Hybrid Interrupt: "Turnabout"
I actually used a build like this when HoT first released. Ill post it once gw2skills is back up. its down right now so i cant access my builds.
But yeah… when i posted it here, I got so much hate saying how interrupts and confusion damage wasnt “viable”. But it really is. the only thing this build would actually suck at is the boss fight, or anything which has a heavy breakbar.
The general Idea for this build is to get as many mobs in the path of shield 5 to activate mistrust as many times as possible. The shield hits everything twice and has no mob limit, so it hits everything, so the maximum amount of interrupts you can get is 2x#ofMobs and each one you interrupt applies 4 stacks of confusion to 5 mobs. It really can be devastating. I run this in pvp but I use to run it in pve, but I switched to chrono utility dps build.
This build is really fun to play so i say go for it and have fun. and again, ill post my builds for this once the site is back up.
I actually used a build like this when HoT first released. Ill post it once gw2skills is back up. its down right now so i cant access my builds.
But yeah… when i posted it here, I got so much hate saying how interrupts and confusion damage wasnt “viable”. But it really is. the only thing this build would actually suck at is the boss fight, or anything which has a heavy breakbar.
The general Idea for this build is to get as many mobs in the path of shield 5 to activate mistrust as many times as possible. The shield hits everything twice and has no mob limit, so it hits everything, so the maximum amount of interrupts you can get is 2x#ofMobs and each one you interrupt applies 4 stacks of confusion to 5 mobs. It really can be devastating. I run this in pvp but I use to run it in pve, but I switched to chrono utility dps build.
This build is really fun to play so i say go for it and have fun. and again, ill post my builds for this once the site is back up.
1. Mistrust just got buffed. I.E., things have changed since you posted. When I put mistrust builds through there paces after that first video about decimating menders, I found it mostly inferior in pve, and still inferior in pvp (it just didn’t have enough oomph). Now, the pve situation hasn’t changed, but in pvp it hits decently harder, so you’re seeing other people give it another go.
2. “Anything with a breakbar” translates to “anything that matters in HoT” and “any boss in any content anywhere.” Which is to say, it still sucks bones in PvE, and is still only really useful for wiping out mender groups and giggling.
There are many, many ways to kill groups of mobs without breakbars, and while this one is hilarious and a fun power trip, it is quite irrelevant, as none of those mob groups are what really matters in existing content.
Ok, to avoid having this thread hijacked, any experienced mesmer have an opinion on the build I posted for PvP?
Well, don’t know if I’m the most experienced Mesmer around, but I’ll share my thoughts.
My only comment is on Power Block & Mistrust together. To me they seem to kind of have conflicting concepts. Power Block is for stopping skill casting, while Mistrust is used to punish for using skills.
Your running scepter and staff. You have Illusionary Reversion and Chronophantasm, so illusion generation should be non stop. You also have Time Catches Up AND Signet of Dom/MoD-Confounding Suggestions.. so to me that feeds into Mental Anguish. 30% additional damage to inactive foes…. Illusion, Illusion, Illusion, Stun>Shatter…. Illusion, Illusion, Illusion, Stun > Shatter. Mistrust, scepter, stacking confusion in between.
Anyway, that’s about the only thing I’d tweak.
my 2 cent
condi will eat you so prepare for it
it seems like you build to play versus guard and thats all.
mistrust works best in team scenarios like 3v3 4v4 on small point but if the team spread right there is no point taking it
also mistrust needs you to w8 for interrupt so you will loss dps
and you have 1 condition which is the shortest and easy to avoid or cleansed
all in all domination is not worth with condi build or hybrid imo
I’ve found a strange synergy with Mistrust and Power Block, which I’ll explain.
Mistrust stacks confusion which punishes skill use. Power Block gives long-term denial on certain big skills. Together, the pressure put on the opponent is heavier than usual. They don’t want to spam skills, so they spam dodge to avoid damage on their off-break. Saves me some rupts for when they’re ready. Power Block limits their options, and Mistrust punishes their every choice.
This works in solo and team fights, as the confusion isn’t nothing to laugh at combining it with an extra 6 stacks during their stun using Confusing Images. 10 stacks, and counting. Often breaks thieves when you can catch them.
Chaotic Interruption may give you a temperary advantage and [YAY] more condi, but the fallout of Power Block works well in backing them into a corner with few good options.
Mistrust’s condi, of course, is easily cleansed. You just have to apply it again. 4 stacks of confusion, while not devastating, isn’t particularly bad in terms of not-want-to-spammability. You can survive them wasting a cleanse or two on a couple of rupts. You’ve got plenty!
The tie in is when you rupt them while they trigger confusion damage. Sure, they can’t spam for a bit, but you renew your offer of 4 confusion stacks for the next 6 or whatever seconds and bench another skill on their bar.
Well, that’s all in my defense. It isn’t all damage-focused, but more pressure-focused.
I didn’t find this thread until now. I’ve been playing the same concept lately and have play-tested it a fair bit, so here are a few notes:
On the Chrono tree:
Like Dondagora I’ve been looking at ways to better intergrate the Chrono tree with useful builds (beyond using it to play bunker or use the clonespeed and phantasm respawns to play double-range shatter again). The new builds felt uninteresting, rehashing old concepts and I had been growing tired of the shatter-blind hybrid that has been popular since late summer. I wanted something similar that better intergrated Chrono (so you didn’t just get Chrono for the QoL of runspeed etc.).
Very short on build-evolution:
That’s how I prefer it too, played like the oldest lockdown builds or some shatter-lock builds before shatter-blind builds took over: sword-sword and scepter-shield. Allowing block-counter buttons on every weapon along with double interrupts (GW2skills are updating atm. so I can’t see what Dondagora plays).
On Sigil of Draining:
The second reason was that I came across the new Sigil in TD. Sigil of Draining which should combine with the old halting effect of power block and make Lockdown concepts more interesting again. The general idea of it, along with overall balance in the game (with pew-Rangers and recently buffed Thieves) obviously guides you towards using Mistrust along with the interrupt mechanic on perplexity, especially now that Mistrust has been buffed from two stacks to four stacks. So far so good.
Ed.
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Superior-Sigil-of-Draining
This seems to be true for PvE whereas in WvW or the Arena the effect does not seem to trigger at all (either the damage or the heal component). That would also explain my confusion while attempting to test it, as it does seem to work on NPC’s even if it isn’t logged. On players it doesn’t seem to work at all (at least in the Arena + unlikely in WvW).
On play-testing:
Sigil of draining is bugged however. It felt like it was working a few days back, when farming for a second one in pvE, even though it never showed up in the combat log, but I’ve done extensive testing in WvW and the Arena the past two days and it doesn’t work, period. I intended to test its ICD but it is completely bugged for now. If they fix it, it becomes very useful for this build and could push it to trend a bit.
Another interesting tidbit is that Mistrust has a /target ICD (of about the 5s standard) so it can ping multiple stacks (ie., interrupting two targets with eg., riposte will spread eight stacks to both) but you can not stack consecutive interrupts in short time-frames.
Finally, Confounding suggestions is also subject to ICD, so it may be worth noting that you can overwrite the stun-effect with a new daze, breaking stunned foes out of the movement impairment component (though keeping the skill-lock) if you attempt to interrupt-bomb or force interrupts through a cover (blocks, stability etc.).
On Mantras and stat-variation:
Ontop of that, it is good to remember that they have “fixed” mantras (so now they have channel + ICD + full CD) making them very unforgiving to use again. The interrupt mantra is obviously crucial to the build and the way you use the interrupts the issue only amounts to small irritation. However, the build can be played without hybrid stats and mistrust (using evasion or mantra traits) but that is severely limited by this new-old mechanical issue of mantras. The heal in particular is hardly worth using now as you have so many use-limitations on it that you often end up out of combat before you get to re-use it (never mind issues of getting interrupted or bursted inbetween ICD’s).
On utility-variation:
Instead, since we’re going Domi, I’ve experimented with signets as alternatives to the mirror-decoy-blink standard. It isn’t necessarily better but it does have some decent synergy for a hybrid-build. The blur is nice but a tad use-restricted too, given how the blur appears halfway through the short channel. The ability to cleanse through two-three signets is rather nice though as you give up both Torch and the transfer manipulation compared to other builds.
On condi and hybrids:
Going hybrid (or picking up any condi) I prefer to go very offensive not to exploit the issues with tanking or kiting behind condi pressure. That’s a personal choice though and nothing I point fingers about (I have no qualms about condi alone and I really do enjoy most hybrid builds – It just feels better to go full damage hybrid when picking up condi). However, with signets it might be an idea to pick up at least some tank so you can make the blur-time work better between weapon-counters, for a better weighted build. The same applies if you go full power: This isn’t necessarily a build that does best on complete zerk, unless you prefer to play that way for personal reasons.
On Chrono in-tree variation
I’ve also looked at intergrating either slows or hastes too, but overall I find the clone traits far more useful when we give up evasion for mistrust. The resummons often appear on last impact too, making the clones ready for quick reshatters. The slow might add a decent cleanse-cover but has little appeal beyond that as it tends to be up when daze is up too. Haste does have some appeal, since you can stack it over both shatters and interrupts, but for now the extra illusions are too useful to give up. Having mostly played shatter, I would miss evasion clones too much without the double resummon traits.
Verdict:
This is a really fun build with interesting and different synergies that could work very well, but it is currently plagued by both mechanical limitations, internal-balance issues of different traits and skills on the Mesmer as well as outright bugs. Talking about its balance to other classes feels pointless, for now. It can still be played, but it doesn’t really play as intended. If some of the bugs and glaring holes are adressed there is alot of potential in the build to utilize the new Chrono-tree outside of sPvP bunkering and range-shattering.
That would be a welcome addition in WvW at least, where Mesmers have lost alot of ground, has little post-HoT appeal or entertainment value and were hit very hard in terms of role or post-HoT meta-appeal by the blur-well nerf (which could have been a compensation for the class getting pushed out of some of its traditional roles). Hopefully, the bugs and other mechanical issues gain some attention rather sooner than later.
(edited by Subversion.2580)