Let me clarify this now in order to dodge some flames . I didn't make this build in order to do uber damage. This build is only intended for laughs and those mesmers who are bored in the arena. This build is intended to give you "Perfect Dodge" against melee. (Ok, maybe not PERFECT.. but you won't get hit too often ) If you're Necromancer subbed, you even get a beautiful damage bonus! Elementalist subs will get a slightly higher dodge rate and be able to "perfect dodge" multiple targets with more ease, although Necromancer can do it without *too* much struggle.
"Perfect Dodge"
Illusion Magic: 11+Rune (You will need at least a minor)
Inspiration Magic: 10+Rune
-if Necromancer-
Curses: 10
-or if Elementalist-
Earth Magic: 10
1. Distortion
2. Spirit of Failure
3. Price of Failure [Curses] -or- Ward against Melee [Earth Magic]
4. Ineptitude
5. Arcane Echo [General -- Mesmer]
Three open slots after that to do as you please. This could give illusionary weaponry mesmers some of the survivability they need in the arena, even without the Necro or Elementalist skill -- which leaves a bonus slot!
When the warrior starts his charge, open up with Spirit of Failure, then commence with Price of Failure (or Ward against Melee if Elementalist). If he gets to you during mid-cast, begin Distortion spam. Distortion is a STANCE meaning you can use it while casting. It's duration is 5 seconds and it recharges in 5 seconds. So it's perfectly spammable. With Illusion Magic 12, you will only lose 1 energy per dodge with Distortion.
Many people look at Distortion and cry. Lose energy?! No way.. These mesmer skills cost enough energy and you don't Energy Tap?! Waaaah! Well kiddies, you're in luck! With Spirit of Failure, each time your opponent misses, with inspiration magic 10 you'll gain 3 energy. It's not even a noticable lost. If you're a necromancer, you can be actually useful by casting Price of Failure on your target. Give those pesky warriors a taste of their own medicine. Spirit and Price last 30 seconds regardless of skill level, both cost 10 energy, have a 10 recast timer, and a hefty 3 second cast time. Never fret, Distortion will save the day. Cast it mid-cast while you're under attack.
You'll never run out of energy as long as Spirit of Failure is up. If you're under attack by two warriors, echo SPIRIT OF FAILURE and not Price of Failure. If you're an elementalist, this is where Ward against Melee can give you the edge. And since you won't run out of energy as an elementalist and still have a few skill slots open... *shiver* Ineptitude not required -- but it insures you won't get touched at all. Blindness is like, a 90% miss rate? If you're in the arena and you get focused by three warriors, use it on the third to be cutesy.
With this build, you'll be bloody limited to damage spells, but like I said before, its not for damage. Just laugh as you dodge warriors swing after swing. The only thing that'll getcha is those damn elementalists! Also, don't be scared about backfire. If you already have Spirit of Failure on your target, it's ok. Distortion is a stance, not a spell. Backfire does nothing. I tanked a team of three warriors at once simutaneously like this in the arena.. Can't recall how many "lol" and "nice" and "wtf" tells I recieved as warriors swung away while I dodged them for two minutes straight. Definately not something to take to Tombs, or higher level arenas. Fort Koga will do fine. It's all for laughs.
"Perfect Dodge" - The LOL Build.
Loralaiy
Valarian of Ascalon
I like it, looks like a lot of fun to run in the random arena. Just a question though, wouldn't Wild Blow bring it all crashing down since it drops any stance that causes evasion or blocks? Ward against Melee would still work of course. Valarian.
sulos
what about called shot? i think that would do it as well, but great idea man, i am going to make my warrior friend angry tonight 
JYX
I-Weaponeer also
btw. If you pump illusion all the way to 15 i believe that Distortion costs 0 energy for each evasion
combo this with the "marathon man" build for some serious laughs
btw. If you pump illusion all the way to 15 i believe that Distortion costs 0 energy for each evasion
combo this with the "marathon man" build for some serious laughs
Loralaiy
Quote:
Originally Posted by Valarian of Ascalon
Just a question though, wouldn't Wild Blow bring it all crashing down since it drops any stance that causes evasion or blocks?
This is true, but they have to hit you for Wild Blow to work! Considering the dodge rate, being hit by a Wild Blow swing would be quite the lucky shot. If they do manage to hit you with it, give them Ineptitude or Signet of Midnight (assuming you have them) to buy a bit of time for Distortion's low 5 sec recast!
As for Called Shot.. heh.. good thing it costs 10 energy. I hear Rangers are a bit mana-tight unless they have good Expertise, which they probably do. Nothing that can be done about that.
Distortion costing 0 energy @ 15? Sounds good to me. Whenever I get lucky enough to get my hands on a Superior Illusion Rune I'll slap it on my main character (Mes/Nec with utility Illus/Curse), have my pretty little mask on and let you know.
As for Called Shot.. heh.. good thing it costs 10 energy. I hear Rangers are a bit mana-tight unless they have good Expertise, which they probably do. Nothing that can be done about that.
Distortion costing 0 energy @ 15? Sounds good to me. Whenever I get lucky enough to get my hands on a Superior Illusion Rune I'll slap it on my main character (Mes/Nec with utility Illus/Curse), have my pretty little mask on and let you know.
EnDinG
I was thinking of building something like this all week. @_@ Saved me the time. Was just getting annoyed to hell fighting those undeads with the price of failure case upon me. More so if there was 4-5 mages.
Monks can work as well since they have pretty good protection prayers. I forget some of the skills names, but one gives you a chance to dodge attacks for 10 seconds for 20% per attack. Boosting it I think up to 10/11 gave around a 55% or more. Combine with Ward Against Melee from the mage and the extra mana regeneration to use Mending, you could probley go quite a while before dying. Use that AOE spell of the Monks or an Ele's to kill things around you, and your doing well.
*Shrugs* LoL, probley build this tonight and announce I'm a tank.
Just imagine how much fun it would be to have 5 warriors on the other team, you could sit there and smile as they get frustrated. =P
Monks can work as well since they have pretty good protection prayers. I forget some of the skills names, but one gives you a chance to dodge attacks for 10 seconds for 20% per attack. Boosting it I think up to 10/11 gave around a 55% or more. Combine with Ward Against Melee from the mage and the extra mana regeneration to use Mending, you could probley go quite a while before dying. Use that AOE spell of the Monks or an Ele's to kill things around you, and your doing well.
*Shrugs* LoL, probley build this tonight and announce I'm a tank.
Just imagine how much fun it would be to have 5 warriors on the other team, you could sit there and smile as they get frustrated. =P
DismalClown
Can't wait to try it out, I love fun mesmer builds. Another fun one I can't wait to try (don’t have the spells I need yet) is the vampire on speed. Fast casting, inspiration and blood magic. Where all of your damage spells are life stealing.
egads
Quote:
Originally Posted by Everous
combo this with the "marathon man" build for some serious laughs
Haha, just thinking about this is cracking me up.
JYX
Quote:
Originally Posted by Loralaiy
This is true, but they have to hit you for Wild Blow to work! Considering the dodge rate, being hit by a Wild Blow swing would be quite the lucky shot. If they do manage to hit you with it, give them Ineptitude or Signet of Midnight (assuming you have them) to buy a bit of time for Distortion's low 5 sec recast!
As for Called Shot.. heh.. good thing it costs 10 energy. I hear Rangers are a bit mana-tight unless they have good Expertise, which they probably do. Nothing that can be done about that.
Distortion costing 0 energy @ 15? Sounds good to me. Whenever I get lucky enough to get my hands on a Superior Illusion Rune I'll slap it on my main character (Mes/Nec with utility Illus/Curse), have my pretty little mask on and let you know.
aah thats the problem isn't it...Runes...so much grinding involved in getting one. But when you do get one and get level 15 illusion...I'm not seeing a lot of reason to get anything else...sure you can get maybe 85-90% evade if you comboed it with something else...but you can have distortion on all the time...and if it dosen't wreck your energy then simply having that cast all the time with some further energy management skills is very viable
Combo it with something like healing signet to get all you can out of it. If they can't do double damage while you're casting it because of distortion, then suddenly this becomes very attractive indeed. Some self healing will go a long way towards you becomming a true tank. All this goodness and you only spent two slots...thats very efficient.
I noticed you didn't address Illusionary Weaponry...you could bring along a shatter enchantment or something. But yeah thats a toughie...Illusionary Weaponry ruins so many builds with its really dodgy way of calculating damages.
As for Called Shot.. heh.. good thing it costs 10 energy. I hear Rangers are a bit mana-tight unless they have good Expertise, which they probably do. Nothing that can be done about that.
Distortion costing 0 energy @ 15? Sounds good to me. Whenever I get lucky enough to get my hands on a Superior Illusion Rune I'll slap it on my main character (Mes/Nec with utility Illus/Curse), have my pretty little mask on and let you know.
aah thats the problem isn't it...Runes...so much grinding involved in getting one. But when you do get one and get level 15 illusion...I'm not seeing a lot of reason to get anything else...sure you can get maybe 85-90% evade if you comboed it with something else...but you can have distortion on all the time...and if it dosen't wreck your energy then simply having that cast all the time with some further energy management skills is very viable
Combo it with something like healing signet to get all you can out of it. If they can't do double damage while you're casting it because of distortion, then suddenly this becomes very attractive indeed. Some self healing will go a long way towards you becomming a true tank. All this goodness and you only spent two slots...thats very efficient.
I noticed you didn't address Illusionary Weaponry...you could bring along a shatter enchantment or something. But yeah thats a toughie...Illusionary Weaponry ruins so many builds with its really dodgy way of calculating damages.
Loralaiy
Heh. Personally I keep a tag-a-long enchantment remover anyway, like any good player. IW builds don't scare me at all -- I like seeing them, they give their team dead weight as long as I keep an eye on him every 20-30 seconds. Tonight I gave the build a go with only Distortion and Spirit of Failure, with the rest of my attributes going into domination to be helpful to my team. I was able to tank two warriors at once with Arcane Echo, and still be of some use for my team since I was always mana efficient.
Valarian of Ascalon
I'm curious about having to actually hit since many of the warriors lineup of skills list that they cannot be blocked or evaded. In the case of Wild Blow it says it cannot be blocked or evaded so how does that wording fit into hitting since the discription under Distortion is 75% chance to "evade"?
You know if you tossed Empathy into the mix you could really mess with the warriors who continued to attack you with their whiffle bats, that's always good for a chuckle.
As always so many builds, so little time. Cheers. Valarian.
You know if you tossed Empathy into the mix you could really mess with the warriors who continued to attack you with their whiffle bats, that's always good for a chuckle.
As always so many builds, so little time. Cheers. Valarian.
Pharalon
Quote:
Originally Posted by Everous
btw. If you pump illusion all the way to 15 i believe that Distortion costs 0 energy for each evasion
Distortion hits 0 energy at 19 Illusion
i.e. never.
i.e. never.
backwerd
i use this skill when im getting evaded or blocked it works great
Loralaiy
[QUOTE=Valarian of Ascalon]I'm curious about having to actually hit since many of the warriors lineup of skills list that they cannot be blocked or evaded. In the case of Wild Blow it says it cannot be blocked or evaded so how does that wording fit into hitting since the discription under Distortion is 75% chance to "evade"?
QUOTE]
Wild Blow, according to this site:
Lose all adrenaline. If it hits, this attack will be a critical hit. If Wild Blow is blocked or evaded any stance being used by your target ends.
5 Energy/0 Cast time/5 second recharge
It can be evaded, it just auto ends distortion. Depending on the timing of Wild Blow, that could be VERY bad or not affect too much. Seeking Blade is the only thing that can REALLY hurt you if you evade it. Nothing can be done about that.
As for the rest of those that can't be evaded, either they cost adrenaline or their recharge is long enough not to matter. Perhaps look into slipping Ether Feast into the build for pesky attacks like that.
I did play around with Empathy and Price of Failure last night. I feel bad for that warrior I fought head to head.
QUOTE]
Wild Blow, according to this site:
Lose all adrenaline. If it hits, this attack will be a critical hit. If Wild Blow is blocked or evaded any stance being used by your target ends.
5 Energy/0 Cast time/5 second recharge
It can be evaded, it just auto ends distortion. Depending on the timing of Wild Blow, that could be VERY bad or not affect too much. Seeking Blade is the only thing that can REALLY hurt you if you evade it. Nothing can be done about that.
As for the rest of those that can't be evaded, either they cost adrenaline or their recharge is long enough not to matter. Perhaps look into slipping Ether Feast into the build for pesky attacks like that.I did play around with Empathy and Price of Failure last night. I feel bad for that warrior I fought head to head.
Valarian of Ascalon
[QUOTE=I did play around with Empathy and Price of Failure last night. I feel bad for that warrior I fought head to head.[/QUOTE]
Nicely done. Empathy is real nasty on warriors if they persist in attacking you. If you time it just as they hit frenzy it is even more deadly. I primarily play a warrior so I am always careful to see what spell effects are stacking onto me and if I see that dreaded Empathy sigil I'm quick to withdraw or to hit a spell to stop my melee attacks. More than once I've killed myself with my own frenzied attacks when I've caught it to late. As for Wild Blow, that like everything else in this game comes down to timing, if you can drop the stance and you can go into your knockdown routine you are off to the races with the carnage but if you can't get the next attack off in time you are sunk. I love this game.
Valarian.
Nicely done. Empathy is real nasty on warriors if they persist in attacking you. If you time it just as they hit frenzy it is even more deadly. I primarily play a warrior so I am always careful to see what spell effects are stacking onto me and if I see that dreaded Empathy sigil I'm quick to withdraw or to hit a spell to stop my melee attacks. More than once I've killed myself with my own frenzied attacks when I've caught it to late. As for Wild Blow, that like everything else in this game comes down to timing, if you can drop the stance and you can go into your knockdown routine you are off to the races with the carnage but if you can't get the next attack off in time you are sunk. I love this game.
Valarian.
Terek
I was looking at something like this, but using Glimmering Mark and a lightning dmg weapon rather than Ineptitude and Ward Against Melee. Ineptitude does some dmg, which is nice, but I believe Glimmering Mark can keep a foe blinded more often overall, with the added bonus that it will blind adjacent foes as well - so more useful than Ineptitude when you're in that 2-3 warrior scenario rather than just 1. Either way - fun stuff