Guild Wars 2

I’m trying to find a good build for WvW roaming with a small group of primarily direct physical damage dealers, something that can move fast, support a bit but focusing on chase moves/stun/immobilize and dealing direct damage. Not too glassy, because I will need to extend a bit more than a light armor class really should and because my utilities will be mostly aggressive in nature. Very little focus on illusions because I need to move around a lot and illusions move too slowly.

This is the setup I am currently playing around with:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fgAQRAsa8dlwzipXTzoGa9IyJFQ3yRSRpxaleYbXYuB-jUyAYrioRTkCNVIQJwioxWxKiGriBTVOka1Lk3gIrWIARTAA-w

20/30/0/20/0

Key traits are Far-reaching Manipulations, Duelist’s Discipline and Warden’s Feedback. This gives me lots of mobility skills that are both defensive and offensive in nature, as well as a 1200 range magic bullet for stopping runners.

Blink helps me chase or get out of a bad situation.
Arcane Thievery is mainly there to eat swiftness and stability from runners and apply it to myself. It also deals with cripple, immobilize and other things that prevent me from moving fast.
Decoy is for retreating or misdirection when I close with a target.

I’m struggling a bit with the Dom Major traits, but I really feel like I need the +20% condition duration as well as the minor traits for vuln spiking through daze/interrupt (any condition just slides off warriors these days). I’m also not sure if I should slot Compounding Celerity. It could potentially help deal with swiftness downtime, but I don’t know how reliable it is or whether there is a range limitation on it based on your distance to the clones…

Anyone got anything good to say about CC? It seems a little redundant if you have the focus, but I’m wondering how reliable it is and if there is some sort of range limit on it.

imo lose the focus, it’s hard to land direct dmg with it. I’d opt out for a torch – the prestige + ileap + blurred frenzy + shatter is an easy 10k burst. You can also setup with prestige – swap to pistol iduelist + ileap blurred frenzy + magic bullet + shatter. also i would redo skills as 20/20/30/0/0. PU is very strong, and any skills past 20 in dueling is useless imo – the main ones are clone when dodging and if you really want then recharge on pistol or id just swap it for far reaching manip or desperate decoy.

Focus dmg comes from iWarden, and that is not mobile. Your target can just walk away from it before it takes too much dmg, and the curtain is only good if you trait in to it – even then only useful on ranged enemies who if up on terrain can easily hit “over” it.

I really have no interest in PU or the Chaos line in general for this build, except for maybe Chaotic Interruption and the manipulation trait. PU has no offensive value and it doesn’t help you chase anything. This is meant to be a do or die build, get in there and finish them off before they can get away, and chase them if they run. Strip or eat their boons, spike them, be quick and mobile.
I know it sounds a little suicidal but it’s really fun in a group.

Focus is there for one main reason: On-demand swiftness. I don’t have 100+ gold to shell out for traveler runes or some nonsense and speed runes are too defensive. But I agree it might not be absolutely necessary to trait since I’m not really sure how I’m supposed to use iWarden offensively. I can see uses for him, but they don’t involve chasing.
Another benefit is being able to swift party members.

Maybe it’s just me but everyone and their mother these days seem to just run away at the first sight of an enemy. So I want something that can chase people down, lock them down and punish them for running away like little girls.

Focus is a waste imo, you’re not gonna catch kitten without a greatsword. iZerker cripple is invaluable for slowing down an runner. With focus gone, can you move those 10 points from Insp to Chaos and reduce manip cd.

If you want perma-swiftness, switch to Centaur runes (+power, yay glass) and use an infinite tonic like the new quaggan tonics which can be used underwater. If you want to make the crit. damage back, just switch the soldier’s ring for a cavalier or zerk/valk stats one.

calavel.6249:

Focus is there for one main reason: On-demand swiftness. I don’t have 100+ gold to shell out for traveler runes or some nonsense and speed runes are too defensive.
Another benefit is being able to swift party members.

Have you considered Centaur Runes (very inexpensive) + Mantra of Recovery= 33 percent speed buff that is shared with anyone near me.

I ctrl Right click it and it’s auto cast. It gives a constant speed buff= no down time. The focus will have down time. This way has none.

Unless you have other arguments for why you love focus….

The only downside, you won’t have a big heal on demand.

kitten renny beat me to it—- I hesitated too long lol

I take it back. Using tonics is lame…

Using mantra heal without using potions constantly is far better.

I shell out no money for tonics. I don’t have to click anything. It’s automatic speed…consistently!

EnderzShadow.2506:

Have you considered Centaur Runes (very inexpensive) + Mantra of Recovery= 33 percent speed buff that is shared with anyone near me.

I guess that is an option, but I’m not really crazy about constantly having to channel and spam heals just in order to get swiftness. But I guess that is the fate of a mesmer in WvW.

How about the curtain pull? Does that have any sort of use in regards to crippling/pulling runners if you can get close enough? Remember, the main focus is preventing excessive running away tactics, stability+swiftness+regen spam, that kind of nonsense. I (usually) have others to help me spike.

Renny.6571:

Focus is a waste imo, you’re not gonna catch kitten without a greatsword. iZerker cripple is invaluable for slowing down an runner. With focus gone, can you move those 10 points from Insp to Chaos and reduce manip cd.

Really depends on the target. Unless I throw everything I can at + condi duration, any cripple you toss at a warrior slides right off because warriors looove dogged march+ 40% less condi duration food + melandru runes = never worry about cripple again. Acrobatics thieves (pistol trolls) laugh at cripple. But yeah, the GS has potential. I just think too many skills are defensive in nature and it is completely useless for dealing damage up close.

calavel.6249:

Really depends on the target. Unless I throw everything I can at + condi duration, any cripple you toss at a warrior slides right off because warriors looove dogged march+ 40% less condi duration food + melandru runes = never worry about cripple again.

Then use it for dealing ranged damage. A chasing build doesn’t chase well when it’s only got 130 range.

calavel.6249:

But yeah, the GS has potential. I just think too many skills are defensive in nature and it is completely useless for dealing damage up close.

Idk what you’re talking about greatsword being defensive and useless in melee. The only skill affected by range is the auto attack. Mirror Blade is BETTER in melee because it’ll bounce 2 more times, dealing unblockable damage and give you 6 might. Mind Stab is a targeted damage+boon strip. iZerker will more reliably hit a target if they’re staying in melee and iWave is a melee range knockback. Where’s the defense? It’s a kittening awesome weapon.

Here’s another approach. Boon duration runes will give you 18s swiftness from curtain on a traited 20s cooldown.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fgAQRAsa8dlwzipXTzoGaNJipCE3JFQ3yRSRpxalUYbXIA-jkCBYLFRjmAJQEJhOBqIasVwht6KIlXRTXDTVSpW5KQCBIaCA-w

I also added hydro runes on weapon swap. In my build I emphasize condition duration for controll. So cripple is ok, but curtain pulls + iLeap + chill + long range blink on low cd + high swiftness is a killer combo. So you’re on the right track. Arcane thievery is also the perfect tool because it denies swiftness to the enemy and grants it to you. It also becomes a source of fury, and with warriors, rangers, and everybody else spamming it on demand, it’s as though you have it as such too.

Here’s my build
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Build-The-Holy-Hell-Build-s-solo-zerg/first#post3589756

An example- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tffTmVN-zG0
Weapon swap post blink for hydro chill would have added to the combo’s.

Blink to curtain, cripple, pull
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8td7XyA1JU&feature=player_detailpage#t=1120
Best part is this pulls them right into range of your allies so they can start chain cc’ing (unlike a magic bullet stun).

This is an oldie but a goody
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N78IbC9uO1U
Back when I first started maximizing my mobility. Loads of mistakes made and things I could have done better, but still displays the effectiveness.

Curtain pulls are also important for thieves btw, counters shadow refuge. Also great for pulling over ledges.

The other option is chaotic interuption since you have interupts on both weapon sets
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fgAQRAsa8dlwzipXTzoGa9IipHEnvJckUUasWJF22FC-jkCBYLFRjmAJQEJhOBqIasVwht6KIlXRTXDTVSpW5KQCBIaCA-w

Okay thanks, that looks really interesting.

Regarding interrupts and CI, how reliable is the interrupt on the curtain? I mean, you have to place it first, and then there is a small internal cooldown before you can pull. Seems like it would be really hard to time unless we are talking a 2s channel skill or something. I’m super tempted by CI, but I also don’t like being too dependent on interrupts. Too many classes have virtually no skills with more than 1s cast time and unless I can activate the interrupt instantly as a twitch reaction, I doubt I will be able to pull it off very often. Would mantra of distraction be a good utility if I pick up CI (interrupt, daze, vuln stacks)?

Also, the Dom traits… any advice? CD is a nice trait, but it’s completely out of my control and thus really more of a defensive/random annoyance trait. Shattered concentration seems a good trait to flesh out the boon hate, but I’m not sure if I can exploit it fully when chasing, since the clones will either never catch up or just die from random AoE/landscape mob AA before they do anything. Rending shatter seems pointless compared to the amount of vuln stacking potential in Diversion. Signet Mastery + Dom Signet could provide a welcome stun and now I’m really just grasping at straws…

Nullif. sigil. Viable? I’m thinking once again that boon hate is really a priority if you want to kill anything that likes to run and is good at it, but I don’t know if there are better choices. Could just go Acc/Force but that would be boring…

Curtain interrupts are much harder than they used to be now you have the cd between placement and pull, but keep in mind that when chasing you’re going to see a few obvious actions. Warrior warhorn for swiftness, warrior elite, all classes tend to use heals while fleeing since they’re in trouble anyway, mesmers mass invis, just for a few examples. If you’re seeing them flee, and you’re reacting with a chase, the placing the curtain will already be on your list of things to counter with, so you’re likely to catch an interrupt when going for your pull.
Keep in mind that focus also brings an internal condi cleanse to your kitten nal (cast iWarden, drop curtain on top of him while spinning).

Where curtain really shines is that it’s an AoE pull, and in a XvX situation, you’re always very likely to just catch something at random. However, adding condition duration to CI makes it far more worth it as those cc condi’s really start to pressure your targets.

Mantra of distraction is by far the single best interupt we have, and yes it’s worth taking if you’re going the interrupt route. I don’t like interrupt builds, but when I have played with interupting I LOVED mantra of distraction (and I don’t like mantras, though this is manageable).

For Dom: If taking interrupts Mental Torment or Halting Strike. For bursting you’ll be using your mind wrack, otherwise if interupting Halting Strike will only add to your damage.

Shattered Concentration is a powerful trait but I personally feel its best place is in a structured tPvP arena. If you and your buddies are going to form some amazing group synergy, then by all means it might cover a base. Otherwise you might take something else. Having said that, I usually think of Domination in terms of using GS or Torch, and I take Torch cd for Master. Seeing as you don’t have those as an option, maybe you’re right on the money to take Shattered Concentration. OR, you could be freeing yourself up 10 points right there which could go into any of the other lines.

Taking a step back, perhaps you’re putting to much into boon stripping to counter runners. Most roamers, and those in a position to flee, aren’t going to be successful off swiftness. They’ll have runes, sigils, or traits that grant at least +25% movement speed, coupled with blinks, and mobility skills. So your enemy isnt swiftness. Stability, yes, protection maybe, but you can usually wait those two out (or you have arcane thievery). Boon stripping via shatters is going to pressure the sustain of people who want to hang around, more than counter those who’re looking to run away.

Here’s a warrior without swiftness-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh8wtucvZJs
He’d need knockdown, interrupt, dazes, etc to counter

Here’s me using swiftness, but blinks, misdirection, and boon stealing/stripping (not boons generally speaking) that won the day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GZ6UgA_MUo

My latest shatter build deal some wery good burst, have superb mobility, some strong cc and stack vuln for your teammates to use for burst.

Enjoy

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JqmKDutFAVQ

My power PU build is not a standard defensive “hide in stealth passive aggressive” but high mobile high burst aswell. Just cause a build have PU it don’t have to be a defensive condition build.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HTc-GuHlfKs
/Osicat

calavel.6249:

EnderzShadow.2506:

Have you considered Centaur Runes (very inexpensive) + Mantra of Recovery= 33 percent speed buff that is shared with anyone near me.

I guess that is an option, but I’m not really crazy about constantly having to channel and spam heals just in order to get swiftness. But I guess that is the fate of a mesmer in WvW.

How about the curtain pull? Does that have any sort of use in regards to crippling/pulling runners if you can get close enough? Remember, the main focus is preventing excessive running away tactics, stability+swiftness+regen spam, that kind of nonsense. I (usually) have others to help me spike.

I think that some incredible suggestions have already been made but I want to make clear, so you don’t misunderstand.

The whole point of going centaur/mantra is that it’s automatic.

I don’t have to use focus. I don’t have to constantly use the heal to get swiftness.

This is the important part = I set it on autocast and it will give me more than 10 secs of swiftness and cast again before my 33 percent swiftness is up.

That gives me a constant 33 percent swiftness to me and my allies. And it stacks.

Automatic. Easy.

EnderzShadow.2506:

The whole point of going centaur/mantra is that it’s automatic.

I don’t have to use focus. I don’t have to constantly use the heal to get swiftness.

This is the important part = I set it on autocast and it will give me more than 10 secs of swiftness and cast again before my 33 percent swiftness is up.

That gives me a constant 33 percent swiftness to me and my allies. And it stacks.

Automatic. Easy.

Right… because the swiftness can proc on Power Return as well? I was considering MoR originally because you can use it to spam condition removal with MP. I’ll have to try and play some more with the curtain to find out if I can make it work for me without interrupt traits. Otherwise, this seems like to way to go, especially with the group swiftness.

Ross Biddle.2367:

For Dom: If taking interrupts Mental Torment or Halting Strike. For bursting you’ll be using your mind wrack, otherwise if interupting Halting Strike will only add to your damage.

Shattered Concentration is a powerful trait but I personally feel its best place is in a structured tPvP arena. If you and your buddies are going to form some amazing group synergy, then by all means it might cover a base. Otherwise you might take something else. Having said that, I usually think of Domination in terms of using GS or Torch, and I take Torch cd for Master. Seeing as you don’t have those as an option, maybe you’re right on the money to take Shattered Concentration. OR, you could be freeing yourself up 10 points right there which could go into any of the other lines.

Taking a step back, perhaps you’re putting to much into boon stripping to counter runners. Most roamers, and those in a position to flee, aren’t going to be successful off swiftness. They’ll have runes, sigils, or traits that grant at least +25% movement speed, coupled with blinks, and mobility skills. So your enemy isnt swiftness. Stability, yes, protection maybe, but you can usually wait those two out (or you have arcane thievery). Boon stripping via shatters is going to pressure the sustain of people who want to hang around, more than counter those who’re looking to run away.

What I really want 20 Dom for is the minors and the +20% condi duration. Without the minors I can’t get those giant vuln stacks with Diversion, and magic bullet loses some of its potential as well. I suppose I could limit myself to 15 in Dom, but those 5 points aren’t going to be much use anywhere since I already have Dueling. I’ll probably stick to CD since there’s at least a chance that my target will be crippled when they decide to start running. Mental torment might be the best choice for the second trait since it’s a reasonably large passive DPS boost that I can use often and in different situations.

Focus on interrupt is something I would really like to play, but with no castbars, lots of almost instant-cast skills, dodging, dodgy animation etc., focusing too much of your build into interrupting seems potentially frustrating to me.

Renny.6571:

Idk what you’re talking about greatsword being defensive and useless in melee. The only skill affected by range is the auto attack. Mirror Blade is BETTER in melee because it’ll bounce 2 more times, dealing unblockable damage and give you 6 might. Mind Stab is a targeted damage+boon strip. iZerker will more reliably hit a target if they’re staying in melee and iWave is a melee range knockback. Where’s the defense? It’s a kittening awesome weapon.

Okay you’re right, the GS does actually do a reasonable amount of damage in melee… did they buff its AA? I haven’t used it in ages. I’m having trouble with MS because the AoE is so small. Target tends to be out of range when the skill actually hits. Only time it seems reliable is if the enemy is rooted or engaging me in melee (but that was your point I suppose). How reliable is iZerker on a runner? Isn’t he rather easy to see coming and dodge? Unblockable is nice though… also, will closing with the enemy not be a problem for the iZerker depending on range?

I’ve been trying out the MoR/centaur thing and it works really well, especially combined with Mender’s Purity. I generally don’t need to worry about swiftness, and I can remove cripple/immob and replace it with swiftness almost whenever I want. Amazing tool for when someone tries to lock you down with condition CC.

The biggest problem so far is managing the charges in combat so I’m not stuck channeling when trying to chase. And of course I have rather low healing in general, but I really feel that MP makes a huge difference here.

calavel.6249:

I’ve been trying out the MoR/centaur thing and it works really well, especially combined with Mender’s Purity. I generally don’t need to worry about swiftness, and I can remove cripple/immob and replace it with swiftness almost whenever I want. Amazing tool for when someone tries to lock you down with condition CC.

The biggest problem so far is managing the charges in combat so I’m not stuck channeling when trying to chase. And of course I have rather low healing in general, but I really feel that MP makes a huge difference here.

Stealth is your best friend for mantra recharges.

calavel.6249:

Renny.6571:

Idk what you’re talking about greatsword being defensive and useless in melee. The only skill affected by range is the auto attack. Mirror Blade is BETTER in melee because it’ll bounce 2 more times, dealing unblockable damage and give you 6 might. Mind Stab is a targeted damage+boon strip. iZerker will more reliably hit a target if they’re staying in melee and iWave is a melee range knockback. Where’s the defense? It’s a kittening awesome weapon.

Okay you’re right, the GS does actually do a reasonable amount of damage in melee… did they buff its AA? I haven’t used it in ages. I’m having trouble with MS because the AoE is so small. Target tends to be out of range when the skill actually hits. Only time it seems reliable is if the enemy is rooted or engaging me in melee (but that was your point I suppose). How reliable is iZerker on a runner? Isn’t he rather easy to see coming and dodge? Unblockable is nice though… also, will closing with the enemy not be a problem for the iZerker depending on range?

Couple tricks for casting phantasms. Yes the iZerker cast is very easy to see coming. Since so many Mesmers run GS, and its AA is so obvious, everyone should be expecting the iZerker to come out, and before he does the Mesmer thrusts his GS straight into the air. Casting from stealth cloaks your actions, and there’s very little time to react if you cant see his casting.

Gap closing is the more interesting query. I remember someone once tried to argue that Blink should be replaced with rocket boots mechanics and functionality, and that it was far superior to blink as a utility. The thing about Blink though is that it can be cast while channeling. This includes the casting of phantasms, and while healing. This loads up a ton of possibilities for both chasing and opening.

Ross Biddle.2367:

Gap closing is the more interesting query. I remember someone once tried to argue that Blink should be replaced with rocket boots mechanics and functionality, and that it was far superior to blink as a utility. The thing about Blink though is that it can be cast while channeling. This includes the casting of phantasms, and while healing. This loads up a ton of possibilities for both chasing and opening.

Wow, really? I mean, rocket boots is a good skill but it doesn’t have half the potential of blink.

I had cant other than reccomend to ahve a look at the shatter build I pubiched earlier this week. Its mobility,survival and burst together with GS+s give it a superb spot in smal team roaming I been smal time roaming mainly last 3 years and setup builds for the Shatter Cat guide focused in this area. Feel this one is a winner.

Enjoy a 4 min vid of the build, 1st fight solo later a 5 vs 2 who turn into a messier fight.

/Osicat

Osicat.4139:

My latest shatter build deal some wery good burst, have superb mobility, some strong cc and stack vuln for your teammates to use for burst.

Enjoy

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JqmKDutFAVQ

My power PU build is not a standard defensive “hide in stealth passive aggressive” but high mobile high burst aswell. Just cause a build have PU it don’t have to be a defensive condition build.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HTc-GuHlfKs
/Osicat

Same here. Not all PU builds are cond Scepter/T Staff. My PU is power based Sword/P Gs. I usually run full zerked set of trinkets. Armor depends on situation i change from full zerk with traveler runes for solo runs and 1v1 fights to Dire with speed runes for groups or Zerg guild runs. Cond builds are nice only against stupid and aggressive ppl.

Why don’t you use GS? GS is awesome for chasing down people. It has a huge range and phantasm apply cripple . If you take Dom trait that apply criple on clone death and use + cond duration food it will be very hard to get away from you unless you are fighting a warrior or Ele.

GS is awesome for chasing down targets. When chasing you’re rarely close enough to land a focus pull or to cast it in front of the enemy’s line of movement. The iZerker is a great ranged cripple that helps you gap close.

On my mesmer I have GS/Sword/Torch. I had far reaching manipulations and the reduced cooldown trait for manipulations as well. I have traveler’s runes and I was able to chase a warrior across the map, and keep on him to whittle him down to death. I’m sure he was probably thinking WTF I should be able to get away from anyone, MESMERS OP!! I felt like my build and setup passed the true test of mobility at that point haha.

I ran with the GS yesterday and that worked out quite well, having the option to switch range is often very useful. I have in fact thought about replacing Sw/F with GS, but I want to try playing around with the focus some more, especially find out if the utility it brings with warden reflect and the interrupt/pull is worth it in general.

The only thing I’ve found helpful with focus is pulling people off walls, and sometimes dropping a warden in the middle of a group of people.

Mek.2947:

The only thing I’ve found helpful with focus is pulling people off walls, and sometimes dropping a warden in the middle of a group of people.

Focus offers

• High dps
• AoE
• Area denial
• Projectile destruction/reflects
• Swiftness
• AoE Pull/interrupt
• Condition cleansing
• Cripple

Okay, tried something new today.

30/30/0/10/0.

Replaced focus trait with GS trait and added Harmonious Mantras (Dom XI). With Mender’s purity, this makes Power Return a very reasonable, spammable heal that removes 2 conditions every time. Toss Resolve in there as well and you have 6 double condition cleanses (half of them AoE) + 3x heal. And swift on the heal with centaur runes. That is really powerful when it comes to staying power, as well as skipping in and out of fights, with no need for weapon swap or using more than a few skills.

Biggest challenge was finding a good second mantra to justify slotting both an adept and a GM trait.
MoR is amazing with the right traits but the rest seem very lackluster.
MoP is a joke, it does about the same damage as Sword AA in slightly less time (because of CD, not activation time). It doesn’t even put a dent in a glass ele or thief.
Resolve is very good, but long recharge means it has limited use in some fights. Also, it might be overdoing it on condition removal when I have MP.
Stability is also good, but again, long recharge and very short duration.
Distraction SEEMS like a decent choice, but I’m not a fan of the CD on the active skill.

calavel.6249:

Okay, tried something new today.

30/30/0/10/0.

Replaced focus trait with GS trait and added Harmonious Mantras (Dom XI). With Mender’s purity, this makes Power Return a very reasonable, spammable heal that removes 2 conditions every time. Toss Resolve in there as well and you have 6 double condition cleanses (half of them AoE) + 3x heal. And swift on the heal with centaur runes. That is really powerful when it comes to staying power, as well as skipping in and out of fights, with no need for weapon swap or using more than a few skills.

Biggest challenge was finding a good second mantra to justify slotting both an adept and a GM trait.
MoR is amazing with the right traits but the rest seem very lackluster.
MoP is a joke, it does about the same damage as Sword AA in slightly less time (because of CD, not activation time). It doesn’t even put a dent in a glass ele or thief.
Resolve is very good, but long recharge means it has limited use in some fights. Also, it might be overdoing it on condition removal when I have MP.
Stability is also good, but again, long recharge and very short duration.
Distraction SEEMS like a decent choice, but I’m not a fan of the CD on the active skill.

MoP is effective, but you have to look at the broader picture. Mantras strength is that they can be cast at any time, even while doing other things. So it finds its place right at home during a burst. On it’s own it’ll look lackluster, but if you’re a glass cannon shatter mesmer, when busting our your combo and landing a sword 2, you can fire off your two or three MoP’s to spike your damage even higher.

Mantra of Concentration is more like one approach to mesmering. The stability is short, and on its face doesn’t seem like much. But the mantra is also a stun breaker which adds a bit more depth to it considering its taking up a space on the Mesmer util bar.

To the op: you gotta go GS. Focus is only good for attacking keeps and dropping ppl off cliffs in EOTM. Go 20 20 0 0 30 shatter and mix in some soldiers.

quercus.9261:

To the op: you gotta go GS. Focus is only good for attacking keeps and dropping ppl off cliffs in EOTM. Go 20 20 0 0 30 shatter and mix in some soldiers.

I tend to agree with the GS, but I don’t see the point of 30 Illusions. This isn’t meant to be a glassy shatter build, most of the time there will not be time for shatters/target will be too far away and moving further/clones will die to AoE.
This is not a dueling/solo roaming build where I can pick a spot and set up clones and expect enemies to stick around to take Mind Wracks to the face. Mobility and speed are the main focii.

Ross Biddle.2367:

Mek.2947:

The only thing I’ve found helpful with focus is pulling people off walls, and sometimes dropping a warden in the middle of a group of people.

Focus offers

• High dps
• AoE
• Area denial
• Projectile destruction/reflects
• Swiftness
• AoE Pull/interrupt
• Condition cleansing
• Cripple

I was speaking to things you can do reliably.

Getting all those benefits in open WvW are extremely difficult. You have to be standing near the warden, ie near the enemy to get things like the reflects. In open WvW there’s a vast amount of space for people to avoid the warden and to avoid your temporal curtain. If you’re in a choke point then yes those skills are awesome, but it’s pretty situational. The GS is way more reliable for damage and cripple when chasing in open WvW.

Ross Biddle.2367:

MoP is effective, but you have to look at the broader picture. Mantras strength is that they can be cast at any time, even while doing other things. So it finds its place right at home during a burst. On it’s own it’ll look lackluster, but if you’re a glass cannon shatter mesmer, when busting our your combo and landing a sword 2, you can fire off your two or three MoP’s to spike your damage even higher.

Mantra of Concentration is more like one approach to mesmering. The stability is short, and on its face doesn’t seem like much. But the mantra is also a stun breaker which adds a bit more depth to it considering its taking up a space on the Mesmer util bar.

Okay, maybe I will give MoP another chance. But it’s just so…. un-spammable. No matter how I look at it, I can’t really get over the fact that it does less damage than AA’s do in the same amount of time. It’s not unblockable or anything, in fact it has no interesting component whatsoever on its own. It’s just raw damage, and not very much of it. Maybe I’m just spoiled with unblockable phantasms and Huge spike/evade moves like BF.
MoP seems a little out of place among other mesmer skills, having no secondary function or twist like most of our skills do. The biggest advantage I can find with the skill is that you can sorta spam Restorative Mantras with it.
In a group context, other mantras seem to offer so much more with their AoE effects.
I will likely go for Stability or Distraction (potentially lots of vuln), unless there is a better argument for MoP than “slightly more spike damage that can be combined with channeling”.

Mek.2947:

Ross Biddle.2367:

Mek.2947:

The only thing I’ve found helpful with focus is pulling people off walls, and sometimes dropping a warden in the middle of a group of people.

Focus offers

• High dps
• AoE
• Area denial
• Projectile destruction/reflects
• Swiftness
• AoE Pull/interrupt
• Condition cleansing
• Cripple

I was speaking to things you can do reliably.

Getting all those benefits in open WvW are extremely difficult. You have to be standing near the warden, ie near the enemy to get things like the reflects. In open WvW there’s a vast amount of space for people to avoid the warden and to avoid your temporal curtain. If you’re in a choke point then yes those skills are awesome, but it’s pretty situational. The GS is way more reliable for damage and cripple when chasing in open WvW.

I don’t know – from my personal experience, all of those things listed can be done reliably and without much difficulty, but it takes practice like everything else. It’s another reason mesmer is difficult to master (not saying I’m fully there). IMO focus is one of the strongest off-hand defensive juking weapon we have, paired with either sword or scepter main hand. Beauty is you can take the focus into those chokes or other larger fight and it does really well (especially if traited and unbugged).

skcamow.3527:

Mek.2947:

Ross Biddle.2367:

Mek.2947:

The only thing I’ve found helpful with focus is pulling people off walls, and sometimes dropping a warden in the middle of a group of people.

Focus offers

• High dps
• AoE
• Area denial
• Projectile destruction/reflects
• Swiftness
• AoE Pull/interrupt
• Condition cleansing
• Cripple

I was speaking to things you can do reliably.

Getting all those benefits in open WvW are extremely difficult. You have to be standing near the warden, ie near the enemy to get things like the reflects. In open WvW there’s a vast amount of space for people to avoid the warden and to avoid your temporal curtain. If you’re in a choke point then yes those skills are awesome, but it’s pretty situational. The GS is way more reliable for damage and cripple when chasing in open WvW.

I don’t know – from my personal experience, all of those things listed can be done reliably and without much difficulty, but it takes practice like everything else. It’s another reason mesmer is difficult to master (not saying I’m fully there). IMO focus is one of the strongest off-hand defensive juking weapon we have, paired with either sword or scepter main hand. Beauty is you can take the focus into those chokes or other larger fight and it does really well (especially if traited and unbugged).

I have to agree with skcamow. All those things can be done reliably even in open WvW without a choke point in sight. It’s just a matter of practice.

skcamow.3527:

Mek.2947:

Ross Biddle.2367:

Mek.2947:

The only thing I’ve found helpful with focus is pulling people off walls, and sometimes dropping a warden in the middle of a group of people.

Focus offers

• High dps
• AoE
• Area denial
• Projectile destruction/reflects
• Swiftness
• AoE Pull/interrupt
• Condition cleansing
• Cripple

I was speaking to things you can do reliably.

Getting all those benefits in open WvW are extremely difficult. You have to be standing near the warden, ie near the enemy to get things like the reflects. In open WvW there’s a vast amount of space for people to avoid the warden and to avoid your temporal curtain. If you’re in a choke point then yes those skills are awesome, but it’s pretty situational. The GS is way more reliable for damage and cripple when chasing in open WvW.

I don’t know – from my personal experience, all of those things listed can be done reliably and without much difficulty, but it takes practice like everything else. It’s another reason mesmer is difficult to master (not saying I’m fully there). IMO focus is one of the strongest off-hand defensive juking weapon we have, paired with either sword or scepter main hand. Beauty is you can take the focus into those chokes or other larger fight and it does really well (especially if traited and unbugged).

Those can all be done reliably with the exception of high damage. The warden really isn’t high damage unless you’ve got someone in 1 spot for a good 7-8 seconds, and that simply isn’t possible to do reliably.

Thanks for the input guys, I’m gonna go with GS – Sw/P and MoR/Centaur runes I think.

I still really like the idea of the focus and I’ll keep working with it but for this particular build, I feel I need too many mixed runes just to keep up swiftness.
Those 10 points in Inspiration could also be better spent I think.

Pyroatheist.9031:

skcamow.3527:

Mek.2947:

Ross Biddle.2367:

Mek.2947:

The only thing I’ve found helpful with focus is pulling people off walls, and sometimes dropping a warden in the middle of a group of people.

Focus offers

• High dps
• AoE
• Area denial
• Projectile destruction/reflects
• Swiftness
• AoE Pull/interrupt
• Condition cleansing
• Cripple

I was speaking to things you can do reliably.

Getting all those benefits in open WvW are extremely difficult. You have to be standing near the warden, ie near the enemy to get things like the reflects. In open WvW there’s a vast amount of space for people to avoid the warden and to avoid your temporal curtain. If you’re in a choke point then yes those skills are awesome, but it’s pretty situational. The GS is way more reliable for damage and cripple when chasing in open WvW.

I don’t know – from my personal experience, all of those things listed can be done reliably and without much difficulty, but it takes practice like everything else. It’s another reason mesmer is difficult to master (not saying I’m fully there). IMO focus is one of the strongest off-hand defensive juking weapon we have, paired with either sword or scepter main hand. Beauty is you can take the focus into those chokes or other larger fight and it does really well (especially if traited and unbugged).

Those can all be done reliably with the exception of high damage. The warden really isn’t high damage unless you’ve got someone in 1 spot for a good 7-8 seconds, and that simply isn’t possible to do reliably.

Fair call.