Guild Wars 2

Check us out at http://www.pathwalkers.info. We focus on dungeons and achievements, especially Dungeon Master (we run all paths regularly). We have guild bounties unlocked and are working on guild treks.

We aren’t “hardcore” (our highest FoTM is 29) but we do have a policy of traditional content completion (we don’t skip mobs or exploit bosses).

We also do fun events from time to time: http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/1a00qe/how_to_play_super_smash_brothers_in_gw2/

Have Jump Shot evade attacks and make Acid Bomb instant cast and break stun.

If you hate grenades try bombs. Once you get the hang of placing them properly you will do considerably more damage on your auto attack alone. The coefficient and activation time on bombs hits faster and harder than most specials. You just have to work a little harder with the delay. On bosses that don’t move around, there’s no contest.

Check out http://www.pathwalkers.info on Crystal Desert. We focus on PVE and achievements. We have a lot of late night people, although I’m not one of them. I usually see people going to bed when I log on before work

Our “official” events happen around 8 or 9 EST.

The Pathwalkers (http://www.pathwalkers.info) run Arah most weekends. We focus on helping our members get Dungeon Master so all dungeon paths get explored. We don’t skip mobs or exploit encounters, so you won’t find anyone getting impatient with a first timers (we even ran a level 2 through a level 10 Fractal once…).

We’re also starting Guild Bounties this Friday and are recruiting additional hands on deck if you are interested.

Check us out at http://www.pathwalkers.info. We’re a PVE guild focused on traditional content completion (no exploits or mob skipping) and achievements (especially Dungeon Master).

We’ve also started coming up with an odd social event here and there. Here’s a video of a recent one: http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/1a00qe/how_to_play_super_smash_brothers_in_gw2/.

We’re doing our first guild bounty this Friday and could use a few extra hands to help out.

LieutenantGoogle.7326:

They don’t do the most damage, they are inferior compared to the GS or Axe warrior no matter how you look at it, you can trait the full 9 yards for damage.

This. But, not for the reasons you think.

Weapon-wise, both classes stack up. If you average out coefficients both warriors and engineers can sustain 1.3 – 1.5ish damage per second per point of power.

Trait wise, they both suffer from splitting Precision and Crit Damage into separate trees.

However, warriors have much easier access to substantial, consistent +%DMG and +Crit traits. Engineers also have to work a lot harder (kit juggling) to keep up.

Engineer’s have permanent +50% endurance regeneration though and more tricks up their sleeves. I feel more capable of responding to any situation as an engineer than I do on my Mesmer and Warrior. I also do more than speed run CoF. (I run a guild focused on Dungeon Master. We run all dungeon paths regularly.)

RaynStargaze.6510:

did you mention vulnerability stacking? thats what kind of makes grenades go completely over the top in pve imo. Just such a great buff that improves damage for your entire group

Against a boss, duration is halved. Even with +30% duration from traits, you’ll be maintaining 9 stacks with Grenades and 3 stacks with Bombs. Assuming your entire group does 2k DPS on average, that’s 600 DPS. 2000 DPS with Grenades is 2462 DPS with bombs. The “over the top” difference in this scenario is 138 DPS.

Kamahl.3621:

Acid Bomb and Flame Blast have very heavy power scaling.

tl;dr Is there a real difference between grenades and bombs when rotating other kits heavily?

I haven’t tested Flamethrower and Elixir Gun coefficient/activation times yet. I did some googling, but I don’t trust coefficients I haven’t calculated myself.

Blunderbuss: 1.6 every 10s
Leap Shot: 0.9 + 1.8 every 20s
Bomb: 1.19 every 0.89s
BoB: 1.65 (Blast Finisher) every 20s
Acid Bomb: 0.75 (x6) (Blast Finisher) every 15s
Pry Bar: 2.0 every 15s
Grenade: 0.93 every 1s
Sharpnel Grenade: 1.62 every 5s
Freeze Grenade: 1.41 every 25s
Flame Blast 0.75 + 1.75 every 6s

So, by those numbers, if you are a pro at micromanaging cooldowns? Probably.

I’m at work right now, so I can’t test their true activation times (frapsing the ability, and measuring the frames, including recovery animation). The difference is sometimes surprising when you normalize the coefficient down to damage per second (Bomb is 1.33 per second, 4 Grenades + 1 Shrapnel is 1.07. Extend that to include Freeze Bomb (1x Freeze (1.41), 5x Shrapnel (8.1), 20x Grenade (18.6), you are looking at 1.08). Throw in Flame Blasts instead of grenades: (4x Flame Blast (10), 1x Freeze (1.41), 5x Shrapnel (8.1), 16x Grenade (14.88): 1.32. Acid Bomb will gain you around 0.3 coefficient DPS (assuming 1s activation time, which I’m fairly positive with the leap is much longer).

So, roughly, 1.62 damage per second per point of power juggling 3 kits with a perfect rotation. Probably closer to 1.45ish assuming time lost from the leap animation. Compare that to 1.33 while mindlessly chaining bombs.

I’m terrible at math. I was an art major, so take this with a grain of salt.

This is the bomb build I use:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQFAElIq6Znuy3dkAki67XRKyvl/8QupttA

Although I use berserker/ruby orb gear.

Bomb #1 is your auto attack, Rifle #3 and #5 on CD. Include BoB on defiant bosses. I run with Poultry Soup for condition removal. Sometimes Elixir B is swapped with Elixir C. Sometimes Rocket Boots (amazing for dropping aggro) gets swapped with Elixir R.

On bosses that are impractical to melee, I’ll swap a trait and utility to use Grenades. Grenades are a pretty big DPS loss though.

In terms of your build, I would recommend using swiftness on crit and vigor on swiftness traits. An extra dodge is worth an entire set of toughness.

Bombs actually do considerably more damage than grenades. I believe it is the only auto-attack that has a coefficient higher than 1 (1.19).

The difference in vulnerability isn’t that great against bosses (-50% duration). We’re talking 3-4% damage difference (Bomb #2 applies vulnerability on both pulses). Just because you see 20 stacks of vulnerability on a boss doesn’t mean those are all coming from you.

Bombs also attack faster than grenades 0.89s vs 1.0s.

If you are stacking on a boss in PVE and trying to maximize DPS, you should be using bomb #1 and #2, BoB, and Rifle #3 and #5. Every attack you do, excepting Bomb #2, will have a coefficient higher than 1. Bomb #2 is used for stacking vulnerability and fire field combos.

And, by my frapsing, a GS warrior using auto attack and hundred blades has a longer rotation: 10.4 seconds. The math I’ve done shows auto-attack bomb and auto-attack gs + 100 blades having the same coefficient DPS per second (1.18 gs vs 1.19 bomb). Warrior has more %dmg scalars and more reliable access to fury though.

We are starting guild missions this Friday and could use a few more in our ranks.

You might have seen us recently on reddit:
http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/1a00qe/how_to_play_super_smash_brothers_in_gw2/

We have another, similar, social event coming up in the next few weeks.

The Pathwalkers [PATH] guild is recruiting adult players on Crystal Desert [US]. We believe there is much more to enjoy in ArenaNet’s PVE endgame than racing through dungeons for tokens. The members of [PATH] stand behind a policy of traditional content completion, free of mob and area skipping, meant for players who are interested more in the enjoyment of the group experience.

[PATH] offers:

• Zero tolerance policy. We value quality players, even at the expense of a larger roster.
• An open calendar for scheduling and signing up for dungeons, fractals, and other events.
• Guild Missions!
• Support for players in multiple guilds. Keep up with our events on our website. Representation is only mandatory while participating.
• Regular dungeon achievement runs, with a focus on Dungeon Master.
• Competitive and honorary guild titles (Highest Fractal Level, Highest Achievement Points, etc)
• Weekly Jumping Puzzle walkthroughs
• Mature and friendly environment, absent offensive comments about race, religion, sexual orientation, etc.
• A Mumble server with a social lobby.
• Regular “Karma Jug Chug” events w/ Guild Karma Bonus & Banner
• Knowledgeable players and officers who clear content through strategy and not brute force
• Decentralized leadership (5 officer committee)

Learn more and apply at http://www.pathwalkers.info

Something that just occurred to me on the subway to work this morning: Grenades use ground targeting. The 0.1s difference is probably caused by having to double tap. I’m going to retest tonight with quick targeting set to see how much of a difference it makes.

In terms of vulnerability, here’s a though experiment with some fuzzy math:

With a defiant boss (-50% vulnerability duration) you are looking at the difference of ~9 stacks of vulnerability with grenades and ~3 stacks with bombs. 6% damage in a group of 5 each doing 2k DPS is 600 DPS. If you are auto-attacking only with 2k power, 50%, +150% (250%) crit damage, on paper you’ll be averaging 1800 DPS with bombs and 1200 DPS with grenades (using my coefficients above and the 969 * Power * Coeff / 2600 formula, and excluding vulnerability). Toss in the difference in vulnerability and both kits are contributing the same theoretical DPS.

I was attacking at point blank range — but I was measuring the time between damage appearing while spamming the ability and not just the initial cast bar time, so distance shouldn’t be a factor when standing still.

(On a side note, Whack/Smack/Thwack suffers from a 0.5s delay after the last ability. The full chain takes around 3.25 seconds to execute from whack to whack damage.)

I’ve been digging for activation times.

This source says grenades activate faster than bombs:
http://pvx.gw2buildcraft.com/Damage_Calculations#Engineer

This one says they are the same (includes the old coeff):
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/engineer/Engineer-skill-coeffs/first#post814903

My fraps’ing shows bombs attacking faster. Sharing the data.

So, I’m new to engineering and starting to plan out my level 80 build. Conventional wisdom here seems to say that grenades are the best choice for DPS. I’m looking around for skill coefficients and activation times, but everyone seems to be saying something different.

I did my own math and some frame counting in FRAPS and this is what I found:

Grenade “Auto”-Attack:
0.31 (x3) every 1s (0.93 coefficient DPS)

Bomb Kit Auto-Attack:
1.19 (x1) every 0.86s (1.38 coefficient DPS)

Timing is from the first appearance of damage to the second.
Tested both in the Mists and in LA, same results.

Funny thing is, my Engineer “Ashcan” Pete will be styled as a drifter. Even then, I don’t like the hobo sack. Hobo sacks aren’t even good enough for hobos.

I’ve been running this: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fgAQNAscBlwzipJVDtmExsAUFwOyMUtUr0Dcj3uQA

Glass cannon melee mesmers are incredibly viable in dungeons. I used to run a more phantasm focused build, but the changes to auto attack make the +%DMG traits much more worthwhile. Ran Arah P4 last weekend and the build performed incredibly.

I’ve been running this: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fgAQNAscBlwzipJVDtmExsAUFwOyMUtUr0Dcj3uQA

Glass cannon melee mesmers are incredibly viable in dungeons. I used to run a more phantasm focused build, but the changes to auto attack make the +%DMG traits much more worthwhile. Ran Arah P4 this morning and the build performed incredibly.

And the best reason to run dual swords: it looks awesome.

Selaesori Qhoran
Profession: Mesmer
Traited: Sw/Sw & GS
Gear: Full Berserker & Ruby Orbs
Experience: 1, 2, 3, & 4 up to Simin (without mob skipping. Should have path 4 complete this weekend.)
Time: My guild runs Arah on weekend mornings. Would be nice to have a resource of reliable players just in case we are short.

High sustained DPS and reactive defenses are more important than burst DPS in dungeons.

This is the build I run:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fgAQNAscclwzip3UTqGaNJiZBoKgdkZoapWpH4GvdhA

I run full berserker gear with ruby orbs. I spent most of my time in melee with dual swords. I use Greatsword to pull (Mirror Blade + iZerker) and when I need to drop aggro / recover.

- The recent changes to our auto-attack make it an excellent cleave.
- Sword clones, unshattered, give a steady supply of vulnerability.
- Spike focus targets with diversion (18x Vulnerability) then Time Warp.
- Riposte is a much more reliable damage source now that it has range.
- iSwordsman hits every 3s. Unshattered you can expect it to hit twice before it’s killed.
- Constant vigor, 20% uptime of invulnerability and a low cd block is melee bliss
- 3x leap finishers (2x iLeap, 1x iSwordsman)
- You’ll never be alone in melee (clones!), so the chances you’ll have aggro are much lower. When you do, dodge then blink away. Distance is a great way to drop threat.
- Strong weapon skills mean very little downtime waiting on phantasm or shatter cooldowns.

I lead a PVE guild with anti-mob skipping and exploit policies. I’ve used this setup in every dungeon path and I feel annoyingly effective. The only exception is Subject Alpha where I’ll usually swap GS with Staff.

http://imgur.com/a/WOlbX

I’m incredibly sad to now have an invisible greatsword and two toothpicks.

Sadness:

http://imgur.com/a/WOlbX

Pyroatheist.9031:

I was going to make a post pointing you to the phantasmal haste table on the wiki. I have updated and re-updated that table with highly accurate values on the effects of phantasmal haste. Unfortunately, some morons keep undoing my changes.

Therefor, I will simply post the correct information right here, and I will add it to some of my build threads as well.

The data in the attached chart is the most accurate possible, obtained by counting frames in adobe premier. The numbers are the time delay in seconds from the end of one skill to the beginning of the next, as the cooldown on skills won’t start until the cast time is completed.

I have also re-updated the chart on the wiki to reflect this data.

Your image says “between start and start,” but these values are for end and start, correct?

I can see people getting the wrong idea from this chart. 10k DPS over ~13 seconds is very different from 10k DPS over ~8 seconds. Swordsman and hasted Duelist also look like they have similar activation times (3.2 vs 4.4) but if you add the time spent channeling the skill the difference becomes a lot greater (3.2 vs. ~6).

At 50% crit, you can expect to average 1 bleed a second per clone, overlapping up to 5 bleeds. This means if you keep up three clones, you can expect around 15 stacks of bleeding. Berserker only hits 4x every 7 seconds, so in a condition build, your clones are a better source than your Berserker.

Sword/Pistol or Sword/Focus would be a better option for this approach. Sword clones attack just as fast as the Greatsword (1x every 0.5 seconds, vs 3x every 1.5) but stay in Melee range (even when created by dodging), making Debilitating Dissipation and Confusing Combatants a useful addition (Overriding a clone = Killing a clone). Pistol, when traited, is a 100% combo finisher, allowing you to self-combo 8x stacks of Confusion. Warden has 12 chances to trigger bleeding in an AoE and can also self-combo Confusion via its Whirl finisher.

Agree with Drachshyish. Don’t PUG. Running content in a PVE-only guild is a very, very different experience.

Przemek.3289:

Ok, but while using absolutely non-condition items i feel that so many conditions form staff and clones are ‘wasted’ and could actually deal more damage if there were some condition damage on items

We have a signet that gives +100 condition damage. Also, try focusing on ways to stack might, like Sigil of Battle. That also props up your condition damage as to not ‘waste’ those conditions.

Nothing is more painful than fighting a boss like the Nightmare tree and your only source of damage is a 2 or 3 bleeds and an occasional burning because your auto-attack doesn’t bounce and your clones keep getting themselves killed.

Przemek.3289:

Ok, but while using absolutely non-condition items i feel that so many conditions form staff and clones are ‘wasted’ and could actually deal more damage if there were some condition damage on items

We have a signet that gives +100 condition damage. Also, try focusing on ways to stack might, like Sigil of Battle. That also props up your condition damage as to not ‘waste’ those conditions.

Nothing is more painful than fighting a boss like the Nightmare tree and your only source of damage is a 2 or 3 bleeds and an occasional burning because your auto-attack doesn’t bounce and your clones keep getting themselves killed.

The numbers are very close to my not-very-accurate stopwatch tests I did last night. Looks correct to me. Remember, we are talking about time between activations. Duelist does 8 attacks over 1¾ seconds, so it will probably feel closer to 5.5 seconds in between activations.

Chaos Archangel.5071:

Also, do the underwater Phantasms have any real strategic use, or are they simply meant to be cast and forgotten?

Now that the trident auto-attack applies bleeding I think the clones are of more use than the phantasms — even for power builds, sadly.

Pyroatheist.9031:

Ok, I have just carefully restested every phantasm and put the results on the phantasmal haste page of the wiki. The table there is now 100% accurate.

Some of the phantasms are actually not affected at all by phantasmal haste. Not a single phantasm actually has the recharge reduced by 20%. The closest is the warlock, at 18.5% reduction, but most fall closer to 15% or less.

Have you tested and have attack speed for the Rogue? (Not that it makes a huge difference in a downed/drowning state)

Pyroatheist.9031:

Ok, I have just carefully restested every phantasm and put the results on the phantasmal haste page of the wiki. The table there is now 100% accurate.

Some of the phantasms are actually not affected at all by phantasmal haste. Not a single phantasm actually has the recharge reduced by 20%. The closest is the warlock, at 18.5% reduction, but most fall closer to 15% or less.

You are awesome. Thanks for this!

Hey there. My guild runs PVE events on weeknights and weekends. We focus on the Dungeon Master achievement by running all paths (and not just the fast ones). We have a policy of traditional content completion, free of mob skipping and exploits. You’ll find that running with us is a very different experience from many guilds and most PUGs.
http://www.pathwalkers.info

Hey there. My guild runs PVE events on weeknights and weekends. We focus on the Dungeon Master achievement by running all paths (and not just the fast ones). We have a policy of traditional content completion, free of mob skipping and exploits. You’ll find that running with us is a very different experience from many guilds and most PUGs.
http://www.pathwalkers.info

Hey there. My guild runs PVE events on weeknights and weekends. We focus on the Dungeon Master achievement by running all paths (and not just the fast ones). We have a policy of traditional content completion, free of mob skipping and exploits. You’ll find that running with us is a very different experience from many guilds and most PUGs.

http://www.pathwalkers.info

Hey there. My guild runs PVE events on weeknights and weekends. We focus on the Dungeon Master achievement by running all paths (and not just the fast ones). We have a policy of traditional content completion, free of mob skipping and exploits. You’ll find that running with us is a very different experience from many guilds and most PUGs.

http://www.pathwalkers.info

We aren’t a GLBT guild, but we have GLBT officers and zero tolerance policies in place for behavior that creates a hostile environment for ANY walk of life. If you are interested in a positive environment and are PVE focused, check us out on Crystal Desert: http://www.pathwalkers.info

Otherwise, I can recommend Crystal Desert in general, since most GLBT guilds reside on that server.

Our guild, The Pathwalkers, focuses on the “Dungeon Master” achievement. We run all dungeons, not just the fast ones. We have a policy of traditional content completion, free of mob skipping and exploiting. Check us out at http://www.pathwalkers.info.

When comparing Phantasms, and assuming you are using them for DPS and not shatter fodder, you really should look at their attack speeds:
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Phantasmal_Haste

iSwordsman scales incredibly well with power, attacks nearly twice as often, and is the most mobile (greater chance of it not dieing from AoE, either by evading during the attack or by following a kited boss). It also has a chance to heal and protect itself by comboing off of your chaos and water fields. 3x Swordsmen in Berserker gear will do around 16.5k damage every 4.75 seconds. Having a Phantasm that hits hard and often is amazing. By far my favorite phantasm for PVE.

You left out iDuelist. iDuelist is great for condition damage builds for its synergy with Sharper Images. Traited, it has a 8x 100% combo finisher, capable of 8x stacks of confusion via your chaos fields.

Also, staff is a defense/support weapon that is compatible with both condition and power builds. Warlocks hit like a truck in a group setting, but suffer from a slow attack speed and low survivability.

iWarden is situationally amazing but suffers from a long cooldown between attacks and a long cooldown between casts (compared to other Phantasms).

iDefender triggers retaliation from redirected damage. Situational, but interesting against multi-hit abilities or swarms of weak mobs.

A Mace and Shield warrior gets a block every 8/10 seconds and a 3 second partial-immunity every 24/30 seconds. They have to spec deep into a defensive tree to get the cooldown reduction.

Compare that to a Sword/Sword mesmer who gets a 2 second immunity every 8/10 seconds and a block every 12/15 while playing and speccing offensively.

Throw in 100% uptime of Vigor, up to 9% damage reduction, useful stun breaks, invisibility, and distractions caused by your clones — playing a melee Mesmer in PVE is a dream.

Here’s my dungeon build (Full Berserker w/ Ruby Orbs): http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fgAQNAscRlwzipXUTqGaNJipC9GaBkZoapWpH82FibA

Edit: Whoops, disregard this. Got my threads confused, this thread is about PVP not PVE

Think of your staff like a Mace and Shield. It is a defensive/support weapon. I use Sword/Sword/Greatsword, but I’ll swap to staff on some fights (like Subject Zero) because you’ll be able to solo the boss if the rest of the group fails. Chaos Armor always gives you protection (not worded well in the tooltip), Chaos Storm will give you Aegis (if the RNG gods are in your favor), and Phase Retreat can be used while stunned, trapped, or immobilized.

This is the build I use, wearing full Berserker gear with Ruby Orbs:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fgAQNAscRlwzipXUTqGaNJipC9GaBkZoapWpH82FibA

The damage is incredible and the playstyle is very rewarding. I only need path 4 Arah for Dungeon Master (and my guild doesn’t skip content or exploit paths), so I can verify that this build will work in any PVE path.

mattenator.4328:

Dastion.3106:

Plus OH Sword synergizes with MH sword for the CDR trait.

I’m pretty sure it doesn’t – at least the cooldown on tooltips dont change for offhand sword when you get the trait (they do for mainhand)

It does. The tooltips are bugged. Riposte is 15 seconds without the trait (even though the tooltip says 12). Swordsman is 12 seconds with the trait (even though the tooltip says 16).

Illusionary Leap is the one skill that doesn’t double benefit from the CDR and celerity.

I wasted a lot of gold gearing with Rampager’s with Sword/Focus & Staff. I wound up re-gearing with Berserker and I now feel 300% more effective in dungeons.

During some bosses you’ll have a whopping 2-3 bleeds up because your clones will keep getting killed and there won’t be anyone in melee range to bounce off of. Those same bosses will insta-gib your warden. In those situations, having a Warlock that crits for 8-10k from a safe distance is much more viable.

I also wound up stashing the staff outside of trickier bosses where Phase Retreat becomes invaluable (Subject Alpha, Lupicus). I’m now 25/30/10/0/5 Sword/Sword and Greatsword in Berserker/Ruby gear and will probably never turn back.

PVP is a different story, but even then I’d run Rabid over Rampager.

Human Male: Selaesori Qhoran

The skill is great in PVE. I use it on rotation in melee range for a double combo finisher and an immobilize (you often don’t get the double benefit if you use this at range). I use Sword/Sword, so I usually get past the range problem by casting the iSwordsman first while running in. Usually results in the clone arriving first, followed by myself, then the phantasm.

The skill is definitely awkward if you primarily play at range and use it to periodically leap in to do some sword damage. However, if you play full melee the skill is perfect.

Nanoha.3892:

Both have a clone, sword is a slow heavy hitter that needs to be reasonably close to work (risking aoe/cleave damage).

Swordsman will nearly attack twice in the time the Duelist attacks once. Swordsman repositions to always be between ~240 and ~480 range while the Duelist stands still as long as their target is in range. Swordsman’s leap finisher combos great in your ethereal fields for chaos armor.

Pistol is great for stacking confusion and bleeds.

Swordsman for power builds, Pistol for condition damage.

Great guild. So close to getting the Dungeon Master title. We are doing Arah Path 4 soon and then I’ll finally have it! A completely different experience from running with PUGs.

Here are some tactical ways to support your group as a mesmer:

• Mesmers are great at bursting down a focus target (e.g. Graveling Mounds)
• Clones are great for distributing aggro (especially on a pull)
• Blinking on top of a downed player makes for a much faster rally
• Portal & Blink for getting past traps painlessly (e.g. Lasers in CoE, Boulders in CoF)
• Time Warp is one of the best group support abilities in the game. Don’t only use it for DPS, consider saving it for reviving a defeated player.
• With a staff, you can solo many bosses if the rest of the group is defeated (e.g. Subject Alpha).
• Blink and Phase Retreat allow you to escape imprisonment effects (e.g. Subject Alpha)
• Reflecting dangerous things (e.g. The eye turrets in Arah, Harpies in the Uncategorized Fractal)
• Group invisibility to sneak past enemies safely (e.g. Barrel gauntlet in CM)
• Blink + Invisibility to retrieve Crystals under tentacles in Jade Maw
• Illusion of Life should be avoided because it gives a double downed penalty, however, in certain fights (e.g. Fire Elemental Fractal, Lupicus) you should consider using it to rez someone who died in a long lasting AoE or who is pinned under a boss. Just make sure they know to get somewhere safe.
• Distortion and Blurred Frenzy let you continue DPS’ing while everyone else has to dodge (e.g. Subject Alpha’s AoE’s, Svanir’s Frost Breath, Priestess of Grenth)

I play a Mesmer in full berserker / ruby orb gear (25/30/10/0/5)

Despite the squishy stats, I feel very tough in melee.

• You have a block and invulnerability with a short (<10) cooldown
• Multiple, useful, stun breaks (Decoy + Blink)
• 9% reduced damage and with your sword clones, you are rarely the “only” target an enemy can focus on
• Near permanent uptime of Vigor
• 3 Leap Finishers (Illusionary Leap, Swap, Phantasmal Swordsman – make sure you are standing in the combo field when you cast them). Chaos Armor helps keep you and your illusions alive by proccing protection and regeneration
• In a pinch, you have Distortion as another invulnerability. You can also decoy or blink away and swap to GS (Doing either should drop aggro)

Swordsmen have a very high attack speed. With 3 swordsmen up I can do ~16.5k damage every 5 seconds from the phantasms alone.

Overall, a melee mesmer is a very fun and rewarding playstyle in dungeons. Just don’t run with a group that thinks the only way to kill a boss is to stand on a platform and DPS.