Guild Wars 2

For every MMO I play, I always play a mage class. I’ve narrowed it down to elementalist and mesmer. I played spiritmaster on Aion and I’ve enjoyed it in both PvE AND PvP… what do you like and dislike about elementalist and mesmer classes?

mesmer.

I like the ele better but the mesmer is easier.
Even an expereinced mmo’er will find both classes difficult to initially fight multiple mobs however the ele can be harder if you are expecting to play a mage.

Mesmer has those nice illusions to soak up damage and agro as well, whereas Elementalist you HAVE to be on your toes continuously.

Also memorizing your 4 spell sets per weapon for each attunement and knowing when and where to switch elements adds an additional learning curve. I myself still haven’t gotten the hang of it. :P

If I understand correctly, the spiritmaster in Aion is more akin to a necromancer in many other MMO’s, so in that sense the necromancer in this game would be similar. Necro’s tend to have strong boon (buff) removal and condition (debuff) based builds, while also having various types of summons.

Of the two options listed, mesmer probably plays more like spiritmaster. For Elementalist one of the most popular builds is D/D, which doesn’t feel much like a caster really. You’re more like a flashy melee. Granted this applies to all casters (all of them have at least some melee weapons).

Either class you pick will have a slow start. Mesmer doesn’t really start getting nice until 40 (when you can unlock second tier traits), and I can’t remember when I started feeling more powerful on my Ele. Early on it felt like any time I agro’d more than 1-2 mobs things just fell apart.

Someone asked this recently in the mesmer forum:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/More-Endgame-Potential-Mesmer-or-Ele

Funny thing is that many (myself included) recommended the elementalist for a more casual approach.
The mesmer requires active defense, but a d/d elementalist can be tanky due to its higher number of condition removals and healing. (this is an oversumplification.)

It kinda depends on what kind of style you want to play. But both are fun.

The mesmer has more viable builds than the elementalist.

If you want to play “Mage like” I’d be tempted reccomend a mesmer. If you’re happy to go D/D elementalist though I would pick the ele.

i tried both and stuck with my elementalist. I struggled at 1st but the attunement swapping just ‘clicked’ around level 25 and now its great fun

Both are fun, I have both because I occasionally get bored of one and then enjoy the other. I am only referring to my personal experiences in PvE:

Early game was definitely easier as a Mesmer in my opinion. Their clones/phantasm/illusions stuff can be quite interesting. In PvE I do find the class becomes a bit of a repetitive chore. However they have niche uses and people seem to like them in dungeons for various portal/stealth related reasons. They are generally seen as a strong profession though. Note that you may come off worst in zerg fests, where your skills come out too slowly to ‘tag’ mobs.

Eles I found to be a late bloomer class. I think they become much better once you start making headway with traits and gear. So about level 30 onwards. They have a good mix of offensive and supportive abilities. I do think that there are fewer ‘viable’ builds for an ele, but they’re still pretty cool

In PvE their learning curve is basically learning about attunement swapping and making the most of your combo fields and finishers. Not attunement swapping effectively will make it seem like the class is underpowered, which can lead to frustration. So they can be very fiddly at first!

Personally I’d make both and see which you prefer. Bearing in mind, you’re likely to get a pretty skewed view of how the class functions in the early levels, because they don’t really begin to shine until later on. It will let you experience the class mechanics though. So maybe just have a play around and see what you like.

I have both and I still cannot decide They are like lv 55. When I get bore of Ele I go Mesmer and vise versa. Elementalist can engage multiple mobs with the same effectiveness as if it was one mob. The problem with Mesmer is if your target dies, the illusions die too and you are vulnerable to attacks. However this is remedied by the trait that gives clone spawn on dodge.

Both classes are totally fine.

P.S. And on Mesmer you will miss the variety of combo fields for ele

If you like AOE damage, then I would suggest elementalist. I can handle a group of mobs safely and easily using all the AOE spells.

Glyph of storm in earth attunment will be your friend when farming with AOE, its blindness effect is your key for survival.

My best AOE combos when against at least 6-7 mobs at the same time:
Glyph of storm (Earth) > Eruption > Frost bow Ice Storm > Eruption again > Meteor Shower > Lava Font > Frozen Ground to slow mobs attack > Ice Strike > Second Frost bow Ice Storm again and repeat the cycle…..if mobs are still alive, but it is quite unlikely.

I am 30 earth/ 20 water/20 arcane, so I am quite tanky

For soloing, get the elemental summons and quick glyphs. The earth variants are awesome tanks, and they generate aggro like nobody’s business.

The mesmer may have clones, but they can neither take damage nor generate aggro as well as Ol’ Mr. Stoney.

I have both at 80 and glad I went mesmer first but depends on how you want to play. If you want to hang back with a group mainly and do big aoes I’d say elementalist. If you want to solo/duo more then mesmer. Both classes must be actively played but mesmer doesnt make you work as hard and is pretty cool in its own right.

Note: unless you play staff elementalist is not a traditional mage!!

I wanted to know the exact same question, wondering which of the two would go best with Ranger.
Still have decided yet because Ele would supplements rangers lack of AOE (other than traps) but Mesmer is such a great support profession.

Well, Mesmers have butterflies

Mesmer shatter build is OP, lots of dmg, confusion/reflect/daze, stealth, quickness, huge stacks of might, you can destroy everything in this game with this build, and easily one shot people in pvp.

I’m actualy leveling a D/D elementalist and it’s more a melee mage, with tons of mobility and healing.

You should try them both in spvp. And take a look at Osicat thread on mesmer forum. You will be amazed by the OPness of the class.