WvW Newbie looking for Mesmer advice

Hi all,

I’m a pretty casual player (work, family, etc) and I need a break from PVE stuff, so I thought id try some WvW to mix things up. The problem is I have no idea what I’m doing.

I can read up on the basics of WvW and what to do in general, but I’m hoping that you, my Mesmer compadres, will be able to give me some advice specifically on Mesmer in WvW. Any build ideas, general tips and advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have both Chrono and Mirage unlocked. I’m not rolling in cash as I’m trying to save for the Griffon, so I’m looking at the budget range of gear advice - I’ve got a Sinister/Viper exotic set and a generic Zerker exotic set already though. I’m not in a WvW guild, so I’ll be on my own as it were. Oh, and I’m not that great a player ;)

What, in your opinion, is the most fun way to go?

Cheers!

I started doing WvW when I wanted to farm for my first legendary since Gift of Battle is only obtainable in WvW - that was just a month back. I was in the exact same position as you are right now, I didn't know what I was doing and what to aim for but as I kept on playing I found my way around. I first starting by stalking two of my fiends, I simply followed them around like a headless chicken but by doing so I steadily got my own sense of direction and soon after knew what my purpose was.If you don't have people you know that are regular WvWers I'd suggest you to start by joining zergs, basically jump in on a map and look for the nearest commander, everything else will come on their own.As for build.. I'd go with full berserker gears and pick the typical shatter mesmer traits, wether it's power shatter Chrono or power shatter Mirage is completely up to you.

I would recommend do not go full glass in wvw as a new player if roaming solo - unless you've got very thick skin and can rebound from repeatedly eating dirt. :) If you stick in a medium/large open group you can get away with being full glass - although if in a small group will likely be targeted as a squishy by opponent roamers or more organised small groups.

I'd recommend having a look for a friendly guild on your server to help out, and certainly look for open tags (commanders) to join - stay in a group with a few people at least, for safety. Otherwise if you plan to roam solo then you're going to need to invest in solid gear and have a secure gameplan in mind for how to deal with any situation you might face - ie being able to engage/disengage from 1vX as well as how to deal with every class and the builds you will face. Go to the pvp lobby in HotM and practice/refine a build/tactic in there - test in some hotjoin/unranked games if you like - this is important to be mechanically secure in order to handle the unpredictable situations you'll come across.

And fun is up to you - some people like glass cannon, some like bruiser, some like condi bunkers - this is something you've got to experiment with as it is personal preference, and as you get better you can make your niche style work.