Leveling build

What is a good leveling build? I Just started and don't really know much about Mesmers but the class interests me the most.

Focus on unlocking utilities first, and I recommend Signets because they have a passive and active effect for each Signet.Signet of Inspiration is also good for Swiftness every 10 seconds which makes yur life significantly easier when traversing the world.

Next, unlock Domination traitline first for Greatsword traits and vulnerability application because it really doesn't get any easier than using Greatsword to kill things in the open world.

After that, anything else is up to yu, but these two mastery lines should be completed first in addition to yu updating yur gear and Greatsword whenever possible for the easiest levelling experience as a Mesmer.

Awesome thank you for the tips. Should I be just be using great sword or something in the other slot also like sword/sword or axe ?

@Synikel.7495 said:Awesome thank you for the tips. Should I be just be using great sword or something in the other slot also like sword/sword or axe ?

Sword + Torch is a very popular 2nd weapon set for its defensive capabilities.

Sword 2 is an Evade, which is great for taking pressure off yurself, and Sword 3 is a short ranged teleport and immobilize.Torch 4 is an invisibility skill and Torch 5 is a Daze.

All these are great with dealing with particularly troublesome encounters, but generally yu would like to stay at range to utilize Greatsword efficiently.

@Synikel.7495 said:Awesome thank you for the tips. Should I be just be using great sword or something in the other slot also like sword/sword or axe ?

Yes, go sword/sword, Greatsword can be an alternative for group event, otherwise use focus for the extra boost in both mobility and kill speed.

Torch is a condition centric weapon which may be of use in post level 80 content for the stealth ability, but other wise is a loss of kill speed which should be avoided on leveling builds.

Avoid going signets except your heal and elites, set Mantra of Pain on autocast for semi auto burst and buffs(currently the most OP trick on low levels). Mirror Image will serve as your offensive and sustain skill. Practice with Blink will be very useful in the long run. These will be the top 3 utility of focus.

When I leveled my Mesmer recently, I went Sword/Sword and had a Focus in my other offhand (Which meant I would swap to Sword/Focus without needing a 3rd sword)

Focused on getting Dueling spec, then picked up some utilities (Mostly just Signet of Ether and Signet of Inspiration) then focused on Domination spec. After which I kind of just filled out whatever as I went.

Of course, it only took me ~4 hours to level 1-80 due to having some Celebration and Heroic Boosters. So it was really just a case of chugging along, killing stuff and leaving the experimenting with skills later once I had more points.

If you're not power leveling, then picking up some utilities like Mirror Images for some burst or to help stop things attacking you as well as Veil which can let you channel some Hero Points while invisible.

imo, if you're just starting the game altogether, you'll want to focus on:

1. Greatsword. A powerful and reliable ranged weapon for open-world and story mode content where enemies die fast and it's often your first time seeing any particular boss' mechanics and animations.
2. Sword/X (Sword/Sword or Sword/Focus). To learn the mechanics of melee fighting with a lightly-armored class: moving to avoid basic attacks, Blurred Frenzy evasion frames, dodging the big stuff. Note that your #1 skill is a three-hit chain so your DPS goes up considerably if you don't constantly interrupt it. I suggest Sword or Focus for your off hand since both give you some extra damage from their phantasms when you need it.

Both these weapon sets rely on Power for their damage, so prioritize that on your gear. (Later on you will want Precision and Ferocity as well, to make big consistent critical hits happen. Some amount of Toughness or Vitality is ok as well while you're learning the ropes, just be mindful that trying to play slow-and-steady can actually be harder than mopping up enemies quickly in this game.) Mesmers generally want all the offense they can get because the class is built to use a lot of active defense but doesn't have the biggest raw damage numbers.

Power also straightforwardly boosts your Mind Wrack (F1 shatter) damage, so you can start getting used to shattering your clones to kill enemies faster. Eventually, you'll also get a lot of value out of shattering clones using Diversion (F3 shatter) to break through Defiance (the little blue bar) on bosses as well.

For Utility skills, experiment a lot, but you'll probably be happiest with:

1. At least one stun break (e.g. Blink or Mirror Images)
2. A condition cleanse skill (i think Power Cleanse is the easiest to use)These will help you when you've been stunned, knocked down, chilled, immobilized, &c.

With this setup, the Dueling and Domination trait lines will help you get your damage up quickly.

~

N.B. during leveling, gear is cheap (and often shoddy enough that it doesn't really matter as much), and enemies are relatively easy, so you have room to experiment and dabble. It's much better to reach level 80 having at least tried all the weapons for a few minutes than to not know half of the options available to your class.

sword/focus + offhand sword OR greatsword, focus has go fast-ness on it and it pulls enemies together for highly efficient murder.

i'd unlock domination first, illusions second (a lot of self boons makes illusions the best option in non-group content), and dueling third.

as for utilities, signet of ether is top priority, then i'd get blink from manipulations (stun break, go fastness), mirror images from whatever thats classified as (quick shatters, and also panic clones if you want to try and keep aggro off yourself), then concentrate on mantras for defensive util (stun break, condi cleanse, as well as power spike being OP), and then either glamours or finish signets to get time warp + moa signet elites.

@Lexi.1398 said:sword/focus + offhand sword OR greatsword, focus has go fast-ness on it and it pulls enemies together for highly efficient murder.

i'd unlock domination first, illusions second (a lot of self boons makes illusions the best option in non-group content), and dueling third.

as for utilities, signet of ether is top priority, then i'd get blink from manipulations (stun break, go fastness), mirror images from whatever thats classified as (quick shatters, and also panic clones if you want to try and keep aggro off yourself), then concentrate on mantras for defensive util (stun break, condi cleanse, as well as power spike being OP), and then either glamours or finish signets to get time warp + moa signet elites.

Unless you already have access to raptor in which case you can do whatever you want.I haven’t had to level a char the old fashioned way since 2013, thank you for 12 stacks of Tomes ANet, and I’ll likely never have to again. But for a brand new account, if I had to level Mesmer I’d prolly still pick staff over GS once you get past level 10 and mobs stop getting insta gibbed. Oh how I miss the old clone death build, now that was a unique build.