Guild Wars 2

What could I be missing out on though? Its not like im inexperienced in MMOs. There is a relatively low pool of skills and traits/attributes to chose from. I just feel like if ever Im not in open space. I just get annihilated. Ive tried running Phant Defender, cloaks and everything but the survival is just not there. or i must be missing something huge that they have changed

So Ive heard that leveling early on as a mesmer is tough but what im going through is ridiculous. I literally get 3 shot by most mobs my level. In most story quests I die 4+ times in any given fight by literally getting killed right after I arrive. Ive done research on builds and Ive experimented with every weapon set but im still so very kittened. I find that any quest where I do not have a LARGE open space to kite (with no slows) I am guaranteed death.

So is mesmer just a kittened class? Or is it maybe just very inefficient at leveling? Let me know whats changed cause ive been away from GW2 for like the last 2 weeks.