Guild Wars 2

Justine.6351:

Erm smokescale.

Although I completely agree. I don’t like seeing semi sentient creatures forever being removed from future participation against the elder dragons. It is their world too.

Skale, griffons, wind ridders are a big nono to me.
Oh and I really didn’t care to see drake pets either but whatever. Pretty much any species that has spell casters ;-(

I don’t consider Smokescale as part of the Skale family as they are saurian, which also existed during GW1, and were not sentient. Also its name uses “scale” referring to the body armor not its species.

Griffons I would be against if they weren’t already set up as a pet via the Ogres. With that said all I can see them as is a Feline re-skin. As both birds and felines have the same stats, save Condition Damage, they couldn’t really just mix the two to make them different that way. Suppose skill wise there are slight difference that can be played with, but not enough to really justify it.

Wind Rider I think would actually make a good pet as the land equivalent of Jellyfish. Can go many different ways with them. Could give us more condition, control, or even healing options. Similar to Drakes, which I am alright with, just with less defense and more offense.

Speaking of Drakes and their “Spell casting” nature. There are chemicals, that are naturally occurring, that can produce fire when combined (thus the reason for Salamander Drakes fire breath). Or they could produce one chemical and create a spark to ignite it, which creating electricity within a living organism is possible (see electric eel), thus producing fire. This could also explain River Drakes “Lightning Orb”, a conductive, non-flammable, gas electrified and expelled. And Reef Drakes is explained via it being a “shriek”.

Technically the only Drake that can’t be explained through natural evolution is Frost Drake (edit: could technically say it can produce liquid Nitrogen within itself, but highly doubt this to be the cause[and yes this is possible]). In which case I would point out this is Tyria and magic is naturally occurring in both sentient and non-sentient beings. And also Rangers are a “Nature Magic” class. Thus being partial spell casters. Thus having magical pets should be accepted. =P

Sorry for long rant.

Diovid.9506:

Skale (might be amphibious)
Bog Skale
Brackish Skale
Ridgeback Skale
Skale Blighter

Though I agree the rest would be nice to have, especially the Griffons, Skale will not happen, unless Anet completely ignores their lore from GW1 or pushes for their regression back into their primal state. Skale were actually “some what” intelligent and even had worshipers and followers. Even having a Lord and a “God” figure among themselves of whom they followed and worshiped.

Kayberz.5346:

I think the problem with these kind of players is they see the word “ranger” and assume it means long range, when in actuality its being used in the context of like a forest ranger, someone who patrols the forest and nature

Was about to post pretty much this exact thing. Ranger refers to a person or being that patrols, wanders, or travels the lands. A “range” is a plot of land or an area in which you would travel across. Not to be mistaken with the “range” which is used for judging distance. If Anet were to make a purely “long-ranged” based class they would, like most other games, likely use a term such as “Archer” or “Bowman” to make it clear that they would be a ranged based class with limited melee use.

And just because the official site states that they are “unparalleled archers” does not mean they are to be taken as ONLY archers. It simply means they are unmatched when it comes to the bow.

From the official site: “Rangers rely on a keen eye, a steady hand, and the power of nature itself. Unparalleled archers, rangers are capable of bringing down foes from a distance with their bows. With traps, nature spirits, and a stable of loyal pets at their command, rangers can adapt to any situation.”

Going to pull that part down: “With traps, nature spirits, and a stable of loyal pets at their command, rangers can adapt to any situation.” Now putting that into perspective. Rangers are a class that is essentially meant to be the jack of all trades. And for them to pick up support healing makes perfect sense. When your allies are in trouble you adapt to the situation and try to keep them on their feet.

And as for the statement about giving Guard the healer spec. Guardians can already go full on healer. All Anet really needs to do to make it official is make the staff auto attack heal. They are effective melee range healers. They just lack that range healing. But other than that if they did get another heal spec it would seriously shoehorn them into that support healer role as a whole.

Stajan.4581:

The ranger had a great start in the right direction with their traps and then you went and game traps to DHs this was the worst idea ever and now trapper rangers are no where to be found. and the condi druid is no where close to what rangers can or use to do .

Well this is wrong. I play Trapper Ranger quite exclusively. And, in fact, can switch it up to a Condi Druid party support and still keep my damage up there whilst boosting my parties dps.

Stajan.4581:

It has become so bad that I have left my beloved ranger and gone to the reaper as it is funner game play and and he druid is no where need the same as my ranger was. everyone will say then play the ranger the answer to that is no you see when you have something new you want to play that and this is what the druid was and what the reaper is now as my reaper dose better condi damage then my ranger.

I also went to play Condi Reaper for a while, about a month, as I saw vids of them doing some ridiculous bleed damage in raids. When using the same builds in fractals and open world the damage was lower than what my Ranger was hitting in general.

Stajan.4581:

This should never have happened, the ranger was a great condi dealer and now it is no where near that of the reaper or the burnzerker…

Comparing a base class to an elite spec. The Ranger, through use of the Druid, is actually as useful as the Burnzerker. The Burnzerker can do massive burn damage, sure, but that’s because that’s what the spec was build for. Throw a Condi Spirit Druid next to them and watch that damage go MUCH higher. Druid is good in that it boosts the teams overall dps while sacrificing little in terms of self dps.

Stajan.4581:

…delete the druid and start over and give the ranger something that compliments what it was good at in the first place, You did this with every class except DH and Dru they went off in left field some where and they are not coming back and they are just bad as the DH is OP and the druid just sucks.

I beg you please redo the druid into something else get rid of this dedicated healer and bring back what the rangers were good at in the first place and compliment this.

Myself and many others quite enjoy and prefer the Druid as it does, as I mention above, a great deal in terms of party support. DH is nice and has great burst damage. But I say it again. Run Druid with the DH and you are going to get more dps than running just two DH, if you operate the Druid properly. And to paraphrase a Dev (not going to search for the exact quote) The elite specs were intended to allow players to play each class in a way they were not able to play them before. i.e. Ranger (Druid) as party support, Necro (Reaper) as heavy front liner, Guard (DH) as crowd control.

Stajan.4581:

give the double daggers and more mobility, give them a rifle and make them a sniper, give them a shield and make them a warden, give them multiple pets to comtrol and call them a beastmaster but get rid of the bad druid.

As someone else mentioned; giving Ranger double dagger and making it mobility based would simply be making it a Thief with a pet. No thank you. Giving them a rifle and calling them a sniper; Ye old’en days Bowmen of great skill were named Snipers as well. Do not need a rifle for that purpose. I would gladly accept the shield, when they fix Sword or if they give us a main hand to go with it. And giving us more than one pet at a time would be broken unless they bumped the Rangers damage down some when specing into it.

There are many ways they can go with E-specs for Ranger in the future. But as it is Druid is a really good one. I am actually glad to have it. I will admit the full on healing side of it is only useful in Raids. But the party support aspect of it has a greater use game wide. Just a matter of Learn to Play.

First off I want to say that I love the Druid. Was a little jaded when it was fully announced because, like most of us, full healer didn’t sound like it was going to fit in with the play style that GW2 offers. Now, this is not to say that I was not ecstatic to hear that I was finally getting my healer class. Love the Druid.

Now for the issues; starting with the staff. A lot of people have brought this up and I feel I should throw in my opinion as well. The staff needs to be held like a caster holds a staff. Druid, being a ranged supporter, holding the staff as a melee weapon does not feel right. And the way we cast Solar Beam feels and looks wrong. Also the synergy with pets. Aside from a few traits for the pets f2 to heal and such there is little to no synergy between the Druid Spec and the pet. And the pets that were added did nothing to help that. That’s really it for complaints.

As for improvements: As said before pure healer does not fit into the way GW2 is played. What I mean by this is not everyone wants to be a pure healer. I, for one, have always loved the idea of Condition Rangers. Because nature is a beautiful blend of both medicinal and poisonous plants and wonders. This should be felt in the Druid, and Ranger over all. We have the healing aspect. But why not allow for conditioning and damaging aspects as well.

For example; Seed of Life: This skill heals and cleanses conditions on allies. Why not add a poison application to this skill to give Druids a bit of offensive capability. The plant that can heal may also poison.

Another example; Cosmic Ray and Solar Beam: Both of these skills could easily apply burning. Even if it’s a short 2 second stack per hit. This would allow something that naturally burns, Solar Beams, to also heal (Other way around in game, but you get the point).

Last example of condition application; Astral Wisp: Now this may be a little out of place as it’s an astral creation, however, it is still a wisp. Now a wisp, or Ignis Fatuss, is a phosphorescent light that hovers over swampy areas caused by spontaneously combusted gasses from rotting organic matter. However is also seen as a light that can mislead or delude ones perception. Now the first part could, in the case of this skill, apply burning per second enemies are within it or, in case of the second, apply confusion/torment per second enemies are within it.

Another thought on wisp: Not condition related but still to add damage, would be to have is siphon health from enemies and add the siphoned health to the base healing of this skill. This would allow for higher healing the more enemies that are within.

Glyphs:

Empowerment: Liked this skill as it gave a boost to those in my party that were still running straight dmg builds. This was the only glyph I ran post testing. Great skill, but one change I would like to make that I will bring up later.

Equality: This skill being a stun break in CA or a daze as base felt out of place as a utility at 30s cd. Most people are running at least one stun break of their own and with the addition of a Rev in the party running Invocation stun breaking isn’t an issue. And with Lunar Impact on 5s cs, and CA being easy to build up and jump into, the Daze wasn’t needed.

Tides: This skill should have reversed abilities. Pull should be the base effect and Push should be the CA effect. This should have been sort of obvious. As if you are trying to panic heal a group you want enemies away from the party. So jumping into the center of them, dropping Lunar impact then Glyph of tides would allow enough relief to heal some before dropping out of CA and pulling back in.

Alignment: Not worth the use as a dmg utility as it’s very little. Ranger have better access to Weakness and Cripple via pet than needing this utility. And the condi cleans and heal are NOT worth the slot when we already have CA with a spammable seed of life that does the exact same thing.

Unity: Couldn’t find use for this. Maybe in PvP, but I stuck to PvE this weekend for my testing. The damage share of this skill felt null as, as a Ranger, we avoid most dmg or enemies are focused on our pets. And the CA healing link did little when Druid already does massive amount of group heals without it. Felt like a weak choice over SotP or Entagle for dealing dmg not depended on enemies hitting us.

Rejuvenation: Tried it. Didn’t like it. Again. Already have enough healing power as Druid that this skill didn’t add much healing that was needed. And as Glyphs don’t gain any added abilities with the trait it wasn’t worth taking over WHaO or Healing Spring.

Now as for that thing I was going to mention with Glyph of Empowerment. I saved this because I would like to bring up a base Ranger trait; Instinctive Reaction (Nature Magic). Now as I brought up at the start of this post, Nature being both a healing and poisonous force, I think this trait, as well as Empowerment, should be changed to Condition damage. There are enough traits out there that benefit the zerker pure dps meta. Why not give more options to condition dmg.

Or give them both. As Rangers are already in a sore spot when it comes to dmg why not boost that with this one trait. Given the rest of Nature magic is support based why not drop the % from 7% to 5% to both Power and Condition Damage.

I’m not saying all this because I don’t like being a healer. Or that I don’t like handing over offense in order to heal. I’m suggesting these so that Druids are able to help, even a little bit, with the damage to bosses and such. A lot of this also goes back to playing Ritualist back in GW1. Running Restoration/Channeling build for heavy healing with added dmg.

Anyways. Thoughts. Be constructive and respectful, please.

Kidel.2057:

Vyriis.6258:

Not sure if you have tried yet and just can’t. But as soon as I hit f1 I am able to hit any of my utilities and they work. The animation may be there but the swap is instant.

Except impossible odds if you had any active facets before swapping (of course, not counting Nature).

Just tested this with Shiro, Jalis, and Mallyx. Seems if any of the utilities are being used before swapping Impossible odds and Vengeful Hammers are both locked out for a second. And if the Elite is being used Embrace the Darkness is locked for a second. Didn’t notice this issue before as I’m running Mallyx + Glint and almost never use Facet of Chaos. Not sure if this is a bug or intended.

I like it. But at the same time I wish it were something else. Was talking with a buddy about this. Personally believe it would look better if it was something akin to the Ellen and Evan badges where they float around the head. Or even something that orbits the players character as opposed to the static ground icons.

Not having any issues with energy upkeep. And haven’t had to switch legends almost at all since starting Herald (Maybe once or twice for sticky moment for the heal). I run Elements at all times out of combat, when it comes off cool down, use it upon entering combat for the burning while turning on Darkness and Strength, which I maintain through the fight. If I get low on energy I use Strengths active effect for the vuln and the 2 pips back. Chalk it up as a l2p issue, no offense.

Not sure if you have tried yet and just can’t. But as soon as I hit f1 I am able to hit any of my utilities and they work. The animation may be there but the swap is instant.

Something akin to the PvP runes/sigil selector would be nice. That way, as you said, we wouldn’t need to carry around and remove sigils/runes every time we feel like switching play styles. Especially when it comes to armor, where no one runes less than the 6 rune set anyways, being able to switch all the runes out at once would be super nice. And, again as Aewyn said, I don’t see this as something that would affect the sigil/rune market drastically (Especially with people who will now be joining with core being f2p).

Kidel.2057:

Sure, conjure weapons, even better, so if I want a specific weapon I’m forced to use that specific legend, great.

And that thread is even contradicting itself.

Revenant’s originality is that you don’t pick and customize your skills, but only the legends, and there you’re asking for a 4th utility, just to be like other classes.

So 4th utility: + customization – originality
Conjured weapon: – customization + originality

What do you want? Originality or customization?

I really don’t get it. Can’t you just play the class as it’s designed since it’s 100 times better?

I said “like conjures” because that’s what the thought closely resembles. And again, if you go further to read the comment I am only suggesting a way, at that time, to fix the lack of weapon versatility so that we weren’t locked into melee or ranged. Suggestions are there to produce creative thoughts among those who are there to read/listen to them. Guess that is a little too much for you to understand, though.

And where do you get off saying that this is the way they were designed?? Originally Revenant was designed without weapon swap. And because people were complaining about not having versatility, between ranged and melee, in combat they handed out weapon swap to chill the complaining. So to say they were designed this way is incorrect.

I do play Rev and will continue to play Rev even if they do just leave it with weapon swap. But it is not 100 times better imo or the opinions of quite a few people. It is clunky when paired with their class mechanic and adds nothing to them but a quick fix.

If you have nothing constructive to say on this post other than “Weapon swap is great, this idea is stupid” then please, stop posting on this thread. You’ve been heard. So leave it be.

Kidel.2057:

Vyriis.6258:

I had a suggestion similar to this as well in another post, however it was switching to a weapon depending on the legend you are invoking. Further wielding a part of the legend, if you would.

If you can’t understand by yourself why this is such a bad idea, then I have nothing to tell you.

I can’t believe that after everyone played rev in bw1 there is still this idea showing up.

Sure, everytime I legendswap I’m also forced to change weaponskills and maybe also range. Perfect idea. -_-

Should have asked what the suggestion was before implying I was suggesting forced weapons based on legends. But I forgive your ignorance.

Here. https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/revenant/Secondary-Weapon-and-4th-Utility/first#post5279552

I’m not saying it’s a perfect idea. But it is something that doesn’t force us to swap weapons when we swap legends and it gives us a utility option if we don’t want one of the set three. It also follows the theme of Revenant more so than right out weapon swapping. This could also, instead of being a 4th utility, be the weapons swap ability. When you swap legends with this still up it would just cancel out and return to normal weapon set.

There are many ways to give us second weapon choices that flow with the class design better than weapon swapping that myself and many others would rather see.

Griffith.7238:

I’m not really sure I would enjoy not having weapon swap at this point ,but there is another option that I think was already brought up that would be pretty awesome. Basically when you hit the weapon swap button instead of actually switching weapons it would give you 5 different skills for the same weapon 1 set would be melee the other ranged. So not quite like the way the spear works as it’s giving you 2 completely different loadouts for the same weapon vs. just having 2 autos.

I had a suggestion similar to this as well in another post, however it was switching to a weapon depending on the legend you are invoking. Further wielding a part of the legend, if you would.

Griffith.7238:

They did make it work with Hammer though rather surprisingly and I think it would be pretty awesome to start ranged with the Hammer and then when things got close switch it over to a melee version of the Hammer and start pounding faces.

This is why I’m suggesting it. They did do a real good job with ranged hammer. And I think they could easily follow with the idea of “throwing your weapon through the mists” with all the weapons. I was talking with a buddy just now about it and he’s in agreement that swapping legends and weapons just doesn’t flow right nor feel right with the class design. However using the mists to extend your reach does flow better with what the Revenant is supposed to be.

Kidel.2057:

I see no reason to prefer that over normal weaponswap except “muh it’s original”

Because I would like the Revenant feel like a Revenant rather than just another class. Why just hand us weapon swap which doesn’t flow with the class mechanic of utilizing the mists and legends?? Allowing us to project main hand weapons through the mists flows better with the design of the class. Makes them feel unique.

Swapping both legends and weapons just feels clunky. And can lead to issues when you wanna switch one and not the other but hit the wrong button. I just feel like Anet took the lazy way out in giving us weapon swap. There are a few posts on the forums with some really good suggestions that both give the Revenant it’s only unique play style and are thematically appealing.

Misguided.5139:

Very much true. If the weapons had all been designed to function at melee and range, there’d have been no need. But I think it would have needed to be more involved than what they did with the spear. I think every power would have needed two abilities depending on whether you had a target within range or not. That could have made for some interesting play with jumping back and forth (e.g. with Shiro)

I thought about that as well. But sort of dismissed it for one reason; being that the weapons are designed to be optimal in certain situations. Sword for getting close and staying close, but the ranged would allow for a breather when you can’t stay close. #2 has a 450 range on it and #3 is the gap closer and evade. There for needing only that ranged option to break pressure.

Hammer does more dmg while further away with cascade which can grab aggro for when you get close, where my proposed increased aggro gen on melee auto would keep them in check. #3 is an evading leap, #4 I suppose could be turned into a 130 radius deflect for self projectile protection, and #5 is a knockdown that can be used in both range and melee.

Mace #2 and #3 work in melee as well as ranged where they both have a range over 400. But when using UA both those skills lose their effectiveness where they go in a line and when the enemies are displaced are moved out of them. The auto would be able to follow them better when being displaced.

Staff, the same as sword, only needs ranged for breathing room. #2 should only work in range where it’s a 3 target daze, #3 is a 600 range support skill, #4 is a deflect and there for works in and out of melee, and #5 is a rush allowing you to get back into range to support your allies when needed.

For these reasons I dismissed needing more than just ranged/melee swap on auto. But again, just my two cents. Would like to see something of this sort rather than weapon swap.

skowcia.8257:

Well..that idea is interesing. Howered it wont happen. We will have to live with ugly wep swap whenever we like it or not. Too many people wanted wep swap and too many of them will come to defend it.

Sadly true. However I figured I would put the idea out there anyways. I think the biggest reason people so welcomed the weapon swap was the lack of ranged melee swapping with a class that had all but 1 melee sets.

Sagat.3285:

I hope you get your +1’s and support but I think it’s too late.

I agree that it might be too late, only because all those who LOVED weapon swap for it’s allowance of versatility will nay say the removal of it. But I figured I would put the idea out there. With Roy active on the forums trying to get feedback, and at least one more BWE coming up, I don’t see why it couldn’t be tested to see which people enjoy more.

After reading about, and then seeing, the spear for Revenant. I need to ask; Why did you add weapon swap instead of doing what you did for the Spears auto to the rest of the weapons? Just makes more sense and would have been better than throwing in the towel and handing out weapon swap.

Especially if you look at Hammer paired with Jalis. Jalis is meant to be the tank. Take the aggro, hold the aggro, and support your allies. Why give him the only ranged weapon when it doesn’t really make sense? Now if it was ranged until you got into melee range then switch to melee that would have been better. Draw enemies to you and keep them locked down. Add increased aggro production to melee hammer and give it protection on second/third swing and it would be a true tanks weapon.

This would also have allowed better synergy with the M/A combo for Mallyx. Axe to get yourself in range, burst your condis, then back out to ranged, maybe just 600 – 900 range, and still be able to apply condis. This would also have better synergy with Unyielding Anguish. This skill, which keeps enemies away from you and cripples you, is paired with a melee set. Giving M/A a ranged auto would allow you to keep them at a distance for a short while while still dealing dmg efficiently.

I love the Rev. The concept of it and the play style. I liked that it fell into the niche of single weapon set for the heavy profs. When I played during the first two tests I liked it as a whole, my only issue being the lack of ranged and melee swap. With the updates to the skills before BWE1 it fixed that a little, in which I found myself staying on M/A most of the time, only needing to back up every now and then, where swapping to Hammer hurt more than helped as I lost my condi application.

I might be the only one feeling this way. But I would like the removal of weapon swap and implement ranged/melee auto for all main hand weapons. Would feel better for the class in my opinion.

Narrrz.7532:

while i agree that it’s doubtful that this is the idea they’ll actually go with, i figure at the least it can’t hurt to put the thought out there. if enough people like it they might find a workable way to implement it.

That’s the hope. I care a little in how it is implemented, but at the same time I’m not overly stuck to any idea in particular. As long as the thought is out there to do something along these lines, that’s good enough for me. I want to like Rev. They are a homage to GW1 in many more ways than any class we have now. But the way they are currently just hurts their potential.

Silverkey.2078:

Alternatively, if we don’t want to have it as an elite since it would necessarily mean short duration, we could have it as a “weapon swap” but without actually equipping a new weapon.

I had given thought to both these options as well. I don’t really like the idea of them being Elites as I do sort of like the elites we have now and on top of that it would give us more elites that we don’t need over other utility.

Now being a weapon swap, the more I think about it, would be more interesting. Given there would still be room for that 4th utility and we would still get a second weapon set. And given some people will argue “well why not just give them a second weapon set?” the fact remains that it will be a class specific, legend specific, weapon. Not a weapon that we will be able to switch the stats or sigils on. But a weapon that is runs off of our current stats while playing further into the theme of the Revenant’s Legends.

Either way, though. As long as they do something about the horridness that is the Revenants skill bar. I do like how they tried something new with swapping out the back half of the bar. But it just doesn’t provide enough to make it viable.

Nitross.6987:

Kits or Conjures seem like a quick fix to me, one that would basically make the Revenant a heavy armored Engineer in terms of flavor/mechanics.

I was thinking the same thing but at the same time, at least the way I’m thinking about it, it will feel different. As much as Conjures feel different from kits. Similar but still different enough to feel like a different mechanic.

The theme of Rev is to receive power from the Legend they are invoking. Now, gaining just utilities is sort of under powered in terms of what they could be receiving from the Legend. Now giving us a weapon that we can use that is based around the Legend we are invoking seems more thematic. And I do say CAN use because you can choose not to use this. You can choose to take your hammer and the other 3 utilities over these weapons. But these weapons will amplify how much we, as the Rev, are effected by the Legends themselves.

Also, Like I pointed towards with the Mallyx weapon, the weapons will have a sense of duality. With Mallyx it’s taking in conditions in order to deal higher condition dmg. Granted this helps it can end up hurting much more. My idea for Jalis was getting his hammer and, unlike the Revs base hammer skills, it will be nothing but tank/support abilities, aside from the auto. This would be the trade off. You would be unable to do much outside of taking aggro and being a shield for your allies. Ventari, similarly, will have an auto that still deals damage but will bestow weapon skills that are more based on healing/support. This will allow us to run a primary weapon set and still be able to use weapons that connect with our Legends.

Nitross.6987:

For instance, the staff could turn projectiles into healing shards instead of reflecting them when you use it to defend while under Ventari’s stance and its attacks could lift stone shock waves that have more range/cleave when using Jalis.

Of course, I realize this is basically an “Ele atunement lite”. Essentially having different attack skills depending on the stance.

This is why I suggested a conjure weapon based on the Legend. It follows, sort of, both rules from Elem and Engis. You get a secondary weapon set, based on your f1, while losing a situational utility in order to use it. This will also be different in that the skills will run off of our energy and if we run out while wielding the weapon it will disengage and go on it’s cool down.

Just by saying this sounds too much like Elem and Engi doesn’t mean it’s not viable and can’t be tweaked to feel different. I, personally, would prefer a “Kit/conjure” mechanic on Rev where it only has 1 weapon set to use. It is a viable trade off. I did think about weapons skills changing with the legend, because a few other people have suggested it, but my biggest issue with that is that it would feel more like Elem than a conjure/kit would.

Elem and Engi have their weapons. Elem gets to switch their skills (20 in total) with their attunements and they get 1 healing, 3 utilities and 1 elite of their choice. Engis get their 5 tool belt skills and 1 healing, 3 utilities, and 1 elite of their choice. Both of whom can choose to take a conjure/kit giving them 5 more weapon skills to choose from in combat. Rev are stuck with 5 weapon skill and 2 healing, 6 utility, 2 elite based on the Legend. Giving them a run down version of Elems attunements based on legend, Hammer becomes melee or staff becomes ranged based on Legend doesn’t really change the issue. Because then you still feel forced to run certain Legends to make sure you are able to step in and out of range.

A conjure/kit style utility, though will still be forced by Legend, will allow you to keep your main hand weapon, be it ranged or melee, but then allow you to have another option. Granted you can still end up with 3 melee weapons or 3 ranged weapons that’s 3 choices instead of 2 that you aren’t forced to actually use.

tl:dr – imo Invocation adds more versatility than just forcing range/melee on a stance swap.

Future Ventari use…

Jalis’s Hammer. (Hammer) (Melee alternative)

Like Mallyx focusing on crippling the invoker in order to deal more damage. Jalis will remove almost all offensive capabilities in order to better protect his allies.

Jalis’s Hammer: Summon Jalis Ironhammers’ Hammer. While wielding this weapon you will gain 200 Toughness and Vitality.

Mighty swing: (200: 5 targets) Swing in an arc.
Mighty Blow: (200: 5 targets) Damage and cripple foes in an arc.
Devistating Blow: (150: 5 targets) Bring your hammer down on your foes causing vulnerability.

To the limit: (600: 15 second cd: 5 targets) Gain x life for each foe within range.

Bonetti’s Defence: (5 seconds: 20 second cd) Gain 25% chance to block. Successful blocks grant 5 energy.

Unstoppable: (10 seconds: 40 second cd) Gain 200 Toughness, stability, and resistance.

Dwarven Battle Stance: (Maintain) Increase attack speed by 25%, gain 200 Toughness and vitality, and your attacks cause taunt (10 targets).

This has been bothering me, and a lot of people, since playing Rev in the first stress test, and even more so since the start of this beta. The lack of in combat distance versatility is harsh. Especially given we only have one ranged weapon at the moment, being hammer, which imo is extremely clunky and slow in terms of worth while dmg.

So I was thinking of maybe a conjure utility per legend. This would allow for a second weapon set per legend. Now this will not be like the Elementalists conjures, in which you get one and one drops for an ally and both have a set amount of uses. These conjures would work more like kits in which you get one for yourself and it stays until you release it. However the difference being that these conjures would have effects that benefit the legend in which you are invoking.

So are my thoughts:

Mallyx’s Claw(s). (Daggers or Staff) (Ranged alternative)

Starting off with Mallyx as he was one of my favorites from GW1. And he is Condi based, which since the patch has been my go to (love all them numbers cluttering my screen).

Given his theme is “corruption” (Like Necromances utility type) I figured this conjure would follow this theme. Every skill on the weapon would apply a self condition as well as applying conditions to the enemy. This works two fold given the condis applied to ones self are transferred with traits like Pulsating Pestilence and skills such as, well, Mallyx’s elite, Embrace the Darkness, which is lackluster given how little use it has, in general, in PvE.

Mallyx’s Claw(s): Summon a Staff/Daggers made from the claw of Mallyx. While wielding this weapon you will periodically be inflicted with torment. (Every 2 seconds; Reduced dmg with higher condition dmg).

Wild Smash: (1200: 5 targets) Mallyx strikes target and surrounding foes (130), inflicting torment and confusion. (or just torment) Self: Torment.

Consume Torment: (1200: 5 energy: single target) For each stack of torment on you deal x dmg to target foe and transfer half the stack to that foe. Self: Weakness

Banishing Enchantment: (1200: 15 energy: 5 targets) Remove boons from foes in target area (130). For each boon removed this way inflict vulnerability and deal x dmg. Self: Bleeding

Shadow Smash: (1200: 20 energy: 5 targets) Displace (240) foes around target area inflicting poison. Self: Poison

Summoning Shadows: (1200: 20 energy: 5 targets) Pull in (240) and daze foes in target area inflicting confusion. Self: Chill

These just seem like they would fit real nice with the theme of Mallyx. Hex the wielder so they can spread the corruption. The more condis on ones self the more damage they will be able to do to their foes.

I might try to do some up for Jalis and Ventari later. But at the moment I can’t really place them how I would like without making them TOO op in their respective fields.

Anyways. Open for suggestions, approval, denial, what have you. Just please keep it civil and constructive.

Algreg.3629:

Zoltreez.6435:

Algreg.3629:

I´ve been training Martial Arts for half my life and I personally don´t think this is a very good addition. I know, suspension of disbelief and all, but unarmed combat has only been used on the battlefield as a rare necessity, and even then usually not in military style conflicts. It just makes no sense to move into battle unarmed in a medieval fantasy settting. Historically, unarmed martial arts has only been used against armed opponents due to oppression (not allowed to own weapons, eg Okinawa) or because of ethical restrictions in an act of self defense (eg. Chinese monasteries).

yeah and elementalist were runing arround throwing fireballs in the medival era right ?

1 word

MAGIC thats why fantasy games are good thx to imposible and crazy stuff MAGIC can do.

https://youtu.be/UXD1tUp8rc4?t=1m29s

MAGIC

this look 100% cooler then swinging a weapon :P

well, your flaw here should be rather obvious even to yourself, but I give it a shot and try to explain. Even suspension of disbelief is based on adhering to concepts you create within your fantasy. An example: Premise A – Magic exists and can do x,y,z things. So you can do that in your story/world. you cannot do u,v,w without breaking the suspension. Weapons and armors exist in GW2, so there are rules similar to real history in this regard. This isn´t really too hard a concept to grasp. Next time before you try engaging in satire you´d like to check the premises for a minute or two.

Alright, so, as I can agree with you that unarmed vs armed combat is not used outside of self defense, or people trying to prove themselves in a duel. What the op is suggesting is something you would see in actual combat. Not in a full on war situation but in small scale battles. I, as yet another martial artist, dual wield bucklers. Is this unarmed, no, but it follows the same basic rule in which I am within arms reach of my target, with a slight extension. This can extend to wearing iron leggings or iron feet guards for dealing heavier damage with my kicks.

You do, in fact, see many cultures implementing armored limbs, only, in their fighting style. This stems from something else the op mentioned in which having a weapon, as such a sword or an axe, feels wrong as it is an extension of ones self instead of merely extra skin. I can say I am of this same mind where I find weapons that are more connected to myself easier to use and I find I can still best my opponents whom use extension weapons.

I have also thought about asking Anet to implement, at least, fist weapons. Not leg weapons as the animations can get clunky and take away from the mobility that the game offers whilst in combat. My thought was more around giving main hand focus as a weapon as a means of focusing your power through it directly into your enemies. Though a Both hands set, like the daggers in the original game, might be more appealing for better skill fluency. But that is left for debate.

Anyways. You can sit here and argue that Magic is acceptable and close range weapons aren’t but at the end of the day this game isn’t a war game. We can fight large groups of enemies, but as long as I’ve played this game I have yet to come across any fight, aside from giant world bosses (where none of the weapons make sense to be fighting them anyways), in which I couldn’t think myself in there with my bucklers breaking some bones.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/0/03/Aureate_Charm.jpg
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/1/1d/Chaos_Focus_Skin.jpg
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/d/df/Crimson_Lion_Focus_Skin.jpg
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/e/e7/Hero%27s_Focus.jpg
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/3/3e/Peacemaker%27s_Focus.jpg
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/9/92/Wupwup_Artifact.jpg

^ All weapons I can see myself dual wielding to get up in my enemies face with. ^

TL:DR: If you read the op’s post again he does not say to go in unarmed but rather to use some sort of knuckler and leg guards. knucklers I support as they are a viable weapon for mobile melee combat, akin to daggers albeit blunt force instead of piercing. This is something you can see in many cultures as a means of fighting. Not just something the poor or otherwise unequipped had to resort to.

Not sure why… But this post is actually a little irritating. So. The original GW2 release gave us a story. A massive open world. Eight classes and five races to choose from. Three WvW borderlands and Eternal Battle ground. Two PvP game types with a hand full of maps. After launch we were updated with two seasons of living story, completely free, mind you (unless of course you didn’t log in during the second season in which 200 gems isn’t that much. 30-40g-ish per episode).

Heart of Thorns, which we still have no idea how much it is actually going to be yet, is offering, as we know: Continuation to the story. A massive update to the map (Heart of the Maguuma. Not sure if you’ve looked at the map lately, but the Maguuma is the far west side of the map. Which includes both the Magus Falls and the Maguuma Wastes). A new WvW map. A new PvP game type with a new map, and most likely more to come with seasons. A new class and specializations for all existing classes as well as the new class. And the Mastery system (Which is being put in place across ALL of Tyria). (Probably forgot something, but you get the gist.)

Now with all that said. As someone who was part of the “Stress Tests” (NOT BETA; The tag was there but that’s NOT what this was) I can honestly say I am liking what I’ve seen so far and am very excited to see what is to come. I am one who is willing to pay for the continuation of this game. Remember, even with the cash shop in place, they still need a good source of income. Paid expansions are that way. You still play the game which means you enjoy the content. Which means Anet needs to keep paying it’s employees to keep producing the content in which you so enjoy.

Wait for more information on what they are offering, in full, before judging it. We have no idea how big this expansion is actually going to be. All Anet has given us thus far is the major features. They have yet to connect all the dots in between. So until then don’t be shooting down all the people who actually had fun and thought the Stress Test Was great.

Psycho Robot.7835:

. . . just like quaggans, they fail completely at existence and are sad, lumpy, useless, pathetic things.

This made me laugh harder than I probably should have, considering how your post started. But this is pretty much how I feel about them as a race. I’m not all for genocide, unless it comes to humans, but quaggans really are so useless and excessively annoying that I kind of wish them killed off. The fact that people find them so cute and they are EVERYWHERE makes me want to join my courtier siblings and slaughter them all, after the humans of course, or maybe before, to be decided.

With that said. I am all for these two coming to be. As when/if I find them it will remind me of this post and give me a hearty chuckle, yet again. And because, as you said, they fit the profile quite nicely.

Lindelle.3718:

-They actually made the side-scroller playable, though I can’t seem to find if that is still available, just this update

For those that want to check the actual game out. https://d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/rampage/index.html

Eilis.6089:

Considering the Tengu originally hail (primarily) from Cantha, I expect if and when they become a playable race, it will be with a Cantha-related expansion. Not that I wouldn’t love to see another playable race, but this is how I view it.

I hate centaurs, having killed probably hundreds of them in game. Please give us Tengu before we go to centaurs!

You must not know the lore well. They didn’t “primarily” come from Cantha. Two tribes came from Cantha, the Angchu and Sensali. However there were three tribes already residing on Tyria, the Avicara, Caromi, and Quetzal. And on top of that the Elder Dragons are a pressing matter for everyone in Tyria. The Tengu have already mentioned being attacked by Primordus within their walls. Who’s to say Mordrem aren’t sprouting up within the wall as well.

This is not to say I’m completely disagreeing with you. But Anet has already stated, due to an issue with NCSoft, that we most likely wont be going back to Cantha. And I’m sure they want the Tengu as much as we do, maybe. So they will find a way to put them in. Just a matter of time and threat. Heck. They may even decide to open up after Mordremoth is dead. We have then killed two Elder Dragons and now the Tengu want us to help in killing Primordus as they can’t go it alone. Something like that, maybe.

Pifil.5193:

http://www.shacknews.com/article/87848/guild-wars-2-director-discusses-heart-of-thorns-revenants-guild-halls-and-more

An excerpt from the interview on Shacknews.

Shacknews: You’ve added a new profession, however you did hold off on adding a new race. What led to this decision?

Johanson: … “So right now, we didn’t feel that a new race was a key need for the game, whereas the other things that we’re adding really provide fundamental building blocks for the future.”

Sorry, Vyriis, I’m not trying to be a spoil-sport. I’d love a new race too but I think that they’re being very clear here in order to manage expectations and avoid confusion and I think that’s a great idea. It’ll mean fewer angry posts later on.

Well that’s a bummer. At least Anet put it out there, though. Thanks for the link, hadn’t seen that article.

Pifil.5193:

Vyriis.6258:

Guess what else isn’t mentioned on the site that we clearly see in the trailer. New allies, the Mursaat. They may say they are going to divulge all the major information on their site. But not everything they think is major is the same that we think is major. Also. This is Anet we are talking about. It’s a well known fact that they like to tease the information. So, again, to write anything off as of right now isn’t the best idea.

Umm… it is mentioned on the page, under The Heart of Maguuma “discover allies from ancient civilizations, and battle new enemies.”

https://heartofthorns.guildwars2.com/en/

My bad. I overlooked that. But my statement still stands. Writing off anything at this point is not something that should be done. Just because they haven’t said anything about releasing a new race does not mean it’s not going to happen. In regards to the Tengu specifically. Considering Mordremoth is attacking everywhere in Tyria, almost everywhere, we can assume it is also attacking within the Dominion of Winds. So to say that the Tengu will not join us is more so just saying “I don’t want them so they shouldn’t join us.”

Pifil.5193:

Q: When is the next big feature reveal for what’s coming in this expansion?
A: We wanted to reveal Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns when we were ready to talk about every major feature we’re planning. That’s why right now, every major feature planned for Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns is there for you to check out at http://heartofthorns.guildwars2.com. That said, there are so many details left to uncover and share with you, to show you, and to eventually let you play as we take you on the journey from now through launch.

“So many details left to uncover….” Indeed. Again. Who’s to say they did give us everything. They say they do but Anet does like to tease. A new playable race could very well be one of those “details to uncover” they are referring to. Just saying. I am remaining hopeful for another playable race, as Sylvari are the only ones I care about right now and I really don’t feel like making my Revenant a Sylvari as well. They are sort of shimmying Revenant in here as a new class. Why not try to Jimmy Rig a new race in here as well. Even though making Tengu playable right now would make WAY more sense than Revenant being a playable class. Just saying.

Pifil.5193:

Vyriis.6258:

Naus the Gobbo.5172:

Wilwynd.5798:

I know, but if not a sneaky put in in this expansion, when will we see that new race?

There is NO new race for this expansion.

Just going to point this out. But we actually don’t know if there will or will not be a new race added in this expansion. Where as the trailer pointed at “New Civilizations” and “New Group Content”. But neither were touched upon within the information Colin handed us. So it is best to keep an open mind rather than to just write no explanation off as “it’s not happening”. In fact the “New Civilization” the trailer referred to could very well be a new playable race. Or maybe just a minor race. Just a little food for thought.

They’ve also said that they’ve put all the major features that they plan to put in HoT on the page on this website, that page mentions the new class, new maps and so on but does not mention a new race.

I think that we can agree that a new race would be a major feature so it’s safe to say that there won’t be a new race.

Guess what else isn’t mentioned on the site that we clearly see in the trailer. New allies, the Mursaat. They may say they are going to divulge all the major information on their site. But not everything they think is major is the same that we think is major. Also. This is Anet we are talking about. It’s a well known fact that they like to tease the information. So, again, to write anything off as of right now isn’t the best idea.

Naus the Gobbo.5172:

Wilwynd.5798:

I know, but if not a sneaky put in in this expansion, when will we see that new race?

There is NO new race for this expansion.

Just going to point this out. But we actually don’t know if there will or will not be a new race added in this expansion. Where as the trailer pointed at “New Civilizations” and “New Group Content”. But neither were touched upon within the information Colin handed us. So it is best to keep an open mind rather than to just write no explanation off as “it’s not happening”. In fact the “New Civilization” the trailer referred to could very well be a new playable race. Or maybe just a minor race. Just a little food for thought.

Corrada.7304:

NO for new race!
YES for ONLY new heavy class!
By the way. Why do you think Anet gave us XP-weekend? So we can hit lvl 80 for a new “funny story” or an expansion. ;s
^ Fixed that for you ^
Wanna play tengu? go to GW1 buy Bonus Mission Pack and play! And Tengu is Cantha only…

First off; I’m guessing you didn’t play GW1 Bonus Missions. Because you don’t play as Tengu but rather Master Togo. I know this as I have played it. Second; Tengu are NOT Canthan only. Caromi, Quetzal, and Avicara are all native Tyrians. Not only that but, and I’m guessing you haven’t read any of the lore either, the Tengu that were in Cantha, the Sensali and Angchu, were forced out of Cantha and moved to Tyria, because of the Xenophobic emperor.

As for the XP boost. Anet usually does things like this when the Hype train starts. They want players who are just coming in to be able to hit 80 as soon as possible and get through the current story so that they will be ready for what is to come.

Now. If you have nothing constructive to add to the conversation please keep your air-headed remarks to yourself. Thank you.

Exroyal.9053:

Have they in any way been tied to what we’re playing through? No.

Wrong, actually. Not to make a mountain out of a mole hill. But there was a Tengu in the original story line. Granted he was only a craftsman, but still. To write them out completely and immediately dismiss the idea of them being implanted in the story as it is or was is sort of ignorant. I’ve put a lot of thought into many ways the Tengu can be placed into the story, both current and past, and don’t see why it can’t happen.

Current story, as I’ve already said, can be as simple a reason as they are fed up with the Dragons minions invading their lands. It can also be, and this ties into my thoughts on the original personal story, that the few black sheep of the Tengu who helped with the down fall of Zhaitan have finally encouraged the rest of, or maybe just a faction within, the Tengu to aid the other races.

So to clarify the original story involvement; The PC Tengu could be on the side of actually helping the other races. They see that the Dragons are a threat that needs to be dealt with and in turn joins the pact to help eradicate them. As someone has mentioned before, where the Tengu don’t have a member of Destiny’s Edge of their race, they could simply be taken in by one of the current members. “Oh but that wouldn’t work. No one aside from Tengu are allowed in the DoW.” Though this is true what if the PC confides in their mentor, a Tengu within their House/Clan, that they feel they need to help take down the Dragons. The mentor, being a true mentor and seeing this as a sign of a true warrior, tells him of a group who has fought the Elder Dragons and their champions before, and are trying to get as many willing bodies as possible to help in the cause. The PC then ventures out to find this person, I’m going to say either Caithe, as Sylvari would be the closest and have little negative history with Tengu, or maybe Eir, being a hunter from another warrior-esque race, to help them prepare to face the Elder Dragon threat.

I mean, yes, it is unlikely that Anet is thinking of adding another race simply because they can’t, or maybe they have and are, think of ways to implant them in the Zhaitan story. But there are a few ways it can be done while still making sense. Not everything is black and white.

Xenon.4537:

I sure hope they add Tengu, but part of me doubts they will be added in HoT. It just doesn’t feel right. At the very least they should do season 3 before adding HoT and use the LS to ease the Tengu into the story with Mordremoth.

I sort of agree with you here. I do have my doubts with them adding Tengu with HoT. However, with that said, I must disagree with you on the need for a season 3 to introduce them. I believe with a well done intro scene they can easily place them in with a nice reason for their joining us now. Something along the lines of “Not only do we have Destroyers rising from the ground and Risen at our shores, throwing our humble home into chaos, but now Mordremoths filth. With the Pacts fleets defeated we believe it is our time to take flight and join with our fellow Tryians to bring the fight to the real threat. We shall aid in their quest to destroy those who threaten our home!”. But that is just me being hopeful.

Xenon.4537:

And as far as adding Kodan, people love to forget that they are literally directly related to Norn. The Norn are descended from them. Stylistically they are Norn with bear heads and fur.

Largos are even less likely IMO. Their “wings” are too big and would present really bad clipping issues…

I was going to put something along these lines in my post. But I figured it had been said enough on the threads made by people wanting them as a playable race.

With all the hype about possibly getting Tengu with this upcoming expansion I would like to simply state one and request two things.

First off: I’ve loved the Tengu since the first time I encountered them in GW1. They are, indeed, my favorite race. Followed by Margonites and Mursaat, but that’s beside the point. Tengu have so much lore that has already been touched upon and so much more to delve into. I simply love this race and it’s culture.

And I know some people object to Tengu being playable in favor of others such as the Kodan or Largos. However. Tengu already have a long standing presence in Tyria, some of them, anyways. It is their home as much as ours. The Kodan and Largos come from foreign lands and are, in the Largos case, shrouded in mystery, and should honestly stay that way for the sake of remaining fascinating. Kodan, also a mystical people, can only remain that way when we know little about them. More lore on these two races would be nice but only enough to keep them interesting. When too much is revealed there is nothing to wonder about and they lose their mysticism. Besides that, the Kodan are much too peaceful to be a playable race. They seek to rebuild their homes and live in peace once again. Unlike a good portion of PCs who are warmongers.

And back on track.

Second thing: I would really like, if/when we do get Tengu, for there to be an Owl variant (specifically Snowy Owl). Yes I know we see no such variant in the past. However 250 years had passed since GW1s time. Who’s to say other Tengu from around the world did not hear of this sanctuary known as The Dominion of Winds and flocked to it as well before the shores and borders were closed off. There are many possible avian species that could appear in Tengu form. And I think variation from the original Caromi, Angchu, Avicara, Sensali, and Quetzal looks would be nice. Such as the Macaw and Peacck variations in the concept art.

And finally!

Third thought: Ever since beta, when I did play Ranger, I wanted a griffon pet. It’s unfair that the Ogres get them but we can’t. If/when we do get Tengu, especially Owl Tengu, I would LOVE to be able to run Ranger with an Owl Griffon pet.

TL:DR – If you are, in fact, finally, adding Tengu to the playable races. If it is not too late. Make an Owl variant, please.

Anyways. I’ve taken up enough of your time, if you have actually read all the way through. Just a wish from a dedicated Guild Wars player.

I thank you for all you have done in creating the wonderful world known as Tyria and all the mystery that surrounds it.

Much love,

Krycii Dyllethia.

I used to think the same thing. In fact I still don’t care much for the full Zerk gear set up being meta. However I accept it for one simple reason. I was a GW1 player. More specifically I was a heavy Speed Clearer. This addresses two things.

1) I like getting my runs done as fast as possible. The best way to do this is max dps with skillful players (Know how to dodge and how mob mechanics work).
2) GW1 didn’t have gear sets. Everyone essentially ran blank gear, because the gear didn’t give bonus to any stat, save for those you bought runes to increase.

Running Zerk is pretty much the same thing. We put our faith in our skills and gamble with our lives to make our runs as fast as possible. And I get this isn’t for everyone and that’s fine. I don’t scoff at people who don’t run Zerk. I do however get annoyed when my ad says “X Dungeon | 80’s Only | Exp ZERK Only!” And people join with PVT gear. I don’t care if you run PVT. It has its uses. Just not in a “Zerk Only” group. Illiteracy does get kicked from my party with a kind message about reading the ad they are signing up for.

This is not to say other gear sets are useless and ZERK is GOD. But just know that Zerk is sort of expected in most groups for a fast run. And as some have stated; you can always make your own group with a trinity set up if you can’t stand the Zerk meta. Even I will agree that sometimes having a healer or tank on board helps in some situations.

I don’t care what anyone says about scholars not being able to use bows. But ever since I saw “The Dreamer” I couldn’t help to think how awesome it would be to be able to use that on my Mesmer. Not only do I not care much for the classes that use short bow. But “The Dreamer” doesn’t really fit with either of the classes, either. However, what would be more amazing than being a Mesmer (A class based around messing with the enemies mind) with a weapon called “The Dreamer” that shoots Unicorns?? I would LOVE to have short bow added to the Mesmer. Just my 2 cents.

Personally prefer GS. I love Chaos storm, too. But it doesn’t do as much as I need it to to be effective. And the rest of the skills aren’t worth as much as the GS skills. Throwing down a feedback and throwing Mirror Blade through it will cause Confusion, give you might, and cause Vaulnerability. Followed by I’Zerker for heavy burst dmg and cripple, and finishing them off with Mind Stab. If they are still alive (Stubborn mobs/Vets/Champs). Switch to Sw/F, drop I’Warden and smack them a few times with #2. Quick, easy, powerful. Much faster than what I could do with a Staff. And by the looks of things walking around. Most other Mesmers have the same opinion, as I run into more using GS + Sw/F than Staffs.

My elegant Male Sylvari Mesmer. A true flower of the Brand

It really all depends on how you are built Stats and ’quip wise. I personally have a really easy time in close range. Not only can you utilize your clones to divert attention from yourself. But you also have the swords #2 which graints distortion during its use, making you invulnerable. And just like being at a distance, using dodge/roll is some what needed.

I use a Valkyrie armor set (Power/Vitality/Crit. Dmg) with Berserk Weapon (Power/Prec/Crit. Dmg), Knights Amulet (Power/Prec/Tough), and Clerics Rings and Earring (Power/Tough/Healing Power), and stats set at 20/20/10/20/0.

I tend to actually stick in close range with this set up. Throwing down I’zerker and Mirror Blade (Throw up an Ether Field such as feedback [to apply confusion]) before running in then swapping to Sword/Focus and throwing down I’Warden and use Blurred Frenzy (#2). If things are still standing CoF what ever Clones are still up, Mirror Image and I’Leap (Instant 3 clones) and Mind Wreck them. Get’s the job done 90% of the time. The other 10% are Stubborn mobs/Vets/Champs. I also rarely go down with this build. If I do I am usually always right back up on my feet. (Note that this is usually for larger grouping. Single – triple mobs can usually be taken down with an I’zerker and Mirror Blade + MW and a quick #2 from sword when they get close)

So. To the point. Mesmers are just as good in close range as they are at long range. Squishy enough to make a fight enjoyable, but strong enough to force your enemy into submission.