If you play Mesmer in PvP then you’ve likely come across the following phrases either in-game or on the forums. I figured it may be best to have a thread dedicated to this discussion rather than mudsling across several different posts.
“IF YOU’RE HAVING SUCCESS WITH A NON-SHATTER BUILD, YOUR OPPONENTS ARE BAD”
To start, lets make sure one thing is certain: Shatter is the most viable tournament Mesmer build. This is a fact that cannot be disputed, despite hearing things like:
- “Shatter is boring.”
- “Shatter is predictable.”
- “Shatter needs a team to support it.”
Shatter builds are successful for a good reason: They offer the most damage a Mesmer can output while still offering the most reasonable defensive options. Lockdown builds lack the same burst damage of shatter, Phantasm builds lack defense, Condition builds lack AoE pressure. As a result, Shatter edges out over all of these builds largely due to the combination of Deceptive Evasion(Dueling X – Clone on Dodge) and Illusionary Persona. (Illusions XI – Player counts as an additional shatter).
Deceptive Evasion is our single best form of clone production, and is largely recommended for many builds while Illusionary Persona allows us the versatility of point-blank shatters – including clutch 0-clone distortions and heavy damaging Dodge-into-shatters; very few other builds have the ability to grab this trait combination.
But wait, you run without DE and/or IP and do just fine! That’s great, but what does your build offer that Shatter cannot do better? And if it does do better than shatter, does it do better than (insert meta build here that does the same thing on a different class)?
This does not mean that your build is only “good” because your opponents are not. I have a serious gripe with this perspective, because in my opinion it is really rather narrow-minded. Not only does it discourage exploring and theorycrafting but it cripples the already-limited diversity of the class in PvP. Condition builds tend to get this more than lockdown, but I’ll address the strengths of both to cover all bases.
- Condition builds such as PU and Maimed Shatter excel in 1v1 fights and taking down power builds through attrition. They are stronger the smaller the encounter, but tend to fall off in team fights. Condition-removing classes like Ele, Engineer, and Guardian tend to be able to entirely ignore maimed shatter builds in group battles. Condition builds last longer than shatter builds, but shatter’s instant bursts tend to be more desirable. One thing to keep in mind:
Neither Maim-shatter or PU builds are in themselves “bad” builds.
They both have good trait synergy and are actually one of the stronger Mesmer builds in WvW, however PU builds’ overreliance on stealth and single-target combat makes it less-than-ideal for anything other than keeping multiple opponents engaged and unbalancing fights elsewhere. Maimed shatter builds are devastating vs power builds and have more natural survivability than power shatter. Maimed simply cannot do anything Power couldn’t do faster except -of course- live longer.
When people say the builds are “bad” what they’re saying is that the specs don’t have as much of a place in teamplay by their very playstyle. A good player can make these builds work and find a definitive role (A bunkerish PU. A far-point assaulting Maimed) but the argument against these builds is that “anything a good player can do with this build, they’d do better on shatter.”
- Lockdown Builds are more tournament viable, with 4/4/6 CI falling short only to shatter. These builds again, aren’t bad, but the lack of iPersona and the utility requirement of Mantra of Distraction (rather than say.. Portal or Decoy) makes the build less ideal than Shatter in certain situations. 4/4/6 CI is much better for the solo player, since you have more natural toughness and can have a big impact on fights without needing to coordinate with a team. The problem here comes from the fact that lockdown builds lack the burst of shatter builds and do not have a consistently reliable success rate. Interrupts, similar to condition damage, can be harder to pull off in teamfights where Stability is more easily shared.
When people say lockdown builds are “bad.” They’re saying that the build simply falls short to shatter in terms of reliability due to the unpredictable nature of interrupts (yes you can predict and train yourself to land interrupts, but that still becomes far more difficult in group fights). That, or they’re parroting what they’ve heard from someone else without actually trying the build for themselves.
