Guild Wars 2

I think the essential problem of stealth is the unpredictability in the sense that you can choose to burst immediately, or towards the end of your stealth. With long stealth durations like PU, this means you have no idea when the attack is going to come, no tells, no information. At least with the thief you know they need to get close (and behind) you, so your auto attack chains advance and you know the guy is there.

When people say “Stealth doesn’t cap a point”, that is true of course, until you realize that the purpose of the PU mesmer is not to keep the point contested, but to kill you in short order, and then take the point gaining 5 + the point. The few ticks you get in your favor by the mesmer stealthing is not enough to offset this.

So here’s a suggestion to change stealth itself.

You cannot break out of stealth until the duration has run out. And of course, you can’t do any damage in stealth either.

Possible addition: You take no damage in stealth…

This has two effects:

1. It discourages overly long stealth durations if the purpose is to get control of a point

2. It introduces an element of information, which is currently absent with stealthing. The opponent knows approximately when you’re likely to come out and thus stealth becomes a defensive state that can also position you whenever you want.

The end result will be quick bursts of stealth for strategic purposes and not unpredictably long durations.

As a mesmer, it took me a long time to learn to deal with thieves – and never fully successfully. Stealth was always a cheap tactic, with limited counterplay. Now I find my class starting to use it overmuch as well and it kinda shames me to see the mesmer played in a way we all knew was unfun.

They choose to address your problem with reveal.

bhagwad.4281:

I think the essential problem of stealth is the unpredictability in the sense that you can choose to burst immediately, or towards the end of your stealth. With long stealth durations like PU, this means you have no idea when the attack is going to come, no tells, no information. At least with the thief you know they need to get close (and behind) you, so your auto attack chains advance and you know the guy is there.

When people say “Stealth doesn’t cap a point”, that is true of course, until you realize that the purpose of the PU mesmer is not to keep the point contested, but to kill you in short order, and then take the point gaining 5 + the point. The few ticks you get in your favor by the mesmer stealthing is not enough to offset this.

So here’s a suggestion to change stealth itself.

You cannot break out of stealth until the duration has run out. And of course, you can’t do any damage in stealth either.

Possible addition: You take no damage in stealth…

This has two effects:

1. It discourages overly long stealth durations if the purpose is to get control of a point

2. It introduces an element of information, which is currently absent with stealthing. The opponent knows approximately when you’re likely to come out and thus stealth becomes a defensive state that can also position you whenever you want.

The end result will be quick bursts of stealth for strategic purposes and not unpredictably long durations.

As a mesmer, it took me a long time to learn to deal with thieves – and never fully successfully. Stealth was always a cheap tactic, with limited counterplay. Now I find my class starting to use it overmuch as well and it kinda shames me to see the mesmer played in a way we all knew was unfun.

Fun is highly subjective. Spectating is fun. Doing laundry is fun. Eating is fun. So playing a Mesmer with stealth is fun also.

It is much more easy to mitigate stealth burst from Mesmer than from Thief:

• Most mesmers are going for shatter burst from melee range.
• Phantasms that are summoned from stealth could be dodged before they attack.
• Mirror Blade from stealth if ranged could be dodged.
• Traited stealth skills (duration, recharge): Veil (4s, 90s), MI (10s,90s), Decoy (6s,40s), Prestige (6s,30s). This is still way lover stealth % than thief.

For the initial burst when you do not see the Mesmer coming you are in the same position as against thief.
In combat MI could be interrupted. Standard anti-stealth tactics like AoE and melee cleave still apply.

The main problem people have is the combination of stun+burst from stealth.

• You do not need PU for that.
• We could do it before as well with the stun signet.

Careful with your cooldowns, Korusef. Veil and MI are both at 72 seconds. (That may be a traited MI.)