Polymock is not fun!
The Way Out
... I am going to have to say I liked the break from the game for a couple seconds. I haven't played Polymock since I smashed all the quests. It reminded me of... Final Fantasy VIII (I think), where they had that card mini-game that you avoided, but ended up needing to complete in order to move on in the game. It kind of broke the monotony of constant questing. I thought it was easy, but I am a guy who uses a nostromo speed pad (I know... a crutch)... which made the battles a breeze.
Kryth
Quote:
Originally Posted by Drop of Fear
when is pvp polymock coming? 
Ugh yeah man, we need that. I mean polymock as it is now is pointless to have after completion. And to tease those who find it difficult further, its piss easy too.
Okay I'm kiddin, for me it was easy, but I totally understand those who find it difficult. This is leading the topic a bit off track but like most ppl who's completed polymock already, I demand polymawk pvp!.
Ugh yeah man, we need that. I mean polymock as it is now is pointless to have after completion. And to tease those who find it difficult further, its piss easy too.
Okay I'm kiddin, for me it was easy, but I totally understand those who find it difficult. This is leading the topic a bit off track but like most ppl who's completed polymock already, I demand polymawk pvp!.
rexkenley
Polymock is rather easy once you figure out the polymock ai. I recommend that you
1.) follow the wiki recommendations when selecting your pieces
2.) observe carefully the skill execution and formulate your own counter measures
Once you figure out your countermeasure execution, you can pretty much button mash your way to victory.
1.) follow the wiki recommendations when selecting your pieces
2.) observe carefully the skill execution and formulate your own counter measures
Once you figure out your countermeasure execution, you can pretty much button mash your way to victory.
stevedallas
You know, I have to agree with the stated opinion that Polymock is both poorly designed and poorly implemented.
For the record, I'm logging in on a dedicated T1 and still suffer from latency.
Is it fun? I don't really care, it's less of a chore than many of the things that aNet has us grind out.... but that doesn't mean it's good.
Some of the issues I've been having with Polymock include losing a round even though it was the NPC that died, hitting the NPC with my 600 damage skill, seeing the -600 near the npc but not seeing the npc's health bar move at all and issues with the energy regen signet not actually delivering energy but, I suppose that might actually be an issue with the energy meter.
For the record, I'm logging in on a dedicated T1 and still suffer from latency.
Is it fun? I don't really care, it's less of a chore than many of the things that aNet has us grind out.... but that doesn't mean it's good.
Some of the issues I've been having with Polymock include losing a round even though it was the NPC that died, hitting the NPC with my 600 damage skill, seeing the -600 near the npc but not seeing the npc's health bar move at all and issues with the energy regen signet not actually delivering energy but, I suppose that might actually be an issue with the energy meter.
Tyla
i found it easy,myself.
although i agree on it being boring.
very few people to play vs and its only another way to play costume brawl
although i agree on it being boring.
very few people to play vs and its only another way to play costume brawl
erfweiss
I tried this last night for the first time. Won in the first match (barely), lost in the second one (close match). It was late and I needed to get some sleep. I'll look at it again and figure it out.
Hikeotron
I like Polymock contrary to what alot of you have said. Yes it can be a little frustrating, cause i remember i got stuck at Gladds for ages
In regards to dodging. when i play, i stay to one extreme, say the left hand side and if the opponent is throwing a projectile at you, then simply move to the other extreme (right). easy peasy heh.
it does help if you enjoy this sort of challenge though, im just annoyed that theres only a limited amount of guys to fight
In regards to dodging. when i play, i stay to one extreme, say the left hand side and if the opponent is throwing a projectile at you, then simply move to the other extreme (right). easy peasy heh.
it does help if you enjoy this sort of challenge though, im just annoyed that theres only a limited amount of guys to fight
freekedoutfish
Quote:
Originally Posted by rexkenley
Polymock is rather easy once you figure out the polymock ai. I recommend that you
1.) follow the wiki recommendations when selecting your pieces
2.) observe carefully the skill execution and formulate your own counter measures
Once you figure out your countermeasure execution, you can pretty much button mash your way to victory. Yup I tried all that, as I said in the OP and it didnt help me any. I find it just pot luck as to whether you win or not. Whether you get a lucky shot off and take their damage down far enough and keep your first piece alive.
I just dont see any real tactics to polymock. These comments about "just watch what the creature is doing" is understandable, but hard to do. They make their moves so fast its a hard thing to get your head around.
Combine that with limited moving space, a limited viewing perspective and creatures that dont always move when you tell them to and its just annoying.
1.) follow the wiki recommendations when selecting your pieces
2.) observe carefully the skill execution and formulate your own counter measures
Once you figure out your countermeasure execution, you can pretty much button mash your way to victory. Yup I tried all that, as I said in the OP and it didnt help me any. I find it just pot luck as to whether you win or not. Whether you get a lucky shot off and take their damage down far enough and keep your first piece alive.
I just dont see any real tactics to polymock. These comments about "just watch what the creature is doing" is understandable, but hard to do. They make their moves so fast its a hard thing to get your head around.
Combine that with limited moving space, a limited viewing perspective and creatures that dont always move when you tell them to and its just annoying.
Solveig Ikram
Polymock is the easiest thing in the world once you get used to it.
Each piece, except at later stages, uses the same sort of skills.
One spam attack, one long-casting degen attack and one long casting high damage attack.
You have two interrupts, use them on the high damage skills if you can be bothered. Meanwhile just spam all your attacks as and when they are recharged. Don't bother trying to dodge projectiles. Some opponents takes will take a couple of tries when before you have more powerfull pieces to choose from.
Each piece, except at later stages, uses the same sort of skills.
One spam attack, one long-casting degen attack and one long casting high damage attack.
You have two interrupts, use them on the high damage skills if you can be bothered. Meanwhile just spam all your attacks as and when they are recharged. Don't bother trying to dodge projectiles. Some opponents takes will take a couple of tries when before you have more powerfull pieces to choose from.
Etta
Once you get a hand of it, polymock is pretty simple. And you're right fish there're no real tactic to it at all. One trick works for all basically, you still need to use 3 purple pieces to beat the last guy though.
EinherjarMx
Quote:
Originally Posted by w00t!
Yeah, I agree. I was having lots of trouble with Polymock until a guildie said...
**Spoiler
1) First, cast your most powerful 1 second spell. It won't be blocked as the AI will be casting glyph of concentration.
2) Then cast block to block their most powerful spell
3) Cast your 1 second spell until it is both blocked and interrupted
4) Cast your 2 second spell
Lather, rinse, repeat.
After being told this I beat polymock with 2 characters in about 30 minutes.
So, too hard to get started. Once you figure it out, too easy. A sign of a poorly designed mini-game. But at least it's just a mini-game, and not a deal breaker for GW:EN this works, i only had troubles with 2 oponents and the most i had to fight each other was 3 times the other ones were beaten in one fight
gosh, i can't even imagine the myriad of threads the op will be making now that he has a mesma and has to think how to use it instead of the elementalist button smashing
**Spoiler
1) First, cast your most powerful 1 second spell. It won't be blocked as the AI will be casting glyph of concentration.
2) Then cast block to block their most powerful spell
3) Cast your 1 second spell until it is both blocked and interrupted
4) Cast your 2 second spell
Lather, rinse, repeat.
After being told this I beat polymock with 2 characters in about 30 minutes.
So, too hard to get started. Once you figure it out, too easy. A sign of a poorly designed mini-game. But at least it's just a mini-game, and not a deal breaker for GW:EN this works, i only had troubles with 2 oponents and the most i had to fight each other was 3 times the other ones were beaten in one fight
gosh, i can't even imagine the myriad of threads the op will be making now that he has a mesma and has to think how to use it instead of the elementalist button smashing
Torino Cowell
how do you actually defeat blarp , i've been stuck on him for ages
freekedoutfish
Quote:
Originally Posted by Torino Cowell
how do you actually defeat blarp , i've been stuck on him for ages
The best solution seems to be, to buy a stupidly priced gold polymock piece and kick some ass. But no one seems to sell them because they drop virtually never or they use them.
tmakinen
I was stuck at Blarp as well, meaning that I had tried it once and just couldn't bother to try again for the eventual rewards. Then a friend borrowed his Mirage Iboga that he got after beating the quests. With that piece every opponent fell in one go and in half an hour I could return a spanking new Mirage Iboga to my friend. If you don't have a friend who will trust you enough to loan an iboga, you can always buy one, and then sell at the same price once completed.
It's still a very stupid minigame, though
It's still a very stupid minigame, though
=HT=Ingram
I kinda wish the rounds would reset health each round. I hate that I take out a powerful piece then have to face the next guy with almost no health... FRUSTRATING!! lol but yea, it gets tedious IMHO. I agree the easiest way to win is to take your gold piece from your first win, and use it on another character to win easier next time. and so on till everyone gets a gold piece... then give the last gold to the original guy to use. IDK... Your right I have yet to see a gold piece drop in HM anyplace. BUT I know they do. A guildy had one and swept Polymock with it after he got it. and I have to admit i did use the lacerate trick on my first guy. I was just having no luck at it for a long time with out it. but now that I got 1 gold piece to use on a different character, it was easier to move through the progression the next time without the bug. I just think it needs tweaked.. My opinion only. it had so much potential for a new type of PvP.. I was really hoping for a 1v1 polymock area on battle isle.
Onarik Amrak
Quote:
Originally Posted by =HT=Ingram
I kinda wish the rounds would reset health each round. I hate that I take out a powerful piece then have to face the next guy with almost no health... FRUSTRATING!!
I disagree, it also works in reverse so if you can't take out a powerful piece with one of your own, you can beat it with 2.
blood seeker
I have completed all the Polymock quests quite easily now but it's not even near fun
tekDragon
I had a hard time beating it. I dont care what people say the lag was killing it for me against Blarp or whoever uses the earth ele. The problem: The earth elemental doesnt have a 2 second cast spell so... if your ping is in the 400-600 range that leaves you with reaction times around 100 ms to counter or block. And if you're not a twitchy fingered FPS addict high on energy drinks that can be somewhat difficult.
So I bout a ruby djin, prices are way way down now, seen 2-3 people selling em for 40k. The rest was a piece of cake, even hoff. Sold my Iboga and recupped 1/2 the price of my djin so in the end I paid 20k ish for those 4 PvE skills. Considering the time I would have spent hammering it out vs. the time I got to spend doing *other* productive things in game that was well worth it.
So I bout a ruby djin, prices are way way down now, seen 2-3 people selling em for 40k. The rest was a piece of cake, even hoff. Sold my Iboga and recupped 1/2 the price of my djin so in the end I paid 20k ish for those 4 PvE skills. Considering the time I would have spent hammering it out vs. the time I got to spend doing *other* productive things in game that was well worth it.
Woop Shotty
I absolutely hate it too. I know some people can get used to it and beat the different polymock guys, but I haven't been able to. I gave up on it, but it sucks not having those PvE skills.
freekedoutfish
Quote:
Originally Posted by tekDragon
I had a hard time beating it. I dont care what people say the lag was killing it for me against Blarp or whoever uses the earth ele. The problem: The earth elemental doesnt have a 2 second cast spell so... if your ping is in the 400-600 range that leaves you with reaction times around 100 ms to counter or block. And if you're not a twitchy fingered FPS addict high on energy drinks that can be somewhat difficult.
So I bout a ruby djin, prices are way way down now, seen 2-3 people selling em for 40k. The rest was a piece of cake, even hoff. Sold my Iboga and recupped 1/2 the price of my djin so in the end I paid 20k ish for those 4 PvE skills. Considering the time I would have spent hammering it out vs. the time I got to spend doing *other* productive things in game that was well worth it. I wouldnt personally say 40k for any polymock piece was acceptable. Thats still alot of money and if we assume the 40k was for a purple one, then how much do gold sell for?
This is another major issue with polymock. The pieces hardly drop and buying them is impossible or expensive. You end up paying nearly half 100k to just beat a game that will loose all fun once you complete it and have all the pve only skills.
So I bout a ruby djin, prices are way way down now, seen 2-3 people selling em for 40k. The rest was a piece of cake, even hoff. Sold my Iboga and recupped 1/2 the price of my djin so in the end I paid 20k ish for those 4 PvE skills. Considering the time I would have spent hammering it out vs. the time I got to spend doing *other* productive things in game that was well worth it. I wouldnt personally say 40k for any polymock piece was acceptable. Thats still alot of money and if we assume the 40k was for a purple one, then how much do gold sell for?
This is another major issue with polymock. The pieces hardly drop and buying them is impossible or expensive. You end up paying nearly half 100k to just beat a game that will loose all fun once you complete it and have all the pve only skills.
Dodo The Extinct
Just keep on trying, over and over. Sooner or later you will win
tekDragon
Quote:
Originally Posted by freekedoutfish
I wouldnt personally say 40k for any polymock piece was acceptable. Thats still alot of money and if we assume the 40k was for a purple one, then how much do gold sell for?
This is another major issue with polymock. The pieces hardly drop and buying them is impossible or expensive. You end up paying nearly half 100k to just beat a game that will loose all fun once you complete it and have all the pve only skills. Actually that's 40k for a ruby djin which is essentially the most powerful gold polymock.
This is another major issue with polymock. The pieces hardly drop and buying them is impossible or expensive. You end up paying nearly half 100k to just beat a game that will loose all fun once you complete it and have all the pve only skills. Actually that's 40k for a ruby djin which is essentially the most powerful gold polymock.
Chilos
Polymock should be removed. Useless waste of bytes
freekedoutfish
Quote:
Originally Posted by tekDragon
Actually that's 40k for a ruby djin which is essentially the most powerful gold polymock.
I bought that piece today for 40k and I just wiped all the polymock matches except for the last one in about 15 minutes. It just shows I had to cough up 40k to do it.
pfaile
I lucked up and got a gold Gaki piece for 10k. Once I had it, I steam-rolled through everything, kinda broken mini game. After I started picking up purple reward pieces and the gold finisher I had it really showed how broken it is.
truemyths
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ace2001
As for those of you complaining about high ping:
...Not really Anets fault that you can't afford a decent internet connection, now is it?
*raises anti-flame shield* Some folks can't get cable/dsl where they live. It's not a matter of affordability. Folks do play this game on dialup and satellite (which is 2-3x as expensive). You can't pvp, which is fine.
The problem I have w/polymock is that they inserted a pvp element requiring fast connection into pve and then put rewards on it you can't get any other way.
From a marketing perspective, you'd think aNet would want to cast a wide net in terms of getting people to play the game, and catering only to the folks who have low latency/fast connections hurts revenue - because both in the US and esp. internationally fast connections are still not the majority.
...Not really Anets fault that you can't afford a decent internet connection, now is it?
*raises anti-flame shield* Some folks can't get cable/dsl where they live. It's not a matter of affordability. Folks do play this game on dialup and satellite (which is 2-3x as expensive). You can't pvp, which is fine.
The problem I have w/polymock is that they inserted a pvp element requiring fast connection into pve and then put rewards on it you can't get any other way.
From a marketing perspective, you'd think aNet would want to cast a wide net in terms of getting people to play the game, and catering only to the folks who have low latency/fast connections hurts revenue - because both in the US and esp. internationally fast connections are still not the majority.
VinnyRidira
Quote:
Originally Posted by truemyths
Some folks can't get cable/dsl where they live. It's not a matter of affordability. Folks do play this game on dialup and satellite (which is 2-3x as expensive). You can't pvp, which is fine.
The problem I have w/polymock is that they inserted a pvp element requiring fast connection into pve and then put rewards on it you can't get any other way.
From a marketing perspective, you'd think aNet would want to cast a wide net in terms of getting people to play the game, and catering only to the folks who have low latency/fast connections hurts revenue - because both in the US and esp. internationally fast connections are still not the majority. If this depends on connection speeds then it really and truly sucks. I do not particularly like Polymock as it is too Arcade for me personally, but there must be some masochists who thrive on pain.
The problem I have w/polymock is that they inserted a pvp element requiring fast connection into pve and then put rewards on it you can't get any other way.
From a marketing perspective, you'd think aNet would want to cast a wide net in terms of getting people to play the game, and catering only to the folks who have low latency/fast connections hurts revenue - because both in the US and esp. internationally fast connections are still not the majority. If this depends on connection speeds then it really and truly sucks. I do not particularly like Polymock as it is too Arcade for me personally, but there must be some masochists who thrive on pain.
tekDragon
Quote:
Originally Posted by freekedoutfish
I bought that piece today for 40k and I just wiped all the polymock matches except for the last one in about 15 minutes. It just shows I had to cough up 40k to do it.
Yeah so it boils down to paynig 40k to get 4 nifty pve skills. Considering the other things people spend their coin on it's not all that bad.
zerulus
I don't really see what all the complaints are about. My school's internet sucks for playing online games and I had very little trouble with polymock just using the pieces you get from the quests. There isn't any need to buy the pieces that drop to beat this.
freekedoutfish
Quote:
Originally Posted by tekDragon
Yeah so it boils down to paynig 40k to get 4 nifty pve skills. Considering the other things people spend their coin on it's not all that bad.
The problem comes from the fact I expected the process of unlocking those 4 pve only skills to be "fun", and it was basically frustrating without the gold polymock piece and then over in 30 minutes with it and I have no desire to replay it.
Rugal
I was able to complete all the polymock quests with the default pieces you get just fine. I only lost to Blarp once, and Gadd twice. Also, I never EVER used Polymock Power Drain, only block along with the 3 skills and the signet. Didn't use any of the Glyphs either.
Instead of complaining try practicing.
Instead of complaining try practicing.
Lady Lozza
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ace2001
As for those of you complaining about high ping:
...Not really Anets fault that you can't afford a decent internet connection, now is it?
*raises anti-flame shield* Odd, I pay well for a very decent connection yet still only get a 300 or so ping.
Strangely enough not everyone lives in America... In fact not everyone who plays GW lives down the road from the servers. Pings to servers outside of Australia are almost always 300ms it doesn't matter about the quality of your connection within the country is because what slows the signal down is the fact that there are only a LIMITED NUMBER of connections to overseas servers.
*sigh* On the rare days with good (green) pings I can usually manage a couple of rounds of polymock, but most of the time it is a waste of time. It is annoying to cast block or drain before the cast reaches the half way mark and watch it be ineffective simply because the server hasn't got the message in time.
...Not really Anets fault that you can't afford a decent internet connection, now is it?
*raises anti-flame shield* Odd, I pay well for a very decent connection yet still only get a 300 or so ping.
Strangely enough not everyone lives in America... In fact not everyone who plays GW lives down the road from the servers. Pings to servers outside of Australia are almost always 300ms it doesn't matter about the quality of your connection within the country is because what slows the signal down is the fact that there are only a LIMITED NUMBER of connections to overseas servers.
*sigh* On the rare days with good (green) pings I can usually manage a couple of rounds of polymock, but most of the time it is a waste of time. It is annoying to cast block or drain before the cast reaches the half way mark and watch it be ineffective simply because the server hasn't got the message in time.
tekDragon
Quote:
Originally Posted by freekedoutfish
The problem comes from the fact I expected the process of unlocking those 4 pve only skills to be "fun", and it was basically frustrating without the gold polymock piece and then over in 30 minutes with it and I have no desire to replay it.
Oh I agree with you there... it wasnt fun at all for me either
Gotta love all the narrow minded folk. "I had no problems with it so it must be fine"
Gotta love all the narrow minded folk. "I had no problems with it so it must be fine"
EinherjarMx
Quote:
Originally Posted by tekDragon
Oh I agree with you there... it wasnt fun at all for me either
Gotta love all the narrow minded folk. "I had no problems with it so it must be fine" well i had no problems with it, but gotta agree with the op, is not fun (at least for me) i just didn't buy anything and kept trying
Gotta love all the narrow minded folk. "I had no problems with it so it must be fine" well i had no problems with it, but gotta agree with the op, is not fun (at least for me) i just didn't buy anything and kept trying
ragnagard
Yup, I can almost said the same.
Polymock is a disgusting/frustating mini-game.
I was lucky as I get a golden Gaki figure from Dragrimmar reward chest on the preview weekend (yupiii ). Tried to sell it in that weekend but as you cannot do polymock yet, people just offer 10k and I decided not to sell it then... Now it would worth... a lot haha.
When I could play polymock, I just use the golden polymock figure in the first rounds and I finished the polymock minigame in no time, loosing 1 or 2 times maybe. My brother just get tired of doing it with the default figures....
I am pretty sure that I wont do it again, as I did it with my main char and the Asuran faction rewards (title + skills) doesnt worth the time/effort. Do you ever use it? Well i mean not for fun looking for a new 30~60secs companion, just a useful use...
Polymock is a disgusting/frustating mini-game.
I was lucky as I get a golden Gaki figure from Dragrimmar reward chest on the preview weekend (yupiii
). Tried to sell it in that weekend but as you cannot do polymock yet, people just offer 10k and I decided not to sell it then... Now it would worth... a lot haha.When I could play polymock, I just use the golden polymock figure in the first rounds and I finished the polymock minigame in no time, loosing 1 or 2 times maybe. My brother just get tired of doing it with the default figures....
I am pretty sure that I wont do it again, as I did it with my main char and the Asuran faction rewards (title + skills) doesnt worth the time/effort. Do you ever use it? Well i mean not for fun looking for a new 30~60secs companion, just a useful use...
Prowlinger
SOLUTION TO FIX POLYMOCK -
Make arena a large one where you can move around...
and tailor it alittle like Archon...
Also make it where you do not have to run to Polymock npc to activate 2nd and 3rd class....
You get a popup window and it activates.... you appear in a tele zone and commence battle...
Make Polymock fun... allow us to move around and not be constrained to a tiny ledge of boredom...
Make arena a large one where you can move around...
and tailor it alittle like Archon...
Also make it where you do not have to run to Polymock npc to activate 2nd and 3rd class....
You get a popup window and it activates.... you appear in a tele zone and commence battle...
Make Polymock fun... allow us to move around and not be constrained to a tiny ledge of boredom...
freekedoutfish
Quote:
Originally Posted by Prowlinger
SOLUTION TO FIX POLYMOCK -
Make arena a large one where you can move around...
and tailor it alittle like Archon...
Also make it where you do not have to run to Polymock npc to activate 2nd and 3rd class....
You get a popup window and it activates.... you appear in a tele zone and commence battle...
Make Polymock fun... allow us to move around and not be constrained to a tiny ledge of boredom... Even better, dont just expand the areana. Also add 4v4 or 8v8 polymock where you face off against multiple AI who take on polymock forms.
Basically a RA or TA polymock area, where you fight AI polymock players.
Make arena a large one where you can move around...
and tailor it alittle like Archon...
Also make it where you do not have to run to Polymock npc to activate 2nd and 3rd class....
You get a popup window and it activates.... you appear in a tele zone and commence battle...
Make Polymock fun... allow us to move around and not be constrained to a tiny ledge of boredom... Even better, dont just expand the areana. Also add 4v4 or 8v8 polymock where you face off against multiple AI who take on polymock forms.
Basically a RA or TA polymock area, where you fight AI polymock players.
{IceFire}
Did them all in 30 mins yesterday easily, just ready wiki for the order in which to use your pieces, i died like twice on a few of them but it wasy easy... no need for a 40k+ djinn.
Pick Me
Quote:
Originally Posted by freekedoutfish
Even better, dont just expand the areana. Also add 4v4 or 8v8 polymock where you face off against multiple AI who take on polymock forms.
Basically a RA or TA polymock area, where you fight AI polymock players. The whole idea, I think, for the arena to be as it is, is so we don't have an easy time avoiding AoE spells or Smite Hex. The arena as it is right now, you can avoid projectile spells, but you cannot avoid Smite Hex or AoE spells or spells that are not projectiles.
I've beaten Polymock a few times now (with different characters, but that means nothing) and while I do fail from time to time, I still think it is human skill based. You cannot create your cookie cutter build, like you can in the Norn Tournament, you can't get help from party members like any Elite mission, and you may be forced to use skills you are not used to. This is part of the "fun" of Polymock. It's not about you vs your doppleganger, it is you vs an opponent, both utilizing a set skill set in a 1 on 1 battle.
No tricks, no PvE only skills, it is just... are you good at being a Mesmer (is what it basically comes down to).
Perhaps, it is for people to appreciate Mesmer more?
Anyway, is the reward greater than your aggravation? If not, stop complaining and carry on with other quests/missions. If it is, keep plugging away at it.
Basically a RA or TA polymock area, where you fight AI polymock players. The whole idea, I think, for the arena to be as it is, is so we don't have an easy time avoiding AoE spells or Smite Hex. The arena as it is right now, you can avoid projectile spells, but you cannot avoid Smite Hex or AoE spells or spells that are not projectiles.
I've beaten Polymock a few times now (with different characters, but that means nothing) and while I do fail from time to time, I still think it is human skill based. You cannot create your cookie cutter build, like you can in the Norn Tournament, you can't get help from party members like any Elite mission, and you may be forced to use skills you are not used to. This is part of the "fun" of Polymock. It's not about you vs your doppleganger, it is you vs an opponent, both utilizing a set skill set in a 1 on 1 battle.
No tricks, no PvE only skills, it is just... are you good at being a Mesmer (is what it basically comes down to).
Perhaps, it is for people to appreciate Mesmer more?
Anyway, is the reward greater than your aggravation? If not, stop complaining and carry on with other quests/missions. If it is, keep plugging away at it.
Zebideedee
I tried it a few times, those few times were enough to make me hate it, I'll prolly try it again at some point using the tips/tactics others here have mentioned, but for the mo I just don't find it fun, and thats whats important, FUN, I wish there was an alternative way to get the skills you get from winning it, like a Kerplunk tournament or something