what's a mesmers role?

[stocker25]

Hi i'm a new mesmer. I recently finished the first mission in kaineg and im confused about what my job is. During the mission i was basically casting backfire and empathy while shattering hexes/enchants wen i could. I tried to interrupt but found it near impossible. Also whenever i casted empathy or backfire the target died before my spell had any effect.

Basically i am wondering if i should focus on hexes like empathy and backfire which dont seem to work as well as they look; or on interupts and shutting down opponents.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[LightningHell]

I think you should go off-target. That way you get the full benefit of your interrupts/hexes, whatever they are.

Also, IMO in newer levels, it's usually better to assume the role of an inferior damage dealer. The mobs are so easy to cut through it's useless hexing them anyway.

In later levels/areas it's usually better to shutdown, where it does take some time to take down mobs.

[Hella Good]

I've said this before but here goes: I think hex management (as in spamming/removing hexes) and interrupts is what ANet seems to be telling us Me are for in Factions. Look at the skills being used by the henchies, look at the new skills introduced in Factions... I think the old Backfire the spellcasters image of Me is kind of fading to the background a bit nowadays.

Inters will come to u eventually, trust me. I used to struggle intering anything that had less than 2 cast, now I can often times inter 3/4 skills and have learned to predict shorter cast ones and occasionally manage to inter those as well (prediction + luck kinda thing). Your reaction time will dimish as your knowledge of the game becomes better and you gain some experience with the keyboard.

Oh, if you wanna hex away, borrow some hexes from Necros, Me and N have great hex synergy. There is some nice hexes you can use from Curses, even some of the elite stuff.

[stocker25]

thanks for your input.

Can soemone please then give me a build which i can use in pve to shutdown opponents (using skills from both campaigns). Also i am wondering whether a mes like this would actually be useful instead of a steady damage dealer. Usually my moto is to kill quick so you dont have to interrupt or heal.

[Dragannia]

Skills that are good for PvE:

Backfire (since AI casts through it)
Empathy (off-target, since AI attacks through it)
Mantra of Recovery (I usually use it to power Backfire and Empathy)
Ineptitude
Clumsiness
Conjure Phantasm (low-levels)
Various E-Management skills
Hex-Removal (use only in an organised team), like Expel and Shatter Hex

Interrupts are usually useful, but since you don't like using them, I didn't include them.

[LightningHell]

Drain Enchantment...

For that EManagement slot.

[Dragannia]

Power Drain works a lot better, and Energy Tap ain't too shabby either. Personally I prefer E-Tap; sometimes the enemy won't have any enchantments at all.

[LightningHell]

Power Drain works a lot better, and Energy Tap ain't too shabby either. Personally I prefer E-Tap; sometimes the enemy won't have any enchantments at all.

He doesn't like interrupting, I was going to suggest Power Drain.

E-Tap is good, but he doesn't have any Enchantment removal, so I just chose one that doubles as enchantment removal. Of course, it does depend on area.

[Hollerith]

Use Acrane Conundrum to practice interrupts. I think that's where I started. Power Drain usually has my E-mgt spot.

But early on, damage is king. Targetting foes that aren't prioritized yields more effective damage (Backfire on the farthest monk, Empathy on the farther archer, etc). I'd take Power Spike just to have an interrupt & practice on Necros or Ele's (not the ones you Backfired).

Shatter Hex early on is OK, but there are areas where hexes are far & few between.

[Pat_vaynard]

The correct answer to the question "What's a mesmers role? " in my opinion, is whatever he/she desires.

You can be the opposite to whatever you are facing, if you know what you are facing. Say you're running around a heavy melee area (or prodominately w , r , a ) You can be running anti-melee builds with ineptitude, spirit of failure, and degen (my favorite is using Images of Remorse for the 55 damage spike every 5 seconds with -4 degen @ 16 illusion)

You can shut down casters in a multitude of ways, even illusion has spells to assist in that.

Most importantly, you are there for support. I would not suggest pretending you are a warrior, unless you have played Mesmer for quite some time, and understand the skills you can utilize to play that role, and to do it under the right circumstances (Don't try to out tank the tank, or out cast the ele)

You're a jack of all trades, master of none. Beat your opponents by knowing their weaknesses and exploiting them. That is the role of a mesmer.

[Hella Good]

I think he was talking more in terms of PvE. Kind of like "what do you do in PvE?" The title of the thread is kind of misleading, but you basically summed it up pretty well with the "exploiting of weaknesses" part.

[Gigashadow]

Lots of builds work, but this is what I run with in PvE -- I tend to hench everything btw.

Distortion
Images of Remorse
Conjure Phantasm
Conjure Nightmare
Ether Feast
Inspired Hex
Mantra of Recall {elite}
[free slot] (e.g. signet of capture, drain enchant, etc.)

Fast Casting 10+1
Inspiration 10+1
Illusion 11+4

Equipment is Enchanter's Armor (max energy), main hand +20% chance illusion recharge and +5e while health > 50%, offhand +20% chance illusion recharge and +30hp.

My max energy is 54e, and I go into a PvE battle with another 24e soon incoming from Mantra of Recall, which is a nice fat 78e pool to dump. A large energy pool also helps absorb the chunkiness of Mantra of Recall.

I lead with Conjure Nightmare to burn off 25e quick, and then spam Images of Remorse and Conjure Phantasm on everything until it all dies. Usually I or a henchie gets hexed, so I Inspired Hex it (note: the first hex to appear in the party will be removed by a henchman, so I don't Inspired the first hex I see).

You can use the free slot to put in a skill that is suited for a mission; e.g. if you really need to interrupt an annoying and frequently occuring spell (like Jade Fury), bring something like Power Return etc.

[Nero]

You're a jack of all trades, master of none. Beat your opponents by knowing their weaknesses and exploiting them. That is the role of a mesmer.



*message is too short*

[Claudia Starlight]

My personal role in a PvE party is some sort of damage dealer...

I usually go Dom/Interrupt in PvE. With maximum Domination i usually target two attackers and put Empathy on both of em. I also cast Backfire on one of the spellcasters. When enemies are clustered together i blast them with Energy Surge (usually echoed for mass murder), and interrupt using cry of frustration and leech signet.

When my energy gets low i cast Guilt on a spellcaster or wait for it to regen while blasting stuff with my wand..

I also bring Rebirth or Resurrection chant since the cast time is almost halved with near-max fast casting

[stocker25]

thanks for all of your input. I think im going to fool around with different builds and get comfortable with my mesmer. If i have any other problems ill post again.

[Terra Xin]

Empathy and Backfire will be your basic friends, and try to switch targets often.

Along pretty much all of the luxon area, an interrupt build will get you into groups easily.

[XvArchonvX]

Lots of builds work, but this is what I run with in PvE -- I tend to hench everything btw.

Distortion
Images of Remorse
Conjure Phantasm
Conjure Nightmare
Ether Feast
Inspired Hex
Mantra of Recall {elite}
[free slot] (e.g. signet of capture, drain enchant, etc.)

Fast Casting 10+1
Inspiration 10+1
Illusion 11+4

Equipment is Enchanter's Armor (max energy), main hand +20% chance illusion recharge and +5e while health > 50%, offhand +20% chance illusion recharge and +30hp.

My max energy is 54e, and I go into a PvE battle with another 24e soon incoming from Mantra of Recall, which is a nice fat 78e pool to dump. A large energy pool also helps absorb the chunkiness of Mantra of Recall.

I lead with Conjure Nightmare to burn off 25e quick, and then spam Images of Remorse and Conjure Phantasm on everything until it all dies. Usually I or a henchie gets hexed, so I Inspired Hex it (note: the first hex to appear in the party will be removed by a henchman, so I don't Inspired the first hex I see).

You can use the free slot to put in a skill that is suited for a mission; e.g. if you really need to interrupt an annoying and frequently occuring spell (like Jade Fury), bring something like Power Return etc.


I find that Illusion is often the best for PvE with exception of a few missions. I do run a similar build to this except I bring Energy Drain as elite and Clumsiness instead of Conjure Nightmare. Energy Tap also is very handy if you plan on spamming degen on multiple members quickly. You can only do a maximum of -10 degen to an enemy. Any more than that will only counter any health regen that target may have.

Domination mesmers are often very handy against strong caster bosses, but won't always be the most well suited for every mission.

[Themis]

Imo Mesmers' missions in PVE (as most of you have stated already) :

1. Prevent ennemy DD (damage dealers) from hurting your team. Hex them, then eliminate them. Your team is probably after some "soft targets" : let them do their job and concentrate on enemy forces that are probably after your monks, eles etc.
2. Stay alive : a dead Mesmer is a useless Mesmer. Stick to the background, unless there's only the boss left. Use ether feast and/or distortion as needed.
3. Keep an eye on your energy bar : no energy=nothing to cast=you're useless. Never cast spells on dying targets. Be patient 2 seconds, they'll be dead by then. Too much energy=you're not casting enough.
4. Most of all : never assign yourself the DD role, neither accept to do it. If you want to be a nuker, then change profession. That's my opinion.

Hope this helps. And yes, illusion/inspiration is most suited in all PVE areas.

[LightningHell]

Conjure Nightmare is the last word in the skill. Horrific energy issues.

Just use Phantasm...

And use Clumsiness, as said.

Domination mesmers sometimes are fully anti-caster; although, putting a diversion or two on a warrior AI can be pretty nice.

[Hollerith]

Everywhere I've been, DD = direct damage. Mesmers can be effective DD's as well. Fast casting a Meteor Storm is fantastic crowd control. Even Clumsiness and Ineptitude can be considered a DD (albeit conditional). Hell, I even play a smite Me/Mo when I get bored.

Mesmers are great damage dealers, not certain why Themis says they should never play that role. It's always nice to have some utility, but in pve, the best defense is a fast offense.

[Gigashadow]

I find that Illusion is often the best for PvE with exception of a few missions. I do run a similar build to this except I bring Energy Drain as elite and Clumsiness instead of Conjure Nightmare. Energy Tap also is very handy if you plan on spamming degen on multiple members quickly. You can only do a maximum of -10 degen to an enemy. Any more than that will only counter any health regen that target may have.

Domination mesmers are often very handy against strong caster bosses, but won't always be the most well suited for every mission.

Yes clumsiness also works well, I use that sometimes, and it does have the advantage that you can use it effectively on someone who has -9 degen on them already.

To respond to the other poster: Yes Conjure Nightmare has the problem that it's horribly energy inefficient, and I'll fully admit it's not that great a spell. However, I will point out that clumsiness is not much better on that front; 9.6:1 energy:damage ratio for nightmare vs 9.7:1 for clumsiness.

I'm not a big fan of Energy Tap because it doesn't return a whole lot (net +7e every 25s), and the reset is very long. Sometimes I take Power Drain, which can make boring PvE runs a little more exciting, and provide adequate fuel for spamming more Conjure nightmares or Clumsinesses.

[stocker25]

Lately ie been henching some missions around lower levels and been working on the build ill be using. Right now its:

16 dom
9 fast cast
10 inspiration

empathy
backfire
drain enchant
cry of frustration
energy gaining interrupt
damage dealing interupt
cap sig
res sig

at start of battle i cast empathy and backfire then switch to an off target spellcaster. If he has an enchant i drain it then i interrupt wat i can. Im getting most of the 2 second casts and some 1 seconds. If this target dies i empathy and backfire someone else and rinse and repeat.

Does this sound like what you think i should be oing? Also what elite would fit in best. I was thinking the stance that makes ur skills recharge quick.

I might try some illusion builds when i get more experience but i feel that ele's should use ele skills and mesmers shud use mesmer skills.

[Terra Xin]

My usual builds do well without an elite, so you would only concern yourself with taking one if you know the area well, so the elite that you would take would suit that place...

The most popular elites are Energy Surge, Expel Hexes, Energy Drain, Echo, and Ineptitude. For a build like this, I sometimes take Echo used with Backfire or Empathy so I can switch targets more quickly.

[Claudia Starlight]

I guess what this all means is that mesmers can be anything but a tank (?) :P

So just fiddle around with builds or search em or whatever... and find the one that you're most comfortable with!

[Martian]

I normally use a domination, empathy-Backfire-Etap centric build, but when i play with my friend who is a fire nuker, i find that he kills everything before my hexes take effect, so i switched to a mass degen illusion Build, with Phantasm, Phantom pain, accumulated pain and images of remorse at the centre. I realised that i could suck the life out of a level 24 Gnasher in 10 seconds flat, provided he didnt have any corpses to snack on.
So that is now my fav build :)

[ShadowbaneX]

as I just posted in another thread, I view my pve character as interrupt/battle medic.

Fast Cast 15 11+3+1
Domination 11 10+1
Inspiration 11 10+a
Healing 1

Backfire
Power Leak
Power Block [E]
Power Drain
Power Spike
Cry of Frustration
Complicate
Res Chant

Main goal is to backfire other mesmers or monks, things with really fast cast times and then go to town on the rits or eles...and with Complicate and Cry of Frustration I can even mess with the tanks, particularly their healing sig. If someone happens to die, I've got a 4 second res chant that will get them back on their feet in record time and will allow the monks to focus on keeping other players alive rather than worring about the dead guy. Actually whenever I mention this before we go into a mission most monks are pretty happy about it. "I don't have to worry about resing anyone? Cool." Ele's are the sheer power users, but Mesmer's are the casters with style and skill.

[Themis]

Everywhere I've been, DD = direct damage. Mesmers can be effective DD's as well. Fast casting a Meteor Storm is fantastic crowd control. Even Clumsiness and Ineptitude can be considered a DD (albeit conditional). Hell, I even play a smite Me/Mo when I get bored.

Mesmers are great damage dealers, not certain why Themis says they should never play that role. It's always nice to have some utility, but in pve, the best defense is a fast offense.
Well, i meant Mesmer with Mesmer skills, if you prefer ;) Now, if you plan to fill your skillbar with El spells, well best is being an Elementalist, imo :)
And i dind't suggest you play defense at all. You simply play off-target and damage ennemy warriors/asn/and-so-on : not exactly defense. Simply not immediately noticeable. Your teammates don't know what you've done, but you know you've done lots of work.

The use of Ineptitude and Clumsiness as you state (your example is perfect) is exactly what a Mesmer should do in PvE. But, you see, your team will not notice it. Your team will rather notice the Meteor storm, hehe ;)

[Turbo Wombat]

As you play, I'd recommend switching it up a bit between Domination and Illusion a bit, just so you can get a good feel for both. By this point I've more or less settled on punishments and interrupts in the domination line being my favorite. Right now, my PvE build looks something like this:

Fast Casting: 6+1
Domination: 12+3+1
Inspiration: 11+1

Power Spike
Overload
Empathy
Backfire
Complicate/Shatter Enchantment/Shatter Hex (depending on where you are)
Energy Drain/Mantra of Recall
Ether Feast
Resurrection Chant

It's primarily an anti-caster build, but it cuts through things pretty quick. I typically throw empathy on backline archers while picking out which of the casters needs to die. Backfire+Overload (146+74=220 dmg in about 1/4 of a second) makes for a great spike vs. the AI since they cast right through it without hesitation. If I see something casting a spell that's going to cause me or some team mate problems, I power spike it and keep an eye out for it to come around again. Shatter Hex can be great to use on your warrior since (in theory) they should have a nice mass of enemies around them, and the 126 damage to everything in the area plus the hex removal can be well worth the 15 energy in some situations.

All-in-all a mesmer is there to stop enemies from being the full potential threat that they can be. Whether you do that by hex/enchant removal, interrupts, punishments, snares, degen, or energy denial is all up to you. You most likely won't get the full credit you receive, but teams with a good mesmer are able to get through many situations much more easily. Just look for the little phrases from your party members that go something like "Holy ----! We're killing these bosses in like two seconds!" and know that your work is appreciated, even if they don't always realize that it's you.

[just rude]

A mesmers role is to make the wammo think he just soloed everything:p

[Franco]

A mesmers role is to make the wammo think he just soloed everything

And to think the monks died because of him ^_^

[Terra Xin]

A mesmers role is to make the wammo think he just soloed everything:p

and to make the monks think they're awesome healers :P