Guild Wars 2

Hello guys,
i decided to start today my next char and i’m really undecided between necromancer and elementalist. I know really few of them so i thought you could help me… and i post this here simply because ele’s forum isn’t really hospitable… I hope you are

So, can you make a lists of pros and cons of the actual gameplay for those you classes? (i’m mainly interested in WvW/HotM) Because every research on google led me on old posts (like 2012 of early 2013) but recently there were a lot of changes for both classes…

thank you

Try out both in sPvP and see which playstyle you prefer. I’ve only dabbled with the Ele a bit, but from the perspective of my necro, Ele seems stronger in both WvW and sPvP, they bring better healing and have stronger defensive abilities as well as good offense. That’s not to say Necromancer is completely useless, and I still think it’s fun to play, could just be the grass is always greener.

It depends on what type wvw you do. Both are very viable for small teams and large zergs.

Necro is easy to pick up, hard to master.

Ele is hard to pick up and very hard to master. Once you get down attunement swapping is feels great.

As Takk said, go try them out in spvp. Give the ele a chance though. Lots of fun IMO. I love both my necro and else, but necro will always be my main.

The biggest difference to me, despite all the flavor and stuff, is that Necro is a much slower class in general, while eles are extremely face paced. You will be constantly swapping attunements, constantly dodging, and generally speaking you are casting a hell of a lot more spells than on Necromancer. Necro is a bit slower.

Kjeldoran.3849:

Hello guys,
i decided to start today my next char and i’m really undecided between necromancer and elementalist. I know really few of them so i thought you could help me… and i post this here simply because ele’s forum isn’t really hospitable… I hope you are

So, can you make a lists of pros and cons of the actual gameplay for those you classes? (i’m mainly interested in WvW/HotM) Because every research on google led me on old posts (like 2012 of early 2013) but recently there were a lot of changes for both classes…

thank you

It all depends on your purpose. Elementalist has a much higher learning curve, but a shorter skill ceiling. So while it’s super hard to learn, you can only be so good at it.

• WD Sustain Viability
  Elementalist 8/10
  Necromancer 4/10

• WD Burst Viability
  Elementalist 10/10
  Necromancer 9/10

• Condition Viability
  Elementalist 1/10
  Necromancer 10/10

• Bunker Capability
  Elementalist 9/10
  Necromancer 9/10

• Mobility
  Elementalist 9/10
  Necromancer 2/10

• 1v1 Viability
  Elementalist 10/10
  Necromancer 10/10

• Support role viability
  Elementalist 8/10
  Necromancer 3/10

Pros and Cons********************************

• Necromancers
  Pros: Numerous viable builds, strongest condition presence in the game, strong white damage presence, strongest AoE in the game, strongest Elites in the game, very high skill ceiling, strong in tPvP, highly versatile
  Cons: Very prone to CC, very little mobility, high learning curve, weak in WvW outside of zerging, poor tanking capabilities outside of condition builds, no strong single target burst (Wells are a Necro’s strongest burst, and they are stationary, AoE, but still avoidable).

• Elementalist
  Pros: One of the highest single target bursts in the game, very high mobility, one of the best tanks in the game, excellent in WvW, strong AoE, good at supporting teammates
  Cons: Almost no build variation, some weapons/builds are unviable in tPvP, high learning curve, short skill ceiling, the only viable builds Ele has other classes can do better.

Like others have said, it depends if you like mobility. Necro is my main but I just started ele and it’s super fun! I just love ele’s mobility. Playing D/D, 3 out of 4 attunements have a gap closer. I really enjoy the hit and run style. Also has all the things in one build, damage, control, healing. Give both a try and decide yourself

TheMightyAltroll.3485:

thank you very much

I agree on most of what Altroll wrote. But…

TheMightyAltroll.3485:

weak in WvW outside of zerging

not true at all.

TheMightyAltroll.3485:

no strong single target burst (Wells are a Necro’s strongest burst, and they are stationary, AoE, but still avoidable).

Also not true.
There are lots of ways to burst down single targets as a necro, not just power builds with wells. Laying down Well of Suffering will increase your burst damage regardless of the build, but that’s not all there’s to it.

One more thing:
In WvW the biggest difference besides the support role in a zerg is this: as an ele you can suvive longer (or indefinitely) against weaker players than yourself. The necro can’t, either you finish the fight early or you’ll be worn down eventually.
However, on equal skill necros are stronger than eles. In 1v1 encounters, even if the ele tries to counterbuild, the necro holds the stronger cards. Doesn’t matter if you play conditions or power… if both players are on a high skill lvl the necro will likely be the winner of a duel.

Talking about necro burst, I’d say necromancers have some of the biggest burst in the game, but it’s also some of the slowest, to the point where it’s hard to tell where the burst ends and pressure begins. Necro “burst” is often more like extreme pressure for ~ 5 to 10 seconds.

Not complaining though, especially since a good chunk of that damage is actually aoe. My zerker necro can burst down an entire team in spvp if they are stupid enough to clump up for me to nuke :P

Elementalists on the other hand, seem to deal smaller bursts that are more or less instant. I’m not an expert here though, since I’ve never played a burst ele myself.

flow.6043:

I agree on most of what Altroll wrote. But…

TheMightyAltroll.3485:

weak in WvW outside of zerging

not true at all.

TheMightyAltroll.3485:

no strong single target burst (Wells are a Necro’s strongest burst, and they are stationary, AoE, but still avoidable).

Also not true.
There are lots of ways to burst down single targets as a necro, not just power builds with wells. Laying down Well of Suffering will increase your burst damage regardless of the build, but that’s not all there’s to it.

One more thing:
In WvW the biggest difference besides the support role in a zerg is this: as an ele you can suvive longer (or indefinitely) against weaker players than yourself. The necro can’t, either you finish the fight early or you’ll be worn down eventually.
However, on equal skill necros are stronger than eles. In 1v1 encounters, even if the ele tries to counterbuild, the necro holds the stronger cards. Doesn’t matter if you play conditions or power… if both players are on a high skill lvl the necro will likely be the winner of a duel.

None of the Necromancer’s burst is strong single target, it’s strong AoE.

Name me one way Necromancer is superior to an Ele as a roamer in WvW.

For ele condi viability, push that up to 3 or 4 since they have really high single target condition control (especially if combined with cc), as for necro bunkers dropping to 5 or 7 is better because, well kitten blowback, pull, treb hit, anything else pretty much that moves you off the point and you dont really have a viable way to counter it.

Obviously Altroll’s ratings are going to be based off his personal bias about the class and elementalists, not much of a point debating them as they are his personal ratings.

TheMightyAltroll.3485:

flow.6043:

I agree on most of what Altroll wrote. But…

TheMightyAltroll.3485:

weak in WvW outside of zerging

not true at all.

TheMightyAltroll.3485:

no strong single target burst (Wells are a Necro’s strongest burst, and they are stationary, AoE, but still avoidable).

Also not true.
There are lots of ways to burst down single targets as a necro, not just power builds with wells. Laying down Well of Suffering will increase your burst damage regardless of the build, but that’s not all there’s to it.

One more thing:
In WvW the biggest difference besides the support role in a zerg is this: as an ele you can suvive longer (or indefinitely) against weaker players than yourself. The necro can’t, either you finish the fight early or you’ll be worn down eventually.
However, on equal skill necros are stronger than eles. In 1v1 encounters, even if the ele tries to counterbuild, the necro holds the stronger cards. Doesn’t matter if you play conditions or power… if both players are on a high skill lvl the necro will likely be the winner of a duel.

None of the Necromancer’s burst is strong single target, it’s strong AoE.

Name me one way Necromancer is superior to an Ele as a roamer in WvW.

I run a 30/10/0/0/30 build in WvW and its great for roaming. Is it better then a ele, probably not in the grand scheme of things but I do quite well. I normally don’t have issues in most 2v1 situations but it does get hard in 3+v1. That might be my skill level as well, I’m not the greatest out there by any means. Also with life blast and dagger the main source of damage is single target, I agree with you in saying that wells are not good for roaming unless you have some one that can lock down your target for you.

So I disagree with saying they are “weak” out side of the zerg but I’m not saying they are stronger then eles or thieves.