Guild Wars 2

SICK and TIRED of being creamed by HOT mobs and get 3-4 hit Really love power buil;d and also made myself 2x zerker longsword and zerker gs

Dom/Illusions/Chrono. Sword/Focus, GS. Take the shatter traits that give might, damage%, Master of Fragmentation, and the chono traits that provide a clone as well as recharge phantasm. Daze Mantra, Blink, Mirror Images, and whatever heal and elite you like(gravity well is a good second pull).

Open with gs2 or sw3 clone, focus 4 to pull a group together, mirror images and Diversion. Should have 20 stacks of vuln on the entire group. Use both phantasms and then Daze mantra -> Mind Wrack -> Sw2/Gs3. Between everything you’ll be proccing your +damage minor trait; anything left over at the end will probably die to residual phantasms and you’ll have a lot of might(nearly 25 stacks if you’re doing a lot of fighting and also use a third shatter).

When chaining kills, you won’t have Mirror Images or Diversion up, so just clone+phant+phant and daze mantra instead for the next volley. Not as much dps, but the tradeoff is worth it since you’ll basically have a murder button.

Other traits are in general up to you.

Oh and if you just want single target damage, you can probably swap MoF for that fancy new phantasm trait and focus on phantasm uptime instead. I haven’t played with it myself.

Falados.7165:

SICK and TIRED of being creamed by HOT mobs and get 3-4 hit

Insert many different classes here and I have seen this comment so many times. Not to make fun or light of what you are saying. I get it. I struggled with HOT as well and got my kitten handed to me in the exact same way. Nothing more frustrating than getting hit for 5-10k at a time when you only have 20k. I had this happen with my mesmer, elementalist, ranger, guardian, and thief. The difference was with all of them, there was at least some kind of decent counter, well until this last patch for some of them. With mesmer, I had to completely switch my build and play style in a way that made the class no longer fun for me to play. I have been contemplating giving the mesmer a go again over the last week.

Little warning: because i was crafting my first ascended gear now and now finding out after this patch that it is now completely useless, that here are some tears and crying included, dont read when you think it could be too much tears or dissapointment, maybe i can find a good last thing on my 3 years played mesmer so here you go:

For real: i got sick as i first visited the first map of HoT….with fully exotic gear…..i died so often i can´t count my deaths….then i crafted for not dying 3 pices ventari for thoughness, Vitality and healing power gear, got 2 ascended earrings and 2 ascended rings with power….and runes that gives power and MORE Thougness…after that i was dying not so often…BUT: Now they nerved the Healing Mantra…2 times: first: They reduced the heal, second they canceled the sword trait what gives 3 mantras instead of 2…..now i have just 2 mantra heals and it is some sort of halfed the healing….so: 2 mantras to get the heal from 1 mantra before patch…and just 2 mantras to use…now i am dying in the HoT maps like i was before and seeking a new possibility to survive AND make dmg….what use has making dmg when i cant survive? and what makes it when i survive when i can´t kill mobs….

mesmer is my first class and the only one where i have most (not all maps) but now i wished i could change my class with this character to keep the map progress….i mean the armor and some weapons would be useless after changing class…but i could have the played story AND the map progression…..i mean: i have not enough gold to test and test and test again to find the new mesmer build wich is good for myself…it is hard to say: but the time i invested in this one character is too much to make FAST a new one…but they do everything to make me feel like i made the wrong class choice in my first character creation 3 years ago….and yes: i have not much time to play so it took me 3 years to get so far with this char….and now i wished i could change the class with my character…not the race….just the class….crap i would do every hero point new, when i could keep the rest of the map progression…or maybe swap the map prgression from one character in the selection screen to another character….so that i dont win any new map progression….but can decide with wich chars i use the map progression….(the reason why i dont play another class is also because i need to discover the map new…yes i know the tribute….but i am not interested in legendary wepons……)…

but then i think: Mesmer is a really, really cool class and i dont want to repel this class…but: the mesmer now needs a healing buff, beside the mantra the only good heal maybe is the mirror…because the CD is after the mantra the lowest…and we NEED a low CD on heals…because we can die fast…so the well from chrono is no heal for the mesmer (30 seconds CD )…also the new elite seems to have a heal with…yes 30 seconds CD when i read right….(also: why the new elite from PoF gets a trait with 20% Cd reduction for axe….but no 20% Cd reduction for the HoT elite for shield?….)

Read my posts in this thread here: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Looking-for-build-advice-fresh-80/first#post6638835

I give a lot of detailed advice and information on how to use mesmer in the open world. If you use a proper build, you should have no trouble with any open world content.

Why do people use focus in open world? If you’re chrono, you don’t need speed, warden is absolutely terrible, only pull is good but not needed in most cases.

I run s/sh + gs myself. Shield is far superior to focus imo, since it actually has decent damage and aoe, it has cc and #4 is nice defensive skill that also produces clone or two for shattering.
GS is nice for aoe and because you can quickly find yourself in dangerous situation where you have to back off a bit and having range weapon is good for that, since you can keep attacking, unlike with another melee offhand where you then have to dance around waiting for heal and skills to recharge.

Focus is for pulling enemies into one spot so you can drop all your wells on them at once.

serialkicker.5274:

Why do people use focus in open world? If you’re chrono, you don’t need speed, warden is absolutely terrible, only pull is good but not needed in most cases.

I run s/sh + gs myself. Shield is far superior to focus imo, since it actually has decent damage and aoe, it has cc and #4 is nice defensive skill that also produces clone or two for shattering.
GS is nice for aoe and because you can quickly find yourself in dangerous situation where you have to back off a bit and having range weapon is good for that, since you can keep attacking, unlike with another melee offhand where you then have to dance around waiting for heal and skills to recharge.

The focus has the fantastic pull and an AOE phantasm with immob. It’s far better than the greatsword because there’s literally zero situations where you can’t safely go melee as mesmer. You’re completely wrong when you say you can quickly find yourself in a dangerous situation where you need to back off — mesmer can handle any situation with ease at melee range.

tobascodagama.2961:

Focus is for pulling enemies into one spot so you can drop all your wells on them at once.

If that’s THE reason to carry focus, that’s pretty weak imo. I personally don’t find wells useful in open world. I mean they are not “useless”, just not worth it. It’s not like you’re dropping some decent nuke on them with those wells, they are mostly support, cc and buff utilities. I like wells in instanced content, but in open world? Before you drop those wells and start doing damage, you can burst shatter the whole group to death. For me, wells are just too long of a cast time and therefore feel a bit too clunky for open world with not that much benefit. They don’t provide enough damage for me to consider to be worth it. What else they provide? I have enough quickness from shattering + interrupts, no need for WoA. I don’t really need that much alacrity, I get some from shattering. I get plenty off CC from shield, diversion, MoD and Gravity Well, which is the only well I have almost always in open world and is actually really useful.
So, yeah, I don’t quite see that pull be worth a weapon slot honestly.

Fay.2357:

serialkicker.5274:

Why do people use focus in open world? If you’re chrono, you don’t need speed, warden is absolutely terrible, only pull is good but not needed in most cases.

I run s/sh + gs myself. Shield is far superior to focus imo, since it actually has decent damage and aoe, it has cc and #4 is nice defensive skill that also produces clone or two for shattering.
GS is nice for aoe and because you can quickly find yourself in dangerous situation where you have to back off a bit and having range weapon is good for that, since you can keep attacking, unlike with another melee offhand where you then have to dance around waiting for heal and skills to recharge.

The focus has the fantastic pull and an AOE phantasm with immob. It’s far better than the greatsword because there’s literally zero situations where you can’t safely go melee as mesmer. You’re completely wrong when you say you can quickly find yourself in a dangerous situation where you need to back off — mesmer can handle any situation with ease at melee range.

Yeah, I was a bit exaggerating with quickly finding yourself in dangerous spot, but I also don’t buy the “never” card. These maps are full of annoying mobs, that hit hard and with kitten tons of CC. Everyone gets down here and there with melee builds, even tankier builds and classes. Fortunately, mesmer is a beast with a lot of escape options, so it’s not a problem backing off. But that’s exactly when I find gs useful. Not just that, but also for starting fights. If you see group of regular mobs, you don’t need to pull and waste half an hour casting wells and phantasms, you can just bombard them straight away. Mirror blade + zerker and mind stab if needed + mindwrack is enough to destroy most of the groups even with veteran there if done properly and even if they are not really stacked together perfectly. So, GS really feels a lot smoother to me. It kills very fast in combination with shattering. I only wish AA wouldn’t be so atrocious, but oh well. So, what I’m trying to say, you can almost kill a group before you even reach them for melee action.

It is not like i need a new build…i was fine for 3 years with my mesmer….and i have changed my build depending of my playstyle…..and i liked him the way he was…but now that i have gotten 3 ascended armor pices + 2 ascended rings / earrings…..it WAS easy for me….and it was fun….but after the patch i tested ALL my builds….and all have the same Probleme: i have no good self heal anymore…..so i am seriously thinking of trying out my lvl 80 thief ( and yes you read it right: trying out…i just used the lvl 80 boost on him (when i bought HoT…used the boost instantly) , because he took a place in my bank…. but after watching the videos from the new elites…well some other elites are more my taste XD but i dont have another booster….also: i dont have any map progression / story played….it is…well just a lvl 80 char in the starting area…XD Also i have problems with really thinking of giving up on my only real main char just because anet nerved the heal…..to the ground….1 of my builds is well…some sort of good…it already was a hit and run build…but the heal is really missing…maybe a druid as pet that heals me XD?….ok joking….i am still testing…also an english guide is hard for me…since english is NOT my main language…also a guide for someone wich has played since 3 years, already read a ton of guides…is not really needed…but thanks for trying to help me out, that means a lot for me….but in the moment i really just wanna now how i could find more heal without changing so much…i mean i have crafted some of my ascended gear…and bring my tailor to lvl 500….it was hard….and i dont know if i have the power to begin from the start….but thank you….really…maybe i am just to negative to all these downgrades to our healing skills….maybe…

Hibiskus.8294:

It is not like i need a new build…i was fine for 3 years with my mesmer….and i have changed my build depending of my playstyle…..and i liked him the way he was…but now that i have gotten 3 ascended armor pices + 2 ascended rings / earrings…..it WAS easy for me….and it was fun….but after the patch i tested ALL my builds….and all have the same Probleme: i have no good self heal anymore…..so i am seriously thinking of trying out my lvl 80 thief ( and yes you read it right: trying out…i just used the lvl 80 boost on him (when i bought HoT…used the boost instantly) , because he took a place in my bank…. but after watching the videos from the new elites…well some other elites are more my taste XD but i dont have another booster….also: i dont have any map progression / story played….it is…well just a lvl 80 char in the starting area…XD Also i have problems with really thinking of giving up on my only real main char just because anet nerved the heal…..to the ground….1 of my builds is well…some sort of good…it already was a hit and run build…but the heal is really missing…maybe a druid as pet that heals me XD?….ok joking….i am still testing…also an english guide is hard for me…since english is NOT my main language…also a guide for someone wich has played since 3 years, already read a ton of guides…is not really needed…but thanks for trying to help me out, that means a lot for me….but in the moment i really just wanna now how i could find more heal without changing so much…i mean i have crafted some of my ascended gear…and bring my tailor to lvl 500….it was hard….and i dont know if i have the power to begin from the start….but thank you….really…maybe i am just to negative to all these downgrades to our healing skills….maybe…

I’ve literally never had an issue with mesmer heals. This is either a problem with your build or a problem with your play. I’ve always used the well heal and had no problems. Likewise, I haven’t carried a ranged weapon into PvE in probably over a year, full melee on every single game encounter as a mesmer is extremely reasonable.

I found Mesmer one of the easier ones ironically; but I was gearing my Mesmer as a boon tank for guild; and regardless some vit but for Mes more so even toughness w/ HoT is a great thing. Fay suggested in her thread why vit isn’t as needed w/ Mesmer. If you have 20k that is very good for HoT imo as Mesmer. I get some ppl cannot afford to craft OR buy multiple sets of things.

I HIGHLY SUGGEST checking Fay’s link out it’s NOT outdated w/ the current updates say for a few things; preci being more important now for the dueling power build. I like Pack runes thus esp if put on defensive gear. I also like more offensive armor w/ dura runes but again I am going for leadership and boon/tanky. Accessories can be easily swapped for more offensive and defensive that’s almost cheaper and better than having 10 sets of armor/rune combos

Also sword/shield is great for surivial – w/ sword/sword or sword/torch/focus too. GS is nice for more ranged options but I never liked it.

Build? Play? IT is a problem with my choosen armor…it is not fully ascended why?…i am a little bit lazy..also i have no real time for farming that much….Remember also: new players needs healing too…..sword? oh yeah right i get even closer now to the enemie after they reduced or heal….and what the well is: it is on a too high CD…or maybe you play in groups and have enough ppl that heal you too? I play solo, have beeing played solo for 3 years without any problem, i have seen many changes to the class, good and bad…but i never complained about one….but this is the first i am really not ok with….i tested the whole day to find one build….also remember: your guide is good and not outdated but for ppl who have not english as their main language it is hard to read english guides…after testing now the whole day…and dying, dying, and yes dying on the same 5 mobs in lake doric…(they were before no problem for me…with every build i have they were good to kill…now they kill me….)…well after testing alot…i find the ONE last build wich keeps me alive..but i dont like it….it is: phantasm out and watch the phantasm kill the mobs…dont do anything just watch from far away…..my playstyle was more like scepter / shield and doging around the enemie, shatter often and heal when you get hit…now the heal is not enough….

Aslo i never said Fay´s Guide is outdated…it is a really good guide…but NOT my personal loved playstyle… and for real: when there are just 2 or 3 build left where a mesmer could survive with…is this class good after all? Especially for completly new players? that dont read guides and just seeing the class description in the character creation? then logging into the game as new player and dying because the heal is to low? Sword was never really my favorite wepon…..focus too….i like scepter, torch, pistol and Greatsword….(ok GS is since HoT was released not used anymore…not good enough for HoT maps in my opinion….)…staff i would never use….it just pulls too much unwanted enemies to you…..but the phantasm is REALLY nice….

Accessories can easily be swapped?…uhm yeah it takes me thanks to my job “just” 3 weaks to get 1 ascended earring…..maybe it is easy for ppl with more time…but there are ppl that have not that much time….and they maybe spend also some time in the thing called real life….so it will be hard just to switch ONE accessoire….but yeah thanks for the hints….cheaper it is maybe for ppl who already have some gold / unbound magic / Karma saved… i hav none of that much….and the little bit i have…well that i need….and please dont say then mesmer is NOT the class for you…i did not spend 3 years with this class because i have no fun with it…i had fun..alot of fun…so much that i never was thinking of changing my class….or making a second char….

Maybe i am crying to much for some ppl who have the time to swap things easy…
but i say one thing to you: when i could change class for real money…this would be the first time i would change instantly cause mesmer is now a class that brings more frustration than fun for me….i dont wanna play it like everyone else like a (very good) guide written by some really nice ppl with time…i wanna play for fun…
(well or at last transfer / copy some map progression to another of my characters…i would renounce every map reward / legendary tribute for having the map with that other character discovered like my mesmer has the map discovered….)…

Maybe i should begin playing my thief….i “just” need to discover every map new….and playing the whole story again….sounds like fun (not)… i mean i wanna have him finished with everything when PoF will be released…that are what? Some weeks….took just 3 years for my mesmer to get this far….i need more time XD

Let me put it simply: properly played mesmer with a proper build will have no trouble in the HoT maps. If you are having trouble with dying, it’s not because of weak heals, it’s because either you are playing poorly or you’re using a bad build. This isn’t complicated.

Hibiskus.8294:

Maybe i should begin playing my thief….i “just” need to discover every map new….and playing the whole story again….sounds like fun (not)… i mean i wanna have him finished with everything when PoF will be released…that are what? Some weeks….took just 3 years for my mesmer to get this far….i need more time XD

Maybe you should play a guardian, ranger, warrior or necromancer instead.

If you are having issues surviving on mesmer, thief is definately NOT the way to go.

None of your complaints are serious issues. Mesmers can survive perfectly fine with full rare berserker gear in HoT areas, everything on top of this is just gravy. This is as always a pure playerskill issue.

You basically have following possible approaches to your mesmer problems:

- reaquire a different set of gear in the hope it will make life easier for you (which it won’t)

- improve on your mesmer/chronomancer basics

- play a baseline tankier class as mentioned earlier

On topic of reaquiring new trinkets, the ones from Bitterfrost frontier are very easy to aquire (https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Fresh_Winterberry). At 40-50 winterberries per character running through the forst (takes about 10 minutes) and 1,500-2,000 unbound magic if those same berries are consumed, you are looking at a total of 50-70 minutes per trinket (rings, accessoires will take 30 minutes longer) which can be spread out over multiple days or done all at once with multiple characters. If this takes you 3 weeks then I doubt a MMO is a game for you at this point in time.

As to ventari gear, that was never a stat combination of choice for any class least of all mesmer. It literally is trash in every way possible. I could get into details why toughness is detrimental in pve and such things, but that has been debated long and far ogten enough. The changes to our heals have nothing to do with this.

That’s me with 100% glass cannon everything. I read this thread and just hit record to show you how I was doing on my new Human mesmer that I’m currently going through HoT on. This is after a year and a half break so Im rusty. I can solo pretty much anything including Skill Points if I pay attention. Group events are a joke. idk what more you would really want out of an Open World PvE build. I always hear Open World PvE is the weakness of mes but thats crazy to me. I would kill for my ele to be half as good at open world.

If you want me to kill a certain mob or event that is giving you trouble let me know and I’ll record it.

Sorry for the low framerate, recording kills my computer.

Edit I was just showing it’s possible. If you actually want the build I’ll post screenshots but all you have to do is take every good power trait out of dom/illusions/dueling and play with the ones you like. Full zerker gear with some assassins here and there for hitting certain crit values.

I find scepter/sword + scepter/torch easier to play than gs + sword. I cap camps in wvw. I play full zerk power and full dire condi with this same set. Shield had longer cooldowns than sword.

Maybe i should play Ranger / Guardian…eh Necro? So just for saying that my playstyle was ok…ok i was not the best in doging that is what i can say….i was really carefully while doging, because the HoT map is FULL of enemies…but when you read the forums you will SEE that i am not the only one complaining about the healing mantra change….

And for Thief is NOT my thing….eh yes it is just that i survive longer with my thief now then with my mesmer…and my thief has just the exotic gear that was given to him when i used the lvl 80 boost…and there is (when i right remember) not 1 point thoughness on that armor….also he dont uses illusions to get the aggro away from him…and the only reason why i can now better survive with thief as with the mesmer is because he has better healing options and more movement skills then mesmer….

And ppl who say Mesmer is the wrong class for me…please, please read before writing this…: I have played him 3 years without having this BIG trouble like now..he was absolute fun for me…..mabye you (the ppl who answer right now) are professionals as mesmer and never making 1 mistake in doging, attacking and using THE perfect build…remember that there are ppl that are not playing perfect with 100% attention and playing for FUN not for playing the style everyone else is playing just because they NEED to play like everyone else for suriviving, remember that there are BEGINNERS that are absolutely no professionals…and maybe ask in the ingame chat: most mesmers are ok with every change….except the change to the heal mantra (every other mantra / cange from the notes is ok…)…and not everyone wanna play full zerk power or full dire condi….

i for myself was wanting to go for FULL ventari gear, with assasian weapons and power accessoires….and yes i know for some ppl is ventari gear COMPLETLY crap…but after getting 3 armor pieces of this gear (before patch) i was like not using my heal every 30 seconds i fight… i was like i can pull more than 5 enemies and some more powerfull enemies and getting hit without loosing the half of my health…and still can kill them (not fast like everyone else like…slow but without any risk of beeing killed)…also i feeled the healing power stat on the armor….my heal was much stronger than before…now after the patch it is like i dont wear the ventari gear..

..ok…i think i will playing my thief right now….and making the whole maps…sight….he makes just more fun then my mesmer at the moment…so see ya maybe in this forum when they hear the tears from every 3rd mesmer i asked falling down…and making a change again to this one mantra…

Hibiskus.8294:

i for myself was wanting to go for FULL ventari gear, with assasian weapons and power accessoires….and yes i know for some ppl is ventari gear COMPLETLY crap…but after getting 3 armor pieces of this gear (before patch) i was like not using my heal every 30 seconds i fight… i was like i can pull more than 5 enemies and some more powerfull enemies and getting hit without loosing the half of my health…and still can kill them (not fast like everyone else like…slow but without any risk of beeing killed)…also i feeled the healing power stat on the armor….my heal was much stronger than before…now after the patch it is like i dont wear the ventari gear..

Your not supposed to tank hits in this game. Even less so on mesmer or thief. Mesmer is THE class with the most amount of dodges, invuls, blocks, reflects and blurs for a reason. The same goes for thief, the class is completely designed around evading enemy attacks.

You are playing the class as you wound in a traditional MMO and not adapting to how GW2 is designed and ment to be played.

Cyninja.2954:

Hibiskus.8294:

i for myself was wanting to go for FULL ventari gear, with assasian weapons and power accessoires….and yes i know for some ppl is ventari gear COMPLETLY crap…but after getting 3 armor pieces of this gear (before patch) i was like not using my heal every 30 seconds i fight… i was like i can pull more than 5 enemies and some more powerfull enemies and getting hit without loosing the half of my health…and still can kill them (not fast like everyone else like…slow but without any risk of beeing killed)…also i feeled the healing power stat on the armor….my heal was much stronger than before…now after the patch it is like i dont wear the ventari gear..

Your not supposed to tank hits in this game. Even less so on mesmer or thief. Mesmer is THE class with the most amount of dodges, invuls, blocks, reflects and blurs for a reason. The same goes for thief, the class is completely designed around evading enemy attacks.

You are playing the class as you wound in a traditional MMO and not adapting to how GW2 is designed and ment to be played.

He probably understands that but open world pve is all about killing the monster before it kills you so dealing damage takes the highest point as taking hits is suicide in HoT. You can only evade so much before you start taking to much damage that you cannot recover from it.

I’ve been having issues on my warrior as if there is an undocumented change to the damage the monsters do in the game which I would not be surprised if its was tweaked but forgot to be put on the patch notes.

You probably wonder why I’m posting here and I’m a warrior but really I’m looking for something else to play and just reading boards to get info for classes. Also Mirage looks mighty interesting along with weaver.

tbh I’ve never had any issues solo wvw or pve in any kind of situation, I’ve been soloing HoT Champs and group events with no one there – HoT is indeed challenging but mesmer offers some of the best survivability options possible… constant evades, invuln, blocks, blinks, stealth, illusions to distract, boons, condition removal. I’ve built for most of these and I’m not the best mesmer, and have tanked hard hits bc I can’t dodge and evade everything but among all these options there’s always a way. Here’s my thing…. I’ve been using my own weird modification of a PU build since it was a thing. my play style doesn’t like chrono and I haven’t caught up with all the changes to the class. so I’ve been using what I concocted ages ago with some updates. I build for max power for pve full zerk gear though I also can switch for Condi set on the spot and full set of all weapons. the sword / x option is just too good and will have something for all situations. sword has block, pistol has daze, focus can deal with projectiles. the pu aegis and boons is too effective tho, i have MI and Decoy and sometimes torch if I want to play it safe. I have blink and mirror heal on 12 s cds, and I’m literally healing all the time every time I take a little bit of damage I’m pretty much back to full and reflecting projectiles. when in danger I go for the staff, chaos storm aegis and boons, chaos armor, bouncing boons. it feels like I have aegis blocks for ages often. sometimes if it’s really tough, I go gs staff and just kite and not even get close until everything is dealt with. I’ve soloed alot of Champs I’ve seen most people die at this way, just sustain, survive, keep ur distance, keep it up til its done. Condi removal from heals, shatters, and null field if necessary to slot in. add a sigil or food for extra deal with conditions. run past any mobs you don’t want to deal with with tons of invisibility and blinks. some people say PU is boring too but it’s honestly not when you constantly take it solo straight jnto hellish situations bc you can really take a beating. certainly not the optimal build for damage but I’ve been literally impossible to kill if you’re worried about survivability. recently I solo’d three Champs and the adds in two separate events that spawned in HoT maps, really keeps you on your toes when you play with fire even with a forgiving build. but if anyone is worried about survivability or want to tackle the toughest situations, it IS possible and potentially quite easy even without going crazy with perfect rotations

So, I’m not trying to be rude when I say this, but the reason that so many people run glass cannon on Mesmer is because the class’s defense mechanic is not its hit points, it’s access to cooldowns that avoid or block damage.

Once you run out of those cooldowns you either need to kill the enemy or back off until your cooldowns recharge or you will die.

This is part of the reason that Chronomancer is so powerful. Access to Alacrity means that you get your cooldowns back faster and can stay in the fight. On top of that you provide the same benefit to your party members.

If you want to be able to jump into the fray, tank hits, and feel like an immortal you can try a Reaper Necro build using wells or minions. Outfit yourself in Knight (Toughness/Power/Precision) gear, use a Blood Fiend, and be outright amazed at how hard you are to kill. That build plays differently, though — instead of single-target bursting enemies down you need to gather up several of them at a time and AoE them all at once. The time-to-kill on individual enemies is poor, but once one of them turns on your Gravedigger spam the entire group will go down quickly.

Honestly I had one of my Mesmers go through HoT as a Sc/Sw power shatter. Didn’t really have problems with survival.

in the sort of build I mentioned I’m basically never our of CD there’s always something to get me out of harms way bc there are just that many options and I feel I’m not the best mesmer bc sometimes I forget to use all of the options in a nice complex rotation. I tried to run chrono but was not my style and felt clunkier and slower than what I do currently. I plan on giving it more time but the alacrity and resets aren’t as continuous as I was used to in what I do. but from the time I was trying it there’s no doubt chrono is strong, might be a matter of getting used to it. but I’d say its not the only way at it and depending on the OPs capabilities and style like for me, something should work for them. for me what I run has never failed me. basically, mesmer is highly survivable somehow and you shouldn’t be dying so much

The big problem for Mesmers in post-HoT open world content is all the kittening RNG ground-target attacks. Mobs themselves aren’t hard to deal with, but we have no good way to handle the situations where you dodge a telegraph attack or random puddle and another random puddle spawns underneath you while your dodge is on CD. It basically requires us to take Restorative Illusions to sustain through the damage when we take those random hits.

tobascodagama.2961:

The big problem for Mesmers in post-HoT open world content is all the kittening RNG ground-target attacks. Mobs themselves aren’t hard to deal with, but we have no good way to handle the situations where you dodge a telegraph attack or random puddle and another random puddle spawns underneath you while your dodge is on CD. It basically requires us to take Restorative Illusions to sustain through the damage when we take those random hits.

…like what?

90% of HoT, and the LW3 content even more so, is just “(random parts of) the floor is lava”.

tobascodagama.2961:

90% of HoT, and the LW3 content even more so, is just “(random parts of) the floor is lava”.

Yeah, but you’re supposed to walk out of those, not dodge out of it.

Edit: name a couple specific mobs or encounters where you have this issue and I can tell you how to handle it more appropriately.

Recently I looked for a cheap power-rune with spreading might to allies (to build up phantasmal force stacks faster) and crafted a set of sup. rune of the Privateer. First I thought about to change the sixth one for another rune that gives additional power – but the 6th bonus actually is pretty amazing. The bird hits every 1,5-2 sec, does damage of about 8xx to 12xx and crits for about 2k at lvl 80, it lasts and has a cd of 60 seconds, then reappears about every 2nd hit I get, grabs aggro and usually kills one or even two mobs while I am afk. Going afk in the wilderness previousely was a pretty bad idea, I often was dead or almost dead when I returned.
I never heard me yelling “Yarr” yet as the 4th bonus says, but the bird made my mesmer-life much easier than before. It doesn’t make a significant difference in HoT but it’s an additional source of dmg. I use S/S and still the staff, because it grants more mobility and protection which imo is more important on HoT maps.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhEQNAsdRlknhC0YlawDNwsGLpGC5gLBQ/uOb5nTFA-TxBBwABeEA51HcWJIP1fwq871+DAODAAA-e

I use this build for PVE. Easy to play.

Full zerk with gs sword and shield, everything dies in a sec. having the cc from tides and blurred frenzy is a strong burst as well. But generally for open world a full zerk mind wrack will kill everything faster than u can imagine. i usually run domi/illu or duel/illu

I’ve also used this build for soloing HoT HP’s and champions and it was super ez due to the extremely strong cc and burst from gs skills.Since i run leg armor i switch between leadership/scholar runes depending on what im doing.