Guild Wars 2

My suggestion is to change up the GS #1 attack, Spatial Surge a little bit.
Enable this attack to be fired from any angle, including directly behind the character. This will allow the Mesmer character to be able to run forward, but away from the target and still manage to create a little bit more distance than simply hitting the move backwards button. The key thing about Spatial Surge is that it does more damage the larger the distance.

I often find that as melee enemies run closer, the damage on this attack obviously drops significantly and I’m unable to finish them off right before they reach me. Even after unloading most, if not all the skills on the GS, and even shattering illusions, the target health is quite low, but the low damage (at close range) of Spatial Surge is just poking it for a quite a while longer, and it feels really unsatisfactory that Mesmers have to “struggle” to kill a single target at a distance. Other classes I’ve played do not really suffer from this problem with their ranged weapons, except maybe Guardian?

As it is now, the animation already looks kind-okittenward when the target runs to the side of your character, about 60-75 degrees off to either side. You fire Spatial Surge at this angle, but the beam leaves the GS at a weird angle because the weapon is kept straight forward.

With my suggestion, the GS would always turn pointing to the target. If you are running away (while running forward) and the target is directly behind or somewhere in the area that is facing your character’s back, the GS could float directly above the Mesmer’s head and point backwards when while firing, liking a floating satellite. It should stay up in the air to continue firing until the target is dead, or you physically turn your character around, or you attack another target in front of your character — because it wouldn’t feel fluid enough if it continually goes over the Mesmer’s head and then comes back down.

I don’t know how “OP” this may or may not be in sPvP. I don’t think it would make it that much more powerful, but I am only suggesting this from a PvE standpoint. I feel like this game caters to the PvP aspect too much in the sense that, if it’s too powerful for sPvP, then we must also nerf it for PvE too, which isn’t exactly right imo. PvE is 1 against many targets, while in sPvP, not so much, and Mesmers already have a dearth of effective and frequently available AoE skills. I’m not really suggesting that Mesmers get more options for AoE (even thought would be nice), just that, with their single target skills, make it more effective. If it’s too good for sPvP, or even roaming WvW, then just separate the whole system and make it PvE only; imagine how much more fun it could be when skills wouldn’t be so limited in PvE just because it is limited by what you should be able to do in player vs. player.

If we are to go along with the idea that PvE limitations should be different than PvP, then #2, 4 and 5 could also be allowed to fired from any angle. If not, I guess the primary suggestion about Spatial Surge is good enough for me.

Again, I am mainly suggesting this for PvE.

I’ve never had this problem, you shouldn’t allow an enemy get close to you until you are certain you can burst them, but simply using gs 2 and f1 will do 12-15k damage on a squishy.

Kite them from a distance and utilise the cripple from gs 4, when they get near use gs 5 and then reposition yourself. The number one thing when fighting people as a mesmer with gs I find is that you have to be quick.

For PvE it would seem to be a silly QoL issue as every mob dies so quickly anyway.

Animation-wise this would look awkward at best. Not a fan of the idea.

Why?

You have 2 weapon sets, and even though I don’t play much PvE, I think most Mesmers use a sword.
So hit them with GS and if they come close switch to sword and kill them.

imo, I would only ever range if I need to use range, specifically in PvE. I have a love/hate relationship with GS — love it in PvP, hate it in PvE (except for iBerserker cause that’s our only good AoE phant =/)

Anything that gets into melee range with a mesmer should either get a face full of Illusionary Wave or the business end of a main-hand sword. While it is our only melee weapon, it is also one hell of a melee weapon!

In terms of the animation, you also have to keep in mind what anet is actually capable of doing. Sometimes changing an animation/skill has consequences that can extend beyond the animation itself. I’m not saying that anet can’t do this because I don’t know what their limitations are however sometimes the effort needed to change one thing out-ways its actual worth in-game.

Do you sit on GS ?

Use Mirror Blade, Mind Stab, iZerker or iWave… Shatter ? Or swap to your sword. Mirror Blade is on a short cooldown already and it’s even better at mid-close range.

Also, you can always wear sigil of fire and air on your GS if you want your Spatial Surge to do more damage.

Seriously? As others have said, use other weapon skills, shatter skills, or weapon swap (or simply turn your character to face the enemy momentarily). GS #1 is already pretty powerful at range given it cannot be reflected – having the ability to fire in any direction would be far too strong.

I admit I am looking at this mostly from a pvp viewpoint, but even so I can’t see how this is at all needed in pve either.