All I really want is to be able to remotely detonate marks and to direct where the bone minions explode (aoe cast indicator) so we can blast in our own fields without needing an enemy to help us. This and removing the internal cd between minion explosions would provide a good burst damage spike and allow us to ACTUALLY combo with other people in our parties. I feel like this is such an easy fix?
While I understand the desire to make bone minion’s explosion ground-targeted, I do hope everyone understands this is a nerf to their use as DPS, in order to allow them to combo better. Basically it nerfs their use in MM builds, the only builds that currently take them, in order to maybe open them up for other builds. It would probably have to come with a slight damage increase.
That could be really cool, spoj. Have it as part of the animation, necro smack the ground, causing a slight tremor and a bone minion pops. Blast on the necro.
Theres another solution to the combo issue though. Make the blast effect centered on your target or yourself instead of the minion.
Travel times. Bone Minions currently explode instantly with absolutely no way for the enemy to counterplay it besides not allowing them to get close enough. By having them become ground-targeted it becomes much easier for you to miss by the enemy moving away from where you targeted the minion to explode, which isn’t all that unlikely to happen on accident. It turns them into ground-targeted shatters, essentially. So you introduce the potential for not only counterplay, but just plain increase the amount of time it takes for them to blow up and the chance for them to do something weird that you didn’t want.
Also, blasting on you is a nerf to Death Nova, which currently self-combos (albeit slowly). Blasting on your target would basically be the same as it is now from an MM point of view, if you hit your target with the Putrid Explosion then it would still combo.
I see your point. Its definitely an issue though. Not being able to blast small fields like black powder because of the awkward blast position is infuriating. Maybe increasing the blast effect radius would solve issues like that.
Oh I agree it is totally an issue, I just want to point out that fixing it could create other issues as well. I don’t actually think it would be unreasonable to buff the damage a little bit (its been nerfed due to the fact that it is instant), allow it to scale with the Necromancer’s crit chance/damage, and then have it be targeted, either on an enemy or ground targeted.
Axe 3 is on its knees praying that it becomes a blast finisher.
Dagger 5 isnt far behind either.
Easy solution.
-Put a blast on warhorn 4.
-Give axe 3 blast finisher.
That way, the GM trait Spiteful Spirit gives necros a blast finisher every 10 seconds (6 sec when traited)
Axe 3, Dagger 5, and Warhorn 4 should be finishers. If axe 3 becomes a finisher, then the new Spiteful Spirit trait looks less awful, although still perhaps not GM worthy.
Warhorn 4 should have been a finisher ages ago. It will be exceedingly rare that the skill will both interrupt and blast finish, forcing necromancers to make strategic choices.
Offhand dagger could use a buff (focuse even more so).
Axe #3 fits the blast finisher theme. If they do it combined with the new Grandmaster its gonna be fun.
Warhorn 4 seems weird to me as finisher. Same with dagger #5.
And honestly if we could get the minions to explode where we want, they would totally win a space on the utility bar
the synergy with our current skill set would be pretty good when the changes go through. Lay down a well then use axe #3 and SS to blast it twice. Could get 2 aoe blinds. Meaning if traited with the new chilling dark its about 5s of aoe chill. Then bitter chill for 10 stacks of aoe vulnerability while granting yourself retaliation and 13s of cripple, removing 2 boons and doing just over a full lifeblasts worth of damage in a 600 aoe radius.
Aoe pressure, boon removal, team support, debuffing/cover conditions .
No idea why it hasnt been done yet. It makes perfect sense. Even the animation..
I do wonder if a 7s (further reduced by Axe Training, assuming Axe training at some point becomes not-garbage) AoE boon strip, high retal uptime, blast finishing (which it should be), crippling, decent damage ability is too strong though. Not that it should have an ICD, but I would much prefer to see it like the current Weakening Shroud (which is for some reason being returned to having a massive ICD): a slightly weaker version of a skill with no ICD.
I do wonder if a 7s (further reduced by Axe Training, assuming Axe training at some point becomes not-garbage) AoE boon strip, high retal uptime, blast finishing (which it should be), crippling, decent damage ability is too strong though. Not that it should have an ICD, but I would much prefer to see it like the current Weakening Shroud (which is for some reason being returned to having a massive ICD): a slightly weaker version of a skill with no ICD.
We’re still flashing DS…it would be build defining enough as GM with a proper ICD I don’t get the idea behind Axe Training… Only place I know flashing DS might not really matter is PvE, conditions used to but now with new Weakening Shroud and new Dhuumfire we will definitely stay in DS longer.
“Revenant is actual proof that devs read the necromancer forum” – Pelopidas.2140 The Dhuumfire thread
Yeah personally i prefer weaker versions with no ICD’s. Noone is going to take axe training so its pointless even adding that functionality just for synergy sake.
Also with making weakening shroud share the skill with enfeebling blood. That makes even less sense. The trait which reduces its cooldown is situational. And it would be impossible to judge when the trait is off cooldown. This could also be said about spiteful spirit. Theres no way to tell when the situational cooldown reduction has effected the skill enough to be safe to flash again.
Make them both weaker versions with no ICD’s and add a blast to spiteful spirit. Opens up a lot more build possibilities and avoids frustration with double cooldowns and unreadibility of proc timing. I probably wont ever use these traits if they keep these long ICD’s. Because theres no synergy or fun to be had when you have mismatched overlapping cooldowns hindering gameplay.
With the change to axe training, requiring you to use the axe autoattack to lower the cooldowns on other skills, albeit at a 10% damage loss to what axe training gives now, Anet effectively rendered the axe weaker, and less likely to be used. Not sure what they were thinking, but again, when it comes to necros we seem to exist in the dev’s afterthoughts, or get the poorly thought out/lack of time trait changes. It has always seemed to me to be just thrown together last minute.
Make them both weaker versions with no ICD’s and add a blast to spiteful spirit. Opens up a lot more build possibilities and avoids frustration with double cooldowns and unreadibility of proc timing. I probably wont ever use these traits if they keep these long ICD’s. Because theres no synergy or fun to be had when you have mismatched overlapping cooldowns hindering gameplay.
And if they really want to make synergy with other traits, just have those other traits improve them in some other way. For example Axe Training could say “Spiteful Spirit removes two boons” (or whatever). But I totally agree, ICDs on something like this just suck, when there is already an effective ICD.
