Staff Mesmser viable?
It’s more of a defensive weapon.
It’s honestly terrible for general PvE. Sword will level you up much faster.
As Ayrilana says, Staff is a primarily defensive weapon for a Mesmer. It can generate clones fairly quickly, which makes it useful as a secondary weapon for Shatter builds, but the auto-attack is slow and the conditions it inflicts don’t last very long, so it doesn’t synergize too well with its phantasm (Illusionary Warlock). However, in groups facing sturdy Champions, the Warlock hits like a truck when the boss has like, every single condition in the game on them.
Sword Focus Sword Sword Sword Pistol <3 and a gs for range lol i only see and play staff in spvp and sometimes wvw
Roserra @ [ATT] – Attuned
Simple answer is no. The illusionary elasticity trait which provides extra bounces of the staff attack and allows it bounce off clones has not worked properly for the last 3 patch updates. It is a known issue that still remians unresolved. In general mesmer has had a number of verified bugs that as of this post remain uncorrected. It is a fun profession, but it’s amount of flaws makes it not worth while rolling until/ if ever it’s long and comprehensive bug list gets resolved. Honest truth.
Mesmer and elementalist both benefit from mobility, and in that regard a staff is somewhat useful, but honestly a greatsword is a better ranged option in most situations.
Zaxares is correct that illusionary warlocks are brilliant against high HP enemies. They aren’t great for general use though because you need a lot of conditions on the target consistently.
And yes, the mesmer has a lot of bugs but it’s not broken. Phantasm attack bugs mean the focus is a risky offhand choice right now, and a bug with the staff blink stops you from moving at all if you cast it while knocked down. If you avoid those weapons and a small number of traits, it’s still very much playable.
As has been said the best ranged weapon for mesmers is greatsword. Have never noticed myself then being broken in any way.