Illusive swordman : is this viable ?
Avoiding dmg.. F4 is nice to hit when you know big damage is coming it that you can’t avoid. F3 will interrupt said damage/ability too and it also works on stopping bosses abilities [Those two abilities have long-ish cooldows though]. Sword #2 is obviously another one here timing it to avoid taking damage while dishing it out. Clone on dodge roll is a big one too. Don’t forget your pistol stun too. Quite frankly though as a melee oriented Mesmer F1 & F2 will be big for you too and you’ll want some knight’s/cavalier’s gear so you are not completely made of glass but still have good “oomph” to your hits/crits. It’s really all about timing and knowing when to weave in and out of combat between ability cooldowns too.
Sword/Sword can work too and you get a “block” ability with sword off hand too. GS as a Secondary weapon for it’s knockback is good for creating a gap between you and the mobs when things get rough. Staff secondary can work too for chaos armor & chao storm(apply aegis for blocking) as a defensive strat. Scepter/Focus can even work as a secondary since you’re in melee range iWarden is going to get more mileage out of it damage, you get a run speed buff for when you need to “gtfo” and you also get a “block” which can be again useful when you need to soak up a hit. Don’t just “only” rely on 1 weapon sets abilities thats why we have weapon swap in the game.[Unelss you’re a Engi/Elem no weapon swap for you!]
It is essentially a melee shatter build at it’s essence and it works out ok. However you have enough tools that you don’t need to solely rely on the shatters. Signet of Illusions is really handy here for giving your illusions more health and being able to reset the cooldowns on your shatters for both defensive and offensive purposes.
As far as a melee condition/precision(especially if taking confusion traits) build goes for sharper images go I’m not sure how well that would work out it sounds interesting at least and debilitating dissipation (random condition on clone death) could possibly work out may have to go with a Rampagers gear setup for something like that as a lot of your abitilies still scale off power and it’ll give you decent +condition damage for bleeds/confusion dmg. Defensive trinkets/jewelry will be a must in this kind of setup. Haven’t ever tried that route but curious if others have it may be worth experimenting with.
(edited by NeuroMuse.1763)
I’ve run sword/pistol and staff for swapout for a while, and s/p stays viable. Went 0/20/30/0/20 for Traits, although my Dueling Traits are usually slotted for: Blade Training and Duelist’s Discipline. My build’s heavy on prec/toughness/condi, and I run some decent c/d on both weapon sets.
I’ll agree that your spread has more evasive potential [I’ve run those 2slotted in Dueling before], but in my case, I use Debilitating Dissipation/Chaotic Interruption/Chaotic Dampening [on Chaos Trait slots] along with Confusing Cry/Masterful Reflection [Illusions Traits].
This way, I typically start rotation in staff, with the improved c/d from C. Dampening. This [along with Mirror Images or Clone in a util slot] allows for a fast 2-3 clone drop. Swap over to S/P, Magic Bullet into ILeap for stun/lockdown. Chain the ILeap for it’s second hit and close distance. At this point, once the enemy starts slapping down damage, there’re 2 methods to reflect some damage back at their face: 3-clone shatter on Cry of F., for confusion/retaliation – or – Blurred Frenzy for invuln/reflection. Then, swap to staff, ground zero C. Storm yourself and P. Retreat backwards. The combined Winds from staff auto and P. Retreat clone will buff you and slap conditions on the enemy. Then swap back to S/P, and either snipe a bit [P. Duelist] or ILeap/ILeap 2nd/Blurred. Truth told, the Blade Training is probably not needed … sword c/d on Mesmer’s not too horrid by default, and -iirc- B. Frenzy’s not even effected by it, c/d-wise. Also, any clones/phantasms the enemy kills off’ll slap a random condition on them, due to Debilitating Dissipation. The major issue here is watching how many enemies are nearby, since M. Bullet/WoC hit multiple targets.
Of course, this kinda biz is why I love Mesmer. Even post-nerf, we still have some intriguing combat options. Another possible spread I’ve semi-played with is S/P and S/F, specifically for staying in melee and controlling enemy movements. You’ll lose range, but with your Duelling Traits, it could be interesting.
Malegryne (Sylvari Mesmer), Lannka (Asura Thief) – Ferguson’s Crossing: [PRD/BRB/OMFG]
Other 80s: Any but Warrior
Other 80s: Any but Warrior
My only question is if you need that much clone generation. I use just Deceptive Evasion and with Greatsword Training and Blade Training, find it impossible to run out of clones, even soloing champions.
For the style of play you’re looking for Distortion is pretty awesome. If you can fit Blurred Inscriptions in and take a few signets, it’s pretty awesome. Even better if you can get cleansing inscriptions and free up a utility for condition removal. The downside being that you won’t really have any combo fields with your weapon choice and a signet build.
If survival is a concern pile on toughness. Mesmer has top tier HP already so I like toughness to make that go further. If you want clones dying quickly though, that won’t work. For runes I like Dwayna, for regeneration when you heal. I usually take mantra of recovery, so each cast is two heals and 12+ sec of regeneration.
I use a similar build to the one u want and IMO dropping 5 on dueling and putting them in illusions for Illusionary Persona is the biggest defense and offense change tht i made.
Also i run a sword/sword and staff for the chaos armor and defensive boons from staff since most of the times i’m at melee range. The pistol offhand is great the only reason i dont use it is tht i like how the dual swords look plus i like being able to block, but in no way i’m saying it’s better than pistol for the build in fact i sometimes switch to pistol myself. I’m currently running the 10/30/0/0/30 shattercat build, and it works like a charm.
Corvus – Revenant / Engineer
My only question is if you need that much clone generation. I use just Deceptive Evasion and with Greatsword Training and Blade Training, find it impossible to run out of clones, even soloing champions.
To be honest, i’m kinda paranoid about my clones and feel like I never have enough of me… eeerr…them (egomaniac kind of mesmer :p). I’m so full of myself !
On a more serious note, after testing this build, I found Mirror Image and Decoy very useful to avoid some damage. Decoy allows you to gain stealth (and lose your aggro for a short duration) while displacing you. Mirror Image displace your mesmer too and allow for your clones to pop from nowhere and take a hit or two.
I found it nice, especially when there are some stack of confusion.
Concerning confusion, i’m wondering if Confusing combatants is better than Illusionary Persona. Even if Illusionary persona makes you count as a clone for the sake of shattering, Confusing Combatants may allow to add a few stacks when you use Cry of Frustration.
I’ll need to test it.
I run a Sword/Sword and Scepter/Pistol build, I have 2 counter attacks, a strong ranged phantasm and a strong melee phantasm, I usually open with scepter/pistol and stack confusion on them and then summon my phantasm, at this point if they are melee they are on you, and you can either hit them with a pistol interrupt to stop them fora second though I prefer to save it for an interrupt when they are trying to heal or save themselves somehow, instead i generally use the counterattack which produces a clone and dodge right after that for a second clone though I will probably already have 3 due to the auto attack of the scepter. Then I switch to sword/sword and summon my swordsman, counterattack if they are back on me, dodge again, illusionary leap and auto attack them until they use a stronger melee move at which point I use Blurred Frenzy so they have blown their CD/INI I am specced into distortion reflecting all incoming dmg so I time it with peoples big attacks like hundred blades and whatnot, and it seems to be working, though I am told that moves distortion doesn’t work for the trait. Pretty much just rinse and repeat switch to scepter/pistol to interrupt or if your sword counter attack is up use it and hit it again and you’ll shoot out a bolt that can daze them to interrupt their heal.
I used this build for a while…. it is fun… a lot of defensive abilities and boon generation.
http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#mcmmcz9cMbwMoMbwMoGxf0VoamaRm08kii7khs7kiH7070M7kIa70V7ow18ofj
The key for melee is Aegis and Protection…. So taking the gain protection on regen is very nice…
I use Lyssa since Mass Invis has a 90 sec cooldown and all your condition turn to boons… I could also see using Dwayna to get regen and protection on heal use.
..so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should
I use a sword/sword + staff build with currently a 10/20/10/0/30 (may change since I’m still testing it on various areas). Occasionally, I’ll swap staff with scepter/pistol (or focus). iSwordsman is pretty good at spike damage, surviving (since it leaps), and creates a combo finisher on itself. I also like the block skill since it can damage and summon a clone if blocked (or do a daze line). I personally think both MH and OH swords are pretty good (with exception of Illusionary Leap distance issue).
shattering illusions is not the same as the illusion dying, so no need to take 25 in dueling and illusions, just get 30 in one of them, and based on the major grandmaster traits, you will find yourself being guided towards certain skills that will also determine what type of gear you will want.
I have to say I’m surprised about how confused is efficient.
With good timing, this condition can hit like a truck !
For now, i’m using GS/dual Sword (the blocking ability is a nice thing to have), and kitten i’m having a blast.
And you were right about Illusionary Persona, VoodoTina. Being able to apply 8 stack of confuse really helps.
Be wary of Signet of Illusions. It works by applying a buff to your illusions that increases their health after they’ve been summoned, but it appears to function by ticking once every second or so. That means if you make an illusion right after one of the hidden ticks they’ll be sitting at normal health until the next tick, and that partial second is often when my phantasms die.