Mesmer changes 5/8/2017

Mesmer

• Siren's Call: Increased the projectile speed by 50%.
• Blinding Tide: This skill now inflicts vulnerability in an area around the player's target in addition to blindness. Its cooldown has been reduced from 12 seconds to 8 seconds.
• Spinning Revenge: This skill has been reworked and renamed Imminent Voyage. It now grants allies chaos armor if they are within a 600 radius, and it creates a clone at the player's position before they retreat.
• Illusion of Drowning: The damage inflicted by this skill has been increased by 33% and now affects up to 5 enemies in an area around the player's initial target. Fixed a bug that prevented the anchor effect from disappearing when the target broke out of stun.
• Feigned Surge: Increased the damage of this skill by 200% and clarified the text in its tooltips. The mesmer now charges at their targeted enemy, striking up to 5 enemies along the way before summoning a clone upon reaching the target.
• Slipstream: This skill has been reworked. Allies who pass through its area of effect gain 8 seconds of superspeed, and enemies are immobilized for 3 seconds. Its area of effect has been significantly increased.
• Vortex: Clarified the tooltips for this skill and increased its damage by 33%.
• Null Field: This skill can now be used underwater, creating its field at the player's location.
• Imaginary Axes: The torment duration of this skill is no longer split between game modes and will now use the higher 5-second duration in all modes.
• Axes of Symmetry: This skill has regained its confusion-inflicting function. Confusion remains split between game modes and will inflict 6 stacks for 3 seconds in PvP and WvW, and 3 stacks for 8 seconds in PvE, with each clone inflicting one stack of the condition.
• Signet of Ether: The cooldown of this skill is no longer split between game modes and will now use the lower 30-second cooldown in all modes.
• Illusion of Life: The cooldown of this skill is no longer split between game modes and will now use the lower 75-second cooldown in all modes.
• Continuum Shift: The cooldown of this skill is no longer split between game modes and will now use the higher 105-second cooldown in all modes.
• Compounding Power: The damage bonus per stack of this effect is no longer split between game modes and will now use the lower 2% damage bonus per stack in all modes.
• Restorative Illusions: The healing aspects of this trait are no longer split between game modes and now use the following PvP numbers and scaling: healing-power scaling has been increased by 285%; base healing has been reduced by 62% with no illusions, 50% with 1 illusion, 42% with 2 illusions, and 36% with 3 illusions.
• Mirage Advance: This skill can now be used underwater.
• Chronophantasma: Resummoned phantasms now do 50% less damage in PvP and WvW.

I haven't had time to read the rest of the balance changes, so I don't know how we fared compared to other classes.

RI and CS weren't overperforming in PvE, so I don't know why their changes were unsplit. Also, they seem hellbent on dancing around the issues with CP and phantasm generation. This doesn't solve the issue, especially since the offending phantasms weren't balanced themselves. But at least its something

Also of note, confusion was updated to deal more damage to non player enemies, so we are going to have to see how much of an improvement that made.

Feigned Surge was already very strong - I wonder how it will be now.

5 target Illusion of Drowning sounds insane.

I need to test Slipstream but it looks like it means some directional control with superspeed which is nice.

Not too sure how Imminent Voyage works - need to get in game to see this.

Axe changes are awesome :D Overall it's funny that personally all this is a buff. So on that note, prepare for the eye of whining to fully move from chrono to mirage until the next balance patch.

needless nerf to pve mesmer , power chrono will suffer a lot . no one is going to use IOL anyway .we have to see how confusion damage works in pve .

and cp nerf doesn't dress the problem .

guess i will play poe2 for a while .

• Chronophantasma: Resummoned phantasms now do 50% less damage in PvP and WvW.

Well look at that.

Anyway time to go test Confusion.

Honestly if this is how they want to go forward with CP, they should change it so that all phantasm damage is reduced by 33%, but no further reduction in damage from the resummoned phantasms. Overall, its a larger nerf to phantasm damage output, but makes it so you don't have to keep track of which phantasm was resummoned and will be dealing less damage to you

@OriOri.8724 said:I haven't had time to read the rest of the balance changes, so I don't know how we fared compared to other classes.

RI and CS weren't overperforming in PvE, so I don't know why their changes were unsplit. Also, they seem hellbent on dancing around the issues with CP and phantasm generation. This doesn't solve the issue, especially since the offending phantasms weren't balanced themselves. But at least its something

Also of note, confusion was updated to deal more damage to non player enemies, so we are going to have to see how much of an improvement that made.

Ive been playing around with Weaver on golem for PvE, im consistently hitting 40k on large hitbox after the meteor shower change, ontop of that, Tempest Defense got nerfed from doing 20% against stunned or knocked down foes to 10% ( although i think it will just put Arcane the better traitline instead of Air for bosses like KC now) I'm still not sure what to make of the Meteor Shower change, its nice hitting 18k on the initial hit but 3k on the last is pretty painful to see

@Mini Crinny.6190 said:

@OriOri.8724 said:I haven't had time to read the rest of the balance changes, so I don't know how we fared compared to other classes.

RI and CS weren't overperforming in PvE, so I don't know why their changes were unsplit. Also, they seem hellbent on dancing around the issues with CP and phantasm generation. This doesn't solve the issue, especially since the offending phantasms weren't balanced themselves. But at least its something

Also of note, confusion was updated to deal more damage to non player enemies, so we are going to have to see how much of an improvement that made.

Yea the meteor shower change seemed weird to me, but I don't main ele. I think it was in response to the old complaints from the first nerf, where casting meteor shower while using quickness made some attacks miss completely on the target due to the ICD on being able to hit the same target. This removed that issue, but the decreasing damage aspect seemed weird. Still though, its good to hear that overall it doesn't seem like a nerf to the skill and may even be a buff

Oh my god just tested trident - it's awesome. The faster auto, the 5 target anchor, the backward movement of imminent voyage (I'm wondering if Imminent Voyage should be a 1/2s evade or something though).

Probably the only thing that is slightly disappointing is Slipstream (on spear) actually - the old speed boost was useful in disengaging in wvw, now the superspeed while it allows directional changes isn't as strong. But this is really minor and not a big deal.

Bring on more underwater maps in all game modes. :D

@Mini Crinny.6190 said:

@OriOri.8724 said:I haven't had time to read the rest of the balance changes, so I don't know how we fared compared to other classes.

RI and CS weren't overperforming in PvE, so I don't know why their changes were unsplit. Also, they seem hellbent on dancing around the issues with CP and phantasm generation. This doesn't solve the issue, especially since the offending phantasms weren't balanced themselves. But at least its something

Also of note, confusion was updated to deal more damage to non player enemies, so we are going to have to see how much of an improvement that made.

the 10% nerf is more for fractal most likely .

Well I'm glad that we're finally retracing steps on confusion from 5 years ago. Maybe in another 3 years we'll reach the point we were 3 months ago and confusion will be usable in PvE again!

Ele - "Lightning Flash: This skill can now be used underwater."

Anyone with an ele able to check how this works?

I don't have an ele so can't check - but interested if this could be applied to Blink and Jaunt to make them useable underwater.

@Pyroatheist.9031 said:Well I'm glad that we're finally retracing steps on confusion from 5 years ago. Maybe in another 3 years we'll reach the point we were 3 months ago and confusion will be usable in PvE again!

Yeah this is ridiculous. The ticks are still doing no damage, its just the on skill use that has increased damage. They already tried that and it didn't work.

I did a little open world benchmark. I'm going to call it inconclusive at this point, but here is today's benchmark vs. one I did the other day. I realize this is of no use to raiders, but thought it might give open world players some idea of what to expect!

Today (post-patch):

A week ago:

Soooo, PvE and PvP Chrono got hit hard (warranted). Mirage however remained untouched and remains one of the most OP specs in the game from both a power and condi perspective.

@Blue.1207 said:Soooo, PvE and PvP Chrono got hit hard (warranted). Mirage however remained untouched and remains one of the most OP specs in the game from both a power and condi perspective.

Sure seems like it, now everyone will just get pushed in wvw and pvp into condi mirage which was always better than the already madly overpowered power chrono just slightly slower. But hey guys lets go nerf spellbreakers cause ya know... raisins.

Honestly what is up with Anet just bending themselves and the entire game over backwards to buff mirages in wvw and pvp right now?? Almost everyone is already playing one or a scourge.

Did another test. This time with a boss that doesn't have a lot of adds. Damage was lower once again.

Today (post-patch!):

2 weeks ago:

@Blue.1207 said:Soooo, PvE and PvP Chrono got hit hard (warranted). Mirage however remained untouched and remains one of the most OP specs in the game from both a power and condi perspective.

What specifically needs to be nerfed on Mirage then? Elusive Mind (again)? Desert Distortion? Those are the only two things I can think of that are problematic.

@Simonoly.4352 said:

@Blue.1207 said:Soooo, PvE and PvP Chrono got hit hard (warranted). Mirage however remained untouched and remains one of the most OP specs in the game from both a power and condi perspective.

Precisely those things actually.

drops about 3k dps in pve for condi mirage... I think anet should compensate by increasing the condition duration of axe 1 skills by a small amount.

@OriOri.8724 said:

@Mini Crinny.6190 said:

@OriOri.8724 said:I haven't had time to read the rest of the balance changes, so I don't know how we fared compared to other classes.

RI and CS weren't overperforming in PvE, so I don't know why their changes were unsplit. Also, they seem hellbent on dancing around the issues with CP and phantasm generation. This doesn't solve the issue, especially since the offending phantasms weren't balanced themselves. But at least its something

Also of note, confusion was updated to deal more damage to non player enemies, so we are going to have to see how much of an improvement that made.

That was actually hotfixed a day or so after they put that icd in to affect with quickness, overall its a 40% damage nerf on MS which is rip

@OriOri.8724 said:

• Chronophantasma: Resummoned phantasms now do 50% less damage in PvP and WvW.

Good thing almost no one used Imagined Burden let alone GS with Chrono... cuz that 75% reduction xD

the real balance change here is clone damage showing up in the combat log

@musu.9205 said:needless nerf to pve mesmer , power chrono will suffer a lot .

@Blue.1207 said:Soooo, PvE and PvP Chrono got hit hard (warranted). Mirage however remained untouched and remains one of the most OP specs in the game from both a power and condi perspective.

I fail to see where exactly PvE chrono got hit hard. All I see is a 5% nerf to compounding power and a 15s higher cd for continuum split. Signet of Ether got a 5s shorter CD and null field can actually be used underwater, other than that it's all mirage related stuff. With this patch we saw an overall DPS decrease for every class with all the passive buffs being nerfed (spotter/EA/banners), but boon chrono is pretty much untouched and if anything power chrono should now pull ahead of mirage in general.

@Eliavres.4910 said:

@musu.9205 said:needless nerf to pve mesmer , power chrono will suffer a lot .

@Blue.1207 said:Soooo, PvE and PvP Chrono got hit hard (warranted). Mirage however remained untouched and remains one of the most OP specs in the game from both a power and condi perspective.

That 15s higher cd on cs means less usage of elite skills.

@OriOri.8724 said:

@Mini Crinny.6190 said:

@OriOri.8724 said:I haven't had time to read the rest of the balance changes, so I don't know how we fared compared to other classes.

RI and CS weren't overperforming in PvE, so I don't know why their changes were unsplit. Also, they seem hellbent on dancing around the issues with CP and phantasm generation. This doesn't solve the issue, especially since the offending phantasms weren't balanced themselves. But at least its something

Also of note, confusion was updated to deal more damage to non player enemies, so we are going to have to see how much of an improvement that made.

Meteor damage in wvw and pve is/was pretty op, i'm surprised they didn't nerf/change it sooner. But if like Minny said, we get 18k on the initial hit, then 3k on the last, , might have to say bye bye to my staff weaver in wvw :( 18k is alot, but that's only the inital hit, so players will outsustain that :(