Guild Wars 2

This skill really isn’t useful for single-target damage, and yet that’s exactly what Spinal Shivers is for. Focus is actually the least-focused (pun intended) weapon that Necro has, in terms of how it should be used. Why vulnerability, and why only 4 stacks? The sole reason the vuln is useful is because of Unholy Fervor, and that pigeonholes it into being paired with axe.

More importantly, why regen?? It’s difficult to use this skill in a way that’s useful either for damage or for healing, it’s like a Winds of Chaos that has no place in any build. If this were to become a higher-damage skill then I think it would be ok to nerf Spinal Shivers down to 2 conditions removed. But right now Focus has 2 skills, but only 1 useful skill.

The only thing I would really complain about is the aftercast of Reaper’s Touch. Other than that, it is a great starter attack for a fight (stack 12 vuln if you’re fighting 1 foe).

Lahmia.2193:

The only thing I would really complain about is the aftercast of Reaper’s Touch. Other than that, it is a great starter attack for a fight (stack 12 vuln if you’re fighting 1 foe).

Weeeeell if you’re in 600 range yeah. The bounce doesn’t extend beyond that. Which defeats the purpose of a 1200 range skill.

Yeh, the problem is that Focus #4 is most effective in short range, while you generally want to stay in a large range if you’re using a focus (often in combination with Axe). Although the skill itself is not bad (good LF generation, reasonable damage, good vuln stacks). The regen is kinda useless. Changing it to for example 3 secs of Retaliation wouldn’t be a bad idea I think.

1) huge aftercast

2) Clunky and unreliable.
It doesnt home like mesmer GS#2, even tho wiki says so, it doesnt fly but it hovers and gets stuck, yet it is the exact same bouncing skill.
The medium long cast also often makes the skill fail and go full CD, because you tried to use it in intended melee but enemy moved behind your facing.

3) All bounces need to hit in order to get some worth out of it.
A single blind,block or pebble often decreases the intended value.

4) The regen boon is arguably lame

The only poeple who can play focus at all are veterans who instead of fighting enemy know how to fight game engine in order to make their own skill fail less often.
Main big skill is a boon remove – its a PVP centric weapon yet its never been used outside of PVE

HeadCrowned.6834:

The regen is kinda useless. Changing it to for example 3 secs of Retaliation wouldn’t be a bad idea I think.

It works with Blighter’s Boon for multiple procs but that’s about it.
Also I swear it used to be Retalation. Or am I remembering something different?

Lahmia.2193:

HeadCrowned.6834:

The regen is kinda useless. Changing it to for example 3 secs of Retaliation wouldn’t be a bad idea I think.

It works with Blighter’s Boon for multiple procs but that’s about it.
Also I swear it used to be Retalation. Or am I remembering something different?

Actually it used to give swiftness… (see https://wiki.guildwars2.com/index.php?title=Reaper%27s_Touch&oldid=274350 … just to make it clear that was during the beta)

But i am pretty sure that the regen was already on it when gw2 officially was released.

Swiftness wouldnt be bad either. Makes necro less reliant on warhorn (= more build diversity).

I’d prefer Retaliation. You need to be up close to get the bounces, so Retaliation would at least provide some extra punishment.

I disagree, it doesn’t need any buff, it need a total rework!!!

Drarnor Kunoram.5180:

I’d prefer Retaliation. You need to be up close to get the bounces, so Retaliation would at least provide some extra punishment.

I agree. It would be nice to have some more retal outside of axe and spite.

Muchacho.2390:

Drarnor Kunoram.5180:

I’d prefer Retaliation. You need to be up close to get the bounces, so Retaliation would at least provide some extra punishment.

I agree. It would be nice to have some more retal outside of axe and spite.

I’d love to see Necros get an Elite Specialization with a focus on Retaliation, similar to how Reaper had a Chill focus. Since we lack active defense, I can see it working out in ways that other professions shouldn’t use.

Drarnor Kunoram.5180:

Muchacho.2390:

Drarnor Kunoram.5180:

I’d prefer Retaliation. You need to be up close to get the bounces, so Retaliation would at least provide some extra punishment.

I agree. It would be nice to have some more retal outside of axe and spite.

I’d love to see Necros get an Elite Specialization with a focus on Retaliation, similar to how Reaper had a Chill focus. Since we lack active defense, I can see it working out in ways that other professions shouldn’t use.

They’d need to buff or rework Retal first, since it is pretty kitten at the moment.

Lahmia.2193:

Drarnor Kunoram.5180:

Muchacho.2390:

Drarnor Kunoram.5180:

I’d prefer Retaliation. You need to be up close to get the bounces, so Retaliation would at least provide some extra punishment.

I agree. It would be nice to have some more retal outside of axe and spite.

I’d love to see Necros get an Elite Specialization with a focus on Retaliation, similar to how Reaper had a Chill focus. Since we lack active defense, I can see it working out in ways that other professions shouldn’t use.

They’d need to buff or rework Retal first, since it is pretty kitten at the moment.

Such changes could be part of the Elite Spec. It’s a decent boon for anyone right now, but traits can be used to change it up from “decent” to “great”.

For example, in my Cultist Elite Spec idea, one of the traits makes Retaliation turn into a siphon, healing you for the damage it deals. Granted, that’s a Grandmaster trait, but other traits in the line give decent access to Retaliation.

I’d be satisfied if it didn’t suffer from ranger-syndrome of being “obstructed” on flat ground.

I use a focus in my power build almost exclusively because it generates life force and boon removal in wvw, and it generates life force and vulnerability in fractals (think 1 power necro with 4 condis, I’m the only vulnerability… a 25 stack of vuln is like an extra condi necro and all my damage becomes bonus).

I have accepted the skill for what it is and do use it a lot, but it is a bit underwhelming except for the life force generation.

I’d be happy swapping regen for another boon. Stability would be best, but resistance, vigor, or quickness would be nice too.

There’s just so little reason to have healing power as a necro that even with random gains from random places it never heals more than 140 per tick. Maybe if it lasted 15 seconds to match the skill cooldown there might be something there, but 5 seconds (6 with my durability runes!) is hard to get excited about.

Hesacon.8735:

There’s just so little reason to have healing power as a necro that even with random gains from random places it never heals more than 140 per tick. Maybe if it lasted 15 seconds to match the skill cooldown there might be something there, but 5 seconds (6 with my durability runes!) is hard to get excited about.

>.> <.<

• sees 228/tick on my build *

Drarnor Kunoram.5180:

Hesacon.8735:

There’s just so little reason to have healing power as a necro that even with random gains from random places it never heals more than 140 per tick. Maybe if it lasted 15 seconds to match the skill cooldown there might be something there, but 5 seconds (6 with my durability runes!) is hard to get excited about.

>.> <.<

• sees 228/tick on my build *

Sounds like a specialized build. 784 healing power. I suppose Last Rites from blood magic and being low on HP brings it down to 334. Straight Celestial is 639.

Zealots, mostly. Ascended armor and dagger with Zealot’s stats, the rest lacks Healing Power.

Great sustain, still good damage, but it is weak to spikes.

What do you use it for?

My general Power build. Works pretty well for WvW roaming as well as just soloing content. Not ideal for zerging, but it’s not terrible either.

vicious.5683:

I disagree, it doesn’t need any buff, it need a total rework!!!

I’d actually agree with this. Completely reworking this skill could be amazing. Make it into a 3 second block? 3 second block that becomes an attack once you manage to block? Make it an evade or stealth? Absorbing attacks and gaining health? Create a black hole in the ground that immobs enemies and gives you lifeforce per enemy hit?
Guardian, Ele and Mesmer use focus and their focus skills are all defense oriented so I think some defense in the Necro focus could be very nice here. If this skill was reworked, it’d have sooooooooooooooooooo much potential….

Given the name, Reaper’s Touch, I think a decent change would be the following:

Reduce aftercast (obviously)
Remove Regeneration
Increase the stacks of Vulnerability applied per hit by 1

Rework it to behave like a mini-Gravedigger -

Since Spinal Shivers deals extra damage per boon removed, how about making Reaper’s Touch deal extra damage based on how much health the target has?

If target is at 75% health, it deals 5% extra damage
At 50%, 10% extra damage
25%, 20% extra damage
Downed, 50% extra damage