Curse

stocker25 · Aug 24, 2006, 03:30 AM // 03:30

Hi i'm a new mesmer. I recently finished the first mission in kaineg and im confused about what my job is. During the mission i was basically casting backfire and empathy while shattering hexes/enchants wen i could. I tried to interrupt but found it near impossible. Also whenever i casted empathy or backfire the target died before my spell had any effect.

Basically i am wondering if i should focus on hexes like empathy and backfire which dont seem to work as well as they look; or on interupts and shutting down opponents.

Thanks in advance for your help.

LightningHell · Aug 24, 2006, 05:07 AM // 05:07

I think you should go off-target. That way you get the full benefit of your interrupts/hexes, whatever they are.

Also, IMO in newer levels, it's usually better to assume the role of an inferior damage dealer. The mobs are so easy to cut through it's useless hexing them anyway.

In later levels/areas it's usually better to shutdown, where it does take some time to take down mobs.

Hella Good · Aug 24, 2006, 05:17 AM // 05:17

I've said this before but here goes: I think hex management (as in spamming/removing hexes) and interrupts is what ANet seems to be telling us Me are for in Factions. Look at the skills being used by the henchies, look at the new skills introduced in Factions... I think the old Backfire the spellcasters image of Me is kind of fading to the background a bit nowadays.

Inters will come to u eventually, trust me. I used to struggle intering anything that had less than 2 cast, now I can often times inter 3/4 skills and have learned to predict shorter cast ones and occasionally manage to inter those as well (prediction + luck kinda thing). Your reaction time will dimish as your knowledge of the game becomes better and you gain some experience with the keyboard.

Oh, if you wanna hex away, borrow some hexes from Necros, Me and N have great hex synergy. There is some nice hexes you can use from Curses, even some of the elite stuff.

stocker25 · Aug 24, 2006, 09:25 AM // 09:25

thanks for your input.

Can soemone please then give me a build which i can use in pve to shutdown opponents (using skills from both campaigns). Also i am wondering whether a mes like this would actually be useful instead of a steady damage dealer. Usually my moto is to kill quick so you dont have to interrupt or heal.

Dragannia · Aug 24, 2006, 09:41 AM // 09:41

Skills that are good for PvE:

Backfire (since AI casts through it)
Empathy (off-target, since AI attacks through it)
Mantra of Recovery (I usually use it to power Backfire and Empathy)
Ineptitude
Clumsiness
Conjure Phantasm (low-levels)
Various E-Management skills
Hex-Removal (use only in an organised team), like Expel and Shatter Hex

Interrupts are usually useful, but since you don't like using them, I didn't include them.

LightningHell · Aug 24, 2006, 10:06 AM // 10:06

Drain Enchantment...

For that EManagement slot.

Dragannia · Aug 24, 2006, 10:43 AM // 10:43

Power Drain works a lot better, and Energy Tap ain't too shabby either. Personally I prefer E-Tap; sometimes the enemy won't have any enchantments at all.

LightningHell · Aug 24, 2006, 10:50 AM // 10:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dragannia

Power Drain works a lot better, and Energy Tap ain't too shabby either. Personally I prefer E-Tap; sometimes the enemy won't have any enchantments at all.

He doesn't like interrupting, I was going to suggest Power Drain.

E-Tap is good, but he doesn't have any Enchantment removal, so I just chose one that doubles as enchantment removal. Of course, it does depend on area.

Hollerith · Aug 24, 2006, 04:10 PM // 16:10

Use Acrane Conundrum to practice interrupts. I think that's where I started. Power Drain usually has my E-mgt spot.

But early on, damage is king. Targetting foes that aren't prioritized yields more effective damage (Backfire on the farthest monk, Empathy on the farther archer, etc). I'd take Power Spike just to have an interrupt & practice on Necros or Ele's (not the ones you Backfired).

Shatter Hex early on is OK, but there are areas where hexes are far & few between.

Pat_vaynard · Aug 24, 2006, 10:00 PM // 22:00

The correct answer to the question "What's a mesmers role? " in my opinion, is whatever he/she desires.

You can be the opposite to whatever you are facing, if you know what you are facing. Say you're running around a heavy melee area (or prodominately w , r , a ) You can be running anti-melee builds with ineptitude, spirit of failure, and degen (my favorite is using Images of Remorse for the 55 damage spike every 5 seconds with -4 degen @ 16 illusion)

You can shut down casters in a multitude of ways, even illusion has spells to assist in that.

Most importantly, you are there for support. I would not suggest pretending you are a warrior, unless you have played Mesmer for quite some time, and understand the skills you can utilize to play that role, and to do it under the right circumstances (Don't try to out tank the tank, or out cast the ele)

You're a jack of all trades, master of none. Beat your opponents by knowing their weaknesses and exploiting them. That is the role of a mesmer.

Hella Good · Aug 24, 2006, 10:32 PM // 22:32

I think he was talking more in terms of PvE. Kind of like "what do you do in PvE?" The title of the thread is kind of misleading, but you basically summed it up pretty well with the "exploiting of weaknesses" part.

Gigashadow · Aug 24, 2006, 11:51 PM // 23:51

Lots of builds work, but this is what I run with in PvE -- I tend to hench everything btw.

Distortion
Images of Remorse
Conjure Phantasm
Conjure Nightmare
Ether Feast
Inspired Hex
Mantra of Recall {elite}
[free slot] (e.g. signet of capture, drain enchant, etc.)

Fast Casting 10+1
Inspiration 10+1
Illusion 11+4

Equipment is Enchanter's Armor (max energy), main hand +20% chance illusion recharge and +5e while health > 50%, offhand +20% chance illusion recharge and +30hp.

My max energy is 54e, and I go into a PvE battle with another 24e soon incoming from Mantra of Recall, which is a nice fat 78e pool to dump. A large energy pool also helps absorb the chunkiness of Mantra of Recall.

I lead with Conjure Nightmare to burn off 25e quick, and then spam Images of Remorse and Conjure Phantasm on everything until it all dies. Usually I or a henchie gets hexed, so I Inspired Hex it (note: the first hex to appear in the party will be removed by a henchman, so I don't Inspired the first hex I see).

You can use the free slot to put in a skill that is suited for a mission; e.g. if you really need to interrupt an annoying and frequently occuring spell (like Jade Fury), bring something like Power Return etc.

Nero · Aug 25, 2006, 04:03 AM // 04:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pat_vaynard

You're a jack of all trades, master of none. Beat your opponents by knowing their weaknesses and exploiting them. That is the role of a mesmer.

*message is too short*

Claudia Starlight · Aug 25, 2006, 04:45 AM // 04:45

My personal role in a PvE party is some sort of damage dealer...

I usually go Dom/Interrupt in PvE. With maximum Domination i usually target two attackers and put Empathy on both of em. I also cast Backfire on one of the spellcasters. When enemies are clustered together i blast them with Energy Surge (usually echoed for mass murder), and interrupt using cry of frustration and leech signet.

When my energy gets low i cast Guilt on a spellcaster or wait for it to regen while blasting stuff with my wand..

I also bring Rebirth or Resurrection chant since the cast time is almost halved with near-max fast casting

stocker25 · Aug 25, 2006, 04:50 AM // 04:50

thanks for all of your input. I think im going to fool around with different builds and get comfortable with my mesmer. If i have any other problems ill post again.

Terra Xin · Aug 25, 2006, 05:58 AM // 05:58

Empathy and Backfire will be your basic friends, and try to switch targets often.

Along pretty much all of the luxon area, an interrupt build will get you into groups easily.

XvArchonvX · Aug 25, 2006, 06:11 AM // 06:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gigashadow

Lots of builds work, but this is what I run with in PvE -- I tend to hench everything btw.

Distortion
Images of Remorse
Conjure Phantasm
Conjure Nightmare
Ether Feast
Inspired Hex
Mantra of Recall {elite}
[free slot] (e.g. signet of capture, drain enchant, etc.)

Fast Casting 10+1
Inspiration 10+1
Illusion 11+4

Equipment is Enchanter's Armor (max energy), main hand +20% chance illusion recharge and +5e while health > 50%, offhand +20% chance illusion recharge and +30hp.

My max energy is 54e, and I go into a PvE battle with another 24e soon incoming from Mantra of Recall, which is a nice fat 78e pool to dump. A large energy pool also helps absorb the chunkiness of Mantra of Recall.

I lead with Conjure Nightmare to burn off 25e quick, and then spam Images of Remorse and Conjure Phantasm on everything until it all dies. Usually I or a henchie gets hexed, so I Inspired Hex it (note: the first hex to appear in the party will be removed by a henchman, so I don't Inspired the first hex I see).

You can use the free slot to put in a skill that is suited for a mission; e.g. if you really need to interrupt an annoying and frequently occuring spell (like Jade Fury), bring something like Power Return etc.

I find that Illusion is often the best for PvE with exception of a few missions. I do run a similar build to this except I bring Energy Drain as elite and Clumsiness instead of Conjure Nightmare. Energy Tap also is very handy if you plan on spamming degen on multiple members quickly. You can only do a maximum of -10 degen to an enemy. Any more than that will only counter any health regen that target may have.

Domination mesmers are often very handy against strong caster bosses, but won't always be the most well suited for every mission.

Themis · Aug 25, 2006, 06:31 AM // 06:31

Imo Mesmers' missions in PVE (as most of you have stated already) :

1. Prevent ennemy DD (damage dealers) from hurting your team. Hex them, then eliminate them. Your team is probably after some "soft targets" : let them do their job and concentrate on enemy forces that are probably after your monks, eles etc.
2. Stay alive : a dead Mesmer is a useless Mesmer. Stick to the background, unless there's only the boss left. Use ether feast and/or distortion as needed.
3. Keep an eye on your energy bar : no energy=nothing to cast=you're useless. Never cast spells on dying targets. Be patient 2 seconds, they'll be dead by then. Too much energy=you're not casting enough.
4. Most of all : never assign yourself the DD role, neither accept to do it. If you want to be a nuker, then change profession. That's my opinion.

Hope this helps. And yes, illusion/inspiration is most suited in all PVE areas.

LightningHell · Aug 25, 2006, 08:29 AM // 08:29

Conjure Nightmare is the last word in the skill. Horrific energy issues.

Just use Phantasm...

And use Clumsiness, as said.

Domination mesmers sometimes are fully anti-caster; although, putting a diversion or two on a warrior AI can be pretty nice.

Hollerith · Aug 25, 2006, 04:03 PM // 16:03

Everywhere I've been, DD = direct damage. Mesmers can be effective DD's as well. Fast casting a Meteor Storm is fantastic crowd control. Even Clumsiness and Ineptitude can be considered a DD (albeit conditional). Hell, I even play a smite Me/Mo when I get bored.

Mesmers are great damage dealers, not certain why Themis says they should never play that role. It's always nice to have some utility, but in pve, the best defense is a fast offense.