A good Geomancer nuker build?

[Trace Nightingale]

Hey guys, I'm new but have played the game for awhile now. I just started really enjoying the pvp side of the game (after a couple of months of pure PvE ^^) and i was wondering if this build i came up with would work. I've discussed it with a friend of mine but he has his doubts. I've posted it in my alliance forum and nobody answers. So i wanted some real feedback on this.

The build focuses on dealing HEAVY, armor & magic resistant "earth" damage to adjacent foes. Making this excellent for those sins and wars pounding down on you.

There are 2 versions that I've come up with. The first requires a nearby ally. I would suggest a ranger since when people choose between an ele or ranger to attack, they would go for the ele first. (opposed to having a monk near you) The second is a "stay-alive" tactic, yet keeps the heavy damage.

Crystal Tanking Nuker No. 1:

Profession: Elementalist/Assassin
Attributes: Earth Magic (12+3+1), Energy Storage (12+1)
Skills: Recall, Glyph of Renewal, Teinai's Crystals, Crystal Wave, Earth Attunement, Kinetic Armor, Obsidian Flame

Usage: Cast recall on the ally, then cast Earth attunement. When the enemy nears you, cast kinetic armor then glyph of renewal and Teinai's crystals when they are right beside you. Follow up with Crystal Wave and Teinai's crystals again. If they're not dead yet, finish them with obsidian flame. If you know you're dealing with a shock war, cast ward of stability before casting glyph of renewal. Recall when things turn nasty for you or when you're done.
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Crystal Tanking Nuker No. 2:

Profession: Elementalist/Mesmer
Attributes: Earth Magic (12+3+1), Energy Storage (12+1)
Skills: Arcane Echo, Crystal Wave, Glyph of Renewal, Teinai's Crystals, Earth Attunement, Kinetic Armor, Aura of Restoration, Obsidian Flame

Usage: Cast Earth attunement before entering combat, when within wand range of your target, cast kinetic armor and aura of restoration (Aura of Restoration can also be used as a cheap and spammable spell for resetting kinetic armor). Cast Arcane echo before reaching the target, then cast Crystal Wave, Glyph of Renewal, teinai's crystals, and then the 2 duplicated skills. Finish off with obsidian flame.
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Both builds look great to me, and the only weakness i can see in this is the occurance of backfiring mesmers. Any C&C would be appreciated. I don't even mind the "This build totally sucks" statement, just tell me whats wrong. Thanks!

[Genma Magik]

For the ele mesmer replace one of your skills with hex breaker, that will help against your backfire. The rest I can't think but I'll get to ya.

[Trace Nightingale]

Thanks, I'm so glad i finally got a reply ^^

[Auntie I]

They look like they'll work OK. Just a couple of questions.
How is your energy management? Have you had much trouble with Enchant stripping?

I'd really suggest with the first build that you not wait with the other casters but follow behind the Warriors. Otherwise, you allow your opponents too close to your Monks for my comfort. (Could be just me though)

[Trace Nightingale]

I've tested the first build and energy is alright. The only problem with both builds I've seen is that you can't spam it. Once you're done you'd better get your butt out of there before you get pounded on. Nonetheless, it is still an excellent starter bombing tactic. If it doesn't kill, it lowers the enemy's health low enough for quick kills.

I haven't tested the second build yet though.

EDIT: Ah! Enchant Stripping....i guess the second build would work alright with that. Let me rethink this.

[FRZN]

both crystal spells have a pretty good aftercast so it can take a while to finish using your spells. This means that enemies can either run away or heal, so it may be a good idea to add in a snare or interrupt. I actually tried a very similar build a couple of nights ago using ward against foes and armor of earth (faster recharge time makes it better vs enchant stripping, even if the armor is lower than kinetic, plus interrupts/backfire won't mess up all your defense because you can survive not casting for a few moments, and with high earth the slow is fairly small). I found it to work well against warriors, assassins (when they didn't port away early), iw mesmers, etc, but squishies still ran away and all i had against them was obsidian flame. Still, ward against foes kept them away from the fight, so I was still doing something useful.

[Trace Nightingale]

I realized Teinai's crystals had the longest "Aftercast", so i guess it would be helpful with that snare. Dang...and there isn't a skill in GW yet that prevents sins from teleporting out. Then again, it's they're only way of defense :wink: