Guild Wars 2

Ever since it’s become an AoE, MoConcentration has been looking rather promising (it hits in a 240 range, which is about the distance of a side capture node in PvP). I knew it had gotten a lot of praise in dungeons, but recently I’ve been bringing it to PvP and it works very well.

(Edit: Just to clarify, I’m not saying that MoConcentration is an absolute must that should be on every Mesmer’s bar. I’m saying I feel its much more underrated than it should be on the surface. Even with the small amount of stability -which, with a lil boon duration, is still 5 seconds of AoE stab on a 20-25 sec cooldown- it has its uses especially in an unorganized/PUG team. In a more organized teamfight, there are definitely more lucrative options. )

While providing AoE stab is usually a Guardian thing, this mantra is glorious in teamfights for securing stomps. (Provided you’re not stuck in the mentality of Mesmer = Portal Bots)

The problem is….what do u need a mesmer giving aoe stability for 2-3s when these beefy warriors can have 3x self stability with long durations ?

Agree with cuge, mesmers are too utility locked to fit it in.

Bunkers guards & warriors are pretty utility locked too, but their utility lcks include their sources of stability.

As a Mesmer you’d either have to give up portal/blink/decoy for a worse version of SYG that your guardian is going to have anyway, so why bother with it. Added to the fact that you wont be stood on point as Mesmer, that 240 range isn’t going to go very far.

The stab is on a shorter cooldown, warriors arent everywhere at once or always have stab, and warriors arent the only ones that stomp. Same goes for guards.

Sorry az, that was in response to cuge. I had felt the same way at first, as Im aure many people do (which is likely why it isnt used often) but Mesmer arent as utility-locked as people think. Portal is excellent, sure, but that doesnt mean its the only thing Mesmer have to offer.

In fact its that exact mentality of “I need decoy AND blik and am useless without portal” that limits the diversity of Mesmer builds and in many cases thats simply not true. Shatter Mesmer dont always fight on point, and all it takes is a quick dodge or good positioning to be in a place to be able to apply the stab when needed. Also, the stab makes for a good disengage when paired with Blink.

It has uses for more than just stomps, but you have to take into account that class does NOT equal builds. Not every guard is a shoutguard, for example, and not wvery Mesmer needa to always have portal.. especially if it isnt a well-coordinated team. (If it WAS a coordinated team on mics then of course the mantra would be inferior to other cjoices)

Edit: I hate touch screen cellphones. -_- buttons plz.

I used to play mez in tpvp, but now, when i play with my friends i feel almost forced to run warrior cause it just seems a must atm. My role is mainly CC/bruiser during the fight and i’m the dedicated stomper when we down someone, why ? cause i got 3 sources of stability on 40s, 48s, 48s CD, and i’m the most resistant in the party (except maybe the guard bunker) so then i just tell my guys to spam dmg on the downed and those trying to ress, and rarely happens to me to not have stability ready.

I love buildcrafting in every game i play, and i know you do too, but in the actual state of the game i really fail to find a good spot where a mesmer can stand without being subpar to another class, in terms of tpvp.

Chaos Archangel.5071:

The stab is on a shorter cooldown, warriors arent everywhere at once or always have stab, and warriors arent the only ones that stomp. Same goes for guards.

and it only breaks stun for the mesmer?
I’m pretty sure, for allies, it only stops any further CC’ing, like the elementalist earth trait.

That makes short duration stabilities pretty impracticable, I mean, short of for stomping.

@cuge: Well, like I said. In an organized team where you can communicate easily with teammates and ect, there are much better options to take up utility slots (like portal for example). I’ve been using it when I’m grouped up with maybe one or two friends and grab a bunch of pugs along for the ride. I could have the worst luck on the planet but in almost all my matches I’ve nearly never had a decent guardian (Its usually: “Hey guardian, can you bunker?” – “I’m a DPS guard.” – “/sigh..”) and like I said often sometimes the Warriors just… aren’t where you need them. Like AFKing on home or fighting a bunker for 6 minutes on far.

I agree that Mesmer, in the state it’s currently in, is for the most part overshadowed by Thief. Shatter Mesmer is essentially a slightly weaker thief with interesting utilities and better boonstripping, I haven’t personally seen anyone lockdown better than Mesmer, but Warriors can CC nearly just as well and have the added benefit of stab. Phantasm Mesmer get eaten by thieves… yeah.

However, I still believe that not everything has been explored. And I think Mesmer isn’t viable only at the highest levels of teamplay. The “every other class can do what they do better” theory only really applies there, IMO, as in the lower levels I feel that player skill has a much larger impact on the outcome of fights. I still play the class because I’m good with it; because I can use the tools I’m given in a way that separates me from a thief, or engineer, ect. Skills like Signet of Inspiration, Portal, reflects and others that set the class apart can work well when utilized properly, but the builds that champion them often get overlooked in favor of builds that “work, but a thief can do it better.” I’ma keep looking for ways to try to change that.

@garethh: Yeah, it’s not an AoE stunbreak. So far I’ve been using it for helping secure stomps/rezzes on my team, and to assist my own personal disengage. Its worth noting though that with just a slight bit of boonduration you can chain the casts for a 6 second stab on a 20-25 sec cooldown.

Maybe a little OT, but in regards of stomps / rezzes, I wish for the CS bug to return.

You could place a Chaosstorm onto an ally, or an downed enemy and it was almost a death sentence for every enemy trying to rezz / stomp without having stability

For sure, the skill is good on paper, but its tied to a Mesmer which doesn’t fit that role very well from my understanding. What kind of role are you using your mesmer for?

Is this your lockdown build (which hard-counters my ele with instant-cast 2.5s immob + damage, darn you!) which focuses on teamfight support? I could see some kind of teamfight build using this, similar to how some eles build a tanky d/d or support-y staff with rock solid for the same role. However, in the end, I still think its hard to justify taking a mesmer for those roles when other classes just fill them better.

Chaos Archangel.5071:

Sorry az, that was in response to cuge. I had felt the same way at first, as Im aure many people do (which is likely why it isnt used often) but Mesmer arent as utility-locked as people think. Portal is excellent, sure, but that doesnt mean its the only thing Mesmer have to offer.

In fact its that exact mentality of “I need decoy AND blik and am useless without portal” that limits the diversity of Mesmer builds and in many cases thats simply not true. Shatter Mesmer dont always fight on point, and all it takes is a quick dodge or good positioning to be in a place to be able to apply the stab when needed. Also, the stab makes for a good disengage when paired with Blink.

It has uses for more than just stomps, but you have to take into account that class does NOT equal builds. Not every guard is a shoutguard, for example, and not wvery Mesmer needa to always have portal.. especially if it isnt a well-coordinated team. (If it WAS a coordinated team on mics then of course the mantra would be inferior to other cjoices)

Edit: I hate touch screen cellphones. -_- buttons plz.

……. You’ve definitely changed.

@BlackBeard: Yeah, I had thrown it into my lockdown build out of curiosity after trying it in Arganthium’s support/lockdown mesmer. I’ve been running around like a vagrant without much condition removal, and since Blink/Mantra of Distraction are always on my bar, it leaves me wiggle room to experiment a bit. Of all the utilities I messed around, MoConcentration seems the most promising in a PvP environment without having to radically alter your build or change your playstyle.
And that lockdown build also counters Necros pretty hard, and does reeeaally well against Ranger and other Mesmer so atleast Eles aren’t alone. =P

@Dirame: Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Is it the typos? It’s my cellphone’s fault! Its the typos, isn’t it?! /paranoia.

The 2 seconds on stability just doesn’t sit well next to the stability given by other classes.

MailMail.6534:

The 2 seconds on stability just doesn’t sit well next to the stability given by other classes.

…..I’m not sure how this matters in any way…. Isn’t a skill supposed to be all about functionality and useability on a given class? And if we were really going to compare it to other classes, we should compare them fairly. The mesmer literally has 3 stun breaks on 1 skill whilst other classes usually only have one.

Personally I find MoD, MoC and MoR way more useful than blink and decoy. I find that I can fight warriors and Necros very easily with those more so than with the other two.

stab to short – its more like a stunbreak than stab

and mantra recast is way tooo long – there are classes which can kill you 100-0 in this time^^

edit: i would use it when there would be a trait like have 50% chance on crit to regain stacks on mantras (10 sec intern cd – max 5 stacks)
or have aegis while recast a mantra

Dirame.8521:

MailMail.6534:

The 2 seconds on stability just doesn’t sit well next to the stability given by other classes.

…..I’m not sure how this matters in any way…. Isn’t a skill supposed to be all about functionality and useability on a given class? And if we were really going to compare it to other classes, we should compare them fairly. The mesmer literally has 3 stun breaks on 1 skill whilst other classes usually only have one.

Personally I find MoD, MoC and MoR way more useful than blink and decoy. I find that I can fight warriors and Necros very easily with those more so than with the other two.

No, you’re right. My point, however should remain on how short the cooldown is. By the time I pop MoC and begin my stomp, the guardian has a high chance of knocking me back. A 3 second stab a la distortion would be nice, making it way more reliable as well is viable in the meta.

I appreciate how much effort you put into Mesmers, Chaos, but I am not so convinced on using MoC. It fits a mantra build well, but even then – your burst is weak relative to other classes thieves. Perhaps it fits your lockdown build, but it is an unusual choice – personally I just prefer other utilities, but if it works for you great.

My bigger issue is two fold:

1) Why are your teammates relying on you for stability? Granted, in pug spvp a lot of people fail to bring appropriate stomp-utilities, and indeed forget to stomp in general. But if you are only making the case for pug pvp… well, anything works there to be honest.

2) Mesmers hardly need the additional stability to stomp – Distortion is a great stomp mechanism, and if that’s on cd, you can portal stomp or stealth stomp. Mesmers truly have few difficulties stomping. Portal stomp can even be used by your teammates if they know how, plus it still allows you to bring portal (if that fits your / your teams playstyle).

@Romek: Well there is a trait to add 600 touhness when ya charge a mantra. anf to make them AoE heal for about 2600.. plus chaos storm (especially w/ chaos armor while standing in the storm) blink phase retreat decoy distortion ect. are a few examples of the many ways to be able to securely charge a mantra.

@Mail: It is spammable though. You could use both charges for 4 secs of AoE stab on a 25 sec CD.. depending in the traits that could be boosted to 9secs of stab on a 20sec cooldown

How embarrassing. I didn’t know there was no CD in between using the mantra like with Distraction. Shame on me, considering that I main Mesmer. :P

I may check it out in that case, because 4 second AOE stab is amazing for mid fights.

if mantra’s had 4 uses on charge, then they might be useable, but they all suck atm.

There is a cd. Power break has a 2 sec cd after activation.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Power_Break