Guild Wars 2

Hello there,

I’m kinda new to the game (kinda ,I have 5 class and my main is mesmer lvl 61 ).

I love the gameplay but I was wondering about the utility of the class on groups.

Is that a good class for dungeons ? Does it hit hard ? (I don’t think so, I’m pretty sure it’s more focused on support ,but meh) Because every dungeons I see is war/guard so I was wondering if mesmer were only there for feedback/veil/portals.

For pvp, I don,t think mesmer is a bad class and since it’s fun, I’ll be playing it even if it’s the worst class. But I heard recently on the /map that mesmer got the highest burst on pvp and my mind was blown (I thought that mesmers and guards had the lowest burst ).

Thanks guys.

EDIT: Forgot to ask, since I’m nearly lvl 80, what,s the armor and stuff I should be aiming at ? Exotic ? Berserker ? Assassin ? Something more defensive ? Thank you.

Take a look at Sandy’s guide (here: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Mesmer-PvE-Guide-by-Sanderinoa/first#post4225682) and my guide (in my sig) for details on the best DPS/support builds for dungeons, etc.

Even if you spec for DPS (which means a sword + mantra build), your DPS is not… great. It depends a lot on the situation (like whether or not you can keep up 3 phantasms, and how long it takes you to get those phantasms up). The main use of a mesmer in dungeons is indeed reflect + portal (Veil is useless— thieves do this better), but also the occasional utility roles (condition cleanse, stability, boon strip, etc.).

The thing is, GW2 dungeon running is about maximizing DPS and running with the minimum of required support. In terms of the support that mesmer provides, guardians often do it better (except for portal, obviously), while having higher DPS as well. This means Mesmer is not “good” at dungeons. There are some, like CM and Arah and CoF, where the reflects and portal can help out a lot. Fractals I also quite like to play with mesmer, as there are quite a few situations where reflects, projectile blocking, and portals can really help your team.

If you’re mostly pugging, mesmer is plenty fine— your DPS won’t be as low compared to the random things pugs run, and the support you provide will help keep them alive.

Jeyzer.1605:

For pvp, I don,t think mesmer is a bad class and since it’s fun, I’ll be playing it even if it’s the worst class. But I heard recently on the /map that mesmer got the highest burst on pvp and my mind was blown (I thought that mesmers and guards had the lowest burst ).

The highest “theoretical” burst in pvp is fresh air scepter/dagger elementalist, if you define burst as a combo of damage happening all withing the span of a single second, before an opponent can react. Thief is only slightly behind Ele in this regard, and glkittenter mesmer might come right after that, but I’m not really sure. It could be triple static discharge engi for all I know.

2 months ago this top tierish thief called yishis was working with ele and thief theorycrafters to determing the highest possible burst. I think he planned on working on mesmer and warrior max burst numbers after that but I don’t know if he ever got around to it.

For PvE, ele conjured weapons (FGS 4+wall/Icebow 4) have the best burst in that environment. After that thief and necromancer are suggested to have the best burst within like 7 seconds or something like that, but a lot of people have disputed the necro claims.

Mesmers have a use in some very specific dungeons (like CoF 1) and fractals, but otherwise they are only so-so. I would never take 2 mesmers in a group if I could avoid it. Time warp is pretty good with a group that knows how to use it. I enjoy playing mesmer in dungeons, but switching to thief or ele and seeing those big numbers feels really nice.

They have incredible burst in pvp, but most skilled players can dodge the majority of it rather easily. The problem is that shatter mesmers (those are the really bursty ones) all have mediocre sustained damage. They might be able to hit for 10k, but it will take them another 10 seconds before they can do that again. Meanwhile Thief can go about hitting for 3-4k every two seconds, and actually keep that up almost 100% of the time. Right now Thieves and Mesmers generally compete for the same spot in PvP groups, and Thieves can just do the job much better unfortunately. Most of us are hoping that changes.

For gear, I would go zerker for dungeons. You can grab some exotic gear from WvW pretty easily, which is probably the best way to gear up.