Guild Wars 2

Hey everyone.

I’ve tried every class now – and 5 slots are hit with – Guardian – Thief – Ranger – Elementalist -Mesmer.

I’ve switched from Mesmer to Necro a few times now trying to decide which i’d like to stick with and take to 80 – alas I keep re-deciding on the two.

I hear ALLOT and I do mean ALLOT of talk about how Mesmer class is the greatest in pvp and also dungeon party – BUT I always seem to have a bad experience playing solo.

I never seem to be able to take on more than 2 enemy tops! and even then its a struggle were I usually kill the last while dieing slowly on my kitten

The idea of the Mesmer class appeals to me at a high level thats why I keep persuading myself to try it again and again.

So honestly fellow GW gamers – just what is it about the Mesmer class that everyone is talking about and making it appear to be excellent.

In the early levels the auto attack 1 deals sooo little dmg that’s it laughable to me and it puts me of progressing further passed 20 and onwards.

Is all the talk about it being superior warranted or just hype?

Thanks in advance..

Hyperion

It’s not bad at solo PvE, certainly isn’t the best but it isn’t bad. The thing that is bothering people is tagging mobs in the Orr zerg due to their limited AoE and most of their low cooldown AoE is illusion based which die after the mob does. Thus making it completely unreliable in the zerg, so they cannot get money anywhere near as fast as other classes.

Mesmer weak point its all pve, if u want pve dont slot a mesmer

It is rather weak at the early levels, I myself was wondering if to carry on or roll another class as I wasn’t sure if it was going to stay like that, yet it does get better as you level up more.

As it has been mentioned a lot, it isn’t great at solo PvE like other classes but it is still fairly good and does survive quite nicely. I am only lvl 55 with my mesmer yet it is really enjoyable, you do have to get through the early levels of feeling really weak compared to others though, but imo it is worth it.

Mesmer is awesome in all facets of the game — no joke. This is true even for PvE. Mesmer is the best of all the toons I’ve played in this regard.

However the mesmer starts slow and feels very “weak” from level 1 to 25-ish. However it breaks out around level 30 and at level 80 it is almost OP it’s so good.

At low levels I recommend a staff because the #2 skill with chaos storm and chaos armor really help with survivability. Using phantasms at low levels helps a lot as well. Slot illusionary disenchanter and illusionary defender. Phantasms almost always pull agro off of you. With this play style the mesmer becomes “easy mode”.

At higher levels you can move to more direct DPS and utility skills over the phantams (if you want). I stuck with staff+conditions all the way to 80 then started playing with GS+shatters.

Phantasm build on pve? are u joking? phantasm and clones die in a breath if u call PVE at farming solo yes every class can do it if u call PVE make dungeons every class can do better than mesmer.
Mesmer its a PVP oriented class

Phantasms are exellent for agro in PvE. At higher levels the phantasms take multiple hits. Even if they are one-shotted, that’s a hit you didn’t take. Throw in the natural defense of the staff and you are god-like. I’m not making this up — this was my play experience.

Staff + phantasms == easy mode pve

It’s still a fun class though but yes I agree that the illusions do die rather quickly however I use them for shatters (phantasms after the first attack) so that doesn’t bother me. Hehe thinking on it now, my guildies loved me at the mystery jumping puzzle in the eternal battlegrounds. Whenever someone would fall and need to head back, I can portal them back up or when they were feeling lazy or some enemies were catching up and I was further ahead I could pop up a portal so they are further along the puzzle and relatively safer. PvP though is where a mesmer feels strongest but it still does fairly well in PvE, then again though peoples opinions with mesmer’s PvE capabilities can change but it is more or less agreed on that they do much better after 30+

I would have to say this: Don’t judge a Mesmer by gameplay at less the level 40-50. I found it very difficult early on, especially playing alongside my wife (ranger) who could seemingly take on 2-3x what I could and walk away without breathing hard.

Once you start getting some of the higher traits it makes a huge difference in damage and survivability. As a lvl 80 mesmer I can routinely solo 3-6 mobs at a time(depending on foe type) in frost gorge sound, and 2-3 in CS.

@ Skar Hand: Can’t argue there. For me I found it easier to play at level 35-40. Any class feels slow compared to ranger in solo PvE, I had to try one up to level 25 and things were going really smoothly compared to mesmer and my guardian.

Watching other mesmers in pve, they dont really make full use of their skills. Mesmer skills are “two faced” and have a lot of “good for me, bad for you” aspects to them or need to be timed correctly to be effective.

-For instance Chaos storm should be used in melee range because of all the defensive boons that it gives you making you more or less invulnerable for the duration.

-Sword users arnt using gap closers to hold on to targets or make great leaps out of danger. When used offensively they dont use blurred frenzy as their get of jail for free card.

-Septer users are using their confuse ray as damage instead of a punisher. Shatters are mostly unused and phantasms are not being put down at the start of the battle.

I have leveled several characters in GW2 and I absolutely love my mesmer. I will admit that leveling a Warrior, Guardian, Ranger or several other classes would be quicker, I would counter I have alot more fun with my mesmer. My mesmer is only 43 right now but I am truly learning and loving my mesmer more and more.

This could be pointed out as a flaw (and in some ways it very much is) with my mesmer I am often using every skill at my disposal during battles. I can take on 2-3 or even 4 mobs at a time. I just have to be constantly on the move, using everything I have. Staying aware and changing targets. When I get them bunched up I use shatters only when I see that I can respawn clones in a hurry.

I just feel that as a mesmer I excel in long fights and I really enjoy the fact that in battle I am constantly moving and staying active in the battle. On other characters it can feel much more static.

I deeply disagree with people saying the mesmer is bad at PvE. I regularly solo 3-4 mobs without difficulty. It’s all about knowing how to use your skills to take down enemies quickly while using your evasion/immunity skills to avoid taking any damage. Even 2 Veterans is quit doable long as I’m paying attention. Mesmers are not an easy class to master, so said by ArenaNet themselves, but they’re definitely not underpowered.

You will find that the traits for mesmers are very powerful and have great impact on the playstyles of different builds. It is because of this reason that mesmers in the starting levels feel sluggish and weak. If you can tough out the initial levels to about 25 – 30, you should be able to start taking traits that have a huge impact on your abilities.

Watch the comprehensive mesmer guide by Mr promethius. Those videos should answer any questions you have about the mesmer.

If you’re not enjoying Mesmer for pve, I imagine you’ll dislike it for dungeons and pvp too. Solo pve is the easiest part of the game, aside from crafting. Mesmers are the natto of GW2, you love it or you hate it, and its a hard taste to acquire.

From experience, my mesmer was able to handle content of a much higher level than she herself was(probably due in part to it being bankrolled in the gear department by my other chars), but it took longer. I started leveling in Hirathi around level 32, as the mesmer has enough pseudo control with illusions to avoid most damage if you play very carefully. that said, while higher level content was possible, killing lots of mobs quickly in general takes longer, since your main source of DPS is probably going to be the shatter, and getting 3 illusions up every mob is probably not possible. Your never-ending stun breaks(a mesmer can have at least four, five if traited mantras, chilling in their utility slots) aren’t as useful in general PvE, but I leveled mine almost entirely in dungeons from 35 on. I think that the problem is that in many given situation, there is going to a be a PvE class that clearly outshines the mesmer, whether it be in control, support, or DPS. However, no one else drops portals. Only the ele has a Blink equivalent IIRC. And most importantly, no one else has Time Warp, the greatest DPS support I’ve personally ever used.

As a mesmer, your job is to be 100% aware of the situations in which you shine and take full advantage of them (if you really wanna see mesmers in their element check out most paths of CM). But just as importantly is making sure you’re contributing as much as possible during those times that you don’t need Feedback, or teleportation, or Time Warp is on CD. A mesmer’s illusions give them a unique ability to diffuse damage throughout the battlefield.

also, if you really want to understand the blooming GW2 metagame in PvP, i’d highly recommend exploring the mesmer over necro, whether or not you ultimately stuck with it. mesmer can, because of their nicheness, be configured to come out victorious in certain situations at an alarming rate. So if you’re going to be frequenting PvP, being able to avoid those situations will be huge relief. I’m not going to argue into the overpowered fight, since i don’t play much PvP, but I will say that was makes the mesmer stand out is their ability to basically ignore your control (they can take five stun breaks; do you have five CCs?), and, even if you do get them controlled, strike you regardless. Even if I’m on my back i can still shatter, which makes ignoring illusions very dangerous when they can either 1.) kill you 2.) daze you or 3.) grant the mesmer up to four seconds of invuln instantly. And that’s assuming they’ve no other mantras to fire off while they’re incapacitated.

Interesting set of replies – thanks all.

Think I’ll soldier on and see what it gets like once i’m into the 30-40-50 range.

However – when compared to [what I consider the easiest class to play in game] a guardian – mesmer seems soo under powered.

With my guardian I can routinely take on 5-6-8 enemy and nail them all and have the self healing backup of a true old style cleric.

But after all the comments I’ll stick with the mesmer.

Nice one all ty

Hyperion

Here’s the thing. Both Mesmer and Ele have a difficult time for solo PvE. Both bring huge, game changing utility to WvW. I gave up PvE and just leveled both classes in WvW, where they perform just fine.

You can also PvE in them great in a group.

If’s not that these classes are bad at PvE, you just can’t be lazy. You’re kiting 100% of the time, dodging when it’s up, micromanaging targeting instead of auto-targeting, dodging often, constantly swapping weapons and comboing your skills.

I had the same feelings about mesmer. I leveled mostly with the staff. There is no fast way to level compared to a ranger. Killing mobs underwater is always a nightmare. When my toon got into the 60s my dps picked up some and my survivability got much better with enough traits especially with the staff trait and 25 points into toughness.
Just keep in mind Mesmers are supposed to be slippery. Dont be afraid to destroy clones and use all your abilities. You wont have problems w/ 4-5 mobs your level, but you will have to work to stay alive. With 3 clones/phantasms/illusions up you should rarely get hit.

I have a guardian and a mesmer and while I am still leveling my mesmer I can’t tell you how often I am the last person standing in battles, giving people rally’s and rezes while my phantoms and clones keep the champ or veteran occupied.

A guardian and I took down a champion together in a very long battle. I helped rally them 3 or 4 times to keep the battle going and we felt so good about accomplishing that feat. I have to say that mesmer is one of my favorite classes due to their abilities to confuse their combatant and allow the battle to go on.

I have an 80 thief that I pretty much geared to the max already before I started seriously working on my mesmer. Now my mesmer’s 80 already and sometimes I even forget I have a geared thief. I only remember my thief now when I need to farm.

And it’s true,the general consensus is that mesmers feel weak in the early levels but once you’ve traited yourself properly for your weapons you’ll enjoy it very much.

I’m 68 now, having come from an 80 Engineer. For me, mesmer didn’t start getting good/fun to play PvE wise til around 40. Mesmer is a class that should not be judged til late 30s imo.

Just like what the others are saying – my Mesmer is level 65 now and doing brilliantly – I don’t think I’ve noticed a decrease in kill speed at all. It’s true you can’t take lots of hits even with high toughness, but you can make up for it in what the traits and skills offer – in a very satisfying way.

For example, Mesmer can gain distortion which is an effect unique to them (I think). It’s stone-baked straight into the weapon/ shatter skills, and by using it you gain complete vulnerability. Warriors e.g. a heavy class, have nothing like this in comparison, and they have to rely on heavy armor in order to survive. Sure, they have stuff like Defy Pain… but that CD is immense.

I’m using a Staff/Sword+Focus build currently, and if played the right way you can stay out of the way of damage most of the time & make your illusions suffer the damage instead. I can’t say I had trouble leveling in the early stages, but that could be because I used crafting to gain some 18 levels…

Get another character slot….. granted gold→gems is a bit high atm because of the event…. I spent 10g at the start to get the extra slot I need.

Anyway, as others have said mesmer is strong in pvp, and end game pve, but low level (sub 40) pve is a major pain. I don’t think we’re that great in events, but it’s not horrendous if you use GS and sword mh to bust out some decent aoe.

I have done my mesmer largely solo PvE and while I think a lot of points brought up here are true (they ARE way more fun in group settings, and in WvW where Chaos Storm especially is a huge boon) but they are perfectly manageable solo, easier by far than Elementalists (who have many of the same problems) are.

Patience is certainly required, and it’s harder to run them under leveled like you can with the heftier classes, but often where people get into trouble is forgetting they’re a light armored class and need to be treated like such.

I personally love my mesmer who’s running around all on her own (with her illusions) most of the time.

I think the mesmer is a great and even fantastic at PvE. Like someone else had said, I can also regularly solo 3-4 mobs at once.

Like you, I had a lot of reservations early on. It’s a mixture of things — odd mechanics, lack of traits, the strength of early-game monsters, and so on.

Once you get good, figure things out — you’ll be able to take on quite a bit.

One thing I think the mesmer shines in is the ability to carry on fighting. You can continously pull and take on things without downtime when you get the hang of things.

I’ve actually fought a couple of champion mobs singlehandedly, though they were melee ranged. A lot of kiting was necessary, but it’s very doable.

as for lower end pve, i agree that it’s difficult to handle, what i found that helped tremendously is putting ten points in chaos and getting the debilitating clones trait. When clones are killed, they place a condition on nearby enemies. What’s also great is that in that same slot is the 50% damage reduction from falling, making it also a great option if you’re more of the explorer type (like i am) and it costs nothing to swap between two available traits.