Curse

Ziv · Aug 07, 2009, 09:27 AM // 09:27

The guide to playing a Mesmer sticky is just a periphery overview of Mesmer skills, and far from a guide on how to play one. So I'd like to ask: How do you play a Mesmer? I've been pvping in random battles with this build:

Arcane Conundrum
Power Block
Backfire
Drain Enchantment
Power Drain
Cry of Frustration
Diversion
Ressurection Signet

Fast Casting 8+1
Illusion 9
Domination 10
Inspiration 9

My main tactic is to use backfire/diversion on one person, usually a monk, and try to pull off arcane conundrum->power block on another. Usually power block only works reliably on elementalists since their spells tend to be slower and all of one element.

But regardless of what I do, if I don't get slaughtered it's because the rest of my team is just that good. I honestly cannot find a way to not be dead weight. Consider the following: In order to not be dead weight, a Mesmer must interrupt/disable/prevent at least one person's worth of damage and/or healing. In order to actually contribute to the team, the Mesmer must prevent more than one person's worth of damage or healing. I can't find any way to do this.

First off, I have pretty much no chance against monks. Even if they didn't have Holy Veil, they use almost nothing but 1/4th second cast spells which still aren't slow enough to interrupt even with arcane conundrum. Most of them also have very fast recharge times as well, so interrupting them wouldn't accomplish much anyways. So the only way I can think to disable them would be to spam diversion, but that takes way too long considering that I die in four whacks from a Dervish.

Now to clarify: my reaction time is ~0.25 seconds according to this website and my ping is about 200 milliseconds according to the in-game ping meter. That would mean that even if I just tried to interrupt everything I saw without stopping to look at what it was, I'd still not be able to interrupt .5 second cast spells, and If I did stop to recognize spells, I probably wouldn't be able to interrupt 1 second cast spells: (.25 sec reaction time + .2 sec ping + .25 sec cast time leaves .3 seconds for recognition) Hit or miss.

Second, I *might* be able to disable another caster. But even in the best case where I diversion/interrupt/power block nearly everything they use, or otherwise intimidate them into not casting via backfire or arcane conundrum, there's still issue that all I've done is made the fight into a 3v3 until I stop focusing on them, at which point the fight becomes a 4v3 if I can't lock down my new target just as well.

It seems like whenever I play I'm not accomplishing anything. How can a Mesmer disable more than one person at a time? Or otherwise avoid being dead weight?

Guildmaster Cain · Aug 07, 2009, 09:38 AM // 09:38

I think you should not spend so much skillpoints in different attributes. At least not all 4. Fast casting for well... fast casting ofc. Inspiration is good for healing yourself. Then choose either Domination or Illusion to mess with ppl.

Backfire+Diversion on the same person kinda doesnt have any synergy. Try Backfire + Wastrels Worry for instance. Backfire makes them not cast spells, so Diversion doesnt trigger anyway.
Dont think you should need Arcane Conundrum for Powerblocking Necromancers, Elemantalists and sometimes Monks and Mesmers. The latter sometimes have 1 or 2 skills that are slower, so try to find out when they use them and Powerblock those. You could add some Shame to annoy monks more. Aneurism can take down a Elemantalist that has 50% health left. You could take Empathy or Spirit Shackles to counter the melees. You have to have skills to do that or they keep getting to you.

Ziv · Aug 07, 2009, 09:50 AM // 09:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guildmaster Cain

Backfire+Diversion on the same person kinda doesnt have any synergy.

I'm using diversion as a cover hex. If they try to cast a remove hex spell on themselves it'll still activate anyway.

upier · Aug 07, 2009, 10:25 AM // 10:25

Campfire is PvE.
You want Gladiator's Arena.

dtru89 · Aug 07, 2009, 02:16 PM // 14:16

when i pvp with my mesmer i always go with domination. try using visions of regret and backfire/empathy. you get a pretty decent spike.

aga · Aug 08, 2009, 05:36 PM // 17:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ziv

I'm using diversion as a cover hex. If they try to cast a remove hex spell on themselves it'll still activate anyway.

Diversion as a cover hex? really, it's a long cast, so decent chance of backfire getting removed before you get diversion on him. If you want a cover hex, try Wastrels Worry for a quick cast, or Mind Wrack for a longer lasting alternative.

smilingscar · Aug 09, 2009, 12:37 AM // 00:37

Biggest improvement you could make: Bring a self heal. Yes, drain enchantment heals a bit, but there's no reason for you not to have ether feast on your bar.

Second biggest improvement: Bring one anti-melee skill so that you can discourage that dervish from killing you in four whacks.

Also, if you're having trouble as an interrupter, perhaps go as a hexer with an interrupt on the side to practice with until you feel more confident.

_Nihilist_ · Aug 09, 2009, 01:16 AM // 01:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by upier

Campfire is PvE.
You want Gladiator's Arena.

Correct!

/moved

scruffy · Aug 09, 2009, 02:07 AM // 02:07

if you put backfire on a monk and then interupt his hex removal its pretty easy to shut him down...you can bring an enchant rip or two for attunements and holy veil. bring something like dark escape or distortion so you dont die instantly.

Betrayer of Wind · Aug 09, 2009, 02:28 AM // 02:28

interrupt cure hex after u backfire him.count 12 seconds and throw diversion on him.count five seconds and repeat.If hes using veil just strip it first.

You're also missing empathy,throw it on war/sins first and try to mantain it on 2 all the time with ur 40/40 set.

powerblock an offensive caster to shut them down.You dont need to power block the monk unless its a ZB monk,which makes ur job 10 times easier,just go for guardian.
A good window of oportunity to PB a monk is casting empathy on one of the team,and waiting for the cure hex.Beware of halved casts tho,watch the animation.

Reverend Dr · Aug 09, 2009, 07:22 AM // 07:22

Different mesmer bars play differently. This is the simplest summary that can be quickly given.

Though if we are referring to traditional Dom Mesmers, then we are really talking about historical ways to play mesmer. Currently if a mesmer is being used then its backfire + vor which isn't rocket science, or fastcast other caster class.

I suppose traditional Dom mesmers aren't completely useless, but the floor for being effective has risen so high with most everything that needs to be targeted being 3/4 second or less, that taking one over the alternative midlines with much lower floors, yet just as high ceilings isn't a good option.

IMMORTAlMITCH · Aug 09, 2009, 08:15 AM // 08:15

In RA you'd be better off running some kind of VoR mesmer.

In GvG Dom mesmers are pretty rare in the current meta (though the last few days I've seen a decent amount of guilds run balanced wtf!) but the most effective playing style for them atm seems to be pumping out as much damage as possible (I've been playing with Surge/Burn and PSpike and it works quite well).

some guy · Aug 09, 2009, 11:29 AM // 11:29

Practice on clicking on people not tabbing

eg you see a monk knocked down, when he gets up you time a pleak etc

IMMORTAlMITCH · Aug 09, 2009, 11:45 AM // 11:45

I wouldn't run PLeak atm tbh, it takes too long to recharge and with monks having signets and being supported by BiP (in A/P spike) or TPIY (in this dual para build that sees a lot of play) and just in general monks casting in shield sets, denying a monk energy really isnt that useful.

It's useful vs a mindblast ele but more often than not they'll be split off so you can't touch them anyway.

I really like Power Spike atm as it's cheap, recharges quickly and 114 damage is pretty significant, especially if you can land it on a woh monk healing himself up or someone getting hit by a warrior already.

Power Lock is decent too but you'll have to be able to get key skills like WoH/RC/Resilient Weapon/Weapon of Warding/Mindblast often or it becomes rather useless.

Ex Death · Aug 09, 2009, 02:15 PM // 14:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ziv

Consider the following: In order to not be dead weight, a Mesmer must interrupt/disable/prevent at least one person's worth of damage and/or healing.

This assumption is not correct. A dom mes operating at a good efficiency should be able to severely cripple 2 of the opposing players, not completely shut them down. Eg. if you use Backfire on someone and then focus your attention elsewhere, the guy with Backfire on him will be severely crippled but not completely shut down (because of his ability to still cast through it as well as hex removal). Partial shut down on 3 of the opposing team's players is also possible depending on their builds and your build.

Lisa of Tyria · Aug 10, 2009, 03:05 AM // 03:05

If you want to learn how to interupt I suggest AB or JQ for practice. AB has many Professions to practice against and JQ has mostly casting Professions. RA only has 4 opponents leaving you with little options. The following two builds I used to get started as an interupter.

F/C 3+1+1
Illusion 12+1
Inspiration 12+1

Frustration
Psychic Instability
Power Return
Web of Disruption
Drain Delusions
Drain Enchantment
Signet of Humility or Power Drain
Ether Feast

Once you gain experience you should drop Frustration and add both Signet of Humilty and Power Drain. Don't spam your interupts. It's a bad habit to get into and harder habit to get out of. Good luck and have fun.

F/C 12+1
Inspiration 12+1+1

Beren985 · Aug 10, 2009, 09:40 AM // 09:40

You have to keep in mind that playing a mesmer competitively, even in RA, is not as easy as playing a hammer bar. So don't be frustrated if you feel that you are setting your team back, with enough practice you'll get better than most of them.

Having said that, PB bars are not for beginners. You should try ESurge or VoR (but build carefully as it now antisynergizes with most of the mesmer line). They are essentially easier to play, as you have to be very good at interrupting to really make PB shine; and I don't mean reacton time only, but knowing what and when to strike as well, which implies having perfect knowledgment of the opposing team builds and how they work (ie having played them).

You should also focus on 3 attributes max, normally you'll go 14 dom/illusion, 7-8 fc and rest for your self-defense attribute, being it inspiration for drain enchantment and/or ether feast or some kind of defensive stance. Keep in mind that in RA, if there is no monk on your team, you're going to be the opposing team first target. Because of that, some form of self-defense is absolutely needed, but once you become aware of this, it's easy to predict their development and take advantage of it (for example firing a couple of spells to their casters while their melees are running up at you, and then start running so they train you and deal zero damage).

Shutting down monks or at least making their job difficult is one of the main mesmers capabilities, don't think you can't do anything to bother them. For instance if you go domination, after the first couple of seconds of the battle have elapsed and their monk has already started to spend its energy, it is easy to drain their veil and then divert them, count 6 and interrupt. This way, if your team is somewhat decent, you'll probably have the enemy team in serious need of heals plus one monk in trouble. Add ESurge or Burn for pressure and damage, rinse, and repeat. You'll see the results in no time.

Another thing you should be doing is to closely watch your teammates bars, and as soon one of them dies, hit the res signet; with fc mesmers have very fast ressing time, less prone to interruptions. Ressurecting as fast as possible your party members is many times key to victory, specially if there is no monk by your side.

Ideally, you should keep an eye to various enemy targets at the same time, so after hexing their monk, you should look the field/tab the enemies and see who else you can disrupt, ie empathy the melees or interrupt that ele meteor or res signet. This can be difficult but its definetly a must, if someone feels you are locked to them, it only takes them to do nothing at all (stop casting and attacking) to almost completely disable your offensive capabilities, since almost all mesmer skills rely on the enemy doing something. This is why you should not wand at the enemy, because if you do it, they'll know you are looking at them. Also, by spreading out your attention, you'll be pressuring all the opposing team at once, making their monking more difficult.

Finally, treat each spell as if it was made of gold. Mesmer spells tend to have long recharge times, so you want to make the maximum out of them; do not divert without a resason, do not mindlesly spam your interrupts, wait for that sin to make his lead attack to empathy him.

You are going to die, a lot. It is inevitable, don't worry. Just try to get the maximum out of your mesmer at all times, and you'll learn how to survive for longer or even be completely unnoticed until it's too late for them. When the enemies start to verbally abuse you, you'll know you are doing a good job.

MaaKotka · Aug 10, 2009, 10:10 AM // 10:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beren985

This can be difficult but its definetly a must, if someone feels you are locked to them, it only takes them to do nothing at all (stop casting and attacking) to almost completely disable your offensive capabilities, since almost all mesmer skills rely on the enemy doing something. This is why you should not wand at the enemy, because if you do it, they'll know you are looking at them. Also, by spreading out your attention, you'll be pressuring all the opposing team at once, making their monking more difficult.

I agree beren mostly but this is something you need to use to your advantage. Same as playing a ranger. Autoattackin someone makes them to use their skills more carefully and to fear getting interrupted or diverted. So you should autoattack someone who you want to get less spammy with his skills and you can still tab targets and be actually watching someone else. This can also make some aware players to get more careless when you are autoattacking someone else because they may think you are watching the guy you are attacking. Using autoattack you should still interrupt the autoattacked guy too if he gets careless.

dorin · Aug 10, 2009, 03:25 PM // 15:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beren985

When the enemies start to verbally abuse you, you'll know you are doing a good job.

You just had the point

Snow Bunny · Aug 10, 2009, 03:51 PM // 15:51

Run a powerblock mesmer.

Mitch will probably disagree with me, but Powerblock is an elite that taught me to hit skills to kill an entire bar.

Hitting WoH/Cure on an arena monk, or hitting Rodgort's/Mindblast on an E/Me destroys it.