Stress Test: Mirage Open world

Stress Test: Mirage Open world

in Mesmer

Posted by: Abelisk.4527

Abelisk.4527

I’ve already made a raid build and a viable PvP build with Mirage all within an hour…

What I really like is the playstyle between PvE Mirage and PvP/WvW Mirage is vastly different. For PvE you summon phantasms, spam axe attacks and ambush attacks, never shatter. For PvP/WvW you do a mix of ambushes, phantasm spawns, interrupts, shatters, making you be pretty much insane. I can share both builds if you guys are interested.

A few tweaks to some stuff and Mirage will be chockful of build diversity.

(edited by Abelisk.4527)

Stress Test: Mirage Open world

in Mesmer

Posted by: mginn.4502

mginn.4502

I’ve already made a raid build and a viable PvP build with Mirage all within an hour…

What I really like is the playstyle between PvE Mirage and PvP/WvW Mirage is vastly different. For PvE you summon phantasms, spam axe attacks and ambush attacks, never shatter. For PvP/WvW you do a mix of ambushes, phantasm spawns, interrupts, shatters, making you be pretty much insane. I can share both builds if you guys are interested.

A few tweaks to some stuff and Mirage will be chockful of build diversity.

Please do.

Stress Test: Mirage Open world

in Mesmer

Posted by: musu.9205

musu.9205

I’ve already made a raid build and a viable PvP build with Mirage all within an hour…

What I really like is the playstyle between PvE Mirage and PvP/WvW Mirage is vastly different. For PvE you summon phantasms, spam axe attacks and ambush attacks, never shatter. For PvP/WvW you do a mix of ambushes, phantasm spawns, interrupts, shatters, making you be pretty much insane. I can share both builds if you guys are interested.

A few tweaks to some stuff and Mirage will be chockful of build diversity.

That build is just core condi mesmer build with a bit bonus from mirage . nothing vastly here .
as long as we saw trait we knew it .

Stress Test: Mirage Open world

in Mesmer

Posted by: Abelisk.4527

Abelisk.4527

Elusive Mind can replace Inspiration.

Stress Test: Mirage Open world

in Mesmer

Posted by: Levetty.1279

Levetty.1279

Elusive Mind can replace Inspiration.

How can a stun break replace a line taken for its ability to heal, share distortion or provide an extra use of SoI?

What build are you even talking about?

Stress Test: Mirage Open world

in Mesmer

Posted by: Durzlla.6295

Durzlla.6295

Elusive Mind can replace Inspiration.

How can a stun break replace a line taken for its ability to heal, share distortion or provide an extra use of SoI?

What build are you even talking about?

For once i’m going to agree with Levetty, what is Elusive Mind doing that I don’t know about? Inspiration isn’t taken for a stun break, it’s taken for group support and more healing.

They sing dark, delicious notes about power and family.
As their mother, I have to grant them their wish. – Forever Fyonna

Stress Test: Mirage Open world

in Mesmer

Posted by: Abelisk.4527

Abelisk.4527

I’m mainly talking about the condi cleanse.

The PvE build will take a bit longer to post so I’ll just post the PvP/WvW build for now.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhAQNAs6fnsICVohdoB2qBEgiFYjqcC2tfjMAugXqOYP2mF-TpgWAAw+DbZAA

Gravity Well = Jaunt, empty weapon slot = axe, replace Chrono with Mirage with the exact same trait placement.

Amulets etc = unsure, Carrion or Viper can work. Sigils are still undecided.

Rune of the Tempest can also work really well. With Sage’s it would heal for 2k per stunbreak.

(edited by Abelisk.4527)

Stress Test: Mirage Open world

in Mesmer

Posted by: Esplen.3940

Esplen.3940

Going back to the main topic (and in no particular order):

I further tested things in the stress and what I said before is still true.

DE + IH works as expected, clones spawned from DH will ambush.

IAmbush and AoSymmetry seem to place you around yourself with their range of 1200/600 respectively. It actually feels like their blink distance is half of their listed/castable distance and should be noted that I was usually shunted ~600/300 respectively.
E.g: AoS may put you behind where you were when targeting an enemy in front of you.
Note: AoS is the only blink in Mirage that does not require you to be in range of an enemy. This allows it to be used during Raids to retarget (eg Gors/Sam) since the smaller range makes it safer to use.

Crystal Sands gets caught on terrain, although sometimes shards may spawn and move under the terrain instead of getting caught and destroyed. Average shard to reach center was ~3 (eyeball numbers, had as low as 1, and as high as 6, mostly 2-4). Unless you have a reason to have a dodge ready, ambush, or can’t attack (melee?), there’s little reason to cast this.

Sand through Glass doesn’t feel terrible in PvE except that I managed to get interrupted by damage, putting it on full CD. (???)

Mirage Advance feels so bad. If you want to use it, run Blink.

Jaunt feels so bad. If you want to use it, run Blink.

As stated elsewhere: Superspeed only affects you running forward. I managed to test side-stepping, backpedaling, and even ExecAxing. Side-stepping and backpedaling do not get affected by positive movespeeds. ExecAxing does get affected by movespeed, but is irrelevant because non-mounted out of combat movespeed is capped at the same speed as Swiftness and the axe cannot be used in combat.

Axe skills feel clunky in their damage, but mostly feel clunky in their exection. Axe2 is the most damage you’ll get in the weapon, but you can’t use it in combination with Phantasms. Also, it doesn’t like to be consistent when it gets caught on terrain, so you can’t maximize your damage with it unless you cast it against a wall or something similar, unlike other charges (camera facing ground, no target chosen). Axe3 is pitiful damage, but takes 0.75s to get out (including the leap, if it hits). If it hits, it’s better than any of the autos. If it hits.

Crystal Oasis feels bad because it’s a slow heal so you have to use it pre-emptively (although it also gives you a Mirror). Looks good on paper for PvP, but it doesn’t feel that helpful when used.

Mirrors lasted long enough. My main concern is there’s no way to know how long they’re up for so you don’t know where you need to be going (although having a predictable path based on objects on the ground isn’t nice for non-PvE).

TFW you down during story instance because you dodge backwards trying to get out of the Hammer of Doom and end up just backpedaling at 105 speed (run speed = 210 in combat, superspeed = 400, walking = 80). Oh boy.

I wasn’t doing a lot of damage to the enemies in PvE (exclusively Axe). Sure they died fast, but it was like trying to cut construction paper with kid-friendly dull scissors. Especially when fighting the raid squads alone. It also felt like I didn’t have a lot of survivability, but that could be me not being used to mcing myself. I had a significantly easier time during the Beta weekend with a Power Mesmer than a Condi Mirage (could be due to comfort/knowledge of play since I’m bad with Mirdodges).

Mirage Thrust feels good, not because it’s strong, but because it’s a leap.

IAmbush can put you outside of range of your target (if using Axe) and not facing your target. To account for this you must spam 1 to ambush or risk missing the window.

Stress Test: Mirage Open world

in Mesmer

Posted by: OriOri.8724

OriOri.8724

I have to disagree with mirrors lasting long enough. I was not able to participate in the stress test, but unless they buffed the duration, 4 seconds is nowhere near enough time.

Stress Test: Mirage Open world

in Mesmer

Posted by: OriOri.8724

OriOri.8724

I kinda think the design process for anything mesmer suffers from how easily it snowballs into OP territory. Therefore I think numbers are just something to ignore for now and comment on how the mechanic itself would work if the number was appropriate.

For instance, how would Ambushes be if they were tuned up? I think they would be fine personally. Mirrors… not as big a fan there, I don’t think just numbers make them more attractive as such.

The point about snowballing stems from a fundamentally flawed class mechanic. Anet needs to just redesign our class mechanic in its entirety, from the ground up, on the core class.

Stress Test: Mirage Open world

in Mesmer

Posted by: Esplen.3940

Esplen.3940

I have to disagree with mirrors lasting long enough. I was not able to participate in the stress test, but unless they buffed the duration, 4 seconds is nowhere near enough time.

It depends on the use. As a melee Mirage, I had no problem coordinating my Mirrors. My problem was if I wanted to be fancy and hold a Mirror, I never knew how long I could hold it. From afar, I can see it being a problem, and I still dislike Sand through Glass. But from a melee POV, I felt like False Oasis, Glass Shards, and Sand through Glass gave you ample time to retrieve it.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that they’re a good mechanic. I think they should be seen as something akin to Illusion retarget, as opposed to a (supposedly) main mechanic like Mirage Cloak.

Stress Test: Mirage Open world

in Mesmer

Posted by: mginn.4502

mginn.4502

I have to disagree with mirrors lasting long enough. I was not able to participate in the stress test, but unless they buffed the duration, 4 seconds is nowhere near enough time.

They did not. I had several instances where I was running toward a mirror and it would poof out of existence right before I got to it. This made me a very sad panda.

Stress Test: Mirage Open world

in Mesmer

Posted by: OriOri.8724

OriOri.8724

@Esplen – They are sold as a main mechanic, so they should act as one. Do they actually retarget clones though? I thought they just gave them mirage cloak, which in and of itself does not retarget them (I didn’t get the chance to play either of the stress tests).

Also, even in melee range, 4 seconds is not long enough duration. That’s not enough time to get another clone out if you are trying to buff up an IH ambush attack unless you are using scepter. 4 seconds is enough time to basically use them instantly.

Stress Test: Mirage Open world

in Mesmer

Posted by: green plum.7514

green plum.7514

I had a lot of fun in the open world PVE with a power Mirage, running berserker gear and sword/sword. Clone generation and mobility is amazing, allowing (and kind of forcing you) to shatter on cooldown. The amount of dodges is insane. The damage is okish, survivability on full glass cannon felt very good. Some numbers definitely need tweaking, mirrors should be up for longer. I also played a bit as a condition Mesmer with axe, and while axe skills are cute, I really prefer Firebrand as a axe wielding condition maniac

As far as skills go. The healing skill is very lacklustre. Jount is amazing for open world, much more useful than any other Mesmer elite and makes Blink redundant.

This all of course from a perspective of a casual. I have no idea about higher-level PVE or PVP nor do I care. So far, I will start playing PoF with a Mirage and a Firebrand.

Stress Test: Mirage Open world

in Mesmer

Posted by: Ryouzanpaku.1273

Ryouzanpaku.1273

I had a lot of fun in the open world PVE with a power Mirage, running berserker gear and sword/sword.

Can you post a build please?

Player plays the game. MetaKitten plays the DPS meter on the golem.

Stress Test: Mirage Open world

in Mesmer

Posted by: green plum.7514

green plum.7514

I had a lot of fun in the open world PVE with a power Mirage, running berserker gear and sword/sword.

Can you post a build please?

I don’t remember exactly, I was just playing around a bit, no serious theorycraftign or anything. I believe it was Dueling (with Fencer’s Finesse and Superiority complex) and Illusions (1-1-2). With Mirage traits, I was using Shards of Glass and Infinite Horizon (all Adept traits are kind of pointless for a power build IMO). The idea was to use the sword ambush skill a lot and then shatter as much as you can, which would churn out new mirrors, which would give you new cloaks and clones (in combination with sword ambush).

No idea how “viable” it is, but to me it felt like a base Mesmer on steroids. I started playing Mesmer because I like the idea of a swordsmen who blinks around the battlefield like crazy , and I also like the purply blurry visuals, and Mirage definitely delivers on that

Stress Test: Mirage Open world

in Mesmer

Posted by: musu.9205

musu.9205

I had a lot of fun in the open world PVE with a power Mirage, running berserker gear and sword/sword.

Can you post a build please?

I don’t remember exactly, I was just playing around a bit, no serious theorycraftign or anything. I believe it was Dueling (with Fencer’s Finesse and Superiority complex) and Illusions (1-1-2). With Mirage traits, I was using Shards of Glass and Infinite Horizon (all Adept traits are kind of pointless for a power build IMO). The idea was to use the sword ambush skill a lot and then shatter as much as you can, which would churn out new mirrors, which would give you new cloaks and clones (in combination with sword ambush).

No idea how “viable” it is, but to me it felt like a base Mesmer on steroids. I started playing Mesmer because I like the idea of a swordsmen who blinks around the battlefield like crazy , and I also like the purply blurry visuals, and Mirage definitely delivers on that

IH does not work for power build .

and Shards of Glass
first it has 33% rng
20s icd if i remember ?
also it triggers on shatter skill usage not per illusion shattered

Stress Test: Mirage Open world

in Mesmer

Posted by: green plum.7514

green plum.7514

IH does not work for power build .

Wouldn’t IH give you more clones with sword?

and Shards of Glass
first it has 33% rng
20s icd if i remember ?
also it triggers on shatter skill usage not per illusion shattered

I didn’t notice anything about an internal cooldown (not saying that you are wrong). 33% is reasonable given that you can Mind Wrack every 10 seconds or so. The fact is that I always had a bunch of clones around without using any clone-generating utilities, simply by smashing auto-attack.

Stress Test: Mirage Open world

in Mesmer

Posted by: musu.9205

musu.9205

IH does not work for power build .

Wouldn’t IH give you more clones with sword?

and Shards of Glass
first it has 33% rng
20s icd if i remember ?
also it triggers on shatter skill usage not per illusion shattered

I didn’t notice anything about an internal cooldown (not saying that you are wrong). 33% is reasonable given that you can Mind Wrack every 10 seconds or so. The fact is that I always had a bunch of clones around without using any clone-generating utilities, simply by smashing auto-attack.

1. nope
2.33% rng is never reasonable on 10s cd skill usage which also deletes all your dps even 33% does happen , its little gain .
how is that reasonable ?
3.if you do not use any other clone source but sword ambush , it will offer you 2 clone over 10s . that is not a lot .i meant you can’t even have enough for full mind crack dmg .

clearly you did not test stuff but just jump around with teleport .you should play a thief instead , really .

Stress Test: Mirage Open world

in Mesmer

Posted by: Curunen.8729

Curunen.8729

Elusive Mind can replace Inspiration.

The rate of condi clear is far too low to be of any practical use, and the stunbreak isn’t really necessary given what we have access to in skills as well as being able to dodge while stunned anyway (just not breaking it).

Restorative Illusions under Alacrity with traited shatter cooldowns is far superior.

I don’t rate Elusive Mind in its current state – Mantra of Resolve and Jaunt with cleansing sigils and prestige should be enough.