Guild Wars 2

Hi. I’m looking for some suggestions on a Phantasm Mesmer build post-patch. A lot of the guides are ideas are based on the 5pts minimum investment in Illusions but that skill has since been moved to the 25pt level. I was using the 20/20/0/25/5 build but that’s obsolete now. Any suggestions?

Its not quite absolete, having your illusion skills on a 125% cooldown is rather big, btu still playable.

Ive been using 10/10/0/25/25 or 10/5/0/30/25 or even 10/10/0/30/20

PvE
0/20/0/25/25

is the best adaptation imho.
At least for dungeons and fotms

LordByron.8369:

PvE
0/20/0/25/25

is the best adaptation imho.
At least for dungeons and fotms

For a PvE Bunker build, I’d prefer +15% damage (domination) over -20% recharge (illusion). The line’s passive stats are better as well.

Base: 10/15/0/25/0 +20
Mantra: 10/20/0/25/0 +15
Mantra + Focus: 10/20/0/30/0 +10

i don t think that “bunker” and “PvE” can coexist in any profession but guardian (and even guard is often better as zerker).
At least in current meta.

LordByron.8369:

PvE
0/20/0/25/25

is the best adaptation imho.
At least for dungeons and fotms

What traits did you get with Dueling?

I use 10/30/5/25/0 I just put the 5 points into Chaos for extra bit of regen. Since you don’t shatter your clones often the other minor points seemed less relevant. You can go 30 in inspiration for the condition removal on shatter but since you won’t be shattering much it’s not as helpful. (Also it’s a sword/sword melee type of playstyle I use with this other builds may find better uses for those 5 points)

spalt.6938:

LordByron.8369:

PvE
0/20/0/25/25

is the best adaptation imho.
At least for dungeons and fotms

What traits did you get with Dueling?

the old ones:
phantasmal fury and blade training
Those i can t live without.

LordByron.8369:

i don t think that “bunker” and “PvE” can coexist in any profession but guardian (and even guard is often better as zerker).
At least in current meta.

Then rephrase it to “Phantasmal damage” build.
It sure is legit in PvE. Summon your Phants; try to not use clones (try to avoid DE); add direct damage from yourself; wear mainly berserk gear.
And there, +15% illusion damage should be as good as -20% CD. Sure, -20% is stronger than +15%, but you still deal your damage sooner. And for open world, you might kill your mob with fewer phants → faster.

no actually considering bleeding on crits and stuff 0/20/0/25/25 does more and its more reliable.

As i said you really need IC
Mosly because even if your phantasms doesn t die…your target will (thus phantasm as well) and if target don t then 2 phantasms does more than 1 and 3 more than 2.

First build i testes was in fact removing 5 points in illusions….it wasn t effective in dungeons.

+15% damage on illusions is HUGE i agree, but its the price to pay to have IC because of the nerf you have to pay a price somewhere.

Sharper Images feels strong, but doesn’t impact the total damage by phants except for iDuelist and iWarden.
Those + 250 malice sure help bleeding, but so does + 10% (/+ 20%) bleeding duration. But + 100 (/+ 200) power are more useful than + 25% shatter recharge (for phant builds).

So the difference would then be (-20% CD vs + 15% + 100 Power) on Focus or Pistol (not “and”). Assuming you’d use GS or Staff, the Domination version would win. Here again, it’s mainly personal choice but you’re still comparing 25 pts to 10 pts.
In my build instead, I go for 30 Dueling for higher critchance (comparable to -20% CD on summoning) and 30 in inspiration for the focus trait (better than IC in terms of focus).

In my eyes getting 25 pts into illusions or 10 (/20) into domination should be personal preferance. The damage output should be comparable, but (imo) the domination one wins as soon as you fight non-crit mobs (world bosses), buildings or when you already have 3 phants out.

I use a build similar to Fay’s but have two different cases:

When pugging fractals: 20/20/0/30/0.

I find myself ranging more in pugs since it’s less coordinated and typically just safer, so GS training helps a lot with that. I also never know what to do with the 3rd inspiration trait, I take persisting images (+20% phantasm health) just because I’ve found shattered conditions to be lackluster.

When running with guildies: 15/30/0/25/0.

Since we are on chat, and more coordinated, I do not have to drop to GS as often, so I’ll run sword/focus and sword/sword and take deceptive evasion for added survivability. The 15 in domination allows me to shatter right before time warp (using DE and sword 3 to produce the clones) for the vulnerability, and thus added damage. This is the only time I will really ever shatter.

@fay, I never thought about taking 5 points in Chaos for the added regeneration. That sounds like a good idea. I’m going to try that in my builds, so (20/20/5/25/0) and (10/30/5/25/0) and see how it works. Thanks for the idea!

Bumbler.7581:

I use a build similar to Fay’s but have two different cases:

When pugging fractals: 20/20/0/30/0.

I find myself ranging more in pugs since it’s less coordinated and typically just safer, so GS training helps a lot with that. I also never know what to do with the 3rd inspiration trait, I take persisting images (+20% phantasm health) just because I’ve found shattered conditions to be lackluster.

When running with guildies: 15/30/0/25/0.

Since we are on chat, and more coordinated, I do not have to drop to GS as often, so I’ll run sword/focus and sword/sword and take deceptive evasion for added survivability. The 15 in domination allows me to shatter right before time warp (using DE and sword 3 to produce the clones) for the vulnerability, and thus added damage. This is the only time I will really ever shatter.

@fay, I never thought about taking 5 points in Chaos for the added regeneration. That sounds like a good idea. I’m going to try that in my builds, so (20/20/5/25/0) and (10/30/5/25/0) and see how it works. Thanks for the idea!

Well I use my phantasm build for spvp because I’m crazy and like the challenge of staying in melee sword/sword range…. let’s just say it’s been a BIT trickier since the new condition AOE spam meta (understatement of the century) but it’s fun!

I have always done a hybrid Phantasm build for PvE:
http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/mesmer/?4.1|6.1o.h17|b.1o.h8.a.1o.h1|1o.719.1o.719.1o.719.1o.719.1o.719.1o.719|1g.67.1i.67.1i.67.1i.67.1i.67.1i.67|a3.f2.0.p45.k3a|0.0|31.35.36.3l.3q|e

You can do quick bursts with shatter abilities off Scepter clones and Duelist; you then switch into Warlock and Staff clones for sustained damage. I added Signet of Illusions, but I am not sure if I will be keeping it, since I am used to shattering my Duelists after their first or second volley (but ~13500 HP means they can survive two or three hits). I usually pack Radiation Field, since I am Asura.

You can swap Scepter for Sword if you would like, but I find no reason to close to melee range.

There are a couple I made post nerf that I have found to work quite well. the first is a sword/sword staff build with the traits 0/20/20/30/20. making sure staff and sword both have the 20% faster recharge and still keeping phantasmal fury and phantasmal strength along with the perma regen from the 15 point trait in inspiration. the second os sort of a hybrid spec leaning more towards conditions. it uses scepter/pistol staff and the traits are 0/20/30/20/0 it uses prismatic understanding for a buff in survivability, as well as sharper images to cause bleeds on crits from illusions. if youd like to know more about either spec send me a pm in game and I can go over the gear and everything in more detail

-Priest of Lyssa