Mesmers, a lot better than I thought!

Well, I was intrigued by the mesmer class, but had not actually played it. So I started a new build(my 4th) with a Mesmer primary. I must say, my character can really hold their own! I see this class as really deadly to casters, but with the cadre of life and mana draining skills, my character can really dish it out all around. Right now I'm lvl 9, and with a the healer and warrior henchmen, I can readily handle pretty much anything in the post sear Ascelon area. Granted my char is no tank, nor should it be, but I really am impressed and enjoying this class!

Me too. Probably the least appreciated class. In the right hands they are awesome.

Later levels in PvE they're awesome still. Nobody wants one around because they're not flashy though.

People don't know what a Mesmer does. They don't understand the monsters are doing much less damage and dying much faster with a mesmer in the group. You can see an Ele's fire and a necro usually has skills that show up to other players but the mesmer's have no flash or health giving ability.

I've gotten compliments when I'm playing my monk for healing when in truth it should have gone to the Mesmer who was doing an awesome job of weakening the monsters so they didn't hit as often.

I tell the group every time they should be thanking the mesmer.

later in the game you really want more Me than Mo's in your group

Can you please explain to me where 'later in the game' might be, since I've completed this game with 2 characters and I obviously haven't found it yet.

Agreed.

I have to say, though, that in PvE I haven't found a single situation that demanded a Mesmer as a necessity (and most 'Mesmers' out there just spam crap like Conjure Phantasm), since you can just yawn while you steamroll everything mindlessly with Wars/Els. Don't blame the profession, blame the lack of challenge.

Just like how Necros seem best adapted to PvE, Mesmers are better suited for PvP.

heck as early as the desert i've found having a Me primary in your group to be a huge help, usually better than having a second Mo primary in the group

Me are pretty awsome when the player know how to play it.

Agreed.

Conjure Phantasm has little/no place in a mesmer's skill lineup later in the game; you have much better things to do with 10 energy. I've gotten few complaints though when shutting down spells, you just have to remember that a Power Leak against an opposing caster's Meteor/Earthquake etc. not only "heals" the damage the spell would have done, but also the damage the other spells that would have been fueled on that energy would have done. Interrupts and energy denial really take the damage coming in down. A cry of frustration as a group of ranged opponents are readying "Apply Poison" or the like can stop all of their skills if you get lucky, making the job much easier. PvP is definitely even better for it. A cry of frustration as a group of ranged opponents are readying "Apply Poison" or the like can stop all of their skills if you get lucky, making the job much easier.

If you want to get technical, there's not a single primary profession that is an absolute necessity. Yes, you read that right. I've done missions that have been said to be impossible without at least two monks using only 1 E/Mo and good, well-rounded support. And I've seen a group with no warriors beat down lv 28 mobs thanks to some good buffs/debuffs. But having warriors and monks sure does make it easier! The mesmer is no different. You CAN get by without them, but why in all of the 39 hells* would you want to?


Here's the real problem. It's not the class, is the ones playing the class (or rather fumbling the class) giving it a bad name.


I disagree, yes they are particularly nice in PvP, but can be just as effective in PvE in the right hands.


*New hells added daily for your convenience.

Take any mission or area that's said to NEED two monks and go with a monk and a Mesmer and you'll see the value. Mesmer's are like a Protection monk that does damage. I'm not saying they'll replace a monk altogether.

It's the damage reduction with a mesmer that's very apparent to a monk. I don't know their offensive skills but it's much easier to heal with a mesmer in the group.

The good thing about them is that unlike a healing monk they can damage the monsters badly and make going through the easy monsters faster while helping reducing the damage on the harder hitting ones.

Pinesol for instance with a Mesmer does 1/4 the damage and gives probably 10 power back to the mesmer. It pays for itself in power so the reduction is basically free. The mesmer can then turn that power into damage on the other mobs to kill them faster.

I agree. It's how you play mesmers that make them shine or stink. Mesmers are a thinking person's class. you can't just mindlessly tank, or cast spells. The mesmer is all about shutting down the special abilities of the other classes. This requires thought, and perception.

At the same time, it can be hit or miss - I've had times when I seem to miss every interrupt I go for, making me next to useless, and days when I hit 1 second casting times every shot, at which point the enemy collapses like a tower of blocks in a daycare.

My point was that you could probably get through a mission QUICKER since the enemies in PvE are so easy to defeat (and use the famous 'attack until I die' strategy). I was arguing more against the view that 'later in the game you really want more Me than Mo's in your group' than talking about them in general . Plus the fact that most mesmers seem to play the role of 'damage dealer' (or not) means finding a real mesmer is a lot more trouble than it's worth.

Thanks for proving my point.

Effective, but not AS effective. Nothing is AS effective in PvP or PvE, much less the Mesmer.

Just FYI, my 3rd PvE character is a mesmer.

Agreed! It can be tough. Though as I'm still early in this build, it's not too hard to keep on top of, and my damage with conjure phantasm and other spells is adequate to fight the mobs in my area.

I suspect, and hear clearly that this will indeed change. Also, I've not done much PvP, so I'd still be a total n00b using this build in the arena!

Domination is, quite possibly, one of the best, and least used, skill lines in the game. I had to switch my pvp mesmer to an ele/mes so that she wouldn't get targeted immidiately, because people figured out mesmers need to go first in the arenas

True, I don't see much point in overloading on mesmers, one good one is enough. And if I were forced to choose between a monk or a mesmer, I would begrudgingly take the monk. But if I had to choose between two monks or a monk and a mesmer, that second monk can go fly a kite. As far as quicker, meh, depends on the mission, mobs, players, etc. My argument was from the standpoint of having a GOOD mesmer vs. having none, but you're definitely right about finding good ones. Of course, I've played with some stupid monks that make Alisia look like Einstein too. Ideal is to have a group of people you play with regularly and having one be a good mesmer.


You're welcome. We are very much in agreement on that point.


Awww, you're just playing a semantics game now. Yeah, I overstate the mesmer in general a tad, but I have to to offset all of the "mesmers is teh sux0rz" nonsense that is so prevalent in this game.

I love my Mesmer(and my very first Character). Seeing the PvE healers crumble after three spells(maximum) never gets old.

And I only found Phantasim useful for one thing, as a throw away hex for Shatter Hex. But that got taken out real quick as I gained better spells.

No I believe that title goes to Ranger.

As far as PvP goes, Mesmers are widely respected for their ability to lay casters to ruin in a matter of seconds.


By the way, I'm pretty sure all NPC's (henchmen included) have infinite energy. So mana draining skills don't do anything to them.

I played my second character as mesmer primary, because I just like the concept of COUNTERing other's people's action

Mesmer's domination tree is not only good with doing indirect damage to spell casters, they can also do direct damage to non-casters.

Westry's Worry, can do that, doing 50 dmg with only 5 energy. How you use this in PvE, is click on the monster, cast it, then use the button that "target next" then use it again, you'll have bunch of monsters dropping hp quickly, just keep switching targets

This is the main reason why mesmer is hard to play, you'll need to constantly changing targets, the same goes to smiting monks

My primary character is a Mesmer/Monk (Domination/Healing Prayers/Fast Cast). It's a joy to play but is a totally different playstyle based on PvE or PvP combat. I'm still working on the best build for each.

But as someone said, the Mesmer is a thinking person's class, even more so because of the interrupt requirement of being aware of what's going on in the battle and quick-fingered enough to stop it.

And the above poster is right, my experience with higher-level content (Level 10+ enemies) is a Mesmer is much better suited to hitting a large range of targets, than just sticking with one.