Guild Wars 2

Hi everyone! So I started a Mesmer earlier in the week, got to lvl 30 now. I’m talking bout PvE only here. Love the class is super fun but also super challenging and a lot of work to do well imo. Being used to more responsive reactive gameplay, with my Mesmer often times I feel kind of awkward and needing space to plan, make clones/phantasms, play with some tricks etc

First of all, without going into details of build and wha I’m using and so forth (I saw the comprehensive guide videos and it helped alot and I love my weapons) BUT question for all you Mesmers personally, do you find that Mesmers are not rly a response based class? Not reflex to block and evade etc but that u need some space? Or are u completely fine responding to the environment in PvE

How do YOU personally play the Mesmer in tight situations? Cuz I haven’t done dungeons and so forth, what kind of skills, strategies etc do you use in different situations, when things don’t go ur way?

Secondly I’m wondering if I lack skill or if others have the same issues. Most of the time in surprised at how well Mesmer can solo things, vets, champs perhaps, single targets are tons of fun. The dps on my mesmer is insane even without much traiting or updated gear for a single target. Mesmer seems to be able to down targets 5 level higher in a half a minute or so.

However in swarms and multiple mobs it becomes a lot of work and for me it rly inconsistent with results. I’ve been in maps 2-6 levels higher with the Mesmer. Sometime I can take on 3 – 4 mobs at once, sometimes I have trouble w 1 or 2. It doesn’t help that i tend to panic since there’s so many things u can do and do many steps.

For YOU, from ur experience,was higher level mobs easy for your Mesmer while leveling? In events where there is a swarm how well do you handle yourself? Can u solo for example group event 20 mobs in a lvl 15 zone with ur level 25? Bc oddly I couldn’t for this random low level event yet had good results in a higher level place, when I might’ve been able to on my ranger or guardian… Not sure tho.

I mean of course it depends on the type of mobs and what sorts of conditions and attacks they have but I mean just average, how you’ve felt throughout the game with ur Mesmer

Thirdly, what slot skills do you run with? Do you pick survivability, condition removal and escape utilities or more offensive, clone creating etc skills? Some reason I can’t seem to do well unless I have alot of clone spam skills like mirror image and decoy for escape and one more clone. I use a staff so clones stack conditions. But I find myself at risk bc I lack survivability skills like null field, phantasmal defender or feedback as response to situational things.

Is it possible to never die in all or most situations because mesmer feels like it could be capable of it.

Idk if I make sense or maybe I’m generalizing too much. But just want to know your experiences while leveling, more specifically how consistent is ur solo PvE experience esp pertaining to multiple mobs and group events you want to solo?

I m kind of confused and don’t know if I just suck or is it normal or I just don’t use a Mesmer well. I leveled a ranger to 80 ans stuck with it for the longest time so I completely forgot what the leveling experience was like. And I think ranger had been much more straightforward. Like I had consistent results and was clear so i knew my limit bc I would not be able to do certain things.

With the Mesmer I’m constantly seeking bigger challenges bc it seems so capable but at the same time so incapable at times. Lol I guess this is the new Mesmer syndrome?

I’ve never fought mobs above my level because I was always “overleveled”. Only from exploring, you level up so easily(You hit 80 at like 80% Map Completion).. I don’t recall having any problem after around level 20, especially not after 40(clone on dodge). I’ve changed my utilities and traits plenty of times to try them all while leveling. Imo, mesmer is a tough class to get used to, but when you do, you enjoy it a lot.

I had a ranger too, but I stopped it around 45 because I didn’t like it and it felt way too weak. I also had a guardian, I liked them, but it’s just not for me. Then I decided to try mesmer and fell in love with them. It was a lot easier leveling my mesmer than my guardian and ranger(once my mesmer was past 20). I haven’t PvP’d yet, I’ve only done PvE so far.

I believe I had Decoy for most of my leveling, then Blink less often, and Mirror Image not so often/barely(Maybe before 40). My condition removal was Mender’s Purity trait if I remember correctly, for the most part. I haven’t used GS and Staff a lot until around 80, I’ve mostly used sword and scepter or a sword as MH in both set.

that’s interesting, how do you manage being melee most of the time? I go long range and then use melee if i have to or if i need some good dps, but i find that its hard to escape after entering into melee. Some reason, weapon changing seems so slow and after im done my chains of my sword set skills, thers kind of this awkward moment when i cant do much before i can get back to ranged.

but when thers a big swarm, kiting from range doesnt seem to be enough and last long enough so u can imagine i have mobs on me when i try to escape melee. most of the time i survive, but its not as flawless and smooth as i intend… i intend to barely take any damage if possible and i think its possible for mesmer.

my ranger is really powerful with my build, tons of dps but still survivable, but its more straightforward. mesmer is really a ton of fun. im levelling up really fast with this as well just because i’m seeking challenges since mesmer seems to be so capable

Tbh, I wouldn’t recommend using a Sword as MH in both set, I just felt like having 2 OHs, while being able to AoE, which the scepter isn’t able to.

For crowds of mobs, you will want to use a shatter here and there. Do not be scared to shatter a phantasm once they have made their first attack. If you use a Sword, then I’d suggest a focus, for both swiftness and pulling mobs in a spot to aoe them(iWarden is decent when mobs are all on the same spot, just make sure mobs has something to target before summoning him in a crowd). You can pull the mobs in a spot, jump in, hit the mobs twice with #1, summon iWarden(hope it doesn’t die), then Blurred Frenzy, followed by MW once iWarden is done attacking(assuming you have more than only him as illusions up). Something like this if I remember correctly.

I guess you can use a GS as 2nd weapon set, which is better than a staff at aoe damage, but is not as defensive as a staff. Staff is mostly nice if you have iElas(20pts in Illusions), so WoC hits 2 times, rather than 1.

yes i use staff and sword/focus, i like the aoe warden gives as i kite them around the warden, and i love staffs support and clones with conditions are great. they end up dealing so much damage. i havent had a lot of luck with into the void, after i finish with my initial staff long range stuff with clones etc they tend to start to clump up and come for us, so im free to launch my warden and melee and move around perhaps with decoy stealth. iim trying to get better at aiming the focus void to use it as a knock back when i want to go back to ranged. but so far when im in melee i have next to no defense save for the blurred frenzy invulnerability. how do u stay alive with melee? :S

I realize I completely forgot about shatter for distortion lol omg xD that would help a ton, those seconds and then I’m clear and back to ranged.

As well do you think I should run with sword sword for the block or is the aoe warden more important

I don’t know.. mobs dies so easily, how to not survive? You’re only 30, it shouldn’t be that hard..

For leveling, I’d say keep focus. Block is meh on field pve, as it only blocks 1 hit and mobs doesn’t hit that hard(you can dodge those heavy hits anyway). Tbh, I didn’t use my shatters much, other than the occasional MW, while leveling.

Idk when I take like three or more at same time I tend to take hits as soon as Im done with blurred frenzy in melee. If I stay ranged I should be ok but that takes longer and I prefer to finish mobs asap ranged and melee. Sometimes cuz of the cd I do have to do melee

I’ve noticed the focus pull skill to be bugged recently. When I use it, mobs will instead be thrown back to their original location, rather than pulled into the curtain’s location.

It can be very annoying to run a semicircle, hit pull, and watch the vet wolf you were trying to escape zoom right at you.

I’ll cover some parts of your post, OP. For me, the mesmer had a learning curve and it took some time to understand the class. Here are some tips that worked for me:

1) Don’t shatter your illusions too often in PvE.

Shattering, to me, seemed good to do when the monster for whom the illusions were attached to was about to die and I was fighting multiple monsters that were close to the dying target. In that way, I could do damage or detriments as a final hurrah with those illusions.

It’s also okay to shatter when you can immediately replace your illusions. This can help avoid you get in a tight, vulnerable spot.

You’ll eventually get a personal feel on when it is okay to shatter, but I quickly got the impression that for most situations it is best to only shatter on occasion.

2) Practice fighting multiple enemies.

You will quickly find that the mesmer class is definitely about adaptability and quick response when you get in a situation that is out of hand.

A mesmer player will also find that, if they get good, they can take on quite a lot without being downed once.

For example, you might be using a staff (a great defensive and PvE weapon), or a greatsword. You have to keep up your illusions and use your defensive abilities to your advantage. Chaos storm grants aegis, and you have chaos armor with staff. With GS you have the knockback.

Enemies still closing in on you? You can run with a focus in your offhand, and use the line to cripple enemies or knock them back. Running out of clones with your weapon? Use mirror image to help keep those illusions up, or use abilities like blink or decoy to help escape and recoup.

Overall I find myself planning while I fight and planning ahead. I keep track of which monster has my illusions, and typically assign my third illusion slot to another enemy and spread it out a bit. I use all my abilities at my disposal to survive and outlast my opponents while my weapons/illusions wear them down.

It’s a challenging and rewarding experience — and it can become natural.

3) Bind your hotkeys for easy access.

I bind R Z X C V respectively for my heal, 3 utility, and elite skill. Works for me, might work for others.

4) For utility skills and elite I typically go with a mixture. You can find yourself changing these on the fly though depending on the situation, and should adapt to doing so.

I often go with mirror image, as that is a win. You can sacrifice that though if you go with weaponry and traits to help with quicker illusion creation.

I like null field, as that is a great condition removal skill.

For my third utility I typically go with something that helps me survive. I like blink, personally, but you can also slot something like decoy.

Other worthy skills are feedback, which reflects projectiles back onto the opponent.

Timewarp is excellent for PvE as your elite, and I dont really find myself using the others in PvE.

Thanks for the tips! Wow it’s good to know I’m on track then, that’s exactly how I think. I don’t shatter often and with the defensive chaos storm I often use it to keep my illusions up and they can deal damage fast. I only shatter when i need it or know ive got cds ready. As well I try and pull multiple mobs so that I can practice multi targeting, so I’d have illusions on different ones while I pick off targets. Yesterday I have gotten more used to it I think, loving it.

I find it cool because I scout and survey what kind of enemies I’ll be facing and then reslot skills before going into the fight. I find myself thinking a lot less with other classes

I still think I need to learn the timing when I’m going into melee

Mesmer is a long-haul battler. In many of the dungeon boss fights I am the last to go down and usually I can keep the boss(s) busy until my party runs back. We don’t do fantastic dps, but we are a great support class. When pve’ing and taking on mobs, you need to be a good “kiter” to whittle them down. Our only problem is in fast respawn areas where the mob(s) can grow in size it can get out of hand. In WvW, we are situationally good, but there are times when nothing you can do will work (just like other professions).

Best thing I found for pve’ing is condition/crit build using my shatters after the phantasms get their initial attack off.

pvp I’ve been experimenting with large hp and lots of toughness and clone generation and found my survivability goes up, but of course dps is less (one on one I can take just about anything given time)

Yeah while I have to kite more mobs come along for the fun making it a never ending process so I’ve been learning to kite and circle in a smaller area… Which is tough xD

I find what kills me most as a mesmer is getting hit (you don’t say?). Sometimes it’s AoE or just getting too big of a head. I run SwSw/ScPi (with blink, decoy, and signet of illusions) so I can have some good AoE and survivability for mobs, or really powerful deception for tougher foes. Deceptive Evasion at lvl 40 is a game changer. I used to go ScPi/St, but ran into very hard limitations when trying to solo certain mobs, which was when I switched to dual swords. With swords, I feel I can solo a much larger number of much tougher foes. I mostly spam illusions, attack, and move constantly. If I am ever getting hit, I know I’m doing something wrong, so I dodge back, and pop decoy if that isn’t enough. I sort of treat my illusions as a wall of deception I can hide behind when the going gets tough. But my gameplan is mostly to just get all of the enemy attacking my illusions, where I can batter them safely from a place where they can’t reach.

Just a couple things:

I like using swords, but really if its dual swords. After flurry I’ll hit the block, and if I want to get distance, I’ll just step back as I channel the block. One thing I’ve noticed is that mobs never seem to hit right after flurry. I’ve learned to wait a second, and watch them if I actually want to block and stay in melee range.

Something I like to do to get distance when using a focus is to just drop the curtain a bit behind the mob and pull them back away from you.

And something not mentioned yet here is the combo fields. Remember you can phase retreat out of chaos storm, null field and feedback to get chaos armor.

I’ve had feedback on my bar for awhile….I keep thinking I won’t need it so much since it’s called situational so often, but so far (especially when dealing with pirates or bandits) I get shot at alot, so it stays on my bar. If I happen to not need it in a particuler fight, I’ll pop it and retreat/leap for free chaos armor on me or my sword clone.