RosySefein.8072

I think whoever is in charge of Mesmer balance doesn't understand the point of the class and have no direction for it. Exactly, a rifle is a HORRIBLE attempt at making Mesmer a support, and without an actual elite spec, pushing that role is a bad idea. Even during the beta, there were so many unaddressed issues. This is one of Anet's biggest failures in my opinion. Agreed.

Hello fellow WvW and PvP players, I recently posted about my frustrations with ArenaNet's decisions regarding Mesmer, particularly the attempt to force Rifle as a viable weapon option by nerfing Chronomancer. After reading through all the responses, I want to express my gratitude for everyone who shared their thoughts. It's reassuring to see that many of us share the same sentiments regarding the disappointing direction ArenaNet has taken with Mesmer. The insistence on pushing support-oriented gameplay through trait reworks such as those seen in the recent Chronomancer changes, and attempting to make Rifle a viable weapon choice without addressing its shortcomings have left many of us feeling let down. While I acknowledge that Rifle may have some usefulness in PvE content, it's disheartening that WvW and PvP players have been largely neglected in terms of meaningful content additions. With the focus shifting away from Elite Specs that provide new build variations and avenues of gameplay, new weapons being the only addition we receive from the expansion, like the underwhelming Rifle, fail to provide any value to our gameplay experiences. Mesmer isn't the only class to suffer from these shortcomings; others, like Elementalist with the pistol, have also been left with lackluster options. As WvW and PvP players, it's crucial that we voice our discontent with the neglect of weapon design for our game modes. Supporting ArenaNet's decisions when they continually disregard our needs only perpetuates the issue. I want to thank everyone who contributed to the discussion. Your input underscores the collective disappointment we share regarding ArenaNet's handling of our class. It's my hope that by voicing our concerns collectively, we can encourage ArenaNet to reconsider their approach and provide meaningful updates that cater to all aspects of gameplay, including WvW and PvP. Thank you again for your engagement and support. Edit: I wanted to add that the issue isn't that Rifle is a support weapon, it's that it's already so limiting in it's purpose, and so badly designed that even reworking Chronomancer traits wasn't enough to make it a decent weapon and that it's fundamentally flawed, and all our suggestions to fix it were fully ignored.

Guess not. Anet has failed us quite a few times. It just sucks to see the huge variance in effort put into other weapons and then lack luster design when it comes to mesmer. Virtuoso was literally an elite spec designed for people who don't want to learn mesmer, so lazy and again fully projectile based. Think about how useless it is in sPvP. Mirage ambush on rifle is a HEAL, but the clones follow enemy targets so when you click ambush, they'll blast a heal skill on an enemy. You have to hope the AoE cone also gets an ally but it's just awful design. Agree. Strongly agree with this as well.

As nice as this would be, it would break sPvP. A 30 second portal would be game breaking. Perhaps a lower ICD so you can use portal more than just a few times per match.

I 100% agree with this. This is a fact. Mind you portal on mesmer and shadow portal on thief are already dead use utility skills. Look how dagger on mesmer is a power weapon, with the only redeeming quality being the mirage ambush being a power and condi skill. Now look at how axe on thief can be used by both power and condi builds which in result promotes build diversity. Rifle absolutely does not promote build diversity at all. Alacrity on mirage ambush will not fix this issue either. Dagger and Rifle are back to back lazy weapon designs by Arenanet.

No feedback was taken into consideration when fixing rifle. I understand it's a support weapon so let's forget DPS numbers. Rifle 4, the Phantasm in WvW and PvP is a SLOW PROJECTILE stun with ONE cast and does 0 damage. With so much anti-projectile in both game modes this is by default a bad skill. Rifle 5 is STILL such a niche use weapon skill. I can see it being useful in PvE for raids but not useful at all in WvW or PvP unless in a comms coordinated set up. Anet over estimates the number of players who don't tunnel vision, and actually take the portal mid combat. This skill without portal is barrier on a 20 sec+ cooldown. Not worth it. There is still NO mobility on this weapon. When you're getting melee focused you have to waste UTILITY skills to create gaps between you and your opponent. I repeat, Warrior, Engi and Deadeye have mobility skills on rifle. Overall, Anet FAILED to address any of the weapon skills regarding rifle on mesmer. No mobility Clunky Rifle 5 is extremely niche I don't see this weapon, or support Mesmer competing with Guard or Tempest in sPvP unless they completely rework support traits. This weapon is only going to be viable in organized PvE and organized zerging in WvW. On another note, axe on thief is a projectile based weapon done right. That is what dagger mesmer SHOULD have been.

There was no mobility added to rifle. There was no mention of damage number modification. No changes to mirage ambush on rifle. Most importantly Rifle 5 is still absolutely garbage in PvP and WvW. Changes to the phantasm are sub par at best. Just pray we get an elite spec in the next expack and it's melee hammer instead of more projectile nonsense. (WvW and PvP players will understand). Thanks Anet.

Pointy Ears so that we can be Wintersday Elves. According to the Wiki it was only in store in September-October 2022. Is this true? I haven't seen them for the longest time.

No. You can not portal someone in downstate to you for res.

I agree with this. Also it's important to highlight that clone generation is really bad on rifle. I still stand by making skill 4 a "Dodge roll back and spawn phantasm at starting location" rather than just spawning a phantasm. It can have 600 range and if we're really ambitious make it an ammo skill. Rifle can not be a support weapon alone. It really needs to take on a hybrid role and for that it needs at least some damage, faster animations, clone generation and mobility for the Mesmer.

From a PvP/WvW Perspective: Auto Attack: Needs some sort of clone generation. Skill 2: The delay in the portal spawning is a bit too long. This needs to be sped up a little bit. Skill 3: It's okay, but should be a blast finisher Skill 4: This phantasm does NO damage in PvP and WvW. Fix this please, the stun is not enough in those game modes to justify no damage and high CD. Consider "Dodge back 600-900 range, spawning phantasm in original location" so mesmer has some mobility on this weapon. Skill 5: PLEASE let this be a 2 way skill. It has very little value in WvW and PvP otherwise. Unless it's highly corradiated group play it's a useless skill. The barrier and resistance don't do a lot. Overall, skill 5 needs to be 2 way, clone generation needs to be better and rifle 4 phantasm should do damage in PvP/WvW for it to be viable.

I hope to god at least ONE skill is a blink away, or a gap creator. Warrior rifle 4 has a gap creator. Engineer rifle 5 has a leap. Deadeye rifle 4 has a blink back. WE NEED a skill that distances us otherwise this is gonna be a horrible weapon for small scale WvW and PvP.

Okay, so I've been playing Mantra Power Shatter since before elite specs were even a thing. When mantras had 3 charges, when they gave +600 toughness on a charge.I played it with chrono meta, I still play it now on base PU Mesmer. It's probably the only mesmer playstyle I actually enjoy. I think it's fair to say @shadowpass.4236 this is a learn to play issue for you. I probably took a phat dump on you in ranked this season which is why you're upset.I think you forget that mantra charging can be interrupted, they're a two pop utility and usually, a burst combo means we're exhausting a full arsenal of cooldowns for a CHANCE to pop a player to downstate. With all the passives in game like signet of stone, endure pain, elixer S, random dodges, heals, protection uptime, blocks, barriers, full counter and large HP pools necros have it's not exactly an S tier playstyle. The amount of times a full burst gets wasted on a RANDOM dodge bro, no joke... 1 shot builds can be 1 shot by "non1 shot build" classes. Condition damage, lockdown, there are so many ways to punish the playstyle.It just grinds my gears to see people complaining about mantra's, but it's not like it matters because Anet already has plans to nerf them with the unreleased balance consideration post.ON TOP OF THAT, What else do you want me to play fam? Condi's are boring, and Mesmer has literally no other build that's effective and fun to play. If it's the only build I enjoy playing that is remotely (emphasis on REMOTELY) viable, why ruin that? There is no other option, no alternate. Burst builds are fun, they're also killable. At the end of the day it's a gimmick playstyle and build. Also shout out to my boy Mur. Can't wait for my main account to get off a 6-month ban lol