Better for PvE?

I have one slot left, on my account. I havent been able to decide if I should make a Mesmer or an Elementalist. I'm curious which one is easier to play in PvE, since that is what I will mostly be doing. I might PvP from time to time, but it's not a priority. So, what do you guys think is a funner/easier class to play?

Elementalist are more wanted than mesmers. But mesmers can also have their share of PVE as well. But only those experinced players will party a mesmer. But groups lately want elementalist nukers which specialize in fast, effective, big aoe damaging skills.

Elementalist is miles easier to play in Pve.

Mesmers aren't really designed for pve, and thus don't get picked in alot of groups.

Mesmers are more a support class with their various hexes and energy manipulation, and thats great in pvp, but in pve....Its really just all about how fast you can smash the big monster...

Mesmer is a good secondary class. Primary mesmers have a hard time getting in groups in PVE.
Ele will get you into groups much easier. Also very versatile with builds....you can go wards, damage, battle mage...etc. Very good support character.

Easier: Elementalist
More popular in groups: Elementalist
Funnest to play: Mesmer

The majority of players will think that an ele is more useful than a mesmer.
That said, If there's a team with 7 players and they have the choice to pick either an ele or a mesmer, they'll probably go for the fire echo nuker rather than the um, eh, what do mesmers do anyway?

See my point?

Just play an elemesmer, you miss out on fast casting, whippety-do.

QFT!

I once read that Mesmers don't kill things, they just make them think they are dead.

I just made a Mesmer a few days ago and agree that it's not best for PvE, but still a fun class. They're spells are best for taking down single targets rather then large groups of targets that vary in skills opposed to a specific functionability of the Mesmer. There are some great AoE skills, but nowhere close as streamlined or accessible as the Elementalist.

As has been said - you'll find you'll be able to get into PUG's more easily and quickly as an Elementalist. There is this misconception that Mesmer's are useless in PvE (just read some of the comments in this thread for example..).

However it comes down to the player - a good player playing Mesmer will be able to do lots for a party, yet what they are doing is mostly invisible - most players won't notice the fact that monsters are no longer casting spells, healing themselves, taking damage when they attack, etc. Because what's happening isn't obvious like what an Elementalist does there is the assumption that Mesmer's are useless in PvE.

I've got 2 level 20 character's - an Elementalist and a Mesmer. I henchies with both characters and let me tell you I have less deaths on my Mesmer and I found the mission's to be easier as my Mesmer than my Elementalist. I found the style of play the Mesmer has suits my gameplay. And no, Mesmer's aren't all about simply taking 1 critter down at a time.. with my build I am effectively able to take down 2-3 at a time.. or really, really punish 1 critter (ie boss) while hindering the other critter's around it.

Elementalist's are easier to get used to playing than Mesmer's are. Their style of play is easy.. target an enemy.. and cast your damage spells. Most ele's go Fire for the AoE's.. even though mobs will flee from AoE spells now.. *shrugs*.

Mesmer's are trickier to learn as they don't generally have direct damage spells - they have hexes which cause damage or prevent skills from happening or slowing skill recharge's, etc. Because of this, it can be trickier to set up a build that works and get used to how Mesmer plays.. it's not stand-outish what skills to use unlike an Elementalist's skills are. This is also because Mesmer's can effectively be built for pure spellcaster shutdown or melee punishment or a mix of both.. all depending on what skills you put on your bar.

But see, that's another problem - most people don't want to constently be thinking about what build they need for the new area. They want to set a build up and just use it - which is why Elementalist is so good. Get the skills, set a build up and generally forget about ever needing to change your build. Whereas with Mesmer, you'll find that generally you can keep the same skills.. but you might do better with different skills so will find yourself considering your build a lot more than the Elementalist would.

Which class is funner/easier?

That question is a bit of a grey area; I actually started out with an elementalist and I don't know if it's the fact that I've been using one for so long or not but it's not all that much fun to play. I do know that before they changed enemy split behavior that I was able to use the same four skills throughout pretty much the entire game (flare, fireball, firestorm, and meteor shower). In that respect though, it is fairly easy to play an elementalist. You don't have to over-think and you don't have to wonder about what kind of skills you want to use or have to take along.

However, this doesn't mean that I think that elementalists are useless or that they are transparent. On the contrary, you can do many imaginative and interesting things with elementalists; and it's proven to be a very good farming character for me that can do a very diverse set of tasks.

I also played a mesmer and found it to be a little bit frustrating at first. But once I got used to it I found it to be a very versitile character type that can be very useful. I found that them to be very fun to play and that they can have a profound effect on the group. It's just that the effect that they have usually goes unnoticed by the party, as kamatsu said. But if you're looking for something that might provide you with a little more entertainment you might want to try using a mesmer. You'll have to think about what you take with you and you'll probably get frustrated at first, but you'll probably have more fun than constantly using 2 or 3 of the same skills all the time.

As far as getting a group you'll probably find yourself saying lvl 20 mes lfg a lot longer and more often than lvl 20 echo nuker lfg, for example. And you should also consider what you're going to use the character for after you've finished the playable game. Are you going to use it to farm with? Are you going to use it to store items? Or are you just going to delete it and make a PvP slot?

So I'd suggest that you make a mesmer and play it for an hour and then delete it and make an ele and play it for an hour. It'll be good to get a feel for how the two character types play and how you're going to be able to use this character later on.

Well i have both and i enjoy being an Elementalist the most, its also nice to be wanted for teams.
But i find with playing mesmer that the teams that accept you are the ones that have good players in them.

QFT.

The attitude towards Mesmers is getting better, tho, as people are finding out how much Mesmers are capable of. One skill where others can see how utile a Mesmer is is Sympathetic Visage. Cast that on a Warrior in a crowd and that warrior will notice all of those purple -3's flying off his enemies. It's funny when one spams "I've got Sympathetic Visage on me!" I tell them that that's a GOOD thing, soon enough they catch on. The other night I has someone comment "Man! you should see all of the -3's flying off these guys!"

One thing about Mesmers, you can take one enemy at a time or do bad things to each member of the mob your facing all at once.

For Elementalists, the attitude towards them is quickly becoming one of "Ele's are only good for Meteor and Meteor Shower. But yeah, they don't have nearly as difficult time getting into pugs.

my mains an ele. my first char :P its fun

All right, I'm not picking on you, but I see this being said a lot. And my experience has been the complete opposite. I created a Canthan mesmer shortly after Factions came out and I'm absolutely drowning in random invites wherever I go. Doesn't matter if it's a mission area or the Alliance Battle outpost, I get random invites. I honestly do not believe mesmers are as unpopular as the general population makes them out to be.

To the OP: I have both an ele and a mesmer. They are both incredibly fun classes to play for different reasons. Generally, though, I like my mesmer just a little bit better than my ele.

like has been said, it depends on what you are planning to do with your character.........eles are used in most groups, while you may have harder times getting your mesmer into groups (try the titan quests with a mesmer, especially the last day dawns and you will see what I mean). Mesmers are great support characters, I love mine, but found it hard getting into groups in the dessert area and after, and she has never been to the underworld or fissure, and I did most of the sorrows furnace quests with henchies. My ele has been everywhere and had no problems getting groups for any of the above mentioned, now; however, she cant get groups for sf or the uw either...........

both classes have their good points and low....its up to you to decide what points you what and which ones you dont....so ask yourself what you want to do with this character and you will answer which character to make.

The situation is different in Cantha than it is in Prophecies, though. Soon after Factions was released, I posted that my mesmer couldn't step into a town or outpost without receiving an invite. It's never been the same in Prophecies--my Tyrian mesmer has never received a random invite, and she's at the Ring of Fire missions. Maybe all these people wanting mesmers in their groups for Factions will eventually make it over to Prophecies and the situation will change in Tyria.

Fast caste Mesmer .