Guild Wars 2

If I’m going with a power build which is typically recommend? I’m only going to be doing pve no dungeons just open world and some pvp.

I overall prefer sword, but necro auto attack crushes the sword as far as dps plus the Wells however have much longer cool down time. Will blurred frenzy plus my shatters make up for the overall dps and be higher?

Any one have any pros and cons for the 2 against each other for open world pve?

Thanks!

Having played both I would recommend mesmer.
In terms of PvP, mesmer is the 2nd most viable power class (behind thief)
Necro is very good in PvP as well and hard to play well (like mesmer, maybe even a bit harder). The issue with necro to me is that it’s so much slower than mesmer and mesmer tends to be called slow and seems to me like it depends on the team a lot more than mesmer does, could be just me.
In terms of open world PvE I’d say necro wins if you go minion master. (for dungeons I’d say mesmer is better)
Don’t worry so much about autoattack damage, mesmer damage in PvE comes from phantasms combined with your attacks from sword, you never shatter in PvE, it’s more of a WvW/PvP thing.
Try running a 6602 phantasm build with sword sword + sword focus and mantras, it does decently high DPS while still bringing decent party support. you can find a guide for the build at www.metabattle.com. Speccing for high crit damage/chance is great if you can do it, it works well for dungeons, not too sure for open world.
I’d say that you shouldn’t really worry about anything. Pick a class depending on it’s theme, the skills it has, something you think you would enjoy playing. Everything can work in PvE and PvP (Some are, of course, harder than others)

The main difference between condition mesmer and necros in my mind is that mesmers are vastly more mobile, while necros are more tanky with more conditions.

Debatable, this all depends on the build and weapons you are using. As you said the necro auto outpaces the mesmer’s sword auto, I will assume you are talking about axe. Scepter auto with necro does not bite except with bleeds, staff is slow and bit unwieldy like mesmer staff, and the other option is dagger and it may also be the weapon you’re talking about. However, I know a very good power necro who uses axe/wh+staff, so that is why I think your weapon is axe.

A zerker necro will have a higher HP pool than mesmer. So, you will have a slightly higher margin for survival on a necro. With the right build and weapon set necro may well out-play mesmer in pve.

For open world content as a mesmer I have always played shatter (on my main). My preferred weapons are sw/p+gs. Your primary damage does come from the phantasm. Myself, I carry mirror images and shatter frequently, dodging like a maniac.

And I will second Stormbolt here: mesmers are more mobile while necros are tankier. A mesmer has quite a few defensive options and one of the biggest being the staff. I’ve learned to use chaos storm like a shield and phase retreat is nice for putting distance between you and the target. You have scepter and sword blocks, which have helped me out in the past. The focus pull and warden can also be very helpful, with or without traiting.

For necros, you’re very good at taking a beating. The marks on staff are good for a quick pop of damage and conditions, the #4 mark also removes conditions. Axe and dagger have the most damage output, though I think axe more-so than dagger. Scepter is a condi weapon, it is good for bleeds and not so much damage. I don’t see many people use focus off-hand with necro, but dagger off-hand is also good for bleeds and blinds. Warhorn has a daze as well as a damaging speed boost in locust swarm. I like popping locust swarm then hitting my death shroud for life siphon. Death shroud is also your second life bar. It is about all of the defense a necro gets (without considering builds/utilities).

Since you won’t be running dungeons, I won’t go into that. You didn’t mention wvw, so we won’t go there either. I will mention I see more necros and mesmers in zergs, though I see mesmers more in roaming groups than necros. For PvP, eh… I’m biased. My heart belongs to my mesmers, as much as I like my wee necro, I don’t so much like it in pvp. People expect you to run minions or power. If you run power they will focus you first. If you run minions they may not bother with you right away because of your petting zoo.

Many others have said before that mesmer is not wanted in high-end pvp matches simply because anything we can do someone else (thief usually) can do better. Shatter and lockdown builds are seen at the most respectable mesmer builds to run. They are also extremely glassy and you must rely on your team to cover for you. You will get focused and you will die (easily).

And I will agree with Jurica: Play what you think you will enjoy. Mesmer and necro were my fourth and fifth characters to reach 80. After which I got the other three classes to 80 then made a second mesmer.

Just stepping (from a necro perspective) in to say that staff four no longer removes conditions from allies as of some set of months ago. It is however still a possible full condi clear if you hit multiple targets. Making it ideal for fighting a condi mesmer as the clones are good for condi bouncing.

It is however still very useful for popping a poison field for aoe weakness. Which does ALOT to reduce shatter damage if you can clip not only hte mesmer but multiple clones with it.

Huh, I guess I never noticed that since I always play solo with my necro. Thanks for the heads up. =)

My necro just about had more hours than my mesmer main but has been demoted to tailor because I feel I can do more stuff with the mesmer and be of more use to the team. For easy stuff the necro wins as its damage is easy to put out and it has plenty of aoe. Whilst the necro can take more of a beating, mesmer can avoid the beating.

Since you have said open world and not dungeons I would suggest necro as you can get perma swiftness with warhorn and spectral walk. Also condis are becoming more important in world boss fights so more options are open to necros.

Minion builds are alright but last time I tried it the flesh golem was a pacifist. I hope it’s been fixed.

Necro is definitely easier to level.

Mesmers stealth is handy for bypassing nasty champs at vistas and skill points. And access to evades, vigor and invulnerability is lovely.

I have no experience at pvp though so no help there.

I’ve not played necro, but Mesmer is pretty good in PvE with maybe the exception of low non-passive out of combat speed, which can also be annoying in WvW and PvP. In PvP I would say a Mesmer has a fairly high skill threshold, you have to concentrate a lot to get the best out of them. Playing a Mes tired, tipsy, or not feeling particularly on-the-ball that day is going to lead to disappointing experience. I find the class can be quite unforgiving sometimes and has made me want to re-roll another class on more than one occasion.

open world no dungeons no pve no pvp minion master necro is so easy so simple and pretty fast you can literally afk in combat. also necro dagger 1 is so powerful i love it so much. now mesmer your auto attacks they suck get used to it. your phantasms? they are a thousand times more dps heavy than minions but they dont heal you they dont cleanse conditions and they dont take damage worth a kitten plus they dont deal knockdown immob and blinds like minions do. but kitten son they hurt. focus 5 or gs 4 can one shot most trash mobs. however they also disappear if the mob you summoned them on dies. I personally would say for speedy run thru’s play mesmer because burst burst burst. for enjoying the scenery and exploring the map minion master necro is probably the best out of any class.

I disagree Ranger, but as Mesmer main, I am biased. ;P I use my Mesmers for everything.

And you are wrong about Phantoms. The Disenchanter will remove boons from a target and conditions from allies. The Defender will boost the survivability of nearby allies. Lastly, if you know your combo fields, you can use the Warden in a light field and remove conditions as well. Phantoms can be healed by an outside source (water fields, skills that apply regen or other healing). The mesmer has limited “aoe” heal skills, which only come through traits, if I’m not mistaken – party heals with mantra charges. Not really worth it though. Most phantoms don’t have a long cd time, so it’s not a huge loss if they get destroyed.

Rangerdeity.5847:

but they dont heal you

Um we have a trait that allows phantoms to grant regen to nearby allies…ever seen it? It’s even called Phantasmal Healing!

I think it’s because my first serious try at leveling a profession in this game was a mesmer, I don’t find leveling them to be tedious or boring. I love the gameplay, it’s simple but complex if that makes sense. I enjoyed leveling my mesmers way more than the necro or thief.

You might be asking for necro, but it’s still more of a personal preference.

Late-game scaling in open-world events consist of lots of quickly-dying trash mobs and scale with long-channel/duration no-cooldown aoe (KITTEN KITTEN KITTENING KITTENFACED subjugators), which destroys mesmer dps. Necros can still do well with staff/death shroud, with little need for stability or escapes.

Mesmers shine in smaller-group settings like dungeons and fractals pve-wise.

In pvp and roaming wvw, they’re about the same.