Guild Wars 2

Well, I’ve gotten to my 5th character to outfit with ascended: my Mesmer. Problem is that I don’t have nearly enough hero points to get Chronomancer yet. I really don’t want to commit all that money and effort, not knowing how the elite specialization works. I also don’t like spending money to change it later.

So, is there a build that works with my Mesmer that will still work as I get Chronomancer?

Celestial comes to mind, but it seems so bland. Berzerker is out of the question due to the low life expectancy. What do you think? Cost is not a factor.

Do you mean WvW roaming?

If so, PU rabid or dire (dueling+chaos+ illusion) still works. Actually, in WvW roaming, chrono is not as mandatory as for other game modes (PvP, PvE, GvG).

I think the chronomancer utilities are useless in pve, at least the open world. Well, not totally useless. They do cause some damage, but no more than using core utilities. But I do like some of the chronomancer traits.

Sorry, I forgot to say: PvE exclusively.

nothing wrong with full zerk – ever :o

For PvE, the only stats that will reliably serve you well for the entire game will either be zerker or assassin. While there are other useful stats for specific and niche situations, zerker will always be good.

It depends on the build tbh. If you are doing a condi mesmer, then zerker is not the way to go. Viper would be the right choice for that (MAYBE rabid or trailblazer if you are using the toughness → condi trait).

Condi Mes is a niche build. It may have some purpose in specific areas, but it’s not good in general, nor in open world. You will struggle against multiple foes pretty hard, I really suggest you to go for a power based (zerk) build / playstyle.

Xyonon.3987:

Condi Mes is a niche build. It may have some purpose in specific areas, but it’s not good in general, nor in open world. You will struggle against multiple foes pretty hard, I really suggest you to go for a power based (zerk) build / playstyle.

I played condi in pve with zero problems, even against multiple foes.

bearshaman.3421:

Xyonon.3987:

Condi Mes is a niche build. It may have some purpose in specific areas, but it’s not good in general, nor in open world. You will struggle against multiple foes pretty hard, I really suggest you to go for a power based (zerk) build / playstyle.

I played condi in pve with zero problems, even against multiple foes.

Wanna see you fight a few itzel rangers with a condi build with no problem at all. Killing them =/= having no struggle. It’s just that you lack burst and cleave wich is quite important for open world imo. But hey – in open world “everything works”.

Xyonon.3987:

bearshaman.3421:

Xyonon.3987:

Condi Mes is a niche build. It may have some purpose in specific areas, but it’s not good in general, nor in open world. You will struggle against multiple foes pretty hard, I really suggest you to go for a power based (zerk) build / playstyle.

I played condi in pve with zero problems, even against multiple foes.

Wanna see you fight a few itzel rangers with a condi build with no problem at all. Killing them =/= having no struggle. It’s just that you lack burst and cleave wich is quite important for open world imo. But hey – in open world “everything works”.

I also wish him luck when fighting a reflect-o-chak with a condie build. Possible? Probably. Painful and agonizingly slow? Definitely.

Mesmer has blocks, evades, invulnerability, repositioning, stealth, CC, interrupts, reflects, boon/condition stripping… the works. My point is, you have more than enough tools in your kit to survive on Berserker/Assassin, honestly. Yeah, it’ll be more difficult and unforgiving, but if you’re after easy gameplay then you shouldn’t be playing Mesmer in the first place :p.

I would recommend a mixture of Assassin’s and Berserker’s until you hit round ~65% critical chance. Condition Mesmer is quite underrated in PvE and runs a mixture of Rampager’s, Sinister’s, and Viper’s if I’m not mistaken, but I wouldn’t recommend it purely because it’s rather situational and doesn’t do all too well in open world.

For traits, the top three trait lines I use are Illusions – Dueling – Chronomancer, but all the trait lines are useful in some way or other. Domination is interchangeable with Dueling in phantasm builds (and I’d suggest using this instead of Chronomancer until you unlock the spec), Chaos is used for stealth and sometimes for boon-sharing builds, and Inspiration is used for reflects or added defence/condition removal. Deceptive Evasion in Dueling is a must for me in open world.

All Mesmer weapons are useful in certain situations, but on power Mesmer your main weapons will likely be Greatsword, Sword Main/Off-Hand, Shield (once you unlock Chronomancer), Focus, and maybe Torch if you need stealth. Pistol, Staff, and Scepter are typically condition Mesmer weapons.

If you need more detailed help or tips on how to stay alive, I’d be glad to help.

^so pretty much what i recommended (build)

Fay.2357:

Xyonon.3987:

bearshaman.3421:

Xyonon.3987:

Condi Mes is a niche build. It may have some purpose in specific areas, but it’s not good in general, nor in open world. You will struggle against multiple foes pretty hard, I really suggest you to go for a power based (zerk) build / playstyle.

I played condi in pve with zero problems, even against multiple foes.

Wanna see you fight a few itzel rangers with a condi build with no problem at all. Killing them =/= having no struggle. It’s just that you lack burst and cleave wich is quite important for open world imo. But hey – in open world “everything works”.

I also wish him luck when fighting a reflect-o-chak with a condie build. Possible? Probably. Painful and agonizingly slow? Definitely.

Eh fair enough. I haven’t played mes in the new zones, so that might screw things up with that build if the creatures were made to shut down condi. I know that build worked pretty well in SW, but haven’t delved into the new areas with it yet (I don’t have a main as I like variety and have several level 80s I play around with).

Agreed, silverwastes is heaven for condi builds, I also rather tend to use condi engi there because of all those husks and the copper champion.

I have 9 mains (one for each profession), and this guy is my 7th in line to get ascended armor crafted. I just don’t want to craft it and then find out that I have to change the stats once I get to Chronomancer. But, that’s a LONG way down the road; I have at least 3 other toons to take through HoT first (far enough to get to elite specializations).

But, there’s good ideas here. Thanks!