Mesmer Mechanics

Illusions, Phantasms & Clones

As a mesmer you are able to spawn illusions which are either phantasms or clones. Phantasms carry out an attack that is unique to them and then will become clones. Clones are copies of yourself that carry out the basic attack chain of the weapon you wielded when spawning them. In the open world, they can also distract and temporarily tank enemies. Raid and strike bosses are scripted to completely ignore them. You can have up to three clones at a time.

Virtuosos stock Blades instead of creating clones.

Shatter Skills

As a mesmer you are able to destroy (shatter) your clones for different effects, such as:

1. Focuses on dealing power damage.
2. Focuses on dealing condition damage.
3. Focuses on crowd control.
4. Focuses on defense.

Each Shatter has a variety of synergies with traits to make them strong in their own unique ways.

Chronomancer Shatters

Chronomancers have an upgraded form of Shatters and an additional shatter skill.

1. Focuses on dealing power damage.
2. Focuses on dealing condition damage.
3. Focuses on crowd control.
4. Focuses on defense.
5. A unique skill that allows you to anchor yourself in time. When the skill times out or when a Chronomancers manually ends it with , the Chronomancer'sCooldowns, Endurance and health will be reverted back to what they were before using .

Mirage Cloak

The unique mechanic of Mirage replaces your Dodge Roll with Mirage Cloak. Dodging in order to activate Mirage Cloak still consumes half of your Endurance. Mirage Cloak works like a regular dodge in terms of evading incoming attacks. However it doesn't have a cast time like a regular dodge so it can be used during other actions, including skill casts. While Mirage Cloak is active, you gain access to ambush skills, which replace your next autoattack.

• While equipping an Axe, you gain access to while Mirage Cloak is active.
• While equipping a Sword, you gain acces to while Mirage Cloak is active.
• While equipping a Scepter, you gain access to while Mirage Cloak is active.
• While equipping a Dagger, you gain access to while Mirage Cloak is active.
• While equipping a Greatsword, you gain access to while Mirage Cloak is active.
• While equipping a Staff, you gain access to while Mirage Cloak is active.
• While equipping a Spear, you gain access to while Mirage Cloak is active.
• While equipping a Trident, you gain access to while Mirage Cloak is active.

The trait can be used to make clones inherit Mirage Cloak.

Bladesongs

As a Virtuoso, instead of clones you have Blades as a resource and the typical cap of three is increased to five. Blades, if unused, will stay around indefinitely as long as you don't swap instances or swap elite specializations. Out of combat you gain one Blade every ten seconds, upon entering combat with a raid boss and most strike mission bosses you immediately get five Blades.

Additionally, your profession skills are now Bladesongs instead of Shatters. Bladesongs are unique to Virtuoso, they inherit all traits that affect Shatters. Your first three Bladesongs, unlike Shatters, have a cast time. The Bladesongs are...

1. shoots up to five blades, deals increasing strike damage per blade and pierces.
2. shoots up to five blades, inflicting one stack of per blade and pierces. This skill also deals notable strike damage.
3. combines all your blades into one, dealing increased damage per blade spent.
4. gives 0.75 seconds of invulnerability per blade consumed. Unlike the previous three Bladesongs, this skill does not have a cast time and can be used at any time.
5. instantly creates a pulsing Area of Effect around you that pulses a blade attack for one second per blade consumed. Its strike damage is not that high, but like it does not have a cast time.

Bladesongs can be turned into effective condition-based damage skills by choosing traits such as or , as these traits trigger once per blade fired.

Utility Skill Types

Illusions, Phantasms & Clones

Phantasms carry out an attack and then will transform into clones. The attack can be completed or interrupted, either will cause the phantasm to become a clone.

Phantasms cannot be shattered and do not count towards your three clone cap.

Clones will stay around for six seconds without a target, with a target they will persist until they are shattered or until their target is defeated, or until they take too much damage. A clone's strike damage is usually negligible due to having very poor weapon strength. However, clones causing conditions to be applied are much more impactful, since these conditions are unaffected by the clone's weak weapon and in fact count as inflicted by the player. This makes good management of your clone's attacks instrumental on some condition Mesmer builds, massively raising the skill ceiling.

Power-focused Mesmer builds on the other hand use clones mainly as a resource, and instead gain more damage from summoning powerful phantasms.

These are the Mesmer skills that spawn a clone or a phantasm:

Mantras

Mantras are a type of utility skill used by the Mesmer. You need to prepare a mantra before its first use, which has a relatively long channel time. Fully preparing a mantra unleashes a powerful supportive effect. After preparing the mantra, it then has two charges which recharge over time. Using up the last charge puts the mantra on cooldown and requires you to prepare it again afterwards. It is therefore advisable to be mindful of spending the last charge! The mesmer mantras are:

• After preparing this mantra, you and your allies gain a burst of healing. The mantra charge only heals yourself.
• After preparing this mantra, you and your allies gain Aegis and Stability. The mantra charge allows you to Stun Break yourself while also granting Stability to yourself and your allies.
• After preparing this mantra, you reduce the recharge of your third shatter skill . The mantra charge allows you to Daze your enemies.
• After preparing this mantra, you and nearby allies gain Might. The mantra charge allows you to damage your enemies and inflict them with Vulnerability.
• After preparing this mantra, you cleanse conditions from yourself and nearby allies. The mantra charge cleanses even more conditions.

Signets

Signets grant passive effects and a more powerful effect when activated. The passive effect of a signet is lost while it is recharging. The mesmer signets are:

• Passive effect: Heal yourself when you summon an illusion. For a Virtuoso, stocking a blade also counts as summoning an illusion. Active effect: Heal yourself and reduce the recharge of your phantasm skills.
• Passive effect: ImprovesCondition Damage. Active effect: Stun your target.
• Passive effect: Create a clone every 10 seconds while in combat. For a Virtuoso, this stocks a blade jinstead. Active effect: Recharge your shatter skills.
• Passive effect: Gain Swiftness and another random boon once every ten seconds. Active effect: Extend the duration of all of your boons by 3 seconds.
• Passive effect: Improves Condition Duration. Active effect: Stun Break yourself, blind nearby enemies and enter stealth.

Manipulations

Manipulations can be used to redirect your opponents attacks, escape and evade attacks. The mesmer manipulations are:

• Reflect projectiles while healing yourself.
• Gain Quickness and Slow your enemy, while stealing their boons and transferring your conditions to them.
• Stun Break yourself and teleport to a new location.
• Allow downed allies to keep fighting while under the effect of this illusion. If an ally under the effect on this illusion kills an enemy, they revive fully. If they do not revive fully, they will be put back into downstate when the effect ends.
• The next utility skill cast will have reduced recharge.
• You and your allies gain stealth.

Glamour

Create magical fields to aid your allies and maim enemies. The mesmer glamours are:

• Create a dome that reflects projectiles.
• A field that rips boons from enemies and cleanses conditions from allies.
• Prepare a portal for you and your allies.
• Allies passing through the viel will gain stealth.
• Allies in the area of effect gain quickness while enemies in the area are inflicted with slow.

Wells

Wells aid your allies or maim your foes in a designated area. The Chronomancer's wells are:

• Cleanse conditions and heal allies in an area.
• Damage and slow foes, then grant Superspeed, Might and Fury to allies.
• Damage and weaken foes in an area.
• Stun Break yourself and gain stability while giving aegis to your allies, then grant your allies endurance.
• Damage and chill foes, then rip their boons and daze them.
• Knock-down, float and then pull foes that are caught in this devastating well.

Deception

Decieving skills that evade, elude and confuse your foes. The Mirage's deceptions are:

• Heal over time and spawn a mirror.
• Confuse enemies and spawn a mirror.
• You and your clones shadow step to a random point around your target and gain mirage cloak.
• Shadowstep to an enemy and blind them. You may reactivate this ability to return to your original position.
• Evade backwards and leave a mirror behind.
• Shadowstep to a point, confuse your foes and cleanse conditions from yourself.

Psionic

Use blades to damage and harm your enemies. The Virtuoso's pisonic skills are:

• Throw blades at your target and heal yourself, if the first blade hits you lose conditions and if the seconds blade hits you gain aegis and a random boon.
• Channel this ability to gain distortion and restock all your blades.
• Damage enemies and apply vulnerability in an area.
• Stun Break yourself, gain Might and Fury and knock enemies back.
• Immobilize and deal damage in an area.
• Shoot damaging blades in a line.

Trait Lines

Domination

The Domination traitline is taken to improve the strike damage of power builds, and enable them to more efficiently remove boons from their targets. is a very important trait for greatsword builds as it increases both damage and clone generation.

Dueling

Dueling is a traitline that focuses on fury, confusion and power damage and is taken on both power and condition mesmer builds with different trait combinations. and are both strong traits for power builds, while the synergy between and is crucial for Condition Virtouso. The synergy between and is very important for Condition Mirage. It is worth noting that the once per interval text on only refers to the interrupt part; there is no restriction on the amount of confusion generated by this trait.

Illusions

The Illusions traitline can be taken to generate personal boons through the traits and . This makes it a premier choice for solo builds that would otherwise not have good access to boons.

The traitline can also be taken to improve condition damage through the traits , and . Another very notable use for this traitline is to increase the base duration of with the trait , or reduce the Cooldown of shatter skills with the trait .

Chaos

Chaos offers an immense increase in Condition Damage from the traits , and . To unlock most of the potential for condition builds, maintaining the boon Regeneration is necessary.

A very notable trait in this line is , using this traits allows you to gain various boons and Stability on demand from your shatter skills.

Inspiration

Inspiration is taken for group or personal support via healing, condition cleanse and boon extension. A notable trait in this line is which allows for increased support of your party and squad. Unfortunately, this traitline offers no access to the boon Regeneration, making healing options for Mesmer fall behind healing builds of other professions, despite having very strong burst healing traits in Inspiration.

Chronomancer

The Chronomancer elite specialization can focus on either pure damage dealing or on boon support.

A DPS Chronomancer would pick the trait .

A Quickness support Chronomancer would pick the trait .

An Alacrity support Chronomancer would pick the trait .

It is notable that either of those three build options generally opt for the same gear and similar playstyle, making Chronomancer able to adapt to almost any group scenario with a single trait change.

Mirage

The Mirage elite specialization focuses on dealing high Condition Damage and can opt into Alacrity generation when equipping a staff by taking the trait . The grandmaster trait is the cornerstone of almost every Mirage build in PvE.

Virtuoso

The Virtuoso elite specialization excels at dealing high Condition Damage in the form of Bleeding thanks to the trait . Virtuosos are also excellent direct power damage dealers, and can function as a more beginner-friendly version of DPS Chronomancer while following similar play patterns.

Breakbar Skills

and deal 100 breakbar damage for each clone, including the player, the breakbar damage from those skills can be from 100 up to 400.

can hit a second time for an additional 100 breakbar damage.

Deals 550 breakbar damage assuming the enemy got breakbar damage from all three pulses of the well.