Why are there virtually no mesmers ingame?

I made myself a "mesma" last month. Surprisingly I was able to get into PUGs because these days some mission outposts are so empty that they'll take anyone, even mesmers. Of course the PUG sucked so I left before the mission.

Me/Mo ftw.

My main character's a Mesmer, and she does just fine in PvE. I can't interrupt well, but that's not because fo the class, it's because I don't have the greatest connection and my reflexes have slowed a bit. But I can do a fair bit of damage while I'm out running around.

Fortunately, mesmers have others, more powerful means of shutdown. They don't require split second timing, or even line of sight, contrary to rangers.

Meser's are Fun!

They are the new Summonmancers of guildwars!

Summonmancer
Me/Rt or Rt/Me Variant

Boon of Creation
Echo
Arcane Echo
Ebon Vanguard Assassin Support
Summon Ruby Djinn

Cast Boon of Creation
Cast Summon Ruby Djinn

Arcane Echo > Cast Ebon Vanguard Assassin Support > Cast Echo > Cast Arcane Echo'ed Assassin Support > Echo Arcane Echo'ed Assassin Support

Blam, you now have an Army of 3+ Assassin's at your disposal + an Asura summon.

4+ Man team comming through ftw

Mesmers in PvE are so rare because there are so few mesmer builds that are effective in PvE. And 75% of the ones that do work in PvE revolve around using the skills of your secondary class coupled with your Fast Casting attribute.

I've completed all three campaigns on my mesmer, and seen a lot of ignorance/assumptions about them. I've henched most of it, because the henchmen are often better than pugs, sadly. The truth is that the only places mesmers don't work is in the rigidly crafted teams for Deep/Urgoz/DoA in the days before Ursanway.

The times when you actually need AoE in normal PvE, including HM, are few and far between. In those situations, of course eles can do more damage. Their biggest advantage is meteor shower with its knockdown. But in terms of damage, mantra of recovery, ether phantom, and cry of pain provide excellent *armor-ignoring* AoE damage. Plus mesmers have the flexibility to play a fire nuking build if necessary.

In most of PvE though, you are faced with small groups and generally don't have or *need* any sort of tanking. Mesmers shine in these situations because they can easily remove all healing from the equation with skills like backfire, enchantment removal, and interrupts. This allows the quick steamrolling of enemy mobs. The build I used for vanquishing Tyria is:
[finish him!][empathy][backfire][necrosis][cry of pain][mantra of recovery][ether signet][optional]. I doubt any other class could go through groups that fast.

It really annoys me every time I read arguments that mesmers suck in pve, because it's simply not true, and it just perpetuates stereotypes. Most of these people don't have real experience playing a mesmer, and know half as much about the game as competent mesmers have to.

edit: in response to the argument that all mesmer builds revolve around fast casting, that may be because it's one of the class's most powerful assets. Still, even without it, one of the strengths of mesmers is their flexibility in terms of build. In addition to domination, I have several Illusion builds that don't use fast casting at all and work well in PvE. I also have spiteful spirit, spoil victor, fire nuking, ritualist, and even bonding builds. Most classes have a few powerful elites that are used more than all others, so it doesn't explain mesmer rarity. People just perk up at the sight of spiteful spirit or flesh golem, and don't understand mantra of recovery, ineptitude, or echo, so they dismiss them as ineffective.

You must have missed Avarre's post on page 2

Avarre is just one of the best mesmers in the game.

Most people don't say that mesmers can't be useful. They say that they are less than other professions in PVE.

Gwen is a Mesma........just sayin

All the capable Mesmer players have had no problem blasting there way through Factions I am sure they are all currently working on the grind titles in Gwen

I read Avarre's post already. Disregarding the elite areas though, I disagree that mesmers are less effective, and that more than one mesmer is a waste of party space. I simply don't buy into the tank-nuke-heal trifecta for most of pve. Fissure of Woe, maybe, but for the vast majority of the game grouping and tanking is not needed, and it's actually slower than other approaches. I think high spike damage is the best defense actually, because regardless of your opponents build, when he's dead you have negated him. Frankly, it couldn't be easier with armor ignoring damage. Throwing interrupts in there, along with anti-monk skills, makes mincemeat of almost everything - and the more mesmers the better.

Mesmers are extremely underrated by those that have never mastered them. With the abbility to deal fast armor ignoring dmg, shut down both casters and melee they are very versitile. Paired with the correct secondary they can serve a dual function better than most any other class.


The biggest problem with most people playing mesmers is that the learning curve is much much longer than on any other char, so people quite before reaching really understanding of the proffesion.

LOL!

Mesmers are SOOOO underrated. I always take a Mesmer with me in PvE.

Mesmers aren't the best in PvE. Not useless, but whatever they can do, something else can probably do the same thing more efficiently or with a broader spectrum of utility and capability. We've all been at Coventina the Matron in the Ring of Fire islands where we wished there was a Diversion mesmer to shut off those skills but does the mesmer serve a really strong purpose anywhere else in that mission? If you want damage get an ele, if you want support get a monk, if you want a damage absorber get a warrior to 'tank'. PvE is generally and historically that straightforward that a mesmer's strengths are not required. One of the Mesmer's biggest strengths is shutting down foes although Meteor Shower does just that in PvE where the mobs are too thick-skulled to move. Consequently, Elementalists steamroll through PvE.

Enter Hard Mode. Monsters now attack faster, cast faster, move faster. This has inadvertently weakened the entire 'Power' line of interrupts making it near impossible to interrupt some otherwise interruptable skills. Sure, you can be twitchy and get lucky with some interruptions but that's scruffy play.

You could argue that skills like Empathy are stronger in HM because of the rapid attack speed but in reality, you're just a weak, wannabe Spiteful Spirit Necro.

Mesmers are not useless but as long as the motto of PvE is "kill and move on", other classes will simply outdo the Mesmer.

Edit: Despite all I've written above, if I'm not playing as Mesmer through PvE, I will always take a Mesmer henchman [not often a Hero] if I know they have Cry of Frustration. The AI is too good at interrupts but the AI often use their best skill upon aggro so interrupting the area is a great tool. It's worth mentioning that it works just as well on Zhed though.

Mesmers are underrated by most people, this I put down to 3 things

1 Their Dance emote is terrible
2 there armor looks naf
3 Many players are limited in there ability to play subtle characters.

I base this on the players who's attitude seems to be.
Me got big sword thingy and hit things or I can blow the crap out of everything with elemental power, its no wonder mesmers are seldom chosen as characters.

There are only a few players that enjoy the versitility of the mesmer.
Its a profession for adults who enjoy a challenge and see more than one way of solving problems in game.

We are small in number but smug in our conviction that we are better at many things than other classes, and by the fact that you only function at our whim.
We can interupt you whenever we like.

consider any flames interupted by my supirior abilities.

I usually take a Mesmer with me. Hero Mesmers make great interrupt-bots.

i love my mesmA. they are certainly not the easiest class to play, button mashing will get you nowhere. the people that think pve mesmAs are useless are either pvp'ers or people who have never played mesmA in pve and don't realize how powerful they can be.
i was lfg for grand court of sebelkeh on my mesmA recently, and a group was looking for a damage dealer. i added myself and was rejected. group leader pm'ed me saying they wanted a nuker. o.O i replied that i an do plenty of damage, and that they should say lf nuker if that's what they wanted. oh yeah, and i was the only other person not afk in the district. gl hf.

use a fast casting nuker for pve...

What's a mesma?

This doesn't exist anymore, although I continue to cheat AI through armor/health toying. What exists is farming or Paraway or Ursanway or PVEskill-pilingway.
No. But I won't loose my time explaining in details why since you're rejecting Avarre's post so easily. In short, the best shutdown in PVE is the death status. You have to survive while killing the fastest way possible. Mesmer don't kill as fast as other synergised professions. "armor ignoring spike damage"? You need DPS in PVE, not spike. Mesmers don't offer as much support/defense as Paras, SY! Warriors, Minions tanking armies, NEcros AoE hexes, Rangers shutdown or AoE damage, Eles AoE damage or warding, Rits AoE damage and support. They can't fill any central role in PVE. Even the ranger, an unwanted profession in groups for a long time, can deal more AoE damage through Splinter barrage or provide more ugly boss shutdown through Broad Head Arrow (and that's quite an easier way to kill Coventina if you bring a silencing bow and high bow mastery). End of story.

EDIT: BTW I have a PVE mesmer that finished all campaigns and vainquished many Tyria's regions.