Guild Wars 2

Hello, I am Menace, or Menathion in the game. I love hybrids. Let’s just get to the point. If you make a hybrid build right, it become near impossible to defeat. I know a lot of people are a bit timid of introducing their hybrid builds in Mesmer forums because they have no background knowledge of how hybrids should work. I didn’t have any clue too, because there were barely any threads about hybrids when I first came to the Mesmer forums.

So what I did was try to relate what other classes had of Hybrid builds to what we could accomplish in our class, the Mesmers. Now, I am not here to draw attention or anything. I am sincerely curious to see how many people out there actually play a Hybrid instead of Condition, Power, Support, Lockdown, etc. In my standards, hybrid means combining at least 2 of the given types of builds and making them combine into one harmonious build. So Hybrids can be either Power/Condition, Support/Power, Condition/Support, Support/Lockdown, etc. Trying to combine 3 of these things are near impossible. As you will greatly disrupt the 2 main types of areas you are focusing on. But I could be entirely wrong. This is what I love about hybrids.

So plz post your hybrid builds below and comment on the one above you. When you talk about your own build, plz tell us what it is hybrid for(ie. Condition/Power,etc)

I will start. You have no reason to bump my original thread just because I posted my build in this thread. I just want to know what other people’s perspective of hybrids are. So show us your hybrid builds. We can learn a lot from it.

I will start: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fgAQNArfRlwzKoXUTmGb9IipHBHxBckUUavWJF42FC-jEDBYfBEVEiEJQEBgJfQ5QEZsVNFRjVVLQ6aYqYJVHD2krIa1SBAx0I-w

(Power/Condition) The Most Classical Hybrid Combo

I have always classified hybrid as a mix of power and condi, the rest is just a mixture. However how I classify hybrid may be completely wrong. That being said with the up-coming mantra update I expect to see more support builds. I know that my build will be changing into a support/condi however if that’s a hybrid I don’t know.
Just my thoughts.

i don’t know if you are familiar with the term “ceterum censeo” but here we go.
DPS is a… yes measurement. Neither does this exclude conditions nor is it the opposite of conditions.

Fixed Gozzo. Thanks for reminding me. You have any hybrid build you working on? We would be glad to try to help you improve it.

jup it revolves around the formula clever kitten / wannabee troll

Gozzo, can u not try to say those kind of things? I am thinking it was directed at me. I just want to see what kind of hybrid builds that Mesmer people have right now. So back to the question. You have any hybrid builds you working on??

not everything said on the forums is about you menace. i was describing my hybrid personality… it’s just … i don’t know whom to pay to reset my traits….

Hey, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad/awkward. Sorry. so, you serious when you said that you don’t know who to pay to reset traits? Because me or someone else can tell you.

touché

message blablabla

Lol, but seriously, I don’t want this thread to be a one on one conversation. Anyone got a hybrid build they are working on? If you are thinking about the Oct.15th patch, just post what the blueprint of your build will look like, so that we can improvise it and get it ready for the patch when it comes.

Edit: Like I said, hybrids can be any combination of types of builds you choose. There is no right or wrong builds for Hybrids. The only type of builds where anything goes if it happens to work are hybrids.

I always run support/damage ‘hybrids’ in dungeons.

10/10/20/30/0, with one berserker/knight set with traveler, a cleric set with altruism and a berserker set with ruby orbs.
3 assesory sets: berserker, knight/cavalier, cleric.

The trait template is a phantasm dps, but it doubles as boon support + healing when the situation calls for it.

Edit: condition/direct danage hybrids kinda suck.

i like my rampagers set. in terms of dungeon-runs and the condition cap it really kinda suck (switch to phantasm/berserk) but i love it in wvw or solo.

I run a interrupt clonespammer build using rampagers. 2nd & 3rd utility are situational. I like the reactive counter playstyle.

with 25 might i sit at nearly 1600 condition dmg, and it adds up quickly.

blutstein.2468:

i like my rampagers set. in terms of dungeon-runs and the condition cap it really kinda suck (switch to phantasm/berserk) but i love it in wvw or solo.

I run a interrupt clonespammer build using rampagers. 2nd & 3rd utility are situational. I like the reactive counter playstyle.

with 25 might i sit at nearly 1600 condition dmg, and it adds up quickly.

That actually looks pretty cool!

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Build-Menacing-Change-Up-Demon

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/necromancer/GW2-Burning-Minion-Master-build-Updated

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/The-Near-Perfect-Shattercat-Build

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/necromancer/Shackled-Diablo-Build-A-PvE-Hybrid-Build

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/New-Mesmer-Utility-Trait-Elite-Skills-Ideas

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/necromancer/All-of-Menace-s-Builds

etc. etc. etc.

Please don’t feed the troll, move along people. I’m surprised he hasn’t been banned yet with the massive amounts of reporting that his threads spawn, but hey good reads nonetheless if you want a good laugh.

I tried to stay out of all this menace here and menace there stuff. I really tried. But this thread is just too much. No hybrid builds on this forum? Nearly unexplored for mesmers?

How about no. You want to promote your build, yeah. But do not start a kitten new thread full of stupid talk just to do so. Hell even I have a hybrid build and I am a classical DD player: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Guide-Kai-s-Complete-PvE-Compendium/first#post2848356 called Random Pain.

And yes it is 10/30/30/0/0 and yes it was there before your build and no, I didn’t have to ask the whole community to get it working.

Honestly just stop it, please.

Kaiyanwan.8521:

I tried to stay out of all this menace here and menace there stuff. I really tried. But this thread is just too much. No hybrid builds on this forum? Nearly unexplored for mesmers?

How about no. You want to promote your build, yeah. But do not start a kitten new thread full of stupid talk just to do so. Hell even I have a hybrid build and I am a classical DD player: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Guide-Kai-s-Complete-PvE-Compendium/first#post2848356 called Random Pain.

And yes it is 10/30/30/0/0 and yes it was there before your build and no, I didn’t have to ask the whole community to get it working.

Honestly just stop it, please.

so, if he bothers you with his threads, don’t read and therefore don’t post in it. Hell, ignore him so you don’t even see his threads. But its an official forum and you are not the forum police, aren’t you?

No I am not, I just really don’t like false statements, setup as if they were a commonly known truth.

For me i prefer to combine Offensive stat and Defensive stat. Being Hybrid with 2 diff offensive type is kinda… Weird for teamplay. There are 2 Offensive stat which are Power Based and Condi Based. I dunno if u mix those 2 will good or not. Ur Power damage will be lower than “Pure Power based” and Ur COndi damage will be smaller than “Pure COndi Based”. For solo maybe okay. Not to mention also there’re some weapons that only good in the hand of Power Build and Vice versa. The only Weapon in Mesmer kitten nal good for both Power and Condi in my taste probably only Staff and Scepter.

I like being hybrid in term of offensive stat and defensive stat. That;s mean i;m not FULL Tank nor FULL Burst. I;m something in the middle. If enemy decide to burst me i can “React” coz i have some DEF and if my team decide to Burst the enemy we can downed the target. That’s the result of being hybrid in term of offense and defense. Even we are hybrid we still have “Roles” in team play. Someone need to initiate and tank(Bunker RoLe), Someone need to deal huge damage compared other members (Hitter Role), and Someone need to support in case “Oh kitten” Situation comes from enemy side(Support/ Healer Role).

What I am saying is there weren’t many hybrid builds on the Mesmer forums when I first came to the Mesmer class, a few months ago, which is true. (Mesmer was actually my first class) I hope you guys have more cool ideas. These are really good stuff. especially blustein. Very interesting build. Very Very cool. Seriously.

well as the term hybrid got broadened here, there are actually few non hybrid builds.

- mix of denfensive and offensive stats: hybrid
- any sort of damage (power or condi) and one or two stuns: hybrid
- full zerker but carry signet of inspirat for boonsharing: hybrid support/damage

so most builds then are hybrid. a standard pu/condi build is hybrid as it utilizes stealth and condidamage (you can run condidamage without stealth).

if hybrid is does not solely apply to the source of damage you use, but also encompasses the utilization of different tools given to a mesmer (and gear available) then there have always been many hybrid builds and only very few non hybrids.

I’ve been having a lot of fun this past week with a Greatsword (zerker) & Scepter/Torch (rabid) hybrid build. Standard 20/20/30 PU build but with Knights armor (traveler runes) and Rabid/Celestial trinkets. If I was better I think I’d run zerker or rampager armor, but I’m not that good.

I’m finding my overall dps to be higher with the GS than with the staff (combination of direct damage + bleeds from clones), and the GS also allows you to chase and slow runners.

I can post a build if you want, but it’s pretty standard.

The reason why some people have little patience for Menace is that since his writing style is so .. eh.. eccentric(Idk if that’s the right word.. I’m not even sure if there’s a word in the english language to describe it.) you can’t really tell if he’s genuine or simply attention-mongering. I’d stated my opinion before and I still feel like that.

Attention-hungry or not, Menace isn’t running around being half as rude to people as they are to him. I’m pretty sure he’s a bit young, and if he is genuinely simply trying to ingratiate himself into the community then this is an excellent learning experience.

@Menace: Keep your head up and believe in your opinion as long as you have the facts to back it up. No matter what kind of person you are, eventually someone is going to make fun of you, someone is going to put you at the center of their jokes and use you for a laugh… it doesn’t matter. You’ve been getting better at rolling with the punches and focusing on the positive responses over the negative, so that right there shows an improvement. People are always going to form an opinion of you based more off their own assumptions of who you are, rather than who you believe yourself to be. People will be mean and cynical, and likely focus on your negative aspects. Why? Because their own past experiences with “people like you” will make them feel like they already know you and your motivations. At the end of the day, you are not some reflection of the opinions of others; you’re Menace, and like everyone else you have unique strengths to contribute, and personal flaws to overcome.

Like it says in my sig, “The problem is never the situation, but how we choose to react to it.” Hold on to that philosophy man, please.

On the topic though, this thread brings to mind a very interesting question: What exactly counts as “hybrid?” A solid build has to be flexible and has to balance between damage, control, support, and survivability. So does hybrid mean “I play two roles: Damage and support” or does it mean “I use both Power and Conditions for damage.”

Almost all builds have an aspect of support, damage, and control, but that doesn’t make them all hybrids. A lockdown build will likely also have good support and do good damage. A support build can make an excellent bunker. Our standard Phantasm builds still offer support and control.

I always assumed hybrid meant fusing power and condition damage in a build.

It is probably his unfortunate choice of wording, that brings him more in trouble as necessary. He fairly often sounds like the Bringer of Wisdom, while in fact, he is looking for answers.
On the other hand, there have been hybrid builds here since day one, as most builds focus on more than just raw dps or support anyways. Pure builds are a result of longtime playing and the essence of efficiency by themselves.

So I would say, the grand of builds over here have been and still are hybrid builds. I have a hard time to see his point on this one.

@ Gozzo. I know, but my definition of hybrid is Focusing on 2 things. So me going Power/Condi with 2 sources of interrupts don’t make me a Lockdown build, too, since my build’s focus doesn’t revolve around that. Thanks for your point of view. It was nice to see other people’s opinion on the definition of Hybrid.

@Bunda. No duh man! You create awesome builds! Just go ahead. I want to see your build so bad. Since it has same weapon set as my build, the better! We can compare each other’s to improve the builds that we have.

@Chaos. Thanks for your post. I think I needed that message through my head. I will try to always check out your signature message. It will be seen very very often. I will keep it to my heart. I sincerely want to get closer to the community tho. I still got a long way. thanks for making me remember that. Much is appreciated. So, you have any new hybrid builds you working on???

@Kai. I just want to know what people’s perspective of Hybrids aught to be. We all have different opinions. I just want to compare what other people think a Hybrid is and what their build might look like. So, you have any new hybrid builds you working on?

Any build can be hybrid, as long as it Truly focuses on being Great at two different areas.

I had the discussion with a guild mate… he said he had a hybrid mesmer, I asked ahh okay what about x, y, and z stats? It turned out, he thought his build was hybrid, because he had 35% crit dmg….
So yeah, we all really must have different ideas of what is a hybrid spec and what isn’t.
In my mind, if I see the word hybrid, I think of only one thing, direct damage AND condition damage. I see the point in fusing DD and support etc. but for me it’s dd plus condi dmg.

While I don’t think there is a need for one true definition of hybrid, here’s where I think the term comes from, and the context with which it revolves around.

“Hybrid” builds occur when players take, or move away from any given min/max builds being used in the current/overall meta. So, for example, we have Glass Cannon builds which revolve around max power, crit chance, and crit damage. Then we have “Condition Builds”, which sit on the other end of the spectrum, sacrificing that raw burst damage for max condition damage and related stats. So “Hybrid” occurs when someone takes those extremes and tries to find a functional, viable build somewhere in between.

Glass Cannon vs Condition is the main, obvious Hybrid. I run one myself. Find any min/max builds and try to cross them, and you’ll probably find something you could label Hybrid under my given definition.

Everything between the stereotypes is mostly known as hybrid. For the mesmer that probably means:

Shatter —- Hybrid —- Phantasm
DD —- Hybrid —- Condition
Damage —- Hybrid —- Survival

Things that can also be implemented to make a hybrid as mesmer: Mantras, signets, interrupts, stealth, etc…

So most setups end up to be hybridy as a result.

Kaiyanwan.8521:

Everything between the stereotypes is mostly known as hybrid. For the mesmer that probably means:

Shatter —- Hybrid —- Phantasm
DD —- Hybrid —- Condition
Damage —- Hybrid —- Survival

Things that can also be implemented to make a hybrid as mesmer: Mantras, signets, interrupts, stealth, etc…

So most setups end up to be hybridy as a result.

Not to mention speccing fully for a single thing is much less effective than making a hybrid (but not for condition/direct).

something like: 100% damage/50% support hybrid, with 10/10/0/25.
75% damage/100% mobility with a shatter build with a staff.
etc etc.
going 100% damage with 30/30/0/0/10 and 2 greatswords is a really bad idea :P.

Dunno, I have a 30/30/0/0/10 build for max range damage. Really depends on the situation. ^^

I’ve been starting to wonder if a mix of condi and dd is better than pure condi. Met a great and friendly mesmer in wvw who had a hybrid build and he out damaged me immensely. The weirdest thing was, he had very similar stats as my build! He had less condi dmg ofc but he had nearly as much toughness, way more power crit chance and crit dmg. So he hurt me both when hitting me AND his condis were hitting hard, ouch hehe

Hybrid power condis have been becoming more popular lately honesty. I have seen a good amount of mesmers running hybrid when I was roaming. The hard part and best part about hybrids is that the gear is so changeable to personal preference. It’s the reason I have been hybrid for a while, the spec I use competly matches how I like to play.

Gozzo.7380:

well as the term hybrid got broadened here, there are actually few non hybrid builds.

- mix of denfensive and offensive stats: hybrid
- any sort of damage (power or condi) and one or two stuns: hybrid
- full zerker but carry signet of inspirat for boonsharing: hybrid support/damage

so most builds then are hybrid. a standard pu/condi build is hybrid as it utilizes stealth and condidamage (you can run condidamage without stealth).

if hybrid is does not solely apply to the source of damage you use, but also encompasses the utilization of different tools given to a mesmer (and gear available) then there have always been many hybrid builds and only very few non hybrids.

This is what I’m not too certain about. If a condition build uses stealth as it’s method of defense, how exactly would that make it any more of a hybrid than a condition build that uses teleports? You can’t necessarily make a “stealth” build because stealth isn’t something to build around, its a defensive option for any sort of build.

Chaos Archangel.5071:

Gozzo.7380:

well as the term hybrid got broadened here, there are actually few non hybrid builds.

- mix of denfensive and offensive stats: hybrid
- any sort of damage (power or condi) and one or two stuns: hybrid
- full zerker but carry signet of inspirat for boonsharing: hybrid support/damage

so most builds then are hybrid. a standard pu/condi build is hybrid as it utilizes stealth and condidamage (you can run condidamage without stealth).

if hybrid is does not solely apply to the source of damage you use, but also encompasses the utilization of different tools given to a mesmer (and gear available) then there have always been many hybrid builds and only very few non hybrids.

This is what I’m not too certain about. If a condition build uses stealth as it’s method of defense, how exactly would that make it any more of a hybrid than a condition build that uses teleports? You can’t necessarily make a “stealth” build because stealth isn’t something to build around, its a defensive option for any sort of build.

for me, hybrid means condition – power ( &critdmg). which weapons or tools you choose to inflict the dmg is irregular. Clearly. Nothing else.

Dietzen.6127:

I’ve been starting to wonder if a mix of condi and dd is better than pure condi. Met a great and friendly mesmer in wvw who had a hybrid build and he out damaged me immensely. The weirdest thing was, he had very similar stats as my build! He had less condi dmg ofc but he had nearly as much toughness, way more power crit chance and crit dmg. So he hurt me both when hitting me AND his condis were hitting hard, ouch hehe

i had to choose my set for the (at least for me) extremly expensive traveler runes, and decided rampagers is the way to go. Never looked back, i barely touch my other sets. it feels rounder and by far better And imho the way a mesmer leans toward, especially if i look at some weapon-skill designs

Only negative effect is the condition cap in pve, but for me its acceptable, every content is doable, so its fine.

Yo menace,
build in your first post looks real nice
Maybe sticking BI in there if you can live without master of manipulation to get them might stacks to make up for 2700 attack while raising that condi damage, that along with the battle sigil’s could be nice

Yeah, thanks a bunch man. I am working on editing the vid right now to post on my original thread. Apex Predator I got some good dueling footages. some people wanted to fight me 3 times in a row, so I beat all of them easy. Ha. They were good players tho. Much respect to them. seriously.

Anyways, yeah I could go for BI. Then I could get 17 stacks of might easy(9 from weapon swap, 3 from number 2 GS, and more from Diversion, and another from my signet.) This would result in around 3400 attack and condi damage upwards of up to 1600. Yeah, I think i might change that around a bit. I just wanted a tiny bit reduced cd on blink. I guess it isn’t as much as I would receive on going with BI.

Also, going with Hybrid as ranged is the best in my opinion. Just because all your ranged attacks are frickin like doubled. Lol. I know. And ranged weapons are more useful overall than meelee in the areas of Condi/Control/and Power DPS