User:Defiant Elements/Saving Vetted PvP Elementalist Builds

= E/any Water Trident Snarer = The Water Trident Snarer elementalist utilizes various Water Spells to pressure and hinder the opposing team with Slow, Miss, Knockdown, and direct damage.

Equipment

 * Armour with Survivor insignias.
 * A staff with dual 20% faster casting water mods.

Usage

 * Cast and maintain Water Attunement.
 * Slow pursuing or fleeing opponents with Freezing Gust.
 * Knockdown incoming or fleeing opponents with Water Trident.
 * Target clumped groups of enemies with Ice Spikes and Deep Freeze.
 * Try to afflict more than one enemy with Blurred Vision, Warriors or Assassins in particular.
 * Glyph of Lesser Energy is to maintain your energy, precast it before using your more expensive spells.

Counters

 * Standard caster counters...Backfire ect...
 * Excessive energy denial.
 * Excessive interruption.

Variants

 * Aura of Restoration can replace one of your water hexes to provide a cover enchantment as well as a self heal.
 * Glyph of Sacrifice and Resurrection Chant may be used in GvG or HA.
 * Blurred Vision can be switched for Aegis. Reduce energy storage to 9+1 and up Protection Prayers to 9 and use a weapon with an enchantment-lengthening mod.

= E/any Searing Flames Elementalist = This PvP build is used to cause high damage, semi-spammable AoE pressure. It can be adapted for PvE purposes.

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.
 * Resurrection Signet for fallen allies.

Counters

 * Enchantment removal.
 * Anti-spam skills such as Backfire, Spiteful Spirit, and Diversion.
 * Frigid Armor and Avatar of Melandru prevent burning, however Frigid Armor is an uncommon skill.
 * 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+HRT 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.

= E/any Lightning 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.

= E/any Dual Attunement Air Spiker = This build is a damage-focused Elementalist suitable for PvE groups. By utlizing both Air Attunement and Elemental Attunement, you get a huge energy return for each Air Magic spell cast, resulting in the ability to spam high energy cost skills repeatedly and continously without running out of energy.

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.

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.

= E/Rt Mind Blast Runner = The Mind Blast runner is a offensive support runner most typically chosen in split builds where you are fighting with only four to six men at the stand (including runner). The key to this character is spreading Mark of Rodgort across the enemy team. Mind Blast fuels Mark of Rodgort spam allowing it to be kept on a majority of the enemies. Since your allies should all have fiery weapons when this build is run, a significant amount of pressure is added through maintained burning.

Equipment

 * Full set of + Health Armor (Survivor Insignias)
 * A HCT/HSR 20% wand and HCT/HSR 20% Focus Item.
 * A +5 Energy/30HP Sword/Spear Axe with an Offhand of your choice.
 * Additional energy sets can be crafted.
 * Defensive sets can be crafted, along with weapons of Enchanting.

Team Equipment

 * Warriors, Assassins, Paragon, Rangers, and Dervishes should have fiery weapons available to them. Triggering Mark of Rodgort on their attacks greatly adds to any build's pressure.

Flag Stand

 * When with a flag stand team your primary function is running flags.
 * Between flag runs your goal is to spread Mark of Rodgort to as many targets as possible. The hex has a large AoE and is used quite often.  As such hex removal cannot efficiently combat it.
 * Use Mind Blast as often as possible to maintain energy levels. You will net 10 energy per successfully triggered Mind Blast.  Warriors are almost guaranteed to have less energy than you.  If you low energy level attempt to use 2-3 Mind Blasts on warriors  to level your energy out and then switch back to targeting enemies with lower AL. Alternatively, you can switch out a higher energy set, use Mind Blast, then switch back.  It is preferable to target enemies with Mark of Rodgort on them at the stand, but maintaining energy level is more important.
 * Fireball and Liquid Flame allow you to assist on spikes and exploit clusters of enemies. You may throw fireballs out fairly liberally due to the low recharge.  Liquid Flame should be used with slightly more discretion. They are especially effective in VoD and choke points.
 * Weapon of Warding should be placed on targets under heavy physical pressure.
 * At VoD, focus your damage on whatever enemy NPCs remain. They are easily hexed by Mark of Rodgort and enemy archers are almost always either attacking or using a skill at VoD.  Thus hitting a cluster of archers with Mark of Rodgort followed by Liquid Flame will set a large number of archers on fire.  In addition be mindful of where your bodyguard is throwing his spells.  If you can throw a Mark of Rodgort on the archers he is targeting he will constantly be refreshing the burning.

Small Team and Split

 * When separated from the main team and involved in a small split or solo fight your goal is a mix of degen and pressure. You typically want to enter these fights at a high energy level because they can be quite taxing.  If already low on energy you should consider activating Flame Djinn's Haste and running away until you recover some energy.
 * Against enemy rangers you will want to maintain Weapon of Warding on yourself at most times. An interrupt on Mind Blast will wreck your energy.
 * Against assassin's and warrior's you will want to throw Weapon of Warding on whatever target they are pressuring or are likely to pressure. Be warned enemy assassins may carry Expose Defenses.
 * Select a single target to pressure and place Mark of Rodgort on them, then relentlessly cast Mind Blast on them. Throw Fireball and Liquid Flame liberally.
 * Keeping yourself and allies alive will have priority over killing the enemy in most situations. Be sure to mix Weapon of Warding and Wielder's Boon use in between Mind Blasts.
 * This character may have difficulty fighting alone against two or more enemies. If you cannot scare them out of your NPCs with degen call for a warrior or ranger to provide assistance.
 * While this character can kill enemy NPCs solo, it can be time consuming as archers take reduced damage from fire and will counter-act the burning with Troll Unguent. Consider splitting with a partner when splitting offensively with this character.  Doing so greatly speeds up your ability to kill NPCs.

Counters

 * Enchantment removal greatly impacts your energy if it removes Fire Attunement. Always attempt to cover Fire Attunement with Flame Djinn's Haste.
 * Skills that negate block or evade can be problematic. Expose Defenses on an assassin needs to be particularly watched for.
 * Interrupts (mainly Distracting Shot on Mind Blast, Mark of Rodgort, or Weapon of Warding) will severely impact your ability to function away from the group. Keep Weapon of Warding up if there is such a risk.
 * A lack of condition removal leaves you vulnerable to degen and deep wound. Burning Arrow rangers will attempt to degen you out while assassins will attempt to go for a quick kill, and this is especially true if they have interrupted Weapon of Warding.  Break off engagement early if they seem to be gaining the upper hand.

Variants

 * Wielder's boon can be dropped for Flesh of My Flesh if the build demands a hard Resurrect.
 * Mend Body and Soul is a popular heal often taken in place of Wielder's Boon. If the target is under the effects of a weapon spell Wielder's Boon is far more powerful than Mend Body and Soul.  However, Wielder's Boon becomes a weak heal if you do not cast it on a target under the effects of a weapon spell.  Thus if you are rotating your heals between multiple targets quite often, Mend Body and Soul may serve you better.
 * Freezing Gust may be used in place of Wielder's Boon for a snare.
 * Smoldering Embers can replace Fireball based on personal preference. Fireball has a small AoE, but requires line of sight.  Smoldering Embers is single target, doesn't require line of sight, and may trigger a burning condition as it ends (but doesn't often do so.)  They both have the same cost, damage, cast time, and cool down so it boils down to personal preference.

= E/Rt 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

 * 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

 * Tempest Armour
 * 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.
 * 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 Armor of Mist and run in hitting your target with Ice Spear to lower his health prior to spike.
 * 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

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

Usage

 * Focus on trying to deal damage.
 * Try to catch multiple opponents in the AoE of your spells.
 * Use Meteor as an AoE knockdown.
 * Use Heal Party to keep your team's health up and to counter degen/pressure.
 * 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.
 * Use Glyph of Sacrifice to instantly cast Meteor Shower or Resurrection Chant.
 * Meteor Shower is most effective on clumps of enemies or NPCs, especially during Victory or Death.

Variants

 * Extinguish can replace Heal Party.
 * Ward Against Melee can replace Heal Party. If doing this, take the points out of healing and put them into earth.
 * Draw Conditions can be incorporated if you need to keep warriors clean of conditions.

= E/Mo 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.
 * Runes of Superior 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.

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.

= E/Mo 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.

= E/Mo Air Support Caster = This Elementalist build is a popular support build used in many GvG matches. It provides Condition removal and Healing to back up the Monks in your group, as well as providing ample Spike damage.

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.

= E/Me 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.

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)

= E/Me Echoed Invoker = The Echoed Invoker is designed to deal major damage to close targets quickly while making it harder for the monk to heal everyone injured.

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 Res Sig for Blinding Flash when going into AB to blind your attackers.

Equipment

 * Tempest 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.

= E/A Starburster = This build is designed to deal massive AoE damage within a strikingly short amount of time, to become a lethal force in Competitive Missions and Alliance Battles, where fast resurrection allows for such a feat to be accomplished.

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 its 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.

= E/A Shockwaver = The Shockwaver use the power of combo of two skills - Earthquake and Aftershock followed by Shockwave that deals lots of instant damage. It works just like the build Build:E/A Starburster which uses Star Burst instead of Shockwave. Where Starburster do lots of dmg in AoE long duration spells the Shockwaver do the instant damage which can be useful in lots of situations.

Equipment

 * Full blessed armor because you are enchanted all the time with Stone's Eye infused with Superior Earth Magic Rune and Minor Energy Storage Rune on the chest
 * Staff with ene +15, Enchantmets lasts 20% longer and HCT / HSR , 20/20. Galigord's Stone Staff is optional choice

Usage
Before attacking cast Earth Attunement and Aura of Restoration and try to maintain them all the time. Cast Glyph of Sacrifice then Shadow step between lots of mobs and start combo > Earthquake > Aftershock > Shockwave. This will cost 45 energy that means you will have 17 energy back and you will be healed for 165 health.
 * After making damage try to get back to friendly lines using Dash and wait to that time when at least Shockwave is recharged.

Counters

 * Anti casting Tactics like Backfire etc.
 * Breaking the attack chain. or extending recharge time of spells like Diversion
 * Energy draining skills Energy Surge, Energy Burn , Energy Drain or getting on low energy.

Variants

 * Major variant here is changing the magic to fire magic and start to play Build:E/A Starburster which can be equivalent to this build.
 * Changing optional slot from offensive to defensive etc.
 * You can remove Dash and you can put some armor boosting spells like Armor of Earth, Kinetic Armor, or Stoneflesh Aura or you can choose some damage - dealing skills like Sliver Armor which is extremely useful while you shadow step to minion master and minions attacks you. You can use also Eruption if you think you can manage your energy fairly.

= E/A Shattering Twilight = This Build uses Water Magic hexes to remove enchantments, and then spike using Vapor Blade and Shatterstone, while still being able to heal with Shadow Arts.

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.

= E/A 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

 * 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:

= E/A 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.