Power mirage, I'm bit bored

[phs.6089]

Here I am thinking is there any way I can make power mirage to work in T4 fractals?I'm really bored and would like to try something crazy.Any advise is appreciated.

[Solori.6025]

@phs.6089 said:Here I am thinking is there any way I can make power mirage to work in T4 fractals?I'm really bored and would like to try something crazy.Any advise is appreciated.

No. Compared to other classes power mirage is lacking. You would be much better off bringing a power reaper than a power mirage

[Naxos.2503]

@phs.6089 said:Here I am thinking is there any way I can make power mirage to work in T4 fractals?I'm really bored and would like to try something crazy.Any advise is appreciated.

What they mean is that, Yes you can make it work, using enough gear stat and the right sigils to increase your DPS, but that it would ultimately not be as efficient as other classes who have more DPS potential in their arsenal. Let it never be said that a class cannot Under any circumstance fulfill a role. It can, with varied degrees of efficiency.

Except maybe Warrior healer.

As for what to pick exactly, I'd go with a sword and pistol shatter build with a greatsword swap for long range, using phantasms instead of clones whenever possible. You can use a chronomancer spec to help you deal more damage using self induced quickness and Alacrity from Chronomancer traits, or go for more clones and ambush attacks using a mirage build (but I've never really figured out how to make that work, aside from popping more clones through sword ambush and shattering them.

Note that your durability will be severly lacking, and that even with alacrity and quickness, you might find yourself having difficulties popping all skills efficiently due to some casting times, and longer cooldowns on phantasms, you can bridge those with shattering clones, but that's about it. Sword lets you stick to an enemy, pistol gives you some CC as well as a decent damage phantasm. You can use a Sword/Sword build if you'd rather, it's more timing focused and will help with selfbuffing might and mitigating some damage, but might is generally not a concern in a party.

Does it perform better than a DPS thief ? Certainly not. Is it possible ? Yes. Will it be widely accepted by T4 fractal players ? Probably not.

[Vieux P.1238]

Cookie cutter mesmer i'm so exited & i luv it.. :D Been discussed.https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/74438/same-old-cookie-cutter-power-or-condi-build-sigh#latest

[Noodle Ant.1605]

If anything comes close, you’d probably start building from a core mes power dps setup, which is domi (2-2-2) duel (1-3-1) illu (1-2-1) and runs sw/sw and sw/f. Because it’s less reliant on illusions (phantasms) than chrono, replacing illu with mirage seems like the most logical choice, but at the cost of more frequent shatters.

For (power) mirage, you’d probably take 1-1-3, and for slot skills: SoE, MoP, disenchanter, defender and jaunt. Rotation is pretty similar to core mes - opening is spam all phantasms and SoE to spam them again, and then wail on your target with every other dmg skill you have while remembering to shatter @ 3 clones. Distortion amusingly becomes an offensive skill since you shatter three mirrors (provided you remember to pick all of them up) and proc dune cloak 4 times. Spam Jaunt whenever for extra dmg and clones, or replace with moa for cc or time warp for a depressing ~10% quickness uptime. Although you take dune cloak, don’t bother using dodges offensively since the sword ambush is garbage for dps.

Provided you do things ‘right’, you become a core mes v2.0. Your key strengths are being able to rip trash mobs apart using a burst combo (sword phantasm + illusionary leap + blurred frenzy + jaunt + power spike + mind wrack), mobility from mirage thrust, all the mes related skips if you know and bother to do them, but you ultimately fail at maintaining competitive dps on the boss unless your group is pretty bad since your at like a 5-7k benchmark disadvantage.

Contrary to belief, it may actually be better than pchrono at lower level fracs since the enemies don’t last as long, particularly for t2 and t1 recs. I actually do run core mes to deal with trash mobs at higher tiers sometimes so it definitely is still usable somewhere, just not everywhere.

Tell us how it goes :smile:.

[phs.6089]

Thank toy for detailed answers. I'm trying to find a PoF class outside of box. Seems mirage is a wrong bet.

[Moradorin.6217]

Mirage is designed around conditions. It is basically either a condi or hybrid, or inefficient. Take you pick. What I mean is, as others suggest even core mes is arguably better for power than mirage. the mirage trait line doesnt offer too much. If you want to play mesmer with power you want to run chrono. Chrono's ability to generate mass damage with rapid phant generation is so much more powerful than core or mirage that IMO it prevents balance of the 3. Even the mirage elite spec weapon only gives condi stat options. That should be the biggest hint that the dev. didnt intend for it to be a power spec.

[Bigpapasmurf.5623]

@Moradorin.6217 said:Mirage is designed around conditions. It is basically either a condi or hybrid, or inefficient. Take you pick. What I mean is, as others suggest even core mes is arguably better for power than mirage. the mirage trait line doesnt offer too much. If you want to play mesmer with power you want to run chrono. Chrono's ability to generate mass damage with rapid phant generation is so much more powerful than core or mirage that IMO it prevents balance of the 3. Even the mirage elite spec weapon only gives condi stat options. That should be the biggest hint that the dev. didnt intend for it to be a power spec.

Ehhhhh Mirage offers things for power builds that Chrono doesn't...and a good portion is tied to Ambush skills. I am not a good DPS Mirage player (average at best) and an Averageish Chrono player and I believe I can dish out more damage from Mirage, a bunch thanks to ambush.

I can also beat more people, take more things and accomplish more as a DPS Mirage over DPS chrono.

buuuuut maybe its just me

[Moradorin.6217]

@Bigpapasmurf.5623 said:

@"Moradorin.6217" said:Mirage is designed around conditions. It is basically either a condi or hybrid, or inefficient. Take you pick. What I mean is, as others suggest even core mes is arguably better for power than mirage. the mirage trait line doesnt offer too much. If you want to play mesmer with power you want to run chrono. Chrono's ability to generate mass damage with rapid phant generation is so much more powerful than core or mirage that IMO it prevents balance of the 3. Even the mirage elite spec weapon only gives condi stat options. That should be the biggest hint that the dev. didnt intend for it to be a power spec.

Ehhhhh Mirage offers things for power builds that Chrono doesn't...and a good portion is tied to Ambush skills. I am not a good DPS Mirage player (average at best) and an Averageish Chrono player and I believe I can dish out more damage from Mirage, a bunch thanks to ambush.

I can also beat more people, take more things and accomplish more as a DPS Mirage over DPS chrono.

buuuuut maybe its just me

Well I started out on power mirage because I had zerker stats before PoF came out. I have played mesmer since the game came out. Over 3k hours on mesmer (8k+ hours played on my main account). Yes you can run power on mirage, you can also run condi on chrono. However, Mirage is designed around running conditions plain and simple. Additionally, chrono and maybe even core is more efficient running power that mirage. Does mirage a few neat tricks it can pull off with power? sure the sword ambush is really fun even tho the stun hardly ever actually lands. the GS multi beam is fun too. Are they better than running condi mirage??? I have not seen it yet in over a year. At one time I would have said power is very effective on mirage, but that was long ago. You seem to forget how much Mirage's ability to frequently use ambush skills has already been nerfed, along with dodge, sword evade window, sword damage, GS damage, reflects, vigor from dueling spec, daze changes, etc. Sure you "could" run it. It wouldnt be efficient though for many reasons.

[Bigpapasmurf.5623]

@Moradorin.6217 said:

@Bigpapasmurf.5623 said:

@Moradorin.6217 said:Mirage is designed around conditions. It is basically either a condi or hybrid, or inefficient. Take you pick. What I mean is, as others suggest even core mes is arguably better for power than mirage. the mirage trait line doesnt offer too much. If you want to play mesmer with power you want to run chrono. Chrono's ability to generate mass damage with rapid phant generation is so much more powerful than core or mirage that IMO it prevents balance of the 3. Even the mirage elite spec weapon only gives condi stat options. That should be the biggest hint that the dev. didnt intend for it to be a power spec.

Ehhhhh Mirage offers things for power builds that Chrono doesn't...and a good portion is tied to Ambush skills. I am not a good DPS Mirage player (average at best) and an Averageish Chrono player and I believe I can dish out more damage from Mirage, a bunch thanks to ambush.

I can also beat more people, take more things and accomplish more as a DPS Mirage over DPS chrono.

buuuuut maybe its just me

Well I started out on power mirage because I had zerker stats before PoF came out. I have played mesmer since the game came out. Over 3k hours on mesmer (8k+ hours played on my main account). Yes you can run power on mirage, you can also run condi on chrono. However, Mirage is designed around running conditions plain and simple. Additionally, chrono and maybe even core is more efficient running power that mirage. Does mirage a few neat tricks it can pull off with power? sure the sword ambush is really fun even tho the stun hardly ever actually lands. the GS multi beam is fun too. Are they better than running condi mirage??? I have not seen it yet in over a year. At one time I would have said power is very effective on mirage, but that was long ago. You seem to forget how much Mirage's ability to frequently use ambush skills has already been nerfed, along with dodge, sword evade window, sword damage, GS damage, reflects, vigor from dueling spec, daze changes, etc. Sure you "could" run it. It wouldnt be efficient though for many reasons.

Many of the nerfs you mentioned don't apply to my DPS build. I dont run sword myself (nor do I run a meta build), dont run dazes, my reflect was untouched, and not actively rely on vigor. Build still gets its usual # of kills.

Again...may just be me tho. I do rarely run meta builds and am able to adapt/overcome

[Moradorin.6217]

@Bigpapasmurf.5623 said:

Many of the nerfs you mentioned don't apply to my DPS build. I dont run sword myself (nor do I run a meta build), dont run dazes, my reflect was untouched, and not actively rely on vigor. Build still gets its usual # of kills.

Again...may just be me tho. I do rarely run meta builds and am able to adapt/overcomeI question that you even play a mesmer based on what you say and I have seen your year old video. Mirage was very different in Jan 2018. Everyone adapts and overcomes in this game. That doesn't change balance issues and poorly planned changes to it. It doesn't mean these changes are warranted or effective at balancing things.

[Turkeyspit.3965]

Well then on a side related note, what build makes efficient use of a GS?

I'm intending to craft Exordium for my Guardian, but I think it would also look great on a Mesmer. But any serious power build (eg fractals) is running sw/sw + sw/focus. or sw/shield. How could I make GS work?

[Moradorin.6217]

@Turkeyspit.3965 said:Well then on a side related note, what build makes efficient use of a GS?

I'm intending to craft Exordium for my Guardian, but I think it would also look great on a Mesmer. But any serious power build (eg fractals) is running sw/sw + sw/focus. or sw/shield. How could I make GS work?

Chrono would be best on mes for power in general and GS for sure. GS generally has been good for burst damage, but not as good for sustained damage. So you CAN run GS in fractals, but I would run somthing like snowcrows chrono build if you want to run power in things like fractals last I looked it has a GS option on it already.

[Bigpapasmurf.5623]

@Moradorin.6217 said:

@"Bigpapasmurf.5623" said:

Many of the nerfs you mentioned don't apply to my DPS build. I dont run sword myself (nor do I run a meta build), dont run dazes, my reflect was untouched, and not actively rely on vigor. Build still gets its usual # of kills.

Again...may just be me tho. I do rarely run meta builds and am able to adapt/overcomeI question that you even play a mesmer based on what you say and I have seen your year old video. Mirage was very different in Jan 2018. Everyone adapts and overcomes in this game. That doesn't change balance issues and poorly planned changes to it. It doesn't mean these changes are warranted or effective at balancing things.

I havent been streaming GW2 nearly as much lately due to a change in the family, thus your assumption based on when I posted my last montage is a bit premature. I still play my Mirage build in WvW (even after the nerf to Illusionary Ambush, I still use it as it still works...just gotta be more mindful of when I use it).

As for "everyone adapts and overcomes in this game"...have you ever been to the PvP forums?

My game play hasn't changed thanks to nerfs. The last patch, only 1 part of my build was nerfed (blinding dissipation).

[Daishi.6027]

I really wish they would buff power for mirage in PvE. If Dune cloak had a coefficent of 1.5 - 2.0 I could see some use with Signet of Illusions and desert distortion.Even then there are still problems. Be nice if there was a way for it to scale power more without by extension boosting condi or making hybrid even better.

Maybe in addition stacking up crit and crit damage in a similar way to Danger Time but for targets with bleeds. Or reducing cooldowns on phants (since they more often scale with power).

[Vieux P.1238]

I would love to see Axe power mirage instead of condi. It would be a change of pace that's for sure.

[Solori.6025]

Now y'all realize this is a thread about PvE right?

[Heartpains.7312]

@Solori.6025 said:Now y'all realize this is a thread about PvE right?

Let us have some dreams Solori =p

[Bigpapasmurf.5623]

@Vieux P.1238 said:I would love to see Axe power mirage instead of condi. It would be a change of pace that's for sure.

Thats actually what I run (Axe power) in WvW. Been using it for quite a while now.

[otto.5684]

Op, no you cannot have an effective mirage power build.

@Turkeyspit.3965 said:Well then on a side related note, what build makes efficient use of a GS?

I'm intending to craft Exordium for my Guardian, but I think it would also look great on a Mesmer. But any serious power build (eg fractals) is running sw/sw + sw/focus. or sw/shield. How could I make GS work?

No question you can make GS chrono work in lower fractals. It is also extremely strong in open world. More complex Group PvE, sword is required.

Since you are a guardian main, it is much like LB (but million times better), easy PvE stuff you can use, but as efficiency becomes required you need to switch gears to weapons that provide the highest damage.

[Vieux P.1238]

@Bigpapasmurf.5623 said:

@Vieux P.1238 said:I would love to see Axe power mirage instead of condi. It would be a change of pace that's for sure.

Thats actually what I run (Axe power) in WvW. Been using it for quite a while now.

Is'nt Axe atm a condi weapon like scepter? & not a power weapon such as GS & sword? How can you do damage with it if it's condi base. I would really love to know...

[Bigpapasmurf.5623]

@Vieux P.1238 said:

@Bigpapasmurf.5623 said:

@Vieux P.1238 said:I would love to see Axe power mirage instead of condi. It would be a change of pace that's for sure.

Thats actually what I run (Axe power) in WvW. Been using it for quite a while now.

Is'nt Axe atm a condi weapon like scepter? & not a power weapon such as GS & sword? How can you do damage with it if it's condi base. I would really love to know...

It is more of a condi weapon yes. I love making unique builds. I didnt care for the sword MH nor did I care for pistol so wanted to look for something different.

Without going into a long boring story, I settled with Axe and never looked back. DPS nerf did cut a bit of my damage, but despite that nerf (and a couple others that impacted me...some harder than others) I stuck with it as it still worked for my play style. I do run a full DPS build (Valk/Maraud) w/ traveler runes (despite the fact we have mounts now in WvW).

long story short, I found a way to make it work for me and my playstyle and loved it since I started using it (over a year ago)

[Curunen.8729]

@Vieux P.1238 said:

@Bigpapasmurf.5623 said:

@Vieux P.1238 said:I would love to see Axe power mirage instead of condi. It would be a change of pace that's for sure.

Thats actually what I run (Axe power) in WvW. Been using it for quite a while now.

Is'nt Axe atm a condi weapon like scepter? & not a power weapon such as GS & sword? How can you do damage with it if it's condi base. I would really love to know...

For the last year and a half even in hybrid half cele gear and since the nerf I can get anywhere up to 5k+ axe 3 crits or more depending on ruins/might/etc. I think one time in the past even recall somewhere between 7-8k with group buffs.More commonly anywhere between 3.5-4.5k crits or if unlucky maybe a lower non crit.

I recall one instance last year of this coupled with a just under 10k F1 burst on one opponent (had might stacks etc) - and then the confusion/torment/bleeding ticks taking off the rest.

Sure axe isn't designed as a pure power weapon, however it's important not to dismiss the direct damage it can put out in combination with condis - even if currently it is not as strong as it used to be.

[Vieux P.1238]

yeah im trying a similar build now in pvp