(PvE) A few Mirage & Core Mes changes I think need to happen.

[Gambit.9501]

I could have sworn I had more idea, but these few things are what have stuck out in my mind the hardest. Things that seriously need looking into (or just straight-up fixing in general).

• 1h Sword's ambush skill, Mirage Thrust, NEEDS a CAP on clone generation once you have 3 illusions up, just like Scepter 1's clone generation cap. In its current state, being able to feasibly use Phantasms with a Power Mirage just simply isn't possible, and Power Mirage absolutely relies on Phantasmal Swordsman for DPS output. Just because Mirage is a spec that doesn't focus much on phantasms, does NOT mean that you shouldn't be allowed to feasibly use them in a sword build. Look, I know i'm probably one of the only few people on Planet Fricking Earth whose been playing mesmer with a power build almost exclusively ever since I got it to 80, but... I just love the feeling of being a lithe, zippy, flashy swordsman/duelist, and mesmer's sword skills combined with mirage's abilities exemplify that like no other class. And while I can still DO that, i'd also love to actually be able to use sword off-hand again while on Mirage. lol** To the above-mentioned end, the skills Illusionary Riposte and Illusionary Counter should probably also have capped clone gen @ 3 illusions at this point in the game, but this is an afterthought.
• The Staff Phantasm, Phantasmal Warlock, needs to be completely reworked. Truth be told, Mes Staff could use a modern update pass in general, as it's practically been untouched for years. But before any of that, its phantasm NEEDS to be changed. Mes Staff is clearly NOT a power weapon, nor is it any sort of 'hybrid' weapon, so for it to have a phantasm that only does power damage at this point in the game makes literally zero sense whatsoever. My suggestion would be to instead have the Warlock's attack inflict 1 stack of Confusion + 3 stacks of another random damaging condition (Bleed/Poison/Torment/Burn) on hit, inflicting +1 additional stack of both for each unique condition currently on the target. That way, it still keeps the synergy of Mes Staff's "multi-random-condition" theme & gameplay while actually being appropriate for the damage type.
• Why is Duelist's Discipline's bleed still a chance-based thing? What's the point? Would 100% application per pistol hit just be too powerful? If so, then just lower the duration of the bleed applied (maybe to like 4 sec or so).

[Warlyx.6732]

cant agree more as dual sword mesmer here , its frustrating how ambush sword works ( the leap is good tho ) , and yeah staff needs a full reword is outdated , ele staff still kicks !$!$ , staff necro still has uses , but staff mesmers has always a bit "chaotic" ;)

[Tseison.4659]

StaffChaos Armor = 30s > 25sChaos Storm = 35s > 30sChaos Storm = Damage increased and tooltip displaces the duration. Inflicts confusion and deals additional damage to foes affected by confusion.Veil = 72s > 60sMimic = 72s > 60sIllusion of Life = 120s > 72sSignet of Humility = 180s > 120sTime Warp = 180s > 120sMass Invisibility = No longer reveals you when traited and simply destroys projectiles.

Just a few thoughts.

[Coulter.2315]

@Gambit.9501 said:My suggestion would be to instead have the Warlock's attack inflict 1 stack of Confusion + 3 stacks of another random damaging condition (Bleed/Poison/Torment/Burn) on hit, inflicting +1 additional stack of both for each unique condition currently on the target.

This is ludicrously OP, imagine 3 of them hitting a Raid boss, each would landing 8 confusion 10 other per attack. I personally like the Warlock being a heavy power hitter but can appreciate some won't.

The issue with staff (imo) is the auto attack is a bit slow, chaos armour is pretty meh since blind got removed and an icd added and chaos storm could use a bit of a buff (more stacks and give it a conditional damage increase - I really liked the suggestion above of extra damage to confused targets).

[Carighan.6758]

@Gambit.9501 said:

• The Staff Phantasm, Phantasmal Warlock, needs to be completely reworked. Truth be told, Mes Staff could use a modern update pass in general, as it's practically been untouched for years. But before any of that, its phantasm NEEDS to be changed. Mes Staff is clearly NOT a power weapon, nor is it any sort of 'hybrid' weapon, so for it to have a phantasm that only does power damage at this point in the game makes literally zero sense whatsoever. My suggestion would be to instead have the Warlock's attack inflict 1 stack of Confusion + 3 stacks of another random damaging condition (Bleed/Poison/Torment/Burn) on hit, inflicting +1 additional stack of both for each unique condition currently on the target. That way, it still keeps the synergy of Mes Staff's "multi-random-condition" theme & gameplay while actually being appropriate for the damage type.

I'd prefer a different solution. I like the idea of having a direct hit "burst", but you are of course correct that a purely power-scaling phantasms on an otherwise purely condi-scaling weapon makes no sense.

Hence:Phantasmal WarlockAttacks your target with [Malevolent Hexes], empowering Confusion and Torment against them.Duration: 2 seconds (PvE Duration: 4 seconds)Torment: Deals moving damage even on static targets.Confusion: Deals feedback damage once per second.Stacks duration

[Zenith.7301]

@Coulter.2315 said:

@Gambit.9501 said:My suggestion would be to instead have the Warlock's attack inflict 1 stack of Confusion + 3 stacks of another random damaging condition (Bleed/Poison/Torment/Burn) on hit, inflicting +1 additional stack of both for each unique condition currently on the target.

This is ludicrously OP, imagine 3 of them hitting a Raid boss, each would landing 8 confusion 10 other per attack. I personally like the Warlock being a heavy power hitter but can appreciate some won't.

The issue with staff (imo) is the auto attack is a bit slow, chaos armour is pretty meh since blind got removed and an icd added and chaos storm could use a bit of a buff (more stacks and give it a conditional damage increase - I really liked the suggestion above of extra damage to confused targets).

And? You think that's good DPS in PvE? You're giving up duelists which inflict 30+ stacks of bleeding.

[MithranArkanere.8957]

Mesmer Staff is not a weapon that focuses on damage, but a pressure and defensive weapon to discourage enemies from stacking and sticking near you by spamming bouncing projectiles that bounce between them if they are close to each other and buff you if they are close to you, teleporting away from them, covering yourself in chaos armor and dropping chaos storms.

And I think it should keep focusing on that, but I really don't like its randomness. I'd change it Winds of Chaos, Chaos Armor and Chaos Storm to replace the random effects with a different way of dealing them. For example, since Phantasmal Warlock benefits from different conditions, they should prioritize giving the conditions the enemies do not have yet, and if they have all conditions already, add the ones with the lowest stack on the enemy.

Now, Phantasmal Warlock dealing direct damage is annoying since they inherit the mesmer's Power and the rest of the skills focus more on conditions, even the clone since it copies the mesmer's Winds of Chaos. Their attack, Mage Strike, currently has a 6s recharge and 1s activation. With Phantasmal Haste, it'll attack about little more than once every 6 seconds.

So what I'd do is make the Phantasmal Warlock into more of a pressure tool by reducing its direct damage considerably, but in exchange making it cause 1 stack of short 2s of torment for each condition on the target up to 5, and causing its attacks add duration to damage conditions already on enemies:

• +3s to bleeding.
• +2s to poison
• +1s to burning, confusion and torment.

[Zenith.7301]

@MithranArkanere.8957 said:Mesmer Staff is not a weapon that focuses on damage, but a pressure and defensive weapon to discourage enemies from stacking and sticking near you by spamming bouncing projectiles that bounce between them if they are close to each other and buff you if they are close to you, teleporting away from them, covering yourself in chaos armor and dropping chaos storms.

And I think it should keep focusing on that, but I really don't like its randomness. I'd change it Winds of Chaos, Chaos Armor and Chaos Storm to replace the random effects with a different way of dealing them. For example, since Phantasmal Warlock benefits from different conditions, they should prioritize giving the conditions the enemies do not have yet, and if they have all conditions already, add the ones with the lowest stack on the enemy.

Now, Phantasmal Warlock dealing direct damage is annoying since they inherit the mesmer's Power and the rest of the skills focus more on conditions, even the clone since it copies the mesmer's Winds of Chaos. Their attack, Mage Strike, currently has a 6s recharge and 1s activation. With Phantasmal Haste, it'll attack about little more than once every 6 seconds.

So what I'd do is make the Phantasmal Warlock into more of a pressure tool by reducing its direct damage considerably, but in exchange making it cause short 2s torment, and causing its attacks add duration to damage conditions already on enemies:

• +3s to bleeding.
• +2s to poison
• +1s to burning, confusion and torment.

lol, so make staff even more of a niche pvp roaming weapon than it already is.

Great, as if the class needed to be even more pvp focused and mediocre in pve, the game format the vast majority of people play by far.

[OriOri.8724]

@Coulter.2315 said:

@Gambit.9501 said:My suggestion would be to instead have the Warlock's attack inflict 1 stack of Confusion + 3 stacks of another random damaging condition (Bleed/Poison/Torment/Burn) on hit, inflicting +1 additional stack of both for each unique condition currently on the target.

This is ludicrously OP, imagine 3 of them hitting a Raid boss, each would landing 8 confusion 10 other per attack. I personally like the Warlock being a heavy power hitter but can appreciate some won't.

The issue with staff (imo) is the auto attack is a bit slow, chaos armour is pretty meh since blind got removed and an icd added and chaos storm could use a bit of a buff (more stacks and give it a conditional damage increase - I really liked the suggestion above of extra damage to confused targets).

The attack would need tuning.

As to your second paragraph. Staff has lots of problems itself, but it still does not make sense for a condi weapon phantasm to have a power based attack. Where is the logic in that?