Guild Wars 2

(All of the builds are links. Props if you know the reference.)

OK .. OK wow.

If these updates are legit (as in bug-free), Anet just really knocked it out of the park. Mesmer received NOTHING but buffs!

• Illusionary Elasticity Works for Clones
  While this may initially seem like a buff to only condition builds, power builds can benefit from this pretty massively too. Clones/Phantasms’ damage is improved from your personal might, so any and all stacking will improve their condition damage. This is also great news for staff-using lockdown builds, as 0/4/6/0/4 becomes pretty lucrative.

• Maim The Disillusioned + Scepter = Mesmer Torment Buff
  What really gets me hype is that scepter CLONES will also be applying torment, in addition to torment shatters, in ADDITION TO STAFF CLONES BOUNCING! Sorry… No more caps.. So much hype. This is a nice boost to the viability of the Condition Mesmer beyond PU, especially when you consider a build like 4/4/0/0/6 is going to see a massivep ower boost.

• Illusionary Leap/Warden/Mind Spike
  Pfft. About time. ( but awesome nonetheless!) somewhat skeptical on iWarden being “fixed” though.

• Mantras changed to 5 target AoE
  For those of you who didn’t know, Mantra of Pain was always pretty decent, doing respectable damage instantly, it was just outclassed by other utilities. With it becoming a 5-target instant AoE, it gives a MASSIVE boost to our WvW AoE damage ability, our ability to use defensive weapons like staff/torch. Speaking of staff, with this change I can finally make the AoE-esque staff build of my dreams! I’ll be working with 0/4/6/0/4

And… Oh man..

Oh. Man.

/wet
I’ll discuss this one more in the lockdown Mesmer thread, holy crap …the possibilities here!

What builds are spinning around in your heads atm? I personally can’t wait for September .. 9th?

easy tiger easy now.

lol.

Sp to me is sweet. very sweet.

edit:

sorry what do you mean by this" in ADDITION TO STAFF CLONES BOUNCING"
do you the bounce will also add Torment?
or
it has unlimited number of bounce?

Yeah but now how am I supposed to comfortably stop playing when there’s like 13 different builds rolling around in my head like a roulette?!

Chaos Archangel.5071:

MANTRA OF DISTRACTION
IS A FREAKIN FIVE TARGET AOE!

---

The build in my signature gets an immense buff
I can’t wait.

Oh, definitely. Snatch them weaves skcamow.

I’m thinking Imbued Diversion may deserve another look now. Oddly enough I’m most hype about MoPain. Support Mantra Mes making a comeback!?

Mantra of Distraction + CI + Bountiful Interruption + maybe strength runes

Holy kitten.

Best case scenarios: You interrupt all 5 enemies. Instantly get 25 stacks of might + the random boons. Wat.

Are you or your teammate necro/thief/squishy being chased by 2/3/4/5 people who are somewhat grouped together? Power lock that kitten. All immobilized + damaged + soft CCed + you get all the benefits from BI.

And more.

You said it best: /wet

I like the sound of AoE stun and staff clones finally benefit from IE. But like some already pointed out condi mes and especially PU mes will be so strong that they’ll nerf something about it.

We’ll see what happens when the patch is life.

First thing that came to mind was a 2/6/0/0/6 aoe daze machine+halting strike for wvw + mantra of pain. Would have to be backline but then I realized triumphant and harmonious and imbued diversion cant happen. Triumphant and Imbued diversion for a guaranteed GS4 burst then aoe daze? or an extra charge on pain, distraction and maybe a full mantra bar so… 2/6/4/2/0 as a backline. Full mantras, lots of condi clears and decent stability/stun break. Aoe dmg along on pain and halting strike OR 0/6/6/2/0 for the aoe immob and condi? Maybe even drop menders purity since resolve is on the bar and go 2/6/6/0/0. Lots of mantra charging though… and screw veil botting.

Is there seriously no buff to torch phantasm or disrupter’s sustainment? No nerfs to PU with the buffs to condi? Something big has got to be missing.

Mimic sucks. Anyone want to petition to keep the old version? 30 second CD is terrible. Will have same aiming issues as thievery and won’t be able to hit reliably.

i agree condi will be stronger.. but will it make it out of kitten tier into a viable tourny spec.. if they nerf our profession because of hotjoin heros running pu and being annoying i think that is silly.

When I asked I wanted to learn Condition game play, I was told to forget it. I am glad I keep to it and now my paid off.

Considered I have been doing some serious investment in condition damage / duration / torment gear. With this buff to Condition and scepter, I am so so happy.

Now who is laughing now.

Muuuaaaaaa

Chaos Archangel.5071:

• Illusionary Elasticity Works for Clones
  While this may initially seem like a buff to only condition builds, power builds can benefit from this pretty massively too. Clones/Phantasms’ damage is improved from your personal might, so any and all stacking will improve their condition damage. This is also great news for staff-using lockdown builds, as 0/4/6/0/4 becomes pretty lucrative.

This also can benefit your allies, because the Wind of Chaos can jump on them.

Blades of Sabatine.5639:

When I asked I wanted to learn Condition game play, I was told to forget it. I am glad I keep to it and now my paid off.

Considered I have been doing some serious investment in condition damage / duration / torment gear. With this buff to Condition and scepter, I am so so happy.

Now who is laughing now.

Muuuaaaaaa

None of the facts stated in that thread you had made have changed. If you run condition damage in a fractal or dungeon, you are purposefully choosing to make your group carry you.

Those buffs to Scepter aa will make fights vs. PU condi even worse – boring and more dangerous…

On the other hand, more reliable iLeap + MoPain/Distraction buffed – what about mantra shatter? I fear it won´t be effective, but could be an interesting fun project.

Fixed iWarden (in addition to this awesome fight between Chaos and Chaos^^) will push Focus on my favorite-offhand-list. CI+Focus+MoD aoe? Yes please! Runes of Grenth instead of Traveler will be interesing as well since focus provides swiftness. At the moment I avoid iWarden, but after the patch, I´ll try something like this.

So i just finished watching the update.

Good things that will help mesmers spread out and have a few more options for utilities

Mantra AoE’s

… uhm thats kinda it.

Scepter gaining Torment on AA + Clones AA will quickly push PU into the cross hairs of the OP nerf hammer, more so than it already is. Not saying its a bad change but i still wont be picking up a scepter.

IE, something i already use on staff will finally be nice to have for condition spam/support builds.

MtD isnt getting much for a buff, only a +2s duration. doesnt help the GM trait gain much if any ground on IP.

iLeap – bout time but I wonder if it will actually work as well as we hope/want it to. i’m expecting a lot of bugs on this one and a return to getting stuck in the floor/wall/wtfwhereamitheceiling?

iWarden – Fixed again.. apparently.. tho they didnt actually show it working.

Mimic, on a 30s Recharge (untrained i would think?) means anet increased the CD on the skill. it also seems to only copy remaining durations on the target so i called it on this one, throw it out and never use again is how i feel atm.

TD- nice change, still crippled but the terrible internal CD, wont be taking this one unless someone can figure out how to create a Phant build that uses 30 into dueling and at least 15 in Illusions.. sounds awful already.

on the end note i’m glad for some of the other changes tho they seem so minor and confusedly slapped in. Still no recognition that Mesmers need TLC on the clone/Phant mechanic and just how badly it interacts with a lot of the more “social” (Zergs) or competitive (DPS Problems) aspects of the game when it cant be/isnt brought into play.

Ultimately i’m mildly interested in how this will turn out but having been burned so often in the last 2 years, still unwilling to get excited or hopeful as i wait to see what actually makes it in, what is changed before then, and what ends up Broken on arrival and either requires a hot fix to save some warrior egos 3 days in or another 15 month wait for another shot at bug fixes.

Edit- MoD is only getting a 140? radius on its aoe, thats half the radius of a shatter aoe..?

Edit2: Rewatched – MoP = 240 AoE / 5 target
MoD = 180 AoE / 5 Target limit.

Shatter AoE = 240

MindStab AoE (Current) = 120

So you can kinda think of MoD’s new AoE as slightly larger than the green circle for GS 3. Hope that helps anyone planning on huge Daze party bombs limit their expectations realistically.

Well the change to IE does make shatter condi builds a bit more appealing now. But still, I think it’s the base shatter condition skills that are holding back condi shatter builds.

Fay.2357:

Blades of Sabatine.5639:

When I asked I wanted to learn Condition game play, I was told to forget it. I am glad I keep to it and now my paid off.

Considered I have been doing some serious investment in condition damage / duration / torment gear. With this buff to Condition and scepter, I am so so happy.

Now who is laughing now.

Muuuaaaaaa

None of the facts stated in that thread you had made have changed. If you run condition damage in a fractal or dungeon, you are purposefully choosing to make your group carry you.

I only run Condition to get use to the play style not using it in fractal or dungeon.

So you still believe with the change, condition will still be bad in PVE content? You could be right, but let just wait and see shall we.

I just hope you are wrong

Blades of Sabatine.5639:

Fay.2357:

Blades of Sabatine.5639:

When I asked I wanted to learn Condition game play, I was told to forget it. I am glad I keep to it and now my paid off.

Considered I have been doing some serious investment in condition damage / duration / torment gear. With this buff to Condition and scepter, I am so so happy.

Now who is laughing now.

Muuuaaaaaa

None of the facts stated in that thread you had made have changed. If you run condition damage in a fractal or dungeon, you are purposefully choosing to make your group carry you.

I only run Condition to get use to the play style not using it in fractal or dungeon.

So you still believe with the change, condition will still be bad in PVE content? You could be right, but let just wait and see shall we.

I just hope you are wrong

It’s not really a wait and see thing. You could maintain 25 stacks of permatorment and still do less damage than a zerker build.

Another build getting a nice buff is my utility wizard. IE + scepter torment on AA + iWarden fixes (crossing fingers). Build is already decent but going to be strong after the patch.

With the AoE power lock I’m thinking about lockdown from a distance. Ofc your damage isn’t as pretty as warrior and RNG prevents you from being the next hambow, but at least you can stay at the back.

6/6/0/2/0 with more offensive support role in zerg.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fhAQJAWRl0npYtloxGNcrNiphcqqkOQjBleUpFA-TVyAwAAeCA6UXAtSwsKDCcJA+q0LnKNP3fYvuASBExwI-w

Master traits exchangeable. Veil is also exchangeable if you don’t like to be barked by commander. Preferably mantra of stability since this build lacks stun breakers.

I just dropped about 150g on gear. This patch made my head spin with all the condition possibilities.

frifox.5283:

I just dropped about 150g on gear. This patch made my head spin with all the condition possibilities.

In PvE O.o?

Fay.2357:

frifox.5283:

I just dropped about 150g on gear. This patch made my head spin with all the condition possibilities.

In PvE O.o?

Oh no I’m not THAT crazy, it’s mostly for WvW. Though with Illusionary Elasticity fixed I just may attempt to use it in solo pve again just to see how much better it became. 20+ bleed stacks and hefty amount of might from staff or even maybe scepter with 3 clones out while perma kiting a mob does sound quite appealing now.

I’m thinking of 0/4/5/0/4 with III/X – V/X – III/VII for a start.

I’m still in awe at see these changes. I never expected this.

I’m dripping wet.

I don’t wanna jinx it, but I foresee a nerf after the feature pack, when they realize the huge mistake they’ve done :P

The only thing that makes us incredebly strong ist the buff on scepter AA. We’ll be able to poop torment.

• 2 stacks autoattack
• 5 stacks on illusionary counter
• 1 stack per shatter
• 1 stack per scepter clone

Good Job :P

Next meta … http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fhAQNAW7fl0npRtNoxMNcrNSphY6cxuhyypJZgKA-T1RHAB6u/gRK/YU9HAuIAopbI4nAgTKBJFgiSjA-w
ANET STOP THIS MADNESS

sandrox if that is the new meta.. then anet did a good job at balancing mesmers.. because it pushed them away from using clone on evasion.. but then that also stops the mesmer from creating clones that apply torment with scepter unless you are using auto attack to do it..

seems like a bad build though.. which is why forum people shouldnt guess at the impact of patch notes without actually playing it. because they obviously dont have a grasp of how it will play and what the impact will be.

zaxon.6819:

sandrox if that is the new meta.. then anet did a good job at balancing mesmers.. because it pushed them away from using clone on evasion.. but then that also stops the mesmer from creating clones that apply torment with scepter unless you are using auto attack to do it..

seems like a bad build though.. which is why forum people shouldnt guess at the impact of patch notes without actually playing it. because they obviously dont have a grasp of how it will play and what the impact will be.

Are you insane? with this build you dont need staff even…just block and AA block and AA….torch stealth,decoy and MI helos you kite and that is it..the point of that build is to show how OP it can be.New meta can be without the power line and instead go DE,but it will be the same result kite and AA +block and again and again…

NICENIKESHOE.7128:

With the AoE power lock I’m thinking about lockdown from a distance. Ofc your damage isn’t as pretty as warrior and RNG prevents you from being the next hambow, but at least you can stay at the back.

6/6/0/2/0 with more offensive support role in zerg.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fhAQJAWRl0npYtloxGNcrNiphcqqkOQjBleUpFA-TVyAwAAeCA6UXAtSwsKDCcJA+q0LnKNP3fYvuASBExwI-w

Master traits exchangeable. Veil is also exchangeable if you don’t like to be barked by commander. Preferably mantra of stability since this build lacks stun breakers.

Despite the improvements, I still find more than 2 mantras to be pretty clunky. I’ll see how I feel after the patch, but it’s an awful lot of mantra charging.

I’m thinking of trying something like this:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fhAQJARWlknpNtloxGNcrNipxcyjiikBcQpHZ8FA

Similar load out. 4/6/0/4/0
Instead of shatter removing boons, I’ll try and let mind stab do that. I run in big groups anyways, so the success rate of clones actually landing is pretty low.
I’m mostly excited about the combos this allows. Mind Stab, iZerker, MoPx3, and MoD is a pretty solid chunk of AoE. As a side effect, I get a boon removal, daze, and some strong passive healing from mantra recharges.

No love for mesmer PVE :\

Matt Stacey.7415:

No love for mesmer PVE :\

They (supposedly) fixed iWarden though

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fhAQNArfWlknpMtNqxTNcrRysBZqOcqdg6kslYWyAkMA-TJRFwAw2fAwTAIaZAFnCAA

My theory-ish shatter condition mesmer falls in line of 0/4/2/2/6. Initially it was going to be a 0/4/4/0/6 but the changes upcoming at the September Feature Patch, the scepter will have more presence in the battlefield as well as no needing to put anymore in the Chaos line.

Everything here is, of course, shatter based in hopes of giving stacks of confusion and torment to opponents. My skills alone are still shatter based and I feel comfortable giving them shatter-based utility skills (especially Blink) as they’re all clone producing as well as stun breaks. Now why I didn’t put in Null Field to cover a mesmer’s natural weakness? I’ll explain that.

The traits are 0/4/2/2/6.

Aside from the Domination V Crippiling Dissipation (and even that is more of a small niche than necessary), there’s no need to put any points there.

The Dueling line will receive a heck lot of traits. I placed in Duelings V (Desperate Decoy) and X (Deceptive Evasion). The former gives me a nice last minute defense if my health is low and the latter will produce me more clones. And Deceptive Evasion is a centerpiece in any shatter build, power based or condition based.

Initially, it was going to be 4 points in the Chaos line. However, the scepter gained a massive boost, especially with its autoattack torment. The staff gained a great boost as well but this build is meant to shatter. This means that staff clones won’t live long and our main source of damage may come from torment and confusion. Now there’s 2 points in the Chaos line. So without putting anything much in the Chaos line, I immediately grabbed the Chaos V (Delibitating Dissipation) as anyone bold enough to destroy my clones will immediately punished.

I placed 2 more points in the Inspiration line and this is where I get my first set of condition removal. Inspiration IV (Mender’s Purity) gives me a small boost of my healing as it now remove two conditions for me.

The remaining points now rest in the important Illusions line. I grabbed Illusions V (Master of Misdirection), VIII (Illusionary Invigoration), and XIII (Maim the Disillusioned). Illusions V gives a condition boost as it inflict confusion per shatter. Illusion XIII gives torment as well. Now some might grab VII (Illusionary Elasticity) instead of VIII. But my build is scepter center while the staff serve as a defense whenever the situation calls for it. Plus with Illusions VIII, it gives a threatening boost so if my health goes down to 50%, I can immediately counter by producing more clones and then shatter them.

My weapons are obvious. Staff and Scepter+Torch but I can exchange it with Scepter+Pistol if need be.

The sigils are rather straightforward. If using staff, bleeding will be the main source of condition damage so I grabbed the Sigil of Earth. The Sigil of Energy is needed so that I can evade more. More evades mean more clones. More clones mean more opportunities to shatter.

The Runes of Lyssa are simply defensive and serve as more means to have condition removal. I can use Mass Invisibility and not only I go stealth, I remove a bunch of conditions for me.

The choice of armor stat is Rabid’s set. Toughness, Precision, Condition Damage.

This is my theory craft for a shatter condition mesmer. Any thoughts, opinions, constructive criticism?

EDIT Nevermind. The trait applies to Diversion only. >>

Titus.2085:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fhAQNArfWlknpMtNqxTNcrRysBZqOcqdg6kslYWyAkMA-TJRFwAw2fAwTAIaZAFnCAA

My theory-ish shatter condition mesmer falls in line of 0/4/2/2/6. Initially it was going to be a 0/4/4/0/6 but the changes upcoming at the September Feature Patch, the scepter will have more presence in the battlefield as well as no needing to put anymore in the Chaos line.

Everything here is, of course, shatter based in hopes of giving stacks of confusion and torment to opponents. My skills alone are still shatter based and I feel comfortable giving them shatter-based utility skills (especially Blink) as they’re all clone producing as well as stun breaks. Now why I didn’t put in Null Field to cover a mesmer’s natural weakness? I’ll explain that.

The traits are 0/4/2/2/6.

Aside from the Domination V Crippiling Dissipation (and even that is more of a small niche than necessary), there’s no need to put any points there.

The Dueling line will receive a heck lot of traits. I placed in Duelings V (Desperate Decoy) and X (Deceptive Evasion). The former gives me a nice last minute defense if my health is low and the latter will produce me more clones. And Deceptive Evasion is a centerpiece in any shatter build, power based or condition based.

Initially, it was going to be 4 points in the Chaos line. However, the scepter gained a massive boost, especially with its autoattack torment. The staff gained a great boost as well but this build is meant to shatter. This means that staff clones won’t live long and our main source of damage may come from torment and confusion. Now there’s 2 points in the Chaos line. So without putting anything much in the Chaos line, I immediately grabbed the Chaos V (Delibitating Dissipation) as anyone bold enough to destroy my clones will immediately punished.

I placed 2 more points in the Inspiration line and this is where I get my first set of condition removal. Inspiration IV (Mender’s Purity) gives me a small boost of my healing as it now remove two conditions for me.

The remaining points now rest in the important Illusions line. I grabbed Illusions V (Master of Misdirection), VIII (Illusionary Invigoration), and XIII (Maim the Disillusioned). Illusions V gives a condition boost as it inflict confusion per shatter. Illusion XIII gives torment as well. Now some might grab VII (Illusionary Elasticity) instead of VIII. But my build is scepter center while the staff serve as a defense whenever the situation calls for it. Plus with Illusions VIII, it gives a threatening boost so if my health goes down to 50%, I can immediately counter by producing more clones and then shatter them.

My weapons are obvious. Staff and Scepter+Torch but I can exchange it with Scepter+Pistol if need be.

The sigils are rather straightforward. If using staff, bleeding will be the main source of condition damage so I grabbed the Sigil of Earth. The Sigil of Energy is needed so that I can evade more. More evades mean more clones. More clones mean more opportunities to shatter.

The Runes of Lyssa are simply defensive and serve as more means to have condition removal. I can use Mass Invisibility and not only I go stealth, I remove a bunch of conditions for me.

The choice of armor stat is Rabid’s set. Toughness, Precision, Condition Damage.

This is my theory craft for a shatter condition mesmer. Any thoughts, opinions, constructive criticism?

not enough cond cleanse,other condi specs will eat you(necro,thief).

Sandrox.9524:

not enough cond cleanse,other condi specs will eat you(necro,thief).

Mesmers have multitude but in a build where our said profession has the most awkward way to remove conditions, that’s the best way to address them. Also if you’re implying Null Field, that skill only removes 5 conditions while the Runes of Lyssa does the same at an instant, with added benefits.

If the changes are true, are implemented without bugs and/or stealth nerfs, I can see many possibilities opening up for phantasm, hybrid phantasm/mantra and lockdown mesmers in WvW.

I don’t think the sword will make a come back in WvW, because after the nerf the iLeap/swap immobilize is quite impossible to land in group fights, but I really hope I’m wrong (having Bolt sitting in my backpack is so sad…)

The scepter changes will probably gain us more hate and I agree that is lazy/bad design.

Titus.2085:

Sandrox.9524:

not enough cond cleanse,other condi specs will eat you(necro,thief).

Mesmers have multitude but in a build where our said profession has the most awkward way to remove conditions, that’s the best way to address them. Also if you’re implying Null Field, that skill only removes 5 conditions while the Runes of Lyssa does the same at an instant, with added benefits.

Yes,but to do that it requires you to waste your elite.And lets say you do that,after that you have only 2 cond cleanse for 20 sec cd which in that time condis would kill you.

Ill start theorycrafting on September 9th, no earlier. We need to see everything theyre gonna do, as they might screw something up like last patch with strength runes and sigil power creep (this time its torment on auto).

Sandrox.9524:

Yes,but to do that it requires you to waste your elite.And lets say you do that,after that you have only 2 cond cleanse for 20 sec cd which in that time condis would kill you.

You actually speak a good point. An answer I would have thrown out is that it would depend on the mesmer’s ability to predict the opponent’s “spike attack” and use its condition removals to mitigate it. But that answer would be something I call “intangible” and not part of the build. Honestly, I wanted a direct “tangible” answer from my build to address that problem.

As much as my build clears out conditions for a short time, in my opinion it is the best “tangible” answer against enemy conditions. Against condition engineers that use kits to deal a ton of conditions, my answer of condition removal is practically just as useless as anyone without condition removal. Against necromancers, we have better… control so to say but even still mesmers must be careful.

So let’s say that I blow my Rune of Lyssa powered Mass Invisibility. That is where the “intangible” answer comes in. It depends on the situation at hand. Assuming it’s a 1 vs 1 duel against a condition engineer (which I think is a deadlier opponent than conditionmancers), retreat if the odds are against the mesmer or continue fighting if the odds remain equal or in your favor. While my build doesn’t answer a short massive condi removal, the player style can answer it.

@all

Is the new MoD ground targeted? or the AoE is like the clone death traits? (effects automatically happen as long as the targets are in range)

StickerHappy.8052:

@all

Is the new MoD ground targeted? or the AoE is like the clone death traits? (effects automatically happen as long as the targets are in range)

Whatever gave you that idea?

MoD is exactly the same as before, except it’ll do an aoe on the target instead of only hitting the target.

See 2:28-2:35 in Dulfy recorded video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu-cKaSZbnQ

Oh. Man! Gonna be testing/tweaking all these builds soon!

@Warlord of Chaos: I’ll be posting results/vids from our tests here, so any notes please throw into this thread.

GAAAAAAAAH! GWAAAAH!?!

This isn’t anger, it’s the sound of my frustration as I lost the plug-in for my wireless mouse today and thus can’t fully enjoy the joy of mantras. It’s a roller-ball mouse, so I can’t just borrow another since I’m not used to it.

GAAAAH!!!

I want to mantrakill too!