Guild Wars: Character Profession Primary attribute

[TriggerHappy]

I'd frankly say that the Elementalist mana bonus is really a mediocre attribute at best... Considering that Soul Reaping is superior in all but 4v4 pvp.

The Elementalist starts a battle with say, 30 extra mana, from 10 points in Energy Storage, right? Well, if throughout the course of the battle, your mana will never go above what a typical caster's maximum is (And it shouldn't... You should be casting, not staring into speace!), then that's the entire bonus. 30 extra mana. You burn through it, and it only comes into play the next time you fight.

The Necromancer, on the other hand, with 10 Soul Reaping, will gain 10 mana when something, anything, dies. In PvE, with large groups of monsters, itll definetely prove to be superior to Energy Storage, by far.  It also makes minions viable - 10 mana for the corpse hitting the floor, 10 mana for when your minion dies - almost pays off the 25 investment. After you make 4 kills, you already get a bigger benefit then Energy Storage would provide.

In PvP, especially Tombs, Soul Reaping really shines - its the only attribute that gets stronger, the more time a battle takes. If your team is losing members, then the extra mana may change the tides - if your team is winning, then it gives you an extra safety cushion, in case things go wrong.

I have to strongly disagree with that.

Soul Reaping is 'uber' in PvE but really underwhelming in PvP.

Just let me put it this way:

Assuming you have 10 in Soul Reaping (massive investment)

In order for you to get 80, just 80 energy from Sould Reaping, 8 people have to die. And you have NO control over when this happens. You're just as likely to have max energy at the time this happens and it'll be wasted.

On the other hand, with 10 in Energy Storage you get a total of 60 energy (70 with an Icon), and are able to use it when you need it. Not when somebody happens to die.

And usually, by the time even 4 people have died, the battle has already been decided, and that extra energy is helping very little. It's more important to do as much damage as possible from the start, to take out damage/healing generators from the start. And for that you need burst firepower. And to have burst firepower, you need energy reserves.

For "burst" damage potential, Energy Storage is unparalleled. Only Expertise comes close.

But that's not the extrent of the problems with Soul Reaping. The range is extremely limited (half the minimap), so you don't get energy for those deaths that happen away from your location (when you're on the pedestal in the Tombs, for example). It's also hard to accumulate a sufficient number of pets in PvP, so you can't really exploit that aspect of Soul Reaping either.

To add insult to injury, the Elementalist's Aura of Restoration is really not that great of a skill in PvP. It may mend little nicks and bruises, but its not going to save your life when two warriors, a ranger, and 2 elementalists are focusing their fire on you.

To tie in with the above, the main use for Aura of Restoration is actually not healing ;) .

Using Aura of Restoration (Enchantment), Fire Attunement (Enchantment) and Ether Renewal (Enchantment, Elite) with 10 in energy storage, you'll be gaining 4 energy every time you cast Flare or Stone Daggers. Witih 1 second cast time and zero recharge time on those spammable skills, you can gain 40 energy in 10 seconds (while, ofcourse, doing damage).

How? Because this is what Ether Renewal does:

Ether Renewal {Elite}:
Description: For the next 10 seconds, each time you cast a spell, you gain 1 - 4 energy for each Enchantment on you.
Energy Cost: 10.
Casting Time: 1 second.
Recharge Time: 30 seconds.
Linked Attribute: Energy Storage. Increases energy gained.
Skill Type: Enchantment Spell.


To make this even more powerful, use an Elementalist/Mesmer with Arcane Echo.

Arcane Echo:
Description: If you cast a spell in the next 10 - 32 seconds, Arcane Echo is replaced with that spell for 20 seconds. Arcane Echo ends prematurely if you use a non-spell skill.
Energy Cost: 15.
Casting Time: 2 seconds.
Recharge Time: 30 seconds.
Linked Attribute: Illusion. Increases duration.
Skill Type: Spell.

Echo Ether Renewal (yes, you can echo elite spells) and you have unlimited energy.