Guild Wars 2

So instead of having to fish around to find the info you want, why ot have a thread dedicated to answering as many of the common Mesmer questions as we can? Veteran Mesmer please feel free to submit your answers to any of the proposed questions. If you have a question that isn’t here, feel free to ask away!

1. General
2. Mechanics
3. PvE
4. PvP
5. WvW

1. GENERAL

• What is a Mesmer?
  A Mesmer is an atypical Scholar (mage) class that specializes in style and finesse… with the occasional illusions and misdirection thrown in. Contrary to the mage tradition, Mesmer wield everything from staves to dual swords to even shooting lazers out of greatswords.

• Why all the pink and butterflies?
  Don’t you sass me. Its royal purple.
  It’s actually all very symbolic, actually. Mesmer tend to have a very prestigious, royal ambience about them. The victorian butterfly mask is meant to symbolize mystery, misdirection, and the Chaos Theory. Mesmer’s Chaos magic alters perception and reality and is highlighted with a butterfly effect theme.
  So suck up the blow to your manhood. You’re actually a pink/purple scientific boss.

• Where can I find a comprehensive guide on everything Mesmer?
  Shameless self-promotion notwithstanding, you can find almost everything you could possibly need by checking here: Lyssa’s Grimoire: The Mesmer Handbook

• Are Mesmer difficult to learn and level?
  Relatively. Compared to, say, Warrior or Guardian, Mesmer can be a difficult growing experience. We are very trait-heavy, so early on we are less powerful than other classes and we require a bit more creativity with our skills and can’t just get by via slamming our face nito everything.

• Are there any Mesmer-specific terms?
  You can’t be pretentious without fancy terms. Here’s a link to figure them out.

• Do Mesmers do anything unique?
  Portals, reflects, CC (crowd control), and Boonsharing are some of the things mesmer excel at in different gamemodes.

• Are Mesmers bad in any game mode?
  Nope, Mesmer tends to be middle-tier in all aspects.

• What are some cool Mesmery weapons?
  Sword –
  Scepter –
  Staff -
  Greatsword –
  Focus – Anomaly / Spirit Links
  Pistol -

2. MECHANICS

• How do Shatters work?
  Shattering, the Mesmer class mechanic, manually destroys our clones to produce a variety of effects. All shatters are instant cast and thus can be used at any time, even in the middle of attacks. The four shatters can be divided into offensive [F1/F2] and defensive [F3/F4]. Mind Wrack and Cry of Frustration provide AoE damage to power and condition builds respectively, while all builds enjoy the control and defense of Diversion and Distortion. Shatters increase in effectiveness for every clone shattered, and with Illusionary Persona (Illusions XI) an additional shatter effect originates from you aswell.

• Do we have any hard counters?
  Begins with a “T” ends with a “$#@$QWERQWQ!!”

• Are there any traits that are absolutely required?
  Any build that intends on shattering frequently (note: this does NOT mean only shatter builds) generally must take Deceptive Evasion (Dueling X)
  Shatter – iPersona (Illusions XI)
  Lockdown – Chaotic Interruption (Chaos XI) or Confounding Suggestions (Domination XI)

• What stats do illusions inherit?
  Illusions inherit: Power, Precision, Condition Damage/Duration, Boon Duration, Critical Damage, Armor, and Healing Power. Illusions will benefit from the Mesmer’s Might stacks, as well as any effects that increase the above stats, such as Banner of Discipline or Spotter. Illusions inherit nourishment from food buffs, but do not gain from sigils (such as the 5% damage of Sigil of Force)

3. PVE

• What should I run to quickly clear the open world?
  Sword, Focus and Greatsword

• What is a good build/guide for dungeons?
  6/4/0/0/4 Phantasm with Sword / Sword – Sword / Focus. I totally just ripped that, because honestly hell if I know. But Maxinion does!

• What is best for zerg trains?

4. PVP

• Who are considered the top Mesmers?
  US – Supcutie / EU – Helseth

• How do I deal with Thieves?
  Thieves hardcounter Mesmer, which means that it’ll be a difficult fight no matter what you do. With all the stealths and evades, it’s nigh impossible to react and more important to predict what the Thief is going to do. You have begin with gaining experience versus thieves (duels are the best way), then try to predict their rotations and reactions, and lastly.. the best way to learn to fight one is to play one. Learning the mindset and abilities of the class goes a long way to defeating it, especially true versus thieves.

• What builds work in hotjoin?
  Any as long as you have the corresponding skill to make them work. Hotjoin is filled with new players and people testing builds with the occasional hotjoin hero in the mix.

• What builds work in tPvP?
  Currently Shatter Mesmer is lauded as the best build for high-end tournaments, while Lockdown and PU have been made successful.

• What is a Mesmers’ role in a match?
  Shatter Mesmers drop in, burst all over everything (hehe), and dip out in a guerrilla style. Lockdown Mesmers pick strategic target to intercept while keeping an eye out for focused allys, stomps/rezzes, and AoE-oriented opponents. PU Mesmers force enemy teams to commit 2 or more people to stopping them, thus unbalancing fights elsewhere.

5. WVW

• What roles can Mesmers fill in WvW?

WvW Mesmers tend to fall into one of following archetypes: “roamer”, “pick”, “train” and “pin-snipe”.

A “roamer” Mesmer is intended for solo or small group play (a.k.a. “havok squad”). The purpose of this archetype is to support the server efforts through guerilla tactics, such as taking under-defended objectives or cutting off enemy reinforcements.

A “pick” Mesmer brings strong burst damage to quickly take down high priority targets and disrupt the enemy back-line. The mesmer’s job is to punish enemies that over-extend or fall off train, relying on stealth and mobility to stay alive.

A “train” Mesmer brings group support to large scale engagements. These responsibilities include providing group stealth, projectile reflection, boon stripping, condition removal, and haste.

A “pin-snipe” Mesmer brings long range single-target damage and crowd control to single-out and kill enemy commanders. This mesmer typically focuses on boon stripping, CC and burst damage in a coordinated effort with other party members.

Some Mesmers may opt for a hybrid between two or more of these roles. Regardless of role, all WvW Mesmers will be expected to know how to use Veil and Portal as the situation requires. ( -SuburbanLion.8095)

• What builds work best for each role?

Roaming provides the greatest build flexibility and will vary depending on if you run solo or havok. Generally speaking, any of the PVP builds described above will work well in a roaming situation. In addition, condition mesmers can also make for excellent roamers and have the advantage of certain gear and rune-sets that are not available in structured PVP.

Shatter Mesmer is the most common build for a pick Mesmer, but Lockdown can be effective also. Pick Mesmers generally gear as glassy as possible, and often carry a gear swap to tank up as necessary.

Train Mesmer allows for some build flexibility, but a good starting point is the Zerg Support spec (26060). Coordinate with other Mesmers in the group to decide on a Veil order and bring complementary utilities.

Pin-snipe Mesmer’s main requirement is landing Moa Morph during the spike. Individual builds may vary, but a good starting point would be 66xxx with Empowering Mantras and Triumphant Distortion to assist with burst damage from range. ( -SuburbanLion.8095)

• What’s the best way to gear up for WvW?

If you levelled in WvW/EotM, you likely have a surplus of a Karma and Badges of Honor. Vendors in each of the WvW maps sell exotic level equipment with a variety of stats for a combination of gold and badges. If you can bring yourself to PvE, you’ll save some money by visiting the Karma vendors in Orr first. Note that equipment acquired in this manner cannot be salvaged, so use cheap runes for now and Mystic Forge it once you can afford a proper set. ( -SuburbanLion.8095)

(RESERVED incase more space is needed)

(RESERVED because I always regret not reserving an extra)

(RESERVED because I get an eery feeling I’ll need this .. for some reason)

Great idea!! I thought I’d offer some possible answers to the WvW Section as a starting point. I kind of reworded the questions a little bit for additional clarity. Feel free to edit as you think necessary.

5. WVW

• What roles can Mesmers fill in WvW?

WvW Mesmers tend to fall into one of following archetypes: “roamer”, “pick”, “train” and “pin-snipe”.

A “roamer” Mesmer is intended for solo or small group play (a.k.a. “havok squad”). The purpose of this archetype is to support the server efforts through guerilla tactics, such as taking under-defended objectives or cutting off enemy reinforcements.

A “pick” Mesmer brings strong burst damage to quickly take down high priority targets and disrupt the enemy back-line. The mesmer’s job is to punish enemies that over-extend or fall off train, relying on stealth and mobility to stay alive.

A “train” Mesmer brings group support to large scale engagements. These responsibilities include providing group stealth, projectile reflection, boon stripping, condition removal, and haste.

A “pin-snipe” Mesmer brings long range single-target damage and crowd control to single-out and kill enemy commanders. This mesmer typically focuses on boon stripping, CC and burst damage in a coordinated effort with other party members.

Some Mesmers may opt for a hybrid between two or more of these roles. Regardless of role, all WvW Mesmers will be expected to know how to use Veil and Portal as the situation requires.

• What builds work best for each role?

Roaming provides the greatest build flexibility and will vary depending on if you run solo or havok. Generally speaking, any of the PVP builds described above will work well in a roaming situation. In addition, condition mesmers can also make for excellent roamers and have the advantage of certain gear and rune-sets that are not available in structured PVP.

Shatter Mesmer is the most common build for a pick Mesmer, but Lockdown can be effective also. Pick Mesmers generally gear as glassy as possible, and often carry a gear swap to tank up as necessary.

Train Mesmer allows for some build flexibility, but a good starting point is the Zerg Support spec (26060). Coordinate with other Mesmers in the group to decide on a Veil order and bring complementary utilities.

Pin-snipe Mesmer’s main requirement is landing Moa Morph during the spike. Individual builds may vary, but a good starting point would be 66xxx with Empowering Mantras and Triumphant Distortion to assist with burst damage from range.

• What’s the best way to gear up for WvW?

If you levelled in WvW/EotM, you likely have a surplus of a Karma and Badges of Honor. Vendors in each of the WvW maps sell exotic level equipment with a variety of stats for a combination of gold and badges. If you can bring yourself to PvE, you’ll save some money by visiting the Karma vendors in Orr first. Note that equipment acquired in this manner cannot be salvaged, so use cheap runes for now and Mystic Forge it once you can afford a proper set.

Great FAQ so far, bit there is one thing bothering me badly.
You can’t call Hellseth the best EU Mesmer AS long AS Azani is arround whos is at least as skilled as Hellseth. Just watch MiM play in Tournaments or against TCG.

UPDATED 11/17/14 Thanks SuburbanLion!

@Dennis: That’s a very good point. Maybe it would be better to simply list the top Mesmer streamers.

Perhaps it is. There is allways a Fanboy with another opinion on “the best” Mesmer ;-)

I do not think Azani is better than Helseth to be honest or even close to being equal… He seems to die A LOT more than Helseth does (it’s not much of a negative thing as at top level playing mes is really hard. I’ve done a match against CM once and they pretty much burst you when you least expect it, usually all the way down and it’s really hard to react to that, I was really tired and it was late but still..) and makes a lot more mistakes like in a 3v3 walking onto point right after being rallied and then going down again to cleave instead of backing out, they had enough man power to sustain the 2v3 for the 10s he would be away ect. Excluding the china qualifier, TCG played like sh.. there. Also I know for a fact he can’t 1v1 too good while I’ve seen Helseth take on a ton of 1v1s and come out victorious.
Azani is still a decent mesmer though.