Guild Wars 2

Hi all, i’ve been working on a burst build for unranked sPvP (because i just want the fun), i’ve been having on an off success with it, and i’m just looking for feedback.

I don’t check websites or even the forums for builds, therefore any similarities between my build and any other is purely coincidental.

Now to business, here’s the build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhAQNAR7alsnh+0YjawBNwtGLqGkZNqWLIDQF2Ja1ve2B-TJBBwAY3fAwTAYzFBocZAA

The idea behind it is simple, you are a caster thief, you stealth, dish out pain, then get out.

However this build has one particular advantage over a thief, you can stay in stealth while setting up your damage, so here’s the rotation:

1- With your greatsword out, target your victim and activate mimic followed by decoy, this will spawn 1 clone.
2- While still in stealth, summon your GS #4 phantasm and immediately switch to the other weapon set before the phantasm attacks.
3- Now summon your pistol #4 phantasm and then use your #5 followed by scepter #3.
4- Now you should have at least 2 illusions, once the pistol phantasm finishes its attack, shatter them with mind wrack then immediately switch back to greatsword.
5- Use your GS #2 then #3
6- Your target may be close to you by now, so use GS #5 if you’re within range
7- Dodge as necessary, and use signet of domination if you’re running out of CC.
8- If you picked your target right then he’ll either be on very low health (a couple max range spatial surges should take care of that) or downed.
9- Use your second cast of decoy to finish your downed target.

Notes:
- You want to disable all your auto attacks, the worst thing is to cancel your initial stealth using an unneeded spatial surge or ether bolt.
- You may switch signet of domination for any other skill you want, i prefer it for the long stun, but blink is also very useful and benefits from the traits.

PU will never be desirable over any of the other traits in that tree. Just no.

jportell.2197:

PU will never be desirable over any of the other traits in that tree. Just no.

Care to explain maybe?

Because as a PU mesmer your entire build revolves around stealth. Can’t cap a point in stealth.

Not to mention you are gimping your phantasm’s damage by not taking phantasmal fury.

Any build that takes PU for conquest is bad.

am a PU mesmer i like to think of my self like batman i come out of no where bursting the kitten out of you and let police do the capping am the one who burst thy ele thy engi thy thief thy ranger and i kitt thy warrior and thy guard am invisible hand ( literally) :D

but in all seriousness me having different style doesnt make me bad i just serve another purpose :D

Crow.1683:

am a PU mesmer i like to think of my self like batman i come out of no where bursting the kitten out of you and let police do the capping am the one who burst thy ele thy engi thy thief thy ranger and i kitt thy warrior and thy guard am invisible hand ( literally)

but in all seriousness me having different style doesnt make me bad i just serve another purpose

I came across a PU mes the other day running all the stealth skills. The thing is, because he’s dropping into stealth I know that all I have to do is duke in and out of the cap point, decap it, and play hide and seek with him. I don’t even need to use stealth, just LoS and teleport around ledges, casting phants when he comes out of stealth. The point gets decapped very quickly, and he has no way to recap it. So while we may not kill eachother, I’ve tied him up in a 1v1 on his point and he looses the match for his team because he’s not earning anything.

That’s the real trouble with PU burst from stealth. The predictability of it. Not even the predictability of the incoming burst, but the predictability of the gameplay surrounding the fight over conquest. If you’re successful with it, it’s only because your opponent doesnt know how to play the game, sorry to say.

Ross Biddle.2367:

Crow.1683:

am a PU mesmer i like to think of my self like batman i come out of no where bursting the kitten out of you and let police do the capping am the one who burst thy ele thy engi thy thief thy ranger and i kitt thy warrior and thy guard am invisible hand ( literally)

but in all seriousness me having different style doesnt make me bad i just serve another purpose

I came across a PU mes the other day running all the stealth skills. The thing is, because he’s dropping into stealth I know that all I have to do is duke in and out of the cap point, decap it, and play hide and seek with him. I don’t even need to use stealth, just LoS and teleport around ledges, casting phants when he comes out of stealth. The point gets decapped very quickly, and he has no way to recap it. So while we may not kill eachother, I’ve tied him up in a 1v1 on his point and he looses the match for his team because he’s not earning anything.

That’s the real trouble with PU burst from stealth. The predictability of it. Not even the predictability of the incoming burst, but the predictability of the gameplay surrounding the fight over conquest. If you’re successful with it, it’s only because your opponent doesnt know how to play the game, sorry to say.

The point you make is valid only if you are doing the capping. When facing a PU build, the roles will usually be reversed. You will be the one trying to hold the point and stop it from getting decapped. You know how fast that can happen, and you can’t afford to leave your circle.

The PU is not meant to hold points. It is meant to decap/kill. One or the other will happen.

bhagwad.4281:

Ross Biddle.2367:

Crow.1683:

am a PU mesmer i like to think of my self like batman i come out of no where bursting the kitten out of you and let police do the capping am the one who burst thy ele thy engi thy thief thy ranger and i kitt thy warrior and thy guard am invisible hand ( literally)

but in all seriousness me having different style doesnt make me bad i just serve another purpose

I came across a PU mes the other day running all the stealth skills. The thing is, because he’s dropping into stealth I know that all I have to do is duke in and out of the cap point, decap it, and play hide and seek with him. I don’t even need to use stealth, just LoS and teleport around ledges, casting phants when he comes out of stealth. The point gets decapped very quickly, and he has no way to recap it. So while we may not kill eachother, I’ve tied him up in a 1v1 on his point and he looses the match for his team because he’s not earning anything.

That’s the real trouble with PU burst from stealth. The predictability of it. Not even the predictability of the incoming burst, but the predictability of the gameplay surrounding the fight over conquest. If you’re successful with it, it’s only because your opponent doesnt know how to play the game, sorry to say.

The point you make is valid only if you are doing the capping. When facing a PU build, the roles will usually be reversed. You will be the one trying to hold the point and stop it from getting decapped. You know how fast that can happen, and you can’t afford to leave your circle.

The PU is not meant to hold points. It is meant to decap/kill. One or the other will happen.

Sure, but if im playing home point defender I’m going to be running a build that’ll counter such nonsense until help arrives. Might be a problem in a pug game with no TS, but with a propper comp and comms, yeah…

Ross Biddle.2367:

bhagwad.4281:

Ross Biddle.2367:

Crow.1683:

am a PU mesmer i like to think of my self like batman i come out of no where bursting the kitten out of you and let police do the capping am the one who burst thy ele thy engi thy thief thy ranger and i kitt thy warrior and thy guard am invisible hand ( literally)

but in all seriousness me having different style doesnt make me bad i just serve another purpose

I came across a PU mes the other day running all the stealth skills. The thing is, because he’s dropping into stealth I know that all I have to do is duke in and out of the cap point, decap it, and play hide and seek with him. I don’t even need to use stealth, just LoS and teleport around ledges, casting phants when he comes out of stealth. The point gets decapped very quickly, and he has no way to recap it. So while we may not kill eachother, I’ve tied him up in a 1v1 on his point and he looses the match for his team because he’s not earning anything.

That’s the real trouble with PU burst from stealth. The predictability of it. Not even the predictability of the incoming burst, but the predictability of the gameplay surrounding the fight over conquest. If you’re successful with it, it’s only because your opponent doesnt know how to play the game, sorry to say.

The point you make is valid only if you are doing the capping. When facing a PU build, the roles will usually be reversed. You will be the one trying to hold the point and stop it from getting decapped. You know how fast that can happen, and you can’t afford to leave your circle.

The PU is not meant to hold points. It is meant to decap/kill. One or the other will happen.

Sure, but if im playing home point defender I’m going to be running a build that’ll counter such nonsense until help arrives. Might be a problem in a pug game with no TS, but with a propper comp and comms, yeah…

Pugs are the majority of games on GW2. If it’s not balanced in solo q, it’s not balanced at all. Team speak is a far distant cry from what most of us do.

bhagwad.4281:

Ross Biddle.2367:

bhagwad.4281:

Ross Biddle.2367:

Crow.1683:

am a PU mesmer i like to think of my self like batman i come out of no where bursting the kitten out of you and let police do the capping am the one who burst thy ele thy engi thy thief thy ranger and i kitt thy warrior and thy guard am invisible hand ( literally)

but in all seriousness me having different style doesnt make me bad i just serve another purpose

I came across a PU mes the other day running all the stealth skills. The thing is, because he’s dropping into stealth I know that all I have to do is duke in and out of the cap point, decap it, and play hide and seek with him. I don’t even need to use stealth, just LoS and teleport around ledges, casting phants when he comes out of stealth. The point gets decapped very quickly, and he has no way to recap it. So while we may not kill eachother, I’ve tied him up in a 1v1 on his point and he looses the match for his team because he’s not earning anything.

That’s the real trouble with PU burst from stealth. The predictability of it. Not even the predictability of the incoming burst, but the predictability of the gameplay surrounding the fight over conquest. If you’re successful with it, it’s only because your opponent doesnt know how to play the game, sorry to say.

The point you make is valid only if you are doing the capping. When facing a PU build, the roles will usually be reversed. You will be the one trying to hold the point and stop it from getting decapped. You know how fast that can happen, and you can’t afford to leave your circle.

The PU is not meant to hold points. It is meant to decap/kill. One or the other will happen.

Sure, but if im playing home point defender I’m going to be running a build that’ll counter such nonsense until help arrives. Might be a problem in a pug game with no TS, but with a propper comp and comms, yeah…

Pugs are the majority of games on GW2. If it’s not balanced in solo q, it’s not balanced at all. Team speak is a far distant cry from what most of us do.

Meh, a bit of pre match text planning can make a pug team work wonders. Just takes one person to start the conversation. And more often than not there’s at least one other person on your team with a clue about how to pvp.

Ross Biddle.2367:

If you’re successful with it, it’s only because your opponent doesnt know how to play the game, sorry to say.

That’s right. Exploit weaknesses of the opponents. This is PvP.

Ross Biddle.2367:

Might be a problem in a pug game with no TS, but with a propper comp and comms, yeah…

No one except the 2% VOIP Premade Elitists interested what is happening in your game mode.

RapidSausage.4620:

Now to business, here’s the build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhAQNAR7alsnh+0YjawBNwtGLqGkZNqWLIDQF2Ja1ve2B-TJBBwAY3fAwTAYzFBocZAA

Looks good, except for:

Why no traveler Runes?

The build lives of fast decapping and capping. Without Travleller you’re just too slow when roaming.

Magira.6390:

RapidSausage.4620:

Now to business, here’s the build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhAQNAR7alsnh+0YjawBNwtGLqGkZNqWLIDQF2Ja1ve2B-TJBBwAY3fAwTAYzFBocZAA

Looks good, except for:

Why no traveler Runes?

The build lives of fast decapping and capping. Without Travleller you’re just too slow when roaming.

I had thought about traveler runes, but in reality you will kill your damage if you take it over somethng with lots of precision and damage oriented effects.

My main goal is to eliminate critical targets, and the faster i can down them before they can react the better.

Ross Biddle.2367:

Crow.1683:

am a PU mesmer i like to think of my self like batman i come out of no where bursting the kitten out of you and let police do the capping am the one who burst thy ele thy engi thy thief thy ranger and i kitt thy warrior and thy guard am invisible hand ( literally)

but in all seriousness me having different style doesnt make me bad i just serve another purpose

I came across a PU mes the other day running all the stealth skills. The thing is, because he’s dropping into stealth I know that all I have to do is duke in and out of the cap point, decap it, and play hide and seek with him. I don’t even need to use stealth, just LoS and teleport around ledges, casting phants when he comes out of stealth. The point gets decapped very quickly, and he has no way to recap it. So while we may not kill eachother, I’ve tied him up in a 1v1 on his point and he looses the match for his team because he’s not earning anything.

That’s the real trouble with PU burst from stealth. The predictability of it. Not even the predictability of the incoming burst, but the predictability of the gameplay surrounding the fight over conquest. If you’re successful with it, it’s only because your opponent doesnt know how to play the game, sorry to say.

If a PU power mes is attempting to hold a point, they’re absolute trash and deserve to lose.

The proper usage of that build is basically similar to how a thief would work: as a roaming +1 to fights, with the added benefit of stuns out of stealth and enormous aoe burst. This allows you to +1 teamfights just as effectively as you can +1 fights on side nodes. PU allows you to apply pressure from the side of a fight, disappear the moment you start getting focused, and then instagib someone on the other side of the fight without giving them an option to react.

Additionally, PU allows you to stealth long enough to approach a fight on a side point entirely from stealth. It’s one thing to watch for a +1 approaching, and it’s another entirely to discover that you’ve been +1’d by getting instakilled with a CS gs burst.

That all being said, I’m not entirely sure how well the build posted in the OP is going to work. The +1 ability from PU builds is primarily a shatter burst mechanic, and a phantasm build doesn’t do that effectively. A PU phantasm build is pretty much completely limited to dueling situations, because you can’t instakill someone, can’t provide a lot of team pressure, and can’t hold a point effectively (glassy build, PU for defense).

jportell.2197:

Because as a PU mesmer your entire build revolves around stealth. Can’t cap a point in stealth.

Not to mention you are gimping your phantasm’s damage by not taking phantasmal fury.

Any build that takes PU for conquest is bad.

What on earth are you talking about? PU is great for stealth team burst in the same way shadow refuge was and continues to be. Its even better than refuge in solo queue because you don’t even need to get your teammate’s attention and wait for them to stand still.

If you are fighting on point and you must disengage using stealth, then you were probably going to die anyway. Everyone knows stealth is a great defense mechanism for skirmishing, but its an option of last resort when you are fighting on point and you are the only one contesting it.

PU is great for engaging and disengaging. Some of the boons that pulse in stealth from PU are really good so you can engage with aegis and protection. Stealth stomps are great when they pulse aegis. Stealth disengaging is safer. PU has great synergy with Master of Manipulation since it not only reduces the cooldown of Mass Invis to 72 seconds, it also gives you projectile reflection so rezzing through downed cleave is safer. The increased duration helps you get the boons you need.

Long stealth allows you to move between points in a straight line and completely avoid skirmishes you don’t want to get into. If you are a roamer, a significant amount of time during each match will be spent moving between points to +1 the right fights.

Saying PU is bad for conquest is really silly and of all people, you should know better.

Besetment.9187:

jportell.2197:

Because as a PU mesmer your entire build revolves around stealth. Can’t cap a point in stealth.

Not to mention you are gimping your phantasm’s damage by not taking phantasmal fury.

Any build that takes PU for conquest is bad.

What on earth are you talking about? PU is great for stealth team burst in the same way shadow refuge was and continues to be. Its even better than refuge in solo queue because you don’t even need to get your teammate’s attention and wait for them to stand still.

If you are fighting on point and you must disengage using stealth, then you were probably going to die anyway. Everyone knows stealth is a great defense mechanism for skirmishing, but its an option of last resort when you are fighting on point and you are the only one contesting it.

PU is great for engaging and disengaging. Some of the boons that pulse in stealth from PU are really good so you can engage with aegis and protection. Stealth stomps are great when they pulse aegis. Stealth disengaging is safer. PU has great synergy with Master of Manipulation since it not only reduces the cooldown of Mass Invis to 72 seconds, it also gives you projectile reflection so rezzing through downed cleave is safer. The increased duration helps you get the boons you need.

Long stealth allows you to move between points in a straight line and completely avoid skirmishes you don’t want to get into. If you are a roamer, a significant amount of time during each match will be spent moving between points to +1 the right fights.

Saying PU is bad for conquest is really silly and of all people, you should know better.

Okay and when the stealth runs out? Then what. The mesmer damage is kitten.

The reason SA thieves can do what they do now is it doesn’t kitten their damage like before. However if a mesmer does that they are severely hampering their damage by not taking CI, or just going into a different tree all together.

As long as the objective of the game is stand in a circle to win. PU will never be better or more desirable over a CI or standard shatter build.

jportell.2197:

As long as the objective of the game is stand in a circle to win. PU will never be better or more desirable over a CI or standard shatter build.

This is ignorant. Just because you need to stand in a circle to win doesn’t mean that it’s you personally that needs to be doing the standing. Not only do you have to stand in a circle to win, you have to be standing in the circle with no enemies to win. PU shatter facilitates the no enemies part.

Fay.2357:

jportell.2197:

As long as the objective of the game is stand in a circle to win. PU will never be better or more desirable over a CI or standard shatter build.

This is ignorant. Just because you need to stand in a circle to win doesn’t mean that it’s you personally that needs to be doing the standing. Not only do you have to stand in a circle to win, you have to be standing in the circle with no enemies to win. PU shatter facilitates the no enemies part.

Still lacks the overall damage of a CI, or a MoF mesmer. PU is a very selfish build otherwise.

But we can agree to disagree I guess. I will never see PU as more desirable for even a bunker mesmer who could bring the stab on shatter trait over PU. +

You can run almost any tree and not lose a tonne of damage. You aren’t losing a tonne of stats by not taking certain trees anymore. You can run inspiration and your damage in practical terms isn’t a whole lot different, it just allows you to play in different ways and your damage is conditional on different things.

The absolute biggest determinant in how much damage you do is timing and positioning. The main difference now is that picking different trees give you different options to get into and out of a shatter combo.

jportell.2197:

Fay.2357:

jportell.2197:

As long as the objective of the game is stand in a circle to win. PU will never be better or more desirable over a CI or standard shatter build.

This is ignorant. Just because you need to stand in a circle to win doesn’t mean that it’s you personally that needs to be doing the standing. Not only do you have to stand in a circle to win, you have to be standing in the circle with no enemies to win. PU shatter facilitates the no enemies part.

Still lacks the overall damage of a CI, or a MoF mesmer. PU is a very selfish build otherwise.

But we can agree to disagree I guess. I will never see PU as more desirable for even a bunker mesmer who could bring the stab on shatter trait over PU. +

PU isn’t a build. Its a trait. Do not confuse the trait with the old stealth attrition build which was made for 1v1 skirmishing. That build is dead because clone death is dead.

jportell.2197:

Fay.2357:

jportell.2197:

As long as the objective of the game is stand in a circle to win. PU will never be better or more desirable over a CI or standard shatter build.

This is ignorant. Just because you need to stand in a circle to win doesn’t mean that it’s you personally that needs to be doing the standing. Not only do you have to stand in a circle to win, you have to be standing in the circle with no enemies to win. PU shatter facilitates the no enemies part.

Still lacks the overall damage of a CI, or a MoF mesmer. PU is a very selfish build otherwise.

But we can agree to disagree I guess. I will never see PU as more desirable for even a bunker mesmer who could bring the stab on shatter trait over PU. +

CI adds nothing to your damage from an instant burst. This is not an opinion, this is a fact.

MoF adds maybe 5% to your damage from an instant burst.

Overall, taking illusions over PU is a completely irrelevant change with respect to burst damage.

You’re simply ignoring how to use PU. You don’t use it for bunkering. You don’t use it for standing in a circle to win. You use it to gain a positional advantage and a defensive advantage on a very glassy character.

Fay.2357:

jportell.2197:

Fay.2357:

jportell.2197:

As long as the objective of the game is stand in a circle to win. PU will never be better or more desirable over a CI or standard shatter build.

This is ignorant. Just because you need to stand in a circle to win doesn’t mean that it’s you personally that needs to be doing the standing. Not only do you have to stand in a circle to win, you have to be standing in the circle with no enemies to win. PU shatter facilitates the no enemies part.

Still lacks the overall damage of a CI, or a MoF mesmer. PU is a very selfish build otherwise.

But we can agree to disagree I guess. I will never see PU as more desirable for even a bunker mesmer who could bring the stab on shatter trait over PU. +

CI adds nothing to your damage from an instant burst. This is not an opinion, this is a fact.

MoF adds maybe 5% to your damage from an instant burst.

Overall, taking illusions over PU is a completely irrelevant change with respect to burst damage.

You’re simply ignoring how to use PU. You don’t use it for bunkering. You don’t use it for standing in a circle to win. You use it to gain a positional advantage and a defensive advantage on a very glassy character.

Which I can do just fine on a mesmer that doesn’t use PU and still has the significant burst that you see as irrelevant (BTW I’m not the only one, shatter burst is more than likely going to be the meta build for mesmers still.) . Also so can many other mesmers that don’t use PU. PU is not now nor will it ever be superior to any of the many other options a berserker mesmer can take.

jportell.2197:

Fay.2357:

jportell.2197:

Fay.2357:

jportell.2197:

As long as the objective of the game is stand in a circle to win. PU will never be better or more desirable over a CI or standard shatter build.

This is ignorant. Just because you need to stand in a circle to win doesn’t mean that it’s you personally that needs to be doing the standing. Not only do you have to stand in a circle to win, you have to be standing in the circle with no enemies to win. PU shatter facilitates the no enemies part.

Still lacks the overall damage of a CI, or a MoF mesmer. PU is a very selfish build otherwise.

But we can agree to disagree I guess. I will never see PU as more desirable for even a bunker mesmer who could bring the stab on shatter trait over PU. +

CI adds nothing to your damage from an instant burst. This is not an opinion, this is a fact.

MoF adds maybe 5% to your damage from an instant burst.

Overall, taking illusions over PU is a completely irrelevant change with respect to burst damage.

You’re simply ignoring how to use PU. You don’t use it for bunkering. You don’t use it for standing in a circle to win. You use it to gain a positional advantage and a defensive advantage on a very glassy character.

Which I can do just fine on a mesmer that doesn’t use PU and still has the significant burst that you see as irrelevant (BTW I’m not the only one, shatter burst is more than likely going to be the meta build for mesmers still.) . Also so can many other mesmers that don’t use PU. PU is not now nor will it ever be superior to any of the many other options a berserker mesmer can take.

You’re completely misreading what I wrote. Shatter burst is not irrelevant, obviously. The change in amount of burst you can do between taking PU in chaos and taking MoF in illusions is an absolutely irrelevant change. In other words, taking illusions doesn’t let you burst harder.

CI doesn’t let you reposition easily without using blink or other cooldowns. PU does, and gives you leisurely time to pick out a juicy target for bursting that isn’t using active defense.

CI doesn’t let you +1 a side point entirely from stealth, allowing you to instakill the enemy without them ever seeing you approaching.

CI does let you provide more sustained pressure in a team fight, and allows you to come equipped with more cc in general for control of fights and enemy players.

The two traits are both good choice. Indeed, I play both of them from time to time. However, saying that PU is absolutely inferior to all the other choices is nothing but ignorant and foolish, in complete denial of the utility and opportunities that it provides.

Fay.2357:

jportell.2197:

Fay.2357:

jportell.2197:

Fay.2357:

jportell.2197:

As long as the objective of the game is stand in a circle to win. PU will never be better or more desirable over a CI or standard shatter build.

This is ignorant. Just because you need to stand in a circle to win doesn’t mean that it’s you personally that needs to be doing the standing. Not only do you have to stand in a circle to win, you have to be standing in the circle with no enemies to win. PU shatter facilitates the no enemies part.

Still lacks the overall damage of a CI, or a MoF mesmer. PU is a very selfish build otherwise.

But we can agree to disagree I guess. I will never see PU as more desirable for even a bunker mesmer who could bring the stab on shatter trait over PU. +

CI adds nothing to your damage from an instant burst. This is not an opinion, this is a fact.

MoF adds maybe 5% to your damage from an instant burst.

Overall, taking illusions over PU is a completely irrelevant change with respect to burst damage.

You’re simply ignoring how to use PU. You don’t use it for bunkering. You don’t use it for standing in a circle to win. You use it to gain a positional advantage and a defensive advantage on a very glassy character.

Which I can do just fine on a mesmer that doesn’t use PU and still has the significant burst that you see as irrelevant (BTW I’m not the only one, shatter burst is more than likely going to be the meta build for mesmers still.) . Also so can many other mesmers that don’t use PU. PU is not now nor will it ever be superior to any of the many other options a berserker mesmer can take.

You’re completely misreading what I wrote. Shatter burst is not irrelevant, obviously. The change in amount of burst you can do between taking PU in chaos and taking MoF in illusions is an absolutely irrelevant change. In other words, taking illusions doesn’t let you burst harder.

CI doesn’t let you reposition easily without using blink or other cooldowns. PU does, and gives you leisurely time to pick out a juicy target for bursting that isn’t using active defense.

CI doesn’t let you +1 a side point entirely from stealth, allowing you to instakill the enemy without them ever seeing you approaching.

CI does let you provide more sustained pressure in a team fight, and allows you to come equipped with more cc in general for control of fights and enemy players.

The two traits are both good choice. Indeed, I play both of them from time to time. However, saying that PU is absolutely inferior to all the other choices is nothing but ignorant and foolish, in complete denial of the utility and opportunities that it provides.

Considering it is a team game as you said, and considering what you just said about CI. You have made my point. Yes keep taking PU all you want. I’ll keep running shatter and having people whisper me calling me cheap for running PU even though I’m not. Yes it is inferior considering what most team comps are running lately. Helseth tried PU in the ESL then immediately swapped to something else after.

NA mesmers aren’t even touching PU and doing work with it. The only ones that feel that PU is absolutely necessary, are people who think that it brings more to a team game over CI or illusions with mental anguish.

Nobody is saying its absolutely necessary. PU is a trait that gives you different options on engage, disengage and moving from point to point. That is all. If you do fine without it, thats great. You obviously found something that works for you, in the matches you have played. That does not make PU bad for conquest.

I don’t have a set in stone mesmer build anymore because the new mesmer traits are quite elegant in terms of the number of options you have available.

I do run a single stunbreak interrupt build with CI. I also run a stealth/phantasm burst variant with no interrupts and blink/decoy/portal. I also run an inspiration build so I don’t have to run mantra cleanse without giving up portal or a stunbreak and I’m expecting condi pressure. I run illusions for torch trait when using sword/torch and and I run chaos for staff traits. Depending on the map and composition of the other team, I will sometimes play one over the other.

All of these are shatter builds and at their core, none of them are fundamentally different to the old standard shatter. You just have different options available to you at different times.

Ross Biddle.2367:

bhagwad.4281:

Ross Biddle.2367:

bhagwad.4281:

Ross Biddle.2367:

Crow.1683:

am a PU mesmer i like to think of my self like batman i come out of no where bursting the kitten out of you and let police do the capping am the one who burst thy ele thy engi thy thief thy ranger and i kitt thy warrior and thy guard am invisible hand ( literally)

but in all seriousness me having different style doesnt make me bad i just serve another purpose

I came across a PU mes the other day running all the stealth skills. The thing is, because he’s dropping into stealth I know that all I have to do is duke in and out of the cap point, decap it, and play hide and seek with him. I don’t even need to use stealth, just LoS and teleport around ledges, casting phants when he comes out of stealth. The point gets decapped very quickly, and he has no way to recap it. So while we may not kill eachother, I’ve tied him up in a 1v1 on his point and he looses the match for his team because he’s not earning anything.

That’s the real trouble with PU burst from stealth. The predictability of it. Not even the predictability of the incoming burst, but the predictability of the gameplay surrounding the fight over conquest. If you’re successful with it, it’s only because your opponent doesnt know how to play the game, sorry to say.

The point you make is valid only if you are doing the capping. When facing a PU build, the roles will usually be reversed. You will be the one trying to hold the point and stop it from getting decapped. You know how fast that can happen, and you can’t afford to leave your circle.

The PU is not meant to hold points. It is meant to decap/kill. One or the other will happen.

Sure, but if im playing home point defender I’m going to be running a build that’ll counter such nonsense until help arrives. Might be a problem in a pug game with no TS, but with a propper comp and comms, yeah…

Pugs are the majority of games on GW2. If it’s not balanced in solo q, it’s not balanced at all. Team speak is a far distant cry from what most of us do.

Meh, a bit of pre match text planning can make a pug team work wonders. Just takes one person to start the conversation. And more often than not there’s at least one other person on your team with a clue about how to pvp.

This leads me to conclude that you haven’t really soloed and tried talking to your teammates. If there is one rule to follow, it’s this – you cannot rely on anyone else. You have to be self sufficient and treat what other people do as an act of god. You cannot influence it in any way.

It’s the only way to keep your sanity.

bhagwad.4281:

Ross Biddle.2367:

bhagwad.4281:

Ross Biddle.2367:

bhagwad.4281:

Ross Biddle.2367:

Crow.1683:

am a PU mesmer i like to think of my self like batman i come out of no where bursting the kitten out of you and let police do the capping am the one who burst thy ele thy engi thy thief thy ranger and i kitt thy warrior and thy guard am invisible hand ( literally)

but in all seriousness me having different style doesnt make me bad i just serve another purpose

I came across a PU mes the other day running all the stealth skills. The thing is, because he’s dropping into stealth I know that all I have to do is duke in and out of the cap point, decap it, and play hide and seek with him. I don’t even need to use stealth, just LoS and teleport around ledges, casting phants when he comes out of stealth. The point gets decapped very quickly, and he has no way to recap it. So while we may not kill eachother, I’ve tied him up in a 1v1 on his point and he looses the match for his team because he’s not earning anything.

That’s the real trouble with PU burst from stealth. The predictability of it. Not even the predictability of the incoming burst, but the predictability of the gameplay surrounding the fight over conquest. If you’re successful with it, it’s only because your opponent doesnt know how to play the game, sorry to say.

The point you make is valid only if you are doing the capping. When facing a PU build, the roles will usually be reversed. You will be the one trying to hold the point and stop it from getting decapped. You know how fast that can happen, and you can’t afford to leave your circle.

The PU is not meant to hold points. It is meant to decap/kill. One or the other will happen.

Sure, but if im playing home point defender I’m going to be running a build that’ll counter such nonsense until help arrives. Might be a problem in a pug game with no TS, but with a propper comp and comms, yeah…

Pugs are the majority of games on GW2. If it’s not balanced in solo q, it’s not balanced at all. Team speak is a far distant cry from what most of us do.

Meh, a bit of pre match text planning can make a pug team work wonders. Just takes one person to start the conversation. And more often than not there’s at least one other person on your team with a clue about how to pvp.

This leads me to conclude that you haven’t really soloed and tried talking to your teammates. If there is one rule to follow, it’s this – you cannot rely on anyone else. You have to be self sufficient and treat what other people do as an act of god. You cannot influence it in any way.

It’s the only way to keep your sanity.

You’re welcome to your conclusions I guess. Far fetched as they are (see bolded text). Funnily enough I record all my matches and post a lot of them, and the text box shows plenty of pre-match planning which is all you need, even if its just one guy saying he’s going to take home. Of course I don’t expect high uptake on mid match communication, or that my team mates are even competent. I can, however, keep my expectations realistic. Good luck with your outlook though.