Mesmer At 80
How is your gear currently? Crafting rares and exotics are quick upgrades. What I can say is that in dungeons and safe run is often better than a fast run. If you can control enemies or buff your team it is just as valuable as dealing TONS of damage. Also don’t run around with no upgrade slots filled because you are farming for your seals. Buy some t5 and t6 gems and at least get extra stats from those. Doesn’t seem like a bunch but it adds up well.
definitely get gear upgrades, first port of call when hitting 80 is to focus on that. first first port of call is weapon, that’s the biggest difference i find. then look at making some armour, even rare 80s are good, and they are significantly easier to make than exo 80s.
staff is a bit more of a complex weapon, if you want dmg try gs with phantasm dmg or shatters.
atm condition focused builds are weak, save bleed rangers/thieves, but i haven’t kepts up on how they fair lately. also cond focus builds suffer when there are more than 3-4 people as bleeds don’t stack beyond 25 which is an easy target.
definitely remember to use runes, you can get super cheap ones, even if they aren’t set superiors ones.
experiment with builds constantly til you find one that fits with your style.
for dungeons, it’s a team effort, and i wouldn’t say it’s YOU that is making the runs 1.5hr long. don’t underestimate your contribution to the group in utility. feedback and nullfield are powerful utilities in dungeons, not to mention the projectile defense from a traited focus, and really help on range only bosses.
also remember to choose are sets that compliment the trait choice you make. it’s generally not a good idea to have toughness and healing if you want to make a high dmg pres/prow build. my tip is to make an explorer set, pres/power is a safe choice with mf, it’ll keep decent enough dmg while giving a very usable farming set.
don’t underestimate your accessories either, i find they were a bigger boost for me than armours, however exo ones can get pricey to buy or make.
all something to work towards, so take your time and enjoy it.
/I deal with most derangements, sir./
From what I find staff is all about taking out the mobs or supporting the heavy hitters through conditioning and buffing (chaos storm, and various traits). It really depends on what you want to do with your character, you can spec out GS and deal pretty healthy damage fairly easily, but I generally find conditioners are rarer in PvE at least, and that can make quite the difference in how well a boss is taken out.