Tempest - Condi DPS

The community gave this build a rating, making it second-tier: Good

Focused on: Condition damage

Designed for: Raids

Expansions required:

Difficulty:

Normal

This build was last updated on July 23, 2024 and is up to date for the February 11, 2025 patch.

Overview

This is a build focuses on Burning and Bleeding and offers high damage with a relatively simple rotation.

Thanks to the Earth traitline and

Hardy Conduit

, this build has more survivability than other elementalist builds.

With Warhorn, skills like

Heat Sync

and

Sand Squall

allow you can maintain permanent Fury and Might on yourself and party (provided you have some other source of Fury) for a minor DPS loss.

Skill Bar

Pistol/Warhorn

Utility

Weapon Variants

• Dagger/Warhorn is the best weapon set for players that don't own Secrets of the Obscure.

Skill Variants

• Signet of Earth
  deals more damage than
  Glyph of Storms
  , but the traited passive you gain from
  Written in Stone
  still applies 180 toughness, which can mess with tanking.
• If you do not have time (e.g. during pre-events) to pre-cast
  Glyph of Lesser Elementals
  a few times, then
  Glyph of Elemental Power
  may be a stronger choice.

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Equipment

Head
Viper

Shoulders
Viper

Chest
Viper

Hands
Viper

Legs
Viper

Feet
Viper

Backpiece
Viper

Accessory
Viper

Accessory
Viper

Amulet
Viper

Ring
Viper

Ring
Viper

Pistol
Viper

Warhorn
Viper

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Infusion
x18

Relic

• only deals slightly more damage than a
  , which is much cheaper.

Consumables

Food

• ,
  , or ascended alternatives.

Utility

• or
  .
  • are stronger if you don't have Spiteful Infusions, but the difference is practically nonexistant.

Usage

Pistol Rotation

Pistol skills have a unique bullet mechanic where using a pistol skill stocks a bullet, or if you already have a bullet, consumes it for an enhanced effect. In each attunement, one of the enhanced effects is defensive while the other is offensive. As such, it is important that these skills be used in the correct order to avoid missing out on damage.

Stocked bullets appear as buffs on your bar, and as all attunements use an even number of pistol skills, you can track whether you've made a mistake in these attunements and adjust for future loops - you should be exiting

Fire Attunement

,

Water Attunement

and

Earth Attunement

with a bullet stocked, and

Air Attunement

with no bullet stocked. If this is not the case, skip one of the skills in the relevant attunement on the next loop.

Throughout the rotation, use

Flame Barrage

off cooldown, and

Glyph of Lesser Elementals

and

Glyph of Elemental Power

(if using) off cooldown whenever you are in

Fire Attunement

.

Autoattacks are not listed.

Opener

Start with Fire, Ice and Earth bullets stocked.

You can precast

Glyph of Elemental Power

(if using) in fire attunement.

1. Overload Earth
2. Dust Storm
3. Shattering Stone
4. Boulder Blast
5. Signet of Fire
6. Water Attunement

Water 1

1. Frozen Fusillade
2. Frigid Flurry
3. Fire Attunement

Fire

1. Raging Ricochet
2. Searing Salvo
3. Firestorm
   (if using)
4. Wildfire
5. Overload Fire
6. Signet of Fire
7. Raging Ricochet
8. Searing Salvo
9. Air Attunement

Air

After using your first skill in air, you will gain access to

Elemental Explosion

. This is a powerful skill, but will consume all your stocked bullets, so it is important not to use this skill.

1. Aerial Agility
   - charging away from your target allows Lightning Orb to hit more times
2. Dazing Discharge
   - make sure not to cast this too early, as it will go on an interrupted cooldown
3. Lightning Orb
4. Water Attunement

Water 2

1. Frozen Fusillade
2. Frigid Flurry
3. Earth Attunement

Earth

1. Shattering Stone
2. Boulder Blast
3. Dust Storm
4. Overload Earth
5. Signet of Fire
6. Shattering Stone
7. Boulder Blast
8. Water Attunement
9. Return to Water 1

Video example

Dagger Rotation

• Use
  Glyph of Elementals
  (if using) in
  Fire Attunement
  , and cast
  Flame Barrage
  off cooldown.
• You want to cast
  Glyph of Elemental Power
  in
  Fire Attunement
  off cooldown.
• Cast
  Signet of Fire
  and
  Signet of Earth
  (if using) off cooldown.
• If using
  Glyph of Storms
  , then cast it in
  Fire Attunement
  off cooldown.
• Thanks to
  Written in Stone
  you can cast the signets and still receive their benefits, allowing you to use
  Signet of Restoration
  freely.

The gist of the rotation is to cycle between

Earth Attunement

⇒

Air Attunement

⇒

Fire Attunement

, using key abilities in each attunement off cooldown until the next attunement is ready.

When you enter

Fire Attunement

, use

Wildfire

,

Burning Speed

and

Drake's Breath

, then use your key abilities as they come off cooldown. When

Earth Attunement

is available, use one last

Drake's Breath

and switch (

Earth Attunement

should become available during the cast of

Drake's Breath

- you can switch attunement without interrupting the skill).

In

Earth Attunement

, your first and last skill should be

Ring of Earth

.

Steps listed as optional below are DPS losses, but will assist with boon uptimes in your group.

Opener

1. Overload Earth
   (only if you can pre-cast it)
2. Dust Storm
3. Ring of Earth
4. Air Attunement
5. Signet of Fire
6. Lightning Orb
7. Fire Attunement

Loop

1. Wildfire
2. Burning Speed
3. Drake's Breath
4. Overload Fire
5. Drake's Breath
6. Heat Sync
   (optional)
7. Glyph of Elemental Power
8. Glyph of Lesser Elementals
   (if available)
9. Signet of Fire
10. Burning Speed
11. Drake's Breath
12. Earth Attunement
    before cast finishes (be careful not to use other skills before
    Drake's Breath
    has finished channelling)
13. Ring of Earth
14. Earthen Rush
15. Dust Storm
16. Overload Earth
17. Sand Squall
    (optional)
18. Ring of Earth
19. Air Attunement
20. Signet of Fire
21. Lightning Orb
22. Convergence
23. Fire Attunement
    before cast finishes

Repeat from 1

Video example

Hammer Rotation

You can pre-cast

Flame Wheel

as long as it won't prevent you being able to switch back to

Fire Attunement

in the opener.

Opener

1. Overload Earth
   (only if you can pre-cast it)
2. Rocky Loop
3. Ground Pound
4. Whirling Stones
5. Air Attunement
   during the cast of Whirling Stones
6. Crescent Wind
7. Signet of Fire
8. Fire Attunement

Fire
The fire section can vary each loop depending on

Conjure Fiery Greatsword

and

Triple Sear

:

1. Flame Wheel
   - if you precast this in the opener, skip this on the first loop
2. Triple Sear
   (if available) - depending on cooldown, this will either be used at the start and end of the fire section, or in the middle (alternating between loops)
3. Surging Flames
4. Conjure Fiery Greatsword
   (if available) or pick up the second one
5. Fiery Eruption
   (only if there is a Fiery Greatsword)
6. Firestorm
   (only if there is a Fiery Greatsword)
7. Overload Fire
8. Fiery Eruption
9. Drop Fiery Greatsword
10. Autoattack, and use
    Surging Flames
    and
    Triple Sear
    as they come off cooldown
11. Grand Finale
    just before Surging Flames is off cooldown again
12. Surging Flames
13. Flame Wheel
14. Triple Sear
15. Earth Attunement

Earth

1. Rocky Loop
2. Whirling Stones
3. Ground Pound
4. Autoattack, and use
   Overload Earth
   when it comes off cooldown
5. Signet of Fire
6. Whirling Stones
7. Air Attunement
   during the cast of Whirling Stones

Air

1. Crescent Wind
2. Switch to
   Fire Attunement
   as soon as you can

Video example

Defiance Bars

• You inflict a lot of Immobilize with this build.

Dagger

• While in
  Air Attunement
  you can use
  Cyclone
  and
  Shocking Aura
  ⇒
  Transmute Lightning
  .
• If you are really desperate, you can switch to
  Water Attunement
  for
  Tidal Surge
  .

Hammer

• While in
  Air Attunement
  you can use
  Wind Storm
  and
  Shock Blast
  .