Curse

Kuldebar Valiturus · Mar 01, 2007, 02:22 PM // 14:22

Admittedly, I tried a Mesmer way back in Prophecies but never left the Academy. I find Mesmers to be the most challenging of all professions. I am speaking in context of PvE, because I do not PvP other than RA's.

But, a week ago I rolled a Mesmer in Factions, chose Ritualist as a secondary. He is fun to play, but much different. I raced to get my Heroes ASAP because I was getting killed much often with the standard Henchies. The Sunspears in Kyrta presented great difficulty. There are now more roving mobs and the Henchies are level 10....

Appears ANet changed Sunspears in Kyrta (which used to be the easiest), I have done the quest previously on other characters using Henchies. It's now actually easier to do the Sunspears in Cantha, despite the larger number of mobs.

I find a mesmer more dependent on a stronger team than other professions are....

He's level 19 now, but here's what I am discovering:

-energy usage is more of an issue than other profession, it seems energy costs are rather high: 10-15 energy for many skills.

-I find I can more reliably dish out damage using my Ritualist's Channeling skills: Essence Strike, Spirit Rift, etc.

-Fast Casting is definitely a boon for secondary skills

-Having a hard time just accepting the role of a denier/skill blocker during my fights, I love Chaos Storm, lol. Even with the Mob's tendency to run from an AoE spread, this seems to be a great way to reduce their damage on your party...fleeing Mobs aren't attacking, after all.

Anyway, would love some commentary from other mesmers/experienced mesmers on my observations.

Utaku · Mar 01, 2007, 03:29 PM // 15:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kuldebar Valiturus

He's level 19 now, but here's what I am discovering:

-energy usage is more of an issue than other profession, it seems energy costs are rather high: 10-15 energy for many skills.

It is true, and fast casting sometimes leads to "too-much" casting. Try, as a monk, to cast spells keeping energy efficiency in mind. No need to cast a 10e hex on something that has 10% of its health left.
Devote some slots to energy management: Glyph of Lesser Energy, Power drain, Assassin's Promise are viable options.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kuldebar Valiturus

-I find I can more reliably dish out damage using my Ritualist's Channeling skills: Essence Strike, Spirit Rift, etc.

You can play as a fast casting channeler, but decent damage can come from the domination line. Empathy, backfire, shatter dellusions, energy burn.
You can alternatively let the rest of your team deal damage, and concentrate on disruption, which is pure fun.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kuldebar Valiturus

-Fast Casting is definitely a boon for secondary skills

Indeed!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kuldebar Valiturus

-Having a hard time just accepting the role of a denier/skill blocker during my fights, I love Chaos Storm, lol. Even with the Mob's tendency to run from an AoE spread, this seems to be a great way to reduce their damage on your party...fleeing Mobs aren't attacking, after all.

I don't use that spell much. Blocking attackers via illusion linked snares is loads of fun. Don't try that in pugs, casters usually don't kyte so you're going to snare for nothing.

Helcaraxe · Mar 01, 2007, 08:47 PM // 20:47

chaos storm is good mostly for self defense... when you get 10 warriors pounding on you, drop a chaos storm at your feet and they all run away and leave you alone. For that reason alone is deserves a spot on my bar.

Dean Harper · Mar 02, 2007, 03:28 AM // 03:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kuldebar Valiturus

-energy usage is more of an issue than other profession, it seems energy costs are rather high: 10-15 energy for many skills.

The best way to maintain your energy in PvE is to use skills like Energy Drain, Spirit of Failure (when you expect to hit a lot of melee chars), and Energy Tap.

Quote:

-I find I can more reliably dish out damage using my Ritualist's Channeling skills: Essence Strike, Spirit Rift, etc.

The best attribute for a mesmer to use for damage is Domination, with skills like Energy Surge, Energy Burn, Spiritual Pain, Unnatural Signet, Wastrel's Worry, Empathy, Backfire, and Shatter Delusions. Ritualist skills in channeling ARE great for damage, but a lot of PvE enemies have armor that reduces damage from Ritualist skills, and so they are not as effective as they might seem. Illusions skills are also great, but are more for weakening entire groups with degeneration spamming skills like Conjure Phantasm. Look up different builds on guildwarswiki.com under General PvE Builds.

Kuldebar Valiturus · Mar 02, 2007, 06:26 AM // 06:26

Thanks for the great comments and advice, I have now been emboldened to use all Mesmer skills on my skill bar for my outings. I do love Spirit Rift though, so I have a Domination/Channeling/Fast Cast template saved. I just got to Augury Rock, so things are proceeding well.

Much of my earlier problems have been alleviated by my Heroes, so I can actually relax a little more playing the Mesmer.

Cebe · Mar 02, 2007, 09:14 AM // 09:14

I made a Me/Rt in Factions but only for the reusable resurrect. Fast Cast Flesh of my Flesh can be very fun (well, in a bad way since your team has died!).

When you get the opportunity to change your secondary you should consider trying Me/E. I changed to /E last week and it's very useful, if only for Glyph of Lesser Energy. It allowed me to develop an insanely fun build to use in Fort Aspenwood, and seems to be pretty robust in most PvE areas also.

The inspiration line, imo, is not adequate enough energy management for mesmers since most other professions have energy management build into to their primary attribute. The Mesmer does not. It seems to be that unless you go full energy stealing (which is no use in PvE anyway) or play as a Signet-Master-type-character Mesmers can struggle with their energy.

And so onto Chaos Storm. It's very fun to use but altogether useless and VERY expensive for what it does. PvE mobs don't stand around in it enough and it's recharge is fairly horrible imo. A better self defense may be to just run away...or use Distortion? I've never played with Distortion but I plan to try it out myself soon...the energy loss worries me.

Domination certainly seems to be the favourite for PvE. Personally I love it. Spiritual Pain is fairly useless now since the big nerf of 2007. Empathy and Energy Burn are legendary skills though. I've recently been having fun with Enchanter's Conundrum > Shatter Enchantment > Shatter Delusions combo for a ~250 damage spike, if you can get it off sucessfully. This works like a peach on Stoneflesh Mandragor.

cambylobacter · Mar 02, 2007, 12:01 PM // 12:01

Even though I am in quite a large guild/alliance, I play one of the few full time Mesmers we have. When in a party, I tend to provide a range of support roles:

1) I bring Backfire, Empathy and Blackout, and tab through the enemy mob looking for choice ones to target. I may see a couple of monks in the group for example, and backfire one and blackout the other. I may see a Ranger mob casting Barrage and cast Empathy on it. Overall, I'm just making the jobs of the damage dealers a little easier.

2) Interrupts can be packed often with little need for points in the specific line. Especially in the tougher zones, interrupting Elementalists long cast spells, or even anticipating casts on other classes can help the party.

3) FastCast has synergy with non-Mesmer spells and even though I play a Mesmer/Necro over 90% of the time, I have a few Monk spells, and can switch to bringing a Hard Rez, and maybe some monk spells that aren't so reliant on point pumping, such as Extinguish.

4) On some bosses, spell stripping can be effective, and skills like Arcane Thievery, Arcane Larceny, Simple Thievery, Diversion, Ignorance and Signet of Humility can be very effective.

5) The style of play in a group is almost always that of quietly reducing the effective strength of enemies and making the offensive job of your team much easier. It is very common when playing with Pick Ups for your allies not to notice the job you are doing and assume the ease with which they took down a specific mob was simply their own skills and skillset.

Cebe · Mar 02, 2007, 12:21 PM // 12:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by cambylobacter

4) On some bosses, spell stripping can be effective, and skills like Arcane Thievery, Arcane Larceny, Simple Thievery, Diversion, Ignorance and Signet of Humility can be very effective.

A well timed Diversion on Droajam, Mage of the Sands, can be a very auspicious move.

Avarre · Mar 02, 2007, 01:59 PM // 13:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Celestial Beaver

A well timed Diversion on Droajam, Mage of the Sands, can be a very auspicious move.

Likewise, a well timed Diversion on Willa the Unpleasant highlights the fact he has only one healing spell - and without it, is no more than a shiny wand turret.

Sophitia Leafblade · Mar 02, 2007, 03:04 PM // 15:04

I find that Echo has to be one of the most versatile elites in the game and gives mesmers so much variety, for example running low on energy, Echo + energy tap = energy galore

, echo + energy Burn = damage galore, Echo + power spike = interrupt galore. You gotta love that elite.

Mesmers may not being a powerhouse when it comes to direct damage but they are highly powerful in indirect damage dealing. Backfire for example can do like 150 damage per cast, There isnt many healing spells that can out heal its damage.

cambylobacter · Mar 02, 2007, 03:44 PM // 15:44

Note with damage to the OP, Mesmer damage is often armour ignoring and can really stack up. Many Domination spells have incredibly high damage when you factor in the duration of the DoT, and the fact armour isn't relevant. Whilst some bosses have half hex duration it is possible to use this in your favour - for example Wastrel's Worry can become a spammable 68-ish damage every 1.5 seconds.

By nature of the way many Mesmer spells affect enemies, it is often not so much a case of killing people, rather helping them commit suicide.

Dean Harper · Mar 02, 2007, 09:42 PM // 21:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kuldebar Valiturus

Thanks for the great comments and advice, I have now been emboldened to use all Mesmer skills on my skill bar for my outings. I do love Spirit Rift though, so I have a Domination/Channeling/Fast Cast template saved. I just got to Augury Rock, so things are proceeding well.

Much of my earlier problems have been alleviated by my Heroes, so I can actually relax a little more playing the Mesmer.

Ok, once you have to fight your doppleganger, use skills in the first few slots like Doom from the Ritualist skills and dont equip any spirits (it wont do any damage) and skills that are just plain useless. My strategy when killing him is to equip a few useless spells and then just cast Backfire on him, he will usually cast right through it a few times and it will completely destroy him within the first 15 seconds. Just make sure the spells you use have a low cast time so he dies very quickly. DO NOT take any interrupts, NPC's are amazing interrupters and therefore an interrupt would just be a frustration instead of helping you win.

Aphotic · Mar 02, 2007, 11:15 PM // 23:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Celestial Beaver

The inspiration line, imo, is not adequate enough energy management for mesmers since most other professions have energy management build into to their primary attribute. The Mesmer does not. It seems to be that unless you go full energy stealing (which is no use in PvE anyway) or play as a Signet-Master-type-character Mesmers can struggle with their energy.

I'd have to disagree, since mesmers have to suit their builds to each situation, you can configure any build for efficiently regaining energy by only changing one or two skills. Ineptitude + Spirit of Failure is a very good combo for a fast energy income. Energy Tap + Power Drain is a good combo for going through areas with lots of casters.

Croix_Raul · Mar 09, 2007, 08:49 PM // 20:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kuldebar Valiturus

Admittedly, I tried a Mesmer way back in Prophecies but never left the Academy. I find Mesmers to be the most challenging of all professions. I am speaking in context of PvE, because I do not PvP other than RA's.

But, a week ago I rolled a Mesmer in Factions, chose Ritualist as a secondary. He is fun to play, but much different. I raced to get my Heroes ASAP because I was getting killed much often with the standard Henchies. The Sunspears in Kyrta presented great difficulty. There are now more roving mobs and the Henchies are level 10....

Appears ANet changed Sunspears in Kyrta (which used to be the easiest), I have done the quest previously on other characters using Henchies. It's now actually easier to do the Sunspears in Cantha, despite the larger number of mobs.

I find a mesmer more dependent on a stronger team than other professions are....

He's level 19 now, but here's what I am discovering:

-energy usage is more of an issue than other profession, it seems energy costs are rather high: 10-15 energy for many skills.

-I find I can more reliably dish out damage using my Ritualist's Channeling skills: Essence Strike, Spirit Rift, etc.

-Fast Casting is definitely a boon for secondary skills

-Having a hard time just accepting the role of a denier/skill blocker during my fights, I love Chaos Storm, lol. Even with the Mob's tendency to run from an AoE spread, this seems to be a great way to reduce their damage on your party...fleeing Mobs aren't attacking, after all.

Anyway, would love some commentary from other mesmers/experienced mesmers on my observations.

As for PvE you can try Mantra of recovery+channeling+ Wastrel's Worry +Shatter Delusions
I wouldn't say they have bad energy management just need abit of control. after that you can try around see what works and what don't

Mesmer are not spammable nuker so don't try to be one.

Know your enemy and how to counter it.

Its not alway about how suxy the spell is nerf its how you use it that matters

If recharge is slow speed it up Mantra of Recovery

If out Energy just management it or invest in suitable energy management skills,

Its a team game, a player/hench necro with BR or BIP will easily address your energy problem then trying to be a one man army self heal energy management etc etc.

Do what your good at doing and not try to be something else if you can't accept this fact your wasting your time and your better off playing something else other then a pretty face taking up a player slot and make everyone playing with you in PuG vomit blood

Well99 · Apr 01, 2007, 06:03 AM // 06:03

A little OT but after playing the game for 17 months I finally kept a ME pass level 5.I having a blast with my ME.I am doing strickly hero/hench and I am running Dom/Inspiration.I could kick myself for not sticking with one before.It is a fun class.