Guild Wars 2

You dont need two topics…

Are they entertaining? Yes I believe so. Learning curve however is rather steep and up to 40 they are weak. The Mesmer is very reliant on dodging, comboing skills at the right time and swapping weapons. I would not call it a beginners class.

But sure it is entertaining and fun and satisfying. For me as a new player it clicked for me like no other class. Even at low levels I felt incredibly strong and capable and solo’d many things I wouldn’t have been able to on other classes. I simply had Mirror Images, staff and sword/focus which makes up for fast illusion production without the whole clone on dodge thing. Other than that trait, the mesmer is all about active defense skills, stun breaking, mobility and constant rhythm of weapon swaps, jumping in and out of range and melee. It’s great fun. If you can get the rhythm of it, it is amazingly capable. It’s not for everyone though. You’d have to try it. Some people hang on til 40 before they enjoy themselves, or if you’re like me then it simply clicks and feels natural!

Cool, but I’m dying more than I should

I dunno how to mesmer :|

Mesmer was my first character.

The learning curve is very steep, and a lot of key traits aren’t available until the higher levels. You have to be very patient while leveling — this is a class that really does get much better later on.

PU condition build is no harder to play than spirit ranger. In fact, it might even be easier for a newbie because it has so much stealth.

You can’t even get PU until level 60. And it’s not so easy to play a PU build at that level anyway.

The mesmer is very fun to play, at least to me. IMO it’s probably got the biggest variety of viable builds apart from the Warrior. I can spend an entire afternoon just making up new, interesting builds for it.

But yes, I agree with what’s been said already. It takes some getting used to. You need to pay attention to enemies and summon your illusions based on what needs to die first. You also need to decide if you want an illusion shattering build or a sustained illusion build. Combat requires keeping an eye on phantasm cooldowns, dodging/kiting when necessary, and in general being very aware of your surroundings. I think a lot of newbies aren’t used to that level of engagement, but really it just takes some practice.

The class is also considerably weaker than other classes (such as warrior, guardian, or elementalist) while leveling up. But at max level, when you have access to all the traits that synergize well, you have a very fun class to play. I’ve stuck with it since I first started playing GW2, and while like every class it’s got its ups and downs while Anet does weird balance changes, the core gameplay is still very strong.

Honestly, if you really want to play a Mesmer, it’s better to pick it up as your first profession (or right after Engineer/Elementalist).

The reason why is that if you play something “easier” (in regards to being beginner friendly) like Ranger/Warrior, you’ll feel like a Mesmer is too much effort and ridiculously hard.

If you run with a Mesmer at the beginning, you won’t realize how difficult the game is until you swap into something easier (or get access to whatever makes a Mesmer easier).

Although people state that Mesmer is hard before level 40, that’s not particularly true. It’s just that after level 40, Mesmer’s become easier to play. Using Deceptive Evasion is a godsend for solo players, but it isn’t exactly required. I didn’t start using Deceptive Evasion until ~300-600 hours into Mesmer, which was well past hitting level 80.

I was able to solo my first Champion at level 45 (it was level 53) without the use of Deceptive Evasion (although my tactic was just as cheesy).

I have to agree with what CrazyAce has stated in his third paragraph. Mesmers while leveling are subpar and won’t have the crazy numbers that other professions get (it’s theoretically possible to hit for ~3.5k in the tutorial on a Warrior and Guardian level 1, assuming the first boss actually has that much health, which it doesn’t), but they do come with very reactive gameplay (although every profession is reactive, arguably) based on positioning of you and your units (cough illusions cough).

Unless, of course, you choose to be Phantasm. Then you don’t have to pay attention to positioning of your units.

Try playing every class to 20 or 30. If you find one that you really enjoy, stick with it. Hopefully you’re not going by what’s fotm because then you’ll never be happy with your choice. Focus on what you enjoy about a class and not how it performs. Performance changes all the time, the trick is to enjoy the class mechanics and playstyle to stick through the rough patches.

About the mesmer, very versatile and some unique group utilities. Needs getting used to compared to some other class mechanics. Supposedly better post 40, though I can’t remember ever having a hard time on my mesmer (been a while since I’ve leveld her to 80. Was right after my Warrior though).

Try to enjoy the road to 80 on your first character or you’ll get tired of this game really fast.

All that being said, have fun and good luck.

Cyninja.2954:

Try playing every class to 20 or 30. If you find one that you really enjoy, stick with it.

But again, that’s not a good way to judge mesmers, because they are not at level 80 like they are at level 20.

Qaelyn.7612:

Cyninja.2954:

Try playing every class to 20 or 30. If you find one that you really enjoy, stick with it.

But again, that’s not a good way to judge mesmers, because they are not at level 80 like they are at level 20.

I’d have to agree with this, but also bring it to the next level. You can’t really experience all the professions until you get them to max level.

Heart of the Mists is a good testing ground, but it doesn’t let you test it out in a nice manner. Sure you can hotjoin matches, but that’s jumping into the deep end and it may not even be how you’d like to play.

Personally, I’d make whatever profession intrigues you, bring it to the Heart of the Mists and then read/test what you like on golems.

From there, figure out what build you want to run and then see which profession you like the most.

Start playing that profession and don’t work towards your aforementioned build that you made. Work on something random and silly. Then, when you’re max level, switch into the build you wanted to play. From there, your instincts will show you how to build yourself. It’ll be a terrible build, but it’s better to have your own build than to follow someone else’s cardboard box cutout build.

If you need, at max level, use the cardboard box cutout builds you find as a reference and then add your own flare and tweaks.

Qaelyn.7612:

Cyninja.2954:

Try playing every class to 20 or 30. If you find one that you really enjoy, stick with it.

But again, that’s not a good way to judge mesmers, because they are not at level 80 like they are at level 20.

Agreed. Ideally one should play every class to 60 or 80 to see how they play. Very few people take that amount of time though to pick, hence my 20-30 recommendation since you get full utilities at 20 and elites at 30 which might give a hint of how the class plays.

For mesmers this is a tad more extreme than most other classes since we are very trait dependent in our play style. Going to duck into cover now from all the flack I’ll get from the other professions disagreeing.

Thanks for all of your in depths reply. I think I’ll start a mesmer. I’ve leveled a guardian to level 20 the last time I played, and won’t be going thief as I’’ve played as rogue in WoW and am looking for something new and fresh-that was why I wanted to play as the mesmer. Their abilities sound very fun.