does anyone actually shatter their clones ?

so im a mirage mesmer and i've not read up on the best play style lately but a few months back there was a consensus that shattering your clones doesnt do alot for dps. eg, you might as well not.

is this still the case now that we've had time to play with it ?

Now you shatter. There was a change few months back. It used to be that phantasms didnt turn to clones but continue to atack. Shattering them would lose you dps (as would overwrining them with a clone). Now phantasms turn to clones and unless you use mirage or you want specific damage unrelated stuff from their aa chain (like destroying enemies boons with sword clone) shattering is good idea

Its a good Idea to learn when to Shatter based on your production of new cloned aswell.

Example, you want to use ability’s who produce 2 clones but u already have 3, shatter those three before make 2 new give you a better result.

Also shatter clones is a way to get burst dmg landed or have a longer invulnerable. It’s always a judgment.

Things that affect if you shatter or not:

If you don’t use shatter in cd u lose utility and dps.

If you shatter the utility and dps land on cd = you might need a ability, sometimes worth save the cd if you suspect a incomming need.

If you overwrite clones without shatter them you lose dps / utility uptime.

The more clones you shatter the better result of the shatter. A invulnerable state last longer from 3clones than 1, and you get more “bang for the buck” if you use multi clones shatters.

/Osicat

Some builds do.

Some builds don't.

Dps is not everything. If your group struggles with breakbars, you shouldn't hesitate to use F3. And taking a dps loss to use F4 beats getting downed. Just be familiar with your build so you can resummon your clones asap.

That all depends. If my enemy has boons and I need to remove them, I don't shatter sword clones. If I am on mirage, I don't shatter until the enemy is dead or unless there's a large number of small enemies I need to cleave.

I play grievibg nirage so i do to finish off mobs or kill breakbars.Distortion is my most valuable ass saver so surely i use that.The condi shatter i do not use often though.

If you aren't shattering to use Mesmer's OP invulnerability then you aren't doing it right. Also: Shatters can be traited to heal and dispel you, which basically makes you even more invulnerable if you know what you are doing.

It depends. I assume playing axe in PvE. In solo PvE, I shatter when mobs are around 25%. Against more beefy mobs, I typically use axe 2 twice, wait for it till it the charges are about to fill, shatter then use axe 2 twice. To maximize dps, as much as possible you want to use axe 3 and ambushe when you 3 clones.

mesmer is built around shattering. if you dont shatter at least 2 times fighting a vet, youre doing it wrong. even if you're not running a shatter build. its class mechanics.

edit. there are obviously situational benefits to not spamming shatters.

I feel like people completely ignored the OP's question..he is running mirage not chrono or base. All of this class mechanics thing is nonsense as mirages damage comes from having clones UP.

If you play axe in PVE you should never shatter clones, unless you are about to die and need the distortion or CC.

Scepter is a newish build that does shatter clones to provide more dps, but only when they are able to instantly recast another 3 clones to keep ambush damage up.

PVP has shattered clones for a long time, and still does as far as I know.

@zombyturtle.5980 said:I feel like people completely ignored the OP's question..he is running mirage not chrono or base. All of this class mechanics thing is nonsense as mirages damage comes from having clones UP.

If you play axe in PVE you should never shatter clones, unless you are about to die and need the distortion or CC.

Scepter is a newish build that does shatter clones to provide more dps, but only when they are able to instantly recast another 3 clones to keep ambush damage up.

PVP has shattered clones for a long time, and still does as far as I know.

You can shatter clones as mirage right before your phantasms turns into clones (one axe #2)

@zombyturtle.5980 said:I feel like people completely ignored the OP's question..he is running mirage not chrono or base. All of this class mechanics thing is nonsense as mirages damage comes from having clones UP.

If you play axe in PVE you should never shatter clones, unless you are about to die and need the distortion or CC.

Scepter is a newish build that does shatter clones to provide more dps, but only when they are able to instantly recast another 3 clones to keep ambush damage up.

PVP has shattered clones for a long time, and still does as far as I know.

yeh. this is exactly what i was wondering. thanks for this!

@zombyturtle.5980 said:If you play axe in PVE you should never shatter clones, unless you are about to die and need the distortion or CC.

The current best performing build uses two shatters every full rotation.

Its really all you can do right now. Mesmer has become very mono-playstyle.