Curse

felinette · Mar 06, 2006, 09:35 PM // 21:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by LouAl

@felinette
when you cylce through targets, don't actually attacke them. Keep attacking the target you want the henchies to attack and then tab or shift+click to the next target you want. It will keep henchies on the right target.

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

borkbork · Mar 06, 2006, 10:20 PM // 22:20

I have average reflexes for a human (200ms), on a laggy connection (100-200ms.) I have no trouble interrupting 1s spells if I'm babysitting the target.

1s is plenty of time. >< I think people are just too afraid to try and end up missing them because of the fear.

And I do expect a mesmer to interrupt critical 1s spells WITHOUT AC/Migraine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lg5000

While I'm sure there are those who can, I hope you're not being serious... that would mean a certain amount of precognition on the mesmers side of things, and most definatly NO lag!

*mumbles something along the lines of hating you now for that statement* :P

thor hammerbane · Mar 06, 2006, 10:24 PM // 22:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avarre

I can

Most of the time anyway, but only on mobs I know the pattern of (like shadow monks).

I dont have a PvE mesmer, but i got my experience through pvp, and i think ive earned the right to wear the mesmer badge. If im awake, i can hit those 1 second's pretty easily, man are those monks pissed off when i power spike their orison of healing

, but my biggest moment was hitting a 1/4 second casting spell. I power blocked reversal of fortune. Yes i know what you'll say, "it was luck, you got flukeD! *flameflameflame*", but i don't think it was all luck.

You just have to be adaptable to situations, and fast. I was on a team with 3 monks, and a mesmer(me), and to their luck, i was mostly shutdown, save for energy burn and shatter enchant. I started using a combo of skills, and in that order, because of the recharge times..and i started to notice, as soon as i spike the monk with burn+shatter, he throws on reversal of fortune..this got me thinking. I tell my team to hang on, that i found the secret. I hit burn+shatter enchant, and power block right after..and the rest of the story you know..Don't want to sound RED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GOy, but just thought that was somthin' cool.

borkbork · Mar 06, 2006, 10:31 PM // 22:31

^ Now that's a good mesmer.

Aigred · Mar 07, 2006, 01:02 AM // 01:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by borkbork

Quote:

Originally Posted by lg5000

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kate Bloodspirit

I'd expect from a good mesmer to consistently interrupt 1 second cast spells.

While I'm sure there are those who can, I hope you're not being serious... that would mean a certain amount of precognition on the mesmers side of things, and most definatly NO lag!

*mumbles something along the lines of hating you now for that statement* :P

I have average reflexes for a human (200ms), on a laggy connection (100-200ms.) I have no trouble interrupting 1s spells if I'm babysitting the target.

And I do expect a mesmer to interrupt critical 1s spells WITHOUT AC/Migraine.

I agree. Mesmers should be able to consistently interrupt 1s spells.
I do think that most players should be able to do this.

To test your reflexes:

http://www.fetchfido.co.uk/games/rea...ction_test.htm

If you are about average, with 200 ms reflexes, interrupting 1s should be quite doable.

250 ms lag + 250 ms cast time + 250 ms reaction = 750 ms = enough time to interrupt a 1 second spell.

If you want an ingame source to practice on, go to Thunderhead Keep or Grenth's Footprint and interrupt the Siege Ice Golems' Water Tridents and the Dolyak Masters' Orisons and Marks of Protection.

Note: There are many other reflex testers on the web than the one I linked above, but make sure that the one you use responds to the KeyDown or MouseDown event. Do NOT use one that has clickable buttons, because those usually respond on MouseUp, which will report your reflexes as being slower than they really are. This can make a 100 ms difference or more.

draxynnic · Mar 07, 2006, 03:30 AM // 03:30

This depends on what exactly your lag is. I'm in Australia on the American servers, and while I've never measured it, this leads to a certain degree of extra lag.

And it varies - some days I do comfortably hit all those interrupts, other times I always seem to get my interrupt off right after they've finished. Part of that is probably that I'm just more on the ball some times than on others, but the times when I really never seem to be able to pull it off normally coincide with other signs of noticeable lag. Usually I consider this a sign to switch to a different build or to another character.

lg5000 · Mar 07, 2006, 07:21 AM // 07:21

Ohh... it occured to me on the way home that I'm comparing a 2sec cast spell to parasitic bond... which is a 1 sec cast spell... so.. I have a 50% chance of interupting a 1 sec cast spell and a 98% chance of interupting a 2sec cast like empathy. Obviously, a cup of coffee prior to interupting and no lag are a big advantage here.. and.. I'm in Australia too, can I use that as an excuse for not interupting 1 second casts?

Then again, as long as I'm having fun and no-one complains about me doing... whatever it is I'm doing, I can't be that bad, besides, there are more builds to mesmers than just interupts

(Yes, I'm trying to make myself feel better here)

dr_james2k · Mar 07, 2006, 08:37 AM // 08:37

As a mesmer in PVE I have had to develope an automatic response to someone in a party after defeating a huge mob saying "FFS mesmer does no damage!"
To which I always reply: "They look fine, but they're being burnt internally."

Mesmers are there to 'soften up' the enemy. Just but shuting down a few caster at first, putting empathy on some warriors, distracting monks and necros. Then when they've had some fun with that then time for degen if illusion or self preservation if inspiration or direct damage if domination.

I used to try inturrupts but with lag and my less then instant reactions so now in PVP I just focus on shutting down one caster then bombarding them with wastrel's worry till they're dead - funny, funny stuff.

Avarre · Mar 07, 2006, 12:37 PM // 12:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by thor hammerbane

I dont have a PvE mesmer, but i got my experience through pvp, and i think ive earned the right to wear the mesmer badge. If im awake, i can hit those 1 second's pretty easily, man are those monks pissed off when i power spike their orison of healing

, but my biggest moment was hitting a 1/4 second casting spell. I power blocked reversal of fortune. Yes i know what you'll say, "it was luck, you got flukeD! *flameflameflame*", but i don't think it was all luck.

Anticipation is half the battle with interrupts

Which is why you need to think as mesmer. /salute

Poison Ivy · Mar 07, 2006, 12:53 PM // 12:53

To have nice white pasty skin and a sexy hair style in Fow Amor, knocking at my door at midnight begging to be laid

Ilya Khan · Mar 08, 2006, 12:35 AM // 00:35

In PVE
- I am always asked to Backfire every caster
- To bring a monk res (i.e. Be Me/Mo so you may bring Rebirth or something of the sort)

In PVP
- Shut down EVERY caster (they don't really see the 2 warriors and ele beatin the crap out of you while you try to do this)

Arcanis the Omnipotent · Mar 08, 2006, 03:07 AM // 03:07

Having been a Mesmer from the beginning, and running into quite a few stupid ones over the course of the year, I can tell you what you should expect from a good mesmer either in PVE or PVP.

Regardless of skills brought or style of play, this is what a Mesmer needs to do:

1. Play for the team, not for yourself. Mesmers, next to monks are by far the squishiest of the squishies. You need to make the enemies fight themselves. And therefore make your team have a much easier time of defeating the foes and defending your under armored ass.

2. Dont play one way and stick to it. Never do this. A mesmer is by far the most versatile class. Too many people get into a rut as a mesmer where they have a build they love and wont change it no matter what. We have great elites, unlike other classes. There are plenty of ways to build around all of them. And even many builds that dont require elite spells at all. Someone mentioned early in this that a mesmer can be a jack of all trades. This is very true. That being said

3. Dont complicate your skill bar. Plan it out very precisely. While you will want to specialize on one task for the day, you do want skills that help out everyone. If you are an Anti Caster, have Empathy or some Anti-Attack skill along. Same goes for Anti Melee, bring along Backfire or an Interupt. But a mesmer's job is to do his/her job constantly. By this I mean you have every skill on your bar to the exact job you are meant to do.

4. Dont be ruled by your team. Your job is to support them. And that's it. But! and big but here, they dont control your skills, or your style. If you are doing your job well, then it wont matter what they think you should have. If you are making the battles easier, then its not their concern what you use.

5. Last but not least, dont let anyone tell you which Mesmer skills suck *looks at a few people this thread* Yeah, I'm looking at your Avarre. Glad to see you actually made a mesmer finally. Your right about Chaos Storm now after the AoE patch, but you werent then. And Conjure Phantasm...still cant believe you havent learned how to use that one.

Anyway. That's the main points. A mesmer is a support character. The key is that because they are the one character bound to screw up everyone on the opposing side, they are also the most crucial member of a balanced team.

thor hammerbane · Mar 08, 2006, 03:13 AM // 03:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avarre

Anticipation is half the battle with interrupts

Which is why you need to think as mesmer. /salute

I've been mesmering alot lately, and man are those monks pissed off when i interupt every single orison of healing. Whenever my team wins, the monk usually yells at me with something along the lines of "Your so mean!, OMFG i hit lag spikes!, Go away n00b mesmer!". Mesmering is probably the most satisfying career ive undertaken, and im a monk as well. Monking is good, but mesmering is great, especially if you have a good build. I e-deny the monk, remove a hex off my monk, shatter enchant on that frenzy wammo

, and then give a little power spike on that mesmer. Quite good fun, but i don't know if its as satisfying as beating a monk with my secksi twin hammer on my war

*thud*
*thud*

Kate Bloodspirit · Mar 08, 2006, 06:24 AM // 06:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by thor hammerbane

I've been mesmering alot lately, and man are those monks pissed off when i interupt every single orison of healing. Whenever my team wins, the monk usually yells at me with something along the lines of "Your so mean!, OMFG i hit lag spikes!, Go away n00b mesmer!". Mesmering is probably the most satisfying career ive undertaken, and im a monk as well. Monking is good, but mesmering is great, especially if you have a good build. I e-deny the monk, remove a hex off my monk, shatter enchant on that frenzy wammo

, and then give a little power spike on that mesmer. Quite good fun, but i don't know if its as satisfying as beating a monk with my secksi twin hammer on my war

*thud*
*thud*

I totally second this is very gratifying!

However, the MOST gratifying thing are mesmer duels. They are the most inmersive thing in game. Specially when there's a good mix of interrupts and shutdowns. Watching both diversions go out at the same time to see who's gotta diversion who's diversion is trully a chicken game. And when you deny target mesmer's energy before he can deny yours, ahhh, that's when I get all excited and stuff. lol

And yes, 1s cast spell's interruption is something I'd expect from any mesmer, at least for interrupt mesmers.

Since I already started talking =P

There're another kind that requires more intuition and awareness, like energy denial memers because you have to visualize and keep track of your target's energy. For sure a button-smashing mesmer will not be able to shut down jack.
Space your drains properly to keep the drains consistent and don't let them get enough energy for big/important spells. If they get energy buffs or long time of regen, have your scarse interrupts ready cuz most likely a big spell is comming. In case your target is focus/swapping, make sure you time your drains to land when they're in their energy sets (weapon switching lag is your friend here).

Another kind of mesmers is migraine mesmers. Have to keep track of how long you migraine's been up and if the cover was removed or faded to refresh it (usually conjure). You have to know when it's a good time to cast the next Migraine, if you get a fast recharge migraine, be able to switch to the other heal monk quickly (if you're on prot, stay on prot). Also space your interrupts, use them as precission tools, don't smash them with every cast, shoot quick for short casts and wait long for longer casts (Like seed/aegis/hex removal). Watching your target cast meteor shower under migraine, just to interrupt in the last second: Priceless.

Phantom Pain + Shatter delussions spiking mesmer is also a complex job. Phantom has to land exactly with the spike and your shatter must land late to the spike, but before the infuse. Pretty intense job.

Make sure you have good year! 20% rockmolder ftw. 20/20 green wands and energy sets are your friends.

My average was 0.230 btw =P

Peace

LouAl · Mar 09, 2006, 12:29 AM // 00:29

I tried that reaction test, it was pretty fun. I did it a bunch of times with averages in the .215-.225 range (unless I over-anticipated and got a 1 sec penalty

) and my fastest time was .176, not bad.

Diablo™ · Mar 09, 2006, 12:38 AM // 00:38

In PVE you can usually learn an enemy caster's attack habits and spell orders, for example mergoyles always use Deep Freeze after glyph of energy renewal or aura of restoration... it helps anticipating what to expect, and what you can do to interupt the enemy, even in deciding what form of interuptions to use.

Count to Potato · Mar 09, 2006, 01:00 AM // 01:00

Mesmers with domination are all i expect, if you can e denial a monk in gvg or hoh those little thinkgs win thr game, too bad not many people play mesmers

Kate Bloodspirit · Mar 09, 2006, 01:41 AM // 01:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Count to Potato

Mesmers with domination are all i expect, if you can e denial a monk in gvg or hoh those little thinkgs win thr game, too bad not many people play mesmers

Energy denial is a very small part of what mesmers can do >.>

Griffonclaw · Apr 22, 2006, 07:25 AM // 07:25

Personally, if I can get a mesmer on my team I will. I have to admit I have been playing a W/Mo but recently

I have read up on some of the cool things Mesmers can do

and have fallen in love. I expect them to frustrate the enemy, but usually I let them do whatever they are good at.

I have some questions though, why does no one make 55 Mesmers and are IW Mesmers and decent/fun to play around with in PvE?

Anyway, plz don't flame me because I am fairly new to playing a mesmer, although I try appreciate what they do.

bele · Apr 22, 2006, 08:04 AM // 08:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aigred

I agree. Mesmers should be able to consistently interrupt 1s spells.
I do think that most players should be able to do this.

To test your reflexes:

http://www.fetchfido.co.uk/games/rea...ction_test.htm

If you are about average, with 200 ms reflexes, interrupting 1s should be quite doable.

250 ms lag + 250 ms cast time + 250 ms reaction = 750 ms = enough time to interrupt a 1 second spell.

If you want an ingame source to practice on, go to Thunderhead Keep or Grenth's Footprint and interrupt the Siege Ice Golems' Water Tridents and the Dolyak Masters' Orisons and Marks of Protection.

Many have posted how they can interrupt easily 1s spells, and in your post give a 0.250 s margin for that.

Actually i cannot interrupt any 1 s spell, in THK or GF.

Made a test outside ToA , with one of those Junipers (or whateverthe name, those monks that pops up from the earth and spams Orisons) Went alone, packed all interrupts but Eather Fest and echo + archane and begun babysitting. The quote was 100% . I interrupted every and each one of the Orisons.
Tried several times and the quote was > 95%

Once i go into any other location with a full team of 8 it's impossible. no matter if i'm babysitting the whole time while the rest of the team is killing them. the quote is 0% (yeah, so radical, i cannot interrupt 1s spells).
It was really painfull when i tryed to interrupt a Monk boss in SF. Didn't bring Diversion and was pathetic how several mins long the whole team tried to kill that bitch, and i was totally unable to stop any of his orisons.

my average is of reflexes in the test is .225 (yeah quite slow iknow, but still quite normal)

So i think your .250 lag you've given in your equation is way to optimist, and yeah my fingers are always rdy for fast casting spells.

No need to say i almost never bring Power Block, although it'd be one of those i'd bring along really often

P.S.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poison Ivy

To have nice white pasty skin and a sexy hair style in Fow Amor, knocking at my door at midnight begging to be laid

Keep dreaming

(still don't have Fow pjm , armor)