Mesmer



The Mesmer is an expert in indirect damage and subtle magic, focusing on manipulation of the target to sway the events of battle to its favor. Mesmers are considered by some to be a unique profession in Guild Wars. They are a profession with a steep learning curve - to become a talented Mesmer, it is important to know not only your own skills and abilities, but those of every other profession in the game. This is perhaps why Mesmers are generally one of the least used characters in PvE. Thus, it can also be difficult for players who create PvE Mesmers to be accepted into PUGs due to a somewhat common misconception of their PvP-orientation - though GvG teams will nearly always have at least one Mesmer in their ranks. Mesmers are best suited in preventing their opponent from achieving their goals, whether it be to heal, cast spells, or attack. In order to do this they make use of a multitude of spells, hexes, and enchantments. Unlike other professions, such as Elementalists, skills within a Mesmer attribute are not always related to each other by any easily defined barriers. Because skills within an attribute can focus on many and very different goals, you will often see Mesmers utilizing all four attributes at once. The patron goddess of Mesmers is Lyssa.

A majority of the Mesmer's damage-dealing skills ignore armor, meaning that they will do equal damage to a Warrior with 80AL as to an Elementalist with 60AL.

The primary Mesmer's base armor provides 60 armor, +10 energy, and +2 energy recovery. A starting primary Mesmer begins with 30 base energy and 4 energy recovery.

The Mesmer's primary attribute is Fast Casting, which decreases the activation time of spells and signets.

Attributes

 * Fast Casting (primary attribute): Each rank in Fast Casting increases the speed at which you cast spells and signets, allowing you to unleash skills at a faster rate than other professions.
 * Fast Casting skills
 * Domination Magic: With a punishing skill list heavy in interrupts, Domination Magic increases the effectiveness of skills that can alter aspects of enemies, making them receive damage as a consequence of carrying out a common action, such as attacking or casting a spell.
 * Domination Magic skills
 * Illusion Magic: With an elusive skill list, Illusion Magic increases the effectiveness of hexes that can inflict damage-over-time or damage under certain conditions.
 * Illusion Magic skills
 * Inspiration Magic: With a persistent skill list, Inspiration Magic increases the effectiveness of spells that manipulate energy, as well as self-enhancing mantras.
 * Inspiration Magic skills
 * Unlinked Mesmer Skills

Profession Combinations
see Secondary professions for a Mesmer

Related Articles

 * Skills quick reference
 * Skills by category
 * Mesmer armor
 * Index of Mesmer weapons
 * Effective mesmer guide
 * Mesmer dance information
 * Mesmer quick references (category)
 * Mesmer elite skill locations

Trivia

 * The name of this profession is very likely derived from the word "mesmerize", which in turn was derived from Franz Anton Mesmer, who discovered what he called magnétisme animal (animal magnetism).