Guild Wars 2

this topic is meant to get insight from the players and ask them how would they design the necromancer class . it’s not meant to bash or harass other peoples opinions . so with that being said lets get this started !!!

when most people think of a necromancer typically they think of a very few things .

1. they summon the undead
2. they life tap
3. they have curses that render opponents motionless or send them fleeing
4. they have spells that cause damage over time

and for the most part you could say that is what a necromancer does already in gw2

but here is where lies the problems
almost everything a necromancer does have access to also has a trade off .

in total the class reeks of failure to live up to what a real necromancer is all about .

the minions move so slow that it is not a problem for anyone to out run or dodge the attack of a minion

the life tap is so low that it’s simply not enough to help a necromancer build any attrition at all when a warrior or ele or thief can simply white wash a chunk of a necros health away

the ability to snare or fear or root in this game is so non existent that the time frame for using such abilities do not last a good proper while and on top of that almost everyone has access to cleansing or transforming them into buffs .

and our dots might work in theory but are lack luster when they get nullified and do not stick when condition removal is so present and active .

so necromancers can be good at one thing but weak in others
and yes a lot of it is mostly a core gaming issue that can apply to every class .

how would i fix this ?

it’s simple

give necro pets fury to chase who ever they are fighting within a 900 radius
increase the draw amount for life taps to make up for our own " healing "
put in a penalty towards players that remove the necros snare , root, fear, as damage
and dots such as poison , bleeds , and torment that get removed also gives a penalty of damage .

what say you ?

You’re essentially asking about a generic Necromancer, not what a GW2 Necromancer is. It looks to me like you played WoW or something similar and are thinking that is what Necros should be.

How I would design them?

easy answer: follow the gw 1 necromancer design.

my answer: Different builds for the necromancer should be: Debuffing/control, Healing, Minions (sturdy and suicidal), dps through dots.

I would make sure the necro can have an easy access and high uptime chill/cripple/weakness with some immbolilizes and fears, but at a cost to the necro. Maybe like corruption they get the debuff, and apply it to the enemy.

The healing focused necro should have access to short time revives, revive for 30 seconds then they have to down someone, a channeled full revive, sacrificing life force to heal an ally, stealing health from the enemy and applying it to allies.

The minion necro should have either – high cd yet sturdy and very damagaging minions, or low cd, weaker, swarmier minions. Either have a life force cost or require bodies.

The dot dps necro should bleed, poison, torment and slow enemies. Also a stealth capability that costs life force over time.

As a last type, a pure deathshroud necro who can stay in for a long time and applies effects in a radius as long as he is in. Basically plague form, along with abilities like those that currently exist.

Basically allow better control, more choice in the type of MM, stronger DS, party support, but not all at once and with the life force bar as an energy resource.

short post, but a “feel” of the dark magic of the necromancer makes me love curses and self inflicting blood magic. GW1 is definitely my top 3 favourite necro. However GW2 has a childish, non (evil?) feel to it.

EDIT: 9/10.5 says one of my most badly worded post

I’d love to see the GW1 concept of curses make a return. Allow us to cast Spiteful Spirit again (instantly puts an end to thief/warrior DPS spikes being OP, and all the people balling up all the time). Allow us to cast stuff like Life Transfer, which remains on an enemy and continues to steal health, while we use other attacks. These were the key strengths of the necromancer in GW1. They were really nasty. Their strength came from the diverse effects of their spells, which could have devastating effects on an opponent’s defenses. Also, disease was a really nice condition to have.

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Necromancer

^This is a necromancer..

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Necromancer

^This is a very weak substitute.

http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Necromancer

This was a fun Necro to play;

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20101031183731/eq2/images/7/7e/Necromancer.jpg