Drain's Perfect Elemental Warrior Path Guide

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Version - 2.04
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[-][-]Reworded the details of the cooldown reductions for Lightning Slash.
--(PvP Section coming whenever the talent calculator is fixed still)

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Original Guide -- Best Suited for PvE Players
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This is my original build for Elemental warriors that I first wrote back in CB2 (even though I started in CB1). Since then, I've tweaked it here and there, and I've finally settled on it's final version. Until now, I've been really secretive about my Elemental Warrior build, and as such, I've only told a few people this build up to level 36, and only two people the entire build. I didn't want 7,000 over-powered Elemental Warriors running around day one. But, I figured, the game's been out for a while now, enough people are playing it, ...so it's time to post my guide. A lot of thought went into what's important, and when. So, I feel this is the best build for an Elemental Warrior. And the two who I've told, until now, especially one of them, thank me every day for giving them my breakdown on the Elemental Warrior.

I feel, damage-wise, the Elemental Warrior is the best type of Warrior. I always have. Your bread-and-butter skill, Lightning Slash, is a two-hit skill. So, not only does that mean if you miss with one of the hits, the skill itself does half damage. Rarely will both attacks miss. And, if one attack crits, you still have another attack adding on to that crit. And if BOTH hits crit, talk about massive damage... In addition to this, you'll have another skill, slightly weaker than LS later on, called Thunder Slash, this you'll be able to use a bit less than LS, however, it's ANOTHER two-hit skill, which is wind element, so you'll be doing massive damage with it, thanks to all the wind buffing you'll have. And again, if one hit misses, you've still got the other hit coming, so the skill will do half damage, rarely will both hits miss. In contrast, the skills a Phantom Warrior relies on are slow, and only single-hit. This means, if they miss, they flat-out miss. There's no half-damage possibility.

Also, your LS, which will be very powerful, you'll be throwing that every 3 seconds, which means, except in one case, you'll be using it every other attack. So, you have that massive damage coming, and coming quick. In addition, Dragon Power, your Level 55 attack buff, will get a massive boost as well. And your Thunder Slash, will additionally gain a 4 second stun when the second hit crits, which it will have an increased base chance to crit of 16%!

So, here it is. The "PEP." (Perfect Elemental Path). Questions are welcomed, both here and in-game. Trolling, flaming, etc is not allowed, and will be ignored as if you never posted the troll/flame at all.

I should also state that even though the tree is set for a Human Elemental Warrior (as that's what I am), the build is the exact same for Elf Elemental Warriors. The only thing that would change are the details for a couple skills. And those would only be modified slightly, ...very slightly. Even with those slight modifications to the details, the build is the EXACT same no matter your race.

Also, I feel I should point out: This is a guide! This is not carved in stone saying: "you must level your character like this, or it will be worthless." By no means MUST you follow this guide to the letter. If tweaking it slightly works better for you, then by all means, do it! =D It's your character afterall! This is the path that I've developed for my character and that the few I've told about it use, and are very proud we do because of how well it works. Again, it's all about using this guide as a base and finding what works best for you!

(These talent links are out-of-date and are just here as reference for when the talent calculator is fixed/updated and ready for use again, I will need to, of course, provide a new, single, link for the build, now that the level cap has been raised to 80)
First, the link to the visual for the build: http://fw.perfectworld.com/talentcalc?cls=warrior&r=hum&b=t3a15a23b23b33c33d24d34e23e34f24g22h12h21h32i22j13j23
PLEASE BE AWARE -- This it outdated and will be fixed when the talent calculator is made available again!
Also, a continuation of the build up to Lv80: http://fw.perfectworld.com/talentcalc?cls=warrior&r=hum&b=t1a25b13t3a15a23b23b33c21c33d24d34e23e34f24g22h12h22h32i22j13j23
ATTENTION -- This is horribly outdated, ignore what it says, it's just a placeholder until the talent calculator is made available again.

The first visual link goes up to 70, when I get more information, I'll continue the detailed breakdown up to 80.

(Forgive my formatting problems, this is actually the first time I've ever tried to make something nice and neat in the forums in all my time playing PWE games)

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Level-by-level breakdown:
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• Level 20: Rampage +1 (1/5)
  
• Level 21: Rampage +1 (2/5)
  
• Level 22: Lethal Lightning +1 (1/5)
  
• Level 23: Lethal Lightning +1 (2/5)
  
• Level 24: Lethal Lightning +1 (3/5)
  

So, why only get 2 points of Rampage first, then only 3 in Lethal Lightning? Well, your main goal, at this point, is to get your Lightning Slash's cooldown down to 3 seconds. (Especially before Level 30, when PvP starts, if you're on a PvP server) This will give you the ability to throw your "bread-and-butter" skill Lightning Slash just about every other attack, as soon as possible. Vastly increasing your damage output. To add points to the talent which does this, Lightning Mastery, you need to have 5 points in the Elemental tree. Since you're going to max Rampage next, and because of it's constant, percent-based attack increase, you'll put two points in that first, then put the last three points of the required five points into Lethal Lightning--this is because you have to put three points into Lethal Lightning to open up Lightning Mastery.

• Level 25: Lightning Mystery +1 (1/3)
  
• Level 26: Lightning Mystery +1 (2/3)
  
• Level 27: Lightning Mystery +1 (3/3) (MAX)
  
• Level 28: Rampage +1 (3/5)
  
• Level 29: Rampage +1 (4/5)
  
• Level 30: Rampage +1 (5/5) (MAX)
  

Now that we have the prerequisite out of the way, we can max-out Lightning Mystery to get Lightning Slash's cool down to 7 seconds! Now, you're always going to be in "Frenzy Stance III" which already reduces the cooldown of Lightning Slash by 4 seconds! Combined, that's a total cooldown reduction of 7 seconds! This will bring Lightning Slash's cooldown down to 3 seconds! Upon completing this, you should notice your Damage-Dealing ability shoot up quite a bit! This will begin to make you a formidable opponent, as well as a very valuable single-target Damage-Dealer in instances. In addition, this should get your ability to steal, and hold, aggro up quite a bit. After you've finished lowering Lightning Slash's cool down, put your next 3 points into Rampage to max it out, thus boosting your overall damage ability from all your skills, and making you hit all that much harder, as well as helping you hold and keep aggro, should you need to. (which you will as a warrior, you'll find yourself tanking, no matter what) Above all, again, part of Rampage's attack boost is a percent, which means, the higher you level and the higher your attack goes, the more the Rampage talent on Frenzy Stance will benefit you by boosting your attack!

• Level 31: Warsong Mastery +1 (1/3)
  
• Level 32: Warsong Mastery +1 (2/3)
  
• Level 33: Warsong Mastery +1 (3/3) (MAX)
  
• Level 34: Warsong of Rampage +1 (1/3)
  
• Level 35: Warsong of Rampage +1 (2/3)
  
• Level 36: Warsong of Rampage +1 (3/3) (MAX)
  

So you're asking, "wait, why didn't you add any to Threatening Roar?" Well, quite simply because it's worthless. (in a PvE that is, it DOES serve a purpose to lower the Evasion of other players in PvP, especially those that stack Mistshroud Gems (+Evasion Gems) However, you're still going to want to add to it at a later point. Refer to the PvP Section/Quick Reference Guide for these levels) It takes too long to cast, it's range is too short, and the debuff is too small. Quite honestly, in the time it takes to cast that, you can die, or you can kill what's attacking you. So again, the time it takes to cast Threatening Roar, is better spent dealing damage. And the points are MUCH better used elsewhere. Now, for Warsong Mastery, it's required to max that to unlock Warsong of Rampage, plus not having to cast Warsong again for about 20 minutes is nice. Warsong of Rampage, that's obvious. It further increases your attack, and the attack of your party members, which is always welcomed.

• Level 37: Storm Mastery +1 (1/4)
  
• Level 38: Storm Mastery +1 (2/4)
  
• Level 39: Storm Mastery +1 (3/4)
  

Why 3 points into Storm Mastery? Well, you have two options here, further increase the power of your bread-and-butter skill Lightning Slash by about another 3% (+30 Mastery), or put points into Exorcism which will make your target take an about extra 4.5% damage, and lose 15% max mana. You're going to be casting LS every other attack, except in one case. So, that extra ~3% is FAR more valuable than the debuff from Exorcism. Again, remember, LS is your bread-and-butter, you should do everything in your power to max anything that buffs that first, before anything else.

• Level 40: Leaf Dance +1 (1/4)
  
• Level 41: Leaf Dance +1 (2/4)
  
• Level 42: Leaf Dance +1 (3/4)
  
• Level 43: Leaf Dance +1 (4/4) (MAX)
  

Ah, Leaf Dance... After maxing this, this is the first time you begin to become "overpowered." Basically, any attack buffing, and Wind Mastery buffing you've done to this point, was done just to get you down to where you could max Leaf Dance, and so that when you got down to Leaf Dance, and maxed it, it would be all-the-more devastating. At max, Leaf Dance gives your LS an extra 2% critstrike rate for each stack of Frenzy Stance. And since you're in three stacks of Frenzy stance, that's +6% critstrike rate for LS, which you'll be throwing every 3 seconds! If you have the base 8% critstrike rate, that gives your LS a critstrike rate of 14%! Then, you'd increase that by any other critstrike rate buffs you'd have. (like from Goldspark gems) Keep in mind, this is the critstrike rate of EACH HIT. LS is a TWO HIT skill.

• Level 44: Storm Mastery +1 (4/4) (MAX)
  
• Level 45: Thunder Storm: +1 (1/4)
  
• Level 46: Thunder Storm: +1 (2/4)
  
• Level 47: Thunder Storm: +1 (3/4)
  
• Level 48: Thunder Storm: +1 (4/4) (MAX)
  

First, put a point into Storm Mastery to max it out, giving your LS, and soon to be Thunder Slash as well, an extra 4% damage (+40 mastery). Upon reaching Level 45, you get your Level 45 skill: Thunder Slash (TS). This is basically a slightly weaker LS, with the added effect of slowing the movement of mounted opponents by 40%, and it also has a 20% chance to Disarm your target. Disarm is a way of saying, any class which relies on a weapon to attack, (like Warriors, Assassins, Protectors, Marksmen, and the like) can't attack with any skills other than their Auto-Attack, and their default attack (example: Bash). This is nice as it is, but soon, very soon, you're about to turn your TS into an EXTREMELY devastating skill. As it is, putting 4 points into Thunder Storm gives the second hit of your TS a critstrike rate of an additional 8%, which at the base critstrike rate of 8%, gives the second hit a critstrike rate of 16%! This also reduces the cooldown, at max, by 2 seconds. Giving your TS a cooldown of 6 seconds.

• Level 49: Exorcism +1 (1/4)
  
• Level 50: Thunder Struck +1 (1/2)
  
• Level 51: Thunder Struck +1 (2/2) (MAX)
  

Your goal now, is to max Thunder Struck, which will turn your TS into a godly (imho) skill. You'll be maxing Exorcism later to further increase your damage output, but it's not quite that immediately important. Maxing Thunder Struck will allow your TS to stun your target for 3~4 seconds, whenever the second hit of TS is a critical strike, which, thanks to Thunder Storm, you have a base chance of 16% of stunning your opponent approximately every 6 seconds. In a duel, or PvP, if your TS's stun takes max effect, your opponent, unless they have extremely high hp or defense, will usually be dead in about the first 6 seconds.

• Level 52: Exorcism +1 (2/4)
  
• Level 53: Exorcism +1 (3/4)
  
• Level 54: Exorcism +1 (4/4) (MAX)
  

Now that you've got all your talents relating to lightning skills (wind element skills) maxed for the moment, the only thing left to do is max out the Exorcism addition for your Evil Ward skill. This will allow your Evil Ward to decrease your target's Physical Resistance by 60 (+6% physical damage for you), while also lowering their max MP by 20%, in addition to already debuffing their Wind Resistance a lot, which is nice too, but not amazing, since it's only a temporary reduction, and a rather short one at that. This will bring the rest of your damage up to par, or close, with the damage you're dishing out from your overpowered LS and TS.

• Level 55: Soul of Dragon +1 (1/2)
  
• Level 56: Soul of Dragon +1 (2/2) (MAX)
  

Upon reaching Level 55 you gain access to your nice attack buff. Single-Target, and kind-of a long cooldown for a buff, it's +5% base attack increase is nice, especially since it's increase is a %, which means, the higher your attack is, the better the buff. Maxing Soul of Dragon gives you +6% to Dragon Power's normal % increase, means at Level 56, that already nice +5% base attack goes up to +11% base attack, which is amazing. And, when you level up to 57, you'll be able to get Dragon Power Lv2, which makes the base increase go up to 6%, giving you a base attack buff of +12%! Overall, since it's a 30 minute buff that increases the damage of all your attacks and the attack of anyone you cast it on, and not a 12 second buff that depends on you getting hit, this is far more valuable getting before Blade of Reflection, which you'll get at 57.

• Level 57: Blade of Reflection +1 (1/2)
  
• Level 58: Frenzy Outbreak +1 (1/2)
  
• Level 59: Frenzy Outbreak +1 (2/2) (MAX)
  
• Level 60: Frenzied Force +1 (1/2)
  
• Level 61: Frenzied Force +1 (2/2) (MAX)
  

Now, this is where it becomes a little tricky. First, getting 1 point of Blade of Reflection at 57 is a must. Most players will kill themselves by trying to kill you, when you have this on. And, against mobs, it helps you hold aggro better, which, you don't really need, but it's nice to have just in case. As it is, your damage output should be high enough if something takes aggro from you, around your level, with about the same gear as you, and they're NOT a protector spamming taunt, they deserve a medal. That aside, this will help those tough mobs go down just that much easier. Next, maxing Frenzy Outbreak is much better than putting 2 points in Bleeding Touch. You're already taking a large amount of damage for being in Frenzy Stance, so the 50% restoration of your evasion and defense will help you live a lot longer. And lastly, at level 60 and 61, put a point into Frenzied Force to FURTHER increase your already overpowered damage output from LS and TS by at first 8%, and then 16%! This also increases the damage of your weakest skill, Bash, by 8%/16% too. Which is nice, since it means the overall damage you'll be sending out each skill cycle will be higher.

• Level 62: Bleeding Touch +1 (1/3)
  
• Level 63: Bleeding Touch +1 (2/3)
  
• Level 64: Bleeding Touch +1 (3/3) (MAX)
  

Now you can get Bleeding Touch which will give your Bloodsuck Slash a nice healing debuff. This is, of course, if you're not using the "Full PvP" tweaks. If you are, then you'd put these three points into Exorcism. For these levels, you're just using your last few points so that you can open up Counter Master and Swift Lightning.

• Level 65: Counter Master +1 (1/3)
  
• Level 66: Counter Master +1 (2/3)
  
• Level 67: Counter Master +1 (3/3) (MAX)

Counter Master is far more valuable than the cool down reduction for Lightning Wings. Put simply, in total, the amount of damage you'll be putting out will be a bit faster with maxing Counter Master, as opposed to maxing Swift Lightning. And, in a PvP environment, it makes you a less-desirable target for those who actually see you use it--and for those who don't... They make it much easier to kill them, obliterating anywhere from a third, to half their life on their own, without even factoring in any of your attacks. (or anyone else's)

• Level 68: Blood Soak Mastery +1 (1/2)
  
• Level 69: Blood Soak Mastery +1 (2/2) (MAX)

(Note: If you were level 68+ before the "Chains of Kluer" patch, you'll need a talent compass to shift your points over. If you were like me, and saved your two from achievements, that shouldn't be a problem!) Now, as Blood Soak is as a skill itself, many people don't really like it, but I've always been fond of it. These points server two purposes: the first is to unlock the next talent which turns Blood Soak into an amazing skill. And, the second point further increases it's effectiveness when the next set of talents are applied to modify Blood Soak. In addition to doubling the duration of Blood Soak, this will also increase the chance that Blood Soak can dismount it's target by 10%, taking it from 25% up to 35%, a small increase, but nice all the same.

• Level 70: Rain of Blood +1 (1/3)
  
• Level 71: Rain of Blood +1 (2/3)
  
• Level 72: Rain of Blood +1 (3/3) (MAX)

This is, by far, another amazing talent that the Elemental tree has--and, I must say, one of my favorites. With this, at MAX, your Blood Soak will not only do it's low bleed damage, over 20 seconds, instead of 10, thanks to Blood Soak Mastery, but ALSO for those 20 seconds, again, with Rain of Blood at MAX, all targets within 12 meters of you will lose 15% of their defense and 40 evasion. So, not only will your targets be easier to hit, they will take a lot more damage too. Just to give you an idea of how much a 15% defense loss is... At the higher levels (60+), everyone should have AT LEAST 500 defense. (or really close) So, we'll use 500 as a base minimum. If your target has 500 defense, and they lose 15% of it, that means, for 20 seconds, their defense is decreased by 75! And, of course, they'd also have the 40 point evade reduction. And remember, since the defense debuff is a percent, that means the higher their defense is, the larger the debuff! And, again, this affects all targets within 12 meters. To help you visualize 12 meters, that's the same distance as a vampire's maximum attack range, all around you. With this maxed, for 20 seconds, you will become a walking (or dashing) debuff! And for those that get close, there's always Blade of Reflection and Divine Uphold! In addition to this, if you're using the "Full PvP" modifications, that's... an even greater debuff... You're practically crippling anyone who gets too close to you.

• Level 73: Threatening Roar +1 (1/4)
  
• Level 74: Threatening Roar +1 (2/4)
  
• Level 75: Slash Storm +1 (1/1) (MAX)

Now, start off by putting two points into Threatening Roar to start off further increasing the effect of Rain of Blood's debuff for about half it's duration. Next, you'll want to unlock Slash Storm. This is a very nice skill for those close to you. Especially nice for those mass of mobs you'll end up fighting from time to time. It's a three hit skill, each hit doing 50% of your attack, plus 1067 bonus damage. This comes out to the skill dealing, in total, 150% of your attack, plus 3191. Then of course, you'd have to apply any reductions that your target(s) have, so it'll be a bit less than that, but still nice all the same. In addition to this, it has less than half the cooldown of Lightning Wings! So, coupled with Lightning Wings, and who knows what else they'll add for Elemental Warriors later, plus Blood Soak, plus Threatening Roar, plus Blade of Reflection, ...Elemental Warriors are turning out to be not only the formidable single-target fighter that they were, but also, now, a fairly formidable AoE'er as well. (But of course, comparing them to other classes that are designed to AoE, they have nothing. But all the same, they're turning out to be great in single-target, and multi-target combat!)

• Level 76: Threatening Roar +1 (3/4)
  
• Level 77: Threatening Roar +1 (4/4) (MAX)

And now, MAX Threatening Roar so you will have your AoE Defense and Evasion debuffs at full-effectiveness. Now with MAX Threatening Roar, and Rain of Blood, you're crippling anything that gets too close to you!


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General PvP Guide:
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==COMING SOON==
==UNDER CONSTRUCTION==

(For the moment, I've just copied the PvP part from the "Notes" section and pasted it here. When I can, I'll go through and refine it and set it up to be a proper guide, as well as add stuff. Also, the "PvP-Per-Class" insight I wrote on page 3 or 4 will probably make it into this section as well. However, if someone who loves PvP, does it a lot, and has more insight into PvP situations (and can write properly, no Lulz speekz or txt spk plx) would like to take that, refine it, and etc, making it into a better guide portion, they're welcome to do that. And, I'll add it as they've refined it, as well as adding their name to the "Credits" section)

There has been a lot of feedback from those who either favor PvP a lot, or are on PvP servers who have ran into situations where they've needed to get Threatening Roar and Bleeding Touch early, instead of Exorcism. While I don't agree with this at all, since it will lower the overall damage output of you and your party (especially in PvE situations) a bit (for a while, until the level cap is raised, at which point you'd be able to get Exorcism. This is also where, by how I have the guide, you'd get Bleeding Touch and Threatening Roar) So, in red, are the levels where you could add into Threatening Roar, and Bleeding Touch. I really wouldn't get them before where I have it listed, since if you do, you're nerfing your damage output/effectiveness (both solo and squad) for a while.

• Level 49: Threatening Roar +1 (1/4)
  
• Level 52: Bleeding Touch +1 (1/3)
  
• Level 53: Bleeding Touch +1 (2/3)
  
• Level 54: Bleeding Touch +1 (3/3) (MAX)
  
• Level 62: Exorcism +1 (1/4) --- From here on down, replace these levels with Threatening Roar where you can
  
• Level 63: Exorcism +1 (2/4)
  
• Level 64: Exorcism +1 (3/4)
  

Now, this is based on when you'd naturally get the talents anyway. Additionally, of course, if your PvP experiences call for it, you can of course get Bleeding Touch maxed earlier, or get a couple points of Bleeding Touch, then your 1 point of Roar, then your last point of Bleeding touch.

If you're on a PvP server, you may find yourself needing to do this, depending on the experiences you have. It's your character, and this is just a guide. Experiment! Test things out for yourself! See what works best for you!

(If I've noted this somewhere else, please forgive me) Basically the only difference between the PvP modifications and the regular guide as I have it, is really 1 point of Roar. As you'll have everything else in the end anyway. So, in the end, it's either one roar, or max Exorcism. Aside from that, it's the same, the only other difference is, of course, the timing at which you get the skills.

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Maximum Damage-Output Skill Rotation: (MDSR)
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Based on the cooldowns you'll have, starting when you have a 3 second LS, and all of your other base skills, if you time it right, you should really never auto attack, especially once you have TS. Below, I have listed both skill rotations with and without TS. Now, this is against mobs. Should you find yourself in a PvP moment, skip to where you use TS, and use that as your starting point on the skill rotation. I'll mark this point with an asterisk. (*)

Also, note, in both variations, you can lead off with Assault, however, if you don't get the maximum stun effect from Assault (starting point of 18 meters away), skip ahead to the *, other wise, continue as listed. Also, please be aware, the MDSR (max damage skill rotation) listed with Thunder Slash in it, is only AFTER it's cooldown has been reduced to 6 seconds.

Also, please be aware: these are not set in stone! Generally in a PvE setting, you'll find yourself sticking to this rotation 99% of the time. But, in a fluid PvP environment where you have to constantly adapt to the situation, you may have to do more than just jump to Thunder Slash first. If you have Bleeding Touch, you may have to toss Bloodsuck Slash in sooner. Again, as always, experiment! Use this guide as a base, then go out and test and see what works best for you!

In addition, if you have a high ping, this may affect the success of your rotation. If your ping is fairly low, you shouldn't auto-attack, as stated. However, if your ping is fairly high, you might auto-attack once in this rotation. If you suffer from constant higher ping, (like if you're from the other side of the world) then you might also have to modify this with something that will cast quicker for you.

As for where Lightning Wings fits into this rotation, ...it doesn't really. It doesn't do enough damage to warrant placing it where it has to be placed. You would need to replace BOTH Evil Ward and Bash to fit Lightning Wings in. The combined damage from both Evil Ward and Bash is greater than the damage of Lightning Wings. So you'd still only really use Lightning Wings in a situation where you need it's AoE effectiveness.

• Before TS:
  
• (Assault,) Lightning Slash, Bloodsuck Slash, Lightning Slash, Evil Ward, Bash, (repeat)
  

• After TS:
  
• (Assault,) Lightning Slash, *Thunder Slash, Lightning Slash, Bloodsuck Slash, Lightning Slash, Thunder Slash, Lightning Slash, Evil Ward, Bash, (repeat)
  

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Suggested Gems
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Bloodstone, Goldspark, Shattershard, and Ragefire--In no particular order.

Bloodstones will give you the HP you'll need, and you'll need a decent amount of it, considering the increased damage you'll be taking.

Goldsparks will further increase your base critstrike rate. I suggest shooting for embedding enough Goldsparks to give you an increased critstrike rate of at least +4%, giving you a base critstrike rate of at least 12%. Which means each hit of your LS will have a critstrike rate of 18%, and the second hit of your TS, which is all important, since if it crits, it will stun your target for 4 seconds, an increased critstrike rate of 20%!

Shattershards will give your already hard-hitting critstrikes that extra boost in damage to make them even more powerful. While not as essential as the others, this is still nice to have and recommended.

Ragefires will, of course, increase your already boosted attack, which will let you hit even harder.

Eagle-Eyes will increase your accuracy, so you'll miss less-often. While "okay" and optional in a PvE setting, in a PvP setting, these gems are HIGHLY recommended.

--In addition to these, you can have your choice of Solarflares, or Mistshrouds. Mistshrouds can be nice, once your evasion is restored (however, since you have nothing else that buffs your evasion, you're better off with Solarflares), and Solarflares will help reduce the damage you take, obviously, all the time, and don't depend on a successful evade. It's your choice really. All-in-all, after you fill out your slots with the recommended gems, the first optional gems I'd go for would definitely be Solarflare. (Depending on how much you miss, you could swap out Shattershards with Eagle-Eyes in the list, but this is entirely up to you)

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Suggested Rings & Necklaces
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For Rings and Necklaces, you'll want as much cost reduction for wind skills as possible, as far as rings go, physical cost reduction is alright, however it's nowhere near as valuable as the cost reduction for your wind skills. Since, out of your skill rotation, you'll be throwing those the most, so even a few -% on the cost of those skills will end up being a big pay off in the end with the conservation of your mana. As for the other high priority attributes you should look for: look for HP, Crit Chance, Crit Damage, Attack, Wind Attack, and Wind Mastery--In no particular order. (Of course of the listed choices, Crit Damage would be last on the list, imo) Also, if you're big into PvP, look for Accuracy!

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Suggested Gear
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Now when it comes to the Elemental Warrior, there are two ways you can go with your gear. Full-on Attack, and "WS" (Warded Stout). Starting out, you should be just fine with a Full-on Attack set, but in later-level situations, you might find yourself lacking slightly in survivability, unless you have a priest that you trust and know is good. Personally, so far, I've been wearing a Full-on Attack (FoA) set. I use some Bloodstones to supplement my life, but as it is, I do wish I had a bit more HP sometimes. So, I may find myself switching over to a WS set soon. The main problem with using a WS set, is that you lose some of your over-the-top attack, even though you do survive a bit longer. Let's remember that you're an Elemental Warrior, you're not made by design for epic tanking! You're made for dishing out insane damage. All this is taking into account that you're not using Instance Set gear. If you combine the sets just right, the bonuses are quite nice. But again, even if you are using an instance set, you'd need some really nice IDs to match the survivability of a full WS set, or the damage ability of a FoA set.

So, really, you have three possibilities, instead of two: (in no particular order of preference)

Warded Stout -- Try for Attack IDs, in addition to Wind Mastery, Wind Attack, and Crit Chance; Also, don't forget to supplement these gears with gems where you find yourself lacking.

Full-on Attack -- Try for Defense and HP IDs, in addition to Wind Mastery, Wind Attack, Attack and Crit Chance; Also, don't forget to supplement these gears with gems where you find yourself lacking.

Instance Set -- This will be a bit tricky, since what each set gives will vary. So there's no real set pattern here. You'll have to look at the set bonuses and the IDs you have, and gem accordingly.

Remember, "Additional Attributes" and "Identified Attributes" are different things! For example, something is "Warded Stout" if it's two "Additional Attributes are Defense and HP. The "Identified Attributes" have no impact on the name. As I've said before, at higher levels, you may find yourself having to go "Warded Stout" (at least on some pieces) and rely on high attack IDs.

Mind you, that going for Attack and HP gears is a great choice too.

Also, don't forget you can never go wrong with Bloodstones. So, it's good practice to always have a Bloodstone in each piece of gear that will take one.

Also, a note about Wind Mastery and Wind Attack... In general, Wind Mastery is more favorable over Wind Attack, unless you're comparing something like, ...for example, 6 Wind Mastery and 50 Wind Attack. In a case like this, you'd want to favor the Wind Attack over the Wind Mastery. And now you ask, "But what about 50 Wind Mastery and 50 Wind Attack?" Well, to answer you, you'll almost always go for the Mastery, especially if you're comparing Off-hands. In some cases, you'll have to swap equipment, if you can, and see which you hit harder with, depending on your set-up. Generally though, in cases with large mastery, you'd only really find those on Off-hands. So you'd be looking at something like 100 Wind Mastery or 100 Wind Attack. In a case like this, take the Mastery. On pieces of equipment, you're looking at maybe around 20-30 mastery, if I recall correctly. If you don't have mastery coming in from any other piece of equipment and you're comparing that 30ish Wind Mastery with 75 Wind Attack, I'd take the Wind Attack, personally. But, I'd still want to do some equipment swapping first to make sure.

All-in-All, the best advice I can give, is if you go with Warded Stout equipment, make sure to do everything you can to boost your damage through IDs and Gems, while not risking your survivability. And, vice-versa if you go with a Full-on Attack set. (Boost your HP and Defense, while not risking your damage)

The information for the gear might look generally the same... That's because it is. I get lots of questions about gear and such, so I thought I'd make a section about general gear information. Basically, the general rule, and all you need to really know, about your gear is: "Keep your survivability up, while not sacrificing your over-the-top damage!" Remember, all the damage-dealing ability in the world isn't any good if you're already dead. You might be able to deal 50k in one hit--great. But if you get 1-2 shot while you're trying to attack, that 50k doesn't really matter, now does it? =) So, remember that: "Keep your survivability up, while not sacrificing your over-the-top damage!"

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Notes:
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I still need to set up the PvP section of the guide... Sorry that's taking so long, but I'm not really big on PvP. ^_^

Also, another note on the PvP section... I'd have had it up and running by now were the talent calculator not down. I need to have that up to check and tweak as I'm writing, to give the best possible advice. As it is, I'm waiting for the talent calculator to be back and functioning.

About Exorcism... I have it as more of a.. "party-helper" and a slight personal damage booster. It's mainly for bringing up the damage of your Evil Ward, Bloodsuck Slash, and Bash a little bit, as well as helping out those Phantom Warriors, or Assassins (mainly) that you may be partied with--give them a boost to their damage. For the reason, I view it as more of a PvE talent, unless you're on a PvP server and you constantly PK in groups, or you're constantly in Guild Wars (which I also wrote the tactics for... but I rarely give classes on GW). As it is, just by using Evil Ward normally, you're giving a damage boost to anything Wind element, from you and your party. Having Exorcism helps round this out. But again, if you find yourself really needing to max Threatening Roar instead of getting Exorcism, then by all means, do it! =)

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Quick Reference:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you've read this before and are just wanting to look something up quickly, this section is for you! Complete with abbreviations to save you reading time! Consider it a condensed version of the above guide.

70 visual:
http://fw.perfectworld.com/talentcalc?cls=warrior&r=hum&b=t3a15a23b23b33c33d24d34e23e34f24g22h12h21h32i22j12j23 -- OUT OF DATE
80 visual:
http://fw.perfectworld.com/talentcalc?cls=warrior&r=hum&b=t1a25b13t3a15a23b23b33c21c33d24d34e23e34f24g22h12h22h32i22j13j23 -- EXTREMELY OUT OF DATE, IGNORE, JUST A PLACEHOLDER

Regular Guide
"Full PvP" Modification Possibilities

• Level 20: Rampage +1 (1/5)
  
• Level 21: Rampage +1 (2/5)
  
• Level 22: Lethal Lightning +1 (1/5)
  
• Level 23: Lethal Lightning +1 (2/5)
  
• Level 24: Lethal Lightning +1 (3/5)
  
• Level 25: Lightning Mystery +1 (1/3)
  
• Level 26: Lightning Mystery +1 (2/3)
  
• Level 27: Lightning Mystery +1 (3/3) (MAX)
  
• Level 28: Rampage +1 (3/5)
  
• Level 29: Rampage +1 (4/5)
  
• Level 30: Rampage +1 (5/5) (MAX)
  
• Level 31: Warsong Mastery +1 (1/3)
  
• Level 32: Warsong Mastery +1 (2/3)
  
• Level 33: Warsong Mastery +1 (3/3) (MAX)
  
• Level 34: Warsong of Rampage +1 (1/3)
  
• Level 35: Warsong of Rampage +1 (2/3)
  
• Level 36: Warsong of Rampage +1 (3/3) (MAX)
  
• Level 37: Storm Mastery +1 (1/4)
  
• Level 38: Storm Mastery +1 (2/4)
  
• Level 39: Storm Mastery +1 (3/4)
  
• Level 40: Leaf Dance +1 (1/4)
  
• Level 41: Leaf Dance +1 (2/4)
  
• Level 42: Leaf Dance +1 (3/4)
  
• Level 43: Leaf Dance +1 (4/4) (MAX)
  
• Level 44: Storm Mastery +1 (4/4) (MAX)
  
• Level 45: Thunder Storm: +1 (1/4)
  
• Level 46: Thunder Storm: +1 (2/4)
  
• Level 47: Thunder Storm: +1 (3/4)
  
• Level 48: Thunder Storm: +1 (4/4) (MAX)
  
• Level 49: Exorcism +1 (1/4)//Threatening Roar +1 (1/4)
• Level 50: Thunder Struck +1 (1/2)
  
• Level 51: Thunder Struck +1 (2/2) (MAX)
  
• Level 52: Exorcism +1 (2/4)//Bleeding Touch +1 (1/3)
  
• Level 53: Exorcism +1 (3/4)//Bleeding Touch +1 (2/3)
  
• Level 54: Exorcism +1 (4/4) (MAX)//Bleeding Touch +1 (3/3) (MAX)
  
• Level 55: Soul of Dragon +1 (1/2)
  
• Level 56: Soul of Dragon +1 (2/2) (MAX)
  
• Level 57: Blade of Reflection +1 (1/2)
  
• Level 58: Frenzy Outbreak +1 (1/2)
  
• Level 59: Frenzy Outbreak +1 (2/2) (MAX)
  
• Level 60: Frenzied Force +1 (1/2)
  
• Level 61: Frenzied Force +1 (2/2) (MAX)
  
• Level 62: Bleeding Touch +1 (1/3)//Exorcism +1 (1/4)
  
• Level 63: Bleeding Touch +1 (2/3)//Exorcism +1 (2/4)
  
• Level 64: Bleeding Touch +1 (3/3) (MAX)//Exorcism +1 (3/4)
  
• Level 65: Counter Master +1 (1/3)
  
• Level 66: Counter Master +1 (2/3)
  
• Level 67: Counter Master +1 (3/3) (MAX)
  
• Level 68: Blood Soak Mastery +1 (1/2)
  
• Level 69: Blood Soak Mastery +1 (2/2) (MAX)
  
• Level 70: Rain of Blood +1 (1/3)
  
• Level 71: Rain of Blood +1 (2/3)
  
• Level 72: Rain of Blood +1 (3/3) (MAX)
  
• Level 73: Threatening Roar +1 (1/4)
  
• Level 74: Threatening Roar +1 (2/4)
  
• Level 75: Slash Storm +1 (1/1) (MAX)
  
• Level 76: Threatening Roar +1 (3/4)
  
• Level 77: Threatening Roar +1 (4/4) (MAX)

MDSR:

• (Assault,) LS, BSS, LS, EW, Bash, (repeat)
  
• (Assault,) LS, *TS, LS, BSS, LS, TS, LS, EW, Bash, (repeat)

Gems:

• Bloodstone
  
• Goldspark
  
• Shattershard
  
• Ragefire
  
• Eagle-Eye (Highly suggested for PvP)
  
• Solarflare (optional)
  
• Mistshroud (optional)

Rings & Necklaces:

• Wind Skill Cost Reduction
  
• Wind Mastery
  
• Wind Attack
  
• Attack
  
• HP
  
• Crit Chance
  
• Crit Damage
  
• Accuracy

Gear:

• WS -- Attack, Wind Mastery, Wind Attack, Attack, Crit Chance
  
• FoA -- Defense, HP, Wind Mastery, Wind Attack, Crit Chance
  
• Instance -- Adjust accordingly

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Conclusion:
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That's the end of the guide for now. As questions are asked and such, I'll answer, and make a FAQ section, if it's needed.

I hope this guide has helped any new Elemental Warriors go down the right path. Or, if you're thinking about becoming a Warrior, I hope this guide has helped you decide. Or, if you're a higher-leveled Elemental Warrior, I hope the guide has helped you find where you may have misplaced points, and, after reading it, I hope you're back on the path to dominating. =)

Now, Elemental Warriors, go out there an show them you're a force to be reckoned with! =D

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Thanks:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks to those members of Phoenix (on the original server) who listened as I bounced my ideas for this path off of during CB1 and 2. And thanks to those people who helped me refine it from phase 3, onward. A lot of time, work, and love has gone into this build, and I felt it was finally time to share it with the masses. I hope you all make good use of it.

Special Thanks to the following players for their detailed input:

• Ginius
  
• Bustyvampress
  

Have fun out there, and <3 to all. =D


***all credit goes to Drain***