Guild Wars 2

Please offer any tactics you may have to counter Mesmer Portal. Last night I was defending Briar (SW) in an opposing server’s location. Doing successfully I might add with a pair of arrow carts and a balista. Keeping the half dozen or so at bay and knocking down their catapults and flame rams. Then all of a sudden, I am zerg’d by a dozen behind me on the wall. At first I felt stupid because I thought that they took at a wall behind me. But it was intact and I was just beside myself wondering what I did wrong.

Then it hit me… mesmer portal. My guildmate confirmed it for me. Mesmer portal on the north/east side. He saw it happen at the last second.

So with this game changing ability, how do you defend against it? I know there have been outcries against it and others defend it. I do not care about whether it should be gone or not, but there should be a way to stop it in GW2.

This game prides itself on everything having a counter. Can’t destroy gate? Try a wall. Cant take down a keep? Destroy camp and draw them out. Team has map dominance? Break up into small groups and take out harrass their camps.

There are tactics for everything, but what stops the Mesmer Portal?

Panning your camera.

Nothing can stop the portal other than rupting the Mesmer.

Once the portal is down all you can do it AoE bodyslam anything that comes through.
I love my guardian for this.

Reaper of Grenth keeps them balled.

As above poster said. Best “counter” (it’s not really a true counter though) is probably awareness and getting away from the portal or moving your groups in a way so that when the enemy portal in you melt them first before they bring their entire melt and melt you.

RvR is about bringing the melt, in my humble opinion. Whether it’s in zergs or highly organized smaller squads, the melt’s got to be brought somehow as efficiently as possible and that’s how you win and wipe the opposition.

PS. For those of you who don’t know. Melt equals an area where the damage output is as high as possible. Usually it’s a group of players spamming AoE in any way possible, whether it is with abilities or siege weaponry.

sweep your keeps/tower etc after you take it or a wall or gate been breached and kill any mesmer you see

also a mesmer have to place the 2nd portal within 60second of placing the first, and within a certain distance, so if they want to get past both walls in a keep they likely have to have the entrance hug the outer walls outside for them to work. SO if they placed one and you can keep them occupied for 60 seconds the portal goes down

It’s pretty bad with a breached wall – but the Mesmer has to get into your keep, to a position to drop the portal than hop over the wall and create the other one. Once the portal is open there’s a time window of 10 -12 seconds (never mind the skill description – it’s plain wrong) in which the portal can be used.

So … let’s break that down a bit …

(1) Once there is a breach – however short it may be – there is a chance that a Mesmer will slip through. Invisibility is short for a Mesmer and once (or if) ANet manages to get rid of the culling problem it will be apparent just HOW short it actually is. So if a breach is imminent pepper the area that will be exposed with arrow carts – even if the Memser uses Blink he’ll be slowed when he moves to his intended position.

(2) If a breach is about to happen have people watch steps and walls for a Mesmer to appear or a portal to appear.. It’s a really nice thing if those watchers had interrupts or high dps to down the Mesmer.

(3) You should also have watchers who watch enemy movement. Because of the narrow time window it’s usual to pre-cluster (usually around the commander) and the Mesmer hops into the balled group. So if your watcher sees the enemies ball up you have warning that a portal attack is planned.

(4) If not all of your Siege engines point towards the door but you have some that cover the walls as well …

Being a Mesmer myself it sometimes amazes me that once I blinked through the AoE I can at times walk up the stairs to my location without ANYONE attacking me …

Lay AOE’s and pray only 5 people take the portal and not an entire army of 30+

Mikitten058:

Lay AOE’s and pray only 5 people take the portal and not an entire army of 30+

Lol this is entirely true.

The defending zerg would have to be aware that a portal bomb is currently in progress. The defenders need to roll away from the portal while keeping AoE attacks on the portal exit. This is done because as soon as the enemies come out of the portal they will be spamming AoE so you want to be at max range if possible. If you have any siege you are going to want the siege spamming the AoE portal exits because they are not limited by caps on max targets. After that it is an invisible zerg that everyone tab targets while spamming AoE on those targets and hope you win

Sweep the tower after an attack, spread your forces and siegee so you’re not concentrated in 1 area. Be aware.

Awareness is probably the best protection. Keep your distance from the portal. Reflects are very nice and having 5 superior ballistas firing into the mass doesn’t hurt either. But in all reality if AOE’s are limited to 5 so should portals.