Q:
Hello all, before I begin let me give you some background so you could better assist me. Sorry if it appears to be a wall of text
I have Muscular Dystrophy which makes physical tasks quite strenuous or impossible to carry out, so I use an On-Screen Keyboard (OSK). Attached is a picture so it is easier to understand. This means I can only do one thing at a time since I have to click everything. Therefore, I suck at 1. ground targeting because it takes time to click somewhere on the client after already clicking the keybinding on the OSK (that option in Settings doesn’t work because the default mouse location is directly under your character, not your target), and 2. melee because I cannot move while using skills (quite huge in sPvP lol).
My first character was an 80 Ele. In WvWvW in a zerg/besieging keeps with a staff & full berserker gear I feel very useful. Meteor Shower + Ice Bow #4 + Ice Bow #4 from another player that picked it up lol placed atop a keep I usually get 4-6 bags. In a straight up zerg, it’s kinda unfair the aoe I can do and bags/badges I can get. I think the only thing better would be a necro spreading conditions. In sPvP & PvE it is quite different though. In sPvP staff or scepter/x are not too good because, even if I didn’t have trouble ground targeting, ppl move out of aoe instantly lol. D/D is very strong atm and requires minimal use of ground targeting, but it is a melee spec . Yes, it kills me haha. In PvE my aoe really helps with speed runs but afterwards, because basically everything is ground targeted, I get physically fatigued tbh.
My main is now my 80 Ranger. I go cleric bunker with Sword+Dagger/Longbow. One thing that is super cool about this spec is I can effectively play melee for the first time in any mmo! The sword autoattack is a 3 part chain and 2 out of the 3 attacks are leaps which means I’ll more or less always be in melee range, eliminating my movement problem so I can just focus on skill rotation/strategy. My experience has been kind of the polar opposite of my Ele. In PvE I am very durable and offer great support with Healing Spring, combo fields, pet buffs, etc. In sPvP I can truly bunker every class, sometimes 2v1, except good mesmers because I find you guys very hard to target. In WvWvW I don’t feel as useful and I don’t get as many tags as my Ele, but I do have my niche uses. I can send my pet up keep walls to destroy siege or, if I blow 3 cds, can have my Jaguar down any1 I wish. They usually get revived immediately before being defeated, but sometimes no1 is around and I actually do get loot lol. Also, LB #5 Barrage is ok for not only tagging, but as a zerg-wide aoe cripple.
I recently began experimenting with the Mesmer in the Mists and decided I definitely want to level it next, even though I hate pink lol. Sword looks doable (in PvE at least) because of the leap and it doesn’t look like that’s a primary weapon anyway. GS #3 has a moderately long cd so I should be fine using that as well. Overall it’s mostly ranged which is what I’m looking for. I want to feel useful, feel more survivable than a glass cannon Ele (easy request :P), and, although this sounds selfish, I want to aoe/tag things to get more loot in WvWvW more effectively than my Ranger.
I would like some thoughtful insight from the Mesmer community as to what I should expect in the 3 game types. Is this the right class for me/can it meet my expectations above?
I’ve researched many builds but they don’t really explain the idea behind it nor how things synergize with each other. Could you guys please link (and explain preferably) some of the more “tried and tested” builds including what stat priority for each? I know there is one that uses high condition damage, with a staff I believe? And a glass cannon one where your phantasms do most of your damage right? Is there one with GS/Staff? I like the idea of having two 1200 range weapons!
It took an awfully long time to type this so I’m hoping for some good feedback Any1 who tells me to roll Warrior will be /slapped haha