Guild Wars 2

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fgAQRAsc7fnUEFTbRNi1wWbEx0jgr3AOSKKtXrkCe7CB-jUDBYfBEPMyEEgkIBiIAOzcIjpmoZnQlRFRjVjET5SQW/KpmzFRrWKgRVGB-w

If you read my last build I was completely misinterpreting some of the damage I was doing. So forgive me >.<

But for those who have played similar builds do you have advice/experience you can share? I put it together last night and started roaming and had a few fights that went very well, and a few fights that went very poorly for me (necros mostly)

It’s a 20/20/30 PU build with sword/sword and scepter/torch with mostly zerker gear but also some knights and melandru runes. So it’s not full glass in fact has 2,600 armor but the damage stats are still very strong – with some might (sigils of battle) and stacks of bloodlust it sits at ~3700 attack 53% crit (58% once bloodlust stacks are up and swapped for a sigil of accuracy) 70% crit dmg.

Strong damage but I am having trouble landing the i-swap which is really my only hard CC and since I’m slow it is very tough to chase enemies down. the PU helps me survive 1v5 a long time if there aren’t a lot of incoming conditions, but I either have to continue trolling until more enemies show up, or I can try to run away, but that is a very painful slow process since I am so slow.

It would be nice to have swiftness somehow incorporated but anything I sacrifice for swiftness seems like it would undermine the point of the build (high damage and survivable)

In short I am looking for a good way to get a little more speed (can’t lose the torch as it’s really my only direct condi removal as well as its a PU build)

and also how to better CC the enemy since I can’t really chase them down (tips how to land i-swap more often would be great)

I’m no expert but the build strikes me as .. confusing. What is it you are trying to do with it?

It’s no glass for sure. I run a PU phantasm power build. it’s really nice decent steady damage and great to outlast harder fights. I use centaur runes for speed and bleed duration helps too. or use travelers!

Why do you need the melandru runes? You can easily switch to lemongrass poultry soup if you need it, or slot in a Disenchanter or null field etc in place of veil if there is need for it. Having 2.4k toughness is more than enough for wvw

you can see my builds in my signature for reference. I have a sword/sword gs and a gs/staff kiting machine, but it’s generally versatile to equip whatever u want, i often go with diff things like sword/focus staff, sword/pistol, whatnot, but i don’t like torch. i also stack bloodlust if i hv time to. I have a heal condi removal, with mantra or mirror its quite decent condi removal. However scepter/x, sword/x has been on my mind for consideration

scepter/torch is nice and defensive in this case, you can hang back, while you have ur other set for nice damage and pressure. I’m not confused by it

i want to have high enough damage to quickly solo camps and also take down even a tanky guardian or warrior, but also enough survivability to survive against 3-5 enemies if let’s say I’m hanging out in a keep waiting to port in allies.

its multi-purpose really.

the only issue I am running into is like I said mobility and my only hard CC, i-swap, I consistently am failing to land it successfully. Most enemies are able to run away from me and live.

i have melandru runes because I wanted decoy and veil to go with PU and portal as a WvW staple skill also very handy in roaming, so that leaves me without condi removal except the traited torch. i am already using the lemongrass combined with melandru runes for 65% reduced condi duration, because many condi builds nowadays easily get up to 100% condition duration (30% in traits, 40% in food, 10% in toxic crystal, 20% in givers weapons).

I tried arcane thievery but if a necro so much as dodges it once, I’m already dead. Null field is a 5 second clear every 45 seconds.

I dont know if I’m not avoiding condis correctly or what, but I don’t find either of them remotely enough to deal with necros. But mesmer vs necro is a whole different issue that I’m not trying to hash up here lol.

Offhand sword and torch both don’t help with chasing / CC. I play something very similar but with S/P and GS or sometimes S/P and Scept/Sword. Also Bountiful Interruption instead of iDefense since pistol and GS both have nice interrupt potential.

I find torch stealth is overkill, and reduces my damage too much compared to a more useful offhand — instead of traiting it, I have 10 in Inspiration for Mender’s Purity and use the mantra heal. Four conditions removed every ~12 seconds is pretty amazing.

I run condi duration increase food unless I’m facing heavy condi enemies, at which point I switch to condi reduction —dur increase works great with all the cripples you can put out, and blink + Magic Bullet is always a great way to stop a runner too.

Hi.

Personaly I would prefered Illusions + dmg in domination as you use a high attack base for dmg. Also would consider drop the %less dmg taken / clone over interrupt = boon or mirror.

Also the signet do not scale good with + healing so not sure clerlic is the best choice on weps, if you afetr survival I would taken something with some vit and tough instead.

Do you got any video recorded of how you play this build? Would be interesting to see mate.

This is the direct dmg build I use with PU, build video:

/Osicat

Dear OP. This build happens to be same as my Apex Predator build. I am not sure if you have already viewed my build or something. Just letting you know I was planning to put this build into the Next BotM contest. So I hope you will not submit it.

Sorry for being a little bit head on, but I am kind of not sure how to address my speech as of the moment. I actually wanted to submit this build into the contest.

So, since I have already played this build for like almost 5 months now, I can gladly say it has the potential to overcome Pistol attacks and Staff enemies. I have beaten the Blackwater Build with this one and have proceeded to beat the Osicat’s condition cat build, too. They are both amazing builds, so it was an honor to be able to duel them.

The biggest difference between the OP’s build and Apex that I see is the gear. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me to run berseker gear in a PU setup, especially if survival is one of the goals. Rabid or dire, and focusing on dealing damage more through conditions, would be a more natural fit.

themenaceofseventhdimension.2075:

Dear OP. This build happens to be same as my Apex Predator build… So I hope you will not submit it.

If we’re gonna play this game, please dont submit your Apex Predator build, it happens to be the same as the Blackwater Mesmer build….

But srsly…

did you even look at this guys trait allocations?

I was under the impression the Mesmer forums were a place for us to iterate, build up and enhance off of one another. Not bicker over whose build has a similar basic PU structure, and god forbid, try to pass off variations of things.

going power than condition, though it has same/similar traits makes it different fundamentally but still it’s not a new idea

But OP, i can’t see how you’re having trouble with conditions, unless it’s a necro like you said, but necros is a diff issue altogether indeed lol. You can’t have enough condi removal to go against necros haha.

I’m always complaining about condition builds, but I’ve never had a problem with other classes or builds. with heal skill condi removal esp now with 2 condi removed, or slot in a disenchanter while roaming. I don’t find condition duration reduction that important.

Mesmers are based on evasion, damage mitigation, mobility, escape, etc. Don’t get hit by the conditions in the first place, getting good at prevention should be the first priority

The only way you can have speed is through runes honestly. it’s our only way about it unfortunately.

on the other hand i haven’t had any trouble with warriors. if they’re tank bunker etc, they’re probably getting from one place to their zerg… they dont pose a threat nor would i want to try to take them down. With the build i’m running it doesn’t have enough burst sometimes against a pure tank, but if the fight lasts longer I take them down slowly. It’s not often though because someone would likely join. In duel arrangements I took down a bunker regen warrior made for zergs and CC after like idk 20 minutes? lol but any other builds that’s not focused as a tank, yes it’s no problem really. It’s just a matter of time xD

thanks for your feedback!

i actually have been uther Ether feast and not the signet anymore since it’s worthless for 35 seconds after the on-demand heal. The cleric’s torch/scepter are because that weapon set is for hopping back from the combat a bit and trying to boost the regen from PU, not from the signet. Does that scale very well / is it worth it?

the condition issue I have is mainly just against necros. The traited torch with reduced duration food and melandru runes makes me generally condition proof until a necro comes along and POOF I’m a drooling idiot. I don’t want to get into how to fight mes v necro right now, but i’ll just ask would a GS prob work better for kiting them??

Also would it make sense to swap a few trinkets for dire or rabid without going full on? I mean just getting 400-500 condi damage max, just enough to add some decent damage over time and also force some condi removal from the enemy? Ooooh or maybe use sigil of corruption instead of bloodlust to get the condi damage – maybe that could fool the enemy to thinking I’m a straight condi build and catch him off guard with my direct damage/crits???

I don’t really understand where you think your damage is coming from. Just because you’re going full zerker doesn’t guarantee you good damage. You’ve got literally 0 damage traits, only 1 phantasm that can deal damage, and no shatters to speak of.

You’re glassy alright, but your damage will suck.

Pyroatheist.9031:

I don’t really understand where you think your damage is coming from. Just because you’re going full zerker doesn’t guarantee you good damage. You’ve got literally 0 damage traits, only 1 phantasm that can deal damage, and no shatters to speak of.

You’re glassy alright, but your damage will suck.

in practice the last 2 days i have been very happy with the damage I am putting out. it’s mainly coming from p-swordsman and blurred frenzy, but even my autoattacks are hitting for 1-3k.

if you notice my post I am not as concerned with the damage i’m doing but more how I can land i-swap’s immobilize more often or other tips to control movement without rearranging the whole build. so far some great tips have been provided.

as far as damage goes though, I’m asking your thoughts if swapping the bloodlust sigil for corruption would be a good idea, since I’m already putting on confusion, bleeds, and burns. Corruption stacks and sigils of battle would have me hovering around ~600 condi damage in combat.

I’ve been running a build (i use this term loosely) extremely similar to this one for the past couple of months…its a (20/20/30/0/0) direct damage, sword/sword & scepter/torch. Traits are DOM (III, IX), DUEL (IV, X) CHAOS (III or V, VIII, XII). I know its not re-inventing the wheel and I can hardly call it a new build as only weps and gear really vary from previous builds.

I personally recommend traveler’s runes. It helps a lot with chasing people down. I usually cant cc them enough to kill them, but I can keep up and keep them in combat. If you are persistent most will give up and fight you. Some classes you just have to let go, like warriors and thieves. If you find your toughness too low after switching to travelers I’d recommend a gear change. I run a gear set up similar to what seven mirror used a while back (mix of soldier, valk, cavalier). With precision stacking sigils (followed by a swap to battle + accuracy sigils at 25 stacks) and food I have a 56% crit chance.

If you are having issues with iLeap in general and not just in the chase. I find sometimes not hitting the swap right away is a good way to land it. A lot players know its coming when the clone goes running out. You dont have to hit it right away. Sometimes I like to hit a diversion shatter to stack vulnerability, then hit the swap followed by blurred frenzy. If you time it just right (as they go for a heal, and if you have bountiful interruption like osicat suggested) you can get an interrupt on the heal (+5 might which if you use battle sigils means at least 11 stacks of might as you should always have a base of 6 stacks) plus if you land all your diversion shatters you’ll be pushing 25 stacks of vulnerability.

The other thing I’ll do sometimes if I’m facing a lot of runners is swap mass invis for moa. I prefer mass invis for 1vX but if you know its going to be a 1v1 or 1v2 and you think the guy might run, just moa him and end it. Most people don’t run right away. A nicely timed moa to prevent their heal comboed with iswordsman damage, blurred frenzy and confusing images is usually gg. Ever since they shortened the flee distance of moa its become a lot more powerful in stopping runners. I usually dont use it as I find it cheap, but if they are going to run I figure they deserved to get moa’d.

I hope some of those suggestions help in reference to your original post about wanting more speed and cc. Sword/pistol is also something to consider, but I prefer iswordsman and dont think the pistol stun is necessary and is on too long of a cd compared to counterblade.

Id also like to add that a lot of people seem to shoot down this “build”, at least the scepter/torch wep combo for a power build. I use confusing images for its raw dps, the confusion it adds is just icing on the cake. Confusing images does about as much damage as blurred frenzy if it crits. Also torment from counter does decent condi damage even when not spec’d for condition. I also get about 700-800 damage per skill when I stack 8 stacks of confusion on an opponent. I chose torch for the condi removal when traited the iMage is your own personal iDisenchanter without having to waste a utility slot. Also prestige has a nice blast finisher and decent burn damage. That being said I wouldnt add corruption or anything to the condi damage. Hybrids rarily work, stick with power and let the conditions just be extra icing on the cake. In my experience they do great additional damage even without extra condi damage. Trying to take a middle of the road approach usually gets middle of the road results. You have the makings of a great build, I think if you stick with raw power as the center of your build you’ll do great.

Best of luck to you buddy, cheers.

I run a similar build, only in PvP so far. Not sure what you mean by “iMage is your own personal iDisenchanter” since you get 1 condition removed and the Disenchanter does a lot more.

If you want to improve your ability to chase, the simplest way to do it is to swap the sword/sword for a GS. Makes a huge, huge difference.

I believe the iDisenchanter removes two conditions when it hits you? (at least the last time I had looked into it) The iMage removes 1 condition when you summon it, and 1 condition when its projectile hits you…so same as the disenchanter in the short term. You’re correct that the disenchanter wins out in the long run with number of conditions removed per unit of time.

I also find it slightly superior to the disenchanter (imo) for one simple reason; you have an instant condition removal when you summon the Mage regardless of whether its projectile finds you. Which means you can cleanse an immobilize/torment/confusion stack etc without waiting/hoping on a projectile bounce which can be unpredictable.

Also, with my style of play, I usually prefer to shatter the iMage unless I have 1-2 iSwordsman out with good health picking away at the enemy. Most players I face make my phantasms a priority so any long term condi removal from either phantasm (Mage or Disenchanter) seldom works. In the short term, they are relatively equal aside from the Mage instant 1 condition removed on summon.

I’m confused. I thought the phantasmal mage would remove 1 condition when summoned if the torch is traited, just like The Prestige does. It removes more than one?

It will remove 1 condition when you summon the iMage and 1 condition when the iMage’s bouncing attack hits you; it removes two conditions in total.

I’ve tested it by summoning a Mage, THEN having an enemy apply bleed stacks. The bleeds were removed when the bounce attack hit me.

Also:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/How-does-Cleansing-Conflagration-Work

Cool, thanks. That’s one more piece in the puzzle of why every time I try to get rid of the torch in my build, I end up coming back to it.

The thing about the disenchanter is that it is on a much lower cooldown than the iMage, it attacks much faster than the iMage, it removes 2 conditions instead of 1, it bounces to 5 targets instead of 3, and it also removes 2 boons.

The iMage is just a cut price disenchanter. It doesn’t even come close.

Pyroatheist.9031:

…it removes 2 conditions instead of 1…

Again I feel like I’m missing something… isn’t it one per “attack”?

Qaelyn.7612:

Pyroatheist.9031:

…it removes 2 conditions instead of 1…

Again I feel like I’m missing something… isn’t it one per “attack”?

The disenchanter uses a bouncing attack every 3.6 seconds. The attack will hit a total of 5 targets, seeming to prioritize players over minions. Every enemy that it hits will have 2 boons stripped, every ally that it hits will have 2 conditions removed.

Okay, it doesn’t say anywhere in-game and I thought I read somewhere here that it was 1 condition/boon removed per attack, not 2. Obviously 2 is better.

Wiki says 3.6 with PH, is that wrong?

themenaceofseventhdimension.2075:

Dear OP. This build happens to be same as my Apex Predator build. I am not sure if you have already viewed my build or something. Just letting you know I was planning to put this build into the Next BotM contest. So I hope you will not submit it.

Sorry for being a little bit head on, but I am kind of not sure how to address my speech as of the moment. I actually wanted to submit this build into the contest.

So, since I have already played this build for like almost 5 months now, I can gladly say it has the potential to overcome Pistol attacks and Staff enemies. I have beaten the Blackwater Build with this one and have proceeded to beat the Osicat’s condition cat build, too. They are both amazing builds, so it was an honor to be able to duel them.

You seem to repeat your claims in every thread. Multiple instances of you making claims about your build vs another (popular) build.

My main contention is this, it doesn’t matter that you beat other builds with your builds. How well you perform speaks for your skill and not the quality of the build per se.

Although I may run into a number of mesmers in WvW, this is not ‘Mesmer wars’.

There are other classes I have to deal with in WvW other than the Mesmer.

Unless maybe you think your build is the best? I think you are of sound enough mind to not presume that much.

PS-No one is going to steal your build. Wait… I take that back. Pyroatheist secretly covets your build….he told me..its sekrat!

PSS-There seems to be a repeating theme.

Dear EnderzShadow. I have already learned my lesson of the thing as there is no ownership of builds I have already learned that by now. I am not entirely sure where you got the idea of me trying to make my build the best. I have only stated what you can get out of by playing this build. Of Course it sounds a bit head on, by me stating i can beat both Blackwater and Osicat’s build with this build. But that is the only way I can just bluntly state that and not have to continue talking specifically about what this build can do and its weaknesses. I personally think it is better for me to quickly state this build’s potential and move away. I have only highlighted the best this build can achieve in that short phrase. Also, I just wanted to prepare myself to enter this build into the next BotM Contest. I mean, i hope you understand. I have kind of wanted to submit this build for a little while now, and I guess it was just my nervousness of the chance that someone else might unknowingly submit it. I guess it wasn’t right for me to jump out and block the OP from doing what he wants with the build. Sorry guys.

Well you claimed this build is equal to your ‘’Apex Predator’’ build, which is false.
This build relies more on direct damage rather than DoT’s (So I’m not really sure why this person picked s/t instead of GS or s/p), he got other runes, different traits and different utility’s.
Yes it comes close to ’’your’’ build, but so does every single PU build atm no?

Though I don’t think it’s the way you claim that almost every single pu build is almost similar to yours that annoys people, but the way you promote your own build, which isn’t only like posting stuff like that.

You repeatedly talk about how your build beats every other build in spvp against the same person, while you want to use it in wvw and against multiple enemies.

You talk about builds like its the skill they get once they run a build, whereas its rather the opposit. The skill of the player decides whether a build is working or not. A build alone wont work if you just faceroll 1-5.