The Diversionator

The Diversionator (tm)

Diversion, Diversion... how do I love thee, let me count the ways. Here's a build I've been refining for awhile that focuses on one of the top, top, top non-elites in the game - Diversion. What other severely ownz spells, skills, signets, spirits, glyphs, bow attacks, traps, pet attacks, melee attacks, stances and shouts? Only adrenal skills escape unharmed. I am in awe of how good this thing is when it is working its magic.

I have several versions, but I think this one that works particularly well for me. It is one of the best builds I've made I must say. Use this and your utility Mesmer game will go to another level. You can play it in almost any format (with minor tweaks), against any class and still be very effective. I really think it's that good:

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Me/?? (only Mesmer skills are used, but I pick Ranger to be more unassuming :P)

Domination: 16
Fast Cast: 10
Inspiration: 10
Illusion: 4
(1 point left)

Diversion: 59 seconds of added recharge, 1.36s cast
Energy Drain: 16E stolen, .68s cast
Energy Tap: 12E stolen, 2s cast
Wastrel's Worry: 68 damage when triggered, .17s cast
Power Spike: 107 interrupt damage vs. a spell, .17s cast
Distortion: -2E a whiff
Hex Breaker: 95 seconds of protection, 48 damage when triggered
Rez: ...but of course! Switch in Drain Enchant or Ether Feast if rez is covered by team
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This is the key idea I had in mind when making this build was to spam Diversion as often as I wanted without constantly being at 0E. Back Fire costs 15E to cast, but it is used twice max in 30 seconds. In 30 seconds, you can chain Diversion's 10E cast five times! That's 50E and a little too much for most builds to handle.

So this little number solves that by constantly stealing 28E energy every twenty seconds and not using any other mana-taxing skill. With natural regen as you are waiting six secs for Diversion to work or wear off, you gain almost 8E. Not that you are simply sitting there waiting though. I love the combo of Wastrel's Worry+Diversion+ (slight pause) Wastrel's Worry. You are either getting 166 damage or a 59s recharge of a Diverted skill. Constant WW's peppered with Diversion casts (mix up the timing) is total frustration for the opponent.

And when that opponent gets drained from my constant energy stealing (mixed with their own use), Wastrel's Worry is just free damage. They ALWAYS run in this situation, and I follow with WW+Diversion to make sure that even when they do get mana, I will strip them of their healing skill. This makes it so easy for your team to punish and kill anyone who's this helpless, especially Monks. Hex Breaker? Lol, whenever I see that, I spam WW twice and usually can Divert the stance the next time they try it.

I also brought along Power Spike. This is what controls casters in this build. Throw a WW solo without Diversion and you get a free Power Spike AND the WW trigger for 175 total damage (35%) if they try to use a spell. If they are using stances or Sigs (the Hex mark goes away), then back to Diversion. For Monks who need those quick heals when near death, PS just shuts it down by taking 20% damage from their bar (35% with WW). Die Monk die. Why not use Power Drain/Leak? Because PS recharges in a super-quick 15 seconds, which gives me a lot more opportunities to interrupt spells and causes quicker deaths to my main targets the Monks.

For defense I use Hex Breaker to charge at Necros/Mesmers unafraid, and I use Distortion as my Panic Button when Rangers and Warriors start hating me. The chase when they come for you is in your favor since you can drain energy and Divert skills as you Distort. The Rez is there because you ALWAYS bring a Rez to Arenas. Switch to other skills like Ether Feast or Drain Enchant if no rez is needed in larger battles.

The results are incredible. I was able to single handedly control three enemies of [b]any[/[b] class simultaneously. I have a fast interrupt doing pressure damage, skill denial for a whole minute with Diversion spam, great energy draining with E.Tap/Drain, and I'm protected well against most Rangers/Warriors/Necros/Mesmers with my stances. And because of the awesome cast times, I am very flexible in who I send a spell at when on the run as I am constantly switching targets with ease. 1.36s for Diversion is really a big part of my ability to catch skills, even against a Diversion-wary target.

Having a Warrior on my back swinging through Distortion as I kite around the Monk I am WW+Diverting is just too cool. When he grows tired of missing me, he goes back to save his Monk from my teammates and I start Diverting his mega combos/Healing Sig too. in arenas all you need is dedicated damage from two teammates and a decent Monk to be in total control. Here are some of the things I keep in mind as I cast before switching targets:

- I'm on an Elmo... did my Diversion catch Draw Conditions? Does he still have RoF or Mend Ailment?

- I'm on a dying Ranger... did I snare Troll Unguent?

- I'm on a Frag+Virul Mesmer... did I Divert a key Hex? Which one?

- On a Monk... did I take away his main self heals (usually Orison and Healing Touch, etc)? Is Healing Seed gone for a long, long, long time (1.24 minutes)?

- On a AotL Necro... did i get Blood Renewal? Is Dark Pact out of the picture for a full minute?

This isn't a build made for primary damage obviously, but it does JUST enough to put the pressure on. Smite ElMos, Kindle prep Rangers, Hammer bash Warriors, healing/protect Monks, etc. were dropping like flies one day due to my tactics that set them up as easy kills for the TA PuG team I joined. The four of us matched up skills pre-fight at Droknar's and then went on to dominate 95% of our opponents with Flawless victories. We had an Eviscerate Warrior, a good Protect Monk with decent healing spells, and an ElMo smiter. I would debuff as many opponents possible so that they never had to worry about too much spike damage while being able to kill a gimped foe easier than if they had all their mana and skills. Too bad we had to quit because our streak was an easy 23 wins. Starting from TA instead of CA, that's definitely solid.

Negatives? The biggest negative is when the whole team on the other side gets upset and rushes you when they see what's going on. Interrupts are hardly an issue except during mana steals since I have a lot of quick casts/recharges. I also use terrain and Distort vs. the new Power Rangers. Hex removal/stoppers of any kind are a non-issue as described above. Damage output isn't great, but this is supposed to be a utility build and I'm happy that it does add some punch to the matches as needed. Energy drain on me is the main thing that I worry about. Good thing not many people do it, but in the matches where I saw it, I interrupt, energy steal it back, and Divert them too just to impose my build over theirs. Besides a massive rush on me, that's about all the complaints from me. Not having good team mates hurts since you can only do so much alone, but that's true for any build.

Multiple Diversionators can really screw up enemy teams in the larger game format if around three of them are let loose on the battlefield. There's only a few ways to remove the effect of a minute recharge once it is on you (Oath Shot, being Black Out'ed). Also, focused energy stealing is difficult for most classes to overcome. Pressure damage from WW and PS keeps the enemy on his toes - especially when the heals are being diverted. Three Diversionators can easily spam these tactics (or variations) on two enemies each while the rest of the team pounds them into the ground. Spamming Diversion is very effective, and its the ability to keep it going that makes this build a ton of fun to play.