Curse

Chael · Oct 29, 2007, 08:02 PM // 20:02

Hello, I recently started the game (a month ago). I've since raised five characters, one of them being a Proph Mesmer/E.
Up to this point I've really enjoyed the class, but recently have been falling out on it. While playing with henchies I've found that whenever I try to hex multiple foes they abruptly disengage and run to my newly target foe. When playing in PUG's I find that the aggravating recasts on my staple skills (Empathy, Backfire) leave me feeling like I've made little impact on the battle- by the time I lay down a hex, the group clears out the target mob three seconds later and moves on to the next while I wait until my recharge meter fills up again.
I love the idea of the class, but what I've been playing thus far has been very inflexible. I figure I must be doing something wrong (either in my build or my playstyle), so I ask the Mesmer community to help advise me on the class.

Painbringer · Oct 29, 2007, 08:45 PM // 20:45

Hero / Hench follow your beckon call and switch targets. This is a disadvantage for solo PVE player (to bad we can not easily lock them on target) but fear not you can still be effective. One thing you can do is open your attacks on warriors with skills like [skill]energy burn[/skill] or [skill]energy surge[/skill] wait for your team to lock into them then target switch to healers cast your backfire then switch again back to warriors or other target. I find with skills like backfire the enemy casters stop and are kind of shut down by it. Empathy is a great skill but instead of targeting the creature everyone else is targeting. Use it as a defense for your team and you. I watch my heroes health bars and if I notice a henchmen getting clobbered I slap it on the warrior attacking them. [skill]power spike[/skill] is awesome skill now so make sure you use it. Targeting and interruption are keys to Mesmer.

the_jos · Oct 29, 2007, 08:49 PM // 20:49

Easiest to do is call target (ctrl + space / ctrl + shift + space) which your henchies will attack and put the hex on a different target.

For example, when you call target on a random enemy, the hench will attack them.
At the same time, you put Backfire on the monk in the group.
Since he will try to heal the melee, he will kill himself fast.

Same with Empathy.
Focus hench on a target, cast Empathy on an other target.
When the hench are done, point them to a 3rd target (if available)

sixofone · Nov 09, 2007, 11:51 PM // 23:51

Thanks for the tips!

I've been having the same expereince with my H&H attacking the 1 guy I've already slapped a Hex on, or breaking off to attack the next guy I'm trying to work on while they're busy. It's taking some practice, but I'm starting to get the knack for targeting my physical attacks (wanding) and moving my TAB around to lay out hexes on other foes.

You can't see me · Nov 09, 2007, 11:54 PM // 23:54

My Favorite thing to with Mesmers in PvE is actually load a bunch of inturupts and straight up damage skills onto my bar, since hex durations won't be useful on basic mobs on H/H teams. You + H/H = Win.

And for bosses you know are tough, modify your build to conpinsate.

Rayne Nightfyre · Nov 10, 2007, 03:57 AM // 03:57

Another useful skill combo to use against anything that attacks frequently is [skill]Clumsiness[/skill] and [skill]Ineptitude[/skill]. That can keep that annoying Warrior or Assassin at bay when they charge in on you.

Azaya · Nov 20, 2007, 06:19 PM // 18:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rayne Nightfyre

Another useful skill combo to use against anything that attacks frequently is [skill]Clumsiness[/skill] and [skill]Ineptitude[/skill]. That can keep that annoying Warrior or Assassin at bay when they charge in on you.

Additionally, not so much Ineptitude but Clumsiness still has its uses even against pesky enemy monks.. it's very rare that they don't take an occasional break to wand you once or twice.

Hamanaqua · Dec 19, 2007, 05:23 PM // 17:23

Overall Advice

I’ve been perusing most of the threads here. EVERYONE has helpful advice but the truth is that there is no panacea. Everything depends on the circumstances.
- What skills do you have?
- How many points in each attribute do you have allocated?
- Are you using heroes and henchmen or just henchmen?
- Are you playing with a live party?
- What foes are you fighting?
- Do you have runes?
- What kind of weapon or focus items are you using?
- What kind of armor do you have?

Because there are so many variables, there is just no way to make a meaningful suggestion in regards to what skills you should use. As for HOW to play a mesmer, there might be some guidelines you can follow.
Mesmers are casters but they are not Elementalists which is to say they do not typically have loads of energy at their disposal.
- Watch the spamming unless your skill set incorporates some energy regeneration skills.
- Stay to the back; let the melee profs draw the aggro and wait. I use the Ctrl key to find the casters (healers especially) and focus on them. Fortunately, your H/H AI tends to go after them too.
As for keeping your AI on target, simply don’t call. Once engaged, I find my heroes and henchmen stay with their chosen foe unless I spam Ctrl + click on another target or use the target function on the hero skill bar.

Move around, run away. Enemy AI will go after healers and those doing the most damage. If they start to notice you too much, move and let them refocus their attacks. This will also allow you to regain some energy and let skills recharge.

Use your weapon. Make sure you have the requirements for your weapon met in any build you use and get a max dmg weapon as soon as you can. Weapon attacks don’t do all that much damage on high level foes but they don’t cost you anything and the still DO damage.

If I have to suggest one skill I favor it’s empathy. No matter what lvl melee foe I cast that on, it causes them to do 54 dmg to themselves (based on the points I have in Domination) with each attack. So even if I’m only doing 9 pts with my weapon I’m still doing 63 total and spending no energy to boot. You can then use something like conjure nightmare or energy surge to accelerate things.

I guess with a mesmer if you can actually learn to NOT to rely on spamming your skills you’ll find you become much more effective in a fight. Now this is PVE ONLY and even this approach doesn’t always work. It relies heavily on staying on the fringes of the battle and having good healing. Both of which are easily attainable.

I think mesmers are under valued. I run with the same group of players and know their builds and how to compliment them. I’m well aware of when I’m the reason a boss isn’t able to use his best attack effectively. I know because suddenly I come under heavy fire (which means I’m pissing them off

). Blocking healing signet and giant stomp are my personal favorites.

Playing a mesmer takes time. Time to gather a long list of skills and elite skills. Time to try builds that work well against melee and against casters. Don’t’ give up on the class. Good luck.

Jijimuge · Dec 19, 2007, 07:06 PM // 19:06

It's not only using Ctrl+Space or Ctrl+Shift+Space that controls who your henchies attack. They will also begin to shift towards whoever you're attacking with the simple "Space" command to autoattack.

So whoever you're wanding will be the enemy the henchies target. If you cast your spells without using the "space" key, the henchies will not rush to target that enemy. To do this, just get the henchies to attack your enemy with Space (or variant thereof), but use the number keys to cast your hexes on the other opponents. I used to use this all the time when using the (pre-nerf) Spirit of Failure in Conjunction with the (pre-nerf) Ward vs Melee to turn one enemy warrior into my own personal energy source.

As a general tip, though, know your enemy. This is good advice for any class, but is doubly important for mesmers. I.e. which enemies will you meet in the area.....which ones need to be shut down, and in particular which of their skills do you need to interrupt/counter? Do you (and your team) need to have the offensive casters taken down....or the monks...or perhaps the melee?

I usually leave melee shutdown to necros, as they tend to do it better in PvE (IMO) than mesmers, so prefer to focus on dealing with casters.

Mesmer skills often have conditions attached e.g. that they only punish foes for using particular types of skill. E.g. it's a poor use of your time to backfire a ritualist if most of their skills are binding rituals + ancestor's rage.

Also, from amongst the skills you think you're likely to encounter, try to think about how you can counter them. For slowish spells, interrupts are usually very good - but be aware of your own abilities when trying to do this. Elementalists and Necros are often quite easy to interrupt, but monks are often using faster spells, so may be trickier to interrupt.

As an example, whenever I face Shiroken elementalists (with their devastating Sliver Armour), enchantment removal is extremely valuable, so Drain or Shatter Enchantment get added to my skillbar. When I'm facing Mahgo Hydras, with their Glyph of Renewaled Meteor Showers, Cry of Frustration works very well, as does having another interrupt for the second meteor shower.

Another point is that mesmer hexes are usually single-target, powerful, and often of longish duration, so mesmers will find contribute more when the party is facing a tough group which manages to survive long enough for the hexes to have their full effect.

And lastly, take heart....elementalists do VERY well for damage in the early part of prophecies as their damage is affected by armour. The damage caused by mesmer skills ignores armour, so mesmers will compare poorly early on. Later on, however, the difference is not as extreme, as the elementalists' damage is reduced by the higher armour level of foes whereas the mesmers' damage is not.

Seef II · Dec 20, 2007, 01:23 AM // 01:23

Quote:

Another point is that mesmer hexes are usually single-target, powerful, and often of longish duration, so mesmers will find contribute more when the party is facing a tough group which manages to survive long enough for the hexes to have their full effect.

That's true for Illusion Magic degen, but most of those Spells' effects aren't that relevant to PvE. The good "sticky" hexes tend to consist of Frustration and Empathy in PvE - AoE like Wandering Eye and Mistrust pull their weight a lot better than all of the Illusion sticky hexes. Unfortunately, those good one-trigger hexes aren't always predictable as a setup for Cry of Pain.

artay · Dec 21, 2007, 11:37 AM // 11:37

If you use tab to scroll through your targets instead of cliking on them, your henchmen shouldn't do the same as long as you don't press spacebar.

Limu Tolkki · Dec 21, 2007, 12:07 PM // 12:07

Ele will do it better....

Clarissa F · Dec 21, 2007, 03:27 PM // 15:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Limu Tolkki

Ele will do it better....

Yay! was waiting for the troll.

zling · Dec 31, 2007, 09:32 PM // 21:32

oh yeah, Ele will shut the boss down much better than the Mesmer /sarcasm
psst, Mesmers are a really awsome class if you have a clue... even in PvE, Tank+Nukers+MM+Monk isnt the only way to go, I hope you guys know that...
Mesmers excell especially vs tough bosses.
those annoying bosses(especially Monks with good elites) give you trouble? use Diversion/Shame or just Blackout. or wait, even better, attack his fellow mobsters and watch him kill himself with Backfire.
that annoying Searing Flames boss is slaughtering your party? meet Signet of Humility, your new best friend.
this Warrior boss just keeps on killing your squishies 1 by 1, no problemo. Inepitude and Clumsiness will solve all your problems. or you can just wait for him to kill himself with Empathy.

what can the Ele do to achieve all that?
go E/Mes of course! :lol:
now seriously, I hope you get the picture...

upier · Jan 01, 2008, 10:05 AM // 10:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by zling

oh yeah, Ele will shut the boss down much better than the Mesmer /sarcasm
psst, Mesmers are a really awsome class if you have a clue... even in PvE, Tank+Nukers+MM+Monk isnt the only way to go, I hope you guys know that...
Mesmers excell especially vs tough bosses.
those annoying bosses(especially Monks with good elites) give you trouble? use Diversion/Shame or just Blackout. or wait, even better, attack his fellow mobsters and watch him kill himself with Backfire.
that annoying Searing Flames boss is slaughtering your party? meet Signet of Humility, your new best friend.
this Warrior boss just keeps on killing your squishies 1 by 1, no problemo. Inepitude and Clumsiness will solve all your problems. or you can just wait for him to kill himself with Empathy.

what can the Ele do to achieve all that?
go E/Mes of course! :lol:
now seriously, I hope you get the picture...

Something jolly for the holidays:
"There is nothing to fear
with Paragons here!"

Limu Tolkki · Jan 03, 2008, 06:38 PM // 18:38

Or just cast pain inverter on that boss?

Tyla · Jan 03, 2008, 09:16 PM // 21:16

What if they don't have GW:EN?

upier · Jan 03, 2008, 10:33 PM // 22:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Limu Tolkki

Or just cast pain inverter on that boss?

DUDE!11!
That's not going to work because Pain Inverter isn't a mesmer skill and you don't need to devote your whole skillbar to have the same effect (or better even since the best PvE shutdown is death!) as a mesmer!
That's why it's the suck!1!
8 skills with an insane recharge + a useless PvE primary = SOOOO much better!111!1