Guild Wars 2

In the original Guild Wars, there were spells known as a “Hex Spell” which would make malign effects on the character.
But apparently lore-wise (I’m not entirely sure, I only read this and haven’t seen any evidence), it says that Mesmers switched from Hexes to Clones/Phantasms (and Confusion) because of the diversity of races.
Just want to know what happened to hexes, because in Guild Wars, my Mesmer, Necro and even Monk was more than happy to put a hex on a Moa/Charr/Norn/Plants/Skales/etc…

I do know that most Mesmer(and some Necro) hexes were merged to make confusion -game wise-

Also, can someone find me the link to where they stated that Mesmers switched from Hexes to Phantasms, I read it from someone, I think 2 months ago and it’s killing me that it’s a doubt

clones and phantasms are visual representation of a hex. a well traited mesmer can make it so, for example an illusionary duelist causes damage over time and dazes, and causes damage and cripples when destroyed.

or the illusionary warden, which makes enemies take damage whenever they use skills (through retaliation and confusion).

Yeah, know that already but to be straight up honest, if you play a mesmer, phantasms are much more like “pets” then they are hexes -game wise-.

Still looking for that piece of evidence where it’s stated that mesmers had to switch to visual representations vs hexes because of racial diversity.

Daze and Confusion can probably be thought of as “hexes”, such they both affect the mind rather than the physical body.

LumAnth.5124:

Yeah, know that already but to be straight up honest, if you play a mesmer, phantasms are much more like “pets” then they are hexes -game wise-.

Still looking for that piece of evidence where it’s stated that mesmers had to switch to visual representations vs hexes because of racial diversity.

they didn’t change it. it’s just the new gameplay way of representing hexes. there isn’t a lore to it.

and illusions are hardly pets. they’re meant to be disposable, single target “things” that serve the purpose of causing various types of damage and condition under various effects, as well as shield the mesmer from attacks true dissuasion. and that’s not even talking about shatters.

BrunoBRS.5178:

LumAnth.5124:

Yeah, know that already but to be straight up honest, if you play a mesmer, phantasms are much more like “pets” then they are hexes -game wise-.

Still looking for that piece of evidence where it’s stated that mesmers had to switch to visual representations vs hexes because of racial diversity.

they didn’t change it. it’s just the new gameplay way of representing hexes. there isn’t a lore to it.

and illusions are hardly pets. they’re meant to be disposable, single target “things” that serve the purpose of causing various types of damage and condition under various effects, as well as shield the mesmer from attacks true dissuasion. and that’s not even talking about shatters.

Still, I am trying to find that one statement where, Mesmers changed from Hexes to Visual Representations, Lore Wise . I’m pretty sure I read somewhere around the Lore Forums that Mesmers just had to do that. And that’s what I’m trying to find.

Off Topic:
Also, is it just me, or is your tone slightly condescending on how you type. I know how Mesmers work in Guild Wars, and GW2, and there is a huge difference between Phantasms (besides Phantasmal Mage) and Hexes. I’ve played Guild Wars, Mesmer for 7 years +, and have my Mesmer in GW2 as a main, and they are like apples vs oranges.
but I do know that Lore Wise, Phantasms replace Hex

all i’m saying is that there is no lore explanation. this is a gameplay change, because ANet didn’t want people looking at UIs all the time, and because hexes would now be something only mesmers had, so they had to get creative with the ways to visualize it, and with the counters.

there is no lore explanation to it. ANet wanted more mindgames and manipulation, less mass-interrupts and stopping via purple icons on the UI.

the result of that are the illusions and shatters replacing hexes. it’s 100% a gameplay thing, and as far as i know, there is no lore explanation.

I personally want to say it was just a slow evolution in the way mesmers did things as they continued to learn more about their profession. I haven’t seen or read anything that states that mesmers had to do this, but I personally want to say that the change happened, or started happening, around the time of Minister Reiko in the Canthan expansion Winds of Change. She was a very formidable mesmer and created very realistic illusions.