Few questions from a new Mesmer.

So, i've played a bit of Mesmer a long time ago and last night i was bored and decided to try Mirage on pvp.Except for the infinite deaths (maining a Druid is hard to change your mindset to a more squishy class and know when it's time to run for your life) i was able to deliver some serious damage and get some kills.

But i enjoyed the class so much that i want to unlock Mirage on PvE, now. So...

1 - I'm using the metabattle build Carrion Ineptitude on PvP now. But swap the Sword for Axe. Always see people talking about how powerful the Axe was in PvP, why this build uses sword?

2 - Would it be too bad to use that same build for open-world PvE content? I mostly do open world content when playing PvE, but i like to do some serious raiding in heavy crowded areas of expansion maps, so i'll have to deal with condis, knockdowns, etc.

3 - Any tips from experienced mesmers to get the max out of this class?

People use Sword over Axe in PvP purely for the mobility. The ambush skill on Axe does more damage (especially if you have 3 axe clones up) but being able to jump away from someone with the Sword ambush skill makes it too good not to use. The fact that the sword ambush skill is also an interrupt makes it even more useful for PvP.

You could, although you might want to swap out Portal Entre for Crystal Sands at the very least, as Portal has very few uses in PvE outside some very specific situations in certain raid and fractal encounters.

One of the hardest things I found when learning Mesmer was keeping track of my illusions, and knowing how many clones I had compared to phantasms. You can only have 3 illusions out at a time so you want to be sure you have the right illusions out for your build. For example, if you are running a phantasm based build and have 3 illusionary duelists on the field, the last thing you want to do is summon a basic decoy clone. Doing so will destroy one of your phantasms and cause you to lose a lot of dps. The other hard thing with Mirage is knowing when to use your ambush skills. This mostly applies to PvP. Remember that to use your ambush skills you have to dodge first. If you dodge at the wrong time just to use your ambush skill and then take a hit, you will die very quickly.

@Wandering Mist.2973 said:

1. People use Sword over Axe in PvP purely for the mobility. The ambush skill on Axe does more damage (especially if you have 3 axe clones up) but being able to jump away from someone with the Sword ambush skill makes it too good not to use. The fact that the sword ambush skill is also an interrupt makes it even more useful for PvP.
2. You could, although you might want to swap out Portal Entre for Crystal Sands at the very least, as Portal has very few uses in PvE outside some very specific situations in certain raid and fractal encounters.
3. One of the hardest things I found when learning Mesmer was keeping track of my illusions, and knowing how many clones I had compared to phantasms. You can only have 3 illusions out at a time so you want to be sure you have the right illusions out for your build. For example, if you are running a phantasm based build and have 3 illusionary duelists on the field, the last thing you want to do is summon a basic decoy clone. Doing so will destroy one of your phantasms and cause you to lose a lot of dps. The other hard thing with Mirage is knowing when to use your ambush skills. This mostly applies to PvP. Remember that to use your ambush skills you have to dodge first. If you dodge at the wrong time just to use your ambush skill and then take a hit, you will die very quickly.

Thanks a lot for your input, man!

Yeah, the ambush skill on sword is a gap closer/ interrupt that is really good. And i'm more suited to it since i was using it in chrono. Maybe back to sword.I wasn't aware of the illusion/ clone thing. I'll keep my eyes open for it, since clones don't do damage at all, right?Good to know i can use the build in pve. Will swap Portal for sure!

@Malafaia.8903 said:

@"Wandering Mist.2973" said:

1. People use Sword over Axe in PvP purely for the mobility. The ambush skill on Axe does more damage (especially if you have 3 axe clones up) but being able to jump away from someone with the Sword ambush skill makes it too good not to use. The fact that the sword ambush skill is also an interrupt makes it even more useful for PvP.
2. You could, although you might want to swap out Portal Entre for Crystal Sands at the very least, as Portal has very few uses in PvE outside some very specific situations in certain raid and fractal encounters.
3. One of the hardest things I found when learning Mesmer was keeping track of my illusions, and knowing how many clones I had compared to phantasms. You can only have 3 illusions out at a time so you want to be sure you have the right illusions out for your build. For example, if you are running a phantasm based build and have 3 illusionary duelists on the field, the last thing you want to do is summon a basic decoy clone. Doing so will destroy one of your phantasms and cause you to lose a lot of dps. The other hard thing with Mirage is knowing when to use your ambush skills. This mostly applies to PvP. Remember that to use your ambush skills you have to dodge first. If you dodge at the wrong time just to use your ambush skill and then take a hit, you will die very quickly.

The beauty about the sword ambush skill is that it can work as both a gap closer or a disengage tool. If you have nobody targetted when you use the skill, it will jump you in the direction you are facing. Just make sure you turn off the "auto targetted" option in the options menu otherwise you'll find yourself jumping back towards your attacker instead of jumping away from them to escape. As for clones, yes they do damage but only if your build accommodates for them. In fact, the Mirage Axe-Clone build has a higher benchmark in PvE than the Phantasm build if used correctly. But again, you should know which kind of clone or phantasm will give you the most damage based on the build you are using.

@Wandering Mist.2973 said:The beauty about the sword ambush skill is that it can work as both a gap closer or a disengage tool.Or a suicide tool if you zerg in WvW. Its very flexible.

@Malafaia.8903 said:> 1 - I'm using the metabattle build Carrion Ineptitude on PvP now. But swap the Sword for Axe. Always see people talking about how powerful the Axe was in PvP, why this build uses sword?

2 - Would it be too bad to use that same build for open-world PvE content? I mostly do open world content when playing PvE, but i like to do some serious raiding in heavy crowded areas of expansion maps, so i'll have to deal with condis, knockdowns, etc.

3 - Any tips from experienced mesmers to get the max out of this class?

1: Mostly for the mobility. I would use axe for PvE content, more fun to use and better condi DPS (not that it's unviable in PvP ofc).2: It would work but you are better off modifying it for the occasion, for example you are better off without confusion traits since confusion is not very effective on mobs, (great for some boss fights though)3: Mirage is a blast to play, my favorite class in any game I've played (online and not) - best tip I can give; have fun with it, mess around with your enemies wether it's people in PvP or mobs in PvE, don't focus on winning or losing but on how to mess with your opponent or your friend for that matter, when you manage to make your friend question your position then you know you are playing it right.

@MikeL.8260 said:

@Malafaia.8903 said:> 1 - I'm using the metabattle build Carrion Ineptitude on PvP now. But swap the Sword for Axe. Always see people talking about how powerful the Axe was in PvP, why this build uses sword?

2 - Would it be too bad to use that same build for open-world PvE content? I mostly do open world content when playing PvE, but i like to do some serious raiding in heavy crowded areas of expansion maps, so i'll have to deal with condis, knockdowns, etc.

3 - Any tips from experienced mesmers to get the max out of this class?

Lolol, YES!That's exactly my goal :D