Curse

Biostem · Nov 13, 2007, 12:38 AM // 00:38

Ok, so having completed NF w/ my Paragon, I wanted to delve into a caster next. I have a necro/ele that completed Prophecies, so I thought I'd try something different. I went w/ a mesmer, and so far it's fun. One problem I keep encountering is that I just am bad at interrupting enemies. I very much prefer the skills where it just gives me a time in which the skill will automatically interrupt the enemy, or they just take direct damage.

I got the green staff for domination magic, from completing NF, so I'm using that. The nice thing is I don't actually need domination magic to get the +20 energy it provides, so I'm not picky w/ what attributes I go with.

Anyway, can someone suggest a route that has the best skills for a mesmer w/ poor timing? Thanks!

Rayne Nightfyre · Nov 13, 2007, 01:01 AM // 01:01

Well, is there a reason for your poor timing? Do you have lag issues, where your skill isn't interrupting when you cast it? Are you choosing too fast of enemy skills to interrupt? Some skills are just too quick to interrupt unless you were anticipating it, with your finger right over the key. Are you sure you're using it on the right skills/spells? Many Mesmer interrupts only work on spells/chants (such as Power Spike). If it's just a skill you're trying to interrupt, such as Troll Unguent or Healing Signet, that interrupt won't work. Make sure you equip skills that can interrupt the type of skill you're built against.

Redfeather1975 · Nov 13, 2007, 01:04 AM // 01:04

You can unlock Signet of Illusions with your Paragon and then buy an elite tome for your mesmer and learn it.
Then you can play as any spell casting profession you want....and cast really fast while doing it. lol

Legendary Shiz · Nov 13, 2007, 01:08 AM // 01:08

Pretty much, if you're bad at interrupts and it's not a ping issue than you really just need to practice it.

Some people are just naturally good at interrupting because of prior experience in FPS. If you're not one of them, you have to keep playing with it to get better.

If you can't interrupt, and you have no desire to get better at interrupting I wouldn't suggest continuing on with a mesmer.

Rayne Nightfyre · Nov 13, 2007, 01:22 AM // 01:22

Actually you can have very effective Mesmer builds that do not use interrupts at all. If Domination is your thing, try out skills like [skill]Energy Burn[/skill], [skill]Energy Surge[/skill], [skill]Guilt[/skill], [skill]Shame[/skill], [skill]Empathy[/skill], [skill]Backfire[/skill], and such. Skills that punish your enemies for taking some action.

If Illusion is your thing, try out [skill]Clumsiness[/skill], [skill]Ineptitude[/skill], [skill]Conjure Nightmare[/skill], [skill]Images of Remorse[/skill], [skill]Accumulated Pain[/skill] and other degen or anti-fighter skills. In PvE you don't need interrupts to be successful, although it will be well worth your while to learn how and pack one or two with you in every build.

Biostem · Nov 13, 2007, 01:22 AM // 01:22

It's not lag or any game/ISP related issues - I'm just bad at watching the skill bar under the enemy's name to interrupt them. I suppose I have to get into the habit of doing that. Of course, it could also be that I'm lazy or just want to be able to spam spells...

Rayne Nightfyre · Nov 13, 2007, 01:26 AM // 01:26

You probably nailed it there. You're just not in the habit of it. You'll learn to keep an eye on the most threatening enemy in the mob, and interrupt the skills that are going to be the most annoying. I really doubt you would have trouble interrupting an Elementalist enemy's Meteor Shower or Maelstrom, or other skills with cast times of 2-3 seconds. When you get in the hang of it, you'll be able to interrupt just about anything over 1 second casts. It takes anticipation and instant reflexes (and sometimes some lucky guesswork) to interrupt anything 3/4 seconds or under.

iridescentfyre · Nov 13, 2007, 01:29 AM // 01:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biostem

I suppose I have to get into the habit of doing that.

Without question. Not even just for interrupting reasons, the last thing you want is to get surprised by a Meteor Shower, Backfire, or Spoil Victor or something. Watching skill monitors also gives you an opportunity to dodge stuff you really don't want to hit you, like Lightning Orb or Burning Arrow. Very important.

Biostem · Nov 13, 2007, 03:45 AM // 03:45

Thank you all who replied.

My "baby mesmer" is 13 and just about to hit the mainland in factions. I like a lot of the skills mesmers have to offer, and I'll have to figure out which way to go. It's a great things that I can switch between them at a moment's notice. I am rather drawn to the "stealing" skills - like this one that disables an enemy's enchantment and you get it for a short while.

Aww... now i can't wait to get home and mess around w/ interrupting enemies :/

RPGmaniac · Nov 13, 2007, 04:12 AM // 04:12

If you absolutely need help interrupting, you could bring [skill]Arcane Conundrum[/skill] so they take longer to cast. It's a good start if you have bad reflexes. Also helps make faster spells interruptible.

Wow, that icon doesn't look right at all. And neither is the description. It works on adjacent foes too.

Omniclasm · Nov 13, 2007, 04:23 AM // 04:23

If it is PvE, once you get the timing down, you can interrupt almost everything. Monsters cast spells on a specific timer 90% of the time. Eventually, you can even predict when casters in PvP will use skills. Low ping helps too. Also think it is the state of mind. Some days I can interrupt 1 second spells, and even 3/4 second spells reliably. Some days I struggle with 2 second spells.

Also for PvE, I highly suggest [skill]Power Return[/skill]....they have unlimited energy anyway, so this skill has no drawback, and a really low recharge time.

Biostem · Nov 13, 2007, 04:34 AM // 04:34

Hmm.. a lot of good things to consider here. I am going to keep my eyes open. I must say - defeating those damned afflicted assassins is soooo much easier as a mesmer - it's funny to watch them kill themselves w/ empathy and clumsiness

Rayne Nightfyre · Nov 13, 2007, 04:43 AM // 04:43

It is very fun to watch things kill themselves! You'll especially love Ineptitude once you capture it. It's an upgrade of Clumsiness that leaves the enemy blinded as well as deal more damage.

RPGmaniac · Nov 13, 2007, 04:52 AM // 04:52

A good idea to try also is to countdown the recharge if an enemy gets off a spell (or even when they don't as long as it doesn't have an additional recharge). Especially with offensive professions, they will often spam on recharge. If you can count that down right, you can sometimes catch spells you normally shouldn't (like maybe getting an interrupt on that RoF at a critical time).

Biostem · Nov 13, 2007, 04:58 AM // 04:58

I just can't wait to get to the mainland so I can then travel to Kamadan and get heroes - not only will it let me customize my team a it more, but I'll have some better protection (the henchman warrior is pretty bad).

I will have to work on interrupting the enemies, though. I suppose there aren't that many long casting time enemies in the newbie island, though...

Redfeather1975 · Nov 13, 2007, 06:01 AM // 06:01

If you like the spell stealing skills, get Signet of Illusions any way you can.
It's hilarious fun.
I like to talk to myself when using it.

"Ohhh, was it Meteor Shower?.....Let me show you how!"
pew, pew, pew

Here is a sheep game to help practice interrupting reflexes.

Painbringer · Nov 13, 2007, 03:01 PM // 15:01

[skill]power spike[/skill] This is a good spell for training. Fast recharge since it was buffed.

When you fail try try again. You will get better. Watch what your targets cast and put it to memory (It makes all the difference)

Example: If you are on the fire isles and you run into a couple of the Hydra critters (what spell do you need to interrupt??) Meteor Shower they will ether cast right away or about three spells into the battle. If battling two of them 1 usually casts it right away and the other casts later. Your job is to stop one then stop the other then worry about killing them.

Target Recognition / Target Calling / Target Interruption / Target Decimation (My 4 T’s of Mesmering)

nebuchanezzar · Nov 13, 2007, 04:12 PM // 16:12

Maybe someone mentioned it and I just missed it but, open your interface options and make the skill monitor longer. The idea is that with this bar stretched over a larger space it helps to identify the spells you can reliably interupt(1 second and longer casts should be easy) and hopefully help you not to twitch on a 1/4 sec RoF or something that you can't really reliably hit. That is perhaps the best early advice I can give. After that if you can learn the animations for spells you can watch the screen more than the skill monitor and catch them that way too.
GL and HF mez rox when you get good at them

=DNC=Trucker · Nov 13, 2007, 10:41 PM // 22:41

Maybe my guide will help:

Sober: Can hardly ever hit 1 sec casts
1 beer: Starting to hit the 1 sec casts
2-3 beers: Hitting your ZB almost every time
3+ beers: Could probably get meteor shower off without me noticing.

(well thats just me)

On a serious note, practice practice practice. A good way to do this is take a hero DPS warrior and go fight the healer in the isles of the nameless. Just keep working on your techniques, and most importantly, the mesmer needs to know almost every skill in the game, be able to lock an enemies skill bar into memory, and know what spells are the important ones. If you are attempting to read the skill description under their name as they use it, you're too late. In PVE, this is easy as you have the wiki and know what your foes are going to use. GL and keep working at it, theres nothing more fun in this game than being the cause of so many 'clicks'

Biostem · Nov 14, 2007, 12:11 AM // 00:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by nebuchanezzar

Maybe someone mentioned it and I just missed it but, open your interface options and make the skill monitor longer. The idea is that with this bar stretched over a larger space it helps to identify the spells you can reliably interupt(1 second and longer casts should be easy) and hopefully help you not to twitch on a 1/4 sec RoF or something that you can't really reliably hit. That is perhaps the best early advice I can give. After that if you can learn the animations for spells you can watch the screen more than the skill monitor and catch them that way too.
GL and HF mez rox when you get good at them

That sounds like a really good idea. None of my other characters really cared what skills the enemy uses - they just kill them. Regardless, that should help quite a bit.

On a related note, would fast casting help w/ things like the spirit summons if I was to change my secondary to ritualist later on? What about things like ranger traps, etc?

Anyway, thanks again for all your help!