Ideas to improve Mirage.

[Maxwell.6127]

Skills

• Phantom Razor: This skill applies daze on strike, a really good effect on an ambush skill. Dagger is already strong for virtuoso we don't need to be stuck on it being a mirage as well.
  • Why I say this is strong? Daze can cause interruption, and other trait lines like chaos and domination have great synergy for skills that apply daze or interruptions.
  • Idea: Remove the daze application. We can put it somewhere else. (Yes, a nerf)
• False Oasis: Why is a skill that's supposed to help us survive force us to stay in one place when most mirage skills are displacements?
  • Idea: Create a mirage around yourself that applies healing on activation and additional healing when you gain mirage cloak during the duration.
    • This can also be a good synergy for dessert distortion if traited.
• ILLUSIONARY AMBUSH: Who else experienced being put behind obstructions? or worst sandwiched inside walls?? I know I'm not the only one.
  • Idea: Instead of yourself shadowingstepping to who knows where.
    • Create a clone
    • Remove targeting
    • Existing clones change target to your target.
    • Existing clone change weapon to your weapon.
    • You and your clones gain mirage cloak.
  • Not so much of a change but this saves us during group content where pools of death are summoned around the area.
  • Now we don't shadowstep behind a tree, inside walls, or end up standing on a death pool. You're welcome!

 

Traits

• Riddle of Sand: Why shatter?? we need clones we want clones! especially when we're on the offensive.
  • Idea: Ambush triggered through mirage mirrors and/or deception skills apply confusion.
  • I know dessert distortion is triggered through a shatter skill but know that distortion is mainly used for survival not damage.
• Mirrored Axes: This is a not so bad trait but with mirage mantle on the same tier this becomes a less choice.
  • Idea: Insert Mirrored Axes in Mirage mantle replacing the current cripple effect.
  • I know it's a nerf for the other axe skills but remember we don't only use axe we switch with other weapons too.
  • Also, now we have a vacant major master tier.
  • Idea: Sandblast: Remember the daze from Phantom Razor?
    • Ambush Applies daze/interrupt on first strike.
    • A trait that can contend with Mirage Mantle and Dessert Distortion.
• SPEED OF SAND: This is a meme. How did this even pass implementation?
  • Idea: You know Infinite Horizon? put it here! You're welcome mirage mains!
  • Now we have more freedom to choose on our grandmaster trait line.
  • I know majority of mirage mains trait infinite horizon and don't even look at the other traits.
• Infinite Horizon: Yes, the beloved trait, now that this is moved to minor grandmaster tier we have a vacant spot.
  • Idea: Mental Focus: Clones redirect target to your target when using ambush.
  • Not so much as a damage but helps during metas with crazy number of mobs.
  • Also helps with focusing on a single target and not seeing your clone be hitting that random critter on the side before disappearing to oblivion.
• Dune Cloak: Another shatter triggered offensive trait. (sigh)
  • Idea: Create a Mirage Mirror at a foe's location upon their defeat.
  • Could have an internal cooldown or interval as to not spawn too many at the same time.

I love mirage and the idea behind it, but right now there's no place for it in many contents not even in some pve metas. So, Anet please take a look at the current state or mirage and try to give it some love.

 

[ascii.1369]

The trait ideas are fine I guess, although I'm not sure they're needed. The skill ideas I think I disagee with all of them.

Phantom Razor suggestion: It's fine the way it is. If you want other weapons to be able to compete, think of ways to buff them, don't kitten up dagger.

False Oasis suggestion: Again, it's fine the way it is. It's not forcing you to stand still, in fact you specifically don't want to do that. You come back to the mirror once you need it.

Illusionary Ambush suggestion: The most powerfull thing about it is the target break + position shuffle. If it was predictable the target break would be worthless since the opponent would know exactly where you are and simply retarget you instantly.

[Maxwell.6127]

2 hours ago, ascii.1369 said:

The trait ideas are fine I guess, although I'm not sure they're needed. The skill ideas I think I disagee with all of them.

Phantom Razor suggestion: It's fine the way it is. If you want other weapons to be able to compete, think of ways to buff them, don't kitten up dagger.

False Oasis suggestion: Again, it's fine the way it is. It's not forcing you to stand still, in fact you specifically don't want to do that. You come back to the mirror once you need it.

Illusionary Ambush suggestion: The most powerfull thing about it is the target break + position shuffle. If it was predictable the target break would be worthless since the opponent would know exactly where you are and simply retarget you instantly.

Is these speaking from a pvp/wvw point of view or as a whole?

With the dagger, I didn't want to add buff on existing weapons just to later be nerfed. that's a sad thing.

False Oasis, this is a healing skill. in order to heal you need to stand where the created pulsing mirage is. The mirage mirror is just the bonus. what's the point of a healing skill if your just going to leave it to pulse for nothing.

Illusionary ambush: I didn't remove target breaking. now shuffling is something competitive players find useful... I just wanna state I wrote this thinking in PVE pov. also still puts me behind walls while in combat in wvw.. I only played that to get the gift of battle.

Also, those traits needed improvements. Speed of Sand is one trait that truely needs changing imo.

[ascii.1369]

8 hours ago, Maxwell.6127 said:

Is these speaking from a pvp/wvw point of view or as a whole?

I play almost no PvE.

 

8 hours ago, Maxwell.6127 said:

False Oasis, this is a healing skill. in order to heal you need to stand where the created pulsing mirage is. The mirage mirror is just the bonus. what's the point of a healing skill if your just going to leave it to pulse for nothing.

The healing is not tied to the mirage, you always get the healing and the mirage is just there to spawn the mirror when it expires.

[synk.6907]

On 7/13/2024 at 10:59 AM, Maxwell.6127 said:

False Oasis, this is a healing skill. in order to heal you need to stand where the created pulsing mirage is. The mirage mirror is just the bonus. what's the point of a healing skill if your just going to leave it to pulse for nothing.

As ascii has noted, the pulse is applied to you and not the mirage -- that's for the mirror spawn. You should try this sometime yourself. I used to think I had to stand still, too, when I had first unlocked mirage, so maybe the wording is not the best, but the False Oasis buff applies to you and remains through each pulse, whether you move or not.

 

I like riddle of sand and axe mastery, but I never stopped playing axe/x.

Edited July 14 by synk.6907

[ShadowKatt.6740]

I don't think Mirage needs to be improved. I think MESMER needs to be improved. If you just raise up Mesmer as a whole, Mirage will improve with it. A rising tide lifts all ships.

[Avion Blade.4869]

I've landed right onto the AOE's of opponents with Illusionary Ambush; it is a gamble and could be against you at times, sometimes you'll evade the AOE sometimes not, it depends on when the AOE began and when you hit the Ambush utility. But that Ambush skill is a great trainer for improvising. Preparing for the worst place to land is what the opponent may least expect, and when they think you are far away, you are close maybe, or maybe not; hilariously for a split second I go, "Where am I?". I'd say, keep this skill as is because of the unpredictability; if I can't predict where I land, but only the general possibilities, but not specifically; how then will the opponent predict where I'll land? >.<

[Waffles.5632]

Under no circumstances should Anet change Illusionary Ambush. It is the most unique & fun skill Mirage has. You may not agree, but the gamble of using it is a feature not a bug. Literally no one knows where it will port you exactly, so it really trips up enemy players, especially if you just do not move after you use IA.

The Mesmer can make educated guesses based on how it works however; IA will port you the maximum distance based on your current main hand weapon. So swap to melee if you want closer IA, or swap to range for farther IA.

IA also ignores elevation and line of sight so you can use it to port around someone who is anywhere around you as long as they are targeted.

 

I want to stress that GW2 offers very different game modes and we should not ask for every ability to work in one specific mode only. Yes in raids or group content IA may not be desirable, but in pvp/wvw/open world it is amazing to use, simply put.

 

If you want to see the most beautiful use of IA (imo) here you go:

 

[Dadnir.5038]

Not a fan of the tweaks suggested.

[draxynnic.3719]

9 hours ago, ShadowKatt.6740 said:

I don't think Mirage needs to be improved. I think MESMER needs to be improved. If you just raise up Mesmer as a whole, Mirage will improve with it. A rising tide lifts all ships.

In a PvE context, chrono and virtuoso are already pretty powerful, some have claimed too powerful. So buffs to mirage specifically are probably the safer bet.

[Gesbo.6420]

I like some of your ideas like infinite horizon becoming a base line trait. The whole point of the mirage is to hide and desci3ve enemies with their clones. Unfortunately, the skill and the ambushes are so ridiculously powerful that it will never happen. 

I don't think that ilusionary ambush has any issues, as other people have mentioned it is supposed to be a random factor and noone being aware where you are. Maybe, from a game design perspective would be nice to have some sort of input on how you want to use it. For example if you press forward towards your target you get closer, backwards gets you further away... and so on. 

Mirage utilities however don't seem to have a theme anymore. It used to be breaking target and mirrors but they removed most of those interractions. I think the new thing should be "you and all your clones" type of deal to lean even further into the "hide between clones. Imagine mirage advance porting all your clones to target. All your clones already do the ambush, but what ifnsand through glass also made all your clones do the back flip ...