Guild Wars 2

Imho it is the absolute best, some say it sacrifices utility for tagging capability, but it is the exact opposite.

Feedback is one of the best wvw group oriented utility there is, along with null field, both of which provide the AOE that the mesmer desperately needs.

Along with a staff and scepter+torch, you can take on 1v1, and groups, and be able to play defensively and offensively with the same skills.

i’ve tried berzerker builds, i’ve tried mantra builds, shatter builds, and pretty much everything out there, but when i want serious WvWing with my guild, i go glamour.

in case someone’s interested, here’s the detailed build i use:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fgMQNAW7fl0zqq3UTqGb9IxJFMv5oecdrXdSKgNqB;TkAqmMNJay2krJZTrKGLsBB

(copy paste link, don’t click)

for gear i use full exotic rabid set, along with rabid jewels and weapons, for food i use quality tuning crystals and super veggie pizza (use master tuning crystals and rare veggie pizzas if you can afford them).

how i use the skills: find the most clumped up group of enemies (preferably a zerg you’re about to engage) and cast feeback at an enemy in the middle of their frontline, this will apply confusion to the frontline, while reflecting projectiles of the backline, then use null field anywhere you want, sometimes i hold onto it when i feel the situation can get intense again.

after using those 2 i usually run into the zerg, switch to scepter/torch which triggers the 3 second chill, i immediately cast the prestige while close to a group of enemies, then use mirror images, switch to staff, phase shift, then F3, i then cast my chaos armor and run back to the safety of my group, the timing isn’t specific, i sometimes use mass invisibility to sneak into a zerg to do my combo, so you gotta find your own way of doing this.

In my oppinion Glamour is the best build for utility. I run with Veil instead of Mirror Images and Time Warp instead of Mass Invis, trait wise due to the glamour field duration bugs I run with Wardens Feedback instead of Temporal Enchanter and crippling dispisition instead of Rendering Shatter.

This way I can reflect projectiles in two ways, strip conditions from allies, strip boons from foes, AOE Blind enemies with Glamor spells, Give Quickness for 10 Seconds to at least 5 people, cripple people buff allies with might and fury from Winds of Chaos and use the utility of Chaos Storm.

In my opinion theres not many builds I can think of with that much utility in one player.

Glamour blind + confuse on blind + glamour specialization + condition damage = goodbye zerg. It also = goodbye mesmer in 1v1.

The only problem I have is that I need to run a focus for a reasonable amounts of mobility – I do use a torch if at all possible though.

Very similar to yours: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fgEQNAW7dlwziqXVTsGa9IxJFKv5oec9qbdSKgNqB;T8Ag2yuEcJlS1lSKqvMfJ+yKm7L5XrFGLsZA

AC gear makes a good ‘starter pack’ for this build. Get rid of the chill (hydromancer), the AOE range for it it pathetic – especially considering you are a ranged character. I initially had it in build as well and found it just doesn’t work at all (especially if you consider “Shake it Off” etc.).

Be warned: it is very much a glass cannon (as is yours).

1. At the start of a fight dump feedback and veil into the enemies. Bonus points awarded if you can pull if off while they are moving (Confusing Enchantments).
2. Wait 2 or 3 seconds and then dump null field into them.
3. After maybe another second try and get your timewarp set up so that it covers both allies and enemies.
4. Don’t neglect your other conditions (staff attack and chaos storm, mostly) as if you have condition damage boosting armor it’s a waste to ignore them.

I routinely get confusion “damage bubbles” of 2000+ against zergs. I routinely get slaughtered by solo lvl 28s.

I use a slightly different setup for my glamour build than most people so I’ll share it with ya.

http://bit.ly/Zf1LYd

I gave up my staff for sword/focus. I did this for 3 reasons;

1. Two stacks of retaliation from curtain/illusionary leap to mae best of my power/vitality on armor.
2. Temporal Curtain to reflect damage back to target(and swiftness & pulling foes off walls/cliffs etc).
3. Phantasmal warden combo finisher which I cast before my glamours so I get more stacks of confusion with confounding bolts hitting enemies in larger area(instead of just relying on them entering/leaving area).

I am lacking on any range 900 but I’m not a ranger so don’t play like I’m a ranged toon. I haven’t found that a problem with people running away with illusionary leap and/or knock down with temporal curtain. If you get into a melee range with war/thief you have safety of escape with either sword 2 + Blink, Prestige and run/blink out, Elite mass invis + run and/or blink. 1v1 I usually find scept/torch is easy enough to handle most but I do use sword/focus for retaliation/snare, 2s invul, knockdown mainly if I have things on cooldown.

Durtaion +33% trait, + 20% trait tree, +20% weapons, +36% Food. 109% so reached the 100% cap to double duration of cond.

• Givers weapons are broken & so are cond duration runes I currently use Undead since they were cheap but Im aiming for boon duration runes to up my retaliation duration & regen from phantasm.

Ok so there is my Glamour build have fun

zamalek.2154:

Glamour blind + confuse on blind + glamour specialization + condition damage = goodbye zerg. It also = goodbye mesmer in 1v1.

The only problem I have is that I need to run a focus for a reasonable amounts of mobility – I do use a torch if at all possible though.

Very similar to yours: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fgEQNAW7dlwziqXVTsGa9IxJFKv5oec9qbdSKgNqB;T8Ag2yuEcJlS1lSKqvMfJ+yKm7L5XrFGLsZA

AC gear makes a good ‘starter pack’ for this build. Get rid of the chill (hydromancer), the AOE range for it it pathetic – especially considering you are a ranged character. I initially had it in build as well and found it just doesn’t work at all (especially if you consider “Shake it Off” etc.).

Be warned: it is very much a glass cannon (as is yours).

1. At the start of a fight dump feedback and veil into the enemies. Bonus points awarded if you can pull if off while they are moving (Confusing Enchantments).
2. Wait 2 or 3 seconds and then dump null field into them.
3. After maybe another second try and get your timewarp set up so that it covers both allies and enemies.
4. Don’t neglect your other conditions (staff attack and chaos storm, mostly) as if you have condition damage boosting armor it’s a waste to ignore them.

I routinely get confusion “damage bubbles” of 2000+ against zergs. I routinely get slaughtered by solo lvl 28s.

the reason why i didn’t pick veil is it doesn’t have much to offer if you don’t have +1 sec invisibility trait, the range of it is shorter than null field and feedback so you have to get dangerously closer, and it is very hard to apply the blind with it.

with mirror images you get an escape tool (pop them for distortion), you can use them for cry of frustration (4 stacks confusion right off the bat), and if you’re 1v1 you can pop them with your staff to save your phase retreat and to have 2 clones apply conditions to your enemy.

the reason why i picked Hydromancy sigil is because it has similar range to the prestige, it also lasts 3 seconds, which is exactly the same duration as the prestige, this way i can keep my enemies in close range for my blind and burn and my mirror images+cry of frustration combo.

as for the staff, while winds of chaos is strong, the attack rate is very slow, and to be effective with it you need 2 clones at least, this means that outside a situation where you have time to apply multiple stacks of your conditions, it’s just better off not to rely on it, i instead use my chaos armor, it applies a stack of confusion when hit, and it also applies blind which in turn applies confusion.

off topic: Is there by any chance you’re from Egypt???

Serjical.9613:

http://bit.ly/Zf1LYd

1 That looks like a really fun/interesting build. I think I am going to give it a go ( some tweaks here and there).

RapidSausage.4620:

off topic: Is there by any chance you’re from Egypt???

Nope. “Zamalek” is the nic-name of Carling Black Label in South Africa.

zamalek.2154:

RapidSausage.4620:

off topic: Is there by any chance you’re from Egypt???

Nope. “Zamalek” is the nic-name of Carling Black Label in South Africa.

i see

Serjical.9613:

http://bit.ly/Zf1LYd

your condition damage is a little low though.
the with my armor and consumables i have a base ~1700 condition damage, that’s 1950 with full corruption stacks.

relying on the enemy to enter/exit your glamours might seem bad at first, but when you’re ikittenerg it’s harder to see null field, not to mention that most people who see feedback/null field will not assume it is traited to apply confusion, and they just might pass it without using any skills not knowing they’re get confused.

with your build you shifted the damage from confusion to retaliation, but that requires you to be in a more dangerous position, which in my opinion mesmers shouldn’t do.

but if it works for you that’s great

As for lower condition I just jumped in game and at 1525 and 1775 w/corruption stack. My main is a cond duration engi and I went that route cause looking at the math from posts 50% duration > 300 condition dmg in output. So 100% duration with 175 less cond dmg from your numbers. I know you will get bigger ticks for 5s.. and I will get slightly lower ticks but for 10s.

Now I know my ticks are slightly lower but I always pair up warden(Whirl finisher = Confounding bolts) when I drop null/feedback so I actually apply more ticks than you which last longer than yours and doesn’t require the target to move in/out of the feedback/null(which with temporal curtain you can force them in/out if you liked).

Retaliation is just an extra utility for me which I don’t rely on for dmg as you suggested.

As I mentioned givers is broken atm so I don’t get that 20%(I get 33%20%40%) so if I spent my tokens on cof weapons that would be 90 cond per weapon(180) pushing me past your numbers atm. I am just not willing to buy new sigils etc and keeping my current weapons for the fix.

Serjical.9613:

As for lower condition I just jumped in game and at 1525 and 1775 w/corruption stack. My main is a cond duration engi and I went that route cause looking at the math from posts 50% duration > 300 condition dmg in output. So 100% duration with 175 less cond dmg from your numbers. I know you will get bigger ticks for 5s.. and I will get slightly lower ticks but for 10s.

Now I know my ticks are slightly lower but I always pair up warden(Whirl finisher = Confounding bolts) when I drop null/feedback so I actually apply more ticks than you which last longer than yours and doesn’t require the target to move in/out of the feedback/null(which with temporal curtain you can force them in/out if you liked).

Retaliation for me is just icing on the cake and a utility that I have available.

with traits and food i get +89% duration on my confusion.
and i don’t have to worry about my warden dying to the immense AOE.

Serjical.9613:

As I mentioned givers is broken atm so I don’t get that 20%(I get 33%20%40%) so if I spent my tokens on cof weapons that would be 90 cond per weapon(180) pushing me past your numbers atm. I am just not willing to buy new sigils etc and keeping my current weapons for the fix.

the nice thing about confusion is that it doesn’t suffer from +duration like bleeding and burning and poison.

the three of those don’t benefit from fractions in their duration (i.e a 1.5 second burning only does damage every 1 second, so the 50% duration is wasted), but confusion relies on skill use, meaning it can still do damage in the extra fractions of duration.

my point is, you don’t need to feel obliged to go 100% condition duration if you rely on confusion, if you were using a staff that would’ve been great, but you’re not using a staff and therefore not applying any conditions other than confusion and the occasional burning, so i wouldn’t worry myself about giver’s weapons.

Yeah aoe does suck for the warden when at gate or taking fort/keep. Vs Open field zerg I’ve never found it a issue and I do enjoy his reflection. I do miss the staff for the chaos armor which I liked but on a 35s CD 5s duration I decided to go with focus to reflect dmg back to target every 20s w/ curtain & have retal giving dmg on receiving dmg as well as the confusion stacks(from glams). I mainly went this setup due to our server being the small kid on the block and we’re always outnumbered so with the reflecting wall I would reflect all incoming damage to group vs applying confusion to people who target me only with chaos armor.

It’s just a slight change in playstyle and has been working out well for me since dropping the staff.

Serjical.9613:

Yeah aoe does suck for the warden when at gate taken fort/keep. Vs Open field zerg I’ve never found it a issue and I do enjoy his reflection. I do miss the staff for the chaos armor which I liked but on a 35s CD 5s duration I decided to go with focus to reflect dmg back to target every 20s w/ curtain & have retal giving dmg on receiving dmg as well as the confusion stacks. I mainly went this setup due to our server being the small kid on the block and we’re always outnumbered so with the reflecting wall I would reflect all incoming damage to group vs applying confusion to people who target me only with chaos armor.

It’s just a slight change in playstyle and has been working out well for me since dropping the staff.

with staff and glamour you can get at least 3 chaos armors, 2 of which solely come from your staff, maybe try use chaos storm on your team, i find it very good if used defensively, and you can use it with your phase retreat to apply 5 second chaos armor to yourself, you’ll still keep your #4.

the thing with focus reflection is it’s very dodgy, temporal curtain is so low to the ground many projectiles (especially from higher ground) just pass through it, and warden is only good if he has time to use his reflection, and even then, melee will decimate him.

i tried to stay away from relying on an entity existing in the fray of battle to apply confusion, but even then it’s me who has to get in to get off the shatters.

p.s: i also tend to run with a smaller group from my guild rather than zerging.

Yeah curtain can be sketchy if you put distance between yourself and someone from higher ground. I just love the usefulness can apply retal to self our group w/ blast, can interupt people from finishing teammate, pulling people off walls/clidds, reflect wall which has helped with rezzing downed teammates(don’t wanna use feedback on own team lol save it for the enemy!). Warden is another one which is reliable in certain situations but if there is aoe its useless other than to shatter him asap.

I just felt more in a grove when using this setup vs staff but we all have different play styles.

Yeah I don’t run with zergs usually guild runs so 10-15 at most vs zergs.

Serjical.9613:

Yeah curtain can be sketchy if you put distance between yourself and someone from higher ground. I just love the usefulness can apply retal to self our group w/ blast, can interupt people from finishing teammate, pulling people off walls/clidds, reflect wall which has helped with rezzing downed teammates(don’t wanna use feedback on own team lol save it for the enemy!). Warden is another one which is reliable in certain situations but if there is aoe its useless other than to shatter him asap.

I just felt more in a grove when using this setup vs staff but we all have different play styles.

Yeah I don’t run with zergs usually guild runs so 10-15 at most vs zergs.

i only use focus out of combat for the swiftness, but that’s about it.

Glamour can be pretty good in 1v1 if you focus on chaos armor. Chaos armor last 5s and with the trait that make glamor skills last as long as they are supposed to you can get the chaos armor from them twice with the number 2 staff skill (Can be traited for a 5s cooldown). Since it can cripple, blind, or confuse, and there is a trait that makes you confuse when you blind, the amount of confusion can get pretty crazy. I use carrion for the vit so if they aren’t a glass cannon (and even if they are sometimes) they will just kill themselves for you.

Glamour is awesome, only thing i don’t like about it compared to my shatter build is that its very weak underwater and i find it not as good for roaming and taking camps, however VS a zerg it will destry anything

I love encountering glamour mesmers. When they get all their fields up I run through them over and over, stacking the confusion up real high. Then I arcane thievery transfer the confusion over to them, and still have all my own skills and utilities to fire/shatter back at them.

This is the exact build I’ve been playing with for the past week now. Bahaha. Shame to see it posted before I put it up because I was really wanting to do something more unique, but oh well. Only difference I think is that you use Rabid stuff and I’m using Rampager because it matches my spvp load out the best. But I’m still tweaking with it.

Here’s how I play it atm. For small skirmishes use Sword+Torch. This let’s you use #3 for another Chaos Armor proc and centers your build around keeping chaos armor up near perma. Switch out Scepter keep/tower defense/assault so that you have a ranged option to back up Staff. The only drawback I hate about this build is that if anyone is running away, you won’t kill them and if you’re being chased you’ll likely get caught.

Underwater fights I put an Earth sigil on the trident, pop out clones/phantasms and 1 to win. With my precision rate I can easily keep 20-25 stacks of bleeding on an enemy solo. I’ve noticed that with my build you could also use Sword+Pistol instead of Scepter+Torch, or even Scepter+Pistol.

Also, I prefer Time Warp over any other elite right now. It has more uses and doesn’t need changing between spvp, wvw or dungeons unlike the other elites we have.

My build is similar too.
I play with a hybrid build “shatter cat – glamour”, very funny and versatile, imho.

Build link

I change Mirror Images with Portal Entre or Veil when are more useful
Same for Mass Invisibility with Time Warp.