Guild Wars 2

Hi all -

I’ve been scouring the forums, and doing some testing myself for W3 builds as a Mesmer. I’ve gone from a shatter-centric build to attempting a strong condition and staff oriented build. Overall it just feels as though I have had low impact, unless we pull off a sick portal. This is the opposite of my experience in SPvP.

Essentially, I’m not really sure what an effective way to build the Mesmer would be for W3 – from traits down to weapons. Shatter builds are certainly in my comfort zone, but seem totally underutilized in 80% of situations in W3 (ie: siege, huge battles where illusions die before they can run to shatter the target)

I’d appreciate any insight, or even links to threads discussing these possibilities. I’ve used the search function but have had a difficult time finding anything concrete.

If you just want to go for damage in WvW, then a confusion glamour build is the way to go. Personally I like to play a bunker/support type of build; http://tinyurl.com/b93mpky

Several valid builds for wvwvw mesmers who like bigger scale combat. Ine general our utilitys is fantastic for the group but our dmg is not to be forgotten and ofc our fantastic frontline combat role.

I link 2 total different geamplay vids from my runs with Judge. First is Shatter cat heavy, frontline shatter build capable of sustain great dmg and wery good survival:

Second is Glamour spec and support role:

There is some nice builds/guides in sticky on this forum. Have a look, can also recomend my own guide ofc, I play 90% of my gameplay in wvwvw as mesmer in smal groups or big/midsize team.

/cheers Osicat

The generally effective WvW builds are as follows with ratings (siege, skirmish, utility):

1. Power based IP Shatter (2, 5, 3)
2. Condition based IP Shatter (1, 5, 3)
3. 30/30 Mantra DPS (5, 3, 1)
4. Glamour AOE/Confusion (4, 2, 4)
5. ‘Immortal’ Ret tank (3, 3, 2)

Basically numeric ratings out of 5, pulled out of my kitten in 30 seconds.

Bottom line is that shatter builds suck dick in sieges where phantasms and clones can never get to their targets, and melee-range shatters are few and far between.

30/30 Mantra is absurd range siege DPS, but has terrible utility and flexibility. Also a mediocre 1v1 or skirmish build.

Glamour build sucks for skirmishing but is great for AOE suppression. Tons of utility.

Tank build is good to run into an enemy, but anyone can disengage a fight and basically walk away. Good for skirmishing objectives (sitting on a supply camp) or sticking yourself into the enemy in a siege to soak their attacks and … tank. Poor damage of course, and mediocre utility.

Note that any Mesmer can swap utility abilities and instantaneously gain more utility. 30/30 Mantra build is the least flexible though.

I personal run a condition build that places an emphasis on stealth. It is quite powerful in skirmishes, as you have nearly all the power of a condition Shatter (IP is not utilised but really doesn’t make too much of a difference), the natural tankiness of condition Mesmers, and stealth which can make a huge difference especially when outnumbered. The build is very similar to FLIMP’s condition build (almost identical, actually).

As skirmishes are all I’m interested in in WvW, the build suits me just fine.

In a large-scale fight, you have 3 viable options: glamour confusion, 30/30 glass cannon range nuker, and my personal favorite of course, the full tank. A shatter build is of very limited use, with the exception of in a coordinated group that can make use of large aoe disruption and simultaneous burst.

Each one of these fulfills a different purpose in the fights. In my opinion, however, the tank is the most helpful, and here’s why.

Ultimately, wvw is a game of siege. Skirmishes and what-not happen, and can decide the fate of supply camps, but ultimately the only way to break a tower or keep is through siege. There are a few ways to counter siege. You can build your own long range siege to hit it, but this can be stopped if they have too much of a head start on you or if they have too many eles defending.

In the case where counter siege doesn’t work, you have to actually go out and whack their siege apart. By far the best method of doing this is a portal bomb. The tank build is the only build that can 100% guarantee getting you a portal right on top of the seige, no matter how many defenders they have; or how built up that seige nest is, and that is really important.

Other than that, the tank build also has a lot of stopping power. You can easily soak up 20 seconds of 15 people trying to kill you, and in that time the seige can be killed.

In skirmishes, you play a front line attack, moving in first, stomping downed enemies with your invulnerability or time warp, and generally punishing people that attack you. It is a massively disruptive and high-visibility role that allows the damage dealers to do what they do best.

As people have mentioned it really depends on what you want to do in WvW.

The shatter builds are great IMO for small party roaming, picking off other roamers, and doing 1v1.

I’ve used Pyro’s tank retaliation build to great effect defending supply camps, keeps, and other strategic points, but in zerg on zerg action you have to be mindful of positioning. This is a great build but IMO is not good for pursuit (I use it in PVP and people call me OP).

Another build to keep in mind is Seven Mirrors “shatter” build. It has higher toughness than normal shatter builds (and less shatter), utilizes a lot stealth, and plain keeps people confused. It has been a great anti-zerg build and I’ve used it extensively attacking supply camps with small groups. Highly recommended.