The Guildless’ Approach to Mesmerism

Melinda Hello pretty ladies and handsome gentlemen! My name is The Guildless, most often referred to as "G", and if you're reading this, you're probably trying to figure out this awesome class that is the mesmer. You have probably seen mesmers around who looked unbelievable, but until you’re behind the wheel, it’s hard to know how great and fun they also are.

So, where do we begin? Some people say leveling a mesmer is the hard part, some others say the contrary. I’m inclined to support the former statement, not because it’s particularly hard, but because traits just bring so much more to the table. Also, leveling your first mesmer also puts you into a huge learning path where you need to learn how your fragile illusions behave, when to summon them, when to shatter them, how to deal with single targets and groups, etc. Hopefully, this guide will simplify things enough so you don't have too much of a headache.

I’ll try to provide as much information about how I play my wonderful mesmer and explain the reasoning behind my choices while still keeping it simple so you don’t get lost in all the technical talk. First, we'll talk about what a mesmer actually does.

The Mesmer’s Role

The first thing to understand is what you are as a mesmer and how you fit in a group of other players. A warrior punches and gets punched, an elementalist deals pain and more pain and then some more, a thief is being sneaky and dealing tons of damage in quick bursts, but since you are a mesmer, there is no clear answer to this question. The mesmer is a very flexible class, so you can choose to build your character to be useful in group situations or to be deadly in a showdown. I have found a sweet spot between both cases that suits me and perhaps will suit you as well.

As a mesmer, you can't match the damage output of a warrior or a thief and you can't take as much damage as a guardian would. You can, however, turn some bosses’ meanest attacks against them, protecting your party and dealing massive damage back to them. You can stealth groups of people long enough to get past dangerous encounters, you can speed things up and help people out with portals, you can steal boons, copy them and send them to all your friends, you can... you get the point. Mesmers are loved for all of the above and are a core part of dungeon groups nowadays.

One word describes it all: finesse. Finesse is not something complicated, it’s merely a matter of knowing what’s going on, what your skills do and when they are best used. Knowledge will come with time, and it is always wise to ask questions, watch gameplay videos and try out new tactics. Make it so people don't ask you to come on a dungeon run because you're a mesmer, but because you are a great player.

The Guildless’ Build

Background

I can’t take all the credit for this one since I based this build on a sPvP video back in September 2012 which I can’t find anymore. Basically, it revolved around using phantasms to provide a considerable burst of damage in order to take down single targets quickly. I kept the trait repartition, chose some other major traits and changed some skills to make it more viable in WvW and general PvE, and here’s what it ended up being.

Keep in mind that, as time passes, there are patches, bugs, bug fixes and skill / trait balance. This guide has been updated after the June 25th 2013 patch that significantly affected the cooldown of illusion skills. The build and philosophy around it remains the same, however.

I have a very strict “one build fits all” policy, meaning no matter how I build my characters, it must be highly effective both in PvE and WvW. I don’t want to have to switch traits around except in very, very particular circumstances. Basically, I change one or two utility skills at most depending on the situation. Otherwise, I keep everything the same because it’s simple, strong and efficient.

Weapon-wise, it works very well with a staff, a greatsword or sword/any. There is a whole section about the weapons I use further below. The general playstyle of this build can either be “sit back and destroy everything”, “jump in and kill everything” or both. So it works no matter what you feel like doing.

Traits

You can find a complete build and equipment breakdown here on gw2skills.net

I chose to go for 10/20/15/25/0 in each tree respectively. This allows me to benefit from a great increase in phantasm damage and critical chance while still being able to survive thanks to the +250 vitality and the defensive traits from the Chaos line. I’ll be going through the traits one by one and try to explain how they matter. Here’s how it looks like:

Domination Magic (10pts)

Dueling (20pts)

Chaos (15pts)

Inspiration (25pts)

Allocating traits while leveling:

I would recommend starting with Domination, then at least five points in Duelist to get more vigor and then either Chaos (+defense) or Duelist (+offense). Finish with the Inspiration line.

Armor, Runes and Sigils

This is always a big touchy topic. I go for pure Berserker’s gear (+Power, +Precision, +Critical Damage) and thus am what many call a glass cannon. I base my survivability on my reflexes, my positioning and general awareness of the dangers I will face. Along with the defensive traits I have, I consider it to be enough for me.

Whether you feel the same is something you have to think about before buying gear. Without any vitality gear and WvW bonuses, you will get around 17.5k health. If you feel like you need more, then feel free to go for more defensive stats on your trinkets, your armor or your runes. Survivability has never been a concern for me in open world PvE and dungeons as mobs almost never come for me, and when they do, my build allows me to be very mobile.

This build should work well with any kind of stats combination, though I would recommend aiming for precision whenever you can to trigger critical hits and thus bleeding. Since your phantasms will have fury, you can get a lot of critical hits going and pack a punch even if you’re not going for pure damage gear.

As for the rune set, I go for Superior Runes of Lyssa for a nice boost in precision, a pretty surprise when I heal and a fresh start when I throw down Time Warp, allowing me to make use of it unhindered. The bonus on elite skill also works great with Mass Invisibility to escape combat when exploring or in WvW.

Superior Rune of Lyssa

When it comes to sigils, it is also entirely up to you. I use a Sigil of Perception on my greatsword for increased precision and thus critical chance for both myself and my illusions. I then use a Sigil of Force and a Sigil of Accuracy on my sword and focus.

Weapon Sets

Here is where the real fun begins! I use a greatsword as well as a sword/focus combination. For now, I would like to go over the weapon skills you will have available and how use them.

Greatsword

Contrary to what one might think at first, a mesmer’s greatsword is no melee weapon, but instead a laser-shooting cannon. All but one skill can be activated at 1200 range, so it is a very good weapon to stay out of harm’s way.

Sword (main hand)

Even though Mesmers are a class with light armor, it is possible to survive in melee combat for a little while. I would not attempt to tank for a prolonged period of time unless you are facing a rather harmless boss, though. All sword attacks can hit multiple enemies if they are close enough to one another.

Focus (off-hand)

I consider the focus to be an indispensable weapon for WvW and general exploration PvE. With the Warden’s Feedback major trait, it becomes extremely effective in even more situations.

Utility Skills

My utility skills rarely change for combat purposes, but the flexibility of mesmers comes from the array of awesome utility skills they have. Skills like Portal and Veil offer a lot of help in some situations, but they shouldn’t stay on your bar when you go into a fight unless you know they are needed during or right after combat.

Healing Skill : Ether Feast (#6)
Ether Feast icon The first healing skill you ever had. With the +250 to healing power from your traits, you’ll heal for a base of 5.8k health, with a 800 bonus per illusion, which gets it up to over 8k health, almost half of your total health, on a 20 second cooldown. Keep throwing those illusions out and your heal will keep your health pool nearly full at all times! To make the most out of your heal, always try to use it as soon as your health reaches about 12k. This way, you’re letting the cooldown go round while you’re still safe enough, and your heal should be ready by the time another surprise arises.

Utility Skill One: Blink (#7)
Blink icon Every build should have a stun breaker. This one has the advantage to also provide mobility to navigate dangerous terrain like staircases full of traps, windy scaffolding and getting away from nasty AoE circles in no time. Combined with the permanent vigor you have, you should always be able to be on the move, one step ahead.

Utility Skill Two: Feedback (#8)
Feedback icon This is awesome projectile reflection right there. It reflects incoming and outgoing projectiles, allowing you to protect a whole flank of a battlefield easily. It has no cast time, meaning you can also cast it while reviving someone or casting other skills. It also serves as an ethereal field, meaning your party can inflict confusion and gain chaos armor whenever you use it.

Feedback does not require line of sight, but you have to target an enemy to cast it properly. With proper practice, you can also cast it without having a target if you place your camera at the right angle. You should use this skill even if there are no ranged attackers around since it’s a cheap and long combo field. Beware, casting Feedback while under the effect of quickness (using Time Warp) makes the field last only half as long.

I usually use this slot for one-use-wonders like Portal when necessary.

Utility Skill Three: multiple choices (#9)

Elite Skill: Time Warp (#0)
Time Warp icon This very skill is what everyone is looking for when they see a mesmer in their party. By now, you should know that mesmers aren’t all about Time Warp, but it’s nevertheless probably the best elite skill out there. This skill creates a very large field that grants quickness (not to confound with swiftness) to five allies within it. Priority is given to players, but NPCs, illusions and minions can also be affected. Every second for ten seconds, it will grant quickness to those inside, which makes them activate skills 50% faster. This is not limited to attack skills; actions such as reviving a fallen ally or gathering are also affected.

In other words, you are dramatically increasing the damage output of your party for ten seconds. Note that the progress / channelling bar that appears when you use skills will not progress faster and some animations will not play properly while under quickness.

The real magic with Time Warp is to cast it when it can be fully used by all five party members. It’s on a 210 second cooldown, so wasting a Time Warp is something very sad. If you are coordinating through VoIP like Mumble, then announcing your desire to cast it a few seconds early so people can group up usually yields good results. If you’re in a PUG (Pick-up Group), make sure your chat is set to Party and Ctrl-click the skill icon a few seconds before using it so people can see the skill being announced, or discuss about your timing prior to the engagement.

Aside from coordinating with your team, the other thing is to know what lies ahead. This makes it a bit of a gamble if you are new to a dungeon, but once you gain experience, it will become automatic. For example, in the Ascalonian Catacombs Explorable Mode, it would be unwise to cast your Time Warp right before Lieutenant Kholer does his trademark Pull-n-Whirl attack since people will be dodging, running away or getting downed. Instead, tell your party you will be casting Time Warp right -after- Kholer’s first special attack, so people will know ahead of time and everyone will be ready.

There are a few disadvantages with Time Warp. One of them is that it shortens the distance covered by movement skills (Heartseeker, Leap of Faith, Rush, etc.) by half since they are activating faster. Channelled skills will also last half as long, for example a ranger’s Whirling Defense (or the mesmer’s Phantasmal Warden) will only whirl for 2.5 seconds, reducing the length of protection against projectiles by half. Skills like Blurred Frenzy are also affected.

Another downside is a projectile attack against projectile-reflecting enemies. If the players are not aware of the possibility of getting their bullets reflected back in their face, they will hurt themselves much faster before they realize what's happening. It sounds like something easy to avoid, but everyone gets caught as least once. The situation is similar with confusion and retaliation.

If your party is comfortable enough to coordinate a bit more, it is wise to buff your party prior to the cast. For example, having a staff guardian cast Empower just before Time Warping will boost your damage tremendously with the additional 12 stacks of Might. Likewise, having a thief with full initiative ready to spam Body Shot right as Time Warp goes off would amplify damage by ~20% for more than half the duration of Time Warp. These are but two ideas on how to work in additional coordination into your runs.

Off-topic: if you have time to use more than one Time Warp per boss battle, there’s room for improvement -- for the other party members of course! You’re the mesmer, you’re the best.

Combat

There is nothing really magical about general combat with this build. For most fights, you can sit back with your greatsword and hit #2 and #4 on recharge to get all those illusions out. Place Feedback where necessary, as often as possible. Keep your #5 for any slip up that requires you to buy time for a retreat. Use #3 as boon removal; most enemies out in the world don’t have boons, but this attack comes in handy against Dredge and the Ascalonian Monks in the Fractals. Other than that, remember to stand as far as possible to get the most out of your auto-attack.

If you feel like melee range poses no serious threat, switch to sword/focus and run in, casting your #5. By the time you’re done, you should be close enough to send out your #3 (triggering any combo field), and then position yourself to use your #2 to deal nice damage with no fear of getting hurt. Stay in melee range for as long as you think is safe, then backpedal while switching back to greatsword. Using your #3 after a few seconds will allow you to re-trigger any field you’re in, so it’s nice if you want to keep those boons for a bit longer.

You can see some footage of basic play here on YouTube.

Underwater Combat

Underwater content is very limited right now. Aside from some paths in the Honor of the Waves dungeon as well as the underwater fractal, fighting underwater is pretty trivial. My utility skills stay the same, although you will have to switch Blink for another skill. I personally run Phantasmal Defender, though going for a stun breaker would be good too. Mesmers are lucky to have some fun underwater skills compared to other classes, so let’s go over them quickly.

Spear

 

You can see some underwater footage in the video mentioned in the Combat section (at the 6:00 mark). The approach is very simple:

Trident

When facing tougher opponents, it is best to stay at range. The trident is great for this and is even simpler to use than the spear.

 

There is not much to say about fighting with a trident. Just make sure to always stay away from your target and cast all your skills as often as possible.

Understanding Projectile Reflection

Combat log There are two ways to deal with projectiles: deflection or reflection. Deflection simply destroys the projectile, whereas reflection sends it back to the sender, dealing damage.

As I have stated multiple times throughout this guide, projectile reflection is a very nice way to offer both defensive and offensive power to your party. Enemy NPCs will not stop shooting at a reflecting surface, and WvW players will often need a few seconds to realize what is going on before reacting. Mesmer projectile reflection affects most common projectiles like arrows, bullets, fire balls and such. Some special projectiles like Old Tom’s green darts cannot be reflected (though a guardian can deflect them) by mesmer skills. Also, siege projectiles (ballista, catapult and trebuchet shots) cannot be reflected.

When you reflect a projectile, it becomes yours. This means the projectile will now benefit from your different effects like those who trigger on critical hits. I would venture to say it also takes your critical chance and damage into account, though I have little data to back it up. The projectile’s special properties will be kept, so reflecting a Risen Grub’s spit will poison him back as well. Lastly, if the projectile bounces against a field, it will also trigger it in your favor. For example, projectiles reflected by Feedback will also cause confusion and those bouncing off a traited Temporal Curtain will trigger condition removal. This will only happen if the projectiles have a chance to be combo finishers to begin with however, so a Body Shot would always trigger it, Unload would keep its 20% chance per bullet and Fireball would never trigger the field.

How to use projectile reflection is up to the player. It comes in very handy against the outlaws in Caudecus’ Manor, the harpies in the Fractals (especially once they start throwing knockback around) or an unsuspecting zerg of players auto-attacking a gate in WvW. Application changes in every situation and so you do have to think about it a bit if you want to use it at its best. This combat log screenshot during the fight against the Dredge Fractal boss shows how it pays off to time Feedback just right; over 347k damage for pressing a single button, and your party didn’t have to dodge bombs all over the place. This is what I mean with mitigation. Sadly, this reflected bombs will no longer damage this boss, but you still mitigate a lot of damage.

Using Portals

Portals are a very important asset to mesmers. While it only occupies one utility slot, there are actually two skills involved when using portals:

 

Here are some things that are always good to know:

You will find below three screenshots taken around the Ascalon Settlement in Gendarran Fields. These screenshots show the maximum range at which a portal was successful. Note that extreme precision was not the goal here; it might be possible to lay down a portal a few inches further back as well. Click on the image to see the full version.

Portal demonstration 1
Portal demonstration 2
Portal demonstration 3

Closing Words

There comes a point where one must stop writing, so this is it! I hope this guide has been helpful for young and old mesmers alike. If you have any question, comment or suggestion, feel free to contact me in-game: theguildless.1386

Many thanks to all who showed interest in such a guide, driving me to complete after many months. Extra thanks to the countless good souls who accompanied me through dungeons and fractals as well!

Now, get in game and have fun!

G.