Guild Wars 2

I don’t know if i am the only one who feels this way but i really don’t like shattering. I main a mesmer and do not want to re-roll but i have (since beta) felt like shattering is a really bad class mechanic.

I feel like mesmers are too tied into shattering to point where it leaves us with very few play styles. Other classes mechanics add flavour to gameplay but i feel like shattering is very much like a combo point system seen in other games. On top of that several of the mesmer’s weapon sets are very dull/just not useful so i feel even further limited.

I was hoping the GW2 mesmer would have a bigger theme of spell thievery and magic manipluation like in GW1 through copying other classes/enemies abilities and using them for themselves but for some reason that was given to the Thief and summoning illusionary weaponry but that was given to the elementalist.

Does anyone else feel this way?

Personally, no.

The class mechanic was surprising at first, since we had nothing like an illusion or shatter in gw1, but it works for me as a redesign of the intent behind mesmers – distraction, misdirection, control, and punishment.

GalloGSM.8139:

…I was hoping the GW2 mesmer would have a bigger theme of spell thievery and magic manipluation like in GW1 through copying other classes/enemies abilities and using them for themselves …

Every Phantasm is a copy of a non mesmer gameplay :
*iDuelist > double pistols thief
*iBerserker > Greatsword warrior
Etc.

And there are so many magic tricks in our utilities skills that most Ele are jealous :-)

You shouldn’t feel forced to play a shattering build. Just don’t invest any points in the Illusions tree.

I don’t think you should feel like shatter is the only build, when phantasm builds and phantasm/mantra are viable too and they’re decidedly anti-shatter.

Basically, phantasm builds if you don’t like shatter, clone builds if you do. Now if I can just get my glamour/blind/confusion build viable as well, will have all the bases covered.

I like shattering, but I also love my phantasms. I wish there were builds that could somehow persevere the phantasm upon shattering, using only the illusions.

I personally don’t think that mesmers are too tied to shattering, during my time as a mesmer, ive been trying out multiple builds and styles and most of them seem to work very well (in PvE at least, i don’t do much PvP. WvW sometimes).
Though i am currently using shattering build, which i actually really like.

GalloGSM.8139:

I don’t know if i am the only one who feels this way but i really don’t like shattering. I main a mesmer and do not want to re-roll but i have (since beta) felt like shattering is a really bad class mechanic.

I feel like mesmers are too tied into shattering to point where it leaves us with very few play styles. Other classes mechanics add flavour to gameplay but i feel like shattering is very much like a combo point system seen in other games. On top of that several of the mesmer’s weapon sets are very dull/just not useful so i feel even further limited.

I was hoping the GW2 mesmer would have a bigger theme of spell thievery and magic manipluation like in GW1 through copying other classes/enemies abilities and using them for themselves but for some reason that was given to the Thief and summoning illusionary weaponry but that was given to the elementalist.

Does anyone else feel this way?

I feel like shattering is very situational… Soloing… Pvp and so on… Shattering is great… Anytime you face other players shattering is a key component for us and knowing how to rotate our shatters to receive maximum effect. Or to not shatter because you know that the person you are fighting will figure out where you are when you do shatter. That being said, Dungeons Staff is a requirement… I personally remove all clone summoning utilities bring out the group utilites and never swap from my staff. ( a weapon I never use in pvp/small group wvw/or soloing in pve.) The ability of your warlocks to crit at 4-5kat a time allows you to look at your teammates and see which one needs support while helping maintain DPS on the enemy. plus the chaos storm that i never use on my enemies always on my team… in dungeons I NEVER shatter because the way I build for dungeons has better group support than shattering… It is all a matter of perspective.

From my heavily entrenched PvP standpoint:

If you don’t like shattering then Mesmer isn’t the class for you. Any build not utilizing shatters in any way shape or form is effectively not using like 75% of the tools that are given to them in order to overcome their opponents.

I never truly used a shatter build until 80 and I can say that Mesmers are not forced into shattering for any reason.

I ran a Phantasm build for PvE until finding the opnerfplzshatterbuild and have been using it ever since. It’s not because I agree with it, it’s because it’s more work, and more fun. The damage output increase is minimal, but it makes me actually do work in PvE and PvP.

I feel like I’m playing a Concert Piano and getting rewarded for it, whereas my Phantasm build, I was seeing high numbers like 8000+, but it was slow and all it was was feeding more Phantasms (drop 3 Phantasm, wait until one dies, drop another).

Plus, the feeling is so rewarding in PvP when a player goes for your clone since you comboed yourself so well that they get confused.

Well there -were- shatters in GW1 I know, I used one as my main energy regen when paired with Ether Phantom (or something like that) rip that baby off and burn the hell out of their energy as you regain your own!!

I personally shatter my illusions a lot, but that’s because I’m one of those people that changes up their illusions a lot, I’ll go from 3 phantasms bending them to my whim to 2 clones and a phantasm, back to 3 phantasms, no phantasms etc etc because its just a good way to change up the pace and always keep them on their back foot. Not to mention I always dislike -not- shattering my illusions….

It’s a fun mechanic, although I would love a copy cat sort of mechanic where we constantly mimic their skills but I feel between all our reflects and then Mimic, that’s not really needed.

I think mesmers are designed very well, and they’re very fun to play.

btw for anyone wondering about the shatters in GW1 here’s a list of all the ones i know of.

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Shatter_Delusions
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Drain_Delusions
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Shatter_Enchantment
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Shatter_Storm

Kinda hope we get something similar to Shatter Storm in the future… my god that’d be glorious! I’m thinking AoE boon destruction!

Nero.8623:

From my heavily entrenched PvP standpoint:

If you don’t like shattering then Mesmer isn’t the class for you. Any build not utilizing shatters in any way shape or form is effectively not using like 75% of the tools that are given to them in order to overcome their opponents.

Hmm? I don’t like shattering and I murder people in PvP?

Shattering IMO is not something you need to focus on in the first place ^^; most supporting mesmers don’t use many illusions cause their busy with AoE buff/cond stuff. Offensive mesmers have enough damage mitigation and mobility skills to kite the heck out of someone. Shatters are useful though if you have a pure shatter build, but I honestly don’t see the fun in making clones/phantasms so you can use four skills repeatedly :0 but I’m abnormal, so people might like it despite what I think ^^