Guild Wars 2

Hi, this might sound a bit nooby, but I’ve just started playing a mesmer and still learning the basics
so I have the trait that gives me one clone on every evade, sometimes i summon a clone while I already have three, does the extra ones damage enemy or they just disappear?

and I’m using zerker amulet, my traits are 30 30 0 0 10, using greatsword and sword/pistol, most my damage comes from mind wrack, opinions on build?

Vaya.1354:

Hi, this might sound a bit nooby, but I’ve just started playing a mesmer and still learning the basics
so I have the trait that gives me one clone on every evade, sometimes i summon a clone while I already have three, does the extra ones damage enemy or they just disappear?

and I’m using zerker amulet, my traits are 30 30 0 0 10, using greatsword and sword/pistol, most my damage comes from mind wrack, opinions on build?

Clones do practically no damage (unless you’re a condition build with a staff, but you’re not), phantasms do damage (Illusionary berserker on your GS, illusionary duelist on your pistol).

It sounds like you want a shatter build if you like to mind wrack, in which case I’d suggest trying a 20/20/0/0/30 build. Get 20% more MW dmg and GS reduc in dom, the clones on dodge in dueling and illusionary persona in illusions.

I’m more of a wvw focus and it sounds like you’re talking pvp, so I’ll let someone with more experience in that area chime in on any pvp specifics.

Good luck!

thanks for the quick reply, but there’s a part that you missed or I didn’t explain in the right way

when you have 3 clones/phantasms, and you summon one more, what happens to the extra one?
does it get shattered and deal damage or it just disappears

Vaya.1354:

thanks for the quick reply, but there’s a part that you missed or I didn’t explain in the right way

when you have 3 clones/phantasms, and you summon one more, what happens to the extra one?
does it get shattered and deal damage or it just disappears

Sorry, missed that bit.

When you summon a new illusion (clone or phantasm), it will replace your oldest existing illusion, with the exception that it will only replace a phantasm if you have no clones out.

When an illusion is killed or replaced, it doesn’t shatter and deal damage, only your shatter skills do that.

If you have any traits that work when clones are killed (like dom V, cripple on kill), it will activate when the clone is replaced or killed by an enemy (but not shattered!).

30-30-0-0-10 is a pretty standard zerker build so you’re there as far as point distribution.

It is possible to make a build that takes advantage of clone death (which is distinct from shatters):

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/condition-build-The-Clone-Spammer/first#post2325197

The build basically focuses on using traits that take effect on clone death, most of those inflict some sort of condition, and with the build I just linked, it’s possible to cause your clones to inflict bleeds and conditions on dodge rolls. It’s a fun build to play, so I’d recommend it, though it takes a second to get started doing real damage in a battle, it’s the sort of build that can really cause havoc in a small group.

Otherwise, as people mentioned, you generally want to get to the max phantasm/clones possible, then either shatter, or build up phantasms.

Here are the main ways to do damage with clones (not phantasms – they do plenty damage by themselves).

Traits:
Domination-
Crippling Dissipation Clones cripple nearby foes when they are killed.

Dueling-
Sharper Images Illusions inflict bleeding on critical hits.
Confusing Combatants Your illusions cause 3 seconds of confusion when they are killed.

Chaos-
Debilitating Dissipation Clones apply a random condition to nearby foes when they are killed.

Many people will get a little bonus damage here and there from sharper images, but those other traits really require a specialized build to take full advantage of (since you’re usually shattering clones, or focusing on phantasms).

so far this is awesome, doing great for a newbie, and on many v many people actually give me the least target priority.

the biggest problem atm is that i have no condition removers at all, any solution or this is mesmers’ kryptonite?

Most mesmer builds don’t have a larger amount of condition cleanse ability but I would almost always recommend running null zone as one of your utilities. I’ve seen some good arguements for phant disenchanter but I have yet to try it.

Edit: There is a thread going specificly for this issue.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Dealing-with-conditions/first#post2340133

Vaya.1354:

so far this is awesome, doing great for a newbie, and on many v many people actually give me the least target priority.

the biggest problem atm is that i have no condition removers at all, any solution or this is mesmers’ kryptonite?

With your build, you don’t have access to a whole lot of passive condi cleanse. There are ways, like remove a condi on heal/shatter, but as I said, you build doesn’t use the trait lines to have access to those.

You could try Arcane Thievery, Null Field, or Phantasmal Disenchanter for active condition removal, though. Null field and Phant Disenchanter are both good in PvP, though Disenchanter can be a bit odd at times.

Condition removal can definitely be a bit of a achilles’ heel. It basically boils down to dedicating a utility slot for it. The options are as follows:

Mantra of Resolve – Solid defensive utility, needs to be precasted like any other mantra, but then gives you 2 instant cast removals of 2 conditions. Fairly short CD at 20 secs. The only mantra I personally ever use.

Arcane Thievery – Gives 3 of your conditions to an enemy and steals 3 of their boons. Powerful utility, but has some drawbacks along with the hefty 45 sec CD. You need an enemy to cast it on and they have to be in range. If they break los, run out of range or otherwise cause it not to land, it goes on CD and you keep your conditions. Really great in some situations though.

Null Field – AE condition removal and enemy boon strip. Don’t overlook the fact that this is also an ethereal field. If someone is intent on hassling you in melee range and you have a sword or torch, you can give yourself and some/all of your illusions chaos armor as well as deny them their boons and any conditions they might want to put on you. In my experience people instinctively run out of AE circles so I don’t find it overly effective for my playstyle.

Phantasmal Disenchanter – Great utility, low CD. Major caveat that it uses up one of your illusion slots and constrains your ability to shatter. It also has the downside like arcane thievery of needing an enemy target.

The final option is mender’s purity in inspiration. It removes 1 condition every time you cast your heal. Great trait, especially combined with Mirror, but that’s still just 1 condition every 15 secs. You could get by with it, but a condition removal utility is far more reliable.

As a side note, Mirror is an amazing heal, especially when you can overload it with things like Mender’s Purity and Runes of the Centaur.

In a 30/30/0/0/10 build, you should probably be running mantras. In this situation, take your mantra of resolve. That will handle most of your condition problems. If that mantra isn’t able to handle the conditions, in the squishy build you’re running, you’ll die anyway.

The mantra fits in the best with your build. You could also, of course, run pDisenchanter, arcane thievery, or null field, but the mantra has the highest rate of removals second only to the pDisenchanter, but without the problem of the phantasm dying in messy situations.