Guild Wars 2

This is a mesmer topic, but I don’t want to post it in the mesmer forum because people will give me answers on why it is good in WvW, which obviously I can theoretically understand (even though I don’t play that).

In sPvP and tPvP, the goal is to hold a point or to capture a point. I’ve played around with various builds and have decided that other classes can hold a point better than a mesmer can due to stability buffs, for one, and two, mesmer has to use 20 in inspiration for healing mantras to heal other than using the heal skill (and those are EASILY interrupted with 3 seconds of time to do so). Mesmer gets to use either condition removal and heals or it can have damage/stealth.

So, stealth doesn’t let you hold a point. Furthermore, to benefit from this trait, you need to stack all 4 stealth abilites because going 30 into this line for this trait is dumb if you are only benefiting from the ability that often. That means you have little in regards to condition removal or damage or boon removal.

So basically you can stealth around and have these boons pop up on you while you’re stealthed. Even if you use the stealth time to reposition to “trick” your opponents (and let’s be honest, how many people genuinely get fooled by this these days?), you’re still completely built around stealth abilities. The one-hand sword has to be the worst with this build because it’s obvious which one you are no matter how much you think you’re mimicing clones, and you don’t do damage or support.

I fail to see the point of this trait and why people are raving over it. I usually play a support mesmer, so maybe I don’t think like the burst mesmers do (a playstyle, I find uninteresting and overplayed that I can’t counter with the other roles a mesmer is supposed to be able to play because burst in this game is better than any other role).

Answer: you shouldnt, it’s rubbish.

Unfortunately this game has a ton of trait/traitlines that completely pale in front of others.

I agree
I mean, I look through the mesmer trait lines, and there is such a small number of playstyles that actually work it is depressing.
What is the point of being buffed while in stealth? The buffs don’t last long enough to do much when you’re out of stealth. Are these supposed to protect us while we are in stealth? Wait, so then stealth abilities are admittedly poor because you’re not allowed to attack but still take tons of damage?

1) I’ve tried the confusion builds with the glamours. These are a joke because everyone is running condition removal for bleed stacking.
2) I’ve tried reflection builds. These don’t even do enough damage before you die yourself unless you combine it with a confusion build and the ranger (only class that will die) is dumb enough to shoot himself to death—this may have worked in October, but not in January. People know what to expect from mesmers and don’t fall for our tricks.
3) I’ve tried bunker holder build (nerfed with the protection/regeneration nerf). It sucked then because people could just interrupt you while casting a mantra and you’re screwed.
4) I’ve tried boon removal build, which lacks due to inadequate condition removal or stealth abilities AND inadequate damage. This build is modifiable to varying degrees of boon removal specialty though.
5) The various cheese-burst style builds that capitalize on bleed stacking from Illusionary Duelist and Illusionary Berserker. These are great if you can run around like a monkey executing your uncounterable lock-down combo, something this game was marketed as not having. If I wanted an uncounterable lock-down combo playstyle, I’d go play Aion Online as a sorcerer or spiritmaster. Or one of those WoW rogue stun-lock builds they used to have when I played that game. Those games also had 1-shot wonder builds, which this game also advertised itself as not having, but look, it’s here. Thieves and mesmers can 2 shot you, and you can’t do kitten about it.
6) I’ve tried the “interrupt” build, which has to be the LEAST viable build in spite of all the NUMEROUS traits available that benefit you when you interrupt someone.
7) Signets are a joke. Does anyone use these in pvp? Why are there so many random traits in various trait lines for signets? No one uses them. I tried to use them, and they failed.
8) Mantras are a joke outside of mantra of resolve and mantra of daze. Mantra of stability: wait why would anyone take this? What can I use 2.5 seconds of stability for? I’d rather take decoy or blink.
9) No one does phantasm builds anymore because of the illusionary membrane nerf. It’s not like they were pvp viable either unless no one is focus firing you.