Guild Wars 2

I’d go Tormenting over (current) Perplexity. More duration on Torment from all sources, and extra procs thereof. Not to mention, you can still (if desired) at least crank Confusion Duration via Master of Misdirection Trait.

Not-As-Short-Answer:
Why give a rat’s you-know-what?

Yer a Mesmer. This means, that (as with Thief, the other “misdirection” class) you will almost always be considered “scummy,” no matter what you win with.
Why not troll the other guy, then?

If nothing else, it logically can’t manage to be worse, given that at least one damage source will increase. Now, if we could only improve the c/d on Cry of Frustration …

As for build, I’ll probably dust off my 0/4/4/0/6 or 2/4/2/0/6 setups.

Food durations. I think it was Carighan who said WvW’d be better off if the +/- 40% foods were chopped to ~10%. I can see where he’s coming from, honestly.

About time they boosted MtD, honestly. Most folk weren’t taking it, at 1 stack/shatter. Mainly because that really didn’t equal or beat IP. (Nice stuff for my Necro, too.)

Also, I would love it if we could swap c/d between Mind Wrack/Cry of Frustration, depending on power or condi shatter specs.
As for the bad side:

• Yes. I can smell the whinging already, once folk bring on the Runes of Tormenting/Scepter/MtD Condishatter builds.
• My Thief grows more ticked off. More venom buffs? What about my P/P?

Man. If we did that … and unnerfed Blinding Befuddlement … /begins drooling a bit/.
The only issue then is that at least (even RNG’d) Poison helps versus bunker builds.

Only thing Chaos Storm needs is its cooldown unnerfed. It does some damage, plus heavy utility through Boons/Conditions. For that matter, Chaos Armor needs cooldown unnerfed as well, and/or putting back Prot on initial usage.
Unfortunately, this is the reality of Anet Balance: They always either over- or under-nerf things. And with Mesmer (or Thief, or D/D Ele), they tend to over-nerf.

As for the OP’s concept: That’d be insanely rigged, bro (or sis). Mainly because of the already existing synergy between Chaos Storm dazes and Interrupt Trait-speccing.
If I (using Bountiful and Chaotic Interruption) had access to 12 ticks of Boon-rip on top of random chances to gain Boons and toss Conditions/Interrupts … it’d be downright sick. Fun as hell, but it’d take maybe 3 hours to get nerfed, which brings us back to the how of Mesmer nerfing.

Not a crutch. Rather, it’s a defense/utility weapon. Those aspects are the same aspects that sync well with condi builds (generally high on Toughness) and the BI/CI combination, since those are less based around “more damage” and more focused towards a utility/control role.

Ironically, that methodology of how Staff works can be argued to be the reason it syncs rather well with Greatsword. GS for pinpoint nuking/some area control, then Staff for when you need more defense options.

Neptune.2570:

Curunen.8729:

Neptune.2570:

Curunen.8729:

Neptune.2570:

Yes. Asurans are better in PvP. Because jump dodges. And the way they hold there GS.

Oh, this, by far.

Asura greatsword mesmer and ranger animations > all. My biggest disappointment is not being able to use both ranger and mesmer greatsword at the same time.

Asuran ranger holding his GS with the swoop animation bug. Perfect

Haha!

But just imagining things like summon izerker -> mirror blade -> swap -> swoop ->hilt bash -> maul + mind wrack…

drool…

Ahahaha!
As much as I don’t want the two class fusion system like in gw2. I know what I would choose if they did it

Nah. I’d have to go with Necromesmer. That’d be plain out brutal.

There’s also the option of Condi-rupt with Perplexity. I’ll admit it’s not as brutal as it was, back when Perplexity was in it’s pre-nerf state, but with the extra Confusion procs/duration + Torment, you then enforce a Catch-22 situation on the target.

• Try something “cute,” eat Rupt and/or Confu.
• Try to run, Torment’s ticking harder on yer behind.
  
  Of course, then your speed’s garbage. But you can’t have everything.

Note:

• As for specs, my own setup has always been 0/4/6/0/4 Staff/ScepFocus. Focus is just too darned useful for Interrupt trolling. Running Traveler so as to catch escaping prey.

I’d have to go with Thief on this one. (Note that my own opinion is heavily oriented from the WvW viewpoint.) As to why?

• As is, the class has been relegated to mainly roaming for months. (Which is at least a role, but WvW’s not just a solo activity.)
• Multiple nerfs over the months to SB, a major way for Thieves to contribute in group combat.
• Crap range on both ranged sets, even with the recent “buff” to Ricochet Trait.
• Traps are, by and large, crud. (Go figure, another possible means of group contribution, out the window.)

At this point, it can be fairly argued that even Mesmers (the other “dueling” class) are better set up for any large-scale fight than Thieves are. But, YMMV. /shrug

Honestly? I’d go Asura in that case for one reason; namely how they run with a Greatsword. (Seriously, nothing screams “Bad-Kitten” like a GS slung over your shoulder while you run.)
As for gender? Female. Best quotes, hands-down. Take the Infinity Ball questline for extra giggles.

Heh. If my Engi absolutely must cart around some unspeakable horror from beyond the stars, Anet … at least replace the Hobosack with Cthulhu or Bubbles, k?

Heh. You’re always going to have a post-nerf decrease. The problem lies in not rebalancing the class you’ve nerfed. This is the point where Thief currently lies: been shafted on a lot of its main kit, and honestly needs a proper looksee. (Same thing happened to Eles, back when ANet smashed Hell outta the older D/D spec and RTL. Or Mesmers after the WvW Confusion Debacle.)

Now, the part that always gets me right bothered, is how long it then takes ANet to start reversing the process. Judging from what we’ve seen up until now, it could be anywhere from a half-year to a year entire until Thieves start to finally see some proper buffs to balance out some of these rather mistimed nerfs. Thing is, how many Thief players will be left in April or September ’15?

Shhhh. Don’t let Anet know our Gun-mojo still works. >.>

You may as well give Thief a whirl. Especially since you main Mesmer. This’ll give you inside knowledge of how to counter a class that gives Mesmers issues. And, Thief’s just fun, too.

Eh, you might get a break for a bit … folk’re gonna cry like hell about Mesmer and LB Ranger for some time, it seems.

Now, Ramiel … we’re not going to get more condi-mesmers that way.
(Screwball part is, I can’t say I disagree with what you’ve said, just how it was said.)

As for the OP, you run Mesmer because you like the style of Mesmer. With that said, if you want to minimize your use of conditions, there’s always zerk shatter or phantasm. Hell, interrupt/lockdown can also be run as “direct” damage. Why go Necro, then?

You’ve got to be kidding me. 2 years and they decide it’s a “bug.” Meh.

That’s a very good question, blakdoxa.

If it’s only 1 stack of Might? That’s worth approximately frack-all. As is, ,even if it’s a few stacks, that’s still nothing to write home about. It’s not like Mesmers can stack Might like -say- Warr/Guard/Ele, or anything.
And that also dilutes the overall PU Boon-pool. Although, tbh, I agree with those who say it should prolly be Vigor instead. Y’know, a defensive Boon.

Don’t remind me, Norseman. Back in those days, we had … dear Gods! … a working Glamour spec.

Fay.2357:

People need to learn to just suck it up and play better, learn to counter, learn to avoid, and quit moaning about it all the time. We’d all be better off for it.

Never happening, dude. Kinda goes with ANet’s referring to their own game as “casual.”
The term itself effectively defaults the entire setup to being continually retconned for the benefit of the “Lowest Common Denominator.”

Rather than “OP,” I can see one immediate problem with that idea. As it is, we escape a lot of the issues other professions have with AI, simply because Phantasms are target-locked. Unfortunately, with how AI is in this game, if we were to be granted targetless
Phantasms, I could see them kitten ing about, like how Minions or Ranger pets do on occasion.

Serum.4067:

Or you can stop crying and realize your class finally needs skillcap to play. You think mesmers enjoyed the constant blinds and dodges you throw at them? You think they enjoy the fact stealing on them gives you ALL BOONS? You think they like having no counter to your condi builds? Just be quiet and take your nerfs like a man, mesmers have dealt with unbalanced thieves for over a year.

Right. First, I have to (politely) ask you to not speak as if you think all Mesmers have some sort of morning wood against Thieves. Hell, if I’m not on my Mesmer, I’m generally running Thief. Maybe this gives me a different perspective, but -as I’ve said before- I actively enjoy scrapping Thieves. Why, you ask? They’re one of the few professions in game capable of putting Ye Ol’ Mindscrew on a Mes.

There’s only one thing I hate regarding other Mesmers.

• The ease with which our lot turn on one another, RE: patches.
  Fact is, even if we disagree, we all want (I would believe) what’s best for the profession as a whole. This is still my belief, even with the recent Scepter wackiness. As such, some of the rudeness that’s been tossed about lately on this forum rather offends me.

Man. I don’t know how I’ll react if that’s the case yet again.

Daze on Glamours? Now that is an interesting concept.

Eh. My own theory is you’d probably end up with about the same number. After all, there are some options coming that will help out interrupt and mantra specs. Working IE would help any Staff Mes, so standard condi or condi-shatter might get used a little more often.

Considering I run mostly Mesmer and Thief, I’ll just frigging steal that Retaliation off of someone. Then take their behind out. (Presuming I can burst them down before they reapply said boon, mind you.)

Hell, a lot of build viability could be opened with the following:

• Balance passes on P/P and D/D. The idea would be to give both “full” sets a defined role to work with.
• Adjustments on Traps.
• Adjustments on the amount of skills Thieves can’t use underwater
• Evening out the Shadow Arts/Acrobatics dichotomy on sustain and condition management.

That doesn’t even go into an issue that Professions in general have a problem with.

• Reworking lesser-used, or just plain crappy Traits.

Heh. Same thing happens in any other class forum, I’d reckon. Either:

• The buffs aren’t enough, and QQ results
• There were more nerfs than buffs. Refer to Directory #QQ
• There were just nerfs, and that … Yes, QQ.

As for myself, I still maintain the following: There was going to be a nerf, period. For crying out loud, folks … Anet even nerfed Warrior, and some of ya think Mesmer was going to only get buffs? Funny part is, a lot of the “Nays,” RE: Torment on Scepter were largely pointing out that the “addition” still doesn’t effect the main issues with the weapon entire … namely that it’s still going to be slow as all get-out.

But what do I know, anyway? I’m just a guy who’’d rather see Mesmer return to being the Confusion-pimp around these parts. /shrug

Meh. They could…

• Unnerf Blinding Befuddlement
• Add back some of the old Confusion damage.

Hell, with the prevalence of condi-clear these days, even the original Glamour-bomb would not be as hellish. /shrug

As for Levetty’s comment: I only need to say two words. Necro. Dumbfire.

The Might bit is odd, tbh. And I agree with the part on Debilitating.
Also, not just Blind (at least in theory), troll the crap outta Aegis usage.

Land: Jaguar – <3 that stealthy S.O.B. … funny as hell against glass enemies.
Water: Shark – Decent damage, bleeds for days.

If any of you thought Mesmers weren’t eating some form of nerf, anyway … I know not what to say. Honestly, the only part that smarts is the double-whack on DD. Hell, clone-death’s already taken a hit, why snake a bleed from DD, also?

^ I’ve suggested cloning that functionality onto Last Refuge for months.

Anet honestly needs to take a bit of a risk. I understand they seem a bit … leery of Lifestealer builds, but -at this rate- if Necros are to effectively be barred from leaps, reflects, and other “taken-for-granted” means of damage mitigation and/or escape, then it makes sense to work within the known “framework” of the profession’s powers.

Besides Blood Magic needing some love in general, an idea I had some months ago was:

• Basically allowing the ability for D. Shroud to either absorb or repel certain CC effects or Condition attacks. It would help DS get a bit more oomph, and would -IMHO- fit the profession’s overall abilities of manipulating Conditions.
  This could be done through Trait expenditure, so that there’s a sacrifice for the
  power gained.

I don’t claim to be a Necro expert, mind you (spend too much time either Purple or stealin stuff), but I won’t say Necros couldn’t do with some adjustments to their defenses.

If my memory serves correctly, it comes down to Assassin > Zerker for reflects, since reflects use your crit ratio. I also want to say that a fully buffed ‘sin build comes out pretty hellacious on overall damage.
OTOH, for pure (unbuffed) damage and non-reflect setups, Zerker kills it.
(Note: I’ve only got Assassin, atm … I could be wrong somewhere)

I’d go for Torment removal on Withdraw/RFI, considering those two deal in “movement.”
And as we all know, Torment punishes harder upon enemy movement. I also agree that Thief condi-clear does need an overall balance pass, considering that the prevalence of conditions (and types thereof, for that matter) is different than we saw at launch.

Of course, I’m also one what believes the unbalance of condi-clear/sustain options between SA and Acro should have been bloody well dealt with, months ago. /shrug

Well, you’re absolutely correct, Drarnor. After all, working IE was one of the multiple Mesmer fixes that were originally supposed to happen on April 15th. As such, most any Mes regular that lurks and/or posts here has been waiting for frigging months for this “fix.”

Shhh … we don’t want non-Mesmers to know ’bout Condishatter. Or MoD-using Lockdown builds. >.>

Eh. I want to say 0/4/4/0/6 was the “original” Condishatter, Chaos. (Not to crap on a Rabid-geared 4/4/0/0/6, mind you.) In my experience using it, you’d better have enough durability to survive with 0/4/4/0/6, considering you’re losing out on good Vuln stacking and Boon destruction.
Although, working IE might just close the damage gap a reasonable amount. Let the Staff-ies sling for a bit, then break ‘em on a guy’s face.

Considering what I’ve said on the subject, I’m probably classified as a “Nay” vote.
I don’t doubt that Scepter needs some serious lovin’s, but I’ve stated the opinion that if we want a “damage” condi on the S.O.B., I would have preferred some more love for Confusion.
I mean, look at the profession forum’s icon. Purple swirly? Check. Bring back my Purple Mindkitten, please. /shrug

Hell, we could’ve been pretty stylish with the following:

• Scepter #1 – speed the attack cycle by 25-50%, 2nd hit 3-4 sec Confusion (2 stacks?), 3rd 1-2 sec Cripple or Chill
  (Damage condi, and more control ability)
• Scepter #2 – I’d argue is pretty decent as is. But that’s just me.
• Scepter #3 – Either speed the beam, similar to the idea for Scepter #1, or at least widen the beam-path somewhat.

Well, Chaos. I’d think with all the QQers about PU, we’d want a few more lockdown Mesmers around. I just know I’ve now got some new toys for my hybrid or condi lockdown setups.
And yes; Frigging AoE Daze Mantra. That with BI/CI should be plenty of fun.

Well, Xavi – we see what happened to AoE Glamour in the first place. Although, you’d think that the least they could do, would be to revert the ridiculous ICD from Blinding Befuddlement. Although, I definitely agree that glass-cannon shatter needs some love, and Glamours need to be revisited with the current state-of-game in mind.

Eh. I guess a WvW Hero is a different animal than a WvW Player. Hell, I actively enjoy scrappin Thieves, especially as Thief or Mesmer. It’s all about the mindgame, and who falls to it first.

Honestly, if they had to alter Mimic, a really cool idea would have been to let it doppelganger the last attack you were hit with. Imagine the trolly fun of smacking a Rifle Warr with a duped Kill Shot.

• I’ll happily take the AoE improvements (which, IMHO, should have been done back when the other two Mantras were made AoE).
• Working IE was promised back in bleeding April, so if they finally managed to make it happen, good. I knew I kept my Rabid set for something .
• Warden should have never been “fixed” in the first place. Most Mesmers I see posting, and/or run into in game … preferred a starionary Warden.
• ILeap is fine. Let’s be realistic … all the QQ in this game, we were either losing swap-to-dead-clone or stunbreak. I’ll pick less pathing BS and stunbreak, if I must choose. Especially with how long pathing has sucked frigging donkeys on that skill.
• Mind Stab, I was really hoping for the pulsing charged AoE that was discussed. I wonder what happened to that concept, tbh.
• Torment on Scepter AA. I’ve commented elsewhere on that, so this version will be brief. NOPE. Give me more of “my” Condition. And in a stylish way. Getting a bit tired of Confusion on non-Mesmers.

Meh. It’s like I said over in the profession forum:

• My “Scepter Wishlist” was simply speeding up the AA chain and Confusing Images.
• If we “needed” more Condition pressure on Scepter, then why not Confusion? Y’know, the Mesmer “Specialty Condition?”
• And no, I would not have plopped it on the first AA hit.

(Hell, I’d almost think ANet wants a reason to Dumbfire Mesmers. And I don’t tend towards the general Mesmer Stockholm Syndrome.)