Great CA Build

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Attributes:
Domination: 16 (Dom mask + Superior)
Illusion: 4 (with Minor)
Fast Casting: (the rest + minor)

Equipment:
Cane - with Improved Domination Recharge
Chakram - with Improved Domination Recharge, Improved Domination Casting.

Armor:
Normal energy armor

Skills:
Resurrection Signet
Distortion
Shatter Delusions
Wastrel's Worry
Empathy
Backfire
Energy Burn
Energy Surge {E}

This build can let you face both casters and warriors, but focus on one target at a time!

On a caster use Backfire, then Burn, Wastrels, Surge, wait for Wastrel's, then Shatter the Backfire. Get the timing right, and you can demolish most casters, especially if they accidentally cast once or twice during backfire.
On a fighter use Empathy, and when it's recharged, shatter it, then cast it again. Use Distortion to stay alive, but you'll loose energy quickly (2 per evade) - decide if you can kill it first.

With both, use Burn and Surge often, but keep in mind it's only effective if they have energy. Also, keep an eye on your energy.

An alternative is to bring Troll Unguent (Me/R) instead of Distortion or Wastrel's, and put some points into Wilderness Survival to get +6 regen.

The build does have energy management problems - only cast Distortion when you must, and remember that it's better to wait, build up energy, then "spike" your opponent, instead of casting one spell at a time as soon as you can.
For this reason, you may choose to use the +Energy -Regen wand; but be careful, you'll take longer to get up and running again.

I think of this as a ~very~ simple Mesmer domination build, but it works, most of the time. Alot depends on your timing; and remember that Wastrel's will end early at the COMPLETION of a person using a skill. See them using a long skill? You have time to Shatter it! No hex nearing its end should go to waste while Shatter is recharged...

Comments?

Interesting how most of these skills are earned early in the game... Ironic, you might say, that I play the whole game and come back to the basics.

What use is Backfire if you've just burned them for 20?

Personally, I'd keep Dom at 14 (minimum required for 80 damage from surge) and get some points in inspiration. Personally, I'd go for a 10+4/10+1/10+1/5+1 build.

Swap out shatter delusions for ether feast. If I were you, I'd swap out wastrels for mind wrack and pack sympathetic visage. Then you can let warriors spike themselves very effectively.

I'd also take signet of weariness for an energyless drain (and energy management since it's a signet). I also like power drain because I feel naked without an interrupt, but you can pack leech signet or whatever if you prefer. The trick isn't to necessarily deal a lot of damage (although that helps) but to stop them casting stuff that'll mess up your team. You should have enough to occasionally burn an off-target, which is useful.

If I'd planned on draining their energy, I'd have done what you said. However, this is a CA build, and since the team is only 4 people then it's usually better to have higher damage capacity than a "specialised" role such as reducing opponent effectiveness. Shatter delusions becomes deadly if you're teamed with an illusion hexer.
It's simply for damage, for killing.
Any spellcaster will have 40+ energy. Backfire, surge, burn - they still have at least 20 with which to foolishly cast.
Also... it can be difficult to drain an elementalist - this build doesn't depend on reaching 0 energy to have maximum effect.
The trick with the build is to punish them for doing something (backfire/empathy), and punish them for doing nothing (wastrels), and while they have energy, you can burn it.
It has the benefit of working instantly on any caster, even eles.

hmm..if this is for CA u really need a form of self-defense. Without a monk in ur team u'll find urself dead before u can even cast half the spells in ur skill bar, that's how weak mesmers are. Even with a monk in ur team, unless he's a good monk, u'll find surviving hard. Usually I'll take distortion and spirit of failure or Signet of Midnight & plague touch as the most common classes u'll see are warriors and rangers.

otherwise this is a nice build with plays on the mistakes of ur opponent. But i'm not too sure abt Emphathy, usually the dmg is not significant enough to either kill the warrior or deter him from attacking unless coupled with degens, then the dmg is much more significant (or if the war uses frenzy.. =D)