Guild Wars 2

Hi,

Im looking to try mesmer out again if I can play ranged caster, with focus on WvW small groups and solo play and the inevitable zerg!

My attempt at the build:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fgAQNAR7dlwzipXTzhGa9ICqHan39dkU0apWJF22FC-j0xAYMAiAQCsIasVyioxqWwUmER1e8ioVLFQEjBA-w

Your best damage options are melee, but maybe with glamour and focus skills traited to reflect, a staff / scepter + focus deal might be workable?

Its a shatter build. The problem is that if you land mind wrack or CoF you want the enemy to be near you for iPersona. The effect on you has a range.
Id try to build for reflection and aoe support with glamours. GS will still deal a good damage.

Disclaimer: I have not tried this myself.
Imbuded Diversion did get buffed recently. What if you swapped IP to ID? Since your GS 2 and 4 spawn illusions in melee, you can aoe daze enemies with F3. That could be useful in small groups.
Otherwise, I would just look at kylia’s builds.

GS/Staff plays as a ranged caster. Both have max range GS for damage staff for survival. I run a hybrid between shatter and phantasm . Works pretty good.

Mogar.9216:

GS/Staff plays as a ranged caster. Both have max range GS for damage staff for survival. I run a hybrid between shatter and phantasm . Works pretty good.

This is true. However, our best DPS option is the sword (I hate this!) and pretty much every PVE build puts it in somewhere. This also opens up a hand for the focus, which is our “must have” utility item (I hate this too): projectile block/reflect, high dps phantasm, only reliable source of swiftness.

If they’d just fix the scepter so it wasn’t an odd duck that didn’t fit well into any PVE build (auto-attack gums up phantasm builds and is too slow at clone generation for shatter builds; doesn’t really synergize with power/precision or boon-sharing and so forth) we’d have an easier time building without having to fall back on the blasted sword!

Oh and give us a signet with swiftness and you’ll see a lot more pistol use at the very least.

GS is by far our best ranged weapon, so for WvW zapping/mobility I usually go: 20/20/0/30/0. GS and sword/focus. Pickup shattered conditions, warden’s feedback and compounding celerity (or glamour cd).

While not 100% ranged, the sword/focus combo is so boss in wvw, esp with traited focus.

The only reason the sword does more is because the sword is melee and gets the 30% buff. The time to run to a mob, dodge things, maybe die because of being so close to an enemy runs up against the safety of being at 1200 distance and seeing things coming our way giving time to get out of the way.

Again, no DPS addons, so each side will pull to what they feel is best.

To the OP, yes, trait your GS and you’ll hardly need to swap weapons while pew pewing from a distance.

I run a build with gs + staff, with heavy defensive, boons, stealth, etc, and ephantasm focused. Works like a charm! gs and staff synergize very well. in WvW all situations and PvE or whatevers Just kite kite kite and more kite, move around haha + staff also functions as a close quarters weapon actually with faster bounces at close range + boons from the chaos stuff, and traits and whatnot, you can probably even play shatter at close range probably and just phase retreat out of ur combo field etc and get back to range.

My “ranged caster build” is 30-20-0-20-0 or 25-20-0-25-0
Runes of Air
Fullzerker or variant of
GS Sword/Focus
Either take traits for mantra’s or use mirror heal and use the mantra traits for something else.

That’s a great kiting build.

I seem to be a rare breed of Tank Mesmer I run with full soldier stats, soldier runes (5 of them) and a crest of the soldier in my armour. I now run ascended trinkets but used to run with 5 exotic clerics with exotic wayfarer back item. (Soldier trinkets require temple of Grenth to be taken and well…good luck with that happening on ANY sever) if you don’t fancy toughness and healing power. Carrion assists the staff and since melandru is usally taken you could use full Wayfarer if you have karma and don’t want to shell out cash.
Weapons wise I use the GS and Staff. Staff up close GS at range for power.
Traits go 10/0/30/30/0
This really compliments phantasms especially with 15% more damage for illusions, and 50% more health for Phantasms. Plus they give regen and since they have a lot of health since base health was increased the retaliation they gain is useful.
I use nullfield and feedback perfect support skills with either signet of inspiration or midnight and have traits which shorten the re-charge time of the glamours and extend their duration.
Thanks for reading.