View source for Catalyst - Fresh Air Cata

{{Build
| profession = Elementalist
| specialization = Catalyst
| designed for = Conquest
| rating = great
| focus = direct damage, mobility
| difficulty = 2
}}

__TOC__

==Overview==
A Catalyts take on the Scepter {{Trait|Fresh Air}} archetype, this PvP build brings the usual burst damage while adding some extra sustain and a variety of boons/auras. FA Catas aim to kite their opponents with {{Tooltip|Superspeed}} and CC spam while keeping them pressured.


==Skill Bar==
{{Skill bar
| profession = elementalist
| specialization = catalyst
| weapon1 = scepter
| weapon2 = focus
| healing = Signet of Restoration
| utility1 = Fortified Earth
| utility2 = Lightning Flash
| utility3 = Signet of Air
| elite = Elemental Celerity
}}


===Skill Variants===
'''Utility'''
* {{Skill|Armor of Earth}} over {{Skill|Signet of Air}} - Armor is a better defensive skill in general but it's on a longer CD. It's up to you to decide what's more important for you, a stronger defensive or more frequent access to a stun break. The Signet's {{Tooltip|Blind}} could also be used proactively to avoid incoming attacks.


'''Weapons'''
* Off-hand ''Dagger'' over ''Focus'' is also a viable option.


==Template Code==
{{TemplateCode|
code = [&DQYpKiUeQx90AHUA7xpPAZAAkAAcAesA9xoAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=]
}}


==Specializations==
{{Specialization|Air|mid|mid|mid}}
{{Specialization|Arcane|mid|bot|top}}
'''Variants'''
* {{Trait|Arcane Restoration}} trades {{Tooltip|Vigor}} uptime for more healing.
{{Specialization|Catalyst|bot|bot|top}}


==Equipment==
{{PvP equipment
| weapon1 = scepter
| weapon2 = focus
| sigil1 = Cleansing
| sigil2 = Energy
| rune = Revenant
| amulet = Berserker
| relic = Relic of Fireworks
}}


===Equipment Variants===
<!--'''Amulet'''
* {{Amulet|Marauder}} - if you're not comfortable with the low HP, a combination of Marauder Amulet and {{Rune|Eagle}} for higher survivability at the cost of slightly lower damage would also be a viable option.-->
'''Runes'''
* {{Rune|Warrior}} - higher HP, slightly lower damage.


==Usage==
'''Elite specialization basics'''
* Catalysts gain access to Deploy Jade Sphere which drops an AoE combo field with pulsing boons depending on the attunement they were used in.

* The Jade Sphere costs energy to deploy, you build energy by hitting enemies or swapping attunements thanks to {{Trait|Energized Elements}}.

* Jade Spheres are instant and can be used while casting skills or sitting in a CC.


'''General'''
* The build's all about swapping in and out of {{Skill|Air Attunement}} every few seconds, made possible by {{Trait|Fresh Air}} which recharges Air whenever you land a critical strike.

* Swapping to Air triggers {{Trait|Electric Discharge}} which you should immediately follow up with a {{Skill|Lightning Strike}} for instant burst damage. Entering this attunement also grants you Ferocity from {{Trait|Fresh Air}} for a few seconds, which is why most of your heavy hitting skills should land in this small time frame. More on that later.

* '''Recharging Air:''' to recharge Air you need to score a critical hit. The fastest way to do it on attunements with slower skills is to start channeling the air autoattack {{Skill|Arc Lightning}} just before leaving {{Skill|Air Attunement}}. Swapping attunements doesn't break the channeling and Arc Lightning is almost guaranteed to critically hit at least once.
** Jade Spheres are great for this too. While their damage is insignificant, they are instant cast ranged AoEs that strike multiple times and can crit.

* This build can self-stack {{Tooltip|Might}} by blasting the fire field created by the Fire Jade Sphere and {{Skill|Flamewall}}. Do not prioritize Might stacking, but do take advantage of the incidental opportunities which arise. Your blast finishers are:
:* {{Skill|Dragon's Tooth}}
:* {{Skill|Phoenix}} 
:* {{Skill|Comet}}
:* {{Skill|Magnetic Wave}}
:* The first dodge you perform after swapping to Earth attunement

* {{Skill|Gale}} is an excellent skill for setting up burst, use it right before swapping out of Air into another attunement.

* {{Skill|Elemental Celerity}}'s main purpose is to reset/reduce the CDs on {{Skill|Magnetic Wave}} and {{Skill|Obsidian Flesh}} for extra sustain, but if you want to get greedy it could also reset burst and CC cooldowns in other attunements.
** With Off-hand '''Dagger''' you should use the elite in Air for mobility/evasion, Water for cleansing/healing or Fire for burst damage.

* Gaining an aura grants you 1 stack of {{Tooltip|Stability}}. The first combo you perform in a given attunement always grants you an aura via {{Trait|Elemental Epitome}}.

* A common tactic is to cast {{Skill|Dragon's Tooth}} and burst enemies before it falls on them. This presents a no-win situation for many builds: they can either facetank your burst but dodge the tooth, or dodge your burst and facetank the tooth.

* Try to aim {{Skill|Phoenix}} slightly behind your target whenever you can. This skill passes through targets while doing damage, explodes on the ground, then returns to you once again damaging targets it passes through. The goal here is to hit the target with all 3 parts of the skill, not just the explosion damage.
** Because of the slow travel time it's also best used in melee.


'''Notable burst combos'''

These are some potential combos you can use based on the techniques outlined above. The quicker you pull these chains off, the better.

From '''Fire:'''
# Drop your Fire Jade Sphere to passively begin stacking {{Tooltip|Might}}.
# {{Skill|Dragon's Tooth}} 
# {{Skill|Fire Shield}} {{to}} {{Skill|Transmute Fire}} for more Might (it also does good damage in melee). Both the transmute and Dragon's Tooth have a delay, your goal is to get into Air by the time these go off
# {{Skill|Phoenix}} - optional: {{Skill|Lightning Flash}} right at your target before you finish casting Phoenix to make it near instant. You don't have to do that if you were already in melee.
# {{Skill|Air Attunement}} - swap to this ''while'' casting Phoenix
# {{Skill|Lightning Strike}}
# {{Skill|Blinding Flash}} to avoid taking damage in melee, but it's not required



From '''Earth:'''
# {{Skill|Rock Barrier}}
# ''Optional:'' if you're in melee range of an enemy you may throw in a {{Skill|Magnetic Wave}} which can proc {{Relic|Relic of Fireworks}} if it hits something. 
# {{Skill|Stone Shards}} + {{Skill|Hurl}} then swap to {{Skill|Air Attunement}} during the channeling to make the projectiles land in the right attunement. Hurl is a guaranteed projectile finisher which has synergy with your Spheres, consider dropping one before doing this combo. Any Sphere except Water will result in a damage boost.
# {{Skill|Lightning Strike}}


From '''Water:'''
# {{Skill|Shatterstone}}
# {{Skill|Water Trident}} - the trident does more damage to Chilled enemies which is important. Shatterstone should secure that but {{Skill|Freezing Gust}} can do the trick too.
# Swap to {{Skill|Air Attunement}} while casting Water Trident, preferably even before the 2nd strike of Shatterstone goes off so that it may benefit from Air's damage modifiers.
# {{Skill|Lightning Strike}}


'''Survival'''
* {{Trait|One with Air}} makes it easy to kite most specs. '''Avoid melee range whenever you can!'''

* {{Skill|Shatterstone}} is a source of spammable {{Tooltip|Chill}} which you can even place behind your back when running away. Chill is great at building distance.

* Needless to say other CCs can also be used for shaking off pursuers. 

* {{Skill|Magnetic Wave}} and {{Skill|Swirling Winds}} provide excellent protection against enemies who use projectiles. These however do not work against unblockable projectiles, and some ranged builds - such as this one - are mostly unaffected by projectile reflects and blocks.

* {{Skill|Magnetic Wave}} is the build's best condition cleanse which can also be used while stunned.

* {{Skill|Obsidian Flesh}} offers protection against all kinds of pressure.

* {{Skill|Blinding Flash}} is great at avoiding crucial skills by blinding enemies, and it also shuts down Power-based specs in general with the Weakness.

* The first strike of {{Skill|Dust Devil}} Blinds enemies while the snare is useful for keeping distance.


==Top Streamers==
* Twitch: [https://www.twitch.tv/zeolithh Zeolith]

* Twitch: [https://www.twitch.tv/grimjacke Grimjack]

* Twitch: [https://www.twitch.tv/zeusxperience Zeus]

* Twitch: [https://www.twitch.tv/justanotherelemain Justanotherelemain]


==Related Builds==
* [[Build:Catalyst_-_Fresh_Air_Cata_Roamer|Catalyst - Fresh Air Roamer]] - WvW version of the build.