Mesmer build in Fractals?

[Innocent.3861]

Are there viable mesmer niche for fractals? Alac is more easily kept up by my Rene, so I was wondering if there's a viable build for Mesmers.
I love the illusionist playstyle. Thanks!

[Blood Red Arachnid.2493]

Plenty of viable builds.  Not many that are optimal, though.  The clunky phantasms make it difficult to really get the damage out.

 

First up is the buffer build:  http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PiwAw63lVwOYaMH2JO0KdNXA-zVJYwRLfZURKkeBY7A-w

 

Nothing there is set in stone.  You can adjust the utilities and weapons as you see fit.  This build is designed to give a group high alacrity and permanent quickness.  Focus is taken to pull enemies together for a quick cleaving.  Works best if paired with druid.  To be honest, though, you'll rarely see this one get any play, because most fractal groups prefer the renegade + firebrand combo.

 

Second up is straight up DPS:  http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PiwAwyFlVw2YTMPWJOyKdNbA-zVIYR0xXG1mCVUB2OA-w

 

This is the greatsword version.  You can use a focus version by changing Bountiful Blades to Empowered Illusions.  The immense amount of burst damage the continuum split is very strong, one of the best of the game.  Usually I take out Mantra of Pain for whatever niche utility is needed for the fight (feedback and portal are common ones).  I make an unusual choice to run Mirror Images, but this is mostly to combo with Mind Wrack against trash mobs, so you are better along the trip.  

[Innocent.3861]

 

1 hour ago, Blood Red Arachnid.2493 said:

Plenty of viable builds.  Not many that are optimal, though.  The clunky phantasms make it difficult to really get the damage out.

 

First up is the buffer build:  http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PiwAw63lVwOYaMH2JO0KdNXA-zVJYwRLfZURKkeBY7A-w

 

Nothing there is set in stone.  You can adjust the utilities and weapons as you see fit.  This build is designed to give a group high alacrity and permanent quickness.  Focus is taken to pull enemies together for a quick cleaving.  Works best if paired with druid.  To be honest, though, you'll rarely see this one get any play, because most fractal groups prefer the renegade + firebrand combo.

 

Second up is straight up DPS:  http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PiwAwyFlVw2YTMPWJOyKdNbA-zVIYR0xXG1mCVUB2OA-w

 

This is the greatsword version.  You can use a focus version by changing Bountiful Blades to Empowered Illusions.  The immense amount of burst damage the continuum split is very strong, one of the best of the game.  Usually I take out Mantra of Pain for whatever niche utility is needed for the fight (feedback and portal are common ones).  I make an unusual choice to run Mirror Images, but this is mostly to combo with Mind Wrack against trash mobs, so you are better along the trip.  

 

Thank you!

[Nezekan.2671]

Alacrity mirage has more single target damage compared to Alacren, provided the target lives more than 10 seconds and you can ramp up. But against a group of enemies that die quickly, you damage is laughable.

Start with something like this:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PigAYZlRwSYIsImJWKPdPLA-zRJYmRFfZkZKkeF4604hvKA-e

When you are more comfortable with alacrity uptime, you can replace things like Sigil of concentration, rune of adventurer, food or utility for more damage. But this is a good setup for starting out and you can keep it as is forever if that's your wish. Your alacrity uptime relies on your staff ambush, and to maximize damage you want to staff ambush > allow clones to attack once > staff ambush again. So you don't want to spam it, but you also want to keep alacrity up, so how you balance it is up to you.

Only use cry of frustration for damage. Never use mind wrack and only use diversion for breaking bars. When you know you are going to shatter, pre cast Phantasmal warlock as it takes a while for phantasms to deal damage and turn to clones. After about 2 seconds of using phantasmal warlock, shatter and then immediately use Phase retreat. This allows you get 3 clones back after shattering. Clone auto attack is a significant part of this build's damage, so we always want to have 3 clones. Shattering without getting 3 clones back is a DPS LOSS, so don't shatter willy nilly. UNLESS you need an emergency break bar cc, then use diversion. Or if you need distortion.

This build actually shines more in T4 fractals. You spend around half the time in Mirage cloak, which means you are relatively safe. You have great mobility and self sustain. As bosses become harder and last longer, this build gets stronger than its alacren counterpart. You can also provide an insane amount of break bar but at a personal dps loss. We get:

1 second of daze from chaos storm.
Another 1 second of daze from triggering another chaos storm by using our healing skill
4 seconds of daze if we use diversion in melee with 3 clones.
3 seconds of stun via signet of domination
Long duration of blinds that chips away slowly at the break bar.

Edited September 14, 2021 by Nezekan.2671

[Kondor.2904]

https://discretize.eu/builds/mesmer/power-chronomancer

 

[Innocent.3861]

2 hours ago, Nezekan.2671 said:

Alacrity mirage has more single target damage compared to Alacren, provided the target lives more than 10 seconds and you can ramp up. But against a group of enemies that die quickly, you damage is laughable.

Start with something like this:

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/

When you are more comfortable with alacrity uptime, you can replace things like Sigil of concentration, rune of adventurer, food or utility for more damage. But this is a good setup for starting out and you can keep it as is forever if that's your wish. Your alacrity uptime relies on your staff ambush, and to maximize damage you want to staff ambush > allow clones to attack once > staff ambush again. So you don't want to spam it, but you also want to keep alacrity up, so how you balance it is up to you.

Only use cry of frustration for damage. Never use mind wrack and only use diversion for breaking bars. When you know you are going to shatter, pre cast Phantasmal warlock as it takes a while for phantasms to deal damage and turn to clones. After about 2 seconds of using phantasmal warlock, shatter and then immediately use Phase retreat. This allows you get 3 clones back after shattering. Clone auto attack is a significant part of this build's damage, so we always want to have 3 clones. Shattering without getting 3 clones back is a DPS LOSS, so don't shatter willy nilly. UNLESS you need an emergency break bar cc, then use diversion. Or if you need distortion.

This build actually shines more in T4 fractals. You spend around half the time in Mirage cloak, which means you are relatively safe. You have great mobility and self sustain. As bosses become harder and last longer, this build gets stronger than its alacren counterpart. You can also provide an insane amount of break bar but at a personal dps loss. We get:

1 second of daze from chaos storm.
Another 1 second of daze from triggering another chaos storm by using our healing skill
4 seconds of daze if we use diversion in melee with 3 clones.
3 seconds of stun via signet of domination
Long duration of blinds that chips away slowly at the break bar.

This is great, thank you! Though the link you provided just brings me to the blank editing website. Still, lots for me to consider here. Thanks!

[Nezekan.2671]

2 hours ago, Innocent.3861 said:

This is great, thank you! Though the link you provided just brings me to the blank editing website. Still, lots for me to consider here. Thanks!

Sorry, my bad with the link. Try this! Also edited the one in the post:

 

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PigAYZlRwSYIsImJWKPdPLA-zRJYmRFfZkZKkeF4604hvKA-e

Edited September 14, 2021 by Nezekan.2671