Curse

martyr migraine · Nov 06, 2006, 07:15 PM // 19:15

Hey guys, I've put some careful consideration into this and am still not sure about it. In the past 7 months i have been playing a mesmer frequently in PvP and have enjoyed it to the fullest. But thats not the point, what i'm trying to decide on is.... with the release of nightfall should i make a mesmer? I've heard in PvE they have a hard time finding groups, but then (basing this on pure speculation as i don't have nightfall yet) with the new skills such as web of deception will they be more widely accepted as a valuabe aspect to a team? I'm really just here to have fun, but being able to play in groups sometimes is a bonus!

Yours thankfully-
Martyr

beginners_luck · Nov 06, 2006, 08:46 PM // 20:46

The Gates of Kryta mission made me glad to be a Mesmer. There are monsters there that like to hit you with Phantom Pain, or poisoned arrows or Blinding Flashes, not to mention the ones that summon Bone Horrors. The point is how much easier the mission is when those Horrors never get summoned, or the Blinding Flashes shut down your warriors, but thanks to you and Backfire or Power Spike if you're fast enough, the caster still takes damage. Preventing nasty things like Deep Wound from Phantom Pain is good, made better because since you're likely the only mesmer, they know it was you that did it.

Mesmers have an easier time later on, say, Lion's Arch and afterwards, and are absolutely gorgeous in boss-heavy (especially healer-boss-heavy) areas, like in the desert and Ring of Fire.

angeleyes · Nov 06, 2006, 09:09 PM // 21:09

A Mesmer may join my party any day. Not to be a hypocrit but 75% of the ppl who play mesmer are more efficiënt in GW than a random wammo.

beginners_luck · Nov 06, 2006, 09:10 PM // 21:10

It's not that mesmers are more efficient, it's rather the difference between brain surgery and just hitting the damn thing with a hammer. It's about being subtle and effective. Wammos can be very effective. They're just not very subtle about it.

Dean Harper · Nov 07, 2006, 01:07 AM // 01:07

its also a matter of hitting where and when it hurts. you have to time yourself to be most effective in battle, which takes skill and patience to do. Mesmers can be very good all out damage dealers, but are even more effective keeping teh opposition in check. They give the team an advantage by stopping a spell or skill from happening, ruining the foe's opportunity to work their own strategy.

lightblade · Nov 07, 2006, 01:21 AM // 01:21

Here's some facts about Mesmer in PvE according to my own experience:

1. (0% - 50% in progress of storyline) You'll have a VERY hard time to the point of impossible to find a group, but then again you don't need them anyway.
2. (50% - 75% in progress of storyline) You'll be having easier time finding group. This means you'll be able to find a group within 10 minutes of shouting out lfg.
3. (75% - 90% in progress) You'll be finding a group within 2 minutes of shout out.
4. (90% - 100% in progress) You'll get invites just by standing there.

Avarre · Nov 07, 2006, 01:43 AM // 01:43

With some of the new skills especially, mesmers are particularly capable in high-level areas due to the nature of their armor ignoring spells. Spiritual Pain, Empathy, Backfire are all excellent tools to deal great amounts of damage at relatively low energy cost, especially in PvE.

While it's typical lore that mesmers never got into groups, I found this died along with the W-Mo-E holy trinity, and mesmers have been gaining importance in groups ever since the AoE update last year. Especially in areas where caster mobs are the major power, such as Josso Esher and Willa the Unpleasant.

While a large number of mesmers are often less effective in PvE (overlapping, etc), a single dom mesmer can strengthen a group significantly - knocking out monks while they are forced to heal the rest of the team, interrupting eles (cry is key), and damaging melee's. Even Illu has points - degen can be effective in some areas when applied to later targets as by the time the group selects them, they are already crippled. Ineptitude and blinding skills that also deal damage make the mesmer capable of taking on many foes 1v1 (solo aatxes anyone?), or to reduce damage to the rest of the team.

Overall, a mesmer has some of the most fluid builds, due to the non-linear nature, as I call it. While as an ele goes through the game, he gains bigger, stronger nukes, and warriors get harder hitting skills, mesmers get a complete range as they develop, even among the same stat line. This also means pure mesmers are typically more effective (with exceptions for support skills from other classes), because there are so many types of spells available to you from nuking, disabling, hex pressure, selfheals, stances..

zhak · Nov 07, 2006, 02:13 AM // 02:13

i have also a mesmer and love the profession.Backfire is almost overpowered in my opinion.Only downside is 10sec duration.
But 147 dmg for each time enemy casts spell..1/3 of the health bar.

Samuel Anders · Nov 07, 2006, 04:41 AM // 04:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by zhak

i have also a mesmer and love the profession.Backfire is almost overpowered in my opinion.Only downside is 10sec duration.
But 147 dmg for each time enemy casts spell..1/3 of the health bar.

No kidding. Coupled with the fact that most AI casters are too stupid NOT to cast through it, Mesmers are really effective later on. I'm playing mostly as a Domination Mesmer, and I love it. Sometimes I can kill all the casters in a pull alone with Backfire, Power Spike and Empathy before the rest of my group finishes off the meleers. If not, I can at least shut them down.

Avarre, on your point about Illusion's degens, the only one I use is Conjure Phantasm. I find it most effective at shutting down bosses that regen their HP, making it easier for my party to kill them. I also use it on mobs my party isn't attacking if a pull contains too many healers to effectively shut them all down. If I can keep a mob my party isn't attacking low on health, there's a pretty good chance the healers will heal it instead of the mob the rest of the group is focusing on.

All in all, I love playing my Mesmer. I've not had a terribly difficult time finding groups (in Prophecies), and I love being versatile support character. (Better than being a healbot in WoW, anyway. Blizzard can take its view of the Paladin straight to hell.

)

Samuel Dravis · Nov 07, 2006, 05:07 AM // 05:07

I found it was hard getting through the first part of Prophecies with my mesmer, but at around the Shiverpeaks mesmers become extremely useful. It's so entertaining to completely shut down healers and eles, especially boss monsters (besides making THK a bit more manageable

).

Samuel Anders · Nov 07, 2006, 07:03 AM // 07:03

I agree with the first part of Prophecies being a bit tough as a Mesmer, since my bread and butter skills (Empathy and Backfire) were'nt powerful enough to have a considerable effect on mobs. However, Conjure Phantasm was much more deadly if you boosted Illusion Magic for your first few levels and, in some cases, could drain half the health away from a mob.

Actually, in the early missions, I pretty much played my Mesmer as a nuker. I used more Elementalist spells (Flare, Firestorm) to do direct damage to mobs. Once I reached the Shiverpeaks, I started noticing more caster mobs, and I felt more comfortable with the game mechanics so I could switch back to a support role instead of a pure nuker.

Right now, this is my standard skillset:
Empathy
Backfire
Power Spike
Conjure Phantasm
Fire Storm
Aura of Restoration
Glyph of Lesser Energy
Resurection Signet

I switch out Firestorm and Lava Font, based on whether or not I need an offensive or defensive AOE. (Lava Font is great with the new AI if you're getting ganged up on. Cast it, and the meleers scatter.) I also switch out Aura of Restoration with Ether Feast ocasionally. Eather feast provides a bigger one shot bonus, but I like Aura of Restoration because I get health each time I cast. (Even if I can't increase the heal beyond 152%.)

Cebe · Nov 07, 2006, 08:29 AM // 08:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by angeleyes

A Mesmer may join my party any day. Not to be a hypocrit but 75% of the ppl who play mesmer are more efficiënt in GW than a random wammo.

Excellent. Well said!

I play mesmer in PvE and I love it, although I started in Factions...I'm glad I did as the Nightfall armor for mesmers is utterly disgusting. But that's beside the point. I would always take a mesmer in my group providing there was room for one and I personally don't find it too hard to get into a group myself. Throughout most of Nightfall however I will be going with heroes as human teams seem to be getting more and more stupid.

One thing I do find is that people don't understand what mesmers do. Personally I go doen the Domination line...I was in Boreas Seabed once heliping an Alliance member out. A ranger joined and started whining about him having to take all the interrupts...he wouldn't accept that my job was to interrupt..I think he thought all mesmers do is cast conjure phantasm. I dunno....

Samuel Dravis · Nov 07, 2006, 08:34 AM // 08:34

Yeah. For high end areas when I'm playing Dom, I usually have 5 interrupts on my bar - Power Spike, Power Block, Power Drain, Cry of Frustration and Power Return. The other skills are variable, usually Shatter Hex & Empathy for warrior hate, plus a hard res. My tab key will get worn out one of these days.

Illusion is fun. Usually I take Migrane+Mantra of Persistence, then proceed to put it on all the casters.

LightningHell · Nov 07, 2006, 08:57 AM // 08:57

I wonder why people don't like Diversion.

Avarre · Nov 07, 2006, 10:02 AM // 10:02

Because as far as pve is concerned, it's only useful for Willa the Unpleasant and Josso. Nothing else really has the durability with standard skills to merit it.

LightningHell · Nov 07, 2006, 10:03 AM // 10:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avarre

Because as far as pve is concerned, it's only useful for Willa the Unpleasant and Josso. Nothing else really has the durability with standard skills to merit it.

Willa is enough.

Scourgey · Nov 07, 2006, 01:02 PM // 13:02

Spiritual pain is very powerful in pve, wipes out groups of bowmen when they lay down spirits.

Samuel Dravis · Nov 07, 2006, 01:17 PM // 13:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by LightningHell

Willa is enough.

Usually I take diversion in Cantha, because the bosses are too fast at casting the skills. For missions like THK I might well take it, because that Aura of Faith guy is really quite irritating. However, the other stuff just dies to fast for it to be really useful. :/

the_jos · Nov 07, 2006, 06:17 PM // 18:17

I have a mesmer that has protectors on tyria and cantha and is now working on elona. Never had much problems finding a group, specially in the high-end missions.
The early (Tyrian) missions where harder to get on, but in/after northern shiverpeak it was not difficult at all to find a group.

With Factions and the excelent interrupts on Kurzick mesmer hench, I think more people saw the value of mesmers.
The same goes for Elona, I never leave camp without Mesmer hench (and Earth most of the time).
I think mesmer is still fun to play and worth a PvE character slot.

martyr migraine · Nov 07, 2006, 07:23 PM // 19:23

Hey all! thanks for your constructive input, it would seem the mesmer community is a nice one

But i have but on more question, how far through nightfall is the boat to the other continents? I've found the mesmer nightfall armours quite unappealing.
Otherwise, thanks all!
Martyr