Genesis.7864

So anet shot Chrono in the face in PvP and now mirage just got its knee caps blown off in PvP. What's the point of going Mesmer for anything any more? I vote to delete the profession, it's pretty useless now :) (kidding btw,, but it seriously needs an entire rework from the ground up)

They buffed Laser's Edge from 15% to 25% damage which in turn buffs the effect for PBM. Unfortunately though, it's still a complete waste seeing as the toolbelt skills are disabled!! They provide a very nice and efficient burst, but hey, a 10% increase is better than nothing. Edit: this is PvE only too.. Also note that Glass Cannon trait was buffed from 5% damage to 7%. I wish the damage threshold was increased back to "below 90% hp". Sadly another useless trait change for me personally.Anybody else use this?

Underwater content can be very enjoyable if we're given underwater mounts and revamp some of the useless skills for each class (I hate the #3 Trident skill for mesmer. So annoying when it doesn't have a forward dash like spear, and having to switch and lose the damage from the dash just to close the gap between me and the enemy is unjustifiable! This is just to name one of the many!) The content itself is boring only because the travel speed is so slow and feels sluggish, quite realistic though in regards to how it'd be in real life. But this isn't real life, this is a game. We need some sort of improved quality of life with underwater content to make it feel more rewarding and engaging than it currently is. A mount is a quick fix but that's just the start. I am glad they've focused on this issue in the past but after that one revamp, we haven't had anything since which is what makes me worry.

I'm really enjoying Firebrand for solo open world content. High sustain, high AoE burst dps, and aegis + stability + quickness + retaliation.Reaper and Renegade are also two other recommended choices.Reaper has lots of PBAoE (Point Blank Area of Effect) damage and high sustain even after the recent nerf to its regen while in Reaper form. It's still a quality choice!Renegade is great for its alacrity as well as high sustain with the heal skill AND its elite skill. Plus its AoE damage is top notch.Can't go wrong with any of these 3.

New legendary ring and amulet during LWS5Hopefully an underwater mount, that'd be great! Bring on the rainbow seahorses!Fishing maybe?

Exactly! Hopefully those videos shed some light on the issue.If you believe that the Skyscale isn't a good mount, then you're either using it wrong or don't know its true potential. That's all I can say.

The skyscale replaced my springer once I maxed the masteries for it.The only thing I use springer for now is breaking CC bars.So if anything all mounts have a purpose imo Raptor for rounding up mobs (used as a pull, which is a hard CC) and traveling.Springer for knockdown (better hard CC)Skimmer for traveling over vast areas of waterJackal for traveling up hills quickly (faster than raptor) and for the 3 dodges to avoid combat more efficientlyGriffon for its diving and scaling short ledges with easeBeetle for fast traveling over flat areas like most areas of Ascalon and Krista as well as some areas in the desert.Skyscale for literally scaling high up cliffs which the springer cannot reach. The max jump for bunny is around 1050 whereas the Skyscale's Max height is slightly higher, plus more if using Bond of Vigor and clinging to ledges + gaining more flight juice with the cost of endurance.I highly value the skyscale, and it's one of my most used mounts now. Even dodging 2x + bond of vigor + dodge another 2x can get from Point A to Point B more quickly.Use Bond of Faith then glide while high up and jump on your Griffon. T2 dive down and you're good to go.Once you learn its mechanics, you'll understand where I'm coming from. The skyscale is incredibly useful to say the least!

I like it. It's significantly better than the original 70-point trait system.I still remember the good old: 30-20-10-0-10 and such.Every 5 points was a minor trait and every 10 points was a major trait.Then having to unlock the traits with trait books from the NPCs.Yes, this system is definitely superior!

https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/comment/993042#Comment_993042 This is my solo PvE core mesmer build, it works better than chrono and mirage.It works well in PvE solo as well as fractals.For raids, stick with chrono tank or condi mirage.It's got all the QoL you defensive, offensive and tactical utilities, traits and shatter mechanics you need

Every t4 pug tries to achieve 25might, fury, quickness and alacrity nowadays.Mes doesn't even need others for that because it self buffs so good. I don't think that playing chrono is clunky at all, it's still one of the best builds to solo dungeons/fractals on. The change into requiring slow could have been made differently though. Maybe power chrono could apply slow itself to some extent with a pve trait that would suck in pvp. Well slow becomes a non issue if a condi dmg + concentration + expertise set comes out. Alac ren would be so broken. That's funny because without all the permanent self-buffs given by the console in the raid training area: my dps is higher on Core Mesmer than it is on Chrono. For the life of me I can't get my Chrono dps higher unless I use the permanent 25 might, alacrity and quickness as well as slow on the Golem.Without those, core mesmer outperforms chrono and this really irks me. I can solo better on core mesmer than I can with chrono because core mesmer at least has IP, which condi clears gives aegis and heals. Plus it has 4 second distortion which is on a 50 second cooldown and not backed behind CS which is always 1 second distortion backed behind 105 second CD. At the moment I am really enjoying Core Mesmer in open world and for soloing.Chrono for T4s.. Eh, I think I'll take FB instead because core mesmer doesn't offer much to the group outside of maybe some boons through its Mantras or Feedback perhaps. But any other profession can take over that role and do it better. Anyways, we're getting off topic here. This is about how holosmith has piss-poor benchmarked DPS and being outperformed by nearly every other spec.Either bring down the other e-specs or revert these last changes until better changes can be implemented. Holosmith shouldn't have to suffer this bad.

For fractals. My personal build (now that chrono is the way it is...) is:Sw/sw and sw/f Sigil of force and sigil of impactRunes Traveler / Mesmer / Scholar / Eagle.Traveler grants 25% passive speedMesmer runes give good power/precision as well as daze durationScholar is all around best in slot for DPSEagle is a poor-man's Scholar rune. But works similarly Dueling: 1-3-1Illusions: 1-2-1 (or 1-2-2 for better shatters)Inspiration: 3-2-3 (or use 3-1-1 for focus reflects and lower cooldowns. Also blocking will spawn a defender which works as a decent soft CC) You can replace Inspiration with:Domination: 2-2-2 (good dps with shatters)If you need to use greatsword, use the first major trait in GM. Edit: woops, I forgot about utilities Heal:Signet of Ether - my favorite heal skill with the trait in Inspiration. It refreshes the cooldown of all phantasms so they may be cast again immediately plus will give distortion.Ether Feast - use this if you're not using Signet of Ether. It'll heal just as much as Signet of Ether if you've got 3 clones but it won't provide the 1 second invulnerability. Nearly no noticable difference though. Utility:Mirror Images - nearly a must-have in any situation. Instant stun break. Gives 2 clones. SimpleSignet of Midnight - synergized with the trait in Inspiration, this trait grants 1 second invulnerability as well as cleansed 5 conditions. On top of that it gives invisibility and is a stunbreak. Can't go wrong with this!Phantasmal Disenchanter - one of my favorites to use. This does so much damage to a target with no boons. And if it does have boons, it'll rip 5 of them each hit! Very strong indeed.Phantasmal Defender - I prefer the trait instead of the utility for this. It usually never gets to finish its taunt + block and deal damage before the target is dead. And if it's against a champ, it's only useful as a soft CC.Mantra of Pain - low cooldown, decent damage.. It takes 10 seconds to regain a charge if both aren't depleted. Otherwise 1 second cooldown and nearly 3 second cast time. 3 seconds is a lot while in combat so be sure to use this before entering combat to maximize dps.Mantra of Concentration - I love this mantra as it's very team-oriented. Very useful in some situations for its stability and stun break! The first initial cast is rewarding too with its quickness, great to use at the start of combat.Signet of Domination - amazing 3 second stun / hard CC. Decent cooldown duration.Blink - useful in some fractals especially in Chaos vs the boss. If you're unable to run to a safe square in time: this will surely save you. Also it's a stun break :)Null Field - useful but I haven't found too many uses for it. Great while everyone stacks into it on top of mobs which inflict condis. But not too many of those instances.Feedback - one of the better utilities, this works amazingly well vs harpies and anything that hits hard with projectiles! Combined with focus trait and skills, you're good to go! Elite:Time Warp - Be wary with this. Use it only during boss encounters as it's on a 180 second cooldown and lasts for 10 seconds. It's a small bubble too so pick and choose.Signet of Humiliation - great hard CC

On snowcrows, that's optimal performance with 25 might, alacrity and quickness. Throw your holo in a fractal group with a bunch of pugs or even open world solo and I guarantee you won't come close to those numbers.This same logic applies to chrono. So all you people who think these classes are all fine and dandy, quick slapping that raid training golem and actually fight real mobs without those perma boons.Play holo with PBM. Feel how it hits mobs like a wet noodle.Play chrono too while you're at it and feel how it resembles running a marathon in stilts. It's the absolute definition of clunky. Going from core spec to elite spec doesn't feel like a trade-off. It feels like a handicap.

Nerf this, nerf that... If mesmer is nerfed to be the worst profession in the game. People will move on and complain about other things.If you can't beat them: join them.

I agree. They wanted to make it more "active" playstyle. They got that but also got a lot of OP mechanics as a result.

Losing 1v3 clearly means those 3 people don't know how to play their profession.