First off, I want to thank many of you for bringing lots of inspiration and ideas to the community. Ever since I joined OMFG guild, I’ve been getting many helpful suggestions and tips from various members on how to improve my performance. Some of you may have known me for making the “Flowing Images” builds – which focus on hybrid power/condition damage. Now I want to present one of two full-condition spec builds (other one is in another thread) that I had been playing with and testing since mid/late August. They were, at first, additional branches within Flowing Images, but since most of the gear and setup requirements are different, it was best to just rename them and have separate into their own sections. So here we go!
Flustered Fragments
The build’s theme is creating lots of illusions to “confuse” (not the condition!) your opponents, inflicting some conditions, and using your shattering skills to make some nice bursts to bedazzle your targets while still able to deal damage in PvE/dungeons. This has been inspired by Osicat and his shatter builds along with various condition mesmers (Keenlam, Kylia, Skcamow, and more) and their builds; this build was also what I mostly started with last year (but had hybrid mix during that time), but didn’t continue with and polish it until recently. Anyways, enough of me jabbering, here is the build setup:
The reason I posted 2 links is because the first one is up to date with the latest patch and is more accurate while the second one has a guide with some explanations (and a few alternative options). Once the latter is up to date, I’ll remove the first one.
Note: Build does not have to have exact trinkets. As mentioned in the ItM link, the trinkets can be modified as long as it’s Rabid, Dire+Rabid, or mixture of both and has 40-50% crit chance, 17k or more health, and 2.2k or more armor.
So far, the build has been tested and played with in PvE open world and dungeons. I’ve had the honor of being informed and receiving feedback that the build can also work in WvW.
Pros:
- High condition damage and a few AoEs (Cry of Frustration, Chaos Storm, etc.)
- Quick illusion summoning and a few conditions applying
- Utilizes the profession’s Shattering skills frequently
- Decently long condition duration thanks to food
- Some damage mitigation
- Can create self-combos
- Can tag multiple mobs
- Can remove boons and conditions (iDisenchanter or Null Field)
- Has a stunbreaker (Decoy or Blink depending on choice)
Cons:
- Limited mobility and escape (Phase Retreat and 1 stunbreaker)
- Limited support (only iDisenchanter/Null Field, 1 stun, and illusions to give enemies more targets)
- Short duration of condition/boon removal with long cooldown (Null Field) or limited availability (iDisenchanter)
- May prove challenging to professions that can remove conditions easily and fast
- No swiftness (although out-of-combat, you can swap to focus, use Temporal Curtain, then swap back to pistol) – see note below
Note: It is possible to use Focus instead of Pistol and move 10 Dueling (keep Deceptive Evasion) into Inspiration to get Warden’s Feedback. However, it may require some adjustments to trinkets to get enough crit chance. Do know that if going for this, the confusion from iWarden is random, but at least it gives AoE, another reflection and grants nearby allies regeneration. Plus, you get swiftness/cripple and AoE pull. Here is the build link with focus version if interested:
The only trinket changes are the amulet and 1 ring (both from Dire/Rabid to pure Rabid). Also, check out the guide build link for some tricks with using Focus.
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Now, this is not everyone’s playstyle, but you’re welcome to give this build a try. If so, you don’t have to have the same gear setup; you can have as low as 39% crit chance and minimum of 17k health (you need enough to handle those pesky conditions). And if you do try out the build, let me know how it goes! I’m always trying to improve. Thank you all for reading and helping me becoming more mesmerizing!
Also, if you prefer not to shatter often, you can check out the other condition build – Fata Morgana Conditions; it is also a bit more of a semi-bunker build.
Edit: Added build links, a guide and tricks for focus version. Also, added a note in bold about trinkets.
(edited by Phloww.1048)