Guild Wars 2

I spent a lot of time on my own (ie, not reading other players guides) theorycrafting on the necro before launch and coming up with some builds. So far, my favorite build is one that maximizes wells, makes them targetable, and allows me to lay down fields of conditions for my enemies. It’s pretty survivable and spawns mark of blood when I dodge, etc. Not bad… but I can’t kill anything in PVP.

I’ve got some builds that are okay in PVE.

But compared to my guardian, rogue, warrior, it just seems to take forever to kill anything. I haven’t done much of the game except story through level 32 and 100% zones. I’ve got my guardian to like 15 now and, while effective, it doesn’t hit my happy bone like playing a soul sucking necromancer does on a thematic level.

In sPvP, I’ve tried MM builds, death shroud builds, etc, but nothing seems to be very effective in sPvP so far… but I might just need to find the right build or stop and just read some guides.

With all that said, what are necros really solid at in GW2? Dungeons? Questing? sPvP? WvW? None? All?

I’m considering playing my guardian, warrior, or thief instead as my “main”. Guardian largely because they seem to do well in most aspects of the game. Or maybe even something ranged-focused, like a ranger or mesmer.

Reyon over at Team Paradigm website has written an extensive Necro guide for builds (although spvp based). Perhaps that can help you?

Ok here are my thouts for you first :

1,Staff is a really awesome thing to general pvp with a dagger-focus in switch.
You simply lay down 3-4 mark and start hitting the enemy. They walk trough them, and you switch to dagger. Most mobs alredy die from 2-3 hits.
If you need to kite araund stay on staff and keep snaring the enemy, and use the dot skills meantime.
-Best works with pet utility skills. And MM build.

2, In pvp you have so many builds its hard to begin with, but try making a “Well-Boondancer” build. With scepter and focus, You spread conditions and your wells make the boons to conditions, also make your own conditions to boons. With decent traits you can place wells and get insane powerfull when switched to dagger you steal back hp and melee dd. Or just spam Feast of Corruption when your conditions are spread to atleast 2-3 players. You will destroy teams like this. and 2v1 easy.
-Think of builds like this in pvp.
-Staff works a slight better in WvWvW, or axe on doors and other stuff.

3, The low dmg is not only your concern. Try checking a Elementalist. THey get 2 hitted and even lower dmg and less cc.
4, I personally rerolled nekro becosue i find the staff “marks on floor” skills not really “caster” ish. And to moch mid range skills with melee weapons like axe and dagger. Instead of real spells, like a “mage(or wizard)” supposed to have. And scepter is more like a wand in the game then a real scepter you focus your spells trough.
And at least but not last, the MM is not really fun. You just put in the minion skills and let them support you. Aside from that it needs no real “mantaining” liek in gw1, it is weak. Minions get 3-4 hitted. And stronger mobs 1 hit them. They deal no real dmg, only when tey are 3-4 atleast. THe “jagged horrors” you ake via trait are a totally stupid. They die in 2-3 sec before they can even move. THey supposed to last atleast 30-120 sec. So you can have a small army that decays slowly when you dont fight. They deal low dmg anyhow and die from 1 hit anyway so whats the point. They are not that powrfull anyway, so atleast make them look cool swarming araund the necro.
And not to mention i prefer skeletons and wraiths and zombies, not these….mutated fleshthinggolems.

5,For Dungeons i heart they are extremely effective. They are tough and keep the team alive. Not sure how but a lot of players have the same opinion.

-So i advice you to roll another char uless you fanatically love the Hero concept of a dark mage like thing sumonning undead. (like me) Even i rerolled to Ele, trough i would loved a concept of playing a “wizard” instead of this 2.

Oh and to anwser the main title :

Nekromancers specilize in exceling at destroying boons (its quite powrfull in pvp and its a must have in bigh fights)
And Spreading conditions for dmg and for crippling the enemy.
Basically you take away the enemy-s adventage. And drop the combat power.

Also excels slithly at boosting the team, with a good support arary of skills.

Nekroseth.5186
1. Staff is really visible and noone in their right mind will be close to em in PVP
Also minions are really bad and just almost viable if you trait em
2. True that conditionmancers are strong on groups of enemies, but the dagger thing isnt even close to ture, same as "Or just spam Feast of Corruption when your conditions are spread to atleast 2-3 players. You will destroy teams like this. and 2v1 easy. " since you cant spam it and buggs out and just cancels often if you are walking while casting it.
3. Elementalists have about 3 times more damage than a necro can, also their elementals aint stupid and go off aggroing everything within 2400~ range, air and earth form are there for cc and last but not least, have a real stability utility instead of having to swap to a form just a second before the cc hits you.
4. JH are there for death nova and pve, useless everywhere else.

Actually minions are great when you get traits for them and support them with mark of blood and mark of evasion. though i admit enemies with aoe dots sure do eat trough them really fast.

Thats why I’m a minion master whose developed himself to be a supporter of the minions. I focus traits primarily on the vitality and toughness. Scepter adn focus or scepter and warhorn as well as staff. Minions aren’t just supposed to take aggro from you, they have abilities. the shadowspawn and one of the later summons do Shadowspawn/blindness the other one I cant think the name of/stops attacks for a bit, Fleshgolem/charges and does damage as well as knock down. Your first summon attacks and its ability heals you alot like the somewhat useless worm summon I dont use because it dies too fast, and isnt mobile. Maybe it heals more Idk. Then there is the one that summons two small creatures, let them get in with the others then you have two attack abilities that explode in clouds of poison that do damage like that assuming they dont die to fast. Plus five summons at once is awesome for removing aggro aggro and necros can do just about anything short of intense events and god forbid dungeons on their own. For the abilities, thats pretty good for causing some debuff on enemis and if you have a crowd of enemies in one area you are attacking adn one annoying one thats knocking you down all the time, the fleshgolem abilities is a god send, then just use hte war horn to stun him, feast of corruption with the scepter and use the swarm ability of the warhorn to do further damage as you beat the crap out of him with your channeling attack. Or with a staff just AoE the crap out of him and channel with the trait that grants 400 toughness while channeling and you should be set as the fleshgolem will back you up after that command. And possibly some others if they aren’t off dying in a corner after taking a few of the other mobs monsters with them.

This is my experience at level 40 now. It takes work but if this is the type of gameplay you enjoy as a necro then its pretty much worth it. For me, its have this awesome back up and not have to worry about being alone with fifty centaurs, or have to trust signets and wells that are a one trick pony for me. But thats my opinion in THIS situation, there are situations where I would utterly suck and only other skills would work, like the signet that rezzes up to 3 comrades, my minions cant do that, or that massive debuff signet that just lays it down on the enemies, those are GREAT for group support and offensive support. This is just my personal method for pve.

Sory bu i dont agree with you.

Eles might look like more dmg, but actually the “nomral” dmg is quite low. Since you dont have moch of a “attack speed” and most skills are autocasted, the rest have insane cooldowns. Basically quite impossibile to kill someone with constant regen.

But in other hand Necros have min 4-5 conditions. And those are seriously the most op dmg source in the game for now.

Personally i must agree with MM is useless.
They wont surely reach someone atop of a building, and a good Ranger will destroy you if you can get to safety.

It came to my mind that you can build quite good healer from necro. You can turn conditions to boons with well of power, add that 3 second protection to well and people will surive lot longer, then with death shroud you can ( with blood mark and well active and healing same time) get life transfer to heal people around and then when you leave shroud heal with that too.

And of course best part is that those all are offensive skills!

I haven’t tried this in PvP yet, but I feel I have a pretty good build. Its not based so much on outdamaging the enemy as out surviving them. I siphon health like you wouldn’t believe, have as much toughness and vitality as I can get, have 25 (yes, 25!) seconds of blind that causes chill for EACH blind, and have massive AOE control with my wells. And if it hits the fan, then I have death shroud to not only do damage, but to wait for my cooldowns to come back.

try a warrior.

Try dual axes and signets. I bet you’ll love it.

I played necro and mez in beta. I didn’t play beta for long ( quit). Came back and tried Warrior, I fell in love with this game.