shutdown mes pvp build

drwtwn312

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Sep 2005

Grim Frostbitten Moongoats

W/Mo

Fast Cast 9+1=10
Inspiration 6+1=7
Domination 12+3 =15
Illusion 7+1=8

Migraine
Power Leak
Power Spike
Power Drain
Cry of Frustration
Drain Enchant
Shatter Enchant
Res Sig

I use them pretty much in that order to keep up my energy with power drain and drain enchant.

All the Damage comes from shatter and spike and migraine.

This build really only works if you have a high damage person kicking some ass.

Comments? suggestions?

JYX

JYX

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Mar 2005

  • Why higher fast casting than illusion or inspiration
  • Why shatter enchant
  • Why migraine and no power block
  • Why such furious domination with no power block
  • Why enchant removal at all
  • Why not much to keep them "shut down"
  • Why the route of the interrupt mesmer at all

drwtwn312

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Sep 2005

Grim Frostbitten Moongoats

W/Mo

  • Why higher fast casting than illusion or inspiration
    Still messing with the overal skill point dist.
  • Why shatter enchant
    Some kind of damage
  • Why migraine and no power block
    Migraine is great for getting the plesky short casts, anything can be interupted, I'd rather interrupt 4, but you do bring up a good point...
  • Why such furious domination with no power block
    don't know
  • Why enchant removal at all
    Protective Spirit, I always run gvgs with an atleast one air spiker and two kd/as they yell prot I take it off they are dead
  • Why not much to keep them "shut down"
    4 int I find suffient to keep a monk down in order to have somebody kill them, but I do like the power block idea...
  • Why the route of the interrupt mesmer at all
    Becuase I find it incredibly fun and With this build We've been running we've went 4-0 in gvgs (not just playing crappy teams either)

JYX

JYX

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Mar 2005

I like you, so I'm gonna let you in on a few little secrets >.>

Unless your team is running horribly short of enchant removal, you'd do well to drop at least the shatter enchant. Costs too much, recharges too long. No good. Also you don't need "some kinda damage", your damage output to be frank is poor, and as an interrupt mesmer its not going to get much better. You may as well resign yourself to the role of disruption/shutdown and do a better job of it

Drop that, go 11/10/10 into domination, illusion and inspiration (14/11/11). Don't need fast casting for interrupts and if migraine should get interrupted...well thats bad but its not the end of the world, besides if they wanted to interrupt you, even a 1 second cast time with maxed fast casting isn't going to help. With this build you can even drop drain enchant if you don't keep missing your power drain.

Power block gives you the option of total shutown for 14 seconds at a very achievable 14 domination. Thats a major rune and a hat (I just noticed that theres no hat in your build), alows you to move onto another person straight away. Thats 2 people you've shut down for this period, oh and erm...don't block wierdo mesmer/necro types with 7 attribute lines and a rez sig, go for an orison on your plain mo/me healer type, thats total shutdown. As for Migraine yeah its good, but 1 guy only, not worth it IMO, as soon as block goes on you have nothing to do with this man and if you move on Migraine is wasted. I like arcane conundrum.

As for your second target, you need something to pin the shutdown on him. Keep in mind the possible energy the enemy has, if you interrupt 2 10e heals, one of them with a leak, then you just made him waste 10+10+24 energy: he has no energy. No need to dawdle, go check up on how our blocked guy is doing. However, because people carry energy management, because accidents do happen and I don't hit my drain, I bring signet of humility. I believe this to be essential for an interrupt mesmer, it just lets you shut down to a greater degree and not have to babysit.

Build is simple and standard. Which is why I'm willing to dish it out, can't remember the last time I posted a build. Its how you use it that counts...have fun.

McBuild:
11+2+1 domination
10+1 inspiration
10+1 illusion

arcane conundrum
power block
power drain
power leak
power spike
cry of fustration (drain enchant for you?)
signet of humility
rez sig

drwtwn312

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Sep 2005

Grim Frostbitten Moongoats

W/Mo

thank you very much for your reply (actually a courteous one at that). But I am going to give it a shot. I like the idea of power block, I hadn't looked into it much but i'm really liking it.

Like I said my reason for having the enchant drain, 1) energy upkeep, and 2) prot spirit, it basically destroys our attack.

Amused Observer

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Aug 2005

If energy is a problem, use Ele as your secondary, to get access to Glyph of lesser Energy.

I personally would go for a total skillbar shutdown via blackout. 16 dom gives you 7 seconds of shutdown on your target. It works on melee and caster types. I would combine it with an energy drain. Keeps your energy up while forcing your target to cast his spells (while blackout recharges) before he's shut down. Alternatively, equip Echo and echo the blackout skill; use the second blackout while the first recharges. That way, your target is really shut down for good.

BannyD

Academy Page

Join Date: Sep 2005

Psycho Sanctus

Mo/Me

id rather blackout a different target and keep blackout on 2 targets (preferably monks that you dont have to run too far to) at once...also combine with shame of course for when your echoed blackout runs out

something like...
fast cast 7
dom 16
inspiration 12

blackout
echo [E]
shame
shatter enchant
power drain
drain enchant
energy tap
res sig

AtomicMew

AtomicMew

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Apr 2005

N/A

good luck interrupting that orison with power block...

Migraine is one of the best elites for a mesmer, IMO. But it definitely needs cover hex(es) - arcane conundrum, phantom pain are both good ones. Max out illusion and/or bring mantra of persistance, and you got 1 guy shutdown for a good 30 or so seconds. In arena, you don't even need that though - the deep wounds spike from phantom pain pretty much means death to a monk, unless there's another monk healing em.

tafy69

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Sep 2005

N/Me

Seriously Migrane totally messes up monks, If I were you i would definately get a cover hex.

Migrane is much better than Power Block IMO

drwtwn312

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Sep 2005

Grim Frostbitten Moongoats

W/Mo

Quote:
Originally Posted by traversc
good luck interrupting that orison with power block...

Migraine is one of the best elites for a mesmer, IMO. But it definitely needs cover hex(es) - arcane conundrum, phantom pain are both good ones. Max out illusion and/or bring mantra of persistance, and you got 1 guy shutdown for a good 30 or so seconds. In arena, you don't even need that though - the deep wounds spike from phantom pain pretty much means death to a monk, unless there's another monk healing em.
Do arcane conundrum and migraine effects stack? or would it specifically be a cover?

Most of the time its the monk with migraine trying to remove it so it isn't hard to interrupt

Yukito Kunisaki

Yukito Kunisaki

Forge Runner

Join Date: Mar 2005

Chicago, IL

W/N

I'd rather play a dual shutdown mes/nec...

One who shuts out both non-casters and casters simultaneously...

Not hard to do going mes/nec...

But I'd say Migrane>Power Block because I'm not good at timing an Orison Interrupt.

Esrever

Esrever

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Jun 2005

Looking For Guild

Arcane Conundrum does basically the same thing as Migraine without the piddly -3 degen and is non-elite. Power Block is good because many builds are built around a single attribute. Knocking out all spells of that attribute for a substantial period of time means that Power Block > Migrane.

Yukito Kunisaki

Yukito Kunisaki

Forge Runner

Join Date: Mar 2005

Chicago, IL

W/N

Quote:
Originally Posted by Esrever
Arcane Conundrum does basically the same thing as Migraine without the piddly -3 degen and is non-elite. Power Block is good because many builds are built around a single attribute. Knocking out all spells of that attribute for a substantial period of time means that Power Block > Migrane.
Instead of using Arcane Conundrum and Migrane, I'd just use some other cover hex, like Parasitic Bond or something...

Power Block is for the low ping/latency HIGHLY SKILLED Forecasting people in GW. If you can guess a good skill [particularly the prot/healing 1s. cast time skills], then you can power block it before reaction...

I don't have the uber-leet skills of the interruptor in me [and interrupting 5s. cast time skills I leave to my rangers...] Instead, I go for shutting down. In terms of shutting down, Migrane coupled with something simple, like Power Leak/Power Spike isn't a bad combo at all.

Hell, have one mesmer wield Migrane while the other use Power Block. Nothing wrong with that is there? ^_^

JYX

JYX

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Mar 2005

Quote:
Originally Posted by traversc
good luck interrupting that orison with power block...
Was that sarcastic? I don't have much trouble identifying a picture and hitting a button in a second. Its the prot monks who get me, I get too twitchy with them. Network lag does have a lot to do with it, yesterday sometimes I would only see the picture appear when the bar was half full already...no chance. Other times, its better.
Quote:
Originally Posted by traversc
Migraine is one of the best elites for a mesmer, IMO. But it definitely needs cover hex(es) - arcane conundrum, phantom pain are both good ones. Max out illusion and/or bring mantra of persistance, and you got 1 guy shutdown for a good 30 or so seconds.
That costs you 45 energy. Thats a lot of energy. Besides, after that you need to stick around to interrupt, or send a ranger over. Disrupting chop is good to have but its not very reliable. Migraine lasts long, isn't too expensive and has a not unreasonable recharge time. Problem is casting time and possibility of removal. Its really not a 100% shutdown, but then, neither is block. Your choice really.
Quote:
Originally Posted by drwtwn312
Do arcane conundrum and migraine effects stack? or would it specifically be a cover?
They do stack, but the overall casting speed debuff is 150%.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yukito Kunisaki
But I'd say Migrane>Power Block because I'm not good at timing an Orison Interrupt.
Fair point, theres no use bringing a set of 8 skills good on paper that you can't use at all.

AtomicMew

AtomicMew

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Apr 2005

N/A

For those of you who don't know, AC does stack with migraine.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Everous
Was that sarcastic? I don't have much trouble identifying a picture and hitting a button in a second. Its the prot monks who get me, I get too twitchy with them. Network lag does have a lot to do with it, yesterday sometimes I would only see the picture appear when the bar was half full already...no chance. Other times, its better.
Yes that was sarcastic. You don't have a second to interrupt. You have a small fraction of a second.

Consider:
A healing monk has a 20% chance of casting a healing spell faster. So an orison would then take only about .5 seconds to get off. It takes about .2 seconds for you to get off power block. That gives you only a .3 second window to interrupt in this case. Factoring in any amount of latency, it simply is not humanly possible. So already you have an automatic 20% chance of failure, completely wasting your elite. No thank you.

Then consider normal cast time: 1s. Your window is about .8 seconds. Factoring in latency, it goes down to anywhere from 0.5 to 0.7, generally. Are you so confident that you could in 0.5 seconds read what is being cast, register that you actually have time to interrupt it and then press the button? I'm not. Any amount of hesitation would kill you.

drwtwn312

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Sep 2005

Grim Frostbitten Moongoats

W/Mo

well wouldn't it be easier to use the power block with arcane conundrum, sure it would be a waste of a skill but you sure as hell would never miss and you have the opportunity to interrupt their other skills with the power block/leak/spikes?? Just an idea

JYX

JYX

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Mar 2005

Quote:
Originally Posted by traversc
A healing monk has a 20% chance of casting a healing spell faster. So an orison would then take only about .5 seconds to get off. It takes about .2 seconds for you to get off power block. That gives you only a .3 second window to interrupt in this case. Factoring in any amount of latency, it simply is not humanly possible. So already you have an automatic 20% chance of failure, completely wasting your elite. No thank you.
Thats why theres an arcane conundrum in there. Migraine, power leak, signet of humility switch...thus wasting the remainder of your migraine. Also concerning the healing monk focus, its not a given that they'll take this combination of wand/focus. For example, a faster recharge in blood skills across both wand and focus means quite simply more energy to heal with.

No you're not going to hit every single shot of power block, when I'm playing more seriously I do like to throw arcane conundrum in there, if its removed its removed...I'm going to have to wing it. To be honest, an 80% shot at shutting down someone for 15 seconds is better than what I'm getting from migraine...which is an empty energy bar and a whole lotta babysitting. Plus five wasted slots by your suggestion shutting down 1 person, 2 covers and 2 interrupts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by traversc
Then consider normal cast time: 1s. Your window is about .8 seconds. Factoring in latency, it goes down to anywhere from 0.5 to 0.7, generally. Are you so confident that you could in 0.5 seconds read what is being cast, register that you actually have time to interrupt it and then press the button? I'm not. Any amount of hesitation would kill you.
Wow...when you put it like that...I guess I'm better than I thought. Though its true I won't be able to interrupt the first spell they cast, if they're prot...it makes no sense me twitching at the first sign and trying to interrupt a RoF. I usually warm up after a few seconds watching how the fight is going to turn out, people get predictable fast.

Like I said, no point taking interrupts you can't use. If you don't want to take that risk then don't, the success rate I get with Power Block makes it a valid elite right now. If that changes then I'll dump it. Migraine is susceptable to removal, hex breaker, is taxing on your energy to cover, and the effect is only noticable if you put extra work into it. Arcane Conundrum is a passable substitute.

Pick your poison. I'm a twitch gamer.

rii

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Mar 2005

UK

traversc, i think your making too much of a deal about this. Within a reasonable latency rate, i can hit a 1s cast 90%+ of the time. It just.... isnt that bad, i cant back it up with stats but i can back it up with experience. And personally, why are you interrupting protters? Id rather put them on the floor with a knocklocker, and take my interrupts to the healers.... theres no point in making your life difficult, when there are juicier targets stood about 10 feet away.

As for conundrum.... im a man of ignorance..... id rather take my chances and know that i have the potential to interrupt a spell every time without being screwed by twiching on a signet of devotion.

JYX

JYX

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Mar 2005

Nobody is talking about interrupting protters chris, read it again.

yeh, like I said...I won't know what they are until they cast the first lot of spells. Prot I can't deal with, so it'll have to be knocklock. Missing a mesmer interrupt is bad but it dosen't mean you're screwed...in matches I will drop a conundrum before a power block, but I'll be damned if I can only interrupt 60%-70% of the time because I wanna be REAL sure I hit that 15 recharge power spike >.> Depends on how often you screw up. I don't do it very often, so I sacrificed surety of interrupts for quantity, even so...the only 2 you can't miss are block and drain. Even then drain is iffy.

rii

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Mar 2005

UK

Quote:
if they're prot...it makes no sense me twitching at the first sign and trying to interrupt a RoF. I usually warm up after a few seconds watching how the fight is going to turn out, people get predictable fast.
o, arent you? ok then......

JYX

JYX

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Mar 2005

Quote:
Originally Posted by Everous
Though its true I won't be able to interrupt the first spell they cast, if they're prot...it makes no sense me twitching at the first sign and trying to interrupt a RoF. no indeed

AtomicMew

AtomicMew

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Apr 2005

N/A

Quote:
Thats why theres an arcane conundrum in there. Migraine, power leak, signet of humility switch...thus wasting the remainder of your migraine. Also concerning the healing monk focus, its not a given that they'll take this combination of wand/focus. For example, a faster recharge in blood skills across both wand and focus means quite simply more energy to heal with. Migraine, leak, signet of humillity? That's not the setup I run, but okay. Still, I don't see how forcing someone to spend 3x the time casting is a bad thing. If you think about it, you're about effectively cutting in half the rate at which a monk can heal.

In arena, migraine, AC, phantom pain, power spike, means a dead monk after deep wounds spike - not just useless for 14 seconds - dead. Energy isn't a problem because of inspiration skills like power drain. And it doesn't mean you have to babysit either, since you have ample time to switch to another target and back given such long cast times.

In GvG, where hex removal is more robust, you are NOT going to be getting much use out a single hex with long recharge - (in your setup, AC). In GvG, I'd still prefer migraine because you can spread it and AC over multiple casters and bury it with conjure phantasm. In GvG, i'd say leave the interrupting to the rangers.

Well, whatever, i doubt were going to convince each other. So like you said, pick your poison.

anti_z3r0

anti_z3r0

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Feb 2005

Black Rose Assassins [BRA]

W/

if you get someone to knock your target down, you can throw a blind interrupt out as soon as you see them get back up and usually nail 3/4s casts.