Guild Wars 2

Hi i got a few silly questions.
I did look around but i got really confused so i decided to ask here instead.

So I’m a new GW2 player. (First char)
I’m playing a mesmer and I got to lvl 37. I was using just random weapons until level ~25. Level 25-30ish i used staff/sword+focus and 30-37 i used a combination of staff&sword/sword+sword&focus.

I really like staff but it feels like I’m killing too slow and I like focus cause of the #4 skill speed. Now with all the leveling “builds” there are i got a bit confused. I’m struggling with leveling and I heard it gets easier at ~60. Now which build will get me to 60 without thinking of killing myself too much?
I know some ppl recommend phantasm build while others go for clone cripple(?).

I feel like I’m doing something wrong cause I kill mobs too slowly and sometimes I feel like I’m dying more than I should. (Though it only happens with dynamic event bosses…not so much with normal mobs)

Help pls

Staff is considered one of our most defensive weapons, so you’re not going to see a high damage output. However, it does work well no matter what kind of build you’re going to run. For me, I found Mesmer easier to level by the time of L40, but then again I played when Anet didn’t hamstring us with needing to farm our traits.

If you’re doing open world content I recommend shatter build. I’m a huge fan of this build for PvE. Mesmer is all about combos. Our most recognizable combo is the Blurred Frenzy + Shatter (F1/F2). It is best to have three clones out for this. So let’s just say you’re facing a single target. Focus 5 (Phantasmal Warden) + Sword 3 (Illusionary Leap) + Sword 2 (Blurred Frenzy) ~ make sure your warden finishes its attack then shatter F1 (Mind Wrack) or F2 (Cry of Frustration). By this point your target should be dead or very near to it.

Now, for your staff, this is the perfect kiting weapon. I’d recommend practicing with a lower level vet/elite/champ. The Troll in Queensdale might be optimal. Whenever I use staff I use it for a shield. Chaos Storm is excellent in this capacity. Standing on it will generate swiftness, aegis, or retaliation. Swiftness is good if you’re running in circles, aegis will block a single hit, and retaliation will return damage you take back to the attacker. You can also Phase Retreat for a quick getaway to put some distance between you and the target.

My favorite weapons at that level were sword/pistol with greatsword. Don’t worry about what you use. You’ll develop a playstyle as you go. I [I]do[/I] recommend carrying and experimenting with multiple weapons. When I made my second Mesmer I was going to level up using only scepter/torch + staff because I needed to develop a playstyle for those weapons and I felt I could not do it with my first Mesmer. Unfortunately, I encountered a personal story chapter where I was getting overwhelmed by monsters because I was unable to kill them fast enough with those choices and ended up swapping out the staff for a gs – that one time.

Something I think would help you a lot LvLing up with staff is to use condition based armor/runes with sigil of earth/corruption and get the Illusionary Elasticity trait. From my own experience so is this a very effective way to LvL up with staff and it kills effectivly as well giving you excellent protection with back-leaps and chaos armor.

I would also suggest having Decoy, Mirror Images and Signet of Illusions (as you might not be able to create clones on dodge so it helps your illusions to stay alive during the fight)

Whatever you do, buy a sigil of speed off the TP and slap it on whatever weapon you’re using. That way you can stack up constant swiftness just by killing things. Let’s you run around quicker which will make life more pleasant.

I used greatsword/sword+sword on my second mesmer for the little PvE that I did with it, and it got the job done well enough. Don’t forget to buy new gear off the TP every few levels.

Haha that’s what confuses me about this game!
Everybody’s got different opinions on builds / weapons. I’m guessing there are more viable combinations I can use so in the end I will just have to wait and see.

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Haha that’s what confuses me about this game!
Everybody’s got different opinions on builds / weapons. I’m guessing there are more viable combinations I can use so in the end I will just have to wait and see.

That’s why you should try everything yourself!
At early levels your “build” is pretty limited due the lack of traits. But at lvl 80 you’ll see that mesmer has tons of viable builds.
Can’t remember when you get 4 trait points, but when you do, you should probably get Deceptive Evasion from dueling line. It creates a clone every time you dodge and it’s the most important trait mesmers have.