Been a few years. OSICAT? Anything similar?

Am lvl 80 and geared for my roaming condition shatter osicat type build. No expansions yet. Seeing if I want to get back into the game.

Is this still a viable hit and kite type class? Are OSICAT type builds usable?

Anything similar? even other class specs will do. I just loved that play style so much,Thanks for your help

KIng of roaming is still condi chrono in my opinion. Mirage makes an exceptionally strong duelist if played well, and can incorporate some shatter spam into its build, but I find it harder to be effective as a mirage due mostly to the mechanics still being new to me (not moving when you dodge, having to dodge to get access to ambush attacks)

Whenever u tell me what OSICAT is i might answer it for u :D(googled it, showed some cat pictures - not sure...)

Chrono and Mirages are both nice for roaming. Mirage in my opinion is a little bit better since it can disengage everything with it's "burst mobility" ( teleports , dashes )

Chrono might be a bit more healthy due to alacrity/CS/inspiration syngery, but Mirage can still use inspiration if he wants, just a little bit worse.

Staff on both Chrono and Mirage is ur " i kite u to death" tool, and still works really fine vs todays bullys Scourge and Spellbreaker. GS is another option to have more burst in the set, but u loose the constant RANGED condi pressure u have from staff. Thats why staff vs scourge and SB is generally better then GS in my opinion. GS on the opposite is much better if ur lookin for an aggressive ~one shot~ build.

Whenever u decided for ur weapon and ur playstyle, tell us, so we can give further advices.

Osicat was/is an outstanding PU Mesmer. You can still find videos on the net for his Napalm Cat build and things like the "Torch Nuke" trick and "juking" with main hand sword ( destroyed by ANET as you can no longer change height in this way ). With the removal of clone death and nerfing of PU , the builds are much less effective. I still emulate him to some extent and run PU.

Fair warning though, I get mocked for it, especially when I win.

If you can find it, Vash and the [Judge] guild made a series of outstanding videos on things like shatter tactics. Sadly, I think they have been removed from the web, though I have some archived on my hard drive.

Osicat's build was before the full specialisation trait rework, so it is quite outdated. But you can always come up with chaos/illusion + inspiration or one of elite spec.

For FaboBabo ;)

Basically Osicat was trying to create a more aggressive PU build rather than one that camp in illusion on death traits. With so much trait rework and push towards shattering, I doubt OP will find a similar playstyle as the old PU builds

All those shatter builds are well outdated. Fun to watch videos for nostalgia but don't try to emulate the gameplay now - some skills are very different and the game is much faster paced if anything (a lot of damage everywhere).

But anyway yes everything is still good to play - actually probably in the best situations over the game's lifetime for mesmer (taking into account the usual state of gw2 combat mechanics).

Essentially now you build by spec - Core, Chrono or Mirage (and more elite specs in the future).

There's no such thing as a "shatter" build anymore tbh - everything shatters by varying amounts depending on spec.

Core is probably most similar to what you'd remember, although some things might be different (eg baseline IP), still reasonably well rounded and you can do the whole PU thing for roaming if you like. Chrono is just insane shatter spam and has huge synergy with anything shatter related, also good sustain through things like synergy with RI, shield and so on. Fast paced and fairly flexible. Mirage is a mix of damage from weapons (normal and ambush skills), illusions and shatters. Probably the most versatile for roaming as there are interesting build combinations available, though higher skill floor for sustain than Chrono but at the same time higher skill ceiling for sustain once you get used to the mobility and evades. All three can be played power, condi or hybrid depending on your preference.

Thanks for your help everyone!