Brand New to Mesmer

[Ricasso.6018]

Hello Everyone,

 

I am completely new to the game and to the Mesmer profession.  I've read  about the profession and I feel like it is one I will totally enjoy as I learn the game.  With my absolute NOOBNESS in mind and the fact that I am not going to pretend I know anything about it, I have a couple of questions for the pros.

1. I've seen some posts about how Mesmer is a good tank.  What build supports this?

2. I plan on making mistakes as I level, but what should my main and off-hand weapons be based on my desire to tank.

 

I've played other games and I enjoy tanking, but dps is also great.  If there are better tanking classes out there, I would love to know more.

Thanks to the community for your help.

[Puck.3697]

Mesmers do make great tanks. It utilises chronomancer it's the best tank at current but lots of classes can do the roll. It's just easiest with chrono. 

 

Tanking in this game is done by bosses basically target the player with the highest toughness. So the gear you generally utilise is toughness. 

 

Swords/shield I think is the tanking combo, but you can't use a shield til u get chronomancer which is a elite and requires level 80. 

 

Tanking on mesmer early game though will be very hard. As u need chronomancer. You will also supply quickness to 5 man while tanking. 

 

Once your 80 and can unlock that they are very good tanks. 

 

Don't know much specifics in that way. I'd recommend if you do use twitch. To watch mighty teapot or Mela, both of them do tank with mesmer. Also they run a community called hardstuck. Which has a discord that you can find on their pages. 

 

It's about 6000 people deep so far if not above that now. It also has good references into other discords which supply information. 

 

They do alot raiding on lots of chars and the community is pretty helpful too. So they can generally answer any questions you have throughout your time here. They also do raid training and more to allow new players to learn etc etc. 

[Mungo Zen.9364]

Tanking builds are really specific to Raiding, Strikes and that's about it.  This isn't like other MMO where you will need a tank, healer, support and some DPS for whatever encounter you are playing.  You won't be taunting or actively maintaining agro like other games.  As well, even the tankiest professions output some very solid DPS numbers and, in GW2, a lot of the best builds are doing many things at once (DPS, Support, Healing).

 

Perhaps, instead of focusing on a good tank build or profession, focus on enjoyable playstyle.  The combat in this game can be very enjoyable and each profession can support several different playstyles depending on what you enjoy. 

 

As well, since you are new to the game, I would strongly suggest leveling naturally rather than boosting it.  There is a lot of game mechanics that is taught to you through the leveling process that can be overwhelming if you are new to the game AND boosted to lvl 80.

 

Lastly, while we did just have a PvE profession update patch, End of Dragons will be coming later this year and will likely shake up the Meta again, which might change some of the tank builds you could be looking at down the road.  

[Ricasso.6018]

Thank you good sir,

 

I have no intention of boosting as I agree, one should learn the game and the mechanics on the way to max level.  I just thought I would start with Mesmer as I like the craft behind it.  I intend to try several professions in order to find what really matches my playstyle.  Great info on the combat.

[TheAgedGnome.7520]

20 hours ago, Ricasso.6018 said:

2. I plan on making mistakes as I level, but what should my main and off-hand weapons be based on my desire to tank.

 

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

[slobby.6975]

Mesmer is great fun. Just try it. If you are struggling then join a guild and see if you can find someone to demo a few moves with the various weapons.

 

You are welcome to contact me in game.

 

Edited June 10, 2021 by slobby.6975
More to say

[Alquinon.2957]

Tanking in this game is slightly different than what you might expect from an MMO. Most of the mesmer's prowess in tanking comes from damage mitigation. If you use mainhand sword, your 2 skill (blurred frenzy) will allow you to evade attacks for 1 second. You also have access to invuln with mesmer f4 for now. Later on when you unlock chronomancer you will also have a shield that allows you to block attacks. If you are looking to be a tank/support chronomancer is a pretty fun elite spec to play, you're able to have a lot of control over fights and give boons to your allies.

 

If you're just looking to absorb attacks, there are other classes that are good at that. Revenant is able to stack up a lot of damage reduction and be almost invincible for example. You also have necromancer whose elite spec scourge will have access to lots of barriers that will absorb hits for you.