Guild Wars 2

Aside the fact that AC is no more a no brain DG, i second this:

Skady.5916:

it might be a consequence of CoF farm – i.e. 100-blades brain dead players who barely know what dodge is for

The number of ppl who thinks they can use decently zerk gear and warrior (and instead get stomped by trash mobs) has got over 9000 since cof farming started.

I don’t mind ppl playing in zerk gear – but not if you spend every single fight on the floor.

0/20/30/20/0 Well/Marks build (with Spectral Wall option now)

It’s designed strictly for group play – but it simply crush zergs.

If more than 20, it’s Veil.

Used with clever positioning (right before a corner) and sincro (chaining veil for extend stealth duration) a zerg can easily close the gap with his target under 2-4 sec of stealth.

No.

They did it in March, it has been more harm than good.

Magi.8643:

The ability to self detonate the skill during the channel would also work. I think that there was a similar discussion about this ages ago but anet don’t give buff to mesmers.

This.

There is plenty of things that needs work on mesmers, cause lackuster or bugged: but the spvp crowd stated that Mes are OP (now they’re focusing on nec btw), so we won’t get buffs anytime soon. Or, maybe, as compensation for a much bigger nerf.

Depends manly on what are you going to do.

Given that you’re using a power spec (because if you use condition spec you’ll want cond dmg – oh rly? /cptobvious – thus narrowing the options), the main difference is if you’re roaming or zerging.

While roaming you can run almost whatever you want. From full zerk to full tank. Build/playstyle/skill are what you should tailor your stat choice on.

If you’re zerging, it’s a different matter. In large group fights you MUST be tanky. Knight/Valk is the bare minimum – and Soldier would be better.

Merging some traits would make more sense to me – also freeing up some slots for new traits.
Or incorporating some in the baseline and get rid of the trait.

Having what, 5-6 traits just for symbols is mad imo – like the 5 for necro staff.

Timelord.8190:

Staff is still terrible in spvp. Firbeall doesen’t don’t even hit for more than 500hp.

Hint: hitting hard is not the point of a support weapon/build.

Needs to upgrade my bags.

:D

2 reasons.

1-portal bombing without culling and with much better (now experienced) players on the field than 6 months ago, is NOT a surprise attack 90% of the times. And easily counterable. Which means a bad death most of the time. See alone enemy mesmer – his feets get a glowing circle – CC and AoE the crap outof it – ?? – 20 bags profit.

2-considered that the current meta revolves about zoneblobbing or zerging with 40-50 ppl, a surprise attack of only 20 is not as effective as before.

Jzl.8715:

New season of Top Gear starts at July 8th.

Best post of the thread for me.

+1

somsom.5201:

SpreadCheeks.3801:

Any build advice for tagging/pressuring in t1 zerg vs. zerg?

My advice: PVT gear, chilling blinds, and some of the siphon/healing traits. Utilities like epidemic, any of the + power/condition, or spectral wall.

A fair number of the necros in our guild use something similar to this with great effect in T1 large scale zergs. It hits hard (~2500 power), has great sustain (~2800 armor, ~30k HP), and the plague utility is great.

Another option would be to go with one of the condition tank builds above, as they will work better with the new torment skill. Depending on the build, you might lose out on chilling blinds, which is arguably one of the more important traits for our meta.

Adding in: usually on my nec, for wvw (large zergs around) i use 0/20/30/20/0.
Pick the 2 staff traits in Death + protection on Well casting, the 2 wells traits in blood 20 and curse 10, Blood 10 as preferred (i use healing allies on life transfer), and in Curses 20 Spectral attunement or Blind→Chill trait.

Staff + Any MH / Horn.
Consume condition is main heal choice, but you can use Well of Blood if you prefer.
Well of Suffering fixed in your bar, main dmg option.
Pick one between Well of Power/Corruption, depending on playstyle/team.
Pick one between Spectral wall/Wall of Darkness (ofc, spectral attunement with wall, chilling darkness with well) for CC.
Plague as fixed elite.

Gear, Soldier armor, then Rabid or Carrion trinkets – i’ve mixed them personally.

You should sit on 2.8k attack and defence, plus 27/28k hp, iirc.

Veritas.6071:

AndrewSX.3794:

Simple fix:
-Burst skills missing now depletes adrenaline (both for this trait and for some more meaningful bursting timing)

This would be a tremendous nerf to any build not running Cleansing Ire… and you are here flaming the devs for being short sighted…

You miss the burst, you’re punished for using at wrong time.

I’m surprised it isn’t already this way. Oh, forgot the dumbing down Anet policy.

Only issue of staff: in this game you’ll hardly have fights larger than 3vs3.

Staff weapon is well rounded, but not self sufficent – it needs at least 4-5 ppl around to be really meaningful.

Thing that in this idiotic conquest mode is very rarely going to happen, it’s all 1vs1, 2vs2, 1vs2. Something staff is really bad at.

New target aquired.

Spvp QQers crossfire starting in 3…2…1…

Gl with that Necs.

/Mes

Ah, missed the good old “Normalway vs Speedrunners” from GW1….

Serious note: let everybody play how they prefer.
Just don’t think you’re better because you decided to play in one way rather than the other.
I’m talking to both sides.

I though that ex-GW1 players learned this like…4 years ago?

ps: “normalway” =/= “nabs”. For example, i run with good players, with well-though builds, yet we’re not “optimizing” gear/party composition (if become all boring zerk warriors is “optimizing”….). Just we never push for times cause playing toghether and having fun is more important than cut off 10 mins of a DG run for us.
Why you’re going so off-topic about this incredibly easy to resolve thing. Everybody play the way he wants, period.

Get back to the “why devs ignore us” rather. Where “us” is everybody who do DGs, regardless of mindset and skill and build and results behind it.

I did some testing too.

Assuming you want to stick with this build, all comes down to if you want to keep IC or you’re confident enough to drop it.

Old build 20/20/0/25/5 or 20/20/0/20/10, or similar:
-no IC: move those 5 points to inspiration for another major trait (very good ones in that line)
-to have IC: you’ll need to take away 20 pts from somewhere else. choose which traits you can NOT drop for your playstyle and move points accordingly.

Atm, after some tests, i’m trying out 10/10/0/25/25. keep phant dmg, blade training, glam/focus trait. dropping DE. Seems promising.

Last option is to switch completely kind of build. There’s plenty of old and new builds that works and are very cool. But for pve, where everything matters is dmg and some marginal utility, they’re not really much suited. Which is why we’re restricted to phant (see above for options) or 25 (most of ppl will just go 30) in illusions. Which leads easily to a shatter.

To the OP:

no, necros have just seen the light at the end of a 10 months tunnel.

I do think that some fine-tuning is needed – Spectral Skill has been kept disabled while entering in DS for a good reason – but overall they’ve just found their spot.

The tanky guy who alone is weak to CC’s, but longer the fight last (and he has quite some strong staying power), the more dangerous it becomes by stacking conditions and building up LF.

Working as intended.

On the other hand, spvpers QQ fire has already started, so expect Anet to kick back Necros in to shadows next patch to please them.

The issue is that Cleasing Ire, as written in tooltip, “Removes conditions on adrenaline bar spent”.
Shame that Anet, for god know which reason, probably hand-holding ppl, made that missing a burst puts it on CD but do NOT deplets your adrenaline bar.

So, miss the burst (you’re bad/blinded), it goes on CD but do not deplets adrenaline thus do not removes conditions.

Simple fix:
-Burst skills missing now depletes adrenaline (both for this trait and for some more meaningful bursting timing)
-C Ire applies before burst lands.

Let’s see if finally a dev will show in this corner of profession subforum, drawn in a trap by the title.

(since patch they made 2 posts in prof subforum: one saying “we do are balancing” to rangers and one “you’re welcome” to eles saying thanks)

Everybody in PvP/WvW (and not only) playerbase wants them.

Except Anet.

Because it would be like admitting their current pvp is crap instead of esport.

So, not going to happen anytime soon probably.

eldenbri.1059:

Thanks for the feedback. It really helps to hear what others are doing and how it’s working out.

Just a couple quick notes on specifically how I’m playing this so that others can compare.

I have four main ways to interrupt:
– Greatsword 5 (wave)
– Pistol 5 (magic bullet)
– Shatter F3
– Mantra of distraction

I’m quite sure that Into the Void can proc interrupts.

Phenn.5167:

AndrewSX.3794:

Just saying, it was able to crit this hard already before this patch.

For reference, glass cannon nemesis build.

The only difference now is that you have a 100% chance to crit, AND you can stay in DS firing of LBs until you exhaust your lifeforce pool—except that, if built right, you should almost never have to leave DS.

Sure, not denying that i’t buffed, just that very high crits from DS 1 aren’t a news – just weren’t as reliable as now.

Main issue is that the real balance team in Gw2 is the Spvp forum.

Which hates mes in any shape or form regardless of objective arguments.
You know, the place where appears a thread : “Please fix our bugs! – Bravo!Bravo! Which class are you? – Mesmer – Mesmers are fine with bugs, so kitten you keep them you don’t need fixes to perform OP”.

Yeah, that place full of cheese and wine has the control over balance.
I’m not confident.

Just saying, it was able to crit this hard already before this patch.

For reference, glass cannon nemesis build.

Ramiah.5648:

Shatters will most certaintly be nerfed. At that point, Anet will start to rebuild the class like they did with Necromancers and Rangers (who are looking really, REALLY tempting to me right now) and we will eventually have a Mesmer that looks somewhat similar to the profession we first started with, but plays vastly differently, is as powerful as the other professions, and has many different arguably similarly effective builds.

In the 2019 or fairyland?

/joke

Carighan.6758:

If these changes were PvP-only, you’d still have illusions dying in 1 blow in PvE because their base health was terrible and signet was not working instantly.

Hint: in DGs mobs can easily oneshot the player. Do you think 2k hp more to illusions might make them last longer for real?

Just saying, Shatter is the only one nearly untouched – aside BF nerf.

2nd try with thread, 2nd grats i suppose

From SFR, gl and hf!

Necro and Ele the most.
War, Guard, Engi, Thief got some nice buffup here and there.

Mes and Ranger gets the nerfs (again).

Dunno for Fire or Earth, but i don’t want it for Water.

The 2 grandmasters (Aura sharing and cond removal on regen) are fine that way and it’s better to leave them there…

blutstein.2468:

i’m getting tired reading complaints over complaints.

I’m getting tired of reading Mesmer patch notes 2 months in advance in the Spvp QQ threads.

Final Trhust needs faster animation or slightly shorter CD imo.

Or both.

Issue is that you need almost the full map players numbers to hold off those hordes of lvl 84 crazed karkas on 4 different outposts attacked every 2 mins.

Something that’s not going to happen.

Tone down DRAMATICALLY the number and the dmg of mobs, and the respawn time of outposts events.
Karka queen requires more ppl than all the orr temples, dragons and boss events combined.

Pyroatheist.9031:

Again, there’s nothing wrong with the damage torment provides. The issue is that from the mechanics, it appears to be designed to provide a meaningful choice between not moving or taking higher damage. However, the damage increase is not significant enough for anyone to even consider not moving to decrease the damage taken.

Agree.

Atm torment is like confusion.

They both are designed to put target in front of a choice: move/use skills and take dmg or stand still/wait confusion expire without acting to avoid it.

Issue is, this kind of mechanics works when they have meaningful drawback if target decide to ignore them – see confusion pre nerf, it had meaningful dmg thus making his job.

Now confusion dmg is nerfed. Thus ppl straight up ignore it because the drawback is very little, and this defeats the whole concept of the condition.

Well, same issue with torment. The dmg should scale MUCH higher when moving (admitting it works, yday evening the “extra dmg while moving” was not working at all).

Just saying: between trait moving, wells CD reduced + stunbreak added, and the whole new spectral wall, WvW power necs have just become OP.

(“OP” said to joke – they’ve even better than before, and were already in perfect spot prolly.)

Rassst.5791:

9.5 – Hammer/Sword-Horn – WvW. Still, too much bad traits, but gameplay is very-very ok, at least today.

ArtemisEntreri.4138:

9/10 – http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAS5ejcOxutQ+OMxBE0DNkLqCjifQ8UKmDAA-jkyAYLBZyCAVAmQAl8KiGbZsIas6HM15iq1nAejioVLDAzCA-w – WvW

+1.

WvWers got some decent toys and love this round.

sorrychief.2563:

other mesmers please take notice of Darnis’s additude instead of QQing.

Other classes, please take notice: if you QQ enough, you can defeat opponents trough forums.

Seriously, stop the trolling.

Hint: they moved BP and HF to respective 30 pts slot on purpose, to make impossible to have both of them and stack on top of it a weapon related trait – manly, guess what, Forceful Greatsword which boost dsp of GS of a ton trough might stacks.

BP
HF
Forceful GS might and CD

Now you have to drop one. That’s the intention.

jportell.2197:

AndrewSX.3794:

jportell.2197:

Yes that is how it works. It is amazing now.

Inbefore:

-Fixed a bug where Prismatic Understanding was giving out unintended boons. Now it apply 5 stack of vulnerability (30 sec duration) per second.

Wait PU gives vulnerability on targets around Mesmer? I did not see that

Ofc, but it will be now reverted to apply the vulnerability to mes and boons to foes.

(just in case for who’s reading and not getting it – it’s joke)

jportell.2197:

Yes that is how it works. It is amazing now.

Inbefore:

-Fixed a bug where Prismatic Understanding was giving out unintended boons. Now it apply 5 stack of vulnerability (30 sec duration) per second.

Better this way.

At least i’m sure that a good bunch of ppl i do not want to party with can be easily avoided by doing something different than cof.

Let’s put it this way: despite being my main and character i liked/played the most, i enjoy mes manly in pve… where i found my break point, and got bored to hell.
Spvp is crap, so don’t care.
Turning as wvwer, i’m liking much more the ele/nec/war feeling than the mes one…

In other words, i probably wouldn’t have used mes for a while anyway, outside some dg with friends in few occurencies, so this patch while being bad and all isn’t really THE issue.

On the other hand, i’m going to sell back my Zap. I was close to finish the Bolt (few charged and t6 and runestones to go) and slap it on Mes, but right now i’m going back and swap it out for some other legg.
Sword MH on mes was by far my favourite weapon of all GW2.
And all the 3 skills got nerfed one way or other, so, bleh.

Magnetron.5823:

IM just kidding!!! Gz

Did u ever got a pre-c from your rank chests???

I got one from 78 > 79

Who cares, with a title like that, any legenday looks noob.

Gz, from another SFR fellow.

Gamadorn.2659:

I agree there is an easy EASY fix for population. Open free transfers for two weeks. Lower the queue limit on each map to say 60. Done. Watch all the guilds with large groups 1.) Break into smaller 30 man groups to accommodate. 2.) Transfer to servers with a lower population.

LolgodpleaseNO.

Destroying communities is not what i call “Even out population”.

I see huge buff for WvW Nec Well PowerBuild.

I’m a bit baffled, considering that it gets, over the already strong base, stability/breakstun, CD reduction and the new spectral wall…but can’t say i’m not pleased.

Well, at least happened before me sinking a Bolt to my Mes. (few charged and T6 and runestones away)

XRay.1920:

Vena.8436:

XRay.1920:

they didn’t really leave anything else to be nerfed after today’s patch. thank you arena net, thank you for making all the hours and effort I spent on my mesmer worthless. suck me.

Awww, can’t 2-spam to invincible victory anymore.

did you even bother reading the rest of the nerfs before you decided to go full kitten?

You already know the answer.

I’m all for some discussion, and nerfs were warranted, but stay objective… (not directed at you xray)

6x dwayna for a CW Staff Support WvW ele healbot.

XRay.1920:

they didn’t really leave anything else to be nerfed after today’s patch.

Nah, it’s Mesmer.

You know, maybe is just my idea, but spvpers (aka: who makes balance notes in this game for everybody) seems to have grown up a visceral hate for mes, regardless of objective opinions.
Just look at reactions around.
Or when a thread pops up : “Hey Anet, our class have bugs, could you fix them? – Spvpers: He’s right he’s right! Which class are you talking about? – Mesmers – They’re OP no kitten cares of their bugs they can keep them and still being OP so screw you.”

Anet anticipated the QQ for nerf of July and August (BF and some Phant traits/buff), so i expect ppl to need at least 3 days before finding next “Nerf Mes Plox” skill/trait.