Guild Wars 2

rT has officially closed its doors of recruitment as of now.

I salute you

:x how is my opinion being given without me noticing this thread? Please don’t do that unless you’re quoting my earlier statements, even if it’s completely obvious.

Also, 6/6/0/0/2 is good as long as fights are short, because phantasmal haste is a trait depending on phantasms and their long survival in the fight(as it only influences their second and third attack).

;_; today I was blamed for soloing her because Anet must’ve watched it and buffed the boss.

on a good note: Anet watches my videos? wat?

Fay.2357:

Sanderinoa.8065:

Hmm… Considering all of their attacks are done physically without anything leaving the main body I find it unlikely that there would be a projectile attack among its kitten nal… I usually go for sword/sword/pistol with daze mantra x3, halting strike, signet of midnight and maybe even signet of domination.

You can completely lock them down if done properly and halting strike makes it so damage in the process

So much effort. Just go sword/sword and strafe around them. The strafing makes their one attack miss, and you use the block to counter the spin. I save blurred frenzy to avoid the death laser if I don’t have a crystal handy.

I’m sorry for putting in extra effort to make myself contribute to a group with a class people have started to dislike if you don’t rupt the spin your illusions get wrecked and you lose half your dps, so I enjoy dazing or blinding instead of blocking

Iris Ng.9845:

Earlier I took 6/4/0/0/4 sword/pistol +/focus (for swiftness, nothing fancy) at Jade Maw. Put up two duelists at relatively close range and chain daze against the tentacles. It does work quite well.

Also noticed that pistol OH works better than Sword OH against the champions in the Harpy fractal. Duelists were alive relatively long when not getting aggro and the daze did come in handy. The only problem is I can’t kite the bosses exclusively by myself and wasn’t 100% in melee range. Any comments?

In the harpy fractal I honestly believe you should run pistol AND sword offhand, the focus is a lot lower damage just to block an attack you can dodge super easily due to its extremely easy tell.
And I do agree that duelists often stay alive longer, so it a a good call. In any non solo situation however you should not be kiting at all, and if you are its quite possible if you go for the invul signet build I run most of the time(and which I probably told you).

Hmm… Considering all of their attacks are done physically without anything leaving the main body I find it unlikely that there would be a projectile attack among its kitten nal… I usually go for sword/sword/pistol with daze mantra x3, halting strike, signet of midnight and maybe even signet of domination.

You can completely lock them down if done properly and halting strike makes it so damage in the process

Can someone tell me what a party is? and has anyone soloed it yet?

thats how we did it just mention your streamer

I want to comment but dont know what we are talking about ;_;

maxinion.8396:

(though no one has ever been upset at me for saving everyone from the shadowsteps every time )

Well I’m mad at you for it now. So that’s one

Iris Ng.9845:

Or when you have a timing issue like me and counting 14s is too hard, I just go max range in my pug :s

Wut? Counting?

maxinion.8396:

Jeremlloyd.6837:

maxinion.8396:

Sanderinoa.8065:

maxinion.8396:

By the way, Sandy, if you have a video of how you handle all the projectiles that’d be much appreciated.

How I ‘handle’ all the projectiles? As in, in a team setting?

Yes, exactly. I’ve seen your solo, which is fabulous, but you were saying you handle all projectiles in melee in the reply above, and so I’m curious how that works out in practice, as it’s very different from how I’ve always played against her. If there’s a better way, I always want to do it that way, ofc

Well you can reflect pretty much every shadowstep attack (if the warden don’t bug out and there’s no AoE where Mai Trin is (and if your party is quick enough, you don’t need to use the wardens). Guardian can save an aegis for the group in case you don’t have reflects up.

You can basically reflect 3 shadowstep in a row without Wardens with Curtain -> Feedback -> Curtain. With Warden, you should have perma reflect, but since it’s not that reliable, you should probably count on another team member after the 3rd reflect for an Aegis / Wall / Swirling Winds or even Magnetic Aura if you have an Aura share Ele (but I seriously hope you don’t).

Also as a mesmer you can portal everyone to a safe spot for the cannon phase (I usually go for the portal after one of the shadowstep attack when Mai have less than 4 stacks and is close to the canon phase.

Why do you prefer to reflect it? Just so you can stay in melee? (and don’t you need to time a careful dodge when this happens as well?)

We prefer to reflect it because that way you dont get used like a slave mesmer to not participate in the fight. Going max range is a waste of a party slot, and this is
exactly why mesmers arent liked just be a man and hit her, reflect when you need to and go max range only when you are out of reflects and you expect her to shoot(shot timing is related to when she uses her spin).

Title says (almost) all!

current team from rT is composed of
me(mesmer)
mika(guard)
miku(warrior)
spadoinkle(elementalist)

yea nobody else from rT wants to join us ;____; so sad

on EU preferably!

if you respond tonight we can take you along for a fun run!

What exactly are you looking for in there? If I may ask? Depending on your answer I may be willing to help

Iris Ng.9845:

Should have asked Jerem, Max. The way Sandy handles all the projectiles is to let everyone else die, then proceed to solo – the same way you’ve seen in the video.

The kitten Iris?! XD I ran with lilith more recently. She knows a bit better

Ermagerd real challenge!

Wat

/15lupis

maxinion.8396:

By the way, Sandy, if you have a video of how you handle all the projectiles that’d be much appreciated.

How I ‘handle’ all the projectiles? As in, in a team setting?

Aleth.9630:

Sanderinoa.8065:

B) they do not go through allies, making it bodyblockable

Dub and I tested it

Actually, they don’t get bodyblocked if they are evaded by their target. Generally, evaded projectiles don’t get destroyed, at least visually.

Bolts that collide with players who are invulnerable will be destroyed though.

to bodyblock = to block something with your body, taking the hit.

Evading it does not count as bodyblocking :P

HYPE Im in miku’s team and we’re looking forward to it! kinda still need another ele but that’ll come >_>

Just confirmed by oneshotting dub, the spiral bolts can be bodyblocked!

maxinion.8396:

captainteemo.6537:

Bump for interest. I want to know if I should be untraiting my warden for this fight.

I don’t think relying on the warden to block the shadowstep projectiles is a good idea— the wardens are going to die from AoEs, splash, and just spin at random times. As a mesmer, your better options for blocking are scepter 2 and sword 4 (preferably sword 4 as it hits like a truck). Many parties have mesmers just stand at range and block all day with those abilities to keep Mai from shadowstepping.

Ohmymaxi what is this blasphemy! And technically we aren’t talking about the shadowstep, but about the unblockable attack, so the captain wonders of he should untrait wardens to block that.

This is a fight mesmers should be praising! as its exactly where you can carry a party through, not by standing at range, but by joining the fight and reflecting and blocking her projectiles so your members don’t die! Only if you’re completely out of reflects for a while I’d justify going to long range.

captainteemo.6537:

Bump for interest. I want to know if I should be untraiting my warden for this fight.

I’d say you’re better off traiting them so you can protect your party better with temporal curtain, wardens get wrecked too much now anyways to provide support for the spiral attack.

A) they can be blocked by untraited wardens, not by swirling winds. And Im sure they can bodyblock it.

B) they do not go through allies, making it bodyblockable

C) based on a and b, the projectile will be soaked up by the minion

Dub and I tested it

LordByron.8369:

The fact that its easier to solo than to pug tells a lot about the awful mechanic they put.

You have no control on the aggro… and bosses like this simply show that if you aim for an innovative no trinity game you can t design bosses with stupid AI and insane numbers.

Well I do agree with the static field pulling being easier alone, but getting some CC in a pug creates just the same results and the real issue is her damage, which is only more of a risk because of this as the fight takes longer(which is also the case solo). Agro of her shot is still controllable anyways, her spinning attack is aoe so it would’ve hit everyone anyways, and her melee is probably not the main issue honestly.

I’ve been helping out random groups for fun mostly, but I’d say this is nothing more than a temporary issue for people who were too used to relaxing during this fight.

I think this means it is time for a post patch thief solo, amiright?

Purple Miku.7032:

Darnit. I wanted to do this too but I don’t have people willing to help me roll a Mai trin to try it

Haha well this solo was done quite early into the patch so you would’ve been late anyways. Plus I haven’t heard you ask

Gj and all sesshi, though I will not approve of seeing any of my dear students lying dead on the ground!

oh right, lol, small miscalculation on our part.

meta compositions depend in a small degree on the dungeon, but are generally using a base of 2x ele, 1x war, often a thief and then 1 or 2 free spots which some guilds prefer to fill with a guardian, but can also be filled by another warrior if reflection isnt relevant, or a good mesmer if he can pull his weight and possibly portal people. Even a ranger is sometimes taken for his raw dps support.

As a mesmer in the dungeon community you have a very intensive job, movement lack can be compensated by getting a seperate centaur rune set or hylek poisons, you need to know about relevant portal locations and properly link your own abilities such as reflection and stealths to make yourself irreplacable.

The mesmer has a combination of skills which almost mimic those of other classes which are based around them.

Reflection on the mesmer is superb compared to the guardian, but it requires some more effort due to shorter durations and placement issues.

Stealth is something the thief specialises in, and while the mesmer can combine it with portals, he also has a harder time properly doing so because the durations need to be properly timed, and a quick traitswitch to PU in pve is bothersome but makes a huge difference.

DPS is a real issue with the mesmer, when reflection is involved you actually have some a fairly reasonable amount of it, but when it is not, you shine in fights which often dont occur in dungeon runs: those that take long. You need to take out a more glass cannon-y build(mantras) to match a reasonable level of dps because of this.

Therefore, a good mesmer can really replace a lot of utility brought by several other classes which would take in more party slots, but your lack of dps and extra difficulty when trying to deliver the best result often ends up in mesmerless parties.

The issue with questions for builds are, because of this, very hard to answer. To optimally play your class you’ll need to think at every encounter and figure out what build suits the situation best. If you want to sit in one build, that’s fine with me but you’re not matching other classes’ capabilities by doing so.

But Im just a random guy who posts on the mesmer forums very rarely, so you’re better off looking at the fancy guide maxi put up if you’re interested in the PvE mesmer:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Guide-How-To-Mesmer-in-Dungeons/

Lilith Ajit.6173:

MysticHLE.7160:

I think the fact that her pistol shot cannot be evaded (and require block/reflect) is utter BS, and should be looked into. I really cannot think of any other attacks in PvE where evade does not work.

PS: lvl 50 solo coming up once I find the time
CytoSlide – yeah, I hear you. With this new change, I think builds will just need to be re-evaluated though – more towards utility instead of dps.

- Elementalist: Focus Air 4 can cancel her shot, Focus Earth 5 can tank the hit, and Earth 4 can (probably) reflect?
- Warrior: Mace 2, Sword 5, and Shield 5 all can block her shots. These can even be traited for reflects, making the warrior a better dedicated pistol shot blocker/reflector than Mesmers!
- Guardian: Aegis, Wall of Reflection, Shield 5, Focus 5
- Mesmer: Focus 4, 5 (traited), Sword 4, Scepter 2, Feedback
- Thief: Smokescreen, Dagger Storm…
- Ranger: Axe 5 for reflect, GS 4 for block
- Necromancer: Death Shroud? =\

So…most classes do have a few ways to deal with this new change – but it won’t be easy, and it will take skills and coordination to get it right. But hey, if PUG Arah can melee Lupi and stack reflects now, then I have faith in the FotM 50 community too.

Your best bet for ele is earth shield 2 block and the occasional 5 invuln. These are very reliable. I struggled to see her tell when she was very far away sometimes and horrik appeared to want to blast me with his cannon fairly often.

Also, as I experienced last night, having a fabulous mesmer also helps. ^^ Yay sandy!

oh wow, I didnt even notice who was in that team, I was too busy laughing like a crazy person at the excitement this update has given me xD sorry if that ended up in me playing very offensively.

;__; another tournament nobody wants to invite me to.

Sandy sadcasting

Let’s leave further discussion on the sidelines till about next week guys, write down your ideas and we can discuss later, dnt needs a break before they can actively participate in discussion again, and I find the discussions with a vital party missing quite pointless, as they’ll need to be redone later.

Take a break, think things through and shout it out when the result is greater!

Wethospu.6437:

Sanderinoa.8065:

I do agree that there wasn’t a lot of ‘recovering’, but I did see many oppurtunities in which it was surely possible, just like with our arah run, we couldve duoed it out if things went a bit better in the end.
Id rather keep the oppurtunity there for someone to pick it up, rather than to remove it.

Do you really think 2 guys could beat a full team when you were already a lot behind? (assuming the team doesn’t mess up really bad)

not beating them :P but keeping it interesting and winning if the other party wipes yeah

I do agree that there wasn’t a lot of ‘recovering’, but I did see many oppurtunities in which it was surely possible, just like with our arah run, we couldve duoed it out if things went a bit better in the end.
Id rather keep the oppurtunity there for someone to pick it up, rather than to remove it.

Honestly I have to say that Im quite a fan of the no death rule this time, it means teams need to think in more strategical terms and consider more defensive approaches. This allows for more innovativity and makes the tournament’s runs more varied.

And we are still around! Props to SC on winning the tournament yesterday, rT will be back for revenge next time!

Congratulations Snow Crows!

much love,

Rektaliate

Got wrecked so bad! ;__;

I love the combination of a question and the combined use of the word ‘mandatory’

Boom! I have returned!

Retaliate vs noob, I’d like so see that

>_> its more that I expect myself to be involved in later organisation and therefore will likely be put in such a position as organisers can’t compete :c

Sadface, won’t know who to cheer for

EcoRI.9273:

Hey Sanderinoa, on average how many hours do you think you put into each dungeon path before you have a clean solo? If DnT Tourney is successful and there would be future tourneys, I want to solo other dungeons to improve my skill as a player rather than soloing Arah just to make money.

Hmmm.. its hard to determine as it will all depends a bit on your class knowledge but even more on dungeon specific knowledge(thoigh some are very straightforward).

The longest time I ever spent on one solo was my lvl 20 Cliffside solo, it took 40 hours which included a long time of me just sitting at the two seals trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do.

Hard bosses usually take about 10 to 15 hours to take down xD focussing on lupi, though that was my first time in arah, and the volcanic fractal boss on thief, as I had just crafted it to 80.

I’m fairly confident that a regular dungeon path would take me about 4 hours or more to solo for the first time, but I’d probably manage in one go, simply because encounter types are limited and I have learned to react to them properly with my class throughout my older solos.

Nevertheless, different classes require different levels of depth and performance, and solo a require a very different approach than team fights meaning you will definitely require certain qualities to a larger extent(mes mostly consistent play because of low dps).
This all means that your personal input is going to determine the time you take for soloing a lot more than factors like which class you’ve picked.

Another thing that will influence time is going to be in which DEPTH you look at dungeons while you play with groups, I found that knowing the exact way attacks work can speed things up a lot as you can fond weaknesses a lot more easily that way.

You’re going to be spending some time on soloing, but if it’s for the tournament you are definitely going to learn a lot of useful things about your class as well as the dungeon, no matter how long it takes you.

Now to your actual question (yeah I totally read it again after writing all this) a clean solo is usually already the second or often third time you do it.
First time takes a long time, second time takes about half of your first actual clear time(excluding experimenting), this is the run in which you clean out your mistakes, then third time is usually very clean.

Hope this helps

Oi, I dont not join just because, I don’t join because I’m on fieldwork and it would be weird if I competed for anything but rT.

My problem is with the way you write, you don’t sound like you’re actually looking for answers, but instead seem to be here to tell us about how easy everything is and that people who call themselves “skilled” are idiots.

I am open to taking your question seriously though. I enjoy soloing content because on my mesmer I can and have go take various different approaches at each encounter, and learn my class as well as the encounters a lot better that way.

That aside, there are a lot of things harder than arah p2, I personally had a lot of fun wit soloing fractals like Cliffside and volcanic(shame I can’t redo it on mes atm). That aside I had more trouble with the legendary svanigandr than I ever had with lupi, and if you’re really up for some fun you should try the hotw story boss solo.

Even subject alpha can be a pretty challenging encounter on warrior from what I heard, and if you really run out of ideas you can, indeed, introduce your own gambits, but only if they genuienly make it more fun for you (no armor isn’t fun imo)

sigh and someone is here again to ruin people’s days. Let’s just keep this thread for those interested in soloing and who like pve, hmmkay?

Ha! Thats Actually a great idea, I hope one of my former students dares competing

Rising Dusk.2408:

This means that certain members of whatever guilds could stand as the judges and the ‘shout casters’, and these people wouldn’t participate and would instead organize everything.

Hmmm.. maybe instead of participating… Sandy shoutcasting?

On a more important note: I’m pretty confident about gwscr organisation being the plan, and once I return home,
I’ll try and see,
representing rT,
what we can do to help in making this a reality.
(dat rhyme)

Fun, a dungeon soloing thread other than weths compilation. Not a bad idea actually, just hoping it will stay up and non ele/wars will come around. I’ll monitor this myself I suppose

5 man mesmer EU VS NA match please?

Then again… Maybe I should just constitute a normal team.. can’t be in two at the same time after all.

Jeremlloyd.6837:

Sanderinoa.8065:

;_; so much mesmer hate

I will never get a team

I know right We need to form teams by ourselves to be able to play mesmer

Best
Idea
Ever

Who is joining our 5 mesmer team?!