Mell.4873

? If the bladed trait got added to the sword auto attack It would make main hand sword a possibility for condi Virtuoso. How is this hard to understand? Right now the dagger is better only because its auto attack has the bladed trait...... This is why power Virtuoso uses swords and not two dagger (well depends on build)

The real answer is you don't use the heal skill to heal. You use it to add to your damage so you have two choices: If you rely on phantasms then Signet of the Ether to get them back. (power or condi) If you don't use phantasms then you want Twin Blade Restoration since it will proc blade to Bleed trait. (condi only)

I think this is why there was such a backlash against Mesmer since anyone could do well irrespective of skill. I mean this is probably why I see so many Virtuosos in Gold recently, I'm not to sure about WvW since I don't duel often.

I agree with all of this, which is why I find it useless to try and balance it based of anything other than statistics. Arena Net will see the most used builds and then nerf them accordingly, this explains why Spellbreaker was nerfed recently. I mean it doesn't answer the question of why Spellbreaker was so good (boon spam counter).

Virtuoso is currently one of the best open world PvE damage options at the moment. Most if not all the top dps are Virtuosos. Saying that I normally run support so I can boost their damage more.

It does to? Just not main hand sword since it does not proc Bleed due to the lack of bladed trait. With off-hand sword you even run the Dueling trait to give you ferocity so it would be a condi buff if the sword was bladed.

Yes but we already saw them nerf a class over golem numbers so asking for a buff will result in the eventual nerf. They only balance competitive around player data, I mean we shall see. The sword auto-attack is very strong so maybe not adding the bladed trait to that might mitigate a damage increase for condi.

Of course you all know I don't use Mesmer PvP and the developers have heavily nerfed most of the huge advantage Mesmer players had in PvP. Almost all the builds that exist in the game are about PvE, most of profession posts are about PvE (theif subforum is only exception). Finally most of the game is PvE, most of the player base is PvE, the top 250 sPvP players are not even all in Platinum. Now the question is why are the Mesmer forum players so obsessed with balancing Mesmer around PvP. A perfect example is phantasmal defender, this is absolutely fine in PvE but people want it removed or changed since its bad in PvP. The rule should be if anyone makes a post and doesn't explicitly say PvP then assume it is PvE.

Again you comparing it high-level PvP for general play everything is fine. I mean i use mantra heals when i don't have time to switch. Clones do die in WvW but when to we rate a skill on one gamemode. Clone/phantasm skills are staples in PvE.

The blade trait on weapons only really effects condi so any more added could unintentionally buff the 42k golem dps. This could result in a nerf somewhere.

Yeah I 100% agree, again I'm thinking of the potential nerf Yeah I guess that is true, I never thought of that. I guess the thief version is tied to stealth, a dodge version should be created as the next elite spec with offhand sword. All true which is why power Virtuoso does use it. Again we shall wait and see, I'm all up for more Virtuoso mechanics.

Wouldn't it be Ranger + Mesmer(Mirage) = Untamed

Only a small part of the game is PvP and the OP clearly meant PvE (maybe WvW too). Sounds like you should play another class since you don't like any of the utilities.

I do play t4 and CM, I mean 80% of the game is PvE so I do play Mesmer for most content. Honestly for PvP I just don't have time to learn the muscle memory to play it. When I first started playing Mesmer I did spend the time but that was over 2 years ago. Another issue is I play high gold/play at the level of the top 400 players so learning a new spec even if its my main is impossible unless i want to drop to low gold. PS Ranger was my main before Mesmer so I'm way better at that.

We shall see, I guess you are right to point out offhand sword being a blade would not buff it by much.

Im not but yes that is all true Well ambush is different since Mirage has the same mechanic I completely forgot Greatsword had blades, but i guess my point is still relevant since Sword is best in slot for PvE so it would still make it to strong requiring a nerf somewhere else. I meant the mainhand sword attacks, especially the auto attack, unless that doesn't count as a blade like Greatsword. To sum up my point is I'm all for the bladed trait to be added to Sword but I would like to see what they nerf first.

Well power Virtuoso does use mainhand sword so it doesn't really matter, maybe they should put some extra blade generation on dagger to avoid this problem. It wont buff condi very much but might help power a little. And if they did add bladed to sword then it would just be a copy of power. You cant win really.

The blade mechanic should just stay on dagger since this is how Holosmith works but.... They did talk about adding Holosmith heat mechanic to other weapons so my guess if they ever did Virtuoso would be included in that balance. The other thing to note is offhand sword is currently best in slot so adding bladed would mean 42k+ DPS without nerfing something and I don't want to see a nerf so just leave it for now.

I obviously meant PvE since I mentioned 30% but feedback is still valuable in WvW where ranged attacks are so common

I think it's the opposite I play it to much so I have ended up finding a use for all the utilities. I mean I don't use the blink much since I barely PvP with Mesmer (sometimes WvW or unranked). If you want to talk about dead mesmer utilities then Chrono Wells and Mirage deceptions are pretty useless but core mesmer is fine.

I could not disagree more, most if not all utilities have a purpose. They might not be as powerful some other classes but the general Mesmer kit is so strong it doesn't mater. Glamour: Most are WvW or avoiding mechanic tools. For example Feedback has a tiny cooldown for basically a free 30% downed heal and this normally gives them time to self rez. Clone/Phantasm: Makes clones so massive damage buff. For example some people might bash Phantasmal Defender but its an OP CC and the longest lasting taunt in the game when pared with Chronomancer, not to mention you can cast it like 3 times in a row. Manipulation: Is a mix of damage avoidance and utility. For example Mimic works well with lots of skills and Illusion of Life is a free group resurrect what's not to like here. Mantra: Mix of damage, CC, support and healing. For example this can create on of the most traditional healer in the game, its impossible to play but you can in theory heal someone to full on a moments notice. (Trust me I have tried to Strike heal with it and found it hard) Signets: Do I need to say more, these are so OP every condition or support spec picks at least 2 of them as their utilities. Not just for the amazing passive but there active effects are exactly what you want to see for a signet. For example Signet of Domination can provide a 300 break bar equivalent to F3 shatter and Signet of Midnight is a Stun break with the added bonus of stealth.

This might be obvious to some but there are some enemy confirmations that you can achieve maximum damage for not only Bladesongs but any ranged piercing weapon. This most basic Configuration is what most players know Which is primary used for the F1 Bladesong, Auto-attack, Ultimate(Thousand Cuts) https://i.imgur.com/2tjJ0x4.jpg The second configuration is more tricky but the basic idea is that all Melee enemies will follow you while the ranged do not so we can use this to our advantage https://i.imgur.com/ZXHUzNo.jpg I will introduce the Temporal Curtain , The main reason to use this is group up ranged targets. The main thing to remember is it will only group up 5 targets so avoid using this on melee. https://i.imgur.com/6QpDYDs.jpg The next configuration is the eventual problem with Temporal Curtain is that the enemies will move away, to avoid this use F3 Bladesong with Master of Fragmentation or Sword of Decimation. https://i.imgur.com/o1jovWK.jpg The final configuration is to explain is how the F2 Bladesong works since there is a lot of misconceptions about it. The main thing to keep in mind is that it is a mix of an aoe and a piercing attack, it has an hourglass shape. https://i.imgur.com/PfXc9OY.jpg The damage is lower on the closest enemy and furthest enemy since not all 5 blades will hit. The closer you are the worse this preforms since the hourglass will become wider.

Looks good, I run like 40% sinister 40% vipers and 20% rampages. 75% critical chance which mean the F1 Bladesong is 100% critical at 180% critical damage. Temporal Curtain or just aiming the F1 Bladesong really well results in amazing damage.

My bad I didn't know bosses could not kill clones with anything other than a targeted attack.

Another thing to note with Virtuoso which I have tested extensively is you don't need 100% critical chance. Getting at least 75% means you will trigger most of the Bleed stacks since this 50-60% of your damage. 10-20% comes from torment, 10% from auto attack. That leaves roughly 30-40% from sources that would benefit from 100% critical chance. To be exact with all buffs 35k is very easy to achieve, 30k with Inspiration. It's the last 5k that requires the min-maxing.