Guild Wars 2

Hello, lovely purple butterflies! So! Just a few questions I still have after literally spending hours reading up on Mesmers. I’ve had a level 80 Mesmer for a while, but she was mostly for looks and recently have been sent into the “hot-seat”.

My usual build is this. It’s close to what I used to use before the trait changes, and was very excited to see this build after the patch!

1. What do you use for a range weapon in open world PvE? Mostly, for Silverwastes farming. I used to use the GS, but after trying out pistol I’m confused on which I prefer as a ranged option. I haven’t ran the numbers or anything, but I feel like using P4 off CD and spamming Mantra of Pain with Mantra of Distraction as needed, I do more damage at range while maintaining good melee capabilities. I’ve also recently realized that I want main hand pistol for Mesmer so badly, haha.
2. Which runes are you using? On MetaBattle, they always suggest the Scholar Runes. I never use them though since since I don’t really like to keep my health above 90%. So, I went with Runes of the Ranger and recently learned that Phantasms don’t give the 7% increase in damage. The stats from Ranger runes are still nice, though… Any suggestions?
3. Which sigils do you use? Specifically for daytime dungeons and maps. If I had to assume, it would be Force and Accuracy? What about the second offhand weapon, any suggestions? During nighttime, I’ll run the Night sigil, Accuracy sigil, and whatever sigil increases the damage against the dungeon (such as undead slaying for Arah).

Totally optional read, but I felt like typing more about Mesmers! Thanks for any help/suggestions! Anyways, Mesmer is my new “hot-seat” character. Being in the hot-seat basically means I’m going to become “more serious” with that character. And, was I surprised! I’ve used her in level 80 content before, but wasn’t that happy with it. After sitting her in the hot seat, I bought her runes, sigils, jewelry and read up on many guides… wow! Mesmer is so much fun to play! I was able to deal way more damage than I thought! But, the best part is how much influence I have over the fights. Using Mantra of Distraction at the right moment feels so nice! And, focus pulls are a lot of fun! Mesmers have so many neat and fun tricks to really give the group an edge, though indirectly. I won’t type too much more since no one will read it, anyways. Mesmer has become my second main in record timing because they’re just so much fun!

I just finished leveling my Mesmer about 2 days ago. While I’m enjoying the aesthetics and whatnot , I’m running into a few problems myself. Mostly the Range thing. Many BOSS fights are just NOT made for Melee with the twin Swords. I threw on a Staff, simply because I can take advantage of the conditions the rest of the party puts on with the iWarlock. Storm & Chaos Armor are bonuses.

I’d like to know what some of the pro’s are doing in-terms of rotations and such with the Swords. Trash mobs are a breeze. But I’ve ran into maybe 2 bosses where it’s viable to Melee without having to dodge-roll out every 4 seconds.

I CAN give you a suggestion on Runes, though OP. I run the exact same linked build, and I went with Eagle Runes. 7% more damage to enemies under 50%, and a ton of Precision & Ferocity.

So that build is the dungeon build. It’s great for dungeons, but open world begs some slightly different things.

Generally I recommend sw/f+gs. You’re actually right in that spamming MoP off cooldown will do more damage than the greatsword autoattack, but it’s a huge pain to do that, and open world is really easy. It’s generally just not worth the extra effort.

For open world, centaur runes are never a bad choice, since you get permanent swiftness from them. Alternatively, you can also equip signet of inspiration and use temporal curtain for the swiftness as well. Other good choices are pack runes and eagle runes.

For the best damage, you’ll want bloodlust and force, but you could also take energy sigils if you plan on using the weapons for PvP at all.

@Faction: Thank you so much! I can’t explain how I forgot about the Eagle runes! Seems like a great replacement for Runes of the Ranger. Thank you so much!

@Fay: That was kind of my thinking! Open world content is pretty easy, and while the pistol is fun with MoP… it seems to be a bit much for something that is going to die no matter which weapon I use. I guess I’ll alternate pretty often between GS and Pistol offhand. Might as well!

Thanks you two!

For open world, use a Sigil of Fire in your GS and slot MoP if you know there’s a lot of loot-dropping mobs around. It’s not about the dps, it’s about the 1200 range instant-cast AoE tag blast. 3 casts is enough to cover most Orr/Harathi events, recharge between waves.
You can just get an exotic zerker GS from CoF tokens for this purpose, no need to waste an ascended weapon.
GS also has a lot of AoE/burst, making it a good option if you just want something dead now (at the cost of lower dps for the next few seconds). None of the GS skills can be reflected back at you, which makes it very convenient for certain bosses (Dredge Commissar comes to mind, ugh)

In terms of not being able to melee bosses, use Blurred Frenzy as an extended evade, not a damage burst. The only SW creatures that are really hard to melee are those with extended charge attacks (Vile Thrashers, VW Darkwing etc.), and that’s more due to a lack of movement speed than danger to yourself.
Keep a ranged option at hand, some bosses have anti-melee windows by design.

Ranged weapons for silver wastes: Scepter + Pistol for single target / GS for aoe / Staff for boss fights (!!!)

Runes: Eagle (or Centaur for open world only)

Sigils: Force and Accuracy (or Force and Battle / Strength for solo only)

:) That’s all you need. Just use Mantra of Pain instead of the ranged aa and you’re fine.

I’m in the same boat as you OP. Mesmer was my third toon (I started playing during pre-release), and the class always felt too clunky to play. After the 6/23 patch it felt liek I was playing a whole new class.

As far as your questions go.

1. I would stick with GS for your primary ranged weapon. Main hand sword not only gives you the best damage, but the 2 skill is a life saver as you should be using it defensively rather than for its damage for the most part. Pistol is great for the additional interrupts as well as being able to initiate a battle from a far and is less likely to get trampled. Off-Sword is great for its block and high damaging Phat, but that poor little guy is more than likely going to become roadkill. Torch is good to sneak around, and focus can work for its curtain pull for situations where you want to get mobs under the burning oil.

2. Eagle are Rage are both fine to use

3. For silverwastes specifically, I would say Always go with Force and then use Accuracy or Fragilty. Accuracy will get you more milage overall due to bosses always being capped at 25 vuln anyways.

First, make sure you change your skills and build based on the dungeon. I assume you know this already. However, it is hard to tell. Know when to use blink, know when to use portal, and know when to support your group with stealth. If you have a group with poor might staking, switch to a signet of Inspiration. I suppose I am mainly saying this because the skills posted in mettabattle are meant for specific instances (mostly stacking vs reflects) and for playing with other good quality players. However, there are always instances when you need different skills, builds, and weapons.

1. For silver wastes I run great sword with sword/focus for the extra speed. Bring feedback for reflecting in path 2. bring blink for extra mobility as well. For the third I suggest either null field or mantra of resolve (your choice). For my elite I like to switch it. For roaming, the breach, and the modem vine wrath event bosses I bring time warp. However, at the start of the event, I like to use mass invisibility to stealth the siege carriers. I also like to run the domination and illusion lines together to get double cool down reductions though imagined burden and Illusionist’s celerity. The third line is up to you. You could run something like dueling if you want to do more damage. However, I always like using ether feast as my heal skill and the chaos line for the extra protection. This is mainly because silver wastes isn’t competitive to me. It is my time to just chill, not worry at all about dying, and to easily kill some stuff for some extra cash. This way you also don’t have to switch to chaos and PU for the maze. For the maze I use sword focus with the skills mass inv, blink, decoy, and veil.

2. I still play with scholar runes. If you feel you need something else, go for it. However, I would say don’t be afraid to switch back if you feel like you are getting better or staying above 90% more.

3. For night, obviously night sigils are the best. For day I like accuracy. Accuracy is also nice if you need extra critical chance for reflects. Remember, power doesn’t help with reflect damage. For armor, you can use the assassin’s for reflects if you have the extra money. However, I would bet the meta may switch to zerkers after HoT. Mainly because the chronomancer is going to have a trait (Danger Time) that gives you 30% extra crit chance against slowed enemies. This will synergize with Lost Time where every 3rd critical hit will slow the enemy. Therefore, you shouldn’t have a hard time getting to 100% crit chance with this trait and furry. However, to each their own opinions. Who knows, it is possible for these traits to change slightly before release as well.