Can mesmers do good AOE damage in WvW?

[jack.6457]

Any good builds to achieve this?

[Leonidrex.5649]

@jack.6457 said:Any good builds to achieve this?

whatever you think mesmer might do in wvw there is a class that will do it better.I dont see a way for mesmer to have better aoe then hammer rev or some odd necro/engi builds.Best bet would propably be some form of power mirage with double gs with energy sigil.

[NICENIKESHOE.7128]

@jack.6457 said:Any good builds to achieve this?

Mesmer perhaps is one of the worst AoE fighter in WvW due to their cleave/AoE skills depend on destructible phantasms.And as if that's not enough most cleave skills are multihit, meaning you'll kill yourself better against zerg than dealing any meaningful damage.

[Sodeni.6041]

@jack.6457 said:Any good builds to achieve this?

Yes! Mirage with a greatsword has insane AoE potential. Especially if you use traits to increase clone production and more mirage cloaks. I also use this build in PvE and I get a lot of loot, especially because a lot of mobs die quickly and the greatsword attack has no wind up and basically instantly attacks enemies.

[Curunen.8729]

111 spam GS with IH and sigil of stamina, but only for tagging in zerg tbh, and really one of the worst choices when is much better to just play scourge or something.

[Moradorin.6217]

@jack.6457 said:Any good builds to achieve this?

Sorry, the honest answer is no. GS can hit multiple targets, chrono has wells, everyone gets feedback, anyone can use staff for chaos storm, mesmer gets mass invis and viel. All that acknowledged the correct answer is still No. The reason as others have said is its not considered good for AoE zerging compared to many many other class options. That said, if you already have a mesmer and want to play it in WvW you can. You can still get tagging in for kills and maybe help some with reflects or mass invis, but I would expect to hear people question your class choice in serious squads. Even before 2/25 and all its changes for the most part Mesmer roll was limited in Zergs compared to others like, Ele, Necro, Guard, Rev, etc. Maybe if the glamor trait line had not been deleted ages ago, etc, etc.

[ShadowCatz.8437]

@"jack.6457" said:Any good builds to achieve this?

In WvW you will want to have as fast as possible clones so Illusion is the best trait line (and it also reduce cooldown on shatter which both have small AoE around you and your target, depending on which type of shatter it is). As for direct AoE you Wells from Chronomancer or Mirage Axe combo into Etherial fields (which Mesmer have plenty of from Utility and from Staff). Staff is a very slow weapon (projectile from AA), but offer field, teleport back (which trigger Aura) and summon illusion (clone) or Phantasm. GS is best for long range (more damage from range), have no field by itself, but can hit many target with Pierce from Phantasm.

The major problem is to catch up with Thieves (DD or Deadeye) or any other with high mobility and range. Mirage have utility that are focused on rather short range (some can be used to jump to target and return or just get to target (but in random place around target)). I feel that it is better to use Blink in those cases and combo it Jaunt (Elite), but that is a high risk as it also remove one condi on each use - max 2 in WvW).

Like everything else in WvW it also depends on what kind of WvW you are going to play. Is it for most single target (duel type), small scale roaming or zerg?

Weakest part from Chronomancer and from Mirage is our healing skill. Core healing skill where you don't need to stand in them to get the full healing and that extra is best in an environment where you want to be mobile. (This also true for PvE where you for most part don't want to be on same spot too long time and even with a lot of Evasion from Mirage you still get your heals on demand not to waste them pro-active). Both are built around pulsating heals, and for Chrono cleanse for each puls. For Mirage you will have a mirror spawn (it give you an Ambush and with IH from trait also your illusion will move faster and attack the same time) in the end which also can be hard to reach if you don't teleport back. Axe (only from Mirage) have a short range teleport and 2 swirld (which you use in fields - ethereal fields will then hit targets with confusion). I don't like to use stun from utility as it take 45 second before you can use it again. Shatter have daze which is faster and axe have one that you use to teleport onto target (short range).

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Mesmer

As base stat Viper is good as you have both Power and Condition damage, add to that which of other stat on your backpack and jewels like condition duration from expertise or boon duration from Concentration (Boon - Might- boost both direct damage from Power and condition damage for each stack of that boon). Don't forget that Vitality is useful to get more HP and also to have enough time to use condition cleanse or heal up. Toughness only reduce damage from direct hits.

Mirage have a lot of condition from Axe which give confusion and torment (that is why we have so many short range teleport skills for utility and elite). You want target to move to increase damage from movement and to use skills which damage from Confusion. That also make it possible to go Power instead of Condition as main source of damage type for stats.

Chronomancer is built around defence and which shield are good at through blocking (Aegis), stun from field and cooldown reduction from Alacrity (boon - the reverse from Chill - condi). The main problem in WvW is that Wells need people to stay in them to their buff or debuff and it is hard to actually hit an enemy with a Well without that target being 5 km away. Here Core utility work better as they can be target at your target (it is a setting you need to make this work in Option) and reflect projectiles.

(A) mobility is king(B) a lot in core and specialisation (Chrono or Mirage) are built around access to random boon and condi (Mirage have more of Confusion and Torment from Axe; Chrono more of boon and reduction of time - Alacrity and Quickness are the main boon here and Shatter that in theory make it possible to double up skills before they time out).© stun is problematic as it have a high CD vs Daze that is easier to pull off on Mesmer (Core/Chrono or Mirage), need to be timed (stability prevent CC).

Most builds are variation of what I have described above, so it is more of trail and error to find out how things fit with your playstyle. Core elite skills have high cooldown compared to specialisation (Chrono - high damage, CC and a dark field) Mirage damage from Confusion (you virtually jump around and remove one condi for each jump).

Weapon: Axe or Shield are depending on specialisation. Sword feels too hard to pull off as it is short range teleport, root you (give a short time invul, bit is not connected to Distortion trait which also give you condi removal - that is why it is named different from Distortion). GS have best range, you can avoid to use projectile of that is necessary (because of reflect) and it is faster then Staff which use a very slow projectile which apply a combo of condi and boost friendly targets with boons.

In offhand Torch (invis, burn and blind (condi) and cleanse at once, the other skill interrupt with Phantasm spawning). I like better to use Pistol as it have more range then Torch, offer more of target damage and CC then Torch. It is tricky to have Axe on MH with short range and Pistol as long range, but works well enough if you use one of Deception utility skills to get close after you have used your Pistol (or created a clone from Dualist trait).

EDIT: I forgot to mention Sigil. On Miraga you will want to have access to dodge as much as possible to trigger Ambush and Evasion. That is why Sigil of Energy is best to have at least on one weapon set (but remember that there is 9 second cooldown for weapon swap and on this kind of sigil). Sigil of Cleansing is account bound which mean that you need to craft it yourself (can't buy it on tradepost), but it removes 3 condi each time you swap. Don't use double Sigil of Energy, if you swap each time you can swap weapon as it will only trigger once every 9 second. Stacking sigil like Bloodlust will reset if you go down and get up again (rally) and the difference from 25 stack of max bloodlust (or any stacking sigil) can be rather large when you are back with no stack at all. In general sigil without condition (for being triggered) are more safe then when you to Interrupt or On Kill (as you need to be able to kill to even have that effect). Everything is depending on your playstyle, how easy it is to trigger that sigil or how often you swap weapon during fights.

[Junkpile.7439]

Select right targets and spam gs skills. AoE is kind of overrated if you don't run with blob that faceroll over enemy.

[Leonidrex.5649]

I mean you CAN do good aoe but you will die to retal while doing it :D

[Woltarion.6829]

short answer : no.long answer : nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[aaron.7850]

how depressing, mesmer is the only class i like

[Sithia.3158]

I play a chrono in wvw, for our guild runs. In zerg fights you will not be able to shatter. G well is great if you can land it, and you have people to nuke the targets. But mostly a chrono's job is going to be hiding in some dusty corner of and portaling in a zerg and using alacrity to reset your portal faster. Everything you might want to do with a chrono there is a class that does it better now.Mirages are still okay at roaming, but they did get a really hard nerf a while back.Core mesmer is meh. Again it does not do anything that some other class doesn't do better.
The biggest problem for all mesmer types is they rely on clones and in fights of 20+ clones will die before you can hit your shatter.Now you don't mind hanging out in a keep for 15 minutes or so playing hide and seek with warclaws, portaling in your zerg can be very rewarding. It will normally take two portals to get everyone in though. The downside to this is that if you hide and your zerg caps the keep you don't get anything for it.

[Yoci.2481]

And even that can be done better by someone else: Thief.

[Moradorin.6217]

basically no

[Stand The Wall.6987]

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PiwAEx7lNwuYZsQWJOKXpNXA-zVZYBKFAyTUxQhnJxQZ0TFkZKY7sExZE-w

if you're absolutely determined to play mesmer and want to play a damage build then this might work for you. only play it with a renegade that has the alacrity gm trait. you have to aim for their backline / the tail of the zerg so your clone lives long enough to get shattered.