Guild Wars 2

I agree, strictly or legally speaking the OP may not be wrong, but Osicat and Pyro are extremely respected users in this forum because they put a lot of thought into what they say, invest a lot of time in theorycrafting and have given us some very clever, effective builds. Hell, the german GW2 forums suck, through Osicat and Pyro and a few other dedicated players at least HERE I found useful information and many helpful tips.

That doesnt mean we have to crawl up their kittens every single day from now on. But for me, personally, their names are like a seal of quality, and I naturally can’t say the same thing about every other stranger who comes to these forums to fart out some new, half baked build.

So, before naming one of these freshly farted, possibly unsound builds after a guy whose name is usually connected with “what he does is cool, use it, it’s going to work” maybe the OP would better name his builds in any other way, that doesnt confuse people.

I do not enjoy playing on the Skyhammer-Map, and even though I am aware that my personal opinion is naturally subjective, I’ll try to explain as good as I can:

1. All spvp-Maps in GW2 so far are “capture the points”-maps, and that never bothered me because the premise provides a lot of fun and can used on totally different maps with a totally different background. I think the different additions to the maps (trebuchets to use, orb to transport, commanders to annihilate) add flavour and a special tactical component to each one of them.

The difference between said additions and the cannon in Skyhammer is for me: The cannon is much too powerful. It can be a valid strategy to not capture the orb and just stay in steady control of all three points to win. It can be a valid strategy to not use the catapult but roam fast across the map, maybe just destroy the enemies’ treb and even the fight. There are a lot of ways to handle the unique tactical situations in those maps. The cannon at the moment fires too fast for my taste, hits too hard and can’t be dodged. Right now it seems absolutely imperative for teams to compete over control for the cannon, there doesnt seem to be another good option since it’s just too important on that battlefield. So I feel forced into using the kitten thing, or at least I feel that the team controlling the cannon is in such a massive advantage that teams are forced to lump up around the kitten thing. It makes the map less fun then others, for me personally.

2. It’s depressing to be shot by a large cannon. For me – again, I know my opinion is subjective – World of Warcrafts PvP went down the drain when they began introducing cannons, tanks and whatnot. I enjoy to play my own character in a pvp-match. If I win I want to win because my skills sufficed, if I lose I am going to think of what I could’ve done better and how I can improve in the future.
In the last two days I had some interesting fights when I tried to capture/defend points. Sometimes I would have won and the cannon blasted me to pieces, sometimes I was close to beating my enemy and the cannon blasted HIM to pieces. Both is no fun for me.

Of course you can argue that gaining control of the cannon, defending it thereafter and using it properly also demands skill and good teamwork. All I can say is: I think people tend to feel okay when they have lost a battle/duel somewhere on the map (no matter if 1 vs 1, 2 vs 2 or any other combination) and they feel less okay and a lot more victimized when they get shot by a large, invisible gun.
I didnt buy GW2 to re-enact World War 1. I dont want heavy artillery blasting me or my enemies to pieces. That’s not how I imagine enjoyable pvp-battles, else I would be playing Battlefield or whatever the kids enjoy these days in that area.

3) “Yesterday I fought a warrior who really kicked my kitten , we had a great duel… then I misstepped and broke my neck” is not an interesting story to tell your friends. Of course it takes a certain sort of skill to get the map to know and avoid plunging to death. That just doesnt mean it’s also fun, and I think herein lies the problem.

Thank you all for the friendly feedback. It’s been very informative and showed me a pretty silly weakness in my build, so it’s definitely been worth it.

It’s definitely worth considering, you are right of course. I do shatter my illusions at (hopefully) appropriate moments, like everyone else, and I could use the flexibility that comes from illusionary persona. I’ll try it out and I believe you gave me a pretty good tip.

@ BlueFrog: You are right, that was a typo and I had 5 points too many in the Domination-Line. It’s actually

10 (III)
20 ( IV, X)
10 (IV),
5
25 (III, X)

My build may be close to a shatter-build if you just consider how the points are distrubuted, but the traits I actually chose really boost my own damage and the damage of the phantasms, while also adding to my survivability. It’s simply a different playstyle I guess.

Hey people, I’m german and asking my question here because these forums are simply better frequented and far ahead in terms of theorycrafting compared to the german forums. Please ignore any funny/silly/awkward grammatical mistakes.

I’ve been playing a Mesmer since the game started and I think I’m fairly okay with the class. I’m not really here for people to solve “problems” I am having, but I’d like an explanation I guess.

I play sPvP with friends and usually go with Staff Sword/Sword, having
15 (III) EDIT: As BlueFrog pointed out this is a typo, 10 (III) is correct
20 ( IV, X)
10 (IV),
5
25 (III, X)

It’s a “phantasm”-build I guess, but also has a good defense. It works well for me, I’m not seriously considering changing it at the moment, but I’d like to stay open for better ideas. Maybe I want to try other builds in the future, and for that I need to understand stuff.

What I’d like to know from more experience players: Why is the cookie-cutter Shatter-build known as the “best” spvp-build at the moment? I tried that one and it works good enough of course, but on the other hand I didnt see where the large benefits are. Of course it’s nice that traited mind wreck works as a dangerous aoe against larger groups, but I still dont really get why most experienced players are so convinced it’s the “best” build. Can someone elaborate?

EDIT: Also, I often read that a Shatter-Build has the higher skill cap. I do NOT mean to troll, but dont get that either. Essentially, isn’t is just about summoning enough illusions, using the different shatters at appropriate times to evade damage or apply pressure through confusion and bursts? Of course it’s not easy to play such a style well, but why is the skill cap supposed to be higher than for other builds?