The final class for Guild Wars 2 has been revealed. It is the very unique class from the first Guild Wars, the mesmer. This class was able to wreak havoc in the last game in the hands of the right player and there is no reason to think we won’t be experiencing the same in Guild Wars 2.
Below I have summarized all the information that came out today about the mesmer and various skill videos of the class in action. You can even go to our Facebook Page to see a couple screenshots of the class.
1. Mesmers are magical duelists who rely on deception and confusion to keep their opponents in check.
2. The mesmer doesn’t have the brute power of the warrior, or the ranged devastation of the ranger. Instead, the mesmer weaves a web of interlaced illusions, conditions, and phantasmal sources of damage.
3. Mesmers create illusions — mind tricks that manifest themselves physically. Most illusions are directed at a specific target, but anyone can see and attack them.
4. A mesmer can maintain up to three illusions at a time.
5. There are two types of illusions: clones and phantasms.
6. Clones are illusions that look just like the caster, have the caster’s name, and have basic behaviors. Clones have low health and tend to do little damage.
7. Phantasms are illusions that look like the caster but have their own names and carry special illusionary weapons, which look different and have specific behavior. Phantasms are more powerful, having more health and causing more damage.
8. Mantras are a category of skill that have two phases. The mesmer first activates the mantra, which has a long cast time and replaces that skill slot with an instant-casting skill that the mesmer can then use.
9. Mantras are powerful because many can be charged up before battle and then used in the middle of another spell, without interrupting that spell. For example, Mantra of Pain can charge up into an instant-damage power spike that can be used during a channeled spell, such as the greatsword skill.
10. A mesmer can use a variety of magical, ranged, and melee weapons, including:
- Main Hand: Sword, Scepter
- Off Hand: Focus, Pistol, Sword, Torch
- Two-Handed: Staff, Greatsword
11. The mesmer introduces a new condition called confusion.
12. An enemy with confusion on them takes damage each time they activate a skill. This condition stacks in intensity, so the more confusion an enemy has, the greater the damage.
13. The mesmer has special abilities that can shatter illusions. Shattering will destroy all illusions and create a secondary effect.
14. There are four different shatter skills:
- Mind Wrack — Destroys your illusions and does damage to opponents near them.
- Cry of Frustration — Destroys your illusions and gives the confused condition to nearby foes.
- Diversion — Destroys your illusions and stuns nearby foes.
- Reflection — Destroys your illusions and places a barrier around the mesmer, which reflects enemy projectiles.
