The GW2 Mesmer: A critical reflection after BWE1

[thorion]

The main issue I have with the GW2 mesmer, is that the clones are not nearly convincing enough in PvP(they dont have the little butterfly symbol symbol) and in PvE the AI is not fooled and tends to target the mes right away.
Neither is the clone AI good enough to dodge, kite or behave like a real player would. The shatter mechanism is ok, but I found it to be a little ineffectual at the lower levels. I'm not sure if I missed it, but we could do with 'pet controls' for the clones to make them do what we want them to, rather than what the AI says (I'd love to have a skill called 'send in the clones' ;) )

While the GW2 mesmer is a great idea and concept, just like it's GW1 counterpart in the early years I think it needs more work to be truely effective.

In contrast, the thief and ele I tried seemed to be a lot more effective at both support and DPS roles. The mesmer buffs didnt seem to last long enough to be really effectve.

Note I only really played mes until about lvl 15, so how it plays in PvE later on remains to be seen.

This is indeed the case and imho one of the biggest flaws in the pve mesmerplay which I enjoyed quite a lot during BWE1
although I did not experienced levels beyond level 15.
I really hope they can fix this problem.

[Alaris]

The main issue I have with the GW2 mesmer, is that the clones are not nearly convincing enough in PvP(they dont have the little butterfly symbol symbol) and in PvE the AI is not fooled and tends to target the mes right away.

That was not my experience.

In PvP, you need to behave like a clone to make them convincing. Using stealth too helps. Another option is to build so that you don't use clones for defensive purposes, but for dot and mass shattering.

In PvE, I found that foes did target my clones often enough, as often as you'd think if the AI was confused and picked randomly. As clones don't last long, I had to supply more to replace those lost.

[RD]

Well, I said this before, but I found it incredibly easy to figure out which is which in PvP. Granted, the game is new so people haven't perfected it yet and I'm more observant than most, but even if you get tricked by a clone, they have such low HP that you're going to figure it out. Then when you see the dude who makes a new clone, keep him targeted. If he doesn't have stealth, if you just keep him targeted, you're golden.

[Alaris]

If you waste an attack with a long cooldown on a clone, then it has served its purpose. Remember that it is pretty easy to make new ones.

Also, I found sometimes that it was a bad idea to only focus on the real mesmer and ignore clones. Unattended clones do add pressure, and they can be shattered on you as well.