Guild Wars 2

Hello I love mesmer- and I am currently enjoying the class in PvP.
I usually play my mesmer in PvE.
I love mesmer so much I have 2 thinking about a third..

BUT lets stay on topic
In PvP at first I ran a GS build GS as my main line of offense along with sword/pistol.
After a while it seemed to not really… do the trick for me? It didnt feel mesmer-y enough I suppose… im not sure what it was.
After some time I began experimenting with more weapons in PvP and builds

Currently I kinda just threw this build together but I completely melt under another GS mesmer, or a bunker engi who uses grenades/bombs, a stunlock warrior or a MM necro, and even a spirit ranger- otherwise I don’t do half bad for myself being that I dodge roll a ton.

SO here it is..

My routine is when I spot a player(s) on point I go ahead and hit decoy and dodge roll forward then hit mind wrack, I then press “mirror images” then use the F2 skill and then whilst doing that I usually dodge roll again and then use “Magic Bullet” I said that in a Nick Cage voice for some reason in my head… To either stun them and then use the “phantasmal duelist” and then hit my signet to re-stun or if they have stability I switch to scepter and press 2 to block and grant torment.. Rinse and Repeat… basically. I normally dont moa an opponent bc they tend to run away and I dont ever give chase- I continue to capture the point.

I melt under most mesmer though since most are GS – I can dodge the berserker but they wind up besting me in the end regardless.

I run 20 in Domination.
III V
25 in Dueling
II X
and 25 in Illusions
VI III

My weapons are Scepter/Focus Sword/Pistol.
Amulet is Carrion with Carrion jewel.
I have full Superior Runes of the Mesmer.
I have sigil of Force, sigil to Stun on my sword/pistol.
on scepter I have corruption for stacks upon death, and energy on my focus for increased illusions.

My build help me please!

What I’m asking for is some tips and help- and if anyone could do that for me I would greatly appreciate it.

You had me at “I love Mesmer” … then lost me at “Nick Cage.”

Why must you play with my emotions?!

As for the build, it seems like you’re going for a Power/Condition hybrid with a Shatter/Lockdown playstyle. Dude, that’s difficult. I don’t mean “kind of difficult” I mean “one of the freaking most difficult things to pull off successfully for a Mesmer” -kind of difficult. Lets break it down…

• What’s the goal? - What did you want to accomplish with this build? Pure damage? Damage with group support? Enemy control? The first and most important rule is figuring out what your purpose is gonna be.

• Light defense - You have two stunbreaks, which is nice, but you use both of them offensively and in the beginning of the fight. After that there’s nothing to protect you besides your Distortion [F4] shatter and untraited Temporal Curtain. This may work somewhat in a 1v1, but the moment a second opponent joins the fight you’re toast. Not to mention absolutely zero condition defense, which is a huge weakness for this build. Consider altering your playstyle so that you save Decoy to save your life rather than to gain the advantage in the beginning of the fight (Granted, the first strike does often have the advantage in any battle.)
  Other alternatives would be to either equip a staff or shuffle some traits around. Slide 5 points out of Dueling and into Illusions for Illusionary Persona. The “confusion-on-clone-death” is a very minor loss compared to the damage/defense boost iPersona grants you.

• Carrion Amulet - It’s doing you no justice. If you want condition damage take Rabid Amulet. If you want Power take Berzerker. If both? Rampager. (Though incredibly difficult to pull off. Hybrid Mesmer are still being explored and very few hybrid builds can perform better than a pure power or pure condition Mesmer.)

• Scepter/Focus – Sword/Pistol: Eh, there’s a bit of mixed opinion on this set but from my experience… Scepter/Focus can sort-of work, the pull from Temporal Curtain makes it easy to nail the Confuse Ray… but I think you’d be better off swapping to Scepter/Pistol – Sword/Focus. Scepter and Pistol are both capable of doing power AND condition damage (iDuelist stacks bleeds like a ‘mutha when you have Dueling 15) as well as both being good ranged/control weapons. Scepter blinds, confuses, torments, and allows you to fight at range which synergizes well with the pistol’s Stun (iDuelist + Magic Bullet + Confuse Ray = Profit) Sword and Focus would be your more defensive set. Blurred Frenzy and Temporal Curtain’s pull can keep you relatively safe while iLeap and Temporal Curtain gives you better mobility while crippling enemies (also, using leap & swap inside of temporal curtain’s LIGHT field gives you a retaliation finisher.) Again, another alternative would be to use staff for it’s excellent defense OR swap Focus with offhand Sword for two very damaging phantasms (as well as a daze on low cooldown thanks to Blade Training & 25 Illusions which would work with your Mesmer runes)

As far as Greatsword Mesmer go, nearly all their damage comes from the Phantasm and auto-attack. Line of Sight is your best friend here, use the terrain to your advantage and get close! Greatsword excels at long range and gets weaker the closer you are. If you’re fighting in a group, use your team’s AoEs to destroy the phantasm, if not a single auto chain from the sword should do the trick if you have the time. The most common Greatsword Mesmer I see also tend to use Sword/Pistol or Sword.. something. Thats when their damage will be from this combo (which you should be doing too)

iLeap -> Swap -> Blurred Frenzy+Shatter

Since you run mirror images, this is VERY important. Mirror Images is an instant, and thus can be done in the middle of your Blurred Frenzy.

iLeap -> dodgeClone ->Swap->DAZE shatter -> Blurred Frenzy -> Mirror Images -> Mind Wrack shatter.

IF you’d like some good videos and explanation.. check out Sensotix’s thread. https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Sensotix-Builds-and-Tutorials-Collection/first

Scepter/focus in PvP? Eeeewwww….

No wait keep using it. Dont want more opponents with burst.

Focus in PvP in general is ehhh.. Difficult to pull off properly. Hell, quite probably the most difficult Mesmer weapon to pull off.

Chaos Archangel.5071:

You had me at “I love Mesmer” … then lost me at “Nick Cage.”

Why must you play with my emotions?!

As for the build, it seems like you’re going for a Power/Condition hybrid with a Shatter/Lockdown playstyle. Dude, that’s difficult. I don’t mean “kind of difficult” I mean “one of the freaking most difficult things to pull off successfully for a Mesmer” -kind of difficult. Lets break it down…

• What’s the goal? - What did you want to accomplish with this build? Pure damage? Damage with group support? Enemy control? The first and most important rule is figuring out what your purpose is gonna be.

• Light defense - You have two stunbreaks, which is nice, but you use both of them offensively and in the beginning of the fight. After that there’s nothing to protect you besides your Distortion [F4] shatter and untraited Temporal Curtain. This may work somewhat in a 1v1, but the moment a second opponent joins the fight you’re toast. Not to mention absolutely zero condition defense, which is a huge weakness for this build. Consider altering your playstyle so that you save Decoy to save your life rather than to gain the advantage in the beginning of the fight (Granted, the first strike does often have the advantage in any battle.)
  Other alternatives would be to either equip a staff or shuffle some traits around. Slide 5 points out of Dueling and into Illusions for Illusionary Persona. The “confusion-on-clone-death” is a very minor loss compared to the damage/defense boost iPersona grants you.

• Carrion Amulet - It’s doing you no justice. If you want condition damage take Rabid Amulet. If you want Power take Berzerker. If both? Rampager. (Though incredibly difficult to pull off. Hybrid Mesmer are still being explored and very few hybrid builds can perform better than a pure power or pure condition Mesmer.)

• Scepter/Focus – Sword/Pistol: Eh, there’s a bit of mixed opinion on this set but from my experience… Scepter/Focus can sort-of work, the pull from Temporal Curtain makes it easy to nail the Confuse Ray… but I think you’d be better off swapping to Scepter/Pistol – Sword/Focus. Scepter and Pistol are both capable of doing power AND condition damage (iDuelist stacks bleeds like a ‘mutha when you have Dueling 15) as well as both being good ranged/control weapons. Scepter blinds, confuses, torments, and allows you to fight at range which synergizes well with the pistol’s Stun (iDuelist + Magic Bullet + Confuse Ray = Profit) Sword and Focus would be your more defensive set. Blurred Frenzy and Temporal Curtain’s pull can keep you relatively safe while iLeap and Temporal Curtain gives you better mobility while crippling enemies (also, using leap & swap inside of temporal curtain’s LIGHT field gives you a retaliation finisher.) Again, another alternative would be to use staff for it’s excellent defense OR swap Focus with offhand Sword for two very damaging phantasms (as well as a daze on low cooldown thanks to Blade Training & 25 Illusions which would work with your Mesmer runes)

As far as Greatsword Mesmer go, nearly all their damage comes from the Phantasm and auto-attack. Line of Sight is your best friend here, use the terrain to your advantage and get close! Greatsword excels at long range and gets weaker the closer you are. If you’re fighting in a group, use your team’s AoEs to destroy the phantasm, if not a single auto chain from the sword should do the trick if you have the time. The most common Greatsword Mesmer I see also tend to use Sword/Pistol or Sword.. something. Thats when their damage will be from this combo (which you should be doing too)

iLeap -> Swap -> Blurred Frenzy+Shatter

Since you run mirror images, this is VERY important. Mirror Images is an instant, and thus can be done in the middle of your Blurred Frenzy.

iLeap -> dodgeClone ->Swap->DAZE shatter -> Blurred Frenzy -> Mirror Images -> Mind Wrack shatter.

IF you’d like some good videos and explanation.. check out Sensotix’s thread. https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Sensotix-Builds-and-Tutorials-Collection/first

Thank you so much!

aha I and to answer the Nick Cage is bc at the time, Con Air was on and he said “Put a Bullet in this guy” or something— LOL idk.. random BUT regardless…
And with this build – that’s my problem I wasn’t exactly sure what to go with or how to go about it. You more than answered my problem I think you just figured it out- I now am asking questions about my build at first it was .. there’s something amiss but I can’t place it..

But thank you so much!

Anytime. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.

In the end, I suggest you use what works. This is especially true for mesmer since we’ve so few options. GS, Sword, and Pistol are by far the most powerful PvP weapons we have. Focus is arguably the weakest. If you’re branching away from GS then I suggest you try a condition build.