What armor functions do you prefer?

Zeddy

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Mar 2006

Sweden

Ghostly Zeroes

In the beginning I was using full Enchanter's as well. I mean of course I wanted the extra energy.
But as I've grown more experienced with the Mesmerclass I don't need that extra energy anymore. Since I'm more aware of my surroundings, when and why to cast spells I rarely run into energy-problems. Thus I feel I need armor that gives me more defense instead. So now I run a full Rouge-armor set.

I have a question though for those of you who like to run the health-armorset. Do you feel that the +35 health is making much of a difference? (and I'm talking about GvG and/or HA)

With an Enchanter's and Rouge's armor I'm thinking on what to get next when Nightfall comes out, which is one of the reasons I ask.

LightningHell

LightningHell

(????????????)???

Join Date: Aug 2005

Hong Kong

Guildless

Mo/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeddy
In the beginning I was using full Enchanter's as well. I mean of course I wanted the extra energy.
But as I've grown more experienced with the Mesmerclass I don't need that extra energy anymore. Since I'm more aware of my surroundings, when and why to cast spells I rarely run into energy-problems. Thus I feel I need armor that gives me more defense instead. So now I run a full Rouge-armor set.

I have a question though for those of you who like to run the health-armorset. Do you feel that the +35 health is making much of a difference? (and I'm talking about GvG and/or HA)

With an Enchanter's and Rouge's armor I'm thinking on what to get next when Nightfall comes out, which is one of the reasons I ask. +Health set is very useful vs a spike.

NinjaKai

Forge Runner

Join Date: Feb 2006

UK

Duality Of The Dragon

If they use superior runes on their armor. Then the extra health would make sense.

Tommy

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Oct 2005

Grotto,The Paradise of GW Afkers

Afkers Never [CRY]

W/Rt

i wanna make a pure pve mesner<will never pvp> what armor should i get then?

LightningHell

LightningHell

(????????????)???

Join Date: Aug 2005

Hong Kong

Guildless

Mo/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tommy
i wanna make a pure pve mesner<will never pvp> what armor should i get then? If you have good wars: Enchanters.

If you have bad wars: Stripdance.

Avarre

Avarre

Bubblegum Patrol

Join Date: Dec 2005

Singapore Armed Forces

Quote:
Originally Posted by LightningHell
+Health set is very useful vs a spike. Unless your monks are blindingly fast with prot spirit, in which case, +health is working against you.

Definitely enchanter's for PvE, anyway.

Effigy

Effigy

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Aug 2005

Illinois, US

Heroes of Talia [HoT]

Mo/

I'm not so sure about Enchanter's in PvP. Max energy shouldn't be much of a problem since you can use focus swapping. I think it's generally better to have defense on a caster. Enchanter's isn't suicide, but I question whether you really get more benefit from it than +armor or +hp. If you need more energy to get off a critical spell, swap to your emergency +30e set. Having a lower base energy can actually be helpful if you're facing edenial as well (maybe not as common if you're playing mesmer, but still a potential threat).

Cirian

Cirian

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Oct 2005

European Union

The Amazon Basin

I like the stance, +life and +energy sets, but my preference is Savants, the +10AL in stance set. AL-on-demand

The other two sets can be mixed for say... +10life, +5e if you like too. Because the benefits are flat, you can blend between +35 health and +7 energy as you see fit. The benefits of health/energy are greater slack between heals or energy management use, which means you can be a little lazy or unlucky and get away with it

Anyway... shouldn't all mesmers have large wardrobes?

Redfeather1975

Redfeather1975

Forge Runner

Join Date: Sep 2006

Apartment#306

Rhedd Asylum

Me/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cirian
Anyway... shouldn't all mesmers have large wardrobes? Hey everybody. Cirian is right.
It'a all about current playstyle and build.
I have 4 masks and 2 wardrobe sets. I wouldn't be surprised if most mesmers did.
Outragously handsome alert!

BTW, is it just me or is the mask on the right fugly. I was a tad be nauseous when I first got that hideous thing.

Barghest

Barghest

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: May 2006

Voluntas Deorum

Me/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Redfeather1975
Hey everybody. Cirian is right.
It'a all about current playstyle and build.
I have 4 masks and 2 wardrobe sets. I wouldn't be surprised if most mesmers did. Of course, it's nice to have a large wardrobe but my fis should be the one, I wear most of the time (just to show how much I like my mesmer ).

Redfeather1975

Redfeather1975

Forge Runner

Join Date: Sep 2006

Apartment#306

Rhedd Asylum

Me/

You silly then Barghest. Pick the armour that fits the build you most enjoy playing!
Don't let your armour control you. Wooooooooooo!

Hella Good

Hella Good

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Oct 2005

None, free and clear

I got 2 sets of Ench on my PvE Me, one Grotto and one Fissure. Should've bought at least one that is different but, thenagain, I don't use my PvE Me in PvP. So yea, Ench Fissure will probably be the best in your case. Just use something else in PvP. Savant and Masquerade are proly the best 4 PvP puposes.

Valkyries

Valkyries

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Mar 2006

AoM

Personally I have 1 set of Rogues and 1 set of Enchanters.

I really love the look of the 15K rogues (and enchanters for that matter) so I decided to go with both.

Which do I use more? really depends on the build.

In PVP I almost always run Rogues though.... I much prefer over Savant because I find its Warriors and Assassins that kill me, not Ele's. I can deal with them no problem (and I normally don't have to). Enchanters in PVP is STILL good though IMO, and the best in PVE (I almost always run Enchanters in PVE). Still it really depends on what you are doing.

Honestly, 99.9% of the time I run full rogues with Enchanters gloves. Mixed with a 20/20 staff and +5E +30HP. This combined with Rogues I get approx 50 energy and good bonus's to all my skills. Works perfectly for me.

Contessa

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Mar 2006

Quote:
Originally Posted by Effigy
I'm not so sure about Enchanter's in PvP. Max energy shouldn't be much of a problem since you can use focus swapping. I think it's generally better to have defense on a caster. Enchanter's isn't suicide, but I question whether you really get more benefit from it than +armor or +hp. If you need more energy to get off a critical spell, swap to your emergency +30e set. Having a lower base energy can actually be helpful if you're facing edenial as well (maybe not as common if you're playing mesmer, but still a potential threat). I completely agree. I use Rogues or Courtly/Virtuoso in PvP. I die way less with these. It's not fun to become a target which happens very quickly when the other team sees your mesmer causing their typical mesmer mayhem. Also, I have experienced being the target of e-denial as a mesmer (it's no fun).

I only use enchanters for farming. That's the only time I found that the extra energy helps me.

I always use two or even three weapon sets for energy management. Extra energy is always available for a snare, interupt or flare/dagger spam (which will trigger your courtly/virtuoso set). Also if someone starts edenial there are benefits to not having the higher energy armor.

I'm looking forward to buying the stance armor next. Stance removal isn't as common as enchantment removal so there are some good benefits to using it. As someone mentioned earlier, it's the armor of choice for a mantra of recovery build.

I think you can only get the stance armor at FoW in prophecies from what I recall.

La Bella Vita

La Bella Vita

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Sep 2006

Me/

I like the extra energy with enchanters, so I usually wear my 15k Kurz Enchant set. I also have the 15k Rogue chest piece, but I rarely find myself using it, perhaps I should buy a full set of it. P:

And I have the Courtly set (+15 while using skills), which is what I used to always use since I never cared for the look of the Tyrian enchanters, but I rarely use it now.

I may buy Savants in the future since I tend to carry Hex Breaker in pvp.

Terra Xin

Terra Xin

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Mar 2006

New Zealand

Me/R

I've got 15k Virtuoso Armour on my male Mesmer... dyed black... yeah (That's the +15 armour while activating skills)

I was thinking about getting luxon 15k, but I dont like the mask.

Claudia Starlight

Academy Page

Join Date: May 2006

Me/Mo

i use the enchanter set myself for PvE... i like the extra energy, i think you can't go wrong with extra energy no matter how efficient your energy management is...

i mean, i play as a domination mesmer and most of the spells there costs a LOT of energy... therefore, a bigger energy pool allows me to spam more stuff before i have to wait for regen or start draining energy out of living things.

then again, i don't PvP much,, but even if i do i'm not much of a stance person. i prefer to blind ppl and run lol

finally, i have my own collector armor set for farming... in fact, i have 2 sets LOL

Slim

Slim

Academy Page

Join Date: Feb 2006

Forever Knights

Me/

Well I feel that any amount of energy whether it be a 1 point or a 5 point upgrade really helps out so ofcourse I had to go with the full Enchanters Set.

Effigy

Effigy

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Aug 2005

Illinois, US

Heroes of Talia [HoT]

Mo/

I think a lot of people misunderstand how energy bonuses work. Additional max energy only actually provides you will more current energy at the start of the fight; in PvE where fights are generally short and followed by considerable downtime, that bonus is fairly useful. The only other benefit to having high max energy is if you return to your max frequently during a fight, since you can't gain energy past your maximum.

The more important factor in determining how often you can cast is your energy management, in this case mostly skills from the Inspiration line. If you make good use of these skills, you can actually cast more on a character with 25 energy than on one with 50 energy but without emanagement. As Hella was explaining, the energy bonus from Enchanter's armor isn't that big of a deal when you use Inspiration skills and focus swap when you need a higher max energy. Of course, in PvE the margin of error is pretty wide. You probably wouldn't even notice much difference if you switched to the basic Mesmer armor with no bonuses. In PvP, efficiency becomes a higher priority and there I'd take added defense over a little extra max energy anyday.

Hella Good

Hella Good

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Oct 2005

None, free and clear

Quote:
Originally Posted by Terra Xin
I've got 15k Virtuoso Armour on my male Mesmer... dyed black... yeah (That's the +15 armour while activating skills)

I was thinking about getting luxon 15k, but I dont like the mask.
Yuk, that bird thing is horrible. I know it's very theatrical (more opera-like actually) but it is hidious. In fact, the only 2 masks I like are the Core Illusion (altho it's kinda Batmanish), and the Luxon 1.5K. That on male Me. Girls as always have the better stuff. But yea, on a guy Me, the simpler the better. I hate the Core Domi mask, it is imposing w/o being artistic and that defeats the whole point of it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Effigy
I think a lot of people misunderstand how energy bonuses work. Additional max energy only actually provides you will more current energy at the start of the fight; in PvE where fights are generally short and followed by considerable downtime, that bonus is fairly useful. The only other benefit to having high max energy is if you return to your max frequently during a fight, since you can't gain energy past your maximum.

The more important factor in determining how often you can cast is your energy management, in this case mostly skills from the Inspiration line. If you make good use of these skills, you can actually cast more on a character with 25 energy than on one with 50 energy but without emanagement. As Hella was explaining, the energy bonus from Enchanter's armor isn't that big of a deal when you use Inspiration skills and focus swap when you need a higher max energy. Of course, in PvE the margin of error is pretty wide. You probably wouldn't even notice much difference if you switched to the basic Mesmer armor with no bonuses. In PvP, efficiency becomes a higher priority and there I'd take added defense over a little extra max energy anyday. Couldn't agree more. The fuss about the one extra spell at the beginning of the fight is just that- fuss. I think a lot of people get caught up in the PvE mentality of going for high nrg armors and not caring about the drawbacks. In PvP high armor, or health, or anything along those lines is much much more needed on such a high priority target. Heck, I've seen people go with Masq + 60 health staff. Me do take a lot of beating in PvP, Ench simply doesn't make the cut.

Redfeather1975

Redfeather1975

Forge Runner

Join Date: Sep 2006

Apartment#306

Rhedd Asylum

Me/

I'm starting to lean more towards Hella's Savant stance, stance. LOL
The more builds I mess around with the more practical and foolproof +10 armour just by clicking into a stance feels. I'm gonna play around with Savant's exclusively for a while to see if it's right for me.

LouAl

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Dec 2005

Quote:
Originally Posted by Effigy
I think a lot of people misunderstand how energy bonuses work. Additional max energy only actually provides you will more current energy at the start of the fight; in PvE where fights are generally short and followed by considerable downtime, that bonus is fairly useful. The only other benefit to having high max energy is if you return to your max frequently during a fight, since you can't gain energy past your maximum.

The more important factor in determining how often you can cast is your energy management, in this case mostly skills from the Inspiration line. If you make good use of these skills, you can actually cast more on a character with 25 energy than on one with 50 energy but without emanagement. As Hella was explaining, the energy bonus from Enchanter's armor isn't that big of a deal when you use Inspiration skills and focus swap when you need a higher max energy. Of course, in PvE the margin of error is pretty wide. You probably wouldn't even notice much difference if you switched to the basic Mesmer armor with no bonuses. In PvP, efficiency becomes a higher priority and there I'd take added defense over a little extra max energy anyday. That is true, but only part of the situation. First off, you can't say that 25e is better with good e-mgmt than 50 with no e-mgmt because you are making the assumption that the person with 50 would think that they don't need e-mgmt because they have 50 energy. Sort of circular, I know, but think about it, Ele's have e-storage and they always bring e-mgmt skills. I don't know many ele's that sya "well, I got 100 energy. I guess there is no need for Ele Attune/Ether Prod/whatever." Sure there are some, but they are idiots. More energy is always better unless you are getting e-denial hate. If more energy isn't always better, why don't you play a warrior primary? You can get the awesome armor and a smokin' huge energy pool (~25), which should be enough as long as you are using good e-mgmt (that last bit was a little over the top, I know, but I think the point is still valid).

With a higher energy pool you can cast that one more spell at the beginning, or end depending on how you look at it, but you also have more margin for using your e-management spells. I am not saying that enchanters is the perfect armor, far from it, but it is better in my experience to use an e-management spell as soon as I can so that it can start its recharge cycle and keep me going better. So, when I wear enchanters the point where I can use an e-management spell comes sooner than if I am wearing Virt, Rogue, Savant, whatever.

So...my pick on armor, take whatever fits your build/play style best - just be aware of its limitations. I have personally used all of them, with the exception of Masqueraders, and been pleased with the results.

Effigy

Effigy

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Aug 2005

Illinois, US

Heroes of Talia [HoT]

Mo/

You make a valid point. I didn't mean to imply that you have to choose either high max energy or energy management skills. My point was to dispel the seemingly common misconception that having higher max means you can cast more. Yes, full Enchanter's allows you to cast more...one more, that is, and only one more 5e skill at that. Beyond that one extra cast, your ability to cast frequently depends on the actual emanagement skills you bring, not how big your pool is.

Of course, having a larger energy pool is always a good thing. The question is, "At what cost?" Personally, I don't think it's worth sacrificing survivability for a higher max energy in most situations. This is, of course, largely a matter of personal preference. I just prefer to be safe rather than sorry, so to speak. I feel I get more mileage out of having higher defense, but your mileage may vary.

LouAl

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Dec 2005

I think you are entirely correct, it is all about risk/reward, what you get out of the armor.

I personally think that the biggest advantage with the enchanter armor is your energy pool is larger so when you e-drain/ench-drain/insp-hex/etc you have more room to work with and you can do it sooner in a fight without losing the energy gain benefits of the spell (generally because I have a little more energy so I cast a little more at the beginning to free up space so that I can start the e-mgmt, which usually has other benefits also, sooner so that I can start its recharge so that I can...). It does, however, come with the price tag of lower armor which is something I can't always live with.

btw Effigy, I am glad you didn't think that I was being rude. I also think that you phrased the entire game of GW in one little statement...

"At what cost?" Everything in the game revolves around that question.
Maybe I should change my guild to At What Cost? [Risk]

Effigy

Effigy

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Aug 2005

Illinois, US

Heroes of Talia [HoT]

Mo/

You touched on the real benefit to having a larger energy pool. Casting one extra spell at the beginning of a fight is largely irrelevant. The main advantage is having a larger pool to refill with your emanagement skills. I believe Ensign wrote an article explaining this in-depth; you may already be familiar with it, but if not it's a good read.

Guild Wars certainly is all about costs and benefits. This is the beauty of the game...there's no "right" way to play it. The only "bad" strategy is one that's not well thought-out in terms of its strengths versus its weaknesses.

Quote:
Originally Posted by LouAl
Maybe I should change my guild to At What Cost? [Risk] I had a chuckle over this one.

|pyro|

|pyro|

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jun 2006

Me/

I created a new mesmer because I decided I will start pvping, she i PvE created because armors look better and you can swap them.

So if i got it right.
1. Enchanter's for general purpuse in PvE.

2. Rogue's for general purpuse in PvP.

3. And if I'll be running any build in which my main energy managment skill will be Mantra of Recall I should consider Charlatan's armor?

4. And if I will use any build in which I will be using mesmer stances for defense such as Distortion or for prolonged hex lasting I should consider Savant's? Like when I'm a target of a spike or an attack I activate Distortion get + 10 AL and 75% to evade + I kite?

Would be glad if someone can comfirm it or corret m if im wrong.

Hella Good

Hella Good

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Oct 2005

None, free and clear

1. Ench is fine for PvE

2. Different people have different opinions about what goes in PvP. Bottom line is what you feel most comfortable with. But Ench armor has too low AL for PvP purposes. Anything that gives you more armor or more health is a viable alternative. You pick and choose depending on your playstyle.

|pyro|

|pyro|

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jun 2006

Me/

I'll just go with Rogue then, depending on my build ill chose the armor then.

hazmat

Academy Page

Join Date: Oct 2005

WtF

Well this thread was heading in the right direction for awhile with effigy and louAI..



The armour functions you choose is very situational to the type of build that you're running and where you're running it, PvE/RA/TA/GvG/HA. There aren't any hard and fast rules. To say one isn't suited to pvp is completely incorrect and isn't helping to provide a constructive conversation. It doesn't make it true by saying it five times.