Guild Wars 2

It was nerfed because otherwise bleed stacking with iDuelist would be ridiculously strong with the potential for 3 stacks of bleeding on crit, x8 for each shot from the duelist. As it stands now, you can get up to 16 stacks of bleeding per duelist vs 24. I think that’s fair.

Kai, I would be more inclined to believe you if investing in signets wasn’t such a promising result. The first signet you get is Signet of the Ether, which is the best PvE heal skill, and the next one you unlock is Signet of Inspiration, both of which are very very nice skills to have while leveling.

IMO, the best way to spend your hero points is first the Signets skills to get the first two, and then dump the rest into Dueling.

It depends, honestly. What game mode do you play primarily? PvE/dungeons, sPvP, or WvW (either roaming or zerging, both are different)?

For PvE, use Assassin’s
For sPvP it doesn’t matter
For WvW use Berserker’s
For general, every day use, use Berserker’s

The reason Assassin’s is preferred in dungeons is because of reflects. Reflects don’t use your power stat, but they do use your precision and ferocity stats, so having extra precision over power is preferred. In WvW, you want more power so your hits do more damage, which is why Berserker’s is preferred. However, if you only want one set of armor for everything, I would use Berserker’s. The difference between Assassin’s and Berserker’s when reflecting is only noticeable if you watch out for it, and only a problem in high level speed runs. Berserker’s gear will get you through a dungeon/fractal without a problem at all. Plus, elementalists take more advantage of Berserker’s than Assassin’s, so you can swap your armor between the two of them if you wish, without having to make multiple armor sets.

ghors.5418:

Thank you so much! This was very helpful! Ive been reading a bit about interrupt mesmer aswell, would zerker gear with pack runes be useful for them aswell? Cus i really wanna test both interrupt and shatter mesmers

Yes, interrupt mesmer also uses berserker. I’m not entire sure on the runes, but I’m sure within the next week or so after the meta has settled down we’ll see more guides popping up. However, as mesmer is your first 80, I recommend not trying for lockdown immediately. The build relies almost entirely on your knowledge of other classes as well as your own. I suggest using shatter mesmer to get used to the glassy playstyle the class is known for, as well as learning your own survivability in sticky situations.

Xyonon.3987:

Is traveler still useful? I mean we can use the signet of inspiration now and when we encounter, just swap it out. If we get encountered as zerk by a surprise attack it’s your own fault and it’s over anyway. I doubt that we are able to flee just because of travaler runes anyway. But I’m not an wvw expert, so tell me

Traveler’s runes are always an option. I personally use Traveler’s runes over Pack runes mostly because I have gotten so used to the 25% speed boost that I feel extremely sluggish when I don’t have it on. Also I very much dislike being caught in a fight with SoI equipped when I need pretty much all of my utilities for a fight. I also use Traveler’s because I put it on a set of WvW gear and can’t salvage the gear to get the runes back :P

Sw+T/GS for me. Being able to stealth without using a utility skill is wonderful, and the burst from either weapon set is just phenomenal.

Ross Biddle.2367:

So ya, pretty much maurader wins out because fury overcomes precision loss of zerker.

You actually have more precision with the Marauder Amulet than with the Berserker Amulet (1050/1050/560/560 vs 1200/900/900), so I don’t know why fury has anything to do with it.

ghors.5418:

is the gear from trading post better than the honor badge gear?

Nope they’re all of exotic quality, which means they all have the same stats. However, gear purchased with badges cannot be salvaged, so if you decide you don’t want that armor anymore, you won’t be able to salvage it for the runes.

ghors.5418:

I have enough honor badges to get the pvp gear but idk like which set. Invaders/Knights/Carrion/Clerics/Berserkers/Rabid? Would be awesome if someone could help me out.
. . .
Ive been reading around a bit and some people say that pack runes with berserker gear is the best for wvw roaming? Is that so or? Idk im really clueless

Berserker gear with Superior Runes of the Pack is the best set up for running a shatter build for roaming. It’s very glassy and is meant to be a burst spec, which is good for taking down a small amount of enemies at a time. It’s mostly good for roaming by yourself or a small group, because in berserker gear you’ll get run down by an enemy zerg in no time flat. However, if you’re with a giant zerg and you have voice communication with the zerg and/or a small perimeter party, you can use the shatter build to pick off single targets from the side of the fight.

If you want to run in the thick of things with mesmer, I suggest a set of Soldier’s gear because it will provide you with the necessary toughness and vitality to survive without dying immediately from a stray AoE. I can’t really comment on the effectiveness of a zergling mesmer build, but the shatter build is both strong and useful for team fights, and is very satisfying to play once you get the hang of it

CobraPolo.1723:

Fay.2357:

Glamour builds have been obsolete for a long time though. Regardless of what you could do with them now and then, they’ve been objectively worse than other builds in every single style of play since the nerf.

I don’t play glamour builds but I’ll have to disagree with this. Viable or not this game is to be played whie have fun; its a game. If he/she chooses to play glamour builds because its fun for him/her there should be no reason to say he shouldn’t be playing it because its not viable. My build in no way is viable. But it works for me.

Fun =/= good

Your build can be fun, and if you enjoy it, no one is stopping you. I personally find the most fun in winning, so I will play the best build that is out there.

Suboptimal build bickering aside, shatter builds won’t be viable in dungeons unless phantasm builds are so weak that shattering is our only option. Now I do think that, with chronomancer, being able to shatter our phantasms without them dying will be very helpful. That, however, doesn’t make it a “shatter” build, just a regular phantasm build that can shatter for extra DPS.

Well, good news is that we now have a fan focus skin

Tharinock.9306:

CobraPolo.1723:

Tasao.4623:

Mesmer takes twice the skill to play for half the result, compared to other classes.

I think your looking at this the wrong way.

Players have different skill levels. Playing a higher skills class and being good at it is the reward. If you put a new MMO player in your build your using how efficient will they be compared to say running a lb/gs ranger build or something? Prob not very viable at all. Most MMO’s have different professions @ different skill levels.

I choose to play mesmer because of the skill required to master it, i’d fall asleep rolling any other profession.

I think the biggest problem is that mesmer requires you to be a perfectionist. If you play perfectly, you will do well, but every mistake can be heavily punished. While many other classes can win by falling asleep and rolling onto the keyboard. It’s not that mesmers require skill to master, but thay they require skill to get to the point that other classes reach by mashing their face on the keyboard.

Honestly, at the end of the day, it’s about fun. I personally find playing as mesmer a lot of fun, and even though I most certainly get the same result with less effort on, say, a guardian or a thief, I find mesmer a lot more fun to play, so I play it.

As for the underwhelming part, yes you do need to be on your A game to play, and it requires a lot of practice before you can become proficient with mesmer, and see their uniqueness shine through.

MoJoe.9063:

I’m going to jump in here since I’m also a new mesmer. Although I have scrolls I can use to jump right to level 20, I was thinking of leveling manually so I can gradually adjust to my new skills as I obtain them. But I haven’t leveled a character since they re-did the whole leveling reward system. Is it worth it to start from scratch, or should I use an exp scroll to start from 20?

Also, which weapons should I use for power builds and condition builds respectively? My necro is running a hybrid build at the moment and I’m not sure which way my mesmer will go just yet.

Definitely use the scroll. Mesmers are very hard to play as without their utility skills, and you’ll likely just become frustrated without them.

As for weapons, the only weapon that’s tied specifically to conditions is scepter. Staff AA applies conditions, but it’s used almost entirely for its amazing utility. Everything else is used in power builds.

Invictorum.7643:

Okay, question. How do I not get brutally melted by any thief?

Unfortunately you don’t. Thieves are the biggest reason that mesmers aren’t the meta for PvP: they hard counter us and generally do everything we do (roaming, burst, sustained damage, support), but better.

If you want to do dungeons often, then yes, you’re going to need to use a sword. Can you use conditions? Sure. But you’re going to be holding your party back by providing subpar DPS and conditions that tickle at best. Condition mesmer’s best chance of being viable is in PvP or WvW, where pure DPS and rotations aren’t everything.

It probably has either to do with the bristleback or it’s just a new aesthetic effect for those skills. If you look at 5:42, you see him hover over Chaos Storm, and it has no added/boosted effects, so it’s just a vanilla Chaos Storm we’re seeing there.

One of the better weapon sets for leveling is GS or Staff (your choice) and Sword+Focus. Focus is fantastic for getting around places quickly, has a strong phantasm, and good CC for lots of mobs trying to attack you. Sword is the best mainhand weapon (scepter is the only other one and is very lackluster) and is just a good weapon over all. Blurred Frenzy can be used both offensively and defensively for good damage or evading strong attacks. The leap is also good for creating clones for shatter fodder. Staff and Greatsword are reverse of what you’d normally expect them to be. You actually want to use your staff up close and your greatsword far away! Since the staff AA bounces and benefits allies it hits, being within close proximity helps stack up boons and conditions. Chaos Armor also encourages you to be in melee range, as you get boons whenever you’re struck, and standing inside Chaos Storm will make your life a lot easier and your enemy’s a lot harder, with all the boons you get on top of their conditions.

As for utilities, Blink is by far one of the best skills you can get, so grab it ASAP. Ether Feast and Signet of the Ether are pretty much the only healing skills you need, so get those as soon as you can. Other useful utilities are Decoy for stealthing past enemies (or creating another clone), Mirror Image for creating quick shatter fodder (really good for leveling up since you don’t have Deceptive Evasion until level 60), and any of the mantras are good to have on your bar, even if you can’t trait them yet. Stunbreaks and condi cleanses on command are really nice to have in a pinch, and the damage from Mantra of Pain isn’t too shabby either. The only mantra that’s really not too good in PvE is Mantra of Distraction, but it can be fun to use, so use it if you want. Mesmer is lucky enough to have a use for almost all of their utility skills, so pick whichever ones you think are the most fun to you.

General tips:

• When fighting an enemy, use Mind Wrack when they’re at low health. Your illusions are going to die when your enemy’s dead anyway, and the burst damage can be very useful for ending the fight faster.
• When fighting with the GS, using Phantasms Berserker + Mirror Blade + Mind Wrack + Mind Stab is a good burst combo and will usually kill most non-veteran mobs quickly
• With sword, Leap + Swap + Blurred Frenzy + Mind Wrack is another good burst combo (for this and the other shatter bursts, make sure you have 3 illusions up for maximum damage. Mirror Image can help a lot with this)
• Evade, evade, evade. You have lots of different ways of avoiding damage. CC with focus, blinking around with Blink and Phase Retreat, Blurred Frenzy, Distortion (F4), stealth with Torch or Decoy, Chaos Storm for that clutch aegis, all of these will help you survive. Use them. You can’t tank things like a warrior, and you can’t like constantly blind enemies like a thief, so you have to get creative, or you’re dead :P

Welcome to the world of mesmers

Honestly, I like the way the shield skills are designed as is. It thematically fits chronomancer more than base mesmer (as it should, since it’s a specialization), and is focused on less space manipulation and more time manipulation.

As for your specific proposals…

Ithamir.5928:

Echo of Memory:
Evade Attacks and Reflect projectiles. This is instead of Blocking (Could be awesome if the animation would send the projectiles flying backwards, as if rewinding. Unlike now where it looks like you’re firing it back yourself).

Reasoning: Blocking one attack is unreliable and weak, especially on a rather long cooldown skill. See Scepter and Sword Off-Hand for references. More survivability, especially since you lose Torch’s The Prestige. Rewards smart play. Fits the theme of a space-time mage.

My only issue with this is the “Evade” part. With Evasive Mirror, you’re already reflecting projectiles on evade. I actually like the block part of the shield skills, because it’s still a shield and shields block attacks.

My only problem is my Traveler’s runes are on WvW gear otherwise, I’m excited for being able to use better runes so I can either deal more damage or take more damage

Westibone.3985:

I think it would be cool if the trait extended the range of all sword skills (call it Energy Blade or whatever), INCLUDING AUTO ATTACK (sort of like the Necro Axe). The sword would still cleave, though, of course. Being able to auto attack from further away would be awesome. You could land many more hits, and with all the quickness around now, it would be even more awesome.

I would actually really dislike this. Mesmers are supposed to be duelists, and actually use swords as actual melee weapons. Adding another melee-weapon-turned-range is very boring and not creative. I’d rather they just give us mainhand pistol and be done with it.

Arshay Duskbrow.1306:

Capricorn XI.4390:

I look at these forums, and sometimes I feel like I’m the only one who’s happy with having mainhand sword. I have no desire for another mainhand, because the sword fits exactly what I want.

You don’t know what you’re talking about. All the years I played GW1, I ached for Mesmers to be able to really use a sword outside of Illusionary Weapon shenanigans. If nothing else, GW2 realized that dream.

However, the doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be supplemented by a ranged power-based mainhand. It’s not one or the other, so stop presenting a false dichotomy.

Did I ever say that we shouldn’t have a ranged power-based mainhand weapon? No. Did I say that everyone should play the same way I do? No. So please, don’t act so presumptuous. Chaos was asking an opinion-based question, and I answered it with my opinion

My mesmer

I normally run around in two different armor sets, one for dungeons and another for WvW/PvP. I really like the “techno” look of most of the HotW armor, so I used that and paired it with the Gas Mask for a nice look.

I look at these forums, and sometimes I feel like I’m the only one who’s happy with having mainhand sword. I have no desire for another mainhand, because the sword fits exactly what I want.

So to answer the question, yeah, I am happy with what ANet has shown us.

No, it will not be baseline. To have access to shields, wells, and Continuum Split, you need to be in the chronomancer specialization trait line.

All of these cool combos are probably not going to happen. I mean, yeah, we now have IP baseline, but that could be, what, 1 second before we’re reset? You may need multiple clones out before you can do anything remotely “broken”. I think the biggest one is definitely the Mirror Image > Mind Wrack shatter rotation, since both of those skills are instant. All the crazy combos of F5 > Phantasm > SoE > Phantasm > End F5 > SoI > repeat probably won’t happen. Phantasmal Swordsman and SoE each take 1 second to activate, so you would need at least 2 illusions out beforehand if you were to activate them as quickly as possible.

Curunen.8729:

I don’t know whether I will enjoy it as much as some other builds – the biggest conundrum is weapon choice – because I love both staff and focus for crowd control and will have to lose one in order to use the shield… I would so love to have focus in one hand and shield in the other, with some staff/scepter type auto attack.

You’re not forced to use a shield. You just now have the option to have one. I may actually just use GS/Sw+P and forgo a shield altogether.

doombreaker.3710:

Let’s see if we get only a shield and if it’s worth it

They said with the specialization announcement that each class will be getting one new weapon

My body is ready