Meta settled, builds experimented. Ideas start to come up. Let me hear your top 5 changes aiming mesmer skills for future balance patch. If you had to change something and only had 5 shots at it, what would it be. This is my top5:
Sword AA- Increased attackpoints / decreased delay aftercasts reducing the total chain time from 2.48s to 1.88s. Also bumped the first two skills from chain from 0.66 dmg coef. to 0.7
Gs#3 – Number of boons removed increased from 1 to 3.
Deceptive Evasion: additionally increase endurance regen (+50%) or increases vigor effectivness (duration/amount of endurance regen)
Signet of Inspiration (passive): instead of pusling random boons, boon duration increased 20%.
Arcane thievery: CD decreased to 30s. Aftercast delay is huge. Condi removal part on self should happen anyways and not dependent on target condition (if have target, if its in range, etc.)
About sword aa: mesmer sustained damage is bad. Also a light armor squishy target at melee range performing an autoattack should be better rewarded. Sword is the only melee weapon.
Gs#3: 12s CD and 1.0 dmg coeficient for a skill that roots you in place during the cast and only to remove 1 boon? Would help push power mesmer.
DE: A GM trait should have some more fuel added to it than a single clone that is already limited by 3 and by endurance regen and shatter cd. Also vigor/sigil of energy got sucessively nerfed. This trait took a heavy hit with those changes.
Signet Passive is just a way to to fix unreliable way to help in boon application and a lacking and totally random effect on self.
AT: Good potential skill, lacking in so many ways. Starting by it CD and then the unreliable way to remove condies, its prime effect i would say. I think condi removal should always happen. Only the offensive part (condi transfer/boon stealing) should be dependant of a target and its range/etc conditions.
Although I agree with the sword aa and the staff changes, the gs #3 might be a bit too much. 2 boons and a DMG increase would be fine by me. Pistol 5’s DMG is low because pistol is an interrupt weapon. Its supposed to synergize with skills like power block or mistrust which would make it really good with Duelist’s Discipline. What I would consider instead is having pistol 5 function as a smaller Gravity well of sorts by having the first bullet stun, bounce into daze, bounce again as knock back, and final bounce immobilize.
I don’t think gs 3 will see that change. Maybe 2 I guess.
Deceptive Evasion is not going to get endurance regeneration buff. Not with critical infusion in the same line. I don’t expect it to change simply because it is a good general trait for any build without needing to shoehorn it in.
Maybe insane idea, but mind stab as blast finisher?