Completely new to mesmer-ing.

[Istari]

Hi
Im completley new to being a mesmer primary, could anyone give me some tips on how to play them (I do PvE mainly but PvP advice is welcome), Armour sets to use, the best campaign to start in and some builds that i could throw together in the early game.

Thanks in advance ;)

[LightningHell]

Enchanter's Armor.

I need secondary profession to toss builds out.

Anyhow...

Early game:

Backfire (meh)/Diversion (I like Diversion more, but they usually don't stay alive long enough for it to work in early stages of the game).
Empathy
Conjure Phantasm
Power Spike
Shatter Hex
Energy Burn
Resurrection Signet/Resurrect/Whatever resurrect skill...

Sleepy...

[beginners_luck]

Domination skills work best against casters, mostly hurting them if mobs do anything, while Illusion skills work best against melee mobs. There is some overlap in Illusion, with things like Arcane Conundrum and Migraine which cause spells to take longer to cast. Also, in Domination, Cry of Frustration can interrupt skills as well as spells.

Mesmers can counter anything, so you need to be aware of what you might be facing in a mission before you start. Health degen is also an option, using the Illusion tree. Inspiration is very useful, too, for self defense as well as energy management, hex and enchantment removal. Of course, Distortion, the best self-defense skill for Mesmers, is under Illusion.

[Kit Engel]

If you're going Domination, Empathy's pretty much a must in PVE. Even the caster enemies keep trying to wand you to death. Something like Conjure Phantasm or Illusions or Remorse or even Wastrel's Worry is a good idea to patch up some damage in between when you use other skills.

Really, for a PVE mesmer, unless you're playing an energy surge build like a nuker, it's probably best if you figure out what the enemies are like in a given area and setup a build based on that. For instance, in Sunjiang District, if you're high domination and bring Unnatural Signet, you can take down the portal spirits faster than anyone else. In Unwaking Waters, the Recurring Insecurity/Soul Barbs build eats Kuunavang alive.

[Hella Good]

Start off in Prophecies. Illusion is extremely powerful early in the game. Switch to Dom later, maybe mix Dom and Illusion eventually. The best PvE skills for a Mesmer are Cry of Frustration and Shatter Hex. ANet seems to be telling us with Factions that Mesmers should either manage hexes or interrupt. So you can try doing an inter/hex management build for Factions. Inter NPCs are very popular in Factions. Go for universal inters. Stay clean of ED, not worthwhile in PvE. I personally like Savant armor (because I always use a stance and the + nrg doesnt rly make much difference). Go with recharge weapons, you dont need fast cast weapons because of ur primary attribut which will do all the casting speed reduction u need. + 30 health and +5 nrg mods are desired. U can also try to condition spam with Epidemic (very effective vs bunched up mobs) but that's a bit more advanced. Worse comes to worse play it as a FC ele- Elemental Attunement is the best elite for this purpose. And have fun! Always.

[Istari]

Thanks for al this info, although hella good, where abouts in the story would you recommend making the switch to dom magic?

[Hella Good]

I'd stick with an Illusion/Dom mix, since that gives you some flexibility. But as a very general rule, the earlier in the game, the more useful Illusion is; and the later in the game, the more useful Dom is. This has several notable exceptions, namely Fissure and Underworld where Epidemic condition spam (which is based off Illusion) can be extremely powerful.