Curse

Moonstruck Muse · May 28, 2009, 09:52 PM // 21:52

I actually run several IW builds. One is a PVP one, but it works in PvE with tweaks. Basically all is it is IW + any of the various defensive mesmer stances/spells (inspiration line) depending on the area and Dwarven Armor, and then some conjures. Cast Conjures like you would normally (with a staff) then I swap to a sword if A foe comes near, nab IW and whack em.

But that's playing it safe. I also sometimes charge in but that doesn't always go too hot. The good news of this is that if your Ens ger removed you simply revert to a degen hex mesmer until it recharges/you kill the foe with the enchant removal.

But what I REALLY run is a heavily mixed weapon IW 600. I do CoF with it, and being used to monk, it is a bit harder, because my smiter has to run with my Spell Breaker. I find I kill mobs much faster with IW than I did, plus the advantage of farming on a mes is nice.

You can also 55 IW, but that's not as much to my liking.

Regeardless, the 5 en really helps those latter two builds out, because if you don't have a bip on you you can be hurting for energy a little sometimes, especially if you arre just learning how to 600 on other classes like I am. You just hav eto remember you aren't running with divine favor, but on the other hand, FC is amazing at helping you not worrk about too many ints.

I've done IW on a derv. It was good defense, but the damage just wasn't high enough to my liking. But the armor ignoring aspect was really nice on some foes, especially terra tanks...

Blkout · May 29, 2009, 11:46 PM // 23:46

I have two IW builds I use for PvE and I'm sure they could be somewhat adapted to PvP as well. One is W/Me and it works very well even using a warrior primary but I won't post it here. I'll post the second build since this is the mesmer forum and it's a Me/D build.

You can use a sword, axe or scythe. The scythe is obviously slower than the sword and axe but you can hit 3 enemies at the same time. The sword and axe deal more single target damage over time since the attack rate is quicker. It's really up to you but the build works with any of these weapons. The nice thing about the Me/D IW build is that you can use any weapon you want and the weapon requirements or stats don't matter at all so go ahead and use your favorite skin weapon no matter what the requirement.

I also like to use a shield when using a sword or axe. Rather than limit myself to a shield with a requirement of zero, I use any shield I want at max armor 16, and since I won't be meeting the minimum attribute requirement for the shield using a Dervish secondary, I only get half the armor rating of the shield which is 8, but that's just fine with this build. +8 armor is better than nothing at all.

As for mods, I like a weapon with +5 energy and 20% longer enchants. I like my shield with a +30 health or +45 in stance, but +45 enchanted would also work. I also prefer -2 damage in stance, but -2 enchanted would also work. Or you could use -5/20% but I like guaranteed damage reduction and I know my -2 is always there.

OK, so here's the build, it's nothing ground breaking but it works fine and will allow the Mesmer to take far more damage than you might expect in PvE. I wouldn't call him a tank, but he's more than durable enough to play through the game without worrying about survivability.

1. Drunken Master
2. Illusionary Weaponry
3. Great Dwarf Armor
4. Mystic Regeneration
5. Vital Boon
6. Shrinking Armor
7. Mirage Cloak
8 Sunspear Rebirth Signet

I listed the skills in the exact order I have them on my skillbar and I cast them in this specific order for a reason.

Great Dwarf Armor is a good cover enchant for IW with a quick recharge time. If it should get stripped, simply cast it again for a cover enchant.

Vital Boon is a good cover enchant for Mystic Regeneration with a quick recharge time.

Shrinking Armor is there for additional damage, it can be replaced with any skill you like, but I find that it helps considerably and it's low cost and quick recharge make it a nice addition.

Mirage Cloak is an emergency skill in case you're getting hit too often or need a quick escape since it provides you with a 50% chance to block attacks. The nice thing about this skill is that you can use it even if you're not in trouble if you've got some energy to spare and deal the bonus earth damage when it ends. And, since it's an enchantment that adds another 3 pips of health regeneration to Mystic Regeneration.

When the first 5 skills are activated, you maintain +10 pips of health regneration and with the addition of the +24 armor from Great Dwarf Armor, and the addition of the +60 health from it along with Vital Boon's health increase of +88 at 12 Earth Magic, it's fairly common to have between 650-700 health with +10 health regeneration at all time. It's easy to keep the enchants up all the time since they recharge quickly and they last for a while. The only effort on your part is to watch for them to expire and recast them again. Wait For Vital Boon to expire before recasting since it will give a nice heal when it ends. Energy is never a problem with this build.

My skill attributes are as follows:

Fast Casting +3 (leftover points)
Illusion Magic +15
Earth Prayers +12

I use the following runes and insignias:

(5) Blessed Insignia, one per each piece of armor.
(1) Major Illusion Magic Rune on an Illusion Helm.
(3) Rune of Vitae
(1) Superior Vigor Rune

Moonstruck Muse · May 30, 2009, 06:09 PM // 18:09

I think the main thing I notice with a lot of these builds is people don't put much/any points in FC. tbh, I find FC to still be valuable with IW, because it means less chance of being inted when casting your main damage spell. But of course, that means you can't put those points into something that in some cases is more valuable, such as healing or defense, etc.

Thinking on this, if you knew what you were up against, I'd think Great Dwarf Armor + Elemental/Physical Resistance + Whatever other enchants you want for defense/healing would be a nice defense combo, but you'd be sacrificing the main flurry idea.

I'm looking at some other skills, and really if you cast IW + Heket's Rampage, that seems like a good combo. Lightning Reflexes would be good to bring in a tight spot for damage and defense, but I think even with max dwarven title you couldn't get it to last longer than it's recharge. Finalyl Never Rampage Alone sounds good for all of us who want to take a pet with us.

Blkout · May 31, 2009, 01:10 AM // 01:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moonstruck Muse

I think the main thing I notice with a lot of these builds is people don't put much/any points in FC. tbh, I find FC to still be valuable with IW, because it means less chance of being inted when casting your main damage spell. But of course, that means you can't put those points into something that in some cases is more valuable, such as healing or defense, etc.

Thinking on this, if you knew what you were up against, I'd think Great Dwarf Armor + Elemental/Physical Resistance + Whatever other enchants you want for defense/healing would be a nice defense combo, but you'd be sacrificing the main flurry idea.

I'm looking at some other skills, and really if you cast IW + Heket's Rampage, that seems like a good combo. Lightning Reflexes would be good to bring in a tight spot for damage and defense, but I think even with max dwarven title you couldn't get it to last longer than it's recharge. Finalyl Never Rampage Alone sounds good for all of us who want to take a pet with us.

Fast casting isn't necessary with my build as the skills cast quickly anyway. It's not worth adding 8-12 points in FC to shave a few tenths of a second off the skills I posted.

As for using Flurry for more damage, you certainly could but not as a Dervish secondary which means you're giving up your survivability for more damage. The trade-off isn't worth it for me, but to each his own.

Another Felldspar · Jun 04, 2009, 08:34 PM // 20:34

Hmmmm... IW plus Arance Mimicry with a Hundred Blades Hero could be fun. Especially if the Hundred Blades warrior also has Arcane Mimicry. Of course the warrior would also need I Have the Power or some such to come up with the energy to use it. Or maybe Channeling. Think I might have to try it for giggles.

Lisa of Tyria · Jun 22, 2009, 04:21 PM // 16:21

I use a Ranger/Mesmer build for IW. [Illusion of Weakness][Conjure Nightmare][IW][Lightning Reflexes][Heket's Rampage][Throw Dirt][Whirling Defense][troll Unguent].
Attribute selection is 12 illusion, 4 beast, 10+3 expertise, 7+1 wilderness. Rune selection may vary occording to personnal taste. Sword or Axe with Illusion off-hand. Before the match begins I use IoW followed with Troll U. After I cast IW, I use Lightning Reflexes just before I make contact with my target. When Lightning runs out I use either Whirling Defense or Throw Dirt (if needed) and then Heket's Rampage. Conjure Nightmare is excellant on kiting players. Warriors, sins, rangers, dervs get frustrated easily with this build, though dervs have better self healing and can stay in battle longer. This build I came up with over a year ago so give it a try and let me know how you like it. Thanks and have fun.
I understand we're in the Mesmer primary section but we are talking about IW skill so I'm showing you my Ranger primary build. Hope nobody took offense.