Guild Wars 2

Hey guys, now im not claiming to be good or a pro because I know I am not, but after playing Mesmer for awhile and reading the forums i was just wondering. Does it seem like mesmer loses 1v1’s to the majority of classes being played right now? I know most people just say “get gud”, but im looking for honest opinions. It seems right now that most builds fall on the tankier side of things (d/d celestial ele) and I feel like I just don’t have the dmg to kill people. I mean my easiest kills are honestly theives who aren’t looking. And I feel like the only way to beat someone is to completely outplay them and probably lose the point i’m protecting in the process. If they are on or near my skill level or any tanky build I feel helpless. I just feel like a gimmicky one shot wonder sometimes :\ Basically do I just suck or are mesmers not fitting well atm?

It sounds like you’re talking PvP which helps to narrow down definitions.

I’m also guessing you’re playing a shatter mes since you talk about one shotting, and having trouble with bunker classes. But you’ll need to present the build you’re playing with.

There could be some arguments made to support your feelings so I don’t want to discredit them out of hand. If you do read the forums you’ll see a near dire need being presented for changes/buffs to mesmers.

That said, there’s a lot to say about knowing your roll and how to play it effectivly. Like, a shatter mes is used for roaming DPS, to dive in and burst down opponents preferably that’re already low. Then rotate to the next point to tip that fight in your teams favor. Standing on point to fight toe to toe with a bunker ele is not the best application of your class/build/time. So that’s a genuine L2P issue.

Mesmer loses every 1v1 against a same skilled enemy, yet they are still taken because of the portal so you can fight 1.5v1 and 4.5v5. For solo play you can go condi, wich is surprisingly strong in 1v1, yet competitive just too slow and immobile.

A good number of popular mesmer builds are quite weak in 1v1 against a lot of opponents, this is true. It means that if you’re running those builds you have to be aware of that weakness.

On the other hand, mesmer has access to some of the very strongest 1v1 builds in the game, and those can be used successfully in PvP scenarios.

Bad 1v1 builds: Pretty much anything shatter. Interrupt builds are extremely hit or miss. They either dominate or get totally ruined. Phantasm builds are also very weak in 1v1 against certain builds (d/d eles in particular).

Great 1v1 builds: Maim shatter is quite strong against a lot of opponents if you play it properly. Phantasm builds are extremely strong against builds that don’t have a lot of cleave. Interrupt builds are strong against classes/builds with a lot of easy things to pick on for interrupts (necros, some warriors, other mesmers, some guardians). PU condition builds are the end-all of 1v1 excellence in the game, with the caveat of stealthy hide-and-seek is not the best thing to be doing in a point control game.

Its not a matter of not being good. The mesmer is a good class and its a very strong duelist. Its a matter of being redundant. Good at some things, bad at others, but no matter how you twist and turn there’s always a better choice at the extreme ends. Out of the leftover PvP classes, its also the worst synched with the game mode. The mesmer is heavily reliant on mobility to even do damage. Doesnt work well when you are supposed to stand on a point.

I feel your pain, man.

For the longest time I’d thought Mesmers were underpowered. Any time I saw a mesmer playing and doing well, I had the most immense respect for them. If they beat me in a 1v1 I would literally have no gripes and often would whisper them my respect. (Unless they were PU mesmer, which I still have no gripes about, but I don’t personally think the build is that hard to play, or as effective as certain other build’s.)

So I would have said Mesmers were underpowered until about three days ago. In the past I’ve attempted mesmer several times to no avail. But a few days ago I aquired a brand new build on youtube, modified it only slightly to my liking, and began pvping. I honestly don’t know what happened this time around but something clicked in my head. I’ve had so much freaking fun and this class has performed like Magic for me. Not only was I dropping enemies like flies, but I was able to quite easily beat several medi guards and Ele’s in 1v1s.

I’m not saying this to pat myself on the back. I’m only rank 62 so my matches aren’t quite top tier yet, and I usually do unranked matches anyways. But I will say that Mesmers can certainly be done and I don’t think, if they are underpowered, that they are underpowered by very much. I think it’s just important to have three things going for you:

1. The right build. Do not aquire a build from metabattle. I don’t know what genius put those there, but they’re terrible builds. Find something on YouTube perhaps.

2. Figure out your role. No matter what class/build combination you run, you’re going to have a specific role. If you’re not playing that role, you’re not going to help your team to your full potential. I’m currently playing a very bursty build. If I tried bunking a point, I’d be in quite a predicament.

3. Make sure the build suits your play style. I’ve tried playing engineer many times and it just doesn’t suit my playstyle. If Mesmer isn’t for you, it just isnt for you. I’d recommend practicing a good amount (maybe about 100 matches or so) and if it doesn’t click by then, I’d try a different build or class,

Hope this helps, mate! Good luck in future endeavors!

What kind of build do you refer to micah?

“Bad 1v1 builds: Pretty much anything shatter”

On point? Yeah, you’re not a warrior.
Off point? False. If you play mesmer like it should (kite, LOS, all that stuff). If you don’t do that, then yeah. You will fail 1v1.
Reason you don’t see a lot of mesmer 1v1ing is because that is not what mesmer is there for. It’s there to quickly +1 fights and turn them around. If mesmer 1v1s, it should win a lot of matchups, it will most likely loose the cap though and it can be +1d and then it probably won’t be able to run away from that 2v1 because the 2nd player will most likely be a thief which in its own is fatal.

Shatter mesmer is good in the current meta for a bunch of reasons.
Boon rip. Eles with no boons are dead.
Portal allows for a lot of plays otherwise impossible.
Good burst which is something that eles aren’t good against. They can sustain but they can’t survive burst too well.
Low cd immobilize if you run sword allows for regular, quick spikes and if well coordinated will mean death.
Moa goes through stability → Insta lich negator, generally a ‘you die’ or a +1 button.
Why is it not seen running a lot? It’s very hard to play well and extremely unforgiving in top tier so not many people want to put in the time to play a mes/thief comp when they can be as successful with a oRNG type comp with with much less time spent on practice, coordination and generally have more room for error.
Mesmer wins a lot of 1v1 matchups even against the celestial classes if you play correctly. Again, mesmer has low room for error so to win you’ve gotta play well and can’t make too many, if not even one mistake.
My advice: Who gives a flying f about if mesmer is in the meta or not. If you enjoy it, play it and stick with it. The meta changes. Eles were bad, they’re good now, warriors were bad, they’re good now. Mesmer was bad, it’s betting better, still could use a few buffs. Mesmer will be in meta soon. When celestial is a bit nerfed so other amulets also start looking appealing to eles/engis/warriors, mesmer will find its place I believe.

Sword pistol gs power PU knight/zerk. Dominates all 1v1. Traveller runes for mobility.

Notimik.3589:

What kind of build do you refer to micah?

This is what I’m currently running with few minor changes: http://youtu.be/ZfW1Ra4duOI

Mesmer is decent, but you do one little error and you’re dead.

MightyMicah.7451:

1. The right build. Do not aquire a build from metabattle. I don’t know what genius put those there, but they’re terrible builds. Find something on YouTube perhaps.

Dude…
As Fay already said phantasm builds are somehow effective in 1vs1 against many builds (not against all). But spvp isn’t about 1vs1. I think you feel it better soon

MightyMicah.7451:

So I would have said Mesmers were underpowered until about three days ago. In the past I’ve attempted mesmer several times to no avail. But a few days ago I aquired a brand new build on youtube, modified it only slightly to my liking, and began pvping. I honestly don’t know what happened this time around but something clicked in my head. I’ve had so much freaking fun and this class has performed like Magic for me. Not only was I dropping enemies like flies, but I was able to quite easily beat several medi guards and Ele’s in 1v1s.

-snip-

1. The right build. Do not aquire a build from metabattle. I don’t know what genius put those there, but they’re terrible builds. Find something on YouTube perhaps.

MightyMicah.7451:

Notimik.3589:

What kind of build do you refer to micah?

This is what I’m currently running with few minor changes: http://youtu.be/ZfW1Ra4duOI

Oh, phantasm build. I remember the first time I played against a good player using phantasms, I got shredded. I was goofing around and using a melee zerker warrior build that I threw together on the spot, and with him porting around constantly I wasn’t able to do any damage. After dying a few times I swapped to the meta shoutbow build and we moved to a different location where there were LOS obstacles. The fights immediately went the other way.

I agree that I’d like to see a phantasm build shared on places like metabattle, not because I think it’s particularly strong, but it is a good entry point into PvP for what is otherwise a difficult class. I’m glad you’re having fun with it, but you will hit a wall playing with that build. It’s way too easy to negate the damage from phantasms by using LOS and/or dodges, and without phantasm damage you’re hitting like a wet noodle. Most of the meta builds other professions run pack enough AoE to wipe out your phantasms or CC to interrupt your very obvious casts. I’m sure there are specific 1v1 matchups where the pressure it applies can make it more effective than shatter, but shatter is preferred for teams simply because of its extremely quick burst.

Bertrand.3057:

MightyMicah.7451:

So I would have said Mesmers were underpowered until about three days ago. In the past I’ve attempted mesmer several times to no avail. But a few days ago I aquired a brand new build on youtube, modified it only slightly to my liking, and began pvping. I honestly don’t know what happened this time around but something clicked in my head. I’ve had so much freaking fun and this class has performed like Magic for me. Not only was I dropping enemies like flies, but I was able to quite easily beat several medi guards and Ele’s in 1v1s.

-snip-

1. The right build. Do not aquire a build from metabattle. I don’t know what genius put those there, but they’re terrible builds. Find something on YouTube perhaps.

MightyMicah.7451:

Notimik.3589:

What kind of build do you refer to micah?

This is what I’m currently running with few minor changes: http://youtu.be/ZfW1Ra4duOI

Oh, phantasm build. I remember the first time I played against a good player using phantasms, I got shredded. I was goofing around and using a melee zerker warrior build that I threw together on the spot, and with him porting around constantly I wasn’t able to do any damage. After dying a few times I swapped to the meta shoutbow build and we moved to a different location where there were LOS obstacles. The fights immediately went the other way.

I agree that I’d like to see a phantasm build shared on places like metabattle, not because I think it’s particularly strong, but it is a good entry point into PvP for what is otherwise a difficult class. I’m glad you’re having fun with it, but you will hit a wall playing with that build. It’s way too easy to negate the damage from phantasms by using LOS and/or dodges, and without phantasm damage you’re hitting like a wet noodle. Most of the meta builds other professions run pack enough AoE to wipe out your phantasms or CC to interrupt your very obvious casts. I’m sure there are specific 1v1 matchups where the pressure it applies can make it more effective than shatter, but shatter is preferred for teams simply because of its extremely quick burst.

Swap the staff for a greatswords and you’ll have plenty of pressure. Plus, who says a phantasm build can’t shatter? It’s got the damage for it, and shattering is great utility when used right. I’m just saying, meta build offers no condi clear which is huge in the current meta. Plus, unless you’re running with an organized group, not many people will catch on to your portal deal. I’m certain you could run shatter and do well, but I’d recommend modifying a few things is all. Others are free to form their own opinions.

Mak.2657:

MightyMicah.7451:

1. The right build. Do not aquire a build from metabattle. I don’t know what genius put those there, but they’re terrible builds. Find something on YouTube perhaps.

Dude…
As Fay already said phantasm builds are somehow effective in 1vs1 against many builds (not against all). But spvp isn’t about 1vs1. I think you feel it better soon

I wouldn’t say phantasm is only good in 1v1 at all. In my experience, (which I previously mentioned isn’t be any means “top tier” so take what I say with a grain of salt) it works just great with team play just as long as you know what you’re doing.

MightyMicah.7451:

Mak.2657:

MightyMicah.7451:

1. The right build. Do not aquire a build from metabattle. I don’t know what genius put those there, but they’re terrible builds. Find something on YouTube perhaps.

Dude…
As Fay already said phantasm builds are somehow effective in 1vs1 against many builds (not against all). But spvp isn’t about 1vs1. I think you feel it better soon

I wouldn’t say phantasm is only good in 1v1 at all. In my experience, (which I previously mentioned isn’t be any means “top tier” so take what I say with a grain of salt) it works just great with team play just as long as you know what you’re doing.

Phantasm builds are horrible for PvP since 2012. They only work in the lowest tiers of ranked play and only in 1v1s.

witcher.3197:

MightyMicah.7451:

Mak.2657:

MightyMicah.7451:

1. The right build. Do not aquire a build from metabattle. I don’t know what genius put those there, but they’re terrible builds. Find something on YouTube perhaps.

Dude…
As Fay already said phantasm builds are somehow effective in 1vs1 against many builds (not against all). But spvp isn’t about 1vs1. I think you feel it better soon

I wouldn’t say phantasm is only good in 1v1 at all. In my experience, (which I previously mentioned isn’t be any means “top tier” so take what I say with a grain of salt) it works just great with team play just as long as you know what you’re doing.

Phantasm builds are horrible for PvP since 2012. They only work in the lowest tiers of ranked play and only in 1v1s.

Lol.

Phantasm too vulnarable to AOE in group fights. Even in 1×1 ppl try to kill these phantasms (if they know ur build) at chance. PU phantasm more annoying, though not designed for tpvp.