Me/E continous nuke build

[theblang]

I posted in the main strategy forums and did not receive any input, was hoping I could here. I have been doing alot of thinking about the Me/E or E/Me debate, fast cast vs energy storage, but for this particular build strategy the half a second nukes would really utilize the 10 second time window of ether renewal.

Fast-casting has to be maxed out and then some with runes and items. The goal of this build is to do damage and do it quickly, all while earning energy and health in the process. Enchantments 1-5 will be loaded in order. Next, we'll be spamming Flare and Ice Spear as fast as possible. With Fast-Casting at 16, casting times are exactly halved, so both spells should be able to cast and be available for re-cast every second. I through in an AoE for good measure, but it could be replaced with Energy Tap, which if it were casted during Ether Renewal would provide 9 more energy than the nuking phase started with.

Here's a breakdown of healing and energy usage (_per second_):

--- 25 pt of Healing ---
Aura of Restoration (10*150% = 15) + Ether Renewal (5*2 = 10)

--- 0 pt Energy Cost (Nuking Phase) ---
Attunements ((-5*2) + 30% = -7) + Ether Renewal (5*1 = 5) + Armor (2)

--- 71 Damage ---
Flare (34) + Ice Spear (37)


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The Edge - Guild Wars Utility
http://www.sovereignlegion.com/downloads/theedge.htm

Class: Mesmer / Elementalist

Attributes: (cost) '+' indicates Rune attributes
Fast Casting: 12+4 (97)
Inspiration Magic: 3 (6)
Fire Magic: 9 (48)
Water Magic: 9 (48)

Total attribute points used: 199/200

Skills: [Attribute] (Energy, Cast Time, Recharge TIme)
1) Aura of Restoration [Energy Storage] (10,0,20) Enchantment: For 60 seconds, you are healed for 152% of the energy cost each time you cast a spell.

2) Water Attunement [Water Magic] (10,2,60) Enchantment: For 50 seconds, you are attuned to water. You gain 30% of the energy cost of the spell each time you use Water Magic.

3) Fire Attunement [Fire Magic] (10,2,60) Enchantment: For 50 seconds, you are attuned to fire. You gain 30% of the energy cost of the spell each time you use Fire Magic.

4) Channeling [Inspiration Magic] (5,1,15) Enchantment: For 18 seconds, whenever you cast a spell, you steal 1 energy from each nearby foe.

5) Ether Renewal [Energy Storage] (10,1,30) Enchantment: For 10 seconds, each time you cast a spell, you gain 1 energy and 5 health for each enchantment on you. This is an elite skill.

6) Flare [Fire Magic] (5,1,0) Spell: Flare flies towards target foe, striking for 34 fire damage if it hits.

7) Ice Spear [Water Magic] (5,1,0) Spell: Ice Spear flies toward target foe, striking for 37 cold damage if it hits. Ice Spear has half the normal spell range.

8) Rodgort's Invocation [Fire Magic] (25,5,15) Spell: You invoke the power of Rodgort at target foe's location. All enemies near this location are struck for 70 fire damage and are set on fire for 2 seconds.

[Telastyn]

hurray backfire.

[Durahan]

Not all mesmers need Backfire.

I have a build with the same concept as yours, except that I use Arcane Echo + Water Trident. Need to test it in game tho. (Haven't receieved my copy yet).

Wonder what Rodgort's Invocation is doing there. If you want a constant nuker, you'll need energy. Chaneling is nice, but you'll need to stay close to your enemies, something I wouldn't recommend.

Again, I still don't have the game, so maybe someone will be able to give a better feedback.

[BipolarTemp]

I think the above reply is that Backfire would tear this build apart. You enable your 10 second Ether Renewal and a lucky Mesmer could see it and hit you with a 10 second backfire. You're out for those 10 seconds, not to mention the next 20 because of the 30 second recharge time. Even without Backfire, this build is only workable at said efficiency for 1/3 of the time. I like the concept, but depending entirely upon a skill that lasts 10 seconds and has a 30 second recharge time is a mistake in my opinion.

[Durahan]

Looks like I misunderstood hehe

Anyway, backfire would tear apart any caster build... so I suggest grab something to counter it. Dunno if there's anything at illusion that could help ya (damn shipping).

[Telastyn]

shatter hex would, but then you're spending more time and energy. And that's ignoring any of the clever anti-enchantment stuff that could be done.

It's like big combo decks in magic. Sure, they work great on paper, and when they work in reality, they -really- work. But they're far too fragile. Throw in one or two adversities and you're screwed.

[Durahan]

"And that's ignoring any of the clever anti-enchantment stuff that could be done."

Like what?

OR, you could just fall back and wait for some warrior slaughter him. (okay that doesn't always work, but it'll sure piss the foe off. :happy14: )

[Telastyn]

Don't know. I know there's a few skills involving shattering or stealing enchantments. I'm not a big PvPer, and not too far along in the game. Given everything else about the game, I'm betting a fair number of those skills can be used to cleverly disrupt this build.

[Tsume]

I see your worried about the downtime waiting for Ether Renewal. Keep in mind that your other enchantments will probably last long enough for you to get off Ether Renewal twice before recasting everything.

You can theoreticly get out a nice damage burst useing this, and inbetween you could possibly launch a few 5 energy strikes, but you would have to be prepared to launch again.

It's definatley an interesting concept, and you can probably get some good effect from it, but the downtime is gonna be dangerous, and manageing the recasting of all the enchantments will be tricky.

Though I do think you will actually gain energy in your cycle instead of lose it. If your primarily casting Flare and Ice Spear which are 5 energy each, you will gain 1.5 energy back from each from the respective Attunements. So just take Flare for example, one cast of it is 5 energy, you then regain 1.5 energy from Fire Attunement. You also gain 5 energy from Ether Renewal for a total of 6.5 energy every cast. If you are expecting to cast both every 1 second, you should gain 13 energy while expending 10. This doesnt even take into account channeling should it take effect. So my point would be...you are actually gaining energy, so it seems as if it were kinda going to waste. So I would definatley keep that 8th slot for a damage skill, and possibly cast it right before you go into your 10 second nuke phase which should replenish your energy.

I might be missing something here, but thats how it seems. I think yoru coming out positive on energy usage, and not at a 0 cost.

[Durahan]

Here my thoughts after reading all the replies:

For the first 10 seconds (Ether Renewal), you'll be gaining energy instead of loosing it. But after, your rate of casting will decrease (not counting Chaneling, that, for me, it's a risky skill) until you can get Ether Renewal up again. For the 8th skill, maybe you could get something to protect you, so you can go into melee range and get the Chaneling working.

[Nubstar]

Canr you use Mantra of Recovery to make the recast time of Ether Renewal to 15 secs instead? Or does Mantra not affect enchantment spells?

[Tsume]

Here my thoughts after reading all the replies:

For the first 10 seconds (Ether Renewal), you'll be gaining energy instead of loosing it. But after, your rate of casting will decrease (not counting Chaneling, that, for me, it's a risky skill) until you can get Ether Renewal up again. For the 8th skill, maybe you could get something to protect you, so you can go into melee range and get the Chaneling working.

I think he used Channeling as an additional spell, more focused on another enchantment he could use in conjunction with Ether Renewal.


Canr you use Mantra of Recovery to make the recast time of Ether Renewal to 15 secs instead? Or does Mantra not affect enchantment spells?
No Mantra works on any spells you cast within its time limit, but it and Ether Renewal are both elite. The only way to use both would be with Arcane Mimicry.

[phatdawg]

Unlike inferno, phoenix or flame burst, channeling actually has a pretty wide range. I don't know how much wider the range is tho..


clever anti-enchantment stuff that could be done

There are plenty. Look these skills up: rend enchantment (necro), Well of Profane (necro), and blackout (mesmer).


I think yoru coming out positive on energy usage, and not at a 0 cost.

Tsume is right. You do come out positive on energy usage. But instead of Rodgort's Invocation with its montrous casting time, try Fireball instead. Sure it doesn't have the burning effect, but it's 10 energy cheaper, and does the same amount of damage. Or, replace it with arcane echo and activate it before you activate ether renewal. This way, you can keep spamming for 20 seconds. All in all, it's a very good build.

just my 2 cents.