Vinny.7260
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Posts posted by Vinny.7260
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Hi there!
One of the best players right now, I can think of, is Boyce.
He mostly plays Untamed because he has been mostly enjoying this spec but plays everything! Pop by and ask him some questions, he'd love to help out!
There's also Naru who loves to help out and tends to play things like Willbender as of late.
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Reasons to not give Shocking Aura: AoE stun break, AoE Superspeed.
If you slapped 4s of Shocking Aura on top of that, you'd just make PvP Tempest unbearable for people.
Maybe you could put Shocking Aura on it, but it'd have to be like 1s Shocking Aura just to get Elemental Bastion/other aura traits to activate in PvP on top of stun breaking.
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In my opinion Virtuoso has plenty of potential to stand out really well as a Roamer/Team Fighter in PvP. It has some functionality issues that hold it back, as well as some inconsistencies.
Pros:
- Higher overall shatter damage
- Generate LOTS of ‘clones/illusions.’
- Low cooldown defensive without dropping a weapon.
- Natural fury access. (Via traits).
- Sword 3 is now a leap. (Great for mobility).
Cons:
- Forced to have a target to use Bladesong Harmony and Bladesong Sorrow. (Can’t preemptively cast to target a Thief in stealth for example).
- Bladesong Dissonance has horrible tracking beyond 400 range mark.
- None of the Psionic skill type stands out in a meaningful way.
- Blade skill type feels sparse and traits affecting them feel unmeaningful. (Add Sword skills as a Blade skill type. Also add Phantasmal Warden to Blade skill type.)
- PvP wise trait selection is incredibly limited. (You are basically forced to take Bladeturn Refrain, Duelist’s Reversal, and Psychic Riposte).
- Deadly Blades feels niche and barely noticeable.
- Dagger’s kit feels lacking. (Dagger 2 only generates 1 blade with mediocre damage; Dagger 3 requires the whirlwind to be over the target to land all three blades to do actual damage. Lack of defenses).
Bugs:
- Bladesong Harmony, Bladesong Sorrow, and Bladesong Dissonance get interrupted if someone stands inside their player model or goes behind them. (Should track the target if standing still while casting, similar to Life Blast on Necromancer.)
- Psychic Riposte will lose its unblockable fact if you cast something else while Bladesong skills are still winding up. (Aka they won’t be unblockable if you cast Blurred Frenzy for example when Bladesong Sorrow is still preparing to fire).
- Bladesong Refrain only grants Aegis if you allow the after-cast to finish in some instances. (Somewhat inconsistent).
- Maim the Disillusioned inflicts 5 Torment instead of 1 when landing Bladesong Dissonance with 5 blades. (Inconsistent).
- Flying Cutter won’t activate the third effect if target is downed.
Suggestions:
- Bladesong Requiem could be castable without any blades, but has a higher cooldown that gets reduced based on the number of blades used. (Could start at 45s and gets reduced by 3s per blade. The blades are consumed at the end of the cast or when interrupted).
- Remove target requirement for Bladesong Harmony and Bladesong Sorrow.
- Give Bladecall boon rip per blade hitting. (1 boon removed each blade).
- Give Unstable Bladestorm projectile block. (A little bit of defensive to give a bigger presence in team fights. Balanced because it itself is a projectile and can be deleted by Swirling Winds).
- Psychic Force has its cooldown reduced to 35s. (45 seconds feels a bit steep when comparing to skills like Stomp on Warrior.)
- (Non-Virtuoso Skill) Mantra of Concentration loses its Stability and gets its cooldown reduced to 25s. (30 seconds is acceptable too. Just having a low cooldown stun break would improve Mesmer across the board but immensely improve Virtuoso’s Quality of Life.)
- Sword of Decimation could have a 250% damage increase instead of 100% damage increase. (Using a utility that has a wind-up, animation, and requires target standing still/being downed justifies a higher damage modifier.)
- Jagged Mind could have its leeching from condition damage factor up from 3% to 5% in PvP only. (Mesmer doesn’t have conditions that naturally tick often, most of their condition damage is built around Torment/Confusion. While Torment is ticking, we don’t have abundant access to make a case towards it. Landing multiple critical hits to inflict 1 second of bleed would make for a small amount of healing at once. Landing a maximum of 20 confusion at once heals for a whole ~87 with ideal conditions when someone casts something. Given the leeching is to increase sustain as condition damage, since Power has things like Inspiration, it can get this as a boost while going more glassy to deal more damage).
- Sword auto attack, Blurred Frenzy, Blade Leap, and Phantasmal Swordsman should count as a Blade skills. Also count Phantasmal Warden as a Blade skill per hit.
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Since EoD is slowly creeping around the corner, let's talk about our favorite weapons as the pink narcissistic fashionista class!
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Hey guys, just wanted to take a moment and clarify that this is the PvP Forum. There's a dedicated WvW forum for WvW related things. I'll update the title to clarify but I just wanted to also mention that here.
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What is a profession you absolutely go out of your way to not fight?
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27 minutes ago, Azure The Heartless.3261 said:
Already playing glass zerker out of spite~
If I don't get to play, anybody who doesn't know how to counter war gets to have 0 HP.
Or sneezes weakness on you and ruins your entire build.
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I'd love to see the ability to move the wells so that you can bait 'n switch them last second to catch people in last ticks of Calamity for example for a PvP perspective.
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18 minutes ago, Genesis.5169 said:
More then half these builds in do not see pvp...
Hi there~!
I'm just curious. You probably don't see Valkyrie Ranger (tail swipe god), Carrion Axe Mirage (ZOMG NERF MESMER IT PUT MY HEAL ON 15S!), LR Weaver (OMG ALL YOU DO IS CC ME... Very interactive...), and Renegade (Taunt bug extraordinaire.)
These are valid points not to see, Valkyrie Ranger is typically replaced with Fire Weaver in ATs/mATs. Carrion Axe Mirage is overshadowed by SA Daredevil and typically not taken for that reason. LR Weaver is typically too squishy or played by select few players due to weakness to condition damage, and then there's Renegade that's overshadowed by Herald rn.
4 minutes ago, Genesis.5169 said:Clearly because weakness is not enough to carry these builds into viability, im glad you understand.
Did you really just associate my entire post with 'not seen, therefore not the issue.'
Closes forums.
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Jump-casting helps with upward slopes, but downward slopes are a no-go unfortunately. It just baaaarely goes under the flat terrain to hit anyway. Would be cool to see a small nudge of appreciation for this.
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On 1/6/2022 at 4:10 PM, TinkTinkPOOF.9201 said:
Scepter autoattacks: *has entered the chat*
At some point, anyway. It probably missed the chat and went somewhere else.
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Weakness in and of itself isn't an issue.
The abundance of it is the issue.
We've got Core Necromancer with Weakening Shroud for 2.5s on Critical Hit (10s cool down). We've got the entering-shroud Weakness on a Lesser Enfeeble that inflicts 6s of weakness. Then we've got the Enfeebling Blood that inflicts 4s of Weakness.
Next we've got Valkyrie Ranger inflicting Weakness with Winter's Bite indirectly for 4s (pet has to land an attack.) Then you've got Clarion Bond casting Lesser Call of the Wild on pet swap to inflict 5s of PBAoE Weakness.
We've got Carrion Axe Mirage running Power Block that inflicts 3s of Weakness on any successful interrupt. Then you have Mirage Mirror inflicting 4s of Weakness in a PBAoE radius.
You've got Lightning Rod Weaver that inflicts 3s of Weakness on EVERY CC. Then you've got Superior Elements that inflicts 2s of it every 10s when landing a Dual Attack. You've also got Convergence that inflicts 3s of Weakness in a PBAoE every 6.5s.
You've got SA Daredevil that has Weakening Strikes, which means it can inflict Weakness after every dodge followed by an attack for 2s of Weakness. (I can't recall if it also removes the effect if the attack misses- but it might.)
You've got Power Herald that inflicts 2s of Weakness AoE on Elemental Blast. You've also got Power Renegade that inflicts 3s of Weakness on EVERY CC due to Dwarven Battle Training. Renegade can also inflict 1s of pulsing Weakness PBAoE on heal due to Planar Protection. They both also use Staff which has access to Mender's Rebuke which inflicts 3s on successful hit.
(SA Daredevil and Power Herald's access is arguably the most healthy out of all the specs mentioned above.)
3 of the specs there are the most common in the meta and they are actively holding a vice-grip on the games. (SA Daredevil, Core Necromancer, and Power Herald.)
I'm only mentioning META specs right now. Imagine if I went into all the other accesses.
Let's also mention corruption of Might. Might for ANY duration/intensity inflicts 5s of Weakness.
Weakness currently counters/cancels out Might, Fury, and Vigor. Might and Fury are both actively used by Power Specs, and then there's Vigor that cancels out sustain in general.
I think for an effect so strong to also have such a high duration/abundance in the meta is just not healthy. I don't care how hard the specialization is or what class it is. Having so much without little thinking is kind of nasty.
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3 minutes ago, CalmTheStorm.2364 said:
Lots of great ideas here. I especially like the trait interactions with Burst of Aggression. I know @Lan Deathrider.5910 has been advocating for similar changes. These are great ideas, and I hope ANet listens.
Might need something like a 5s CD on BoA to keep it from providing Perma quickness from decap spam (esp in PvE). Heck, even entering berserk plus your first primal burst could push you to 4s quickness and super speed right there.
Funny you mention that. I was re-evaluating the idea of EC giving BoA Might/Stability and realized that miiiiight not be exactly healthy. So I might revoke my idea with Eternal Champion just to prevent double procs from Savage Instinct and Berserk Mode.
As for PvP/WvW perspective. If they're able to get off enough Decaps successfully to get perma quickness, they deserve the victory lap they'd get from the 10s of superspeed too. 😛
As for PvE, the quickness might have to be toned down a little. But at the same time, you can get perma Quickness as a DE in PvE land without dedicating many resources. Could just reduce Quickness to 1.5s in PvE instead of 3s.
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Here's a list of the changes I'd be for:
- The baseline Weapon Swap cooldown for this profession is now 7 seconds as opposed to 10.
- Fast Hands - Fast hands now reduces weapon swap cooldown reduction by 2 seconds as opposed to 5.
- Martial Cadence - Cooldown reduction increased from 3 seconds to 5 seconds.
- Sight Beyond Sight - This skill now applies 5 stacks of Might for 5 seconds. Upon use, this skill removes blind and grants Resistance for 5 seconds.
- Stomp- Launch is now 0, and will launch the foes in place effectively. The stability granted upon hitting a target is increased from 3 seconds to 5.
- All the animation bugs being fixed.
Now, why don't I agree with the rest of these? Am I some sorta rabid anti-Warrior in the Warrior Forums? Nah.
A lot of these changes don't really address things that make sense to me as someone who multi-classes.
I'll mention specifically the Berserker things I don't agree with:
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Berserk - Hitting Berserk simultaneously procs the Primal Burst skill. The first Primal Burst skill costs 0 adrenaline. The Berserk and initial Primal Burst skill animations are synced together.
- This isn't exactly how I'd go about it. I'd argue it's more of a traits/utilities issue than an issue with surprise factor or adrenaline. Berserker lacks the same kinda shazam that other specializations get when they're going for high damage. NOT saying it doesn't have the damage.
- When you're fighting a Berserker, you're not exactly intimidated that they're going to be able to keep you pressured or locked down. You, for example, as a Mesmer can just Blink away, Power Block, or blind the initial rush of them trying to land a burst on you. Once those first 3 seconds are up, you just have to either pressure them or stall out til their Berserk ends. For example, when fighting a Holosmith, they're able to keep chasing you or disengaging from the fight to recover- Berserker has to do a similar thing, but they lack stable access to Superspeed or an active way to keep the pressure going.
- You may have noticed I said first 3 seconds specifically. I'm referring to Burst of Aggression. Right now, being in Berserk Mode has a massive diminishing return the longer you stay in it. What I propose is making that trait reactivate whenever landing a Primal Burst. (Yes, that means LB F1 wouldn't have to land, but you're already running a weapon that isn't exactly heavy on the pressure. It'd be useful mostly for the mobility in that case.)
- Now that we can establish the idea of making BoA the cornerstone of Beserker, we can look at traits that would benefit with activating it more often. Eternal Champion is a good contender as a GM trait, it could make it so BoA now grants the boons and BoA now activates when stun breaking. (Keeping the 300 Toughness wouldn't be insane either.) You'd begin to see synergy with being able to fight back even when Berserk Mode ends.
- You can see things like Bloody Roar extend the duration of Berserk Mode when BoA activates. (Probably would be nerfed to 1s in PvE due to the nature of how it's used already with Axe just to constantly press F1.)
Things I'd do to Berserker:
- Burst of Aggression now activates when a Primal Burst successfully hits. (Same kinda rules as Adrenaline Heal/Berserker's Strength to prevent constant procs; Primal Burst to prevent the duplication of getting two instances from Berserk initially.)
- Burst of Aggression is now classified as a Rage skill.
- Blood Reaction is now a flat 10% conversion but now causes Burst of Aggression to grant 1s of Resistance.
- Wild Blow ignores Blindness.
- Sundering Leap is now a 1/2s cast time instead of 3/4s cast time.
- Eternal Champion causes breaking stuns to activate Burst of Aggression. The trait now also causes Burst of Aggression to grant Might and Stability for the same duration/stacks as before. Toughness bonus remains.
- Bloody Roar now causes Burst of Aggression to extend Berserk Mode in addition to previous effects. (2s in PvP/WvW, 1s in PvE.)
As for the rest of Warrior:
- "Shake it Off!" now cleanses 3 conditions but has the cool down reduced to 45s.
- Cleansing Ire now grants 1s of Resistance per adrenaline bar spent in addition to previous effects.
- Frenzy cool down reduced to 35s.
- Berserker's Stance now lasts 6s instead of 4s, grants Resolution and Resistance for 1.5s instead of Resistance for 1s; in addition to previous effects.
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2 hours ago, Salt Mode.3780 said:
So while we talk about how op Chaos/Inspi needs nerf yet kitten like SA exist or Wilderness and Nature Magic still exist.
Oh, no. They're allowed because they're not Mesmer you see!
(Nature Magic isn't that bad.)
Sike, it isn't okay.
22 hours ago, Vinny.7260 said:The issue legitimately isn't Mesmer. We're in the wrong forums lol.
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Just now, felix.2386 said:
nothing really changed for warrior, pre and post cmc anyway.
always meta for 2-3 months and hard nerfed to useless for 1-2 years cuz "op" since 2012
warrior's problem is down in the root.
🎶 Baaaaaaaaaad to the bone... 🎸
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I don't think it affects any racial skills. They're a weird exception to a lot of traits that reduce cool downs.
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19 minutes ago, Artyport.2084 said:
No.. its not the hardest thing to counter but its stisll the laziest setup I have ever seen in a class.
Place down all your traps.
dissapear
use a pull to push someone into them..
takes atleast 2 stun breaks to get out
1 if you are lucky
its lazy and dumb.. and its all over the place.. and its not fun to fight against.
Address the problem that is forcing DH to play like this instead. Remove the slow on trap and make it give superspeed for 2-3s when laid. Then they can justify removing Trapper Runes.
DH's traps aren't inherently the issue. DH is known amongst most top players as the nub stomper. Similar to most high damage output specializations.
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1 minute ago, Lan Deathrider.5910 said:
Again, do we have so many other specs nerfed down and kitten off that many other players or do we do targeted buffs on the few classes that are struggling?
I'd rather the other classes not get kneecapped by the amount they need to be for warrior in it's current state to be equally tuned.It feels like a choice between fried eggs or scrambled eggs for breakfast. You want eggs, but don't know how you want them.
In an ideal world it would be healthy to do a mixture of both knocking certain over-tuned things on certain specs and then bring up some under-tuned things on other specs. But if you had to pick one or the other, it gets complicated and that's where biases come in fast.
(Also sunny side up fried eggs on toast ftw.)
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52 minutes ago, Lan Deathrider.5910 said:
Not being Coy. Warrior is much worse off than you think. I'll let CTS chime in with the count of warrior representation in the MATs.
Warrior's sustain is almost good enough, its damage almost good enough, and its mobility almost good enough, but when you pair that up against several specs that are WAY overtuned in comparison that just results in warrior not being good enough in reality.
Does it have a decent chassis? Sure, but its trait lines and weapons are out of date to the point where that chassis no longer matters like it once did.
Now, we can have a conversation about what the other specs need to have nerfed so that they are not overtuned and brought down to warrior level's of tuning, or we can discuss targeted buffs to warrior so that it is at least good enough at something relative to the other specs.As someone who tinkers with Warrior when I'm not coping on Mesmer/Elementalist/Other classes...
It hurts my heart just how much of a different play style it takes to have a chance against anything aside from another Warrior.
I legitimately DREAD fighting anything else when I'm on Warrior.
My biggest gripe is a 75s CD stun break that cleanses 4 conditions. And I think the reason it even has the CD that jacked is because of AoE/supporting allies.
Warrior vs Warrior is probably the funnest of all duels as a side-note for good feels. (Out of all the specs I've played; out of the 8 years I've played.)
I had to argue this just yesterday on the Mesmer forums (they want second dodge back while having Power Block + Mantra of Distraction existing.)
Blah blah, Mesmer isn't as bad as people say, blah blah. (It's just overshadowed by the over-performing specs.)
Warrior is very much so in the same boat. If they gave it the same kinda love they've been giving other specs, who knows where it'd be now.
(There's obviously some exceptions such as out-of-date utilities like Featherfoot Grace/Zerker Stance/Heal Signet- but I refuse to rant about all the resistance nuances... Like how it doesn't affect poison reducing healing.)
Oh yeah, also don't give back CC damage. Just knock the other specs down to size- give them that https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Staggering_Blow they deserve.
#CopiumForBladeSworn #Headshot
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51 minutes ago, Obtena.7952 said:
OH I know the answer ... because people will use ANY deficient condition to justify any buffs for a class, even if the buffs don't address the condition in the first place.
This 'problem' in the thread will never really be solvable because of the interactions the classes have during PVP that include those with dominant builds. The 'git gud' factor is real too; as long as bad players have a voice, there will always be someone calling for buffs anywhere you want to look. Even if Mesmer got a buff, why would anyone think it would compete in this environment?
Well put. Mesmer is going to be in a bad place with the oppressive nature the other professions have and/or just are blatantly better at all Mesmer does.
Want to roam with Mirage? Play Daredevil, it can stealth allies, blind, dodge more, and shut down team fights and AoE poison to prevent resses. Plus it has a guaranteed daze on a low CD unblockable skill. (Guaranteed as long as it lands because it prioritizes Stability on boon rip.)
Want to deal lots of damage at one in a oneshot fashion? Play Sic 'Em Soulbeast and deal more damage from range, better dodges, less dedication of resources, and you get access to a block/protection on dodge.
Want to sidenode and keep the node? Look to Fire Weaver or Protection Holosmith. Both of them have a lot of cleanse/PBAoE pressure without losing the node. Both can also support allies instead of selfishly keep itself alive.
That said, it can do these things really well, but it's just not a good fit in the meta. The other classes just outperform (or even overperform) right now.
We're suffering the same kinda issue Warrior is suffering. We're really well set, but we're just overshadowed.
The issue legitimately isn't Mesmer. We're in the wrong forums lol.
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17 minutes ago, Infusion.7149 said:
How is power block fundamentally different than running a lightning rod ele build , thief pistol whip build, or spellbreaker CC build for example? Other than 15s added cooldown there really isn't, you're trading damage for more shutdown. The interrupt on its own is unlikely to generate kills unless it's interrupting a heal or something defensive. This is akin to GW1 interrupt mesmer.
The issue PvPers fail to realize about Blurred Inscriptions is due to skills only having numeric splits between modes and it is the only reliable way to have aegis from inspiration traitline. Nerfing it would mean you would have no way to reliably apply party aegis. The distortion on sword was changed to blur a long time ago.
Before auspicious anguish existed there was a Mirror of Anguish trait that reflected CC. I would say converting some conditions is less of an overall effect, the only exception is the burning to aegis interaction.
Ultimately you're just agreeing with what I wrote above which is in the grand scheme of things that some skills/traits and innate values (i.e. shroud damage reduction / pets/minions) were not rebalanced in Feb 2020 competitive update. Hence your statement "the other classes are really what are the problem". That doesn't have anything to do with mesmer in particular but other classes not having seen the Feb 2020 competitive update's full changes. The fact that we still have 300s cooldown traits existing is a testament to that.I personally have no issue with Power Block, Mantra of Distraction interaction. I have an issue when people are wanting more sustain while having a powerful way to shutdown issues with sustain match ups anyway.
I do realize that Blurred Inscriptions is the main way for Chrono to share Aegis to clutch-block skills similar to how it used to do with Distortion. I actually don't recall when Sword was ever Distortion. I think it was always just Blur.
I only dislike the level of the interaction as someone who doesn't like passively rewarding things. Especially when it's rewarding getting hit by a 12 damage headshot to remove 2 conditions.
I'm also aware I'm basically agreeing with you. I'm agreeing and just putting out the blanket statement of 'this is how it is.'
I'm sick of seeing the 'give mirage dodge back plz.' lol. If they're wanting to have a second dodge, pick what you are willing to lose.
I'd argue Chronomancer should just naturally have a better way to give Aegis to allies to amend the Aegis sharing issue in raids and remove Blurred Inscription and give a much cooler trait. Perhaps make its utilities good for what the class is doing these days. Just food for thought. 🤔
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52 minutes ago, Infusion.7149 said:
Mantra of Distraction is fine and so is Blurred Inscriptions , to suggest otherwise with no other evidence is confusing. A daze does nothing on its own except CC (keep in mind it is 180 radius), you could just as easily run a CC such as Signet of Domination (single targets) or meme with Phantasmal Defender for taunt. The key thing is running Power Block to capitalize on Mantra of Distraction comes at the risk/reward of a boon rip or damage on shatters , if Mantra of Distraction was absurdly strong you'd see it in every mesmer build. That isn't the case that it is mandatory as you suggest.
Blurred Inscriptions is in Inspiration Magic meaning you take a heavy DPS hit to run it especially since most signets don't have damage. It doesn't provide massive added value to something such as Signet of Midnight for example which already stealths you and blinds people in melee range (meaning likely only AoEs would hit you) unless you have a number of conditions on you. You would likely run blink as a stunbreak and jaunt on mirage: two signets with 30+ cooldown is effectively ~15+ cooldown between the two of them. Prior to its transfer into the Inspiration Magic line, it was in Domination magic.
The argument against 2 dodge mirage has always devolved into the point that mirage cloak can safe stomp/res and ignore immob as well as staff, scepter, and sword having evade or block. That simply doesn't reflect the reality without inspiration magic you don't have much of any regeneration whatsoever (Renewing Oasis is not it) so whatever damage is laid upon you more or less stays on you as opposed to say a necro/guard/rev/daredevil. This sort of design extends to virtuoso where they put some aegis and regeneration but no actual heals in the traitline.
Speaking of Mantras , a major pain point with respect to power shatter is the loss of the might on preparing Mantra of Pain, although in the earliest iterations of the skill had no might. The mantra changes seemed to be more oriented for guardians, if mantra of pain had might added back (even if half the mantra prep amount) it would be a nice change but in the grand scheme of things due to the damage nerfs it is unlikely to be ran in competitive modes outside of power shatter.My argument with Mantra of Distraction is that it's too strong not to take if you're using anything that capitalizes on CCing. The moment you go without it you're gimping yourself to lose. Dom/Ill Mirage was originally using Arcane Thievery with Vicious Expression before it moved to Mantra of Distraction and Power Block. (It was originally being used to counter Condi Heralds back then, but I digress.)
Blurred Inscriptions is unhealthy. I, myself, cannot justify it existing except for maybe going Dom/Insp on Chrono with Midnight/Ether Signet to make up for the glassiness. We currently have a build right now going around built around stalling nodes (and losing them) as long as possible and winning attrition fights like Chaos Staff used to. (Granted it's only used by a handful of people.)
We've got Blurred Inscriptions synergy with Auspicious Anguish and Desert Distortion. I'd even argue that both Auspicious Anguish and Desert Distortion shouldn't exist. I think the idea of being able to stack iFrames shouldn't be a thing and having a trait that makes a whole utility set give said-iFrames is not a healthy design choice. It'd be like making Instant Reflexes (passive evade when below HP on Thief.) A trait that activates whenever they use a signet or something. You could argue the fact we lose node versus that example... but c'mon, you can't say with a straight face having that sort of defenses and asking for more is reasonable. Don't argue cast times being the balance as to why it's allowed to give 1s of Distortion either.
Anyway, all this aside. With the Power Mesmer thing. Our issue is how many resources we have to commit compared to other classes to get the same results. Virtuoso will be fixing that but at the cost of our defenses naturally. (Losing insta-cast shatters/distortion.)
Virtuoso actually solves quite a few issues Core Power Mesmer has. Critical Chance... Dedication to doing massive bursts... Sustained Damage... It just lacks cleaving unless they do some changing to Dagger.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PiwAExrlFwuYUsJGKOqKdLVA-zZIPlMFB9KEKYCUxCwWDA I've been playing this to cope with my feeling of doing no damage lately and honestly, skill levels aside, it's satisfying to play. Although it does show just how much you have to dedicate to pull off the same kinda numbers a Sic' Em Soulbeast can do.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PiwAYd/lRwuYYMFmJe+XvPXA-z5YXGZWB9mCyPA In regards to Mirage sustain, I've been playing this for a bit to cope for when I feel overly squishy in a match up against something like Holosmith/Herald. (But even then, it isn't a duelist.) The Alacrity on Staff is still something I both love and hate existing on Mirage.
The main spec for Mesmer I really think needs some help right now is Chronomancer. Time Catches Up should be baseline, aside from the damage mod. Wells don't feel valuable with their 1s condition duration and mediocre reward for staying in them. Shield 4 being useful basically requires using Signet of Ether. The lack of synergy with Chaos. The lack of ways to cleanse conditions naturally. (Well of Eternity being an argument would be like comparing Well of Precognition being a good stun break.)
IMO at the end of the day, the other classes are really what are the problem more than Mesmer. Anet just isn't going to give Mesmer anything due to its past of being incredibly busted and horribly unfair to play with. Ask for realistic nerfs to other classes before crawling back begging for buffs to Mirage. And I know, something something hot take. Incoming lots of befuddled expressions.
If you want something, lose something.
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Only way I ever see Mesmer getting some sorta buff is if they REMOVE Mantra of Distraction and Blurred Inscriptions.
Mantra of Distraction, I love you so, but you are holding us back like an relationship that isn't working but we desperately cling on. We need to part ways, we need to find someone else. We need someone better. For the health of everyone, please see yourself out of the room... I love you Mantra of Distraction. (The synergy with Power Block + Ranged Daze makes for incredibly nasty synergy. It also makes it MANDATORY for Mirage to use due to our low sustain. Remove the unhealthy relationship for Mesmer, bring in something more delightful. Don't know what we'd make it exactly though.)
Blurred Inscriptions. I love you so, you make my Auspicious Anguish become bearable. You make my Desert Distortion clear... But I'm beginning to lose sight of reality, I cannot read what I once read... You need to go. My hindsight is 2020, but it's 2022. (It takes up too much room in Inspiration, but also has too much synergy. They could remove the Distortion and add some other sort of beneficial effect to support allies/self... But I think it's time to move past our vulnerabilities of being invulnerable.)
From there though, it makes our weaknesses much more apparent and reasonable for Anet to even consider doing. I'd even debate removing Desert Distortion- as much as I love the shards they could move them to other places.
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Spear of Justice
in Player vs. Player
Posted
https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Defender's_Dogma
This trait reduces the cool down of the pull specifically, but requires blocking and has an ICD.
Being able to pull every time you were to F1 wouldn't help DH's case in getting the buffs it desperately needs.
It's currently any form of good due to Trapper Runes. A rune should not be what keeps a spec from being unplayable entirely. (Not to mention Trapper Runes are kinda just unhealthy).