Distortion

This article is about the Mesmer skill. For the effect, see Distortion (effect).

Shatter. Gain distortion and destroy all your clones, gaining additional distortion for each one shattered. — In-game description

Distortion

Profession

Mesmer (skill list)

Slot

Profession mechanic

Type

Shatter

Game link

API

10192

“

50  

Distortion

Shatter. Gain distortion and destroy all your clones, gaining additional distortion for each one shattered.

 Distortion (1s): Immune to conditions and damage.

 Number of Targets: 1

 Radius: 240

 Prevents Capture-Point Contribution

 Range: 1,200

— In-game description

Related skills

•   Signet of Illusions — Signet Passive: Creates a clone every few seconds. Signet Active: Recharges shatter skills.

Related traits

Domination

• Rending Shatter — Shatter skills inflict vulnerability on hit.
• Shattered Concentration — Shatter skills also remove a boon on hit.

Chaos

• Illusionary Defense — Grant protection to nearby allies when you use a Shatter skill.
• Auspicious Anguish — Convert damaging conditions to boons whenever you gain Distortion or become disabled. This trait can only trigger when disabled once per interval. Disables include stun, daze, knockback, pull, knockdown, sink, float, launch, taunt, and fear.
• Bountiful Disillusionment — Gain stability when you use a Shatter skill. Grant an additional boon to nearby allies based on which Shatter is used.

Inspiration

• Inspiring Distortion — Grant aegis to other nearby allies whenever you give yourself distortion or use Shatter skill 4.
• Mental Defense — Shatter skill 4 grants boons and breaks allies out of stuns.
• Restorative Illusions — Heal and cleanse conditions from yourself and nearby allies when you use a Shatter skill.

Illusions

• Maim the Disillusioned — Shatter skills inflict torment on hit.
• Master of Misdirection — Shatter skills gain recharge reduction.
• Master of Fragmentation — Your Shatter skills are improved.

Chronomancer

• Time Catches Up — Activating a Shatter gives your illusions superspeed. Shatters deal increased damage to movement-impaired foes.
• Flow of Time — Gain alacrity for each clone you shatter.
• Illusionary Reversion — Shatter skills generate a clone if you have enough clones present.
• Seize the Moment — You and nearby allies gain quickness for each clone you shatter. Grant quickness to nearby allies when you summon a phantasm.

Mirage

• Riddle of Sand — When entering combat, your first Ambush attack applies confusion. This ability refreshes when you use a Shatter skill.
• Nomad's Endurance — Shatter skills give vigor, and vigor grants condition damage.
• Desert Distortion — Illusions shattered by Distortion become Mirage Mirrors. Ambush skills become available for a short time whenever you grant distortion to yourself.
• Dune Cloak — Shatter skills grant Mirage Cloak when enough clones are present.

Notes

Anomaly:

Although the description says "Immune to conditions and damage" it actually makes the player invulnerable, also making them immune to Control effects

• This skill is locked until level 19.
• Unlike Blur, the Distortion effect actually grants Invulnerability.
• Although Distortion doesn't affect foes on its own, on-shatter effects like Maim the Disillusioned will affect foes near caster and destroyed illusions.
• Appears in the fourth profession mechanic slot for mesmer and its chronomancer and mirage elite specializations. Virtuoso uses Bladesong Distortion instead.

Version history

For a detailed skill history, see here.

Patch	Changes
October 04, 2022	Chronomancer: Continuum Shift has been moved to slot 5 of the profession mechanic bar. Distortion is now accessible in slot 4. Virtuoso: Bladeturn Requiem has been moved to slot 5 of the profession mechanic bar. Distortion is now accessible in slot 4.
July 16, 2019	Chronomancer: Continuum Shift now replaces Distortion in the F4 slot instead of taking the F5 slot.
March 27, 2018	Updated the tooltip description of this effect to better reflect its functionality.
February 06, 2018	Shatter skills now only shatter clones. Descriptions have been updated to reflect their new functionality.
September 29, 2015	Updated the description of these skills to include the effects added when Illusionary Persona functionality was made baseline.
June 23, 2015	Specialization update: Using any shatter skill now creates the shatter effect on you as well by default. Reduced the recharge to 50 seconds. When affected by traits such as Maim the Disillusioned and Illusionary Retribution, this skill now strikes 1 target.
May 21, 2014	Fixed a bug that caused this buff to grant evasion instead of invulnerability. Updated the description of this buff to indicate invulnerability.
April 30, 2013	This skill no longer allows capture of control points in all formats or communing in PvP.
January 03, 2013	Shatter skills now share a global 0.25 second recharge, to prevent multiple shatter effects triggering on the same illusion.
August 28, 2012	Game release: Distortion has been added to the game.

Trivia

• A Guild Wars skill bears the same name as this skill.
• The game update of 16th of July 2019 removed Chronomancers' access to Distortion, moving Continuum Shift to F4, and making it apply the distortion effect on cast.
  • The game update of 7th of July 2020 removed the distortion effect from Continuum Split.
  • The game update of 4th of October 2022 restored the original design, moving Continuum Split back to F5 and returning Distortion to F4.

See also

•   Bladesong Distortion — Virtuoso's Bladesong skill in this slot