Guild Wars 2

So from what I’ve seen, Nemesis’s ultimate damage hybrid build (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OCcT7iJUrA) is the last word in hybrid builds for necro. And I really want to try a hybrid build next, and already have saved up all the dungeon tokens / fractal relics / gold / guild commendations / laurels needed to instantly acquire all the best-in-slot items he recommends there.

However, I have always understood the reasoning behind builds, and am really hesitant to commit all my wealth to a gear set that I simply don’t understand. It occurs to me that there are quite a few necromancers here who use that hybrid build, and also quite a few people here who can theorycraft and know all the sneaky details of optimal build making.

So I was hoping, somebody might be able to shed some light on the eclectic mix of gears that combines to make the hybrid build?

Rampager armor: this is easy to understand. Precision bolsters condition damage and power-based damage, all around it’s a clear choice for a hybrid.

Celestial accessories: why? Are these recommended just because at the time of that video, rampager ascended didn’t exist (they do now)? An alternative theory is that only 50% crit chance is really needed, so rampager accessories was a bit redundant and not as good a choice as celestial. But I really can’t say, and I’d hate to buy a full complement of ascended celestial stuff, including putting 250 ectos into a backpiece, only to find out later that rampagers would’ve been a better way to go.

Runes: It seems clear that there will be some bleed duration here. But 30%, or 45%? If 30%, should the remaining two runes be coral orbs (precision) or something for condition damage, because precision is already high enough? Why not runes of divinity? Again, some discussion on the pros and cons of these different options would be really helpful.

Weapons: Now here’s a real puzzle. How does one decide whether the scepter/dagger set should be rampagers, rabid, or giver’s? Nemesis recommends a giver’s scepter and either a rabid or rampager dagger, but I don’t understand why. Is there some aspect of weapon stats and the necro that helps illuminate this decision? Not to mention underwater weapons- a trident is a bleed weapon like the scepter, so would a giver’s trident be best? Or rabid, or rampagers? And most importantly, why?

Sigils: This makes sense I think. Applying bleeds on crit is standard here, and the scepter set comes with more condition damage while the axe set comes with more power-based damage. I assume that the trident would also have a sigil of earth, and the spear would also have a sigil of battle.

Now, it’s tempting to think, ‘it doesn’t matter that much. Rabid if you want some better bleeds at the expense of your axe hits. Rampager if otherwise. Giver if you want some more duration.’ But the thing is, I’m under the impression that all these little choices do matter.

My understanding is that when you are dealing with hybrid builds for any class- dealing with more than a simple 3-stat combination- it is important to optimize the bang for you buck. For example, I remember reading a post about crit chance, and how depending on which items you choose to have crit chance, you could sacrifice 10 units of something for 5% crit chance, or 30 units for the same 5% crit chance (made up numbers, but you get the concept). So it does seem that at least for a hybrid build, carefully choosing the exact stats for each different piece of armor and trinkets can be really important.

So yeah. If any of you build-making awesome necro pros can explain a bit how these decisions should be made and what the best up-to-date options are, I’d be eternally grateful.

Thanks,
Achi

First of all, I don’t use this build myself. But yes, as with any other build the little choices definitely do matter.

The whole point of this build is pushing the damage of the necro.
In order to achieve that you need to balance all the stats that could factor into your damage output:
- As much power and condition damage as possible.
- If possible 100% condition duration (+ extra 33% bleeding from lingering curse for scepter skills)
- Precision: also as much as possible, but apparently enough for 50% crit chance is the best compromise for balancing out the other stats.

That’s about all the magic there is to picking gear for this build. That being said, I could imagine that Nemesis would have picked rampager trinkets if they had been available at the time. Picking celestial stats instead just means less damage for a little more survivability. So maybe rampager trinkets and some carrion armor (or cleric’s, valkyrie, apothecary’s) would do the same trick.

The giver’s weapon: This seems a little off to me as well. The whole gear costs a small fortune, yet Nemesis doesn’t take a rare veggie pizza (+40% cond duration) into account. Without it he has: 30% bleeding duration from the runes, 10% giver’s, 30% spite line, 20% hemophilia.
So… yeah, just eat a pizza, and not only will all your conditions besides bleeding get stronger, but this will free up the hemophilia trait slot and make the giver’s weapon obsolete. Or you could use different runes.

Anyway, in general you need to keep in mind that this build only carves out a niche existence among other necro builds.
It does produce super high damage, but only if:
1. your target doesn’t remove conditions (only possible in pve) and
2. there is no other bleeder in your group.

I play wvw and the ocasional dungeon or fractal with random people. The chance of running into another bleeder is rather high, also I don’t want to switch gear and traits everytime I go to wvw. That’s one of the reasons why I don’t use this build.

I based my build with the things I learned from Nemesis’s hybrid, however I left the Celestial trinket alone for better survivability. Ascended Cavalier Trinker gives you 10% more damage reduction, while focusing on the damage stats that are important for your primary source of damage, Power and Crit %.

You need giver’s weapon for the 100% condition duration, you don’t take Hemophilia and can get another trait instead (and it’s 100% to ALL conditions, so you benefit more longer from Target the weak)

I use it in WvW a lot, and the duration does help you get kills. Normally in WvW you won’t get to 25 stacks anyway, except for a well placed epidemic to double them up on someone. Duration is even more useful for poison, chill, weakness, fear, etc.

Here’s my build if you want to compare. I use a dagger/focus and staff instead in WvW, in dungeon scepter/dagger can replace staff, and if you prefer axe to dagger or need a little range, keep them all in your bag anyway you’ll need them.

http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/necromancer/?5.0|8.1m.h16.d.1o.h4|6.1m.h16|1o.7i.1o.7i.1o.7g.1o.7g.1o.a7.1o.a7|21n.0.3v.0.2v.0.2v.0.3v.0.2s.0|u67c.u65c.a2.0.0|30.1|3r.4d.3x.3u.4f|e

I switch weapons and utilities a lot, in WvW I prefer SWalk, Epi and Corrupt Boon. Same for elites, depending on what you need.

This PvE builder is a lot of fun to compare and try different combination to attain the numbers you’re aiming for.