Guild Wars 2

I was trying out the mirage and started chatting with a stranger about what felt wrong with the traits and what we’d like to see. Had some interesting ideas tossed around and ended up agreeing on a line that would look like this.

Minor Adept: Mirage Cloak
Gain Mirage Cloak instead of dodge rolling. Ambush skills become available for a short time whenever you gain Mirage Cloak. Gain access to Deception skills.
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Adept 1: Self Deception
Deception skills have 20% reduced recharge.
Shattering a Mirage Mirror creates a clone of you have at least one illusion.
small buff since topping up clones isn’t really that appealing over Riddle of Sand

Adept 2: Renewing Oasis
Gain regeneration when mirage cloak is active.
Damaging conditions on you expire faster while under the effects of Regeneration.
Since you’re evading while regenerating, you likely won’t get hit with conditions which devalues that part of the trait. This change causes existing damaging condis to fall off faster while Regenerating so it’s more removal than reduction.

Adept 3: Riddle of Sand
When entering combat, your first Ambush skill applies confusion. This ability refreshes when you use a shatter skill. no changes.
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Minor Master: Speed of Sand
Gain Superspeed and Vigor when you gain Mirage Cloak.
Superspeed mostly makes up for the lack of rolling so added Vigor for some effect that isn’t just giving back what was lost. Nomad’s Endurance was decent but the condi buff was a niche benefit on a baseline trait for an elite spec. The vigor access was kept as it synergises with the Mirage, but Speed of Sand was put here to free up a slot.
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Master 1: Shards of Glkitten
tered Illusions have a chance of becoming Mirage Mirrors.
No changes.

Master 2: Mirage Mantle
Gain Protection when Mirage Cloak ends.
No changes.

Master 3: Mirrored Axes
Reduce recharge of axe skills. Axe skills generate an additional phantasmal axe.
No changes.
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Minor Grandmaster: Infinite Horizon
When you gain Mirage Cloak, the trait is applied to all of your illusions.
This trait is very strong, so strong it outclassed other GMs. Mirage Cloak is there to make it harder to pinpoint the Mirage among their clones amongst other reason, but because it doesn’t apply to other clones, which isolates you still. Applying it to clones is something that feels right to be baseline so that Mirage Cloak is a full deception, and because you and your clones ambushing at once is so satisfying.
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Grandmaster 1: Nomad’s Celerity
Gaining Mirage Cloak grants Quickness and alacrity.
To replace Infinite Horizon the guy I was talking with had this idea. It functions as sort of a buff to Infinite Celerity, letting you and your Illusions ambush quicker and letting your Phantasms benefit too. The alacrity on you helps too.

Grandmaster 2: Elusive Mind
Dodging breaks stun and creates a mirage that forms a Mirage Mirror after a delay.
With Renewing Oasis being a more reliable condi counter, this could be strong in another way, doubling up on dodging. There’s a delay before the mirror forms to prevent perma evasion.

Grandmaster 3: Shifting Sands
Shattering Grants Vigor. Vigor increases condition damage and ferocity.
Could be more interesting, but it preserves the extra vigor access while giving both power and condi builds a boost every time they shatter and gain cloak.

I think Self-Deception needs to be less stringent, say requires 1 illusion out and that’s it, no “exactly” bullcrap. I don’t think it needs to reduce Deception CD, rather Deception base CDs should be reduced given how lackluster most of them are.

I thought this was how Renewing Oasis worked to begin with. Granted I haven’t taken a close look at it. It feels lackluster either way however, and I note the tooltip does not include Poison… intended or just a tooltip bug?

Riddle of Sand shouldn’t be in the same tier as Self-Deception IMO. I’d move Self-Deception to Master if it was buffed.

I don’t think Anet wants Vigour to be procced on Mirage Cloak because that would be a mechanic that feeds itself. They’d want you to do something else to feed it, hence Vigour on Shatter. So I think Nomad’s Endurance is fine, though the Vigour duration could be longer and it could give a Power bonus too.

Shards of Glass‘s ICD is too long. I’d bring it down to 10s. 15s if they buff Mirage Mirrors to be worth our time.

Mirage Mantle‘s Protection is short. I’d extend it to 2.5s.

I agree with making Infinite Horizons a minor.

I don’t see much need to shake the rest of the GMs up that much. Since Infinite Horizons is a minor that would make Speed of Sand a major, and I’d buff it by making it extend Mirage Cloak duration by 33% and grant 2s of Superspeed.

Embolism.8106:

I think Self-Deception needs to be less stringent, say requires 1 illusion out and that’s it, no “exactly” bullcrap. I don’t think it needs to reduce Deception CD, rather Deception base CDs should be reduced given how lackluster most of them are.

I thought this was how Renewing Oasis worked to begin with. Granted I haven’t taken a close look at it. It feels lackluster either way however, and I note the tooltip does not include Poison… intended or just a tooltip bug?

Riddle of Sand shouldn’t be in the same tier as Self-Deception IMO. I’d move Self-Deception to Master if it was buffed.

I don’t think Anet wants Vigour to be procced on Mirage Cloak because that would be a mechanic that feeds itself. They’d want you to do something else to feed it, hence Vigour on Shatter. So I think Nomad’s Endurance is fine, though the Vigour duration could be longer and it could give a Power bonus too.

Shards of Glass‘s ICD is too long. I’d bring it down to 10s. 15s if they buff Mirage Mirrors to be worth our time.

Mirage Mantle‘s Protection is short. I’d extend it to 2.5s.

I agree with making Infinite Horizons a minor.

I don’t see much need to shake the rest of the GMs up that much. Since Infinite Horizons is a minor that would make Speed of Sand a major, and I’d buff it by making it extend Mirage Cloak duration by 33% and grant 2s of Superspeed.

My self deception was at least one illusion, so it’s what you want actually. Vigor on Mirage cloak feeding itself was the point, just though internal synergy was good since it basically means that that trait is you can dodge more often period