Alacrity and Phantasm changes discussion

Phantasm changes https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/26687/shattering-the-status-quo

Alacrity changes https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/26685/alacrity-time-for-a-change

Thoughts?

I think that if it's implemented well, this change to phantasms could be one of the best things for the mesmer class since launch.

The alacrity change is kinda whatever. Chrono will still probably provide 100% uptime, so the only change will be dps benchmarks going down a bit.

This is what I wanted since Mesmer came out! I am so happy right now! Finally I can use all of my 5 weapon skills when playing clone mirage and I won't have a dps loss with phantasms! I love these changes so much <3

If illusionary ambush became a f5 for mirage by default everything would be perfect for me because I think mirage deserves this skill as f5 because it fits this spec perfectly (clone retargeting and mirage cloak) and because you usually don't shatter in pve as mirage but with the phantasm changes I am also very happy :)

@Pyroatheist.9031 said:I think that if it's implemented well, this change to phantasms could be one of the best things for the mesmer class since launch.

The alacrity change is kinda whatever. Chrono will still probably provide 100% uptime, so the only change will be dps benchmarks going down a bit.

Wouldnt the phantasm change be a buff to mirage in pve tho?

OriOri will prob be happy since she/he can now use shatters in pve as well id assume.

I can't believe they are about to change phantasms. After all these years... Quite surprising, but I think I'm happy to see this mechanic gone.

About the Alacrity change, well, it seems kind of like a nerf to me, but there's not enough info for me to judge yet.

I'm curious how these changes will impact the mesmer and its gameplay. Hard to say now. Gotta wait and see how it turns out to be.

@zealex.9410 said:

@Pyroatheist.9031 said:I think that if it's implemented well, this change to phantasms could be one of the best things for the mesmer class since launch.

The alacrity change is kinda whatever. Chrono will still probably provide 100% uptime, so the only change will be dps benchmarks going down a bit.

Probably, what about it?

Edit: Oh, you meant about benchmarks. Yeah, PvE mirage benchmark might increase depending on how this is implemented since that build isn't as reliant on actual skill cooldowns, but I was more referring to benchmarks across the board, since less effective alacrity will slow things down a little.

@bart.3687 said:I can't believe they are about to change phantasms. After all these years... Quite surprising, but I think I'm happy to see this mechanic gone.

About the Alacrity change, well, it seems kind of like a nerf to me, but there's not enough info for me to judge yet.

I'm curious how these changes will impact the mesmer and its gameplay. Hard to say now. Gotta wait and see how it turns out to be.

Yeah IKR! These balance changes actually change something! Not just like +5% damage on necro axe or stuff like that.

@Pyroatheist.9031 said:

@zealex.9410 said:

@Pyroatheist.9031 said:I think that if it's implemented well, this change to phantasms could be one of the best things for the mesmer class since launch.

The alacrity change is kinda whatever. Chrono will still probably provide 100% uptime, so the only change will be dps benchmarks going down a bit.

I mean it deff gonna be a buff. Clone mirage doesnt spawn pistol phantasms so having the ability to spawn them without overwriting the clones will be a massive buff id assume. If only there were power based clones as well. Speaking of summoning phantasms on top of the 3 clones slots this could possible bring even more visual clutter to pvp.

I think the clones being summoned are based off the mh wep your holding right?

Without having actual numbers, I can only speculate, but I think they will have to buff the phantasm attacks or lower the cds for them to compensate. Also I can totally see some form of creative shattering before the phantasms attack to maximize clone production.

@Lalainnia.3598 said:I think the clones being summoned are based off the mh wep your holding right?

Yeah because there are no focus clones for example or pistol clones (not yet at least ;) )

Ya so if they are based on the MH weap that can get kinda insane for sword mirage at least mostly because of the mirage cloak skill and IH you can pretty much have a clone up and ready to daze from 1200 range unless the phant gets killed or cc;ed?

It's amazing that they change one of the core mechanics of mesmer and for large scale WvW battles nothing will change, since our illusions are vaporized istantly anyway. I guess phantasms now will be vaporized twice: as phantasm and then as clone. But don't worry: we'll still be able to use our single trick to oneshot squishies!

As for the alacrity changes: you get so little in wvw that it will be probably unnoticeable (until a necro corrupts it and kills you with 17 different condis).

Am I disappointed? Nah, I stopped expecting anything from ANet since a long time...

I'm happy for my fellow PvE mesmers, though... it looks like it'll be a bit more fun to play there :)

Thats a good question what will alacrity convert to

@Menaka.5092 said:It's amazing that they change one of the core mechanics of mesmer and for large scale WvW battles nothing will change, since our illusions are vaporized istantly anyway. I guess phantasms now will be vaporized twice: as phantasm and then as clone. But don't worry: we'll still be able to use our single trick to oneshot squishies!

As for the alacrity changes: you get so little in wvw that it will be probably unnoticeable (until a necro corrupts it and kills you with 17 different condis).

Am I disappointed? Nah, I stopped expecting anything from ANet since a long time...

I'm happy for my fellow PvE mesmers, though... it looks like it'll be a bit more fun to play there :)

Consider: protected phantasms trait.

Currently it's useless. If a phantasm dies after 1 second, it's a waste of a skill. After this change, however, 1 second is long enough for many of the heavy hitter phantasms to do their thing, making the trait extremely powerful.

Aside from that, in most fights you can actually get a pZerker to do a successful spin even without protected phantasms. It dies shortly thereafter which is why gs mesmer is trash, but it may be possible to make a usable dps build using those interactions.

@Pyroatheist.9031 said:Consider: protected phantasms trait.Currently it's useless. If a phantasm dies after 1 second, it's a waste of a skill. After this change, however, 1 second is long enough for many of the heavy hitter phantasms to do their thing, making the trait extremely powerful.

Sure. I'll check the trait changes and find some niche build that will be playable for me and I'll try to have fun with it. That's what I did for the last 5 years :)(back in the days of core mesmer I actually ran that trait exactly for that reason)

But my first reaction is just that: I don't see anything of value for me in these changes because Illusions are a broken mechanic in large scale WvW.

@Menaka.5092 said:

@Pyroatheist.9031 said:Consider: protected phantasms trait.Currently it's useless. If a phantasm dies after 1 second, it's a waste of a skill. After this change, however, 1 second is long enough for many of the heavy hitter phantasms to do their thing, making the trait extremely powerful.

I'll be putting in at least an hour of testing a build I have in mind with DIE when these changes go live, I'll let you know how it goes.

About time they did something about phantasms but I'd rather see them go entirely, feels like we're holding onto something outdated. Why not have the mesmer perform an attack that produces a clone at the end? We could even get really wild and switch places with the clone afterwards like some kind of trickster illusionist....

Anyway a step in the right direction may actually log in again to test it out, I like alacrity becoming a boon, on the whole it's probably better for the game and going from 33% to 25% as Xyonon said in another thread makes very little difference so maybe don't bother with the change. Healer rev getting more support is nice.

@Lalainnia.3598 said:Thats a good question what will alacrity convert to

Slow. Cause it makes sense.

Chill, cause it's the reverse.

Honestly tho... This is awesome.

This opens new avenues for shatter builds that use phantasms. Like... Have 3 clones up, summon three phantasms and shatter on the way, allowing you to have your clones automatically refilled by phantasms when they break, setting up the next shatter.

I can't wait to get into a build editor with this. I'm already knee deep in mirage. But it looks like I'm about to be much deeper.

All that said... If the confusion changes end up as a giant nerf.... Then I'll softly cry myself to sleep.

So... Can we get a post titled 'confused about the new changes?' that elaborates your changes to confusion and why? Right now, considering community opinion of older balance issues, people are biting thier nails down to the bone over this.

@Arlette.9684 said:Without having actual numbers, I can only speculate, but I think they will have to buff the phantasm attacks or lower the cds for them to compensate. Also I can totally see some form of creative shattering before the phantasms attack to maximize clone production.

They need to be mindful of builds that already perform well so we dont get another 40k dps mirage.

@Pyroatheist.9031 said:

@Menaka.5092 said:It's amazing that they change one of the core mechanics of mesmer and

for large scale WvW battles nothing will change

, since our illusions are vaporized istantly anyway. I guess phantasms now will be vaporized twice: as phantasm and then as clone. But don't worry: we'll still be able to use our single trick to oneshot squishies!

As for the alacrity changes: you get so little in wvw that it will be probably unnoticeable (until a necro corrupts it and kills you with 17 different condis).

Am I disappointed? Nah, I stopped expecting anything from ANet since a long time...

I'm happy for my fellow PvE mesmers, though... it looks like it'll be a bit more fun to play there :)

God new gs pbantasm is gonna be neat with mirage. Esp if you run the gm that allows clones to use ambush attacks.

Honestly this mesmer rework is a slap to chronomance and a buff to mirage feelsbad.

OMG those phantasm changes sound AWESOME!!! :D

So so happy about this, going to be a nice buff for me.

I'm pretty sure that chrono will go up in dps while quickness just gets harder to maintain. Alacrity will depend on the trait ( the values of improved alacrity)