Guild Wars 2

Ross Biddle.2367:

StickerHappy.8052:

What is the point of this thread? Rangers have been the lowest tier in pve and pvp. So what if they get something great?

Mesmers have gotten a lot of buffs to chrono on the recent BWE3 changes, and you still speculate “Oh other classes have this better”

What a joke. This will turn out to be another “pity party” for sure.

Way to go mesmer community..

Lol, I love how you’re instantly on the Ranger Defensive, Stickers

We still love you, Stickers. <3 <3 <3

Remember when Chaos Storm was broken with Confounding Suggestions? Ahhh my favorite bug ever.

Remember when Power Block effected every class negatively? Another brief but glorious time indeed!

While this is annoying, I think it’s fine as this provides a drawback to an otherwise extremely powerful trait. Having distortion for 3 seconds for your entire team means that you should be timing it to either outright win a fight or get out of losing a fight.

For those Inspiration Mesmers, you need to time your distortions wisely and weigh the cost benefit of using it. I’d consider this a very balanced trait.

Levetty.1279:

Fay.2357:

Who are you kidding? Druids are going to get nerfed versions of our skills, not buffed ones…

Its funny because its true.

#CryOfFrustration

I hope Druid is better than us. Ranger/Necro have always been like kindred spirits to me since they are the other classes that most often get shafted.

Noss.4105:

What is it about BD that I just don’t see? I mean, you’re packing MoD and still take it over CI.

Mesmer’s greatest weaknesses has always been lack of stability, condition clearing and the inability to fight in melee for long duration. This is why we were given a variety of evasion tactics to make up for this. Blink, Blurred Frenzy, Distortion, Phase Retreat etc.

Stomping becomes insanely easy with the simple click of a Cry of Frustration instead of burning your more important Distortion. Add Blinding Dissipation and, ideally, you never have to Distortion stomp again. The boon sharing is just icing on the cake for most people who take this trait who aren’t actually boon share Mesmers.

edit:
CI is the more powerful version of CS obviously, but taking both of them doesn’t give you that much of a bonus over taking something like PU or BD imo.

The scrapper utilities are basically improved utility phantasm. Fantastic.

Reaper and Hearld nooooo doubt in my mind. This is easy.

Herald has all the boons imaginable and plays as support. Chronomancer with wells can support as well while still giving high aoe dmg and debuffs. Reaper can go zerker with the chills. It’s just nasty the things they could probably do together.

Chaos Archangel.5071:

everyone and their momma squirts all over you anyways.

Quoted for truth.

Thank you Alpha for Kormir blessing you with the gift of math and truth! This helps to put this theory of using Mistrust in better context when discussing its viability.

I’m looking forward to testing this out. I’ve always liked the idea of confusion as a pvper, but I’ve had to recognize its severe limitations on Mesmer for quite some time now. It’s worth saying that when comparing IR and CoF to Mistrust that there will be no absence of shattering in a Mistrust build.

Considering that I’m a pvp purist, I hope someone tests the idea in WvW and reports back. Confusion can be potentially pernicious in that game mode I’ve heard. I’m imagining Tides of Time literally stacking so much confusion on an entire zerg with one skill. Add MoD to that and… yikes!

The build that I do best with in ranked team/solo play is my Glamour Condi Shatter build which you can find here: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhAQNAW7alknhy0YpawWNQtGL4G0ZJexKKDwq/FaQO5OA-TJRHwAp3fIZZAAXEABPBAA
Notes:

• When the pistol trait is fixed in 2017, I’ll switch to that.
• When I’m solo-ing, I sometimes switch to Feedback instead of Portal. It depends on how I’m feeling. That being said, you can still make portal great in solo q.

I like this build because of the sheer amount of immunity I have against conditions, especially burn guards and burn eles. It also has a tremendous amount of support via glamours. Medic’s Feedback + Temporal Enchanter is so boss you have no idea. It would seriously be broken if they kept the icd at 10. It’s a fantastic dueler, though you will of course not down enemies as quick as you would on power.

Toughness + weirdly awesome scaling of Restorative Illusions + condition clearing = I’m a hard butterfly to catch!!

I also run a power support version of this build, but I generally suck on GS. http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?vhAQNAR8alknhy0YpawWNQtGL4G0ZJexKMzQuGZZAW9vA-TpBFwACuAAMOCAy3fYxBBoaZAAPAAA

@Alpha, I thought exactly of this when I was theory crafting last night. In fact, I was originally going to take Delayed Reactions and Lost Time. You bring up great points of course, but my only concern was slow and its interaction with confusion on skill-usage.

The slow sounds really good in theory, but I’ll have to just test the numbers and see how it plays out. I feel like the slow traits are best for dps-based interrupt builds instead of ones relying on confusion/torment.

Noss.4105:

MailMail.6534:

Noss.4105:

But looks like an interesting build. I’d try it with Master of Fragmentation too and see if it’s worth the tradeoff.

I always take Ineptitude over MF. I like the survivability it adds with its blind being on a single-target CD. Power builds aside, since this is a condition spec, I’d take this trait purely for the long duration confusion application.

I prefer Ineptitude too, but considering you’re building around Mistrust the AoE Diversion could be devastating.

Very good point! I actually thought about this and was wondering if Staff would be better than sword/shield. When running Chaotic Interruption, I’ve seen many people get interrupted at the same time in Chaos Storm which could cause a lot of confusion. It also would add more overall condi dmg and a bit of defense as well, but I just like how awesome the blocks and clone generation is on shield.

I think MF is good for a burst of confusion while Ineptitude is the safer route with just a slow but steady stream of confusion. It could definitely be devastating like you say.

Updated build after feedback from my mesmerizing friends! It looks a little more refined and apt for mid range to melee combat with the condition clearing and additional resistance to CC.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhAQRAse7anknBlphFpB2oBEgilcjqMAStWr+Vn1bF92KpcA-TJRHwAp2fIZZAyPBAAnEAA

Blades of Sabatine.5639:

1, Well of Eternity, not too comfortable with it. In PVE it was ok but in pvp where i was getting heavy bust on me, it wasn’t too go. Necros, eles just drop there condi on top of it. Making me an easy pray.

Yeah, this is an obvious issue with the build. Ideally, you’d want to stay mid range as you have better targeting for Tides of Time, but shattering with condi is always best in melee range.

Blades of Sabatine.5639:

2, Gravity Well, as good as it is, after the first plus, a good player just get out of it unless you lock them down, stun them or fight in it. Although I still include it in my finial build, I only use it coming from stealth when i can suprise, stun and bust very fast on the poor player.

Well this is two-fold. I think Mesmer has some pretty strong AOEs like Nullfield and Timewarp. You have a dual benefit in pvp where they either stand on the point and eat it or they get off the point and let you slowly cap/decap the point. You win either way.

Blades of Sabatine.5639:

3, Mistrust helps a lot with confusion stacking but but not as much and DE when you can generate clones and just shatter like a kitten.

I was up last night theorizing about this, but was too tired to actually think harder about which option would give you more confusion application. Considering you have MoD, Tides of Time, Diversion and Magic Bullet, that’s a total of 4 interrupts with some of them possibly interrupt more than once. Shattering is always aoe confusion, but where I think Mistrust shines is its longer duration and stacks. It makes it easier to actually stack confusion which as we know can potentially the strongest condi in the game (see WvW roaming).

Blades of Sabatine.5639:

Below is what i was testing.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhAQRAse7anknBNqhdqBOoBEgilcjqMAStep+Vn1bF9HKpcA-TJBBABAcSAc+JAs1+DiVGAA

a variation is using sigil of torment on both weapons. With this torment was hitting close to 2k.

Maybe I should put it in the title, but I’m trying desperately to theory craft a build that uses Mistrust. I guess the fact that no one is checking for it is proof of how garbage this trait is in pvp?! lol

With your build, specifically, I don’t think you need Mirror Images or S. Domination. Those could be saved for something with more utility like a condi clear, portal or Blink even over Decoy.

Thanks so much for your contribution. It helps that you’ve already testing something out similar to what I’m trying to do.

Noss.4105:

But looks like an interesting build. I’d try it with Master of Fragmentation too and see if it’s worth the tradeoff.

I always take Ineptitude over MF. I like the survivability it adds with its blind being on a single-target CD. Power builds aside, since this is a condition spec, I’d take this trait purely for the long duration confusion application.

Ross Biddle.2367:

I think you’ve found a way to have good clone uptime without DE, which is good. However that lack of condi cleanse is going to get this build killed. What you don’t need is mirror images, so do the smart thing right now and swap it out for mantra cleanse.

This is what I was worried about! >_< And you know me Ross, I alway take some form of condition clear in all my builds. lol Yeah, I’ve never really used Mirror Images outside of testing. I figured this would be another reliable way of clone generation, but your idea might be better.

Ross Biddle.2367:

Also how married to Krait runes are you? You could just bite the bullet and go Melandru, or Hoelbrak. That way you have -45% condi duration on cripple/chill/imob, which should keep you out of trouble (and you lose kitten all condition damage, not counting the applications). That way you can save your cleanses for burns or other condi bursts.

Ahh I actually wanted Nightmare runes slotted instead of Krait for the extra condi duration on both bleeds and confusion, but this rune choice is something I didn’t think about. I love having Time Marches On, because it opens up so many rune choices for me personally. The 45% reduction sounds absolutely delightful. Losing out on condi duration and a little extra condi dmg might not be too bad. I think I’d go with Melandru as I can take advantage of all it has to offer.

Thanks for the very helpful advice you two!

I was thinking IR would be good after shattering both Mirror Images and Deja Vu. With condi shatter, you need a lot of clone generation, because you shatter more often.

Same for deceptive evasion and mistrust. Not sure which is better even when you rely on phantasm damage a lot.

Maybe you didn’t read my post or are confused but… the build is supposed to be based around the inclusion of Mistrust. XD

This trait is the new pWarden. At least it’s a trait though and not one of our weapons. >_<

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhAQRAse7ancfClphdqB2oBEgilcjqMAStWreVn1bF92KpcA-TJRHwAJLDQ+JAA4kAEa/BA

So here I was poking around looking at our grandmasters, and I thought it might be worth it to look back at Mistrust as a potentially viable gm to use. It’s a particularly underwhelming trait in most instances. Less of a need for Deceptive Evasion thanks to Chronomancer might however open up doors to using this gm. Did the devs have this in mind for this trait?

Highlights:

• Frequent blocks on Scepter/Shield = blinds/confusion
• Potential for clutch clone generation via IR, Chronophantasm and Mirror Images
• Decent uptime on recharging of skills and clone generation. Interrupting keeps pDuelist up. Shattering gives Alacrity. Wells give Alacrity. Shattering phantasms knocks off 2s of your phantasm recharge.
• Keeping enemies on most points frequently confused via dodging/blocks/shatters/interrupts. Essentially, any action you’re taking will be confusing the enemy team.

Drawbacks:

• Interrupting relies on lack of stability. This build has no boon strip.
• If you’re in a bind for clones, you can’t rely on simply dodging.
• No reliable condi clear except for Well of Eternity.
• Necessity to fight in melee-mid range most of the time can be dangerous with no clear defenses.

Just something to chew on for my fellow condi users while we wait for BWE3. Constructive criticism encouraged!!!

Stay on topic guys!

tobascodagama.2961:

nearlight.3064:

He also seems really afraid to make things too powerful (ie. one step forward, two steps back mentality with tempest notes), and he doesn’t really justify it well enough. … Dragonhunter is very similar to this.

It’s not a coincidence that the two whiniest professions w.r.t. Elite specs are the two that are already the strongest in the game by a huge margin. Tempest and Dragonhunter are pretty well-balanced and essentially in line with what everybody else can do, which makes them objectively a downgrade from the existing meta builds for Ele and Guardian.

quietly sips dat truth tea.

I hope for Shogo’s case that he edits his post. The audacity of some people…

Back on topic, even with the 30s CD, I think Eternity is competitive with all the other heals. The fact that it gives condition clearing helps a lot. I just love that there’s obviously counter play to Wells, but if they are used effectively, they can be monstrous.

Silver responded well enough for me in terms of “what is currently meta” debate in terms of Portal/Blink/Decoy. I’ll reiterate, that is not the most consistent trio being used by all mesmers in the current meta right now. A lot of them are taking MoD. Some of them are going with Mantras even after the nerf. I will respond to some of these points though.

TheFrighteningFrenchFry.3275:

That leaves you with 1 stunbreak which you want to save for your allies unless in dire need. And if your using well of precognition as a stunbreak all the time ( which you no doubt will if that’s your only stunbreak ) then it would probably be better to take blink or decoy because your not getting the revival potential from well of precognition.

I know reviving is what we have been discussing a lot here, but let’s not forget that this aoe blur can be used for other things a well… coordinating long burst rotations (continuum shift comes to mind) without being interrupted, comboing with other wells to guarantee safely sitting in them for positive effects and also just mitigating huge incoming burst rotations from the enemy team. This skill is more than a rally-utility. That’s what IoL is for.

Again, let me emphasize: the typical Mesmer is slotted into a roaming role. That of the chronomancer does not have to fit that role as well. On the contrary, it can do well as a support build that generally stays mid to help support your team in the big fights. I’m not going to downplay portal’s effectiveness, because there’s nothing bad you can really say about it other than that you need concise coordination. But I do honestly think with this latest update that you will be seeing a lot more Wells from Mesmers and for good reason.

I still think without a doubt that Blink is our best stun breaker and nearly necessary in all builds, but I’m not opposed to the possibility that we could see our utilities mixed up a bit with how good Wells [and Alacrity] is for team support.

The 30s cd is ok. It’s getting a heal boost AND 3 conditions being removed. Take into account alacrity, and you still have a competitive heal from my perspective.

I can see I’m gonna need to wait to reply when I’m on my lap top. Place holder post so that I don’t get too behind…

I haven’t used Decoy in the last year…. Blink has always been my only stun breaker for quite some time. lol I usually value condition clear over Decoy and portal is usually on my bar as well.

Keep things in context though. Chronomancers aren’t regulated to just Blink/Decoy/Portal and based on twitch streams and videos, that’s been proven to be true thus far in these betas. On the contrary, if the chronomancer is providing a different role than classic Mesmer, then indeed defense might just be more valuable than blink. Though it’s hard to imagine not being able to blink on top of kitten tower. >_<

Now for a “classic” meta build, that’s a different story.

This should definitely replace Blink as the mandatory stun beaker for Chronomancers. Echoing Silverkey, this will surely define the Chronomancers role as significantly different from Mesmer. This is a good thing.

The utility is strong. Hopefully it doesn’t prevent stomps or else it would be a little bit on the powerful side. Did they lower the CD? 45 is befitting for this one.

Edit:
How I remember the mechanic of our wells- “1 tick 2 tick 3 tick BOOM!” So in total you have 3x of one effect and 1x of another.

Chaos Archangel.5071:

With it being a stunbreak, it’s very interesting.

3 seconds of blur for your entire team is very nice especially for guaranteed stomps and safe rezzes. Its hard to say, because right now all the wells are awesome at this point, and each one could find a place in any build.

SPOILER ALERT: Well Meta.

@Dastion
I don’t think a shield trait is necessary. Going chronomancer automatically gives you overall reduction via Alacrity. Tides of Time has a built in reduction as well. Lastly, the phantasm block attack gives you Deja Vu which compensates for the lack of a trait.

If there were such a shield trait, I would imagine it actually giving your block Deja Vu and causing Tides of Time to return to you.

Illusion survivability is an issue with no easy solutions. It’s a fine balance. I’ve always thought they could do better with Protected Phantasms but that’s a discussion for another thread.

You know why few people use offhand sword? Because the phantasm dies immediately. Like someone suggested, “support phantasms” should retain their bounce but simply shift its supportive effect to an AOE instead that is procced when it attacks. While the block is a significant buff, I can’t help but think this phantasm will suffer similarly to that of pSwordsman.

Overall, fantastic changes. I’m so proud of the devs for actually taking into account constructive criticism and implementing things based off of feedback. Ever since the revamp, you guys have continued to build my confidence in your team.

The meta is changing at an alarming rate. Wells will be meta by 2016. Thank Lyssa!

This looks like something I would run if I wanted to do Wells and Condi Shatter. I would switch a few traits around though.

This build looks insanely interesting. Good theory crafting here me thinks!

The duels were fun to watch. My biggest take away from them was that wells are fantastic area-denial which helps to set up your skill rotation. The Reaper was amazingly good at keeping you poisoned which really hurt the heal. Lastly, smart players will lay their AOEs on top of your wells in order to “even the playing field” so to speak.

Observations:

• Well of Eternity’s weakness shined bright a few times when you really didn’t have any on-demand burst heal. Any other heal, even Mirror, would have provided more of a clutch heal, because you won’t always be able to time it so that you gain the additional AOE heal. I really like this heal though. It seems pretty well-balanced. It’d be neat if this well gave Resistance instead of Vigor.
• Moving nicely onto the issue of conditions, you didn’t face many condition users besides an engi and the revenant, the latter which gave you a little trouble in terms of positioning. Your rune choice undoubtedly helps against this. However, considering that Wells require you to sit within a point (either the actual node or the well itself), how do you work around this? Like most Mesmer builds, this might just be an innate weakness.
• Your skill recharge times from the Alacrity was amazing. Astonishing even. There weren’t many times where you were without clone generation thanks to Alacrity and Chronophantasm. While it’s hard to gauge, I think your allies gained a lot from Alacrity as well. I saw a lot of purple fire!
• Nice use of Continuum Shift. I noticed you mostly used it to keep your elite handy at all times. You seemed a little gun shy with using it though. With the amount of Alacrity you’re pumping into yourself, I think you could afford to use Gravity Well more often.
• Overall fantastic support, especially to your bunkers and point-holders. I noticed this mostly with your guardian on Khylo. Great job on Tik Tok!

Seyiwaji.4082:

Combination with Mental Defense ; Illusionary Reversion and Echo of Memory is great.

You know: You block get defender and avenger. You shatter 2 you get 3 illusions; You shatter again, 1 still left. it is just awesome.

I like the synergy here!

AlphatheWhite.9351:

Or just a % of healing.

This is literally all that needed to be done.

Can’t wait to check the videos out! Looks like an interesting concept.

For PvP:

We need more info from you in terms of what you’d like. Phantasms, burst, support, control etc. I recommend trying out many different varieties. GS+Sword/Pistol is an easy weapon set that is very versatile.

I can probably guestimate your build based on what’s happening, but it would be nice to have some context. You obviously didn’t use the same things in every single match. At least in terms of a heal that is.

I got through a few videos. Looked pretty tanky. GG on using the Inspiration line.

The float made it super unique, but I understand why it is not in there combined with the 3 pulls. I prefer the 3 pulls to be honest from a mechanical standpoint.

Vague Memory.2817:

What you are looking at is 2 condition clears when healing, and 1 on shatter. If you play PvP you would realise this is still very poor removal especially now. You would have to use healing and pretty much all your shatters to remove 1 multiple conditions application from 1 necro. This is regardless of running zerker or not. Mesmers were designed to have limited condition removal compared to other classes in a by gone age. That philosophy just is isn’t holding up any more considering the changes made.

First off, I’m a pvp purist. Second, I use the Inspiration line in my two main builds, one using Rabid and the other using Marauder. I don’t have issues with conditions at all.

The Inspiration line is not poor condition removal by any means. I think you underestimate the power of on-demand condition clearing on F1-F3 (there’s a weird little delay on F4 which I wish would be addressed). This line allows me to stand on the point and support my teammates for significantly longer amounts of time than if I didn’t have it…and even then, I don’t stand on the point for too long unless I’m running Condi-Shatter.

In terms of the necro, I can’t say I’ve ever had much difficulty against them condition or power wise unless I make silly mistakes as a player. Bunkers are an issue, but he match-up ends up being a stale-mate. If you’re sitting on a point for an extended period of time as a Mesmer, I think you might need to go back to Mesmer basics and revisit the issue of condition-removal later.

Note: remember that I have not played any beta events, so my opinion is based on pre-HoT meta. Excuse my ignorance in this regard.

Fay.2357:

Ultimately, bouncing attacks are okish offensively, but really problematic with friendly effects. You can get decent use out of things like mirror blade and winds of chaos only because you can personally position yourself to take advantage of it. Phantasms are dumb, and won’t do that at all. Additionally, as was mentioned elsewhere, it’s a really odd mechanic.

Me: ‘This phantasm gives you guys good stuff’
Party: ‘So to get the good stuff, should we stand next to the phantasm?’
Me: ‘Nope, to get the good stuff you have to stand next to the mob the phantasm is attacking’

It’s really counterintuitive, and links being able to provide helpful support to having your party in a potentially really odd position, on top being limited to only hitting one or two people as opposed to a full 5 target aoe.

Anet needs to just split phantasm attacks so that the offensive portion retains the bounce, and the support portion is a pbaoe pulsed buff centered on the phantasm. That makes the support from phantasms actually usable while still limiting their offensive aoe capabilities.

+1

Pyro with the win.

Thanks for this feedback OP!!

Embolism.8106:

Well of Recall: Create a well that steals memories from foes, damaging and Chilling them for 2s every pulse. When it expires, it grants the stolen memories to allies, giving them Alacrity for 5s.

I think 1.5s is a better number for the chill considering that you’re getting 3 pulses from it. Our uptime for alacrity has been buffed. 5 seconds is a bit much considering with the trait, you’d get ~8s. 4s is a better number here I think to share with others while also trying to keep it balanced for self-alacrity.
.

Well of Precognition: Create a well that overwhelms foes with images of the past, damaging and 2x Confusing them for 5s. When it expires, allies in the well can briefly see the future, gaining Blur and Unblockable attacks for 3s.

I think for something with this type of CD, 3 stacks on each pulse would be a better fit. It would definitely allow for confusion bursts on a point with the addition of shatters. Also, the 3s for Blur/Unblockable would allow for combo-ing much easier. I like that this gives Condition Chronomancers something to play with in terms of wells.

Embolism.8106:

Well of Eternity: Create a well that rewinds time, cleansing a condition from allies every pulse. When it expires, the well heals all allies in the area.
.

With Alls Well that Ends Well now not removing conditions, I think this is an excellent compromise. You might need to lower some of the healing though to compensate.

Phloww.1048:

Xstein.2187:

We deal with conditions though the inspiration line of traits and skills such as mantra of resolve and null field.

Ah, so I guess one utility will not be a well. Oh well.

Edit: Just realized the pun I made. Anyways, yeah, those two skills are life savers for me when dealing with lots of conditions.

The amount of puns you can make using Wells is astonishingly amazing.

Silverkey.2078:

Xyonon.3987:

Precognition and Recall are both still extremly underwhelming. Gravity is barely ok but still not really worth due the too long CD. The rest is fine.

I will say recall is even worse now. With the well trait, you can have higher alacrity uptime by taking well of calamity! I just don’t get the huge CD on one of the weakest wells…

I think they are initially worried with the intense combos you can do with other classes. See Killshot Warriors for example. I don’t know if they should actually worry about this so much as it takes so much communication to make this happen.

From the sounds of it, some may accuse us of having an excess of alacrity. Don’t praise the changes with too much gusto please.

Vague Memory.2817:

We definitively don’t have enough condi cleanse/condi resist now since the changes to conditions. Inspiration trait line is your best bet, but even with that I find there isn’t enough to deal with a necro who can convert boons to conditions and also transfer their conditions to you as well. It will be worse when HoT goes live with elite specs and the new condition additions.

This has always been the most inaccurate statement ever. It annoys me for some reason. It’s not that we don’t have enough condi clear at our disposal. It’s that in order to play a zerker build, you can’t afford to take condi clear without doing at least one of the following: 1) taking less offensive measures (inspiration over another trait line i.e. Domination) which is why you’re presumably wanted on a team in the first place 2) taking a utility spot that could otherwise go to Blink/Portal/Decoy, all highly competitive utilities for good reason.

I’m not sure how to solve the issue, but it definitely isn’t to “give us more condition removal tools” which is what you imply when you say we don’t have enough. Unless using Blink/Decoy removes two conditions, we’re always going to be a class that has difficulty handling conditions. I’d actually say we’re pretty balanced when it comes to condition removal, but that’s just my opinion.

I haven’t had the chance to attend beta event, but in its current state, I honestly feel like Inspiration trait line in combination with Restorative Illusions is more than ample condi clear for your typical pvp match.

Ross Biddle.2367:

Either all in with Inspiration + Heal Mantra (cleanse on heal, cleanse on shatter)

or

All out with nothing. Adjust gameplay to suite.

This tends to be the case!!! lol

This may not be the option you’re looking for, but our best condition clearing is simply taking the Inspiration tree. I’ve used it so much since the trait revamp that I can’t get used to builds without it! lol You have the group Mantra of Resolve every time you heal and you also have the on-demand condi clear on every shatter.

Now if we’re talking purely utilities, it is highly situational. Now that Null Field is on a 32 second CD, I find it to be much more easier to defend from a critical standpoint. I think it’s definitely competitive with MoR due to several reasons:

• Group utility as it clears 1-5 condis. MoR clears 2 or 4, but MoR is harder to use when clearing for allies as there’s no tell.
• Boon stripping.
• Point denial. Enemies either eat the 5 boon strips or get off the point. You gain an advantage either way.
• Ethereal field for chaos armour, which is pretty decent if you’re lucky to get protection.

Arcane Thievery is only good if you’re also running Manipulations CD and even then, it is horribly unreliable. But when it works, you feel awesome. pDisenchanter is only good for tankier builds.

So yeah, that’s my quick opinion on your options.

phokus.8934:

How exactly will SoE get you out of a bind with the passive?

See my quote here:

the active effect combined with the less than stellar healing can really get you out of a bind

I wasn’t referring to the passive. I was referring to when you activate the heal, gaining some healing and the additional effect of refreshing phantasms.

Fay.2357:

MailMail.6534:

Point blank, signet of ether is usually not best for squishy builds, but they are amazing in tanky builds that can maintain phantasms.

Sorta. Ether feast is still better for healing than the signet, especially if you have any healing power. SoE only becomes useful if you actually use the active…but then that means you lose the healing.

We’re at different parts of the circle in this argument. SoE should never be on par with Ether Fest in terms of raw healing because it has that additional active effect. In a tanky build utilizing a lot of phantasms (i.e. pDefender or pDisenchanter), the active effect combined with the less than stellar healing can really get you out of a bind and allow you more options than you would have with Ether Fest or any of our other heals for that matter.

I don’t think our signet should be compared to the braindead OPness that is Healing Signet. I like that you have to maintain illusions to proc the healing every 3 seconds. I’d just rather the passive numbers be bumped up a bit more to compensate for the extremely long CD.