Guild Wars 2

First all of let me say that Confusion is the most overpowered condition, it is worse than being stunned. You cannot do anything about it as any action EVEN DODGING will affect you.

But what makes it REALLY overpowered?

The fact that you cannot break autoattack whatsoever, even if you are not targeting anything. I find this to be complete BS as my character keeps shooting the pistol when I have already de-targeted the enemy and even faced the opposite direction. My character will keep on shooting and killing himself, is this really fair?

Anet devs, are you planning on fixing this?

When im confused I find it hard to function.

Working as intended.

Stow weapon is the most effective way to stop attacking, I have found.

take the auto part off of skill 1 and press 1 when you want to attack and take off your skill on dodge trait.

Escape key stops attack mode

I agree with OP, when I’m in Southsun Cove I never seem to run out of stacks (on me). And worse than that I could swear that every time I get hit the whole lot refreshes and stacks intensity, meaning I can’t do anything at all for sometimes 10 seconds or more. Atleast burning and Poison stack duration and don’t penalise you for fighting back. And bleeding stacks intensity but its gone pretty soon unless you’r against a bleed build, in which case the non-bleed DPS is pretty bad. Confusion is a slap in the face while chanting “You’r confused, can’t fight back!” repeated in your ear to the voice and tune of “Not touching can’t get mad!” And for anyone who says “It’s not that powerful” I run a pet-tank shortbow ranger, that means I have medium health, a Heal over time and my main attack fires at a rate of 4 shots a second, at 80 that’s around 1000 damage a second per stack. And if I go down if my pet is hit it automatically stops him from reviving me with the 3rd FFYL abil, the only one worth useing, and my bandage wounds abil cuts out because it’s still in effect and I take damage.

You would kitten a brick if you knew the kind of shutdown mesmers (and necros to an extent) could bring in GW1. Especially to a melee profession.

Confusion is tame in comparison.

CobaltSixty.1542:

You would kitten a brick if you knew the kind of shutdown mesmers (and necros to an extent) could bring in GW1. Especially to a melee profession.

Confusion is tame in comparison.

Oh they were AMAZING against casters too. Mesmers were just the one class that could perfectly shut down anything if they built for it (but sacrificed being able to take down other things in the process)

I’m gonna cast a – nope
Well maybe a – nope OW
Well what about the… wait why is that on cooldown when I didn’t use it?
Well maybe I’ll just wand him to… wait why am I getting hurt when I wand?
And why am I also blind at the same time?
AND WHY IS THAT GUY USING THAT SPELL I CAN’T USE BECAUSE IT MYSTERIOUSLY WENT ON COOLDOWN?

At least you can clear pretty much all of GW2 mesmer annoying hex effects with one button… and you have your own button.

The conversation comes up all the time. Nothing is ever done about it. Ive said before if they increase duration and reduce the damage (as in same damage but over a longer time), I think that would fix it. But GW2 is an easy mode game. Cast times for alot of things are instant and they should not be (IE Necro staff marks). The game is dumbed down for a casual audience and following. I don’t think they are going to change it because of this. Im pretty sure Anet know they have a large casual following and they are going to cater to their main audience.

sostronk.8167:

The conversation comes up all the time. Nothing is ever done about it. Ive said before if they increase duration and reduce the damage (as in same damage but over a longer time), I think that would fix it. But GW2 is an easy mode game. Cast times for alot of things are instant and they should not be (IE Necro staff marks). The game is dumbed down for a casual audience and following. I don’t think they are going to change it because of this. Im pretty sure Anet know they have a large casual following and they are going to cater to their main audience.

The cast times are short in general because arenaNet introduced dodge.

Confusion sucks in PvE, Mobs attack too slowly.

As for PvP and WvW, either press escape or worse case scenario, turn your auto attack off.

As a GW1 & GW2 Mesmer, I can say that Confusion is a tame version of Backfire and Empathy combined. It’s tame because it’s a condition and you can remove it rather easily. I’ve never had any trouble with confusion on me. I always bring a condition removal. Also, from GW1, I know ways to dance around the issue besides just removing it. In GW, hardly anyone took hex removal so if I put empathy on an assassin I’d just stand there until it killed itself trying to kill me at melee. It was great! Part of me misses having all that power. Being able to effectively put an entire skillbar on cooldown, interrupting big damage, empathying physical fighters and just watching them try to kill me. I understand why they nerfed Mesmers, but it’s so easy to avoid confusion, it bothers me. Nothing’s done about it because they’ve already nerfed Mesmers to the ground since GW. But they’re still a great profession <3

Seriously, be creative. It’s easy enough to avoid. But I’m not telling my secrets

@Ethics, Confusion rocks in PvE if you use it right <3 Heavy +Condition Damage stats, trait yourself for increased confusion duration, set yourself up to effectively shatter-spam. I’ve gotten 15 stacks of confusion on an enemy at once? With an extended duration <3

we mesmers really need confusion for spvp, we’d be pretty powerless without it, it’s easily our best build for spvp

PopeUrban.2578:

CobaltSixty.1542:

You would kitten a brick if you knew the kind of shutdown mesmers (and necros to an extent) could bring in GW1. Especially to a melee profession.

Confusion is tame in comparison.

Oh they were AMAZING against casters too. Mesmers were just the one class that could perfectly shut down anything if they built for it (but sacrificed being able to take down other things in the process)

I’m gonna cast a – nope
Well maybe a – nope OW
Well what about the… wait why is that on cooldown when I didn’t use it?
Well maybe I’ll just wand him to… wait why am I getting hurt when I wand?
And why am I also blind at the same time?
AND WHY IS THAT GUY USING THAT SPELL I CAN’T USE BECAUSE IT MYSTERIOUSLY WENT ON COOLDOWN?

At least you can clear pretty much all of GW2 mesmer annoying hex effects with one button… and you have your own button.

Level 80 Exotics Mesmer here who misses my REAL Mesmer. /sniff.

Confusion should have a 2 second internal cool-down.

Oh gods, I miss my old Aspenwood Elementalist Griefer Mesmer build.
Basically, all of the spellcasting slowdown hexes I could cram onto a bar, that skill that damages on interrupt, and a couple of interrupts.
It would take the poor blighters 30 seconds to cast Meteor Storm, and right at the last second, I’d interrupt them.
I made sooooooooo many Elementalists rage-quit with that build.

Good times.

Daecollo.9578:

Confusion should have a 2 second internal cool-down.

and the damage per confusion hit escalated significantly, so instead of players chipping themselves down, they can kill themselves in a single hit: else confusion becomes obsolete.

Mungrul.9358:

Oh gods, I miss my old Aspenwood Elementalist Griefer Mesmer build.
Basically, all of the spellcasting slowdown hexes I could cram onto a bar, that skill that damages on interrupt, and a couple of interrupts.
It would take the poor blighters 30 seconds to cast Meteor Storm, and right at the last second, I’d interrupt them.
I made sooooooooo many Elementalists rage-quit with that build.

Good times.

/sniff with happy memories. Don’t you miss strategic thought and tactical play?

Anchorwind.9016:

Daecollo.9578:

Confusion should have a 2 second internal cool-down.

and the damage per confusion hit escalated significantly, so instead of players chipping themselves down, they can kill themselves in a single hit: else confusion becomes obsolete.

No, just add an internal cool-down of 2 seconds, its OP on high-hitting attacks like 100b.

They already solved the issue with confusion in PVP by reducing damage there. IF you are having a problem with it in WvW tough luck, Anet is not going to split skills for WvW and since confusion is already weak in PVE they can’t nerf it anymore ^^

Until they split WvW and PvE skills the game will be broken…

maddoctor.2738:

They already solved the issue with confusion in PVP by reducing damage there. IF you are having a problem with it in WvW tough luck, Anet is not going to split skills for WvW and since confusion is already weak in PVE they can’t nerf it anymore ^^

Until they split WvW and PvE skills the game will be broken…

Don’t worry, mobs only attack every 2 seconds anyways, so a 2 second Internal cool-down won’t effect PvE!

It’s fine. It’s just that PvErs havent had much experience with dealing with the condition bar a select few mobs. I bet the OP will complain about retalliation once Anet gives mobs a means to stack retalliation for a lengthy duration to actually give some meaning to boon strips in PvE.

And if this is speaking about how powerful confusion is in WvW (as the sPvP variant does half damage), It’s only fair for me to point my fingers at crit damage caps being double in WvW compared to PvP.

The point of confusion is to give the player a choice. You can keep attacking and take the damage, or you can stop attacking (press esc, the stow key, or just remove your auto attack) and wait for confusion to wear off.

Basedgod.7328:

It’s only fair for me to point my fingers at crit damage caps being double in WvW compared to PvP.

And of course that’s another fine example of Anet “balancing”… due to PVP and PVE having the same skills, yes WvW IS PVP.

Daecollo.9578:

Don’t worry, mobs only attack every 2 seconds anyways, so a 2 second Internal cool-down won’t effect PvE!

Yes but it will affect WvW, another split will benefit both, not only PvE.

Confusion is way UNDER powered. It needs a serious buff. No one uses confusion for anything in PvE because it sucks hard.

10x the duration and a 50% damage increase would put it on par with other conditions.

I could care less about PvP, as could most of the players. They should balance things for what people do most.

Oh, and in WvW on my Warrior, I have so much regen I find I can just power through Confusion.
That never happened with Empathy in GW1. It would basically stop me attacking until I found some way to get rid of the hex or let it time out. I had to be that much more aware of what was going on with my character.

I think they should buff the damage and change the behaviour so that rather than having it be time based, the condition is stack based.
What I mean by that is that if you have 5 stacks of confusion on you, it affects your next 5 actions. Each condition removal skill would remove a complete group of stacks.
Simple, effective and makes the condition a lot more fun.

Confusion doesn’t suck if you build for it.

Confusion isn’t overpowered either, it has a short duration and every class had methods of condition removal. plus you can turn auto attack off.

Seriously, if you don’t choose to employ some basic defensive options, don’t blame the game.

Confusion is meant to punish the bad players .. like OP :p you would have melted playing against a GW1 mesmer

Anchorwind.9016:

/sniff with happy memories. Don’t you miss strategic thought and tactical play?

You know, I really do.
My GW2 Mesmer is fun, sure, but nowhere near as much as my GW1 Mes.
But this isn’t just down to the class being limited to only a couple of viable builds comparatively (although this is a major contributing factor).
It’s down to core problems with the profession and gear system in general.

I could spend hours upon hours designing fun, quirky, interesting builds for my Mesmer in GW1. I think my builds list had upwards of 100 Mesmer specific builds in it, all of which I tried out and a lot of which I could use for very specific situations.
I was able to do this because respeccing stats was free, transport to anywhere in the world was free and max stat gear was far, FAR easier to acquire. It was so simple it just let me enjoy playing the game rather than spend most of my time preparing to play.

That’s the thing I hate about GW2 the most.
If I want to try something a little different, yet plan it optimally, it requires an inordinate investment of time and money.
It’s not about playing the game. It’s about preparing to play.
That’s just wrong.

Lorelei.7809:

@Ethics, Confusion rocks in PvE if you use it right <3 Heavy +Condition Damage stats, trait yourself for increased confusion duration, set yourself up to effectively shatter-spam. I’ve gotten 15 stacks of confusion on an enemy at once? With an extended duration <3

Thanks, I’m still trying to figure him out. My issue is that I shatter for confusions, but then I’m busing kiting so I don’t get hit, therefore the mob doesn’t attack. This is solo play as I’m leveling him up. I imagine in group play where I don’t have aggro it will be much better.

PopeUrban.2578:

Oh they were AMAZING

I’m gonna cast a – nope
Well maybe a – nope OW
Well what about the… wait why is that on cooldown when I didn’t use it?
Well maybe I’ll just wand him to… wait why am I getting hurt when I wand?
And why am I also blind at the same time?
AND WHY IS THAT GUY USING THAT SPELL I CAN’T USE BECAUSE IT MYSTERIOUSLY WENT ON COOLDOWN?

This. Jade Quary/Ft. Aspenwood… is that a group of Mesmers?!
Oh, #&$%!
…Quit…

In the grand scheme of conditions, confusion really does need a nerf. It’s way too OP compared to the other conditions. It’s easier to survive 25 stacks of bleeding than it is to survive 10 stacks of confusion.

Hickeroar.9734:

In the grand scheme of conditions, confusion really does need a nerf. It’s way too OP compared to the other conditions. It’s easier to survive 25 stacks of bleeding than it is to survive 10 stacks of confusion.

As a matter of fact, it doesn’t. One condition remover washes the whole thing off, it’s duration is extremely low,, etc.

I tell you what is really nice though, confusion combined with retaliation , especially with phantasmal guardian with retaliation too. Now THAT is a nice combo.

Yes, stop attacking. Meanwhile, you’re getting beat on because you’re not fighting back. Super.

I have Stow/Sheath weapon on R and am naturally used to pressing it all the time from playing Bethesda games too much. Then there’s always condition removal, which some people severely shun from their hotbar for some reason.

“Shake it off”, sigil of purity, soldier runes…

come at me, bro.

If you want a laugh at the expense of people who really do need to “Learn to play” (I hate that expression), go camp by that skill point in Cursed Shore by the pirates. The turret continuously dishes out Confusion, and it really sorts the men from the boys

sostronk.8167:

The conversation comes up all the time. Nothing is ever done about it. Ive said before if they increase duration and reduce the damage (as in same damage but over a longer time), I think that would fix it. But GW2 is an easy mode game. Cast times for alot of things are instant and they should not be (IE Necro staff marks). The game is dumbed down for a casual audience and following. I don’t think they are going to change it because of this. Im pretty sure Anet know they have a large casual following and they are going to cater to their main audience.

We must be playing different games…

Another person here who played mesmer in GW1. Even though I don’t like mesmer in GW2 and rarely play it, I can vouche for confusion in GW2 being very tame compared to shutdown/hex play in GW1, like other players here have.

You HAVE to remove the confusion or instead cancel your attacks, fallback and wait until the stack lowers in intensity. In GW1, failing to abate offense at the proper times against a domination mesmer, was guaranteed suicide.

Be thankful that in GW2 the mesmer can’t kill you with your own energy pool and skillbar. XD

Yes the shutdown viability of Mesmers has been drastically reduced since the first game. Be thankful.

The problem isn’t with confusion. The problem is that a lot of people do not use condition removal in pvp in favour of other utility skills. Every profession has ways of dealing with conditions if you have trouble with confusion carry condition removal.

Alternatively if you really don’t want to use condition removal keep in mind that confusion is the only damage condition where you can control the damage done yourself. Every other damage condition will do the damage regardless.

With confusion however you can time your major damage attacks to fit between the confusion stack usages. while in between you could kite, dodge, heal or otherwise control the fight while it runs out.

I have fought confusion mesmers and it can be hard without condition removal but not impossible. Best way is to wear them down slowly and use burst/heavy damage when not stacked with confusion.

Every profession has builds that are their weakness to fight against. Which is the entire point of the game being team based. In pvp assign someone to do the condition removing, healing, support etc.

As for PvE I really feel confusion needs a buff in PvE, it’s completely useless and nobody who wants to be effective in PvE will use confusion builds it might be a good idea to separate them.

@Mungrul that skill point with that Mesmer that clones herself and has all the birds? Dethra I think? Was a very tough fight but managed her solo. Confusion constantly and other conditions it was nasty lol..

How about stop attacking while confused

EDIT: Oh, I understand your complaint now. Just hit escape.

Looks to me like the problem is a combination of stack size, attack pace, and health pool.

PVE confusion is meh because mobs have big pools and slow attacks. But max out the stack on a character that can produce a attack every half second or less, especially if they have a naturally low health pool, and suddenly you are looking at a DPS that can rival a warrior or thief spike.

Removal is all well and good, but with the kind of DPS that can be produced at the high end, you may well be down by the time you have your finger on the removal button.

I cant take you seriously, pretty much 1 out of 8 classes can do a decent confusion build, even then to deal with it is as easy a 1-2-cleanse.

Some serious rage in this post.

The problem with confusion is that it’s mostly worthless against monsters but really good against people, which isn’t very good in an environment where you’re the people, everything you’re fighting is a monster, and some of them can put huge stacks of it on you (Reef Drakes) or apply it more often than you can get rid of it (that kitten raven shaman in Snowden Drifts).

ZudetGambeous.9573:

Confusion is way UNDER powered. It needs a serious buff. No one uses confusion for anything in PvE because it sucks hard.

10x the duration and a 50% damage increase would put it on par with other conditions.

I could care less about PvP, as could most of the players. They should balance things for what people do most.

I use confusion a lot as part of a condition shatter mesmer combo, and it does hit HARD those mobs or even Champions. Damage can be as high as 5,000+, though more commonly, 3,000-4,500+. For a “sucky” condition, it really damages for a lot (bear in mind that such a build will also cause bleeds, burning, etc., so what seems to be “poor” damage is indeed a lot over time.)

That said, since enemies tend to attack slowly, a PvE confusion nerf would be totally inaproppriate nor needed. I know those Southsun Coves Drakes are annoying, but that doesn’t mean that confusion is overpowered at all-especially for PvE.

Mungrul.9358:

If you want a laugh at the expense of people who really do need to “Learn to play” (I hate that expression), go camp by that skill point in Cursed Shore by the pirates. The turret continuously dishes out Confusion, and it really sorts the men from the boys

The irony is that I remember my Mesmer having trouble with that Skill Point, killing it VERY slowly, since the turret was immune to my own assortment of conditions and my damage was thus poor. :P In that case, that turret was the better Mesmer.

Jackums.3496:

Blaming the condition because you have your #1 on auto?

Solution: turn it off. Also, cleanse.

Rangers have no cleanse skill.

Daecollo.9578:

Anchorwind.9016:

Daecollo.9578:

Confusion should have a 2 second internal cool-down.

and the damage per confusion hit escalated significantly, so instead of players chipping themselves down, they can kill themselves in a single hit: else confusion becomes obsolete.

No, just add an internal cool-down of 2 seconds, its OP on high-hitting attacks like 100b.

If you have a stack of confusion on you and use 100 blades you pretty much deserve to be insta-gibbed.