Elementalist: 20 skills from one weapon and the lowest health in the game

The elementalist has the lowest health in the game and light armour. In exchange it carries a mechanic nobody else has: four elements on one weapon.

Attunement

You switch between fire, water, air and earth, and each one replaces all five of your weapon skills.

Fire deals damage and burning. Water heals and supports. Air deals damage and control. Earth deals damage over time and defends.

One staff is therefore twenty skills rather than five. No other class comes near that.

The price is straightforward: no weapon swap in combat. Everyone else carries two sets; you carry one in four states.

Why it is hard

The health pool is the smallest in the game. One missed dodge costs half the bar.

Playing an elementalist means constant switching: burn in fire, dip into water to heal, into air for control, into earth to take a hit. You can stand in one attunement, and then you are playing a quarter of the class.

This class works best as your second or third character, once combat makes sense to you.

Its unusual skills

Conjured weapons create a temporary weapon for you and one ally. It drops on the ground and someone can pick it up.

Glyphs change their effect with your current attunement. One button, four outcomes.

Arcane skills cast instantly and often land guaranteed critical hits.

Weapons

Two-handed: staff, hammer, spear. Main-hand: dagger, pistol, scepter, sword. Off-hand: dagger, focus, warhorn.

Staff means range and support and is the gentlest start. Dagger with dagger means melee and the highest risk.

The elite specialisations

Tempest (Heart of Thorns) adds Overload: stay in an attunement and release a heavy effect. It also brings the warhorn and shouts. The simplest of the four.

Weaver (Path of Fire) runs two attunements at once, half your skills from each plus dedicated combined ones. The most demanding mechanic in the game, without exaggeration.

Catalyst (End of Dragons) places a Jade Sphere that strengthens allies inside it, and adds the hammer and augment skills.

Evoker (Visions of Eternity) uses meditations that cut recharge, plus spiritual companions.

Advice for a newcomer

If this is your first class, take a staff, hold your distance and learn the attunements at your own pace. You will die a lot.

If you have a choice, start on a warrior or a guardian and roll an elementalist when you want depth.

The comparison against the other eight sits in the overview.