Guild Wars 2

Just wanted to get opinions from other Mesmers. I love all of the shattercat builds from Osicat. However, lately I have found that in such a condition-heavy meta, a build with no condition removal falls a bit short. Even a class that is semi-speced for conditions can take me down. Is there a way to get around this, or are the current shattercat specs simply nonviable atm?

BTW: I play solo/small-group roaming in WvW as well as sPvP

Thats a tough one. Osicat’s Heavy Shatter build is probably your best bet as the hoelbrak runes help with conditions a lot, and lemongrass soup is a must for food these days, if you can afford it or an equivalent.

Utility wise, the condition cleanse mantra can help, but arcane thievery is probably better although kinda hard to land. Your best bet is to cut the duration and have an emergency condition cleanse skill, since you probably can’t afford traiting for condi removal in a typical shatter build.

Tpvp is about standing in circles and doing damage… With a shattercat you just grab a greatsword and auto attack from the sides :/. Theres too much aoe condition spam to even consider going in melee range…

That said, use your mobility to counter conditions. They cant apply condis if they dont hit you.

Even now shatter is my favourite build, and that wont change untill they nerf it into oblivion.

Im really scared of condi warriors though…. 1 pin down and i lose 90% of my hp :/.

I should have a video up soon with examples of ‘mobility vs condi’. Ill show you when i do.

edit: shatter is viable in all pvp play. Just not optimal in tpvp due to easy mode meta builds :/.

I play a shatter mesmer (20/20/0/0/30) in spvp, and it is totally viable, depending on your movement. Yes, against conditions heavy classes it can get gross, but the key is to keep moving and not get caught. It’s high risk, but high reward.

I run ether feast, decoy, blink, signet of illusions, and mass invisibility. As long as I keep invisible, out of aoe conditions (I’m looking at you, necros), and keep shattering, most players will have a hard time finding me, particularly in a 2v2~ish situation. In 1v1s I try to keep invisible and keep my distance. The burst will usually speak of itself.

I have looked at potential ways to add some conditions removal, null field being one that you pointed out, but it’s not worth sacrificing a stun break, and it doesn’t act fast enough. Truth be told, the burst from shatter as well as the maneuverability from the various stun breaks ideally will be enough to keep you from receiving too many conditions. If you do get nailed by a bunch of conditions, well, hope for the best.

In conclusion: It’s very viable, just requires careful playing that avoids getting bombed by too many conditions too early.

staff is better than GS for shatter builds imo just due to the fast and reliable clone generation and survivability you get. Greatsword offers little defense besides the admittedly strong crippling phantasm or the knockback, but mobility is a stronger tool by far. With chaotic dampening and icelerity, you can phase retreat every 5 seconds, which is extremely strong.