User:Jasminethetender/builds/ele

Elementalist =Master of Restoration=

Designed to use the low cost, highly spammable heals of the Ritualist Restoration line. Master of Magic is used as energy management over Attuned was Songkai. MoM provides superior energy over AoS on low cost spells and allows for the caster to use a weapon, as to get half cast and recharge effects, and the use of the Elementalist's large energy pool.

Equipment

 * Survivor Insignias
 * Rune of Superior Vigor
 * Rune of Recovery
 * Runes of Vitae


 * Weapon set 1 (main set)
 * Restoration Wand of Memory with the "Aptitude not Attitude" inscription
 * Restoration Focus of Aptitude with the "Forget Me Not" inscription


 * Weapon set 2 (MoM casting set)
 * Axe/Sword of Enchanting with the "Don't Think Twice" inscription
 * Energy Storage Focus of Aptitude


 * Weapon sets 3 & 4 are typical weapon sets for dealing with conditions or energy denial.

Usage

 * Activate Master of Magic and renew it as needed.
 * Quickly, switch to Weapon Set 2 when you do this, then switch back. Timing this takes a bit of practice because if you do either switch to while casting a spell it will switch back.


 * Activate Kinetic Armor and renew it as needed.
 * Constant casting will mean you rarely have to renew the enchantment, though you may need to recast the spell simply for the recharge time for Master of Magic.


 * Activate Magnetic Aura if you are taking physical damage or suspect you are about to.
 * This spell also fuels Master of Magic, if it is available and you are not afraid of being adrenaline or sin spiked, then use it just to get the recharge.


 * Place Recovery. Replace it as needed.
 * This Ritual is also meeting the conditions of Mend Body and Soul and Spirit Light.


 * Use your weapon spells and heals to keep your party alive.
 * Weapon of Warding.
 * A key spell to this build. Almost no healer build in 4v4 can outheal the damage production.  That is why you need Prot spells.  This is this build's prot spell.  Keep your eyes on the battle and place this spell on anyone being attacked by physical attacks.
 * Mend Body and Soul to heal and remove conditions.
 * Spirit Light as a big heal.
 * Wielder's Boon on allies with Weapon of Warding.

Counters

 * Power Block
 * Shroud of Silence
 * Anti-spam skills.
 * The large energy pool and redundancy within the bar help defend against some of these.


 * Energy denial.
 * The large energy capacity and the way this build sips it judaciously makes this less of a problem.


 * Kill the spirit.
 * If you have spirit spammer on your team, this isn't a problem.
 * The build can operate pretty effectively without the spirit, should it have to. It loses no healing power and recasting the spirit is never too far away.


 * Daze and Knockdown
 * The block ability from Weapon of Warding and Magnetic Aura make these less iritating.
 * The build can remove Daze from itself.

Variants
This build is more focused upon the healing role. Its spirit is a support role spirit that removes conditions. It has two self defense buffs; both with long recharges. The two long recharge skills available mean you have even better energy management. This build isn't dependent upon a long casting time ritual for its energy management, so it won't be slowed down or tripped up by long recasts for energy management from Master of Magic.


 * Additionally, if used on a spirit heavy team, this build could easily drop its spirit for another spell.
 * Also if an a spirit heavy team, this build could take Spirit Transfer instead of Spirit Light as a quicker, even bigger, big heal.

Equipment

 * Tempest Armor
 * Self Preference (Make sure you do not have a Staff/Wand Which halves Casting time as this may off-time the Spike)

Usage

 * Select a target with low AL, any Casters.
 * Use Armor of Mist and run in hitting your target with Ice Spear to lower his health prior to spike.
 * If he is enchanted, use Gaze of Contempt
 * Cast Glyph of Elemental Power then Use Shatterstone-->Vapor Blade with no second to spare inbetween casting.
 * Continue to spike targets, keep chaining Glyph of Elemental Power-->Shatterstone-->Vapor Blade whenever Possible.
 * Use Ice Spear post-spike to finish him off if he is not dead.
 * Cast Glyph of Elemental Power then apply Water Attunement and Armor of Mist for longer duration and higher armour.

Counters

 * Dazed
 * Interruption
 * High armour Levels

Variants

 * Ice Spear for Ice Spikes or Freezing Gust
 * Glyph of Elemental Power for Glyph of Lesser Energy
 * Armor of Mist for Frigid Armor to counter Searing Flames builds.
 * Gaze of Contempt for Rend Enchantments

Equipment

 * 20/20 Water Staff with energy +5^50 inscription is recommended.

Usage

 * Start the build with Water Attunement to keep your energy up. Pick your target, then cast your hexes, use Signet of Twilight to remove any enchantments on them. Hit them with Shatterstone and Vapor Blade in quick succesion. Use Feigned Neutrality if you need healing, then pick your next target and repeat.

Counters

 * Hex removal will stop you from removing their enchantments.
 * Energy denial or interrupts.

Variants

 * If you are entering a battle where you are certain to have monks, Feigned Neutrality can be substituted for Glyph of Elemental Power, or another Damage skill to increase your spike capacity.
 * Deadly Paradox is a good addition to help with enchantment removal and healing.

=Searing Flames=

Equipment

 * A Full set of + Health Armor
 * A +5 Energy/30 Hp Weapon with an offhand of choice.
 * A 15/-1 Energy Set
 * A Staff of Enchanting is optional.

Usage

 * Keep Fire Attunement up at all times.
 * Find a mob of players or NPCs and cast Searing Flames, Glowing Gaze, Liquid Flame repeatedly.
 * Use Glyph of Lesser Energy whenever possible to assist your energy.
 * Cast Meteor Shower on a bunched up group of players/NPCs to cause panic.

Counters

 * Enchantment removal, Anti-spam skills such as Backfire, Spiteful Spirit, and Diversion, Avatar of Melandru, Signet of Humility, Mantra of Flame, Protection Prayers (Protective Spirit in particular), This build is less useful against split or spread teams.

Variants

 * Use Arcane Echo:
 * with Meteor Shower for a devastating 'double-nuke'.
 * with Searing Flames short term double DPS.
 * Replace Glyph of Sacrifice with Aura of Restoration for PvE.
 * Replace Resurrection Signet with Dash for Alliance Battles or Competitive Missions.
 * Replace Glyph of Sacrifice with Mark of Rodgort for extended (and reapplied) burning. Only one elementalist per group should carry Mark of Rodgort.
 * Replace Liquid Flame with Meteor or Gale for Knockdowns.
 * Serpent's Quickness can be used to decrease recharge times.
 * Use Mending Touch for condition removal.
 * Replace Glyph of Lesser Energy with Mantra of Flame to counter other SF teams.
 * Use a HCT+HSR Fire Magic wand+focus set - this will increase your average DPS. Only switch to the +15/-1 if you are out of energy and need one or two more shots to finish something off.

=Lightening Blinder= This build uses Blinding Surge as a staple ability to spam cheap non-projectile air magic spells and keep opponents constantly blinded. It is designed for the Random Arenas, with simple variants for Competitive Missions and Alliance Battles.

Equipment
A wand and offhand with 20/20 HCT/HSR are strongly recommended. No special armor is needed.

Usage
Cast Air Attunement before entering combat. Pick a target, spam Blinding Surge, Lightning Strike, and Arc Lightning as they become available. Use Lightning Orb on unsuspecting targets or as a finisher. Use Gale to interrupt or prevent key actions such as self-heals and knock down fleeing foes. Use Glyph of Restoration to recover health.

Counters

 * Any anti-spam abilities such as Diversion or Distracting Shot.
 * Removing Air Attunement can cause energy problems in protracted fights.
 * Protection from casters is relatively light, so high-damage caster builds and degen can often overwhelm the light healing provided by Glyph of Restoration.
 * Protection spells such as Protective Spirit and Spirit Bond can severely reduce the amount of damage dealt by this build.
 * Dazed combined with any non-blinded attacker will completely shut this down.
 * Anti- spell caster hexes such as Backfire, Soul Leech, Spiteful Spirit, Migraine, and Arcane Conundrum.
 * Avatar of Melandru will prevent the blindness effect entirely.

Variants

 * If playing Luxons on Fort Aspenwood, pick Necromancer as your secondary and replace Resurrection Signet with Gaze of Contempt or drop one point in Energy Storage for 5 Death Magic to get Well of the Profane.
 * For Alliance Battles, Jade Quarry, or Kurzicks on Fort Aspenwood, replace Resurrection Signet with Windborne Speed.
 * Lightning Orb can be replaced with Glyph of Elemental Power for more reliable damage frontloading, but less spiking power.
 * Glyph of Restoration can be replaced with Aura of Restoration to cover Air Attunement, while providing heal-over-time.
 * Glyph of Lesser Energy can be used over Gale to help with energy management.
 * Some skills that can replace Arc Lightning are Enervating Charge, and Lightning Bolt. Also Chain Lightning is good but it causes Exhaustion.

=Air Spiker= The Air Spiker is an aggressive Air Magic spike damage build. It is commonly used in Guild versus Guild with many others running variants of this build. Air Spikers are common in almost every area of PvP thanks to their high damage output on single targets.

Equipment

 * An Insightful Air Magic staff is the standard suggestion. Runar's Brimstone Staff is excellent.

Note: In a synchronized Air spike team, the 20% chance of faster casting speed weapon mod can give the spike target away. It is imperative in such teams that all spikers hit the target at exactly the same time; therefore, it is best not to use it in such a build.

Usage

 * Cast Air Attunement immediately before an encounter and remember to keep it up.
 * Choose a target in sync with your party's plan and try to take it out.
 * Use your spiking skills in the order of how fast they recharge, Lightning Strike and Orb can be spammed indefinitely since their recharge is only 5 seconds each.
 * Use Gale to control events around your party. If the spike target is running away, you can pin him down with Gale long enough to finish him off with Lightning Orb. If the target is using a long casting self heal like Troll Unguent or Healing Signet, use it as an interrupt. If an enemy is harassing your monk, use it on the enemy to give your monk a breather.
 * Use Glyph of Lesser Energy to save energy on Lightning Orb and Blinding Flash.
 * Use Blinding Flash to shut down enemy non-spellcasters.
 * Air Spells are cheap and fast to recharge, so in general, being interrupted is not a big issue. Beware of Distracting Shot and Diversion however. Also, a well-placed Backfire can kill you in a matter of seconds.

Variants

 * Replace Invoke Lightning with Lightning Surge, and use it immediately before Lightning Orb for a massive 200 damage spike.
 * Also for PvP, consider mesmer as a secondary profession and bring Shatter Enchantment or Drain Enchantment to make your spikes more effective, especially to counter skills that reduce your damage like Protective Spirit and Feigned Neutrality.
 * Aura of Restoration can be used especially in RA as a self-heal and cover Enchantment for Air Attunement.
 * Windborne Speed and Storm Djinn's Haste can be used for a speed boost. This is especially useful in Competitive Missions.
 * Invoke Lightning can be replaced with Mind Shock. This allows for a Knockdown.
 * Vigorous Spirit can be used in conjunction with Aura of Restoration for decent healing whenever you cast your spells.

=Terra Tank= This build uses Stone Striker to convert damage received into Earth Damage, which trigger Mantra of Earth to reduce the damage and gain energy. Stoneflesh Aura then reduces the damage further. By using high damage dealing skills, this build may be used to solo the Smite Crawlers in the Underworld within 10 minutes.

Equipment

 * Geomancer armor, though not required, will provide you with 20 extra armor.
 * Anything along the lines of Galigord's Stone Staff.

Clear the Chamber

 * Upon entering the Underworld, watch the patrolling Bladed Aatxes in front of the Lost Soul.
 * When they are far away from him, use Storm Djinn's Haste to run and take the Clear the Chamber quest from him.
 * Run back as soon as you accept it and wait in the centre. Make sure you retarget yourself with the "F" key.
 * The best way to do this is if you press the "R" key after the "X" key. Which will auto-reverse and run you back.
 * Kill any Dying Nightmares along the edge if you popped them
 * If they are patrolling wait for them to leave before the next step.
 * Do not forget to re-target yourself before proceeding as you will eventually enchant the NPC instead of you.
 * Cast Stone Striker, Mantra of Earth and Storm Djinn's Haste.
 * Cast Stoneflesh Aura and Aggro 1 group of Grasping Darkness’ at a time and return back to the centre as far back as you can.
 * Use the same X-R technique to make this safer.
 * Wait until all of the Grasping Darkness’ use up their Distracting Blows. This is about 5 seconds.
 * Attacking them will induce their Interrupts but make sure you count how many Grasping Darkness' there are and how many have interrupted you.
 * Cast Ancestor's Visage, wait another 5 seconds.
 * Recast Stoneflesh Aura then use Sandstorm followed by Dragon's Stomp 1 second after and Aftershock immediately after.
 * Those that are not dead will run, this is your chance to renew your Stone Striker.
 * Those returning will attack with Distracting Blow as soon as they get back, and remember to count.
 * Cast Ancestor's Visage again and wait 5 seconds.
 * Recast Stoneflesh Aura and use Aftershock.
 * Those still not dead you may simply wand to death.
 * Another method for killing the Grasping Darkness' is to do exactly the same thing, but wait about 1 second before activating Dragon's Stomp, this way, they will often die before running.
 * Do the same for the other groups.
 * Agroing multiple groups of grasping darknesses can be dangerous because of all the interrupting, it's best to go one group at a time.

Getting to the Ice Wastes

 * After killing the 3 mobs of Grasping Darkness' you will be able to leave the central chamber.
 * Carefully watch the Bladed Aatxe patrols East of where you first entered the Underworld.
 * Make sure that they are away from the tunnel leading into the next room.
 * Run out of the chamber with Storm Djinn's Haste.
 * In the tunnel, wait until the Grasping Darkness' and Dying Nightmare patrol are far away (marked by the X in the map).
 * Run into the Ice Wastes with Storm Djinn's Haste.
 * Once in the Ice Wastes you can farm the Smite Crawlers in the same way you killed the Grasping Darkness’ except use Sandstorm immediately followed by Dragon's Stomp and Aftershock without the 1 second delay.
 * Watch out for Coldfire Nights, do not aggro them.
 * If you do, instantly hit Storm Djinn's Haste and try to run away in a zig-zag pattern to dodge Shard Storm.


 * When Dying Nightmares do pop, let it strip you, then put all enchantments back on. Smite Crawlers can’t kill you before you replace Stoneflesh Aura.

List of Farmable Areas

 * The Underworld
 * Minotaurs at Elona Reach (Recommended to bring Glyph of Elemental Power)
 * Mountain Trolls outside of Droknar's Forge
 * Kirins outside of Maatu Keep (Pongmei Valley exit) (bring a snare skill)
 * Ice Imps outside of the Ice Caves of Sorrow
 * Icy Dragon Sword farming in the Mineral Springs, (build explained in talk)
 * Minotaurs outside Ice Tooth Cave
 * Insects in Arkjok Ward just outside Yohlon Haven.

Farmable Bosses

 * Zelnehlun Fastfoot in The Floodplain of Mahnkelon, a short distance east of Rilohn Refuge (bring Aura of Restoration)
 * Exuro Flatus in Domain of Secrets
 * Bring Aura of Restoration, Armor of Earth and whatever damage skills you see fit. Do not forget to turn your Lightbringer title on.
 * Or use Glyph of Renewal, Sliver Armor, Crystal Wave and Ether Feast
 * Riktund the Vicious in The Mirror of Lyss
 * Bring Storm Djinn's Haste and run out of Beetle's and take Aura of Restoration.

Counters

 * Degeneration (unless you bring either Aura of Restoration or Ether Feast)
 * Enchantment stripping.
 * Stance removal.
 * Interrupts coming from those not adjacent to you.
 * Heavy damage output. (for example Bladed Aatxes or Coldfire Nights)

Variants
Glyph of Restoration.
 * Using Glyph of Concentration is an option. By precasting before agroing the Graspings, you can save yourself the risk of being interrupted. Th downside: losing time on killing smites.
 * To farm easier places, you need to consider any interrupters or enchantment strippers around and modify the build to counter. You may also like to replace Storm Djinn's Haste with Glyph of Elemental Power if running is not needed.
 * For longer fights, bring more armor instead of Ancestor's Visage.
 * Damage skills are very open depending on the circumstance.
 * This build may be replicated with Prophecies and Nightfall only. Dragon's Stomp may be replaced with Earthquake and Ancestor's Visage with Sympathetic Visage.
 * If a particular mob does not need Ancestor's Visage or Storm Djinn's Haste, replace it with a utility skill like, like Grasping Earth or Ward Against Foes and put the extra attributes into Energy Storage or Inspiration Magic.
 * If you are finding it hard to do Smite runs, look on the talk page for variants.
 * If you intend to farm enemies giving out very large damage output, you could bring Kinetic Armor. This needs to be maintained by spamming Stone Daggers.
 * When going into AB, switch out illusion magic and Ancestor's Visage for more Energy Storage and
 * Using the build in the same fashion as killing Smites, you can solo nodes, all except the Mesmer one.

Usage
A Starburster's main job is to deal big damage to all nearby foes by using skills based on striking nearby foes. It uses Death's Charge to quick approach enemy and strike him with his deadly skills. Fire Attunement gives some energy back so it's easy to strike many times. When enemies are weakened it's good to use Meteor Shower after using Glyph of Sacrifice to finish them off.

Equipment

 * A fire wand and flame artifact set with 20% HCT/HSR
 * A second set with +15 energy and -1 energy regeneration.
 * Full Battlemage's Armor (Stalwart Insignia: +10 vs. physical damage)

Variants

 * Glyph of Sacrifice or Flame Burst can be replaced by Bed of Coals.
 * Take Glyph of Lesser Energy if you expect to be spamming your skills constantly.
 * For a speed buff try Flame Djinn's Haste or Burning Speed.
 * Other common choices of Fire Magic skills include Teinai's Heat, Searing Heat, Breath of Fire, Mark of Rodgort, and Phoenix.

=Incendiary Spiker= The Incendiary Spiker is built for RA and TA, where the short length of battles allows for more energy intensive builds. With slightly more conservative play, it can easily be adapted to Alliance Battles. It uses Incendiary Bonds in combination with Smoldering Embers to set up a delayed spike. Augury of Death then shadow steps them to the target so they can finish off with Star Burst.

Equipment

 * Blessed Insignias, With Rune of Superior Vigor and 2 Runes of Attunement
 * Weapons
 * A 20/20 Adept Fire Staff of Mastery

Usage

 * Maintain Fire Attunement.
 * Pick a squishy or overextended target for your spike.
 * Cast Augury of Death on the target, but beware of it only having half the normal casting range.
 * Next, cast Incendiary Bonds and queue up Smoldering Embers. Due to aftercast delay, these two spells will hit at nearly the same time.
 * Follow up with Liquid Flame to bring your target under 50% health. This activates Augury of Death, which causes a deep wound and teleports you to the foe.
 * Cast Flame Djinn's Haste and if they still aren't dead, finish them off with Star Burst.
 * While waiting between spikes, you can use Star Burst and Smoldering Embers to help finish off other targets.

Counters

 * Standard spellcaster counters such as:
 * Interrupts (Savage Shot, Power Spike, etc.)
 * Cast-punishing skills (Backfire, Spoil Victor, etc.)
 * Cast prevention skills (Guilt etc.)
 * Dazed


 * Anti-hexes (Hex Breaker, Holy Veil, etc.)

Variants

 * Replace Smoldering Embers with Fireball for AoE damage.
 * Replace Flame Djinn's Haste with Glowing Gaze and use it right after Smoldering Embers for additional energy management.
 * For Alliance Battles, replace Resurrection Signet with Immolate and replace Flame Djinn's Haste with Flame Burst.

This build can be run with Air Magic or Water Magic, keeping everything else the same. The skill bars would be the following:

=Point Capture Nuker= This build is meant to cap mines and break gates only in CM!

Equipment

 * Armor: All Radiant
 * Weapons: Insightful Fire Staff of Enchanting.

Usage
Whenever a mine has been taken by the opposing side, run just out of the range of the NPCs. Cast Glyph, MS, Death's Charge, Assassin's Promise, and then all other PBAoEs to kill the NPCs. This works on Gates and Mines.

Counters
Really any intelligent enemy. This isn't supposed to kill people, just NPCs. Do not go after a gate covered in enemies.

Variants
If you fear damage, you could replace Assassin's Promise with Shadow Form. But then You wouldn't be able to use Glyph of Sac+MS very often.

Equipment

 * Radiant Armor.
 * A Shocking Shortbow. For the suffix, of Fortitude works nicely.  If you're stylish, consider Boulderbeard's Shortbow.
 * A 20/20 Air Magic staff for when Thunderclap is not available.

Usage
The lockdown is achieved with Thunderclap and a steady, uninterrupted stream of attacks from the Shortbow. The gap between the time it takes your enemy to stand up and the time it takes the next shot to hit is a fraction of a second, meaning the enemy will not have a chance to use a skill or move before being knocked down again. To add sustained damage, have Brambles deal 5 damage + bleeding on each hit, and use Apply Poison to add an additional 4 pips of degeneration.

As battle begins, move with the rest of your team to claim a mine. If there is no major enemy group approaching, clear the Luxon Longbows with Lightning Orb and Lightning Strike. If you do see a large mob approaching, set up Brambles and lock down the threats - this should enable your allies to break away and get amber safely to the Gatekeepers.

Do not be afraid to die. When you are resurrected, you will have full energy. Dying is energy management. If you resurrect and your base is under attack, set yourself on the cliff overlooking the purple or orange gates, and target any convenient foes with the lockdown. Since these areas are often filled with enemies, you can often lock down 4 or more Luxon Warriors, Rangers with Pets, Minion Masters with their minions or foolhardy W/Mos and 'sins.

If your base is well under control, you can attempt to solo the Command Points. Take out the priests first, then the commanders. It is hard but not impossible to solo the Green Amber Mine.

If enemies get past your gates, then you can take three actions.
 * The First is to rely on your team to hold down the fort and simply try to run amber or take command posts.
 * The Second is to resurrect, and activate Apply Poison before you step into the portal - simply target the most threatening enemy (or possibly a group of enemies, such as a mob of Luxon Warriors) and attempt to take them out of commission. Often, preventing a monk from healing may give your teammates the chance they need to retake your base.  You may die quickly, but just repeat your efforts.
 * The Third option is what you will probably wind up doing when the enemy breaks through the green gate. Set up brambles and attempt to lock down any foes that mob Master Architect Gunther.  Sometimes just buying time will help your team pull things out of the hole.

Counters

 * You cannot knock down a Siege Turtle. To dispose of turtles, poison them, then use alternating casts of Lightning Orb and Lightning Strike.  You are not strong against turtles - do not focus on them if there are other targets.
 * Evasion Stances. Target the guy closest to them.
 * Hex Removal. Thunderclap them or the guy next to them.

Variants

 * Attributes are flexible. Remember that Wilderness Survival is not too important, as the conditions are reapplied on each hit.
 * You can remove Natural Stride for Storm Chaser, but the low cost and evasion chance is preferable.
 * Some might want to bring Glyph of Elemental Power - it costs five energy and requires you to prepare it before you cast Thunderclap, but saves you 1 energy per hit, for a possible gain of about 10 energy.
 * If you decide to take this build to RA, swap out Natural Stride for Resurrection Signet.

Equipment

 * A +5 energy sword/axe of Enchanting and a 20% recharge/+30hp air focus.
 * Runes of Superior Vigor, Superior Air Magic, Minor Energy Storage.

Usage

 * During Spikes, use Lightning Orb and Lightning Strike to deal fast and deadly armor penetrating damage.
 * Being primarily a Support build, your role is to assist the rest of your party.
 * Draw Conditions should be used as much as possible to reduce the need for Monks to waste their energy removing Conditions.
 * Cast Heal Party during pressure situations.
 * Use Blinding Flash to induce Blindness on enemy attackers, primarily Warriors.
 * Ether Prodigy should be used to maintain energy, but avoid filling your energy pool completely.
 * To remove the need of teammates using Resurrection Signet, use Glyph of Sacrifice followed by Resurrection Chant to instantly resurrect your party member to full or near-full health.
 * Use Windborne Speed to aid in a Flag Running role (providing variant is chosen).

Variants

 * Gift of Health is a common addition to this build, usually replacing Lightning Strike.
 * Extinguish can replace Lightning Strike in this build, for faster condition removal.
 * Replacing Resurrection Chant with Restore Life allows you to resurrect the target with much more Energy, but with less Health. This, however, makes it dangerous to resurrect allies beyond the current front of combat, as you have to get within Touch range in order to cast Restore Life.
 * Gale can also be included, but the addition of another exhaustion causing skill requires that it be used sparingly.
 * Replacing Lightning Strike with Enervating Charge allows you to cover Blinding Flash, and/or hinder another enemy.
 * The Glyph of Sacrifice/Resurrection skill combo can be replaced by a Resurrection Signet.
 * Ward Against Melee can replace Glyph of Sacrifice. If doing this, take points out of your other attributes and put a few into earth. A high spec is not required.
 * You may wish to add in Windborne Speed in place of Draw Conditions for Flag running.
 * Healing Breeze can be incorporated as well to counter degeneration.

=Hybrid Flag Runner= This build is used in GvG to run flags, securing Morale Boosts, while also assisting the team with hex snares and heals.

Equipment

 * Archmage's Armor
 * +5 energy or Halves Skill Recharge 10% sword of Enchanting or Spirit of the Forgotten and hsr 20% Health +30 water focus (weapon slot 1); +5 Energy sword of Enchanting +15/-1 energy Health +30 water offhand (slot 2) and a -5 energy or Halves Skill Recharge 10% sword and focus set to switch to in order to prevent damage from Ether prodigy. A Reduce Cripple 20% Health +30 shield is useful to reduce the duration of enemies that may try to snare you while flagging.
 * Empty armor slots can be filled with Runes of Vitae or a Rune of Restoration, depending on preference.

Usage

 * Your primary job is to run the flag. As such, do not get overly involved in the fighting unless you have superiority at flag stand.
 * Keep Storm Djinn's Haste up while running the flag.
 * Use Blinding Flash to protect yourself and your team from warriors, rangers, assassins and Dervishes.
 * Assist your team by snaring the opposing team with your water hexes or heal and remove conditions with Heal Party and Extinguish, as well as take pressure off your team's monks with Heal Party spamming.
 * Use Ether Prodigy while assisting the team with heals or snares to regain energy.

Counters

 * Snares make flag running a lot harder. Be sure your monks are aware of you when you get into the enemies range while running the flag.
 * Neither Healing Breeze nor Heal Party are great self-heals and relatively easy to interrupt. This build is not meant to go one-on-one with other characters. If getting attacked while running the flag, try to blind the attacker and run away.

Variants

 * Drop one of the snares for a condition removal skill such as Mending Touch.
 * Drop Freezing Gust for Gale. This way you won't have to spread your atributes into Water Magic, as Deep Freeze's duration is not effected by your atributes.

=Hydro Support Caster= This Elementalist build is a popular support build used in many GvG matches. It provides condition removal, support healing, and many snares to both help your players kite and to help your warriors catch up to their kiters. Not especially strong in spike builds, but great in pressure builds.

Attributes and Skills

 * Use Vapor Blade for helping spikes, Blurred Vision for more warrior hate, Extinguish for condition control, or Teinai's Prison/Ice Prison for more snares.
 * NOTE: Don't use Teinai's Prison or Ice Prison in a team build with fire damage.

Equipment

 * A +5 energy sword/axe of Enchanting and a 20% recharge/+30hp water focus.

Usage

 * Being mainly a support role, don't try to do damage too much.
 * Snare enemy warriors to help your players kite.
 * Snare your warriors' targets to help them reach them.
 * Try to catch multiple people in Deep Freeze's obscene AOE.
 * Snare the enemy team when retreating or when they're falling back.
 * Use Draw Conditions to keep your warriors clean and to help the monks.
 * Use Ether Prodigy to keep your energy up, but be careful not to exhaust yourself out and try not to keep your energy at max.

Variants

 * Gale can also be included, but the addition of another exhaustion causing skill requires that it be used sparingly.
 * Ward Against Melee can replace Heal Party. If doing this, take the points out of healing and put them into earth.
 * You can incorporate Aegis into this build if you're trying to do an Aegis chain.
 * Include Vapor Blade to help in spikes.
 * Replace Shard Storm with Ice Prison or Teinai's Prison for more snares.
 * Use Armor of Mist when doing competitive missions or flag running.
 * Use Heal Other or Healing Breeze to help assist your healers.

=Master of Magic Smiter=

This build is focused on the use of the Elementalist elite skill Master of Magic to provide Energy management. That is used in combination with the Monk's Smiting Prayers, and together, it creates a mobile smiting build that can not only provide excellent damage support, but also provide ample protection when needed.

Usage

 * Maintain Master of Magic and Zealot's Fire as often as possible.
 * Spam Reversal of Fortune along with Draw Conditions on target ally to deal damage to all foes nearby.
 * Use Balthazar's Aura to further increase damage dealt.
 * Remove harmful hexes with Smite Hex.
 * Enchant attacking allies with Judge's Insight to increase their damage output.
 * Resurrect fallen allies with Resurrection Signet.

Equipment

 * Any weapon can be used, as long as you have an of Enchanting upgrade to your weapon.
 * Rune of Minor Energy Storage, Superior Vigor.

Counters

 * Heavy Enchantment removal harms both your output and your Energy management.
 * Diversion is a major counter, as it can halt your spamming capabilities. However, if Diversion gets, say, Smite Hex or Judge's Insight, you may lose the use of those skills for a while, but they'll be disabled for a long time, contributing to Master of Magic without particularly great loss to the build.  If you've got Diversion on try to throw one of those skills at it.

Variants

 * Use Judge's Intervention for another Enchantment, as well as a defensive skill.
 * Protective Spirit can be used for increased spamming and damage reduction.
 * If energy is still a problem, consider Glyph of Lesser Energy for use with Balthazar's Aura or Zealot's Fire.
 * Guardian is another choice for a spamable enchantment to trigger Zealot's Fire. This also contributes to defense.

Equipment

 * Armor: Minor Runes + Radiant Insignia + Superior Vigor
 * A superior Earth Magic Rune can be equipped. In this case, switch to Survivor Insignia to make up for health loss
 * Weapons: +5 Energy Axe/Sword/Spear of Enchanting / +30 health and 20% HSR on Earth Magic Focus item
 * Alternate weapon sets: 1 high energy set (+30/-2) and 1 low energy set (-5 Energy Axe/Sword/Spear of Enchanting and +30 health shield)

Usage

 * Place wards to protect your team. Know your enemy to better manage your energy:
 * Use Ward Against Melee to protect against melee-heavy teams, use Ward of Stability to prevent knockdowns (i.e., Hammer Bash from a Thumper) and use Ward Against Foes near your backline, so the monks can kite away from melee trains faster.
 * Use Ward Against Foes to snare relic runners.
 * Try to ensure optimal ward coverage (protect healers if they're targeted, etc.)
 * Use Sandstorm on bunched up foes (i.e., two teams fighting on the Altar, or a team body-blocking your relic runner)
 * Use Gale to knock down key foes (e.g. Ghostly Hero when using Claim Resource, or a relic runner)

Counters

 * Enchantment removal leads to energy problems
 * Disruption is easy and effective as most of your skills have both high activation and recharge times
 * All standard caster counters (Backfire, Arcane Languor, Dazed, etc.)

Variants
Gale can be replaced with:
 * Obsidian Flame for spike damage.
 * Web of Disruption for an interrupt
 * Armor of Earth, Frigid Armor or Mantra of Flame for increased survivability (depends very much on the FotM build)

=Savannah Heat=

This build uses Savannah Heat, and 2 other AoE fire spells to apply pressure to the other team and keep them moving, and possibly off a certain target. Also, if a monk is trying to run out of the AoE spells, they are not healing which gives your team a big chance to get a few kills.

Equipment

 * Radiant Insignias and Attunement/Vitae Runes.
 * Insightful PvP Fire Staff of Enchanting.
 * OPTIONAL * 20/20 Wand or Off Hand for better recharge/casting time on the long recharge times of the AoE spells.

Usage
Before you start the fight, cast Fire Attunement, followed by Arcane Echo, Savannah Heat, Gale, and Another Savannah Heat. Use the other two AoE spells when Savannah Heat is recharging. For relic matches in HA, use Flame Djinn's Haste to run the relic.

Counters

 * Interruption
 * Ward of Stability
 * Diversion
 * Daze skills like Awe
 * And all other standard anti-caster tactics

=Fiery Prisoner=

This is a PvP build designed to cause high AoE damage over time while forcing a target to remain in the area of effect. The build utilizes high damage Fire Magic spells while using Shadow Prison and knockdowns to prevent the target from escaping.

Equipment

 * Blessed Armor
 * As many +health runes as possible
 * A Defensive Fire Staff of Defense or any other set that gives +10 armor

Usage

 * Cast Fire Attunement before the battle.
 * Use Flame Djinn's Haste as a cover if the opposing team has enchantment removal.
 * The following skills are meant to be used in succession.
 * Pick a target that isn't moving much and cast Fire Storm.
 * Immediately use Shadow Prison followed up by Iron Palm.
 * Cast Bed of Coals while your target is knocked down, followed by Shock for another knockdown and burning.
 * Finally, use Flame Djinn's Haste for a final spike and a speed boost to kite while waiting for your combo to recharge.

Counters

 * General caster counters (Dazed, interrupts, hexes, etc.)
 * Kiting the first spell, Fire Storm
 * Hex Breaker
 * High armor enchantments
 * Knockdown prevention skills

Variants

 * Replace Resurrection Signet with a self heal for Alliance Battles or Competitive Missions.
 * Replace Fire Storm with Searing Heat or Teinai's Heat for a bigger AoE spell. It doesn't last as long, but causes burning.
 * Glyph of Lesser Energy can be use in place of Fire Attunement.
 * If energy is not a problem, consider replacing Fire Attunement with a self heal.
 * Entangling Asp could be a good option instead of Shock. Although it can't be used on demand, it poisons your target and doesn't cause exhaustion.

Equipment

 * Exorbitant equipment isn't crucial. Preferably high energy armor (Radiant insignias if using Nightfall armor) and weapons. Consider an "of Enchanting" weapon on switch for Fire Attunement.

Usage

 * Keep Fire Attunement up at all times. Between battles, recast it to avoid having it run out at inconvenient moments.
 * Find a squishy and (mostly) stationary target - healers and their caster friends in nearby range make good targets - then use Glyph of Sacrifice and Meteor Shower on it.
 * Be sure to call your targets (by holding Control) so your allies know to support you, including any heroes and henchmen.
 * Follow up with Mark of Rodgort followed by Fireball, Glowing Gaze and Liquid Flame. When your target reaches approximately 20% Health (varies depending on resilience and current rate of damage), cast Assassin's Promise on him and finish him off. Then start switching targets and firing off Promises and Gazes on dying targets to recharge and gain energy.
 * Always be on the lookout for targets of opportunity (dying foes) to use Promise and/or Glowing Gaze on to gain energy and recharges. Coordinate attacks with your party. Be careful not to use it on resilient targets such as rangers or warriors, unless you're sure you can finish them off, and beware hex removal and interrupts (i.e, don't cast promise under maelstorm).
 * Since you'll be firing off a bunch of Meteor Showers, having a Ritualist take Earthbind will work wonders. Also, having other elementalists in the party helps ensure your targets actually die (though the same can be said for any damage dealer). An air spiker would be particularly useful for this purpose.

Counters

 * Hex removal - without Assassin's Promise, you cannot recharge your skills. Use Mark of Rodgort to bait hex removal and cover Promise if necessary.
 * Enchant removal - without Fire Attunement energy becomes an issue. Keep in mind that Promise will recharge attunement quickly, though.
 * Running Away - Even PvE monsters will Kite. Careful because sometimes you won't be able to follow them without dying.
 * A lot of healing - Which is why you take out Monks and Ritualists first.

Variants

 * If necessary, switch out Liquid Flame for a Resurrection Signet or Sunspear Rebirth Signet. Please note that Promise will NOT recharge these signets.
 * In later areas of Nightfall, consider using Lightbringer's Gaze instead of Liquid or Fireball
 * If you're feeling brave enough to pack 2 superiors, keep storage as is and hike up deadly arts to 10. It's worth it.

=Death's Wave= This build is designed as an alternative to the traditional PvE fire nuker, using assassin shadow stepping skills to quickly deploy PBAoE Earth Magic skills.

Equipment

 * Generically, Blessed Insignia on the chest and legs, with Survivor or Radiant Insignias on the gloves and feet.
 * 20/20 Hale Earth Staff of Fortitude preferred

Usage

 * Cast Earth Attunement then Armor of Earth for +62AL at 16 Earth Magic.
 * Find a target surrounded by multiple enemies and cast Death's Charge. Try not to be the first player to take aggro.
 * Cast Shockwave then Crystal Wave (or Whirlwind then Aftershock first if there are many attacking enemies)
 * After casting as many combinations of your skills as your energy allows, retreat to the back line to recharge.
 * Try not to use Whirlwind unless you can follow up with Aftershock, or if the enemies around you aren't attacking. Alone it does very little damage.

Counters
Arrogance is the main killer in this build. You must remember that you are not the main tank, and if you start taking damage you should try to lose the aggro. Armor of Earth is an insurance policy to give you a couple of seconds extra if you do start taking damage.

Variants
Armor of Earth could be replaced with Kinetic Armor. This can be hard to maintain but offers better protection with no downside. Return is also a good possibility in order to lost the aggro.

=Echo Nuker= This build is used to inflict massive amounts of damage in a small amount of time with an Elementalist. This build is effective almost anywhere in PvE, such as the Underworld and the Fissure of Woe, where there can be many monsters gathered up in a tightly packed space. While there are many versions of Elementalist nukers, this build focuses on high damage Fire Magic skills. The Echo Nuker is one of the popular builds that utilize the effects of the Mesmer elite Echo to allow for repeated casts of Meteor Shower or any other spell equipped, allowing for high amounts of damage within shorter periods of time.

Usage

 * Echo Nukers should use Echo chains.
 * Maintain Aura of Restoration and Fire Attunement to stay alive and manage your energy.

Single enemies or low level enemies
In general, these skills have long cast times (all spells cast in 2 or more seconds). When playing with others, single enemies may be dead before two spells are cast. Be aware of your role: you're needed in big fights, saving the powerful spells for groups or particularly tough enemies. Use Fireball and Rodgort's Invocation as needed. PBAoE spells may be better if you decide to farm low level enemies.

Groups of enemies and Bosses
To avoid missing with Area of Effect spells, wait until enemies gather around the tank or other ally who will not be moving. Cast health and energy management, followed by echo or renewal spells, followed by the Area of Effect spells.

For Echo Nukers, most groups will be eliminated after one echo chain, so energy management should not be an issue provided you recover energy and exhaustion before engaging the next group.

Variants

 * Replace Echo with Glyph of Energy, Elemental Attunement or Ether Prodigy for superior energy management.
 * Auspicious Incantation is a useful non-elite skill for energy management even with few or no points in Inspiration.
 * Glyph of Concentration, Mantra of Resolve or Mantra of Concentration for protection against interrupts.
 * Fire Storm or Breath of Fire for multiple effective skills to clear areas and break aggro.
 * Bed of Coals, Inferno or Phoenix in areas with lots of melee enemies.
 * Meteor for an inexpensive single strike and knockdown.
 * Glyph of Sacrifice is to good use on the second meteor shower for fast spells and prevents AoE scattering.
 * Teinai's Heat/Searing Heat is a good replacement for Rodgort's Invocation, it does more damage but it takes longer to recharge.
 * Glowing Gaze improves energy management even further, giving energy if the enemy is burning.
 * Lava Font to break aggro or just for some extra damage on top of Meteor Shower.
 * Incendiary Bonds and a 2-second cast-time spell for a nice damage spike at the second pulse of MS.
 * Replace Resurrection Signet for Sunspear Rebirth Signet for extra energy on resurrection.

Equipment

 * A complete set of your preferred armor:
 * For characters who have access to Tyrian Armor, choose armor based on expected enemies.
 * Flame's Eye or Pyromancer's Aura of Superior Fire Magic
 * A rune of Superior or Major Vigor is preferred.
 * Any of the below weapon sets:
 * Rago's Flame Staff
 * A Fire Wand with maximum damage and +5 energy, combined with either:
 * A Flame Artifact from the Weaponsmith Sarad in Droknar's Forge, for extra damage and health.
 * A Flame Artifact from the collector Sir Pohl Sanbert in The Arid Sea, for faster casting and recharge.
 * The unique offhand Lian's Lantern.
 * Although not necessary, a wand and focus with +15 energy and -1 energy regen on weapon switch is useful for emergency situations where energy is critically needed and there will be ample recharge time after the battle.

Attributes and Skills

 * Glyph of Lesser Energy can be replaced with Aura of Restoration if entering an area with many Enchantment removing enemies although higher energy management is required - consider asking a Necromancer to bring Blood Ritual.
 * Switch Resurrection Signet for Blinding Flash when going into AB to blind your attackers.

Equipment

 * Radiant Armor is needed for a larger energy pool.
 * An Insightful Air Staff with HSR 20% and HCT Air 20% is preferred. An of Fortitude mod works well. Amadis' Air Staff and The Skybringer are also good choices.

Usage

 * Cast Air Attunement before you enter the battle.
 * Use your Glyph then cast Arcane Echo.
 * Choose a target close to two others for optimal damage and cast Invoke Lightning then cast the Echoed version.
 * Use Chain Lightning.
 * Cast Lightning Hammer to finish the enemy off.
 * Use Enervating Charge on warriors to decrease their damage output. (And Blinding Flash in AB.)

Counters

 * Enchantment Removal hampers the energy management - consider taking Aura of Restoration instead of the Glyph.
 * Spike countering heals slow this build down.

Variants

 * Aura of Restoration can be taken instead of the Glyph as a cover enchantment.
 * For AB swap res for Blinding Flash.

=Earth Tank PBAoE= The E/Mo PvE Tank is designed to produce an essentially invincible tank which is also capable of producing high, AoE damage.

Equipment

 * Any Armor will work except one which increases your health. Using Radiant Insignias is a good idea for the additional energy.
 * Preferably a Staff of Enchanting Linked to Earth Magic. Galigord's Stone Staff is optimal.

Usage

 * Cast Balthazar's Spirit
 * Cast Ward Against Foes to help prevent AoE scatter as well as to aid your team
 * Cast and Maintain Protective Spirit and Stoneflesh Aura
 * Cast Shockwave, Crystal Wave, and Teinai's Crystals whenever possible.

Counters

 * Degneration
 * E-Denial
 * Life Stealing
 * Enchantment Stripping
 * Interrupting

Variants

 * Healing Breeze
 * Stone Daggers
 * Ebon Hawk
 * Obsidian Flame
 * Grasping Earth
 * Sandstorm and Unsteady Ground are viable replacements for Shockwave.
 * Glyph of Lesser Energy if energy is an issue.
 * Glyph of Concentration if you fear interruption for Stoneflesh Aura
 * In areas where enchantment stripping is a major issue, Shockwave may be replaced by Obsidian Flesh for less damage but much greater survivability.

Equipment

 * Tempest Armor
 * Something along the lines of Galigord's Stone Staff will be perfect.

Usage

 * Upon entering the Underworld, check in front of you to see if there are three Bladed Aatxes in the mob. If there is, and the third isn’t moving, it means there is a Dying Nightmare spawn to the right.
 * If there is, cast Kinetic Armor and maintain it with, Aura of Restoration.
 * Pull the first mob and run to the NPC Benton. As long as you hide behind him the Bladed Aatxes cannot get to you, however keep your enchantments up for convenience.
 * By now, the Dying Nightmare would have spawned and you can now wand him without worrying about the Bladed Aatxes.
 * If there is no third Bladed Aatxe, then you are safe and you are free to pull the mob.
 * After taking out the Dying Nightmare, or if there were none, take the Clear the Chamber quest. Then cast Armor of Earth and tank the mob.
 * Cast Glyph of Renewal to keep up Magnetic Aura, and use Sliver Armor for damage.
 * Keep Teinai's Crystals or Crystal Wave if you are using only Prophecies skills, as a finisher. This way, the Grasping Darkness’ will be able to contribute to Sliver Armor’s triggering and the Bladed Aatxes will die faster. Bladed Aatxes have the higher armor so you will want to target them first.
 * As of the October 25th AoE update, the monsters will run when they take too much damage. Don’t worry, just wand them and they will come right back. You will be wanding anyways to charge up Bonetti's Defense.
 * When low on health, cast more, and if you are Dazed just use Aura of Restoration and Magnetic Aura to keep Kinetic Armor up. Wait for it to finish and continue to kill the mob.
 * When low on energy, use Bonetti's Defense, you will be almost guaranteed to block everything for the full 6 seconds it is active. Be cautious as casting to keep Kinetic Armor alive will disengage Bonetti's Defense.
 * After killing the first mob, move on to the next in a clockwise rotation.
 * First, pull any Dying Nightmares that might be hiding, if you aggro the Bladed Aatxes run back to NPC Benton and hide.
 * Wand the Dying Nightmare and carry on killing the mob.
 * Rinse and repeat until all Grasping Darkness’ and Bladed Aatxes are dead. Move on to the Ice Wastes.
 * Facing Smite Crawlers is the easy part as they attack fast, have lower armor and deal less damage.
 * Be careful when running to Smite Crawler nests as Dying Nightmares could pop up. They will likely be alone, so take it slow.
 * Do not engage the Coldfire Nights as they can interrupt you and they don’t drop any Globs of Ectoplasm anyway.

Counters

 * Enchantment stripping
 * Interrupts

Equipment

 * Any armor with Max AL can be used with this build, but Tempest Armor is preferred for its Armor bonus while enchanted.
 * An Insightful Air Staff of Enchanting or a Runar's Brimstone Staff is ideal.

Usage

 * Cast and maintain Elemental Attunement and Air Attunement, in that order.
 * Use Blinding Flash on approaching enemy attackers to negate any physical attacks. You can easily keep 2 targets blinded.
 * Deal heavy damage to multiple targets with Chain Lightning.
 * Lightning Hammer and Lightning Orb are your high damage, single-target skills.
 * Use Lightning Strike for a faster casting damage spell.

Counters

 * Mesmer interrupts.
 * Upon casting/action hexes, such as Backfire.
 * Enchantment removal, while not immediately devastating, will make energy management difficult, reducing the build's overall effectiveness.
 * Protective Spirit.

Variants

 * Enervating Charge for ensured damage reduction when facing attacking foes.
 * Aura of Restoration for self-healing and for covering the attunements.
 * Gale can be used as a Knockdown. This is recommended for Arena use.
 * Replace Blinding Flash with another damaging skill when in areas with few attackers.
 * Chain Lightning has 3-seconds casting time. It is usually not recommended to bring for spiking.
 * Instead of bringing Resurrection Signet for AB, an air enchantment that gives speed boost would be more useful.
 * Replace Chain Lightning with Mystic Regeneration (with an 8 spec in Earth Prayers) to both add to survivability and as a cheap cover to your attunements.

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.

=Unsteady Ground Warder=

This build focuses on the usage of different Ward Spells to provide an Area-of-effect protection support for party members. Other skills from the Elementalist's Earth Magic line are used to provide constant Area-of-effect damage. That results in an extremely efficient party support caster, as well as a damage dealer in PvE areas.

Equipment

 * Runes of Superior Earth Magic, Superior Vigor, Minor Energy Storage.
 * Any armor can be used, providing it has max AL.
 * Any weapon-offhand combo can be used, although ones that decrease recharge time and casting time are preferred.

Usage

 * Earthquake synergizes well with Ash Blast, to provide both damage, a Knockdown, and Blinding.
 * Use Glyph of Lesser Energy to lower the cost of your next two skills.
 * Ward Against Elements should be used when your party is susceptible to taking Elemental Damage.
 * Activate Ward Against Melee when party members are taking Melee damage.
 * Maintain Earth Attunement for energy management.
 * Revive fallen party members with Resurrection Signet.

Counters

 * Backfire is a threat to all casters, this one is no exception.
 * Being Dazed is another major threat.

Variants

 * Use Aura of Restoration as a cover enchantment for Earth Attunement, as well as source of self-healing.
 * Ward Against Elements and Ward Against Melee can be switched for other types of wards, such as Ward Against Foes and Ward of Stability. It is always best to know what your party is going into to optimize your selection of wards.
 * Ash Blast and Earthquake, although your main damage skills, can be replaced by other damaging skills, such as Eruption, Stone Daggers, or even Ebon Hawk. Note that you will be losing a Knockdown that also deals high damage, along with a blinding spell.
 * If using Monk, Ritualist, or Paragon secondary, you can replace Resurrection Signet with a hard res such as Rebirth, Flesh of My Flesh, or Signet of Return.

=Renewal Nuker=

This build is used to inflict massive amounts of damage in a small amount of time with an Elementalist. This build is effective almost anywhere in PvE, such as the Underworld and the Fissure of Woe, where there can be many monsters gathered up in a tightly packed space. While there are many versions of Elementalist nukers, this build focuses on high damage Fire Magic skills. This version relies on the power of Glyph of Renewal to cast any spell twice, or possibly even more in combination with other secondary class elites.

Variants

 * Auspicious Incantation is a useful non-elite skill for energy management even with few or no points in Inspiration.
 * Glyph of Concentration for extra protection against interrupts.
 * Fire Storm or Breath of Fire for multiple effective skills to clear areas and break aggro.
 * Bed of Coals, Inferno or Phoenix in areas with lots of melee enemies.
 * Meteor for an inexpensive single strike and knockdown.
 * Glyph of Sacrifice is to good use on the second meteor shower for fast spells and prevents AoE scattering.
 * Teinai's Heat is a good replacement for Rodgort's Invocation, it does more damage but it takes longer to recharge.
 * Lava Font to break aggro, or just as some nice extra damage on top of Meteor Shower.
 * This variant supports a non-Mesmer secondary profession.
 * Warrior: Tactical defenses, such as "Shields Up!" and Deflect Arrows
 * Ranger: Stances to lower recharge times such as Serpent's Quickness, energy management and movement using Storm Chaser, and protection such as Dryder's Defenses
 * Monk: Resurrection spells such as Rebirth, and powerful healing spells, such as Healing Breeze and Heal Party.
 * Mesmer: This version can continue to use Arcane Echo or the variants listed under Build:E/Me Echo Nuker.Mantra of Resolve or Mantra of Concentration can be used for protection against interrupts. Auspicious Incantation is a useful non-elite skill for energy management even with few or no points in Inspiration.
 * Assassin: Defensive skills such as Viper's Defense
 * Ritualist: Resurrection spells such as Flesh of My Flesh.

Equipment

 * A complete set of your preferred armor:
 * For characters who have access to Tyrian Armor, choose armor based on expected enemies.
 * Flame's Eye or Pyromancer's Aura of Superior Fire Magic
 * A rune of Superior or Major Vigor is preferred.
 * Any of the below weapon sets:
 * Rago's Flame Staff
 * A Fire Wand with maximum damage and +5 energy, combined with either:
 * A Flame Artifact from the Weaponsmith Sarad in Droknar's Forge, for extra damage and health.
 * A Flame Artifact from the collector Sir Pohl Sanbert in The Arid Sea, for faster casting and recharge.
 * The unique offhand Lian's Lantern.
 * Although not necessary, a wand and focus with +15 energy and -1 energy regen on weapon switch is useful for emergency situations where energy is critically needed and there will be ample recharge time after the battle.

Usage

 * Renewal Nukers generally repeatedly use Glyph of Renewal on Meteor Shower every fifteen seconds, casting other spells in between.
 * Maintain Aura of Restoration and Fire Attunement to stay alive and manage your energy.
 * You will want to activate Aura of Restoration after Fire Attunement since you'll want to cover up your main Energy Management skill.

Single enemies or low level enemies
In general, these skills have long cast times (all spells cast in 2 or more seconds). When playing with others, single enemies may be dead before two spells are cast. Be aware of your role: you're needed in big fights, saving the powerful spells for groups or particularly tough enemies. Use Fireball and Rodgort's Invocation as needed. PBAoE spells may be better if you decide to farm low level enemies.

Groups of enemies and Bosses
To avoid missing with Area of Effect spells, wait until enemies gather around the tank or other ally who will not be moving. Cast health and energy management, followed by echo or renewal spells, followed by the Area of Effect spells.

Renewal Nukers generally have more consistent energy, though it's certainly possible to run out mid-battle.