Guild Wars 2

Build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fgAQRArc8dl0z6pXTzqGaNJhJFEP4neo8l/cUF6epC6G-TwAg1CqIKSVkrITRyisFNIZVxmgJBA

Merlin Wall

The Merlin Wall(Yes, I like puns) is a build that focuses on reflection and blocking and countering. While not necessarily tank-like, the Merlin Wall is most powerful against range-focused opponents, though it is not impossible to fight at close ranged, though it is best to avoid such. In fact, this build is just about solely focused on the defeating ranged opponents, being able to block, evade, and counter all their attacks. While not strong against much else, it is a very strong counter-build against rangers and engineers, with their range-based combat.

Traits
0/10/20/30/10

Dueling:
-Retaliatory Shield: Gives Retaliation when blocking, punishing enemies a bit for attacking afterwards. Best to let this run out before defending again.

Chaos:
-Master of Manipulation: With two Manipulation skills, this comes in handy, giving a 20% reduction in CD.
-Debilitating Dissipation: Punishes those who kill clones with Bleeding, Weakness, or Vulnerability.
-[Alternatively]Mirror of Anguish: To punish those pesky control skills, though it has a large CD so it may not be as useful.

Inspiration:
-Medic’s Feedback: Reflection even when healing, giving yourself a bit of cover when helping a teammate.
-Warden’s Feedback: Of course, grants reflection to Focus skills, giving you even more anti-ranged ability.
-Restorative Illusions: When using Distortion, you can also heal as a bonus.
-[Alternatively]Temporal Enchanter: Glamour skills get a 2 second increase in duration, good for Feedback. Very useful and viable option.

Illusions:
-Masterful Reflection: Distortion[shatter] gives you reflection. Together with Restorative Illusions, this creates a kind of second Mirror[healing skill].

Weapons

Scepter/Sword: This combo was chosen for both the blocks both weapons provide and the clones scepter generates with ease. These clones can be killed by the enemy to push some conditions onto them or shattered with Distortion to get some health and reflection. Plus, you get the Illusionary Swordsman as a bonus.

Sword/Focus: The sword this time was chosen for the Blurred Frenzy, which sadly doesn’t use Masterful Reflection, but is good enough to avoid damage, even melee when needed. The focus, of course, is traited for reflection with the added bonus against ranger pets with the crippling Temporal Curtain provides.

Sigils: Both off-hands are done with a Sigil of Superior Accuracy, with the scepter holding a Sigil of Superior Nullification[60% chance to remove a boon] and the MH sword holding a Sigil of Superior Earth[60% chance to cause bleeding].

Skills

-Mirror: This healing skill reflects while used, making sure there are no openings in the defense.

-Mimic: Lets you absorb a single projectile and ignore the rest for four seconds. This is good to start with due to the shorter CD it has.

-Arcane Thievery: The condition remover for this build, this allows you to trade three conditions of yours for three boons of the enemy.

-Feedback: The basic reflector of the mesmer, this forms a bubble that reflects around the target. You can scurry around it to keep the target blocked off and harmless. It lasts 6 seconds, but can be pushed to 8 if choosing to use the Temporal Enchanter Trait.

-Timewarp: Lets you attack 1.5 times faster, which is just something good.

-Mass Invisibility: A stealth, also just good for getting away or avoiding targeting. You may also be able to get the opponent to pull out AoE attacks so they can’t use them later, if needed.

Equipment

Armor: Full Runes of Lyssa, getting some Precision to activate those Sigils and a boon per heal. The final ability, getting all boons and no conditions using an Elite Skill, is furthermore the most helpful in the final stretch of a fight when reflects are used up and you just need to finish it.

Trinket: Rampager’s Amulet with Rampager’s Jewel, giving good Precision and Condition Damage with a bit of Power and Vitality to top it off.

Idea of the Style

Focus on finding the players who have bows and guns equipped and just draw them out, maybe using clones or phantasms to lure them away from the main group. From there, just reflect, reflect, and reflect until you have the clear upper hand and bring out Timewarp for the kill, gaining all boons and curing yourself as you bash on your foe.
Best to start with Mimic, since the short CD time will let you use it later in the fight. Use Feedback next while attacking, and if the opponent tries to get out of it, you just have to roll in and move around it to make sure the target has no clear shot at you. Start with using the scepter to generate clones as you’re fighting, maybe bringing an Illusionary Swordsman into it for damage, and shatter them with Distortion after the Feedback is down, giving you reflector around yourself. Once that is done, block twice, creating two more clones, and create a phantasm if possible. Switch to Sword/Focus and Immobilize the enemy with Illusionary Leap/Swap and create an Illusionary Warden to beat them up a bit, possibly getting most or all of the 12 hits in. Stand inside of the Warden’s bubble attack until they move away. The basic weakness of the next part is that the enemy might figure out attacking isn’t the best idea and just bides his time to heal, in which you’ll have to go out of the Warden’s bubble to attack or switch to scepter when you can. On the other hand, they may be fooled by your clones created from Illusionary Leap and the blocks, or may just try for an AoE attack on the Warden/you. When/If this happens, just use Blurred Frenzy to completely avoid it and shatter everything(Mind Wrack/Diversion). Well, that’s ideally. In general, though, reflect when you can, use Blurred Frenzy against AoE, and finish with your elite.
In the case that the target switches to melee, just create clones/phantasms, pull them places with focus, and block their attacks with Scepter/Sword. Also, use your MH sword to pressure them a bit with Blurred Frenzy, possibly convincing them it would be better to use ranged.

I’ve been told my cycles are too long at times, so you can ignore the middle section of this if you want, though the front and ends are more towards the gist of the build.

This build is untested.

Any advice and constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated.

I’ve tried builds based on reflection and blocks. They suck because even with all your defensive traits, you are too squishy and reflects don’t do enough damage to punish anyone they can’t heal through. You also lack any ability to really pressure them if you happen to get them down, such as an on demand interrupt for a heal or actual damage (because you’re using a warden).

Have you ever played Scepter/sword? It is clunky. Block animations leave you vulnerable to the next few hits unless you abort the damage and clone duration and dodge roll the following attacks. The animations are too slow (you end up taking 3 hits or so…or the enemy just dodge rolls the counter attack).

At least try scepter/focus and Sword/Sword. However, again, you aren’t doing much damage to pressure anyone and you take too much damage in return.

This build is pretty much only good against someone who doesn’t have a melee set (so rangers who stay afar, pistol thieves, possibly elementalists). Even then, they can just run away when they realize you’re reflecting everything and are at best a troll build and can’t pressure them.

I have yet to find any viable mesmer builds that actually do anything worthwhile that are not burst based (so shatter/interrupt builds—bunker builds on mesmer suck, reflection/confusion builds suck). Trust me, I’ve tried all possible builds I can think of since this is the only class I play. Retaliation sucks on mesmer for the same reason: too squishy even with max defensive traits and it relies on someone else just hitting you (you can’t pressure them directly).

I’m speaking strictly for spvp and tpvp.

It sounds like a fun build. I think you should test it a bit and see if something needs tweaking. I don’t really see much actual use for it though, unless you are very good at pulling specific classes away from a group.