Mesmer Guide

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The Mesmer is definately the hardest profession in Guild Wars. They are neither party-based or soloists. They work in the background; the driving force that turns the tide of a battle. This profession IS NOT RECOMMENDED for a beginner. If you want a spell caster, stick with an elementalist or necromancer. You'll thank me later.



In simple terms, the Mesmer can't be the one to attack first. They must wait for the right situation to strike. You also will have a set of skills against certain classes. For example:



Against Melee enemies:

-Empathy - When an enemy attacks, he takes damage

-Clumsiness - Attacks are interrupted and target takes damage

-Ineptitude - If your enemy attacks, the target becomes blind and takes damage



Against Spell Casters:

-Chaos Storm - Causes damage and drains energy from the target

-Backfire - Spells casted land on the caster

-Energy Surge - Target loses energy and damages all nearby enemies







In PvP, the Mesmer has very valuable and essential skills such as:

-Panic - Hexes in an AoE effect. Causes damage and energy loss

-Ethereal Burden - Your typical root spell. Slows down your enemies and lets you get away





As you can see, the Mesmer can be considered a "jack of all trades" They can do a lot of everything, but can only do them under certain conditions. I can't stress it enough how much a mesmer should be considered an expert class. Those who consider themselves so, apply within =)



The Mesmer is an artisan of Illusions, Inspiration and Domination. Not just a pretty face, a Mesmer holds the tools available to completely eliminate their target or drive them to insanity through counter attacks and denial. It’s quite a complicated profession to play but, when played strategically, they can be very instrumental in a team’s success. Lacking in raw damage output the Mesmer requires patience; you must wait for the enemy to make the first move. This is one reason the Mesmer is not the most popular choice. A Mesmer is an extremely powerful profession, although having said that, a Mesmer alone will not be the destructor of worlds. This is what I love about Guild Wars; this is what Guild Wars is about, teamwork. Coupling your skills with your team member's is the driving force behind playing the Mesmer.



A support class at heart, the Mesmer is made to be part of a tight group working along side the damage dealers. Whether it be running into battle behind the Warriors or sweeping the backline, disabling enemy monks and damage dealers. It is essential to know your team members and their abilities; being aware of your surroundings to take advantage of situations on the fly. This can make spells like Epidemic an immensely influential spell that can change the tide of battle in a matter of seconds. Aesthetically, the Mesmer out performs any other profession with their extravagant robes and the purple theme of their skills but I wont get into that much further as I may cause an uproar amongst the Necromancer or Elementalist community.



Each profession plays a vital role and each profession has its weakness and a counter. Playing a Mesmer is an advanced class that can potentially perform a counter to any role within the enemy team. If you can stop your target from performing their role, your job is done and you bring your team closer to victory.



Overview of Attributes



It is important not to spread your attribute points across all lines, try to focus on two or three attributes to compliment your play style and your secondary profession.



Fast Casting: For primary Mesmers only, this ability simply does just what its name implies, decreasing the casting time of your spells. Definitely an important attribute to put points into as you are primarily casting spells for a counter attack. Get in there quickly, cast your three or four spells and move out! One thing to take into consideration is your secondary profession, if you choose Elementalist for example; Fast Casting will help speed up the cast times of those slower spells. I personally went Mesmer/Monk and Fast Casting really helped me getting those heals off in time.



Domination: Points into Domination increase the effectiveness of the spells within this alignment. Typically these spells rely upon targets to be casting. Interrupts and target power drain are strong points within this line.



Illusions: Points into Illusions increase the effectiveness of the spells within this alignment. The spells in this line are used to play with the target's mind, including hindering their movement or skill use.



Inspiration: Points into Inspiration increase the effectiveness of the spells within this alignment. These spell predominately deal with giving you energy and buffs against certain damage types.



Tips and Tactics



Another thing that sets Guild Wars apart from other MMOs is the limitation of skills we can bring forth into the battlefield. This decision depends on your secondary profession and relies heavily on the role you wish to perform within your group or guild.



Enemy Caster Suppression



Target selection has been made fairly simple within Guild Wars. On the other hand, selecting the correct target is what will give your team the upper hand against another. Some people say it is of the utmost importance to eliminate enemy healers, others say the Elementalists first, either way our first target will be a caster. Moving into position and not being noticed is probably one of the harder jobs of any support class. Pick your target or assist your warriors and then wait till they cast their first spell, then hit them with an interrupt. From here you have a number of choices depending on their next move. A couple of spells to take note of are definitely Backfire and Energy Burn and either of the interrupt spells; Power Drain and Power Spike are some of my favorites. At this point your target has taken a substantial amount of damage or lost enough energy to be locked out of the battle, wasting their precious energy to heal themselves. Further interrupts will just rub salt into the wound and ensure their disposal.



Now, at this point you've put yourself into a vulnerable position. Another caster may be moving in to kill or otherwise take you out of the scenario. A quick interrupt and/or Backfire should scare him off. The key here is to work with your damage dealers. It's a simple rule of thumb but assisting on a target with your team mates should be your primary focus, running off and doing your own thing will only get you killed. This could be falling back and helping your monks or focusing on warrior support/suppression depending on your secondary profession.



Enemy Tank Suppression



If you've put yourself into a vulnerable position you could be facing three, dragon sword bearing, enraged Warriors. What do you do? RUN!! But before running for your dear life, the best thing you could do is try and split the assist train. I would start off by dumping some Physical Resistance on myself then casting an Ethereal Burden or Imagined Burden on the first Warrior I see. There are of course other options. One of which includes a lot of team communication to eradicate any threat of an enemy Warrior assist train. You could stand where you are and drop a Chaos Storm and get a friendly Fire Elementalist to drop a Meteor Shower as well. That should get the assist train off you.



Other spells I should mention are Empathy, Soothing Images and Drain Enchantment, all of which are some of the best anti-Warrior spells in the Mesmer toolbox. The clever use of simple "get away" spells should also be considered. In some scenarios you could cast Imagined Haste and kite the enemy away from the battle. If they choose to follow you, even better! Let your damage dealers do their job while the enemy is busy chasing you around. Always be aware of what's behind you, a quick turn and re-cast of Ethereal Burden, for example, should keep that Warrior out of the battle.



The key here is annoyance! That means hindering the enemy's movement and denying them the use of their skills.