Guild Wars 2

Has anyone tested setting up a Zerker build that doesn’t function on one of these two principles that is any good at all?

The only thing I see that can do close to enough damage to be worth trying with is the blocks on Scepter and OH Sword. I’d like to make something not so AI reliant and a bit more fun to play.

Think I might toy with this if no one has done anything in this vein yet.

Mind Crush (lockdown build) uses… well, everything. It’s not reliant on any one style of play and utilized Phantasms, Shatters, Interrupts, and even some conditions for damage. After a bit of practice it all becomes seemless.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/PvP-Mind-Crush-w-Dueling-Video/first

Sensotix also has a couple builds that aren’t specifically Shatter or Phantasm if I’m not mistaken, his Mantra Build (still being tested) and Bountiful Interruption (Support/Control) come to mind.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Sensotix-Builds-and-Tutorials-Collection/first

The thing is our traits (that help power damage) are geared towards either one of these 2 things. For each weapon set 1 phant and 1 clone. Our personal damage is also balanced around the belief that we are using shatter or phantasms to augment damage, so our autos are weaker etc. Builds which focus on say Mantra damage % increase again come down to buffing our phantasms or using mirror blade to do large spike damage with a shatter. Shatter and phant is the mesmer system that everything is geared towards and our other skills are weaker to stop us being too strong (except mirror blade). This is all for power damage, mesmers running around with clone destruction stuff and condi spec have a different path (which leads to hell ofc).

As already pointed out phantasm and shatters are part of the Mesmers design and you won’t be able to totally play without them. However, interrupt builds usually rely less on them if not using Imbued Diversion as main interrupt source.

You should check our the thread Chaos made:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Lockdown-The-Underexplored-Playstyle/first

I also run a zerker interrupt build combined with Glamours which works quite well in hotjoin PvP. The main source of burst damage comes from an Interrupt + Leap + Blurred Frenzy combo. You should not underestimate the damage from iSwordsman and iWarlock, though. Not sure how well my builds performs in tPvP since I rarely play it.

I use this build and even though I know it shouldn’t be working, it does and is A LOT of fun to play. Definitely good enough for soloQ and you learn to focus more on your foe’s boons and actions which helps with all classes you ever want to play.

alvarez.3159:

I use this build and even though I know it shouldn’t be working, it does and is A LOT of fun to play. Definitely good enough for soloQ and you learn to focus more on your foe’s boons and actions which helps with all classes you ever want to play.

Why shouldn’t that work? That’s a solid Phantasm-based control build ya got there. I’d argue for Sigil of Paralysis for your two stuns.

Chaos Archangel.5071:

alvarez.3159:

I use this build and even though I know it shouldn’t be working, it does and is A LOT of fun to play. Definitely good enough for soloQ and you learn to focus more on your foe’s boons and actions which helps with all classes you ever want to play.

Why shouldn’t that work? That’s a solid Phantasm-based control build ya got there. I’d argue for Sigil of Paralysis for your two stuns.

It’s just that I try to use everything a Mesmer has to offer at once. Except for bursty shatters, i only shatter for stomps (still shattering though!).
I’m also still not too sure about the second sigil, the stuns atm are easily long enough to set up my favorite combo (iDuelist, iLeap, BF, magic bullet, switch to staff, chaos storm, phase retreat, iWarlock, kite!), although that would give me some room for errors.

Nah, your build is actually pretty focused: Summon Phantasms; shutdown opponents, with some rewards for interrupting.

It’s a bit like my Mind Crush build, but with a stronger emphasis on phantasm maintenance. Debilitating Dissipation actually works pretty good here since it’s easier to control clone deaths when you have two phantasms up.

Coulter.2315:

The thing is our traits (that help power damage) are geared towards either one of these 2 things.

Yeah. I tried a few iterations of builds that were focused on getting damage out of the non-summon weapons skills. They “worked” but just aren’t nearly as good. I had played the shut down builds before. They are really just an odd variant and/or hybrid of Phantasms or Shatters depending how you set them up. More fun than a vanilla version of either, but still the same basic premise.

Doesn’t seem to be a way to work around it. Class design is what it is.