Guild Wars 2

Is condi mesmer viable in open world and/or instanced PvE? If so, what kind of builds are used, and how does it measure up to power mesmer?

Condie mesmer in open world is pretty miserable due to how slowly it kills things. Power mesmer is still sorta miserable, but it’s substantially better.

Condie mesmer in instanced PvE is, on paper, competitive in damage. However, you cannot provide the standard quickness/alacrity buffing while playing condie mesmer, and condie mesmer transfers very poorly from on paper to reality. This is due to the pistol phantasms being purely single target and having long cooldowns, making us useless for clearing multiple mobs and slow to ramp up damage on bosses.

Overall, I wouldn’t recommend it. Most groups want a chrono that supports them, not one that struggles to dps a bit.

I’ve been enjoying PvE condi mesmer in the new open world maps. The new mobs are a bit tougher and more dangerous so not as easy to burst down on a power build. Jade constructs and other boss events are especially easy since you can do decent damage with minimal effort. I also keep PU and Harmonious Mantras traited just to make it easier to swap in mantras or stealth as necessary.

Pretty much anything is viable in open world and you can do much worse than condi mesmer. In a group though, you should play chrono for the superior support.

Staff condition mesmer is extremely strong in open world and 5-man instanced content when you play solo. Like Raven said, it requires minimal effort to do damage because it all comes from your clones. You could solo most of the Heart of Thorns hero challenges with ease. Gear can be rather simple: rabid everything with krait runes should suffice. Pick 3 trait lines out of dueling, illusions, chaos, and chronomancer.

Obviously if you plan to play instanced content with a group, then the meta chronomancer is still the one to go.

Heya!

Condi Mes with Scepter + Shield / + Pistol is one of the fastest 1v1 killers in solo open world. So it’s top tier for Hero Points and Champs in general.

However – big however – at the same time it’s one of the slowest trash mobs killers due to the miserable aoe capabilities. Power is much better in that area, while a power staff also is better in large scale fights v1, like world bosses, due to the huge amounts of conditions. Those iWarlock crits <3

Condi build for open world:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhAQNAr6OnsIiNoBWoBEgilcjqMAStWD9HWiZoeVr1bF-TByCQBOT5390LMhTAALVCOj9HAwBBAZPAAmp+DpAUUaE-e

1 Utility slot to swap accoring to the situation. Normally I’d use well of Recall and try to hit as many illusions as you can. Signet of Inspiration is fine too to share some fury, but I doubt it’ will stack up much withtout any boon duration.

If you want to go instances, stick to the Quickness / Alacrity bot Chronomancer. As Fay mentioned.

Fay.2357:

Most groups want a chrono that supports them, not one that struggles to dps a bit.

He’s more than correct with that statement. While there are some minor niches where you could go dps, it’s most likely not optimal in a team setup, and if, then only if there is another boon-bot-Chrono.

Go for this in parties:

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?vhAQNAs+dncfC9fiFoBmfCUrhlljq+Qj0J9sBCgIDdDOhLD-TBSBQB/b/BzoEEAnEAKp+DZUqcFlV4RvwEfAABAOAo6VPSBE4wI-e

Replace Well of Recall for other useful skills if required. Against lots of trash, Gravity Well and Calamity or Precognition are excellent choices.

Greez!

The way I succeed in pve is to level to 80 via tomes or pvp.. then go back and play the story episodes all geared up and trained.

Anet has really made things difficult for Mesmer otherwise.

I play with a condi build and trailblazer’s gear in open world PvE. Works nicely, especially in the new maps. For instanced content it is very situational, you are better using power/boonshare build in most cases.