Guild Wars 2

Hello all.

I’ve taken a long break from GW2, and just came back to find the PvE metagame is much different. Builds that were once almost OP seem broken, and vice versa. However, I’m ok with that, and willing to adapt.

What I am requesting from the Mesmer forum community is suggestions on how to improve my skills as a Mesmer. I used to be fair at dodging attacks from bosses that I was familiar with, but am now looking for a “crash course” in Mesmering, as it were. Is there bosses/events/regions that allow for developing skill for dungeons and Fractals? I would like ones that allow for solo practice as well as in a group.

Second, what do you guys use to see boss attacks? Most of the time when I do FOTM (currently lvl 24), if we have a guardian, the bosses are covered in giant blue flames that make it near impossible to actually see what the boss is doing. And if you are lucky enough to see through the flames, then the giant Norn decides it’s time to give the boss a hug, and all but obscuring the boss from view of my tiny Asura. How do you see the boss’s attacks even with all the interference?

Thanks for your help!

Hi there,

While I am not really a part of the mesmer forum community, I would like to suggest some things. First off, there is not a LOT you can do about interference, though in 5 man groups the only thing that could possibly worry you is the guardian’s flames, decrease these by putting post processing on ‘none’. With recent updates the effects shouldnt be too bad, aside from that, try to focus on specific bodyparts instead of the whole creature, e.g. focus on the imbued grawl’s bow, not his face, that’d be rude.

As for training, I would say it is a great idea to try out a very good friend of mine, Legendary archdiviner.
Pick out a fractal level you feel comfortable with, reroll a couple of times and fight the initial archdiviner, with his obvious yet punishing attacks you can train to be focussed on fights and make less mistakes, as well as managing and placing illusions. If melee is first uncomfortable, try to go from range to melee in time. Group play should, be discovered with experimenting in guildgroups and such, or maybe watch some videos.

Hope this helps and goodluck, if not, buggers, I should l2giveadvice.

sorry if i missed any detail.. i just read your topic..

Becoming Better Mesmer = Becoming Better Player
Knowladge, Interest, Time, Self sufficient skills
these all connected 2gether..
Knowladge = Power for knowladge u need [time + interest + self sufficient]
any topic can be largly expandable and they have chaos cuz of interaction of each other..
u can add their alternative/secondary topics aswell.. Experiance, Goal, IQ, Reflex, Culture, Character, Quality of Life, Money, Drugs, Wife, Sex, Children, Gaming ex Experiance, etc etc..

Azo.5860:

sorry if i missed any detail.. i just read your topic..

Becoming Better Mesmer = Becoming Better Player
Knowladge, Interest, Time, Self sufficient skills
these all connected 2gether..
Knowladge = Power for knowladge u need [time + interest + self sufficient]
any topic can be largly expandable and they have chaos cuz of interaction of each other..
u can add their alternative/secondary topics aswell.. Experiance, Goal, IQ, Reflex, Culture, Character, Quality of Life, Money, Drugs, Wife, Sex, Children, Gaming ex Experiance, etc etc..

I’m very sorry, but I have no clue what you are trying to say. I think you just explained the meaning of life.

kingsman.3179:

Azo.5860:

sorry if i missed any detail.. i just read your topic..

Becoming Better Mesmer = Becoming Better Player
Knowladge, Interest, Time, Self sufficient skills
these all connected 2gether..
Knowladge = Power for knowladge u need [time + interest + self sufficient]
any topic can be largly expandable and they have chaos cuz of interaction of each other..
u can add their alternative/secondary topics aswell.. Experiance, Goal, IQ, Reflex, Culture, Character, Quality of Life, Money, Drugs, Wife, Sex, Children, Gaming ex Experiance, etc etc..

I’m very sorry, but I have no clue what you are trying to say. I think you just explained the meaning of life.

And written “Knowladge” 3 times.

Sanderinoa.8065:

Hi there,

While I am not really a part of the mesmer forum community, I would like to suggest some things. First off, there is not a LOT you can do about interference, though in 5 man groups the only thing that could possibly worry you is the guardian’s flames, decrease these by putting post processing on ‘none’. With recent updates the effects shouldnt be too bad, aside from that, try to focus on specific bodyparts instead of the whole creature, e.g. focus on the imbued grawl’s bow, not his face, that’d be rude.

As for training, I would say it is a great idea to try out a very good friend of mine, Legendary archdiviner.
Pick out a fractal level you feel comfortable with, reroll a couple of times and fight the initial archdiviner, with his obvious yet punishing attacks you can train to be focussed on fights and make less mistakes, as well as managing and placing illusions. If melee is first uncomfortable, try to go from range to melee in time. Group play should, be discovered with experimenting in guildgroups and such, or maybe watch some videos.

Hope this helps and goodluck, if not, buggers, I should l2giveadvice.

Alright, I’ll have to try that out. Post-processing is (and has been) off, yet bosses are still near impossible to see, unless they have large and obvious weapons/animations. Did a guild bounty today, and the boss was just a mount of giant blue and orange flames. Maybe I’ll have to tweak other settings and see if one solves my problems.

You could also use the counting method. Many boss abilities are used in set intervals. You can anticipate them. It also helps to look at which person the boss is facing. In any case many attacks are probably going to be very difficult to see if you melee. If you are in an unfamiliar encounter, it helps to stay at range and check out what all the permutations are. Once you know what’s going to happen then watching for it becomes not as difficult.

“Knowledge is power” and “one’s knowledge cannot exceed one’s experience”

1. The most obvious way to improve yourself, is to just do dungeons and have fun. Get some people you know and who are willing to wait for you.
2. try making your own build, and try to see what went good and what didnt after each run. How can you improve it?
3. join the Official Mesmer Forum Guild, and gain knowledge by directly asking things in game. (You can be more specific in game, probably.
4. find an experienced Mesmer in the guild and run dungeons together, ask for constructive criticism.

I feel like pvp is the best to improve your skill, but that’s just not everyone’s thing :P

Feel free to whisper me or PM me here if you want a guild invite, or just want to talk about stuff.

(Im tryig to edit, but iphone wont let me >__<)

Alissah.9281:

“Knowledge is power” and “one’s knowledge cannot exceed one’s experience”

so.. instead knowledge say effectiveness or say become better, experience give u knowledge.. as well knowledge improve u to gain more efficient experience..

is something like that u can get one the best Tpvp player to maybe in GvG group.. he ll not be as good as he was in Tpvp or he ll not be better than one of the best gvg player.. maybe tpvp player can improve himself faster than other casual gvg players.. cuz of his experiance that ve in tpvp.. so Tpvp and GvG has different requirenment..

so first of all better to make a goal for becoming better mesmer.. Means Where u wanna be better? everything has various effects to become better..

simply pvp is better for self sufficient skills as reflexs.. but u ll need game mechanic knowledge which where u play.. and time u spent consolidate it.. probably they are major things imo..

Azo.5860:

Alissah.9281:

“Knowledge is power” and “one’s knowledge cannot exceed one’s experience”

so.. instead knowledge say effectiveness or say become better, experience give u knowledge.. as well knowledge improve u to gain more efficient experience..

is something like that u can get one the best Tpvp player to maybe in GvG group.. he ll not be as good as he was in Tpvp or he ll not be better than one of the best gvg player.. maybe tpvp player can improve himself faster than other casual gvg players.. cuz of his experiance that ve in tpvp.. so Tpvp and GvG has different requirenment..

so first of all better to make a goal for becoming better mesmer.. Means Where u wanna be better? everything has various effects to become better..

simply pvp is better for self sufficient skills as reflexs.. but u ll need game mechanic knowledge which where u play.. and time u spent consolidate it.. probably they are major things imo..

That is true.

Pvp teaches you to react and know what your opponent is doing, and to not spam skills. Everything you do directly affects how the battle goes (in 1vs1), a mistake or a good move in pvp has much more effect than in pve, because AI can’t take advantage of your mistakes or react to pressure.

Then again, you don’t have to counter AI, because theyre not as complicated as players, so pvp isnt needed to become good at dungeons, and vice versa.

Alissah.9281:

Azo.5860:

Alissah.9281:

“Knowledge is power” and “one’s knowledge cannot exceed one’s experience”

so.. instead knowledge say effectiveness or say become better, experience give u knowledge.. as well knowledge improve u to gain more efficient experience..

is something like that u can get one the best Tpvp player to maybe in GvG group.. he ll not be as good as he was in Tpvp or he ll not be better than one of the best gvg player.. maybe tpvp player can improve himself faster than other casual gvg players.. cuz of his experiance that ve in tpvp.. so Tpvp and GvG has different requirenment..

so first of all better to make a goal for becoming better mesmer.. Means Where u wanna be better? everything has various effects to become better..

simply pvp is better for self sufficient skills as reflexs.. but u ll need game mechanic knowledge which where u play.. and time u spent consolidate it.. probably they are major things imo..

That is true.

Pvp teaches you to react and know what your opponent is doing, and to not spam skills. Everything you do directly affects how the battle goes (in 1vs1), a mistake or a good move in pvp has much more effect than in pve, because AI can’t take advantage of your mistakes or react to pressure.

Then again, you don’t have to counter AI, because theyre not as complicated as players, so pvp isnt needed to become good at dungeons, and vice versa.

I’ll have to try some PvP then. Never really got into it before, but was curious.

kingsman.3179:

Alissah.9281:

Azo.5860:

Alissah.9281:

“Knowledge is power” and “one’s knowledge cannot exceed one’s experience”

so.. instead knowledge say effectiveness or say become better, experience give u knowledge.. as well knowledge improve u to gain more efficient experience..

is something like that u can get one the best Tpvp player to maybe in GvG group.. he ll not be as good as he was in Tpvp or he ll not be better than one of the best gvg player.. maybe tpvp player can improve himself faster than other casual gvg players.. cuz of his experiance that ve in tpvp.. so Tpvp and GvG has different requirenment..

so first of all better to make a goal for becoming better mesmer.. Means Where u wanna be better? everything has various effects to become better..

simply pvp is better for self sufficient skills as reflexs.. but u ll need game mechanic knowledge which where u play.. and time u spent consolidate it.. probably they are major things imo..

That is true.

Pvp teaches you to react and know what your opponent is doing, and to not spam skills. Everything you do directly affects how the battle goes (in 1vs1), a mistake or a good move in pvp has much more effect than in pve, because AI can’t take advantage of your mistakes or react to pressure.

Then again, you don’t have to counter AI, because theyre not as complicated as players, so pvp isnt needed to become good at dungeons, and vice versa.

I’ll have to try some PvP then. Never really got into it before, but was curious.

1. rule for doing pvp: play for fun :D

Also, if you ever need help with pvp in game (like builds or fashion or whatever), feel free to whisper me :D

Oh… I think I already said that :’(

Alissah.9281:

kingsman.3179:

Alissah.9281:

Azo.5860:

Alissah.9281:

“Knowledge is power” and “one’s knowledge cannot exceed one’s experience”

so.. instead knowledge say effectiveness or say become better, experience give u knowledge.. as well knowledge improve u to gain more efficient experience..

is something like that u can get one the best Tpvp player to maybe in GvG group.. he ll not be as good as he was in Tpvp or he ll not be better than one of the best gvg player.. maybe tpvp player can improve himself faster than other casual gvg players.. cuz of his experiance that ve in tpvp.. so Tpvp and GvG has different requirenment..

so first of all better to make a goal for becoming better mesmer.. Means Where u wanna be better? everything has various effects to become better..

simply pvp is better for self sufficient skills as reflexs.. but u ll need game mechanic knowledge which where u play.. and time u spent consolidate it.. probably they are major things imo..

That is true.

Pvp teaches you to react and know what your opponent is doing, and to not spam skills. Everything you do directly affects how the battle goes (in 1vs1), a mistake or a good move in pvp has much more effect than in pve, because AI can’t take advantage of your mistakes or react to pressure.

Then again, you don’t have to counter AI, because theyre not as complicated as players, so pvp isnt needed to become good at dungeons, and vice versa.

I’ll have to try some PvP then. Never really got into it before, but was curious.

1. rule for doing pvp: play for fun

Also, if you ever need help with pvp in game (like builds or fashion or whatever), feel free to whisper me

Oh… I think I already said that :’(

Hehe, good rule. I used to PvP exclusively in SWTOR’s free trial mode, before they made it F2P. I just played for fun, since the trial wouldn’t let you play very far. The cap on how many warzones you could do per week kinda killed that for me though.

I guess the zergs in WvW scared me when fighting them, and bored me when fighting with them. Watching Osicat’s roaming vids has made me think I might enjoy it though. I should just do a bit of roaming sometime, and see how I like it.

I definitely would like to join OMFG, sounds like it could be a lot of fun, and I would love some constructive feedback. I’ll probably shoot you a message sometime when I’m on. My mesmer is Nava Ayala, and I’m on Dragonbrand. By the way, what is the distinction between NA and EU servers, besides the location?

Work on your build for an hour or two in hotm each week. Consider what did and didn’t work in the dungeons you ran that week.

Speaking from experience for pve, stay far away from confusion. Also, conditions in general are weak. I run with Knights gear due to WvW and it works great in high level Fractals. For most other dungeons you can get away with Berserker gear.

Also, while it’s a not a must, a traited focus is very helpful in fractals and dungeons. Other types of reflection such as Feedback and Mirror (and Mimic occasionally) also help a lot. If your party doesn’t have a guardian then you will be, quite literally, the last line of reflective defense.

Helios.3598:

Work on your build for an hour or two in hotm each week. Consider what did and didn’t work in the dungeons you ran that week.

Speaking from experience for pve, stay far away from confusion. Also, conditions in general are weak. I run with Knights gear due to WvW and it works great in high level Fractals. For most other dungeons you can get away with Berserker gear.

Also, while it’s a not a must, a traited focus is very helpful in fractals and dungeons. Other types of reflection such as Feedback and Mirror (and Mimic occasionally) also help a lot. If your party doesn’t have a guardian then you will be, quite literally, the last line of reflective defense.

I learned not to use conditions the hard way :/ I ran a condition build for the longest time while leveling. I rarely died, but so did the mobs never touched me though, which was probably the strongest part of the build (near constant cripple and chill).

Before I took my hiatus, I would run blink+decoy for most content, swapping the third slot out as needed, usually feedback. Usually would trade decoy for something else whenever the content requires. Seemed to work pretty well for the most part. Now am running a traited focus, and am enjoying the extra reflects, although the warden doesn’t seem very reliable on bosses due to Aoe/cleave. Might need to use Signet of Illusions to help with that, provided I don’t think I’ll need a stunbreak.

I recently (past week? haven’t been back very long) started using a Phantasm build (10/10/0/25/25 I think, didn’t follow a guide for that one), where i was using Osicat’s Shattercat Heavy for for levels 60+. Thinking about swapping Empowered Illusions (Dom III?) for Blade Training though. Currently running http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fgAQRAsd8clwziqHTzqGa9IxZGRf5oZAevXSBu5NA swapping out utilities as needed. I have used Mirror to good success in a few FOTM runs, but haven’t done much since my return.

Thank’s for all your feedback guys, I really look forward to having fun with you all ingame sometime

EDIT: Hmm, it would seem I haven’t played mesmer since the July 25th patch, where they changed Phantasm HP pools. Might have to do more testing now, and might not need Signet of Illusions.

I have played my main Mesmer for 950 hours now (~2000 in total, so I began late). I have done all the dungeons, all the paths, all the zones, every event since the beta. I know every weapon, every skill, played pretty much every build combination and raid in WvW daily.

I’m still cant play the kitten thing anywhere near its fullest potential

Dawdler.8521:

I have played my main Mesmer for 950 hours now (~2000 in total, so I began late). I have done all the dungeons, all the paths, all the zones, every event since the beta. I know every weapon, every skill, played pretty much every build combination and raid in WvW daily.

I’m still cant play the kitten thing anywhere near its fullest potential

I just want to get near my potential, never mind the class’s true potential :/