Elementalist WvW | Large Group Staff | Support Staff bunker cleric nuker
Table of Contents
Summary
The bunker cleric nuker is an ideal starting point for any elementalist looking to use a staff build in medium to large scale organised WvW play.
Its purpose is to provide moderate regular healing and condition removal support for the group, as well as offering consistent damage levels and (most importantly) survivability.
This guide provides information and rationale for elements of the build, as well as an overview on its usage. This guide assumes players already have a basic understanding of the Elementalist class and engagement tactics for support classes in organised WvW.
Note: This build has been updated for the impact of the 10th December 2014 patch. The trait Soothing Wave has now been incorporated in place of Soothing Disruption, due to the changes in trait tier structure. This was found to be the most optimum alternative for triggering self regeneration and condition removal to retain the original builds purpose.
At the moment Soothing Wave works with Cleansing Water to provide continuous free condition removal during fights (with no cooldown).
I. Weapons and Skills
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- 0Fury: 2 s
- 0Fury: 2 s
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- 0Fury: 2 s
- 0Fury: 2 s
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- 0Fury: 2 s
- 0Fury: 2 s
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- 0Fury: 2 s
- 0Fury: 2 s
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- 0Fury: 2 s
- 0Fury: 2 s
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- 0Fury: 2 s
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- 0Fury: 2 s
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- 0Fury: 2 s
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- 0Fury: 2 s
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- 0Fury: 2 s
Weapon and Skill Details
Weapon:
Whist an Elementalist cannot switch weapons during a fight, it is recommended to carry two staff weapons to exchange out of combat. A staff with a Superior Sigil of Perception is carried first to gain 25 stacks of Precision, followed by switching to a weapon with a Superior Sigil of Fire.
For new players to the class, you may wish to consider a Superior Sigil of Restoration as your Second weapon, as it provides 670 healing per foe killed. As you will be 'tagging' a large number of enemies with your AoE skills, the healing payback is very noticeable.
Healing skill:
The bunker cleric uses Ether Renewal as a healing skill due to its faster recharge time and it's ability to work with the Zephy's Focus to recharge your endurance while casting.
Utilities:
This build uses Armor of Earth as a primary stability skill and stunbreaker. For those who prefer to stay well away from the fight you may prefer using Arcane Shield, which can be used in the middle of a long casting skill such as Meteor Shower. See variation #2 for further details.
Utilities such as Mistform and Lightning Flash are also recommended, however in groups where blast skills are in short supply, you may wish to consider using Arcane Wave in place of Lightning Flash. This alteration works well with the build, as it already uses the Arcane Mastery trait.
Elite:
It is recommended in organised group play to use Tornado following the use of Meteor Shower, to boost its power. In close range small fights, Tornado is not recommended (i.e. don't be the spinning idiot that everyone targets). It's also useful to consider switching to Fiery Greatsword when sieging gates, as the no. 4 skill has high levels of damage when used nearby an untargetted gate.
II. Traits
Fire Magic
Air Magic
Earth Magic
Water Magic
Arcana
Trait Details
Air Magic:
Zephy's Focus provides much needed Endurance regeneration when channeling. This means both Meteor Shower and Ether Renewal both trigger the trait, to net precious dodge capability.
Water Magic:
Aquamancer's Alacrity provides essential recharge speed for your water healing spells, while Soothing Wave grants regeneration during fights to trigger self condition removal more frequently. Cleansing Water is a core part of the build as it adds condition removal to your Glyph heal (in Water attunement), Healing Rain, and Cantrip skills.
Arcana:
Final Shielding is used for additional defense, however see Variation #2 for a viable alternative for those who prefer the Arcane Shield skill in place of Armor of Earth.
Blasting Staff is essential to the build, with area heals and attack skills being significantly larger than their basic counterparts.
Evasive Arcana provides good levels of area healing on dodge whilst in water attunement, blinding in air attunement, a blast finisher in earth attunement, and an aoe flame burst in fire attunement. Used with Soothing Disruption for faster dodge capability, this is an effective compliment.
III. Stat Specifics & Effects
Primary Stats
- Health 20115 (+8470)
- Vitality 1763 (+847)
- Armor 2368 (+532)
- Toughness 1448 (+532)
- Attack 2648 (+621)
- Power 1537 (+621)
- Critical Hit 34% (+34%)
- Precision 1638 (+722)
Secondary Stats
- Attunement Recharge Rate 30% (+30%)
- Boon Duration 30% (+30%)
- Condition Damage 364 (+364)
- Critical Damage 35% (+35%)
- DMG Taken from Guards and Lords -3% (+-3%)
- DMG to Guards and Lords 3% (+3%)
- Damage 1111 (+0%)
- Defense 920 (+0)
- Experience from Kills 20% (+20%)
- Ferocity 534 (+534)
- Healing Power 664 (+664)
Boons
Conditions
Control
Fields & Finishers
Stat and Effect Details
Achieving stat perfection:
Pay close attention to the overall resulting stats and effects of this build, as it is very carefully balanced. Using the presented gear, runes, accessories and food the result is both powerful and yet survivable.
Compared to a full celestial geared Elementalist, the bunker cleric enjoys higher stat levels in every category, with the exception of Critical Damage and Healing Power. Critical Damage is kept at a moderate 61%, while Healing Power is reduced to 576. While reduced healing power may seem odd, it should be understood that the healing effect of a blasted field is triggered by the person blasting it, not the person who casts it. For that reason, only a moderate level of Healing Power is required for the build to operate effectively.
IV. Food, Armor, Trinkets & Upgrade Items
Food Nourishment
Precision: 100
Ferocity: 70
Experience from Kills: 10%
- (30min)
- Precision: 100
- Ferocity: 70
- Experience from Kills: 10%
Utility Nourishment
Gain precision equal to 6% of your toughness
Gain precision equal to 4% of your vitality
Experience from Kills: 10%
- (30min)
- Gain precision equal to 6% of your toughness
- Gain precision equal to 4% of your vitality
- Experience from Kills: 10%
Armor & Runes
- Defense: 73
- +8 to all stats
- +10 to all stats
- +12 to all stats
- +14 to all stats
- +16 to all stats
- +18 to all stats
- Defense: 73
- +8 to all stats
- +10 to all stats
- +12 to all stats
- +14 to all stats
- +16 to all stats
- +18 to all stats
- Defense: 314
- +8 to all stats
- +10 to all stats
- +12 to all stats
- +14 to all stats
- +16 to all stats
- +18 to all stats
- Defense: 133
- +8 to all stats
- +10 to all stats
- +12 to all stats
- +14 to all stats
- +16 to all stats
- +18 to all stats
- Defense: 194
- +8 to all stats
- +10 to all stats
- +12 to all stats
- +14 to all stats
- +16 to all stats
- +18 to all stats
- Defense: 133
- +8 to all stats
- +10 to all stats
- +12 to all stats
- +14 to all stats
- +16 to all stats
- +18 to all stats
Armor Stat Totals
- Defense 920
- Power 78
- Precision 78
- Toughness 78
- Vitality 78
- Condition Damage 78
- Healing Power 78
- Ferocity 78
Rune Bonuses
Superior Rune of Divinity- +8 to all stats
- +10 to all stats
- +12 to all stats
- +14 to all stats
- +16 to all stats
- +18 to all stats
Accessories & Jewels
- Vitality: 5
- DMG Taken from Guards and Lords: -1%
- Power: 5
- DMG to Guards and Lords: 1%
- Power: 5
- DMG to Guards and Lords: 1%
- Vitality: 5
- DMG Taken from Guards and Lords: -1%
- Power: 5
- DMG to Guards and Lords: 1%
- Vitality: 5
- DMG Taken from Guards and Lords: -1%
Accessory Totals
- Power:364
- Precision:286
- Toughness:326
- Vitality:341
- Condition Damage:286
- Healing Power:286
- Ferocity:286
- DMG Taken from Guards and Lords:-3%
- DMG to Guards and Lords:3%
Weapon Set Sigils
- Weapon Strength: 985-1111
- Power: 179
- Toughness: 128
- Vitality: 128
- Weapon Strength: -
Weapon Set I
Superior Sigil of PerceptionGain +10 Precision each time you kill a foe. (Max 25 stacks; ends on down.)
Sigil of Superior Fire50% chance to cause flame blast on critical hit causing AoE damage. (This effect cannot trigger more than once every 5s)
- Weapon Strength: 905-1000
- Power: 120
- Precision: 85
- Ferocity: 85
Water Weapon I
Sigil of Superior Force+5% damage.
Upgrade Item Details
Equipment : Soldier Armor and Celestial Accessories
Soldier's armor is chosen and complimented with Celestial accessories to give a good overall result. Consistent with the bunker meta, critical damage and chance are both moderate to low. This is traded off for higher levels of power, toughness and vitality (i.e. compared to full Celestial armor).
A common misconception is that a healing and support Elementalist should have high Healing Power, however testing has proven that the healing effect of a blasted field is triggered by the person blasting it, not the person who casts it. For that reason, only a moderate level of Healing Power is required for the build to operate effectively. Anything over 500 is ideal, for the purpose of your own personal healing.
Runes : Divinity
Divinity runes give a good overall boost to stats generally and are worth the investment. However, a good affordable alternative for a bunker cleric is to use Superior Runes of Altruism, to provide 3 stacks of Might and Fury to nearby allies whenever you use a healing skill.
Food Buffs : Precision and Crit Damage
Food needs to change depending on your situation and will be different depending on the size of your team, the structure and what your role is. This build is showing a general effective food for playing in, and against, a moderate to large group (i.e. 25-30). The diminishing returns calculator (power to precision ratio) indicates that higher precision for this level of crit damage is more effective than adding more base power, hence a precision food has been chosen.
Sigils : Perception and Fire
Superior Sigil of Perception has been chosen because (again) the power to precision ratio indicates that more critical chance (for this particular build) is more effective than more base power. Once 25 stacks of precision are gained, swap to Superior Sigil of Fire.
For new staff Elementalist players who are having trouble with survivability, you may consider switching the sigil on your second weapon to a Superior Sigil of Restoration, which nets 670 healing per kill at level 80.
V. Basic Gameplay
Location and priorities:
As with most ranged classes, the bunker cleric nuker avoids direct impact with the enemy melee train. In saying that, the purpose of the build is to stay within adjacent distance to your own melee train, providing critical dodge healing and condition removal. Regrouping at the end of a push and providing healing should be top priority, with nuking capability falling second.
If you find yourself needing to push into a bad situation where you cannot go around the enemy melee train (i.e. a bridge or choke), that is where your utility skills come in handy. It is important to the entire team that you survive and provide healing and crowd control.
Don't underestimate your usefulness when laying siege to a tower or gate. Your ability to area nuke and clear siege is key, whilst providing cover healing to those on the gate. The best location to do this is not always back from the gate. Sometimes the best location to avoid enemy fire and suppress walls is right up against the wall to avoid line of sight with enemy siege.
Stay on the move:
Some would say the most important aspect of playing any class is learning to stay nimble and constantly on the move. The same is true for this build. You should avoid standing still unless your commander tells you to (i.e. to stack and hide from the enemy). Learn to anticipate where groups are likely to engage and move accordingly. If there is easy to reach high ground, go to it.
If you are raining hell down on the enemy at a tower, do so with caution. There is always a risk of being pulled off the wall, however if it happens simply be ready with your Mist Form to get back inside. Don't be afraid to take chances, your utility skills are there to save you. Get used to using them and save them for when you really need it!
Flip attunements often:
This build uses Arcane Fury, a minor trait in the Arcane Power line which grants you 2 seconds (2.6 with the trait makeup of this build) of Fury whenever you switch attunement. Use this wisely and don't be afraid to flip attunements often to get the most out of this when you are using nuking capability.
Call your heals:
Most importantly, you need to call our your healing fields so the group can react to them. Silent heals are wasted heals, as the majority of their effectiveness comes from those who blast them, not those who cast them. From the patch update on 15th October, blast healing now only applies to those in the 'blasters' party, making good communication even more important.
Buff! Buff! Buff!
Often a commander will expect to buff in certain situations. They will call for a Static Field to blast for swiftness when moving as a group. It's a good idea to coordinate with other Elementalists in the party so that not every Static Field is used to gain speed. There is nothing worse than just using all your static fields, running over a hill and finding an enemy group.
Secondly, commanders will often ask to stack and buff Might before first impact with an enemy. In this situation, a staff elementalist is expected to cast Lava Font on the group (fast!) to create a Fire Field. Other players will then blast the field to obtain area Might. 25 stacks of Might at level 80 provides +875 Power and Condition Damage.
Your team is your meat shield:
As with any support build, the bunker cleric nuker exists to support others as a primary role. If you find yourself being pounced on during a fight by the enemy, try to get to where they have bigger problems other than you. Use your own team as a meat shield if you have to. The important thing is to survive, heal your team, crowd control where you can, and nuke where you are able.
Conditions be gone!
This build has a great many ways to remove conditions, from allies and from yourself. The Cleansing Water trait has the effect of adding condition removal to your Healing Rain. You will automatically remove conditions from yourself when taking critical damage, due to the use of Soothing Wave in combination with Cleansing Water. Your Dodge also removes conditions from nearby allies, due to the use of Evasive Arcana in combination with Cleansing Water.
Main Skill Rotation
The primary rotation when pushing into a fight should be focused on healing. The bunker cleric should aim to place Frozen Ground and Healing Rain as crowd control and offensive healing ahead of the melee train. When the melee train pushes, the bunker cleric should follow close behind, using Mist Form (if necessary) and Dodge to regroup at the other side of the enemy group.
Do not underestimate the usefulness of your Dodge capability. The use of Evasive Arcana means you give healing to nearby allies when you dodge while attuned to water (10s cooldown). Evasive Arcana also triggers Cleansing Water, which means your dodge also removes a condition from those same allies.
It is important to rendezvous with the Melee train and provide a follow up healing field. This is normally Geyser, however it depends on the situation. Your commander may prefer you not to place Healing Rain ahead of the initial push (i.e. some prefer Ice Spike in the rotation for vulnerability). Again, this is dependent upon the situation and your groups preferred play style.
Nuking rotation
This rotation demonstrates how you would respond to a situation where you have a clear opportunity to nuke the enemy from either the side of the battle, or from an elevated location.
The rotation begins by casting Meteor Shower and (while still casting) covering yourself with Arcane Shield to avoid interruptions and enemy fire (see Variation #2 below - some may opt not to carry this). Depending on the situation, you may wish to follow this by pushing with your melee train as a Tornado to gain maximum power from Meteor Shower (watch for retaliation before doing this).
You should always be prepared to heal yourself following a Tornado push, however it is normally beneficial (time permitting) to switch to Water attunement before activating your heal. Finally, it is common to need to teleport back to your melee train using Lightning Flash (if necessary) in order to provide area healing without delay.
Crowd control
The above is not so much a rotation, but an illustration of your core crowd control skills. If your commander asks you to use every crowd control skill you have, this is something along the lines of what you would do, always (like every other rotation for a good bunker cleric) finishing with a party heal.
It should be noted that Unsteady Ground was modified in the patch of 15th October 2013. The skill now reads "Create unsteady ground that foes cannot cross." This therefore is comparable to the Guardian profession skill called Line of Warding. In a situation where your team is holding a choke, this skill is a must.
Condition removal
Again the above is not so much a rotation, but an illustration of the available condition removal methods you have in your arsenal with this particular build.
For personal condition removal: You will automatically remove conditions when taking critical damage at any time, no matter what attunement you have active, due to the Soothing Wave and Cleansing Water traits. In addition to this your Ether Renewal skill will also remove conditions.
For party condition removal : Your Dodge skill will remove conditions from yourself and nearby allies while attuned to water, due to Evasive Arcana and Cleansing Wave. Your Healing Rain will also remove conditions, due to Cleansing Wave.
Lastly, you can even trigger area regeneration and (therefore) condition removal from Geyser, if you use your first earth skill Stoning as a projectile finisher on the field.
VI. Common variations
Variation #1 - Glyph of Elemental Harmony Heal
A common variation that I've seen for this build is to swap the heal and Air Magic trait to use a different preferred heal. The Glyph heal is less interrupt-able than Ether Renewal so is often preferred by newer players:
1. Swap Ether Renewal to Glyph of Elemental Harmony.
2. Change Zephy's Focus to Quick Glyphs in the Air Magic trait line.
Variation #2 - Arcane Shield
Another variation I have seen does the following, which adds the Arcane Shield skill to the build with a faster recharge time. This is a personal preference and often is decided by how a person plays. Armor of Earth is more suited to close combat and fast moving skirmishes. Arcane Shield is more suited to ranged attacks, as it can be used as a cover skill (i.e. you can cast it in the middle of casting another skill to prevent interruptions):
1. Swap Armor of Earth to Arcane Shield in the utility bar.
2. Change Final Shielding to Arcane Mastery in the Arcane Power trait line.
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@ 02:00 PM, Wed February 26 2014
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