Guild Wars 2

Edit: feel free to skip to the bulleted points
From a PvP player’s perspective with 4300 ranked queues on mesmer, about 95% of which are on power Shatter mesmer, i will attempt to discuss changes that could serve to improve the classic domination/dueling/illusions Shatter mesmer without powercreeping already more effective chronomancer builds (Bunker, condition etc.) and without making it more cheesy or easy to play. Obviously not all are needed and there are easier options to make Shatter strong but simple measures often result in very little diversity of choice (think: sword offhand for three years).

Weapons
Greatsword

• Mind Stabs’s boon removal aspect is lost due to an increased number of boons in the game. It needs to remove circa 3 boons before it will actually be saved and used for this intent instead of just a little extra damage every time it goes off cooldown (which is a shame).

Sword offhand

• Block needs to block everything for a duration.
• Active of block needs to be much quicker (essentially instant) to compete with Tides of time.
• Phantasm needs an additional effect (think: shield).

Focus offhand

• Defense on Phantasmal Warden as an additional effect (think: shield).

Pistol offhand

• Additional effect on phantasm (think: shield).

Utilities
Mirror images

• Decoy is currently always better, which restricts the choices of Shatter mesmer.
• Needs a much shorter cooldown.

Domination
Shattered concentration

• Without doubt a good trait, however, it is also an integral and necessary aspect of any viable Domination build to date. One can’t help but wonder if it should take the spot as a minor trait in place of Illusion of Vulnerability. See below.

Illusion of vulnerability

• Could with benefit be merged with the trait Dazzling as they are very similar in effect. To replace it could be something like Shattered concentration (see above) or Rending shatter to continue the vulnerability trend of this traitline’s minors.

Furious interruption

• It won’t compete with Shattered concentration even if the ICD is changed. Needs a new position in the traitline or alternatively a new effect to do this.

• Could with benefit be merged with the trait Dazzling as they are very similar in effect. To replace it could be something like Rending shatter.

Rending shatter

• Really really terrible, especially compared to confounding suggestions. It needs to go up to 3 vulnerability stacks to have a chance to compete.

Imagined burden

• Can not compete with Powerblock or Mental anguish.
• In addition to current effects, should give +1 bounce on Mirror blade, to make up for the nerf to Mirror blade whilst keeping the maximum burst in check due to the fact that it competes with the aforementioned traits.

Dueling
Desperate decoy

• It interrupts skills so it can quite often screw you over.
• Should be interchanged with something less passive and less random.
• One suggestion that would work well for shatter mesmer is to swap spot with Fencer’s Finesse. This allows you to take Fencer’s and Blinding dissipation.

Illusions
Compounding power

• Currently too weak to matter.
• As a hybrid trait in a hybrid traitline, perhaps it should be merged with Shattered strength, a trait with a remarkably similar effect in practice.

New trait

• As consequence of Shattered Strength and compounding power being merged.
• A new trait would have to provide a large enough benefit to power Shatter mesmer to that of the Chronomancer line. The alternative would be to nerf Chronomancer to the degree where it is no longer the only choice for Shatter Mesmer.

I can’t wait until the day power Shatter mesmer becomes a fun and viable build to play again and until then i will at least try to help Anet along the road as opposed to complaining uselessly as is so common. Thanks to anyone with patience.

Edit: kitten this thread sounds more serious than my testamente.

Some suggestions are nice but I feel this is a bit of overbuffing.
They really need to nerf a bit of current strongest specs(I still believe they will) so they don’t need to powercreep mesmer by that much to compete.

Exciton.8942:

Some suggestions are nice but I feel this is a bit of overbuffing.
They really need to nerf a bit of current strongest specs(I still believe they will) so they don’t need to powercreep mesmer by that much to compete.

“Obviously not all are needed”.

In fact, even one would be great.

I don’t think changing the sword block to a continuous block is a good idea. We simply need the sword to have a more clear role and I think a good role would be mobility and boon removal (see my suggestions in my signature).

Silverkey.2078:

I don’t think changing the sword block to a continuous block is a good idea. We simply need the sword to have a more clear role and I think a good role would be mobility and boon removal (see my suggestions in my signature).

See the problem is that a rework of the entire functionality will never ever happen, whereas Anet has proven that a change from Single Block > Continuous block can happen. The same goes for almost all your suggestions, they unrealistic at least if we look at the history of Anet’s balance. Something which i think is a problem with many “rework” threads on the mesmer forums sadly. =)

Quadox.7834:

Silverkey.2078:

I don’t think changing the sword block to a continuous block is a good idea. We simply need the sword to have a more clear role and I think a good role would be mobility and boon removal (see my suggestions in my signature).

See the problem is that a rework of the entire functionality will never ever happen, whereas Anet has proven that a change from Single Block > Continuous block can happen. The same goes for almost all your suggestions, they unrealistic at least if we look at the history of Anet’s balance. Something which i think is a problem with many “rework” threads on the mesmer forums sadly. =)

Finally somebody gets it. Every time “yet another massive and complex rework for half of our mechanics” thread gets posted, I just sigh and don’t even bother to read it usually. There’s no point in wasting your time and energy on comprehensive reworks because they will never happen. Instead work within the confines of the skills we have; modifying their functionality instead of rewriting it.

I havent seen one of these for a long time. Nice to see. Lets get to the fun part!

Mind stab: Agree. Make it 2 or 3 boons removed.

OH sword: Agree. Give cripple to phant?

Focus: Id say just make the warden larger. Projectile negation is actually really good, the warden is just a bit lacking in aoe.

Pistol: Bleed or vuln on the phant?

Mirror Images: 15 seconds?

Shattered concentration: That’s tricky. Id say merge rending shatters with illusions of vulnerability. Keep this where it is.

Furious interruption: No ICD, also steals 2 boons on interrupt. This will make it compete with shattered’s boon removal (Maybe a bit OP).

Imagined Burden: Agree.

Desperate Decoy: Yes please!

Compounding Power: I never really used the trait so I trust your opinion on it.

Fay.2357:

Quadox.7834:

See the problem is that a rework of the entire functionality will never ever happen, whereas Anet has proven that a change from Single Block > Continuous block can happen. The same goes for almost all your suggestions, they unrealistic at least if we look at the history of Anet’s balance. Something which i think is a problem with many “rework” threads on the mesmer forums sadly. =)

Finally somebody gets it. Every time “yet another massive and complex rework for half of our mechanics” thread gets posted, I just sigh and don’t even bother to read it usually. There’s no point in wasting your time and energy on comprehensive reworks because they will never happen. Instead work within the confines of the skills we have; modifying their functionality instead of rewriting it.

I don’t fully share the negativity. Granted, you’ve been around for longer than I have. But a-net does (rarely but still) rework unused skills. Ranger got a shout rework recently, and shouts are now used by many (some may be a little too much… but that’s another subject). Warriors also got decent changes for their riffle. During BWE, while chronomancer shield went from single block to channeled block, tempest elite was completely reworked. And often, those started from changes suggested in the forums.

So yes, my full suggested rework is not something I expect to see. But that does not mean some ideas can’t be used in a future for a limited rework of a weapon, some skills or some traits. And I don’t feel that the block fits the off-hand sword, while mobility and evade is something I would not mind seeing on the weapon.

Mind Stab is a ranged skill on a low cooldown & AoE, so I don’t feel it needs to remove more boons. Maybe it could do 50% more damage if no boons are removed similar to Mind Spike.

If it removes more boons, it should only remove an extra one boon that it nonessential , such as swiftness or vigor and not protection/stability. Remember, it is a weapon skill not a utility skill. The only comparable skills are Unholy feast or Enfeebling blood.

i.e. remove one boon + swiftness

Infusion.7149:

Mind Stab is a ranged skill on a low cooldown & AoE, so I don’t feel it needs to remove more boons. Maybe it could do 50% more damage if no boons are removed similar to Mind Spike.

If it removes more boons, it should only remove an extra one boon that it nonessential , such as swiftness or vigor and not protection/stability. Remember, it is a weapon skill not a utility skill. The only comparable skills are Unholy feast or Enfeebling blood.

i.e. remove one boon + swiftness

50% more damage with no boons will never happen anymore with the power creep. Maybe Mind Stab should remove 1 boon and always stability

For some reason I remember a time when Mind Stab was a daze instead boon removal.

So why not add that back? Remove a boon and a daze.

SlimChance.6593:

For some reason I remember a time when Mind Stab was a daze instead boon removal.

So why not add that back? Remove a boon and a daze.

Ill gladly take another interrupt