Elementalist choice of weapons for PvP

[Algroshaw]

There are 3 main weapon combos people are interested in in gw2.. Staff, Sceptor/Focus and Dagger/Dagger

The staff is based on long-range abilities, the scepter on mid-range with less casts, and daggers close range.
I have links to video of PvP using the different weapons.

Staff -- http://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=Kge6...ature=re*lated
Sceptor/Focus -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8rv7_JD5Ic

I ave no viveo of dagger pvp, but you can see all the skills for each weapon here: http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/List...ntalist_skills

Which weapon combo do you think will be best for PvP? In the scepter video, it is obviously a very skilled PvPer with a very good knowledge of the game, so there must be a good reason for him to use those weapons..

BUT, it seems like totalbiscuit is doing a TON more dmg than the other guy with his staff.. (2k fireballs, AOE), while the other guy hits 500 with flamestrike.. The other guy does have rock armor, a healing phoenix, and a knockdown, but he misses out on a bubble, flaming retreat, lava aoe, etc.

The guy is obviously experienced and knows the game though, so I don't know...

What do you guys think? staff vs sceptor vs daggers for pvp based on this info?

[Algroshaw]

sorry, i mixed up the links. first one is septer 2nd is staff

[Centaur]

I don't think there is one particular weapon combo that is "best" for all situations. The important thing in GW2 is, that you can switch roles on the fly, by switching weapons or (in the case of the elementalist) attunements. One moment you may want to be a ranged damage dealer using the staff, the next you may want to get into closer range to take the pressure away from a team mate who is in trouble, so you switch to scepter/focus or dagger/dagger... you may even switch from damage to support skills if the situation requires that to help out your team. And with the four attunements you have available to your (fire/air/water/earth), each with their own set of weapon skills, you have a wide range of options to cover all the different situations. Each weapon set has its own uses.

Also, note that flamestrike is not a staff skill but a scepter skill... yes, you don't want to be exposed to the long-ranged staff skills for a long time... you will want to get up close and attack that ele face to face... and force him to switch to a weapon set that is more useful up close.

[Algroshaw]

I don't think there is one particular weapon combo that is "best" for all situations. The important thing in GW2 is, that you can switch roles on the fly, by switching weapons or (in the case of the elementalist) attunements. One moment you may want to be a ranged damage dealer using the staff, the next you may want to get into closer range to take the pressure away from a team mate who is in trouble, so you switch to scepter/focus or dagger/dagger... you may even switch from damage to support skills if the situation requires that to help out your team. And with the four attunements you have available to your (fire/air/water/earth), each with their own set of weapon skills, you have a wide range of options to cover all the different situations. Each weapon set has its own uses.

Also, note that flamestrike is not a staff skill but a scepter skill... yes, you don't want to be exposed to the long-ranged staff skills for a long time... you will want to get up close and attack that ele face to face... and force him to switch to a weapon set that is more useful up close.

In the videos and PvP i've seen, elemenalists don't change weapons much, because they need to change elements, which gives a feel of switching weapons as well. They need to be out of combat to switch weapons too, i believe

[Centaur]

In the videos and PvP i've seen, elemenalists don't change weapons much, because they need to change elements, which gives a feel of switching weapons as well. They need to be out of combat to switch weapons too, i believe

Yeah, you're right. The ele has the four different attunements to switch between (each of which also has its own role), switching weapons is apparently only possible outside of combat (though at the moment, I'm not so sure about that part anymore... we've seen videos where you can just activate a different weapon from your inventory while in combat)
But note that "outside of combat" is a pretty loose term in GW2... if you're not attacking anyone, and no one is attacking you (even if there is a large battle going on around you) you're effectively "outside of combat" and are able to switch weapons.

[Algroshaw]

Even so, I think most elementalists will stick to 1 weapon setup per battle (a lot might change it up from bg to bg for fun, but most will stick to one per battle)

[ComplexNuber]

If you can change weapons in combat as an ele, we will definitely see weapon swapping in high-end PvP, and highly likely in mid-end PvP. There are some really useful skills from every weapon set, so I imagine it would be extremely rewarding to anyone who can swap through and utilise the ridiculous amount of skills elementalists can utilise.

An ele might want to use armor of frost, from an offhand dagger, then rock barrier from a scepter for some stacked defence. Maybe then they need to escape, or run into the battle quickly, or kite away from a dangerous Thief, so they switch to staff and use windborne speed for an IMS. They can then alternate that with updraft, another IMS with an offhand dagger to maintain the move speed for a long time (forever?).

The amount of skill combinations that could be done is amazing, and I'm sure it will be a long time after GW2 release until we start to see people fully utilising what they have.

[Algroshaw]

If you can change weapons in combat as an ele, we will definitely see weapon swapping in high-end PvP, and highly likely in mid-end PvP. There are some really useful skills from every weapon set, so I imagine it would be extremely rewarding to anyone who can swap through and utilise the ridiculous amount of skills elementalists can utilise.

An ele might want to use armor of frost, from an offhand dagger, then rock barrier from a scepter for some stacked defence. Maybe then they need to escape, or run into the battle quickly, or kite away from a dangerous Thief, so they switch to staff and use windborne speed for an IMS. They can then alternate that with updraft, another IMS with an offhand dagger to maintain the move speed for a long time (forever?).

The amount of skill combinations that could be done is amazing, and I'm sure it will be a long time after GW2 release until we start to see people fully utilising what they have.

I can almost guarentee that it won't happen. People will stick to one weapon set per fight, normally.. there are 4+ viable weapon set ups. 100 skills would be too much to manage. Plus you need to be out of combat

[Armory]

I can almost guarentee that it won't happen. People will stick to one weapon set per fight, normally.. there are 4+ viable weapon set ups. 100 skills would be too much to manage. Plus you need to be out of combat

Well, you really can't guarantee it.. I know from my own personal experience that high rated comps tend to be very cutting edge, I know myself when playing arena on my rogue/warrior we used all sorts of little tricks to get the edge, whether it be mods or macros.. I had weapon swap macros that would switch between daggers so I could open with a dagger with dps oriented buffs, and before my stunlock was up switch to one with a weaponchain so they'd blow their disarm, then I could switch back. Had macros that would do all sorts of things, focus target this and that, main target, friendly, etc etc. Reason I have a naga and g19 is so I could get ahead in the competitive scene and boy did it help. Having the extra buttons, extra skills at my disposal, probably upwards of at least 60+ different skills.

And we know that we can swap offhand weapons in combat, so whether main hand or if this is even working as intended remains to be seen.. We'll see! I know for a fact that if we can switch in combat, I've got plenty of Gkeys to figure out some macros for swapping/targetting.

[Algroshaw]

Well, you really can't guarantee it.. I know from my own personal experience that high rated comps tend to be very cutting edge, I know myself when playing arena on my rogue/warrior we used all sorts of little tricks to get the edge, whether it be mods or macros.. I had weapon swap macros that would switch between daggers so I could open with a dagger with dps oriented buffs, and before my stunlock was up switch to one with a weaponchain so they'd blow their disarm, then I could switch back. Had macros that would do all sorts of things, focus target this and that, main target, friendly, etc etc. Reason I have a naga and g19 is so I could get ahead in the competitive scene and boy did it help. Having the extra buttons, extra skills at my disposal, probably upwards of at least 60+ different skills.

And we know that we can swap offhand weapons in combat, so whether main hand or if this is even working as intended remains to be seen.. We'll see! I know for a fact that if we can switch in combat, I've got plenty of Gkeys to figure out some macros for swapping/targetting.

You can NOT switch weapons in combat as an elementalist.

WoW isn't anything like gw2. Switching to sword and bord, or weapons to apply different poisons is easy, and you don't need to be out of combat. And focus kick, blind, gouge, etc. isn't very hard either.

Weapons in gw2 change the entire skillset, and cannot be used in combat as a elementalist. This is different than a focus shadowstep kick macro or something.. It changes the skills themelves, and managing 100 spells won't be viable in PvP. Sure, people will definitely open their bags and swich weapons for speed buffs, experiment with different AoE, etc. between fights for fun, but in competitive pvp, as an elementalist, people will stick to one skillset for a battle. They might change it if they see a certain comp that would be better faught with a different weapon, but elementalists won't change their weapon like other classes.
Just watch the competitive PvP of the arenanet team. the ele in that video did not change his weaponset once.