Air Magic

[silverwolf82]

I started my elementalist yesterday and when I went to the skills trainer in Wizard's Folly I got a fire element. I'd like to use air magic only skills for this elemental. How do I go about getting only air?

[Skyy High]

Early on in prophecies, you really won't have access to enough skills to be able to focus completely on just one element. You have five attributes, you're going to be getting a couple of skills from each to try out. As you go on, you'll be able to selectively buy air skills as they become available, but you'll also be getting skills from all the other elements for free from various skill quests too.

In short: I don't recommend sticking to one element exclusively, at least not this early on. You'll be able to do that later easily enough if you wish.

[Windbow]

I reccommend sticking to à single element as soon as you can. Until you got enough skills, stick with 2, but no more. With more, your attributes will become so spread out that a wand attack might outdamage your spells.

[gremlin]

Its a problem right across all the characters at the start of prophesies.

I think you get 2 air skills, once your a little further into the game you will begin to get more skills.
It may be some time before you get enough skills to form an Air build as the early parts of prophesies gives you skills for completing quests rather than going to a skill trainer.
The Skills you get are pre set for each quest.

It made role playing a character a little difficult, I told myself this was my apprenticeship where others choose my skills.

[Always Wasted]

If you have more than one character which i think you do by the way you worded that buy some skills on it get some tomes and use them for your ele if you really want air magic now

[akelarumi]

First of all IK would recommend to run a combo of air and energy skills, energy skills basicly preserves energy. You are in a limited tutorial area where you can only get 2 air skills and 2 energy skills. Soon you'll get to a place where you can add another one. Till you are in a town called Lions arch I would recommend to use a third attribute (e.g. fire, but it can also be from a secondary proffession).

specially when you have other campaigns you can visit then the port towns of the other campaigns (without having to really start it) and get access to a big amount of skills.

later on it is advised to have balanced builds for all 4 element attributes, so you can run all of it. In some area's running an air build would give you disadvantages over e.g. water.

[ruk1a]

Originally Posted by Always Wasted

If you have more than one character which i think you do by the way you worded that buy some skills on it get some tomes and use them for your ele if you really want air magic now

Exactly just get an elite tome and a few normal ele tomes boom you got yourself an air build. If you need to unlock any skills simply go pvp for a bit for some balth faction and unlock them at a priest of balthazar npc.

Originally Posted by cataphract

And anyone who drops GW out of frustration with Prophecies will not be a loss to the GW community.

I dropped this game a few times in the early years due to seemingly impossible end game missions and some factions missions. Saying it wouldn't be a loss to the community isn't how I would word it, maybe just a misguided soul that didn't enjoy dying and failing constantly.

[Mouse at Large]

Unless you are determined to RP your new ele (and if you are, good luck!), I cannot think of a reason to restrict your character to air. By all means chose that sort of setup later, but my advice would be to get as many and as varied a range of skills, try them out, then specialise later. There are plenty available by doing small quests early in the game.

[Neriandal Freit]

I will echo what my friends here have said Silverwolf - and it's excellent that you've just begun GuildWars! Loving the fact that we still have new players dripping into our Realm of Tyria.

The key to the Elementalist is playing all elements. In the young days of an Elementalist, you need power - power in Guildwars is Fire, while snaring is our jolly Water, defense is our Earth and rearing through armor is Air. Untill you've reached Lion's Arch, playing Air will not get you what you seek yet.

Take the advice here and roll with two elements right now, upping your Energy Storage side for the both.

Welcome to the fold (and Guru!)

[cataphract]

Originally Posted by silverwolf82

I started my elementalist yesterday and when I went to the skills trainer in Wizard's Folly I got a fire element. I'd like to use air magic only skills for this elemental. How do I go about getting only air?

To be able to play an air build you'll have to advance very far in the storyline. Right now in Presearing you have access to Blinding Flash and Lightning Javelin which are pretty much useless there. You're better off spamming Flare like a madman and casting Fire Storm on balled up mobs. Firestorm will serve you well until you get to the desert and cap Lightning Surge (elite).

Once you have that, your build shall consist of these skills:

Enervating Charge
Lightning Orb
Glyph of Lesser Energy
Chain Lightning
Lightning Surge [E]
Air Attunement
Aura of Restoration
Resurrection Signet

Once you get to the Ring of Fire Islands you shall cap Thunderclap which can serve you all the way to the end of Nightfall. Factions has no notable air elites and Invoke Lightning is available half-way thru Nightfall.

All this is true provided you do not use any tomes to obtain skills your character does not have access to. Just as I did on my recent Prophecies ele. Pretty much stormed thru all three chapters using above build with Thunderclap/Invoke. Death count: 0.

[Mouse at Large]

Good advice. The only thing I might quibble about is having a Resurrection Signet. That's the job for henchies and later heroes .

Lightning Strike is available as a quest reward in Beacon's Perch and might fit in.

[cataphract]

True, Res Sig can be replaced with something more useful - say Ward Against Melee - but if he's going to hench his way through Prophecies I'd keep it on my bar. Especially if he's a new player and is learning as he goes. Hard res wouldn't be a bad idea either as henchies will over aggro and act retarded from time to time.

Lightning Strike is an OK skill but that's it. I find it redundant on a bar with Enervatig Charge though. However, it will be useful until he gets to Maguuma Stade and buys Chain Lightning from the local skill trainer.

[Mouse at Large]

Once again - good advice. However, I do worry that a completely new player is going to be put off in a very short time by running a sub-optimal setup early in the game. I'd hate to see someone take up the game then drop it due to frustration.

If I was being honest, I'd go with fire to start, possibly split with earth for a ward until after the Shiverpeaks.

There is plenty of time later in the game when you have a wider understanding of the mechanics, skills and their utility/effects to decide what line you want to play.

[cataphract]

Originally Posted by silverwolf82

Thanks guys. You're really helpful.
Maybe you can help me again. I'm trying to find Stormbringer and I just can't find her. I want to see if she has any quests to take and get some more skills. I've been to Foible's Fair before but I was following the tracking and using my ranger. I followed the road and came to a field but I must have gone right past it.

You're having trouble finding Foible's Fair? Start from Ashford Abbey. Immediately turn right and right again to follow the road thru Ahsford. Follow that road up a hill and hold ALT to see the road signs that say "Wizard's Folly". Once you zone to Wizard's, simply follow that road until you reach a res shrine with an Academy Monk and a collector guy. Foible's Fair will be directly to your right.

Originally Posted by Mouse at Large

Once again - good advice. However, I do worry that a completely new player is going to be put off in a very short time by running a sub-optimal setup early in the game. I'd hate to see someone take up the game then drop it due to frustration.

All early builds are sub-optimal, are they not? That's just part of the learning curve which is very long in Prophecies. And anyone who drops GW out of frustration with Prophecies will not be a loss to the GW community.

[silverwolf82]

Thanks guys. You're really helpful.
Maybe you can help me again. I'm trying to find Stormbringer and I just can't find her. I want to see if she has any quests to take and get some more skills. I've been to Foible's Fair before but I was following the tracking and using my ranger. I followed the road and came to a field but I must have gone right past it.

[cataphract]

Well, tbh, I wouldn't use the term "misguided soul" for someone who gives up instead of stepping up. Guess we're just different when it comes to challenges.

[ruk1a]

Originally Posted by cataphract

Well, tbh, I wouldn't use the term "misguided soul" for someone who gives up instead of stepping up. Guess we're just different when it comes to challenges.

There's a difference between challenge and grief when it comes to guild wars, you either use meta or fail.
I have played lots of mmo's in my time and never have I experienced so much frustration when first starting out in end game.

Difficulty kind of goes from 1 to 10. This was when GW was new just fyi I personally believe the game was harder back then, or maybe it was just my groups being noobs.

@OP you can use a build like this and buy all the skills in ascalon it works fine.

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[maxxfury]

Originally Posted by ruk1a

There's a difference between challenge and grief when it comes to guild wars, you either use meta or fail.
I have played lots of mmo's in my time and never have I experienced so much frustration when first starting out in end game.

Meta or fail?! wut..GW has about the lowest requirement for skill setups :S

Almost anything is viable, and you can cruise thru with skill bars with 1 or 2 skills on them for a large amount of the game..:S

Jeydra (just as an example of something recently posted) has screen shots of full vanqs to show this... (empty skill bars, and like orison of healing on a couple of heroes)

[Mashiyu]

Originally Posted by maxxfury

Jeydra (just as an example of something recently posted) has screen shots of full vanqs to show this... (empty skill bars, and like orison of healing on a couple of heroes)

Jeydra proved that SoS and minions are OP. surprise, surprise!

However, the empty skillbar thing is true if you have a decent hero team behind you. (and sometimes SoS+MM+some heals is decent enough)

[LifeInfusion]

Presearing is a poor representation of GW because it is not much different than other MMO skills. You have very little build strategy (other than Mesmers) there.

You would think Eles are the best profession to start with, but attunements aren't given to you at the beginning. I'd argue necros are the best starting profession since minions are the first skills you get along with debuffs like Insidious Parasite and Faintheartedness. With warriors you get axe skills and such (sans Deep Wound), but frenzy isn't intuitive (they don't give you a cancel stance except for sprint either) so a lot of people end up using Sever Artery+Gash.

You get Earth attunement from The Geomancer's Test (Serenity Temple) early on. Unfortunately earth magic in Prophecies is shoddy.

You get Fire attunement from The Royal Papers (Fishermen's Haven) which is about halfway.

You get Water attunement from The Undead Hordes (Beetletun) , which is around LA.

You get Air attunement from Eye For Profit (Druid's Overlook)... so it's in Maguuma that air becomes viable (ironically everything before Crystal desert dies to fire easily, especially undead and moss things).

All of the ele skills are priced with attunements in mind so it really sucks to start with ele (you get +1 energy back from Aura of restoration at 8+ energy storage but it's not going to help with 10-15 energy skills).