Guild Wars 2

Hi All,

I’m trying to work out which PvP build is better according to the traits I’m choosing. Both are phamtasm builds, I only shatter if the target is almost down, to finish them off. I’ve tried the folling 2 traits;

Build 1: 20/30/0/0/20 (http://www.gw2build.com/builds/mesmer-pve-greatsword-staff-build-mesmer-clones-pve-greatsword-staff-9230.html )

Build 2: 20/0/5/25/20 (similar to this one but with 10 moved to domination for greatsword training http://www.gw2build.com/builds/simulator.php#1.8.7.3.0.20.32.5.0.35.180.191.197.199.205.2.2.6.528.0.0.0.0.0.559.0.0.575.576.0.588.595.0.10.0.15.25.20 )

The main differences are:

Build 1: Dueling gives high precision and critical damage, it gives phantasms fury and confusion upon death. Also the dodging creates a clone.

Build 2: Loses all the above benefits of dueling but picks up exta health/toughness and all of of the phantasm benefits of the inspiration traitline (speed, regen, damage, retaliation, health).

So I guess it comes down to, is the Dueling or Inspiration traitline better for a phantasm build? I’ve tried both in PvP and can’t decide!

Or is the Legion build better than both?

well in my 500+ hour with phatasmal mesmer for me best choise 20/20/0/25/5

p.s. IMO

I’m going to second the previous poster, that build is what I usually use for a phantasm build. Alternatively I’ll use 0/20/20/25/5 picking up some more defensive traits in chaos, usually 3% reduced damage, and the trait that i think is called mirrored anguish.

i second drongas.

depending on the future of gsword damage(which was changed for some reason in patch)

20/20/0/25/5 is super strong for wvw pve and spvp

wvw especially . if you want to fight on or off a wall you need focus/gsword because they are the only weapons that create phantasms at the target not at you from 1200.

so the first 20. increased illusion damage+greatsword cooldown reduction.
second 20 phantasms get fury+dodge clone

0

25 i usually get phantasms get 25 percent more health (because it = more damage because of the retaliation minor trait) .. and focus reflect+cooldown reduction. (this turns your speed buff into a reflect wall in addition to its vortex knockdown.) if you are zerg vs zerg you can shut down a teams whole range attack by staggering reflecting warden / temporal curtain / feedback.

i can go on more about how good this spec is and all the little tricks you can do.. but just putting my vote in for 20 20 0 25 5

Cool thanks all.

So comparing it to my 20/30/0/0/20 build, we lose the final 10 points in dueling, but can still pick up the dodge clone and fury for phantasms. We lose 15 in illusions (condition damage) which means losing compounding power (3% more damage for each illusion – not a massive loss), illusionary retribution (shatter skills inflict confusion – no biggie as its not a shatter build) and phantasamal haste (phantasm skills recharge 20% faster – but we still have the 20% game from illusionists celerity).

But the gain is the 25 points in inspiration, which will pick up the health and the traits specced in my 2nd build.

So overall a good middle ground of my 2 suggested buids! Also works for me as I suspected the 25 in inspiration was needed but didn’t want to lose my greatsword damage (20 in domination).

the main reason for the 25 in inspiration is how powerful focus is with cooldown reduced + reflect. imo