Orijah.3750

I've played on and off for a while now and every time I come back I want to play ele, but every time I am disappointed and cat just makes it so much worse.

I think it's pretty bad to plainly say it would be "undoable and boring" to make a ranged ele spec. It is in no way impossible to make an interesting and enjoyable ranged spec (or even just weapon) for ele, it just requires some thoughtful development. For the most part, you have one option if you want to play ele with some reasonable range and that is sceptre. Now of course that is primarily due to the fact that staff just feels terrible but it is unfortunate that you have many other, very viable and enjoyable options that promote a melee style. For the main argument, one would argue that it is undoable and boring to make another bow weapon but they added one to DH and a SB to rev which both have very interesting abilities even though bows already exist that have raining arrows and knock back. I think it just requires some thoughtful development. posting again because this is just better.

really cool concept from reddit:

Sadly, these are very very good points. It really feels like there wasn't as much attention placed on catalyst as there should have been. tl;dr development process seems to have been flushed down the dunny To me the concept of jade sphere and catalyst in general is nowhere near what it seems like ele needs. As far as I can tell, a large portion of the community (myself included) would like a viable way to play elementalist at range. I don't know what weapon that would utilise but I don't think that is important. Judging by the current state of ele, there are plenty of melee/short-range options with weaver which fills an amazing role within the profession. Tempest feels more medium-range with skills focused around yourself (mostly thinking about overloads and shouts) rather than casting spells at a target or set location that is further away from you. I think it seems relatively logical to give the profession that seems like a caster/mage a specialisation that focuses on casting long-range, high-impact spells. While I love the design of weaver (personally my favourite espec in the game from the concept) and tempest, I don't see the necessity in having another epsec that fits into a somewhat similar role. With all that in mind, it really seems like the design process was rushed with this espec to the point where the concept is either very vague or just doesn't seem to be well developed unlike previous specialisations.

Honestly, this hits so hard and it's really sad when you realise cat is basically that. I've posted this so many times I feel bad at this stage but to be fair I don't care, all I want is a fun unique espec that doesn't feel like core with an additional skill. It really seems like there wasn't much dev work put into this at all. I don't know how Anet could look past something like this:

So unhappy with catalyst in its current state. I really would prefer going with a different concept for espec mechanic. While I would like a different weapon hammer can be okay with minor changes. posting from reddit again because this concept is just everything I could have hoped for.

posting from reddit: This looks incredible. Also, has ANet responded to any of the feedback so far?

I posted something more detailed on the catalyst feedback thread, but I'll share my thoughts here too. I haven't played too long but love elementalist. However, there are some things that I wish the profession had. I would love a more viable support build (not a huge issue, just a preference) and I think a lot of people agree that a longer ranged caster style build would be amazing (one day staff will be good). At the moment I find both tempest and weaver lean towards shorter range playstyles (tempest overload casts around you, weaver is mostly melee). As much as I like mixed melee/range I really don't think it is needed on ele. I haven't played catalyst fyi so this is just from what I have heard and seen. weapon Weapon is fine, some more ranged, big decisive spells would be cooler imo. I am not a fan of hammer 3, it seems to want to play more like weaver, encouraging swapping attunements asap. utilities I don't know much about these (I've heard they are basically stances). I was really hoping ele would get wells. spec mechanic I feel an arcane attunement would fit so well for ele. To keep with the theme of elementalist and to keep some unique style, I think the arcane attunement skills should still be defined by weapons. It would allow for some variability within ele. My main thought process for this is: - Weaver swaps attunements like crazy - Tempest commits to an element overloading an attunement - Arcanist? gets an entirely new attunement This is quite a simple overview of my thoughts, I just really want a fun e-spec for ele. ☺️

Let me start this by saying I am relatively new to gw2 and that I have not played the new elite spec yet. I have spent most of my time playing elementalist and was very excited to see what the new expansion would hold for ele. I like so many others, was disappointed with catalyst. I feel like the potential is there for an amazing spec so here are some of my thoughts how the spec may be improved. also, many of these ideas stem from my own personal desire for ele and from what I’ve heard/read about what most people seem to want from the profession. One last note, many people on this thread have far more technical suggestions for catalyst modifications, I am speaking more from a conceptual design of the elite specialisation as I feel like it could do with a bit more love in its foundation rather than the specific implementation of certain mechanics. hammer: I like hammer. I was skeptical when I initially heard about the weapon as I would have preferred something that played more into the archetypal mage/caster with long-range, flashy abilities. The more I think about it though the more I realise hammer has exactly that potential. Hammer could be reworked to have large AoE spells, walls of ice, crumbling the ground or projecting a lightning bolt that also places an emphasis on control (not taking too much away from the big spell focus of staff). Hammer has the potential for clear decisive and calculated casting of spells. Currently the hammer appears to be lacklustre with an emphasis on continual rotation of elements to try maximise hammer3. I would like to also move away from the necessity to switch elements just because it has to happen (don’t need weaver 2.0 I guess). While I think it would be amazing to modify hammer, to me it isn’t the most glaring issue. jade sphere: Please just remove this. There are plenty of ways this mechanic could be altered to make it feel enjoyable and rewarding but I think elementalist needs more love than a combo field bot. I don’t know if this has been discussed somewhere in the forums but I feel like the addition of an ‘arcane’ element would open the doors to so many possibilities for ele. The ability to access a new element in a manner similar to druid form mechanics but make the arcane skills still dictated by the weapon type feels so much more elementalist. This could allow some fun versatility by varying your ‘mega’ form with the weapons you choose furthering the options you have as an ele to deal with what is in front of you. I toyed with the idea of having a similar form but with one of he four elements that you can select out of combat but I feel like this steps on the tempest’s toes a little. utilities: this aspect of the spec I don’t have any knowledge about. I have read one or two aspect that mentioned they felt unrewarding and that there really seems like no reason to take them over existing skills but I unfortunately can’t comment or provide any thoughts on this aspect of the specialisation. hopefully some of you find this interesting and hopefully it sparks additional discussions. All I want is a fun elite spec for ele :) I look forward to hearing all your thoughts!

Some amazing ideas. I think the main issue is being so confined to the 6-0 skills when having a legend, even if you have two to swap too, the beauty of other professions is being able to pick and choose what is needed and what works best for the situation at hand. Sure you have those two sets of 6-0 skills but with a CD between and lack of choice overall. Remove the energy costs on those weapon skills, give rev a full set of 6-0 skills to choose. I think the core idea of transformation as mentioned a couple of times would feel beautiful, you'll already have a solid build and be able to mould your core skills as you wish. Being able to then invoke the power of a past character would be so much more satisfying. I think the core rework is a beautiful idea from mr @Lonami.2987, I think the elite specs would be nicer to have some more interesting variations plus I've never been a huge fan of 'pet' builds. I think the general idea of the above rework though would be the perfect place to take rev to make it feel satisfying