Guild Wars 2

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/meet-the-reaper-necromancers-elite-specialization/

Themed around the Chill condition.

Mechanic Change – Shroud Knight

• The first change changes Death Shroud skills into melee-focused skills. This Death Shroud benefits from current traits, where applicable.

Weapon – Greatsword

• Slow attacks with big damage modifiers

Utilites – Shouts

• Deals damage
• Effectiveness based on how many opponents are hit

HOLY KITTEN HOLY KITTEN! >_>

REAPER IS AS kitten AS CAN BE! (At least visually)

@Edit
The wiki has already filled everything shown under Reaper article!

It’s amazing! And that cool name

I’m going to have to get my Necromancer to 80, stat!

Well this is the first specialization that suffers a huge penalty for not taking the new weapon along with it. Power Necro’s can’t AOE well without the new GS so I guess we will see a very large amount of GS necros now. Not necessarily a bad thing, just interesting that this is the first specialization that can’t take full advantage without the weapon.

Also they don’t get any new F skill, just different particle effects for their existing F skill… which is odd…

Also the “masters of conditions” have a specialization that doesn’t work at all with condition users, yet it requires chill to function…

Can’t say i’m overly impressed, though I will say that the shouts sound like they may be good.

Well that’s generic. There’s already the ‘Reaper’ PvP title and loads of traits/skills named ’Reaper’s X’.

Whilst we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see if it actually makes the class viable the examples they give are not encouraging. The traits make it seem like it’s going to be once again very selfish oriented and that shout is just another minion skills, and the weakest minion type at that.

Only negative I can see with this is that my Mesmer and my Necro are my two favorite toons. How the hell am I supposed to decide which to play in HOT first now?

They are doing a great job so far on the specializations. You can still see the base class in the design, but the changes should be enough to create unique playstyles with different themes.

As a side note, I can’t wait to see the character looks people come up with for this.

And Zudet, it sounds like more than just new particle effects – the DS abilities themselves are changing to be melee focused – with the one example looking very much like an AOE. As far as the greatsword being the only AOE ability, keep in mind that shouts will be mostly AOE attacks (and we will still have wells and staff marks).

I have seen plenty of people on reddit complain about the lack of support.

I think people need to step out of the box and see that boons is not the only way to support allies.
Chill is a great way to support your group, since it makes the enemy much easier to deal with.

Well… i really hope they saved support skills for the stream. So far it is same selfish necro but with gs.

lordkrall.7241:

I have seen plenty of people on reddit complain about the lack of support.

I think people need to step out of the box and see that boons is not the only way to support allies.
Chill is a great way to support your group, since it makes the enemy much easier to deal with.

maybe in engaging varied encounters that require strategy… unfortunately there aren’t any of those in GW2 right now. Hopefully they introduce some in HoT. There is no need to chill an enemy when you have 100% block and vigor uptime and 25 stacks of might.

Necro’s offer awesome support in the form of high weakness and chill uptime… unfortunately the game does not need that kind of support in its current iteration. It seems easier to give one class useful support instead of changing the way the entire game works, thus the pleas for “standard” group support.

ZudetGambeous.9573:

lordkrall.7241:

I have seen plenty of people on reddit complain about the lack of support.

I think people need to step out of the box and see that boons is not the only way to support allies.
Chill is a great way to support your group, since it makes the enemy much easier to deal with.

maybe in engaging varied encounters that require strategy… unfortunately there aren’t any of those in GW2 right now. Hopefully they introduce some in HoT. There is no need to chill an enemy when you have 100% block and vigor uptime and 25 stacks of might.

Necro’s offer awesome support in the form of high weakness and chill uptime… unfortunately the game does not need that kind of support in its current iteration. It seems easier to give one class useful support instead of changing the way the entire game works, thus the pleas for “standard” group support.

I chill bosses a lot in fractals on my ele

ZudetGambeous.9573:

Well this is the first specialization that suffers a huge penalty for not taking the new weapon along with it. Power Necro’s can’t AOE well without the new GS so I guess we will see a very large amount of GS necros now. Not necessarily a bad thing, just interesting that this is the first specialization that can’t take full advantage without the weapon.

Why are you punished for not taking the GS? They added tools to make melee viable, but you are not forced to pick the GS.

Also they don’t get any new F skill, just different particle effects for their existing F skill… which is odd…

They have a completely new transformation with new skills that vary from the original Shroud skills, while still retaining a similar function (for trait compatibility), just like how Virtues were changed.

Also the “masters of conditions” have a specialization that doesn’t work at all with condition users, yet it requires chill to function…

Minor trait: All fears you inflict apply chill

lordkrall.7241:

I have seen plenty of people on reddit complain about the lack of support.

I think people need to step out of the box and see that boons is not the only way to support allies.
Chill is a great way to support your group, since it makes the enemy much easier to deal with.

Not only that but we do not have the full picture yet on how shouts and the GS skills work.

It doesn’t specify in the blog that the shouts are enemy only. It states ‘Reaper shouts differ from warrior and guardian shouts in that they focus more on harming foes than they do on bolstering allies.’, which doesn’t mean allies do not get some benefit.

Also, the GS may have a blast and leap finisher, allowing them to help stack might and heal from fields. And don’t forget, there may be traits that increase the supportive power of the shouts as well.

People complaining at this stage are only doing so because they have nothing better to do. We do not have enough info yet to make complaints.

Aretak.3826:

In what quantifiable way does it help, and in what game mode? PvE, not even remotely necessary. PvP, you’re facing people with a brain where condi cleanse/anti snaring traits are very prominent. In WvW soft cc is just sub-par to say the least.

Allow me to provide a couple of examples of how chill can help the team, in PvE:

- A boss will not use its one-hit skill less frequently, giving the team time to recharge skills or regain endurance for another block/dodge.
- Melee bosses can be kited a hell of a lot easier.

Chill may not be as supportive as might, protection and the like, but it can still help a lot in some situations.

Also, I do not see how being sarcastic to someone for having an opinion different to your own is helping the discussion. Provide your reasons why you think he is wrong by all means, but please leave the sarcastic comments at the door.

This minor trait with chill on fear is kinda odd. Makes sense if it is adept or something. What if i want to fear someone off a cliff? My victim will have enough time to think and use condi removing thanks to walking speed my fear will give.

This is just awesome!

I am 100% satisfied. Necro was my first main and I think I am going back to it.

Yes yes yes! I can’t wait

TheRandomGuy.7246:

This minor trait with chill on fear is kinda odd. Makes sense if it is adept or something. What if i want to fear someone off a cliff? My victim will have enough time to think and use condi removing thanks to walking speed my fear will give.

The other way of looking at it is that the chill on fear makes it easier to stick to them and use the moves that have a long windup time.

Rin.1046:

lordkrall.7241:

I have seen plenty of people on reddit complain about the lack of support.

I think people need to step out of the box and see that boons is not the only way to support allies.
Chill is a great way to support your group, since it makes the enemy much easier to deal with.

Not only that but we do not have the full picture yet on how shouts and the GS skills work.

It doesn’t specify in the blog that the shouts are enemy only. It states ‘Reaper shouts differ from warrior and guardian shouts in that they focus more on harming foes than they do on bolstering allies.’, which doesn’t mean allies do not get some benefit.

Also, the GS may have a blast and leap finisher, allowing them to help stack might and heal from fields. And don’t forget, there may be traits that increase the supportive power of the shouts as well.

People complaining at this stage are only doing so because they have nothing better to do. We do not have enough info yet to make complaints.

Also don’t forget that shouts means Trooper Runes. At the very least, Reapers can have a set of those for spamamable AoE condi cleanse.

I’m liking most of it. Though I’m weary that we will continue to be selfish characters not welcome in much of PvE. Really hoping at least a few of the shouts offer team support.

RabbitUp.8294:

ZudetGambeous.9573:

Well this is the first specialization that suffers a huge penalty for not taking the new weapon along with it. Power Necro’s can’t AOE well without the new GS so I guess we will see a very large amount of GS necros now. Not necessarily a bad thing, just interesting that this is the first specialization that can’t take full advantage without the weapon.

Why are you punished for not taking the GS? They added tools to make melee viable, but you are not forced to pick the GS.

Also they don’t get any new F skill, just different particle effects for their existing F skill… which is odd…

They have a completely new transformation with new skills that vary from the original Shroud skills, while still retaining a similar function (for trait compatibility), just like how Virtues were changed.

Also the “masters of conditions” have a specialization that doesn’t work at all with condition users, yet it requires chill to function…

Minor trait: All fears you inflict apply chill

1. They said the specialization scales in power as the number of foes you hit increases. None of necros current power weapons hit more than 2 targets. It is one of the biggest problems with necros right now. You will not be able to use the specialization well without being able to hit 5 targets, thus the need for the GS.

2.Guardian virtues just got straight up better. This is a wait and see for necro, can’t really say much more yet.

3. This minor trait has potential. though since terror is directly competing with lingering curses it doesn’t matter since there are no more terror builds until it is fixed.

Can someone explain to me how the elite specs work? Is it basically just another weapon set or does it take over your character? I like the new elites if I can swap it out for another weapon set but not so much if it takes over all the character abilities.

For example, can I use GS and still swap to staff if I choose the elite spec? Thanks.

I’m feelin’ it. Definitely gave off an Avatar of Grenth feel to it. I’m looking forward to the stream tomorrow. It’s clear at this point that with class balance, Anet isn’t designing for the Dungeon meta but also aren’t digging in too deep to change it. I’m ok with that on some level. Hopefully, we’ll see exactly where this new spec fits in to the larger balance scheme tomorrow.

P.S. Also, did anyone catch the shout out to Shang Tsung in the intro?

ZudetGambeous.9573:

1. They said the specialization scales in power as the number of foes you hit increases. None of necros current power weapons hit more than 2 targets. It is one of the biggest problems with necros right now. You will not be able to use the specialization well without being able to hit 5 targets, thus the need for the GS.

It’s actually the shouts that scale depending on how many enemies hit, rather than – what we know of at the moment – the weapon skills.

That’seriously messed up. They’re forcing us to play with Chill with those minors. I can see their appeal, but please just make them adept traits?

Also, you say we should rush into the middle of a battle, but we have no way to mitigate damage apart from our Death Shroud. It’s already a problem as it is…

I was also hoping for some group support but then again, we got a whirl finisher now! (see trailer)

Kail.4386:

Can someone explain to me how the elite specs work? Is it basically just another weapon set or does it take over your character? I like the new elites if I can swap it out for another weapon set but not so much if it takes over all the character abilities.

For example, can I use GS and still swap to staff if I choose the elite spec? Thanks.

You can still use all the other weapons that a necro can use, equipping the Reaper traitline just allows you to equip GS, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. And you will still have 2 weapon sets, so you can switch between GS and staff no worries.

Anet, THIS is how you do a spec launch video. You’ve made Reaper look brilliant. Now I just hope that I’m not disappointed by the full reveal tomorrow

Kail.4386:

Can someone explain to me how the elite specs work? Is it basically just another weapon set or does it take over your character? I like the new elites if I can swap it out for another weapon set but not so much if it takes over all the character abilities.

For example, can I use GS and still swap to staff if I choose the elite spec? Thanks.

You are not locked into a weapon, you just have an additional one you can use. As for utilities and the elite skill…I have no idea. You might be locked into those.

Now THIS is how you introduce a new class.

Not gonna lie, this one has me REAL excited aaaaaand that one skill in the vid with the hand grabbing the dude and pulling him back better be a shout called “get over here!”.

If not, make it so.

For reals.

Still….dem in the thick skirmish skills. oh yes. I am ready.

ZudetGambeous.9573:

1. They said the specialization scales in power as the number of foes you hit increases. None of necros current power weapons hit more than 2 targets. It is one of the biggest problems with necros right now. You will not be able to use the specialization well without being able to hit 5 targets, thus the need for the GS.

2.Guardian virtues just got straight up better. This is a wait and see for necro, can’t really say much more yet.

3. This minor trait has potential. though since terror is directly competing with lingering curses it doesn’t matter since there are no more terror builds until it is fixed.

1. Shouts scale the more foes you affect. That’s what they meant, what other scaling would there be, the life force bar remains the same. Also, no matter which weapon you wield, Shroud Knight form gives you access to AoE.

2. You dismissed them as nothing more than particle effect changes, which was false and was what I addressed. Virtues were not a strict upgrade, either, as the range and radius changed.

3. Reaper will get new traits and utilities.

so, we totally called the name or we totally called the name?

dietzero.3514:

Kail.4386:

Can someone explain to me how the elite specs work? Is it basically just another weapon set or does it take over your character? I like the new elites if I can swap it out for another weapon set but not so much if it takes over all the character abilities.

For example, can I use GS and still swap to staff if I choose the elite spec? Thanks.

You are not locked into a weapon, you just have an additional one you can use. As for utilities and the elite skill…I have no idea. You might be locked into those.

You’re not required to use the utilities or the elite either. The Dragonhunter and Chronomancer videos showed a dev using more traditional skills alongside new ones. It simply opens up new options.

There are only two things I can see that you are locked into. The first is you have to use one of your trait line slots for the specialization traitline. The second is the change to your Function key skills (in this case, the changes to the deathshroud abilities).

At least its name is better than the last one released. Need to finish the article to see what its stuff is.

Necros may not get love when it comes to minions, or wells, or just about anything…but this…this makes up for it.

Kail.4386:

Can someone explain to me how the elite specs work? Is it basically just another weapon set or does it take over your character? I like the new elites if I can swap it out for another weapon set but not so much if it takes over all the character abilities.

For example, can I use GS and still swap to staff if I choose the elite spec? Thanks.

You only get additional options. They only thing you are forced into is any changes to the profession mechanic and the minor traits included in the Reaper trait line.

So, in addition to all other weapons a Necro can wield, Reaper also has access to the GS. You still have your regular 2 weapon sets and you can choose to slot whatever you want in them.

Same with your utilities, heal and elite. You get 6 (I think) new, but you can choose to use 5, 0 or any number between.

It seems Dhuum got a fan club now. I kinda hope they might reference some of his skills with the new abilities, and I’m crossing my fingers that their elite shout is something like “THE VOID BECKONS!”.

Thanks to all who answered my question about swapping between elite weapon sets and the regular weapons. Now I’m excited about this. It really opens up a lot of new possibilities.

Though to call it an elite spec is a bit suspect if it’s just another weapon set and a few more skills. I wonder if it will be more powerful than the other sets?

Kail.4386:

Thanks to all who answered my question about swapping between elite weapon sets and the regular weapons. Now I’m excited about this. It really opens up a lot of new possibilities.

Though to call it an elite spec is a bit suspect if it’s just another weapon set and a few more skills. I wonder if it will be more powerful than the other sets?

It’s more a matter of exclusivity. You can’t be a GS Necro without being a Reaper. You also get a new name and icon, so it’s practically a subclass of the main Necromancer.

And you need to be level 80 to unlock the elite spec (except in pvp, of course).

Not a massive lover of the name…but that goes out the window after reading;

This devastating melee brawler is at home in battle when surrounded by as many enemies as possible, cleaving through hapless foes for life-force sustainment. Once the reaper has enough life force, they can transform into a devastating avatar of destruction that leaves enemies frozen in terror.

Some overlaps to my old Dervish

Boro.7359:

so, we totally called the name or we totally called the name?

You guys called the name, i called damaging shouts where one might also summon jagged horrors. Together we predicted the future!

On a serious note, I hope there will be shouts that also buff allies. Like “damage enemies; allies get x might per enemy struck” or something.

Blaeys.3102:

Only negative I can see with this is that my Mesmer and my Necro are my two favorite toons. How the hell am I supposed to decide which to play in HOT first now?

My main is guardian, but I have necro as well so I have no choice. Comparing Reaper and Dragonhunter… Time to reroll and start reaping souls!

Kail.4386:

Thanks to all who answered my question about swapping between elite weapon sets and the regular weapons. Now I’m excited about this. It really opens up a lot of new possibilities.

Though to call it an elite spec is a bit suspect if it’s just another weapon set and a few more skills. I wonder if it will be more powerful than the other sets?

I think the idea behind calling it an “elite spec” has more to do with not having access to it until you are max level (level 80). Eventually, we will have multiple of these elite specs that we can switch between by swapping the trait line.

As far as being more powerful than the base class (Necro in this case), they have said elite specs arent intended to replace them – simply offer a different playstyle. I do see some challenge doing that in reality – it will require some serious math and balancing. I doubt it will ever be perfect, but I do think they will try and make as many playstyles as viable as possible.

My necro is scaring me silly right now…. She’s standing in a corner, caressing the Shadow greatsword I got her and cackling like the freaking wicked witch of the west. Absolutely terrifying….

Anyway… back to reality (haha).

The general premise of this specialization looks pretty good, though I’m a bit iffy on the ‘slow but powerful’ attacks with the sword.

I’m not super concerned about ‘lack of group support’ like a lot of others, probably because I typically play alone or with my husband (and we really aren’t into min-maxing). Even when I do wander into playing dungeons, I’ve never had any issues while on a necro. Still, I highly doubt that the new shouts won’t have “any” group support, but we’ll see when they go over the specialization tomorrow on the stream.

My only real concern is with the line “can become dangerous powerhouses over prolonged encounters.” I’ll agree with others that presently there aren’t really any of these in the [pve aspect] game (unless you intentionally make them that way). However, this may change with HoT (which I’m really hoping for).

Editing: My terrible spelling. Need more coffee…

TheDaiBish.9735:

Weapon – Greatsword

• Slow attacks with big damage modifiers

Sounds easily interruptable.

TheDaiBish.9735:

Utilites – Shouts
snip

• Effectiveness based on how many opponents are hit

So it’ll be useful in Courtyard where the enemy tends to zerg, but not very useful when you don’t have many enemies on you at once. Roamers with interrupts will love fighting Reapers lol.

Kail: i believe it is “elite” in so far as it will only be available to those that have gotten to level 80, just like the other specs being introduced. The whole idea is that these are meant to introduce not only new skills, but new and possibly more advanced play. Things that rely more on steady teamwork, build synergy and fight skills in PvE, PvP and WvW. Basically their attempt to give us harder content and the tools to play it without it devolving into “1111111111111112111111”.

Morsus.5106:

TheDaiBish.9735:

Weapon – Greatsword

• Slow attacks with big damage modifiers

Sounds easily interruptable.

TheDaiBish.9735:

Utilites – Shouts
snip

• Effectiveness based on how many opponents are hit

So it’ll be useful in Courtyard where the enemy tends to zerg, but not very useful when you don’t have many enemies on you at once. Roamers with interrupts will love fighting Reapers lol.

they will probably be the class that can trait a defiance bar.

got to see it in play, but this one seems like it will have a very strong playstyle difference, really expands necro.

now i have to ponder if i should make a new necro… asura with GS doesnt really excite…

Well, while the English name is quite cool, the french translation is ugly as hell. I knew we would have to pay for the better name we got for the Dh, but not this fast…

Valmir.4590:

Well, while the English name is quite cool, the french translation is ugly as hell. I knew we would have to pay for the better name we got for the Dh, but not this fast…

What’s the translation?

This really fits with the them of the profession. I like it a lot.

Does this mean we will see a profession or two have anti-shouts like “Well of Silence” or “Ulcerous Lungs” in GW1?
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Well_of_Silence
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Ulcerous_Lungs
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Cacophony

Reaper reminds me of Darksiders…ohhh how did i love those games ^^ and i’m still waiting for the 3rd one. Daddy is gonna make a reaper…ohh yes

PookieDaWombat.6209:

Kail: i believe it is “elite” in so far as it will only be available to those that have gotten to level 80, just like the other specs being introduced. The whole idea is that these are meant to introduce not only new skills, but new and possibly more advanced play. Things that rely more on steady teamwork, build synergy and fight skills in PvE, PvP and WvW. Basically their attempt to give us harder content and the tools to play it without it devolving into “1111111111111112111111”.

It should probably be pointed out that it has been explained that we can only have one elite spec equipped at a time too. So after they introduce additional elite specs, you can still only run one at a time. You can’t do Elite, Elite, Core .

PookieDaWombat.6209:

Valmir.4590:

Well, while the English name is quite cool, the french translation is ugly as hell. I knew we would have to pay for the better name we got for the Dh, but not this fast…

What’s the translation?

Fauchemort. Word for Word, it is Reapdeath. And that’s crazy, since Reaper would be Faucheur, (and the name of Death is sometime the Grande Faucheuse, so it would have been better).

So, it’s basically the reverse of the Dragonhunter.