Guild Wars 2

Part 1. Mantras redesign.

New mantras are different from old ones. The main difference is: they charge over time by themselves. When mantra is equipped in a utility slot, it has a 10 seconds (needs to be adjusted for better balance) before they start charging. Each given period of time you get 1 charge, that can be used immediately. Mantras store up to 2 charges (up to 3 with trait, traits suggestions are below). If you have a maximum number of mantra charges, it cannot generate more charges. If you have 1 charge, mantra keeps charging, meaning you can use it like dodge rolls (it is pretty much endurance-like mechanic). Since there is no charge time in terms of casting a mantra skill, the cooldowns are suggested to be increased. Time between uses of charges is 0.5 seconds (even for daze mantra)

Some of the specific mantra changes are:

1) Mantra of recovery – aka healing mantra

Stores a charge every 12 seconds. Healing amount is the same as before. Traits and runes that proc on-heal effects occur when mantra is used, not when charges appear. The most of them have internal cooldown, so there is no point to abuse them.
This change allows you to quick get your HP up without being interrupted with 2-3 quick casts or consistent healing every 12 seconds.

2) Mantra of pain – aka mantra that deals damage

Stores a charge every 5 seconds (actually i feel like it should be 7-10s, it is up to developers and balance issues). Damage is the same.
This chance can be used to quickly burst an enemy or to, lets say, break the aegis boon to land something else. I feel like it can be actually useful compared to the old state of it, when you have way more dps if you spam 1 rather then charge-discharge mantra.

3) Mantra of resolve – aka condition cleansing mantra

Stores a charge every 24 seconds. Removes 2 condition on activation on you and 4 nearby allies (down from 5) in 240 radius.
This one is actually good in it’s current state, but it can be better. Thus mesmers will have a decent condition removal, with no need to charge/have a target/have a nullfield and wait in it for 2 ticks/whatever other inconvenient condition removals are.

4) Mantra of distraction – aka mantra that daze

Stores a charge every 36 seconds. Daze a target for 1 second.
The main issue there – to make a cooldown between uses longer than suggested 0.5 seconds or not. In my opinion, if it has 0.5 seconds cooldown, it is not owerpowered since daze duration is 2 times more than recharge time, so it will be inefficient to spam it. This change will encourage more lockdown gameplay (it requires skill – better for players to get more satisfaction from playing).

5) Mantra of concentration

Stores a charge every 30 seconds. Grants a stability for 2.5 (up from 2) seconds to you and 4 allies (down from 5) in 240 radius, breaks stun.
The main and the only source of reliable stability. Mesmers need one.

Mantra related traits

1) Harmonious mantras

Mantras now can store one more charge, up to maximum of 3.

2) Mantra mastery

Reducing mantra charging time by 20% (time which takes to get 1 charge).

3) Protected mantras

Old: increases toughness while channeling mantras.
New:
option A – you gain a random boon when receiving a mantra charge (1 stack of might 10s, fury 5s, regen 5s, protection 3s, retaliation 5s, swiftness 5s, vigor 5s), new trait name is required.
option B – gain 20 toughness for each mantra charge missing (max. amount with 12 charges – 240 toughness).

4) Restorative mantras

Old: heal allies when you cast a mantra.
New: grants 5 seconds of regeneration on using a mantra charge. Cooldown 10 seconds.

5) Empowering mantras

Gain 4% damage bonus for 5 seconds after using a mantra charge. Increase damage done by 1% for each mantra charge you have (4% damage bonus should not stack, it should refresh itself on spending a mantra charge).

That’s it for mantras. Now let’s take a look at other balance suggestions.

Part 2. Traits balance suggestions.

Domination (Power, Condition Duration)

Shattered Concentration Shatter skills also remove 2 boons (up from 1) on hit. This change will possibly make shatter builds more viable at wvw large scale fights. It will be very strong in small fights since all shatters are likely to be concentrated on 1 target. To change or not is the question here.

Confusing Enchantments Glamour skills cause confusion to foes who enter or exit their areas. In my opinion, this trait has no place in power based trait line, so I suggest to move it to Chaos trait line as master trait (swap with the Cleansing Inscriptions trait). At least Chaos has some sort of condition damage amplifier (minor grandmaster trait).

Cleansing Conflagration Torch skills remove 2 conditions (up from 1). Reduces recharge on torch skills. Just a small improvement to mesmers’ condition removals, not necessary but useful change.

Dueling (Precision + Critical Damage)

Confusing Combatants Your illusions cause confusion to foes around them when they are killed. Useless trait in my opinion, since dueling trait line doesn’t benefit confusion at all. Changes to this trait are welcome to be heard from other players.

Deceptive Evasion Create a clone at your current position when you dodge. Nerf to this trait are not implemented yet. Any changes to this trait will result in drastic reduction in power of on-illusion-death traits, making them barely useful both in PvE and PvP. We need new set of traits instead of present on-illusion-death traits, suggestions from other players are welcome.

Furious Interruption Gain 10% bonus damage for you and your phantasms when you interrupt a foe. This change will encourage clever use of interrupts as well as giving players who invest 30 points into Dueling an option to play non-mantra glass cannon build.

Chaos (Toughness + Boon Duration)

Illusionary Membrane Gain protection when you gain regeneration. In my opinion, should work only in combat.

Mirror of Anguish When disabled (stun, daze, knockback, knockdown, sink, float, fear, or launch), you mirror the disabling effect back to its source. Either cooldown should be reduced (to 40 seconds) or this trait should block CC effect while mirroring it back to its source, while maintaining the same cooldown.

Cleansing Inscriptions Activating a signet removes a condition. Move to Domination trait line as Master trait (swap with Confusing Enchantments trait) to make signet traits less scattered.

Inspiration (Vitality + Healing Power)

Vengeful Images Grants retaliation to Phantasms. Retaliation duration is suggested to increase to 10 seconds.

Mender’s Purity Remove a condition when you heal. Implement the internal cooldown (5 seconds) due to the mantra rework suggestion mentioned above.

Illusions (Condition Damage + Shredding Recharge Rate)

Illusionary Retribution All Shatter skills inflict confusion. Merge with the trait Illusionary Persona

Illusionary Persona Now a minor grandmaster trait. Shattering illusions creates the shatter effect on you as well. All shatter skills inflict confusion.

Illusionists Celerity Reduces recharge on illusion-summoning skills. Move to adept tier. Possibly needs nerf down to 10% in case of becoming a minor adept trait again.

Shattered Strength Shattering illusions grants you might per illusion. Move to master minor trait spot.

Confusing Cry Cry of Frustration grants retaliation. Make it possible to get retaliation without illusions up (via Illusionary Persona). Description says "Cry of Frustration grants retaliation, but not “Shattering illusions via Cry of Frustration grants retaliation”. Retaliation duration decreased to 3 seconds (down from 5), in total of 3 × 4 = 12 seconds with 3 clone + Illusionary persona shatter.

Masterful Reflection Distortion grants reflection. This trait does not affect distortion granted by Blurred Inscriptions trait (1 second of distortion on activating a signet) -> needs a fix.

Dazzling Glamours Glamour skills blind foes at target location. Glamour skills should blind foes at a certain rate, other than on placing glamour skill (trait description doesn’t say “on placing glamour skill”).

Blinding Befuddlement Cause confusion when you blind a foe. Remove internal cooldown. Confusion builds are dead since 50% nerf, it is an attempt to bring it back somehow.

That’s it.

If you agree with these changes, please leave a comment. If you don’t, tell me why and what can developers do to make mesmers better.
Thanks to those people, who read the entire text.

Arret Vice.5872:

4) Mantra of distraction – aka mantra that daze

Stores a charge every 36 seconds. Daze a target for 1 second.
The main issue there – to make a cooldown between uses longer than suggested 0.5 seconds or not. In my opinion, if it has 0.5 seconds cooldown, it is not owerpowered since daze duration is 2 times more than recharge time, so it will be inefficient to spam it. This change will encourage more lockdown gameplay (it requires skill – better for players to get more satisfaction from playing).

That alone will kill off Lockdown specs. One daze every 36s? Now we have 2 (3 with Mastery) on a 30s CD.

Marsares.2053:

One daze every 36s? Now we have 2 (3 with Mastery) on a 30s CD.

It is 2/3 on 36s cd, each charge like dodge roll (you have 2, you use 1 → you have 1 remaining and 1 charging up)

Those changes would remove all of redeeming factors Mantras have, whilst nerfing their already sub par baseline, pretty much nullifying all of their traits and taking more active play and turning it passive.

In summary:

Dear god no.

Hell No, mantras are good the way they are now.
May be just reduce cast time 0,5 sec

No!
No!

The basic idea with mantra is that the mesmer neeed to concentrate to have the effect at the end. So if their concentration is interrupted they have to channel it again. It doesn’t make sense for mantra to work like that.

Right now it also promotes skillful plays since if you are good enough to recharge a mantra (beside mantra of pain) in middle of a battle right when it’s off cooldown and not get interrupted, you are rewarded because mantras have really low cooldown for the powerful instant-effects they give.

If anything its channel time should be reduced like suggested or its effect should be much stronger, making it a high risk high reward skill instead of a high risk medium reward skill.

What Candy said.
Mantras are at their heart very simple effects. They feature a very lengthy casting time, in return for delaying the – then instant – effect discharge. This allows a Mesmer to walk into a fight with a fully frontloaded kitten nal of Mantra effects but, once discharged, suffer a rather low throughput as the long recast times factor into the total power.

If at all, I’d go back to a single charge setup. I mind the weak effects the Mantras have nowadays. I’d rework Harmonious Mantras to instead of granting an extra charge allow me to skip the Mantra-CD if I recast it right there and then (say, within 3-5 seconds of using the charge). Otherwise, Mantra goes on normal CD and I have to wait until I can recharge it.

Anyhow the point is: I think mechanically Mantras work. They need balance, and personally I dislike the multi-charge, but the basic idea is fine.

Oh, and as a bonus, they’re unbalanced in 1v1. Since I think 1v1 is a player-constructed game mode a game like GW2 cannot be balanced for, anything which cements balance not revolving around it is a good thing.

Since we’re talking about mantra’s I guess I throw in my own thoughts on some changes for the traits of it:

Let CS make the mantra of distraction become aoe 360 radius around the selected target. Make dazes 15% longer with CS too and 25% chance to stun. Have 25 trait of domination also 15% longer dazes.

Make chaos storm have 66% chance to proceed daze and just let it give conditions if it dazes too. The conditions it does are pretty kitten anyway.

Chaotic interruption needs to have different conditions besides cripple/ chilled. Make it 2 confusion stacks, blind and weakness (or chilled)

Imbued diversion to master trait and make it work with IP.
Blinding Befuddlement no cooldown, moved to grandmaster trait.

Shattered Strength (25 illusions), gain 2 stacks of might per shattered illusion.
Or! Gain 1 stack might per shattered illusion for 8 seconds and 3 seconds fury.

PU: Cloaking skills last 1 second longer , and you gain a random boon when you are cloacked.
Aegis/Protection/Regen (3 -> 2 second)

Furius interruption: Gain quickness when you interrupt a foe.
Quickness (3s): skills and actions are 50% faster.
Idk, make it reworked something to:

When you interrupt a foe, the next time you charge a mantra it will be charged instantly. (So no casting time/ or 0.5 sec casting time.)
Effect remains for 10 seconds after the interruption.

Something like the VII trait in air of eles. (+10% crit damage after using arcane skills for 15 seconds.)

Restorative Illusions: Heal yourself and up to 4 allies when you shatter illusions. Make it work in combination with IP.

Sharper Images: Bleeding 6s -> 5s

Just throwing some kitten in!