Part of the current metagame
Our curator decided this build is in the current metagame regardless of rating.The community gave this build a rating, making it top-tier: Great
Focused on: Directdamage
Designed for: Raids and Fractals
Expansions required:
Difficulty:
Hard
This build was last updated on April 24, 2024 and is up to date for the June 25, 2024 patch.
Contents
- 1 Overview
- 2 Skill Bar
- 2.1 Non-SotO Weapons
- 2.2 Skill Variants
- 3 Template Code
- 4 Specializations
- 4.1 Specialization Variants
- 5 Equipment
- 6 Consumables
- 7 Usage
- 7.1 Sword/Warhorn rotation
- 7.2 Hammer Rotation fundamentals
- 7.3 Hammer Rotation example
Overview
Power Catalyst is a complex and fast-paced build that provides strong melee damage as well as some Might,
Fury,
Resolution and
Protection for your group.
Catalyst brings its Jade Sphere that drops stationary damage and boon fields that your utility skills interact with for bonus effectiveness. This two unique mechanic means that Catalyst greatly prefers fights against low-movement bosses.
The hammer build also relies heavily on its unique Circular Projectile mechanic that sits on the 3rd skill in each attunement. Successful play involves maintaining these projectiles both for their damage and the buffs they provide and if they are mismanaged it can be difficult to recover.
The combination of Elemental Empowerment and
Rocky Loop more durable than other elementalist specialisations, but be aware that you can gain up to 200 bonus toughness, so make sure your tank has more.
Skill Bar
Sword/Warhorn
Utility
Non-SotO Weapons
Hammer is the best weapon for players that don't own Secrets of the Obscure.
Skill Variants
Utility
Arcane Blast will provide slightly more burst damage than
Shattering Ice - particularly valuable in fractals.
Conjure Lightning Hammer could replace
Arcane Blast as a burst option on large hitboxes.
Elite
Conjure Fiery Greatsword is the best option when using Hammer.
Glyph of Elementals deals comparable damage to
Conjure Fiery Greatsword when using the Earth Elemental, as its active ability applies
Immobilize and is sufficient to keep you at 10 stacks of
Elemental Empowerment via
Vicious Empowerment.
Template Code
[&DQYfHSkfQyYXARcB+Br4Gu4a7hq+AVAB9xr3GgAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=]
Copy Template Code
Specializations
- You should bring
Raging Storm if
Fury uptime is bad.
Specialization Variants
Replacing Fire with Arcane provides you with extra boon duration and a cooldown reduction of attunements and the jade sphere. This means you could technically provide Quickness without adjusting your gear, though it would require a different rotation.
- When providing
Quickness, you will also need to use
Spectacular Sphere and
Sphere Specialist.
Fire can be replaced by Water for a burstier opening, suited to shorter-phased fights such as fractals. With Powerful Aura, you also share auras fairly frequently, which can be particularly helpful for Condi Berserkers.
Equipment
Head
Berserker
Shoulders
Berserker
Chest
Berserker
Hands
Berserker
Legs
Berserker
Feet
Berserker
Backpiece
Berserker
Accessory
Berserker
Accessory
Berserker
Sword
Berserker
Warhorn
Berserker
Sigil
Sigil
Hammer
Berserker
Sigil
Sigil
Rune
x6
Infusion
x16
Infusion
x2
Relic
Rune of Superior Rune of the Scholar is a tiny DPS loss.
Consumables
Food
- or ascended versions
Utility
Usage
If using Arcane Blast, spam it as much as you can while in
Fire Attunement, ideally while under the effects of
Relentless Fire.
Sword/Warhorn rotation
Opener in Air
Glyph of Storms
Lightning Orb
Deploy Jade Sphere (Air)
Polaric Leap - This is a CC and combos with the field from your Jade Sphere, quickly providing stacks of Elemental Empowerment
Quantum Strike
Fire Attunement
Fire
Deploy Jade Sphere (Fire)
Relentless Fire
Flame Uprising
Cauterizing Strike
Wildfire when ready
Elemental Celerity (if available), followed by
Wildfire
Cauterizing Strike
- Otherwise, autoattack until Flame Uprising is available
Flame Uprising
Earth Attunement
Earth
Dust Storm (if available)
Earthen Vortex
Rust Frenzy
Deploy Jade Sphere (Earth)
Water Attunement
Water
Tidal Surge is only available every three loops, so skip Water Attunement and go straight to Air if it is not ready.
Deploy Jade Sphere (Water)
Tidal Surge
Shattering Ice (if using)
Air Attunement
Air
- Autoattack and use
Polaric Leap as it comes off cooldown
Shattering Ice (if using, only on loops where you don't enter Water)
Quantum Strike when energy starts to recharge (should be after two auto chains)
Lightning Orb when energy is nearly full
Cyclone
Deploy Jade Sphere (Air)
- Return to the start of the Fire Section
Hammer Rotation fundamentals
Catalyst's rotation can be varied quite a lot, so an outline is provided rather than a strict skill usage. The fundamental goal is to cycle through all four elements, activating the Circular Projectile in each element before releasing them all with Grand Finale and starting the loop again.
Jade Sphere use
During the loop, you also want to deploy your Jade Sphere once in each element. You do not regain the energy needed to cast them while one is active, so it's best to cast them in "pairs" as you switch attunements. This creates some gaps in the loop where energy can recharge, and as the most powerful autoattacks are found in Fire and Earth, these attunements are the best choice to stay in. The sphere does the same amount base damage in each element, but thanks to the damage buffs you gain while in Fire and Air, these attunements are higher priority. Deploy Jade Sphere (Fire) also generates stacks of
Persisting Flames, and
Relentless Fire and
Shattering Ice will last longer if used while standing in
Deploy Jade Sphere (Fire) and
Deploy Jade Sphere (Water).
Glyph of Storms use
Glyph of Storms should be used either in Fire or Air attunement. Optimal use will depend on phase timings as well as hitbox size - Fire favouring small hitboxes and Air favouring large. Given the damage and cooldown, Fire should be the more efficient option, but the rotation lines up somewhat awkwardly compared to using it in Air, so consider the following:
- A rule of thumb for elementalist is that your last
Glyph of Storms in each phase should be used in Air, so try to keep an idea of how long you have left when deciding where to use it.
- As the more powerful option, if you can line Air up with your target gaining
Exposed this will be greatly beneficial - particularly useful in fractals.
- If your rotation is not particularly tight, you may be better off just casting
Glyph of Storms at the earliest possible opportunity, whether you are in Fire or Air.
Fiery Greatsword use
With the Whirling Stones trick (see the Earth section below), Earth has the fewest cooldowns to use, and so is the best time to
Conjure Fiery Greatsword. Summon after using
Rocky Loop and
Ground Pound (if available) and use
Fiery Rush →
Firestorm then drop the weapon and continue your rotation. The next time you reach Earth, pick the second Greatsword up and repeat.
Fire
In Fire you want to use:
Deploy Jade Sphere (Fire)
Surging Flames
Flame Wheel
Triple Sear
Molten End
Relentless Fire
Water
In Water you want to use:
Deploy Jade Sphere (Water)
Rain of Blows
Icy Coil
Crashing Font
Cleansing Typhoon - use if available, but don't delay your attunement swap for it
Shattering Ice
Air
In Air you want to use:
Deploy Jade Sphere (Air)
Hurricane of Pain
Crescent Wind
Shock Blast.
Earth
In Earth you want to use:
Deploy Jade Sphere (Earth)
Whirling Stones - as
Stonestrike is a powerful autoattack, it is a good idea to delay this until your attunement swap is available, then use
Whirling Stones and immediately swap (this will not interrupt the cast)
Rocky Loop
Ground Pound
Hammer Rotation example
While you have opportunities to adjust the element order as needed, in most cases you want your first two attunements to be Fire and Air, followed by Water and lastly Earth. Your choice of starting attunement is largely up to you, but it might be best to base it upon which Glyph of Storms you wish to open with.
Opener in Fire
Glyph of Storms (optional)
Deploy Jade Sphere (Fire)
Flame Wheel
Relentless Fire
Molten End
Triple Sear
Surging Flames
Air Attunement
Air
Crescent Wind
Shock Blast
Hurricane of Pain
Deploy Jade Sphere (Air) once you pass 20 energy (2/3rds of the energy bar) and swap to
Water Attunement
Water
Icy Coil
Deploy Jade Sphere (Water)
Shattering Ice
Cleansing Typhoon
Crashing Font - if available
Rain of Blows - swap to
Earth Attunement once the cast begins
Earth Attunement
Earth
Rocky Loop
Ground Pound
Conjure Fiery Greatsword (if available)
Firestorm - drop Fiery Greastword immediately after the cast
Stonestrike until you are at full energy and
Relentless Fire is nearly off cooldown
Deploy Jade Sphere (Earth)
Whirling Stones - swap to
Fire Attunement once the cast begins
Fire
Deploy Jade Sphere (Fire)
Relentless Fire
Grand Finale
Molten End
Triple Sear
Flame Wheel
Surging Flames
Air Attunement
- Return to the start of the Air Section
Keep looping between the four elements, following the advice in the Rotation fundamentals section and adjusting as necessary.