elemental spells. An expensive spell like Meteor Shower under both Fire and Elemental Attunement has a net cost of just 5 energy. Combine this with the casting time of the spell and energy regeneration, and you actually receive 1 energy for casting Meteor Shower. This same result is common with most spells.


 * Use the Shadow Stepping abilities of the Assassin secondary profession to be able to quickly get into a swarm of enemies after casting Earthquake, to use Aftershock and escape without taking much damage. Shadow Stepping can also be used in conjunction with Fire Magic AoE spells.