Guild Wars 2

Hmmmm, thanks…
You dismissed my point about clones being smaller and harder to instantly identify – why? If you’re not insta-shattering surely it makes a difference?
Edit: I’ve been watching some Osicat shatter-cat videos, and I’ve often noticed him ducking behind structures that my sylvari would look dumb trying to hide behind lol…

lol – whilst I don’t have an 80 asura, I’m beginning to think they’re ascetically my favorite… I’m kinda horrified by the idea of leveling a mesmer again… it was so painful the first time :S

Hey all, I want the opinion of some of you on a problem that has plagued me since I made my mesmer (my first non-BWE character) 2 days after release… Do Asura’s have an advantage as mesmers?
Reasons I think they do…
- Smaller size allows you to hide behind smaller objects in WvWvW
- Clones more difficult to recognize because weapons are smaller (clones missing off hand)
-Racial abilities such as pain inverter and poison field naturally complement mesmers

Edit: I’m a sylvari – my compromise between the intimidation of 3 human clones and the sneakiness of asura… I’m actively considering making a second mesmer – even though I just got my first Ascended…

Awesome build, I love it, I’ve been trying to find a build that wasn’t pure shatter or phantasm or condition – this is awesome

@Pyroatheist: Guardians in fact have a trait that SPECIFICALLY effects elites ( http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Elite_Focus ) also, I believe that mass invisibility is effected by Prismatic Understanding ( http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Prismatic_Understanding )
Also, the sylvari racial elite, Take Root ( http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Take_Root ) is affected by the mesmer trait Sharper Images ( http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Sharper_Images ) – though that is obviously not beneficial to most mesmers…
All that said, I would agree that mesmer elites – as of this nerf to TW – feel a little lackluster in PvE – though I would argue that they are balanced in WvWvW and I would love to see a mesmer elite (other than mass invis) which is maybe a little weaker in terms of power, but at a reasonable cool down – an elite that has more the functionality of the Thief Dagger Storm ( http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Dagger_Storm ) I.E. a 90 sec cd combat boosting (damage, boons, or maybe access to more clones for a short duration (!!!)) elite; right now I feel that for regular PvE our elites are actually quite powerful (10 sec 50% dps boost!) but are on such a long cool down on a regular dungeon or event (ETC) they are too “be-all-end-all” – they are amazing, but then we’re kinda stuck for a while…
EDIT1: Added Clarification
EDIT2: Added “EDIT1: Added Clarification”
~Xonyx – Level 80 Sylvari Mesmer

Note: GW1 had a class called: Assassin…. Thief is the closest GW2 has to GW1’s assassin, but notice it is quite specifically NOT called an assassin… food for thought…

Ok, so it sounds like the general conclusion is that having atleast valk AND berserker’s armor (eventually) and switching them in and out is the best idea – thought most people seem to be saying that having atleast some defensive equips is a good idea normally…

Ah yes, I’ve played dagger pistol in sPvP – doesn’t seem to have quite the same dmg output as a d/d but d/p has some really potent blinding – especially with blind on stealth, its insane!

EzRemake.1860:

Mice.8921:

THanks EzRemake – that’s especially useful to know! Is zerker armor/valk trinks (all rubied) much weaker in terms of damage/defense? (just asking because I can get zerks armor fairly easily from CoF runs)
Xystus – how does your dmg hold up like that?

I just did a little bit of testing, and it seems Valkyrie armor with Berserker trinkets offers more damage with the same survivability as Berserker armor with Valkyrie trinkets.

This is keeping in mind that there are no “pure” Valkyrie ascended trinkets, only Hybrid Zerker-Valk

Ah I see, I had used the calculator with exotic trinkets… that makes more sense, thank you for the detailed reply!

THanks EzRemake – that’s especially useful to know! Is zerker armor/valk trinks (all rubied) much weaker in terms of damage/defense? (just asking because I can get zerks armor fairly easily from CoF runs)
Xystus – how does your dmg hold up like that?

THanks Jericho I’ll check that link out

How does that dps compare to full zerks do you think Daendur?
EDIT: The two stat set ups work out about the same… Valk Trinks or Valk Armor (with all ruby orbs) give you about 3k hp whichever way you do it.. valk trinks give 100 more hp and about 70 less effective power than valk armor and zerk trinkets
Thanks guys!

Hi thieves!
I just got my thief to 80 and am looking to start gearing with exotics…
I’m running 0/30/30/10/0 – basically a stealth build + 100% crit chance from stealth.
Since i have the 100% crit chance while stealthed, would I be better building zerker’s or valkyrie’s armor? Roughly how much health would I stand to gain by having valkyrie armor (just armor, still zerker’s for everything else)…
Alternatively, as I’m able to earn zerker’s armor running CoF could I get the same effect with valk exotic trinkets and zerker’s armor/weapons? Would valk trinkets + zerk’s armor/weapons give me about the same stats as valk armor + zerk trinkets/weapons?
Thanks!
P.S. I’m interested in WvWvW solo/roaming (primarily) as well as PvE

The primary error is your assumption that they’re concerned about you backstabbing repeatedly, whilst that would be a problem, I believe you’ll find the stealth has a “cd” not because they’re concerned about the damage, but they don’t want you to be able to instantly escape into stealth… Since as a thief we already enjoy massive mobility, exiting stealth with a hit (in other words, fighting) has to come at some cost of commitment to the fight… If thieves didn’t have to commit at all, they would be nigh impossible to kill

Awesome thanks, that means I’ve only wasted money on the one set of pants and a sword this is my first time gearing for exotics, so its kinda confusing tbh
Thanks everyone who replied: Gaiawolf, Daishi, kandolo and Wisler!

You can also get (all but the boots) full prec/toughness/condition exotics from karma venders in orr – 210,000 for all but the boots (which aren’t sold prec/tough/cond)

So if I’m running zerkers but don’t want to be insta-squishable do I still want the knight’s chest and then a valkyrie piece (as recommended in the shattercat build)?
I don’t want to run an actual condition build as I nearly have a lvl 66 conditionmancer (necro) already…
Your answers have been very useful

Thanks for the in depth answer!

I’ve reached level 80 on my mesmer, and I’m trying to equip him. Right now I’m running 0/20/20/0/30 and I’m using sword/focusOrPistol and staff… I’m using the staff to kite/fight bosses and the other for shattering.
I was considering rampagers gear with a piece or two of knight’s (right now my two exotic armor pieces are knight’s chest and rampager’s legs)…
Guide’s like the Shattercat build suggest berserker’s with a piece of knights/valkyries… is rampagers a waste?
I plan to use it for both PvE/WvWvW
Thanks for any advice/criticism….

I’ve found it can be an issue if I’m on slightly uneven ground (even just a tree root.) Not sure I remember having an issue on flat ground, though, that said, the uneven ground issue/bug happens to me quite frequently. Annoying, but little more than a quality of life issue for me personally.

Well written, and its very nice to see scepter/torch included in a build!

Hey guys and girls! I have question. If you place a sigil that relies on critical hits, for example, a major sigil of fire (10% on crit hit to trigger a fireball) can clones apply the affect. For example, could a critical hit from a staff clone have a chance to trigger the explosion the same as my regular attacks?
Thanks in advance!

That’s probably because their is no “right” answer. It depends purely on what you want to add to your playstyle. Neither S/P nor GS are useless or overpowered, its just preference, experiment! However, if I personally had to pick, I would say the Sword/Pistol (I personally prefer focus but w/e) simply because it has a nice mix of skills (range phantasm, stun, immobilize, invuln) where as GS really relies on good range management and while it can bring a lot of dps (played right) to your build, it doesn’t have quite as much in the way of variety.

All this is assuming you’re using the staff as your main weapon. Greatsword is better as a main weapon, whereas sword and pistol are quite good for switching to using all their abilities, then switching back to staff.

As a side note on using portal for jumping puzzles/vistas/whatever something some people don’t seem to realize is that your teammates can always use the exit instead of the entrance first. So if you’re already up somewhere, you can portal entre, jump down, then portal exeunt and everyone can get straight up. It can be used kind of like a bungee cord. I know that seems obvious, but if you don’t think of it, it makes a large difference.

I don’t use portal for just leveling in PvE, but for dungeons it can be quite nice. Did a dungeon with some friends, and one of them fell off of a platform and survived. So I dropped portal entre, jumped off after him, and placed portal exit. Saved the party time. Also useful for getting across trap rooms, place enter, blink, place exit, save your team some of the trouble.

Personally, even solo, I always use portal for vistas. Climb half way up (or until you think its getting risky) place the portal entre, and then if/when you fall, place portal exeunt so you can get straight back up, its like a second try

Favorite mesmer skill for “coolness” factor by far

zoobaby.7804:

For leveling Sword/Sword, Sword/Pistol, Sword/Focus (iWarden is a beast) are fun in your face playstyle.

I personally love iWarden, and the speed from the focus is quite a pleasant feature between fights as well (and in fights the pull can really buy you a few seconds of non-kiting)!

Well, I’m a bit of a noob (not yet forty on my mesmer) but I’ve noticed a few things here and there. First and foremost, unless you’re fighting a ranged mob, both greatsword and scepter will require a decent amount of kiting. The scepter doesn’t (really) offer any defensive options or crowd control, so yes, you have to run. Greatsword has plenty of crowd control (iBerserker cripples and 5 knocks back (and I think down(?))) but it has no defense to speak of either. In addition, GS deals more damage at long range, so kiting equates to higher damage.

I’ve personally found staff to be a very good PvE weapon because it is quite defensive, and with clones and attacks you can stack quite a good amount of condition damage. Chaos armor is a good defensive spell providing a significant amount of defence. Chaos Storm can hinder enemies and provide quite a few defensive boons to you and phase retreat is a great way to avoid a hit without actively kiting. Also, using phase retreat in chaos storm will give you a combo and grant chaos armor as well.

Unless you’re a scepter addict, you will find that regular sword in your main hand provides decent defense. Your number three can cripple, and immoblize, and number two makes you invulnerable for two seconds (sounds like a small amount, but its great against big slow attacks)

Hope this helps!

Edit: Someone please correct me if I made a mistake somewhere!
2nd Edit: Feel a bit dumb, forgot to explain something with the swords. You said you find them a bit squishy. Most of the time, with a sword + offhand you don’t want to be basic attacking. Start with the staff (or whatever you’re starting with), then when you switch to sword + offhand place your phantasm from your off hand, then, use your number 3 which cripples with a clone, then immediately switch places with the clone (#3 again) and then use your blurred frenzy (#2). The clone switch will leave them immobilized while the phantasm shoots and you strike with blurred frenzy (which makes you invulnerable).

After that, use discretion. If they’re almost dead or aren’t (more luck than anything here) attacking you yet, feel free to keep swinging. If that feels unwise to you, backup a bit, you should still have 1-2 phantasms/clones up, breathe for a second, then switch back to a ranged weapon.

For regular PvE that combo should work quite comfortably against individual mobs, and bear in mind, blurred frenzy AoE’s so it is quite effective against small groups as well (you’re invulnerable after all )

I didn’t watch all of it, but I watched the majority of it. Its brilliant!

I personally cannot wait for the last portion of his video guide, it was brilliant!