(edited by Smirgel.9460)
The ultimate noob-friendly mesmer (PvP)build
Well, this is basically just a hybrid phantasm-signet build. This has been tried before with somewhat less than average results.
Basically, you run into multiple problems. The biggest problem with this build is that you have neither signet of illusions nor the phantasm hp trait. This means that your phantasms will be incredibly fragile. Anyone you face will be able to destroy them with just a couple of hits. Your offense will therefor be incredibly fragile and transient. Unfortunately, your offense is also a good part of your defense, since if your opponent doesn’t have to deal with your phantasms, they can easily chase you down and kill you.
This build has other problems as well. I don’t recommend usage of the signet heal in any PvP build, and the choice of that signet instantly makes this build worse. The signet has very substandard healing, and if you burn it in the first seconds of the fight for an initial burst, you’ll be absolutely destroyed by anyone that manages to kill your phantasms (not hard, as discussed).
Lastly, your utilities make no sense. This is caused by the fact that you’re trying to shoehorn a bunch of signets with differing uses into the same build simply because they’re signets. Lets actually look at them. You’ve got 1 breakstun that also happens to be a small aoe blind and is passive boon duration, one stun that passively provides condition damage, and one signet that passively gives you a boon per 10 seconds and copies boons to allies on use.
These have no coherent qualities between the three of them. They don’t work well with each other, they don’t work well in a phantasm build, and they definitely don’t work well in this build.
Overall, this build really isn’t good. Your offense is extremely limited, and your defense is almost non-existent (1 second of situational distortion doesn’t count). Any competent player will destroy you.
Well, this is basically just a hybrid phantasm-signet build. This has been tried before with somewhat less than average results.
Basically, you run into multiple problems. The biggest problem with this build is that you have neither signet of illusions nor the phantasm hp trait. This means that your phantasms will be incredibly fragile. Anyone you face will be able to destroy them with just a couple of hits. Your offense will therefor be incredibly fragile and transient. Unfortunately, your offense is also a good part of your defense, since if your opponent doesn’t have to deal with your phantasms, they can easily chase you down and kill you.
This build has other problems as well. I don’t recommend usage of the signet heal in any PvP build, and the choice of that signet instantly makes this build worse. The signet has very substandard healing, and if you burn it in the first seconds of the fight for an initial burst, you’ll be absolutely destroyed by anyone that manages to kill your phantasms (not hard, as discussed).
Lastly, your utilities make no sense. This is caused by the fact that you’re trying to shoehorn a bunch of signets with differing uses into the same build simply because they’re signets. Lets actually look at them. You’ve got 1 breakstun that also happens to be a small aoe blind and is passive boon duration, one stun that passively provides condition damage, and one signet that passively gives you a boon per 10 seconds and copies boons to allies on use.
These have no coherent qualities between the three of them. They don’t work well with each other, they don’t work well in a phantasm build, and they definitely don’t work well in this build.
Overall, this build really isn’t good. Your offense is extremely limited, and your defense is almost non-existent (1 second of situational distortion doesn’t count). Any competent player will destroy you.
Yeah, you are right about the stun break issue. I should have clarified that I usually run this build with decoy instead of insp sig when my team doesnt need me that much in team fights or if I do soloq. Though, what you said about the limited offense and coherence, I have to disagree. Signet of midnight is awesome not only as a stun break, but the passive boon duration is very good with gs 2 and lyssa runes. Domination signet is another one that fits perfectly within the build. Not only makes it your bleeds and confusions stronger with its passive, but it is also very good at securing that your phantasms hit your opponent.
What comes to the signet heal, I actually find it the best option by a long shot. Imagine this scenario ( which has happened to me a lot of times): a pistol whip thief teleports to you and starts pistol whipping. You first cast midnight signet to stun break (+1s invul/cond cleanse) and cast phantasm (secured). If you time it right it will hit right after the evade ends on PW. Then switch to sw/p, usually at this point the thief uses withdraw to heal so you have time to cast a duelist, but if not, you can decoy and cast it or use blurred frenzy to avoid the thief’s burst. Now use the heal: there are so many times where I’ve been like 10% hp, but managed to pull the heal off, giving me chance to cast another duelist (secured). Then after that you can cast domi sig for a long stun, allowing you to Mass invis to recover and do a stealth iZerker. Dead thief.
Yes I find that while the build is not using any of the phantasm hp traits the rate at which you are pumping out them is so high that you don’t really need them. I can do a video with some gameplay with this build soon. Yes I know that shatter mesmer build can do higher burst at times and provides the superior boon removal, but every time I play it it feels like I’m doing ten times the work at keeping myself alive for the same results. That is why I think noob mesmers should really start playing with a build like this first. Btw, Countless, one of the top mesmers, runs a similar build:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fgAQNAsaWnUEVQbCNa1wWjExkig74OVA6IVw1K9A3uwdD-T0AgyCqIKSVkrITRyisFN+Y9x5j5CvPA
This is sort of a full power version of that with a few minor changes (20 in domination instead of 10 and 10 in inpiration). So I think it is in fact a very viable build.
(edited by Smirgel.9460)