Guild Wars 2

Just an honest question. I’m having a lot of trouble countering the class as a thief and I was wondering how you deal with them in wvw! Thank ya!

For reference to my build refer to the thread I posted about it.

I usually have no problems with Mesmers. With my build I have dazes, blinds, and immobilizes to avoid some Shatters and to prevent heals if timed correctly. If I do have problems they are a GC shatter spec that can oneshot me using Sword/Pistol combo.

If possible, I use a stealth when I get them a bit low and wait for a cast animation, which is usually a heal, to daze them and prevent a heal and then burst as much as I can.

Tips: If you roll with a group have someone target the actual mesmer so you can easily keep track of him/her. If you are not in a group make sure to target the mesmer. I see that sometimes people are using auto-target do not lock onto the target selected but the closet to them. So, turn of auto-targeting.

Okay what to do, don’t fight the clones, only the “Real” Mesmer will have a title and or Buffs such as Vigor/Regeneration. The real mesmer will be the one that is moving backwards as the clones do not. Use the clones for a CnD target, they are good for making you hide, giving you more stealth options, quickly check all targets for a title, signet or buffs such as regeneration/vigor.

Next what to do, as mesmers also have culling for when they are in “Hide”, look for your venom ticks or bleed ticks it will give you the best and quickest way to target an un-rendered target, this is also advisable for thieves, look for your bleed damage ticking, white numbers popping all over the map without a target there.

Hope this helps, I found mesmers real hard till as of late, they either got nerfed (never checked the patches and or I have just gotten adequately better at taking them down.

What he said.
But when it comes to fighting vs 2 mesmers that is madness … just too many clones

I CnD off clones, which gives me time to look for the real mesmer. I don’t usually have trouble with them, but seeing as I’m not glass cannon, I can afford more time versus them. Mesmers just slaughter glass cannon thieves…

Confusion mesmers are a real pain in the kitten though. They can and will eat you up if you’re not patient.

Negated.4105:

Hope this helps, I found mesmers real hard till as of late, they either got nerfed (never checked the patches and or I have just gotten adequately better at taking them down.

Mesmers got nerfed very hard a couple of patches back (Lost Shores IIRC) which made things like blind and evade much more effective against them. I generally find that the AoE from Death Blossom (as a condition d/d thief) is extremely useful since clones most often have so low health that you can destroy them with one or two attacks (and unless I’m not mistaken the evade part of DB should protect you from any traits the mesmer has which applies conditions if the clones are killed). In general though, it seems like mesmer is about the only other profession (or at least the one who’s got it easiest) that can go GC and take out thieves without very fast reflexes.

I run S/D.

I like to open my fight with Ice drake venom + Infiltrator’s strike, this roots them, and will severely limit movement. I then CnD, which blinds him and all his clones via Cloaked in Shadow. Then I start my usual Tactical Strike → Crippling Strike combo, trying to keep him locked down.

If he blinks away, I’ll CnD + Steal to him, which also is traited to give me fury. If he dazes me, I’ll use the Shadow Return on my Infil. Strike, the infil strike him again and keep him locked. The key here is to limit their movement as much as possible. Chill, Cripple, Immob., Daze, all work wonders. Often times mesmers will not be specced very tanky, so taking them down usually happens in ~5 seconds.

If they stealth, don’t panic. Wait a second or 2 and then stealth yourself. While in stealth, take your time and make sure you have the right target. I find it easier to take down mesmers with my thief than any of my other chars.

as D/D thief.
C/d on first clone on sight, then wait
wait untill you see the real mesmer, steal on it and backstab, if you manage before he stealth away. do not burn initiative on hs / Db / dd. try to remain stealth as much as posible , untill you got on target the real mesmer. IF you burn 2 out of 3 stealth utility’s and he is over 60% hp is better to back off
But the big question is how to find the real mesmer :
1. food buffs are not visible on clones. Sigil stacks are not visible on clones.
2. clones will not move back /left /right /dodge , clones attack will be basic 1’st mesmer skill.
3. clones off hand is not the same as the mesemer’s.

As soon as they stealth, C&D a clone and zoom camera all the way out if it’s not already. Then you just scan the area for the telltale un-stealth swirl. The real mesmer appears a few units from there and re-engage him right away. If you look for buffs and stuff it will be using up too much time clicking around.