I used to play a mesmer in Guild Wars (the original). In the original Guild Wars, the whole mechanic was not tied to illusions and phantasms. Many of the skills required timing and skill to maximise the effects. Naturally, when I started Guild Wars 2, I began with a Mesmer – anticipating it to be a challenging class to run effectively.
My first impressions were that it was different, and that I didn’t like the differences. I persisted because I thought some of the skills and traits would become evident at higher levels. They didn’t.
I’ve learned to like the ‘new’ mesmer, but I still think it lost some ‘soul’ in the transition from GW1 to GW2. How about a trait that instead of DE, gives reflection for 3 seconds instead, in perhaps the domination line . . . and another that gives regeneration in a 120 or so radius on the inspiration line. That ought to free up a little the ability to explore wider variety builds.
Just my thoughts.