Guild Wars 2

Are sceptres, axes, foci, and staves basically extinct once HoT comes out? I know that the only weapons that are worth a kitten on the necro are the focus and the dagger. And even then you’ll only spam your auto-attack while using reaper’s touch when it’s off cooldown. Will these weapons get touched upon in the expansion, or is reaper going to be all about the greatsword?

Warhorn is pretty good too. Scepter, axe, and staff are dead weight as is when it comes to PvE. For PvP staff is pretty solid and scepter is really your only choice for condi builds (though condi builds aren’t very good right now). Focus is decent, but warhorn is generally preferable. Greatsword looks like it’s gonna be very solid and compete with dagger on Reaper.

we know that axe and scepter are being looked at right now. We don’t know what changes will be made, or how soon they’ll be implemented, but they are coming

I guess you talking about pve? (Since for pvp focus is not good)
Not that pve is my area of expertise but isnt warhorn also used in pve?

And to answer your question chances are that many reaper wont even run gs atleast in pvp due its slow nature. And yes scepter and axe will see a rework.

Scepter and staff can’t go completely extinct as long as we have usable condition builds. Offhand dagger and warhorn are decent offhands, but the dagger could really use some adjustments, as it is just too slow.

Once they buff axe, I wish they’d touch up on OH Dagger. If Offhand Dagger:
- #4 was unbloclable and velocity increased slightly (to be more reliable like Putrid Mark, where this is almost just a slightly weaker version of it) and
- #5 Cast time was greatly reduced as it still has an animation time and possibly gave some life force per enemy struck.

I’d be super thrilled. If love if Axe+Dagger became a viable staff substitute for power builds.

Axe, Focus and Scepter are dead right now.

Offhand Dagger may be dead right now, but nobody talks about it because it is more theoretically usable than the other three.

Staff is used by every necromancer due to lack of ranged options, but it is definitely not up to kiting duties on the reaper. Once people start Reapers and try to replace DS 1 with Staff one, the complaining will be real.

Greatsword might see use in pvE if it provides the best theoretical DPS, but the weapon is such a glass cannon. Trying to Spam Gravedigger on a strong PvE boss is asking to get yourself killed. Greatsword is too slow to use in Pvp.

Honestly, I think we are stuck using Dagger + Warhorn in most modes unless things are massively tweaked. Warhorn is maybe the biggest damage skill on the class, and the swiftness is essential. Dagger provides most of the DPS of Greatsword but with better utility and sustain (and it is the only weapon combo on the class with synergy with the blood line)

With dagger being so much more superior with both damage and sustain, other weapons need to fill their niche well to be used.

Staff is our only 1200 weapon and is easy enough to aim, now, but weak despite its broad utility.

Axe is a vulnerability weapon and generated great life force but is frustrating to watch.

Focus is strong enough but slow.

Off hand dagger is about sustain but is weak and unreliable.

Scepter is the only condition damage weapon, generates low LF, and has no synergy with chill, fear, or burning… or blind, weakness, protection, confusion, might, torment….

nekretaal.6485:

Warhorn is maybe the biggest damage skill on the class

…what skill are you referring to?

Warhorn is in a really good place. My only complaint is that Banshee’s Wail competes with Vampiric Aura, and usually people will take Vampiric Aura. (I honestly wish it was a grandmaster or adept instead of master.)

Only thing wrong with Focus is that you need to be in melee to get all the bounces of, but when you do it hits hard and has a low cd. Hands down my favorite off-hand in PvE

Alright, here is a nice list of the commonly complained about problems with all of our weapons skills right now (this is just off the top of my head):

Death shroud:

• Life Blast – Too slow to proc dhummfire effectively, should realistically be a projectile finisher.
• Dark path-Projectile Speed Buff, or even make it a non-projectile port.
• Doom – Awesome
• Life Transfer – Slow, easily interruptible, relatively low damage on 3 or fewer targets, stab?
• Tainted Shackles – Awesome

Staff

• Spectral Grasp – doesn’t apply a condi or deal good damage, only base LF gen
• Mark of Blood – could probably have a bleed put back, low direct damage
• Chillblains – relatively low direct damage
• Putrid Mark – used to transfer 3 condis from allies, 1 or 2 of those need to come back
• Reaper’s Mark – Low direct damage, only does the fear, maybe add support with prot or stab

Dagger

• Auto chain – great
• Life Siphon – 4 second cast makes it easily interruptible, long cd compared to most melee 2 skills
• Dark Pact – 1 second is a lot, 25 sec cd, compare it to warrior longbow 5, could be a gap closer
• Deathly Swarm – Slow projectile speed, doesn’t generate LF
• Enfeebling Blood – Not a blast finisher, could have another bleed or LF gen

Scepter
Realistically some of the trait duration needs to be baseline.

• Auto – maybe replace 1 bleed with torment
• Grasping Dead – Could maybe give LF per target, apply torment instead of bleed
• Feast of Corruption – Should apply a condition (torment, confusion or bleed), per condition on target

Axe:

• Rending Claws – terribad in every way, weak damage and weak vuln stacking cause it is slow, low range
• Ghastly Claws – Can be LOS by walking through the person as well as normal stuff, weak dps relative to other weapons, no whirl finisher, low range.
• Unholy Feast – Should be a blast finisher

Focus:

• Reaper’s Touch – Slow projectile, projectile finisher, offensive boon instead of regen, weaker version of the 6 second cd mirror blade
• Spinal Shivers – Completely overshadowed by Chill of Death, and the cast time is gargantuan

Warhorn

• Wail of Doom – Needs a blast finisher
• Locust Swarm – gets you in combat to easily (swarm shouldn’t attack ooc)

I have fewer problems with Necro weapons. Here is my list.

Death Shroud – Dark Path reliability could still be improved.
Staff – 1 is ranged single target power but 2-5 are ranged condition AoE.
OH Dagger – Fine for what it does but what it does is no longer as critical to certain builds. Add a little more damage to compensate.
Scepter – Increase LF generation. Create a condition damage trait link to a shorter range weapon so swapping to melee does not waste any condition damage equipment stats. Greatsword and scepter are possible but inflict completely different condition damage.
Axe – using AA to stack vuln is boring and it is frustrating to watch some other profession rapidly shoot 25 short duration vuln to wipe my longer duration stack off the target. Reduce other professions’ access to vuln, please.
Focus – Trim spinal shivers cast time. It has a big tell for what it does. Maybe it needed it a couple of years ago but it seems excessive, now.
War horn – leave it for now.

Dagger main hand is good, dagger off hand is fine for condition builds.
Staff has plenty of utility, best ranged option for a soul reaping build.
Axe and scepter are being looked into.
Focus offhand honestly isn’t bad for PvP, it will pair well with reaper.

Honestly, only scepter and axe are truly hurting and we already know they’re being looked into.

striker.3704:

Dagger main hand is good, dagger off hand is fine for condition builds.
Staff has plenty of utility, best ranged option for a soul reaping build.
Axe and scepter are being looked into.
Focus offhand honestly isn’t bad for PvP, it will pair well with reaper.

Honestly, only scepter and axe are truly hurting and we already know they’re being looked into.

Dagger 2 and 3 are unarguably weak for their cast times and cds. Dagger off hand doesn’t have any LF gain. Staff does bad direct damage, and should bring more support, so necros have a support weapon. Focus is terrible, it will never be good in its current state because the skills are way too easy to avoid.

striker.3704:

Dagger main hand is good, dagger off hand is fine for condition builds.
Staff has plenty of utility, best ranged option for a soul reaping build.
Axe and scepter are being looked into.
Focus offhand honestly isn’t bad for PvP, it will pair well with reaper.

Honestly, only scepter and axe are truly hurting and we already know they’re being looked into.

Yeah, I think I’m more in mind with Zap here. Dagger is only great because it has crazy auto damage and massive life force not tied to a cooldown. 2 is okay (kinda long) and 3 really isn’t great compared to just about any other immobilize skill in the game.

As for the rest, Staff is passable mostly because we have no other 1200 options and its the only way to get LF from afar, other than that its pretty “meh” after the years of nerfs.

Dagger offhand needs #4 to move faster and be unblockable so it’s at least ALMOST as reliable as putrid mark, and #5 needs to cast faster due to the animation delay, and needs some sort of Life Force generation.

Axe/Scepter needs large changes.

Focus would be fine if regeneration was basically ANY other boon on #4 and #5 was a faster cast (likely 3/4).

Warhorn is fine, at least. :P

ronpierce.2760:

striker.3704:

Dagger main hand is good, dagger off hand is fine for condition builds.
Staff has plenty of utility, best ranged option for a soul reaping build.
Axe and scepter are being looked into.
Focus offhand honestly isn’t bad for PvP, it will pair well with reaper.

Honestly, only scepter and axe are truly hurting and we already know they’re being looked into.

Yeah, I think I’m more in mind with Zap here. Dagger is only great because it has crazy auto damage and massive life force not tied to a cooldown. 2 is okay (kinda long) and 3 really isn’t great compared to just about any other immobilize skill in the game.

As for the rest, Staff is passable mostly because we have no other 1200 options and its the only way to get LF from afar, other than that its pretty “meh” after the years of nerfs.

Dagger offhand needs #4 to move faster and be unblockable so it’s at least ALMOST as reliable as putrid mark, and #5 needs to cast faster due to the animation delay, and needs some sort of Life Force generation.

Axe/Scepter needs large changes.

Focus would be fine if regeneration was basically ANY other boon on #4 and #5 was a faster cast (likely 3/4).

Warhorn is fine, at least. :P

Yeah, I think it is important to remember the reason we run dagger/warhorn staff on pretty much everything is because scepter/dagger and axe/focus have massive problems. Not necessarily because dagger/warhorn and staff are perfect.