Mesmer Elementalist has questions...

Ok I tried searching but am not coming up with anything- I've only played the game for 3-4 hours and am a level 6 Me/E and had a couple questions.

1. Does my energy pool ever get bigger besides equiping armor? My health keeps going up each level but energy is not. I guess as long as the skills stay at 15 energy and less it isn't a big deal, but i was looking forward to being able to cast more

2. Any suggestions on where to pick up more Mesmer skills? I have crossed into the main part of the game and found a quest to get more fire elemental skills at the Breach, but I'm getting my butt handed to me even with 3 henchmen (well they were only lvl 3).

3. The skills I've been focusing on are empathy, firestorm and lava burst- then using that energy sucking skill for healing as well as the elementalist skill that gives health while casting and some skill that cost 5 energy but makes my next spell cost 15 less (works well with firestorm). Also have backfire I think it's called for anti-spell casters. Any advice on other skills I should be looking for right now?

4. Armor- holy crap- does no one sell armor in this game? I found a few collectors that will give me decent pieces of armor but haven't been able to collect enough of what they want.

I'm starting to realize this is a bit different than other MMORPGs- especially only having 8 skills- super annoying but makes the game more challenging. Right now I've been spending skill points in fast casting, insipsion (sp?), domination and fire but I like knowing I can change my skills around at anytime pretty easily.

Nope, it will always be 20 + armor bonus. (But then again... it regens pretty darn fast...)

Most just from quests. You really aren't that far into the game at the moment, but you can still find skills at Piken Square, Grendich Courthouse, etc.

You'll find more skills pretty naturally as you go on, but if you are looking for a specific skill try just tossing the name of the skill into the search function and seeing what comes up.

Concentrate on only three attributes for maximum effect. In your case it sounds like Fast Cast, Inspiration, Fire. Backfire is a great domination spell, but probably not worth your 15 energy at this point.

Or you could always go into Illusion magic. Conjure Phantasm is still quite powerful at your point in the game. But, otherwise, there's nothing wrong with you set up.

GW has very little armor compared to most games, but it is far more important.

Move on with the game to meet more crafters, and get different armor sets.

Remember, it's not a MMORPG. ANet calls it a CORPG because it really is nothing at all like it's fellow online RPG games. You'll have a lot of misconceptions about GW due to previous MMO experience that just aren't true.

Like I said, it's best to focus on three attribute lines. You'll get the most effect from this, because you simply don't have enough points to work up four. (There are stille xceptions to this rule, naturally.)

Oh, and get to Yak's Bend. It's right after the fourth mission, and the game really starts to feel 'bigger' to you at that point. Most people I know really don't feel the game is really moving until Yak's Bend.

1. What are you using for a weapon? Generally the caster classes use a one handed weapon with a Focus/Icon/Artifact in their offhand to add energy. Energy is always a concern. I would suggest that you only use Firestorm when you have a bunch of Monsters in a group. It uses a lot of energy(15), takes a while to cast and has a really long recharge. Flare (5 Energy spell) uses a lot less energy and recharges instantly.
4. Armor is crafted from crafting materials by the Crafter in Ascalon City. The best you'll find until you get to Yak's Bend.
2. The mesmer skills are available from Vassar in Sardelac Sanitarium. (Do the quest Rastin's Ritual, it will take you to Sardelac.
3. Your skill set's good. Look at Conjure Phantasm, in the early stages it can be very useful.

I'm using a wand that does nothing useful because I haven't found a plus energy wand, as well as a +5 energy scroll. That with my armor puts me at 35 energy.

Only three attributes? Argh. Well fast cast is a must, I'm not sure what I'm using in inspiration a lot but I'm doing most of my damage with domination (empathy has been my most useful spell) followed by mass damage with fire. I'll look more into what I'm using most. I like using that spell that cost 5 energy and makes my next spell cost 15 less- that used with firestorm is killer and the spell recharges decently fast. I'd also like to try some of the other elements and retool my character based on what I like and what I can handle energy wise.

I think I could buy flare from a skill vendor but I wasn't sure if it was worth the skill point. I only have 4 skill points. Are skill points limited or can you always get more?

I believe you get a max of 200 attribute points....and I dont know the number of skill points....but you get plenty. Mind you...you learn a lot of spells as rewards for quests you do in post searing as well. I have not felt a shortage of skill points yet. (I am an elem/mes).

I'm finding there are parts that make it like an MMORPG that I don't like and have heard about. I tried a couple MMORPGS (Anarchy Online and the beta of World of Warcraft) and found I really didn't like them and eventually got sick of them. I heard this game was more like Diablo which I really liked. I didn't like all the running around to everywhere and back as well as the grinding for items and quests. I've heard good and bad so far about GW, so I'm hoping I find more good than bad.

What do you mean by "the forth mission?"

Yeah, this a lot more like Diablo 2. The one real difference is my the characters themselves are designed. At level 20 (max) all characters have the same HP, etc. But other than that type of thing, just consider town and outposts like chat rooms, and exploration areas and missions like joining a game.

The quests scattered all over are just for something to do and a way to get skills. The missions follow the storyline and are the main method of advancing you through the game.

The order will be:

- The Great Northern Wall
- Fort Ranik
- The Ruins of Surmia
- The Nolani Academy

After the you are in Yak's Bend.

That's good to hear- I've noticed that I level pretty quickly which is good

Thanks for the info

Now that I've played for a couple of days I'm starting to wonder if I'm retarded for going Me/E. It's nice having fast cast but it isn't THAT nice- and I keep running out of energy so that kinda negates the fast cast. Should I just start over as a E/Me or is there really a benefit to staying a Mesmer? Maybe better armor?

If I went E/ME I'd have tons more mana and could concentrate on spell interruption more as well as have reserves to do some nuking. Basically I'd play it like a Mesmer with the elemental skills as secondary. Likely I'd go with Energy Storage, Domination and one element as my main skills.

I went this way as well .. and at level 17 I am still not sure I should have gone Me as my primary. With some Me armour you do get decent +energy .. rightnow I have ~45 energy with my new armour but I have not played since it was crafted.

Fast cast is still nice for the longer cast times on the El spells. The problem is it also ends up making you burn E faster !

Running a Mem / El and I scrapped Fast Cast. Picked up Domination and Air magic as my main two. Ability to dodge attacks with blindness, dish out some good instant damage, and drain life away is very useful.

Basically it lets you move around to avoid getting your rear handed to you as you pick off enemies.

Drop some points into Inspiration magic for your Mesmer.

Between Power Drain, Energy Tap, and Energy Drain, you should be able to keep more than enough energy up.

Ouch! The only reason to go with Mes/El over El/Mes is the ability to cast faster (unless you just prefer looks and are willing to sacrifice a classes primary ability for vanity). If you don't want to use fast casting, El/Mes will will give you the same skills with the ability to more than double your energy pool. Of course, once the character is made, I realize that starting over isn't always desireable, but for those that haven't started yet I'd seriously recommend El/Mez if you don't care about casting faster.

Until you start REALLY using the high cast time spells early and often, fast cast probably does not need to be that high, especially at lower levels.

But then again, I am a monk/mesmer, so I only use useful mesmer spells, and those fire in more than enough time for me.

Though, I will say, after seeing some of the armor for mesmers at lvl 18+, and compared to my overdressed priestly monk garb... I wish I had taken the mesmer primary. This one piece of chest armor I saw some 18 Mesmer wearing was the cutest short skirt nightgown looking thing I had ever seen.
(In combo with some cool looking high heeled boots. LOL.)


Edit: But then again... I COULD go practically naked in my tatoos


Jana

I'm only lvl 7 so I'm not sure if I have all of those... but I'll give this a whirl.

That's going to be tough to split my attribute points- I guess I can leave fast cast at 4 for a while

Right now my attributes are:
Fast Cast- 4
Inspiration- 2
Domination- 3
Fire Magic- 5

I think that's right... I may have taken fast cast down to 3 to get fire to 5

You get an unlimited number of skill points. You earn them every "level" when your character is at level 20.

-Roken Nekor[Crps]

Yeah I don't have Power Drain, Energy Tap or Energy Drain. Maybe once I get those it will help. I get Energy Tap at Yak's Bend, but that's not for a while. Hopefully I can survive until then.

It's been difficult doing anything solo, that's for sure, but groups I think I've been pretty useful with Empathy, Flare, Firestorm and Backfire all doing considerable damage.

There is also the rune and armor factor? If you want to pump your mes attributes above 12, mes primary is what you want to be.

Matt

Good point, especially if I want to crank Domination to level 12 or something.

Just got another interesting idea too- how about using Earth instead of fire. I already have Armor of Earth and Eruption from a quest. That means less damage due to the increase in armor as well as the cool side effects Earth has- thoughts? Kind of silly to make Empathy my main damage dealer then though since Eruption focuses on keeping the enemy from doing damage.

Maybe I should just focus on Inspiration, Earth and Fast cast and drop domination, but that means no backfire, which is so useful against casters and no empathy which is useful against melee.

Ah yes, suppose that's a point.

Though it seems I've read that attribute effectiveness/skill point was pretty linear up to 12 then dramatically dropped off after that. Is it worth it to go higher? I've modeled my E/Mo's build around this fact and specced 12 Healing/10+2 Fire/8+1 Energy so I could have two lines at 12 and decent energy without using any HP stealing runes. But if going above 12 has more than a negligable effect, I'd consider modifying it. Anyone have useful info on this?

Both energy storage and fast casting feels pretty useless to invest in at such low levels, you are much better of getting two attributes high untill you get to at least 15+ and start getting more points and the increase starts costing more points.

I run a Me/E now with Fire and Dom and only scrap points in Fast Cast that goes up and down depending on how much I have left after topping Fire and Dom.

The best low level armor is from the (150g/30AL caster/50AL) Wa armor crafter on the right side in Ascalon City. Unless you need a special modifier this will be be the best untill you can start getting the collector armor (51AL caster/71AL Wa) between Sage Lands and Riverside and this armor will hold untill you start collecting in the Desert or buy in Droknargs after Ascending.

Upping the primary and respeccing from fire wont really be an issue I think untill you have ascended and got the last 2x15 attribute points...

I agree with fast casting. The increases aren't very noticable until you've got quite a bit into it. But for energy storage, just a few points makes a huge difference. 4 measely little points into energy (not that much of an investment really around lv 10) nets you an extra 12 in your energy pool. It's like having an addition focus (and a maxed one at that). In the long run, I don't think that one is "better" than the other, but energy storage definately starts paying off sooner than fast casting.

Good info guys, thanks for the help! I think I'll try to hold out and play Mesmer for a while longer, maybe trying that inspiration/earth combo I was talking about and playing more of a support role.

I need a bit of help in related situation, but first I'll contribute something... kinda. For those who are wondering about how effective their mesmer character is, this thread is really interesting: http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...t=mesmer+armor

just remember, mesmers never do great direct damage. If that's what you want, then maybe you should start over as an E/Me. Mesmers shine in PvP as one of the most powerful support characters, specializing in completely shutting down other characters. A lot of people use the mesmer to lockdown casters, namely Monks so the enemy team can't heal. The aformentioned thread also tells how to deal with shutting down warriors too.

The mesmer players, however, must be able to react fast, think on their feet, have good timing, and be really tricky. This is why fast cast will be so useful later, so that you can abuse your interruption spells and then punish the target.


Okay, now for my question:
Pre-searing Ascalon, as you other Mesmers probably know, has crap in the way for Mesmer armor. I have a friend I play with who's a necro, and he is missing armor too. Searching through posts, I found a post detailing a decent set of armor one could craft upon entering Post-Searing Ascalon, which also listed all the crafting materials you need to make them.

So what I ask for is a list of armor that I can craft for my Mesmer when I go to post-searing and what materials I need to craft them. With that, I could start farming for materials now.

Thanks in advance.

YuPing, You will need to get Tanned leather Squares (Charr Armor), Raw Cloth(Shaman Gear) and glittering dust. The dust can be harder to find. I never found any one item that consistently gave dust.

All off hand icons give dust when salvaged. This includes ANYTHING that gives +energy while used in the offhand (like ankhs for example).

Also, you get more with a higher req. icon and with an expert salvage kit.

By the way... dust is not a hot item, nor expensive to buy either... I can't give the stuff away, and like bones, normally gets vendored right away.


Jana

I didn't mean it was rare I meant that it almost never gave it to me. Most of the +energy stuff I salvage give me iron. Why? I haven't the foggiest!

Auntie -

If you need dust just salvage the spider webs you can get in the catacombs. Guaranteed dust everytime.

YuPing -

Only two sets are immediately available after the Searing: The Stylish set, and the Rogue's set. Stylish set is the basic old armor and costs around 20ish cloth for the whole set (plus 150g per piece.) The Rogue's set is +10 P.Def but with a little less energy, and that'll set you back around 40ish cloths and maybe 7-8 Leather squares (plus the 150g a piece.)

Thanks Soul. I hate the catacombs and avoid them like the plague, which explains why I didn't figure this out!

Ah man! I sold all those spider webs just... grrr...

Thanks for the info. Is there ANYTHING else that gives raw cloth? I kinda figured last night that I probably should hang onto it when I was farming tanned squares (grawl longspear gear is preferrable if you don't have a partner or don't want to take on charr), but shaman gear doesn't crop up all that often. Should I just buy raw cloth in post-searing? And if those two sets (stylish and rogue) only need tanned squares and raw cloth, what's the dust for?

Thanks again