Guild Wars 2

Looking for some advice on a decent Mesmer solo build where I can survive Orr.

I’ve been pretty much playing the game with my Warrior and Guardian, which are great classes IMO, but looking to switch up play style from time to time with My Mesmer.

I’m currently working on a Mesmer build that will allow me to solo the entire map. So I’m looking for a build that has good damage output and good survivability.

Of course Mesmer’s are a totally different class than Warrior and Guardian, so what works for them probably won’t work well for a Mesmer.

Any suggestions on what type of build would go well for a solo Mesmer ? I would like to work a build around staff and dual swords if possible.

Also any suggestions on what type of sigils, runes and slot kills used, would be appreciated as well.

Survivability: Mainhand sword #2 + V + F4.

Damage: Greatsword + F1 + Mainhand sword #2.

Greatsword + Sword/Focus shatter build. Greatsword and Sword are great at dealing damage, and allow you to dance in and out of range as the battle demands. And if you’re going for map completion, your sanity will most likely necessitate a Focus, which is also very viable in combat. Staff has the best survivability, but will take a very long time to kill with. Greatsword and MH Sword with a shatter build put out the best raw burst damage a Mesmer can have access to. While you can adjust it for personal preferences, the overall build is demonstrated in Lazy Kai’s guide:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Lazy-Kai-s-Guide-to-PvE-Leveling-Guide-Update/first

For sigils, you have several options. Bloodlust is probably your best bet for a stacking stat, although the Precision sigil is also an option. I like running with a Sigil of Energy on my Focus, which pairs nicely with Deceptive Evasion, but that’s a personal preference. Other good options include Air (single-target damage) or Fire (AoE damage).

Runes are mostly personal preference. Since your going for map completion, I think Centaur Runes would be extremely helpful for the mobility.

Armor is all Berserker.

No staff build huh ? Darnit, I love the staff.

Thanks for this information.

Actually… I hate the Greatsword (or I did, atleast, till I randomly found a Crystal Guardian this weekend). It does great damage and is better in PvE, but its too straightforward for me, and I always felt Mesmer is all about creativity.

I did about 90% of my leveling without it, and never brought it with me to Orr. IMO, if you grab a set of knight’s gear and take some Zerker weapons, you can use just about anything with staff as offhand.

Sword + X / Staff – shouldn’t be much problems, atleast for me it wasn’t. Staff is my favorite Mes weapon besides the sword, and can easily keep you alive in Orr.

The classic 20/20/0/0/30 shatter build does fine in open world PvE, may wanna change to a more Phantasm-based spec for dungeons though. Osicat’s Shattercat series, especially Shattercat Mist, can give you all the survivability ya need… but again, that’ss just my opinion.

I think 20/20/30/0/0 trait setup would give u a lot of survivability and flexibility. Here’s an example of a condition build based on the trait setup:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fgAQNArfWlwzKqHVTmGb9IipHBHyBckUUavWJF62FC-jQyAINBRaBIhJQpwomDHyY1sIasK5FVrux0xAyAwsGA-e

Hope this helps.

Chaos Archangel.5071:

Actually… I hate the Greatsword (or I did, atleast, till I randomly found a Crystal Guardian this weekend). It does great damage and is better in PvE, but its too straightforward for me, and I always felt Mesmer is all about creativity.

I did about 90% of my leveling without it, and never brought it with me to Orr. IMO, if you grab a set of knight’s gear and take some Zerker weapons, you can use just about anything with staff as offhand.

Sword + X / Staff – shouldn’t be much problems, atleast for me it wasn’t. Staff is my favorite Mes weapon besides the sword, and can easily keep you alive in Orr.

The classic 20/20/0/0/30 shatter build does fine in open world PvE, may wanna change to a more Phantasm-based spec for dungeons though. Osicat’s Shattercat series, especially Shattercat Mist, can give you all the survivability ya need… but again, that’ss just my opinion.

Fair enough. I actually have been going through this debate with myself. Despite using GS for the past 70 levels, I still don’t have nearly as much fun with it as when I switch to my Sword. I plan on never touching another GS once I get to level 80, but the benefits of leveling up with it were too much to pass up. But it’s up to the individual player to decide whether they would rather kill things faster or use a more survivable, and more enjoyable build.

Pretty much anything works in open world. 20/20/0/30/0 phantasm is good for Orr though, traited greatsword for faster cooldowns on your berserker and then there’s traited warden which allows you to reflect grubs if attacking a risen giant, putrifiers and corrupter projectiles. The mixture of reflects and the power of the warden means that phantasm itself will basically one-shot a mob with you doing nothing else. Berserker and warden are both AOE so it means you can take out groups of mobs and you’ll be able to kite abominations forever so you won’t have a problem with those. Blurred Frenzy is good if you are starting to get overwhelmed and then you can blink away or something. If you absolutely don’t want to use greatsword though, 10/30/0/30/0 (forgoing greatsword cooldowns for faster sword or pistol cooldowns, whichever you’re missing) is fine too, you can use off-hand pistol or sword for your second weapon set.

Run full berserker with ruby orbs berserker weapon with berserker main hands with sigil of force (they don’t stack so don’t stick two sigils of force on if you’re dual-wielding swords). If you’re interested specifically in using risen-specific sigils, you can use sigil of undead slaying and then sigil of force for 15%+ damage. If you just want weapons that can be good for all open world, then go sigil of force main hand then sigil of accuracy off-hand. Note if you use something like sword/pistol in one hand and want to use sword/sword in your second weapon set, you only need to stick one sword in your second weapon set rather than buying a third sword too.

All of your survivability will be from active defense (dodges, blurred frenzy, distortion, etc.) so you’ll never be sitting there autoattacking though the mobs don’t even hit that hard so you probably could if you weren’t interested in defending yourself properly.

If you’re not interested in fully optimising yourself though, feel free to use staff and sword/sword, you’ll be perfectly fine.

If you want to do open world pve with sword/sword, staff, i recommend a shatter build!

Use 0/20/0/0/30 as traits, with blade training, deceptive evasion and illusionary persona.
10 domination is recommended for mental torment (mind wrack damage), but you can really putthem anywhere you like!

10 chaos allows you to swap for the fall damage trait, or swap it to master of manipulation for blinking across the map faster!

Use direct damage war and youre pretty much set.