Here's a link to new skills' descriptions.
http://www.gwonline.net/page.php?p=184
So, what did we all think? Overall, I'd say Mesmer came out in this one second best. Warriors and especially Necromancers got an almighty hand up, but there are quite a few good Mesmer skills, but a lot of bad ones. Keep in mind I'm doing this from a purely PvP perspective.
Domination Magic
Arcane Larceny- I love it. A duplicate of Arcane Thievery rocks, enabling us to steal two skills for less than what it would have cost to get Arcane Echo. Now, we could do a Thievery, Larceny, Arcane Echo, Echo, and Signet of Humilty combo, though at that point disabling the same skill twice becomes much higher, so I'd just use Thievery and Larceny in a regular shutdown build. This skill rocks, just like its predecessor.
Complicate- Not bad, not bad at all. It interrupts skills, not just spells, and the anti-signet effect also adds a lot to it. With only a 20 second recharge, generally same as most of the others Mesmer interrupts, this is definately a good skill on an interrupt Mesmer's skillbar.
Overload- An excellent skill is all I can say. Spammable, and deals 50+ damage. Easily an Elementalist's bane.
Psychic Distraction {E}- An incredibly good skill. You may not be able to spam it much, but the 2 second recharge and the fact that it disables a skill makes it pristine Elite.
Psychic Instability {E}- Now this is a funny skill. At first, my thought was, "Wow. This is the WORST skill I have ever seen." But then, you realise that with a Ranger primary or secondary (primary would be better, for Expertise), you can go Serpent's Quickness, then spam Savage Shot and Distracting Shot, keeping them down indefinately. I'll need to try this strategy out, but it's not as bad as I first thought. Still, it's a pretty bad Elite.
Signet of Disruption- Eh. Not a bad skill, since they're going to be hexed with the likes of Migraine or Arcane Conundrum. The 30 second recharge is bad though, and I'd choose another skill over it anyday, despite the fact it has no energy cost.
Unnatural Signet- I personally love this skill. Use it to knock out any KEY spirit. Key is the...key word here (
), since you can't really afford to spend the entire match destroying Pain or something. It also works as a finishing move, though I wouldn't use it much since it has a long recharge.Fast Casting
Arcane Languor {E}- I've talked about this skill before, so I'll just copy and paste. The first time I saw it, I thought, wow, a nice skill. Good for shutting down Monks and the like. But then you realise that Monks are always on low energy anyway, so it doesn't really hurt them that much (except for specific types of Monks). And even if they do stop casting, it's only for 5 seconds, and there are much better ways of shutting down a Monk for 5 seconds (ie, Backfire or Diversion and the likes). Against Necros it would hurt, but then again, as a Mesmer I always go for the Monk, so a generally moot point for me.
Power Return- Now here's a strange skill. The seven second recharge makes it cool, but then you're giving them 5 energy everytime you interrupt him, and that's at full Fast Casting, which you don't need if you're playing an interrupt Mesmer. Not a very good skill, in my opinion, but you may be able to make it work.
Stolen Speed {E}- An interesting spell. With a 6 second recharge, it's almost spammable, and you can use it with interrupts to interrupt multiple targets. Not bad, but it'll take skill to use.
Illusion Magic
Accumulated Pain- With this you won't need Phantom Pain anymore. A good skill, since they're probably going to have two or more hexes on them anyway. However, with the 20 second recharge, it won't really be that wieldy to use, but I'd still choose this skill over Phantom Pain as it gives me a slot free (since I won't really need Shatter Delusions).
Ancestor's Visage- We didn't really need a duplicate for Sympathetic Visage, though you could keep it on someone permanently. Still, no real use.
Conjure Nightmare- This skill really turns me off. 25 to cast, for only 8 degen, whereas I could simply use Conjure Phantasm and Images of Remorse to get 10 degen for only 15 energy. Still, it's spammable, and you'll need Glyph of Leser Energy or something, but I personally don't like this skill.
Illusion of Pain- Now here's an interesting skill. Definately a finishing move, as the degen is needed to kill them fast, before ten seconds. However, overall, this skill does not look effective at all, since degen caps at 10 and with a DOT spell doing 200 damage over ten seconds, it's too easily removed (giving them 200 free health), or healed through. However, it's been confirmed that with Mantra of Persistence, the length lasts longer but their healing isn't affected, so you could get a net loss on the enemy's health. So it has it's uses, and could be a good way to give the enemy -10 degen for a time.
Images of Remorse- Amazing, amazing skill. So many ways to use it. At 16 Illusion, it deals somewhere around 55 damage and gives 5 degen. With only a 5 second recharge, it's spammable, though the 2 second casting times is a bit annoying (but you're a Mesmer! What are you doing without around 10 Fast Casting!). It fits in well with an Ineptitude build, dealing 147, then 97, then 55, and then you can give them Conjure Phantasm to add to their troubles, for 299 damage and 10 degen. Ouch.
Kitah's Burden- Same as Ethereal Burden. We didn't really need a replicate.
Recurring Insecurity {E}- Awesome name, bad skill. For an Elite, which only does 3 degen? I mean, sure, it can be done over and over again with Wastrel's Worry or Conjure Phantasm, but then you're wasting an Elite! It's not a bad skill, just that there are FAR better ways to spend your Elite slot.
Shared Burden {E}- Not a bad skill. In the area, so a large radius. Can be made awesome in HoH, where everyone is generally bunched together (and hit them with an AoE Elementalist skill like Meteor Shower). Definately has potentional.
Inspiration Magic
Auspicious Incantation- Um...this is a strange skill, indeed. Very large recharge, and disables TWO of your skills (itself included). Generally, I can't see a single use for this skill, so I'd give it a big thumbs down.
Ether Signet- 90 second recharge is all I have to say. 18 energy gain is pretty good, so I'd definately give it a whirl with the likes of Mantra of Signets or Keystone Signet. It'll have place in a general signet build, but I'd give it a miss.
Feedback- Wow. This is an excellent skill. 30 second recharge is long, but I can definately see it in a Surge or E-Denial build. However, there are better ways of draining your opponent's energy, but I'm sure going to test it out in a Surge build soon, when Factions arrive.
Hex Eater Signet- Eh, a nice support skill. However, it'll require coordination for you to get more than 2 people (yourself included) in a tight group. The energy gain is very nice, but then again, it has a 45 second recharge. I suppose it might work with Keystone or Mantra of Inscriptions/Signets, but overall I'd say a decent skill, but meh.
Lyssa's Aura {E}- An excellent skill. It definately is worth it, especially if you're a Monk, since you'll get targetted alot by Mesmers and spikers. With a recharge of only 15 seconds, this is definately one of the better Factions skills.
Power Leech {E}- A lot of potential, especially on a Monk and the likes. Might work with a Mind Wrack build, but keeping a Monk shutdown for 10 seconds is pretty cool. However, since they're on 5 energy most of the time, it might not really work well. A better target would be a Mesmer, since they're frequently casting a lot of spells, and Elementalists as well. Has its uses, I suppose, but for an Elite it's lacking slightly.
Revealed Hex & Enchantment- Nothing really to say here. Just duplicates of Inspired Hex and Enchantment.
No Attribute
Expel Hexes {E}- One of the best Factions skills out. This is Remove Hex, on crack. With a 1 second cast time, you won't get interrupted, and with an 8 second recharge, it's easily manageable, and with 5 energy cost, it's simply godly.
Lyssa's Balance- This skill is so god damned bad I can't believe it's here. Let's see...Drain Enchantment is free at 0 Inspiration, so it's better energy wise, has a faster casting time, and recharges faster! Oh, and you can use a focus with it! I shudder at this skill.
Shatter Storm {E}- I don't like this skill. I don't like it at all. If they have one enchantment, sure it's great, but with usually >20 second recharge, it's not spammable at all. There are far better ways of removing your opponents' enchantments, like the new (and positively RIGGED) Necromancer skill, Gaze of Contempt. This is also an Elite skill, which makes it worse. There are far better ways of spending your Elite.
Signet of Disenchantment- 15 recharge, so not bad but hardly spammable. It may seem good for Warriors, but then you realise that Drain Enchantment is free at 0 Inspiriation, and is faster to activate. Also, Warrior Mesmers have access to Blackout, so why the hell do you want your Energy pool to be depleted and crawling back towards 10 at two arrows? A bad, bad skill.
So there's my summary. All in all, a bad group of skills, with some blatantly needing a boost. What are your opinions?
So, you could say, I'm more neutral on this.
)