Guild Wars 2

Okay guys, I need your help.

I’m currently running this build: https://dviw3bl0enbyw.cloudfront.net/uploads/forum_attachment/file/86943/BestPhantasmEver.jpg

Is it out of date?

I want to keep running a phantasm build in PvE, but I want to do as much damage as possible.

I currently am using Zerker gear that I don’t want to change. Can I the effective build with only changing the runes?

Also, I’m running S/F and GS. Is this the best idea in PvE?

Thank you!

Its out of date…you can update it easily…just:

Remove 10 points from illusions and add them to dueling (IV)

weapons are fine…as minimal requirements…having another sword and a pistol would help but until you have only 2 weaponsets you will be fine with gs + sw/focus.

Also considerdifferent utilities and the new heal signet.

Very outdated.

A) 10/30/0/30/0
B) 10/20/0/25/15

Choose one. A) is more damage for you when you use a few mantras (4% per) and more dmg for your phantasms in general aswell more utility. is more damage for you when illusions are alive (3% per) and less CD for resummoning illusions and phantasms. More mobility due also less CD for skills that summon illusions. But just 2 support skills at Inspiration trait line.

Domination: +15% phant dmg
Duelling: traited sword, fury for phants, (dmg per mantra)
Inspiration: nearly everything there is good -> especially focus traited
(Illusions: dmg per illusion)

Overall go full Zerk and use Bloodlust and Sigill of Battle for max DpS. If you have much gold also get also +5% dmg weapons with you if bloodlust is full.

As for weapons use sword / focus + greatsword in open world. In dungeons use a 2nd sword or a pistol instead of the greatsword since you have to stay melee for max dps and therefore a gs is a bad choice.

If you need range: short range dps -> scepter + pistol, long range dps -> gs, if the enemy has 4+ conditions on it permanently -> staff (+ evade)

I hope i could help! greez

If he is not running with a full zerk group and is in a mixed-stat or soso-pug group, IMO keep the GS, or he’ll splatter if he is in constant melee (and TBH there are some times when ranging is necessary). DO keep a sword, pistol, GS, arguably staff, and focus in your inventory because you’ll use them all at some point.

True that! If your allies are newbs and can’t melee, don’t solo then. Better run GS or even Scepter when you fight just one target. Don’t forget you are still able to switch for a neat rotation with for example Sword Sword + Scepter Pistol against bosses → blocks and distortion when in melee.

The scepter 1 and GS 1 deal about the same damage, scepter however gets faster attack speed in close combat, gs more power in ranged combat (makes it difficult to swap to sword for burst and sigil of battle however).

Actually keep every weapon with yourself. Just the torch seems to be useless in every situation in PvE :/

Yeah. IMO, GS is not suboptimal so much as it is situationally ideal for suboptimal groups, and by suboptimal I don’t mean bad, I mean non-zerk OR newbies who are in zerk and don’t know the dungeon. Or when you have to range, but as bro above said, scepter may work as well and may be more forgiving if you don’t close fast, I think it really depends on your playstyle.

If you are in a dungeon with bads, deffo stay ranged. You will just eat floor. If you are in an efficient and knowledeable group, you won’t die much while you melee most things, just dodge when you’re supposed to and use sword 2 and f4 as well. (Dropping an izerker before jumping in with sword is nice, too.)

If you are stuck ranged, then open with your OH phantasm first, then switch to GS, hit 4, 2, and then auto. You’ll have two phantasms doing their thing right off and your next phant will overwrite the clone (and the death can apply debuffs depending on how you trait).

Also try to aim for targets in the background. The GS will penetrate trough 2 enemies and hitting a 3rd. Scepter 3 will do this to 5 targets btw. There are many tricks but I guess we are overdoing it slowly xD

It is not as ideal as a percentage-based sigil, but a GS with a sup sigil of fire is decent at aoe; the sigil always goes off since the auto hits three times. I wouldn’t necessarily suggest it for a dungeon, but it’s great for open-world farming, you will tag a lot more. So position to hit the far target and then boom sigil, and you’ve just hit a lot of mobs!

I’m going to bed now. XD

but it’s 13:13 here :o gn8 sir!

well i recommend battle for 6 stacks perma might since they work for you and your phantasms, but +% sigils aswell on crit won’t.

GS is not situational.

Gs is versatile by definition and as such is suboptimal whereas any “situational” weaponset is better.

So… you melee the flame and frost bosses? Or are you using a scepter and staff?

Thank you for all the help!!

Gear
Full Zerker Armor (Rune of the Eagle)
- Should I switch my runes out? Or is Eagle fine?

Weapons:
GS (Zerker Stats + Accuracy)
Sword / Focus (Zerker Stats + Bloodlust / Force)
Sword / Pistol (Zerker Stats + Force / Accuracy)
- When running this I’ve taken your advice and gone S/F 5, GS 4, GS 2, Auto. What should be the rotation in dungeons with the S/F and S/P combo to get the most DPS?

Build:
10/30/0/30/0 (Thanks to Xyonon!)

Utilities:
Signet of the Ether
Mantra of Concentration
Mantra of Power
Mantra of Distraction
TW
- Are these good enough? Going for that +4% stat in the dueling line.

Stats:
Crit Chance: 62% or 67%
Crit Damage: 106%
Power: 2,061
Attack: 3,002
Precision: 2,136
Vitality: 1,234

Seriously guys, thank you for all the help! Only trying to run the most efficient dungeon build / PvE Phantasm build.

Scholar runes are generally considered to be the best.

Just so you know – if you’re running S/F + S/P you only need one sword equipped – you can put just an offhand in the other set and they’ll “share” the main hand. Having two swords is still good because you can run S/S that way which I often prefer over S/P.

Utility-wise – signet heal is nice if you use it to start fights with three phantasms right away; on harder fights where images keep dying you may prefer the reliability of the mantra heal though (and 4% more damage from EM).

Other than that, remember to always be flexible and use utilities appropriate to the situation. SoI for boon-doubling, Feedback for reflects, Blink for trash skipping, Veil or Portal to help your team where necessary, Disenchanter or Null field for condi-clear and boon-stripping, and so on. The best part of mesmers is team utility, so keep an open mind and always keep your utility bar flexible.

Rotation for S/F – drop Temporal Curtain against a wall or other obstruction, target the highest-hp enemy, start casting Warden, hit 4 again halfway through the cast to clump everyone up just as the warden spawns on them. Leap/Swap in to keep everyone immobilized and cleave them down with your team. So that’s 4, 5, 4, 3, 3, 1; save 2 (blurred frenzy) for a dodge if needed.

If your alternate is S/P you can swap and cast a Duelist, and use Magic Bullet to interrupt strong attacks. If the other set was GS then you should actually start with GS 4, 2, 3 (while you’re running in from afar) and then switch to S/F and stay in it until everything is dead.

Verock.8234:

Thank you for all the help!!

Gear
Full Zerker Armor (Rune of the Eagle)
- Should I switch my runes out? Or is Eagle fine?

Weapons:
GS (Zerker Stats + Accuracy)
Sword / Focus (Zerker Stats + Bloodlust / Force)
Sword / Pistol (Zerker Stats + Force / Accuracy)
- When running this I’ve taken your advice and gone S/F 5, GS 4, GS 2, Auto. What should be the rotation in dungeons with the S/F and S/P combo to get the most DPS?

Build:
10/30/0/30/0 (Thanks to Xyonon!)

Utilities:
Signet of the Ether
Mantra of Concentration
Mantra of Power
Mantra of Distraction
TW
- Are these good enough? Going for that +4% stat in the dueling line.

Stats:
Crit Chance: 62% or 67%
Crit Damage: 106%
Power: 2,061
Attack: 3,002
Precision: 2,136
Vitality: 1,234

Seriously guys, thank you for all the help! Only trying to run the most efficient dungeon build / PvE Phantasm build.

If you want the single most efficient build, the above builds are slightly wrong.

10/30/0/20/10 and 0/30/0/25/15 are better. The 30 in inspiration does not give you anything worth taking.

Also, if you are truly interested in the best build: drop the greatsword, and use it only when absolutely necessary. Sword+sword and sword+focus and sword+pistol are significantly better. In most encounters, s/s and s/f are the best, and you can use the 30 in dueling to take Empowered Mantras and boost your personal and reflect DPS. The reason to not use greatsword is that melee is always better DPS, you get cleave for multiple targets, and you benefit from boons from the rest of your team which you will not receive if you are camping at 1200 with gs (which is the only range where gs has decent damage).

For runes, ruby is fine, but scholar is better. People will complain that the 10% bonus from scholar does not apply to phantasms, and so is not worth the price, but the 10% bonus does apply to reflect damage. As a mesmer, one of your fundamental contributions to your party is reflect damage, so maximizing that is critical.

For rotations, etc: if it’s a full DPS race fight, start with sword, get swordsman out (incidentally he is your best damaging phant), switch to focus, get warden. Get back to sword asap to get another sworsdmen. In the meantime, close to melee and autoattack. Dodge, or use sword 2, as defense. Use sword 4 for defense if you have it.

Your utilities should change based on the situation. For most content, what you suggested is good, but there are situations where you’ll be required to change out.

Valarauka.2719:

Scholar runes are generally considered to be the best.

Not for mesmer….at least not for phant mesmer since the bonus dps doesn t transfer to phantasms…
Ruby orbs are cheap and nice…there maybe something other better, but consider Always what can be transfered to phantasms

As util i use:
Blink and feedback almost Always…
I use mirror image in fractal (for Emergency 3 seconds of distortion) or signet of illusion or again mantra of resolve…

LordByron.8369:

Valarauka.2719:

Scholar runes are generally considered to be the best.

Not for mesmer….at least not for phant mesmer since the bonus dps doesn t transfer to phantasms…
Ruby orbs are cheap and nice…there maybe something other better, but consider Always what can be transfered to phantasms

As util i use:
Blink and feedback almost Always…
I use mirror image in fractal (for Emergency 3 seconds of distortion) or signet of illusion or again mantra of resolve…

Scholar is still better. In particular, the 10% bonus applies to reflect damage, and personal damage— and a 10% boost to both of those is still significant. Keep in mind that reflects are some of the biggest damage sources in the game, and a 10% bonus to those can be enormous. This is one of the reasons why Empowered Mantras is also so highly recommended, even if 8-12% doesn’t seem like such a big deal.

Reflect are a part of the damage…since the new signet its no more so Big when you can easily have 3 phantasms up.

I agree with maxinion, Scholar Runes are better than Ruby Orbs.

Scholar:
+165 power
+8% crit damage for our phantasm
+10% dmg when health > 90%

Ruby orbs:
+120 power
+84 precision
+12% crit damage

So you have more precision, which is quite useless in a group situation since you almost always 90+ critical chance, depending of your perception stacks (your phanstasm got the same stats as you and with phantasmal fury they also have 90+% crit chance). So you gain 4% crit damage and lose 45 power with ruby orbs, and most important thing, you lose your +10% damage boost when health > 90%. (That implies 30 points in dueling)

Valarauka.2719:

Scholar runes are generally considered to be the best.

They are shifting some damage from your phantasms to yourself compared to the ruby orbs. All the ruby orb stats are working 1:1 for the phantasms. In the end none of them are better just that:

• ruby orbs are way cheaper
• in case of broken armor they still work
• unterwater you don’t need the 7th rune to work instead of your helmet gear
• since new signet phantasms are pretty much 50% of our damage; defenitly more when fighting a boss mob.
• they still work 100% even if you are struck once

Valarauka.2719:

Having two swords is still good because you can run S/S that way which I often prefer over S/P.

Also you automaticly trait main an offhand wich won’t happen with a pistol.

maxinion.8396:

If you want the single most efficient build, the above builds are slightly wrong.
10/30/0/20/10 and 0/30/0/25/15 are better. The 30 in inspiration does not give you anything worth taking.

“The single most efficient build” – shows 2 builds what are definitly weaker. Seems legit.

• 10 in dominion are a must have. +17.25% phantasm damage is not ignoreable for any other trait.
• 10 in illusions is a waste of points in any case. You choose +3% per illusion for yourself over +17.25% for your illusions? Really? Also illusion 5 is useless but inspiration 30 isn’t °
• 15 in illusions is understandable, however 10/20/0/25/15 is far better than the 0/30 unless you play with 4 mantras all the time wich I doubt.

In my eyes both of those builds are bad in general, however they may be good in arah only, wich I guess is where you are refering to. The best 2 builds for an allrounder are definitly 10/30/0/30/0 or 10/20/0/25/15 or if you are totally new to the game 20/20/0/30/0 (gs newb).

° Inspiration 30 is useless? I don’t know why you play a mesmer then. The best utility comes from that traitline. Reflection on ress (even NPC), cdr + duration of glamour, condition cleanse on heal, mantra heal, focus trait, or sometimes even 20% phant hp. There are enough reasons to go 30 there over let’s say 10 in illusions, especially if you are sacrificing 25 too …

Very useful thread as I’m in same situation, trying to tune my build/gears for dungeons.

Where I’m suffering atm is when there are lots of condi AoE, like burns. How do I increase cond removal? I use null fields a lot for team, but CD is killing me. I want to keep reflect and blink, so mantra for cond removal is not always available.

HOTW for example I do well in, as mostly big bosses. AC/CoFs oth, I get downed due to cond. I can dodge physical mele fairly well.

My build is full zerker with ruby orbs (all i can afford at the time). Using sw/sw, sw/focus or scepter/focus. Have GS, staff and pistol too ofc, depending on situation.

Thinking of swapping some pieces to Knight’s for increasing survivability a little but still have decent DPS. Was thinking of Centaur or Travelers to increase swiftness. This might reduce need to blink everywhere.

Thanks for any suggestions?

Stay at zerker stuff. Improve your skills but don’t lower your dps.

Nullfield isn’t that strong anymore. It removes every condition and boon once. Just use it if you also have to remove the boons of enemies or if you really need tons of condition remover.

In general better go for the mantra. It has a low cd and removes 2 times 2 conditions for everyone. It’s more flexible and increases your dmg by 4% when traited. Also use the healing mantra and trait for condition remove on heal. So you can now cleanse yourself 3 times for 2 conditions and allies 2 times for 2 conditions. Perfect for annoying conditions wich occur ofen but aren’t many at once.

Change traits and adapt to the situation.

short answer: play with a better guardian :/
If you are stuck with players not doing their job change utilities….you have a mantra and an aoe to remove cond….doing so lowers your offensive support btw…

I also use a superior sigil of generosity on GS (but mostly in fractals) there is a cheap version of it that works as well

I don t find mesmer to have any need for knight…you have a cd10 extra evade, distortion, if needed the OH sword parry and permavigor.

You can even add stability mantra if needed.

Only thing i don t like is the scepter….if used as it should it delete your 3rd phantasm with the autoattack.

Gs has a phant with decent DPS AND aoe..if you need ranged options i d go with it.

LordByron.8369:

Only thing i don t like is the scepter….if used as it should it delete your 3rd phantasm with the autoattack.

Gs has a phant with decent DPS AND aoe..if you need ranged options i d go with it.

Short range the scepter hits better than the GS, long range vice versa ofc. The scepter has a better phantasm (pistol / swordie) for single target and the GS for aoe. There is also the Staff for survivability and bossfight with conditions.

In general: Go melee if you can, if you are forced to go range:

Greatsword for AoE or long range dps where phantasms can’t survive or meatshields are there. Single target and block at shrot the scepter it is (short range = allies = boons)! And for mobility and 4+ conditions on the enemy: Staff.

For example fire and frost duo boss fotm: Staff + GS, mainly GS, Staff to escape. Dwayna is staff = 20k crits. And another example for the scepter is in CM that guy with the knockdowngun (can’t be reflected, but meatshield with clones n’ block).

greez!

Xyonon.3987:

Valarauka.2719:

Scholar runes are generally considered to be the best.

They are shifting some damage from your phantasms to yourself compared to the ruby orbs. All the ruby orb stats are working 1:1 for the phantasms. In the end none of them are better just that:

• ruby orbs are way cheaper
• in case of broken armor they still work
• unterwater you don’t need the 7th rune to work instead of your helmet gear
• since new signet phantasms are pretty much 50% of our damage; defenitly more when fighting a boss mob.
• they still work 100% even if you are struck once

Valarauka.2719:

Having two swords is still good because you can run S/S that way which I often prefer over S/P.

Also you automaticly trait main an offhand wich won’t happen with a pistol.

maxinion.8396:

If you want the single most efficient build, the above builds are slightly wrong.
10/30/0/20/10 and 0/30/0/25/15 are better. The 30 in inspiration does not give you anything worth taking.

“The single most efficient build” – shows 2 builds what are definitly weaker. Seems legit.

• 10 in dominion are a must have. +17.25% phantasm damage is not ignoreable for any other trait.
• 10 in illusions is a waste of points in any case. You choose +3% per illusion for yourself over +17.25% for your illusions? Really? Also illusion 5 is useless but inspiration 30 isn’t °
• 15 in illusions is understandable, however 10/20/0/25/15 is far better than the 0/30 unless you play with 4 mantras all the time wich I doubt.

In my eyes both of those builds are bad in general, however they may be good in arah only, wich I guess is where you are refering to. The best 2 builds for an allrounder are definitly 10/30/0/30/0 or 10/20/0/25/15 or if you are totally new to the game 20/20/0/30/0 (gs newb).

° Inspiration 30 is useless? I don’t know why you play a mesmer then. The best utility comes from that traitline. Reflection on ress (even NPC), cdr + duration of glamour, condition cleanse on heal, mantra heal, focus trait, or sometimes even 20% phant hp. There are enough reasons to go 30 there over let’s say 10 in illusions, especially if you are sacrificing 25 too …

Even with the benefits you list, the benefits from scholar, as discussed above, are much larger. Ruby orbs, even without the 10% benefit from scholar, are still basically comparable to scholar in performance, so the 10% really is just icing on the cake.

Wrt the 30 in inspiration: I mostly meant that the last major there is useless for dps. I’ll have to think about this a bit before I comment further, but it is true that the two builds I suggested are very oriented to reflect damage compared to the ones you suggested, which are oriented to pure phantasm DPS. The benefit of the 0/30/0/25/15 is not just personal DPS, I will add, but also significantly shorter cooldown times on phantasms, which is very helpful for new players.

Anyway, thanks for pointing out the 10/30/0/30/0 build in more detail— I will certainly give it another look.

If I don’t use 10/30/0/20/10 or 30/30/0/0/10 (if no reflection needed) i’d rather use 15/30/0/25/0 for more DPS + vuln on daze

Xyonon.3987:

Short range the scepter hits better than the GS, long range vice versa ofc. The scepter has a better phantasm (pistol / swordie) for single target and the GS for aoe. There is also the Staff for survivability and bossfight with conditions.

In general: Go melee if you can, if you are forced to go range:

Greatsword for AoE or long range dps where phantasms can’t survive or meatshields are there. Single target and block at shrot the scepter it is (short range = allies = boons)! And for mobility and 4+ conditions on the enemy: Staff.

For example fire and frost duo boss fotm: Staff + GS, mainly GS, Staff to escape. Dwayna is staff = 20k crits. And another example for the scepter is in CM that guy with the knockdowngun (can’t be reflected, but meatshield with clones n’ block).

greez!

For the Molten Duo Bosses, you can go full melee if you can keep reflection, have a guardian to give aegis at the right time and know how to jump

As for CM P3 Sure Shot Seamus, you can just go behind him and stay melee, his knockdown attack is very slow.

Jeremlloyd.6837:

As for CM Sure Shot Seamus, you can just go behind him and stay melee, his knockdown attack is very slow.

its so slow you can just circle around him and never be hit..you can find on youtube the vid.

Yes – in dungs Scepter is better for me as I find myself mostly in mele or mid range. I don’t like the clone replacement but usually on scepter I’m in defensive/recovery mode so I shatter and replace with fresh phantasms anyway.

I like staff for escapes and #5, but it feels slow.

I’ll learn to use more mantras instead of null fields. I liked null fields previously to provide combo fields (I love combos now that u can see them).

Xyonon.3987:

LordByron.8369:

Only thing i don t like is the scepter….if used as it should it delete your 3rd phantasm with the autoattack.

Gs has a phant with decent DPS AND aoe..if you need ranged options i d go with it.

Short range the scepter hits better than the GS, long range vice versa ofc. The scepter has a better phantasm (pistol / swordie) for single target and the GS for aoe. There is also the Staff for survivability and bossfight with conditions.

In general: Go melee if you can, if you are forced to go range:

Greatsword for AoE or long range dps where phantasms can’t survive or meatshields are there. Single target and block at shrot the scepter it is (short range = allies = boons)! And for mobility and 4+ conditions on the enemy: Staff.

For example fire and frost duo boss fotm: Staff + GS, mainly GS, Staff to escape. Dwayna is staff = 20k crits. And another example for the scepter is in CM that guy with the knockdowngun (can’t be reflected, but meatshield with clones n’ block).

greez!

I used to use the nullfield too back in my days. But the long cd made it too … well … how can I call it? It’s just a “NOW should everything neutralize”-moment. It’s not flexibel enough. However it still is great in some situations, sometimes I even use both of em.

Btw try not to create etheral combo fields. They just disturb your group if you have somone who benefits from fields like an engineer, a thief or an ele or any “20% projectile” class. The chaosarmor is pathetic compared to might and heal. For example as engineer I put down a fire bomb and rush the combo finishers for 9-15 stacks might for everyone for 25 sec. If there is a etheral field it sux terrible … :P Chaos armor … It requires a buff in PvE.

Xyonon.3987:

Btw try not to create etheral combo fields. They just disturb your group if you have somone who benefits from fields like an engineer, a thief or an ele or any “20% projectile” class. The chaosarmor is pathetic compared to might and heal. For example as engineer I put down a fire bomb and rush the combo finishers for 9-15 stacks might for everyone for 25 sec. If there is a etheral field it sux terrible … :P Chaos armor … It requires a buff in PvE.

True fact. Nothing worse than a mesmer dropping unnecessary null fields and feedbacks and ruining the fire fields out there.

well you can look at the screen when you launch a skill…..

maxinion.8396:

True fact. Nothing worse than a mesmer dropping unnecessary null fields and feedbacks and ruining the fire fields out there.

Actually, these is nothing worse than when on an Elementalist and you mindlessly do your might rotation before conjuring LH only to realize you just blasted a non–fire field 5-6 times (emphasis at the number of times here) because it was overwritten by some other class. It’s very rage inducing.

And chaos armor might be the worst, because at least blasting blinds is somewhat useful on trash.

OMG, i did not know that! Didnt realise that my fields actually have negative effect and counteract others.

I’m quite new to the game and catching up but looks like I’m reading old advice.

Thank you!

Xyonon.3987:

I used to use the nullfield too back in my days. But the long cd made it too … well … how can I call it? It’s just a “NOW should everything neutralize”-moment. It’s not flexibel enough. However it still is great in some situations, sometimes I even use both of em.

Btw try not to create etheral combo fields. They just disturb your group if you have somone who benefits from fields like an engineer, a thief or an ele or any “20% projectile” class. The chaosarmor is pathetic compared to might and heal. For example as engineer I put down a fire bomb and rush the combo finishers for 9-15 stacks might for everyone for 25 sec. If there is a etheral field it sux terrible … :P Chaos armor … It requires a buff in PvE.

Must be my most wanted thing for mesmer aside from Torch being better in pve. Ethereal fields being better (or less disruptive, really) too in pve, that is…

Pyrotek.8730:

OMG, i did not know that! Didnt realise that my fields actually have negative effect and counteract others.

I’m quite new to the game and catching up but looks like I’m reading old advice.

Thank you!

Xyonon.3987:

I used to use the nullfield too back in my days. But the long cd made it too … well … how can I call it? It’s just a “NOW should everything neutralize”-moment. It’s not flexibel enough. However it still is great in some situations, sometimes I even use both of em.

Btw try not to create etheral combo fields. They just disturb your group if you have somone who benefits from fields like an engineer, a thief or an ele or any “20% projectile” class. The chaosarmor is pathetic compared to might and heal. For example as engineer I put down a fire bomb and rush the combo finishers for 9-15 stacks might for everyone for 25 sec. If there is a etheral field it sux terrible … :P Chaos armor … It requires a buff in PvE.

So feedback/focus (light field persists even when double tapped) 4, when needed are better for the group than extra might stacks. A good ele (and engi/guard) will know when those are going to happen/delay their fire fields and blasts. As long as the fire field is down first, it’s fine to toss another field on top of it since finishers go for the earliest field down.

My biggest gripe with this is when an mesmer throws down time warp before any might stacks happen. Lot’s of classes also have dmg increases when enemies are below 50/33 health so it’s best to wait a little bit. Basically, let your team get might/ vulnerability, then let their traits proc for 10-20% more then TW. 50% attack speed when your party is doing 60-150% more dmg is much better than using kitten the very start. If a boss dies fast, just wait for fire field and drop TW down right after. Also as a courtesy, ping TW (shift click) 1-3 seconds before you drop it.

To tell the truth the temporal curtain field is quite good if you put a warden on it.
By the way…look at what field is active and where…
If you cast your field before theirs, others won t complain…..

It’s kinda hard to put a warden on a temporal curtain, but you can put the tc under the warden pretty easy yes. Pretty nice condition remover tough, good that you mentioned it. Too bad we don’t have any fire or water fields, neither any explosion finishers except the torch 4.

btt: I’m not sure about this but is it rly new field priority > old field? Would actually make it a lot better. Never really tested it, gonna do so tonight, nice input! Chaos armor / etheral field is still better than no field and no buff.

no, old field takes priority. wait for other classes to drop fire fields before dropping any other combo field.

imo the best allround builds are the 10/30/0/20/10 or 15/30/0/25/0 builds, which have great reflect DPS, which is really what the mesmer is used for in organised groups.

10/30/0/20/10 is not a good allround build, its the best reflection build however. 15/30/0/25/0 is a bit more offensive than 10/30/0/30/0 but is in general the same. Also 10/20/0/25/15 or 0/30/0/25/15 exist and are pretty strong atm. There is no “best build” unless you play the same stuff again and again and again. Mesmer builds allways are about phantasms, self damage and utility. Sometimes one of them is stonger if focused than another one in specific situations.

I’m nearly positive that new fields overwrite old ones. I’ll test today.

i do quite often new fields overwrite old…..Unless something strange happened every time i use my ele even in www its what happens.

I can also check when I get home but the easiest test I did a few months ago was with my guardian. Long lasting fire field. Hammer auto attack for light then hammer 2. Always gives might if the fire field goes down first. Can repeat this several times with multiple light fields on top of the long lasting fire.

Since I’ve been playing my ele a lot recently, I’m fairly certain that the first one down is the one that is blasted still applies since I do pay attention to fields before blasting. One thing that might confuse people are overlapping fields that are not completely inside each other. A fire field/wall of reflect can both go down while I’m in the fire field but not in the wall of reflect. In this case, it doesn’t matter which one is down first as long as I center the blast on fire. This is not as easy/possible with feedback/TW as they are much larger and usually centered on the boss.

Yes warden + focus 4 is condi cleanse but fire for 25 might instead of light for 15 seconds of retal is still much better in most dungeon settings or just in general. I also use focus 4 to either pull or reflect so I rarely have the warden spinning on top of it. I’m not saying never do it, but just be mindful of where you put the fields and don’t randomly spam feedback when nothing needs to be reflected.

Checked again with a few party members and solo. The field that goes down first is the one that gets blasted.

a question from a non mesmer:
I watched a few youtube videos with phantasm mesmers in dungeons. Some were using the pistol duelist, some the axe warden guy.

In a boss fight, they don’t seam very good at dealing dmg: the pistol guy shoots very rarely and the warden (well both of them) tend to die pretty fast to aoe dmg.

So why would one spec this way?

@rogerwilko – The warden is low DPS but he reflects all projectiles (if traited), which adds up to a TON of damage against enemies who have projectile attacks. The duelist actually does a fair amount of damage – easily 1k+ direct dps (6k+ channeled attacks on a 6 second cooldown) per duelist, which starts adding up when you have 2 or 3 of them out. Being ranged, skilled players can also summon them out of harms way so they stay alive more easily.

They also both tend to put out a fair amount of bleeds due to the Sharper Images trait; 6-8 stacks per channel from the Duelist and even more from the Warden, which add a good chunk of condition damage even with no investment in the stat.

Pyroatheist.9031:

I’m nearly positive that new fields overwrite old ones. I’ll test today.

New > Old

LordByron.8369:

i do quite often new fields overwrite old…..Unless something strange happened every time i use my ele even in www its what happens.

New > Old

DuckDuckBOOM.4097:

Checked again with a few party members and solo. The field that goes down first is the one that gets blasted.

Old > New

So what now? I also got the assumption that a field that tics will override another field. So if you put a fire field that tics on the battleground and a etheralfield over it, will the combofield be: fire, etheral, fire, etheral until one runs out? Maybe this can be the reason too. However it would be kinda silly :S

Just tested. Old>New.

Not really no. I just tested the following thing with my engi:
Smoke bomb -> Fire bomb -> explosion finisher = invisibility (seems legit)

But then strange things happened when I did overlapping fields:
Light field cast, fire bomb next to it (the center of the fields are not overlapping!) -> finisher = might (but fire bomb was cast AFTER the light field)

however if i do it again with smoke bomb and fire bomb i get invisibility again. so there must be something else hidden that causes some trouble… any ideas? still testing…

EDIT: ok when i stay inside the light field radius when it goes of and then cast outside a fire field that overlaps the light field i get retalation! If i stay outside the light field when i start casting it and then cast the overlapping fire field i get might o.o

EDIT2: well now i start to understand… if i cast the light field where i’m not standing and the fire field under my feet, and i walk into the overlapping part BEFORE the fire field goes off -> retalation, AFTER the fire field goes off -> might. So the newest field in wich i stay or what??? it’s so unbelevable confusing! why can’t a developer just tell us the priority? i guess they don’t know it either XD

EDIT3: oviously: for explosion finishers at least: it is not the first field that has been created, IT IS THE FIRST FIELD YOU HAVE STEPPED INTO. It seems you gain some kind of hidden status “entered fire field” and after it “entered light field” so fire takes priority. Seems the solution!

old>new from many COE/TA runs worth of experience.

guardian drops hallowed, mesmer drops TW, eles start using LH autos. result = area might.

If the ele stays inside the hallowed before the tw – yes.