Guild Wars 2

Sup guys!

A couple weeks ago I had asked you guys of your opinions on Mesmer. Plenty of people from both PvP and WvW chimed in with some awesome feedback, so I flipped the question the other way around for Mesmer. I figured ya’ll may be interested to see what we think of you.

How Mesmer Feel About Elementalist.. And Everyone else!

.. and everyone else!

Sup guys! A couple weeks ago I had asked you guys of your opinions on Mesmer. PLenty of people from both PvP and WvW chimed in with some awesome feedback, so I flipped the question the other way around for Mesmer. I figured ya’ll may be interested to see what we think of you.

How Mesmer Feel About Warrior

Ah excellent.

1) One entry per player.

2) Judges will not participate, but for anyone else I don’t see why not.

3)You become a judge by.. uh.. Volunteering? They’ll be up to 5 judges depending on
the events size. Each with they’re own fancy title. =P

4) Scoring will be number-based, either through 5 or 10.

5) Results, screenshots, and hopefully a vid or two will be posted on the forums.

6) Wow that’s brilliant! .. And I have entirely no idea where that is. x_x

Holl.3109:

Chaos Archangel.5071:

Uh.. I’d like to join but I don’t have a necro. =[ but I was thinking I’d like to link all the forum guilds together for cross-class events.

(also, I really think you guys are cool. =P) Is it OK with y’all?

Shame on you Chaos! Even Warlord has a necro (and he beats me with it in duels >.<)!

And yea, fine with me

I don’t have enough space. I’m debating deleting my terrible guardian tho.. When Bhawb disappeared my inspiration faded. =[

((As always, anyone and everyone is welcome to join in on OMFG events! No membership required.))

TIME: SUNDAY March 1st 2015
PLACE: Lyssa Statue @ Divinitys Reach

EVENT: Fashion Show

DETAILS: It is time! It is finally time! Check back for more details soon, but this sunday we are going to host the first OMFG Mesmer Fashion Show! We will have a panel of judges watch as contestants walk up and down a runway and show off their Mesmer!

Categories include:

• Most Fashionable: Mens
• Most Fashionable: Womens
• Best Use of Effects
• Best Mesmer Name

And maybe more! Prizes will go to the first place winners in each category, and will be open to any and all Mesmer who wants to participate, so even if your friends aren’t in OMFG, come invite them to join the fun!

@Daniel Handler I’d love to be able to do this at the same time for both US and EU, let me know if you’re available to help coordinate and if anyone else wants to volunteer to be on the coordination crew, please help out!

Click here for pictures of the winners!

Click here for Part 1 (Video) of the show!

With all these profession guilds popping up, I figured maybe we should start considering how to integrate cross-class events.

After the appearance of the Necro guild, the idea hit me that we shouldn’t all be mutually exclusive, we should find ways to intersect with eachother.

Any ideas?

Uh.. I’d like to join but I don’t have a necro. =[ but I was thinking I’d like to link all the forum guilds together for cross-class events.

(also, I really think you guys are cool. =P) Is it OK with y’all?

4) VIABILITY & COMPETITIVE PLAY
(Using Mesmer as an example, again, but c’mon.. it’s ME!)

“What is that? Whatever the hell you’re running isn’t viable.”

Many Mesmer players are a creative bunch, and there are loads of traits and utilities that are a lot of fun or highly interesting to use but don’t fit into the meta for one reason or another, and thus get labeled as unviable. As a result, builds that take these traits often too-quickly fall to the wayside.

Lets get something straight: Meta builds are meta for a reason, and that reason is usually because of all the competition, they’re the best at what they do. Shatter is the best in PvP, PU is the best at WvW roaming, Mantra/Phant is the best in PvE. But this does not mean that anything that isn’t one of these specific builds is bad.. quite the opposite.

I often feel that people get too caught up in terms and labels. “Viable” gets misused too frequently, good builds will be labeled “bad” if they are not the the absolute best, and creativity gets stunted as a result. These labels often don’t take one major factor into account: player skill.

Many of us have had instances where we’ve been happily playing our custom-made build and kicking all of the butts until we’re suddenly told that what our trait combo, amulet/gear sucks, even though they’ve worked fine for our purposes. This can often be helpful, and one should always keep an open mind for new information on how to improve but -IMO- one should never simply blindly compromise their ideas.

This is especially important in PvP, where meta builds reign in abundance. You’ll often hear that what you’re running isn’t viable if it is not shatter, ESPECIALLY if it is condition-based, but what is often overlooked is that there are actually a LOT of different good builds that can work very well all the way up until you reach the highest levels. But ask yourself: Are you playing PvP to compete against top tier teams and go to tournaments? If so, then you’re likely already playing shatter or have found a team that you can build around. These people are the few, but for the majority it really matters way less on what build you’re running as much as how well you’re running it.

6/6/0/2/0 can work. 0/4/6/4/0 can work. 4/4/6 condi can work and so can plenty of other combinations as long as the player behind the build is competent enough to make it work.

There’s the argument that if you could make these builds work, then you could make shatter work even better, and this is true to an extent, but again .. if you’re not playing for serious competition, then why shoehorn yourself into a build you don’t actually feel like running?

TL:DR- Don’t be afraid to explore! Your build isn’t as important as the skill of the player behind it, and experiencing different styles of play only serves to improve.

2) THE META AND YOU

“Hey guys! I run a full signet condi warrior for dungeons! I love ho- /kick
“Clerics Mantra Mesmer looking f- /kick
“Hey guys.. Guess what? Bearb- /kick

The “Meta” is what the community has discovered to be the best build for the job at hand. For Mesmer, the Meta in PVP is shatter, while in PvE it revolves around Mantras and Phantasms, while in WvW roaming Condition/Stealth Prismatic Understanding is most dominant. Now if you’re anything like me, you’ll put your hands on your hips and turn your head and say “Hmph. Meta-shmeta! I’d rather use my own creativity over copying someone else’s cookie-cutter build.” and you’re not wrong for thinking that, but you have to keep in mind that this philosophy is only limiting you as a player!

The meta is neither a dictator to slavishly follow nor a taboo to avoid, it is a point of reference that every player should learn from.

Meta builds are considered the best for a very good reason, and this isn’t something to pridefully avoid. You should look at a meta build and ask yourself:

• What trait interactions make the build so strong?
• If I were to play this build, what tweaks would I make to suit my style?
• How do I defeat this build with my build?
  
  Use websites like metabattle.com to get a feel for what builds work best for your profession, it always helps to play these builds even for a little while to understand what the majority of people are playing, the rotations for their specs, and strategies to defeat them. Once you find a meta build, start to slowly tweak it and pull it apart, add your own individual flavor to it and see what works and what doesn’t

3) CONNECTING THE DOTS – SYNERGY
The difference between a good and bad build often comes down to how well the traits work with each other. Once you answer the questions above, you want to focus all of those answers into one coherent theme. Shatter Mesmer is a perfect example of this, able to use shatters for both offense and defense when traited properly. Taking Mesmer as an example again let’s look at what makes the meta shatter build work:
4/4/0/0/6 Berserker Amulet ; Sword – Torch / Greatsword ; Blink, Decoy, Portal
Domination: Mental Torment, Shattered Concentration
Dueling: Deceptive Evasion
Illusions: Compounding Power, Illusionary Invigoration, Illusionary Persona

The shatter build is a glass cannon build that quickly jumps in and out of a fight with heavy bursts. Its main goal is to quickly and effectively tear down most opponents and offers team support via portalling allies from point to point.
- Domination offers more shatter damage from Mental Torment, and causes each clone that shatters to strip a boon from the target.
- Dueling allow for a consistent and reliable way to produce the clones needed to shatter via Deceptive Evasion creating a clone on dodge. Without this trait, the entire build would be unviable.
- Illusions boost shatter rate by lowering cooldowns, and causes the Mesmer itself to count towards a shatter allowing for cloneless shattering for more flexibility in addition to more damage/defense.

All of these traits go together to achieve a goal: Shatter hard and shatter often. The utilities Blink and Decoy provide enough defenses via teleport and stealth along with defensive shatters that allow for a fully offensive amulet; Berserker.

( I originally made this for the Mesmer forum, hence the references, but figured it could help everyone. )

1) FROM CONCEPT TO CREATION
So maybe you want to hop into the arena, smeared in all of the gory downstate of your enemies. Perhaps you’re a soldier waging eternal war in WvW. Or you could be another hero chosen to face off against all of the many threats that Tyria faces. Whatever the case, you start by having a plan. Ask yourself( and answer) the following questions:

• What weapons/utilities do I like the most?
  Your build is not going to last if you don’t enjoy using it. It never hurts to try to mix in your favorite abilities into your build as long as they don’t stray too far from your theme.

• What will the goal of this build be? How will I achieve it?
  Do not fall into the trap of “making a build for all formats,” if you’re looking to make a powerful and effective build. There are SOME builds that can work decently for PvE,PvP, AND WvW but they are few and far between. In any event “decent” should not be your goal. The build should be good at something, even if that ‘something’ is just providing tons of fun for you.

• What is my role in a group fight?
  Often people make a build and then don’t know what to do with it. The build is strongish, has decent defense, and some nice utility, but no actual goal besides trying to be a jack-of-all-trades. Sometimes a build is super glassy, so obviously meant to do damage, but still feels lackluster. A good build and a strong purpose do not always go together. Sometimes a build is a good dueling build, but one can’t find a place for it in a teamfight. Sometimes an excellent team support build is still held back by sluggish mobility and lack of 1v1 potential. Figure out where your build will fit in by accepting both its strengths AND its weaknesses.

• How will I defend myself when under attack?
  Lets get one thing clear: you NEED a stunbreak. Sometimes condition removal is not necessary, but being able to break a heavy CC effect is mandatory for any good build. If you’re trading defensive stats for damage ( “Glasscannon” ) then you will need a form of mobility. Invest in obtaining the Vigor boon, look for any evades, invulnerabilities, or teleports you can find. You do not want to invest so much into defense that you cannot do damage otherwise you will be easy to ignore and maneuver around.

• What weaknesses will I have?
  Everything is a tradeoff. If you spec for damage you’ll likely lack defense. If you spec to be balanced then you’ll excel at nothing. Identifying the weakness of your build is key to learning how to protect yourself and remain effective. You want to avoid the trap of speccing too deep into extremes; building for durability and defense to be a tank may be ideal but too much defense with no offense gives you no pressure. A tank isn’t a tank without the ability to hold an enemy’s attention.

• How much time will I give myself to learn this build?
  Do not expect to learn a new build within a day. Learning a build requires creating rotations, learning new reflexes and having an intimate understanding of how the traits/gear work together. This does not happen in a day, especially when we’ve already become used to another build. The average time it takes to really understand and excel with a build, depending on difficult, tends to be from three days to about a week or so if it is far from our normal playstyle. Don’t be quick to dismiss a build as good or bad until you’ve really given yourself time to learn it. Sometimes a build that seems unlikely to work and feels bad at first can turn out to be extremely effective.

When making a build, these are some of the most important questions to determine whether or not it will be successful. There is no such thing as a perfect build, and there will always be a sort of trade-off (yes, even if you grab a Celestial Amulet) in order to spec the way you want. The most important aspect of a build is always going to be how much you enjoy it. GW2 is first and foremost a game you play to have fun on. It is not a job, not an obligation, and your class/build should be a representation of you rather than what everyone around you says you should be. This sort of “independence” isn’t as simple as it seems, however…

4) VIABILITY & COMPETITIVE PLAY
(Using Mesmer as an example, again, but c’mon.. it’s ME!)

“What is that? Whatever the hell you’re running isn’t viable.”

Many Mesmer players are a creative bunch, and there are loads of traits and utilities that are a lot of fun or highly interesting to use but don’t fit into the meta for one reason or another, and thus get labeled as unviable. As a result, builds that take these traits often too-quickly fall to the wayside.

Lets get something straight: Meta builds are meta for a reason, and that reason is usually because of all the competition, they’re the best at what they do. Shatter is the best in PvP, PU is the best at WvW roaming, Mantra/Phant is the best in PvE. But this does not mean that anything that isn’t one of these specific builds is bad.. quite the opposite.

I often feel that people get too caught up in terms and labels. “Viable” gets misused too frequently, good builds will be labeled “bad” if they are not the the absolute best, and creativity gets stunted as a result. These labels often don’t take one major factor into account: player skill.

Many of us have had instances where we’ve been happily playing our custom-made build and kicking all of the butts until we’re suddenly told that what our trait combo, amulet/gear sucks, even though they’ve worked fine for our purposes. This can often be helpful, and one should always keep an open mind for new information on how to improve but -IMO- one should never simply blindly compromise their ideas.

This is especially important in PvP, where meta builds reign in abundance. You’ll often hear that what you’re running isn’t viable if it is not shatter, ESPECIALLY if it is condition-based, but what is often overlooked is that there are actually a LOT of different good builds that can work very well all the way up until you reach the highest levels. But ask yourself: Are you playing PvP to compete against top tier teams and go to tournaments? If so, then you’re likely already playing shatter or have found a team that you can build around. These people are the few, but for the majority it really matters way less on what build you’re running as much as how well you’re running it.

6/6/0/2/0 can work. 0/4/6/4/0 can work. 4/4/6 condi can work and so can plenty of other combinations as long as the player behind the build is competent enough to make it work.

There’s the argument that if you could make these builds work, then you could make shatter work even better, and this is true to an extent, but again .. if you’re not playing for serious competition, then why shoehorn yourself into a build you don’t actually feel like running?

TL:DR- Don’t be afraid to explore! Your build isn’t as important as the skill of the player behind it, and experiencing different styles of play only serves to improve.

2) THE META AND YOU

“Hey guys! I run a full signet condi warrior for dungeons! I love ho- /kick
“Clerics Mantra Mesmer looking f- /kick
“Hey guys.. Guess what? Bearb- /kick

The “Meta” is what the community has discovered to be the best build for the job at hand. For Mesmer, the Meta in PVP is shatter, while in PvE it revolves around Mantras and Phantasms, while in WvW roaming Condition/Stealth Prismatic Understanding is most dominant. Now if you’re anything like me, you’ll put your hands on your hips and turn your head and say “Hmph. Meta-shmeta! I’d rather use my own creativity over copying someone else’s cookie-cutter build.” and you’re not wrong for thinking that, but you have to keep in mind that this philosophy is only limiting you as a player!

The meta is neither a dictator to slavishly follow nor a taboo to avoid, it is a point of reference that every player should learn from.

Meta builds are considered the best for a very good reason, and this isn’t something to pridefully avoid. You should look at a meta build and ask yourself:

• What trait interactions make the build so strong?
• If I were to play this build, what tweaks would I make to suit my style?
• How do I defeat this build with my build?
  
  Use websites like metabattle.com to get a feel for what builds work best for your profession, it always helps to play these builds even for a little while to understand what the majority of people are playing, the rotations for their specs, and strategies to defeat them. Once you find a meta build, start to slowly tweak it and pull it apart, add your own individual flavor to it and see what works and what doesn’t

3) CONNECTING THE DOTS – SYNERGY
The difference between a good and bad build often comes down to how well the traits work with each other. Once you answer the questions above, you want to focus all of those answers into one coherent theme. Shatter Mesmer is a perfect example of this, able to use shatters for both offense and defense when traited properly. Taking Mesmer as an example again let’s look at what makes the meta shatter build work:
4/4/0/0/6 Berserker Amulet ; Sword – Torch / Greatsword ; Blink, Decoy, Portal
Domination: Mental Torment, Shattered Concentration
Dueling: Deceptive Evasion
Illusions: Compounding Power, Illusionary Invigoration, Illusionary Persona

The shatter build is a glass cannon build that quickly jumps in and out of a fight with heavy bursts. Its main goal is to quickly and effectively tear down most opponents and offers team support via portalling allies from point to point.
- Domination offers more shatter damage from Mental Torment, and causes each clone that shatters to strip a boon from the target.
- Dueling allow for a consistent and reliable way to produce the clones needed to shatter via Deceptive Evasion creating a clone on dodge. Without this trait, the entire build would be unviable.
- Illusions boost shatter rate by lowering cooldowns, and causes the Mesmer itself to count towards a shatter allowing for cloneless shattering for more flexibility in addition to more damage/defense.

All of these traits go together to achieve a goal: Shatter hard and shatter often. The utilities Blink and Decoy provide enough defenses via teleport and stealth along with defensive shatters that allow for a fully offensive amulet; Berserker.

1) FROM CONCEPT TO CREATION
So maybe you want to hop into the arena, smeared in all of the gory downstate of your enemies. Perhaps you’re a soldier waging eternal war in WvW. Or you could be another hero chosen to face off against all of the many threats that Tyria faces. Whatever the case, you start by having a plan. Ask yourself( and answer) the following questions:

• What weapons/utilities do I like the most?
  Your build is not going to last if you don’t enjoy using it. It never hurts to try to mix in your favorite abilities into your build as long as they don’t stray too far from your theme.

• What will the goal of this build be? How will I achieve it?
  Do not fall into the trap of “making a build for all formats,” if you’re looking to make a powerful and effective build. There are SOME builds that can work decently for PvE,PvP, AND WvW but they are few and far between. In any event “decent” should not be your goal. The build should be good at something, even if that ‘something’ is just providing tons of fun for you.

• What is my role in a group fight?
  Often people make a build and then don’t know what to do with it. The build is strongish, has decent defense, and some nice utility, but no actual goal besides trying to be a jack-of-all-trades. Sometimes a build is super glassy, so obviously meant to do damage, but still feels lackluster. A good build and a strong purpose do not always go together. Sometimes a build is a good dueling build, but one can’t find a place for it in a teamfight. Sometimes an excellent team support build is still held back by sluggish mobility and lack of 1v1 potential. Figure out where your build will fit in by accepting both its strengths AND its weaknesses.

• How will I defend myself when under attack?
  Lets get one thing clear: you NEED a stunbreak. Sometimes condition removal is not necessary, but being able to break a heavy CC effect is mandatory for any good build. If you’re trading defensive stats for damage ( “Glasscannon” ) then you will need a form of mobility. Invest in obtaining the Vigor boon, look for any evades, invulnerabilities, or teleports you can find. You do not want to invest so much into defense that you cannot do damage otherwise you will be easy to ignore and maneuver around.

• What weaknesses will I have?
  Everything is a tradeoff. If you spec for damage you’ll likely lack defense. If you spec to be balanced then you’ll excel at nothing. Identifying the weakness of your build is key to learning how to protect yourself and remain effective. You want to avoid the trap of speccing too deep into extremes; building for durability and defense to be a tank may be ideal but too much defense with no offense gives you no pressure. A tank isn’t a tank without the ability to hold an enemy’s attention.

• How much time will I give myself to learn this build?
  Do not expect to learn a new build within a day. Learning a build requires creating rotations, learning new reflexes and having an intimate understanding of how the traits/gear work together. This does not happen in a day, especially when we’ve already become used to another build. The average time it takes to really understand and excel with a build, depending on difficult, tends to be from three days to about a week or so if it is far from our normal playstyle. Don’t be quick to dismiss a build as good or bad until you’ve really given yourself time to learn it. Sometimes a build that seems unlikely to work and feels bad at first can turn out to be extremely effective.

When making a build, these are some of the most important questions to determine whether or not it will be successful. There is no such thing as a perfect build, and there will always be a sort of trade-off (yes, even if you grab a Celestial Amulet) in order to spec the way you want. The most important aspect of a build is always going to be how much you enjoy it. GW2 is first and foremost a game you play to have fun on. It is not a job, not an obligation, and your class/build should be a representation of you rather than what everyone around you says you should be. This sort of “independence” isn’t as simple as it seems, however…

I finally said “eff it” and applied. =P

There are some facts, some fiction, and some total exaggeration in this thread…

All I know is, I rather enjoy being the least played profession (which according to the last metrics Mesmer actually is). I also know that everytime I play Mesmer, be it on CI or Boonshare, I have hell of a lot of fun with my homies.

Simpleton stuff, I know, but its all I really need to enjoy my favorite class.

Ah cool, I was curious as to what’s a good gear setup for WvW and your vid helped me discover it.

(I uh.. haven’t actually watched more than the first thief fight yet. Will edit in more helpful stuff when I do. =P)

4/4/6 CI lockdown Mesmer has more access to conditions, but they’re usually control conditions like blind, chill, vuln, immobilize, and weakness rather than burn/bleed/ect. It LOOKS like they’re doing a lot of condi damage, but its moreso just a lot of fluff.

CI does do less damage, but it’s not so little that you can’t one/two-shot someone. You have to learn to rely on more than shatters though, landing interrupts (halting strike) and knowing when to let Phantasms do their business is part of the equation, plus CI requires sharper shatter skills since you no longer have iPersona.

However, you can keep running the standard shatter and grab Mantra of Distraction to take a sort of lockdown style of play. The mantra will be big help, but you’ll still have to learn to play a bit differently; landing interrupts has nothing to do with traits and everything to do with playstyle. Its a slight mental shift from the simple “jump in -shatter- jump out” but after a while you’ll get used to it.

Good luck!

Wow.. That’s kind of unnecessary. o_O So it’ll essentially work like Might stacks, vuln stacks, where if you cleanse one you’ll cleanse them all, but you can now also just yank it off.

But yet another indirect buff to lockdown Mesmer. Me gusta!

jcbroe.4329:

-Insert greatness here -

This person.

This person just spit some realtalk.

That was glorious!

I still maintain that Fear and Taunt are psychological conditions, and thus thematically the Mesmer should have access to them.

But I’ll just shut up and be happy with my Slow.

The might nerf is a start, but “gutting” Cele into uselessness really shouldn’t be the answer.

Having a useless amulet sitting there isn’t a step in the right direction IMO. Though I can’t really say for certain how Cele should be shaved, I’m thinking SOME of the stats should be shaved rather than having an average number for all of them.

I’m pretty sure we aren’t getting a way to apply Taunt, and if we do it will be in some weird out-of-the-way form.

Slow vs Thieves, however, will be glorious. If the grandmasters in the Chronomancer tree are good enough, I’m going 2/6/0/0/0/6 for sure.

A lot of great advice here, thanks guys! Already learning a lot.

On the subject of pets, I was recommended double canines for their awesome CC ability, but I reealllyy was hoping I could rock out with a bird and a spider. Would that be an inferior choice? Speaking of which, does anyone have any hints/tips/strategies for using the pet? The longbowing is easy, but everything else is much more nuanced and intricate.

Also, as for trait spreads, I was given 6/6/2, but I’m more than willing to explore. What exact traits should I be looking at and why are they valuable?

Null Field and Ether Bolt.. Hm..

Time to “Maim The Glamorous”

Nah Feedback rocks, it is just often hard to find room for it in a build over Portal/Null Field, Blink, Decoy, Mantra of Distraction/Resolve

The nerf to focus pull was necessary. It had absolutely no counterplay before and was really beastly for a 5-target pull. In sPvP it was strong, but in WvW it pretty much guarantee’d yanking people off keeps.

Besides, you’re not exactly supposed to use the pull so quickly anyway. It cripples enemies, reflects, and almost always forces wasted dodges. Most of the time it’s more valuable for the 5s it sits there both for mindgames and practicality.

As for the Phantasm.. I only sort of agree. If you want damage, you take offhand sword or pistol, if you want condi you take torch and if you want utility you grab the focus. Focus phant eats projectiles, making it great against rangers, warriors, engineer thieves and many other classes. Fighting inside it’s protective bubble makes you projectile-immune and traited it reflects. It is integral for PvE for that same reason, eating projectiles in dungeons while iSwordsman deals damage.

Your change would make it into a crappier version of iZerker, if you’re using the warden for damage outside of a CI build (focus pull +ileap immobs into Warden spin for the full duration when done properly) then you’re not using it for the right reasons.

So I finally made a Ranger, finally have a build (6/6/2/0/0, Zerk, Pack Runes, Longbow, S/d) and finally wandered into my first hotjoin.

I press 2 on an unwary target… 7k damage!

The Mesmer in me just suddenly threw up. 7k!? Do you know the effort it would’ve taken to set up a shatter for that kind of damage? And the cooldown is practically nonexistant! It was great, I’m already in love with the longbow.. But lawd oh lawd..

I do so suck with Sword/Dagger!

How do I do damage with it? Is it purely a defensive set? Does anyone have any advise, strategies, tactics, utility recommendations? I’m not too sure what my role is besides long range murder. I don’t really know if I have much team support, and not sure how to defend myself when someone jumps on me (granted I was a ranger for like 10 mins)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to Rangering when I’m not Mesmering or Celeleleleleing

IGN: Lumien Agav
Server: Anvil Rock
Type: PvP

Xaylin.1860:

Chaos Archangel.5071:

And I am praying so hard that they don’t put Slow on Chaotic Interruption over Immobilize. Slow does NOT affect movement speed. I’d rather see it on Wastrel’s Punishment or Furious Interruption. Imagine Furious combined with Chaotic if it had slow!? 2/6/6/0/0 here I come.

You’re doing it wrong. Instead of telling them what you don’t want, tell them to replace Cripple on CI with Slow. I think we can agree that this would be pretty awesome.

Not sure how Slow would work with Wastrel’s Punishment or Furious Interruption. Personally, I don’t think it really fits there. If anything, Furious Interruption could cause Taunt.

Ah brilliant!

Wastrels I was thinking something like “Apply 2s of slow to an inactive target(5s icd).” Assuming ‘inactive’ means dazed, stunned, ECT. Furious I was thinking to apply the slow at the same time we gain quickness, but taunt makes more sense.

Man.. I cannot wait to see this new trait line!

Yeah that can still be hit with daze/stuns.

Swish.2463:

On the topic of resistance,

Cant remember off the top of my head but does the current version of the Warrior’s rather Unbalanced Stance allow for Daze’s and stuns etc.. to take effect? or Are you met with the Unsatisfying “Immune”?

I only ask because that seems to be what Anet is basing this off of and will likely just be Copy/Pasting in Boon Form.

Balanced Stance literally grants Stability.
Endure Pain can be interrupted, but takes no damage.

I’m thinking…

• Mindspike (GS 3) could get Slow application
• iMage (Torch 5) grants Resistance to allies
• Chaos Storm (Staff 5) grants Resistance/ inflicts Slow
• iDefender could taunt enemies.

And I am praying so hard that they don’t put Slow on Chaotic Interruption over Immobilize. Slow does NOT affect movement speed. I’d rather see it on Wastrel’s Punishment or Furious Interruption. Imagine Furious combined with Chaotic if it had slow!? 2/6/6/0/0 here I come.

Now that it’s been revealed that new conditions/boons/status effects are making their way into the game, I’m expecting a balance patch to sweep through all classes and incorporate these abilities. Me Games Ma threw up a thread on the overall possible impact on Mesmer, but I wanted to take a closer look at how this’ll effect lockdown Mesmer specifically.

SLOW
Slow lowers attack rate, not movement speed. As a sort of inverse to quickness (which is also receiving a visual boost) this condition is going to be excellent for lockdown Mesmer, making it significantly easier to interrupt skills. But at the same time it does scare me.

• What if they change Chaotic Interruption to apply Slow rather than Immobilize? ( Slow & Either Chill/Blind)

Like Me Games Ma, I do feel that Chaos Storm or Chaos Armor will grant/inflict Slow and Resistance. From a lockdown perspective slow does seem great, and I’m nearly positive Chronomancer will have multiple applications of this new condition. In fact, even though they mentioned it with the debut of the Revenant, I’m fairly certain this condition was made for the Chronomancer. I would like to see some reworks to some skills, perhaps, Furious Interruption, Wastrel’s Punishment, even Confounding Suggestions could benefit.

TAUNT
Taunt locks out the opponent’s skill bar and forces them to attack whatever taunted them with autoattacks. I don’t see us getting very many ways to apply this, as I really think this is going to go moreso to Necros, Warriors, Ranger pets, Revenant and Guardian. Some ideas do come to mind though, remember that shield phantasm I was hype about?

• Shield could create a Phantasm with a warhorn that taunts all nearby foes into attacking it, making it easier to catch people in Chronomancer’s status AoEs. Why warhorn? Because Phantasms do not always have weapons matching the one used to summon it. (iMage uses scepter, iWarlock uses scepter, iDisenchanter uses scepter, iWarden uses axes)

This is another nice lockdown ability, and could work beautifully combined with slow and Chaotic Interruption. Forced to spam auto while running into an AoE slow field? Glorious.

RESISTANCE
Ugh. Though having to deal with Stability was annoying? Now CI Mesmer have to strip Stab AND Resistance. This is a blessing and a curse, as boonstripping will now be even MORE important, which makes Mesmer more valuable, but the addition of Resistance offers another way to stuff Chaotic Interruption’s immobilize + random condi. Hell, it even will stuff Chronomancer’s slow application! I don’t think we will have very many ways to gain resistance and see it more as a hurdle to leap, but I do hope that this opens up opportunities for some reworks:

• iMage: Applies Confusion to Enemies & Resistance to allies
• Disruptors Sustainment: Reworked to apply AoE Resistance on interrupt (5s ICD)

I dunno about you, but I’m pretty excited for the possibilities these new effects will open up. What’s interesting is that Taunt is NOT a condi, but rather a status effect like daze/stun/knockback. It can be cleansed like fear, however, but I’m curious to know if it will work through the Resistance boon. What’re your thoughts?

So after the last write up I did on other classes’ perspective on Mesmer, a few people have asked to see Mesmers perspective of other classes. If ya’ll wouldn’t mind, I’ve got this handy-dandy interview sheet for anyone whos willing to answer any or all of the following questions. (I’ll give my answers when I get the chance to write more)

This is for PvP and/or WvW, just make sure to specify which you’re referring to.

• Name
• Played Mesmer Since
• Favorite Alt? Why?
• Least Favorite Class to Play?
• What is your favorite class to fight? Why?
• What is your least favorite class to fight?
• What is your favorite Mesmer spec? What is your role with this spec?
• What other class is your favorite duo partner?
• If you could give Mesmer a buff, what would it be?

• How do you feel about… Elementalist / Engineer / Guardian / Mesmer / Ranger / Thief / Necro / Warrior?

• What is the first thing you think when facing them?

• What do you think your odds of winning are?

• What is the ideal strategy against these classes?

Thanks!

I don’t think the new boons/condis are specialization-specific. I think a major trait/balance rework is on the way.

I’d bet slow and quickness are going to be important to Chronomancer. I’m positive we’ll get some interesting applications for that new Condi. That new condi-immune boon is kind of cool too.

Time Control: Slow, Quickness, Swiftness, Immobilize.
Shield Phantasm may have the new Taunt ability.

Revenant doesn’t sound like a better Mesmer, that’s a reealllyy out there speculation, but I do see some Staff Elementalist similarities.

WARRIOR

So yes, Warriors aren’t all brofists, 1000 easys, evicerate fails and chest bumps. Theres quite a bit of subtlty and depth in playing the class that one would only really appreciate after digging into the Warrior profession for a bit. Mesmers seem to be less of a problem for them and more of an afterthought. It isn’t that we’re an easy win, but we just aren’t on their priority list in a team fight, better left to thieves and eles. The warriors I spoke with knew more of the shatter and condi specs but didn’t really seem to know much on the lockdown Mesmer (save for a few). Still, their responses were interesting:

“Usually what build the Mesmer is. I mainly encounter PU Condi or shatter mesmers. If a PU mesmer, I usually let out a huge sigh but say to hell with it I will try my hand. If a shatter mesmer, I am usually like alright, he is playing shatter mesmer, most people who play shatter mesmer aren’t complete scrubs at the game so I will have to keep on my toes.
How do you feel about your odds of winning?
Against PU condi, I know my odds aren’t very high, maybe 50/50 against a bad PU condi mesmer. But against a half way decent player I will most likely lose. Against a GOOD shatter mesmer, my chances of losing are higher than winning, but fortunately not a lot of people are so I like my chances a bit better.
Strategies and tactics?
Against a PU Condi, I feel it is important to make him waste and blow cooldowns and keep the pressure high. Also to anticipate their positioning in stealth while being strategic when using condi clears. Against a shatter, the main thing is to anticipate their shatters, obviously keep the pressure high constantly and even cleave their clones to prevent shatters. Most importantly I think, instantly being able to recognize the real mesmer.
Which type of Warrior build do you feel best fights Mesmer?
Obviously condition builds would be naturally as most Mesmers do not pack condition removal. Certain hybrid builds that use sword/longbow as well. Even Mace/GS isn’t that bad because of all the blocks, being allowed to build more tanky, GS is a great cleaving weapon plus gives you an extra evade plus cripple and gap closer. Hammer I feel is a terrible weapon vs a Mesmer and most power builds are disadvantaged. This is across the board.
What Warrior skills (weapon or utility) are most important to have in this fight?
Against a PU Condi Mesmer, Berserker Stance is probably your best friend. Prevents condis from going on you pretty much making you immune to their damage output for 8 seconds while you put pressure on them, while being able to clear condis using the adrenaline you gain.
Against a shatter mesmer, Endure Pain is your best friend, allowing you to completely mitigate what could potentially be a fight changing shatter. Shield Stance would also fit in that category. Also any gap closers are your best friend to allow yourself to deal damage to them.
How do you feel about Mesmer in general?
I actually love fighting Shatter Mesmers because it really is a good fight whose outcome is based on how well you dodge and how well you can keep pressure, and balancing them both. Lockdown Mesmers and Phantasm I don’t mind too much either.
PU condi mesmers are pretty much a snoozefest. All they do is go invis, spam clones, torment or winds of chaos and teleport/kite you all day till you die. It is just a very anti-fun, slow and frustrating fight overall that usually doesn’t end up in your favour. That’s pretty much my only gripe.”
- killahmayne.9518

THIEF

As you can probably imagine, the Thieves essentially gave a collective “Lol” when I went for my interviews. Thieves know that they hard counter us, have strategies ready for us, and are essentially our predator. I do feel that without them keeping us in check, we would be nigh unstoppable (and as a result overnerfed into uselessness) yet I still hate this matchup to my soul. What I did find interesting, though, is that lockdown Mesmer tend to make Thieves hesitate more and throw them off their game. Its still an uphill fight but Thieves do seem to respect the dangers of fighting lockdown more than shatter. Rome.3192 give some great insight into a Thief’s mindset:

Hi, I play a D/P thief in GW2 sPvP. I’ll try to answer these questions from the point of view of a D/P Executioner as well as an AcroTrickery S/D.
- What is the first thing that comes to mind when you’re about to face a Mesmer?
As D/P: 90% of the Mesmers are easy kill. Irrespective of Shatter or Phantasm. Against good mesmers, it’s about what kind of an opening you get, as a burst followed by Shortbow spam is really effective. However, if you get torch 5’d, GS 2 wrack, you have to disengage so I suppose it really depends on who gets the better opening and who can bait out better.
As S/D: 100% of the mesmers are easy kill.
- How do you feel about your odds of winning?
As D/P: It’s the one class I feel pretty confident about winning against.
As S/D: Lul.
- Strategies and tactics?
As D/P: Really depends on the weapon set they use and how they cycle through their CDs. As an opener against GS, the standard Blinding Powder + Infil Signet + Steal + Auto into HS is quite decent and will force a Decoy or Blink. Continue to chain stealth at this point and let the mesmer go through defensive CDs (like Blurred Frenzy, Riposte or dodges). Upon re-engage, mesmer will definitely Distort or Phase Retreat. If you’ve landed your burst, switch to Shortbow and make sure the poison sticks and gg. The fight comes down to if you can land your burst, so it’s important to know your opponent. The mind games in this match-up are extremely satisfying.
As S/D: Infil strike/return trolls.
- Which type of Thief build do you feel best fights Mesmer?
S/D AcroTrickery.
- What Thief skills (weapon or utility) are most important to have in this fight?
Withdraw is amazing here but I’ve only ever fought mesmers with Hide in Shadows, Shadowstep, Infiltrator’s Signet, Shadow Refuge, Basilisk Venom. I couldn’t imagine any other combination that would work better – maybe Devourer’s Venom over IfilSig or Refuge.
- How do you feel about Mesmer in general?
Mesmers are an annoying class for any class that’s not a thief. The burst damage, the kiting potential and the range damage they have is a combination no other class has. Thankfully, as a thief, I can stick on them like flies and have stealth myself to avoid getting stealth-bursted along with burst so I can pressure them enough. What do I feel about mesmers in general? Hunt them down, always. In terms of 1v1s, I’ll add that a fight between a good D/P and an excellent shatter can be extremely fun because of the mind games that ensue with baiting/counter-baiting CDs." -Rome.3192

RANGER

PewPew Pew! Pewpewpewpew! Rangers will take you down before you ever have a chance to get close if you’re not careful. Or maybe they WANT you to get close, so they can blanket you in condition damage via traps! Rangers can be difficult if they catch us offguard, but if not the fight tends to be rather interesting. We have to keep in mind that their pet will always hunt us down out of stealth, that they themselves can stealth off our clones similar to thieves, and of course watch out for that kitten Grasping Roots elite. Kreed.2768 shares some excellent insight on his perspective against Mesmer:

“-What is the first thing that comes to mind when you’re about to face a Mesmer?
“Is he shatter? He’s probably shatter…”
- How do you feel about your odds of winning?
Against shatter? I’d say about 80% chance of me winning when I’m on power longbow. I generally have come to dislike condi specs in general nowadays, purely because they’ve boring for me to play. Also, the odds can chance depending on several factors, such as where we encounter each other, if one of us catches the other by surprise, 1v1 or team fight, etc.
- Strategies and tactics?
I generally try and stay out of reach, but won’t shy away when it gets down to fisty cuffs. The longbow provides amazing pressure, even with just the auto attack. Since the longbow can provide so much pressure on a squishie target such as mesmer, they are generally an easy match up, especially in team fights or if they lack cover for LoS.
I’ve not met a lot of lockdown mesmers, so I can’t really say anything on that, but condi mesmers are bumped down my list. If I stay out of their range in team fights they’re no threat. Condi mesmers, in my experience, offer too little damage/burst compared to shatter. Yes, they can be annoying, since most run with PU and generally have a lot of toughness thanks to the rabid amulet, but that also makes them less dangerous.
Like mentioned, Hunter’s Shot can just be used on clones to grand stealth, so when I see a mesmer disappear into stealth, I just do the same and wait for them to pop up again. Even if they can manage to get into melee range for that GS#2 shatter combo, it’s not hard to dodge it. If I’m out of dodge Signet of Stone will save me from the burst. Since I run tripple signet on my build (right now, at least), with the signet cooldown reduction trait, I can have 6 seconds of damage immunity from shatter mesmers every 64 seconds, which is pretty sweat.
One thing I do try to watch out for is the use of my stability signet and elite, since shatter mesmers can easily strip a boon like that.
- Which type of Ranger build do you feel best fights Mesmer?
Power longbow, for me, at least. Condi ranger works well too, of course, since the meta shatter mesmer is very limited on condi removal option, but I feel more comfortable just exploiting that low armor rating and hp pool with power.
- What Ranger skills (weapon or utility) are most important to have in this fight?
Signet of Stone to counter the burst if I get caught without dodges or immobilized (by sword #3 or the likes). Hunter’s Shot is also an amazing tool, for reasons already mentioned. The GS skills in general are quite useful. Long block, a daze/stun, and Maul can easily spike up to 6k when done right.
- How do you feel about Mesmer in general?
Generally I don’t feel they are as much a threat to me as thieves, but they are a priority target in team fights (if they are shatter), due to their boon stripping abilities and damage spikes.”

NECROMANCER

Necromancer offer an interesting perspective. With Shatter Mesmer being predictable, many Necros often feel confident while facing them. Alternatively, it seems Necros often really do not expect lockdown builds and do not have much of a strategy against them. With Mesmers generally lacking adequate condition removal, condition Necros tend to be overconfident while facing us while power-based specs are a bit more cautious. SpellofIniquity.1780 offers a hilarious perspective that I couldn’t help but smile while reading:

“Now… I’m a very honest person.. And generally, I don’t have a lot of rude or ignorant things to say but, if I want to say it I will.. And Mesmers well… For me at least, I’m pretty much a Mesmer racist. I ignorantly and innately hate all of them, including allied. I just cannot stand fighting them and the majority of Mesmer players I’ve met, although this could absolutely be a result of hating them so deeply, seem to be more rude than people who main a different profession (although a lot of Thieves and Warrior mains are pretty rude in general as well). I don’t usually have a hard time against them, so the hate doesn’t come from that.. It’s just the way fighting a Mesmer feels that really annoys me.. I really, really dislike how aggressive they feel and when one is trying to hit me with their greatsword beam when they’re clearly out of range it makes me cringe a bit.
There have of course been many Mesmers in the past that have made for difficult fights and I appreciate skill. Although I absolutely hate Mesmers, I can recognize talent when I see it. Those people I will usually take a few swings at and if I lose more than a few times I’ll just avoid them all together. Because to be honest, losing to a Mesmer annoys me more than anything else… I really shouldn’t be making it public how unnecessary and strong my hate for them is but people do it about Thieves every day so.. Here’s something new for everyone: I would legitimately be happier with the game if they didn’t exist.
How fighting one for me feels: Annoying.
Fortunately I have played a Necromancer long enough that with most Mesmers I can obliterate them in to a fine mist before they have time to react – which is usually the best course of action since the longer they linger the larger the chance becomes that I’ll be killed. I treat Mesmers the same way I treat Thieves; begin defensively only using AA’s then, as soon as I see an opening, (which usually happens within the first 5seconds) begin the burst chain which if properly executed will either kill them or send them running with a fraction of their health bar left.”

MESMER
Us Mesmer are.. well kind of funny. Here on the forums we spend a lot of time helping eachother improve and giving eachother advice. There is rarely ever a thread that goes unanswered, we critique eachothers videos, and we all generally have a good idea of what to do against another Mesmer, but nonetheless what happens when we see another Mesmer on the enemy team? What is the first thing to come to mind?

“There can only be one . . .” -Leodon.1564

Whenever I see another Mesmer on the enemy team, some part of me wants to go and test them out, see if I can maybe help them step their game up a bit or even learn something from them… AFTER I COMPLETELY OBLITERATE THEM FIRST AND ESTABLISH UNDESPUTED DOMINANCE!!1!one!!

… Ahem, Swish.2463 offers an excellent way to analyze an opponent who shares our fabulous profession:

As a predominantly Shatter player.
“First thought these days.. Kind of the same across the board.
Step 1. Target it.
Targeting a fellow Mesmer quickly spells out what possible type of build its running.
Mantras on the bar – Depending on the mantra I’m either facing a CS or CI or potentially a Phantasm or just a new player.
No Mantras on the bar – Either another Shatter or a PU of some kind.
Signets on the bar – Lock down or Condi of some type or a phantasm.
No signets – Shatter or lock down or PU
I’ve already narrowed down potential actions to take at this point and have some idea of whats to come.
Step 2. Weapons – more specifically what weapons is it carrying?
GS – Shatter or Power PU, maybe a Strange Lock down (see step 1 to single out a build)
Staff – Shatter or Lock down or Condi – too many builds use a staff, its not very telling.
Sword – Most likely to be a lock down, could be a Shatter maybe phantasm
Scepter – Its a Condi or PU
Focus – Its a lock down
Pistol – Lock down
Torch – PU or Phantasm or rarely a Power PU.
Step 3 – Self negotiate odds of winning.
Are they facing the wrong way? are they engaged with someone else? How well have they been playing? Do i have a nearby ally that is incoming?
As a mostly Shatter player I rate my odds on when i encounter as well as what build they are playing and how well.
Other Shatter – 75% / 45% odds of winning
PU – 80% / 50% odds at winning
Phantasm – 90% / 30% odds at winning
Lock Down – 60% / 25% odds at winning
Odds are based high to low depending on their current situation and if i get a drop vs if they get a drop on me mid fight.
Stratagies
Depends but themost generic ones i have are Using Shatters to eliminate poorly bunched phantasms and or clones, Baiting dodges and Stealth usages, Shattering Slightly before stealth ends (this is a great way to blow up Phants as well as the mesmer and even thieves, clones will idle for a moment before deciding to shatter, if a foe appears in that time they will auto lock and run to it) , Shattering over an expanded area with full clone coverage, Blinking behind and out of LoS, using Decoy while out of LoS and using a Dodge and then Phase retreat to pop back into their blind spot while they turn around..
uhmm.. using F2 to cause false panic
What to bring
A staff will get me out of the majority of things if i use it properly, as will blink and portal.
Mesmer in general…
My feelings are fairly well noted on the forums in various places, as a Mesmer main here is the Gist of it..
While a fairly interesting class that carries a very unique style, it’s not nearly as robust as it should be. The intimidation factor is quickly lost as Players learn to identify the real Mesmer or discover that clones and Phantasms can be destroyed in only a few hits. It suffers in High AoE combat and the snails pace of its casting and skill usages can leave it extremely open to more highly skilled players to abuse. Bugs hinder as well as aid the class and need a lot of looking into. Traits and Utilities as well as AI of clones and Phants fall into a similar boat as the Bugs.. they need work.
While the Mesmer carries an Ohkitten Factor for Newer players it has lost much of its Fear inducing Mystery from the Gw1 CC master, and can rightfully be viewed as a liability by PvP and PvE Dungeon Veterans..”

GUARDIAN

Now with Guardians it gets interesting, as the opinion varies from Guardian to Guard and from build to build. Its seems our bunkery condition builds -such as PU- will destroy many guardians and yet our power builds may or may not struggle. This is in large part because of the rise of the Meditation burst guardian, who, like FreshAir elementalists, can unload a sudden and devastating blast of conditions onto an opponent. One thing I noticed is that unlike most classes, many of the Guardians find Mesmer to be a cool and fun fight. Its hard to give any specific advice against a Guardian, as each situation varies depending on their weapons and build, but kitten.1685 sums up their experiences nicely:

Interupt mantra up?
Cast ZD (Zealots Defense) or WW (Whirling Wrath)and instantly cancel cast and laugh as no chaotic interuption procs.
Then immediately go ham on auto attacks
Repeat until mantra is completely depleted and just go ham some more.
Ok now Ill answer your questions on the 3 builds you mentioned
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you’re about to face a Mesmer?
Shatter – Hopefully not open field, I have the advantage when able to use LoS (Line of sight) (when running sword/focus gs).
CI: Do I know the mesmer? Do they spam mantras or wait for animations? Regardless I dont actually attack until you burn your power lock. I usually will bait WW+ cancel as if you think im going to JI into you and then after you use a mantra I’ll just burst with symbol autos or BB autos.
Condi: Is it super lame bunker condi or shatter condi? Bunker mantra condi I should probably not engage. Shatter condi is easy as I just dodge shatters as normal and blind sword 3s.
How do you feel about your odds of winning?
Shatter: 95%
CI: 80%
Condi Shatter: 95%
Condi Bunker: 10%
Strategies and tactics?
Opening with RoJ (Ray of judgement)+ JI (Judges Intervention.. that teleport we hate) + Sword autos is usually the best opener for all 3. Dodge mirror blades and shelter BF shatters or just shatters I dont have a dodge for. BB when they enter stealth cuz they usually dont have a dodge. Land every smite condition, train with sword autos, usually I win.
Which type of Guard build do you feel best fights Mesmer?
Sw/f GS is probably the best build vs mesmer.
What Guard skills (weapon or utility) are most important to have in this fight?
RoJ, smite condition, BB (Binding Blade). If you land these every time you will win almost every time.
How do you feel about Mesmer in general?
Countered by guardian.

ENGINEER

Engineer is another of my more despised matchups, and apparently it’s for good reason. The Engineers kittenponded to the questions all seem to have the same opinion: “Mesmers? Omnomnom!” Engineer feel very confident that they can eat us up in a fight, even novice-intermediate engis aren’t very afraid of us. Fear and panic are a strong tool for a Mesmer when it comes to overwhelming an opponent with Shatters, but for Engineer we have to be careful, patient, and creative. CeiMash (Dirame.8521) sums this up nicely:

“As a person who plays both classes, I find that a good Lockdown mesmer can beat an engie 80% of the time. It’s all about the right interrupts.
As a Burst Engie, I know this when coming up to fighting a mesmer with Mantra of Distraction because I know how the build works. My tactic is to put my worst foot forward first so they spam their interrupts on that and then try to hit them hard during MoD’s cooldown.
Sword/Sword is too obvious when it comes to interrupt speed. Sword/Pistol has a better chance of winning. That being said, the Offhand Sword Phant can really be a jerk, but then again, the Offhand Pistol Phanta has the advantage of not needing to in close to do a lot of damage. Which means it avoids grenades and bombs unless I purposefully target it, which smart engies will always do.
If the mesmer is using GS, the first thing I want to do is get out of Line of Sight so he has to come closer. If he doesn’t I’ll just stealth up and charge head on towards him/her. Hit them with a prybar which puts the mesmer in panic mode and they spam skills leading to damage ticks from confusion brought on by the prybar. If the mesmer doesn’t pop his invul in that second, I follow that up with an Overcharged Shot at which point the mesmer will either Blink or Decoy their way out of that to get better positioning on me.
After that it’s a matter of making sure I dodge into his/her clones during shatters and put on a brave face, not being afraid to risk taking damage when dealing with the mesmer. That posture usually leaves the mesmer feeling like their pressure isn’t enough and that they are the ones getting pressured. Then they’d try to get away from you, which also serves you because you didn’t want the mesmer close to you anyway.
As a mesmer the best way to handle all this is to wait for the moments when the Engie thinks it’s safe to get close and just make them regret trying it. Dodge through them and shatter (dodging through ranged characters really messes with the effectiveness of the ranged weapon, sometimes putting things on cooldown way before they’ve activated or finished activating). When you do the “dodge-through”, make sure it’s a daze shatter then follow it up with a burst shatter, some engies will decide this is the best time to pop that stun break, be ready with that interrupt because immediately they come out they are going to heal and you don’t want that. If they do manage to heal, don’t worry about it though, put some phants on them and interrupt the big skills and you’ll be fine, they are on the retreat now.

FOR CONDI MESMERS
Playing a condi mesmer myself. I found my chances of winning to be 50/50. Landing a burst of condis on the engie on the outset can put you on the lead against them. I find the slow “let my clones do the damage” thing doesn’t work against good engies. They’ll just out-sustain it and cleanse the big condis as soon as they land.
The best course of action is to burst them with condis and THEN use your close to try to cover them. This means, confusion shatter, then use staff to spawn more clones and make sure you land chaos storm.
As an Engie, I know all mesmers want to play the slow methodical game of PeeUuuu! So I just throw all I can at them and when I hit their Scepter 2, I dodge to avoid the torment or I immediately cleanse if I can’t dodge. It’s even worse if I use Elixir gun. The cleanse speed is real because the speed of application is slow."
- Which type of Engi build do you feel best fights Mesmer?
Condi builds for the most part but Burst builds can to.
- What Engi Skills are most important?
If it’s Pistol/Shield then it’s Static Shield. If it’s Rifle then it Overcharged Shot and the immob. Elixir S, Tool kit, Rocket Turret, Flame Turret, Slick Shoes, Grenades and to a certain extent Rocket boots.
- How do you feel about the Mesmer in general?
The good ones are fun to fight. They can beat Engies but you just have to know how to do it."

While people tend to have a general opinion of each class, Mesmer tend to incite a wide range of emotions. Are we easy to defeat? An absolute nightmare to fight? It all seems to depend on the class in question. I know how we feel about fighting others, but how do the others feel about fighting us? I took some time out to interview some of the players of other classes, asking the following questions (links are for corresponding interview threads):

• What is the first thing that comes to mind when you’re about to face a Mesmer?
• How do you feel about your odds of winning?
• Strategies and tactics?
• Which type of build do you feel best fights Mesmer?
• What skills (weapon or utility) are most important to have in this fight?
• How do you feel about Mesmer in general?

And the results were… interesting.

ELEMENTALIST

The Elementalists I spoke to seemed to not be worried much about Mesmer, whether shatter or lockdown or even condition Mesmer does not seem to be any sort of problem for them. I find this funny, because in my opinion Elementalists are a pain to fight. You have to be very careful and very specific, paying close attention to their attunement and what skills they’ve already blown in order to properly set up shatters/phantasms. One of the best Ele responses here was:

“I personally don’t play against many good mesmers playing your build, however I will speak from my experience dueling many many shatter mesmers.(Im an S/F Fresh air ele)
As an S/F ele I really struggle against some of the better shatter mesmers that know how to fight me. I bold “know how to fight me” because of the way I play S/F ele, if they give me the chance I will one shot them but the good ones don’t allow me that option most of the time. This is basically how the match-up goes if the mesmer is running Sword properly, I have to dodge all GS damage, and dodge his sword burst. I as well have to wait out his double distort, decoy, sword invulns, mass invis, and possible torch invis before i can effectively do damage. So basically If i manage to live all that with decent HP I will probably win. Of course I can win with a lucky one-shot but a good Mesmer usually wouldn’t give me the opportunity. If the Mesmer is running staff, as long as he isn’t able to out-range/kite me the whole fight I probably have the advantage.
I don’t play D/D but I know match-ups and a shatter Mesmer is actually able to kill D/D eles but they have to play well. They are able to because of their excess amount of boon removal, but yea if the Mesmer gets hit by a few too many ticks from a drake breathe it could easily be GG. The Mesmer on top of that has to play aggressive with its shatters to keep regen off of the ele, you won’t win the sustain game against a D/D ele.” -Bitty.1409

Have there been any updates, changes, or tests to clone/phantasm HP? I figured I should add something about illusion health in the OP but I don’t wanna be inaccurate.

I know I’m hella late here but.. I really love the spirit ya got. A lot of people would rather take the easiest route to win rather than sticking with what they actually enjoy.

That said, learning shatter Mes is going to be difficult and painful in the beginning. It’s a strong build but you learn just as much from your defeats as your victories. Do you have any specific question about the shatter spec? What weapons do you enjoy using? What is it about Mesmer that you enjoy the most? We can get you a build suited to your specific desires if shatter does not cut it for you, but if you’re planning to go into high-end tournaments then you’ll find your build options starting to narrow. =P

Metabattle.com stays up to date on meta builds for PvP, PvE, and WvW.

Tl;dr- shatter for PvP, depends for WvW.

I run 4/4/6 with Blink, Portal, and MoDistraction. I’ve run 6/4/4 with something similar.. In fact, I don’t think I really run Decoy in any build I use in PvP. I’ll run it in duels against an opponent that forces me to take it to that level, but in organized team play I find it unnecessary, hell I’d even go with 1200r Blink over Decoy.

That is just how I play, though. I’ve learned to use Portal defensively, or Null Field’s Chaos Armor or Stability Mantra. I do feel like glass builds should have two forms of utility defense, but I don’t think decoy is required if you have Blink (and uh.. A staff =P).

Snakebyte.2804:

This was the CI build I was thinking of using: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fhAQNArdWlknpGttpxMNcrNitxY6LiIDUO0RlMghB-T1RHABmo+jRK/yd/BBOFAdoPAgnAQUKBJFAMzBA-w

The idea is keep them in place with the CI and Perplexity procs as staff clones just shred them.

iDisenchanter would do much better than Arcane Thievery there.

I love you guys <3

Even you, colesy, wherever you are.