Guild Wars 2

Acandis.3250:

Look, it boils down to this. All of us started out from being complete and utter garbage at this game, not much different from you, I imagine.

The few people that made it to top tier teams and are actively, and consistently, winning tournaments didn’t do it by QQing. They did it by learning from their failures and getting better.

When we lost to a particular class or build, we rolled that class, played that build for a few games, figured out its weaknesses and learned how to beat it with our existing knowledge of our favorite class. Nobody is telling you to reroll indefinitely, people have clearly told you how to get better at the game. Look at the present mechanics, and learn how to counterplay them.

As a point of reference, in any game of mechanical skill, there will always be player skill disparity. For example, I’m sure if I ran into you in a solo queue (or a hotjoin) I could play a sword/fist warrior and still beat you. It’s not because you’re bad, it’s not because sword/fist is OP or cheating, it’s because I have played every class extensively and I know how to counter them.

That being said, with enough proficiency, certain players adapt a different playstyle that masks the weaknesses of the class and highlights its strengths. As such, you can see some really good players playing non-meta builds and still eating noobs for breakfast.

So yea, you can keep typing 4 paragraph essays every other hour and MAYBE you’ll get a dev that feels sorry enough for your stupid kitten to post a metric that isn’t even relevant to how the game works… Or you could spend that time rolling the other class, reading its skills and hitting a light golem a few times to figure out how those skills work.

Up to you, either way, this QQ isn’t helping anybody, least of all, you.

This. All day errday this. +1 and I will save this quote for future QQs.

Dueling is already common, with entire servers dedicated for it. The “not balanced around 1v1” reasoning doesn’t fly because dueling is something many people already enjoy and some actually prefer over conquest.

Having the option to duel whenever you want would only add, not detract to the game. I’d love to see some dev opinion on this topic though, its been frequently requested.

To be honest, I think you should apply skcamow. The specialist is going to be a player, so it should be someone we’re familiar with and who is familiar with the class.

Fay.2357:

Your inbox is full you dope!

/sweatdrop

Fixed!

@Dondagora: Once we find out who it is, we can start making a mesmer priority list of fixes/buffs/changes.

SlimChance, this wasn’t even a contest and you just won it somehow.

I like the ideas of an ability that reduces our cooldowns and potential for some fear application. (I KNOW it doesn’t fit us mechanically, but thematically.. fear is a frickin’ mental condition as much as confusion! )

Well this is interesting. In case anyone missed it:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/info/news/Guild-Wars-2-Forum-Specialists-Program/

What do y’all think? Personally I’m hopeful that this means better communication of players needs and ideas to the devs. I know many people see this and think “whats the point? It’s not like anything we say has a difference anyway” but that’s not entirely true.

Off the top of my head the changes to:

• GS 3
• Scepter 1 and 2
• Confounding Suggestions
• Lockdown traits
• Some bug fixes (including staff chaos storm sound, distortion bug)

All were influenced by us here in the Mes forums, so there is hope!

I havent had much chance in courtyard and when I did CI lockdown got the job done nicely.

Could try 4/4/0/6/0 Cleansing shatters.
4/4/6 Lockdown
0/4/6/4/0 or 0/4/4/6/0 Support

I’d give links but on cellphone.

“Stealth classes are OP. But I have no problem with thieves.”

“I refuse to learn or understand how Mesmer work because I hate them so much!
Despite not knowing how they play or work I consider them in need of revision. The entire class is cheat-heavy!”

OP I mean no disrespect, but emotions and ignorance are making your life harder than it needs to be. Yes. What you are displaying is sheer ignorance and nothing will change for you until you learn to accept that. There’s been excellent advise for you in this thread regarding Mesmers and plenty of resources to learn to deal with them.

You’ve went out of your way to vent your frustration, good, now take these replies and make them worth something; come out of this thread wiser than when you entered. Please.

What would it be?

Personally, I’d go for something like:

Visions of Inspiration 50s CD
Shatter clones to heal in an 240r AoE. (About 900 per clone, with some decent healing power scaling)

One, I totally did NOT create OMFG. I just made the thread for it.

Secondly, one important thing to keep in mind is that if you see a Mesmer go into stealth, odds are they’ll try to shift behind you to make it more difficult to target them. It’s a simple tactic but surprisingly effective.

You both make OMFG sound like a cult. o_O

They stealth up, run up to you and dodge + shatter to summon clones and burst. Once there’s atleast 1-2 clones near you they’ll instantly shatter out of stealth to burst you for nutty damage. The original mesmer also counts as a clone for this, so they almost always do it in melee-range

Like I said before, if you see them stealth, try to count 2 seconds and dodge, bte you on US or EU?

As a power ranger you’re going to have some problems. Most Mesmer practically hardcounter power rangers if they’re not caught off guard since a heavy stealth shatter will bring you to near death in an instant. The only way you’re going to win that fight is with practice and experience.

As a warrior, however, you have some wiggle room:

• Mesmer tend to have only 1-2 forms of stealth. When you see them cloak start dropping AoEs either with hammer or longbow. Its worth noting that stealth tends to only last 3 seconds unless they blow all their stealth at once, so often you can count two seconds and dodge.

• Mesmer weapons give away how they will attack you. If you see them with sword then their goal is likely to engage you close-ranged for a quick shatter burst. Scepter usually means condition damage. Staff means defense and kiting. Greatsword means heavy ranged damage and a nasty phantasm you must kill ASAP.

• You’ll likely run into 3 different types of Mesmer: Shatter (super glassy, highly mobile, nasty burst damage) Lockdown (lots of interrupts and immobilizes, not as much instant damage but still high damage) or condition ( durable and attrition-focused. Will wear you down)

• Mesmer have somewhat predictable defenses. 1-2 teleports, 1-2 stealths, and distortion (f4). On average you can expect 2 stunbreaks and lousy condition removal.

• Count their dodges! It takes 10 seconds for a dodge to recharge, 5 with vigor, if your opponent spans two dodges rapidly, they’re open to attack.

Other than that, if ya have any specific mesmer questions feel free to ask or if you’d like we can meet in-game and I or any of the other OMFG teachers would be happy to help further. Feel free to add me. (Slowly -ever so slowly- getting over my Dragon Age addiction and hopping on more)

We’d be happy to help, but there could be a number of things going on. A few questions for you:

- How long have you played pvp?

- What class/build do you play?

- What kind of Mesmer build did you try to run?

Can guide ya better from there.

While the changes are all well and good, one of the things that baffles me is the apparent removal to be able to duel/practice/ screw around in an arena while waiting for a queue to pop.

Why was this removed?

That video was stylish and full of swag. Good stuff!

I only saw about 6 minutes in, but that was pretty tight gameplay and we use very similar builds. I do think you’d benefit more from generosity sigil being on your sword/focus set since only staff Auto and c-storm can proc it.

Also, you shatter more than I do, but I think you’re shattering warden too soon and not getting as much dps as you could from it, and have ya tried Phantasmal Fury? Works really well with staff and focus plants.

One other thing .. I always felt chaos storm should be used right before swapping to sword set rather than when swap is still on cooldown. C-storm into I leap> blurred > shatter is brutal on groups.

That was great though, keep it up!

Sticker, that is an extremely complex build to play for someone who is new to PvP. It means you need to have really good map and positional awareness, illusion management, reflexes and mechanical skill just to be effective. You also have to be pretty knowledgeable about your boon management.

I think you should suggest something more structured, akin to Windwalker’s, while this current build concept develops

I tried a few of the builds so far, namely DeathReigns and Mind Crush. The mantras are had to get into and will take some practice.

but omfg warlord you’re right. Mind Crush has the crazy chain-stun wombo combos that I’d forgotten how much I love!

We came up with some strategies in another similar thread here:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Lets-Build-The-Ideal-5-Mesmer-Team

Theres some good, interesting stuff there that we haven’t gotten to try out yet.

Seriously, thank you so much!

You just considerably brightened up this dreary work Friday.

I concur with the above build, but would highly advise Shattered Concentration.. And lyssa runes.

I’m leaving work, and thus not much time to comment, but I’m not so certain your trait spread is optimal. For one, BI is a must-have in a boonshare build, thats 5x might AND a random boon on interrupt, even if you’re only interrupting with C-storm it’ll pay off when you Stormshare (Chaos Storm + Signet)

The Restorative Mantras healing idea can work, but with both shattered conditions and vigorous revelations you’re going to badly need DE for clone fodder. Healing power scales lousy with Restorative, but I dunno how it works with the runes/sigils otherwise I’d lean towards Rabid ammy (or even, maybe, a hybrid?)

Also PU is holding you back if you’re only taking it for the boons. It’s not worth it over DE.

Keep tweaking though, you’re on to something.

Tealots I’m coming to test your Mesmer gangsta at 10pm EST!

… Estimated.

… Gotta add shatterlock to the list too! X.x

Oh that!

Wat!? You and skcamow were the ones who pushed that build into the light! In fact, you two pushed my CS build OUT of the limelight with that build, which has become staple. =P

Hell if it weren’t for the efforts of you, myself, skcamow, Warlord of Chaos, and theCOREYCOLAK (where are you my favorite troll!?) lockdown mesmer wouldn’t be as well known as they are now. You’re a pioneer fool! (and also that was like the first build I thought to put here but since it’s variants have become so mainstream I was going for more oddly-traited builds)

I’m still digging (and back n forth @ work). =P Link it! I didn’t wanna throw too many up at once, it takes some time to get used to a new playstyle

So many builds have come and gone over these past few years (has it really been plural years already?). While some have fallen out of date, others simply fell out of fashion with new patches opening up new opportunities.

This thread is meant to bring to light older builds that never got to shine, despite an interesting premise and promising testing. I’ll be doing my best on random thursdays (and fighting off my Dragon Age addiction) to get up videos of older builds in action that are still relevant in today’s meta. Since I mostly PvP, I was hoping others could pitch in with ideas and clips as well, and if you have a build you previously posted and would like exhibited, drop it in the comments!

THE LIST
Skcamow’s – Chaotic Perdition
Chaos Archangel’s – The Chaos Maestro
DeathReign’s – Phantastic Mantras
SlimChance’s – EcchoRupt

THE VIDEOS

Calliope pulled me from Xbox One. =P I’ll be on tonight and this weekend.

@Blackari: Glad you enjoy! I actually haven’t used CS in quite some time, it is a hell of a lot of fun though, especially when you have Signet of Domination mixed in somewhere.

@Schattenlied: Double ranged may actually be one of the best bets for CS, especially with it being so squishy. If I didn’t absolutely love the aesthetic of two swords, I’d give it a run.

@Snakebyte: SlimChance pretty much said it best, and yeah I’d advise the speed sigil. Offhand Sword or Pistol is the best to use Confounding Suggestions with, and the extra daze/stun on a decent cooldown makes a big difference.

Chaos you and I have some unfinished dueling business.

Also, I like Pyros trait suggestion the best. The best way to deal with DE is to add more alternative forms of clone production, IMO. DE wouldn’t be so dominant if other trait lines offered a way to produce clones more rapidly.

Imagine if Wastrels Punishment spawned a clone on the enemy per interrupt. Suddenly lockdown Mesmer could go 6/2/6 or 6/2/0/0/6 without feeling screwed over.

Arikyali.5804:

Two Steps From Hell

All the epic music you’ll ever need.

I’d add some Apocolyptica and/or Epic in there too, but Two Steps from Hell is king, especially :

United We Stand, Divided we Fall
Strength of 1000 Men
To Glory

I happen to be an occasional DM for a Dungeons and Dragons group, so collecting epic instrumentals is key.

Btw, if anyone wants a quick & easy list of epic instrumentals youtube “One Hour Epic Music”

Mesmers should be able to freely rant about Mesmer frustrations. =P

… Even if they’re somewhat inaccurate frustrations.

Mystic, besides thieves and the occasional ele/guardian a well-played Mesmer is absolutely devastating on the battlefield. Especially shatter Mesmer. You have some of the best aoe burst damage in the game and are wildly hard to kill with blink/decoy/F4Distortion.

if you feel your damage is bad, or getting rolled by Necros then you can’t blame their class or your class for that, because you’re definitely doing something wrong. This isn’t a class issue, its a lack of experience. Keep at it, Mesmer are known to be a hard class to play for a reason, and things will start to turn around for sure.

…. And back to Dragon Age for me.

Both can work, it really depends on your goal and preference. Focus is superior defense and AoE control while Pistol shines as single target damage and lockdown.

Pistol is really good for stunlocking at range. Hit with magic bullet, add in ileap, and one interrupt later your opponent realizes they hadn’t moved for 5 agonizing seconds. I generally prefer it when I run Confounding Suggestions and/or Signet of Domination.

Focus takes more practice and creativity but is, IMO, a more effective choice. The warden can be pretty damaging when used properly, but it shines as a form of projectile negation versus Warriors, Rangers, and Engineers (Especially for covering a stomp on a War/Engi). The Temporal Curtain pull has a lot of functions; on-demand swiftness is especially glorious with pack runes, its cripple hinders pursuit, comboing off it gives retal/cleanses, and it almost always forces enemies to blow endurance on a wasted dodge when you just leave the rift sitting there. The AoE pull is one of the strongest CCs we have, and can net a whole lotta boons/interrupt procs with CI/BI.

UPDATED 11/17/14 Thanks SuburbanLion!

@Dennis: That’s a very good point. Maybe it would be better to simply list the top Mesmer streamers.

Just about any power-based build, from phantasm and mantras to lockdown to shatter, can run GS/Staff effectively. (assuming PvP or WvW)

A quick apologies to those waiting on the Necro vs … story. =[ Lots of IRL stuff in the way and I actually am having a hard time figuring out who the opponent should be.

Originally I was going to use ranger, but now I’m torn between Elementalist, Mesmer, or Guardian since those are the three classes I play and know well. Any suggestions?

(RESERVED because I get an eery feeling I’ll need this .. for some reason)

(RESERVED because I always regret not reserving an extra)

(RESERVED incase more space is needed)

5. WVW

• What roles can Mesmers fill in WvW?

WvW Mesmers tend to fall into one of following archetypes: “roamer”, “pick”, “train” and “pin-snipe”.

A “roamer” Mesmer is intended for solo or small group play (a.k.a. “havok squad”). The purpose of this archetype is to support the server efforts through guerilla tactics, such as taking under-defended objectives or cutting off enemy reinforcements.

A “pick” Mesmer brings strong burst damage to quickly take down high priority targets and disrupt the enemy back-line. The mesmer’s job is to punish enemies that over-extend or fall off train, relying on stealth and mobility to stay alive.

A “train” Mesmer brings group support to large scale engagements. These responsibilities include providing group stealth, projectile reflection, boon stripping, condition removal, and haste.

A “pin-snipe” Mesmer brings long range single-target damage and crowd control to single-out and kill enemy commanders. This mesmer typically focuses on boon stripping, CC and burst damage in a coordinated effort with other party members.

Some Mesmers may opt for a hybrid between two or more of these roles. Regardless of role, all WvW Mesmers will be expected to know how to use Veil and Portal as the situation requires. ( -SuburbanLion.8095)

• What builds work best for each role?

Roaming provides the greatest build flexibility and will vary depending on if you run solo or havok. Generally speaking, any of the PVP builds described above will work well in a roaming situation. In addition, condition mesmers can also make for excellent roamers and have the advantage of certain gear and rune-sets that are not available in structured PVP.

Shatter Mesmer is the most common build for a pick Mesmer, but Lockdown can be effective also. Pick Mesmers generally gear as glassy as possible, and often carry a gear swap to tank up as necessary.

Train Mesmer allows for some build flexibility, but a good starting point is the Zerg Support spec (26060). Coordinate with other Mesmers in the group to decide on a Veil order and bring complementary utilities.

Pin-snipe Mesmer’s main requirement is landing Moa Morph during the spike. Individual builds may vary, but a good starting point would be 66xxx with Empowering Mantras and Triumphant Distortion to assist with burst damage from range. ( -SuburbanLion.8095)

• What’s the best way to gear up for WvW?

If you levelled in WvW/EotM, you likely have a surplus of a Karma and Badges of Honor. Vendors in each of the WvW maps sell exotic level equipment with a variety of stats for a combination of gold and badges. If you can bring yourself to PvE, you’ll save some money by visiting the Karma vendors in Orr first. Note that equipment acquired in this manner cannot be salvaged, so use cheap runes for now and Mystic Forge it once you can afford a proper set. ( -SuburbanLion.8095)

4. PVP

• Who are considered the top Mesmers?
  US – Supcutie / EU – Helseth

• How do I deal with Thieves?
  Thieves hardcounter Mesmer, which means that it’ll be a difficult fight no matter what you do. With all the stealths and evades, it’s nigh impossible to react and more important to predict what the Thief is going to do. You have begin with gaining experience versus thieves (duels are the best way), then try to predict their rotations and reactions, and lastly.. the best way to learn to fight one is to play one. Learning the mindset and abilities of the class goes a long way to defeating it, especially true versus thieves.

• What builds work in hotjoin?
  Any as long as you have the corresponding skill to make them work. Hotjoin is filled with new players and people testing builds with the occasional hotjoin hero in the mix.

• What builds work in tPvP?
  Currently Shatter Mesmer is lauded as the best build for high-end tournaments, while Lockdown and PU have been made successful.

• What is a Mesmers’ role in a match?
  Shatter Mesmers drop in, burst all over everything (hehe), and dip out in a guerrilla style. Lockdown Mesmers pick strategic target to intercept while keeping an eye out for focused allys, stomps/rezzes, and AoE-oriented opponents. PU Mesmers force enemy teams to commit 2 or more people to stopping them, thus unbalancing fights elsewhere.

3. PVE

• What should I run to quickly clear the open world?
  Sword, Focus and Greatsword

• What is a good build/guide for dungeons?
  6/4/0/0/4 Phantasm with Sword / Sword – Sword / Focus. I totally just ripped that, because honestly hell if I know. But Maxinion does!

• What is best for zerg trains?

2. MECHANICS

• How do Shatters work?
  Shattering, the Mesmer class mechanic, manually destroys our clones to produce a variety of effects. All shatters are instant cast and thus can be used at any time, even in the middle of attacks. The four shatters can be divided into offensive [F1/F2] and defensive [F3/F4]. Mind Wrack and Cry of Frustration provide AoE damage to power and condition builds respectively, while all builds enjoy the control and defense of Diversion and Distortion. Shatters increase in effectiveness for every clone shattered, and with Illusionary Persona (Illusions XI) an additional shatter effect originates from you aswell.

• Do we have any hard counters?
  Begins with a “T” ends with a “$#@$QWERQWQ!!”

• Are there any traits that are absolutely required?
  Any build that intends on shattering frequently (note: this does NOT mean only shatter builds) generally must take Deceptive Evasion (Dueling X)
  Shatter – iPersona (Illusions XI)
  Lockdown – Chaotic Interruption (Chaos XI) or Confounding Suggestions (Domination XI)

• What stats do illusions inherit?
  Illusions inherit: Power, Precision, Condition Damage/Duration, Boon Duration, Critical Damage, Armor, and Healing Power. Illusions will benefit from the Mesmer’s Might stacks, as well as any effects that increase the above stats, such as Banner of Discipline or Spotter. Illusions inherit nourishment from food buffs, but do not gain from sigils (such as the 5% damage of Sigil of Force)

So instead of having to fish around to find the info you want, why ot have a thread dedicated to answering as many of the common Mesmer questions as we can? Veteran Mesmer please feel free to submit your answers to any of the proposed questions. If you have a question that isn’t here, feel free to ask away!

1. General
2. Mechanics
3. PvE
4. PvP
5. WvW

1. GENERAL

• What is a Mesmer?
  A Mesmer is an atypical Scholar (mage) class that specializes in style and finesse… with the occasional illusions and misdirection thrown in. Contrary to the mage tradition, Mesmer wield everything from staves to dual swords to even shooting lazers out of greatswords.

• Why all the pink and butterflies?
  Don’t you sass me. Its royal purple.
  It’s actually all very symbolic, actually. Mesmer tend to have a very prestigious, royal ambience about them. The victorian butterfly mask is meant to symbolize mystery, misdirection, and the Chaos Theory. Mesmer’s Chaos magic alters perception and reality and is highlighted with a butterfly effect theme.
  So suck up the blow to your manhood. You’re actually a pink/purple scientific boss.

• Where can I find a comprehensive guide on everything Mesmer?
  Shameless self-promotion notwithstanding, you can find almost everything you could possibly need by checking here: Lyssa’s Grimoire: The Mesmer Handbook

• Are Mesmer difficult to learn and level?
  Relatively. Compared to, say, Warrior or Guardian, Mesmer can be a difficult growing experience. We are very trait-heavy, so early on we are less powerful than other classes and we require a bit more creativity with our skills and can’t just get by via slamming our face nito everything.

• Are there any Mesmer-specific terms?
  You can’t be pretentious without fancy terms. Here’s a link to figure them out.

• Do Mesmers do anything unique?
  Portals, reflects, CC (crowd control), and Boonsharing are some of the things mesmer excel at in different gamemodes.

• Are Mesmers bad in any game mode?
  Nope, Mesmer tends to be middle-tier in all aspects.

• What are some cool Mesmery weapons?
  Sword –
  Scepter –
  Staff -
  Greatsword –
  Focus – Anomaly / Spirit Links
  Pistol -

Chicago Jack.5647:

MSFone.3026:

[…] I think a big reason is the increased awareness required.

One thing I consider about any build on whether it’s good or not, at least for me, is its demand for situational awareness. I come from gw1 days in which my main was a cripshot ranger. It focused on landing critical interrupts, stopping or assisting spikes, and spreading degen to the enemy. So you couldn’t just tunnel vision on one target, and you couldn’t spend most of your time spreading pressure around ether (you’ll miss critical interrupts). Long story short, it was the most demanding spec that required a well-developed situational awareness skill (very few could actually play it well). Specs like Lockdown have this in spades. Right now, in common specs, you very visibly see d/d elementalist pull this “stuff” off quite often. Supcutie has commented that denshee “carries” TCG with his ability to read what is going on at any given point of time and respond accurately.

This is great advice for all players in every class.

Power rangers do not counter Mesmer.

and Lockdown Mesmer tends to obliterate Necro if competent.

Last time we dueled I wiped the floor with you despite the sea of excuses that you flooded me with. Hold that!

2 years.. Still same 50-comment forum bug. -_-

Wanted to give some criticisms on this build:

Ecanus.6807:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fhAQNAR8dlknpGtlpxUNcrNipRY674cSHcMUqSA

After more trials and if you guys think its a good build I might even make a thread calling it Pure-ruption. Since it has both CI and CS, which is the staples of any interrupt build. I also like to think of this as the have your cake and eat it to build. In order to counter act the fact that you are missing DE and IC I took greatsword training, so I have faster clone generation and not to mention Zerker. Here is where this build shines, so many of you were complaining that Interrupt doesn’t dps like a shatter build. Well this build does it better. Like a phantasm build you will be relying on your phantasms to do MASSIVE spike damage. This is because you will be combining CS stun and daze with wastrels to max damage. This is where things really get interesting. By sacrificing IC and DE, then you get to have CI as well. This guarantee’s that whoever got interrupted is immobilized and with BI you also have Might. So whoever is caught must blow a stun breaker and or condi cleanse, so they can get away from all that dps they are about to get from Zerker and Halting strike combined. Even if they survive it’s a heal also blown. This is where sword + focus becomes deadly. You have TWO immobilize with ileap and CI from curtain’s pull. This means a whole group will be forced to sit and take wardens aoe, unless they are up to blow another stun breaker/ condi cleanse. Even if somehow they come out alive. They literally are sitting ducks under so much pressure, probably panicking, and greatsword training has you ready for round 2. Obviously MoD is a requirement for when your curtain and wave don’t work out for you, or those pesky heals, which if timed right means game over. You don’t have to worry about clone generation because your spikes wont come from mind wrack, so that you can keep zerker and warden up for max damage like a phantasm build. You guys starting to see why I call it the have my cake and eat it too build. You don’t have to worry about your phantasms being killed cuz with your timed interrupts and blink you should be able to kite and line of sight most players. With BI and Phantasmal Fury you always have a chance to have might and fury to cut down on health. Not to mention all the vulnerability you can put on them, such as debilitating dissipation(would never leave out those clones). Going into chaos turns this glassy build into one that can last long enough to kill your opponent and interrupt them from giving you damage in the first place.

Now for the nuances. Just because we are using phantasms for our real damage. Doesn’t mean you skimp on shatters when you need to. With so many ways to immobilize we can utilize might and fury procs from BI for some heavy mind spike damage. Not to mention diversion with halting strikes procs, which may lead to more immobilization for another chance at zerker and warden finish. I use null field because I am not comfortable with 2 mantras atm with such a situation based build as an interrupt. Arcane thievery can get the job done I suppose, but chaos armor and confusion from null field could come in handy with warden ileap, and zerker. With mind stab that allows us 2 boon strips, and one condition cleanse. Wait did you guys forget about warden and temporal curtain cleanse. :-) Now about that moa vs. mass invis issue. I choose mass because it is on a shorter cd. This allows me to make it a multi purpose tool, which is for rezz/stomp/disengage with blink/ or my favorite recast MoD.

So guys this is my first post PLZ critique away(constructively). GO MEZ!!!

Love the enthusiasm. =D

The build is interesting; it’s a very high skill spec that requires near-perfect execution, and that alone tends to intimidate people away from trying CI+CS. While some may see it tripping over itself a bit ( 1s Stun + Immob) I really enjoy getting the benefits of both grandmasters, plus the boons from Bountiful Interruption. As you said it can do hella damage when played properly and the Phantasms can really wreck things.

What you’ve got here is something I’ve tried before with only one trait (Dom X) different. In my experience, this build works pretty well as a 1v1/Dueling build but starts to struggle in groups. You can’t shatter as often without IP and you don’t have as good defense. If you get focused its night-night, as well as having trouble once too many AoEs start decimating your Phants.

I’d recommend swapping out Domination X with VII (Shattered Concentration). Shattered Concentration is crucial for stripping boons (GS 2 + Mindspike + [F2]Shatter) and would benefit you better than greatsword. Have ya ever tried 6/6/2 with Furious Interruption? I’ve got some interesting results from that.

Also.. Wastrels Punishment does nothing. =P

Based on the OP’s preferences, I drafted up this (offhand pistol or focus work too. Clicked sword randomly)

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fhAQNAscRnsISha2oGWqB3aIJ1QOb0no7LJHEoUfA-TZhFwAAOCAULDMb/h1PAgEHCAA

Should be suitable for a beginner, especially if you’re just intending on being a hotjoin hero. Can run Zerker amulet once you feel comfortable with your defenses and wanna do more damage.

Keep in mind that once you want to be come competitive, Phantasms start to become frowned upon (though not as much in WvW). If you really wanna be the best Mesmer you can be, try to tough out learning a Power Shatter (difficult at first but totally rewarding once you get it down)