Guild Wars 2

Everyone loves a sequel, right? So, without further adieu, it’s THE RETURN OF INSIDIOUS PARASITE (dun-dun-DAAAAAHHHHH) !!!

From the GW1 wiki :

Hex Spell. For 5…13…15 seconds, whenever target foe hits with an attack, you steal up to 15…39…45 Health from that foe.

It’s great to hear the devs speak of sending necros some “dark-themed damage-over-time” love. However, IMHO, necros need another condition like we need a hole in the head. Which, as necros, we’d probably enjoy; but I digress. What we really need (again, IMHO) is greater survivability/sustain to allow us to become the attrition fighters the devs claim we’re meant to be.

As much as I would love to see something like the GW1 version of Life Transfer, there’s no way to make it viable in GW2. Since hexes do not exist in this game, it would have to be made into a condition. As we all know, conditions are so easily cleansed that any skill that ties our survivability/sustain to a condition would be largely useless. Conditions are effective in GW2 because multiple short-duration conditions can be rapidly re-applied rather than inflicting a single-application, monster-duration condition.

A DoT that also heals us, though, would be a single-application condition; especially one cast from within Death Shroud. Thus we’d have no opportunity to renew it before having to drop out of Death Shroud, it would be cleansed from our opponent, we’d lose whatever health we were receiving from the DoT, and we’d be no better off than we are now in the context of the attrition game. For similar reasons, I don’t want to see the new skill become a boon which could be easily corrupted, stolen (new thief mechanic), or stripped from us.

Furthermore, if it’s a condition, it means other professions would gain access to it, as well. The last thing I want to see is any other class having access to a DoT condition that heals them in return. That’s necro territory and I want it remain necro territory.

What to do? What game mechanics exist within GW2 which would permit us to maintain a persistent effect that can not be cleansed nor corrupted, stolen, or stripped? The answer is auras, signets, and virtues. All provide persistent passive effects and can not be removed by any means outside of reaching the end of their duration (auras) or being activated (signets and virtues). This establishes a precedent for this new skill.

To make this work in the context of the new Death Shroud #5 skill, simply envelop the necro in a new aura which will function similar to Insidious Parasite:

1) A necro enveloped in this new aura will siphon health from any foe striking them.

2) While still in Death Shroud, this siphoned health is “banked”; it is not added to the necro’s health bar. This preserves the current restriction that necros can not be healed while in DS form.

3) On exiting Death Shroud (either voluntarily or because the necro’s Life Force runs out), this “banked” siphoned health is immediately added to their health pool. If the aura has not yet expired after leaving DS, it continues to siphon health with each hit the necro receives and this health is added immediately to the health pool.

Alternately, to avoid this convolution, simply make an exception to the current “no healing while in DS” restriction and immediately add the siphoned health to the health pool with each hit regardless of whether the necro is in DS form or not.

(continued)

I can hear the shouts of “OP!” already; but it need not be OP. There are many ways to keep this balanced (e.g. witness the current life siphoning mechanics that are so far from being OP that almost no one plays full Blood Necro):

1) Make the recharge on this new skill sufficiently long such that it can’t be spammed every time the necro enters DS.

Personally, I’m not in favor of such a restriction. I feel that attrition comes from doing small things lots and lots of times rather than doing one massive thing less frequently. I’d rather see this new skill siphon smaller amounts of health and be on a 10 second cool down versus healing for larger amounts but have a 40 second cool down. I suggest it, though, to cover all bases.

2) As mentioned in #1, make the life siphon amount smaller.

It need not be a 1 : 1 ratio of damage-to-life-siphon. In other words, just because an opponent hits the necro for 2,000 damage doesn’t mean the necro siphons 2,000 health. Maybe 5% or 10% of the damage is siphoned; that 2,000 point hit becomes a 100 or 200 point life steal.

3) Balance it by changing its duration.

Self-explanatory. My initial thought being that it will have a 5 second duration.

4) The aura ends on leaving Death Shroud; even if the duration hasn’t yet expired.

Again, not an option of which I’m personally in favor. I’d rather the aura persist even if the necro leaves Death Shroud (assuming, of course, there’s still time left on its duration meter). In this way, a necro could enter DS, pop the aura, exit DS, and still have the aura remain active. I offer it as a potential limiter, though, in the interest of balance.

This new skill would have additional benefits beyond the primary one of directly healing us through life siphoning. With this new aura skill active, opponents (ones paying attention anyway) may back off from attacking the necro because they would realize that doing so is actually healing them rather than hurting them (while they are in DS with the aura active, of course). They would also realize that they’re hurting themselves through the life siphoning mechanic. Mitigating direct damage or getting your opponent to stop attacking you; it’s all the same to an attrition fighter.

Another benefit is it might encourage more necros to use Death Shroud if a new life-siphoning/self-healing skill is added. I still see too many necros only using DS as an “Oh, kitten! I’m about to die!! Pop DS!!!” button. If they knew they could use it heal themselves a bit, perhaps we might see them start to utilize their profession-specific mechanic more often and more pro-actively.

It doesn’t have to be called Insidious Parasite. I don’t care what it’s called; just give us something that will actually allow us to become a true attrition class rather than adding yet another condition.