Guild Wars 2

When someone asks you, “How is mesmer right now?” what do you tell them?

I hear a range of responses from “Mesmer is one of the worst classes in all parts of the game” to “Mesmer is OP” my response to the question has always been a little different…

I believe that mesmer isn’t a class that’s for everyone. Some people play mesmer specifically to feel overpowered in a PU build, or just because their team is lacking one. But to me, the mesmer’s effectiveness depends on the creativity and skill of the player. Our abilities aren’t straightforward, our role isn’t clear-cut, and there’s so many ways to play the class effectively that different builds feel like entirely new playstyles.

I’m not someone who min/maxes and I don’t have any ambition to go into top level PvP (er.. anymore). This isn’t because of any lack of confidence in my abilities, but because I find more enjoyment in the journey, rather than the destination. I enjoy trying strange builds, wierd traits, and unusual skills. I can play an effective shatter, condition, boonshare, lockdown, glamour builds and anything inbetween and still be a large asset to my group. I was playing a lockdown Mesmer before it became “meta” and will continue to play one now that the hype train has passed because it’s one of my favorite builds.. I say all of this to emphasis that I do not believe in letting other people dictate how I should play.

I am not a leech for not running a min/maxed build. I am not bad for running a non-meta spec in pvp. I am me, and I cater to my own sensibilities. I believe that that is what makes me a good player. The fact that I’m willing to do my own research and not simply agree when someone says “this is bad.” Sure, once in a while I’ll fold to Pyro’s unyielding logic, but not everything can be proven with math and theory. Some things you just have to feel out and see how well you do with it. Osicat runs PU now even though some people say it’s bad, or doesn’t work for roaming, ect. He runs it because it’s what he enjoys and suits his goals the best. I’ve been stomped out by a full-signet Mesmer. Hell, for a while I was talking crap about how Guardians can’t beat Mesmer and then got my shiz pushed in by a spirit guard. (Sigh =[)

Helseth has an awesome title for one of his insanely sick videos “Mesmer isn’t viable, I am.” , and I agree wholeheartedly: The class and build you play don’t determine your skill level. Your intelligence and reflexes do. Of course there are badly made builds, but that doesn’t mean the concept or player behind them are bad. What is “the best” for everyone may not be the best for you… It all comes down to arrogence and humility: If my goal is insane PvE damage I’m not going to arrogantly claim Shatter is the best when I’ve never even tried a Phantasm build, especially when someone who has done the research is telling me otherwise. If I want to join a competitive tPvP team I’m going to make sure my role doesn’t conflict with someone elses (IE not running a support build when there’s already a support player and my team is lacking damage). It all comes down to keeping an open mind about your abilities and limitations.

If nothing else, remember that no matter what you do people are going to judge you for good or for ill, but no one can live your life. Be smart, be creative, be open minded with your Mesmer and you’ll find a way to succeed.

Chaos Archangel.5071:

The class and build you play don’t determine your skill level. Your intelligence and reflexes do.

So many people need to understand this, especially in a class such as Mesmer that is going through a tiny rough patch. You can’t just copy and paste a build and play it effectively as you could with a Hambow.

::applause::

I do not believe in letting other people dictate how I should play.

I don’t either. If someone else is telling me what to do, it’s not play, it’s work.

I agree that you should let people dictate how you play in a game, but I’m a firm believer in making an informed decision

I totally agree and this. Some people just don’t know that Mesmer’s have a lot of builds that can suit any situations at any time (well if you can play it good and know what your doing) unlike guardians and Warriors who think that we have 2 to 3 builds that are appropriate and anything else won’t work (talking about world of versus world here).
And it all depends on your play style and what you like, your Build will define you and no one can tell you otherwise.
A lot of people should read this post, thank you so much for posting this

Thanksmuchos for posting! Verry inspiring post and amazing video.

Honestly – why don’t you write a book about such stuff ? I’d buy it :x

Couldn’t agree more. This gets a massive +1 from me. Sticky this for everyone to see!
Have a wonderful rest of the day, happy gaming!

~Monns

Great post, sums up my feeling exactly.

Thanks.

Great post but I believe Osicat still loves shatter the most. It’s just that PU is a lot stronger IMO. If that’s not viable to roam, what is?

Church.

I’ve been a Mesmer main since the game launched, trying everything under the sun with builds & playstyles. To me Mesmers are the most ‘confusing’ profession, pun intended.

I’ve read countless critiques saying “confusion/condition Mesmer aren’t viable in PvE”. So naturally I made it my personal goal to prove them wrong (although I’ll admit it’s been an uphill battle).

Comes down to ’It’s not the tools you have, but how you use them’.

When I see my 25 stacks of Confusion ticking for 12K per attack from the boss as I summon one last phantasm, throw on a Feedback & Timewarp and go make some more coffee…well it feels like a victory only a Mesmer could understand.

That brings up the debate of “viable vs optimal.” If you’re running a confusion build in PvE then you’re statistically doing less damage than you would in a power build.

But at the same time, is it worth it to run a meta build if you’re not enjoying yourself in the process? If doing that turn the game into work like Foosnark says, then what’s the point? I think in the end how ‘viable’ a pve build is comes down to how smooth and wipe-free the run goes.

Awesome post. I’ve recently been screwing around with a roaming interrupt build with some PU ideas and it’s fun. I’m sure there are a lot of thieves out there swearing about me resetting the fight, and coming back with full HP.

On the other hand I can outright flatten road guards with this build and solo camps too, even though it’s not a DPS build.

There are some fantastic ideas in this forum, but you have to figure out what works for you.

great post. I’m someone who has never run a meta build and I’ve never gone looking for any builds to copy. I sorta just choose traits that are fun for me and that I like. I choose gear that has just enough defensive stats for me and not anything less because someone else says, “full zerker or get kicked.” I agree with everything you’ve said. At the end of the day i can solo roam effectively and can solo dungeons well enough to make some gold at the end with my “sub-optimal” build.

I wish this game had more players like yourself and less of other players trying to impose their playstyle onto others.