Mesmer - Core Shatter Roamer

The community gave this build a rating, making it second-tier: Good

Focused on: Direct damage

Designed for: WvW Roaming

Difficulty:

TBD

This build was last updated on February 24, 2023 and is up to date for the October 8, 2024 patch.

Overview

A Power Core Mesmer WvW roamer that's all about pulling off massive bursts and pressuring targets through interrupts and smaller combos inbetween or just surviving until the main combo comes off CD. Usable by F2P players as well.

Skill Bar

Greatsword

Sword/Torch

Utility

Template Code

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Specializations

Variants

• Shattered Concentration is the more conventional trait for the Master tier slot and remains viable, but lowers your burst potential unless it removes Protection.
• Power Block lowers the burst damage done by shatters, but makes your interrupts way more dangerous. Skilled Mesmers can use this trait to completely shut down enemy healing skills against certain builds, and the Weakness application adds some extra sustain to the build too. This trait has synergy with Shattered Concentration as removing Stability with shatters makes enemies more vulnerable to interrupts.

Variants

• Medic's Feedback lowers your personal survivability but adds a lot of rez power to the build in case you're roaming in a group.

Equipment

Head
Berserker

Shoulders
Berserker

Chest
Berserker

Hands
Berserker

Legs
Berserker

Feet
Berserker

Backpiece
Berserker

Accessory
Marauder

Accessory
Berserker

Amulet
Marauder

Ring
Marauder

Ring
Berserker

Greatsword
Berserker

Sigil

Sigil

Sword
Berserker

Torch
Berserker

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Infusion
x18

Stats

• Beginners can mix in a few additional Marauder pieces for more sustain (don't overdo it though), while more experienced players could even consider going full Berserker for higher burst potential.

Runes

Scholar runes offer the highest burst damage under the right circumstances, but there are several other viable options especially if you feel like you're not going to get much value out of the 6th bonus (or you find the rune too expensive):

• Rune of Superior Rune of Fireworks - better mobility, decent stats, useful 6th proc.

• Rune of Superior Rune of the Pack - good stats and 6th bonus, the extra Precision could also help if you're taking more Berserker gear.

• Rune of Superior Rune of the Ogre - very similar but to Scholar but a bit worse overall.

• Rune of Superior Rune of the Eagle - good stats and a strong damage bonus to help you finish off low HP targets.

Sigils

Sword/Torch

• Sigil of Superior Sigil of Bloodlust - sacrifices some sustain for better burst damage, if you're willing to bother with a stacking sigil.

Greatsword

Sigil of Superior Sigil of Agility

• Sigil of Superior Sigil of Blood - armor ignoring damage proc that heals you.

Consumables

Food

• - good stats and passive damage mitigation.

• - cheap crit chance bump with armor ignoring damage procs which also heal.

Utility

• or .

Usage

General

• Signet of Midnight is your best defensive CD as it breaks stun, grants distortion and removes 5 conditions via Blurred Inscriptions on top of giving you Stealth while blinding enemies.

• The build has a lot of condition removals but very few mass cleanses:
  • Every shatter skill removes a condition.
  • Swapping to Sword/Torch procs Sigil of Superior Sigil of Cleansing which removes another 3.
  • Phantasms take 1 condition from you when summoned.
  • Using your healing skill removes 1 condition.
  • Prestige cleanses yet another condition when used.

• Mass Invisibility works both defensively and offensively. You can use its Stealth to disengage from fights or sneak-attack your opponent. As it's AoE you could even stealth downed allies to make reviving easier or prevent them from getting stomped.

• Blink is a rather flexible skill, how you're going to use it could depend on what other CDs are available. If both Signet of Midnight and Distortion are on CD then you might want to hold onto it as a stun break/panic button, otherwise this is a great mobility tool to either chase down enemies or surprise them with a sudden melee burst.

Damage

• What the build lacks in sustained damage, it makes up for in bursts.

• There are two important damage modifiers to note, Mental Anguish and Egotism. In an ideal situation you'd have a higher health percentage than your opponent while they shouldn't be casting anything. Using CC skills before burst combos or surprising them from stealth should help you get the most out of Mental Anguish.

• Signet of the Ether is mainly a defensive skill, but because it reduces the CD of your Phantasms sometimes it's worth using to gain early access to Phantasmal Berserker especially if you need to pressure a low HP enemy.

• The GS burst combo is best done in melee range for various reasons. One, to get the most out of the Mirror Blade bounces and two, to make yourself act as an extra clone for shatters.

Basic combo:

1. Mirror Blade in melee range.
2. Mantra of Distraction (Power Lock) right before Mirror Blade is about to hit the target, the Daze increases your damage via Mental Anguish.
3. Mind Wrack once the clone from Mirror Blade has spawned.
4. Mind Stab as soon as you can.

Extended burst combo:

1. Optional - start from stealth to make the burst less predictable. If you're using The Prestige you could time your burst in a way that the stealth runs out in the middle of the combo as The Prestige does AoE damage after it runs out. Breaking the stealth doesn't cause the damage to go off any sooner.
2. Optional - if you start from Sword/Torch you could try rooting the target with Swap.
3. Optional - if you can afford to discard a strong defensive CD, using Decoy right before the burst spawns another clone that can be shattered by Mind Wrack for extra damage.
4. Mirror Blade in melee range.
5. Mantra of Distraction (Power Lock) right before Mirror Blade is about to hit the target.
6. Mind Wrack once the clone from Mirror Blade has spawned.
7. Mind Stab as soon as you can.
8. If the opponent is still alive, you can use Cry of Frustration / Blurred Frenzy / Phantasmal Berserker, or Template:SKill to interrupt healing skills.

Related Builds

Core Shatter (sPvP) - the Conquest PvP version of the build.