Curse

ferv0r · Aug 07, 2009, 05:17 PM // 17:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by upier

AP is the best elite for ANY offensive PvE caster with pretty much NOTHING in this game being able to compare to it. So it doesn't make sense to single out mesmers only.

Yup. The /A works just fine for Mesmers because they don't need any other class skills. You can build lots of perfectly effective bars with PvE and Mesmer skills + AP.

I don't agree that E/ does more damage either...in HM. All Mesmer damage is armor-ignoring. Armor in HM makes a significant dent in E/ damage output.

It would really nice if a lot of the long recharges were significantly shortened, though.

upier · Aug 07, 2009, 10:02 PM // 22:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by ferv0r

It would really nice if a lot of the long recharges were significantly shortened, though.

I wouldn't mind having skills "balanced" with the intent of shortening the recharges. I've bitched about this years ago, and I never saw the need for Backfire needing to do 150 damage per trigger. It could might as well do 70 or 80 damage, and that would serve as the basis for lowering the recharge and cast-time.
We don't NEED to massively overpower skills, we can make the skills a bit weaker, but instead giving us the option of using them more often. The same way that I'd be perfectly fine with a less damage from Cry Of Frustration, or potentially a higher cost if that means the recharge goes down.
Or Diversion. Massively reduce the the time a skill is disabled since the foes will die in a matter of secs so it doesn't matter if the skill is disabled for 20 or 60 secs and that gives us an option to improve the skills attributes.

Sure, this approach doesn't work on everything since one can easily end up with an INSANELY shitty skill (aka Flare) - but certain skills could benefit from this.

(PvE of course!)

EmpressDervina · Aug 07, 2009, 10:27 PM // 22:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by MagmaRed

Mesmer is awesome in PvP, as they can take down any other class by themselves if set up properly. In PvE they are average unless played by someone who knows how to use them well, which is not common. Playing a Mesmer well requires you to not only know how MESMER skills work, but how ALL other classes work. Using a skill like Power Drain on Troll Unguent will do nothing, but using Power Drain on Aegis is highly effective. Casting Backfire on a Warrior will be a waste of energy, but casting Backfire on a Monk can kill it fast.

I wouldn't bother playing a Mesmer until you know how to play every other class. If you know how to play all the other classes, then you SHOULD know why a Mesmer is powerful.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zelgadissan

Alright, here comes a wall of text. Fair warning.

I can tell from this and your other Q&A thread that you're PvE only. You're playing against AI, trying to play a profession that requires thought. Of course the AI will suck.

There, you've finally hit one right. Mesmers are supposed to be annoying if played properly. Depending on your level of PvP competition, mesmers can easily be the top priority for your team to kill.

Mesmers are a PvP-designed class. A lot of people don't really see the value of one in a PvE world, and in some cases they're right since damage > PvE. The big drawing point of a PvE mesmer was nerfed recently, and we've become a dying breed again.

To answer your other questions:
Have you done much with it? - 26 titles, quickly approaching enough to be GWAMM.
Is it any good?/Is it easy to play at all?/How should I play them? - those are all pretty much unanswerable. It all has to do with your playstyle. If you're a straight nuking ele, then you probably won't like it.
Is it difficult to level up earlier on? - Uh, no. Nothing is.
What's a good secondary profession for a mesmer? - Monk, Elementalist, Ritualist...honestly pretty much any caster class.

Absolutely have to agree with both of these responses.

Like the OP, over the last few years I was kinda "eh" about Mes, but after recently really picking it up and working with the Mes, I'd have to say that it's one of the most enjoyable classes to play... however, as stated: if you can play it well.

First key with any build is not to go "cookie-cutter", and don't worry about what others think about your build if you find that it works well. This is a general "rule" for the game, period. I run builds that others might "scoff" at, but allow me to literally waste enemies in seconds, with all my toons... so don't worry about the opinions of others (unless you're really not helping, due to a poor skill set-up and/or not being proficient at a specific class).

Secondly, as stated, if you understand how other classes work, you will know what to cast, on who and when.

Mesmers take practice, and honestly, probably more skill than any other class in GW, from what I've seen and recently experienced in playing a Mes over the last few weeks.

With my current build, I have enough skills that I can fight caster-specific (meaning, I've skills that will highly dmg casters) as well as do general dmg, and even to a larger AoE.

Mesmers take actual skill, in both timing against enemies, and being fast in thinking about who to cast on and when. As opposed to, say, my Ele nukers, which just burn everything in sight.

To be honest, it gets a little boring after a while (though I love fire ), and after being able to shut-down enemies one-by-one, and rather quickly, it's much more "cathartic" in a sense because you feel like you've accomplished something that took more than just "button-mashing". To me, anyway.

With Mesmers, there are two ways to "shut-down" any enemy, including casters: by disabling skills, which makes you more of a defensive/support player; or by dealing dmg every time an enemy uses a skill.

Example would be something like Power Block (elite to disable skills) which would be more "defensive/support", vs more offensive, such as VoR (Visions of Regret; dmg with every skill use and also AoE) or Energy Surge (AoE and dmg based on amount of energy stolen).

Personally, I switch between VoR and ES, and with the rest of my build, they both work great.

If you're into a little more "thinking" and planning when playing, which makes something like GW a bit more fun IMO, then playing a Mes can be an extremely powerful class.

Why do you think they're so "annoying" to other players!

I've come across some Mesmers who really screw me when running an Ele in PvP if I don't catch them unawares... lol... but it's great. Now I can do the same to others, now that I've learned how to play a Mes well.

draxynnic · Aug 09, 2009, 02:09 PM // 14:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by upier

I wouldn't mind having skills "balanced" with the intent of shortening the recharges. I've bitched about this years ago, and I never saw the need for Backfire needing to do 150 damage per trigger. It could might as well do 70 or 80 damage, and that would serve as the basis for lowering the recharge and cast-time.
We don't NEED to massively overpower skills, we can make the skills a bit weaker, but instead giving us the option of using them more often. The same way that I'd be perfectly fine with a less damage from Cry Of Frustration, or potentially a higher cost if that means the recharge goes down.
Or Diversion. Massively reduce the the time a skill is disabled since the foes will die in a matter of secs so it doesn't matter if the skill is disabled for 20 or 60 secs and that gives us an option to improve the skills attributes.

Sure, this approach doesn't work on everything since one can easily end up with an INSANELY shitty skill (aka Flare) - but certain skills could benefit from this.

(PvE of course!)

Nicely said! Now that you mention it, a lot of Mesmer tricks could be made more satisfying to play by allowing them to be repeated more often, even if the effect is reduced.

maxxfury · Aug 09, 2009, 02:15 PM // 14:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by upier

I wouldn't mind having skills "balanced" with the intent of shortening the recharges. I've bitched about this years ago, and I never saw the need for Backfire needing to do 150 damage per trigger. It could might as well do 70 or 80 damage, and that would serve as the basis for lowering the recharge and cast-time.
We don't NEED to massively overpower skills, we can make the skills a bit weaker, but instead giving us the option of using them more often. The same way that I'd be perfectly fine with a less damage from Cry Of Frustration, or potentially a higher cost if that means the recharge goes down.
Or Diversion. Massively reduce the the time a skill is disabled since the foes will die in a matter of secs so it doesn't matter if the skill is disabled for 20 or 60 secs and that gives us an option to improve the skills attributes.

Sure, this approach doesn't work on everything since one can easily end up with an INSANELY shitty skill (aka Flare) - but certain skills could benefit from this.

(PvE of course!)

Quote:

Originally Posted by draxynnic

Nicely said! Now that you mention it, a lot of Mesmer tricks could be made more satisfying to play by allowing them to be repeated more often, even if the effect is reduced.

And the reason AP is <3 for a pve mes bar, and the sweet 40/40 sets!
(yes i know the recharge is from ap but any bonus is a bonus and if i need more hp ill be in my shield n spear ty )

But yes it would be nice to not 'need' ap (or to a lesser extent a AoS)for this effect