Chronomancer? Tempest?
Can’t say much about Tempest. Didn’t meet one, didn’t play one. But I played Chronomancer. I have no idea how it feels on the receiving end, but the CC, especially if you go full out (C)lockdown is very strong. Especially in team fight or even +1 situations it can make very much the difference and strip all stability even without boon ripping... Even D/D Eles quickly surrendered after I burned through their boons.
I even used a variation without domination (Chrono, Chaos, Illusion... so no boon rip, confounding suggestion or power block) to have access to more frequent shatters and alacrity. But this one lacked significant damage.
Thing is, if you played GW1, you’d still know this is nothing. In GW1 a Mesmer could literally shut you down and you couldn’t do a thing. However, GW1 Mesmers weren’t bursting you down like it’s nothing, even if you were fully committed to offense. Maybe ANet should look at the balance between damage and CC. I personally enjoyed the low damage CC variation, because it gave me so much flexibility and allowed me to use the long CD skills ridiculously often. And it felt very rewarding finally to down my foes, after I wore them down.
Chronomancy works, I am proof of it. Now stop asking me questions. Time must be preserved!