Guild Wars 2

Can we have Mimic back to absorbing projectiles? why was it changed anyways?

There was an abusive aspect for PvE (the projectile absorb and return with Echo), and instead of doing a propper fix or rework the devs did a lazy fix.

Mimic is a utility skill with no utility and no synergy with the Mesmer profession.

Mimic’s reflect/block have a place on the bar in place of something like decoy. It just needed the absorb removed so it didnt get interrupted on the first hit, and echo done away with. Not rocket science Anet.

+1

Give it back.

I would still prefer a proper mimic (spawn a clone which looks perfect, seems to have believable health and acts better, using all skills even if none have any effect). That’d be fun.

I’d be alright with the new mimic if it could simply copy boons off allies.

(Imagine the fun you could have when teamed up with a guardian or elementalist)

it would also be nice if changed so that it could copy all the conditions on an enemy store them then be used to apply them to a new enemy.

I support bringing the old mimic back. It was far more useful than the new mimic, which is a dead skill right now.

Anyone thinks that anet changed it because of the ranger buff? So we can’t reflect rapid fire.

Shintei.9061:

Anyone thinks that anet changed it because of the ranger buff? So we can’t reflect rapid fire.

Unlikely. All in all the effect is minor as any group of players can still readily reflect rapid fire.

PvE is much more likely to be the cause. There were special projectiles you could capture and then cast elsewhere with it.

Shintei.9061:

Anyone thinks that anet changed it because of the ranger buff? So we can’t reflect rapid fire.

Show me when in patch history Anet has ever tested any of the mesmer changes featured in a patch and I’ll show you a patch that occurred without horrible mesmer related bugs in it.

Honestly It’s a miracle mimic functions at all seeing as it was touched.

Errr… http://strawpoll.me/3324333

Ragnar the Rock.3174:

I’d be alright with the new mimic if it could simply copy boons off allies.

(Imagine the fun you could have when teamed up with a guardian or elementalist)

it would also be nice if changed so that it could copy all the conditions on an enemy store them then be used to apply them to a new enemy.

Storing the condition to apply them later seems kinda OP.
pair up with a condi necro, when the condi’s are @ the highest, you mimic it. Later vs an other foe you would have a huge opening in the form of any conditions and probably also in big stacks. It would be a to big effect for one skill I think.

arrow kelvin.2075:

Ragnar the Rock.3174:

I’d be alright with the new mimic if it could simply copy boons off allies.

(Imagine the fun you could have when teamed up with a guardian or elementalist)

it would also be nice if changed so that it could copy all the conditions on an enemy store them then be used to apply them to a new enemy.

Storing the condition to apply them later seems kinda OP.
pair up with a condi necro, when the condi’s are @ the highest, you mimic it. Later vs an other foe you would have a huge opening in the form of any conditions and probably also in big stacks. It would be a to big effect for one skill I think.

Id just like to point out there’s no shortage of classes with access to one press “I win” buttons. Necros themselves, for example, can load up every condition with a single action. So there no shortage of BS available. At least in that mimic example there’s a huge amount of prep time with the obtaining and storing the conditions. Then again it just sounds annoying.

Ross Biddle.2367:

Id just like to point out there’s no shortage of classes with access to one press “I win” buttons. Necros themselves, for example, can load up every condition with a single action. So there no shortage of BS available. At least in that mimic example there’s a huge amount of prep time with the obtaining and storing the conditions. Then again it just sounds annoying.

Yeah, that’s true but I don’t think Gw2 needs more “Win” buttons. What also would be a problem with that mimic is, you would never know what could be coming from it, because the number and intensity of the conditions can both vary a lot. The coping of an ally’s boons does sound interesting though… It could also have some nice sync with Signet of Inspiration. Probably also OP depending on the situation though…

arrow kelvin.2075:

Ross Biddle.2367:

Id just like to point out there’s no shortage of classes with access to one press “I win” buttons. Necros themselves, for example, can load up every condition with a single action. So there no shortage of BS available. At least in that mimic example there’s a huge amount of prep time with the obtaining and storing the conditions. Then again it just sounds annoying.

Yeah, that’s true but I don’t think Gw2 needs more “Win” buttons. What also would be a problem with that mimic is, you would never know what could be coming from it, because the number and intensity of the conditions can both vary a lot. The coping of an ally’s boons does sound interesting though… It could also have some nice sync with Signet of Inspiration. Probably also OP depending on the situation though…

Copying of allies boons is as silly as an enemies. Who’re you going to target? A guardian or ele? The problem with the enemy is that they have constant boon uptime, but the boons are applied at a few seconds a piece each. You copy them and they run out a few seconds later.

Allie guardians and eles are no different than enemy ones. They can stack their boons and once copied you’ll have them for a few seconds while your guard/ele continue to do their job stacking their boons.

Meanwhile out of your three utility slots you’ve taken Mimic for the boon copy, and Signit of Inspiration to re-share. So two of your three utils have been blown leaving you with a single stun break and either a teleport or stealth. You, of course, got nothing extra for your boon copy except for the standard seconds worth of boons when you copied them, while your allies got a double stack. Of course what do they even care when the guard/ele are still pumping out the boons and doing their job anyway.

Its just dumb and my wish is people would move away from the idea like it is somehow going to make Mimic better and something you’d take on the bar. Think about it. It’s not.

Ross Biddle.2367:

arrow kelvin.2075:

Ragnar the Rock.3174:

I’d be alright with the new mimic if it could simply copy boons off allies.

(Imagine the fun you could have when teamed up with a guardian or elementalist)

it would also be nice if changed so that it could copy all the conditions on an enemy store them then be used to apply them to a new enemy.

Storing the condition to apply them later seems kinda OP.
pair up with a condi necro, when the condi’s are @ the highest, you mimic it. Later vs an other foe you would have a huge opening in the form of any conditions and probably also in big stacks. It would be a to big effect for one skill I think.

Id just like to point out there’s no shortage of classes with access to one press “I win” buttons. Necros themselves, for example, can load up every condition with a single action. So there no shortage of BS available. At least in that mimic example there’s a huge amount of prep time with the obtaining and storing the conditions. Then again it just sounds annoying.

You also have to consider that the conditions you mimic onto another target would likely use your + condition duration & damage stats much like epidemic does.

Personally I’d love to see it make a clone/phantasm of your target.

Why not just make it function like Thief’s Steal skill? I found it weird that Mesmers are supposed to deceive by mimicking other classes (ie Phantasms) but Thief’s skill does it better. The skill could be changed back to absorbing projectiles but depending on the projectile (weapon type) absorbed you’ll get certain skills.

Eg Absorbing Bow projectiles, you’ll get a multi-hit damage skill.
Absorbing Staff projectiles, you’ll get an arcane magic skill.
Absorbing Rifle projectiles, you’ll get a single hit damage skill.
Absorbing Scepter projectiles, you’ll get a condition skill.

That way when you absorb from monsters in PvE, you’ll only get a limited pool of skill type stored and less likely to be abused.

how about this

For X second whenever target foe gain boon or other effect such as stance ,venom, auras etc you will also gain that boon and effect

I personally don’t hate the new Mimic: being able to copy all boons from a thief who just used consumed plasma or the might stacks of a celestial ele won me more than fight.
the real issue seems to lie in its redundancy with arcane thievery (which i never really like because of its substantial cool down and limited amount of b00ns/conditions transfered).
in that sense, i think we should also explore changes to arcane thievery. one of such changes could be :
Arcane Swap
-reduce cooldown to 20 secs ( 16 when traited)
- range 900 (1200 when traited)
- functionality: swap position with the latest clone or phantasm created (LOS needed?) Immobilize nearby foes for 2secs.

oh lard

such a change would represent a huge blessing against thieves and them pesky RP rangers. we could just abuse LOS until its time to burst one down.
please Jeezas. i mean, Anet.

feight.2704:

I personally don’t hate the new Mimic: being able to copy all boons from a thief who just used consumed plasma or the might stacks of a celestial ele won me more than fight.
the real issue seems to lie in its redundancy with arcane thievery (which i never really like because of its substantial cool down and limited amount of b00ns/conditions transfered).
in that sense, i think we should also explore changes to arcane thievery. one of such changes could be :
Arcane Swap
-reduce cooldown to 20 secs ( 16 when traited)
- range 900 (1200 when traited)
- functionality: swap position with the latest clone or phantasm created (LOS needed?) Immobilize nearby foes for 2secs.

oh lard

such a change would represent a huge blessing against thieves and them pesky RP rangers. we could just abuse LOS until its time to burst one down.
please Jeezas. i mean, Anet.

So an extra teleport with no stun break that requires you to have a clone or phantasm up? And if you get lucky an imob attached? We have this one already. It’s on a 12s CD called Illusionary Leap/Swap. Mainhand sword. Works wonders.

In the current Meta of stacking Might and an abundance of Boons, Mimic is incredibly useful. I’ve recently been using it with amazing effect. Arriving to a fight, taking 20 stacks of Might and Fury before a triple Shatter melts most players. It’s also a brilliant way of getting Stability and Swiftness on a regular basis. At a 30 second cooldown, it’s also very forgiving if you miss.

The only reason they changed it from the previous version in the first place is because it used to be situationally fun, and we all know Anet’s stance on fun.

Ross Biddle.2367:

feight.2704:

I personally don’t hate the new Mimic: being able to copy all boons from a thief who just used consumed plasma or the might stacks of a celestial ele won me more than fight.
the real issue seems to lie in its redundancy with arcane thievery (which i never really like because of its substantial cool down and limited amount of b00ns/conditions transfered).
in that sense, i think we should also explore changes to arcane thievery. one of such changes could be :
Arcane Swap
-reduce cooldown to 20 secs ( 16 when traited)
- range 900 (1200 when traited)
- functionality: swap position with the latest clone or phantasm created (LOS needed?) Immobilize nearby foes for 2secs.

oh lard

such a change would represent a huge blessing against thieves and them pesky RP rangers. we could just abuse LOS until its time to burst one down.
please Jeezas. i mean, Anet.

So an extra teleport with no stun break that requires you to have a clone or phantasm up? And if you get lucky an imob attached? We have this one already. It’s on a 12s CD called Illusionary Leap/Swap. Mainhand sword. Works wonders.

No.. not really.
Ileap casts the illusion. which requires Line of sight.
Arcane Swap wouldn’t, so you could switch places with a clone, fooling the cloaked thief in the process.
no need of stun break in everything, sometimes you just need better positioning , which any instant cast teleport skill provides.
now maybe the immob is not the best idea, but that could be easily tweaked.
… maybe the swaped clone would apply 5 confusion on death? drool
now that would be fun and useful, dont you think?

Lewis Burnell.2493:

In the current Meta of stacking Might and an abundance of Boons, Mimic is incredibly useful. I’ve recently been using it with amazing effect. Arriving to a fight, taking 20 stacks of Might and Fury before a triple Shatter melts most players. It’s also a brilliant way of getting Stability and Swiftness on a regular basis. At a 30 second cooldown, it’s also very forgiving if you miss.

Exactly!
i have it traited in pvp, 24 sec CD. stealing 20 mights on the Ele then unleashing Iduelist and Berzerkers, Ha! boon strip dont even matter at this point.

feight.2704:

Ross Biddle.2367:

feight.2704:

I personally don’t hate the new Mimic: being able to copy all boons from a thief who just used consumed plasma or the might stacks of a celestial ele won me more than fight.
the real issue seems to lie in its redundancy with arcane thievery (which i never really like because of its substantial cool down and limited amount of b00ns/conditions transfered).
in that sense, i think we should also explore changes to arcane thievery. one of such changes could be :
Arcane Swap
-reduce cooldown to 20 secs ( 16 when traited)
- range 900 (1200 when traited)
- functionality: swap position with the latest clone or phantasm created (LOS needed?) Immobilize nearby foes for 2secs.

oh lard

such a change would represent a huge blessing against thieves and them pesky RP rangers. we could just abuse LOS until its time to burst one down.
please Jeezas. i mean, Anet.

So an extra teleport with no stun break that requires you to have a clone or phantasm up? And if you get lucky an imob attached? We have this one already. It’s on a 12s CD called Illusionary Leap/Swap. Mainhand sword. Works wonders.

No.. not really.
Ileap casts the illusion. which requires Line of sight.
Arcane Swap wouldn’t, so you could switch places with a clone, fooling the cloaked thief in the process.
no need of stun break in everything, sometimes you just need better positioning , which any instant cast teleport skill provides.
now maybe the immob is not the best idea, but that could be easily tweaked.
… maybe the swaped clone would apply 5 confusion on death? drool
now that would be fun and useful, dont you think?

iLeap doesnt require line of sight, you just have to be in range. iSwap doesnt require LoS either, and it has no range limitations.

Clone swaps don’t target drop (only stealth target drops), and since thief teleport to target skills dont need LoS, even if they got confused by a swap they’d still teleport to the Mesmer (assuming in range).

I voted for “Both suck”. I don’t even know what to say about new Mimic. I was genuinly shocked when they revealed it and even dared to try to make up some supposedly fancy synergy. I’m looking at you, Karl! However, I also feel that the old Mimic was way too gimmicky. I’d rather get a new one.

Akikaze.1307:

Why not just make it function like Thief’s Steal skill? I found it weird that Mesmers are supposed to deceive by mimicking other classes (ie Phantasms) but Thief’s skill does it better. The skill could be changed back to absorbing projectiles but depending on the projectile (weapon type) absorbed you’ll get certain skills.

Eg Absorbing Bow projectiles, you’ll get a multi-hit damage skill.
Absorbing Staff projectiles, you’ll get an arcane magic skill.
Absorbing Rifle projectiles, you’ll get a single hit damage skill.
Absorbing Scepter projectiles, you’ll get a condition skill.

That way when you absorb from monsters in PvE, you’ll only get a limited pool of skill type stored and less likely to be abused.

I’d really like something like this. It could even work against melee attacks. However, this might be way too close to the Steal mechanic of Thieves. I’d rather avoid that QQ.

I also still like my idea from some months ago. Shameless self promotion.

Xaylin.1860:

I think it would be nice if Mimic granted Distortion for 3-4 seconds. It would turn into Echo for 5 seconds afterwards if hit while Distorted. Activating Echo deals point blanket area damage and is a Blast Finisher. The damage portion could be split into phyiscal and condition damage (e.g. Confusion) to make the skill desirable for different builds. Far-Reaching Manipulations could increase the blast radius.

• Mimic would stay a defensive skill
• Distortion won’t synergize with Retaliatory Shield but with Masterful Reflection
• Distortion is a great mechanic where our other defensive mechanics don’t work
• Distortion enables us to actually fight while using the skill
• The Blast Finisher would add utility to Mesmers in different situations

There are some other interesting ideas back in that thread

Ross Biddle.2367:

feight.2704:

Ross Biddle.2367:

feight.2704:

I personally don’t hate the new Mimic: being able to copy all boons from a thief who just used consumed plasma or the might stacks of a celestial ele won me more than fight.
the real issue seems to lie in its redundancy with arcane thievery (which i never really like because of its substantial cool down and limited amount of b00ns/conditions transfered).
in that sense, i think we should also explore changes to arcane thievery. one of such changes could be :
Arcane Swap
-reduce cooldown to 20 secs ( 16 when traited)
- range 900 (1200 when traited)
- functionality: swap position with the latest clone or phantasm created (LOS needed?) Immobilize nearby foes for 2secs.

oh lard

such a change would represent a huge blessing against thieves and them pesky RP rangers. we could just abuse LOS until its time to burst one down.
please Jeezas. i mean, Anet.

So an extra teleport with no stun break that requires you to have a clone or phantasm up? And if you get lucky an imob attached? We have this one already. It’s on a 12s CD called Illusionary Leap/Swap. Mainhand sword. Works wonders.

No.. not really.
Ileap casts the illusion. which requires Line of sight.
Arcane Swap wouldn’t, so you could switch places with a clone, fooling the cloaked thief in the process.
no need of stun break in everything, sometimes you just need better positioning , which any instant cast teleport skill provides.
now maybe the immob is not the best idea, but that could be easily tweaked.
… maybe the swaped clone would apply 5 confusion on death? drool
now that would be fun and useful, dont you think?

iLeap doesnt require line of sight, you just have to be in range. iSwap doesnt require LoS either, and it has no range limitations.

Clone swaps don’t target drop (only stealth target drops), and since thief teleport to target skills dont need LoS, even if they got confused by a swap they’d still teleport to the Mesmer (assuming in range).

So…iLeap does require LOS friend. if ur blinded or obstructed, you will not cast the illusion. and it just should drop target, like a 1 sec stealth. its still very good to just be able to teleport, in any situation.

What if Mimic let you use the last Heal or Utility skill you used. So you use Mirror Image, Shatter, Mimic (Mirror Image), Shatter.

It would allow you to reuse a skill that is on cooldown already.

I don’t think the current Mimic is terrible but it fights for a valuable slot and it is dependant upon the enemy you are facing. If it could be used on an ally as well it would have more use I think. It doesn’t need to be the best skill but it does need to be competitive.

feight.2704:

Ross Biddle.2367:

feight.2704:

Ross Biddle.2367:

feight.2704:

I personally don’t hate the new Mimic: being able to copy all boons from a thief who just used consumed plasma or the might stacks of a celestial ele won me more than fight.
the real issue seems to lie in its redundancy with arcane thievery (which i never really like because of its substantial cool down and limited amount of b00ns/conditions transfered).
in that sense, i think we should also explore changes to arcane thievery. one of such changes could be :
Arcane Swap
-reduce cooldown to 20 secs ( 16 when traited)
- range 900 (1200 when traited)
- functionality: swap position with the latest clone or phantasm created (LOS needed?) Immobilize nearby foes for 2secs.

oh lard

such a change would represent a huge blessing against thieves and them pesky RP rangers. we could just abuse LOS until its time to burst one down.
please Jeezas. i mean, Anet.

So an extra teleport with no stun break that requires you to have a clone or phantasm up? And if you get lucky an imob attached? We have this one already. It’s on a 12s CD called Illusionary Leap/Swap. Mainhand sword. Works wonders.

No.. not really.
Ileap casts the illusion. which requires Line of sight.
Arcane Swap wouldn’t, so you could switch places with a clone, fooling the cloaked thief in the process.
no need of stun break in everything, sometimes you just need better positioning , which any instant cast teleport skill provides.
now maybe the immob is not the best idea, but that could be easily tweaked.
… maybe the swaped clone would apply 5 confusion on death? drool
now that would be fun and useful, dont you think?

iLeap doesnt require line of sight, you just have to be in range. iSwap doesnt require LoS either, and it has no range limitations.

Clone swaps don’t target drop (only stealth target drops), and since thief teleport to target skills dont need LoS, even if they got confused by a swap they’d still teleport to the Mesmer (assuming in range).

So…iLeap does require LOS friend. if ur blinded or obstructed, you will not cast the illusion. and it just should drop target, like a 1 sec stealth. its still very good to just be able to teleport, in any situation.

Yay, I’m back. So because I love you I wen’t out of my way to make a video for you. Sword 2, iLeap/iSwap with broken LoS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzSLX3u6UIE

Ross Biddle.2367:

feight.2704:

Ross Biddle.2367:

feight.2704:

Ross Biddle.2367:

feight.2704:

I personally don’t hate the new Mimic: being able to copy all boons from a thief who just used consumed plasma or the might stacks of a celestial ele won me more than fight.
the real issue seems to lie in its redundancy with arcane thievery (which i never really like because of its substantial cool down and limited amount of b00ns/conditions transfered).
in that sense, i think we should also explore changes to arcane thievery. one of such changes could be :
Arcane Swap
-reduce cooldown to 20 secs ( 16 when traited)
- range 900 (1200 when traited)
- functionality: swap position with the latest clone or phantasm created (LOS needed?) Immobilize nearby foes for 2secs.

oh lard

such a change would represent a huge blessing against thieves and them pesky RP rangers. we could just abuse LOS until its time to burst one down.
please Jeezas. i mean, Anet.

So an extra teleport with no stun break that requires you to have a clone or phantasm up? And if you get lucky an imob attached? We have this one already. It’s on a 12s CD called Illusionary Leap/Swap. Mainhand sword. Works wonders.

No.. not really.
Ileap casts the illusion. which requires Line of sight.
Arcane Swap wouldn’t, so you could switch places with a clone, fooling the cloaked thief in the process.
no need of stun break in everything, sometimes you just need better positioning , which any instant cast teleport skill provides.
now maybe the immob is not the best idea, but that could be easily tweaked.
… maybe the swaped clone would apply 5 confusion on death? drool
now that would be fun and useful, dont you think?

iLeap doesnt require line of sight, you just have to be in range. iSwap doesnt require LoS either, and it has no range limitations.

Clone swaps don’t target drop (only stealth target drops), and since thief teleport to target skills dont need LoS, even if they got confused by a swap they’d still teleport to the Mesmer (assuming in range).

So…iLeap does require LOS friend. if ur blinded or obstructed, you will not cast the illusion. and it just should drop target, like a 1 sec stealth. its still very good to just be able to teleport, in any situation.

Yay, I’m back. So because I love you I wen’t out of my way to make a video for you. Sword 2, iLeap/iSwap with broken LoS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzSLX3u6UIE

Hahah well thx for documenting this
I’d do my own testing to see if we can cast it thru blind, now it really would be LOS free.
But the only fact that it shows as “obstructed” while still able to cast it shows that this skill Is not working as expected.

feight.2704:

Ross Biddle.2367:

feight.2704:

Ross Biddle.2367:

feight.2704:

Ross Biddle.2367:

feight.2704:

I personally don’t hate the new Mimic: being able to copy all boons from a thief who just used consumed plasma or the might stacks of a celestial ele won me more than fight.
the real issue seems to lie in its redundancy with arcane thievery (which i never really like because of its substantial cool down and limited amount of b00ns/conditions transfered).
in that sense, i think we should also explore changes to arcane thievery. one of such changes could be :
Arcane Swap
-reduce cooldown to 20 secs ( 16 when traited)
- range 900 (1200 when traited)
- functionality: swap position with the latest clone or phantasm created (LOS needed?) Immobilize nearby foes for 2secs.

oh lard

such a change would represent a huge blessing against thieves and them pesky RP rangers. we could just abuse LOS until its time to burst one down.
please Jeezas. i mean, Anet.

So an extra teleport with no stun break that requires you to have a clone or phantasm up? And if you get lucky an imob attached? We have this one already. It’s on a 12s CD called Illusionary Leap/Swap. Mainhand sword. Works wonders.

No.. not really.
Ileap casts the illusion. which requires Line of sight.
Arcane Swap wouldn’t, so you could switch places with a clone, fooling the cloaked thief in the process.
no need of stun break in everything, sometimes you just need better positioning , which any instant cast teleport skill provides.
now maybe the immob is not the best idea, but that could be easily tweaked.
… maybe the swaped clone would apply 5 confusion on death? drool
now that would be fun and useful, dont you think?

iLeap doesnt require line of sight, you just have to be in range. iSwap doesnt require LoS either, and it has no range limitations.

Clone swaps don’t target drop (only stealth target drops), and since thief teleport to target skills dont need LoS, even if they got confused by a swap they’d still teleport to the Mesmer (assuming in range).

So…iLeap does require LOS friend. if ur blinded or obstructed, you will not cast the illusion. and it just should drop target, like a 1 sec stealth. its still very good to just be able to teleport, in any situation.

Yay, I’m back. So because I love you I wen’t out of my way to make a video for you. Sword 2, iLeap/iSwap with broken LoS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzSLX3u6UIE

Hahah well thx for documenting this
I’d do my own testing to see if we can cast it thru blind, now it really would be LOS free.
But the only fact that it shows as “obstructed” while still able to cast it shows that this skill Is not working as expected.

Yes it summons the clone through blind. The clone lands crippled then you swap, and if you’re still blinded I believe the imob misses (because that’s procced by you) I could be wrong about the imob and where irt procs from. If it procs from the clone porting then the blind would have zero effect on ileap/iswap. Working as intended? I believe it is, regardless of if an obstructed symbol procs or not. Why? Because it’s a leap skill via the means of a teleport. Those two things need to remain in tact for the skill no matter what. The cripple and imob application? Those we can discuss. Compare to a warrior MH sword leap, or a thief Steal. Regardless of blind they still travel. The cripple/“50ThiefStealEffects” at the other end of it are what miss. The ‘hit’ so to speak.

If a clone didn’t summon on MH sword due to blind without massive compensation, I’d quit the game.

Ross Biddle.2367:

feight.2704:

Ross Biddle.2367:

feight.2704:

Ross Biddle.2367:

feight.2704:

Ross Biddle.2367:

feight.2704:

I personally don’t hate the new Mimic: being able to copy all boons from a thief who just used consumed plasma or the might stacks of a celestial ele won me more than fight.
the real issue seems to lie in its redundancy with arcane thievery (which i never really like because of its substantial cool down and limited amount of b00ns/conditions transfered).
in that sense, i think we should also explore changes to arcane thievery. one of such changes could be :
Arcane Swap
-reduce cooldown to 20 secs ( 16 when traited)
- range 900 (1200 when traited)
- functionality: swap position with the latest clone or phantasm created (LOS needed?) Immobilize nearby foes for 2secs.

oh lard

such a change would represent a huge blessing against thieves and them pesky RP rangers. we could just abuse LOS until its time to burst one down.
please Jeezas. i mean, Anet.

So an extra teleport with no stun break that requires you to have a clone or phantasm up? And if you get lucky an imob attached? We have this one already. It’s on a 12s CD called Illusionary Leap/Swap. Mainhand sword. Works wonders.

No.. not really.
Ileap casts the illusion. which requires Line of sight.
Arcane Swap wouldn’t, so you could switch places with a clone, fooling the cloaked thief in the process.
no need of stun break in everything, sometimes you just need better positioning , which any instant cast teleport skill provides.
now maybe the immob is not the best idea, but that could be easily tweaked.
… maybe the swaped clone would apply 5 confusion on death? drool
now that would be fun and useful, dont you think?

iLeap doesnt require line of sight, you just have to be in range. iSwap doesnt require LoS either, and it has no range limitations.

Clone swaps don’t target drop (only stealth target drops), and since thief teleport to target skills dont need LoS, even if they got confused by a swap they’d still teleport to the Mesmer (assuming in range).

So…iLeap does require LOS friend. if ur blinded or obstructed, you will not cast the illusion. and it just should drop target, like a 1 sec stealth. its still very good to just be able to teleport, in any situation.

Yay, I’m back. So because I love you I wen’t out of my way to make a video for you. Sword 2, iLeap/iSwap with broken LoS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzSLX3u6UIE

Hahah well thx for documenting this
I’d do my own testing to see if we can cast it thru blind, now it really would be LOS free.
But the only fact that it shows as “obstructed” while still able to cast it shows that this skill Is not working as expected.

Yes it summons the clone through blind. The clone lands crippled then you swap, and if you’re still blinded I believe the imob misses (because that’s procced by you) I could be wrong about the imob and where irt procs from. If it procs from the clone porting then the blind would have zero effect on ileap/iswap. Working as intended? I believe it is, regardless of if an obstructed symbol procs or not. Why? Because it’s a leap skill via the means of a teleport. Those two things need to remain in tact for the skill no matter what. The cripple and imob application? Those we can discuss. Compare to a warrior MH sword leap, or a thief Steal. Regardless of blind they still travel. The cripple/“50ThiefStealEffects” at the other end of it are what miss. The ‘hit’ so to speak.

If a clone didn’t summon on MH sword due to blind without massive compensation, I’d quit the game.

i have to bow down to your superior analytic skill on this one.
logical & nonsensical coexist in gw2 it would seems.
but i still hold my ground on the changes on Arcane thievery. another mobility skill just feels like the most suitable option. mesmers always lacked in mobility, we have an opportunity to fix this

The old variation was much better, I haven’t seen anyone using the new variation, it’s not bad but there’s just much better skills to take.

Sorry for grave digging, but I just had to bump this topic.

Since they are obviously taking a look at recent skills/traits for the expansion, I really hope they revamp this skill.

Anet, please.

tetrodoxin.2134:

Sorry for grave digging, but I just had to bump this topic.

Since they are obviously taking a look at recent skills/traits for the expansion, I really hope they revamp this skill.

Anet, please.

Yes, please.

Fix this abomination.

What if it consumed all buffs AoE from foes and allies (even if stealthed)? Thief plasma payback.

I was so sad when I returned to game and saw how they messed up the Mimic skill…. It sometimes used to be part of my WvW zerg busting, I was invincible with it and could be a driver right through things loll argh

Anyone actually using the “improved” version of this skill?

I would love a new new version of mimic:

Transform:
Transform into a copy of your target, granting you the target’s stats and skills as well as their physical appearance for 10 seconds.
Cast time: 1s
Cool Down: 90s
Range: 900

Note: Skills that occupy slots of previous skills in cool down, remain in the same cool down. This applies for change from true form to mimic form and back.

But this kind of thing might be better suited as an elite skill.^^

I hope this will some day exist in a PvP format. However, it might be funny to use it in PvE and transform into lupi^^

Also, I wanna be able to mimic a thief and hide myself in Shadow Refuge^^

BlackDevil.9268:

Errr… http://strawpoll.me/3324333

The results are overwhelming :O My god this is great! ANETTTTTT DO IT NAOW

Yea the current mimic sux, the old one was better but still lackluster. I’d prefer a mimic wich absorbs the first skill hit (ABSORBS!) and blocks everything else for the duration. Echo should be the skill itself, not just one projectile. Also echo melee attacks.

Just reading all this makes me remember how much I miss Echo from GW1. What if they just revamped mimic as Echo? Hit it, and it becomes another copy of the next non-elite or util used? 2 chaos storms or 3 duelists with SoI?

Xyonon.3987:

BlackDevil.9268:

Errr… http://strawpoll.me/3324333

The results are overwhelming :O My god this is great! ANETTTTTT DO IT NAOW

Yea the current mimic sux, the old one was better but still lackluster. I’d prefer a mimic wich absorbs the first skill hit (ABSORBS!) and blocks everything else for the duration. Echo should be the skill itself, not just one projectile. Also echo melee attacks.

81 votes. I think that’s all of us who are left.

Ross Biddle.2367:

There was an abusive aspect for PvE (the projectile absorb and return with Echo), and instead of doing a propper fix or rework the devs did a lazy fix.

Mimic is a utility skill with no utility and no synergy with the Mesmer profession.

Mimic’s reflect/block have a place on the bar in place of something like decoy. It just needed the absorb removed so it didnt get interrupted on the first hit, and echo done away with. Not rocket science Anet.

Unfortunately, it seems mesmer IS rocket science for Anet…

That makes me sad. Because Mesmer (in GW and GW2) is a really unique concept. However, they don’t seem to have a very good feel for it atm… maybe the expansion will change that.

Henrik.7560:

The old variation was much better, I haven’t seen anyone using the new variation, it’s not bad but there’s just much better skills to take.

Well true, nobody using the new mimic. It has no place in the game. But to bring back the old is just as ridiculous. no one used the old one except to test it & find out how weak & broken it was. No no no, give us something NEW! something we can use.

Maybe the shield will have something similar since, you know, it’s a shield… but we’ll see.

In any case, I don’t think it was nice to get rid of echo. There’s some cool things they could do with that, but they just never did. Not that they’d be that easy to implement, mind you, but there’s way more interesting ways they could’ve changed mimic.

As much as I didn’t like the old mimic (though I used it occasionally), the new mimic is even worse.

Vieux P.1238:

Henrik.7560:

The old variation was much better, I haven’t seen anyone using the new variation, it’s not bad but there’s just much better skills to take.

Well true, nobody using the new mimic. It has no place in the game. But to bring back the old is just as ridiculous. no one used the old one except to test it & find out how weak & broken it was. No no no, give us something NEW! something we can use.

I used the old mimic. It was great in Southsun. I haven’t ever used the new one.

Imagine mimic to be a debuff on an enemy that copys ALL boons for the next 20 seconds (+ still all on cast).

I loved the old Mimic animations, during cast and after cast with glowing orb and cool sound: also it was great in some situation, like escaping from a zerg.

Now, it’s completly useless…i really don’t understand why when they change our skills, they (often) become worst than the original.

I miss old mimic, I haven’t been able to run my reflect spec since it was changed. I was able to taunt zergs and stay alive long enough to run them into ambushes with it(and other moves). I even ran Guardian runes for a while to burn people while it blocked their melee spam as long as I got one projectile first and all that.

It was a great risk and reward utility, that really fits the Mesmer theme, forcing unthinking combo/multihit spammers to notice and back off a second or kill themselves. It wasn’t OP, against pure melee it was worthless, hell even several ele builds use streams and not projectiles and it doesn’t really hurt to have a counter to ranger cheapness. I’d love for it to come back, even if a seperate new unlockable utility.

I really hope that the shield will give us something to substitute the loss of Mimic. As you said, the reflect part was huge, thats what I miss the most. Feedback is nice but you can’t drop it on yourself, and not everyone likes running traited focus. Dunno, but I feel the >>reflect<< aspect of Mesmers should be much better.

Anyway, I like Xyonons suggestion. 20 seconds might be too much, but it’s still a cool idea. I’d still miss the old reflect/block part of Mimic, but thats probably gone for good.

Oh anet, why. Why would you take a subpar skill and make it even worse.