Mevelios.4809

I neither saw anything about it. I'd also disregard the mantra heal trait, it only works on the preparation which takes slightly more than two seconds. So much can happen in the meantime, I'd rather stack on either clone/phantasm utilities, either signets - make it singular actually for the one of Illusions; I just remembered Restorative illusions would be after the update on the same line as Blurred inscriptions, meaning you would have to choose between a future likely lifesaver in restorative illusions against the possibility of spreading Inspiration. Bit of a shame since the blurred inscriptions producing distortion work already in pair with Inspiring distortion, but I guess together it'd be excessive (unless our healing modifiers prove "unsatisfying", but once more, can only tell after testing). While thinking of the signet of inspiration, it would be a lot more interesting to me, even if it came at the cost of a higher CD, by spreading a stack of all of the mesmer's boons to close allies rather than renewing timers. I'd definitely see more synergies in tying it to a core mesmer profile which, at the cost of the chrono's alacrity/quickness, the mirage's alacrity from Mirage mantle, and the virtuoso's many healing opportunities (more blades, moar moar!) could actually benefit from the Illusion spec with Persistence of memory, Phantasmal haste and Phantasmal force, spreading quickness through the signet (possible also for the mirage to get some through its mantle I linked above if using the scepter, which comes at the terrible cost for this profile of no longer wielding the staff for at least 10sec). Bunch of possibilities to imagine so far, but I hope mantras will be given a bit of love later - since they won't change from their current state, I know I won't be using them!

Honestly, blurred frenzy largely increases my survival chances. As much as I find the sword lacking in performance damages-wise, I absolutely cannot deny how much it contributes to keeping me safe. That's quite the frustrating feeling - for the risks I take, diving into melee with light armor, I don't get an output interesting enough to compete with top damage dealers; however I'd never trade blur for damages. I doubt there would be a proper way to balance it if the sword in main hand were to really gain a lot of damages, I just miss the longer 1.5s frenzy we had and its higher numbers: it's something that could be squeezed into a fast enough action thanks to quickness. It's still the weapon I'm having the most fun with, playing some sort of ulfhedinn character - happily jumping into melee despite lacking armor, laughing while shredding apart whatever I can reach, and at times making a masterful demonstration of carpet roleplay when I miss the cue of a lethal attack incoming (you bet I've got some experience in that!). I've been able to make some good use of it as a power mirage relying heavily on interrupts (the same ambush attack generating also some shatter fodder, which keeps vulnerability stacks up while the CD is on) but... well, I can't make much of a test with this against idle golems, so it's never taken seriously. No matter, I'm still having a blast with it! Yet, that's also why I'm gonna miss Illusionary defense. Under high pressure, combining it to other sources of protection made me feel like I had much heavier armor and could afford the risk; giving it up is something I find concerning. Long story short - you risk feeding the conflict without actually providing clear numbers (and you indeed didn't include any in that last message regarding the subject), which is an exercise in persuading (the art of using vague images to create a belief) rather than convincing (using concrete, factual examples to explain an opinion). Not sure if that translates well in English the way it does in my native language, but that's not my approach; disapproving a practice but resorting to it because "others do it too", that's not how you improve a standing. And with a minor opinion as ours, it sure won't help, but to each their own!

You can't combine both, they're on the same line. It's either pumping clones through mantra use, either offering resistance & superspeed. Restorative mantras remains untouched but as I suggested it elsewhere, I'd rather see a small heal on using the charges (which will actually be the things you'll rely on if you intend on using that new Ego restoration) and buffs on the preparation cast. In addition, a lot can happen in two seconds of inactivity while preparing a mantra, which is the main reason I pretty much never rely on it for anything (and here for the projection we might have for a virtuoso, that'll be the real issue, since what could save someone during the preparation -shatters- are also casts, unlike the rest of the profession). Halving the preparation time would make it a much more interesting option especially on builds unrelated to healing, but I also get that it could end on the powerful side under quickness... Well, my only boon donkey experience is based solely on chronomancer, so I'd rather ask for the opinion of players used to that gameplay rather than rely on what I have of it. I also expect a real asset for boon chrono, but on the opposite I also worry that it'll just shut down other possibilities by making one elite spec "teh" boon spec. If it ends locking effectively that character profile into a single e-spec, that's no longer a "profession" buff, but a "spec" buff. Then again it doesn't come into conflict with what I thought all these could be in the topic I linked above; again, a live test will tell. Skipping all steps might just produce something excessive. And unless it was just a happy coincidence, it feels like our short debate over what could change to restore a support mesmer (other than chrono) didn't fall on deaf ears. So if it indeed wasn't a coincidence, while many of us rarely miss the chance to yell "we never asked for this!" or "you never listen to us!", let's make it an opportunity this time around to send a positive message: thanks for giving it a chance! Let's see how this goes, and hopefully restore a gameplay that would no longer be restricted to a single spec! 😊

For the sake of healing/providing boons, I find the changes rather appealing, though I remain convinced some love could be given to the mantras. I'm a bit doubtful about how that healing-on-shatter will perform (if clones run in melee, how would you make use of a big heal on allies at range?) but live testing will tell. Losing illusionary defense is a big hit however, for a melee fan like me. Finding the protection buff was already possible; losing that extra layer of defense for the precious, squishy little things we are keeps removing attraction towards melee weapons. Besides, shatter 2 will provide chaos armor to roll another chance at getting protection, so it feels redundant when you can already make use of a leaping finisher with the sword or axe in main hand (and I'm not even mentioning all mirage options). Well, there's still definitely some positive on the healing/boon abilities. I'll have a firmer opinion after actually trying it out!

Not sure if I understood the underlying point; empowered illusions would only offer a benefit if wielding another weapon set, and since we're talking about power profiles it should include a sword offhand. Otherwise the berserkers still count amongst our most damaging phantasm skills thanks to the accompanying GS throw. Maybe an ally, or another enemy, in an actual context instead of golem testing from max range? Or the clone(s) generated out of the berserker(s). The bouncing will happen given they remain close to the target. Something's wrong between our simulations then, because out of my testing while leaving the might stacks to clones around, I'm still standing at ~40% higher damages in favor of mirror blade. The second point I didn't deny, when mentioning both skills come with their lot of "ifs". I'm not sure about the bounces' range and I won't throw a random number, especially since the actual entities enabling the bounce usually move by following whatever you're trying to attack; as for bladecall, it's depending on the hitbox. You're safe on most targets by standing at a 180 range (melee's at 130). On that first one I completely disagree. For the range, my bladestorm blades don't travel any farther than 600 range. For the damages, I'm counting on an ideal world in which you'd fire your skills as soon as their CD is down - mind stab has a shorter CD, compensating for its lower individual damage by a more frequent cast (10s against bladestorm's 12s). In this case there's only a rough 10% deviation in favor of bladestorm, tied to its 600 range. On the second, two things mixed in - if we're talking sustain, both weapons work that way. The GS surges and waiting for the bounces, against the daggers travelling forth and back or waiting for the storm to complete. The part about projectiles merely is an observation - of course it isn't unplayable. To stay in the specific case of mesmer weapons, one of the two can bypass it however - that's trivial in PvE, true, I was thinking on the broader scale since it isn't the same in other contents. Don't play that card. Of course that's how trends work: "don't ask why". But so far, pretty much like the few builds I bothered reading to make myself an idea, you neither are providing many numbers on your observations (except at one moment about bladestorm) - largely generalistic statements. That's the exact same practice! That's why I added a small anecdote earlier about what I remember of PoF's release. These trends are made by other players who would also rather play than spend hours, even days testing each and every little thing thoroughly, constantly at every tiny update. They're no different from you or me: they're players too! Again, it takes time to find ideas, practice, optimize. SotO is still recent and not fully released, after years of GS as the ranged power mainstay; revisions won't happen overnight, even less with the coming new weapons. Take it for what it is: merely another opinion on what to play, just like you and I both have a similar opinion on the dagger's efficiency over the GS. It's up to those reading, in turn, to make their own opinion on what to think of it, and for that there's one undeniable factor: numbers! Run simulations, grab them, demonstrate; hence why I'd be curious to see their reasoning and their numbers, since at the end of the day... maybe I completely overlooked a detail and I'd be the one learning something about my favorite character? 😊 And anyway, in the end disagreeing's fine too. It's the opportunity to have ideas meet!

Mirage's your go-to option to face champions in a duel without risks. With its many opportunities to generate vigor, if you even get some endurance regen food (such as this stew) you only have to learn your target's pattern and you're pretty much invulnerable until you make a mistake. In which case, you can get rid of conditions easily with mirage's jaunt or rely on the mesmer utility arcane thievery. You can top off your regen using passively the ether signet - a mirage with the self-deception trait can also pull off an absurd amount of shatter fodder, but the uncontested champion in this regard still is the virtuoso in the line of @Blood Red Arachnid.2493's build above! Mirage really is strong on condition builds, but that doesn't prevent you from making a power build. The power build isn't one of the strongest around though, unlike the condi one (as @taara.3217 said, it's largely a matter of taste if you do not go down the ordinary staff build which includes a retreat to get away from melee/AoEs and regen options, on top of your healing skill). Open world is largely forgiving so you really can play the way you want, you don't even have to absolutely rely on celestial gear - I'd rather shred things to pieces with my berserker gear and bet on distortion with the right trait +endurance regen food. Evasive mirror on a power build can also keep you lengthily safe from ranged harm. I'd be more confident about the virtuoso though to have a balance between quickly clearing trash mobs and facing a champion (or both for that matter, so you don't keep switching builds). Can't really add on the chronomancer - haven't been playing it in open world for a (very) long while. Merely a matter of taste here, so I'll leave this one to others for that sort of content; however once more, open world really is forgiving, so just play what you enjoy the most!

I'd have a slightly different analysis. For the phantasms, opting out of the GS trait to get empowered illusions puts the swordsman on top of both berserkers - it simply hits half harder than they do on their respective main attacks. Note that I'm picking apart all actions of both skills: the zerkers' spinning + GS throw on one end, the swordr strike + phantasm leap attack + phantasm frenzy on the other - this first comparison is double-spinning against frenzy. The frenzy damages compensate the GS throw, and then you have to factor in the mesmer's sword strike and the swordsman's leap, the latter hitting roughly the same as the GS throw (sadly it's largely unreliable, I've seen the swordsman too often summoned too close to the target for making use of this attack). However, there still is the whirl finisher nature of the berserker's attacks that can raise the numbers. For the first three skills, while the numbers seem in favor of the dagger, there are still a few things to keep in mind. It's undeniable for the auto-attack: even at max range, the dagger's flurry makes the difference against the GS by ~20%, though the mirage's ambush can change things around if you're short on might stacks (then again, phantom razor hits hard too). For mirror blade against bladecall, it's heavily dependant for the former on how it bounces, for the latter whether you make use of it at range or up close - with all bounces including from the GS trait coming back to the original target, mirror blade's roughly 40% more effective than bladecall, unless the latter is used in melee to put them on par. Then if the target does not move, indeed the unstable bladestorm hits far harder than mind stab ; 4 seconds for the bladestorm to make its full effect however, that's a lengthy period. Against a single, unmoving target though, the bladestorm is aberrationally stronger by no less than ~90% (sounds surreal, just - test it). Still, in the end there's a big factor that @Curunen.8729 already mentioned: unlike the dagger, the GS does not rely exclusively on projectiles. I'd be curious to know what's making the difference according to them, since for what little I read they're just stating generalistic facts without crunching down numbers to convince me. "You'll lose damages", right; why? And which % range are we talking about? Most of those tests (since at the moment, the topic was primarily PvE) rely on an idle raid golem. My tests on such a golem make me think otherwise, so I must've missed something big; what I acknowledge about the GS is how safer (understand "more reliable") it is at dealing damages. Both weapons have their lot of "ifs", but the big caveat for the dagger is in its bladestorm - no initial hit, if the target just moves away immediately it won't do any harm. That, and the fact it's all about projectiles, unlike GS! The "meta" label is not omnipotent, neither am I. It takes time to find ideas, time to put them into practice, time to refine them - and we're talking about a class that isn't known as one of the top power damage dealers. Hence, I'd be curious to know what I've been missing if these communities, vying for the "meta" label, have indeed put that dagger to the test (the offhand sword being obviously its partner) and still got better results out of the GS. Otherwise, maybe it's still in the phase of testing before acknowledging it? At PoF's release, I remember it took them a year to acknowledge the renegade healer (it was all about druids back then). Three weeks for me, so I reiterate - it simply takes time to find ideas and test things out, so maybe it's just a matter of time before it is updated; until then, you can run your own simulations. These communities are players as well, they understandably want to play too - which takes time, too!

Which, by the way, hits like a truck once you add the mirage's ambush (and options tied to its daze). Even moreso when going close and personal to make full use of bladecall (the second dagger skill), but the greatsword remains more reliable at range for safety. Unless traiting for fencer's finesse, a likely pick. Nonono. For such a weapon profile, keep to the mantra: "MAINHAND GUN". Repeat three times. Breathe in, breathe out. The dueling class, right? Let's keep dreaming about it! 😆

As much as I understand the "efficiency" argument, there's also the "fun" factor. For a deviation of, say, max 5% I couldn't care less about which one's better than the other, if I get to enjoy it. I personally despise the greatsword and get quickly bored of playing it; I only pull it out of my inventory if I intend on joining a group that expects top damage dealer profiles (let's add "per profession" before somebody jumps at my throat yelling "META"). Having something else to play with, even if the rifle were to be a power-based ranged weapon, would be the opportunity to try something new and maybe find new synergies; in the meantime I'm either sticking with the dagger for efficiency, either just jumping into melee because that's where my fun is, even with weapons that don't perform the best (though obviously I wouldn't bring a torch on a power melee mesmer...). However, I agree on the idea there would be other ways to enlarge and differentiate our playing options. I've lost track of the quotes I intended to make with the several recent messages, but I'd be onboard if the rifle were to replace the condition damage profile of the staff (even if it became more or less of a copy of the revenant's shortbow) so the staff could have a chance later on to become a more serious buffing tool. But that's a lot of work I doubt will happen, after remaining as-is for several years. The other thing I'd be curious about is whether these new weapons will be tied to our related traits or not. If it is, there won't be much change about our playing options - a shift in form but not in essence; that'd be simpler, yet bit of a shame when it could open up opportunities. If it isn't, they'll need some oomph to compete with what's already possible - the stats, cooldown reductions or skill alterations. As usual, wait & see until it's unveiled!

As always, it largely depends on how it's being used. The shield obviously fits its theme as an offhand on the defensive side; it can find room in a proactive play, in which you stand on purpose in the way of an attack to trigger early echo of memory/deja vu, then break the remaining of its channeling with any action instead of waiting idly. The avenger phantasms aren't as powerful as swordsmen or wardens on a single target, but they affect an area before instantly turning into shatter fodder while pulling off slow & protection (to reinforce the defensive side). What that means though is, in practice, it's a lot more usable in open world than in instanced content. That, I can't deny. The waves of time however can offer a lot of synergies. You get the stun, the missile denial, a short-lived ethereal field in which any leap can pull a chaos armor (again for the sake of defense), the might stacks including for allies if you're missing some, and decent damages - nothing insane for a 35s CD, but that already makes several utilities with the possibility of removing 10s off its CD. It can trigger your domination or chaos specs as well. The focus remains largely untouchable for its pull, but its phantasm has single-target whirling attacks that might be lost on multiple targets. The sword brings a defensive tool and one of the most damaging phantasms (that leaping attack doesn't always trigger however). The pistol is shy and the least efficient in regard of power builds, but can pull off a surprise in an interrupt-based build to trigger cooldown reductions (though you'll ironically refrain from using its fifth skill to focus CD reductions on the duelist). That's how I interpret it; it varies on the content, but personally I find use for the shield at least in multi-target environments where I can afford to step into attacks intentionally!

There are a few models with mucho gusto (been using Bonetti's rapier for a looong time) but mesmer swords clearly are underperforming in PvE currently. My power mirage just can't compete, despite playing around interrupts and boon removal. In main hand, the sword itself is even overshadowed by the dagger at close range; at least the offhand is in a better state, but it's hard to disregard the shield!

Careful there - next thing we know, we'll be getting a vacuum cleaner rifle. Who are we gonna call?

Ah, right. I had completely forgotten how armors were working against multiple targets, thanks for the reminder!

Hence my suggestion of relying rather on some sort of shattering effect, not to be confused with our innate shatter skills: once the armor runs out of time, or once the clone is manually shattered, or once the clone is taken down to 0 hp, the armor could "blow up" and ensure at least an extra stack of confusion, for the certainty of getting something out of it rather than the possibility. I must've been not clear enough: for open world content, I am well aware some use could be made of it (though 20/30sec of survival against elites, this isn't my experience - but I prefer playing in melee and draw a crowd if I can help it, such a lengthy survival is more likely the case when playing ranged which is the topic here with the staff). What I'm thinking of is instanced group content, in which it wouldn't see a large use besides maybe occupying trash mobs around a few bosses, which we know how to take care of already: in this sort of content, if they get hit, they're unlikely to stand more than a single attack. More of a double-edged sword. The window is really small (and not everyone pays close attention to de/buffs) but if you're trying to blend in with the crowd of your clones, the only one capable currently of having a chaos armor is precisely the mesmer. One thing I'm not denying is that spreading it to clones would precisely solve that weak point - something @ShadowKatt.6740 mentioned earlier (about betraying the original in a game of "whack-a-mesmer" 😆). Wiki description of the skill: internal cooldown of a second. If all cleaves are performed in a short window, only the first attacker would suffer something. Maybe there's a misunderstanding: I'm not saying it's wrong to spread it to clones. What I'm saying is, there are a lot of "ifs" for me to feel like the effect would really have an impact this way: IF they get hit, IF they survive more than one hit, IF hits land in more than a 1sec-window, IF the condition actually brings something useful (I'm keeping bosses in mind here, cripple & weakness only find some use IF the defiance bar is up, and they're usually caught in an animation while it is indeed up). That's a lot I wouldn't be confident about, even moreso as the staff already has means to allow the mesmer to generate chaos armor: the redundancy combined to so many "ifs" feels like a waste to me, but that's only a personal opinion! As I was saying, I have no suggestion in mind to replace it entirely anyway. Going down the idea of spreading it to clones, I'd prefer seeing something that disregards "ifs" and "possibilities": the certainty that however the effect ends, at least one dice throw is made around the armored clone to inflict something (there's still an "if" in this case: "if" someone is close to be affected, since I'd keep in mind a 240 radius just like the current initial cast of the fourth staff skill). Nobody touched it, the armor ran out of time? Close bystanders are affected (for the buffing side of the staff, why not also affecting allies with a 2sec version of the possible armor's buffs to try to pull some protection out, which we otherwise largely lack?). Someone attacked and destroyed the clone? There, get an extra roll "if" you were close when the clone went down (more punishing to melee than to ranged players, which is the main issue I find when taking some distance to my reasoning so far). The clones get a shatter effect? There you go: extra condition rolls at their expanse, since they won't be casting again the staff autoattack! This is my opinion based on how it works: yes, the current cast is active, you pick the moment when you cast it. However to make it actually work, it relates (I didn't say it "promotes", but it "pertains") to a passive stance as you must be attacked for something to happen. Again with the "ifs", that's not dependant on you: only if you, or in this case your clones as well, get attacked. That's waiting for something to happen; actively opening a window of opportunity, but not proactively making sure you get something out of it - because the trigger is not dependant on you afterwards, during this short window. Again, I do not deny it could find some use on trash mobs in open world, but it wouldn't have much of an incidence against bosses. And that's fine - that's what debating is meant for, and how new ideas are born. How could we discuss the same game with different opinions otherwise? 😊 Most of my stance is based on how chaos armor works which, again, expects you to be hit and triggers at most once per second. I started getting confused indeed (aye, mesmahs in kitten hood) when the idea of phantasms casting armors to allies shifted to clones having it: only one should have the armor if it were up while the warlocks were, since as soon as they get replaced, you get two new clones... without armors. The links will lead you to the posts, but I'll be quoting the extracts below for readability. Anyway, at some point I started mixing in my own ideas to make it messier (I ended up assuming the armor skill would still be present as the fourth skill, forgetting neither of us had a suggestion to replace it) - apologies for that!

Clones remain terribly fragile, though. So much that the defensive part of the chaos armor (its boons) wouldn't do much to preserve them, whereas the offensive part is still under an internal 1sec cooldown for "a chance" (I'll presume it's as simple as 33% each condition) to apply a single confusion stack. That's why such a spread would feel underperforming IMO for a 20sec CD skill working as a passive defense, but it's fine - we don't have to absolutely agree on everything 😋 Unless the conditions are on a set rotation? Didn't we have something working this way, with a random attribution of conditions in a definite rotation (had it been the chaos armor, first hit would inflict weakness, second confusion, third cripple)?

I stand on the side of those uninterested in such traits, because it's largely a passive play that may or may not happen depending whether your clones are hit or not. It also considers almost only a PvP/WvW approach, whereas on the PvE side it would be near impossible to make use of it (maybe in open world, but forget it in group content - unless it's a mirage leaving them on purpose in dangerous areas, however in this case it locks its use into a single elite spec). It's a pain to lose one of our offensive resources through any hostile AoE, but I really can't feel like I'd want to pick such a trait knowing, like auras, it expects you to be attacked. How to even balance it? How to estimate a proper average of clones directly targeted, to balance the amount of direct or condition damages back at the attacker? It's too hard to estimate, and if it were only affecting a small area around the disrupted clone, any ranged build would just disregard it. Maybe I'm missing something in my approach, but there are so many cases in which I can't see it reliably working, even with a small incidence in all game modes, that I wouldn't be interested. Now if it had some slight effect at least when using one of our shatters, maybe, but we get back to the questioning above summed up in a single sentence: how to properly balance it? It could be slightly eased by tailoring it to the mainhand weapon in use (in a similar way to the mirage mantle) by causing direct damages on power-based weapons and conditions on cdmg-based weapons, but it's only one aspect of the issue.

IMO, the staff needs only a little revisioning to make it more coherent. Phase retreat is fine as-is for PvP/WvW, however for PvE I'd wish there were a competitive split so its retreat distance was halved to limit the penalty (on the offensive side) of moving away, while retaining the defensive aspect of stepping back from the threat. There are also situations in which moving too far away make you land into a dangerous area in PvE. Anyway, the fact it's a leap finisher on a short cooldown is great for the sake of easily generating chaos armor; just removing the retreat part would take that option away, and turn it into some bland clone generator. My main gripe goes to both the third & fourth skills. First, the warlocks: the staff is either handy at buffing, either dealing condition damages. What of the warlocks? Their combined 12 stacks of vulnerability are fine and all, but looking at their attack, their damages are... power-based. Now that's incoherent on a condition-based weapon, the least capable of inflicting power-based damages in our arsenal (0.3 modifier against 0.5 scepter & 0.55 axe, both roughly attack twice faster - and that's without talking about the other weapon skills, chain finishers or mirage's ambushes). The warlocks definitely could inflict conditions instead that are much less accessible, such as burning (only competing with the torch IF the second weapon set includes it) or bleeding (depending on the use of the axe, pistol or illusions' criticals under the dueling spec). There's poison too, but already available through chaos storm and easy to renew going down the chaos spec (1-3-1) which you can hardly ignore if relying on the staff primarily. With torment & confusion already largely available through the staff's orbs, it would be only wrong IMO to assign such conditions to the warlocks. Now for the fourth skill, chaos armor: where do I even begin? Without even considering mirage's jaunt, phase retreat already offers the opportunity to generate it within our several ethereal fields, chaos storm being the first of them here. The initial cast inflicts three stacks of confusion, possibly five under the dueling spec (which competes directly with a better clone generation especially for mirages) which is honestly weak, when your illusions can inflict nearly as many damages on their own bouncing orbs. Now, don't misunderstand - the initial cast is worthwhile in PvP & WvW, and the effect can fully be made use of as you get attacked. In PvE however, it's the complete other way around: the passive, defensive effect of the chaos armor is rarely usable, since walking into an attack usually means either risking going down, either performing a dodge during which only the mirage can act. Other mesmers are stuck in its animation... for the sake of a "chance" on an internal 1sec cooldown to inflict a single stack of confusion, and to benefit from defensive boons. I honestly dislike the skill itself of chaos armor on the staff for PvE, but it's hard to deny it for the sake of PvP/WvW. It should have a competitive split as well so the cooldown justifies something, in PvE, beyond the few confusion stacks on cast (then again, it's only a small radius around the caster, so stepping away with a 1200 distance phase retreat is counterproductive). It could be a custom effect triggering on subsequent attacks like the revenants' enchanted daggers effect, obviously inflicting conditions rather than power-based damages, or something like the armor shattering on the end of the effect, reiterating the effects of the initial cast (or once more, dabbling in less common mesmer conditions such as burning, poison or bleeding). The latter suggestion though again reiterates the conflicting use of the long-range phase retreat against effects occuring in the close vicinity of the mesmer. The other possibility is completely replacing the skill, but it's just hard to tell where to take it. Could be an opportunity to innovate though! Nothing comes to mind immediately besides the principle of a ranged skill, and knowing that it could be a poor hit for the PvP/WvW side. Still, it feels like a waste to have a redundant skill, dedicated to an effect we can easily trigger with our arsenal! That's something I disagree on, since it's not far from the topic of the clone death traits: it pertains to a passive form of gameplay, which could (meaning there's an uncertainty) only work in PvP/WvW content, unless your opponent is lucky and finds you more often than not (or you just fail at behaving like an immobile bot spamming the auto-attack). It largely disregards one type of content, PvE. Now, another approach could be to combine our respective suggestions, spreading chaos armor to clones, an armor which shatters either by itself once it runs out of time, either by using a shatter skill on the clones... Now that's something easier to associate for all types of contents, while the competitive splits could moderate the effects to avoid having too powerful an impact in this or that game mode. Why not?

All's well that ends well could have a better modifier to bring it on the same level as healers, honestly (to compare it with the revenant I've played the most when healing, All's well has a 0.8 modifier with a very low base amount, Renewing wave has a lower 0.65 modifier on a much higher base amount while Natural harmony stands at 2.75 without empowerment). I'd wish as well (close to @Panda.1967's suggestion) that each pulse provides a healing rather than the final one exclusively. I wouldn't even mind the removal of the final larger heal; simply the current value to be spread over each pulse, rather than waiting 3 seconds for something to occur - a LOT can happen meanwhile, without even mentioning stepping out of the well before it ends (guess that's where begins the "natural selection")! Still, these apply to a single elite spec, which feels wrong to me because it'd lock immediately into a single way to play a healer mesmer. Revising All's well modifier could be avoided as there already are worthwhile means in the inspiration spec thanks to mantras, summoning or shattering illusions, enabling different styles to play depending player's preference: -Restorative mantras could be expanded by also providing a smaller heal when using one of its charges. A revision in the initial cast would be needed however IMO (more than two seconds, come now, the game is playing much faster than at release - and here mantras could be the main healing tool). Initial mantra casts could possibly provide buffs: pain/power spike already does the magic with might & vulnerability (keeping the latter as-is so it doesn't step on possible power damage dealer uses, no sarcasm please!); resolve/power cleanse could offer a lengthy regen on resolve's cast only; concentration/power break could remain mostly as-is, except power break providing protection instead of more stability stacks; distraction/power lock could provide fury only on the initial distraction cast; finally recovery/power return (remember, the mantra out of healing skills?) could only offer vigor on recovery's initial cast. -Restorative illusions would work best with mirage/virtuoso, both capable of generating a larger number of illusions than chrono (though this is biased on my gameplay style) to compensate the chrono All's well. Obviously, here it should affect an area around the mesmer instead of the current self-heal, with smaller numbers than the current values (possibly removing the condition cleanse from it, otherwise it could make the mantra of resolve/power cleanse meaningless and there's already Mender's purity, which would easily trigger especially on recovery mantra/power return). This works on the shattering side, pretty similar to the next one: -Illusionary inspiration is the same but on the summoning side, which is fine as-is. This would also work better for the virtuoso for obvious reasons, whereas the mirage would compete with Deceptive evasion or Self-deception linked to jaunt's stacks & illusionary ambush. Here, the focus is extra healing; I wouldn't mind the redundancy since for the sake of extra buffing, taking Blurred inscriptions instead and the signet of inspiration could make a fine combination, without mentioning the new aegis offered around (1s distortion from Blurred inscriptions > Inspiring distortion). -Healing prism could obviously remain as-is, but what's lacking so far is a real outbound healing bonus (20% being common across healers). The whole effect could be replaced altogether by a new requirement to generate a 10 sec long buff providing +20% healing to others (randomly: clearing a condition on self/allies? Hitting the dodge roll?) on a 10 sec cooldown. Then again the power-to-healing conversion ain't half bad, and if there's an imitation of the harrier stats set (power/concentration/healing, power being the major stat) making healing instead the major stat (and what with the possibilities new weapons could open up), it could be a shame to lose it. Speaking of weapons, the staff works well in buffing. The bouncing orbs already offer might & fury, and you see me coming with the mirage's chaos vortex for alacrity; all I'd wish for the sake of a heal/support mesmer would be a passive making orbs bounce exclusively on allies (why not a very low modifier heal while we're at it, so clones could assist and further amplify the dilemma "to shatter or not to shatter, that is the question?"). Obviously we're lacking a true healing weapon to round up my ideas above, but for the sake of buffing there's already a fine tool through our staff! It has an ample summoning ability thanks to the phantasmal warlocks, and despite the profile of a healer only capable of affecting close surroundings (most effects currently have a 300 radius around the mesmer) the phase retreat can be put to active use as a leap finisher (little use, I admit) or emergency escape while retaining the extra clone you may need. The chaos armor (including the ease of access through mesmer ethereal fiels into a leap finisher) can be put to use by triggering it intentionally before hitting the signet of inspiration; and finally the chaos storm can dish out a large quantity of aegis & resolution, even moreso should you take the chaos spec (1-3-1 method of madness/chaotic potency/chaotic interruption, that's a spamfest of staff skills). Regardless, there's still no definite healing weapon which would really complete the healer set, but if the ideas do catch attention - who knows? A bit of optimism won't hurt, as long as it's not blind belief. Anyway, these would permit distinct styles for all elite specs instead of being centered around a single one; the chrono would remain pretty much as-is, primarily centered around offering quickness/alacrity; the mirage would be a mix between healing & buffs, having access to alacrity; the virtuoso would be largely aimed at healing, with a trump card in the form of blade renewal (aegis from distorsion, the quick blade summoning working strongly with Illusionary inspiration). Plenty of possibilities from a revision of mantras & the inspiration spec!