Guild Wars 2

Malinkij.3561:

Problem with Confounding Suggestions is, that every daze will be converted in a 1sec stun. All daze duration bonuses will be ignored. But the 15% sigil bonus seems to be aplied. Could also be more than 15% because it feels like the same duration as the daze with the 33% bonus.

As for PvE:
I think I will never have so much crit dmg. I brought that only up `cause of the new option (through living story update) to go VTP, which is only available through crafting. Of course only to use it in WvW^^

From what I’ve seem to gather, rune of the mesmer does in-fact effect mantra stun. Coupled with the 15% extra, it does seem to effectively stack. That’s just my observation when I began testing out this build a couple weeks ago.

RedCobra.7693:

Hmm yes but ill loose reduced damage on clones and blink is far enough with the staff tele i dont want to exit the fight :P but could you elaborate on arcane theivery as im having difficulty thinking of the 3rd utility to use as i normally use a condition remover but i have sigil of purity on my staff and heal conditions on mirror heal

Arcane thievery transfers up to a maximum of 3 conditions from you, and rips 3 boons from your foe. Although you think you’d lose damage from clones, you’d actually be dealing out much more damage in terms of shatter frequency. With the combination of 1.2k blink range, staff blink, and GS. you can kite while dealing effective damage. It’s a nice addition to survivability without risking too much in terms of lost damage.

RedCobra.7693:

wont this effect my power output by 200? + the cooldown for greatsword +50 power, i do like the shorter cooldowns, i would also loose fury on phantasms :C

Give it a try in sPvP Take far reaching manipulation + manipulation cooldowns with Arcane Thievery +decoy + Blink

If you run 0/20/20/0/30, with illusionary elasticity, you can pull of some really good damage. Illusionary elasticity with staff deals like 800-900 damage per auto cast +2 conditions and 1 boon granted to you. Mirror Blade also does 4-6k damage. This, I believe, is a must for GS/Staff combinations since you benefit directly from it.

fadeaway.2807:

Am I missing something? You don’t have access to many dazes, was it realy worth focusing your traits and gear on them?

Yes, the trait really is worth it, since the dazes last longer, when they are converted and proc as a stun, they’re a long lasting stun. Stun’s are OP because they root people to the ground. Unlike dazes where you can still move and mitigate damage through dodgerolls and other mechanics (hiding behind objects etc.) stuns secure people into the ground. Go a head and try it out in sPvP, it’s like your very own B Venom on demand, at a much lower cool down. I also sometimes depending on the situation, slot out staff for scepter/sword, for the extra blocks + sword daze (which correlates directly to a stun) However, I use staff for AoE stuns due to chaos field providing dazes.

Malinkij.3561:

I´m also just about to try some similiar Blackout Mesmer for WvW with the AoE Diverion trait. Just like this playstyle too much^^

One question: Is there any need for dmg? Cause I would like to go fully defense.
I mean for PvE: Vit/tough/power.

I’ve gone with full PVT armour and jewels, however I’ve gotten a couple Zerker items (namely my staff and sword). The pressure from your iDuelist and iWarlock are enough to deal damage, to take down targets singularly, however, I went with the toughness gear in WvW because I roam with another DPS thief/shatter mesmer. This allows me to take a bulk of the damage while locking people down for the DPS to do it’s job.

It’s also pretty cool to note that since phantasms have fury, they’re sitting at roughly 50% crit chance with 50-60% crit dmg depending on how you space your gear out. So the iDuelists and iWarlock hit like a brick (iWarlock especially, if you time it right you can get 6-7k crits off.)

[Build] StunWay: A perfect balance of control and pressure.

As a Guild Wars veteran, and an avid PvPer, I loved the ability to lockdown opponents and deliver those annoying interrupts causing much frustration to monks and ele’s alike in Random Arenas. Running only Mesmer and Ranger, the feeling of being able to predict the enemy and deliver that well timed sav shot, or a crucial blackout often won games. This I feel, was a major aspect to skill cap with rangers and mesmer in the original series.

This type of play style is one which I have missed, with much lack of interrupts on the ranger, I turned to my mesmer in hopes of developing a substantial CC build, that combines enough solo survivability as well as amazing group control.

Confounding Suggestions has been one of those traits, that I and many other mesmers have just overlooked. However, turning that long duration daze into a stun has been nothing short of amazing and a cornerstone with this build.

Coupling bleeds and pressure from iDuelists and iWarlock and constant and critically timed daze/stuns, this build offers devastating lockdown capabilities and group support.

So here it is StunWay.

Why play a Blackout build?

This build allows you to control the outcome of group fights. Being able to be aware of your surroundings, removing that tunnel vision and viewing the bigger picture, StunWay allows Mesmers to take control of small group skirmishes and turn it in their group favour. Stop that tunnel vision, and communicate effectively and your targets will be blown away with your ability to control (#MHWhip).

What you’ll need.

StunWay being a high skillcap build requires you to be aware of all your surroundings. At first the build may seem daunting and scary, but I urge you to practice, practice, practice. You have to have an open mind, and keen reflexes. Noticing if someone’s going to go invis, heal, revive, finish etc. is critical. You’re going to have to know each class, and effectively know what they’re going to do before they actually do it. Noticing a d/p thief dropping a smoke field at half health? Stun him; because more likely than not, he’s going to HS to stealth. See that Guardian who has blown all his virtues? Haven’t noticed an elite recently and he’s low on HP? Stun him, he’s going to go invuln.

Pros

• Incredible control over the battlefield.
• High skillcap, with even higher rewards.
• Lockdown your enemy while they eat up damage.
• Become a critical aspect to team play (not that we aren’t already.)

Cons

• Although you have amazing control, defensive capabilities and sufficient damage from phantasms, you’re not a god. You can’t tank everyone.
• This build requires practice, and a keen sense of prediction, I’d highly recommend knowing each class, and their corresponding mechanics before undertaking this build. This will not only help you with this build, but you’ll be a better player overall.
• Knowing when to blow a stun is critical.

I hope that I see more and more Mesmers breaking out of phantasm specs and moving to a more CC intensive play, not only will this help develop overall community skill levels, but give those whom are down about the recent nerfs a much needed refreshing look upon the dominating class that is the Mesmer.

:D Keen to see you guys rocking that CC.

Edited: Halting Strike now replaces Empowered Illusions.

Have you forked out tonnes of cash on them special runes (eg. Air) that you wish to put on another armour set type (Knights -> Zerkers) but still wish to retain your armour set? Have you ever wanted to swap sigils on your weapon skins, but not wanting to pay extra, or destroy one weapon in the process?

GW1 Salvage kits (perfect ones) were a incredible. The kit would allow you to remove the sigil/rune(upgrade component), or the prefix, while still keeping the weapon intact.

While we’re at it, lets allow insignias to be applied to current armour sets/weapons, without having to go through the process of forging a new weapon and applying an expensive fine transmutation stone.

Hear my desperate cries, Devs! Bring back GW1 style salvage kits!

No decoy? Are you wishing a quick and easy death?

Thief stealth was nerfed last month, resulting in an overall reduction of 33% damage, which was fixed this patch. As soon as Anet sees the error of their ways, I’m sure this will get re-patched next month.

Mif.3471:

theCOREYCOLAK.5698:

Mif.3471:

CAA.9653:

Good times in TC’s keep. its so cozy in EB =D

Good job with the 10+ golems. Brilliant idea to use a broken game mechanic.
It really showed those PVP “skillz” you like to brag about.

:( Don’t hate us please! We’re just trying to compensate for our lack of numbers, we can’t compete with you!

You mean how TC was outmanned in EB at the time?

You guys were outmanned in EB? Daaamn, from the look of your numbers in TCBLs who were locking down south of the map, I just assumed you were full everywhere. My bad.

Mif.3471:

CAA.9653:

Good times in TC’s keep. its so cozy in EB =D

Good job with the 10+ golems. Brilliant idea to use a broken game mechanic.
It really showed those PVP “skillz” you like to brag about.

:( Don’t hate us please! We’re just trying to compensate for our lack of numbers, we can’t compete with you!

I rolled human mesmer, purely because of aesthetics. However. I regret making it human, if I were to re-roll (I play a lot of duels/WvW small roam group stuff) I’d go with an Asura, purely because they’re harder to locate, and blend in much more than humans. (this purely from a tactical point of view)

I run rune of the air also, and can confirm this is the reason your mass invis fails. Personally I think Anet should fix this.

Marius.8052:

If the pet is following you and you stealth, does it target something else? Or does it continue to follow u? If it doesn’t I think that’s more concerning.

The pet will continue to attack my clones when I go into stealth, but then immediately target me, and run to me, as soon as I come out of stealth. I feel as if this is a little OP. Why bother with stealth if I’m going to be seen anyway?

The AI will switch from my clones directly to me, etc. I just thought that stealth broke aggro.

So it’s an intended implementation?

As a Mesmer, I rely entirely on having clones up and using decoy to blend in to survive. But as of late, I’ve noticed a bug that needs to be fixed asap. Rangers pets, and other AI will not break aggro from you when entering stealth.

Now I don’t need to go into detail to explain how frustrating this can be in small group WvW situations. I don’t have much invis as a mesmer (well, arguably) but when i do use it, I don’t want to have everything instantly pick me out of a group as soon as I come out of invis.

Shrouded.6450:

Yes….that’s why I said this: I’ll even bold it for you.
“Sure it was on its way down*, but you guys didn’t exactly help now huh?”

Oh, sorry, my apologise. I didn’t realise you were incapable of basic comprehension and literacy skills.

So let me say it again. Everyone left and found new homes right before free transfers were canceled. It had nothing to do with “one server stealing from another,” but more along the lines of “nobody wanted to pay to transfer.”

A dead server is a dead server. If you want, I can explain this further for you Just jump on our TS3 server.

As a former IoJ I’m just going to say it how it is. Never Die, jumped ship to continue their karma train in the t1 servers because they didn’t like having to do enough work, a few other major IoJ guilds all went to SoR for EZ kills. The rest of IoJ (and I’m talking about a handful of guilds here) went to the losing server FA. There was no recruiting, there was no paying for guilds to go across, because at the time, transfers were still free and we needed a new homeworld to go to that didn’t carry a bandwagon status, and that had a decent PvP reputation. I petty the fact that TC, already a swamping server, feels the need to recruit further… I smell insecurities. You know you need more when 10 men can wipe out a TC zerg. rofl.

Furiousbeard.7602:

Its not petty, its reality. Videos of players exploiting are ALWAYS reported and removed by moderators. In addition, branding entire servers as exploiters is not encouraged, regardless of someones frustration level.

I say good day to you as well.

If you feel you have a valid reason behind you reporting someone then sure, by all means go ahead, I’m not stopping you. Yet, then to go and make a post… Telling them you’ve reported that? This isn’t runescape, you are not 12. We don’t need to hear that you’ve reported someone, nor do I think that it adds anything of substance to this thread.

Furiousbeard.7602:

oxide.8324:

I did.

And I’ll do what I want, cheers~

Reported

Have a nice day

There’s no need to be petty about this, the guy’s just frustrated and deserves to be able to speak his mind. Comments like this just make you look childish, what’s this really going to achieve?

Obby Shards.9365:

It seems AoN has rubbed off on the rest of FA everyone running when they see a TC name.

Would you try and outmanoeuvre your enemy if say, 5 people chased you alone down? That’s basically what you see here, I don’t know why it’s unreasonable to see 5 people kiting 5x their numbers, no matter how good you are, small group teams of 5 cannot take on a full zerg. Withering your numbers away from around you, kiting you like a sheepdog, I think that’s valid tactics and I don’t think you’d see many other guilds besides AoN attempting such a feet. There’s really no need to start trash talking, when you yourself would attempt to avoid absolute annihilation in a 5v1 situation.

Pickle and I are loving the 2v8’s Religion, didn’t mean to scare you off when numbers got closer to even.

If right now, people don’t have a problem with paying 40g to buy commanders from other servers, do you think people would have a problem paying less to have someone sabotage other servers?

Hide and Go Seek with DPS’ golems was fun Thanks for all the laughs you guys gave me tonight.

Usagi.4835:

Tearofsoul.9843:

Let’s face it, the only reason KN is losing is because they are trying to grab those freaking vistas.

I dunno about those RPers, man. I bet they are still doing battle horn in front of CoF.

“Riders of RP! Oaths you have taken, now fulfill them all, to lord and land!”

Did you steal that from LOTR lol? I randomly watched the last movie the other night.

theCOREYCOLAK.5698:

FXLEACH.9436:

Holy Pickle and his mesmer sidekick

Sidekick :‘( Omg… I’ve been sidekicked… fml.

I call you his glamorous mesmer assistant.

Yeaaaah! I like that, glamorous. I wouldn’t mind Pickle’s Purple People Eater either.

FXLEACH.9436:

Holy Pickle and his mesmer sidekick

Sidekick :‘( Omg… I’ve been sidekicked… fml.

What I like about this game, is the extent at which you can customise your armour to make your character how you’d like it. The dye system is much more attractive and individual than ever before, however the game is getting to that point where players with dedicated mains are beginning to pimp themselves out with t3 armour and what not. Everyone’s starting to look the same.

What I feel Anet has done wrong with end game armour, is have only limited sets to choose from, unlike Elite armour in GW1. What is also even more depressing is the fact that I really like the styles of other armours (Take norn t3 heavy, it’s so sexy.) Now before people start to jump down my throat, exclaiming that other races shouldn’t have the same cultural armour, I fully agree with you, races shouldn’t have the same appearances. What I’m suggesting is that cultural armours remain the same, however each race gets their own flair on that cultural piece. Human rangers being able to have a more “natural” approach at t3, or asuran warriors grabbing a more barbaric looking norn t3.

Personally, I think this’d create a more dynamic, and individual feel to how you wish your character to be.

It’s okay! It’s not a hack. Unfortunately I happened to do this the other day. At the time my internet was throttled, but I decided to give it a go. Mid fight in WvW, my client froze, but I was still able to run around. To me, I was still alive and well, but to all my allies on skype, I was downed, but sliding all over the place. They likely hood that the person you saw was hacking is probably really slim; their net was most likely just really shotty.

Ah okay, 50kb/s. An improvement, thankyou

S: I’ve got the same Problem, however when I change my DNS I’m getting only like 10kb/s, soon after it proceeds to drop to 0.00. I’ve tried flushing my DNS is there a method that could hopefully speed this process up?