PvE Dual Dagger Fire build suggestions

I currently have a lvl 20 Elementalist and I love my quick/powerful burst damage when using dual daggers and fire attunement. So far I am happy with my build, however I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations on skills/traits for a dual dagger PvE fire attunement build. Any suggestions, tips, ideas, etc. would be most appreciated. :-)

I'm afraid I can't help much... as far as Elementalists go, I'm in love with the Earth-attuned Scepter/Dagger combo. I will sometimes start with fire (a few standard attacks, then Ring of Fire when the enemy approaches) then switch to Earth and bleed foes to death while they burn. It's very satisfying. ;)

I can't say much to the fire build part, but my D/D elementalist got me to 80. My build is for all out fun. I ran a d/d elementalist with the fire sword and ice bow for just crazy fun. here's my rotation: FIRE Burnning Speed [3] Drake's Breath [2] (apply burning) Fire Grab [5] Earth Earthquake [4] (the 1 second between [4] and [5] will be the only time you get hit, so if you want to be cautious use arcane shield (i use AS in boss fights, but not often) Churning Earth [5] (most things are dead by here) (possibly 2) Water (by the time you hit this part of the rotation, you'll know if you're in trouble with health or not, so use 5 whenever) Frost Armor [4] Cone of cold [2] Frozen Burst [3] Air Lightning Touch [2] up Draft [5] Shockin Aura [3] Ride the lightning [4] updraft[5] then start again at fire burning speed. Gear: Im using the vanilla gear you get from the armorer, and a hero's band. I had nothing in fire, 30 in arcane, and some in water and earth, and still ate up mobs like nothing. Im not a ele b@dass at all, but catch "denji" in game if you like, and Ill show you how the rotation looks.

» Edited on: 2012-09-04 10:25:10

Churning Earth is pretty amazing, isn't it? I'm not a dagger/dagger elementalist (I use mostly the scepter in my main hand), but I chose to use dagger in my offhand pretty much because of that skill. It does amazing damage, it looks AWESOME... it's fantastic. I love it :)

I wish it would work in WvWvW - I love to rush in using Ride the Lightning - Blinding Flash - then switch to Earth and use Earthquake and Churning Earth - in PvE most things are dead by now. Especially if I hit Arcane Attunement before hand so everything crits. It is a fun build and the scepter gives some range when needed which is the main reason I go with sceptor over dagger in the main hand. I have also contemplated using dagger in the main and focus in off-hand which gives me some range with the focus - but seems more single target oriented - I need to go back in and check it out. I use these builds while doing Events and don't seem to die all that often but have never attempted it in WvWvW - using run the staff build then. I am puttig most of my points into Earth and Arcane at the moment - just experimenting. I also use Frost Bow and Fire Axe in the up close and personal modes - mainly to give me additional ranged attacks and I find other Elem and necros picking up the other ones to use - they are rather awesome for ranged attacks and easily dropped to get back into full burst damage mode.

» Edited on: 2012-09-07 00:18:19

Of all the characters I've tried I'm enjoying my d/d ele the most. I'm still low lvl but it's awesome to ride the lightning into a group of mobs fire them and then use my earth skills. Don't get me wrong I still die a good bit but when I do 90% of the time I rally because the mobs health is so low. Maybe not the smartest way to play but it is fun. I found this video on youtube and the guy is a lvl 80 ele using a d/d build and he goes into a good bit of detail. Here is a link to the video, http://youtu.be/9PKPbboLqzM.

Thanks for the link Deepwater and I have to agree "Maybe not the smartest way to play but it is fun" ... it sure is a lot of fun and many other players look at me like I am crazy - and well, maybe I am :) I played around with focus in the off-hand last night and it just wasn't the same.

Unfortunately, the "end game" area will pretty much melt any d/d elementalist. May not be the best place to ask, but Im trying to figure out what stats to bump up. Does condition damage/duration matter? Im mainly going for vitality/toughness/power about equally, but im not sure if power, crit, or conditions should be most important.

» Edited on: 2012-09-09 21:38:39

I was going Toughness/Condition/Precision - lol - since I mainly figured I wanted the extra armor, most of what I do is condition damage and I hate missing but have no idea as it is just a "fun" build for me. I find that in PvE when in a group, I have to hang back for a while or I get my arse handed to me on a platter and it doesn't taste too good. If I am alone then I do a lot of running and swapping of elemements and whether alone or in a group I have at least one ranged trait in my hot bar (hammer, axe, bow) so that I can start with a ranged hit and then drop it to charge in riding on a lightning bolt. I haven't used "shield" yet and have no idea whether it is good for anything. I'm still rather low and just play around with it but would like to see how much toughness I can get and what effect that may have on my surviving in the up close fights.

@ morigana if I see you in game i might ask a few questions. I could never figure out how the condition thing worked. maybe I can watch you eat through a few mobs to see the effect of having high conditions because end game kind of sucks for an ele and Im up for trying anything at this point. Here's why being an ele sucks end game -if there's you and 10 npc's vs 10 mobs, the mobs will run straight past the npcs like they're not even there, and EVERY mob will come straight at you, all at once, and not let go till you're dead. -as an ele, your only protection is to drop holds or stuns, and kite. Thing is, the mobs at end game move almost twice as fast as you do, so even if you drop frozen ground or unsteady ground, they'll run straight through it and still catch up to you instantly. It's so bad, you may as well just stand there and not even waste the spells, because they're just no way you'll be able to shake the mobs. I'm not sure if Im coming across as very-very-very frustrated with this, but if i do seem so, its cause I am. I've bashed my keyboard and just thrown my hands up in most mob fights because none of your tools as an ele will work. < edit > ok, i've switched to daggers because our staff control skills are useless. You cant kite, and and you cant kill anything fast enough. With high toughness, Im at least surviving alot better than I was with a staff, as long as you have good condition removal. as everything seems to do poison or bleeding damage.

» Edited on: 2012-09-10 19:22:04

» Edited on: 2012-09-10 19:23:15

@ Denji Hey there fellow Ele. Congrats on 80 btw. Since you are lvl 80, I would like to suggest that you give my spvp build a try in pve. I am only 35, but am building my Ele into that very build for pve. You will find obsidian flesh is an excellent oh shnikes when your Elemental dies. Plus the water signet and earth signet provide excellent cc. Add all that to the synergy of the traits. It be a very stable build indeed. Please hit me up in raid call if you have any questions about rotations, runes, etc. Give it a go and let me know :}

» Edited on: 2012-09-10 20:58:43

@ Jibbs I will do exactly that right now, thanks for all the ele help from the start until now :) I may also ask you a theorycrafting question or two, since you seem really good at this stuff. I will play staff and scepter just know them, but d/d to me is just pure bliss in game. Anywho's, I may ask on you for advice on how to slot and stat out the ultimate d/d ele.

» Edited on: 2012-09-10 22:33:52

I am always happy to help. Just send me a tell, or hop in the rc channel I am in. I tend to linger in the adult chat channels due to my use of expletives when I get excited. I know I do it, and do not want to offend.

» Edited on: 2012-09-10 23:53:29

Yeah - Jibbs is a lot more knowledgable than me on this. I do have to admit that the Elem is so very squishy for the amount of damage it puts out. If solo, anything more than 3 mobs and I am probably dead - and were talking equal level mobs. With my Ranger or Thief this is not the case and I seem to kill quicker also. Now, large crowds of mobs while in groups I do far more damage it seems with the Elementalist to a wider number of mobs as there are many AOE's that hit larger numbers of mobs - even when running DD - between cone of cold, dragon's breath, ring of fire, earthquake, churning earth, but if I don't get everything killed I had better run quick because if the mobs start up with AE's - I am "Returning to Waypoint" or waiting on a kind soul to rez me. :) I was doing a level 21 story quest on my level 18 thief last night and had 4+ level 19 mobs on me several times - and I survived without even being downed - ever. My same level Ele could never have done it - and failed a similar quest several times - regardless of DD, S/D, or Staff. I had to wait until I unlocked another skill slot and still "Retried from Checkpoint" several times to finish it. Now, I have to admit - I just might be better at playing the Thief than I am at playing the Ele... So far I have played the Ele in WvWvW and died quite a bit while running with the family - I take chances I know I shouldn't - but that's me. I have also Played the Ranger and died about 75% less (taking the same chances) and I might try the thief tonight and see how she fairs - I can't play it safe - not my style. Or... maybe not.... Ranged is my favorite playstyle - so I'll give the Ele another go and keep building her up...

» Edited on: 2012-09-11 13:57:00

@ Morigana I so feel your pain, any time you want to vent on being an ele, Ill listen :p Actually, if you can handle 3 mobs at your level, then you're waaaay better at being an ele than I am :p I really do think we need to gather our ele's together and collaborate our knowledge. I think Im actually a decent d/d because I make sure I juggle my stuns/knockdowns/blinds so that the mob only has 1 chance in my rotation to actually hit me. I dont have a thief, but I do have an 80 warrior, and yes, it's night and day. With my warrior, I just look at things and they desintegrate. For some reason though, I still always come back to my ele. I think its the playstyle that keeps ele as my favorite, since Im a.d.d., being able to switch between thief/ranger/warrior/ele playstyle in an instant keeps me coming back to it. < edit > actually, even though I love elementalist, after I posted this, I took my lvl 80 undergeared warrior to where I take my min/maxed elementalist at endgame. I ate stuff up so easily, I might be changing my tune as well, it's just too frustrating working so hard to kill 1 mob using every trick in the book with my ele, when I can just bash my keyboard and kill things just by accident with my warrior :p

» Edited on: 2012-09-11 20:02:00

Well, Denji, it just might be our playstyle that makes us die so much on the ele. I know ele's in raids and in WvWvW that don't die - too often - everyone dies. But just to test it out, I took my low level thief into WvWvW last night and only died twice and the only time I even entered a downed state was the two times I died. I ran from several fights just as I would with my ele - when things were getting rough (I had no speed boost at all on the thief) and managed to elude death several times while being hit from behind by spells and arrows - my ele would have died. I know - she has. I also got into a one one one with another thief - I actually won - I got the first shots off ;) . My ele usually dies in 1 vs. 1 unless it is another ele - but from what I observe most ele's don't fight 1 vs. 1 and in WvWvW I try not to - but as previously stated I take chances I shouldn't. Thus - the statement on my playstyle affecting how vunerable I make the ele. It is the same in PvE - I take chances with the ele I shouldn't and need to choose my battles more wisely. ... and yes, I can take a few mobs in PvE BUT <----- big but, I have to map every move out in my mind before I charge in riding the lightning - and if one ability fails or my fingers miscue - I am running. If two abilities fail - I die. My thief charges in - not thinking - firing both pistols - uses Black Powder, switches to daggers and just kills things.

» Edited on: 2012-09-12 13:51:32

u guys are kinda scary me on the elem. Mines at like lvl 10 and survivabilty has all ready gotten eh but then again i am still slowly unlocking every skill for every elem on each weapon. So I don't have my rotation down yet nor do i switch elems in a fight. But so far every other class i play especially my guard i just go kill things i don't have to think that hard in less its a group of 5-6 with vets(well on guard other classes more than 4 is mostly an issue). I like tough classes to play but elem is making me wonder why i would want to lvl her to 80.

@ Nostiger don't let us scare you too much :p I actually burned my way through levels from 0 to 60-ish with my d/d using the rotation mentioned a few posts up. The main difference as far as I can see is this: (i have an 80 warrior, so i'll use warrior for my example) With my warrior, I have awesome defenses without needing to do anything (armor, toughness, high hit points) so all i have to do is focus on killing things with the occasional emergency heal. For my warrior, I just need to play on 1 dimension, which is killing. With my Ele, my spells are my my offense AND my defense. To further complicate things, to be offensive, I can't stay in 1 place and dodge hits while I hit things. To kill things, I need to weaken/blind/control/stun/dps/combo field something all at once. My blinds stuns etc., are not something that add to what I'm doing, they are must-haves that need to happen with my dps spells for me to kill something. So just to kill something, I need actively be thinking and casting on many layers Along with offense, my spells are also my only defense. To further complicate defense, I need to defend myself by healing myself, keep mobs occupied, throw up shields, make combo fields to buff myself. Again, all of the above are not things that help me with my defense, they are 100% must have's in order for me to stay alive. So to defend myself im working on several layers at once, along with simultaneously working on several layers to be offensive. Combine the two and what you get is a player that is always casting non-stop, always thinking with strategy, always paying attention to dps, movement,mob health and position, my health, my status effects, what's on cool down and what's not, what elements I can switch to quickly and which ones I can't, how that spell will affect the next one down the road, what my options are to combo field, etc...... Considering all of the above, here's what high level fight looks like for me vs 1 or 2 mobs. *d/d elementalist* -[F1]-3-2-5-[F4]4-7-5-2-[F2]-4-2-3-5-[F3]-2-5-3-4-[F1]3-2-[F4]-2-1[F2]-4- ((now go back to [F1] 3-4-5 that will be off of cooldown, or [F1]-1 till [F4] 4 and 5 ar off cooldown)) Above is me going through a rotation in my head assuming "mob X" , but playing ele is more like a flow chart ex: if [F1]-5 missed or is on cool down, go to [F4]-4 if they're melee and moving, or if your health is low, [F4]-4, so you can set up an [F2]-3 with a blast field, or if they're ranged and doing condition damage, do a 7 and get ready for an [F3]-4, etc.... you get what I mean. Believe it or not, by level 25-ish you can do all of the above by reflex without thinking (Im actually a casual player just so you know) Now let's fight the same mob with my rifle/dual sword warrior: *Warrior* -1-(repeat till dead) This is simplifying my warrior without considering strategy, but with my bleeds, i could actually get away with doing this just fine without losing health. So: The way my warrior makes me feel powerful is I can bash things to heck. The way my Ele makes me feel powerful is I can manipulate any fight on many levels. I can do things that all the other classes in the group can do combined, with just 1 weapon. The sacrifice is i need to always be busy, and i get squished if im not paying attention.

» Edited on: 2012-09-13 15:32:03

The ele makes me think much more than any other class so far. Which isn't a bad thing. She can turn the tied of battle quicker than any other class because of the mass destruction she can lay down whether standing in melee range or at a distance. BUT.... she will probably be the first to die when she does this. She is an ago magnet most of the spells hit 3 or more mobs. It can be one of the most satisfying things - and at the same time one of the most frustrating. Don't be scared - embrace the mass confusion as well as the mass devastation you can deal. My ele just requires me to pay a lot more attention to everything going on. :) It isn't a bad thing unless I am watching "So you Think You Can Dance" - then I have to switch to my Thief so I can multi-task and not die. ;)