tanithryudo (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tanithryudo) wrote2015-07-12 11:13 pm
tanithryudo) wrote2015-07-12 11:13 pm
Entry tags:
Revisiting the Elementalist
Got inspired by cashew's trials in starting a new elementalist... or maybe nostalgic is more like it. I went back and re-watched my old ele Personal Story recordings. Man, was I embarrassed by my skill back then. Of course, that was also within 2 weeks of the initial launch of the game. So I would certainly hope I'd gotten more skilled at playing the game in general, and ele (my main) in specific, since then.
Still, assumptions aren't proof, so I finally decided to roll a new ele to check out the experience the second time around. Also, to experience the New Player Experience changes to the game, since all of my characters were created before that update.
I had started a sylvari ele, more to experience the NPE and to fiddle around with character creation settings (in eventual preparation of my sylvari revenant). Then today I managed to start a human elementalist with the same Personal Story options as my main, and get her to level 21 within a single day.
Overall, levelling under the NPE feels pretty painless. Yes, utility skills and class mechanics are gated, but those in particular are unlocked pretty fast. Elite skills are still unlocked at lvl 30 like the old system anyway. Traits are a bit more strictly unlocked, so the mid levels might be where things get tougher... I dunno we'll have to see.
As for the human ele no. 2's personal story, I pretty much breezed through it. I remember dying over and over again in the 3rd ep of arc 1 (noble arc). Ditto the last ep of arc 2 (circus arc). Here, ep 1.3 was completed without a hitch. And 2.4 was over in like a minute.
The difference? We'll it's not the build certainly. The original character had access to more skills during 1.3 than my new ele (which didn't have earth attunement and only had 1 utility at lvl ~10). But the main difference I guess is that the first time around, I was just randomly mashing buttons. Whereas now I'm familiar enough with ele skills to know what utility to go for and what rotation of skills to synergize.
Gear might have also played a role, I think. In the original run I didn't have much money, didn't use the TP, and only got my gear through drops and karma vendors, and much of it with vit/toughness speced. In the new run I pretty much buy a new set of blue or green gear every 5 levels, and it's pretty much power power power only. That probably makes a significant difference, what with PvE being very much a zerker's game.
For now I've parked both characters at the end of the Sharkmaw JP to see what results I get in terms of silver doubloons out of the chest. Eventually after they hit level 35 (cap for doubloons) or after I lose patience, I'll probably delete the human and continue a bit further with the sylvari to see how the mid-levels plays out.
Still, assumptions aren't proof, so I finally decided to roll a new ele to check out the experience the second time around. Also, to experience the New Player Experience changes to the game, since all of my characters were created before that update.
I had started a sylvari ele, more to experience the NPE and to fiddle around with character creation settings (in eventual preparation of my sylvari revenant). Then today I managed to start a human elementalist with the same Personal Story options as my main, and get her to level 21 within a single day.
Overall, levelling under the NPE feels pretty painless. Yes, utility skills and class mechanics are gated, but those in particular are unlocked pretty fast. Elite skills are still unlocked at lvl 30 like the old system anyway. Traits are a bit more strictly unlocked, so the mid levels might be where things get tougher... I dunno we'll have to see.
As for the human ele no. 2's personal story, I pretty much breezed through it. I remember dying over and over again in the 3rd ep of arc 1 (noble arc). Ditto the last ep of arc 2 (circus arc). Here, ep 1.3 was completed without a hitch. And 2.4 was over in like a minute.
The difference? We'll it's not the build certainly. The original character had access to more skills during 1.3 than my new ele (which didn't have earth attunement and only had 1 utility at lvl ~10). But the main difference I guess is that the first time around, I was just randomly mashing buttons. Whereas now I'm familiar enough with ele skills to know what utility to go for and what rotation of skills to synergize.
Gear might have also played a role, I think. In the original run I didn't have much money, didn't use the TP, and only got my gear through drops and karma vendors, and much of it with vit/toughness speced. In the new run I pretty much buy a new set of blue or green gear every 5 levels, and it's pretty much power power power only. That probably makes a significant difference, what with PvE being very much a zerker's game.
For now I've parked both characters at the end of the Sharkmaw JP to see what results I get in terms of silver doubloons out of the chest. Eventually after they hit level 35 (cap for doubloons) or after I lose patience, I'll probably delete the human and continue a bit further with the sylvari to see how the mid-levels plays out.
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Also, could be because earlier levels a staff is a better idea than dagger/x. But, I wanted to learn how to play a dagger ele, so dagger/x it was. Turns out I'm more of a dagger/focus player. :p
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I'm of the opinion that staff is viable at any level and in any circumstance. But then, I'm biased. =P I do usually play staff in melee range, though. I find it easier to tapdance through or around my own lava fonts so that the mob will follow me through it and get hit by the near full duration of my hardest hitting skill.
Also, with levelling, I don't know if it's because I concentrated heavily on events in higher level areas than on going through the hearts from the lowest level up? I mean, my MO on the new human ele was basically grab all the skill challenges in a lowbie zone - along with any dynamic events I see on the way - until I can't handle the heat, then switch to another lowbie zone and repeat. I was pretty consistently playing in zones several levels higher than myself, such that my damage was doing a lot of "glancing" hits. Fortunately, meteor shower even on glancing mode will still kill a bunch of mobs dead.
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Well, staff is very powerful, but I like the dagger/focus for much more control. Knockdown, invulnerability, blind, weaken, movement, leap, etc. Also, I like the focus for projectile nullification, very helpful when getting sniped by a ranger while I'm trying to take down another mob. (Again, lots of surprise attacks that I don't even realize why I'm getting hit, because the mob was off camera.)
As for leveling, I was actually consistently doing hearts about five levels above my actual level until the very end. But I notice that if I'm trying to take on mobs more than five levels, I can only do one at a time. Any more and I'm dead. I also grab events (very good exp return), but unfortunately, I find myself often the only person doing the event, so it either takes a long time (because so many freaking things to rescue) or I get overwhelmed too quickly, because some asshole decided to run past, scale the event up, but not stop and help. I've also died a lot because someone dragged aggro past me, ran off and left me to deal with the train of mobs that turned their attention on me instead. =.=
no subject
I don't recall fighting multiple mobs 5 levels above, but theoretically it could be done if you get them grouped together (or they're all melee) and then get glyph of storms running followed by meteor shower and icebow 4. I could usually take a group of 2+ mobs 2-3 levels above.
I rarely come across events that don't have people already doing them. Sometimes a while mob of people camping it (especially with events in zones with the daily events). If I think it's an event that's too much time/work though, I'd just skip it. Plenty of fish in the sea, so to speak.
Can't say I've had experiences where other people pull aggro on me. I mean, I usually don't stay in one spot long enough for anything to aggro on me that I'm not attacking. What with me usually running from point to point and only pausing for events.
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But how can I say no to the Quaggans? I feel like a heel if I don't help. They sound so sad and pathetic. I tried ignoring them, but I couldn't!
I liked doing map completion as I go. The completion rewards earned me lotsa money. XD probably why it's taking me so long.I'm pretty sure if I did personal story the leveling would go much faster.
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The first PS gives a lot of XP if you do it right at ~lvl 10. But the second arc altogether done at lvl 20 only gave me like 1.5 levels or so when done back to back.
Still a decent amount and worth doing when you add in the rewards, but I don't think they're going to be the biggest XP source. (Of course, if you just want brainless leveling, isn't Edge of the Mist karma farm still a thing?)
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Eh, I think map completion is a good way to make money as I level. Also, I'm so, so cheap, so I don't like spending money on characters as they're leveling. Besides which, since this character is like the 4th alt, it's definitely lower on my must spend money list.
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Levelling zergs usually avoid fights with other players and just do the pve events / cycle through taking keeps while the other server's zergs doe the same to the keeps you leave behind in an endless cycle.
With regards to spending money outfitting the character... actually, if you use buy orders on blue gear, you will actually never be losing money on the character. Because then when you replace it every 5 levels, you can just resell the old gear back onto the TP with the lowest sell order. From my experience buy order gets filled pretty fast, and I'm actually making money with each iteration of gear.
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Might consider power lowbies for next character. Or key farm a bit then make a human ranger for the falconer armor. Eh, haven't decided. I do like the balance of 5 races total. But also like the human medium armor. So hard to decide!
Anyway. Jumping puzzles for rewards: I did a lot of jumping puzzles when I was farming for empireal frags. Not a single dubloon. Did drops get buffed?
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