Guild Wars 2

I want to start doing dynamic events with larger groups with my Mesmer, but without needing to be in a party to share loot.

Do you think it is at all possible to obtain consistent drops as a solo mesmer in a zerg environment? If so, what type of build do you use? Are high end runes/sigils necessary?

I’ve tried all the different types of weapons and switched my traits around multiple times, but I just can’t find one that seems to have any consistent advantage.

Any recommendations? Thanks!

As a main mesmer I use this at WvW zerg environment. http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fFAQFAWA8RBsDAlCA
Works pretty well

Did you mean to link an elementalist build?

Penarddun.6827:

Did you mean to link an elementalist build?

you got trolled ^^(I think^^)

trolling aside… since you ask a reasonable question…
Mesmers aren’t super strongin zergy situations right now. Our utility skills offer our most tangible benefits… veil, feedback, and sometimes portal are all pretty handy.

There are a few general builds I’d investigate before you make a decision.

First, a PU build. Something like X/4/6/X/X with Prismatic understanding, clone-on-dodge, and a focus on stealth. Your damage will be low, but your survival will be high. Check the forums out for links to good builds for power or condition versions.

Next, a standard shatter build (2/4/X/X/6) with the last 2 in domination or chaos. Pretty strong, but clones die easily so your shatters won’t always get off. I personally enjoy this one with GS and Staff, allowing me to stay at range and pick off targets, setting up a big ole shatter when someone gets close.

Finally, interrupt builds are pretty good too. Maybe using 4/4/4/0/0 as a base. It’s not too hard to get off a few interrupts in large battles as long as you find some folks who aren’t running stability. Interrupts mitigate damage to your team, weaken your enemies, and provide you some useful and powerful buffs.

Some other builds like mantras and phantasms can work as well, though I haven’t had good experiences with them in large battles, personally.

Something I think everyone is missing here:

OP mentioned zerging for dynamic events. This is not a WvW question

Zerging is fairly straightforward IMO.

If you want to support, go glamour or mantra. These are weak and very niche Mesmers that are boring or tedius to play.

If you want to flank and play like a Thief, go direct damage PU or shatter. These are generally very fun Mesmers to play and flexible in battle. The best part is that traveler runes synergize great with PU.

If you want to tag and provide a little wider range of damage, go AoE condition/torment specs. These Mesmers can be fun to play but unfortunetly suffer from rune and sigil limitations to truly live up to their full potential. Torment runes are even more expensive than travelers and you’re still gonna move like a sloth.

If you want to be absolutely useless, go phantasm. This Mesmer is a strong duelist… in sPvP. In WvW zerging those phantasms pop faster than kittening bubbles.

Its doesnt really matter if its PvE or WvW, the mechanics are the same, though the reason for failures may be a little different. Phantasm builds for example are great single target but often mediocre against larger groups. Shatter and PU are still the most fun builds to run in PvE as well. AoE condition builds work (torment does not), but conditions in general is in a poor state in PvE.

Dawdler.8521:

Zerging is fairly straightforward IMO.

If you want to support, go glamour or mantra. These are weak and very niche Mesmers that are boring or tedius to play.

If you want to flank and play like a Thief, go direct damage PU or shatter. These are generally very fun Mesmers to play and flexible in battle. The best part is that traveler runes synergize great with PU.

If you want to tag and provide a little wider range of damage, go AoE condition/torment specs. These Mesmers can be fun to play but unfortunetly suffer from rune and sigil limitations to truly live up to their full potential. Torment runes are even more expensive than travelers and you’re still gonna move like a sloth.

If you want to be absolutely useless, go phantasm. This Mesmer is a strong duelist… in sPvP. In WvW zerging those phantasms pop faster than kittening bubbles.

Maybe you missed what I said:

Fay.2357:

Something I think everyone is missing here:

OP mentioned zerging for dynamic events. This is not a WvW question

Thanks for the responses. I do mean mostly PvE events (although the few times I’ve done WvW it was only slightly better than my PvE experience), so I could use recommendations for both.

I’ll try to be a little more specific with what I tend to experience and maybe that will help narrow down the answers.

Staying alive is never really an issue, unless I fling myself next to a champion with an AOE effect and forget to dodge. I usually try to tag the mobs that have the most health, so that I can get in a reasonable percent of damage, but everyone else does so much damage so quickly that I don’t end up making the percent requirement to get any loot. This is all during random running around during dynamic events that don’t have a high health champion. I do get loot from bosses about 50% of the time because it takes enough time to kill them that I’m able to build up my damage over time.

I’ve never been a fan of shattering (except when I use it to apply torment), but if that is something that is successful in larger group events I could work on getting more comfortable with it. Personally, I find the greatsword awkward but that’s just my playstyle I think. Do any specific weapons work better in large groups?

I haven’t really invested in any decent runes/sigils yet. Could that alone make the difference? Other than traveler (which is nice for the speed bonus at #6), are there any others that come to mind?

I use sword+focus/GS with 6/6/0/0/2 to maximize my own damage. When I’m dealing with mobs (eg. Foulbear’s minions) I use gs+shatter to tag a bit more. I also use focus to pull mobs together then use iWarden against veteran or mobs with highest hp (or just shatter that iWarden if he misbehaves like a bad boy).

Against champion bosses I just sent out phantasms and auto-attack/blurr frenzy.

A bit boring I know, but I swap builds from time to time to keep myself interested. Sometimes I try standard shatter, sometimes I try reflect. I even try the obscure new GM traits. To me, no one is really picking on your choice of weapon or utilities in open world champs, so I like to get creative (well unless we’re talking about teq or triple trouble).

This is an inherent problem of our profession due to our mechanics. We simple can’t compete with the ground target AoE + AA that other professions have. The bigger is our zerg the less is our loot. Even to be zero sometimes, and more usually than we would like. This applies both PVE and WvW zerg.

In PVE when you see a group of mobs incoming or apearing, they usually have a invulnerable period. If you wish complement your AA with our best AoE phantasms or shattering illusions we see the problem, because you usually fail timing it. Too soon and invulnerable, too late and mobs are dead, wasting the skill. Feedback+ traited glamours don’t help with normal mobs, but can help to kill the more resistant ones.

In WvW zerg the AoE+AA often destroy our illusions before do nothing.

To maximize I do the same that you, try to catch the mobs with hightest life (if you have time…), and use GS/SW+Focus. And GS/Staff against single Champions/Bosses.

Chaos storm is good but the AA of staff is too slow plus single target phantasm.

The problem is that I don’t see them improving us in this area. Above all, if we remember this:
———————————————————————————————————————————————-
Mesmer:
Weakness: Conditions are hard to deal with. Lack of AoE – good single target damage but weak at AoE situation. (A bit weaker than where we want to be. We don’t want to make it too strong as we want you to bring Eles for ranged AoE damage). Mobility – not a ton of mobility due to lack of swiftness but they do have a lot of teleports such as portals. Mesmer can get there and back with portals but can’t go too far forward due to lack of swiftness. Low defense against high burst damage – maybe some small tweaks.

Official design: Access to key utility skills. Gain defense through stealth, evasion, misdirection. Strong 1v1 ranged damage dealer but weaker in sustained AoE damage. Weakness – conditional removal, sustainability if illusions are countered, AoE damage make it hard to sustain illusions.
————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Blinding Befuddlement is a trash. It would help if they remove it and add a trait that add damage in each pulse of our glamours. And if they grant the first attack of our illusions, if summoed, too.

In any case, in our current situation, Anton was more right than trolling lol. For example, if you need loot a lot to make a legendary or two, you can safe a lot of time leveling other profession, have fun looting a lot+learn new things and then pass the weapons to your mesmer…

I have fear against the next feature patch. If they only fix bugs (some that was working properly before) plus improve or add more utility to us while they improve the damage of other professions, we may end up being a tool for them, begging loot from our friends at the end of the battle… Or just making groups with “only mesmers” to get loot properly. O.o

I hope that no. Anyway we are mesmers, we have already seen and experienced all or almost all and some of us are still here from the beginning. For now … We will see…

NICENIKESHOE.7128:

I use sword+focus/GS with 6/6/0/0/2 to maximize my own damage. When I’m dealing with mobs (eg. Foulbear’s minions) I use gs+shatter to tag a bit more. I also use focus to pull mobs together then use iWarden against veteran or mobs with highest hp (or just shatter that iWarden if he misbehaves like a bad boy).

Or something like this ?

You get GS#2 and GS#4 to tag on different mobs, follow up with GS#3 just to make sure tagged; then close in with Sw#2, F#5 on two different mobs. Hopefully AoE fire/torment sigil tags enough.

Reduced blink so you get to mobs faster.

Heal/Condi mantra since all the new open world bosses put condis on you.

But even if you solo. Just randomly party with someone. Your chance of tagging goes way up.

if doing world bosses, i’d remove sw/f and equip a staff instead. its phantasm deals +% dmg for each unique condition on a enemy…World bosses will have every condition on them. basically stay in GS and only swap to staff to keep its phantasm up.

and as others have suggested, you base traits will be 4/6/x/x/x (i’d go 4/6/0/0/4 or 6/6/0/0/2…..the first focuses on buffing your phantasms, while the second is mantra-oriented and focuses more on buffing you)

Typically for PvE event zerg I find Restorative Mantras/Empowering Mantras to work the best. The healing will keep zerk kitten s alive better, you can spam out Recovery, Pain or Distraction while rezzing when they do fall. If the enemy is condition spammy you ckittene Resolve to help counteract that for the people near you too(or Concentration if they do CC).

Staff is easily the most helpful. If you can get close Sword/Focus can be pretty nice for both DPS and absorbing hits. Otherwise I like Scepter/Sword for the blocks, swordsman can do good DPS while you are rezzing or charging mantras.

If their projectile happy (or your in WvW zergs) I find a reflect build to be the most helpful to win fights. Blurred Inscriptions/Masterful Reflection/Warden’s Feedback, Sword/Focus and Staff, Feedback, Signet of the Inspiration/Midnight, Mirror. A lot of zerg players use range and thus lots of projectiles if you can wade near the front of your zerg (especially if your Norn or Charr for the sig reflect) you can severely damage the opposing zerg with their own attacks.