Guild Wars 2

So i’m new to mesmer.

I swapped to a warrior to grasp the game first and hit 80 with that so im back to leveling my mesmer.

What i don’t understand is why the clones/illusions/phantoms Disappear when the target you used it on dies.

Is this intentional?

I think i could understand it if it was the only mob, they would disappear, but if im fighting like 3-4, and i kill 1 they still disappear.

Is there a way to fix this with traits or skills?

Is this a change that would happen, and would it break anything?

Mesmers only lvl 32 for reference.

It’s intentional. Yes it’s annoying in PvE where everything dies in one blow but bosses, but this part of the game (skills) was designed around sPvP mostly, where it’s quite strong.

I think it sucks too. Clones and what not should have an timer, not be tied to the target. But that’s the way they went, and it’s still a pretty cool mechanic. Love my mesmer.

It is intentional. Think of them as fire and forget spells you cast on your target rather than persistent doppelgangers, with the added bonus that you can dispel them for desired effects (the F1-F4 skills) before your target dies. I often note my target is about to die while in a crowd and pop F1 or F2 because the effect hits all the foes in range of it. Or so I assume from the swarm of damage numbers I see, anyway, I’m not anything like an expert on this. Then I build them up again on the next target; if a higher health mob is available, eg a veteran, I use that one so they’ll stick around longer.

Also once you have traits unlocked you’ll be able to add effects to the clones and phantasms that trigger when they are killed. Might also work when they self-shatter after a foe dies? I’m not sure on that.

Donari.5237:

It is intentional. Think of them as fire and forget spells you cast on your target rather than persistent doppelgangers, with the added bonus that you can dispel them for desired effects (the F1-F4 skills) before your target dies. I often note my target is about to die while in a crowd and pop F1 or F2 because the effect hits all the foes in range of it. Or so I assume from the swarm of damage numbers I see, anyway, I’m not anything like an expert on this. Then I build them up again on the next target; if a higher health mob is available, eg a veteran, I use that one so they’ll stick around longer.

Also once you have traits unlocked you’ll be able to add effects to the clones and phantasms that trigger when they are killed. Might also work when they self-shatter after a foe dies? I’m not sure on that.

Yeah, i could see where its balanced for pvp, but in pve it sucks lol. Especially with mesmers having a harder time soloing pve at first. Im almost 35, so then i cna just spam dungeons to 80 thankfully

edgarallanpwn.8739:

Donari.5237:

It is intentional. Think of them as fire and forget spells you cast on your target rather than persistent doppelgangers, with the added bonus that you can dispel them for desired effects (the F1-F4 skills) before your target dies. I often note my target is about to die while in a crowd and pop F1 or F2 because the effect hits all the foes in range of it. Or so I assume from the swarm of damage numbers I see, anyway, I’m not anything like an expert on this. Then I build them up again on the next target; if a higher health mob is available, eg a veteran, I use that one so they’ll stick around longer.

Also once you have traits unlocked you’ll be able to add effects to the clones and phantasms that trigger when they are killed. Might also work when they self-shatter after a foe dies? I’m not sure on that.

Yeah, i could see where its balanced for pvp, but in pve it sucks lol. Especially with mesmers having a harder time soloing pve at first. Im almost 35, so then i cna just spam dungeons to 80 thankfully

Well you could always level up with spvp.

dank.3680:

edgarallanpwn.8739:

Donari.5237:

It is intentional. Think of them as fire and forget spells you cast on your target rather than persistent doppelgangers, with the added bonus that you can dispel them for desired effects (the F1-F4 skills) before your target dies. I often note my target is about to die while in a crowd and pop F1 or F2 because the effect hits all the foes in range of it. Or so I assume from the swarm of damage numbers I see, anyway, I’m not anything like an expert on this. Then I build them up again on the next target; if a higher health mob is available, eg a veteran, I use that one so they’ll stick around longer.

Also once you have traits unlocked you’ll be able to add effects to the clones and phantasms that trigger when they are killed. Might also work when they self-shatter after a foe dies? I’m not sure on that.

Yeah, i could see where its balanced for pvp, but in pve it sucks lol. Especially with mesmers having a harder time soloing pve at first. Im almost 35, so then i cna just spam dungeons to 80 thankfully

Well you could always level up with spvp.

How fast is that and when can i start? How is it compared to dungeons? And is it ok if i do nothing but die? LOL

Best way to see it is Mesmers are not a ‘pet class’ but illusions are our ‘resource’ for more powerful abilities. Don’t want to loose the resource you spent on your target? blow it up first for AOE damage.

To understand the mechanics of the Illusions and Phantasms, you need to look at what it is that a Mesmer is doing while fighting others. They use deception and tricks on the mind, to make their target(s) think there is an illusion there, when in “reality”, there is not. A Phantasm is something that is seen, but not really there, it’s a phantom, they in turn, an Illusion. So you are targeting the weak minds of individual targets, making them see things that are not there. If your target is defeated, your mind control over this person is no longer there, thus, the illusion breaks. Likewise, if your target has a strong willpower, they will break your illusion(s) on their own.

Now one could question how these things can do AoE damage, when you are tormenting the mind of a single individual, but that can simply be because you spread the fear and deception to nearby enemies, through your manifestation of something that is not real, in the mind of one individual screaming out at non-existing terrors in the night. Who’s to say that through the thick smoke of illusions, the crazed individual you are controlling, are not only hurting him-/herself, but also nearby allies, as they flail about with their weapons, swinging at phantoms and ghosts.

This is also how you can think about what is going on when you shatter their illusions, wrecking their minds, confusing them at what has just occured, making them cry out in frustration, as a diversion to their ability to think straight temporarily, or through distorting their sight, making them miss their attacks on you.

And remember, we are are nowhere near as powerful as the Mesmers from the Mesmer Collective. Those guys can unveil incredibly tall towers, hidden in the middle of a lake (by other powerful, evil Mesmers), create Portals to their own desired location. Blink across gaps which you could not normally run to reach, make everyone think they are wearing clothes, even though they are practically naked, and so on forth. We are weak in comparison. Those guys can probably create illusions that manifest themselves far more dominantly in the world. We, the weaker Mesmers, can not.

What i don’t understand is why the clones/illusions/phantoms Disappear when the target you used it on dies.

Is this intentional?

Back in the original GW, the Mesmer was THE QUEEEN of hexes. There are literally over a 100 hexes in the game. And the player ended up having to memorize all the “icons” for all those hexes.

One of ANet’s main objectives for GW2 was to have the player focus on the combat and NOT the UI. So when it came to bringing back the Mesmer for GW2, ANet’s solution was to create “virtual” hexes. That’s all they are.

The Mesmer is NOT a pet class. It is a hex class. It’s always been a hex class. It just happens that hexes take the form of illusions. And just like a hex, if the target dies so does the hex.

I’m almost certain I heard that Mesmers and their clones will be getting reworked in which the clone won’t disappear after the enemy dies. I could be wrong~

Keep in mind that many traits affect clone death, so when enemy is below 50% just shatter like crazy.

On a side node: I should get to uni…

aleeex.6452:

I’m almost certain I heard that Mesmers and their clones will be getting reworked in which the clone won’t disappear after the enemy dies. I could be wrong~

Keep in mind that many traits affect clone death, so when enemy is below 50% just shatter like crazy.

On a side node: I should get to uni…

You’re mistaken, nothing even remotely like that has been said or implied.

It’s more that players want to believe that specializations will completely change up professions to work drastically different from how they work now. Personally, I doubt that will happen, it’s already a relative mess when it comes to balance, imagine adding another profession, with a specialization that changes it drastically, on top of another 8 classes in a sense, by specializing the current 8 that’s available. It just doesn’t seem feasible. That we get access to new Utility skills and a new weapon, sure. But it’ll still revolve around the same mechanics as it does now. I’m practically 100% certain of that.

All I want from out Specialization, is for the Shield (should we not be massively mistaken and it turns out we get another weapon) Phantasm to use Taunt (once on creation), so that you can create plays by wasting Stun Breakers with some lockdown play, Cry of Frustration w/ Maim and watch and snicker as enemies run and auto-attack themselves out of some health. Scepter + Shield perhaps, force out a Illusionary Counter proc by getting in the way of the auto-attacks, follow up with Confusing Images? A lot of fun things that can be done if we get Taunt like that. Depends how long it lasts of course. In before nerfs.