Very interesting, does the water they stand in have anything to do with the spell itself?

That is actually a good question.

Very nice observation Fdzzaigl.  Curious about that myself now hehe.

well i cant imagine a spell needing  a  water source to be used....but  who knows...maybe is something like...u  cant  use fire spells on water and  fire spells around  fire enviroments  have a greater effect

We can't download videos auymore?

Yes, the environment has to do with the spells. You need rocks for meteor shower, water for the trident spell, etc.

Or the water look around them is created as a result of a spell after which they use the trident.

(dont know if it's the same, but in the meteor storm you see the elementalist also cast a fire effect first before casting the meteor shower; maybe the water they stand in is like an aura or mantra effect you cast which makes you cast your next water skills cast cheaper or moer effectively?)

i think they are channelig te water to make it a water trident attack spell, the devs said in their interview if an arrow were to go thru a burning wall then it would ctach fire and would also burn the target

Perhaps environments also adds something to the gameplay and that would be awesome

read on official website

Turn the tide of battle with improvised tactics. Combine attacks from different professions for extra damage, like shooting arrows through a flaming wall to create a barrage of flaming projectiles, or sending pets through a cloud of poison so they spread the toxin among the enemy.

Search your surroundings for powerful environmental weapons. In the hands of a skilled elementalist, a simple boulder can be turned into a meteor storm. Save the day by taking control of a siege weapon on the battlefield!

so that water tehy are standing is part of environmental weapons

i like this spell the most from that class

Love this spell effect too. Guild Wars 2 is looking pretty incredible if this is any indicator.

Very interesting idea that terrain dictates what kind of spell you use.  Should add another level of tactics to casters

amazing...

i'll buy this for sure

Don't get your hopes up about terrain affecting effectiveness of spells, I believe I read somewhere that it doesn't really affect your damage.

I dont hope you will need to stay in water to do the water skills. LOL seeing 50 players standing in a little water whole like on the video and casting water spells hahahaah!

Love you arenanet,have waited many years for GW2! it looks really awesome.

Someone offically said that standing in the water has nothing to do with the spell. "Standing in water only gets your feet wet" It's over on IGN.com

Not true.

http://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/combat/part-two/

Amazing. You can tell they are putting a lot of effort into making GW2 innovative and fun. Not just some shovelware MMO like we're constantly having to put up with

@ Selenica rofl "shovelware" so true awesome term to describe garabge being made today. I like your style! =) GW2 Looks like lots of fun! Cant wait! Even if they over did the voice prompts a little bit i think, i mean EVERY combat end you get a voice prompt??? lol im not complaining tho.. =)

The voices kinda annoy me.  Are they going to to say something for every kill they make?  If so, that can get old.

Other than that, I look forward to it!

They're actually summoning the skill up from the water at their feet. I'd say this is likely to be an Environmental Skill, usable when standing in water.

No they aren't, and ArenaNet have said that.