Guild Wars 2

I would like our phantasms to dodge/evade at the same time we dodge. What are downsides or problems with such behavior? Why would ANet avoid implementing it?

EDIT: instead of phantasms dodging, I’d prefer them to simply get a distorted or out-of-phase buff during mesmers dodge duration.

It’s difficult enough for a lot of players to pick out the real mesmer. Doing this would be a major buff and in an area that most players would detest. It would ultimately likely lead to other changes we’d like even less (such as other ways of more easily telling clones apart).

Simply one main problem.

If your phantasms are attacking while you dodge, they would also dodge, interrupting their attack.

So… no to this stupidity.

Anet would avoid implementing it because they’d have to be creating a completely new implementation in multiple ways.

Firstly, npcs connected to players don’t dodge. Minions don’t dodge, ranger pets don’t dodge, and illusions don’t dodge.

Next, illusions are even more separate from mesmers than ranger pets/minions are from the ranger/necro. Once summoned, they simply use their own skills on their own timers on their own target. There is currently no possible way to affect what a phantasm does once it is summoned. In order to make this work, Anet would need to completely rewrite the interactions between a mesmer and the illusions.

tl;dr: $$$$$$$$$$$

I agree with Pyroatheist in relation to clones reacting to their owners movements. Its a big headache to include that kind of interactivity, and honestly, we never needed it. No, seriously we don’t. If we want that kind of control, we should just make a puppetmaster class and rename mesmer to that and summon puppets with their own skills to control and micro-manage.
That said, I do believe we should get a new line of skills for Mesmer that provide more interaction with our clones. What category they should fall under, I am not entirely sure. I would like a new skillset of 4 skills, with effects that allow a mesmer to auto-target a clone/phantasm and then activate a particular effect. For example, a spell that destroys a clone/phantasm and blinks the Mesmer to that location. Also, a skill to duplicate a phantasm with a long cooldown to offset the benefit. Another skill I have considered heavily is the Personal Portal: effectively, it creates a portal by shattering a clone and dropping the exit at your current position. The difference is that its not shared with teammates and has a much shorter cooldown than the old portal. With this, Mesmer’s could use portal as it was originally intended in the teaser trailer, a combat skill for warping between two points to start an attack, move, start another attack, move, and so on. Its hardly perfect(in most situations, the two points would be fairly close together) but it would be useful without being OP.

The reason for my suggestion was to address situations where majority of PvE bosses hit so hard that our phantasms die in one shot. Phantasms don’t have to execute the actual dodge animation and instead can be given a distorted or an out-of-phase buff where they can’t be damaged nor can they deal damage during the time-frame of our dodge.

Phantasms already use their mesmer owner buffs such as might/stability/etc so adding such a buff should be much easier than coding an actual dodge mechanic.

Realistically, not really frifox. I disagree because of the fact that 1) Mesmer has lost its trait for good retaliation on illusions since Vengeful Images was nerfed to oblivion 2) Regeneration is mostly useless to keep a phantasm alive, just not strong enough. 3) Where exactly is the illusions of a Mesmer getting Protection from? We can’t reliably give it to them that I know of 4) Might does not add anything to survivability. Shattered Strength actually destroys clones to give it to the Mesmer, but the illusions must be the target to have any value to your argument. Winds of Chaos with staff might help, but thats random and unreliable, and again doesn’t help the odds of survival. 5) Illusions have no traits benefiting stability, nor would it reduce damage from an attack if it DID have it. I also do not see an easy way to share this as you suggest. I don’t suggest specc’ing Power Break just for this purpose, our only skill there.
Remember, illusions inherit their owner’s attributes, not secondary attributes, so we would need new traits to accomplish what you are implying. Alternatively, as I said, we could see a new subset of skills (I would anticipate 4 to keep it even with the existing arrangement of skills we have) that could easily do this. For example, a skill that creates an effect that causes say, the next 4 illusions created to gain 5 seconds of distortion on summons would be a highly useful skill. Heh, I think I just rounded out my 4 skill set of suggestions.

frifox.5283:

Phantasms already use their mesmer owner buffs such as might/stability/etc

No they don’t. They inherit the mesmer’s basic stats, not buffs at all.

Pyroatheist.9031:

There is currently no possible way to affect what a phantasm does once it is summoned. In order to make this work, Anet would need to completely rewrite the interactions between a mesmer and the illusions.

… but that’s not really true is it?

You push a button and they all run to the target to blow up

The functions are already there, you could easily make a button press for the mesmer (ie dodge) perform a task on the illusion (ie dodge too).

That said, I think its completely pointless and would look silly.

I did a test few months ago. Summoned 3 phantasms and walked away 1200+ units. Then had a guard Empower both me and phantasms separately. Empower phantasms = same damage. Empower me = phantasms hit harder as expected with the might stacks. Might stacks changed my base stats so that could explain the increase in damage and if it’s true then I can assume that phantasms simply ignored their own might stacks.

Stability boon I just re-tested and I was wrong. I was fighting veteran giant and my phantasms avoided his knockback just as I used stability mantra which lead me to previous conclusion. It probably was a simple case where the summoned phantasms were right on the outside of his knockback radius.

Anyways, I’m not here to push my ideas without reason. I’d much rather have a good discussion and then re-evaluate my suggestions. I do believe that there should be some mechanic to help phantasms survive encounters where one hit means they’re dead.

Spear clones dodge, just saying. Not that anyone cares about underwater combat, me included :/.

And I think there would be an easy way to implement this: add a trait that grants “evasion” (evade all attacks) for 1 second whenever the Mesmer dodges , to illusions.

• there are already skills/traits that affects only illusions (phantasmal fury/signet of illusions)
• theres already an evasion buff, on the archers in CM

I dont see any reason to take this trait, though. Even if it were in 10 duelling.

Qaelyn.7612:

It’s difficult enough for a lot of players to pick out the real mesmer. Doing this would be a major buff and in an area that most players would detest. It would ultimately likely lead to other changes we’d like even less (such as other ways of more easily telling clones apart).

This doesnt really make sense. Never have I ever eqrd of someone confusing phantasms with a player.

edit: rangers also apply protection to their pets whenever they dodge. Our new trait could be an exact copy, except blur on illusions.

maybe not dodge but gain like blurred frenzy while you are dodging or something

as for coding it i guess you could have some interupt script waiting for the roll form a player but what if youre illusion is already attacking, i like the idea as to mimic a mirror with reflections but i think i prefer having them like minions.

I do like this idea, but it is in the wrong place.

Mesmer clones are pure, mindless DPS that can be wracked up on enemies, and dispelled extremely quickly with a shatter, then re summoned just as fast.

But ranger pets… I can’t remember if I came up with it or if I just read someone else say it, but I am all for ranger pets dodging when their master dodges. That way, ranger pets wouldn’t worse than dead weight at lupi.

Rangers have been asking for this for… well forever. Its not gonna happen.

i think id rather have rangers get preparations and have the option to ditch the ball and chain pet, this way they could actually be good assassins in group situations and the ranger wont have to worry about thier pet melting through aoe