Overview
| Template Code | [&DQcBHQoZQjojDyMPjwGPAd0aawFpAWkB7RK8AQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=] |
|---|---|
| Conditions |
|
| Role |
|
| Synergy | average |
|---|---|
| DPS | high |
| Independence | average |
| Acquiring basics | average |
| Achieving mastery | difficult |
The Power Virtuoso is currently the strongest power build for Mesmer in fractals. It can bring a decent amount of CC while offering good burst damage and great sustained DPS, as well as being able to adapt to bring a ton of extra utility such as Stability or a reflect from the Mesmer toolkit.
The beginner version of the guide will focus on the most important utility options and try to teach the Greatsword version of the build which has a good amount of extra burst while also having notes for the Sword/Focus variant which can be useful for slightly more sustained damage and nice utility through .
The advanced page provides a more complete overview of all the utilities the Mesmer has to offer. Once you can execute the step-by-step rotation provided below without spending too much thought on it and are confident with the utility options provided here, head over and check out the advanced page for some extra information. Feel free to swap to the advanced page early if you feel like you are missing some information on additional (less common) utility skills or trait swaps.
Although this build lists 162 Agony Resistance, it is not a strict requirement! We recommend getting started with this build anyway - even if it might be suboptimal while being in Tier 1 or 2 fractals. Keep upgrading your Agony Resistance until you reach the suggested variant. In the beginning, it is much more important to learn about fractal mechanics and your skills rather than equipping optimal gear.
Equipment
This build assumes you have neither nor .
Check the gear optimizer for more gear variants!
Build
Extra Weapons
- You can run Sword/Focus instead of Greatsword. This will result in lower burst damage but slightly higher sustained damage. Therefore, it can make sense to run this version when bosses have long phases. Above 10 seconds into the phase, they will be roughly equal, at 25 seconds, the Sword/Focus variant will pull ahead slightly.
- If you want to run one variant on all fights, Greatsword is highly recommended.
- Focus specifically is very useful to use in T4 fractals to pull groups of enemies together with to cleave them down more easily.
Traits
Dueling
Domination
Virtuoso
Situational Traits
Situational Skills
Rotation / Skill usage
Step by Step Rotation
Step 1: Phantasms
We'll start with the basic rotation for summoning Phantasms. This is the backbone of the rotation and practicing this part for a bit will get you set up well for the rest of the rotation.
- Start on Greatsword and use , then swap to Dagger/Sword.
- Use and .
- Reset your cooldowns with and cast both Phantasms again.
- Wait on Dagger/Sword until you can cast one more , then swap back to Greatsword.
- Use right away.
- Use when it comes back.
- Wait for one more and then swap back to Dagger/Sword.
- Repeat from Step 2. (skipping the in that step.)
Next, we will incorporate our F1 Shatter .
- Use it only when you have 5 Blades stocked.
- Use it for the first time after your initial .
- Use it off-cooldown but only with 5 Blades afterward.
In Step 3, we will incorporate other Weapon Skills. We will add multiple skills at once so take your time if you feel like you struggle with this.
- Cast right after swapping to Dagger/Sword.
- Cast right before your Heal Signet.
- Use both skills off-cooldown afterward until you swap to Greatsword.
- Cast and right after and use them off-cooldown until you swap back to Dagger/Sword.
- Repeat from Step 1.
Lastly, we will add the remaining Utility Skills to the rotation.
- Cast at the start of the fight and then use it off-cooldown.
- Cast off-cooldown as well. This skill is an instant cast and can therefore be used while casting other skills.
Improving Further
Once you are comfortable with the above steps, you are already doing most of the full rotation and will be able to deal great damage.
There will be a few additional things on the advanced page to improve further but if you got here, you already know the most important things and these will have a smaller impact than what you learned so far.
The additional steps are:
- Use other Shatter skills (F2/F3) for extra damage and to keep up the buff from . Make sure to always have 5 Blades back for when your comes back.
- Precast additional skills before the encounter starts to get a bigger spike of damage at the start of the fight.
Step-by-Step Video
This video shows the step-by-step approach to the rotation listed on the left.
Golem Rotation
This video shows the full rotation for the Greatsword variant on the golem. It will slightly vary from the step-by-step version.
Sword/Focus Variant
If you are using Sword/Focus instead of Greatsword, follow the same step-by-step guide but make the following changes:
- Replace with . You will only be able to cast it once each time you are on the Sword/Focus weapon set (while can be cast twice per Greatsword Loop.)
- Instead of spamming and off-cooldown, use off-cooldown on Sword/Focus.
- Try to finish your auto-attack chains on Sword if possible.