Guild Wars 2

The Displacer
While the Chronomancer is the master of time, The Displacer is the expert in bending the very essence of reality and space to their whim. They control the location of themselves and their enemies on the battlefields while locking down their opponent’s options. They utilize anomalies and displacement to disorient their enemies and can eventually break the most defiant foe. They are a mid-range crowd control/dps class use that uses main hand pistol. If you feel a trait or skill is to strong then suggest a reasonable recharge time. Please rate and improve!

Class Mechanic
Displace-By using the Displace skill (F5), the character will swap locations and utilities recharge times with target. Utilities recharges swapped are in in their respective slots(slot 1 skill recharge swapp with opponents slot 1 skill recharge, etc…)Upon successful activation the displace skill with flip over to a “replace” skill which when activated allows the character to swap positions with their last created clone.If pve mechanics mean locking out mobs skills would be too strong then put a limit amount of times per minute a bosses recharge times can be increased. Yes, I had the hijinks from this video in mind when I thought of this mechanic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG_399O1epE

Weapon (Main hand Pistol)
• Space shot (auto-attack)- 900 range hits cause 1 second of vulnerability, Combo Finisher: Physical Projectile (20% chance)
• Illusory unload-1200 range launch a bolt of chaotic energy at an enemy, on hit the target takes Damage x8
• Violet shade- 600 range (hits up to 5 foes) Evade backward while doing a spread attack in front of the character. Do extra damage if target is incapacitated. Create a clone

NEW Utility – Anomalies (disables foes around character while inflicting a random condition, short cooldowns like berserker rage skills)
• Reality warp (Heal Skill)- Launch: 600 around character heal 5000(20 seconds)
• Partition function- Range 1000 Pull foe to you(15 seconds)
• Spatial turbulence- Range 800 taunt foe for 2 seconds (15 seconds)
• Symmetry in variance- Knockback: 450(15 seconds)
• Void fluctuation (Elite Skill)- Summon 3 random phantasms (40 seconds)

Traits (Minor)
• Space displacement- You can equip main hand pistol and gain access to Anomalies. Gain access to displace.
• Boundless befuddlement- Disables cause confusion
• Equivalent exchange- The duration of stuns and dazes applied to you are decreased by 33%, 10% damage modifier on targets with soft CCs

Traits (Adept)
• Transport reintegration- Teleports (displace, swaps, blinks) grant might to allies
• Now you see me…- Disables grant stealth, blind foes in area whenever leaving stealth
• Despair cycle- Grant torment and confusion when target has confusion stacks above threshold (threshold 3)

Traits (Master)
• Still can’t see me- Displace deals damage, causes confusion and casts decoy
• N.A.M.E.- Anomalies have 25% chance to summon a random phantom
• Shatter matter- Shatter skills cause 1 second of immobilize

Traits (Grandmaster)
• Disabled damage- Damage is increased when attacking a foe that is dazed, knocked down, launched, or stunned. Damage Increase: 20%
• Hard proximity- Hard crowd control effect also grants random soft crowd control effects as well and heal character for foe distance traveled
• Reality swap- Displace also exchanges boons and conditions with target Displace Recharge Reduced: 20%

Too disabling effects (pull, taunt, fear) calm down 0.o. I do not mind the idea of ??the main hand gun, but I think you are mistaken in Anet who also fell with Mistrust: If my primary condition is confusing …. why do I need to baste a build with effects Interupt enemies , until the entry of a second daze is still bearable but to create a stretch as you did (Boundless befuddlement) putting disabling random effects …. do not take it, at least you did not make a seal that passively does 180 cDs and actively stun 3 sec (cough. cough.) at least you did not create a condition that slows the enemy’s skill, stuff counter-sense as your primary cd does more damage to skills used by the enemy (slow cough. cough. ) andthey have not even put a stupid stupid strokes to build interrupt … because you know …. continue to insist with this fixation of the build interrupt with mesmer who have begun to also put it to other classes (Daredevil cough. cough.) with skills and features completely different from those of mesmer (sarcasm alert) Distracting dagger does not seem at all a certain mantra with the addition of type 2 traits more embedded grandmaster … noooo …. then we wonder why we are kittened off by ’ output expansion for the excellent management of the chrono.

I love it!! You had me hooked at the intro <3 It’s refreshing to see something else than a bard as the new elite spec for the mesmer., and this seems to be a well thought out spec.

As for feedback, Reality warp is a no go, either its cooldown needs to be upped or its secondary effect changed. Secondly, Void Fluctuation = an overkill, keep in mind that the anomalies + Rail strike inflict cc —-> stunbreaks will have been used through the course of a fight with a displacer, so you’d be basically rendered a free kill by the time one would activate Void Fluaction, up it’s cooldown to 90s. Thirdly, traits like N.A.M.E, Hard proximity, need internal cooldowns. Heck, all the displace traits might need internal cooldowns depending on the cd chosen for displace.

Overall a well thought out spec, I’m really looking forward to seeying something similar ingame. However I must say that the displacer is a heavily oriented pvp spec? I see no reason to bring it into a party over the chrono, so more team support? I dunno

Entropy.6784:

I love it!! You had me hooked at the intro <3 It’s refreshing to see something else than a bard as the new elite spec for the mesmer., and this seems to be a well thought out spec.

As for feedback, Reality warp is a no go, either its cooldown needs to be upped or its secondary effect changed. Secondly, Void Fluctuation = an overkill, keep in mind that the anomalies + Rail strike inflict cc —-> stunbreaks will have been used through the course of a fight with a displacer, so you’d be basically rendered a free kill by the time one would activate Void Fluaction, up it’s cooldown to 90s. Thirdly, traits like N.A.M.E, Hard proximity, need internal cooldowns. Heck, all the displace traits might need internal cooldowns depending on the cd chosen for displace.

Overall a well thought out spec, I’m really looking forward to seeying something similar ingame. However I must say that the displacer is a heavily oriented pvp spec? I see no reason to bring it into a party over the chrono, so more team support? I dunno

Thanks for the feedback! I am glad you appreciate the design. I took out the fear on Void Fluctuation as I want anomalies to have relatively low cool downs. Reality warp is just a larger Arcane Thievery but is balanced by the possibility of swapping at the wrong time thereby removing your own boons or when your opponent already has alot of conditions thus putting them on yourself!

In a raid a displacer can add to the skill cooldown recharge of bosses(ex. add up to 15 extra seconds per 2 minutes on Gorsevals charge time for big attacks). Also, they should be tuned to do high damage especialy during during stun phases(Disabled damage) and be the best at breaking break bars. My only issue is:
1. there would have to be an effect on a boss to show that its recharge has been impacted
2. I don’t quite know how hard it would be to balance players impacting boss skill recharge times.(perhaps only 1 second increase per anomaly skill used on bosses?)

I think mainhand pistol should perform similarly to the other examples of mainhand pistols in the game, such as including volleys of bullets, etc. i think the pistol should have a sort of burst on it, either in the form of a charged up strike IE Trueshot, or like unload.
I think maybe this elite spec for mesmer should inherit the thief’s ability to influence their third mainhand skill based on offhand weapons.

Lightsbane.9012:

I think mainhand pistol should perform similarly to the other examples of mainhand pistols in the game, such as including volleys of bullets, etc. i think the pistol should have a sort of burst on it, either in the form of a charged up strike IE Trueshot, or like unload.
I think maybe this elite spec for mesmer should inherit the thief’s ability to influence their third mainhand skill based on offhand weapons.

I thought of that but pistol off hands Phantasmal Duelist is already the “unload” skill for pistol so I didn’t want to be redundant/overpowered by giving Mesmer another one.

Only one problem: displace used in WvW. Especially given portal. It is basically a free passage of a wall.

Switch places with enemy on wall, mesmer portal, gg.

thunderfall.8095:

Switch places with enemy on wall, mesmer portal, gg.

This is true. I am pretty sure this is preventable on certain skills already though, thiefs can’t steal or shadow step to enemies on walls can they?

Yes, but then again, if you are going to base it off theif’s teleport, “No Valid Path” is going to be popping up even if they are just an inch higher then you.

thunderfall.8095:

Yes, but then again, if you are going to base it off theif’s teleport, “No Valid Path” is going to be popping up even if they are just an inch higher then you.

Sounds fine to me.

+1 just for the main-hand pistol. However I’d like to see some kind of “shatter overload”, rather than a new F5.

Curo.2483:

+1 just for the main-hand pistol. However I’d like to see some kind of “shatter overload”, rather than a new F5.

This. Also overkill cc on too many skills and I don’t like the traits too much. The main hand pistol also brings up another point you didn’t address: duelist discipline. Interrupts reduce cd of pistol skills. Last time I check, magic bullet could not reduce its own cd. A main hand pistol with a line mini daze (I don’t like knock back on a bullet) with magic bullet offhand would be able to constantly recharge each other. I love the idea but this has to be on an elite spec with no other cc.

This then feeds into mistrust and the confusion on cc trait you have and a how pistol main hand would inherently balanced as a condi weapon with bleed on hit not critical from DD. I want a power main hand. Not another scepter hybrid mess.

DuckDuckBOOM.4097:

Curo.2483:

+1 just for the main-hand pistol. However I’d like to see some kind of “shatter overload”, rather than a new F5.

This. Also overkill cc on too many skills and I don’t like the traits too much. The main hand pistol also brings up another point you didn’t address: duelist discipline. Interrupts reduce cd of pistol skills. Last time I check, magic bullet could not reduce its own cd. A main hand pistol with a line mini daze (I don’t like knock back on a bullet) with magic bullet offhand would be able to constantly recharge each other. I love the idea but this has to be on an elite spec with no other cc.

This then feeds into mistrust and the confusion on cc trait you have and a how pistol main hand would inherently balanced as a condi weapon with bleed on hit not critical from DD. I want a power main hand. Not another scepter hybrid mess.

Good point, I replaced rail strike with the following:
Illusory unload- launch a bolt of chaotic energy at an enemy, on hit the target takes Damage x8
This is similar to other “unload” pistol skills except the sequential volleys can’t be avoided/blocked if they get hit with the first bolt(but it is all or nothing). I don’t think you can avoid hybrid with pistol, all the other class pistol skills are basically hybrids and pistol doesn’t really scream power as it is more of a finesse weapon.

To actually give examples to how I would prefer things.
General theme with a P/P mesmer is that duelist’s discipline is able to snowball interrupts. While it could be somewhat condi based weapon with DD and mistrust, it’ll be mostly focused on power. So Dom/Chaos for harder hitting interrupts but if you want consistent interrupts dueling can almost be considered mandatory with this line. Inspiration for some of this is a mix of gun kata, slow mo bullet hell, cover shooters. DD inherently means that this elite spec should be limited in interrupts with utilities. While it will be interrupt spam heavy, reflects and stability will be easy counters as most interrupts will be projectiles. P/F or P/Sw could still be used to recharge main hand pistol or torch for the invis.

F4: Distortion —> Illusionary Cover: 40 (34) second CD.
Create a ward (prevents movement like ring of warding) around the mesmer’s position that also negates projectiles. MoF will make this reflect instead. No longer makes the mesmer invulnerability. Lasts for 2 seconds per illusion shattered. The mesmer can move around this point and allies can also enter this point. While not inherently an interrupt, people that continuously run into the ward while swinging a weapon will feel pain from interrupt traits. Can be used to trap enemies inside it. Animation could look similar to the engineer ward but purple!

F3: Diversion —> Bullet Time: 20 (17) second CD.
Instead of daze, slow target for 1 seconds. MoF will make this AoE slow. As I mentioned earlier, trying to focus most CC on the P/P setup. With F4 having some CC as well, slow seems appropriate for an elite spec that is focused on interrupting. Also just “cool factor” of slow mo enemies in gun fights. Greatly reduced CD as it’s no longer a daze.

F2 and F1 could be kept similar in their ability to do condition or power damage. However, I would prefer a pulsing AOE to be created where the illusions shatter. Total damage if all 4 ticks of the created aoe should be more than base mesmer shatter. HOWEVER, it’s not as bursty. This is ESSENTIAL when giving the mesmer a main hand power weapon with oopmh to it. This could also combo with F4 to keep enemies trapped inside the pulsing aoe. Would not feel OP 1 hit KO in PvP and add some zone control while helping PvE mesmer DPS. CI for immob on interrupt to try and hold enemies inside them. MoF would work the same with each pulse of the AoE. 10% crit on F1 or cripple on each pulse of F2. Each pulse would cause confusion from Illusionary Retribution.

Pistol #1: Heavy hitting basic ranged projectile.
Pistol #2: I like the idea of a line interrupt. Should not be able to recharge itself with DD (same as magic bullet). Needs to be quick to activate, low damage as traits will push out the DPS. 6 second CD should be a good spot for
Pistol #3: Because I’m a fan of DMC, death’s blossom but with GUNS!
https://youtu.be/RK_pH9ojkjA?t=3m10s
This needs to be a very heavy damage skill but a fairly long CD (20-30 seconds) while interrupts will bring it down.
Pistol 4-5 stay the same.

No clones on the pistol! I did this on purpose because GM traits and Dueling choice of DE or mistrust. Pistol clones would just use #1. I won’t come up with a full list of traits but just do 3 GM ideas as these are supposed to be the “game changers” to pick from. I’m running out of steam on ideas right now but utilities should also fit an existing category. Physical utilities+gun kata seems an obvious choice to me. Would also allow for a new rune set that would affect warrior, thief and mesmer (#6 gain resistance on using a physical utility). As it’s still the mesmer, some magic could be tossed into these utilities. Channel block (an actual channel not a single hit), roll over skill = teleport behind/dash through a foe and do some damage.

GM#1: Spontaneous interrupt: Interrupting a foe summons a clone on the foe. This is straight from the Harlequin thread.
GM#2: Equilibrium: Physical utilities grant stability for 3 seconds and clear 2 conditions reduce thier CD by 20%.
GM#3: Disabled damage- Damage is increased when attacking a foe that is dazed, knocked down, launched, or stunned. Damage Increase: 20%. FURTHERMORE, do a small amount of dmg on CC. Not as much as halting strike but enough to add a bit more kicks to CCs.

My comments on your build:
As you point out DD and mistrust will make any interrupt build a power/condition hybrid of some sort so there is no avoiding it. I don’t think DD is an elite spec limitation, CCs can just do little direct damage to offset the condition damage they will gain. I tried to avoid going all in on interrupts since that would be heavily pvp focused and I still want it to have a unique function in pve and raids(break bar/enemy skill recharge dps specialist). Also I think that slow traits are already covered by Chronomancer(which makes it more their thing). I was thinking of physical skills when I thought of anomalies, the only issue I thought of was thematically they seem like the opposite of someone warping reality. Physical can be swapped with anomalies above and the spec would work all the same. Your GM#2: Equilibrium is WAY stronger then any other physical trait in the game.

I think DD can work well with an elite spec pistol main hand interrupt IF interrupts aren’t all over the place. It’s like alacrity on chrono. It can easily balanced if controlled but… they put it on phantasms and shatters and wells and kitten hit the fan. By having interrupts mostly on both pistols, a balance can be easier to achieve. This is why I don’t like how much CC I see on your utilities with a mainhand pistol.

What I meant by hybrid is that it can happen but I don’t necessarily want that to be the appex. Like I don’t want a mainhand interrupt balanced around mistrust to the point that it sucks without it. That’s why I think no clones on the pistol is the way to go. It forces a choice of DE for clone fodder or mistrust. Even HM for more interrupts on MoD to fuel more pistol shots(not just interrupts but the burst pistol attacks as well) if needed.

Something can be a “chrono’s thing” but that stuff bleeds over. A single skill on the same base class causing slow isn’t taking away the identity of the chrono.

For physical utilities and PvP balance, yes it may be stronger than any other trait from other classes but is it OP for mesmer? The weapons and class mechanics have zero condi clear. Portal and blink are still 2 very strong utility slots. So how many physical utilities would you be willing to bring to proc that elite GM trait (Other two ones aren’t GM traits.)

DuckDuckBOOM.4097:

I think DD can work well with an elite spec pistol main hand interrupt IF interrupts aren’t all over the place. It’s like alacrity on chrono. It can easily balanced if controlled but… they put it on phantasms and shatters and wells and kitten hit the fan. By having interrupts mostly on both pistols, a balance can be easier to achieve. This is why I don’t like how much CC I see on your utilities with a mainhand pistol.

I see, that is a duel edged sword though since now you limit builds to primarily using pistols for dependable interrupts(instead of utilities). Also, physicals skills are pretty much pure interrupts so unless you are changing their fundamental flavor, choosing physical skills as a utility wouldn’t change what you perceive as a problem with DD and interrupts. Since we don’t have the actual specs to try out I can’t tell if CC utilities with DD would be overpowered or just good.

DuckDuckBOOM.4097:

Something can be a “chrono’s thing” but that stuff bleeds over. A single skill on the same base class causing slow isn’t taking away the identity of the chrono.

For physical utilities and PvP balance, yes it may be stronger than any other trait from other classes but is it OP for mesmer? The weapons and class mechanics have zero condi clear. Portal and blink are still 2 very strong utility slots. So how many physical utilities would you be willing to bring to proc that elite GM trait (Other two ones aren’t GM traits.)

I don’t have the rest of your elite spec so I thought you were going in the direction of interacting with slow as you have it on Bullet time. So you are right, I can’t comment further until I see more of your approach(especially utilities and minor traits). Still, yes a full bar of skills that each can cleanse 2 conditions and give 3 seconds of stability would be to strong in pvp.

Limiting interrupt builds (which already exist without main hand pistol) to mostly the pistol isn’t a bad thing. All the shatters I mentioned aren’t interrupt specific and would work just fine with any other weapon.

When I mentioned physical utilities, I was mostly thinking selfish utilities. I wasn’t really thinking about CC so much as some sort of weird combo of physical, tricks and rage skills. The old Mimic is a great example of what could be a “physical mesmer” skill. A channeled block similar to bandits defense. It doesn’t have to be a knockdown as the roll over skill. Perhaps the wrong category name to use without describing them in more detail. Something that could give us frequent leap or blast finishers wouldn’t hurt at all. In fact that would couple well with chaos for protection on chaos armor to make a much more bruiser-esque physical mesmer that blasts ethereal fields often with an elite GM trait that adds further resilience to the mesmer. That is not to say that some couldn’t CC, just that not all of them would be aoe CCs.

There isn’t really the “rest of the elite spec” as I haven’t fleshed anything out fully. Just a few general ideas.

1) Main hand pistol for major interrupts. Heavy burst with long CD on pistol where interrupts fuel/snowball the burst.
2) F1-F4 become zone control pulsing AOEs with better DPS than base mesmer but then your enemies could decide not to stand in them.
3) Selfish physical utilities that can be used as a personal mesmer dps increase while adding resilience to the mesmer that isn’t so stealth focused.
4) Decently powerful elite “game changing” GMs with the other traits being minor bonuses. I didn’t do the best with this as they were tossed together last minute.

Overall, I think those would make a much better/easier to balance elite spec mesmer with a mainhand pistol and the current DD trait.