I dont understand why clones vanish when target dies

[andreiblue.8231]

I get them doing that when you are out of combat, but why when your target dies and you still fight against 3 enemies? Some said that lorewise the clones are in the target's mind, but how does that explain other enemies being able to kill them then?

[Dadnir.5038]

Magic?

• The mesmer create a blob of magic that take the form of your character at the moment it's created.
• This blob of magic is then connected to the mind of the target and use this link to sustain itself (like a parasite).
• If the blob of magic is destroyed, the link is broken. If the target die, the link is broken and the clones disappear. If the mesmer choose to shatter the link(s), the clone(s) disappear. If the mesmer chose to transfer the link(s) to another target with axe for example, the clone sustain itself on the newly parasitized target.

Edited January 10 by Dadnir.5038

[ShadowKatt.6740]

22 hours ago, andreiblue.8231 said:

I get them doing that when you are out of combat, but why when your target dies and you still fight against 3 enemies? Some said that lorewise the clones are in the target's mind, but how does that explain other enemies being able to kill them then?

The simple answer is because that's how they were designed. There's no lore reason and no rule that states that they have to; that's just how they work and how they've always worked. Now that we have that out of the way, a few nuances. Core mesmer and Chronomancer have clones that are generated on target and die with their target. Mirages, however, can avert that. Mirages have a couple abilities that let them re-target their clones with careful timing (and if you're a mesmer, you already know that timing is everything). A well played Mirage is capable of generating 3 clones and carrying them through a whole skirmish. It's not easy, but it can be done. And then there's the Virtuoso who averts the whole thing by generating daggers which are persistent and can be thrown at any time.

For what it's worth I've already stated my feelings here on what would be an interesting addition to the game that would let Core/Chrono/Mirage do the same thing as the virtuoso by generating AND keeping our clones out constantly. They already have the basic AI required, basic pathing and whatnot, or if needed just copy and paste the minion AI into them. Whatever works.

Oh, and clones are absolutely NOT a hallucination in their mind. Countess Anise and Queen Jennah have both used clones of themselves to great effect so even lorewise clones are an effect everyone can see.

[dace.8019]

On 1/10/2024 at 3:53 PM, andreiblue.8231 said:

I get them doing that when you are out of combat, but why when your target dies and you still fight against 3 enemies? Some said that lorewise the clones are in the target's mind, but how does that explain other enemies being able to kill them then?

I've never liked the illusions breaking with the target's death either, even though I mained Mesmer in GW1 so I put it on the back burner in GW2... until Virtuoso appeared and saved the spec for me.

Edited January 25 by dace.8019