Guild Wars 2

So I’m looking for a PvE Build for my Mesmer as I just hit 80 (5th character, yay!). I don’t give one rat’s behind about PvP or WvW effectiveness. All I care about on any of my characters is PvE Farming and Dungeon running.

I leveled my Mesmer with a Phantasm build, going 10/15/0/25/20 as I wasn’t sure if going 20 in Domination was better than Phantasmal Haste (I got that at 80 and haven’t gone and done anything so I haven’t seen it’s effectiveness).

But I was wondering if a Shatter build is better for dungeon running or if I should stick with Phantasm?

I tend to find Shatter Build generally more powerful with more tactics available to you. You aren’t trying to preserve your illusions like some kind of pet class so you can choose to let them absorb some hits for you, or blow them up consistently for good damage output. If you trait to get clones out quickly, and pick up traits like Deceptive Evasion you should have a near limitless supply of cannon-fodder to Naruto your way through all encounters.

Phantasm builds are not as strong, in my opinion, and tend to place too much focus on one aspect of the class while sacrificing a lot of the others. That, and the traits which make a phantasm build viable simply aren’t as powerful as the traits that make a shatter build viable. That probably should be balanced.

There are already 3 threads on this topic in the first page of these forums… I am going to assume you are new than that you didn’t bother to read the faqs, use the search, or even bother browsing the post titles.

The point is, many of us have already contributed to this discussion and it’s rather annoying to have to keep repeating the same things over and over. Because of that you may not get all the responses and information that is already available in those posts, maybe check those first before creating a whole new thread.

sinican.9250:

There are already 3 threads on this topic in the first page of these forums… I am going to assume you are new than that you didn’t bother to read the faqs, use the search, or even bother browsing the post titles.

The point is, many of us have already contributed to this discussion and it’s rather annoying to have to keep repeating the same things over and over. Because of that you may not get all the responses and information that is already available in those posts, maybe check those first before creating a whole new thread.

There is one topic on the front page of these forums, and it is a topic requesting assistance with a Phantasm Build. Did you read the first post of this thread? I am not asking for assistance with a phantasm build, I am asking if a shatter build is superior to it for dungeon running or farming in terms of damage output. Every other build thread on the front page is focusing on WvW or PvP, which again if you’d read the first post of this topic, I pointedly made it clear I don’t care about. The build thread has all of 2 posts that have been made within the last month (one of which is neither a phantasm or shatter build and the other is for pvp), and changes have been made to the class in updates since those month old posts and things could have changed.

Next time you wanna be cynical, first step is to pull your head out of your kitten and actually see what the thread is about.

Since it’s also my topic that sinican.9250 supposedly referred to… Hi!

I did sort of ask the same as you have, but then, I didn’t narrow it down to merely Phantasms VS Shatter. I personally hoped to get all sorts of feedback on all types of builds, to measure upsides and downsides.

While I’ve yet to get more feedback on my own topic, back on the board, I do have to say it might be worth trying to just re-trait and toy around in a lower zone to see what you find more fun to play. Personally, I find that matters a lot!
I enjoyed both Phantasms and Shatter builds… but am just a nitpicking little fellow who wanted to get some constructive criticism on all fronts.

Warkupo.1025 does have a good point. A fair few of the traits to make a good Shatterer build are found early on, (whereas Phantasm needs a 25 trait for +15% dmg, ouch!) and it leaves a Shatterer build much more flexible in the end. If you’re going to PvE all over the place, that might suit you much easier.
But yep. Still waiting to see where these discussions might lead to.

Shatter builds are just that much more powerful at the moment, especially with the last patch.

It’s play style. A heavy inspiration phantasm build like you have is very versatile and brings a lot of group support and damage reflection or healing. A pure shatter build is mostly a DPs build with group support via utilities, which the inspiration build can also use.

I could be missing some traits that are group support in a normal shatter setup, but I know 25 inspiration builds can bring damage plus.

a phant build still does more dps then a shatter builds for boss fights, plus it has a higher survivability. shatter is nice on trash though when you need a little burst, but it comes down to playstyle and what you want to do!

shatter by a long kitten shot

Go a bit of both? I run 0/20/0/20/30 with Warden’s Feedback and Illusionary Persona. I can shatter often to maintain a good stack of might, still can use Diversion and Distortion on demand, keep up projectile reflection for a ridiculously long duration with Temporal Curtain + Warden + Feedback and do decent single and AoE damage contribution with the high output from warden and blurred frenzy. GS or Staff on swap depending on situation for ranged.

Being able to shut down ranged attacks for prolonged periods of time is simply fantastic for dungeons where every attack you don’t take counts.

Also for farming outside of dungeons in normal PvE I felt shatters and iBerserker alone didn’t really do enough damage to generate loot unless I was in a group. Warden + Blurred Frenzy + Mind Wrack + Cry of Frustration combo (with iLeap and dodge for illusion generation somewhere between) is possibly the best AoE attack mesmer has now thanks to the GS nerf and personally I found great success with it even without being in a group. For once I could fill my bags up as a mesmer. =P

A short swiftness on demand is of course a nice bonus.