Guild Wars 2

In recent threads it was shown that the autoattack of the axe only provides as much damage as the staff’s. Moreover it can’t stack vulnerability realiable because you really want to use other skills most of the time.

I think necros lack a decent AoE-weapon with direct damage.

So how about changing the autoattack of the axe to hit 3 (or 5?) targets. The current one is rather low damage, medium range (600) and the debuff lacks impact. It would be by no means “overpowered” if it hits multiple targets.

It would be a decent weapon for events, because we could deal a few direct damaging hits rather easily compared to now. It would give us an utility weapon for things like the little flowers in the twilight dungeon (which are absolutely horrible to kill as a necro).

What do you guys think?

it would make the dagger completely obsolete, the slight increase in single target dps wouldnt matter with the added disadvantage of being meelee only.
I would make the dagger 1 and 2 front aoe 3 targets with a small bonus on vampiric for multiple target hits, increase slightly the attack rate of axe and scepter, add some extra effect to axe 2 (it “just” does lackluster damage, that’s booring), increase the projectile speed of staff 1 and shroud attacs.

The dagger deals twice the damage of an axe to a single target. It would still be far stronger than the axe against one target if used correctly.

I think the staff is already a good weapon for use in events. I don’t think we really need another one.

Sure, if the axe autoattack hit multiple targets it would suck less, but it would still be a pretty poor alternative to our other options.

The staff can tag multiple targets in events and deal similar single-target DPS from twice as far away. The scepter does better single-target damage from longer range and the dagger outdamages it by about 100% if you can safely run into melee. Life Blast also does much better damage from longer range. The weapon seriously has no niche.

They could at least try to emphasize the support or control functionality of the weapon a bit. Necromancers currently don’t have a single skill that stuns except the Fleash Golem’s charge and we have no access to stability in our “normal” form. How about putting a short stun on the last hit from Ghastly Claws and making Unholy Feast apply stability in addition to retaliation? That would at least make some people consider taking the damage tradeoff of using an axe.

Staff is fine as is. Yes its slow, but it functions perfectly well for what it does. It comes with a chill skill and a fear, obviously made to use in conjunction with them.
And it hits fairly hard. In an event with multi, it will hit many of them pretty hearty and its LoS is not completely rigid. So it has a little leeway in its direction. Would it be nice if it bounced? Sure. But out of all the weapons, i have the least complaints about it.

I thought the axe already did cleave? (Shows how much i used it) but it does need a reason of being. Hell, even scepter has is uses. Giving it a 5 hit cleave would either have to come with a hefty increase in dagger dps either via longer bleeds with an addition of other damage statuses (burn and poison) or a major loss in range axes as well as power.

That 5 hit would pretty much make it a perfect combo with every type of necro, because i dont know about you, but i aoe a group of mobs fairly often when possible. Meaning there would be no reason -not- to use an axe over dagger in any situation since 1v1 and aoe comes up fairly often and subbing staff is pretty much mandatory at this point.

Idunno, i cant think of a way on making axe appealing other than changing it skill set.
I mean, maybe an increase in attack speed when closer? Kinda like Mesmer increase its channeled damage of its great sword as it gets farther away?

But that would still need a reevaluation of the dagger. As its speed is whats pushing it over to the top atm IMO.