User:A F K When Needed/Mesmer/Archive

CAVEAT: The author has never found playing a Mesmer fun, and prays to Abaddon, Balthazar, Bear, Dhuum, Dolyak, Dragon, Dwayna, Eagle, Felix, Frog, Grenth, Koda, Konig, Kormir, Lyssa, Melandru, Menzies, Minotaur, Owl, Poke, Raven, Snow Leopard, The Eternal Alchemy, The Great Dwarf, Wolf, Wolverine and Wurm that he has seen the last of them.

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What is the Mesmer profession?

A Mesmer is a caster profession aimed at manipulating the enemy.

Will this EVER work in a game featuring both PvE and PvP?

Short answer: No.

Long answer: There's no comparing that guy in world PvP with Jormag. Or a Quaggan.

A player and an AI opponent fundamentally provide different challenges. Hell, the game's designed with that in mind. AI enemies are designed with that in mind. The Mesmer profession is a single, unified attempt to counter both of those at once, equally... good luck with that.

Does Guild Wars 2 feature both PvE and PvP

Yes.

Will the Mesmer profession ever work in Guild Wars 2?

No. See above for details.

Is that it?

No. That's the most basic, fundamental design fault. Having one counter to two entirely different problems is next to impossible. And yet... let's be honest with ourselves. That's not the case in Guild Wars. It won't be the case in Guild Wars 2.

Let's have a look at the list.

For the Mesmer to work, it must be equally viable (or reasonably close) in each of these situations;

1. Fighting that guy in PvP.
2. Fighting a horde of 20 (relatively weak) enemies in PvE.
3. Fighting Jormag.
4. General solo PvE play.
5. Playing as part of a team in generic PvE.
6. Everything else the game has to offer.

^will this happen? It depends on the skills the profession has available. I highly doubt it. What skills would work? I'm not sure I can generate a list of skills for Mesmers to use when wielding an axe, a staff, a wand, etc. Can you? That's a lot of different skills to balance in all of the above (and more!).

But I want a balanced Mesmer!

Honestly? Me too. I think the design of the profession - if it worked - would mean there would be no profession with a higher skill cap. Playing one would be an art form.

But to pull it off you'd need to have entirely different skills in both PvE and in PvP, for starters. How many possible weapons combinations are there for the Mesmer? Multiply that by two. Enjoy making all those skills. What's next? Well, what kind of skills will be available? Let's look at two of the profession defining skills of the Mesmer; gw1:Backfire and gw1:Empathy. Are those balanced when fighting 20 Krait, when fighting 5 Quaggan, when fighting Jormag? No.

To keep any profession viable without making it OP is a careful balancing act. For the Mesmer, there's too great a strain. The objective "to control" is not on the same level as "to deal damage" or "to heal". Simple fact.

TL;DR plz

You cannot compare the challenges provided when fighting a Quaggan, to fighting that guy in PvP, to fighting Jormag. They are entirely different encounters. To include the Mesmer profession in Guild Wars 2 is to attempt to compile a shitload of abilities designed to do just that. (Ideally a player can wield any profession-available weapon and be reasonably balanced with others of the same profession, yes?)

I'm sorry, that's a noble goal. A cool idea for a profession. But, it just won't happen.