Guild Wars 2

Hello,

I rocked PVE and have been 80 for a while. Played WVW for a while and did decent as a support role in the BG for the most part. Didn’t get to many one on ones.

In SPVP I am down right horrible.

I have always considered myself a good gamer. I was really great at quake 1/2/arena and did well at WoW dueling but for some reason I can’t get this down.

I keep switching key binds and builds and what not but just can’t seem to find one that works.

So I am not asking what build I should go with cause I really have fun with them all. I am positive its not the char/build/whatever but its me.

Most of my problem I think is due to targeting.

Curious to hear how long it took you to get good with your mesmer in SPVP and what tricks or tips for key binding you have?

It takes me about 3-4 matches daily before I stop sucking.

I think sPvP is really a mindset thing – It takes a little time to transition your mindset to it, and once you do, the rest kind of falls into place. Like that feel when you just dodge rolled into someone, then iLeaped to them as they rolled away, dropping a 3 clone mindwrack+Blurred Frenzy on them.

It’s not so much a key set issue, as it is getting the hang of the flow of combat.

I just sat down with a simple combo build and learned how to combo and improv.
GS/Sword+Pistol is an easy one.

I seem to always come back to the GS/sword pistol combo. Mostly cause the phantasms are on the same hotkey which I really like.

I just gotta pick one and dedicate myself to it for a while. Do you practice the combo movies in PVE at all ? Or isnt there some grounds outside the pvp area to practice?

At this point for me I don’t think gear matters or even skill traits for that matter to be honest.

I just gotta get down some basic combos.

One thing did you every have issues targeting? I have tab set on mine and i still have some issues.

Pick a build from the build list in the sticky page. Find out what the rotation of the build is and try it out on the golems. As you’re testing it out, make adjustments to your keybinds as you need until you are able to very quickly and smoothly execute your rotation. After that, you can try the class dummies on the other side of the map or you can jump straight into spvp and practise until you get the hang of it.

Just make sure you pick a build that actually works and suits your play style

ShoeMoney.5249:

I seem to always come back to the GS/sword pistol combo. Mostly cause the phantasms are on the same hotkey which I really like.

I just gotta pick one and dedicate myself to it for a while. Do you practice the combo movies in PVE at all ? Or isnt there some grounds outside the pvp area to practice?

At this point for me I don’t think gear matters or even skill traits for that matter to be honest.

I just gotta get down some basic combos.

One thing did you every have issues targeting? I have tab set on mine and i still have some issues.

I practice in sPvP. You won’t learn the right maneuvers if you practice in PvE or against the target dummies, they’re more for testing DPS.

Just keep playing and you’ll eventually stop dying all the time and start staying up.

Also, for targeting, you shouldn’t have problems unless going against a Mesmer.

So you just use tab for nearest target?

I usually just manually select or have auto-target do it’s work. If it’s a mesmer, I have to manually click them.

ShoeMoney.5249:

Hello,

I rocked PVE and have been 80 for a while. Played WVW for a while and did decent as a support role in the BG for the most part. Didn’t get to many one on ones.

In SPVP I am down right horrible.

I have always considered myself a good gamer. I was really great at quake 1/2/arena and did well at WoW dueling but for some reason I can’t get this down.

I keep switching key binds and builds and what not but just can’t seem to find one that works.

So I am not asking what build I should go with cause I really have fun with them all. I am positive its not the char/build/whatever but its me.

Most of my problem I think is due to targeting.

Curious to hear how long it took you to get good with your mesmer in SPVP and what tricks or tips for key binding you have?

In spvp you want shatter.

20/20.0.0.30.

Cant remember all the traits off hand, but in the last trait line u want the one that makes you shatter on yourself. ETc.
You need to learn the shatter combo, and how to use f4 distortion to dodge power burst classes.

shimmerless.4560:

Ayanavi.1904:

It takes me about 3-4 matches daily before I stop sucking.

I think sPvP is really a mindset thing – It takes a little time to transition your mindset to it, and once you do, the rest kind of falls into place. Like that feel when you just dodge rolled into someone, then iLeaped to them as they rolled away, dropping a 3 clone mindwrack+Blurred Frenzy on them.

It’s not so much a key set issue, as it is getting the hang of the flow of combat.

I’d agree with this… I also quite like the GS/sword + pistol setup, I find the GS has ironically one of the Mes’ stronger ranged toolkits and people tend to underestimate the damage they’re taking if you can harass from a distance. You also have a decent pushback if you’re in trouble, which sometimes saves you needing to blow one of your stun breakers.

I agree that GS is amazing in PvP (especially since it’s so laid back), but in PvE (and WvW) the Staff is soooooo amazing at disengaging and living. 5 sec blink that has a chance to cripple the enemy? Oh yes.

ShoeMoney.5249:

Hello,
I have always considered myself a good gamer.

This is the impression that most people have. Unfortunately, it’s not always the truth. WvW isn’t a competitive format, so you’ll be starting from scratch.

Build is a big deal for sPvP. Having everything set to work together in a way you understand and will exploit is extremely important. Remember that the build has to fit your play-style also, if you run a shatter build but always shatter at range, maybe change the self shatter trait to a reduced cool-downs on GS trait from another tree, stuff like that. Don’t restrict yourself to sticking with someone elses build.

Aside from that it really is just practice. Trust me, the feeling when totally owning a match and getting #1 score is worth the effort!

A lot of sPvP learning can be done through playing purely through matches but in some cases (like yours) it’s like reinventing the wheel, in which you don’t have to do it. Watch a stream or youtube video of someone else playing tPvP/sPvP or something of your class to see how people play to learn strategies and tricks specific to Mesmer.

Also, don’t keep changing your key bindings, it will probably cause more harm than good.

Get good at one thing first before trying to get to complicated.

For instance, try playing a very defensive build first and learn how to survive. Pyro’s immortal build is a good starting point.

Over time you will learn how to be aware of certain classes and what they will be trying to do and you can counter it easily.

Do not feel rushed when you enter into combat. Assess your opponent and your surroundings. Good players are excellent at this. You not dying is key. It gives time for support to arrive. If you see your opponent has blown there big moves than apply pressure and try to finish them off.

After you get comfortable with staying alive slowly add more offense to your strategy till you find a balance that feels right for you.

In the future if you get on a normal team your build should be something that works well with the team…till than, stay alive and learn like everyone else does…through repetition and research.

Absolutely agree with the “mindset” comments. I usually start my PvP with my ele because I’m most proficient with that class, but mesmer is the most fun for 1v1 duels IMO. 3 or 4 matches in and I’ve got a rhythm.

I run a sword+focus/staff or sword+pistol/staff build in PvP and WvW and am very happy with it.

Takes me about 8 consecutive sPvP games before I remember how to sPvP after I break from it for a long time. Maybe ~3-4 games if I’ve done sPvP recently.

Different paradigm.

sPvP is kind of boring though. It’s more focused on a few specific things … emphasis on “few”.