Ice Gauntlet Fire Staff PvP Build for New World

In PvP combat a Fire Mage build will take advantage of the incredible ranged damage that is offered by the Fire Staff. It is capable of high damage output not only because of its burst, but through the various forms of empowerment that it stacks. Its ranged damage is complemented by sustained damage output from your Ice Gauntlet paired with CC and defensiveness to escape lethal damage through Entombed. The Ice Gauntlet also offers a secondary form of burst to execute low health enemies with Ice Spikes.

• Pillar of Fire — This allows you to target an area that hits all enemies within its radius. It can provide fantastic burst damage on a single target or clumped groups. This can be difficult to land at times, which makes some players choose Flamethrower.
• Fireball — This is the largest source of burst damage the Fire Staff has to offer. When using Empowering Fireball on a weapon this will deal massive damage to a single target, but will be best used when aiming at large clumps of enemies. It is important to note it leaves an AoE on the ground that will continue to hit enemies for up to 9 seconds.
• Burnout — This is a highly debated ability. While it is the Fire Staff's only mobility option, it comes with a long casting animation. Nonetheless, it can damage targets and can be used to finish off enemies who are trying to runaway, or deal AoE damage. It also applies a damage over time effect.

This is the standard Fire Staff build if you are not wanting to use Flamethrower in PvP.

• Flamethrower — This ability can be freely activated and de-activated, it will last until your mana bar is empty. It provides fantastic damage output, it can critically hit, proc attunment effects, and leaves a stacking DoT. While some players do not think this is a serious ability, it is certainly a consistent option that will result in fantastic damage when used properly and can be better than something like Pillar of Fire

If you feel comfortable with positioning and knowing when to use Flamethrower, this is the standard PvP option.

This build can be used if you have a healer in your group, or are simply looking for pure damage output and do not want to have to deal with the awkwardness of Burnout.

This is the optimal build when seeking high burst damage with Ice Spikes. It is focused on playing a hybrid playstyle of distanced damage with backline dive. You can quickly execute enemies with your Ice Gauntlet when they are low health, but also use it for AoE damage and defensiveness. Your Fire Staff can be played similarly, you can play farther back and do high damage, but when you need to you can push forward and use both weapons to pick up kills.

This can be used when you want to focus more on Fire Staff damage, and are more comfortable playing farther back from a distance. This build will not commonly try to dive in to sneak quick kills. You will focus on AoE damage output and bursting enemies with your Fire Staff. It is a bit more defensive due to Ice Shower being in the build to provide an escape option. This can also be used offensively since the rooted targets will also be rended, which makes them very vulnerable.

If you choose to use this version make sure you have Deadly Frost on your gear.

This is the optimal attribute distribution when playing something like a light armor damage focused build. If you feel that you have enough damage output you can certainly choose to go 200 Constitution for more survivability. Otherwise in this setup it is easy to put out incredible amounts of damage through Ice Storm and Orb of Decay, then pick off low health targets with a quick Ice Spikes.

Slot	Perks	Gem	Weight	Attribute	Source
Ice Gauntlet	Unending Thaw or Iced Refresh* Refreshing Move or Keen Enchanted* or Vicious	Runeglass of Ignited Opal	-	Intelligence	Crafted/BoE*
Fire Staff	Flame Attunement Keen Vicious	Runeglass of Ignited Opal	-	Intelligence	Crafted/BoE
Helmet	Ability Perk** or Freedom Resilient Critical Retribution	Runeglass of Sighted Opal (Or Ignited)	Light	Intelligence or Constitution	Crafted/BoE
Gloves	Ability Perk** or Refreshing Resilient Freedom or Elemental Aversion	Runeglass of Sighted Opal (Or Ignited)	Light	Intelligence or Constitution	Crafted/BoE
Chest	Refreshing Resilient Freedom or Elemental Aversion	Runeglass of Sighted Opal (Or Ignited)	Medium	Intelligence or Constitution	Crafted/BoE
Pants	Refreshing or Freedom*** Resilient Shirking Energy	Runeglass of Sighted Opal	Light	Intelligence or Constitution	Crafted/BoE
Boots	Ability Perk** or Refreshing Resilient Freedom or Elemental Aversion	Runeglass of Sighted Opal (Or Ignited)	Light	Intelligence or Constitution	Crafted/BoE
Amulet	Health Stamina Recovery Flame Protection or Thrust Protection	Cut Pristine Onyx	-	Intelligence or Constitution	Crafted/BoE
Ring	Mortal Empowerment or Invigorated Punishment Fire Damage or Keen Awareness Hearty	Cut Pristine Onyx	-	Intelligence or Constitution	Crafted/BoE
Earring	Refreshing Toast Purifying Toast Refreshing	Cut Pristine Onyx	-	Intelligence or Constitution	Crafted/BoE

*: Depending on your preference and RNG, you can run Crystalline Curse when you have 200 Arcana. Otherwise you will have to try to get an alternative to drop. This will also decide where your Ice Gauntlet perks will work into your gear.

**: The ability perks you need to make sure are in your build are Refreshing Pillar of Fire, Unending Thaw, and Iced Refresh

Overall with gearing, this is the ideal loadout of perks for a best in slot build. With that being said, be sure to refer to the Fire Staff Perks guide or Ice Gauntlet Perks guide to have a better understanding of other flexible perk options to fit into your build. You can decide what you are most comfortable with.

For more specific information on optimizing your gems in PvP and PvE please refer to our dedicated guides.

If you are looking to maximize Fire Staff damage, you should use Stalwart Heartrune of Stoneform or Cunning Heartrune of Stoneform. This will give you a way to escape CC, and help in outnumbered fights. This will drastically increase survival and allow for more effective damage output.

You could also use Brutal Heartrune of Detonate if you are looking for a more offensive Heartrune.

Your Heartrune will be used similarly in PvP and PvE scenarios. As such, please refer to our Ice Gauntlet or Fire Staff guide for tips on how it can be used most effectively.

• Use Fireball as your highest priority ability for damage output or for finishing off targets.
• (If Taken) Use Pillar of Fire as a secondary damage ability for burst or when an AoE opportunity presents.
• Use Ice Spikes for burst damage or to secure a kill (This can also be the first priority depending on target's health).
• Drop a Ice Storm on large groups for additional damage.(This could also be used before all other abilities if there is a large group)
• (If Taken) Activate Flamethrower when targets are vulnerable or lower health. This can also be used for quick damage and to stack damage over time.
• Heavy attack with Fire Staff for cooldown reduction and as a filler while priority abilities are on cooldown.
• Heavy attack with Ice Gauntlet when a player is under the effect of Unending Thaw and you can secure a Heavy Freeze opportunity.
• Use Burnout to escape, finish off enemies, or apply AoE damage pressure.
• Use Entombed for survival or damage mitigation.
• Repeat

When using the Fire Staff or Ice Gauntlet in PvP and PvE there are many similar aspects that go into gameplay decisions and rotations. To learn more about how you can improve your gameplay, use certain secondary weapons, or additional information on specific abilities, please refer to the Gameplay section of the Fire Staff page or Ice Gauntlet page.

For more information on the most frequently asked Fire Staff or Ice Gauntlet questions please refer to the FAQ section of the Fire Staff guide, or Ice Gauntlet, for answers on PvP and PvE topics!