I’ve been playing my Necro for a while now (almost level 40) and so far it’s pretty fun with all the AoE spells and slows/blinds/bleeds I have. The thing is, I feel like I’m not doing any damage. I know I AM doing a lot of damage but for some reason because it’s condition based, it feels like stuff dies at a snails pace.
I have been considering making a Mesmer but I know their survivability at lower levels is pretty crappy until around level 40. How does a Mesmer compare to a Necromancer when it comes to taking on groups of monsters in PvE and survivability/damage? I’ve made one and gone to the mists to play with spells but it’s a lot different when you’re actually trying to level one up.
Hopefully someone out there plays both and can help me out.
honestly; both are very lacking in taking down groups; though id have to say it probably tips in necros favour; wells, DS4, epidemic, locust swarm… etc… but sadly it has no weapon with an auto attack that cleaves, which leaves its only reliable aoe damage condition based (marks and epidemic)
… i levelled mine with a power build; use staff one to grab mob aggro then well/mark bombed and they normally died… but then id have to wait a bit for recharge (so id take mobs 1 by 1 with dagger+warhorn
mesmer is a pain to level because its aoe and repetitive killing power is weak (phantasms take so long to recharge; and shatters are a massive pain to pull off continously)… i finally got levelled mine using a staff build; but you really need 3 illusions up to do as much damage as any other class… its more fun in dungeons, wvw and pvp than necro though imo
Dagger main hand is pretty good as far as dps goes. It also generates a lot of life force so you’ll be often popping death shroud with a green bar full of painful Life Blasts. Well of Suffering and death shroud 4th skill will take care of the AoE part. For stats prioritize berserker. Axe/focus makes for a good burst combo, while both warhorn and dagger are nice offhands to have when going close range with dagger main hand
You won’t be killing things as fast as a warrior can, and as stated above you will lack AoE when the well is on cd, but it’s certainly good dps and kills things way faster than any staff build could
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i have a necro at 56 and a mesmer at 30. So far i havent noticed any issues with survivability or killing power with my mesmer. This will be my 6th 80 and im at about 1300 hrs play time so i have a bit of experience. In fact ive been wondering what everyone was talking about when they say mesmer is weak in low level. Sure its not as easy as my warrior was but i havent had any problems. Unless they are talking about from 30-40 but ill find out soon enough.
My lvl 80 necro feels like an AoE machine – tagging and taking down groups of mobs is ridiculously easy and fun My lvl 50 mesmer is a lot of fun to play, too, but doesn’t feel as powerful in the AoE department.
If you want AoE, Ive been levelling a condition thief lately and I feel less squishy than both my Ele and Guardian, and feel more comfortable taking down large groups.
I use wells for AoE and can handle large groups of mobs with skilled play. I’m leveling a second necro now, so I can do more Orr node runs (the Locust Signet plus survivability makes it my ideal farming build). In leveling, I’ve mostly been statting power and daggers kill reasonably quickly.
My Mesmer does much better ST damage than the necro, but the Necro’s AoE is better. Survivability is about the same at higher levels, but only because of mesmer clones.
Mesmers arent that stronger against multiple foes because many skills are single-target ones. Mesmer’s survivability doesnt suck like that, but you have to learn how to coordinate your illusions to have an advantage (its not hard, you get used to it while you play)
But if you really want to take down a lot of enemies, I’d recommend Elementalist, Guardian, Warrior or SB Thief (yes, thieves have AoE)
