Guild Wars 2

I main an Engineer. Love it. Absolutely love it. But at times, I just want something different, a low level relaxed toon. So, I’m looking for an alt but can’t decide on a profession. I’ve tried many at lower levels but nothing is grabbing me. I need something that’s got build variety, that can deal damage but have utility too. Something fun and dynamic. Something with pizazz. Also, I’m 99% PvE

I’m sorry, but you won’t find any build variety on mesmer.

for pve u have 2 choise. warrior and mesmer, others no needed. warior have 1 build pve. mesmer 3. so be smart ^^

drongas.4189:

for pve u have 2 choise. warrior and mesmer, others no needed. warior have 1 build pve. mesmer 3. so be smart ^^

I do not subscribe to the notion of warrior/mesmer-only groups. That’s just stupid. I main an engi so I clearly don’t care about that kind of elite-dungeon-rush-ping-gearscore-1337 crap.

Not to mention that warrior is the opposite of dynamic and interesting gameplay. It’s straight forward hack-n-slash.

All that aside, mesmer have 3 build options for endgame. Are there other non-best-dps-only options too? I want to be able to have the option to swap to different weapons, play-styles, etc.

3? how is there only 3?

1) Reflection Based from inspiration for dungs/fractals with lots of projectiles.
2) Phantasm
3) Shatter
4) Support based, simuliar to no.1.
5) Glamour, yes you -can- use this type with adjustments in pve.

are they all ’’meta’’ or ‘’cookie cutter’’ no but we have variety.

as for your weapon swap question Seras you will want to carry every weapon with you you’ll be changing a lot in given situations.

also from an Engineer a very active class with lots of combinations skill slot wise you will not be disappointed with the mesmer, of course engi’s have more with kits and things.

Thief’s are also extremely active with no CD’s you need to keep you eye on resources while moving and positioning yourself, a lot.

DrixTrix.7168:

3? how is there only 3?

1) Reflection Based from inspiration for dungs/fractals with lots of projectiles.
2) Phantasm
3) Shatter
4) Support based, simuliar to no.1.
5) Glamour, yes you -can- use this type with adjustments in pve.

are they all ’’meta’’ or ‘’cookie cutter’’ no but we have variety.

as for your weapon swap question Seras you will want to carry every weapon with you you’ll be changing a lot in given situations.

also from an Engineer a very active class with lots of combinations skill slot wise you will not be disappointed with the mesmer, of course engi’s have more with kits and things.

Thief’s are also extremely active with no CD’s you need to keep you eye on resources while moving and positioning yourself, a lot.

3. phant, shater, and booners.
glamour? pve? its pvp now suk. and shater and phant build use feedback to in pve.
other is waste of dps for u and group

and pve u can play naked. build just for fun put random trait points

your right with that you can play naked in pve :P

as i said there not all meta or cookie cutter but you can play any build in pve, for the most part it is easy as pie, and by glamour i am talking about null fields, feedbacks, portals all traited, for charging bosses portals can be fun, used them a lot in MF with lowbies, worked a charm.

you can trait specifically to shatter more or use phantasms more so there’s two builds right there, you can trait for full on support damage or full on support, while you can sure use them in any build glamour wise its much better when traited.

multiple stuff and alot of builds can switch out a trait or two and have a slightly different style, the play styles of the mesmers build differs a lot but being pve yeh, dodge and summon really

in that case every class only has 3 builds really. support, dps, defense.

Also within shatter builds there are the tanky staff based and the more dps greatsword based, so there is some variety there too.

Good stuff. Glad to know mesmer offers lots of build and play styles. Are mantra builds viable? I’m still trying to figure out which direction to head as I level (just hit 12).

Shatter, Glamour, Inspiration, ect….These aren’t so much builds as they are different playstyles. There are many different types of shatter builds (power and condition variants), as are different types of the others.

One of the best things about Mesmer is that you can conceive a viable build around any weapon, and nearly any gearset. Start from deciding what your favorite weapons are (and I agree with earlier posts to carry them all for different situations) and then play with traits before finding your gear.

Mantras definitely work, check out Fay’s vids and guides for some inspiration.

.. On a sidenote, Elementalist is also a really fun alt, and not as build-limited as people like to think.

Chaos Archangel.5071:

… for some inspiration.

I see what you did there

DrixTrix.7168:

1) Reflection Based from inspiration for dungs/fractals with lots of projectiles.
2) Phantasm
3) Shatter
4) Support based, simuliar to no.1.
5) Glamour, yes you -can- use this type with adjustments in pve.

There’s only one core build that is useful in pve.

Winds.3087:

DrixTrix.7168:

1) Reflection Based from inspiration for dungs/fractals with lots of projectiles.
2) Phantasm
3) Shatter
4) Support based, simuliar to no.1.
5) Glamour, yes you -can- use this type with adjustments in pve.

There’s only one core build that is useful in pve.

This… Is an incredibly narrow-minded perspective.

Winds.3087:

I’m sorry, but you won’t find any build variety on mesmer.

There are many ways to play a mesmer. There is a lot of room for creativity in choosing a build and weapons to go with it imo.

Chaos Archangel.5071:

This… Is an incredibly narrow-minded perspective.

Denial won’t make my statement less true. Either you trait around 30 illusions, either you are taking precious party slot.

if you want to relax(not so active gameplay) on pve.. i think guardian would be perfect..
thief is kinda fun.. if you like fast pace gameplay..
but the fact that you post it here means that you’re already set on a mesmer alt anyway..

Winds.3087:

Chaos Archangel.5071:

This… Is an incredibly narrow-minded perspective.

Denial won’t make my statement less true. Either you trait around 30 illusions, either you are taking precious party slot.

Not necessarily, in dungeons sometimes phantasm builds are better than shatter builds.

For example,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajFtp6mnM1k
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/OP-Phantasm-Mesmer-Build-Fractal-Dungeon/first

Winds.3087:

Denial won’t make my statement less true…

Yeah, except that it’s a false statement to begin with. Have you tried experimenting with other trait setups? Its that kind of perspective that reduces build variety in any class. Maybe a 30-point shatter build works best for you personally, which is great, but is nowhere near mandatory for every Mesmer to be viable.

iPersona is very good, but its far from “required.” Hell, 5 points in illusions is arguably more important. There are a whole plethora of builds, and even a podcast listed on these forums that prove the versatility of the Mesmer class.

Chaos Archangel.5071:

Winds.3087:

Denial won’t make my statement less true…

Yeah, except that it’s a false statement to begin with. Have you tried experimenting with other trait setups? Its that kind of perspective that reduces build variety in any class. Maybe a 30-point shatter build works best for you personally, which is great, but is nowhere near mandatory for every Mesmer to be viable.

iPersona is very good, but its far from “required.” Hell, 5 points in illusions is arguably more important. There are a whole plethora of builds, and even a podcast listed on these forums that prove the versatility of the Mesmer class.

^I can’t even keep up with all the builds that have been posted. There are so many.

Chaos Archangel.5071:

Have you tried experimenting with other trait setups?

Yes, otherwise I wouldn’t rush in with my statement. Not much of a solid math and logs though – yet, but I’m working on evaluation and compare system for this matter.
Given absence of even basic dps meter, that will be harder.
Versatility is good and nice, but efficiency must be above all.

Grounder.7381:

if you want to relax(not so active gameplay) on pve.. i think guardian would be perfect..
thief is kinda fun.. if you like fast pace gameplay..
but the fact that you post it here means that you’re already set on a mesmer alt anyway..

I should clarify what I mean by “relax”: Not feel as pressured running dungeons and gearing perfectly as I would with an 80. With an 80 I feel that you need to put effort into gearing/traiting/building properly to be a boon to a group. At level 40 that pressure isn’t there.

And I also posted this thread on thief forum but that was sealed pretty quickly. Thieves do not fulfill the criteria. I was told as much there.

Have a guardian (45) but he’s too laid back, boring. Need something more dynamic.

Winds.3087:

Versatility is good and nice, but efficiency must be above all.

Efficiency is more than just dps.

Winds.3087:

Yes, otherwise I wouldn’t rush in with my statement. Not much of a solid math and logs though – yet, but I’m working on evaluation and compare system for this matter.
Given absence of even basic dps meter, that will be harder.
Versatility is good and nice, but efficiency must be above all.

I agree and disagree. Efficiency is important, but fun must be above all.

Everyone running the same “most efficient” build isn’t fun. And in most cases efficiency is relative to opinion. I think my build is pretty efficient, but your personal opinion could lean towards shatters or phantasms for the higher DPS. But to say that I’m “wasting a spot” on my team would be an insult to the work and effort I put into crafting it.

Different dungeons are a good example of this: A build with reflects would be great for Caudecus Manor, but not so great in some others. Same with shatter, condition, ect.

@Seras: A warning, a lot of people complain that Mesmers are difficult to level until 40. I personally never had this problem, but I come from a different gaming background than most MMO players (Learned about action combat from Champions Online, and before that console action-adventure platform games are my shiz)

Chaos Archangel.5071:

@Seras: A warning, a lot of people complain that Mesmers are difficult to level until 40. I personally never had this problem, but I come from a different gaming background than most MMO players (Learned about action combat from Champions Online, and before that console action-adventure platform games are my shiz)

I’ve heard that too. I’m 12 right now and still unlocking skills so I’m alright for now. I’ve had to really pay attention to movement. And playstyle is very different than I’m used to with my Engi. So squishy! I plan on crafting a few levels between 20-40 just to expedite it, but don’t want to miss out on learning how to play mesmer in the process.

Its an interesting leveling experience, for sure. Make sure you put your first 5 trait points into Illusions to get the minor trait that reduces the cooldown on any clone-generating ability. And get Blink asap! Everyone loves Blink.

Early levels its good to keep a greatsword, focus, torch…. er.. Just buy all of the weapons as soon as you can. Stealths, teleports, massive damage, ect.

A fun little mobility trick called the Cat Leap (credited to Osicat. 20 secs into the vid). Target an enemy, Blink past him, and then use phase retreat while the enemy is behind your back.

Has saved my bacon a few times. Teleports are ya friend.

I think going full glass cannon as soon as possible in PvE helped me a lot with leveling my mesmer. Once you go into a dungeon, you can grab a bit of tanky gear if you need it, but always try to go glass cannon while leveling. I think too many people try to trait their mesmers to be as tough as a warrior that they first leveled and then your damage tanks and you level slow.
Go sword/sword with 10 dueling and 5 illusions. That should help you learn the great active defense of a really squishy mesmer. 10 Domination for more damage to your shatters or phantasms. Focus off hand to run faster and have some projectile reflects.

Yeah. Glass Mesmer is high risk/ungodly-satisfying reward.

How is leveling with mantras? Doable or need lotsa traits to make it work?

Mantra builds aren’t really out there very much. I’ve seen one or two. ANet said in a recent State of the Game that they were afraid of Mantras so I guess they can have a lot of power.

for example, you may want to look at these posts
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/How-Effective-are-Mantra-Builds-for-PvE

Winds.3087:

I’m sorry, but you won’t find any build variety on mesmer.

Not if you look on these forums that give useless advice like this…

When you had mained a Necro, alting a Mesmer makes it your new main, no contest.

Yendorion.2381:

When you had mained a Necro, alting a Mesmer makes it your new main, no contest.

I main an Engi.

Seras.5702:

Yendorion.2381:

When you had mained a Necro, alting a Mesmer makes it your new main, no contest.

I main an Engi.

My first character was an Engie. Loved her to pieces, but I was awful at WvWing with her. A lot of the changes that came through for the Engineer made them a lot more viable, and I enjoy playing her again, though I still consider Mesmer to be my main.

If you were more WvW oriented, I would definitely recommend an alt Mesmer. As you are primarily PvE, I’m uncertain it will be a good fit for you. The Engie is a demanding class because of kit swapping and juggling all the CDs. Mesmer sometimes feels the same way with burst rotation and damage mitigation.

Still, both classes are a ton of fun.

EDIT: Ah, I should have read the full thread. Looks like I also misinterpreted what you were looking for in relaxed play. Hope you’re enjoying the class!

Nikked.7365:

EDIT: Ah, I should have read the full thread. Looks like I also misinterpreted what you were looking for in relaxed play. Hope you’re enjoying the class!

Yea I really shouln’t have included the word “relaxed” in my initial post. It’s ironic that I’m looking for a dynamic profession that requires some effort & creativity while maintaining versatility….and calling it relaxed play.

As you noticed, by relaxed I only mean that I don’t have the pressure that an 80 brings. Namely, gearing exotics, being 100% perfect in dungeons, bouncing from world boss to world boss, etc. A more relaxed pace.

Haven’t had much time to play my new mesmer; American holiday weekend + Living Story = not a lot of alt time. I look forward to June lol.