Noodle Ant.1605

There was a recent balance patch? /s

Reaper has held its ~31k bench for more than a solid year by now... the fact that players are crying out only now just means that too many of the other specs have been questionably overbuffed to this bizarre new standard. I really don't understand why this is happening in the first place, or why anyone sees the need to balance around this standard.

If reaper was previously 'OK' with its 'shafted' 31k dps, why is even higher dps being added into the game? Who thought that 2 PvE balance patches ago, we needed to shift DH, holo and slb from 34k into 38k territory? Before that, condi weaver and chrono from 32k to 40k? All the while with reaper at 31k all that time?

PvE content was and is still completable with lower dps. Did we ever need more damage? Also *why are we advocating for more damage?*

Pretty sure OP meant having the 10% bonus simply by being in shroud rather than just 10s after entering... not stacking every second lol.

Afaik, pve reaper rotation revolves around wasting enough time in shroud so that you can enter shroud with well and nightfall again (why getting kicked out early is sad)... what is this ‘10s in 10s out’ thing all about?

When we say ‘chrono is bad/weak in fractals’, we say it in the same way that other people like to say ‘condi is bad in fractals’.

If you think condi is fine, then chrono is definitely fine. If not, then chrono shouldn’t be.

It is also addressed as a reminder to the people who are too obsessed with raid benchmarks, where chrono is listed at the top. Raid benchmarks do not translate 100% everywhere, with chrono being one of the most affected. In this case, chrono is definitely not the top in fractals.

1) youre already pulling a weird by bringing mesmer to fracs

2) power chrono and condi mirage are only ‘really good’ when your group is bad/pug. In that case they both perform almost the same, cuz power chrono has a condi-like dmg layout and reliance on sad slow uptime, while fortunately for mirage, some things in fracs atk faster than your avg raid boss

3) power core also exists (and power mirage, ask armen about that) but is only relevant when your group is not so bad/pug

4) as leo said ppl tend ignore everything about you when you play support

conclusion: no matter what you do, you will still pull a weird cuz youre a mesmer in frac

mesmer used to exist on the dT website but it got deleted cuz it was ‘that bad’

so what should you use?

whatever you feel most comfortable strutting your mesmer-ness around in

> @"Armen.1483" said:

> explain me then why he takes Danger Time while he got no relyable slow. Or how taking Mental Anguish over other opions is specifically focusing on soloing champs especially when he got more or less bad clone generation and doesn't have the illusions traitline to make the synergy with Shatter Storm and Master of Misdirection? Using inspiration traitline with 0 synergies.

Why are you asking me? Does my name look like @"Antycypator.9874" to you?

> @"Noodle Ant.1605" said:

> @Antycypator.9874's build **seemingly** sacrifices efficiency

My best answer is, he's kitted out all this cc which complements his choice to take Delayed Reactions, which auto-synergises with Split Second slow bonus which then synergises with Mental Anguish. Having no Chronophantasma means that his shatter resource is not delayed (let's face it, the second phantasm does barely anything because trash would be almost dead anyway). **This *appears* to be main source of dmg (Split Second),** which synergises with Restorative Illusions...

He probably takes Danger Time because he knows he's not going to take Duelling; he takes Inspiration for sustain instead (healing). Danger Time is intended to cover the now non-existent fury through Delayed Reactions + all these cc's you'd can use for breakbar/stunlocking trash (this is a thing btw). This isn't a build I'd usually play, but hey; it's got a shield with a stunlock playstyle, it's uses Inspiration for some sustain (i.e. healing) when you can't avoid *everything*, it's got range and spams human missiles, etc.

And then I'll quote myself:

> Afaik, it was never a crime to make alterations to *anyones* build more to your liking

HE SAID you can take chronophantasma.

HE SAID you can take scholar runes.

HE SAID you can use 'whatever' you think is better.

YOU DON'T have to specifically use his build. I'm still not sure how it performs anyway (hence why a video is required).

> @"Armen.1483" said:

> I don't think I need to prove something by a video either.

The context of this thread demands a video, really. In this case, anyone can say anything about other people's builds. What about the proof?

What WP showcases is a general build that handles itself well in general pve, has potential to solo champs but is not specifically designed for it. Afaik, it was never a crime to make alterations to his build more to your liking (your suggestions). You've suggested a high-skill (glasscannon) build that optimises efficiency in general pve, but has little to no focus on tools to solo a variety of champs (supposedly apart from 'skill' :trollface:). @"Antycypator.9874"'s build seemingly sacrifices efficiency in general pve *to specifically focus* on soloing champs.

Maybe you didn't see the intention through his build choices?

> I can provide a dps report of some solo encounter if you really want.

A dps report does not show in which ways you've mitigated the pressure that soloing champs/legendaries is known for. What access to blocks, evades, invulns, etc. do you have? When do you use them? Did you decide just to post a log of a boss which you can leeroy on/that has minimal mechanics - what if the boss outsustains you?

Do you even have condi clear? Stun breaks/escape tools in case you get snagged by some cc? What are your choices when you drop to 2k hp?

How comfortable would someone be using your build? Just an fyi - unless it's a thread asking for the absolute optimal setup for group endgame content (this one is not), people on the forum have a strange tendency to butcher whatever builds you suggest to suit their own playstyle, frankly because they're more invested in surviving/not constantly panicking/roleplaying rather than dps/speed.

Not useless, just far from optimal.

‘Clunky to use’ is also a very relevant phrase.

> Can you provide some details of your Chrono build and **maybe a video** or something so I can see how well it does compared to my current Mirage build?

Maybe a video, guys?

(I mean, if you’re gonna discredit something/someone, and they have a vid and you don’t...)

(Also OP seemingly wants to be able to solo legendary rank bosses, keep that in mind.)

I think it’s more of matter of ‘gs or no gs?’

Focus currently pulls higher numbers than gs, but as soon as there is another targetable *entity* (dead enemies, some interactables), focus’ phantasm dmg plummets so it loses its advantage there.

Gs is still hands-down better at cleave, so it would seem.

Cc becomes a matter of: do you want a pull (focus) or a push (gs)?

Tbh, if you knew why focus is taken, you’d realise you’re also able to pull off using pistol for a minor 2-3% dps loss, only problem would be that its cc is only useful for break bars.

If you get caught in brand spikes (the purple crystal SPIKES on the floor) off your skimmer, it’s basically /gg unless you happen to be near non-spikey ground.

There will be random enemies who like to hang out in these areas (branded in branded spikes, also sand sharks in quicksand, awakened in sulfur). DO NOT ENGAGE OR DIE. Think of it as falling into lava - you can’t get out.

If you’re in the brandstorm, (you get hit by LIGHTNING), there will be a short interval where you will OOC (out of combat), and if you *keep mashing* the/a mount button, you will eventually be able to mount up (unless some nearby enemy that hit you/you hit is still around). Note that conditions on you will continue to keep you in combat.

Using a skimmer will ignore most environmental effects, especially PoF related ones such as branded spikes, brandstorm (but not Heart of the Brandstorm in Dragonfall), quicksand and sulfurous gas.

The skimmer has the same effect as flying.

@"Leonidrex.5649" True, condi core is mostly a lost cause, not much condi core builds exist and they require expac stats anyway.

Upon retesting, core gs shouldn’t be too far from focus. The suggestion to bountiful blades will make them fairly level, but not one clearly better than the other. Whether or not gs gets any further buffs to seal the deal lies within anet’s balance decisions (or monkey throwing darts on a dartboard).

Unfortunately, I’m not sure about portal becoming a elite due to how the skills are structured - the only thing that can come out is time warp, and that would already compete with time warp v2 (well of action). Or, you would have to switch portal with a manipulation which will become the new glamour (while portal becomes a manipulation), and then switch places with mass invis. Can’t see portal working as a signet/a signet working as a glamour.

Core mesmer is meant to have a few distinct advantages over chrono (mirage takes the condi niche, that's fine), except:

- core supposedly has better shatters than chrono (which makes it nice against trash/burst) but gets roflstomped by time catches up and split second's slow bonus when it exists.

- core supposedly relies less on phantasms and more on its own personal dmg output, (e.g. shatters, and hence can reach the peak of its burst faster) except danger time comes over and says no

You can't touch much of core (domi/duel) without consequently breaking even more of its big brother pchrono. If you buff illu too much, pchrono will start ~~using~~ abusing it, along with its largely unnecessary bonuses that it really doesn't need since it already has csplit and chronophantasma.

What could be done for the time being:

- illu as a whole traitline is nearly outclassed by just one trait in domi (vicious expression). Compounding power can be increased back to +15% dmg at full stacks (3% per stack) and can be changed to affect illusions (why domi has unarguably better illusions than illu, im not sure)

- core actually has issues maintaining full compounding power stacks (compared to chrono/cmirage, who has barely any trouble), so duration can be increased by a few seconds with little consequence

- this alone probably gets core very close to chrono before it can abuse all its extra bonuses (i.e. any further buff will then break chrono)

- complex changes can be made such as adding a +120 power bonus to bountiful blades (doubled using a gs) which by using core/chrono's 20/40% (respective) reliance on illusions, will buff core while chrono stays mostly the same. This may cause gs chrono to become more slightly better than focus chrono again, but core will ironically continue to abstain from using gs to reach maximum numbers.

After this point, any further improvement to core is put at a stall until chrono's unnecessary dmg bonuses are addressed, of which we can then address how non-danger time mesmer has to use next to full sins gear (or they could address that now, considering crit cap is a thing) and maybe other things such as the 1s phantasm cast times that should do something extra/have its cast time slashed, etc.

For condi, as long as core has a power option, then it's not as neccessary. However, I would see it function in the same way - better shatters vs mirage (may require new unique mirage shatters + massive buff to cry of frustration), less reliance on clones dishing out condis (may require a +x% condi dmg trait in some '3rd' traitline that mirage has trouble using/has to sacrifice for), clone scepter/staff attack speed up, etc.

Saying that gearing cmirage is a waste of time/money is the same as saying gearing pchrono is also waste of time/money. You can also do whatever pchrono stuff in exotics (it only needs ONE ascended sword) outside of fractals because it’s not good in fractals either. In the end, it really doesn’t matter.

It’s not like we’ve all haven’t wasted time/money on something. And sometimes they aren’t such a waste after all (OP may eventually gear a condi mirage regardless). OP can do whatever OP wants.

By this context, OP should just ignore mesmer and gear his ranger into a pSlb because that’s better than all the options mentioned here *for the purpose of fractals and aGoNy ReSiStAnCe.*

But ofc that’s not the point of this thread, is it?

> @"Armen.1483" said:

> > @"Noodle Ant.1605" said:

> > By extension then, if you simply play mesmer in a t4 pug group you should be kicked (it’s trash, even dT wiped it from their website). And here you suggested pmirage at t4?

> The difference between taking power/support chrono or a condi mirage in a t4 pug is that while power or support chrono (the latter is demanded in pug groups btw) are just not meta (but can be quite strong at experienced hands even in cm groups, if it is not on dT doesn't mean it is unplayable), condi mirage is a troll pick (this one sadly is unplayable in t4s or cms, I have tried it many times, have you ?). Maybe you don't know why, I will explain: back in days trash mobs in fractals had scaling **toughness**. Tougness counters power builds but doesn't affect condi, back then condi builds were strong... Then they removed the toughness scaling which made power builds meta again, and since then the condi builds are left to dust sadly. The only exceptions are some specific condi supports (even firebrand should ideally be played power today btw).

The fact that dT *completely wiped* its existence from their website (didn’t even make to ‘t4 tier’/3 star) is a statement. And it’s not wrong, pchrono *cannot* keep up with the other specs unless they are bad/pug, or the group is tailored specifically for the pchrono (which makes the group bad).

I’m sorry but I’m already very updated on how things currently work, thank you very much.

I’m not saying condi mirage is good in fractals, BUT because pchrono is bad, condi mirage isn’t much worse (and outside of a few select cases where you shouldn’t be playing pchrono if it mattered, it isn’t really).

> > OP said he enjoyed playing condi mirage, so I won’t put down what he likes playing because *it’s fine under all reasonable circumstances.*

>

> He asked if he should play chrono 1st, and he definitely should, it is much more demanded and more versitile, there is absolutely no reason to get ascended viper gear for him now, he should rather go exotics vipers, try it, compare it to zerk stats, understand why it is irrelevant everywhere on practice, then if he wishes and has some spair gold craft those. I have 5 templates on my mesmer, and as much as I like condi mirage too I hardly ever touch that build template nowdays.

Followed by, *‘since condi mirage was so nerfed as i read?’*

Stop using *irrelevant*, condi dmg is. not. irrelevant. If you randomly like but don’t end up using condi mirage, *then good for you.*

> > OP also said they had other classes at the back, so frankly this isn’t ‘their first set’.

> As I understand he is making his 1st ascended set ever, because he hasn't mained anything yet. And if you are saying to a new player to go viper's ascended set as his 1st ascended set, you are not helping him at all. It is obvious that person asking this is not a veteran with 100 ascended sets and million gold.

I’m not saying anything but going condi mirage IS FINE, pchrono is a nice addition but ABSOLUTELY UNNECESSARY.

> @"Armen.1483" said:

> > @"Noodle Ant.1605" said:

> > > @"Armen.1483" said:

> > > Condition damage is irrelevant in 95% of cases in pve with the exception of some specific raid bosses... you should definitly not go for viper's stats as your 1st set, unless you really want to have something to play vs those bosses and have other classes to play power dps and supports. In open world pve go POWER mirage, in the rest of the game go pChrono, support chrono or whatever that is power.

> >

> > Untrue, condition dmg is not *irrelevant* in 95% of cases in pve. In the end, the thing you are killing will die and it really doesn't matter if it dies a few seconds more than going power

>

> How is that ? What makes someting good or bad in open world is the ability to kill fast and cleave. For me it matters, because I want to get on my mount faster so I am not late from my group.

So for you it matters. That doesn’t make it *irrelevant*.

> > - especially when no one cares in open world, and mesmer power is horribly unsuitable for speed running outside of raids anyway.

>

> You said "speedrunning" not me.

You said 95% cases of PvE. 95% of PvE is doable with condi, 5% isn’t and that would only really be speedrunning.

> > *If it really did matter*, you'd be playing CORE instead because it deletes trash faster than pchrono. I don't why you'd suggest pmirage in this context, it's a build that mostly just excels in tagging mobs and looking flashy rather than killing them.

>

> It is exactly what you need in meta farms: tagging mobs (without killing what ?! trashmobs ?! maybe you are new here or unfamiliar with pmirage, even in t4 fractals it can be very strong if you know how to play pmirage, it is unpopular because there is no"snowcrows" build on that, but definitely shouldn't be underlooked), huge stunbreaks, safety and great mobility. If you want to kill something big by your own (an hp for example) and you are forced to play a mesmer, I'd definitely go pchrono there, but pmirage will do just fine, maybe even better than condimirage. Slow attacking immobile big enemies will just laugh at confusion's and torment's face. Anyway berserker stats will be much more versatile than vipers for 1st ascended set. He can always go some cheap viper exotics it will be totally fine.

pMirage on anything but tagging mobs with gs is a meme.

You talk as though condi mirage completely fails to function when confusion and torment are not getting full benefit. We all know that’s untrue.

> > It doesn't matter if you go for viper's as the first set, you won't die endlessly in PvE content, your dmg isn't much different from your pchrono counterpart because the only time that matters is in speedruns where (maybe outside of a few raid encounters) you wouldn't take pchrono in the first place.

>

> Let's be honest here if you are playing condi mirage in a t4 fractal pug group, Just expect to be kicked lol. The big idea of getting those ascended sets is to put agony resist to be able to do fractals (which are at least somewhat doable with power mesmers), if you are not raiding: going ascended viper set for a mesmer is just lost gold especially for a new player, I am sorry.

By extension then, if you simply play mesmer in a t4 pug group you should be kicked (it’s trash, even dT wiped it from their website). And here you suggested pmirage at t4?

???

OP said he enjoyed playing condi mirage, so I won’t put down what he likes playing because *it’s fine under all reasonable circumstances.*

OP also said they had other classes at the back, so frankly this isn’t ‘their first set’.

> @"Armen.1483" said:

> Condition damage is irrelevant in 95% of cases in pve with the exception of some specific raid bosses... you should definitly not go for viper's stats as your 1st set, unless you really want to have something to play vs those bosses and have other classes to play power dps and supports. In open world pve go POWER mirage, in the rest of the game go pChrono, support chrono or whatever that is power.

Untrue, condition dmg is not *irrelevant* in 95% of cases in pve. In the end, the thing you are killing will die and it really doesn't matter if it dies a few seconds more than going power - especially when no one cares in open world, and mesmer power is horribly unsuitable for speed running outside of raids anyway. *If it really did matter*, you'd be playing CORE instead because it deletes trash faster than pchrono. I don't why you'd suggest pmirage in this context, it's a build that mostly just excels in tagging mobs and looking flashy rather than killing them.

It doesn't matter if you go for viper's as the first set, you won't die endlessly in PvE content, your dmg isn't much different from your pchrono counterpart because the only time that matters is in speedruns where (maybe outside of a few raid encounters) you wouldn't take pchrono in the first place.

I don’t know of any recent PvE mirage nerfs, the most recent ones only apply to PvP.

Chaos mirage is outdated by more than a year. It’s been replaced by an Illu variant which shatters much more frequently.

cMirage and pChrono are kinda level in all kinds of PvE content: both can hold their own well in open world, chrono is weak in fractals so mirage being condi isn’t all that much worse, and chrono has the highest power dmg potential in raids while mirage is meta on many condi based encounters. cChrono is extremely situational and is only recommended in 1-2 raid encounters (where cMirage is still more than acceptable).

I’d recommend not bothering with danger time/slow because fractals is filled with too many mechanics which will screw over your slow uptime even if you tried.

i.e. delayed reactions has a 3s icd which is fantastic, slow on trash mobs is wasted, you frequently need to dps things that are not the boss, bosses phase and waste uptime, you only have 4 other ppl and none of them are too bothered about maximising just *your* dps, etc.

You’ll rarely ever get slow when you actually need it.

Ignoring slow does mean pchrono dps goes from top to supposedly ‘trash’ tier, but trying to use slow doesn’t net any much better results either.

Unless you run in a highly specialised static, keeping Time Catches Up, focus, gravity well, not using F3 for anything but cc, and possibly switching Danger Time to Improved Alacrity would do you better.

In the end, I’d go as far as to recommend not playing pchrono in fracs at all unless you’re too attached to the class for whatever reason (I just use mine to do fancy pulls and skips, except I’ve demoted mine back to core because it has a better dmg distribution).

Edit: there’s a chance your Time Warp will interfere with dedicated external sources of quickness (e.g. a quickbrand) if present.

> @"ButcherofMalakir.4067" said:

> > @"Noodle Ant.1605" said:

> > Reaper/necro’s design has little do with the current disparity between classes.

> >

> > In case it slipped anyone’s mind, a number of the specs in question are carried by ‘attack of opportunity’ or similar interactions which function as intended in PvP, but translate poorly throughout PvE - quite literally making up the entire difference between reaper-level dps and the supposed 38k standard, due to their supposed difficulty to satisfy (but can be achieved in organised raid conditions). If it weren’t for these interactions, the playing field in terms of dps would be much more level, since other professions wouldn’t have felt the need to buffed to the same bloated state.

> >

> > But instead of raising the fact that these conditions were naturally difficult to satisfy, we decided to completely warp the concept of ‘realistic’ conditions in order to facilitate these broken interactions. Instead of asking for an appropriate fix, we decided to list these as proper, ‘this is how X ultimately performs’ benchmarks. And instead of questioning this decision, we accepted it as the new standard and disregarded opinions that argued otherwise.

> >

> > And so it shouldn’t really be a surprise that Anet decided to follow through with this design and standard. And reaper is left behind because it lacks such interaction.

> >

> > That being said, reaper is currently in a fairly ideal state if it were in a less volatile environment - an acceptable >30k dps, naturally hardy and reasonably self sufficient, has a variety of important tools e.g. decent amount cc, stab (all of which could’ve been another balance direction for other classes to achieve instead of randomly pushing dmg numbers around). It would be a shame to see reaper ruined by ‘that one janky interaction’ which plague the other professions, because *that’s* actually what’s missing between current reaper and 38k.

>

> Most of the classes are balanced, necro is only one left behind. The reason is that it allows to ignore some mechanics and it is generaly safe. If you take defense on other classes then you could go way lower then necrodps and still be less tanky

How is ‘inherent tankiness’ or related a balancing factor?

Condi weaver is significantly tankier than power weaver and yet does more dps. It even has more utility for some unknown reason.

Power weaver on the other hand, is the legitimate definition of ‘squishy’, yet still loses to/is on par with a now increasing number of other specs (including notably different builds of the same profession).

Is this balanced?

Regardless, we can’t say for sure if anet is following any balancing factors - e.g. some specs reach 38k with just realistic boons, whereas others require a specific conditions related to team composition, positioning, target hitbox size, etc. We also have anet releasing content which deviates from the dps golem experience - deepstone boss generates might on autoattack and ruins every boonless modifier, siren’s reef with addspam (with related inconveniences such as bodyblock and or eating up dmg intended for boss), *phases with teleportation,* strikes - in particular, the kodans which can be cleaved, etc. All supposed ‘balancing factors’ can be thrown out the window at this point; there’s too many to account for.

In the end, even if we do buff reaper to this possibly overblown(?) 38k ‘standard’, we’re still stuck with people who’d rather prefer to play scourge, spellbreaker, herald, non-heal druid(?), scrapper, who are also mostly stuck at the 30k mark (with the exception of druid). By extension, any future especs can then see the trashcan because according to the gw2 community, the ‘dps espec’ already exists for each profession (because by the context of this thread, you won’t be able to play it).

> @"Josiah.2967" said:

> Your also comparing a spec that can do insane damage by not taking damage to a spec that does less damage by taking damage?

But then if can manage to not get hit on virtues guard, then why can't you not get hit on reaper?

But that wasn't the point. If this supposedly hard-to-satisfy condition was nerfed to a 5-10% increase only in PvE (because we know its possible to maintain), virtues guard would find itself @ 33-35k instead of 38k (but fortunately they have a 35k radiance guard regardless). Then you wouldn't need a drastic measure to buff reaper to this more achiveable standard.

You can then apply this to the other classes in question (slb & hunter's tactics, DE damage dif when kneeling, temp damage dif vs large hitbox, chrono & danger time/slow in general, etc). The other specs which were buffed to meet this level would then simply need to get unbuffed/nerfed (condi weaver, holo, condi ren; warr & condi fb also pretty much meet this criteria)

> The difference between top and average for Reaper

The average for reaper can probably be reached by playing a safer signets of suffering + signet of undeath build, which has a further advantage of losing less dmg for being hit/boss aura. I suppose no one bothered to consider this, because we're too focused on the highest perfoming scenario? And then because we changed the meaning of 'realistic' conditions, we can assume there is some source of barrier which negates these drawbacks in the first place.

> We are also focusing to much on Necro...they aren't they only ones on the low end.

And hence why I prefer addressing the gimmicks which allow some classes to reach higher numbers instead of trying to raise everything else up (dps SB, w/e form of power rev, w/e form of condi thief, dps scrapper, etc.). Additionally, **the specs who fail to abuse their gimmick invariably land near reaper level anyway**, so *why don't we balance around this lower standard instead?*

But then again, this is just simply how I view the current situation.

> @"Josiah.2967" said:

> > @"Noodle Ant.1605" said:

> > Reaper/necro’s design has little do with the current disparity between classes.

> >

> > In case it slipped anyone’s mind, a number of the specs in question are carried by ‘attack of opportunity’ or similar interactions which function as intended in PvP, but translate poorly throughout PvE - quite literally making up the entire difference between reaper-level dps and the supposed 38k standard, due to their supposed difficulty to satisfy (but can be achieved in organised raid conditions). If it weren’t for these interactions, the playing field in terms of dps would be much more level, since other professions wouldn’t have felt the need to buffed to the same bloated state.

> >

> > But instead of raising the fact that these conditions were naturally difficult to satisfy, we decided to completely warp the concept of ‘realistic’ conditions in order to facilitate these broken interactions. Instead of asking for an appropriate fix, we decided to list these as proper, ‘this is how X ultimately performs’ benchmarks. And instead of questioning this decision, we accepted it as the new standard and disregarded opinions that argued otherwise.

> >

> > And so it shouldn’t really be a surprise that Anet decided to follow through with this design and standard. And reaper is left behind because it lacks such interaction.

> >

> > That being said, reaper is currently in a fairly ideal state if it were in a less volatile environment - an acceptable >30k dps, naturally hardy and reasonably self sufficient, has a variety of important tools e.g. decent amount cc, stab (all of which could’ve been another balance direction for other classes to achieve instead of randomly pushing dmg numbers around). It would be a shame to see reaper ruined by ‘that one janky interaction’ which plague the other professions, because *that’s* actually what’s missing between current reaper and 38k.

>

> Why are you focused on 38K whhen the top is now 40+ K? The spread is at an all time high. It is unhealthy for Raiding/Strike Missions.

Am I focused on 38k or are you too focused on 40k when it happens to belong to a said gimmicky spec? And the next one down barely gets over 39k?

> I also completely disagree with you, give me a gimmick that allows me to meet that DPS with Necro so I can be competitive with the profession "theme" I enjoy... Instead of playing the Guardian and Mesmer I raid with now.

That’s not hard. I’ve even mentioned multiple times by now: Dread reaper, instantly gets you to 38k+, loss of awaken the pain already accounted for. Only need to ask Anet for one thing: more fear sources.

So yeah, this is your one-way ticket to get closer your ‘40k’ dreamland.

> BTW: I honestly do not see the gimmick with Guardian. Just insane DPS with multiple specs that are easy to master.

If you have a 5k difference between guard and reaper in a practical sense, either you’re playing virtues guard whose gimmick is never to get hit at all, or you’re not as experienced at reaper as you think you are. And if you think virtues guard is ok, then dread reaper is certainly within your sights, how did the idea pass by you?

You missed my point anyway. I don’t see anything wrong about reaper. I don’t want to introduce something wrong when things that are wrong with other professions can be fixed instead.

Played pchrono pre danger time buff, didn’t like it when it happened.

Played condi weaver pre fire traitline buff, knew it was because of broken pchrono. Didn’t like it when it happened.

Now I play a spec that has the conundrum of supposedly being top dps in raids, yet shares being in low tier with reaper everywhere else. How is this balance?

But if you disagree that’s fine. Not many seem to understand to what I mean more than half the time anyway, which is more or less disappointing.

Reaper/necro’s design has little do with the current disparity between classes.

In case it slipped anyone’s mind, a number of the specs in question are carried by ‘attack of opportunity’ or similar interactions which function as intended in PvP, but translate poorly throughout PvE - quite literally making up the entire difference between reaper-level dps and the supposed 38k standard, due to their supposed difficulty to satisfy (but can be achieved in organised raid conditions). If it weren’t for these interactions, the playing field in terms of dps would be much more level, since other professions wouldn’t have felt the need to buffed to the same bloated state.

But instead of raising the fact that these conditions were naturally difficult to satisfy, we decided to completely warp the concept of ‘realistic’ conditions in order to facilitate these broken interactions. Instead of asking for an appropriate fix, we decided to list these as proper, ‘this is how X ultimately performs’ benchmarks. And instead of questioning this decision, we accepted it as the new standard and disregarded opinions that argued otherwise.

And so it shouldn’t really be a surprise that Anet decided to follow through with this design and standard. And reaper is left behind because it lacks such interaction.

That being said, reaper is currently in a fairly ideal state if it were in a less volatile environment - an acceptable >30k dps, naturally hardy and reasonably self sufficient, has a variety of important tools e.g. decent amount cc, stab (all of which could’ve been another balance direction for other classes to achieve instead of randomly pushing dmg numbers around). It would be a shame to see reaper ruined by ‘that one janky interaction’ which plague the other professions, because *that’s* actually what’s missing between current reaper and 38k.

> @"Noodle Ant.1605" said:

> Anet's new formula for reaching the holy 38k+ grail is adding in fantastic conditions which are questionable to satisfy. Guard can reach 38k... if it manages to not get hit at all. Chrono can reach 40k... if it demands other players to supply slow for them. Slb - flanking (remembering to think outside raids). DE - standing completely still.

>

> If these conditions are not met, the dps of these builds drop dramatically - coincidently, somewhere only a little higher than what reaper is now.

>

> Using the same theory, necro already has that one magical interaction that boosts their dps closer to the holy grail - Dread: deal 33% increased dmg to foes under the effect of fear. It’s as simple as asking anet to double (triple in the case for reaper) the fear duration of the related shroud fear skills for PvE only, which means necro can then reach these numbers if you simply stack ~6 of them, or 3-4 if they run Fear of Death. Lo and behold, you have your 38k dream!

/3chars

> @"Josiah.2967" said:

> Just be grateful the profession has a top tier spec.

Should we be tho? pchrono in fracs and the average strike comp is already trash tier, and raid pchrono is dependant on having 7 of itself/the double chrono comp... which anet is trying to kill with things like boon thief and firebrigade. Next expac around the corner raises even more concern if it introduces more supp choices.

Pre-patch, mesmer power has just eaten unexplained nerf after unexplained nerf just to balance the pchrono up there - what’s there to be actually grateful for? Well thanks to it, all of our other power builds are destined to be trash, including pmirage and maybe even the next espec.

> Greatsword isn't even that far behind.

This is the same as arguing that guard can swap sword/scepter - practically no significance whatsoever. What is significant: virtues guard vs radiance guard (a whole traitline + a janky +20% trait that gets it up to 38k). Danger time vs no danger time (another janky 20% dps difference). Current reaper vs dread reaper (the holder of your wet 38k dream).

> @"Hot Boy.7138" said:

> > @"Noodle Ant.1605" said:

> > 1. The best way to play power mirage atm is to play like a neutered version of core power mesmer. Core and co. can’t be buffed cuz there’s a stupid >40k raid pchrono flying around while almost every other power mes build (inclu. not-raid pchrono) is <32k. You will want to buff core as well cuz -

> > 2. pMirage currently sits at ~24k. To buff just mirage to worthwhile dps means having a trait(s) that somehow increases dmg by 60%+ (note 10% of the ~24k is CONDI). Don’t think Anet will do that. Also, cannot buff cmirage.

> > 3. Sword ambush will never be worth unless it does 3x as much dmg as now, even then sigil of energy is not worth on power, so it would need to do 5x as much. Atm it’s a meme/dps loss, only useful for cc.

> > 4. Power has much less benefit for leaving clones around, clone ambush dmg needs to be OP to also compensate delaying F1 (it has no ammo on pmirage).

> >

> > tl;dr: imo pmirage is doomed to fail as it relies/plays too similarly to core pmes, which is stuck in trash tier cuz reasons.

>

> i had been core s/s & s/p from beta till HoT. Then I was chrono s/s & s/p until the release of PoF. Since PoF I've kept the same exact weapon set up as a mirage. And it is definitely not the same. The playstyle of sword mirage vs sword core mesmer is drastically different. I'd actually say sword mirage is very much like Sword thief. Uber mobility and access to shadowstep utility, teleports, and a flip backwards. Definitely a HUGE difference. If you're a ranged player, I guess you wouldn't be taking advtange of all mirage's mobility so it would feel the same. But in my hands the core vs mirage is like night and day.

I mean you can, but if all you want to do is to spew out dmg it’s all still the same. This is an area that needs fixing (pmirage gameplay needs to be unique).

As it currently stands, all pve power mesmer builds follow the phantspam > aa formula (for dps).

> @"Josiah.2967" said:

> > @"Noodle Ant.1605" said:

> > 1. The best way to play power mirage atm is to play like a neutered version of core power mesmer. Core and co. can’t be buffed cuz there’s a stupid >40k raid pchrono flying around while almost every other power mes build (inclu. not-raid pchrono) is <32k. You will want to buff core as well cuz -

>

> This is simply not true. There are 4 professions with a spec above 38K right now. Necro does fit the under 32k you mentioned.

What is true, you took my comment out from it’s original context and put it into your own, ofc it’s not gonna be true.

Why did you have to bring up reaper, the point of comparison is 40k raid pchrono vs 31k not-raid pchrono. It’s the same as making dread more accessible and then voila, 38k raid reaper, idc anymore about the 31k not-raid reaper (it can stay trash cuz ‘we balance only around raids’). And then mentioning cscourge who is left behind at 29k.