Guild Wars 2

I know there are some rules on the forum preventing me from using non-constructive methods of comment. Therefore, I shall censor myself:
(Censored) No (Censored).
All a finite amount of energy does is create a point where as someone cannot perform anything. This means downtimes and downtimes are boring.
Thief’s initiative is a great mechanic because the choice of ability is adversative, meaning using one will prevent the thief from using the other based on resource management whereas CD mechanics makes the use of one ability unable to use the same ability which encourages more synergy rather than adversative choices.
Throwing mana with CD is just a step back.

About the phantasm nerf on LoS, I believe there are two ways of looking at the problem:
1. Your phantasm are living conditions that are dispelled upon their death. This means that, like any other conditions, should you miss, their effect should be null and void. This approach is justifiable but not favoured by most since phantasms have no durations and do not behave like conditions in general. However, the most recent nerf treats them more and more like simple conditions whose damage increases with power, for the most case.
2. Phantasms are like pet. This interpretation does makes alot more sense since they are autonomous, have their own statistics based on the mesmer’s and have a particular attack that may not just ditch damage(iWarden=condition that blocks projectile???). Pet may run after their targets even if they escape the mesmer’s sight and behave independantly of the mesmer’s actions.
Based on the second interpretation, the easy fix around that problem would be to make the iBerserker spawn at the mesmer’s location and have his first attack being a whirlwind toward the target. This would raise the skill ceiling of the GS gameplay by having the mesmer lining his spawn attacks with combo fields or ennemy formations for maximum effect. Because the mesmer’s zerker was spawning on target and, like a pet, could run around LoS in his very nature, I firmly believe that was a total imbalance, but I fervently disaggre with that solution and would like it revert in favor of a point-blank spawn mechanic.

Sword+Pistol/sword+focus
0
20(pistol and sword mastery)
15(3% dmg redux per illusion)
15(20% phantasm health)
20(3% dmg per illusion, phantasmal haste)

Going for pure power, precision and condition damage.
Once I have three phantasm out, odds are Im going to cap the 25 bleeding stacks.
It’s hard to pull off, but it’s satisfying once you master the craft.
+ if you have a source of regen in the party, you will have a -40% damage taken at all time and etherfeast is a really good heal for your health at 3 illusions out.

Clones can do damage via conditions. Staff clones ditch alot of pain through wind of chaos and sword clones with sharper image and 60% crit and higher and a high condition damage will often deal more damage than an illusionnary swordsman, although not as much as a berserker geared swordsman. Plus, they stack vulnerability and remove boons.

GS and scepter clones are pure shatterfodder though.

Aveneo.2068:

I’ll say the same as I said in another thread, basically coming down to 3 words:

Lyss and Ilya

There are 2 unique illusionary pistols in the game, but each has a distinct name. The same pistols are being used by the iDuelist. Lyss and Ilya are the 2 ‘halves’ of Lyssa (who is basically the patron goddess of Mesmers).

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Lyssa

So why are Mesmers not able to wield both sister weapons together?

As it is apparent that the Mesmer appears to be lacking a midrange power mainhand weapon it feels as if the developers initially intended the Mesmer to have a pistol as a mainhand weapon to begin with. But maybe they could not decide on a set of abilities that could be tied into it whilst still retaining the ‘feel’ of the Mesmer.

So I hope that someday soon they will be able to come to a satisfactory set of abilities and provide us with a pistol as a mainhand weapon.

Not sure if the rules on these forums allow for a petition though; but I’d sign it!

One could argue that those pistols are also applicable to thieves whom may fall under the purview of Lyssa should they choose a path of deception and trickery. (There might be a reason for engineer, but heck if I know…)

However, since the iDuelist is wielding both of them, I would like to think that, not only Anet made those items as a reference to Lyssa, they actually are planning to add mainhand pistols as futur content update and left it there as an easter egg the same way Batman Arkham Asylum had a secret room spoiling the early design of Arkham City.

Hence why, since it might still be in development, I’m laying down some ideas, free of patent for them to rip off, should they take a look at it.

Wishful thinking… maybe…

Pyroatheist.9031:

@catqeer: The reason mesmer needs mainhand pistol…and not shields…is because we lack a mid-range power weapon. This needs to be fixed.

@detltanium: Having pistol with an emphasis on projectile finishers is fine, but the basic focus of the pistol needs to be power damage, as opposed to condition damage like the scepter.

I like the autoattack idea, as well as the clone generator. We don’t currently have any ground targeted clone summons, so this could be an interesting mechanic. On the other hand….we don’t currently have any ground targeted clone summons, and I don’t know how difficult it would be from a coding standpoint.

I’m a little iffy on your suppressing fire idea. I feel like mesmer needs at least 1 weapon that is able to do viable aoe damage at range, and while your suppressing fire idea is interesting, it doesn’t seem to provide the aoe capability that really is necessary.

To be honest, the projectile finisher part was more akin to the support capability of the weapon set, along the line of blinding, lifestealing, regeneration, freezing or condition removal, but it is somewhat true that mesmers are essentially limited to ethereal combo fields(Unless you have a focus on offhand). Nevertheless, most pistol abilities relies on a 20%-100% projectile finisher (except the offhand engineer which shoots flames and glue wtf?). So, to conclude, to be debated, but I feel like stacking any conditions would just make the auto-attack somewhat unoriginal. I feel mesmer needs to be somewhat wacky and deceptively bluffing in its approach to combat and have some gimmicky mechanics for every situations.

Also, bear in mind that clones use this attack meaning it should have something other than raw damage. The scepter’s and greatsword’s which are shatter-fodders. However, the sword clone inflict vulnerability and removes a boon every 3 attack, making them more worthwhile in combat and the staff clone’s wind of chaos may quadruple the pain/boons.

The latter category of clones are so much more interesting than the former and, depending on the spec, even superior to their phantasmal counterparts hence why, should I have the choice, I would like to make the auto-attack worthwhile in the event mesmer could weild pistol in main hand.

As for the suppressing fire, the damage could be ramped up should the damage be dealth the same way as elementalist’s meteor, IE storm-like effect in a cone spreading. Likewise, since the projectile has a random chance to connect compared to an AoE like lava wave or chaos storm, the damage of a single projectile may be up to 1k-1,5k in a power based gear, (berserker or soldier) while slowing and weakening the ennemies in the targetted area regardless of a hit by one of the scattering projectiles. Furthermore, at point blank or against larger targets, this could result in a serious burst of damage that would make it worthwhile.

That being said, should suppressing fire be made like a spreadshot, I would ramp up the wacky factor. Instead of simply selecting a zone that would suffer the effect and a chance to hit, the zone could scale in width based on the distance between the mesmer and the targetted area. For instance, should the mesmer created a zone close to himself or herself, the spread would be, say 120 degree in front of him, creating a large crippling and weakening zone, but a low chance of hitting an ennemy in that zone. But, should the targetted area be at, say, max distance of 900 unit, the spread angle would be 30 degree of width making it alot more likely to hit a target at long range, but not as useful in the crippling/weakening department, making the hypothetical suppressing fire more versatile and not strictly overpowering.

I understand the concern of damage and would like to see bigger numbers, but as far as I am concern, big damage with no fun is not fun.

While I would agree to see pistol as main hand, I feel that pistol should be defined properly prior to integration to fit a certain playstyle.
GS: Essentially a sniper weapon, insisting on long range and direct damage, much like Ranger’s longbow with a decent amount combo finisher.
Staff: Long range condition damage with combo field and support.
Septer: Mid-Long range condition damage damage weapon with emphasis on cloning generation.
Therefore, I would suggest that pistol should be a mid-range weapon(600-900 or long range with the trait) that would deal mainly direct damage with an emphasis on projectile finishers. Maybe something akin to a ranger’s shortbow with a lesser emphasis on mobility(Mesmer’s mobility is good enough without weapon skills).
Suggested skill-set:
1: Ethereal shot: A basic auto-attack with 20% projectile finisher, maybe with a chain leading to a third-shot-effect such as 100% projectile finisher(Making utility combo-field more worthwhile and not being OP silly).
2: Deflected shot: Creates a clone at the targetted area. The clone fires a first empowered shot that has 100% projectile finisher at the targetted ennemy. The clone is stationnary and fires ethereal shot afterward. This could be useful if an object or a field such as smokescreen would otherwise nullify the effect of a shot despite the mesmer being blocked or obstructed.
3: Suppressing fire: Channelled ability that causes weakness and cripple in the targetted area. Furthermore, random projectiles (Projectile finisher 20%) are shot in an arc between the mesmer and the targetted area. This would provide the mesmer profession with a bit of AoE proficiency while not being necessarely a strong one.
Adding a pistol as mainhand would not require any trait alteration or addition and would be a niche appeal for mesmer. Plus, pistol is a rather unused weapon(Thief and engineer being the only one, with mesmer as only offhand use).

Amen Ryuujin.

I also enjoy the class more than any others and will stick to it though thick and thin. I cannot be more satisfied than when against a boss with 3 duelists, I stack 25 bleeding on my own with sharper images(with the sigil that stacks bleeding) or on the boon-based bosses such as the golem in CoE with the 4 beacon that cannot sustain his boons under the hail of sword clones and myself dispelling them every three hit for the whole fight and stacking bleeding and vulnerability.

It may not be all that good in the damage department, but when it comes to versatility and survival, mesmer is second to none.

More tender love and care please, but no hard feeling on the nerf.

Good idea, and would be forseeable in an expansion or something along those lines. Just make sure the maximum character capacity would be increased to 9 following this addition or make it available through the Black Lion’s company(if Anet would increase the character capacity with the unlock of the profession.) It’s major and worth paying for in my opinion.

While I would agree to see pistol as main hand, I feel that pistol should be defined properly prior to integration to fit a certain playstyle.

GS: Essentially a sniper weapon, insisting on long range and direct damage, much like Ranger’s longbow with a decent amount combo finisher.

Staff: Long range condition damage with combo field and support.

Septer: Long range condition damage damage weapon with emphasis on cloning generation.

Therefore, I would suggest that pistol should be a mid-range weapon(600-900 or long range with the trait) that would deal mainly direct damage with an emphasis on projectile finishers. Maybe something akin to a ranger’s shortbow with a lesser emphasis on mobility(Mesmer’s mobility is good enough without weapon skills).

Suggested skill-set:
1: Ethereal shot: A basic auto-attack with 20% projectile finisher, maybe with a chain leading to a third-shot-effect such as 100% projectile finisher(Making utility combo-field more worthwhile and not being OP silly).
2: Deflected shot: Creates a clone at the targetted area. The clone fires a first empowered shot that has 100% projectile finisher at the targetted ennemy. The clone is stationnary and fires ethereal shot afterward. This could be useful if an object or a field such as smokescreen would otherwise nullify the effect of a shot despite the mesmer being blocked or obstructed.
3: Suppressing fire: Channelled ability that causes weakness and cripple in the targetted area. Furthermore, random projectiles (Projectile finisher 20%) are shot in an arc between the mesmer and the targetted area. This would provide the mesmer profession with a bit of AoE proficiency while not being necessarely a strong one.

Adding a pistol as mainhand would not require any trait alteration or addition and would be a niche appeal for mesmer. Plus, pistol is a rather unused weapon(Thief and engineer being the only one, with mesmer as only offhand use).

The only problem I would see with this addition is that it should be part of a greater patch with more profession-weapon association modification such as hammer for engineer and other additions for underused weapons for niche-needing professions. From Anet’s perspective, such addition would add a refreshing wind to the game and I could see why it would not be released anytime soon.

Therefore, I am not saying it is a must or that the Mesmer profession would suffer from it, but I am of the opinion that it would make a great addition and I would definitely use it should it be added to the game.

From Stat-based to skill-based.
From aestethics to gameplay mechanic.
And now from consolation prizes to second chances.

Arena net never stops doing all the right things.

Free tips:
First, think of something informative regarding your topic name.
Second, consider the fact that GW2 shop does not sell power otherwise not obtainable in game, mere skins. However they might exploit your need to look neet(I’ll sell my liver for a scythe skin), caveat emptor, let the buyer beware.
Great work Anet.

Necrotic Grasp is actually an AoE linear attack that hits everything within the trajectory of your target. As a single DPS, it is somewhat weaker, but as an AoE, like the rest of the staff’s ability, it’s over all pretty decent.

As an additional bonus, every enemy hit by the necrotic grasp grants you 3% life force meaning if it pierces 3 targets, you basically get 9% life force back.

I cannot say for the elementalist equivalent, but over all, as a necromancer with a staff, I am lead to believe that I am specced out as an AoE provider rather than a burst DPS.

Hope that helps.