Guild Wars 2

I’ve always been put off by the class because it lacks momentum between fights. You spend your CDs on clones and phantasms that don’t persist between targets so you end up blowing CDs to kill one enemy and then are left half-kitten to fight the remaining 4 or 5. So even just leveling a Mesmer feels bad, and that’s before considering that a lot of their abilities are meant to work on players, not mobs.

But the Chronomancer got me hyped and I always liked the idea of the Mesmer, being a player that likes jukes and illusions, so I saddled back up to try it. And my takeaway so far is this: Mesmer takes twice the skill to play for half the result, compared to other classes.

In leveling and in sPvP I can hop on Ranger, Necro, Guardian, Engi, etc and faceroll to easy wins. Their guides are about builds and you just learn a few 1-2-3 combos and you’re golden. Mesmer guides are all 6 to 10 steps long with careful positioning and timing and still you get told, “but you’ll lose if they dodge at this moment” or “you’ll still lose to Thieves even if you play well.”

Correct me if I’m wrong. I’m making this thread for advice on how to play the class better, because it’s what I want to play. It just seems to take far more effort and knowledge than other classes and is much more easily countered or nullified. About half the time I’ve tried to use Sword 3’s teleport to get on an enemy the clone’s popped up in front of them and accidentally been killed before I could even hit the follow-up to teleport in. Trying to generate 3 clones for a shatter combo often fails because random AoE and cleave in a fight will see clones and phantasms die faster than I can summon them.

I don’t know what to make of this beyond, “The Mesmer class is poorly balanced, if not poorly designed.”

Tasao.4623:

Mesmer takes twice the skill to play for half the result, compared to other classes.

Pretty much my problem with the redesign of the Mesmer traits in a nut shell, they keep talking about how they want Mesmer to be a high skill class but the end results of this high skill play doesn’t relly match up to what the other classes do.

Levetty.1279:

Tasao.4623:

Mesmer takes twice the skill to play for half the result, compared to other classes.

Pretty much my problem with the redesign of the Mesmer traits in a nut shell, they keep talking about how they want Mesmer to be a high skill class but the end results of this high skill play doesn’t relly match up to what the other classes do.

Maybe if the abilities worked as advertised it’d be different. But as it is the fact that many can be accidentally countered entirely nullifies a lot of skill in the class. Half the time I use Decoy in sPvP I don’t stealth or immediately unstealth because any number of things can immediately break you out. And when you’re as fragile as Mesmers are, even when stuff like Decoy and Mass Invisibility work as advertised a lot of classes can just spam AoE and still down you.

The class just seems to be missing massive Quality of Life perks. It has to go full tryhard every single time because nothing for Mesmers are automated or streamlined.

Hey dude, would like to help but I need to know a few things:

• what build are you running? Weapons and all

• how long have ya played Mes?

The Mesmer class isn’t easy to play, but the reward depends on your goal. The class is very trait-heavy, so you often have to know exactly what’s going on behind the scenes of your build to be effective.

You’re right, Mesmer takes positioning, timing, skill, knowledge of the game mechanics, and a bit of luck to be highly effective.. But there IS a payoff.

This class more than most others rewards quick reflexes and creativity. All of your skills have dual purposes and none of your shatters are straightforward. There’s an “art” to learning the Mesmer, and like any art there are certain techniques (blink spots, shatter positioning, clone management, looking stylish like.. All the time, ECT.) that have to become second nature for you to excel.

Also keep in mind that though the game has been out for years, Mesmer builds have remained largely unchanged so many players already know what you’re trying to do before you even have your plan ready. This is part of what makes learning Mesmer in PvP so difficult: people know how to dodge shatters, spot the real Mesmer, time your invisibility, and just how squishy you are.

My advice, without knowing your build, is to find a veteran Mesmer and train with them. There is no easy route for the class and no build is gonna carry you, so it heavily depends on your personal skill. If that doesn’t intimidate you, then you’re on the right path. There are plenty of mesmers here who will be happy to meet up in game and answer any questions you’ll have as well as show ya the tricks of the trade. Good luck man!

(Also.. By the way it’s looking, chronomancer will be even more difficult to use than core Mesmer! Get that practice in.)

Chaos Archangel.5071:

Hey dude, would like to help but I need to know a few things:

• what build are you running? Weapons and all

• how long have ya played Mes?

Shatter build.
Started with Greatsword + Sword/Torch
Currently Greatsword + Staff with Blink, Decoy, and usually either Null Field or the 2 clones stunbreak. Ult changes a lot as I’m still trying to find a decent one. They all seem pretty poor to me compared to others class’s options. (Rangers hit Entangling Roots and win 3v1. Mesmer hits their ult and die in the time it takes to channel it.)

2/2/0/0/6 traits
Mental Torment (I), Shattered Concentration(VII)
Far-Reaching Manipulations(I), Deceptive Evasion(X)
Precise Wrack(I), Illusionary Elasticity(VII), Illusionary Persona(XI)

Strength runes and Berserker’s Amulet.

General playstyle is to keep distance until Greatsword combo is ready. Try to land a 3-clone Shatter alongside a point-blank Mirror Blade (GS 2) + Mind Stab (GS3). Follow up with GS4+5. Switch to Staff to stay alive until GS CDs come back up. Try to use Staff 2 while in Chaos Storm/Null Field to proc Chaos Armor, etc.

To land the GS combo sometimes I stealth and run in. Other times I start to cast it at range then Blink in mid-cast for instant point-blank bounces and burst, but I save that if I expect I’ll need to Blink out.

Problem being, that combo is really easy to avoid, and even if not trying to avoid it, it’s really easy to accidentally avoid it or to accidentally kill clones. It’s not uncommon for a Ranger to immediately AoE the area when a clone pops up on him, even if he doesn’t see me. And it kills clones very effectively.

I stopped using Sword/Torch because Sword 3 clone died too easy for me to use the swap, and Torch 4 never saved me. Most classes have a way to keep hitting you through stealth, assuming I didn’t get unstealthed accidentally anyhow.

You mention a lot about skill and that’s my complaint. No other class takes so much effort to play, and even the best Mesmers I’ve seen, in spectating games and in watching streamers, struggle to be effective. They spend 80% of their time running for lives as the other team focuses them, then try to set up burst combos and go immediately back to evading. I’ve tried every class, I think, in PvP so far, and all of them are both easier to play, and more effective.

I’ll mash 8 buttons trying to coordinate burst on a Ranger or Warrior or Thief and they’ll turn and just their basic abilities will be a serious threat. Embarrassingly, I recently went against a Warrior with that Champion ranked play title (I think) and they trolled me by just auto-attacking and evading me until I died 3 minutes later. I couldn’t out-burst their heals.

Time playing Mesmer: About 3 or 4 days? By this time I was winning most of my hotjoin games on Ranger, Necro, Engi, etc. Day 3 of sPvP on Mesmer is no better than day 1. I’m playing better and it just doesn’t matter. The main difference is now I can spike people to 20% instead of just 50% before dying to one Barrage or to Backstab spam or something.

Power shatter has been around for 2 years so I’m not surprised that he knows when to dodge. Particularly when it is really well choreographed when you’re setting up burst and shatter mesmer don’t have much sustain damage. Other classes’ burst can be faster or easier but most of them have different weakness. Such is the nature of burst builds I suppose, you sacrifice something for the great instant damage.

Fresh air ele has probably the fastest burst but it lacks damage without landing phoenix properly.
Engi’s static discharge has very powerful burst but it probably has even worst sustain/survival than mesmer
Thieves’ D/P can be very predictable.
Ranger isn’t exactly burst but has access to many moderate-to-high damage attacks. Needs a bit of smart positioning but once gap closed it gets tricky to survive.
Warrior don’t really have an instant burst build yet due to its well choreographed burst, though it also has access to many high damage skills.
Power necro is the target dummy in any team fights, not really burst problem but necro in general.
Guardian medi is really the only burst build with less weakness than any others. Not necessary burst but also high damage over short period of time.

Maybe try different build setup? Lockdown build has accessible immobilize though it requires different kind of experience than power shatter, and you need to know opponent’s skill quite well. Condi shatter is also a very useful build against opponent who doesn’t have greater than 2 condi removals, provided that you refrain from dumping everything in one go like power shatter. Or you can try PU, but that’s kind of a taboo if you don’t have a good team yourself.

Tasao.4623:

Time playing Mesmer: About 3 or 4 days? By this time I was winning most of my hotjoin games on Ranger, Necro, Engi, etc. Day 3 of sPvP on Mesmer is no better than day 1. I’m playing better and it just doesn’t matter. The main difference is now I can spike people to 20% instead of just 50% before dying to one Barrage or to Backstab spam or something.

Mesmer is a class that requires more skill and practice than other classes. The build you run is fine. You can’t expect to win a lot if you’ve played mesmer for 3 days… Every class has some sort of counter, in this case thief. Just keep practicing, do 1v1’s, try some other builds. Mesmer is definitely a good class, it’s just a bit harder to get into

I agree with you on many points actually, but basing this on a few days of play is not going to give you an accurate picture, even if you’re a good/experienced gamer and GW2 player. This class requires a bigger commitment, especially for the build you’re choosing to play!

The Zerker Power Shatter Mesmer is just plain hard to learn. You need impeccable personal skill, as well as absolute lack of lag. Most of all, to really make it work, you need a good team to baby-sit you. You need heals and condie clears from others to really survive long enough in team fights to get your bursts out. When you land those bursts, they can be among the most devastating AE damage bursts in the game.

In pug unranked arena I absolutely hate playing Zerker power shatter. It doesn’t suit me well cuz I’m too old (slow), my PC is not optimal for gaming (iMac), my latency is “OK” but not great, and most of all I don’t have a team to cover my blatant weaknesses! So currently I’m greatly enjoying a Power PU build. It’s also Zerker, but thanks to PU and Chaos in general, I have a LOT more survivability then a P-Shatter build.

With GS I can put out very strong damage bursts still, and the Sw/Torch provide me with good offensive and defensive options. I have had very little trouble beating the average Thief riff-raff 1v1 in unranked, although occasionally one of the better ones reminds me just how much the odds are stacked against me in that fight. ;-)

However, it is for these instances that I now trait Moa Elite. Screw the whiners! Everyone else is using their cheese, why shouldn’t I use mine in fights that I can not win otherwise? The other GMs are simply bad for unorganized play. Took me 2 years to realize this, and now I finally am enjoying MoA as an Ellite that occasionally does what I expect of an Elite. The CD is too long for the various ways in which it can fail, but at least when it lands, it can be a fight changer. It still ain’t an EZ-mode game-changer like Engie or Necro Elites, but it certainly has it’s moments against especially Thieves, and to counter the Necro Elite!

Oh and as a final point, I really have fairly strong faith that HoT will improve the lives of Mesmers significantly. Although the other classes will get stronger too, naturally, it’s many of the little QoL things that will greatly improve the Mesmer experience across the board. (IP, AE Blind on Shatter, 100% stun on Confounding Suggestions will be huge against Thieves, greatly improved Condition options, more MW damage potential, far more viable boon-sharing, support and even bunker builds etc.)

NICENIKESHOE.7128:

Maybe try different build setup? Lockdown build has accessible immobilize though it requires different kind of experience than power shatter, and you need to know opponent’s skill quite well. Condi shatter is also a very useful build against opponent who doesn’t have greater than 2 condi removals, provided that you refrain from dumping everything in one go like power shatter. Or you can try PU, but that’s kind of a taboo if you don’t have a good team yourself.

Windwalker.7421:

So currently I’m greatly enjoying a Power PU build. It’s also Zerker, but thanks to PU and Chaos in general, I have a LOT more survivability then a P-Shatter build.

I guess I’ll keep trying other builds. I’d never heard of the PU build but googling it, it looks like my kind of build. The theme I like about Mesmers is the misdirection. A Guardian flies at you with a big hammer and you disappear and evade and the clone they hit debuffs them while you hit them from the back.

I should’ve done more experimentation just because I always end up preferring unconventional builds. It’s just every guide or tutorial I found said that to get good with Mesmer you need to learn to fight in the open with no toughness/vitality, relying on tricks and jukes to survive, because that’s the class’s strength and if you build defensive you’ll just end up doing no damage.

Thanks for the advice. I’ll keep trying.

For PvP, I quickly switched from Power Shatter to Lockdown and started having a lot more fun. Shatter builds in PvP seem to rely a lot on having team support or opponents who cooperate with your burst setup. Lockdown is much more self-sufficient and rewards players who can pay attention to what their opponents are doing.

Tasao.4623:

Mesmer takes twice the skill to play for half the result, compared to other classes.

I think your looking at this the wrong way.

Players have different skill levels. Playing a higher skills class and being good at it is the reward. If you put a new MMO player in your build your using how efficient will they be compared to say running a lb/gs ranger build or something? Prob not very viable at all. Most MMO’s have different professions @ different skill levels.

I choose to play mesmer because of the skill required to master it, i’d fall asleep rolling any other profession.

CobraPolo.1723:

Tasao.4623:

Mesmer takes twice the skill to play for half the result, compared to other classes.

I think your looking at this the wrong way.

Players have different skill levels. Playing a higher skills class and being good at it is the reward. If you put a new MMO player in your build your using how efficient will they be compared to say running a lb/gs ranger build or something? Prob not very viable at all. Most MMO’s have different professions @ different skill levels.

I choose to play mesmer because of the skill required to master it, i’d fall asleep rolling any other profession.

I think the biggest problem is that mesmer requires you to be a perfectionist. If you play perfectly, you will do well, but every mistake can be heavily punished. While many other classes can win by falling asleep and rolling onto the keyboard. It’s not that mesmers require skill to master, but thay they require skill to get to the point that other classes reach by mashing their face on the keyboard.

You sound like you’re using Stealth skills a lot when clones are in transit to Shatter or Chaos Storm is ticking – these things are likely to be the reason you get revealed. Staff #2 is extremely powerful – wasting it on getting Chaos Armour isn’t always the best choice. Don’t use Sword #3 into AoE fields.

I didn’t read everything you wrote but spotted a few places you could tighten up your mechanical play. Mesmer takes time and practice (you will die a lot doing this) but in the end is very rewarding.

Tharinock.9306:

CobraPolo.1723:

Tasao.4623:

Mesmer takes twice the skill to play for half the result, compared to other classes.

I think your looking at this the wrong way.

Players have different skill levels. Playing a higher skills class and being good at it is the reward. If you put a new MMO player in your build your using how efficient will they be compared to say running a lb/gs ranger build or something? Prob not very viable at all. Most MMO’s have different professions @ different skill levels.

I choose to play mesmer because of the skill required to master it, i’d fall asleep rolling any other profession.

I think the biggest problem is that mesmer requires you to be a perfectionist. If you play perfectly, you will do well, but every mistake can be heavily punished. While many other classes can win by falling asleep and rolling onto the keyboard. It’s not that mesmers require skill to master, but thay they require skill to get to the point that other classes reach by mashing their face on the keyboard.

Honestly, at the end of the day, it’s about fun. I personally find playing as mesmer a lot of fun, and even though I most certainly get the same result with less effort on, say, a guardian or a thief, I find mesmer a lot more fun to play, so I play it.

As for the underwhelming part, yes you do need to be on your A game to play, and it requires a lot of practice before you can become proficient with mesmer, and see their uniqueness shine through.

Back when I was testing all the various classes in beta to decide on my main, there were several “red flags” in my mind about the Mesmer … largely revolving around its mechanics and the issues that we still have with them today.

Despite that, I ended up being Mesmer as my main because, in the end, every time I’d play the Mesmer, it “fit like a glove” while the other classes, despite having some things I absolutely loved and far less “red flags”, simply did not “fit like a glove”.

If you truly enjoy Mesmer, you’ll stick with it. As you stick with it, you’ll get better. As you get better, it will feel less underwhelming.

When you’re great, will it give the same level of output as being great at another class … particularly the 3 kings of every meta? Maybe, but maybe not. But you won’t be bothered as much if you truly enjoy the class.

If you do truly enjoy the class you will want to stick with it despite the glaring “red flags” all over the place … so if you don’t feel this way, you might want to keep on looking to see what class(es) feel this way for you.

Capricorn XI.4390:

Tharinock.9306:

CobraPolo.1723:

Tasao.4623:

Mesmer takes twice the skill to play for half the result, compared to other classes.

I think your looking at this the wrong way.

Players have different skill levels. Playing a higher skills class and being good at it is the reward. If you put a new MMO player in your build your using how efficient will they be compared to say running a lb/gs ranger build or something? Prob not very viable at all. Most MMO’s have different professions @ different skill levels.

I choose to play mesmer because of the skill required to master it, i’d fall asleep rolling any other profession.

I think the biggest problem is that mesmer requires you to be a perfectionist. If you play perfectly, you will do well, but every mistake can be heavily punished. While many other classes can win by falling asleep and rolling onto the keyboard. It’s not that mesmers require skill to master, but thay they require skill to get to the point that other classes reach by mashing their face on the keyboard.

Honestly, at the end of the day, it’s about fun. I personally find playing as mesmer a lot of fun, and even though I most certainly get the same result with less effort on, say, a guardian or a thief, I find mesmer a lot more fun to play, so I play it.

As for the underwhelming part, yes you do need to be on your A game to play, and it requires a lot of practice before you can become proficient with mesmer, and see their uniqueness shine through.

I definitely agree, and I only really play my mesmer because all other classes seem lame in comparison. It’s also really fun to use non-traditional mesmer builds (I run a Rabid staff oriented build), since people have absolutely no idea how to handle you. Thieves are wonderful to go against, since they get surprised when I don’t die to their burst, and then they have tons of conditions on them.

The trait changes will address a lot of your concerns. Keep in mind that Mesmer is not a raw DPS class. You are not going to deal as much damage as a warrior or thief, and that’s the way the class was designed. The Mesmer’s strength lies in its ability to confuse and mess with people. Your strength lies in your ability to control the flow of the battle.

Shatter is the least interesting build in my opinion because it really doesn’t use the Mesmer’s ability to the fullest. I’d suggest trying a PU condition or interrupt build.

Stormbolt.7293:

The trait changes will address a lot of your concerns. Keep in mind that Mesmer is not a raw DPS class. You are not going to deal as much damage as a warrior or thief, and that’s the way the class was designed. The Mesmer’s strength lies in its ability to confuse and mess with people. Your strength lies in your ability to control the flow of the battle.

Shatter is the least interesting build in my opinion because it really doesn’t use the Mesmer’s ability to the fullest. I’d suggest trying a PU condition or interrupt build.

Which is not very useful because damage is the most useful thing to bring in any game with HP pools. You don’t confuse your enemies and stealth is no good for you outside of pvp and pve skipping.

You don’t make damage comparable, you put classes in a ghetto.

Tharinock.9306:

CobraPolo.1723:

Tasao.4623:

Mesmer takes twice the skill to play for half the result, compared to other classes.

I think your looking at this the wrong way.

Players have different skill levels. Playing a higher skills class and being good at it is the reward. If you put a new MMO player in your build your using how efficient will they be compared to say running a lb/gs ranger build or something? Prob not very viable at all. Most MMO’s have different professions @ different skill levels.

I choose to play mesmer because of the skill required to master it, i’d fall asleep rolling any other profession.

I think the biggest problem is that mesmer requires you to be a perfectionist. If you play perfectly, you will do well, but every mistake can be heavily punished. While many other classes can win by falling asleep and rolling onto the keyboard. It’s not that mesmers require skill to master, but thay they require skill to get to the point that other classes reach by mashing their face on the keyboard.

this so much. every little step has to be made perfectly. u cant just hop on mes, see an enemy and spam 1111. u gotta know exactly what u want to do before u engage. mesmer is all about timing and knowing how to work around cooldowns. and also if u are unlucky and are engaged with the wrong weapons equipped( like in wvw when u are using gs in a zergfight but then get engaged by a thief where id say gs is is not the ideal weapon against perma stealth glass thief….

This has been an odd question to me for a while now. I play a PU mesmer which seems to turn most ideas about the class on its head. It’s not squishy (providing I’m not asleep) and it seems really easy to play. Perhaps since I’ve been only pvping with this class for so long I’m just hesitant about branching out. Honestly, it seems so easy I have a hard time telling if I’m actually decent or if it’s just the build.

Pretty much every fight is just enter with staff clones and pretend to be a clone until I’m either found out or ready to summon another set, then shatter and start playing hard to get. Things get hairy, I can almost always stealth and leave them in a pile of clones looking for the real thing. It all feels really simple, especially compared to say… a very well played thief. Am I missing something that makes it tough?

Also, someone mentioned PU mesmer not doing well without a good team. Someone mind elaborating? Trying to learn all I can.

Kury.8210:

This has been an odd question to me for a while now. I play a PU mesmer which seems to turn most ideas about the class on its head. It’s not squishy (providing I’m not asleep) and it seems really easy to play. Perhaps since I’ve been only pvping with this class for so long I’m just hesitant about branching out. Honestly, it seems so easy I have a hard time telling if I’m actually decent or if it’s just the build.

Pretty much every fight is just enter with staff clones and pretend to be a clone until I’m either found out or ready to summon another set, then shatter and start playing hard to get. Things get hairy, I can almost always stealth and leave them in a pile of clones looking for the real thing. It all feels really simple, especially compared to say… a very well played thief. Am I missing something that makes it tough?

Also, someone mentioned PU mesmer not doing well without a good team. Someone mind elaborating? Trying to learn all I can.

What is your exact build and weapon set. Please don’t take this in the wrong way, but by pvp do you mean hotjoin? Because anything works in hotjoin – I like to run a troll reflect/condirupt build because it’s funny to watch opponents try and catch you. Surviving is one thing – that’s the whole point of PU – actually doing something useful compared to being AFK like most PU players is another thing altogether.

The bolded part simply does not work against good opponents – you will be retargeted within seconds of reappearing from stealth, focused and bursted.

Stealth in pvp prevents point capture – and also puts additional pressure on your teammates. Taking 6 in chaos currently – and you also seem to be taking staff I’m guessing your damage pressure is not good – ie anyone who wants to run away from you can run away, and you lack the ability to quickly burst targets.

The only way PU can be successful in pvp is if you are consistently holding 1v2+ on a point, forcing a numbers advantage for the rest of your team. Otherwise you are not helping win the conquest best. This is why people who use stealth (ie torch/decoy/MI) tend to use power shatter in order to contribute high damage burst and boon strip.

PU builds are great for survival, but weak at doing anything meaningful in pvp – aside from the 1v2+ situation – but if enemies choose to ignore you/out rotate you then that also fails.

@Curunen: Thanks for the response. Yes, I’m doing hot join, so it probably explains why my build seems to work on the majority of opponents. (Not many good players out of pre-made teams.) Sorry I can’t remember exact names, but my build is staff, scepter/torch and all gear focuses on condition damage and survivability first, then crit (which is about 51%). Traits are 0/4/6/0/4. Most people don’t run from me, but when they do I usually just capture the point. As for needing to run myself, even against good players I don’t think I’ve ever failed to get away unless I’m in some sort of cc when trying. I got 3 options for stealth and chaining them gives quite some time. I’m possibly not using PU the way it’s intended because other than the beginning (prestige blast finish) or end of the fight (escaping if needed) I don’t stealth much. So if I’m on a point, I’m probably not in stealth.

Thanks again for the response. I’m not entirely sure about not contributing since all I see is if I go for a point, I can kill the enemy there and take the point. I’m also usually roaming if that counts for anything. Well, guess I’ll be for ed to change it up soon anyways thanks to HoT. Still would be nice to improve what I have right now and learn to be a better player.

@Kury

Ok I see – so condition PU, just with 4 in illusions for ielasticity and 33% confusion duration instead of 4 in domination for torch trait?

Condi PU is generally seen as the most survivable wvw roaming build – although the classic setup generally means enemies will easily run away, so there are variants for taking suitable snares/chase/mobility skills in order to guarantee kills.

It is by far the easiest mesmer build to play and also considered the best duelling build (ie banned from duelling servers) because of the passive condition application and effortless sustain, so you’re right about finding it easy. If enemies are not running from you in a 1v1 they will be in for a tough time – and the nature of hotjoin means most people won’t think to run. Good to know you limit your stealth in pvp.

The thing is against decent teams with good condi cleanse and synergy it tends to fall apart unless you are successfully pulling multiple enemies to focus you and -1 a teamfight elsewhere. The lack of sufficient burst (even condi burst) and cleansing from say celestial warrior/eles or similar means enemy teams can just ignore you in a teamfight while they steamroll your allies – and then force you to run/hide. Have you tried in any unranked/ranked matches with it?

Tasao.4623:

Mesmer takes twice the skill to play for half the result, compared to other classes.

Well that sums it up, BUT, thats where the fun comes from this class to be honest. PVP wise all classes can get fun against a tough player, but since PvE is a faceroll, classes like mesmer and engi can make it a bit more interesting while classes like warrior and Ranger will make you bored you to death

@curunen: Well, you pretty much summed up my build and confirmed my suspicions. As for the 4 points in illusions, I originally had sword/focus which I mainly used for a bit more mobility. Wanted to actually use my sub weapons, so swapped to scepter/torch. I considered getting the torch trait, but since I mainly fought in staff decided to stick with the illusion trait line. The prestige usually got off cd by the time I needed it anyways. I may be confused about hot join though. All of the arenas I’ve been joining have been labelled unranked. It seems from what you said that is something different, in which case I don’t even know what hot join is.

Personally, I’m looking forward to changing things up once HoT comes. Though I’d probably try something different from a condi build, it seems chronomancer will have a good deal more chasing potential. I’m hoping to at least work out a build that while offering good results, doesn’t make me think it’s just the build doing the work. For typical untanked pvp though, I’m surprised not to see more people running tanky condi mesmers. While you definately remember facing the good teams, vast majority simply aren’t.

@Immensus: Know what you mean about ranger. When I started GW2 I thought rangers might be pretty fun collecting the pets and everything, but for some reason all ranged physical classes have always seemed boring to play as. Now mesmers… That’s something you don’t see in every video game. Closest I’ve ever seen to it are psionics in Allods, and that’s only in concept. Funny enough, I find both very fun to play as.

@Kury It seems you’ve reached your skillcap with the condi PU setup. Condi mesmer overall is in my opinion a lot easier to play than most other mesmer builds.

Have you tried Shatter/Lockdown?

@curnen: Thanks for the feedback again. It will be stepping out of my comfort zone, trying a less user friendly build. But if I can use something more fun and useful, it will definitely be worth it.