Guild Wars 2

I’m currently making my Mesmer an ascended armor set, and I’m going with Cleric stats.

Is that a decent choice? For open world stuff, I have full zerk stuff, but for Fractals I wanted to bring in that healing power.

I thought about making the set half Cleric and half Magi, too. But at that rate, shouldn’t I just make a full Celestial set?

BTW, my phantasm build is:
20/20/0/30/0

FWIW:
Tateos -> Cleric
Hronk -> Magi
Wupwup -> Celestial

Neither Cleric nor Magi. Celestial is also a poor choice. You shouldn’t need any boost to your healing power in fractals, even in high levels. I would highly suggest you a) make a zerker ascended set; and b) consider updating your build to something close to 0/30/0/25/15.

While I agree with Tarug, I’d like to add this caveat. Using berserker gear will be better and the most optimal for your fractals and dungeon runs. However, if you are dead set against berserker and desire to be in cleric or celestial, then do it. I suggest adding a bit more power, though, so I would honestly recommend that new gear, Zealots, if you are desiring the healing power. Using that with a mix of Knights might be a good trade off for you, while still allowing you to have okay damage.

However, if you are looking for the most optimal, Tarug is right.

Huh.

I guess I figured being less squishy in Fractals would be best. I’m at fractal level 48, and the times that I die (wearing my full zerk exotics), I feel bad.. thought I should be less squishy and provide that healing to the group with Healing Mantras (which I love and have been using for months now).

Healing power. Mesmer. We have reached a new level of lunacy.

Zoe.8310:

Huh.

I guess I figured being less squishy in Fractals would be best. I’m at fractal level 48, and the times that I die (wearing my full zerk exotics), I feel bad.. thought I should be less squishy and provide that healing to the group with Healing Mantras (which I love and have been using for months now).

I get that. The thing is, in higher level fractals, the one hit downed mechanics make defensive stats sort of useless, whereas getting the boss dead quicker is the best way to mitigate dead teammates and party wipes. That’s why dps is the meta.

Now, like I said, if you want to be more defensive because you don’t want to be downed (or are still learning when to dodge, that sort of thing) using a couple knights pieces, or in your case, since you are interested in healing, Zealots, that would be fine.

Just a thing to note, a lot of parties in high level fractals require zerker builds and gear. Start your own groups if you can’t find any that you qualify for, though, because there are plenty of people in both fields. (Zerk vs nonzerk)

Swifty: yeah, well, you know, play how you want. Lol.

OP, learn the encounters (and how to play your class) and you won’t go down as much. Healing power won’t help you stay alive at level 48 fractals.

J Eberle.9312:

kitten right Lilith, Play how you want!

;)

I play as fashionably as I want. Which is the meta of fashionable.

#BoomLookingCuteWhileDead

Lilith Ajit.6173:

J Eberle.9312:

kitten right Lilith, Play how you want!

;)

I play as fashionably as I want. Which is the meta of fashionable.

#BoomLookingCuteWhileDead

#DeadDPSisFashionableDPS

Bumbler.7581:

Lilith Ajit.6173:

J Eberle.9312:

kitten right Lilith, Play how you want!

;)

I play as fashionably as I want. Which is the meta of fashionable.

#BoomLookingCuteWhileDead

#DeadDPSisFashionableDPS

Love it, new signature.

Hmm you know i haven’t used my mesmer in a while is 0/30/0/25/15 the optimal setup at this time?

MastaNeenja.1537:

Hmm you know i haven’t used my mesmer in a while is 0/30/0/25/15 the optimal setup at this time?

0/30/0/25/15 is indeed the optimal Mesmer build at this time. I would recommend 10/20/0/25/15, though, until the player is more comfortable with mantras.

And to the OP, go ascended zerk if you can. Learn to use blurred frenzy defensively and use scepter in the cases you need to range. You will see your ability to survive increase a lot. I think the current standard is sitting at 3 ascended assassin pieces (head/chest/legs) and 3 ascended zerker (boots/gloves/shoulders) with all zerk trinkets and weapons; however, with the ferocity change full zerk might be better than an assassins mix.

Bumbler.7581:

MastaNeenja.1537:

Hmm you know i haven’t used my mesmer in a while is 0/30/0/25/15 the optimal setup at this time?

0/30/0/25/15 is indeed the optimal Mesmer build at this time. I would recommend 10/20/0/25/15, though, until the player is more comfortable with mantras.

And to the OP, go ascended zerk if you can. Learn to use blurred frenzy defensively and use scepter in the cases you need to range. You will see your ability to survive increase a lot. I think the current standard is sitting at 3 ascended assassin pieces (head/chest/legs) and 3 ascended zerker (boots/gloves/shoulders) with all zerk trinkets and weapons; however, with the ferocity change full zerk might be better than an assassins mix.

I see you linked builds in your sig, i’ll have to take a look at them, thanks

Optimal mesmer build depends on the dungeon. But for standard its still 10/30/0/20/10.

Edit: Nvm 0/30/0/25/15 is standard.

In high level fractals, not only will healing power not be optimal but it will be close to useless. A tiny bit more healing won’t help when you’re getting downed in 1-2 hits anyways.

Syn Sity.5826:

In high level fractals, not only will healing power not be optimal but it will be close to useless. A tiny bit more healing won’t help when you’re getting downed in 1-2 hits anyways.

I agree.

#PlayHowIWant

Syn Sity.5826:

In high level fractals, not only will healing power not be optimal but it will be close to useless. A tiny bit more healing won’t help when you’re getting downed in 1-2 hits anyways.

For this reason, Restorative Mantras (which I think OP means instead of “healing mantras”) is also close to useless.

Lilith Ajit.6173:

I get that. The thing is, in higher level fractals, the one hit downed mechanics make defensive stats sort of useless, whereas getting the boss dead quicker is the best way to mitigate dead teammates and party wipes. That’s why dps is the meta.

Now, like I said, if you want to be more defensive because you don’t want to be downed (or are still learning when to dodge, that sort of thing) using a couple knights pieces, or in your case, since you are interested in healing, Zealots, that would be fine.

Just a thing to note, a lot of parties in high level fractals require zerker builds and gear. Start your own groups if you can’t find any that you qualify for, though, because there are plenty of people in both fields. (Zerk vs nonzerk)

Swifty: yeah, well, you know, play how you want. Lol.

I’m plenty good at dodging, and I’ve done more than my fair share of level 49 Fractals. I was at 49 way before the patch, probably back in spring or earlier is when I hit it.

Annnnyways,
I’m looking at being proactive to the potential nerfs to not only the Zerk sets but also to the rumored nerfs to Vigor.

Ephemeral.5409:

OP, learn the encounters (and how to play your class) and you won’t go down as much. Healing power won’t help you stay alive at level 48 fractals.

I know the encounters, I’ve played them plenty. And few are a DPS race; if anything, the hardest ones have no time limit, and the main thing is: Don’t Die.

maxinion.8396:

For this reason, Restorative Mantras (which I think OP means instead of “healing mantras”) is also close to useless.

Yes, I meant Restorative Mantras

Okay, then I think you know what gear you want to use. Why ask us?

Anyway, check out the FAQ sticky on builds. this forum generally uses the meta build, as that states.

Have fun and may the fractals RNG be ever in your favor.

Lilith Ajit.6173:

Okay, then I think you know what gear you want to use. Why ask us?

Anyway, check out the FAQ sticky on builds. this forum generally uses the meta build, as that states.

Have fun and may the fractals RNG be ever in your favor.

Well, it’s still nice to bounce ideas off of other people

I’m curious what besides restorative mantras you are building healing power for. Even then, the healing coefficient on that trait is basically crap (0.2). So even with 1000 healing power, a serious investment, your mantras will heal for 200 hp more – or an 8% increase.

If you’re using the standard 0/30/0/25/15 build, you’ll have something like 19k health, perma vigor (for now), and blurred frenzy on a less then 10 second cd. If you’re feeling pressured, don’t pop your signet heal and summon a few clones to get 300 hp/s health regen. You really shouldn’t worry at all about surviving in full zerk on a mesmer.

A logical approach to why ascended zerk is the only choice; Cleric edition:

Find the healing coefficients of the skills that you plan to be utilizing healing power for. (Is Cleric primary healing power, or power? Regardless…) Take that coefficient, add the extra 17 (or 11) points of healing power that you would receive over an exotic cleric set, and see how much your skill will heal you for in exotic versus ascended. Next, craft your ascended zerk armor when you realize that the extra 8 points of healing that ascended provides you over exotic would never actually accomplish anything.

Ya ya!

Only reason why zerk is the best choice:

A dredge will hit for 6000X5 or 10K single
A mage will hit for 11.000 Xtick
A warrior will hit for 16.000+
They comes in packs of dozens except dredge (Hundreds in that case XD)

A boss hits for 20.000+

Only time you need non zerk is to ress people….but that is not a mesmer work…
If you need to you can only mirror image => f4 and pray.

Or call the mandatory guardian.

P.S. i suggest 10/20/0/25/15
traiting both pistol, sword and focus seems waste of traits to me compared to 15% increase phantasm damage.
Traiting sword and focus is enough

(For fractals mainly) Guys What are your thoughts on 20/30/0/20/0 with gs training and empowered illusions? i Think it has the same result as 0/30/0/25/15 and propably better(?)

Well maybe if you INSIST on using a greatsword, but its not really something I’d see as optimal in any situation.

Sanderinoa.8065:

Well maybe if you INSIST on using a greatsword, but its not really something I’d see as optimal in any situation.

Agreed.

And FeniX, if you use a build where you plan to use GS, then you should note that more than half of those bosses that you are ranging in Fractals would be better served using scepter/X. You get access to a block, a better phantasm in the off-hand, and a decent (piercing) burst skill in Scepter 3.

I just have to say that people in this forum like to make it seem that in running lvl 40+ fractals every single attack is a 1 hit down. However even for a zerk elementalist, true one hit kills are fairly rare and a lot of these can be increased to 2 hit kills with some defensive gear. While going full tank is still not a good idea in my opinion, having enough vitality/toughness to survive say one of the Archdiviners leaps is not a terrible idea since if you mess up once against it then you aren’t immediately downed and can heal up without forcing your team to risk ressing you.
However for making ascended armor, you should probably go zerk for when higher level fractals are released as then actual 1 shot hits will become much more common unless they manage to increase the difficulty in a different way using instabilities.

Bumbler.7581:

Sanderinoa.8065:

Well maybe if you INSIST on using a greatsword, but its not really something I’d see as optimal in any situation.

Agreed.

And FeniX, if you use a build where you plan to use GS, then you should note that more than half of those bosses that you are ranging in Fractals would be better served using scepter/X. You get access to a block, a better phantasm in the off-hand, and a decent (piercing) burst skill in Scepter 3.

i use gs in fractal when i absolutely need to range(i have twilight too so i can’t just leave it in the inventory :P)
never actually tried scepter,always though of it as more of a condition build weapon but i will give it a try.
so u say that if i use gs my build is almost ok right?

Well, since you have Twilight, I guess it would be a little bit of a waste to not use it.

And scepter auto, mid-range, does roughly the same damage as the GS auto as max-range I believe. The big draw is having a phantasm choice when ranging.

And 20/30/0/20/0 seems fine as a GS using build, but if you are only using it when you need to range, you will be definitely be better served going 0/30/0/25/15 for compounding power and illusionist’s celerity, as you won’t see the benefit for domination 20 much.

Ascalon
Molten
Dredge
Underwater
Arguably cliffside
Lava
part of svanir

Are all examples of fractals where due to high damage AND number of foes, passive defense is not an option.

Adding the fact that rally is a factor, standing still to ress people often ends up in 2 downed ….dps helps rallying.

Bumbler.7581:

Well, since you have Twilight, I guess it would be a little bit of a waste to not use it.

And scepter auto, mid-range, does roughly the same damage as the GS auto as max-range I believe. The big draw is having a phantasm choice when ranging.

And 20/30/0/20/0 seems fine as a GS using build, but if you are only using it when you need to range, you will be definitely be better served going 0/30/0/25/15 for compounding power and illusionist’s celerity, as you won’t see the benefit for domination 20 much.

thank you,i totally agree!

In PvE you’re generally better off with going berserker. All other armor stats will generally not have a meaningful impact on your survivability to compensate for the loss of DPS.

So, do I just abandon my Cleric set? (Right now its 4 pieces exotic, 2 pieces ascended)

Should I bother having two sets of armor at all? Does this all hold for WvW, or should I convert my Cleric set to a PVT set for WvW?

It depends on what you’re planning on doing. Healing power is generally underwhelming for PvE content. I think the only classes that can make use of it are guardian and elementalist. Even then, only specific builds can make use of it.

However I’ll provide a link with some builds that you can try out. Just be aware that many people prefer mesmers to have berserker stats in PvE.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/SUPPORT-Mesmer-Spotlight/first#post1481629

Afraid to say your ascended cleric items are a complete waste on a mesmer. The only classes where i’d see a real use for(if you wanted to do a full cleric group or w/e) are guardian, ele and probably warrior, since their aoe healing spells have really good healing power scaling and can be pretty strong if multiple people in the group run 1,5k+ healing power and such.

On topic, anyways: The most notable source of mesmer healing, Restorative Mantras, have a terribad healing power scaling, as rfdarko noted.

Work on getting a Berserker set and keep Restorative Mantras since you want to have a source of (group)healing. RM is already strong as kitten without investing a single point of healing power and i use it almost on all of my builds. Just don’t spam healing all the time when it’s not really needed and/or neglect your reflection/dps duty etc.
Something like 0/20/0/30/20 will do as a build while letting you keep most of the useful traits and let you slot RM with focus reflects and giving you a free slot for Adept inspiration(-20% glamour, 2 condi removal on heal, 4 if you use mantra, medics feedback = especially useful for stuff like cliffside/dredge/grawl shaman boss/mai trin/molten duo etc).

Normally i say, as a mesmer, your first job is to provide support in form of reflects, pulls, utility, aoe condi removal when needed, damage, stealth etc. Reflections are VERY useful in fractals and mesmers come with a lot of it.

Not in the mood of writing any guide or anything, but keep some of this stuff in mind. Learn to use Berserker gear in fractals, no matter what level. It’ll help you a lot in the long run.

Maximize your reflect uptime. Remove focus trait for Old tom.

Does anyone know if you can move soulbound ascended armor to other characters with the transmutation crystal + splitter trick which works for legendaries?

maxinion.8396:

Does anyone know if you can move soulbound ascended armor to other characters with the transmutation crystal + splitter trick which works for legendaries?

You can’t.

With the current meta, zerker is the only option. Anything else and you’d be shooting yourself in the foot.

Yes, even on fractal level 50.

Charming Rogue.8071:

With the current meta, zerker is the only option. Anything else and you’d be shooting yourself in the foot.

Yes, even on fractal level 50.

Thanks, good to know. I’ve done a lot of 49, but haven’t tried 50 yet.