Note: I never played GW1 so I do not know how much this resembles Ritualists in the original game.
The reaper has been bugging me a whole lot and I couldn’t figure out why. Only when I played with my mesmer for a bit I realized what my problem with it was, it was lacking the “caster” or “mage” feel I get when I play vanilla necro. Because of that it got me to think about a new elite spec (because base necro will never be viable because of the reaper, we’ve asked for revamps since forever). My suggestion is as followed:
The Medium:
Class mechanic: Veil shroud (could be changed)
The necromancer dwells in a state between the world of the living and the dead, allowing it to mediate between the two worlds. Veil shroud features a massive staff as its weapon.
Veil Shroud would feature a 2-set Auto-Attack (AA), a special debuff on #4 and a gap closer.
Class skills: Mantras
The necromancer has learned to summon the souls of the fallen, to be released at any time. Do take not, however, that these souls will hinder you as well.
The mantras will work much like the mesmer’s mantras, but they each have a debuff (we have to stay true to the necro, like it or not). This also means we can make them stronger than the current ones.
Class weapon: Off-hand scepter
The reasoning for this? None, I just like the symmetry as I primarily run scepter mainhand.
Unlike its main hand counterpart, it does not have to focus on applying condition (unless traited). Instead, it focuses on ranged AoE damage. I also opted for the more realistic ideas because, let’s face it, we’re never getting a block.
New mechanic: Haunted
Some skills will apply a Medium specific debuff called haunted. It does not stack duration or intensity, every time it is applied it’ll last for 10 seconds. If applied while the opponent still has it, it increases the duration back to 10.
This mechanic is part of the core to this specialization. In it’s vanilla state it does not do anything, it is just a guide for many of the Medium’s skills to have extra effects. The medium can then trait to make it reduce the target’s attack/defense by 5% (does not stack with multiple mediums).
So now that I’ve given a general description of the skills and mechanics, I’d like to share the skills I had in mind. Note that I haven’t thought of skills for every slot.
Veil Shroud:
Veil #1: Ghastly Blast – 2 chain auto-attack that applied Haunted on the 2nd attack.
Veil #2: ****** – teleports to the target location, dealing damage in the surrounding area.
Veil #3: Terrifying Ghast – Summons a ghost at the target location that lasts 2-3 seconds. Enemies are feared by it and run away from the ghost (not you).
Veil #4: ****** – Sends out a large amounts of ghosts to surrounding enemies. Each enemy struck gains the Haunted state.
Mantras:
Mantra of ****** (Heal) – When prepared it reduces the necro’s healing from external sources by 20%. When activated it gives a good heal.
Mantra of Redemption – When prepared it reduces the necro’s boon durations by 10%. When activated it shares all buff on the necro with its allies.
Mantra of Revenge – When prepared it reduces stamina regen by 10%. When activated it damages any enemies with the Haunted state, no matter the range. Also breaks stun.
Mantra of Corruption – When prepared it increases condition damage on you by 10%. When activated, it transforms 3 boons on the enemy into conditions. 5 if haunted.
Scepter:
Scepter #4: * – calls down the ghosts from the mists to deal damage in the target area. (much like Guardian scepter #2).
Scepter #5: * – Sends forth a large bull spirit that will knock back the opponent. Blast finisher.
Traits:
As for traits, I only have a few. It’d be awesome to get some more ideas for these:
Minor Adept: leave behind a ghost that explodes, applying Haunted in a small area.
Adept trait: Gain stability when you apply fear.
Master Trait: Off-hand scepter skills all inflict torment on impact. Reduced cooldown by 20%.
Master Trait: The haunted debuff reduces the target’s attack/defense by 5%. Increases duration to 12-15 seconds.
Master trait: Gain 2 stacks of might for every time you apply a new stack of Haunted (not renew).
I hope you like my idea and feedback is always welcome. Also, looks like I made this post longer than I intended it to. Not sorry though :P