TheAgedGnome.7520

All (or most all) other gem store purchases use regular inventory slots . There's no reason at all a Level 80 Boost container should work differently and be restricted to a shared slot.

They should have created an account-bound container (e.g., like a loot bag), that when double-clicked would spawn the Level 80 Boost into a shared slot. But prior to double-clicking the account-bound container, the container would be able to sit in any inventory or bank slot.

I think I'm finally sold on this, over my Plaguedoctor/TB build. I don't know if the DPS is much higher generally w/cele over PD, but the cele adds enough power & precision to the build that having a greatsword offhand is actually functional for attacking structures and things that are immune to condi. I had also tried cele trinkets + viper armor, but full cele is superior. It's very strong in open world, and just feels great. I don't use energy sigils because swapping staffs would get tiresome reeeeaaally quick, so I make use of mirrors for extra mirage cloaks while vigor is replenishing. http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PigAYFlRwgYRMPmJWKP9PNA-zxIY1oivUiIEqICSPBCpAkfNqC-e

I just try to spam as much Mirage Cloak as possible, so at least I'm contributing Alac + Might to the group.

Same here - never understand why people liked him or gave him any credence. But still, it would be a marketing win for GW2 to get his publicity.

"Just follow a mesmer..." When you have a JP like this, where 90% of the players need to be carried by 0.01% of the population just to accomplish it, you know you kittened up hard on the design and then you kittened up even worse by including it in an event chain designed to draw in new players and drum up excitement about your next expac. This is a case study in not understanding your player base.

I'd agree except that the dev's May 11 balance patch comments pretty much nixed any optimism of ele being improved:

I too came from Weaver to Mirage. Although I liked Weaver alot, there were too many shortcomings. I was curious how Cele Mirage (Celerage? Hmm, sounds like a prescription drug - "Ask your doctor if Celerage is right for you") performed for open world. I started with the Hizen staff-swapping build and then moved to a Plaguedoctor-based build, and I haven't looked back. So mine has more condi dmg but no power damage compared to Cele. I'd like to try the Cele but I don't have legendary gear, so I'd have to buy/make the set. Have you looked at Traveler runes? Very cheap, and while some of your stats would drop a bit, your boon duration and condi duration bother increase, and perma swiftness is so nice to have.

In his video about this Anet post, Mukluk also thought it looked like a spear. To me, it could be a spear or greatsword. New elite specs don't necessarily require new weapons, they just require new combat themes and skills/traits. So, this could just be a greatsword with different weapon skills from the new elite.

I chose B, but all 3 are good in their own way, so I can see why it is hard to decide.

To plug my own build again...fun is why I like the Plaguedoctor staff condi Mirage. There is no staff-swapping with just auto-attacking; instead, its a single staff and relies heavily on actively using the multiple Mirrors, multiple Chaos Storms, and multiple Chaos Auras. So, placement, timing, and positioning is engaging, yet the sturdiness of the build means that its very forgiving at the same time, so you don't get worn out trying not to make a single mistake.

Here is a fairly recent chrono open world build video:

I'd recommend Mirage. This is my Plaguedoctor/Trailblazer Mirage for open world: https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/topic/95748-seraphplaguedoctor-mirage-for-fun/?do=findComment&comment=1388703 Power Mirage is also satisfying, but glassier - Dueling/Inspiration for more sustain: http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?PihAEZlVwUYbMImJWyTrPNA-zRRYBKmKQM4yIwSIiMwk5oaGA-e Dueling/Domination for more damage: http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?PihAEZlVwUYbMImJOyK5PNA-zRRYBKmKQM4yIwSIiMwk5oaGA-e

Mirage alacrity working as intended - no change needed.

Note that you can preview all weapons/armor skins right in your Bank. Go to your Bank, go to bottom tab Wardrobe Storage and you can then view all possible weapons and armor skins.

The generator is not targetable. Instead, you have to stand near the generator and then you should see that you can interact (press F) to 'Sabotage'. It takes a few seconds to complete, just like when opening up some chests. I did it by following Vorp to each generator platform in turn, stand right behind him, and had just enough time to sabotage each generator before Vorp would hit me.

This minor revision takes Renewing Oasis instead of Deception for the Regeneration, which in turn triggers Chaotic Persistence, bringing condi duration to 51% and boon duration to 74%. It also uses Mirage Mantle instead of Desert Distortion. Playing this build has the feel of playing a Scourge on roller skates. : http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PigAYZlRwgYRMPmJe6TpPNA-zRZYkBdgGFwb4wLj0TgQKA5nlq0tA-e (Note that the staff is Seraph, but could just as easily be Plaguedoctor. Seraph just leftover from my initial build version.)

Music-themed elite spec.? kitten that.

Implementing dueling is as dumb as an underwater expansion. Also: utterly false premise that "no one wanted mounts."

I ran Viper armor and Trailblazer trinkets until I got comfortable with Scourge, and then switched to all Vipers. So, don't feel like you need to commit all one way or the other.

FWIW, my current iteration is Plaguedoctors with Trailblazer rings and amulet: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PigAYZlRwgYRMPmJe6TpvKA-zRRYkBd8GFc4lR6JQIFg8zSVeaA-e This gives me 4s of alacrity with w/o food buffs, almost 1400 toughness, and 24k health. The Inspiration line gives healing allies on clone spawn, healing and cleanse self on clone shatter, aegis allies on distortion, condi removal on allies on heal. This build also has 2 stunbreaks. Compared to a Viper build with Torment runes, it almost certainly leaves alot of DPS on the table. But its fun to play, lots of sustain, and feels plenty strong.

For leveling, I'd probably use scepter/sword and greatsword.

To me, the build was overperforming due to the torment changes and Winds of Chaos autoattack changes. I consider clone staff autoattacks to be components of the mesmer staff autoattack. So, reducing autoattack output via clone autoattack WoC output reduction makes sense to me, since it leaves player WoC intact. In addition, since Anet says "staff is currently overperforming as a boon support weapon", then it seems they think staff across all builds should be a boon support weapon, not just for Mirage; therefore, it is intentional that it should be a staff-specific change, not a Mirage-specific change. The question is whether their original May 11 intent to make Mirage more desirable as a support spec in higher-level groups will be nullified by the May 25 change.

I think the idea was to make using the auto-attack less advantageous in order to make the gameplay less simplistic and boring, since now for Mirage there might be better skill alternatives/rotations to use than just auto-attack in between ambush-as-available attacks. Reducing staff auto damage also opens up the possibility of increasing damage on other more interactive skills, which could apply to all mesmers using staff.