Guild Wars 2

I’m looking for a power build that isn’t afraid of fighting things like thieves. Double ranged shatter is fun, but is so glassy it often gets hard countered pretty quick.

Any suggestions?

I have the most luck with CI Lockdown staff+sw/x (pistol, focus, sword). 4/4/6/0/0 with zerk gears. Otherwise, it’s just a matter of being better than the other player.

I used to run a CI/Shatter build which was quite interesting while i was learning to play mesmer in WvW.

Soldier Armor, perplexity runes , 2 soldier trinkets, 4 zerker trinket
Zerker Staff, Sword, Pistol

Ether feast, mantra of distraction, blink and decoy

0/2/6/0/6 (dueling: phantasmal fury Chaos: Debilitating Dissipation, Bountiful Interruption and Chaotic Interruption Illusions: Masterful Reflection [rangers yo! pre-rapid fire buff I would run the confusion duration trait] Illusionary Invigoration and Illusionary Persona )

You should have around 2100 power and 600 condition damage (plex runes + 300 from illusions trait tree)

This goes pretty deep along the “get everything you can out of interrupts” path. When you land an interrupt, you will apply 5 stacks of confusion. gain 5 stacks of might and a random boon, and immobilize + blind, chill or cripple your enemy. Skills like Chaos storm on top of a group of enemy players or NPCs can frequently net you 25 stacks of might and a wide variety of other boons.
you get to be a very careful player, you don’t ever faceroll your skills because you need to score intterupts for the build to really sing. (I was using this build before MoD was an aoe spike, so in terms of balance this build has been buffed since i made it)

the Staff gives you the ability to position, even when you’re facing a class with gap- closers.

You will retain your ability to secure stomps by having Illusionary Persona. Having the F4 (distortion) available instantly is a humongous lifesaver that comes into play all the time, whether you’re getting rolled over by a zerg, or bursted by a glass cannon.

exotic soldiers stuff is available for Badges of Honor in WvW, and for Karma at the Temple of Grenth in Orr.

I use soldiers on my power mesmer with GS/SS.

If you are jumped by a thief, use the swords. Lots of survivability there, with #2 being invulnerable, #3 immobilize, and #4 block/interrupt.

When you have the chance, Moa it then spike it down with your greatsword.

1 v 1 go with lockdown simply best 1 v 1 build.
wvw go with a pu power build
spvp shatter is the way to go imo

What’s a good PU Power build?

Running a solid one here:

Sword/Pistol (Air + Doom) & Greatsword (Air + Fire sigils)
Berzerker Amulet
Rune of the Privateer

2 Domination – II (Halting Strike)
6 Duelling – II (Phantasmal Fury) IX (Duellist’s Discipline) X (Deceptive Evasion)
4 Chaos – [Optional first trait] VIII (Bountiful Interruption)
2 Inspiration – IV (Mender’s Purity)

Utilities:
Decoy / Blink / Arcane Thievery (optional)

Get the jump on fellow steath users and set up a phantasmal duellist from a healthy 1200 range, and do your best to interrupt key skills to beef up your own damage as well as your phantasm’s damage via Bountiful Interruptions (the only thing that makes me feel like a Guild Wars 1 Mesmer). Blink behind enemies to mess up their targeting, mind-wrack when you feel they’ve used up their dodges, honestly there’s a lot of room for split-second improvisation so not much for me to say here.

Power PU-4/4/6/0/0 with gs+x/torch and traited torch.Important is traited mind wrack dmg,torch,dodge clones and PU.Thou its doable without PU,minor traits give u some protection/regen and u get extra 300 toughness from trait line.PU just gives you edge,extra 1s stealth and random aegis or swiftness can be very handy.

I personally prefer scepter+torch with GS,as its more universal than sword,but sword is awesome against thieves and some other situations.On other side,its melee and you might not want to engage melee into heat of battle,thus end up siting with torch and melee wep,waiting for wep swap CD.Also i think sword is bit too predictable,at least to me it seems so,when am fighting other mesmers,or they are just too obsesed by rotations,dunno :-).

If youre still learning positioning and other classes movements and playstyles a power pu build, 4/4/6/0/0, with knights then changing to zerker when you feel more confident gives you a tonne of survivability. You wont be able to take down tanky targets but if you aim for the squishy ones you should be fine.

Its a good build to learn on because it allows you to make many mistakes because of your extra stealth time and aegis/protection.

Once you feel confident enough, take a more power oriented build because your damage in a power pu build isnt as good.

Hamster.4861:

Illusions: Masterful Reflection [rangers yo! pre-rapid fire buff I would run the confusion duration trait]

I had to do a slight necro on this thread just to thank you for this tip. I’d never even tried this trait before, but on your mention I gave it a whirl and well-timed it’s just fantastic. Thank you.

msalakka.4653:

Hamster.4861:

Illusions: Masterful Reflection [rangers yo! pre-rapid fire buff I would run the confusion duration trait]

I had to do a slight necro on this thread just to thank you for this tip. I’d never even tried this trait before, but on your mention I gave it a whirl and well-timed it’s just fantastic. Thank you.

just be careful not to reflect anything while you’re stealthed =O

enjoy making bait out of rangers =D

Power builds typically don’t have a lot of sustain. Learn how to dodge. LOL

But seriously, the best way to add some sustainability to your builds is by taking away some dps in your traits. Two ways I do this in my builds:

• Taking Manipulation CD instead of Debilitating Dissipation & Far-Reaching Manipulations instead of Phantasmal Fury. This allows for further range on your blink. I typically also take Arcane Thievery as my condi clear. If you’re running pack runes, you typically have a high enough crit for your phantasms anyway.
• Going into Inspiration lines for Mender’s purity. The extra condi clear and strengthened Ether Feast does make a difference.

I’ve also been playing a dps phantasm build that has a lot of sustain due to the Signet heal. It does excellently in unranked play. You can actually beat thieves with it if you get your phantasms out. Check it out here:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fhAQNAsaRnsISjaWqGeoB3aGJ1QO9xnRJ5gAl8TIA-TZBFABCcEAqZ/BqLD02DAAgDBAA

Number 1 thing you can do to increase survivability is to use a staff with your power build. #2 is always use energy sigils. You will have perma vigor and and extra dodge every weap swap allowing you to setup more clone body blocks/shatters. #3 Stop taking torch with power builds. The dps loss from taking the mage instead of swordsman/duelist/warlock is too great. The extra stealth is unnecessary. #4 Null field. It’s our most reliable condi clear and many power mesmers run without ANY. This is madness. Especially when null field is an aoe boon strip AND gives you a source for #5: Chaos Armor. If you take staff and null field, you can potentially have Chaos Armor up for your entire fight.

There, 5 ways to be harder to kill on power builds without sacrificing damage traits/runes etc.

Well, just for a bit of a laugh I thought I’d try 2/4/4/4/0 out – ideally it would be 0/4/4/6/0, but pvp amulet selection is kitten and without 2 points in domination my damage is not good enough.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fhAQNArcWlknpMtFpxRNcrRiqxYya65kNFFpCokhsNA-TZBEwA23fAwDA4xpAIbZACHBAA

I am honestly shocked how easy this is to play and survive. Ideally I would look to gear out for around 2600 armour to tank some hits in wvw.

Downside of course is that it takes longer to kill certain enemies, but for the most part you should get them to run away from you and not the other way round.

Learn to use Portal as it’ll save you more than you’d think against Thieves and Rangers.

phokus.8934:

Learn to use Portal as it’ll save you more than you’d think against Thieves and Rangers.

Once every 90 seconds removing you entirely from the fight?

Again, learn how to use Portal which means knowing where to place the exit and when to use it.

You’re better off disengaging and going back to a point rather than being stomped, losing points, and having to respawn.

phokus.8934:

Again, learn how to use Portal which means knowing where to place the exit and when to use it.

You’re better off disengaging and going back to a point rather than being stomped, losing points, and having to respawn.

I guess I’ve just never had a problem with disengaging without portal. What do you do when portal is on cooldown? I mean, learning to use portal isnt hard, but lessons only come a minimum of once every 90 seconds.

It’s the basics of knowing when to dodge, using the terrain to your advantage, knowing when to use Decoy, when to heal, when to Shatter for Distortion, using About Face and Phase Retreat, etc.

Admittingly, I used to use Mantra and/or Null Field but after ditching those and using Portal, I’ve learned to use more of the map rather than relying on utilities.

I just get more out of Portal for repositioning than I’d ever get with mantra or null field.

phokus.8934:

It’s the basics of knowing when to dodge, using the terrain to your advantage, knowing when to use Decoy, when to heal, when to Shatter for Distortion, using About Face and Phase Retreat, etc.

Admittingly, I used to use Mantra and/or Null Field but after ditching those and using Portal, I’ve learned to use more of the map rather than relying on utilities.

I just get more out of Portal for repositioning than I’d ever get with mantra or null field.

Playstyle preference. I’ll drop null field and use it like a poor man’s berserker stance so I can facesit someone on pt.

kodesh.2851:

phokus.8934:

It’s the basics of knowing when to dodge, using the terrain to your advantage, knowing when to use Decoy, when to heal, when to Shatter for Distortion, using About Face and Phase Retreat, etc.

Admittingly, I used to use Mantra and/or Null Field but after ditching those and using Portal, I’ve learned to use more of the map rather than relying on utilities.

I just get more out of Portal for repositioning than I’d ever get with mantra or null field.

Playstyle preference. I’ll drop null field and use it like a poor man’s berserker stance so I can facesit someone on pt.

lol, I like that – “poor man’s berserker stance”. xD

Has a certain ring to it.

I love love love Null Field. #GlamourEnthusiast

But yes, I do understand using portal to escape sticky situations. Sometimes, I’ll decap far point; wait for the 2v1; stall long enough so that other fights are +1; then portal away to help finish off the fight at mid.

phokus.8934:

It’s the basics of knowing when to dodge, using the terrain to your advantage, knowing when to use Decoy, when to heal, when to Shatter for Distortion, using About Face and Phase Retreat, etc.

Admittingly, I used to use Mantra and/or Null Field but after ditching those and using Portal, I’ve learned to use more of the map rather than relying on utilities.

I just get more out of Portal for repositioning than I’d ever get with mantra or null field.

Right so survival/disengage continues without portal.

I get taking portal for a variety of reasons, but as a disengage mechanic seems unnecessary. It might be practical (arguably as practical of a disengage as it gets) but still unnecessary.

Ross Biddle.2367:

phokus.8934:

It’s the basics of knowing when to dodge, using the terrain to your advantage, knowing when to use Decoy, when to heal, when to Shatter for Distortion, using About Face and Phase Retreat, etc.

Admittingly, I used to use Mantra and/or Null Field but after ditching those and using Portal, I’ve learned to use more of the map rather than relying on utilities.

I just get more out of Portal for repositioning than I’d ever get with mantra or null field.

Right so survival/disengage continues without portal.

I get taking portal for a variety of reasons, but as a disengage mechanic seems unnecessary. It might be practical (arguably as practical of a disengage as it gets) but still unnecessary.

I agree, portal is fun and can make for some interesting plays, but not really necessary.

Most underrated utility? Phantasmal Disenchanter.

kodesh.2851:

Ross Biddle.2367:

phokus.8934:

It’s the basics of knowing when to dodge, using the terrain to your advantage, knowing when to use Decoy, when to heal, when to Shatter for Distortion, using About Face and Phase Retreat, etc.

Admittingly, I used to use Mantra and/or Null Field but after ditching those and using Portal, I’ve learned to use more of the map rather than relying on utilities.

I just get more out of Portal for repositioning than I’d ever get with mantra or null field.

Right so survival/disengage continues without portal.

I get taking portal for a variety of reasons, but as a disengage mechanic seems unnecessary. It might be practical (arguably as practical of a disengage as it gets) but still unnecessary.

I agree, portal is fun and can make for some interesting plays, but not really necessary.

Most underrated utility? Phantasmal Disenchanter.

I think portal is one of our greatest tools in the right team, but 1+ to iDisenchanter being underrated. He offers SO much with simply one attack, let alone if he survives to get off another.