Guild Wars 2

Is anyone else feelin this? I got rid of 20% mind wrack damage as it would only really give me maybe 2k extra damage. I run a shatter build and now i have much more sustained damage with diversion. Idk i even call it out in wvw when i use it xD. Im in love!

Whats the damage on it? Not at my gaming computer, can’t check it but you have me thinking about switching it now :P

Yeah, got me curious now too.

That’s really silly. You got rid of an extra 20% mind wrack damage, which is an extra 20% damage on your mind wracks every 10 seconds, for a possible extra small amount of damage on your diversions, occurring once every 30 seconds or so? And you call that sustained damage? That’s ridiculous.

I think it depends how you’re using the rest of your build.
Diversion is only one of an obscene amount of ways that Mesmers can trigger interrupts,

If you were not using a shatter build, I would think it more comparable to extra 20% mind wrack damage.
But as a shatter build, extra damage on mind wrack will likely outshine what you do with halting strikes (Also considering Mind Wrack damage is aoe and halting strikes will only ever trigger on single targets).

The way I regard halting strikes right now: Is it’s a good, viable way to play an interrupt build in wvw as part of a group and still tag enemies. These builds will do you no good roaming, but some good coordination and a skilled mesmer playing one can make them really useful in groups.
But if the intent of your build is actually to do damage (especially with shatters), I would probably choose something else.

i run a sword/sword, and i am pretty good at interrupting. Ive seen the damage go up to 5k and i have 5 ways to interrupt on s/s staff. Plus 3 chances on diversion. The 2k extra damage on mind wrack compared to a 2-5k chance on halting strike multiple times in my experience comes out to more damage over all.

edit: also staff xD

The reason i call it sustained damage is because i have to wait 10 sec each mindwrack. Where as diversion sword 4 and staff chaos storm offers more to interrupt. I don’t know i guess maybe its just me, but i am in total love with it.

if we are talking 20% damage of each mind wrack. Which mine is about 3k?thats an extra 600 damage each times 3 since i cry of frustration first for might. thats 1800 damage. The way i play is i take out focus targets, so another 4k average on it totally outshines 20% damage on 1 skill.

Pyroatheist.9031:

That’s really silly. You got rid of an extra 20% mind wrack damage, which is an extra 20% damage on your mind wracks every 10 seconds, for a possible extra small amount of damage on your diversions, occurring once every 30 seconds or so? And you call that sustained damage? That’s ridiculous.

That’s not necessarily true.

I’ve tried this before the buff but because of the weakness of halting strike prior to this buff it wasn’t worth it. Now though……

In a group aoe situation you’re going to get at least a couple procs of halting strike if you Daze shatter on top of 3 or 4 people.

I haven’t tried it yet since the buff, but it’s not a unreasonable choice of traits.

(Let’s not forget that chaos storm will almost always get a interupt or 2 as well)

sw/sw is really nice 4 on a 12 second cooldown giving me 2 options of a block or a daze depending on the situation and also chaos storm daze is aoe. i mean the chaos storm is rng but i get alot of procs on it. sword 4 and diversion with IP isnt but the 3 clones running after the person puts on pressure with damage if procced on top of mindwrack whenever not on cooldown.

Tek.4083:

Is anyone else feelin this? I got rid of 20% mind wrack damage as it would only really give me maybe 2k extra damage. I run a shatter build and now i have much more sustained damage with diversion. Idk i even call it out in wvw when i use it xD. Im in love!

You said you could sustain more damage with halting strikes using diversion (F4) than MW +20% dmg, when really I think you meant you can sustain more damage with all the various interrupt sources you play with (not just diversion). That is more plausible but even then you’d probably have to run the numbers to compare. Diversion becomes a built-in additional burst, albeit RNG. So you have the potential of doing decent damage with diversion (and any other interrupt source) now, versus pre-patch.

@ skcamow
Yea yea, your gettin it! Thats exactly what im thinkin!

If it feels more powerful for you, that’s great you’re having fun with it. I personally run a couple builds that take full advantage of RNG interrupts (versus on-demand).

I would just be hesitant to blanket say it does more damage versus the 20% MW trait simply due to the randomness of the many interrupts we can proc (even though I know it happens often), unless you were somehow able to prove that.

EDIT: I will also mention that on the last SOTG, Supcutie was talking about how he played with halting strikes but ended up not using it because it just didn’t feel like it did enough damage (this coming from a PvP perspective). Jon Sharp was receptive and even offered that maybe there is an even higher damage number that would entice Mesmers to take the trait. So, there could be more halting strikes love coming down, we’ll see.

I mean ive seen a big difference in my damage output with this build. But you cant really say one does more than the other with tests, more on who is playing it and the circumstances. Either way lets say a fights lasts 20 sec i get an extra 3600 damage with mind wrack(2 times to shatter) even if i proc once a 4k halting strike already is up there in damage competition.

o.o ive seen halting strike do 5k damage to a guardian. more damage!? omg

5k halting strike? Let’s not get too over-excited shall we?

i am not lying lol ive seen it 5k

Edit: >.> i forgot how much vuln i put on a target as well. So that also plays a factor. Still though

Screen?
15chars

BlackDevil.9268:

Screen?
15chars

Yep, I’d love to see this mythical 5k halting strike on a non-upleveled, fully clothed guardian.

kitten well id have to go ahead and get a screen then… i dont have one

It was in spvp, in wvw it goes about 3k

Well i am full zerker as well. I reckon it wouldnt be too good without that crit damage

skcamow.3527:

If it feels more powerful for you, that’s great you’re having fun with it. I personally run a couple builds that take full advantage of RNG interrupts (versus on-demand).

I would just be hesitant to blanket say it does more damage versus the 20% MW trait simply due to the randomness of the many interrupts we can proc (even though I know it happens often), unless you were somehow able to prove that.

EDIT: I will also mention that on the last SOTG, Supcutie was talking about how he played with halting strikes but ended up not using it because it just didn’t feel like it did enough damage (this coming from a PvP perspective). Jon Sharp was receptive and even offered that maybe there is an even higher damage number that would entice Mesmers to take the trait. So, there could be more halting strikes love coming down, we’ll see.

In response to this post I think a 3-4k halting strike would make it a balanced trait. (4k is maybe overkill but something approaching 4k)

Godmoney.2048:

skcamow.3527:

If it feels more powerful for you, that’s great you’re having fun with it. I personally run a couple builds that take full advantage of RNG interrupts (versus on-demand).

I would just be hesitant to blanket say it does more damage versus the 20% MW trait simply due to the randomness of the many interrupts we can proc (even though I know it happens often), unless you were somehow able to prove that.

EDIT: I will also mention that on the last SOTG, Supcutie was talking about how he played with halting strikes but ended up not using it because it just didn’t feel like it did enough damage (this coming from a PvP perspective). Jon Sharp was receptive and even offered that maybe there is an even higher damage number that would entice Mesmers to take the trait. So, there could be more halting strikes love coming down, we’ll see.

In response to this post I think a 3-4k halting strike would make it a balanced trait. (4k is maybe overkill but something approaching 4k)

go test full zerk on some of the people in spvp practice.
The damage is up there.

Tek.4083:

Godmoney.2048:

skcamow.3527:

If it feels more powerful for you, that’s great you’re having fun with it. I personally run a couple builds that take full advantage of RNG interrupts (versus on-demand).

I would just be hesitant to blanket say it does more damage versus the 20% MW trait simply due to the randomness of the many interrupts we can proc (even though I know it happens often), unless you were somehow able to prove that.

EDIT: I will also mention that on the last SOTG, Supcutie was talking about how he played with halting strikes but ended up not using it because it just didn’t feel like it did enough damage (this coming from a PvP perspective). Jon Sharp was receptive and even offered that maybe there is an even higher damage number that would entice Mesmers to take the trait. So, there could be more halting strikes love coming down, we’ll see.

In response to this post I think a 3-4k halting strike would make it a balanced trait. (4k is maybe overkill but something approaching 4k)

go test full zerk on some of the people in spvp practice.
The damage is up there.

Will do. I’ve just read since the patch people are getting 2.5k crits so I’m just basing assumptions off of that.

I’ll test it today for sure.

Have you tried taking both traits in a 20/20/0/0/30 build? Or do you think Rending Shatter/Shattered Concentration are superior? Sounds like you enjoy the vulnerability of Rending Shatter

Westibone.3985:

Have you tried taking both traits in a 20/20/0/0/30 build? Or do you think Rending Shatter/Shattered Concentration are superior? Sounds like you enjoy the vulnerability of Rending Shatter

i have shattered concentration as and halting strike. i mean ofc vuln has an inpact on the trait but the build has vuln comin all over the place.

Tek.4083:

It was in spvp, in wvw it goes about 3k

I’m gonna call bs right here. Numbers are higher in WvW. That’s just how the game and gear works.

Pyroatheist.9031:

Tek.4083:

It was in spvp, in wvw it goes about 3k

I’m gonna call bs right here. Numbers are higher in WvW. That’s just how the game and gear works.

why do you gotta be like that man, for what reason do i have to lie? Ive been ignoring your comments because of how negative they are. In wvw on guards full tank i get that much BECAUSE there are more numbers. On things like gc thieves ive seen 4.5k and the 5k ive seen once.

So you don’t believe me? I mean if it doesnt work for you it doesnt work. There is no need to be so negative man.

It’s interesting. Especially for ZvZ in WvW.

Switch Imbued Diversion for Illusionary Persona and your diversion is now AE (and the description says “large area”, though I have no idea how large that may be).

Add in some combination of Illusionary Wave, Chaos Storm, Temporal Curtain, Magic Bullet, and a couple of utilities and there is definitely some potential there for significant interrupt based damage.

I’ll have to play with it next time there’s some good ZvZ action going on, but I have a feeling that I’ll still prefer Illuionsary Persona and 20% MW damage in general.

I’m in love my new interrupt traits in general. I pulled three or four of enemies in WvWvW earlier with my focus then quickness blurred frenzy-ed them with the might stacks I acquired from bountiful interruption. One of the them took 7.5k from the frenzy on top of the halting strike damage, and then went down with a light poke.

It is a bit luck dependant when you’re up against a group (you can just pull without interrupting), but when I get lucky something usually dies very quickly. The single target control is also very fun when I manage to time my interrupts well.

Defcon.8509:

It’s interesting. Especially for ZvZ in WvW.

Switch Imbued Diversion for Illusionary Persona and your diversion is now AE (and the description says “large area”, though I have no idea how large that may be).

Add in some combination of Illusionary Wave, Chaos Storm, Temporal Curtain, Magic Bullet, and a couple of utilities and there is definitely some potential there for significant interrupt based damage.

I’ll have to play with it next time there’s some good ZvZ action going on, but I have a feeling that I’ll still prefer Illuionsary Persona and 20% MW damage in general.

Yknow i even thought of a 10/0/30/0/30 with chaotic interruption and imbued diversion. But i dont think it works very well without the 20 in dueling xD. might be interesting in a ZvZ though

Clloydio.3524:

I’m in love my new interrupt traits in general. I pulled three or four of enemies in WvWvW earlier with my focus then quickness blurred frenzy-ed them with the might stacks I acquired from bountiful interruption. One of the them took 7.5k from the frenzy on top of the halting strike damage, and then went down with a light poke.

It is a bit luck dependant when you’re up against a group (you can just pull without interrupting), but when I get lucky something usually dies very quickly. The single target control is also very fun when I manage to time my interrupts well.

That pull is soooo good to proc halting strike! xD that actually sounds like alot of fun. ^^

Pyroatheist.9031:

That’s really silly. You got rid of an extra 20% mind wrack damage, which is an extra 20% damage on your mind wracks every 10 seconds, for a possible extra small amount of damage on your diversions, occurring once every 30 seconds or so? And you call that sustained damage? That’s ridiculous.

I am a rank 53 mesmer on anvil rock with over 2k games on mesmer alone and halting strike is amazing if used properly. Although if you look at statistically speaking it shouldnt be viable but it is especially if your good 5k to squishys with no internal cd is amazing and top mesmers like helseth are using it sooooo >.>

I’ve been running a 20/20/30 with bountiful interupts. I never thought about using halting strikes. I’m gonna have to test this tonight.

Dasboba.1652:

I’ve been running a 20/20/30 with bountiful interupts. I never thought about using halting strikes. I’m gonna have to test this tonight.

I would reccommend using 20 20 0 0 30 and use everything the same as reg shatter but use extra bounce in illusions tree and halting strike in domination

I usually run variations of shattercat builds. I’m only running 20/20/30 because I wanted to try out Prismatic understanding. I usually switch back to shatter or phantasm if I feel like roaming.

Tek.4083:

Defcon.8509:

It’s interesting. Especially for ZvZ in WvW.

Switch Imbued Diversion for Illusionary Persona and your diversion is now AE (and the description says “large area”, though I have no idea how large that may be).

Add in some combination of Illusionary Wave, Chaos Storm, Temporal Curtain, Magic Bullet, and a couple of utilities and there is definitely some potential there for significant interrupt based damage.

I’ll have to play with it next time there’s some good ZvZ action going on, but I have a feeling that I’ll still prefer Illuionsary Persona and 20% MW damage in general.

Yknow i even thought of a 10/0/30/0/30 with chaotic interruption and imbued diversion. But i dont think it works very well without the 20 in dueling xD. might be interesting in a ZvZ though

You mean something like this?
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Build-ChillRuption

Works well in PvP, but I haven’t tried it WvW yet. I imagine I will get somewhat similar results.

Okay so after some testing with nearly max power and crit damage without stacks, getting at an amount of :
2304 power
58% crit damage
10% extra damage when hp is above 90%
3% extra damage per illusion
5-15 stacks vurnability
I wasn’t able to hit 2.5k, let alone 5k at a light armored target.

The max hit I had was 2333, the other ones were around 1950-2100 crit.
Ps. the 2333 damage was with 19-23 stacks vurnability.

Again, I’d love to see a screenshot cuz I’m getting tired of people claiming to hit 2x/3x more than even possible with halting strike.

BlackDevil.9268:

Okay so after some testing with nearly max power and crit damage without stacks, getting at an amount of :
2304 power
58% crit damage
10% extra damage when hp is above 90%
3% extra damage per illusion
5-15 stacks vurnability
I wasn’t able to hit 2.5k, let alone 5k at a light armored target.

The max hit I had was 2333, the other ones were around 1950-2100 crit.
Ps. the 2333 damage was with 19-23 stacks vurnability.

Again, I’d love to see a screenshot cuz I’m getting tired of people claiming to hit 2x/3x more than even possible with halting strike.

Ill have to get that for ya, im not sure when. But ill get it.

I can confirm that the OP is definitely not making up some numbers. I run complete knights armor + weapons and i was able to pull of some lucky 3.5k on squishys. With some vuln/might and more power/crit dmg from gear 5k should be possible.

This trait is a beast now, I even used the daze mantra for 2 on demand instant interrupts. Watch them burn (ofc only if you know when to use those skills)…

Tek.4083:

BlackDevil.9268:

Okay so after some testing with nearly max power and crit damage without stacks, getting at an amount of :
2304 power
58% crit damage
10% extra damage when hp is above 90%
3% extra damage per illusion
5-15 stacks vurnability
I wasn’t able to hit 2.5k, let alone 5k at a light armored target.

The max hit I had was 2333, the other ones were around 1950-2100 crit.
Ps. the 2333 damage was with 19-23 stacks vurnability.

Again, I’d love to see a screenshot cuz I’m getting tired of people claiming to hit 2x/3x more than even possible with halting strike.

Ill have to get that for ya, im not sure when. But ill get it.

I was able to get a 3k in spvp in a duel. He is runnin a bit of toughness but here is your 3k at least.

Tek.4083:

Tek.4083:

BlackDevil.9268:

Okay so after some testing with nearly max power and crit damage without stacks, getting at an amount of :
2304 power
58% crit damage
10% extra damage when hp is above 90%
3% extra damage per illusion
5-15 stacks vurnability
I wasn’t able to hit 2.5k, let alone 5k at a light armored target.

The max hit I had was 2333, the other ones were around 1950-2100 crit.
Ps. the 2333 damage was with 19-23 stacks vurnability.

Again, I’d love to see a screenshot cuz I’m getting tired of people claiming to hit 2x/3x more than even possible with halting strike.

Ill have to get that for ya, im not sure when. But ill get it.

I was able to get a 3k in spvp in a duel. He is runnin a bit of toughness but here is your 3k at least.

There you go^

I think this trait is now at least something people should consider.

Tek.4083:

Tek.4083:

BlackDevil.9268:

Okay so after some testing with nearly max power and crit damage without stacks, getting at an amount of :
2304 power
58% crit damage
10% extra damage when hp is above 90%
3% extra damage per illusion
5-15 stacks vurnability
I wasn’t able to hit 2.5k, let alone 5k at a light armored target.

The max hit I had was 2333, the other ones were around 1950-2100 crit.
Ps. the 2333 damage was with 19-23 stacks vurnability.

Again, I’d love to see a screenshot cuz I’m getting tired of people claiming to hit 2x/3x more than even possible with halting strike.

Ill have to get that for ya, im not sure when. But ill get it.

I was able to get a 3k in spvp in a duel. He is runnin a bit of toughness but here is your 3k at least.

That’s full dps vs full dps with testing time after time since you can clearly see 3x flame blast triggered after eachother with an amount that can easily be called full zerk.

You’ll never be able to hit 5k, especially not against that guardian you mentioned.

BlackDevil.9268:

Tek.4083:

Tek.4083:

BlackDevil.9268:

Okay so after some testing with nearly max power and crit damage without stacks, getting at an amount of :
2304 power
58% crit damage
10% extra damage when hp is above 90%
3% extra damage per illusion
5-15 stacks vurnability
I wasn’t able to hit 2.5k, let alone 5k at a light armored target.

The max hit I had was 2333, the other ones were around 1950-2100 crit.
Ps. the 2333 damage was with 19-23 stacks vurnability.

Again, I’d love to see a screenshot cuz I’m getting tired of people claiming to hit 2x/3x more than even possible with halting strike.

Ill have to get that for ya, im not sure when. But ill get it.

I was able to get a 3k in spvp in a duel. He is runnin a bit of toughness but here is your 3k at least.

That’s full dps vs full dps with testing time after time since you can clearly see 3x flame blast triggered after eachother with an amount that can easily be called full zerk.

You’ll never be able to hit 5k, especially not against that guardian you mentioned.

It happened ill tell you that and he wasnt full dps

I’m going to have to give this trait a try, i’ve been running 10/30/30/0/0 with the 15% phantasm damage increase, but i have been using BI in my new build, and getting pretty good at timing interrupts for might, so this may out dps the 15% phantasm dps.

Edit: NM, 15% phantasm damage is just better overall for sustained damage, with 100% berserker gear and 30 in dueling i was only hitting for 1.5-3.5k, while albeit good dps, 15% more dps on phantasms that are out 100% of the time is just better.

My currently best damage for Halting Strike is 4,2k Crit vs GC Mesmer i think. With average of 3k Crit. In WVW Map. 2k Crit on Bunker Classes.

Halting Strike is nice. It just need more awereness from the Pilot. Just that

lol HS instead of 20% mind wrack damage…

HS with a clone build is very nice. i’m switching my 20/20/30/0/0 Build to an interrupt build from time to time.

my highest crit was around 4k.

this trait is amazing… You need both, shatter build 20% MW buff and HS is a must have.

I tested it also, sometimes 2-4k to svanir. The dmg is higher than MW as well.

With Stakitten HS doing crazy dmg… Only this trait is an dps buff for a shatter messmer for about 60%.

Dont believe, go hunt svanir and chieftain and just test the old shatter build with boon steal compared to the new HS one.

Kills svanir 50-60% faster, was rly surprised. And the creatures not rly use many “skills” to interupt :-)