INTRO

Hello, guys!I know what you think: "power mirage, mantras, stealth and oneshots, what else there is to see", right?Wrong.Personally, I don't like the aesthetics of torch for power build (despite admitting, how effective in fact it is). Yet, being a little autistic, still I think of torch as of condi weapon. And I don't like condi that much (probably for no particular reason).

So, started looking for a weapon for the power build. Tried focus, pistol, off-hand sword. And, to my surprise, I found, that off-hand sword is not that bad of a weapon, as they say it is.At least I could immediately say, that I absolutely enjoy the aesthetics. Having that "17th century duelling" touch and all =)Illusionary Riposte seemed like an exceptional ability, with versatility of a daze, block, evade, a huge spike of damage and very short cooldown.The Illusionary Swordsman, on the other hand, seemed clunky as fuck. Anything more mobile, than a chair could just simply walk away from it. Yet the damage (if everything hits) was absolutely superb.So, I initially thought of stunning the target, so it couldn't avoid the swordsman. But mesmers don't have that much stuns. Especially now, after Confounding Suggestions was nerfed.But then I remembered about the trait, called Chaotic Interruption. Which provides guaranteed Immobilize on interrupt. Without GCD. Which means, you can STACK IMMOB.Which is a pretty big deal, after all: because roots in GW2 not only prevent you from moving, but also from dodging.Which means, target in Immob can't avoid swordsman. Unless it blows some serious condi cleanse

Well, about that. There's one additional psychological factor, which I think might be important: Immobilize is a condi debuff. It doesn't have a distinct tell, like stun, for example. And people probably not considering it "dangerous", or expecting it to fall off soon. Because, REALLY, have you ever seen a root, lasting longer than 2 seconds? Especially FROM A MESMER, LOL?Root is indeed a very short condition and people know that. And ignore it, not wasting a precious condi cleanse. And that's where they are wrong.

BUILD: SW/SW + GS

LINKSW/SW + GS is a main setup. GS being pretty much a cornerstone of ever power build.

MIRAGE:

• Self Deception: since we running Infinite Horizon, we kinda need clones. Usually, when you need clones, you just take Deceptive Evasion from Duelling. We can't afford duelling in this build, therefore we need at least some form of clone generation. Therefore SD is kinda better, than its alternative "Renewing Oasis". Besides, you gonna have regen from Chaos line.
• Desert Distortion:_ some people don't like power-ups. I do. Besides, you gonna have an access to protection through Chaos, therefore Mirage Mantle is kinda weaker in this case.
• Infinite Horizon: self explanatory. We gonna need A LOT of interrupts, and Sword illusions with IH provide exactly that - spammable 0.25s daze.

DOMINATION:

• Empowered Illusions: personally, I like the fact, that illusions do damage. And with ambush skills they actually do quite A LOT of damage. So, why not buff it even more. Alternatives are kind of weaker in this case, because Rending Shatter is not needed at all, since you gonna have 25 stacks of vuln ANYWAYS. And CS after nerf is simply "meh". Especially considering, that you don't have stuns and your main daze is 0.25 seconds.
• Furious Interruption: is considered one of the weakest traits of the mesmer. And I don't really understand why - for the build with a lot of interrupts IMO it's much better, than the alternatives. Helps to summon The Swordsman much faster. Although, if you REALLY hate it, you can take any of the other 2 traits. It won't make that much difference.
• Imagined Burden: not sure why is it so unpopular. Perma-slow, reduced cooldown on GS skills, 50% increased damage on Illusionary Berserker, AND 2 illusions instead of 1 (and you kind of NEED that additional illusion for IH). Though, if you really want, you can take Power Block. Which is exceptionally strong, but I still kinda feel, that I need that additional illusion.

CHAOS:

• Descent Into Madness: well, Chaos Storm is an EXCEPTIONAL utility skill. And having it on heal is super-stronk. Besides, the alternatives are not that good. Though, you may consider Master of Manipulation in case of a serious projectile-based build, like ranger, or a DE.
• Mirror of Anguish: is the only viable choice, since we don't use a staff for Chaotic Dampening, and we use a power build, so we can't use Chaotic Transference. Though, the talent is kinda "meh" with its 90s cooldown.
• Chaotic Interruption: is bread and butter of this build. Guaranteed stackable 2s root, and a bunch of random debuffs, including the all-powerfull Weakness. Guaranteed x5 Power and a bunch of boons. NO INTERNAL COOLDOWN, YAY.

BUILD: SW/SW + STAFF

LINKSW/SW + Staff might seem as an unorthodox build. And it kinda is. You loose a HUGE CHUNK of ranged burst from GS, but instead you get a glorious Chaos Storm and overall better mobility/utility and survivability through Staff. I mostly play it for fun anyways.But the good news, is that you can finally get a Power Block (and you'll still have enough clones, because Illusionary Warlock gives 2 by default). And Chaotic Dampening, which is MUCH stronger trait, than Mirror of Anguish.

DOMINATION:

• Power Block instead of Burden. This is a no-brainer, of course.

CHAOS:

• Chaotic Dampening: almost a no-brainer too. A much better talent overall, than a Mirror of Anguish, so why not use it with staff?

UTILITIES

• False Oasis and Jaunt are pretty much mandatory on every Mirage build, so, no discussion here.
• Blink is mandatory on every spvp mesmer build, so, likewise.
• Illusionary Ambush - IMO it's just WAY TOO STRONK for its cooldown of 20s. Well, this ability is pretty much EVERYTHING. It's an offensive cooldown, since it enables Ambush attack. It's a defensive cooldown, since it confuses the enemy, by detargeting AND teleports you away, if you are too close, while wearing a ranged weapon. It's a mobility spell, because it teleports, lol. (He Protec but He Also Attac, lol)EDIT:The most important thing about IA, is thatit teleports not only you, but your illusions as well, NOT FARTHER, THAN THEIR ATTACK RANGE. Which means, your sword clones will do their ambush IMMEDIATELY, after you press the button. Swordsman wll also jump IMMEDIATELY after the use. (One of the BIGGEST disadvantages of the swrodsman, is that it spawns near you and forced to run all the way to his target. Sometimes dying on the way, or simply disappearing, unable to get off from the cliff. IA nullifies this disadvantage ENTIRELY)So.. yeah.. I'd say, IA is pretty much mandatory as well.
• Arcane Thievery - exceptional all-round spell. Unblockable condi transfer, which not only cleanse condis, but also rips boons and gives them to you. AND Slows. AAND Quickens. AAAND it's a super-short cooldown. What's not to like - I don't know.
• One might argue, that Portal is also madatory for spvp, but I personally don't like it very much. I would definitely use it for an organized 5v5, but for soloq - meh... I'd rather run the distance on foot, than waste an utility slot for non-instant teleport with 72s cooldown. Though, if you really feel, like you can't live without it - feel free to swap it with aArcane Thievery, if you don't need condi cleanse.

GEAR

AMULET:Obviously, Marauder.Though, if you feel really cocky, you can use Berserker. Especially with staff, which kinda provides more protection\regen\aegis, and, therefore, is slightly more tanky, than GS.

RUNE:Personally, I use Lyssa rune, because of its glorious 6p bonus and its synergy with Mirage's Jaunt. Jaunt basically becomes a SUPERB on-demand condi cleanse and condi transform spell. 1 condi is cleansed before the transform, the rest is transformed into boons. Plus, random boons on heal form 4p is pretty nice too. And passive stats are not wasted either.Imo, it's much better, than the alternatives.Though, if you feel like you don't need condi cleanse - use whatever you like.

SIGILS:Obviously, energy sigils, as with any other mirage build. The rest is up to you, really. But I use Absorption on sword (since we do have A LOT of interrupts, after all). And this is pretty much a boon strip for free with 3s cooldown. And Opportunity on GS - because of permaslow from Burden, of course. Courage on Staff, since I'm not sure what else. Though, as an alternative, you can use a Cleansing sigil on staff and some other rune instead of Lyssa. That's up to you.

Interesting but in your video :

• We saw it mainly on necro.
• We saw that SB/FB can't be immob.

Much meta class can't be rupt/immob because they have a hight uptime of stability/evade/bloc and the window when we can rupt them, they have condi clear to use.Fun but hard to be efficient with.

I did not have a goal to record an encounter against every existing meta build and spec. Although, I can assure you, that anyone can be interrupted. Well, some specs harder than others, of course, but still.I don't think, that the argument "if it's not in the video, we won't believe you" is valid. Simply because you could just try it yourself and see what is what. It's not that hard.

@"Tiah.3091" said:I don't think, that the argument "if it's not in the video, we won't believe you" is valid. Simply because you could just try it yourself and see what is what. It's not that hard.I already tried lockdown build (and I try every patch to see if it's viable.), that's why I makes this remark. ;)

Basically :Spellbreaker : somes stab uptime then even if you rupt them, they clear immobilize with every jump, or can dispell/block/pop resistance, there is no way immobilize is efficient versus them. (In your vid, when you duel the SB, wwether you are in rupt or classic shatter would not have done difference.)Thief : a thief/daredevil with a hit&run gameplay or sniper can hardly be rupt in melee. Even if it get hit, he has 1 to 2 way to break immobilize or can teleport away.Drood : 1 10 sec condiclear, 1 50sec panic condiclear.Soulbeast : plenty of condiclear + dolyak stance.Holo : condiclear + stab uptime + panic buttons.Herald : most skills used have less than 0.5 sec cast time (pretty hard to voluntarily interrupt.) , immobilize clear in shiro.FB : plenty of stability/aegis/condiclear.Weaver : some stab, many <0.5 sec cast time, somes condiclear.Necro/reaper/scourge : the only class that can be easily rupted but you have to take care of condi-conversion.Mirage/chrono : depend of the build but ironically most of the time can also be easily rupted.

Most meta specs are basically immune to immobilize.

That said it's not a criticism but a feedback.It's fun when rupt proc but the meta isn't ready for lock builds IMO.