Guild Wars 2

I’m level 53 and I find that most utilities are too situational. Leveling in open world PvE I almost never use my utilities, so I’m asking for some help. I worry about the combat getting stale only using my 1-5 skills. I main an Engi so I’m used to button dancing a bit.

I don’t take Mirror Images because I run a Phantasm build, not a shatter build. So I don’t want to overwrite my phantasms with clones. With staff and sword I never really need Blink to escape.

I’ve been using signets mostly because I get some passive buffs to my illusions and boon duration and ocassionally pop them if needed, but that’s rare. Mantra of Pain was nice at level 20 but now it deals horrible damage. I’m traited for cleanse on heal so I don’t need any of those 3 utilities. Feedback and Mimic and Arcane Thievery are too situational in open world.

My most recent attempt was using Illusionary Guardian, since my Phantasms have retaliation thru traits. I’m hoping this will increase my damage output as well as offer me survivability. Otherwise my bar has 2 signets that mostly stay passive.

The phantasm retal was just nerfed, don’t bother building for that anymore.

I recommend decoy, signet of illusions, and feedback. You won’t always need feedback, but it’s nice to have when you do.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Mesmer-PVE-dungeon-leveling-build/first#post2339556

Pyroatheist.9031:

The phantasm retal was just nerfed, don’t bother building for that anymore.

I recommend decoy, signet of illusions, and feedback. You won’t always need feedback, but it’s nice to have when you do.

^^^This. Feedback and decoy, in my opinion, are the two most useful utility skills for PvE.

Feedback is ridiculous against ranged attacks but is not limited to just that situation. It also creates an ethereal field so friendly projectiles that go through your feedback bubble cause confusion. So it isn’t as situational as you might think. I throw it up as often as I can in PvE.

Decoy is a great defensive utility and can get you out of a tight spot if you find yourself in above your head or just need some time to heal.

I usually take Null Field for my third utility skill, but I have also been known to use Sig. Of Domination and Sig. Of Illusions. Less often I use Sig. of Inspiration or Blink.

@Pyro: wasn’t building around it, just noticed it as a minor trait & thought I’d give it a shot. How was it nerfed? Guess I can drop that idea.

@Nretep: I got chastised in that thread for asking non-dungeon related questions. Hence, why I started this thread. This is about open world PvE.

@MacLeod: Guess I need to research ethereal fields more. Until now I’ve just been leaping through them for chaos armor. Thanks for the tip on Feedback, I’ll give it another go. Decoy didn’t seem to drop threat as well as I’d hoped, which is why I dropped it.

I find the mesmer signets to be really good, but I always feel kinda shameful rocking too many at a time. Feels like a noob/lazy move. SoI is on my bar, as is the boon duration one (forget the name). An aoe blind is nice when leaping into a group for Blurred Frenzy before retreating.

If a more active play style is what I’m after, should I perhaps try a shatter build? With the buff to illusion hp my phantasms are more effective (staying alive longer) but it means I’m sitting back more often too.

I run Blink / Feedback / Mantra of Resolve in all content (open world, dungeon, WvW).

I agree I don’t resort to Blink a lot in open world PvE, but it’s always good to have a stun breaker, and I like this one since you can break stun -and- instantly get out of touble. You can also use it out of combat to cover more ground when traveling.

Feedback, as said above, is just fantastic.

Mantra of Resolve because it’s a good idea to get used to using condition removal. You might not need it much at your current level, but I’d say it’s a good idea to get used to using it before it becomes invaluable.

As for retaliation, Vengeful Images used to keep retaliation 100% up, but now the phantasms only get it for 5 seconds and it then wears off.

Decoy/blink and nullfield/idis and feedback were what I mainly used leveling up. CND removal really helped me vs tougher mobs.

I suggest… a mantra build since you’ll never use it after you hit 80. Take Protective Mantras and Restorative Mantras and you’ll get some pretty sweet heals.