Illusion, or Domination?

[Zefiris]

Ok ok.. I want to make a Mesmer that can really tick off people using Fantasm, Empathy, Imagined Burden, BAckfire, etc.. but I want to distribute my attribute points smth like this: 12 Illusion/Domination, 10 Inspiration, and 8 Fast Casting. I need help on deciding which to put 12 in.. plz help

[Nobleman Azure]

well think of it based on this:

Domination is more leaned to power and control than dillemma and gameplay manipulation while Illusion is the opposite.

If you mean you want to "mess" with people as in giving them equally bad options during battle, (as in dillemma) illusion is your attribute.

[IMMORTAlMITCH]

well think of it based on this:

Domination is more leaned to power and control than dillemma and gameplay manipulation while Illusion is the opposite.

If you mean you want to "mess" with people as in giving them equally bad options during battle, (as in dillemma) illusion is your attribute.

Hm? I think Domination magic is more leaned towards dilemmas, as in: you're backfired, you can cast a spell and take damage or sit still and wait for backfire to wear off (same goes for empathy etc.)

[Nobleman Azure]

Hm? I think Domination magic is more leaned towards dilemmas, as in: you're backfired, you can cast a spell and take damage or sit still and wait for backfire to wear off (same goes for empathy etc.)

true, there are dillemma in both the attributes. what sets the two apart is the manipulation or control. Domination can control foes better than illusion and illusion can manipulate you or your opponent such as slowing targets down, speeding you up, give you a backup supply of HP, etc.

Both are pretty similar its all about how you like messing with the enemy. (most go with domination BTW because illusion is loaded with elites and you cant use more than one per skill set)

[Herthbul]

Lemme sum this up in terms of realistic situations. Domination is your anti-caster line, Illusion is your anti-physical line (with a touch of anti-caster elites). Pick which one you rather do and choose that line.

[Nern]

illusion isnt anti melee and dom isnt anti caster
they both have some of both and different things
the one thing i know for sure is that if you want to do the max damage you can go domination, with empathy, energy burn, energy surge, backfire, everyone will be dying!!1 :happy14:

[Tarew]

illusion isnt anti melee and dom isnt anti caster
they both have some of both and different things
the one thing i know for sure is that if you want to do the max damage you can go domination, with empathy, energy burn, energy surge, backfire, everyone will be dying!!1 :happy14:

This post is almost completely untrue so I feel somewhat obligated to correct it. Herthbul was right, in general Illusion is your anti-caster line and Illusion is your anti-warrior line.
The only anti-attack skill in Domination Magic is Empathy (which becomes steadily less useful as you progress in the game) and the only anti-caster skills in Illusion are Migraine and Arcane Conundrum. The rest is all leaned towards countering either casters for domination or warriors for illusion
and that's also how they should be used.

To that end I would probably recommend a combination of both and use a 11 Illusion, 10 Domination and 10 Inspiration setup (if you only use one of the 2 your mesmer will be more specialized in dealing with either warriors or casters but not nearly as good against the other).
However if you really want to focus on one of the 2, ILLUSION is the one you want to take for the most damage in general.
The damage gets done over time but in the end it far surpasses the damage you get from domination magic (with the possible exception of Backfire) especially if you also use Mantra of Persistance with it.
With it, a single cast of Conjure Phantasm can last around 20 seconds which ultimately means 200 life lost with a single casting.
Sure you have to be patient and defend yourself while the damage takes effect but in the end you get much more damage for your energy.
If you want to do a decent amount of damage at once Domination is obviously the way to go but that should (hopefully) be fairly obvious.

[jesterbot]

The problem with many DoT (damage over time) builds is they are pretty easily countered by team monks. They can be dehexed, purged, etc - and they have plenty of warning to do so (the colors changing on the health bar as they slowly deteriorate). The fast, high-damage attacks of Domination tends to take out targets before they can react, or the monks can heal them.

For example - shattering hex on your mobbed monk deals ~140 dmg to all nearby targets. Power spiking a res spell to deal ~100 dmg... backfiring with ~140+ per hit, etc... the list goes on. A particularly fun one could be echo (real echo) with shatter hex - ~300 dmg in only a couple secs to whoever is around your target(s). That's tough for any healer to keep up with. And as much as people bash Empathy - i've killed plenty people using it - or shut them down so they cant attack for awhile (equally useful).

[Irving]

just thought id ask this, not entirely off topic, what does archance echo and echo actually do, i read the description about replacing a skill with echo for 20 seconds or whatever, and i dont see how that is useful at all, so im obviously way off track here.... help!

[Feynt]

Ok, say you come across a team of enemies with two casters, we'll say one's a healer and one's an elementalist (that's a fairly common setup). Arcane Echo, Backfire the healer, then Arcane Echo becomes Backfire so you have a second copy to cast on the elementalist.

Now stretching from the realm of mesmer skills, you're an E/Me or Me/E. Arcane Echo, Meteor Storm, Arcane Echo becomes a second copy of Meteor Storm for you to cast on either another group (enemies move around as your friends freak out and run because of damage) or the same group (an almost sure kill for quite a while). Or Arcane Echo and Lightning Strike, thus you can keep casting it once every two seconds (roughly).

Arcane Echo and Animate Bone Minions. Arcane Echo and Power Spike. Arcane Echo and Vengence. Arcane Echo and Healing Seed. Arcane Echo and Word of Healing(!). Arcane Echo and... Well, you get the picture.