Fast casting

[Gwyndion]

I'm kind of new to gw, got a lvl 9 M/E , and i'm wondring, does fast casting affect the recharge time? i hope it does, if it doesn't, i'll probably make E/M and i'm wondring, while i trap the enemy with mesmer hexes etc, what is a good way to regain energy since i only have 37 energy (why you gain hp but not energy when you lvl puzzles me) and what elemental branch is good to deal single enemy damage or gives me bac energy or so?

[Phaeax]

Fast Casting only reduces the cast time innately; you could use the elite skill Mantra of Recovery based on Fast Casting to cut down recharge times though.

As far as recovering energy, that's where Inspiration Magic is your friend. There are many spells in there to recover energy or steal it from foes. Which is most applicable depends on your other skills. I've found that Inspiration Magic is the support line that no primary Mesmer can ignore.

[Gwyndion]

Is there a way to deal good damage with a M/E? I can travel around with henchmen, but i just don't have the raw power i want...and i just cant find cities, the quest I have to do atm require me to travel to area's I've never even heard of...i'm seriously considering maing a N/R

[Gwyndion]

Is there a way to deal good damage with a M/E? I can travel around with henchmen, but i just don't have the raw power i want...and i just cant find cities, the quest I have to do atm require me to travel to area's I've never even heard of...i'm seriously considering maing a N/R since Necromancers have the reap souls skill, and my mesmer only has 37 energy atm, which doesn't allow for long time engagements, which is the type of engagement i usually have to do...

[Corka]

You will seriously cry over that decision if you made it and finally reached the end game. Sou reaping is somewhat handy in PvE... less so in PvP. Plus for energy Mesmers are far better prepared in general anyway.

[Illusionists]

You will seriously cry over that decision if you made it and finally reached the end game. Sou reaping is somewhat handy in PvE... less so in PvP. Plus for energy Mesmers are far better prepared in general anyway.

U should use either Domination or Illusion combined with fast casting and inspiration, for a pure mesmer. Mine does quite well.

Also, with Domination magic you will be a very *weird* character, which you deal great damage but kidna situational. Shatter Hex, Chaos Storm, Backfire, Energy Surge, Wastrel's Worry..... they all do a lot of damage, but most importantly:

Mesmer damage is NOT reduced by armor. The higher your level the greater you'll love this... elementalists usually get pissed off because of resistance.

[Feynt]

Aeromancers and geomancers less so. >)

He's right though, a mesmer/elementalist combo (either way) shouldn't be content with just elementalist spells. Use Domination magic instead of a second element to rack up the damage. Empathy and Backfire are the easiest two to think of, but Domination magic has a lot of potential. Illusion magic is... Less potent, but everyone loves Conjure Phantasm, and the loss of 10 HP per second for however many seconds is not a bad thing.

[Nobleman Azure]

I'm kind of new to gw, got a lvl 9 M/E , and i'm wondring, does fast casting affect the recharge time? i hope it does, if it doesn't, i'll probably make E/M and i'm wondring, while i trap the enemy with mesmer hexes etc, what is a good way to regain energy since i only have 37 energy (why you gain hp but not energy when you lvl puzzles me) and what elemental branch is good to deal single enemy damage or gives me bac energy or so?

Inspiration magic helps regain energy as well as your current element's attunement.

Air magic is very powerful against singles because of its armor penetration. (and like any elementals it helps give you back energy through attunements, Air attunement in this one)

[Gwyndion]

true, but i think fire would have more use of my putting points in fast casting because those spells are powerfull, but a big delay, so lvl 8 or so fast casting, combined with a mantra of recovery (where can i get this skill; and does its affects also work on its own skill?

[Nobleman Azure]

fast casting doesnt give great benefits only to spells with long cast times, cutting down the cast time of a short-cast spell can also make it harder to interrupt as well as increase rate of spamming you can do with it. As for interrupt spells it makes more room for error because youd need less quick reflex to be able to interrupt something.

[Gwyndion]

true, but spamming isn't handy without a few good energy stealing spells, which i dont have yet

[Illusionists]

fast casting doesnt give great benefits only to spells with long cast times, cutting down the cast time of a short-cast spell can also make it harder to interrupt as well as increase rate of spamming you can do with it. As for interrupt spells it makes more room for error because youd need less quick reflex to be able to interrupt something.

The problem with Elementalist spells lay with Exhaustion. Believe me it is the most painful thing to have! When I play my E/Me I don't give a crap, but for Mesmer Primary it is a huge problem when your energy goes too low. Without using any Exhaustion spells, however, your elementalist second will not perform as nice as you thought.

[Nobleman Azure]

there are very few spells in the water line that causes exhaustion and yet water is a pretty annoying type of elemental to go against.

What you say has some truth in it however, the most effective way to battle exhaustion is energy storage. What i was saying however is just to make sure people do not get the idea that fast cast can only benefit stuff with increasingly long cast times.

[Gwyndion]

I'm having trouble choosing an element, water has some nice skills complementing my mesmer skills, yet fire would also be handy when my party's closed in.

Btw: Does anyone know why there's a ranger, monk, warrior and elementalist henchmen, but not a mecro or a mesmer henchmen? at least I haven't seen them yet, the healing henchmen is good for me, the mage is handy, but the warrior and archer arent that good in my opinion

[Nobleman Azure]

as you progress in the game you will meet more types of henchmen, just be patient.

As for elements pick a style of damage:

Fire: Best in Area Effect Damage
Air: Best in Single Target devastation
Earth: Best in Defensive
Water: Best in screwing with targets.

[Gwyndion]

guess i'll thin about it then...say, i'm at frost gate ( i haven't got that many spots, only ten or so on my map but a team rushed me there), and i'm having trouble choosing the spells to take, empathy was good at start, but its getting worse (or so it seems), bacfire and power spie i know to take, is channeling good and good? what other skills should i take? i'm a M/E

[Feynt]

Channeling has a tight area of effect, it only gives you energy from monsters who are considered in touch range. If you use a lot of close area spells (Phoenix for it's initial cast damage AND explosive area damage, Inferno, Whirlwind, Aftershock, etc.) then it's worth using. Just remember though that you're a caster, you get owned unless you use Armour of Earth or a similar spell to augment your abysimal armour rating (compared to warriors).

[Gwyndion]

Hmmm, I used to do medium range, but since a while, i prefer standing on a ledge, and taing out groups below me...I think i'll focus on my mesmer skills for now, i'll try and get some more skills...

btw: Is there a way to change your class? Otherwise i migth make a M/E or a R/M later

[Nobleman Azure]

once you reach the desert which is a a little past mid-game, you can do quests for these ghosts and once you complete it they let you change your 2nd profession. There is no way to change your primary

[Feynt]

Short of starting or restarting as a new character.

[Gwyndion]

I like being a mesmer, though I dont really like most of my elementalist skills, sure, they got some cool spells, but i'd rather be able to have a pet, and be able to heal myself...btw/ What do you call midgame? I'm near Frost gate, but atm i'm in Ascalon, finishing some quests up

[Feynt]

I'd call the crystal desert the mid game, that's about 8 or 9 story missions from the Frost Gate.

[Gwyndion]

Hmmm k i just reached Tyra or whatever the jungle towns called long wallk that is...

Btw: Is it just me or is shatter hex getting a must at this point and how do i deal with the fire imps? They are a pain in the arse with their burn doing 8 health degeneration, and there being so many of em...

[Feynt]

-7 HPR actually, not -8. Backfire, Diversion, and Power Spike/Leak/Drain are all excellent choices. Spirit Shackles (which you can capture around the early Kryta missions) also does a good job of keeping imps low on energy so they can't cast spells because they like to attack as well as cast spells.

Of course the best defense is a good offense, beating them soundly with a stout hammer is pretty effective.

[Gwyndion]

The problem is, I usually travel with henchmen, so I cant coordinate them, so I'm dead befoe i can take enough of them down...

Btw: How do i get elite skills? I heard something about catching them, but how do i do that?

[Feynt]

Signet of Capture. See Magi Maliquire (or something like that) in Lion's Arch for the quest.

[Gwyndion]

K, thanks, say, is there a decent sized map i can dl and print? I'm having trouble resizing the map on the site while keeping it decent quality, i'd like to be able to print it on 1 to 3 A4 leaves