Guild Wars 2

I really enjoy the staff on my mesmer (level 60). I have spent hours reading about different mesmer builds and it appears that no one even mentions the staff anymore.

My play style is mostly pve with a little wvwvw tossed in. Are there any staff builds that are not kitten for this play style?

Of all the classes I have played, the mesmer is by far the most complicated for me and I still have a lot of learning to do, so I am pretty ignorant still on the differant builds.

Thanks for any input.

duradrinx.2685:

I really enjoy the staff on my mesmer (level 60). I have spent hours reading about different mesmer builds and it appears that no one even mentions the staff anymore.

My play style is mostly pve with a little wvwvw tossed in. Are there any staff builds that are not kitten for this play style?

Of all the classes I have played, the mesmer is by far the most complicated for me and I still have a lot of learning to do, so I am pretty ignorant still on the differant builds.

Thanks for any input.

I’ve heard some good feedback on my paladin 1.0 build (see my signature). It was designed as a boon sharing support build (great for dungeons) but is nice and tanky, dealing decent damage which makes it great for solo as well – see the different solo/group builds. You can go with more of a damage or armor focus purely based on your ability to survive/evade, etc. With the “more power” version you can really dish it while maintaining a high regeneration rate. I run that very successfully all the time in dungeons.

Does running a regular phantasm build and sticking a staff on count as a staff build?

Yeah, sword/focus & staff with zerker gear and phantasm specced can pretty much take on any pve content. Great for dungeons as well.

My favourite staff build for dungeons:

Love using Mesmer? Love playing support? Introducing the:

CHAOS MAESTRO

Dramatic, I know, but it got your attention didn’t it? It’s an appropriate title, both lore-wise and given that though it seems as if you’re just casting spells randomly, you’re actually picking and choosing whatever boon/condition you need for any situation.

Mesmer? Support?
I’ve had the opportunity to speak with several other more popular support classes and compare data. I can confidently say that Mesmer support is up there with Guardians, Elementalists, and Engineers in regards to boons, healing, and other utilities while being able to quickly adapt to many situations with unique skills like Portal, Feedback, and Signet of Inspiration.

But how useful could that be if Mesmer boons do not last long?
In most cases it does not matter how long they last (they DO last long here, though), but how often you can keep them up. A competent Maestro will always have his allies:
-Moving faster(Swiftness)
-Dodging twice as often(Vigor)
-Constantly healing – resisting bleeds/burns (Regeneration)
-Doing more damage than normal (Might&Fury)
Among a myriad of other things without being forced to require a major damage sacrifice.

How do I do it?
Staff, 20 Chaos / 15 Inspiration (III), 45% boon duration, and Signet of Inspiration. These ingredients are the core of the Maestro build.

PROS
- The more the merrier
The more enemies are near, the stronger you become. The more allies are near, the more impressive you look compounding their boons.
- Strong regeneration (300-350per tick) and burst heals
With Mantras, we can heal 2800HP every 3 and a quarter(3¼) seconds. In that time, Regeneration would’ve ticked three times(900-1050HP) Allowing us to heal for nearly 4000HP every3 seconds.
- Able to provide nearly EVERY BOON everytime you cast Signet of Inspiration.
Out staff alone can grant 6 of the 9 boons in the game. When played properly, every 2nd Chaos Storm will provide every boon except Stability for atleast 5 seconds.
- High defense with strong reflective abilities.
/dance While enemies own themesleves off your retaliation and projectile reflection.
/dance Even if they don’t, because they probably can’t kill you anyway.
- Persistent Combo Field Generation
Ethereal Fields are almost exclusively provided by Mesmers, and Chaos Armor is one of the greatest buffs.
- Versatile trait selection.
The build is flexible enough to add your own flavor, ‘cuz not everyone wants to be a carbon copy.

CONS
- Below average damage output.
The other Mesmer-types (Shatter, Confusion, ect.) will still out-damage you.
- Communication is Key.
It is much harder to assist people when they don’t know how you help them

In battle, your attention will be on preserving teammates rather than finding the best place to directly do damage. You’ll be preoccupied with constantly staying near allies to supply them with boons and heals while controlling enemy attacks with mass reflects, dazes, and pulls. The larger the group, the more powerful you become, using interrupts, heals, and sigils to easily gain 20+ might stacks ontop of your considerable defense.

In addition to being able to apply any boon you want whenever you want, perhaps the most unique strength of this build is it’s ability to apply every boon at the same time (For now, we’ll call it the Boon Storm.) to up to five people. Every minute.

(Warning: This build takes practice and communication. If you are new to the Mesmer class, I would not recommend it.)

Here is the full build and guide, and here is the video, if thats more your thing.

Bunda.2691:

Yeah, sword/focus & staff with zerker gear and phantasm specced can pretty much take on any pve content. Great for dungeons as well.

except ive officially taken off the focus for pistol now that traveler runes are available. However im running the same build, minus just changed the focus trait. I can still turn it on for any dungeon that has heavy projectiles and put the focus back on but with feedback im fine

For me I keep every single mesmer weapon in my inventory, just in case. I use the staff often, most of the time in harder situations or against bosses. I love the staff more than the gs (playstyle) but gs gives more aoe damage but also lacks in utility.