Hot Boy.7138

I keep checking balance updates looking for a reason to come back to the game. This ain't it.

rifle feels too crude a weapon for my mesmer to choose. She is too elegant. A long bow would have suited her better. Or another slicing weapon. Will I need the expansions to play with the new weapons?

i'm still refusing to buy EoD until I get my 2nd dodge back.

Mirage is it for me. If there is nothing worthwhile to report about mirages, i'll just play other games until then. I was hoping today would be the day I get excited to return to the game... but nope.

I like your idea. I'm thinking Vincent Valentine (FFVII Advent Children) re-imagined as a mesmer. Would be dope.

Are you a man or a mouse? play what you want.

since game launched, i felt like core mes had terrible elites. As for utility, Blink has been a staple on my bar and has never left my bar since 2012. like 2 others is useful sometimes.

Power Sword/X mirage is by far most fun I have in this game. But clearly, mirage is a condition build so Power builds aren't viable for endgame content. The utility of sword ambush is what makes it always fun and exciting to use. My suggestion would be to make ambush attacks done by clones do enough power damage (scaled to the player's stats) that Infinite Horizon can compete with Chronphantasma in PvE. Chronmancer would remain the phantasm build. Mirage would be the clone build. In PvP, it should open up new builds, but clones are still killed easily by cleaves. And there's still the trade off of using dodge to evade or to ambush. All in all, sounds like it would be a fair balance change.

i'd come back to play if they gave mirage back their second dodge.

I agree. The boon system in this game holds it back. 1) As you said, many classes just feel dependent on it for a smooth rotation and engaging playstyle. 2) The biggest issue for me is the insanely short range for sharing boons, forcing everyone into melee. Every weapon is essentially a melee weapon because leaving the stack means drastically reducing your damage. Not to mention, most ranged weapons actually do much more damage in the hit box innately, which is silly. So I hate to see quickness and alacrity go, but if it means classes will be better designed for more engaging gameplay without those external boons, I'm all for it. I like how WoW Handles boons. Or how they did. I haven't played WoW since gw2 released, so maybe things have changed.

I didn't buy the expansion also because I'm not happy with the state of mesmer. Disappointed with virtuoso. I used to love Chrono when it was released, but swapped to mirage as soon as it came out. Mirage felt like the perfect power sword/sword spec except anet wanted it to be condi only for pve. When I did go back to chrono it was nerfed so much it didn't feel at all like release to me. And I love mirage, but I'm still bitter about the one dodge. Virtuoso feel mechanically like core mesmer to me, just cosmetically swapping clones for blades. I'll be checking for balance updates so I can get back into the game.

I miss the cripple on clone death trait. That was the best trait to me. Could keep warriors moving slow so i could just dance around them back then.

if they would make power mirage good again i'd return to the game. All I need is my 2nd dodge back and return the damage to main hand sword auto attacks.

Why discuss anything?

Hear me out. If Virtuoso modified other weapons, specifically sword, it could create a spec that really feels like a new way to play mesmer. I'm imagining a very fast, chaotic playstyle that relies on sidesteps and after images to dance around the target. A fast playstyle that is nothing like phantasm spamming chronophantasma playstyles of chrono. Sword 1 auto: faster auto chain, third hit also makes the mesmer slice a "hole" into space that explodes when the next auto swing hits it. Sword 2: blurred frenzy at its original speed, but with each swing shoots out a projectile slice that pierces 900 range. Sword 3: Keep the lunge, should be 900 range causing a wave of about 600 range behind the target that also dazes. Sword 4: keep the block. But after the mesmer counters by jumping backwards 600 range while firing off 5 ethreal blades at the target. Sword 5: ammunition skill with 3 charges that does a short 300 range lunge from a random direction that hits hard. It's not a disappearing act, but instead uses quick sidesteps to the left, right, or behind the target. It should leave an after image outline of the mesmer at the location where the mesmer first cast the skill each time. And i would make shatters soft CC skills that makes the mesmer feel faster without actually having quickness or superspeed. Shatter 1: instant cast ethereal sword that is summoned from behind the target and applies slow and some damage. Shatter 2: cast ethereal chains that bind the target to immobilize. Shatter 3: a quick strike that applies cripple Shatter 4: a pre cast after image on a relatively short cd that absorbs the next hit and makes the mesmer sidestep in a random direction.

I agree. Power mirage is by far the most I've ever had in this game. It is the perfect sword/sword build. It's too bad anet didn't want to support it.

i'd return to the game if they brought back the second dodge. That february 2020 updated ruined all the fun i had

I'm supremely disappointed by virtuoso because it is based off the same shatter effects we've had for the last 9 years. Our clones have a new appearance, but they do the same thing. As a matter of fact, the functionality is worse because of the cast times and lost of distortion on F4. I'm okay with F4 being different that distortion, i'm actually asking for some different functionality. However, F4 on Virtuoso is filling the same role as the button to press to negate damage for a few seconds. So i ask, are there no new ideas? is the well dry? Can Virtuoso shatters be reimagined as anything other than the same F1 to F4 functionality we've always had. Honestly, bladesongs are just a reskin of clones. It's not a bad spec because it feels exactly like core mesmer, which i've loved for all of these years. But shouldn't elite specs bring something different? I'm not excited at all to be waiting on the same shatter cds, to cast the same shatter effects, but with a cast time. I can't have fun like this.

Seems like a good time to resurrect this topic. I still stand by this. Expertise extends the duration of cripple, chill, slow, immobilize, blinds, vulnerability, and weakness. It was a bad decision to leave soft CC as the same kind of debuff as damaging conditions when adding the stat Expertise to the game. An expansion is a good time to overhaul the soft CC mechanic so that it isn't affected by expertise.

I'm long time player. I have periods when I play a lot, and periods when not so much. I been on more regularly since the beta hype and I'm immediately reminded why pvp in this game rubs me the wrong way sometimes. 1) Trapper Runes DO NOT BELONG IN PVP. Whoever thought this was a good thing needs to reevaluate their thinking on this matter. It's broken in pvp. In PvE it's a really cool and fun rune to use, but in PVP it's far too strong. 2) Traps in general should not begin recharging until triggered. There should be more thought put into laying a trap. As it stands it's just spammed as soon as it's off CD cause there's no risk, and the rewards are always BIG. 3) Damage, in general, should have an inverse relationship with sustained healing/tankiness. That's true for power builds, but it's never been true for condi builds. Condition damage as a whole needs to be reworked in a way that makes investment in secondary stats necessary to do high damage. High condition damage bunker builds NEEDS TO GO! 4) The sheer number of ground targettable effects are unbelievable. How did it get to this point? Now that we are here, can something be done about it. Can half of these skills be reimagined in a way that doesn't leave ground circles everywhere and/or at least decrease the footprint. It's really ridiculous how many red circles are on the ground in any match. 5) Transfer of conditions and boons should retain the original caster's stat values. It just makes sense. 6) Make 2v2 a permanent game mode.

I think sword 3's range is good as is. But i'm not gonna complain if they want to buff my favorite weapon

Virtuoso just doesn't feel like a different way to play mesmer. The difference is purely cosmetic in trading clones for blade icons overhead. The reason for that is because shatters are fundamentally the same. Virtuoso needs new profession mechanics to make it feel different and a unique playstyle. I'm disappointed in virtuoso after seeing all the other elite specs trailers at this point.

I really like your ideas OP. It would definitely bring me back to WvW

Bladesong cast times gotta go tho

I actually dislike dagger 2 because I don't like ranged skills that are actually much better in melee range than at range. I wish anet would stop doing that.