Guild Wars 2

Is there any viable build with GS+Sword/Shield for Open PvE/Fractals? I really like this combination. What runes, sigils, traits and skills should I use? Thank you in advance for help

Hey,

For open world you can use anything you want, so sword shield + gs is totally fine. I still suggest a sword offhand instead of a gs for soloing stuff and for zerging champs the staff is probably the best choice.

For FotM you should be using a quickness focused build. There are multiple ones to achieve this – either with chrono runes and signet of inspiration or simply with boon duration runes and a better useful utility skill instead of SoI. You are useful because you grant quickness and alacrity. Your personal dps is medium so better boost your allies to be worth going with them Change your build according to the situation tough.

For Raids you have tons of builds to choose from, Mes has the widest build diversity of all professions there. But I think you don’t want to go there, or do you? Lemme know ^^

Greez!
- Madame Le Blanc

Just use the quickness sharing build on metabattle. There really isn’t anything else you can use cause mesmer has no build diversity.

Hi,

I don’t know much about mesmers in raid, but I usually only hear about two builds : the chronotank and the chrono DPS.

Could you please quickly explain the other viable builds you mention in your post ?
Thanks !

Personally I like sw/sh + gs for open world stuff. The range and quick damage on the greatsword makes it nice for various things, and then you have good close range combat with sw/sh.

Don’t make the mistake of running that in FOTM or raids though, you should be using a standard chrono-buff build for those.

Edit: @Ferulio: There are no other viable builds. Chronotank and chrono dps are basically the same anyway. The only difference is that one takes a bit of toughness gear to control aggro in raids, and the other doesn’t.

Heya,

I have to disagree with you guys, saying there aren’t any other viable builds. Metabattle is way out of line about that (like always … xD). There are extremly many Mesmer builds you can use in raids, if you know when and how.

• Danger Time Chrono
• Standard Support Chrono
• Danger Time Tank Chrono
• Standard Tank Chrono
• Heal-O-Mancer (Tank aswell)
• Max DpS Power Chrono
• Max DpS Condi Mes
• Support Condi Mes

I can give you at least one reason for using every single one of them. I played them all and I pick everyone of them once in a while. How much I trust in each build? Well look at my inventory:

Greez!
- Madame Le Blanc

Every build is viable. I used to farm sw events on my lvl 40 norn without armor. Doesnt mean its the best thing to do.

As with chrono..all builds should do the trick, but others will need to carry your extremly low dps. Get used to it, its stample of mesmer proffesion.

I would probably take Seize the Moment, Deceptive Evasion from dueling, Inspiration Signet and wells as utils with Chrono runes, and then shatter everything with GS+fire all wells, share quickness and then swap to sword/shield until wells are up again.

Hey

No, not every build is viable… “Viable” is something subjective tough – for me, viable means it’s the most efficient way to play in a current situation. Aslong as build X comes into that situation at least in one scenario – it’s gonna be viable.

Don’t sugarcoat really bad builds by telling people “you can clear the raid with it”. If you see people clear the raid with 5 people, everything seems “viable” in a 10 man raid. With that – I have to disagree tough.

Greez
- Le Blanc

Xyonon.3987:

Heya,

I have to disagree with you guys, saying there aren’t any other viable builds. Metabattle is way out of line about that (like always … xD). There are extremly many Mesmer builds you can use in raids, if you know when and how.

• Danger Time Chrono
• Standard Support Chrono
• Danger Time Tank Chrono
• Standard Tank Chrono
• Heal-O-Mancer (Tank aswell)
• Max DpS Power Chrono
• Max DpS Condi Mes
• Support Condi Mes

I can give you at least one reason for using every single one of them. I played them all and I pick everyone of them once in a while. How much I trust in each build? Well look at my inventory:

Greez!
- Madame Le Blanc

Apart from the very obvious standard support, standard tank (which is, I assume, standard support with a bit of toughness) and Heal-o-Mancer (which you have discussed in another thread), could you elaborate on those builds ?

I’m most especially interested in how you make the Danger Time and Condition variations work, keeping in mind we are talking PvE.

Arguing about definition of the word is rhetorical bullcrap.

OP asked about build for specific purpose and using specific weapons. I provided, tested it too, and it works. As well as, no doubt, many other builds. Of course every situation needs different tools but thats what you learn when you play.

And he didnt ask about raid builds.

GLaDOS.5897:

Xyonon.3987:

Heya,

I have to disagree with you guys, saying there aren’t any other viable builds. Metabattle is way out of line about that (like always … xD). There are extremly many Mesmer builds you can use in raids, if you know when and how.

• Danger Time Chrono
• Standard Support Chrono
• Danger Time Tank Chrono
• Standard Tank Chrono
• Heal-O-Mancer (Tank aswell)
• Max DpS Power Chrono
• Max DpS Condi Mes
• Support Condi Mes

I can give you at least one reason for using every single one of them. I played them all and I pick everyone of them once in a while. How much I trust in each build? Well look at my inventory:

Greez!
- Madame Le Blanc

Apart from the very obvious standard support, standard tank (which is, I assume, standard support with a bit of toughness) and Heal-o-Mancer (which you have discussed in another thread), could you elaborate on those builds ?

I’m most especially interested in how you make the Danger Time and Condition variations work, keeping in mind we are talking PvE.

The Standard Support Chrono needs full kitten armor and accuracy sigils aswell oil for when not with the druid for max dps. So you can get more out of danger time than you first might think.

The Danger Time Chrono goes full zerker and uses air sigils instead of accuracy and uses sharpening stones regardless of druid. Now simply put up 2-3 avengers (with a 2nd Chrono, wich I suppose is even meta for pugs now, it’s even enough with 1 avenger) and you’ll have perma slow together with TW and WoA. This build boosts personal damage by a big amount, so try to have 100% boon duration so you can use calamity for the extra alacrity and personal damage.

For the Condi Chronos it’s rather a niche. I used them against all bosses but gorsy seems suboptimal since the duellists always hit the adds before the updraft. I somehow couldn’t really sustain good damage on him, maybe gonna try again soon, to find out if I made mistakes or if the build really is suboptimal under the given conditions.
However I used Condi Chrono for VG and Sabby just fine. For VG I used the full dps condi just once as a full condi dps profession. I didn’t like it too much since the support is extremly low and almost requires another mes in the same sub … not that big fan of it, but the damage is decent. Yet the support variation is quite nice – you can summon 2 duellists at the split phase on red but still stay at blue to strip boons aswell go for green field duty due to scepter ranged attack. Sword isn’t too shabby as condi against VG too due low armor.
Against Sabby I only use it if you want to keep your healer close and Mes is the lowest dps loss to go ranged.

Opinions? If you find anything wrong with it, tell me, we all do mistakes

Greez!
- Madame Le Blanc

I’m gonna call bull on the danger time build. In any reasonable team, danger time will be far overcapping your crit, not to mention it doesn’t affect your phantasms. It’s basically just a gimmicky way of boosting your awful personal damage. That build would just end up being a really bad dps build that happened to give a bit of alacrity too. Way better to bring a normal support build.

Condie is questionable too. You’re sacrificing alacrity/quickness support for damage….but your damage is worse than ‘insert actual dps class here’. I’m sure you can clear with it, but it’s not a good choice.

Ayo,

With DT you’ll be overcapping by 8%, positive, but there is no problem with that. You simply have more power and an air sigil compared to the standard support build, nothing you lose for your personal damage.
You’ll be running ±2 avengers anyway to sustain 100% alacrity for your whole party. Your allies deal more more damage with that alacrity, than a dps phantasm of yours anyway, so more passive damage on your account.
This said, the phants will indeed crit less, but have more power. Overall I’d agree with a lower phant dps, but the difference sure is smaller than the massive boost to your personal damage. Besides except for VG you’ll be forced to pick a focus anyway and to swap out the shield is a no-go, but even there I start to tend to use a focus. Yet against Gorsy DT isn’t a good idea beacuse of the updrafts and alacrity lack during dat time messes up TW uptime at all breakbar phases, so don’t use it there.

Condie is questionable agreed! It’s really just the optimal solution in an suboptimal group in the first place. That’s what I meant.

Or am I incorrect somewhere?

Greez!
- Me xD