Me/E or E/Me ?

If I'm going to focus on domination magic and illusion magic along with air magic, would I be better off going Me/E and getting the fast cast or E/Me and getting the energy storage? I need to know if energy will be a problem later. Not to mention, I've never played a Me or an E, so I'm completely clueless as to what to do. Any advice would be appreciated.

BTW, should I stick to my plan or should I go one of the 2 (domination/illusion magic) and pair it up with inspiration and go air magic? Thanks in advance.

For energy management's sake I would sub one of your specializations for Inspiration Magic. The question is not what attributes/skills you'll be using, but WHY you will be using them.
There are endless possibilities so think of a role you'd like to play in a party instead of asking after certain class combos.

At Lvl 20 i have roughly 40, and i play a Me/E. Take in the fact though i have yet to get my final suit of armor and final weapon pieces, so it may change for me. Hope this helps.

Well if you go Me/Ele you will only have 20 mana with out runes or addons from staffs/wands or artifcats, but can cast fast but if you go Ele/me you can have at least 60 if you put lots of points into energy storgae. I'm a Ele/Me with 12 (11 + minor rune) in energy storage and have 93 mana now thanks to a nice staff and artifcat

E/Me, Mesmers look like their dressing up for a dinner party.

Quote: Originally Posted by Spike

moved to campfire

@ Spike: LOL - where did you get the value of 20 from? It's actually a minimum of 25 base with a rogue's set and 30 with the usual stuff. Then sth. like 37 with the enchanter's set (not counting any Wands/Staves/Foci).
No wonder people don't pick Mesmer as primary if they are so clueless about the profession. ;-)

P.S. 60 energy with "lots of points in energy storage"? 60 points of energy aren't much for an Elementalist - you have to pick the right stuff and you can go far beyond 100.

P.P.S. Again - think of what your role in a party should be. If damage is what you want with some cool mesmer tricks, then pick E/Me. If you want to be an intterupter, energy drainer and whatnot (pure support, but probably the most important character in a party besides monks), then pick Me/E - Fast Casting is crucial in this case.

I much prefer elementalist main... don't think only of the effects of the primary attribute, but think also of the linked skills. Fast Casting has one linked skill and it's elite and I don't think I would ever want to use it...
Energy Storage has many linked skills and I happen to like all of them, I'm using two of them in my build.
It's a matter of preference. I can't tell you whether the effects of energy storage or fast casting would be more useful, but you can probably figure which of the skills you have a great need for, if you intend to use any of them that is.

frankly, I don't see the value of fast casting with so many instant and 3/4 casting time, especially when mesmer needs to manage energy. So I deleted my me/e and replayed e/me.

Do as you please. Nevertheless Fast Casting is also cool for Elementalists to cast their LONGER spells much faster. And with Inspiration energy management shouldn't be the problem. No matter HOW deep your energy pool is - it will always run out at a certain point of time if you don't manage it correctly. =)

Quote: Originally Posted by magic1

Thanks for the help guys. I think I'm going to restart my Me/E and go E/Me. I figured the fast casting wasn't worth it either. BTW, is my projected build ok? I was thinking along the lines of

9 energy storage
9 domination
9 air magic
whatever left in illusion

Thanks again. I appreciate the help.

lim-dul hits it right on. It all depends on what you need. Fast casting is crucial for pvp and battles that are won fast. ya it doesnt help instant cast spells, but being able to hit somebody with both fantasm and backfire in the time that you could normally do only 1 is huge. If you go mesmer primary you should be mesmer only, and not screw around with the high mana elemental skills. If you want to sneak in 1 or 2 5 or 10 mana skills its not the end of the world. If on the other hand you are going for firepower with a few mesmer skills for pve then you are better off with an elemental primary so that you can cast your spells for a long time, because when you're fighting huge battles getting an extra spell in here or there isnt the huge deal. It comes down to your party needs and the situations that you will be facing.

Not to mention the fact that you can rest between fights in PvE - a privilege you don't get in PvP. =)

My lvl 17 Me/E has 49 or 60 energy depending on if I need more max and 3 pips or lower max and 4 pips.

At ascention I should have items for 50 and 64-65 energy...

The energy from energy storage is only god for frontloading anyway - after you get down to normal levels you are going at the same speed as everybody else.

Fastcasting on the other hand helps with any not-instant spell.

Tho I miss some of the skills under the Energy storage Attribute.

And Mesmers looks soo much better.