Guild Wars 2

Leveling a new Mesmer to try it out, I do quite like the class but the clone mechanic seems really odd. Mostly how fast they vanish, I imagine it’s partly because I’m low level but my clones seen to poof if sneezed on. Even if I make sure to have beaten on a mob several times before using a Phantasm skill they will still often go right for after its first attack and nearly insta-gib it. This leaves me running in circles with 1-3 clones doing very little to actually keep me alive and seem to serve no purpose beyond shatter fodder.

I see there are many skills to increase their health later on, so maybe this gets better but my biggest gripe with clones is really the fact they vanish as soon as my current target dies. I can understand them poofing after combat ends but seeing them vanish when I’m still fighting mobs and still in danger feels really weak.

It just seems very.. clunky, even more so when Phantasms do the same thing.

It helps to think of clones more as cluster bombs than a pet that hangs around and helps you fight mobs. Phantasm survival does get a little better as you level up if you trait them to hang around.

Clones are shatter fodder and distractions. If you want them to be used for damage use phantasms. They’re used to be spammed, not like minions who are more durable..

I suppose I was hoping they would be used in PvE for distracting the mobs, instead of standing there as I circle strafe just like almost any other class in between shatter CDs. Still that bugs me less then the simple fact both types poof on death of current target instead of when combat ends.

Qux, later as you lvl up and get various traits you’ll be able to summon them so fast you won’t care how quick they die :P

yeah it’s dissapointing :/ I found cry of frustration my favorite way of dealing with it, marks everyone with some confusion which can deal some decent damage when they go and attack other clones. But it does almost make the illusions pointless in pve

Try traiting them with cripple or confusion on death rather than just shatter. That will help a little.

As everyone else stated, early on they are crap. You can get Illusionists Celerity (5 points in Illusions) at level 15 and that lets you crank them out faster. At level 40 you can get Deceptive Evasion (20 in dueling) which pretty much takes care of the problem. At that point you’ll be spamming clones so much that you won’t care if they die.

I can personally guarantee you that they are adequate distractions in pve. Earlier today I was taking on 2 Veteran Flaming Effigies and about 11 common mobs at the same time yet was holding my own. I would have won that fight too but I was just wasting time until my team started a CoF run. Later on I took out a Champion Ascalonian Ghost and at least 25 mobs. I even screwed up and pulled him too far which restarted the fight so I had to widdle him down all over again. The only hits he ever got on me was near the end when I decided to melee.

Mesmers are painful to level but if you stick with it, you will soon become godly.

Well it’s good to see theres hope eventually, I’ll keep plucking away at it and see what happens.

OPs problem is he is still low level and Mesmers are horrible low level. You NEED traits to even function as a mesmer and until you get some (say around level 40 or so) your going to have a bad time.

XelNigma.6315:

OPs problem is he is still low level and Mesmers are horrible low level. You NEED traits to even function as a mesmer and until you get some (say around level 40 or so) your going to have a bad time.

while this is true, the OP should NOT expect any illusions to tank mobs for you. this will NEVER happen.

at best, an illusions serves as an aegis buff, it takes 1 hit for you then dies.

Quxudais.5142:

Leveling a new Mesmer to try it out, I do quite like the class but the clone mechanic seems really odd. Mostly how fast they vanish, I imagine it’s partly because I’m low level but my clones seen to poof if sneezed on. Even if I make sure to have beaten on a mob several times before using a Phantasm skill they will still often go right for after its first attack and nearly insta-gib it. This leaves me running in circles with 1-3 clones doing very little to actually keep me alive and seem to serve no purpose beyond shatter fodder.

I see there are many skills to increase their health later on, so maybe this gets better but my biggest gripe with clones is really the fact they vanish as soon as my current target dies. I can understand them poofing after combat ends but seeing them vanish when I’m still fighting mobs and still in danger feels really weak.

It just seems very.. clunky, even more so when Phantasms do the same thing.

I am a level 68 and my clones STILL don’t do more than 5-8 (some are still at zero) damage.

I don’t know what’s going on with clones but apparently something is wrong…

if you want to go the phantasm way, must-have traits are Domination 3 (illusions deal 15% more dmg), and 5 points into Illusions for 20% cooldown reduction. If you get your weapon cooldown reduction trait, they will stack to become 40% cd reduction. 25 pts into Inspiration is nice too (+15% dmg to phantasms).

the thing is, if the mob is a weak, non-silver mob, then of course it will die fast and so will your phantasms. If you’re up against many weak mobs, I’d suggest using phantasmal warden (focus) or berserker (gs); both are good choices for aoe damage.

Clones are meant to deal 0 damage, I dont exactly know why they allow them to deal more than 1 damage but they are meant to be “fake” yous. Where as the phantoms are meant to deal damage but are obviously not the player.

Clones have 2 main uses, the first is clearly kittenter fuel. The second is to take a hit for you, this can be enhanced with traits that cause killed illusions to apply conditions. So them dieing in 1 hit actually works in your favor.

Clones are, like almost everyone here has said, just shatter fodder and a distraction. Phantasms on the other hand are meant to deal serious damage at the cost of being able to mislead your opponent (you can literally see through whatever disguise they might have). I don’t run a shatter build, but I think clone health isn’t as much of a problem for them since the clones tend to be expended very quickly, and are usually spawned as close to the target as possible to minimise the risk that they will be killed before they can blow themselves up.

I should also mention that traited phantasms can pulse regeneration to allies (including other illusions) near them, so if you want to enhance illusion survivability a little, try spawning them near a phantasm.

I don’t know wath lvl you are on your mesmer, but form my experience, at low lvl phantasm and clones don’t help you a lot… Mesmer is class very trait reliant. It makes lvling before lvl 30-40 pretty slow.

I really hated my mesmer first, pretty disapointed. I found it had low damage output and low survivability.

So I stopped playing it… I took some lvl with crafting and played it again at lvl 35+. Now I love it, I hitted lvl 80 pretty quick and have a lot of fun

Don’t give up, this class mechanic is really fun to play and very versatile !

Clones are Bomb’s. Until you understand that you don’t understand mesmer.

You just have to think of them not as pets, but as more like grenades, debuff grenades, or as grenades with a bit of upfront burst damage (phantasms).

I should point out that clones can be traited to do damage. Use a staff, get the Sharper Images trait (15 in Illusions) and load yourself up with precision and condition damage. I’m still not sure how but with rampager gear (power/precision/condition damage) this somehow allows me to kill enemies faster with a staff than with sword/focus.

Crossplay.2067:

I should point out that clones can be traited to do damage. Use a staff, get the Sharper Images trait (15 in Illusions) and load yourself up with precision and condition damage. I’m still not sure how but with rampager gear (power/precision/condition damage) this somehow allows me to kill enemies faster with a staff than with sword/focus.

This is important to consider for sure. Although clones do not deal any worthwhile direct damage, they can apply conditions, including ones that deal heavy indirect damage over time. Staff clones are the best example, as they can apply Burns and Bleeds. This is fantastic for Mesmers who pursue condition damage via Confusion (Scepter, Ethereal Combos, Cry of Frustration, etc.) or Staff skills.

If I gear up with Condition Damage / Precision / Toughness gear (Rabid Suffix) and trait for more Condition Damage, my Staff clones can deal around 800 damage per Burn. Combined with my own personal damage, three clones each applying Burns 1/3rd of the time, Bleeds 1/3 of the time, and Vulnerability 1/3 of the time really add up.

Adding the Sharper Images trait from the Dueling line gives your Clones even more chances to apply bleeding. This is great in PvE and PvP, provided your enemies don’t utilize a lot of condition removal / condition duration reduction, especially when you consider that conditions completely ignore your opponents’ Armor and Toughness.

PS – Sharper Images is from Dueling 15 (Precision / Critical Damage,) not Illusions 15 (Condition Damage / Shredding Recharge).

Also worth noting is that your character’s Toughness applies to Illusions, (Clones and Phantasms,) whereas your Vitality does not. This is worth considering as you select your gear while leveling up.

Another note on Toughness, particularly if you go down the Condition Damage route, is that an Artificer’s Tuning Crystals apply a % of your Toughness as additional Condition Damage. Higher quality Tuning Crystals also apply a portion of your Vitality, but at a lower %.

(Sharpening Stones from Weaponsmiths do the same thing, except with Power instead of Condition Damage, and Maintenance Oil from Huntsmen increases Precision, respectively.)

I will note that Rabid mesmers can be VERY annoying in WvW. Their stupidly high toughness and all the evasive powers the staff and utilities bring make bursting them down a lesson in futility. They will simply dance around you while their clones wittle you down. I have seen some take on 5 to 7 opponents at once and have them all struggling to stay alive. I’ve even gone toe-to-toe with a great one for about 4 minutes. The only reason I was victorious was because we were locked in a stalemate until an ally came to help me. Even then, it took 2 more minutes to kill him and he managed to down one of our catapults in the process.