Guild Wars 2

First, a bit of my story. I made my first mesmer almost 11months ago (a sylvari), got to level 20 or so, then realized how sucky leveling was. So i deleted it and moved on. 7months ago i made my 2nd mesmer (a charr), got to level 30ish, and finally figured out “how to mes”. But i realized how bad the clipping was on all charr light armor and deleted it. Now very recently ive made my 3rd mesmer (human) and leveled it to 80 with a combination of map completion and tomes from spvp. This one i really want to stick with, as i main a thief, and mesmers are also very stealthy and tricky, much like my main.

So here’s my problem. I want to play a level 80 character on a class that i have under 30 hours on. Primarily want to play in tpvp and solo roaming in WvW. I am fully aware of how painful and frustrating this will probably be. But i really want to get good at it. Any general mesmer tips would be appreciated.

I’ve put together a build, and it seems to have all the bases covered, but im not really sure how well it would work in practice. I did roam with it for a few hours, but all i could find were groups of 4+ and completely clueless people who just attacked my clones (which was super funny to watch). Here’s the build

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fhQQNAsdRlknpRtlpxINcrRSqhYuUn9ZRSOIQp+A-TFCEABTq+DTK/aTfQO7PAwhA4hnAABnAgtUCSGA9JA-w

Would this same build translate well into tpvp if i bring portal? Are there any traits you think i should move around? I know the meta there is the GS/staff shatter, but i am almost sure i lack the skill to really do anything with it. Also, how on earth do you solo camps? The guards will instantly kill my phantasms, and im stuck with almost no dmg until theyre off CD again. You also can’t really just Los and cleave like ive found with other classes because you just melt. How do you do it?

TL;DR: very new mesmer, less than 30 hours on my fresh 80 and i need help in tpvp/WvW.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Post-Your-Build-Thread/first

that thread is a good place to start for builds, some of which are a bit out dated but meh..

as far as your build goes, its a fairly basic Phantasm type of build. Ok for PvE but it falls apart quickly in PvP when you fight someone who knows how to deal with a mesmer.

the current tPvP build is a basic Shatter build

4/4/0/0/6 bring Blink/ Portal and something else, usually Nullfield or the Mantra you have or Mirror images.

If thats not your style you could also try a PU build which is the “tankier” OP option

If you want to try your own builds out then i would suggest you find a GM trait you like and build around that, not bringing a GM to a fight as a Mesmer is basicly showing up naked; the way the class is designed and set up kinda makes it that way.

Best options are:

Illusionary Persona – Creates a shatter on you basically giving you a 4th shatter and a huge boost in burst damage. Used in shatter builds because it doesnt fit in with anything else.

Chaotic Interruption – Imob on interrupts makes locking someone up a bit more effective, mostly used in “lockdown” builds but these vary and can be hard to get a hold on if you arent 100% sure of CD’s and other class/race skill animations mean.

Prismatic Understanding – Invis kitten the kitten out and grab a chunk of defensive boons. leads to tankier builds that are more passive and requires a lower time investment to get used to. These also mostly hinge on letting your foes kill themselves while you kitten about untargetable and safe from pressure.

Confounding Suggestions – not as popular but also falls into Lockdown styled builds, adds a chance for dazes to become stuns (50%).

Things i wouldnt recommend as of the current meta

Running Reflect on Focus – iWarden is terribly unreliable and most meta builds dont use projectiles or can easily work around your brief reflect times

any GM trait in the inspiration line..

Any GM trait in the Dueling Line (PvE builds excluded for mantra trait)

2/3 of the Domination GM traits, Power block looks interesting but cant seem to find its footing at this time.

PS. Mesmer is not really anyone’s first choice for tPvP and is often pushed to “roaming” or “viel/portal” duty in WvW. if you can find a team willing to work around you being a mesmer and adapt their play to having you there then more power to you, if not i would suggest you grab your thief for tPvP, everyone loves having atleast 1 on their team.

TLDR

Welcome, search the forums for the current builds/look at others builds and success rates. Good luck.

There isn’t really any room for a GM trait, but none of them really fit well anyway. The main reason i was traiting my focus was because there isn’t really anything else, and i wanted the 15% more phantasm dmg. Plus nearly perma swiftness is awesome. Maybe a different offhand would be better, especially with iwarden. But then id have to switch to traveler runes. Another problem is i dont really have any points to play with. I need both 15% phantasm dmg boost as i was getting 5-6k izerkers. I could take 2 from domination and use blade training and use dual swords tho….id probably hit 5-6k on the swordsman. Is the signet heal any good for builds like these?

Im well aware of the state of mesmers in tpvp, and i know the typical shatter build. In my experience however, as long as there isn’t an enemy thief a mesmer is a great addition to any team. I also know how strong/OP PU is, but i dont wanna be just another PU mesmer. There so many potential builds i see with this class i dont wanna follow a mold. Here’s another ive theorycrafted. How do you think this would do?
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fhQQNAscRl0npRtlpxINcrNiqhc6mDTSqAluTpBA-T1BEABTq+DTK/sb/h20HAwhA4hnAwWKBJDg+EA-w

First, note that the link swish provided for builds is wrong. Please use Fay’s build list (also stickied of course), as it is coherent, organized, and designed as a resource for finding builds and guides.

Your first build is basically a somewhat defensive version of a phantasm build. The issues with this build for tPvP is that you’re not going to be helpful in team fights, as your phantasms die too quickly ( this is a problem inherent to all phantasm builds). You can use it as a point assaulter, but there are better builds for that (like your second build). In wvw, you can roam ok, but you’ll have a hard time handling more than one person (again inherent problem to phantasm builds), and your camp clear time will be on the slower side.

Your second build is very similar to my ‘Overpowered’ build, and can found in the build list. Main points of this build are that it’s incredibly strong for a 1v1 fight, but nearly useless if you’re outnumbered or in any fight larger than a 2v2. You can roam with it, but it’s very fragile and you’ll squish if you get hit by more than one person. In pvp it can be used, but due to it being bad in more than a 2v2, you’re rather limited in what you can do.

Now, for general strategy and aim in tPvP if you’re not playing with a team (so this applies to both solo queue and soloing in team queue), look at my guide to Mesmer in solo queue, found in that same stickied build/guide list.

As far as wvw roaming goes, there’s a very good reason as to why everyone uses PU builds when solo. PU builds are the absolute best survivability that Mesmer has (and note that I only consider PU conditions, as PU power is quite weak for multiple reasons). They allow you to survive and even win outnumbered fights, escape very nasty situations, and overall just accomplish more. Phantasm builds and shatter builds both get wrecked by any groups you’ll come across, and are more suited to play in those roaming groups (though PU can work in small groups too, depending on group comp).