Talk:Shutdown Mesmer

On Finesse
I've heard it said around the web (and I agree) that Backfire is a pretty ineffective tool for actual shutdown. It's trying to use a canon when what you want is a sniper rifle. In the article's Backfire + Wastrel's Worry situation, for example, the only thing you're getting is damage: the target's still casting spell after spell. If I'm playing my N/Me and can use Feast of Corruption to heal for 120 while doing the same amount of damage to three other people, I won't think twice about casting it right through Backfire. Similarly, a monk won't think twice about just stripping the hexes right off and then healing himself back for the damage he lost.

So, while it definitely has a place, self-damage really should live at the very bottom of the list of shutdown tools. Basically, the thing is that self-damage, particularly the "damned if you do, damned if you don't" kind of thing espoused in the article, is really bad for actually accomplishing the primary goal of the shutdown mesmer: knocking other people off their game. Frustrating the other player into making bad decisions is just as important, if not more so, than interrupting or killing his character. This guy is the king of psychological pressure, not just an opportunistic damage-dealer. See the usage notes for Diversion for a good example of how this works. --130.58 20:23, 2 March 2006 (CST)


 * I don't like the Backfire Wastrel's Worry example nor the Bakcfire the Mesmer example. Mesmer's tend to be opporunistic in their casting, not spell-spamming. The only mesmer you could kill with backfire is probably the Bakcfire Wastrel's Worry mesmer. :)
 * Still, Backfire is a powerful spell in the hands of a good mesmer. It's prohibitive cast time means you gotta have fast casting to be able to enact it when it will be most useful (same thing with Diversion). Also, do not ommit active (not reactive) usage of Backfire. For example, backfiring a monk and then spiking him (either he removes the hex and not self heal, or self heals and kills himself). A deadly combination, almost as deadly as Fire Storm and Hamstring. :) --Karlos 20:33, 2 March 2006 (CST)

I think that Backfire could work well. I understand what you're saying, but there are other skills you can use to "shut them down". Backfire however would provide added damage to an elementalist, monk, whoever. Some wouldn't even think to bring a hex or condition stripping spell. A monk may, but most likely not mesmer or elementalist. -Demented Paradox


 * Basically, the deal is this: Backfire's a potentially useful part of many a mesmer build, because it is good at applying a certain kind of pressure. Compared to interrupting five consecutive spells or blanking out an enemy's entire skill bar - or, heck, just permanently blocking their elite, - this isn't real "shutdown" however. As it's written, you might as well call the article "Backfire Mesmer" and leave it at that. I've been working to fix it, but, a the moment, it seems like it'll require a total rewrite, and it's slow going because I'm trying to get it up to the level of clarity that you find in the Diversion skill description. All kinds of psych-out factors and whatnot to consider. So let's hope I finish the text file on my desktop in the next few days, and that the results are worth the time... --130.58 17:13, 21 March 2006 (CST)