The latest issue of NCsoft's MMORPG Guild Wars' State of the Game gives kudos to one of the most difficult classes to play during Guild versus Guild (GvG) - the mesmer. Since early times, this flexible spellcaster found a vital role in shutting down key midline players and applying pressure to monks in the backline to go for the kill.

Five types of mesmers were cited by guild Delta Formation's Mark Yu: energy denial shutdown, disruption shutdown, skill shutdown, spike assistance, and enchantment removal. In many cases, mesmers have to do more than one of these tasks in battle.

While its job during GvG is diverse, certain skills often make it to a mesmer's skill bar. Among the favorites that are almost must-haves are Diversion, Power Leak, and Shatter Enchantment. Diversion can shutdown spammable skills for a lengthy period of time, Power Leak can easily drain the energy out of an opponent, while Shatter Enchantment is crucial in removing protections for spikes.

Since mesmers in Guild Wars are employed to shutdown opposing players, they can either disable monks to let the team dish out damage without proper health recovery as counter, or distract enemy offensive casters and other damage dealers when survival is crucial. Learn more from the latest issue of Guild Wars' State of the Game by clicking on the "via" link below.