Guild Wars 2

PETS
1. Mouse-over tool tip on pet selection mini-window.
2. Status effect icons over pet’s health bar to denote conditions and boons, etc., affecting it.
3. Keep names assigned to pets when equipped, not merely on swap.
4. Customization along the lines of Guild Wars, such as “Dire” or “Elder” or whatever. After unlocked, they could be assigned to a pet on the fly.
5. Trainable/unlockable skills, much the same as unlocking weapon skills or perhaps the ranger’s own skill point pool. Traits are fine, but customization is the thing here.

UNDERWATER
I just wish to be able to assign skills for underwater while on land, and vice versa.

Upon further examination, it looks like it does affect duration, but doesn’t highlight itself in blue like other modifications display. As far as I can tell, anyway.

I had created a build for my ranger to exploit the many sources they can get for giving them a ready supply of the Protection boon. Despite upgrades and traits and other means of increasing the duration of Protection, none appear to affect it. Regardless of source, it flat-out doesn’t apply to any Protection I gain. Perhaps I’ve missed something, but please let me know if I’m going crazy or if this is a real thing to fix.

To start off, I submit a few suggestions:

1. Give prepared mantras a passive effect.

2. An elite mantra.

3. Reduced casting times. Either across the board directly, or as a trait. Not sure the imbalance potential, though.

Thanks for the info! It has helped.

I was hoping to get some help on a few questions I have regarding lore and canon about certain groups and organizations. Is there a good resource to search what the various ranks and positions are found within Tyria’s various societies? I’m particularly interested in the orders and some racial-specific ones. I may have asked elsewhere, but what is a “Lightbringer” (such as Tybalt is referred to)? Is it Order of Whispers-specific or another group? Is it an archaic term from the original Guild Wars, but modified to modern usage? Are there “Enforcers” within the asuran Peacemakers? I know of “Shocktrooper” and others, but I am thinking of a different role in that organization. Are there specific bounty-hunter type troops or a division of itinerant asuran lawmen? The Arcane Eye seems to be more like secret service of some kind. Is “Enforcer” a rank in the Vigil? (They have “Justicars” there, right? Priory has “Magister” and so on.)

My interest in this is specifically for an asuran character in the Peacemakers. I want to know if there is a role within their organization as I described, or if that kind of activity is the expertise of different, maybe even non-asuran, origin?

I have to agree with aspirine… Every time I think I have mastered and tried everything about mesmer, there is even more surprises as to their capabilities. Every time this happens, I have to feel the shame of how truly amateur I am, even after countless hours of play, research and configuring, it never seems enough. I get worried about focusing on it too much, because therein lies a hidden obsession waiting to consume me.

Thank you both for your information and suggestions, I will check them out. I apologize for my noobishness.

Any further builds I share I will try and improve and streamline the post. Thanks again!

DOMINATION 10 — VI, CHAOS 30 — IV, X, XII, INSPIRATION — I, X, XI

Domination simply has Signet Mastery (VI) for the obvious benefit of reducing Signet of Inspiration’s cooldown. In Chaos, I didn’t change that much. With Inspiration, one can tailor some of the traits according to desire and need. I am trying a more mantra-focused build, so I have taken Restorative Mantras (X), since they’ve made some of them party-friendly now. Unfortunately, the healing benefit is only on the primary readying cast of a mantra, not the subsequent use of them once prepared. I wish this would get tweaked, or otherwise changed, since mantras need to be a little more attractive to make them a good option. I think it would behoove Anet to invest more time in working on those for any support options for mesmer, but they are moving in a good direction, I think. I chose Shattered Conditions (XI) which adds another layer of party support. For utility and the fact that this sort of build tends to make a mesmer a back-liner anyway, I chose Medic’s Feedback to lend enhanced revival capabilities when needed. Since one is often stealthed, as well, it may befall the mesmer to take that role when needed, considering the passive nature the build tends to make.

As for skills, one will have to adjust according to taste and utility, of course. There are a few musts, though. Signet of Inspiration is a necessity, for it is one of the primary means of support the mesmer can provide: a boon generator and distributor. This would also have a mesmer favor a number of stealth-related skills, primarily Mass Invisibility. Other stealth options include: Veil (to work along with Glamor builds), Decoy (for the Stun Break), and The Prestige (a torch skill, should usually have it, anyway). Trait set-ups can also have one favor Glamors, Mantras or Manipulations. Of those, I haven’t found a personal preference, but I’ve been focusing on Mantras, as I said. Signet of Midnight might also come in handy to maintain these durations, while also offering Stun Break and area blindness. It is a good enhancer and defense mechanism. Phantasms offer a reasonably steady regeneration (per the Inspiration trait Phantasmal Healing). As always, though, phantasms only offer the longest benefit on hard targets, if they get wiped easily and often, it negates their use. It may be worth exploring, though.

Heals are also primarily preference. My mesmer is a sylvari, so I chose Healing Seed. The regeneration this skill offers nicely ties into Illusionary Membrane, which is a Chaos trait that grants you Protection while under the effects of regeneration. With all the Boon Duration enhancements I’ve got available presently, I have managed to get regeneration to around the 40 second mark. Other related opportunities also give this an interest in boosting regeneration durations specifically, which I may be looking into. If one can give allies such long regeneration and refreshing Protection to share with Signet of Inspiration, that is pretty decent on its own.

As for gear, it is pretty obvious that Boon Duration is of high value. However, there are some alternatives that can offer some use and consideration. A full set of Lyssa Runes can give you boons on heal and elite use. A full set of Altruism runes can also offer worthwhile boons upon healing. A full set of Infiltration runes gives stealth upon reaching a health threshold of less than 10%. That seems a bit risky and not really worth it, since most of the other benefits are of no real use, so getting six runes just for the benefits the sixth one brings doesn’t seem cost effective.

STRATEGY AND USE:
What one is going to be doing with any variation of this build will be to manufacture and distribute boons. The stealth is an added defense, so one can do this and also maintain safety by going unnoticed by enemies in a WVW scenario or aggro management in PVE and other scenarios. There are support options of all kinds, which have been touched upon. If you go Mantras, then you have preparation healing and instant cast benefits, which has grown in appeal lately. You can use Glamors, which are a pretty strong staple for many mesmers interested in party support. Manipulations give you good escape and defensive capabilities, mostly for the mesmer alone, but Arcane Thievery has hidden potential. If you can rip boons off of a guardian, it offers the greatest benefit to have this skill, but the frequency of this situation put its appeal lower than others.

Some fringe benefits are gained if one shares a party or has an ally that can offer stealth and/or boons. Thieves, guardians and other mesmers give some of the best tandem benefit. Engineers are also a decent option.

Explore! The variations and uses and theory hold potential, I think. Lend any experience or suggestions and we can discover the possibilities together.

Sorry! Will do!

I have a build I would appreciate any help and/or thoughts. Thanks!

http://eularity.enjin.com/forum/m/5523714/viewthread/9238105-invisible-inspiration-mesmer-build-beta/post/last#last

Thank you, Getefix. I think that answers my questions quite succinctly!

Are Wardens exclusive to the sylvari race? Can another race become an “honorary” warden?

Are Lightbringers a title specific to the Order of Whispers? What does the title mean?

I hope I don’t repeat myself again here; sorry about that. I have a couple ideas, but not sure if they have been mentioned or discussed yet. If so, feel free to direct me to that information.

Suggestion #17 — Somewhere in the personal story scene it would be nice to have cinematics you encounter, such as story mode dungeon parts, personal story parts, and so on, so you may replay them later. It’s unfortunate that members of a party are stuck if even one person doesn’t skip it. It might get rid of that kind of impatience problem, I think. If the intentions for this were to be sure that a person watches for pertinent development or even to showcase some of the nifty stuff they put in, it only bogs it down. People that don’t care to watch it at all shouldn’t be made to, but for those that want to later, myself being one of those willing and wanting to, that would only be entirely beneficial.

Suggestion #18 — Did I mention some new inventory and/or bank tabs for upgrades and consumables? If I haven’t, I guess I just did. I still want it though. I have for a while.

I hope the name I decided upon and managed to get meets with the Asuran Naming Council’s approval and blessing. “Glossy Lalia” is her name, which befits her mesmer profession and personality. Of course, the word “glossolalia” (look it up) was taken, but this slight modification seemed like an interesting mutation. “Glossy” might easily be a nickname-title for her actual name “Lalia.” I liked it. It seemed cute. Well, to me.

I am having trouble gaining an adequate name for a female asura thief I’m going to make. I’ve been consulting a thesaurus and other sources. I’ve been permutating combinations and variances, making words into phonetic versions, etc. I haven’t really put in titles in either. I usually try for the root word, such as “Pilfer” and then funnel down from there toward phonetic spellings, anagrams, additions of titles, etc. I prefer the root first mostly as a nickname. I would imagine a thief would do best with a nickname or alias instead of a real name, just on principle. Seems strange to unite discretion with the asuran ego, but whatever. I’m just looking for idea fodder. It’s a lot like throwing darts, sometimes, and I wanna stockpile some ammunition to fire upon naming the character at the end of creation. Gotta have a handy list to make sure I only have to go through that once. I dislike waiting to the end, after all else is tailored to my liking, then spending time trying to nail a name I can live with. I know I can be picky.

Suggestion #16 — Item locking in inventory. I get annoyed when I send minis in my inventory to collectibles deposit. Seems silly to send a mini which you have there on purpose, and send with stuff you wish deposit to.

Game balance seems difficult for Mesmer. But then, guardians and thieves have had it rough. Nearly every profession at some has too. I still feel the dev’s hearts are not with Mesmer, kinda shuffling low in their deck of tweaks. Or perhaps they want to square away others and spend the most time after with Mesmer without interruption. (No pun intended.)

The trait gives one extra time, going from the standard 2 charges to 3, for a readied mantra. However, the points needed to get the trait is 30, along the Domination trait line. I’m not sure it’s worth the investment, considering any other mantra traits are found elsewhere.

Indeed. I never use them. Support builds that use the mantra trait to heal others makes the build suffer. Since getting three charges is a Grandmaster Trait, it is a huge trait point investment that has so little reward for the expense, taking points from other things.

Lastly, I have a few build set ups that have worked for me, and could use some critique. I’ve left it in more of a summary form, since the creativity of the individual using the build can tailor it to their needs. Only the main principles may need the most consideration.

GENERAL PVE/SURVIVAL — Scepter/Sword with secondary of choice — Dueling 10 with Retaliatory Shield, Chaos 20 with Retaliatory Demise and Mirror of Anguish, Inspiration 10 with Mender’s Purity, Illusions 30 with Confusing Cry, Masterful Reflection, and Illusionary Persona. There’s a fair amount of retaliation going on, making Scepter/Sword a defensive and offensive combination. It’s pretty solid in many situations, but you will have to tailor the other weapon set and anything else depending on the need. Often I have Feedback, Mirror Images, and Decoy in the utility bar, and Ether Feast for healing. I guess you could use Mirror to heal, with a faster cooldown that can aid more rapid condition removal with Mender’s Purity, but I usually don’t.

CONFUSION/CONDITIONS — Scepter/Torch and Staff — Domination 20 with Rending Shatter or Crippling Dissipation and Confusing Enchantments, Inspiration 10 with Glamour Mastery, Illusions 30 with Master of Misdirection, Dazzling Glamours, and Blinding Befuddlement. Utility skills are usually Feedback, Null Field, and Veil. The synergies here are easy to see. The scepter has the blind as an alternate to the second skill’s block, torch has Prestige for blind nearby, along with all that the three Glamour utility skills can dish out. I didn’t take Signet of Midnight mostly for range and since Glamours can end up being much more useful more often, with all the traits linked to them. A single Glamour will blind, confuse, and also confuse because of the blindness, so you can layer Confusion quickly there, aside from all the effects from weapon attacks. Shatters will confuse, too. Much like blindness, though, Confusion will wipe as soon as the enemy triggers it for damage, so the trick is to keep layering Confusion rapidly and constantly. Thankfully, the Glamours allow for a sort of AoE to the mesmer’s arsenal with all this. There are other benefits that go hand-in-hand, of course. In applying the all the Confusion, they get blinded, Feedback locks ranged, Null Field removes conditions from allies and boons from enemies, and Veil gives stealth. I haven’t tried with Portal (which is a Glamour), and don’t know how it fits into this. As with almost all things mesmer, the damage and effects are only important if the enemy does something. Blindness and confusion and Feedback do nothing to an enemy that doesn’t attack. They would just need to wait out their durations. So, this is best for PvE, I think. It can be fun in WvW, since it can surprise a lot of people. The surprise goes away qucikly, though.

As for phantasms and cloning and so forth, a minor complaint I’ve had is how they end as soon as their target is dead. It may make sense in some circumstances, but maybe there isn’t any fear of bending that rule elsewhere. Phantasms might be a good exception to the rule, especially when you trait regeneration and other effects upon them. I also wish there were a skill and/or effect that allowed the mesmer to clone an enemy, either upon that enemy’s death, or otherwise. Maybe a disguise utility skill that is similar to most stealth, but actually allows someone to mirror the appearance, and maybe even abilities, of another person.

Mantras are another situation. They are thematically in tune with mesmers and they seem like a good idea. Some of the traits that involve them are a little too spread out for a cohesion, or too high in the tiers so you have to invest in a trait more than is necessary, also eliminating some good synergies. I wish there were a mantra that would be a more general effect, making the next “X” number of other skills cooldown instantly, and/or cast instantly. Perhaps another one that mimics the next skill used, so you cast a skill as a utility and make it useful under a different weapon set. Perhaps a mantra or two that summoned an illusionary weapon could be workable, like elementalists have or engineers and their kits. Phantasms do sometimes use weapons differently or unavailable for mesmers normally, these weapon summons would be entirely different and used with charges or a timer. They won’t disappear upon death of the target, either.

Considering roles for the mesmer can be difficult for the untrained eye, particularly support. The bouncing factor above is compounded by the uncertainty of boons. Actually, to be more fair, the mesmer is not quite so direct in its approach to a number of roles. For boons, there skills like Signet of Inspiration, Temporal Curtain, Chaos Field, Arcane Thievery, Mimic, etc. It boils down to the fact that there are very little passive effects to offer outside of such things as phantasm upgrades, which still requires an active casting and can get wiped if you need to use a shatter. You can increase a turnover rate and work both ends by giving phantasm passive effects, paired with shatter effects, keeping it all beneficial through a rotation. It can get a little hard to work, especially when you need to contend with cooldowns and all the other annoyances of combat. It is possible, and often very awesome, to pair Arcane Thievery and Signet of Inspiration to great effect. You still need to grab boons in order to burst them to your team, and the range can never be a constant factor to rely on, either. So, in a similar vein, mesmer requires a very active support style, like a thief sort of. It just seems a little bit harder to perfect. Often specializing in these roles severely hamper effectiveness elsewhere. You get trapped in a build, which is worse in dungeons.

This may be the most subjective issue with mesmer I encounter, since it may just be I haven’t hammered out rigorous testing, yet. But the fact that it may require so much forethought, will probably put new players off from using mesmer.

Addressing some of the wildfire discussion over the scepter seems the best first step here. The scepter appears to be one of those “love it or hate it” weapons among the Guild Wars 2 community, and specifically the mesmer fans. I’ve used it with good success, but I certainly believe it needs to have some sort of help in making it better. It easily sits below the desire for just about any other weapon in the mesmer arsenal. There are probably two or three specific reasons I ever use it. The block skill has been a particular thing I’ve built successful builds around. The block cancels damage, while also popping up a clone. There is a Dueling trait that grants retaliation by using it. So, there’s a threefold benefit: damage mitigation, clone creation, and traitable retaliation effects. This can pair well with an off-hand sword’s block.

Another thing which a scepter can bring to the fight is the blind it can fire off in a line at enemies, if you press the block twice. This can go well with the Illusion (?) trait that inflicts confusion when you inflict blindness. This pairs well with a torch offhand.

Those above things work best in PvE, in my experience, while only somewhat in dungeons, and usually not in PvP/WvW.

What would improve the scepter? I have a few ideas, but I’m not really sure of their feasibility and/or balance. This is in no particular order, nor suggestion all at once. Mix, match, or replace accordingly.

1. Auto-attack? More damage. Burst effect, similar to guardian’s second staff skill, either a double press or a part of an automatic attack chain. This could cause confusion or maybe some other condition. I wonder if the scepter’s auto-attack chain is to reflect the main-hand sword’s. But, is retaining a chain for scepter merely a stubborn need to keep some linking theme between the two weapons? Is it really necessary? The sword doesn’t necessarily need to change if the scepter does, or vice versa. Especially since the sword can go through its chain faster than the scepter can. Perhaps then the scepter only needs a better rate of fire.
2. The third skill? Faster casting time? (After all, the mainstay of the GW1 mesmer was the Fast Casting attribute, which affected all their skills.) After the channel effect, add another clone, which can perhaps continue to use that same attack, so you can rack up quick confusion stacks. The scepter would then have three clone-creating options. Why not make this weapon the go-to clone making machine? It could get overpowered or broken, but I think it’s a good direction.
3. Available for off-hand use? That might be interesting. No other profession can do that. I am not sure what it would offer for skills, etc., but would look kinda cool. (Especially if there are no plans to add another main-hand ranged weapon.)

Obviously, the scepter has a lot of room for growth, and added potential that should be explored.

The mesmer does need a better, stable source of AoE. There are interesting and roundabout ways to address that, but I specifically mean a weapon skill/option. Mesmer seems to have a lot of the bounce type of attacks. This style of AoE, along with a couple other factors I will get into, following this, doesn’t create any confidence in taking it seriously for practical use. The staff and greatsword definitely have great bounce attacks, with good effects, but it loses some of the charm when considering things like random aggro and so on. Chaos may be part of the mesmer’s theme, but their gameplay is hurt a little by keeping so many things uncertain just to maintain that theme. So, you can make this “4.” for a scepter’s list of improvements: add a reliable AoE.

My mesmer has been my main character since launch, surviving intact from the beginning. No remakes, no nothing. She is pretty much as she’s always been. She’s my first (and currently only) level 80 in the game, carrying her and working on her through all the ups and downs and frustrations. She has gone through many transformations. What I’m basically saying here is that I’ve gone through all the same pains and glories as just about any other mesmer player in Guild Wars 2.

So, I feel somewhat justified in sharing the following opinions and ideas I have for the mesmer profession. Things are based purely off my own experience, with as little subjectivity as I can use. I hope not to ramble, despite the appearances of that I may already be doing so. Some of this may be new, some of it old. I just wanted to put all this in one place, finally.

Is there anything like “PvX wiki” for Guild Wars in the works for Guild Wars 2? There seem to be a scattering and I wish for a more comprehensive, easy to navigate resource like PvX had been before.

…Oh, must also add that the trait that gives you a one second distortion by activating a signet can have all manner of synergies.

I love Illusionary Persona. Self-shattering lets you drop Distortion on yourself, plus any other shatter effects elsewhere in your traits. I find it hard not to have it, but then I often prefer a heavy shatter build over phantasm. I also like synergizing glamour skills, like Feedback (absolutely love it and Temporal Curtain for wonderful mayhem in WvW, etc.). Placing blind upon glamours can be fun (especially if you can fit in the trait that confuses when you blind). Along with confusing while blinding, you through on some Signet traits and take with you Midnight Signet, Torch for Prestige skill, and so on, you can be a real pain in the kiester. There are lots of subtle synergies, but these general ones have served me well nearly all the time. And if you have a main hand sword equipped, reducing cooldown on its skills with the trait gives a pretty rapid return of Blurred Frenzy for just about every situation. I just wish the trait that causes reflection when you are under distortion worked with that skill. But, that’s where Illusionary Persona lets you drop that shatter skill even without a clone, if you desperately need it.

Also playing mesmer, I think I can understand the impassioned pleas and righteous indignation others are feeling. Has any other profession been treated so disproportionately? How long did the annoyance over guardians and such last before some tweaking yielded any positive results? Why has mesmer suffered so long? I still manage to play well enough, but… Is this all just about the squeaky wheel minority whining and getting their way, against mesmers? If you can just give them a taste of this on THEIR favorite profession, that’d be appreciated Anet. Share the pain. Let’s drop some Epidemic (necromancer skill, I know…) while all the haters get close enough to nuke the conditions upon them.

True, phantasms wield the weapon, but those are themselves weapon skills, right? The utility phantasms wield what?

I would love to join when guesting is available, or my guild can survive a week without me.

This is probably a stupid question, but what good is condition damage for a Mesmer? The primary and nearly only condition for them is Confusion, right? Can Confusion gain crit damage? Power and Precision have usually been my focus, but I’m still growing and learning.

Yeah, Feedback and Temporal Curtain still ruin many people’s day. Throw in some Glamor traits and such for blinds. As for direct damage, well…

Maybe making the auto attack also bounce would be nice? I don’t know any more.

Also, MUST the Mesmer have a condition in order to swap with a target?

I have to admit some interest, depending on server and whatnot. Mesmer for life!

The main hand skills for any future one hand weapon would need to follow the same general formula: auto attack would be three-tiered, one would have a primary effect and a secondary option within a certain time limit, and a third attack which is often channeled.

Thieves and engineers both get pistol/pistol options. What would Mesmer offer with its own theme? Engineers get AOEs and condition variety, while thieves offer their own take. Then there would need to be considered: pistol/sword, pistol/focus, pistol/torch. There is lots of room for interesting combinations.

Would it be a viable skill line for mesmer to have a similar ability that elementalist has summoning a weapon? It seems mechanically and thematically appropriate for Mesmer.

All this is breaking my heart. Mesmer enthusiasts need to represent at the next AMA and drive for some solid insight of Anet’s vision for the mesmer’s future.

@Gery — I agree…and I think this will be the strongest sentiment.

Current options in the game include: pistol, mace, scepter, sword, dagger. It would be interesting to turn an off hand, like shield, into main hand, maybe.

Aside from the discussion raging over scepters and other Mesmer things, I wonder if there is any way to expand the weapon repertoire available to the Mesmer. So far only sword and scepter offer the choices of a main hand one handed weapon for Mesmer. Off hand choices are pistol, sword, focus, and torch. It seems a bit of a deficit and imbalance. I would like to compare this with other professions, and see if another weapon choice would just make sense. If Mesmer were to gain another main hand one handed choice, what do you think it should be and why? What kind of skills and play would it offer the Mesmer?

…What are you going to do with one block? I think I gave at least three different things, with one single block. You can’t dodge forever and there are benefits all around you. A block removes all damage. You usually can hold it instead of having to dodge at precisely the right time, which means a little wider margin for error in order to get no damage whatsoever, plus have endurance regen, if that’s important for later. And even if you don’t end up using the block, the second use of a skill before it stops blocking give you blindness or a daze you can place upon an entire line of enemies.

…Apologies, the trait line that has the scepter boost is within Inspiration.

I’m only a level 60 Mesmer, but there are a couple set-ups I use that helps make a decent PVE option. I often use Scepter+Sword with Sword+Focus. With the trait “Retaliatory Shield” ( http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Retaliatory_Shield ) in Dueling equipped, the Scepter+Sword offers two blocks that give you three nice effects: block mitigates most damage (and you can alternate between the scepter’s and the sword’s), creates clones if a block is successful, while also harming the attacker with Retaliation. I often also have the traits which boost scepter and one-handed swords, which are in the Dueling and Illusion trait lines, I believe. (Illusion traits often help all the cloning that usually ends up happening, with shatter effects and reduced cooldowns.) I use the alternate weapon set of Sword+Focus, mainly because another sword benefits with the traits, and it’s a great melee option, considering the many other effects available. There’s probably no need to continue more in depth, but it’s plain to see in practice how it rounds out nicely, with a number of trait and skill options. (Feedback, for one. And who doesn’t love Temporal Curtain?)

Of the scepter itself, I could stand to see a higher rate of fire, and a cutting down on the firing animations, especially the scepter’s third skill, which I think many have mentioned. I’ve found a lot of use for a scepter in my own play, anyway.

Suggestion #15 — I’m not sure just how vastly difficult this may be, but an integrated voice chat system would probably be good. It can have levels like “whisper” or “party” or “guild” or “team/squad.” Hands-free from chat can save you. I want ArenaNet to care about that, so I can stop whining. And, hey, who wouldn’t want to trash-talk opponents in PVP?

Suggestion #14 — A utility on- or offline to check if a name is taken. It would save the trouble of laboring over character creation and then have to spend the next hour trying to find that name availability, dropping ever farther into ridiculousness. It may also reduce the frantic scrambling through sites and things like Wikipedia, thesaurus.com, Google translate, and those baby name places. I admit I’ve learned some interesting things doing that research, but I just wanna find a name I can accept and play sooner, without the anguish of getting an identity.

Suggestion #12 — Dyes for weapons.

Suggestion #13 — Customize colors for spell effects and such.