Guild Wars 2

Hey all, I want the opinion of some of you on a problem that has plagued me since I made my mesmer (my first non-BWE character) 2 days after release… Do Asura’s have an advantage as mesmers?
Reasons I think they do…
- Smaller size allows you to hide behind smaller objects in WvWvW
- Clones more difficult to recognize because weapons are smaller (clones missing off hand)
-Racial abilities such as pain inverter and poison field naturally complement mesmers

Edit: I’m a sylvari – my compromise between the intimidation of 3 human clones and the sneakiness of asura… I’m actively considering making a second mesmer – even though I just got my first Ascended…

- Smaller size allows you to hide behind smaller objects in WvWvW

That’s the only valid arguement imo and even then I would take it with a grain of salt considering I can still see your name in giant red letters.

IMO people put way too much weight into the size of the character model. Considering the hit boxes are the same I see little difference besides cosmetics.

That being said Asura are the best and you should make one cause they’re cool little snots.

lol – whilst I don’t have an 80 asura, I’m beginning to think they’re ascetically my favorite… I’m kinda horrified by the idea of leveling a mesmer again… it was so painful the first time :S

Mice.8921:

lol – whilst I don’t have an 80 asura, I’m beginning to think they’re ascetically my favorite… I’m kinda horrified by the idea of leveling a mesmer again… it was so painful the first time :S

I have a asura thief that I mostly use in PVE and he’s simply adorable.

My mesmer is a sylvari as well and I really like him.

I think you should level a Asura but another class so that you increase your knowledge of other classes and have a fun alt to mess around on.

Personally I have a Charr Guardian, Sylvari Mesmer and Asura thief and I like them all cause they’re not human.

It’s hard not to recommend a Guardian. That Healway spec is crazy good for pvp or pve. Full Clerics (though I personally use all stat ascended jewelry) 0/0/10/30/30. Really fun alt to build out.

Hmmmm, thanks…
You dismissed my point about clones being smaller and harder to instantly identify – why? If you’re not insta-shattering surely it makes a difference?
Edit: I’ve been watching some Osicat shatter-cat videos, and I’ve often noticed him ducking behind structures that my sylvari would look dumb trying to hide behind lol…

I’m asura and I’m regretting it.

@mice: You don’t identify the Mesmer by lack of offhand. You identify the Mesmer by movement patterns, attack animations, buffs, signets, health remaining, unstealthing, relative location, etc.

@Pyro: Thanks, I’ve played my mesmer for about 200 hours PvE/WvWvW/PvP and love it, but don’t fight them that often, so I wasn’t sure to what degree people rely on the clone off-hand thing… I actually do use that on occasion – its quite easy if they have a very noticeable offhand weapon – such as two of the flaming heritage swords…

@Thorment: Why?

I used pain inverter some when I was a newb in GW2, but I don’t think I’ve ever used it on my mesmer after hitting lvl 80. Mesmer just has so good utilities that I don’t see myself ever using it in PvP.
As for the size. It sure looks cool when army of small leprechauns take down a big charr as he hacks thin air with a bigass sword.

Mice.8921:

Hey all, I want the opinion of some of you on a problem that has plagued me since I made my mesmer (my first non-BWE character) 2 days after release… Do Asura’s have an advantage as mesmers?
Reasons I think they do…
- Smaller size allows you to hide behind smaller objects in WvWvW
- Clones more difficult to recognize because weapons are smaller (clones missing off hand)
-Racial abilities such as pain inverter and poison field naturally complement mesmers

None of these being game changers. If you’re considering making an asura mesmer, then by all means; however, don’t think that by making an asura mesmer you’re going to suddenly become invincible due to the things you listed above.

Well, the Asuran iWarden is for sure the coolest looking since it looks like we are raving at some crazy party. ^^

Any MMO I have ever played I have always picked the smallest race (I blame that on being 192cm/6’4" in real life and totally hate it). However, I have always been jealous of the fact that smaller races loose out on some of the armor looks and stuff because of size constraints. HOWEVER, we also look better than some races with certain armor so it is really a throw up.

@Noss – Haha, I can imagine that’s a sight to see… :P

@Pinny – I fully understand that that is the case – I’ve played 200+ hours on the mesmer – I was more wondering – having perceived the size difference having being utilized by some players, I was curious if it would actually make a difference noticeable in the slightest way…

@Hexxen – playing at level 80 – not as an asura – in my opinion asura armor ends up looking some of the coolest – when you can see it past the honking great norn warrior in front of you….

The smaller sizes are a definite advantage in my combat experience. I’m a Human Mesmer and I regret not going Asura when I hesitated at character creation. Shortest height Asura Mesmer in all-abyss armor is quite hard to see and extremely annoying to target with my mouse, which is something I have to do often if one of his clones is between me and him. It’s also harder to see what animation they’re doing, especially block skills like scepter #2 or sword #4. I even once had the urge to complain in the forums to increase the shortest height of Asurans so that it’s a little more visible. On the other hand, it’s not a coincidence that Norns are so visually easy to read in combat.

For hardcore PvP, Asura is the only rational choice.

ExZee.8109:

The smaller sizes are a definite advantage in my combat experience. I’m a Human Mesmer and I regret not going Asura when I hesitated at character creation. Shortest height Asura Mesmer in all-abyss armor is quite hard to see and extremely annoying to target with my mouse, which is something I have to do often if one of his clones is between me and him. It’s also harder to see what animation they’re doing, especially block skills like scepter #2 or sword #4. I even once had the urge to complain in the forums to increase the shortest height of Asurans so that it’s a little more visible. On the other hand, it’s not a coincidence that Norns are so visually easy to read in combat.

For hardcore PvP, Asura is the only rational choice.

You realize all block skills like that have a buffing icon that appears?

@Mice: because the racial skills of asura does not fit mesmers. Hounds of Balthazar is probably the best racial elite for condition damage because of the burning. Another reason why I regret being asura is because my greatsword auto animation does not levitate. Also, humans or norn females are eyecandies.

- Asuras are Small
Small weapons. Hard to predict what type are they if they have “Nothing” on their Status Bar
- Asuras are Small
The detail of Clothes are small. It’s hard to know between M and L. Esp if they turn off their Helm. H is easier little bit.
- Asuras are Small.
It’s hard to pay attention to them in big battle coz they are small.

Asuras are small. But they are easy to find.

Yes. We Asurans are very small but we also have massive egos and over compensate for this with our mystically floating names and titles that are the same size as the other races.

If your eyes are not magical enough (because you set you games options that way) to be able to see our mystical floating name tags and titles that the divines have said should be displayed at all times causing a massive block of text that totally ruins the game since you can’t see the hard work they put into the environmental design during larger fights in WvW, then that is your own fault. ^^ Seriously though those freakn titles.

You don’t need to worry about telling if we are L,M or H from our armor cause more than likely by the time you have seen us you have either clicked on us to see our job or we have started attacking already which you should know which job has which kind of attacks.

I will give you that in the big battles the mystical floating name tags and titles that I mentioned earlier hardly make it easy to track us because there are so many other neon signs, but really during fights that are that big do you really single out any one person in particular or just spam as many AoEs as you can trying to take out as many as you can with no regards to stature.

I prefer my charr to be honest, I can pull out the Charrzooka mid combo, fire off the #4 with it’s long knockdown and meanwhile issue a shatter command

I’ve always considered Asurans having a disadvantage. Who didn’t team up to annihilate the guy playing Oddjob in Goldeneye?

Well one can look at it from another perspective as well – tiny clones mean its easy to look past them. Huge clones block your oponents view with bigger shatter effects.

I dont have an Asuran Mesmer, but I do have a max size Norn and to be honest, I really havent found myself at a disadvantage. Better players kill me, worse players get killed. Even Asuran Mesmers. Yes you can duck behind lower objects a bit better in WvW compared to a tall character but that’s about it. Your nametag is generally so wide it shows anyway (people trying to hide behind things or by walls in WvW is laughable most of the time).

Its not hard to spot the mesmer if you know how, and its not about weapons, it about how players move differently to clones.

The only advantage is that its harder to pick them out in a group, but thats minor

I made an asura mesmer and did some sPvP… I found that against good players I didn’t really feel a difference (ignoring how cool I looked lol)… However, against some less-skilled players I actually found them attacking my clones quite frequently, that is something I haven’t seen happen for my sylvari mesmer since a few months after release…

Play one for the funky animations.

The three points you made can make a slight difference, but are not significant when it comes down to it.

Yeah, the name part is sadly ruined by “Blah Blah Long Name Invader”. So short names (and short toons) don’t aid in hiding behind objects. Unlike in DAoC, where with a name like Ubi or Draio you could hide behind all kinds of stuff on my Lurikeen.

the problem is, whenever you make a sharp turn, he will flail with his arms like crazy.
Asuras also have some other VERY obvious animations, which get caught pretty quickly by an observant eye.
On the other hand, big characters have rather minimalistic animations.

Well, I’m concluding that there aren’t really any advantages to being an Asura – but you feel and look like a tiny purple ninja…

Mice.8921:

Well, I’m concluding that there aren’t really any advantages to being an Asura – but you feel and look like a tiny purple ninja…

And that is an advantage in itself! ;D

Pyroatheist.9031:

You realize all block skills like that have a buffing icon that appears?

The small icons are like the back mirror of a car. You look at it once in a while for important information; it doesn’t mean someone should stare at it because the front windshield is painted black.

I think it’s all personal taste. I had an asura and it just felt too goofy every time I saw him almost tip over when moving.

I made an Asuran mesmer because of the dodge. They look so stylish. Dodging through an enemy to create a clone, hitting mirror images mid-air, and firing off the shatter when he lands on his feet. Extremely satisfying.

ExZee.8109:

Pyroatheist.9031:

You realize all block skills like that have a buffing icon that appears?

The small icons are like the back mirror of a car. You look at it once in a while for important information; it doesn’t mean someone should stare at it because the front windshield is painted black.

Exactly correct. In this case, noticing the block icon qualifies as important information. You don’t need to be staring at it continually, it’s just another piece of information you need to be aware of during the course of a fight.

Asuran’s height is a HUGE advantage, but from my point of view, it’s not quite as much of one on a mesmer. When a max height charr with 3 clones out moves, it will be harder to see than an asura moving among it’s clones. You can see past the clones easier.

However, in a teamfight rather than a solo one, it makes a large difference because you can’t see the style differences between their armor and weapons. When i fight two mesmers and a thief and they are all asuran and all decked out in almost identical pink, purple, and/or black armor, that’s when I get frustrated.
“How does this person keep healing so much when he stealths?..oh, wrong person…”
This is nearly impossible to accomplish with random strangers if you aren’t using asura.

I think it’s even playing field among all the races. Having tried a memser of each race to a degree, I feel our normal skills greatly outshine any racial abilities that we could slot in there. Most of the time anyways.

Hexxen.7216:

Well, the Asuran iWarden is for sure the coolest looking since it looks like we are raving at some crazy party. ^^

Any MMO I have ever played I have always picked the smallest race (I blame that on being 192cm/6’4" in real life and totally hate it). However, I have always been jealous of the fact that smaller races loose out on some of the armor looks and stuff because of size constraints. HOWEVER, we also look better than some races with certain armor so it is really a throw up.

Pretty much our iWarden makes me wish I could drop acid and turn up SHM/Glitch Mob etc etc and have him party like that all day. But yeah I feel ya that is why I chose an asura because in real life I am comparable to an oversized norn.

I generally find it’s harder to see the casting animations on Asuran Mesmers than it is on other classes. This basically means I’m less likely to dodge certain attacks that I normally would when fighting Mesmers of another race. So yes, I suppose there is a slight advantage really. I’ve spoken to a few people who told me they intentionally chose the smallest Asura model for their Mesmer to make things harder for their opponents. But whether or not they found they had more success as an Asura, I don’t know.

I don’t think it’s that much of an issue to get worked up about, but I imagine it would be more of an issue if sPvP ever had any e-sport aspirations.

Don’t forget the Norn! Snow Leopard is a godsend in WvW. It comes packed with stealth, and the range on dash exceeds portal range.

My guy is set to the tallest character model available, but I still manage to hide in towers and keeps consistently. Hiding is more about anticipating zerg movement than it is about stature.

I regret not making my condition Necro Asuran – pain inverter would give easy access to one of the best conditions in the game and one that Necros don’t have without corrupting a boon. Condition burst!

I do love my Asuran Mesmer though, purely for the aesthetics.

-Smaller targets (although the hit box is the same) will get targeted less. My Charr gets targeted far more than my Asura in a group. Front-line norn are almost always the first to be targeted.

-Smaller animations means it’s harder to read what the Asura is doing.

-Able to hide behind smaller objects (or large players).

-Racials can be useful (for some classes)

-Best animations (other than spacial surge).

-Being smaller also can help when doing jumping puzzles.

If it’s a character that I’m going to WvW with… and don’t want it targeted as much… I make it Asura… and a larger race if I want them targeted more.

I’ve also noticed that human females in revealing clothing get targeted more vs. conservatively dressed ones. Probably has to do with those hot pixel forms standing out more (darn you evolution).

Same thing happens when you get a legendary… you stand out more, you get targeted more. Plus there is the jelly factor… and that most people with legendary weapons seem to be more PvE oriented players.

Aberrant.6749:

I’ve also noticed that human females in revealing clothing get targeted more vs. conservatively dressed ones.

… still totaly worth it.

Dawdler.8521:

Aberrant.6749:

I’ve also noticed that human females in revealing clothing get targeted more vs. conservatively dressed ones.

… still totaly worth it.

Agreed!