Guild Wars 2

I have seen many video where Shatter Mesmers roam with Greatsword and Sword + Torch. I personally find this setup not optimal for me. I still use Greatsword, but also use Staff. The reason for that is simple. I wanna have more mobility, both in and out of combat.

Yes I have one stealth less, but on the other hand it is easier for me to kite melee builds. This allows better disengagement imo. Also it is a bit easier to stack vulnerability on your foe with simply Staff AAs.

And I can also switch the Sword trait for Manipulation Range trait and get some amazing “range burst”. And I always like the question, if I find other players along the way and we are traveling somewhere: “How do you blink so often?”

How do you guys prefer to roam? What do you think are the benefits of Staff over Sw+T or Sw+T over Staff?

EDIT: OOPS I completely misunderstood your post! xD

Yeah the single biggest problem with Sw/T is the choice between 1200 blink and 20% cooldown on BF and ileap.

Come the patch and this won’t be a problem anymore. I like 9s Blurred Frenzy, and overall I find sword/torch much much better when facing a thief compared to staff.

I used to use staff + sw/t a long time ago (2/6/0/0/6 and 4/4/0/0/6) but I found there to be two big problems:
1. Chase potential and securing kills
2. Ranged burst

GS is just so much better at both of those two things. Another difference is that you can control/pressure opponents much easier on GS (iwave, izerker), whereas on staff the only thing you can do is kite given that people are not going to wander into chaos storm easily in wvw.

The only thing you really miss is phase retreat and of course staff clones with ielasticity. So yeah, staff just isn’t good enough paired with sw/t because they’re both too defensive.

Come the patch and HoT I can see potential for a Staff + Sw/T MtD condition shatter chronomancer that should really be able to bring the pain, but until then I think it’s best to pair one or the other with GS if running power shatter.

The reason I prefer torch in wvw is the shear space, not controlling enemy numbers. Target drop juke is better imo. The staff in pvp where numbers are known and the size of map is smaller plus knowing staff 2 blinks to kite on maps is powerful.

I am a PvP player but I did use to roam and still have gear which I take into WvW here and there.
I used to be a massive staff fanboy and I still like the weapon a lot.
Each has its own pros and cons and really does depend on your playstyle for WvW while for PvP it can also be a matter of playstyle, in some instances staff will outshine sword and somewhere sword will outshine staff. Thats for PvP only.
Why I like sword:
bf is amazing for avoiding damage. You can also cancel cast in that small tiny window and get a free evade off. iLeap is amazing for baiting dodges. Torch was my favorite mes weapon before because I just like using it. The stealth is great for disengages, avoiding damage, you can also use it to blind skills and so on, the phantasm isnt that bad, I think it cleanses condis here and there but mainly its just another thing to shatter.
Why I like staff:
The mobility ineed is nice, it is easier to kite some melee builds. Against other mesmers that are running sword torch and against thieves, sword is better.
Staff clones add a lot of pressure despite being in a power build.
iWarlock rocks!
Chaos storm is really great to have in some scenarios.
For me, I try to play both somewhat but I play sword torch 80% of my time.

about bf cd and leap. Who cares? I like using blink range and I rely on it a lot, so I take it!You’re not loosing out on a while lot if you go for blink range.

I am a big staff fan. I dont play Often builds without staff.
I think for group roaming, staff/GS is better, but if you fight Mesmer vs Mesmer for example, the classic shatter should win. The stealth is just too good for an offensive using and a defensive using against Range shatter mesmer.
But, if you play ps shatter, so staff/sword pistol, played rigjt you kill most of the gs/sw t shatter builds.

All in all, I would say it comes to personal playstyle, and who you are fighting against, so you cant say what is better. I think they are pretty balanced so there is no must to play.

I like the staff more, because of the nice burst the warlock has when he hits, the safe stomp, and the boons. I play GS/Staff in PvP and WvW, and I dont play with sword torch for a year and a half now.

Jurica.1742:

about bf cd and leap. Who cares? I like using blink range and I rely on it a lot, so I take it!You’re not loosing out on a while lot if you go for blink range.

I care because in a 1v1 scenario especially against say a thief or another mesmer, that extra -3 seconds off BF and -2 seconds off ileap fits into skill/movement/dodge rotations much more fluidly.

With 12s BF and 9s ileap I often find myself waiting for one or the other for a moment longer than I need to.

Anyway, at least with the patch I will be able to get both of them together.

When did it become it about dueling. Sure if u can predict the fights then you can choose. Why wvw I think you see more torch use for the highly random nature.

denis.9487:

When did it become it about dueling. Sure if u can predict the fights then you can choose. Why wvw I think you see more torch use for the highly random nature.

That’s why in wvw with sword I would take 1200 blink, but in pvp I would take blade training because I got more out of it.

I mostly use staff in PvP but I like s/t better for WvW roaming.
In WvW, you get additional stats from various source to the point that s/t burst can be much more deadly.

Additional stealth means better gank potential and disengagement. In WvW, you also get less terrain to phase retreat kiting. In some 1v2 bad players, with torch you can easily take them out 1 by 1. With staff, it will be much harder.

I swap to staff in WvW if it is some dueling against tanky opponent but stick to s/t in all other situations.

Hm. Interesting. I expected that more would prefer Sw+T. I like it too, but I do not like that this setup makes me wanna go melee more often^^ So I die to random pAoE burst of Warriors for instance. I guess it also comes down to what situations you have to face the most. And this can be different from server to server, from time to time. And yeah, it might be also a matter of personal play style.

I personally don’t think Sw+T improves my abilities very much… well and I am a little staff fanboy^^ I had recently a duel with a pesky P/D condi thief… and while I still lost, I performed better with Staff than with Sw+T… maybe it was due to better range.

But it is right, that with HoT things might really changes… thing is… I am contemplating to go Chaos instead of Dueling in HoT and try some shatter lockdown variation with the most awesomest staff trait eva Just not sure, if the trait can make up for the low clone production…

Mesmer doesn’t use rotations… You’re not a d/d ele. Sure you can get extra evades in 1v1 but that doesn’t really matter. I beat Rylock 1v1 when he was running the trait and I wasnt a few times. (I’ve not practiced 1v1s much except when I duel him for fun which is really minimal and he ofc wins a lot, but I do win here and there if I am not as predictable on my bursts and track his cd a bit more than usual.)
If you make mistakes the extra evades wont help you much, maybe it will allow you to win a few 1v1s but thats not something I’d aim at. If you play well, you won’t need them.
I tested it and I didn’t like it.I guess its personal preference. Supcutie was playing it a few weeks ago, he said he might swap back to blink range, not sure if he did..

About dieing with swt a lot. Thats something that bothered me when I swapped to it. Basically how I approach playing it is:
Camp dat GS at range and do your stuff. Go in close range only when someone is out of position and you’re ganking him with your team (to immob and swap mirror blade burst, mind stab mind wrack burst or whatever the situation allows) If you get attacked by say a thief you swap sw/t for defense if you cant kite and save yourself that way. Thats very superficially the swaps explained. Theres a lot more to it which you’ll get a feel for the more you play.
Its different than staff but IMHO better at the moment. I still run staff sometimes on niflhel or against a lot of celes when I’m with pugs but thats about it. In WvW I too prefer it for Excitons reasons.

I’m starting to get jealous of all the peeps who say they’ve downed Rylock. I barely get Aeo down…

Jurica.1742:

Mesmer doesn’t use rotations… You’re not a d/d ele. Sure you can get extra evades in 1v1 but that doesn’t really matter. I beat Rylock 1v1 when he was running the trait and I wasnt a few times. (I’ve not practiced 1v1s much except when I duel him for fun which is really minimal and he ofc wins a lot, but I do win here and there if I am not as predictable on my bursts and track his cd a bit more than usual.)
If you make mistakes the extra evades wont help you much, maybe it will allow you to win a few 1v1s but thats not something I’d aim at. If you play well, you won’t need them.
I tested it and I didn’t like it.I guess its personal preference. Supcutie was playing it a few weeks ago, he said he might swap back to blink range, not sure if he did..

About dieing with swt a lot. Thats something that bothered me when I swapped to it. Basically how I approach playing it is:
Camp dat GS at range and do your stuff. Go in close range only when someone is out of position and you’re ganking him with your team (to immob and swap mirror blade burst, mind stab mind wrack burst or whatever the situation allows) If you get attacked by say a thief you swap sw/t for defense if you cant kite and save yourself that way. Thats very superficially the swaps explained. Theres a lot more to it which you’ll get a feel for the more you play.
Its different than staff but IMHO better at the moment. I still run staff sometimes on niflhel or against a lot of celes when I’m with pugs but thats about it. In WvW I too prefer it for Excitons reasons.

For the record – when I say “rotations” I of course mean it loosely so please don’t hook that out of my post, I couldn’t think of a different word to use – I’m sure you are aware that in any post I have made in the past regarding shatter I have always stressed being unpredictable and avoiding any set skill sequences. If not, please see my post history over the last year or so.

Now having said that, when I use this word I mean things like “fitting in” with all the other cooldowns and I never find myself waiting for either blurred frenzy or ileap when I need them. I never find myself “running out” of options (between dodging, moving, shattering, blinking/decoying, prestiging and so on), and I can often stay in melee range and make use of both skills twice (defensively or offensively) allowing me to pressure/play aggressive before needing to swap weapons. But then I also take energy sigil on greatsword and tend to spend more time in melee compared to the status quo of pew pewing a lot from range. Just my playstyle preference, hence the reason I find blade training invaluable in pvp.

In wvw of course more ranged pew pew and running around means that extra few seconds on sword skills isn’t necessary – and then I also don’t take boon strip on shatter, instead opting for torch trait.

I think its interesting seeing how the offhand meta has shifted in regards to mesmer. Earlier on pistol and focus were the top choices, however pistol became more alligned with phantasm builds and focus got kinda nerfed with the temporal curtain pull icd.. so then everyone started using torch on power builds for the stealth.

That being said, do you guys think that shield could supplant torch for chronomancer builds? Its phantasm is probably more useful than the iMage for a power build, though not too stunning damage wise, and tides of times could be a really potent stun in teamfights. the loss of stealth may be problematic, but the 2 blocks per 30 seconds is still a nice boost to survivability.

nearlight.3064:

I think its interesting seeing how the offhand meta has shifted in regards to mesmer. Earlier on pistol and focus were the top choices, however pistol became more alligned with phantasm builds and focus got kinda nerfed with the temporal curtain pull icd.. so then everyone started using torch on power builds for the stealth.

That being said, do you guys think that shield could supplant torch for chronomancer builds? Its phantasm is probably more useful than the iMage for a power build, though not too stunning damage wise, and tides of times could be a really potent stun in teamfights. the loss of stealth may be problematic, but the 2 blocks per 30 seconds is still a nice boost to survivability.

I think the shield might have use for lockdown builds in solo use but other than that I believe it will be more a team weapon. The constant slow application and alacrity is nice… but if you go chronoshatter I think you still would be better off with “traditional” setups. But well, nobody really knows…

TyPin.9860:

nearlight.3064:

I think its interesting seeing how the offhand meta has shifted in regards to mesmer. Earlier on pistol and focus were the top choices, however pistol became more alligned with phantasm builds and focus got kinda nerfed with the temporal curtain pull icd.. so then everyone started using torch on power builds for the stealth.

That being said, do you guys think that shield could supplant torch for chronomancer builds? Its phantasm is probably more useful than the iMage for a power build, though not too stunning damage wise, and tides of times could be a really potent stun in teamfights. the loss of stealth may be problematic, but the 2 blocks per 30 seconds is still a nice boost to survivability.

I think the shield might have use for lockdown builds in solo use but other than that I believe it will be more a team weapon. The constant slow application and alacrity is nice… but if you go chronoshatter I think you still would be better off with “traditional” setups. But well, nobody really knows…

yeah thats true, and I feel like much of the chronomancy ideas in general are to push the mesmer in a more team support oriented role. I think sheild could work, as could torch, as could staff, there are distinct advantages and tradeoffs to each, and for shield that would be better use in team fights but lower use in 1v1s.

nearlight.3064:

I think its interesting seeing how the offhand meta has shifted in regards to mesmer. Earlier on pistol and focus were the top choices, however pistol became more alligned with phantasm builds and focus got kinda nerfed with the temporal curtain pull icd.. so then everyone started using torch on power builds for the stealth.

That being said, do you guys think that shield could supplant torch for chronomancer builds? Its phantasm is probably more useful than the iMage for a power build, though not too stunning damage wise, and tides of times could be a really potent stun in teamfights. the loss of stealth may be problematic, but the 2 blocks per 30 seconds is still a nice boost to survivability.

Depends if taking Illusions and the torch trait (I imagine some people might play Domination/Illusions/Chronomancer, although I prefer the look of duelling over illusions for a power shatter build) for comdition cleanse.

If not then the double shield blocks could be very useful (nevermind being able to dodge immediately for a 3 illusion shatter followed by a second shatter thanks to Illusionary Reveresion) – probably less useful in wvw where stealth engage/disengage is superior, but maybe more useful in pvp? GS + Sw/Sh could become superior to Sw/T in that case.

Hell, maybe even GS + Sc/Sh with quickness on shatter to boost scepter skills – playstyle I guess would be reactive shatter on blocking (given 3 blocks in that set).

I’m quite eager to try Sw/T + Sc/Sh and drop the two handed weapons entirely, although that would probably be better off in a MtD build rather than a power build.

Curunen.8729:

nearlight.3064:

I think its interesting seeing how the offhand meta has shifted in regards to mesmer. Earlier on pistol and focus were the top choices, however pistol became more alligned with phantasm builds and focus got kinda nerfed with the temporal curtain pull icd.. so then everyone started using torch on power builds for the stealth.

That being said, do you guys think that shield could supplant torch for chronomancer builds? Its phantasm is probably more useful than the iMage for a power build, though not too stunning damage wise, and tides of times could be a really potent stun in teamfights. the loss of stealth may be problematic, but the 2 blocks per 30 seconds is still a nice boost to survivability.

Depends if taking Illusions and the torch trait (I imagine some people might play Domination/Illusions/Chronomancer, although I prefer the look of duelling over illusions for a power shatter build) for comdition cleanse.

If not then the double shield blocks could be very useful (nevermind being able to dodge immediately for a 3 illusion shatter followed by a second shatter thanks to Illusionary Reveresion) – probably less useful in wvw where stealth engage/disengage is superior, but maybe more useful in pvp? GS + Sw/Sh could become superior to Sw/T in that case.

Hell, maybe even GS + Sc/Sh with quickness on shatter to boost scepter skills – playstyle I guess would be reactive shatter on blocking (given 3 blocks in that set).

I’m quite eager to try Sw/T + Sc/Sh and drop the two handed weapons entirely, although that would probably be better off in a MtD build rather than a power build.

this is getting a bit offtopic, but I honestly feel like illusions will be more of the condi-shatter trait line rather than a power shatter traitline, so I’d wager that power shatter builds wouldn’t need it most of the time. This is mainly because most of the reasons we’ve gone into illusions before have been for IP and Ielasticity, and those and the 15% shatter recharge will be baseline, so I don’t see it as necessary anymore outiseide of condition builds.

Personally I use sw+focus. Since it got fixed I find it my preferred off hand weapon.
Aside from the speed buff, I find it great for controlling the game and as a defensive option I think it’s way better than the torch, at least for my play style.

Also, since I run with both phant fury and empowered illusions, iWarden is such a good phantasm both in terms of damage and area denial/shelter.

nearlight.3064:

this is getting a bit offtopic, but I honestly feel like illusions will be more of the condi-shatter trait line rather than a power shatter traitline, so I’d wager that power shatter builds wouldn’t need it most of the time. This is mainly because most of the reasons we’ve gone into illusions before have been for IP and Ielasticity, and those and the 15% shatter recharge will be baseline, so I don’t see it as necessary anymore outiseide of condition builds.

Oh I agree – I’m not planning to use Illusions in power shatter because alacrity should make up for the 15% extra recharge on shatters as well as IC, I’ve lived without Imbued Diversion so ignorance is bliss, masterful reflection isn’t necessary given you can take evasive mirror (although blinding dissipation looks better anyway) and the might/confusion on shatter is no big loss given the huge buff to mental torment. I’ll definitely be going Dom/Due/Chrono for power, and reserving Illusions for condition shatter.

Anyway sorry, I don’t want to take thus offtopic.

Curunen.8729:

For the record – when I say “rotations” I of course mean it loosely so please don’t hook that out of my post, I couldn’t think of a different word to use – I’m sure you are aware that in any post I have made in the past regarding shatter I have always stressed being unpredictable and avoiding any set skill sequences. If not, please see my post history over the last year or so.

Now having said that, when I use this word I mean things like “fitting in” with all the other cooldowns and I never find myself waiting for either blurred frenzy or ileap when I need them. I never find myself “running out” of options (between dodging, moving, shattering, blinking/decoying, prestiging and so on), and I can often stay in melee range and make use of both skills twice (defensively or offensively) allowing me to pressure/play aggressive before needing to swap weapons. But then I also take energy sigil on greatsword and tend to spend more time in melee compared to the status quo of pew pewing a lot from range. Just my playstyle preference, hence the reason I find blade training invaluable in pvp.

In wvw of course more ranged pew pew and running around means that extra few seconds on sword skills isn’t necessary – and then I also don’t take boon strip on shatter, instead opting for torch trait.

While I am somewhat active on forums I don’t actively read all the responses so I didn’t know, my apologies on that. It also sounded like a bit of an attack which I didnt want it to sound like. I apologize if it did come across that way.I did of course see you post a lot but only while I was glancing over all the different posts, I did read through this thread because I had enough interest in peoples opinions on this topic to take my time and read through it all which I often cant do because its just a lot of posts being made.

I don’t think really that I have to wait on ileap or blurred frenzy unless I want to use it 2x in a 3 second time period. Very few times does it happen for me. I too stay in sw/t for at least two blurred frenzy durations and its perfectly fine to me this way. I guess its what you’ve learned to play with. I’ve basically had lack of blink range kill me more than I did not having blurred frenzy. As is, between having distort, kiting, dodges, bf on a short duration as is, decoy, blink if I go in so out of position that all the cd that I mentioned wont get me out of there I did deserve to die. If its enemy extending I will make it out most of the time, if I somehow fail and I die then its also my teams fault for not peeling and focusing the enemy who went out of position.

I dont know about WvW as again, I dont play there much. When I did I was running torch trait but swapped to boonrip as I’m running mantra for condi cleanse as is and it was sufficient enough. The extra cd on prestige isn’t better than boonrip in my eyes. Again, personal preference.

Jurica.1742:

While I am somewhat active on forums I don’t actively read all the responses so I didn’t know, my apologies on that. It also sounded like a bit of an attack which I didnt want it to sound like. I apologize if it did come across that way.I did of course see you post a lot but only while I was glancing over all the different posts, I did read through this thread because I had enough interest in peoples opinions on this topic to take my time and read through it all which I often cant do because its just a lot of posts being made.

I don’t think really that I have to wait on ileap or blurred frenzy unless I want to use it 2x in a 3 second time period. Very few times does it happen for me. I too stay in sw/t for at least two blurred frenzy durations and its perfectly fine to me this way. I guess its what you’ve learned to play with. I’ve basically had lack of blink range kill me more than I did not having blurred frenzy. As is, between having distort, kiting, dodges, bf on a short duration as is, decoy, blink if I go in so out of position that all the cd that I mentioned wont get me out of there I did deserve to die. If its enemy extending I will make it out most of the time, if I somehow fail and I die then its also my teams fault for not peeling and focusing the enemy who went out of position.

I dont know about WvW as again, I dont play there much. When I did I was running torch trait but swapped to boonrip as I’m running mantra for condi cleanse as is and it was sufficient enough. The extra cd on prestige isn’t better than boonrip in my eyes. Again, personal preference.

No worries, I apologise if I came back harshly but it was only because of having played gs + sw/t for a long time, I’d like to think to a good standard and as you say having my own playstyle preference, and I know you have been a big staff/gs fan in the past (which by contrast I have barely played because I prefer sword/torch).

Again, although I have pvp’d with my guild team, we have kind of drifted away (I think some of them are playing other games at the moment) so I am more of a solo player right now and as such have learnt to rely on my own build to survive – and because of this I now mainly stick to unranked, hotjoin or wvw.

I love 1v1ing thieves and in general doing stuff that isn’t really the aim of conquest (I think I’ve said this a lot in the past as well) because it’s what I find fun – and when 1v1ing a thief I find that extra few seconds on blurred frenzy and ileap extremely more valuable than an extra 300 range on blink. Even in a 1v2 or 2v2 or whatever on point, I love fighting in melee range, and the cooldown on sword allows me to survive things I shouldn’t be able to.

Because of playing in pug teams, I have had to sometimes sit on point/take a point for myself – so the extra cooldown on sword skills as well as the extra dodge on greatsword allow me to sit in melee range for longer than should be possible if not taking that trait or that sigil. Again, in an organised team I shouldn’t have to do this but quite often I have to do things not intended for this build or class (ie getting yelled at by warriors for kiting off point…).

In wvw boon strip is entirely unecessary outside of a duel, because you can turn tail and run away from anything if you can’t win. The condition removal on torch and lower cooldown on stealth is far more useful – and likewise the 1200 blink is more useful over there as well. So generally in pvp I go blade training + boon strip and in wvw I go torch trait + 1200 blink. In both cases I have taken iElasticity for mirror blade.

Anyway, currently I’m playing other builds for fun (reflect/troll builds) so am a little rusty on shatter – which isn’t something you can drop for weeks at a time and expect to retain the same tight muscle memory and timing.

I’ve read people say that staff is better for 1v1, yet in all the roaming/dueling videos I’ve seen of people I think really shredding it with shatter, they all play sw/t.

I myself enjoy staff more lately (playing shatter more to get sharp for core trait revamp when IP goes baseline), it feels like I have more control over situations, but of course I’m very possibly just bad with sword/torch.

I also find that when I fight shatter mesmers, the ones with staff feel harder to beat. The torch thing is kind of more predictable it seems. But again, most of the really good people I see run sw/t.

MSFone.3026:

I’ve read people say that staff is better for 1v1, yet in all the roaming/dueling videos I’ve seen of people I think really shredding it with shatter, they all play sw/t.

I myself enjoy staff more lately (playing shatter more to get sharp for core trait revamp when IP goes baseline), it feels like I have more control over situations, but of course I’m very possibly just bad with sword/torch.

I also find that when I fight shatter mesmers, the ones with staff feel harder to beat. The torch thing is kind of more predictable it seems. But again, most of the really good people I see run sw/t.

Playing on the fact that people expect burst after you stealth with prestige for example, it’s good to feign it and instead do another combo, or just do nothing and see them blow a defensive cooldown.

It’s easy to avoid chaos storm for a sword/torch player, so the main challenge is avoiding the conditions and damage from winds of chaos, and landing your damage without missing thanks to phase retreat.

But the additional stealth from torch, as well as ileap being able to follow phase retreat wherever the opponent tries to port to I believe allows sword/torch to have a slight advantage over staff when fighting each other. BF also is so easy to avoid burst with.

I think the longer a fight goes on, the advantage shifts to the staff Mesmer, so for the sword/torch player the intention is to finish the fight as quickly as possible.

If you roam with a power shatter spec, I’d say sw/t all the way. It is the current meta for very good reasons. Almost all good mesmer roamers from my wvw tier are sw/t high burst spec. It’s the most effective but it gets boring at this stage of the game.

MandJ.8965:

I am a big staff fan. I dont play Often builds without staff.
I think for group roaming, staff/GS is better, but if you fight Mesmer vs Mesmer for example, the classic shatter should win. The stealth is just too good for an offensive using and a defensive using against Range shatter mesmer.
But, if you play ps shatter, so staff/sword pistol, played rigjt you kill most of the gs/sw t shatter builds.

All in all, I would say it comes to personal playstyle, and who you are fighting against, so you cant say what is better. I think they are pretty balanced so there is no must to play.

I like the staff more, because of the nice burst the warlock has when he hits, the safe stomp, and the boons. I play GS/Staff in PvP and WvW, and I dont play with sword torch for a year and a half now.

The Staff/sword pistol is what I used to run and am looking to get back to it, but all the guides list just GS builds. After 2 years I am not sure I remember how to set it up the way that I used to. Are there any new links and/or guides for this?

@ Sevetar, that’s actually my preferred way to play glass power shatter. You can use the standard traits if you’d like. Things I’d suggest changing is taking Illusionary Invigoration over Illusionary Elasticity. I find that masterful reflection is a pretty key trait no matter what. The choice of Mental Torment over Halting Strike is also a personal choice for this setup. I prefer halting cause I approach a bit more cautiously and kite a lot, mainly going in for the three-clone mindwrack when the enemy is completely pinned or shut down.

Final word of advice is to only summon the iWarlock after you burst someone. There will be residual conditions allowing him to hit like a truck. Both the warlock and the duelist benefit from Phantasmal Fury greatly, but if you’re running sword, it’s a toss up between damage and survivability through blade training.

Sevetar.6035:

MandJ.8965:

I am a big staff fan. I dont play Often builds without staff.
I think for group roaming, staff/GS is better, but if you fight Mesmer vs Mesmer for example, the classic shatter should win. The stealth is just too good for an offensive using and a defensive using against Range shatter mesmer.
But, if you play ps shatter, so staff/sword pistol, played rigjt you kill most of the gs/sw t shatter builds.

All in all, I would say it comes to personal playstyle, and who you are fighting against, so you cant say what is better. I think they are pretty balanced so there is no must to play.

I like the staff more, because of the nice burst the warlock has when he hits, the safe stomp, and the boons. I play GS/Staff in PvP and WvW, and I dont play with sword torch for a year and a half now.

The Staff/sword pistol is what I used to run and am looking to get back to it, but all the guides list just GS builds. After 2 years I am not sure I remember how to set it up the way that I used to. Are there any new links and/or guides for this?

Here mate:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Mo-s-Collection-of-Builds/first#post5002317

There is the PS Shatter Build. Just PM me ingame if you have questions about it (how to burst someone with staff, how to safestomp with it, when is the right time for shatter..and so on). If the time is there I can show you how, instead of writting a guide

Sevetar.6035:

MandJ.8965:

I am a big staff fan. I dont play Often builds without staff.
I think for group roaming, staff/GS is better, but if you fight Mesmer vs Mesmer for example, the classic shatter should win. The stealth is just too good for an offensive using and a defensive using against Range shatter mesmer.
But, if you play ps shatter, so staff/sword pistol, played rigjt you kill most of the gs/sw t shatter builds.

All in all, I would say it comes to personal playstyle, and who you are fighting against, so you cant say what is better. I think they are pretty balanced so there is no must to play.

I like the staff more, because of the nice burst the warlock has when he hits, the safe stomp, and the boons. I play GS/Staff in PvP and WvW, and I dont play with sword torch for a year and a half now.

The Staff/sword pistol is what I used to run and am looking to get back to it, but all the guides list just GS builds. After 2 years I am not sure I remember how to set it up the way that I used to. Are there any new links and/or guides for this?

Basically GS is taken becuase its our best ranged burst option and gives us the way to inflict the most damage in the shortest amount of time, making it ideal for pvp. Staff and sword/x works well too, and will have greater survivability and escapes, but its ability to burst from range and chase down targets will be a lot worse. Pvp builds are about tradeoffs, so choose whatever benefits yourself and your team the most, as long as you still find it fun. I just wouldn’t run subpar runes or amulets or sigils even, so steer clear of anything that isn’t berserker or assassin if you play shatter. Mesmer doesn’t have the healspam or the pre-burst might stacking to be great with something like celestial.