Guild Wars 2

While I know this would likely require more work than Anet would ever be willing to do, even if they thought it was a good idea.
I had thought of a potential change to Deathshroud, and thought I would post it here.

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New Death Shroud Concept-

• Entering/Exiting Death Shroud Mechanic removed.

• Death Shroud Skills would now show up as F1-F5
• All Death Shroud Skills Cost Life Force
• All Death Shroud Skills Grants Stack(s) of “Death Shroud” (up to X Max Stacks)

Death Shroud: Everytime Necromancer Suffers Damage while under the effects of Death Shroud,
That Damage is reduced by Y%, the necromancer receives +Z health, and loses 1 stack of Death Shroud.

All traits that currently Activate on Entering/Exiting/During Death Shroud, would now activate when the Necromancer uses a Death Shroud Skill.
(ICDs would likely need to be adjusted for balance purposes)

Vital Persistence – Trait would Reduce the Life Force Cost of all Death Shroud Skills.
Speed of Shadows – Trait would Grant Swiftness When Using Death Shroud Skills.
Near to Death Trait – Trait would Increase the Stacks of Death Shroud Granted by Death Shroud Skills
Deathly Perception – Trait would Increase Critical Hit Chance of all Death Shroud Skills.

Deathshroud just needs QoL buffs, not a rework.

Its honestly just too late for ANet to do any kind of massive rework like this.

This would take the “attrition” out of the “attrition class.”

For starters it would be nice if every hit on you or enemy would give you LF, scaling on the amount of damage taken. It wouldn’t help so much against target breaking classes but it would be start. Also that healing or damage “block” in some form would be really needed.

I think DS traits should be useable skills while in DS. That would also help. Instead of having who knows how long icd’s. It would be also nice to see DS skill cd’s while out of DS.

I really do find OP’s suggestion interesting and fun though.

Nagato no Kami.4980:

This would take the “attrition” out of the “attrition class.”

Necromancer in it’s current form is in no shape of attrition class.

Reduce all conditions while in DS a -50 or so duration, and give us an aura of chill while in DS. Increase our movement +10% faster natural (base) and make speed of shadows +33% to compensate. At least DS could then be used as defense and not as a black ping/pong ball.

jalmari.3906:

Nagato no Kami.4980:

This would take the “attrition” out of the “attrition class.”

Necromancer in it’s current form is in no shape of attrition class.

It is. It just falls short against Multiple opponents.
1v1 and even 1v2 we’re still a perfectly good attrition class

No offense but I think this rework is kinda stupid :\ it’s essentially the same thing, it doesn’t fix any problem, and it’s more complicated for no good reason …

I would like to see one or both of the following, which I think would make DS much more viable:

- Allow healing and regeneration to effect LF or Health (preferably Health) while in DS, even if it’s only 25%-50% effectiveness. At least the Regeneration boon as was discussed by Devs months ago. This is needed more than ever since DS was nerfed to allow damage from a DS ending hit, to transfer from lifeforce pool to normal health pool. Necros no longer have a 100% absorbtion mechanic like all other classes do, thus exacerbating the issue of Necro attrition problems. When before exiting DS at low hp would allow necros a real but very slim chance to recover against a high dps situation, it is now impossible as high DPS drops DS and your remaining health to instantly downed levels. DS is more counter intuitive than ever and staying out of it as much as possible may be better in the long run for attrition. Especially if you or allies have access to good group/self healing.

- Give DS a passive Weakness-like effect, by having a % chance for enemies to hit with glancing blows or a miss (since you know, you’re a dark ghostly cloud of darkness that’s very hard to see, but aren’t some unkillable mist like ele’s in mist form). I’m thinking like a 25%-33% chance of it triggering to help prevent the instant bursting down of LF.

UndeadPriest.8632:

• Entering/Exiting Death Shroud Mechanic removed.

• Death Shroud Skills would now show up as F1-F5
• All Death Shroud Skills Cost Life Force

I had exactly the same idea but honestly, I don’t think is a good idea at all.

It would remove the only “exclusive” mechanism we have and it would make us awfully weak. Our DPS is pathetic and without DS form, our survival (already pathetic) would be worst.

SrebX.6498:

jalmari.3906:

Nagato no Kami.4980:

This would take the “attrition” out of the “attrition class.”

Necromancer in it’s current form is in no shape of attrition class.

It is. It just falls short against Multiple opponents.
1v1 and even 1v2 we’re still a perfectly good attrition class

No offense but I think this rework is kinda stupid :\ it’s essentially the same thing, it doesn’t fix any problem, and it’s more complicated for no good reason …

I have to disagree with you. In my books about any other class with condition build can work out to be better at that. Necromancers defense might be more focused on defensive conditions like blind and weakness but that doesn’t make necromancer more attrition class than any other. Maybe I just look at it differently. Just for example go look for signet warrior with hammer and lb or something equally silly.

Death Shroud is fine with it’s current concept xD

Like it’s been said even by Anet they can’t do something so grandiose. It’s just too much time and work (money) to completely rework this mechanic. It really isn’t so terrible tbh. The concept is balanced but the way it it performs isn’t. The slow speed and buggyness of DS2, the full cooldowns on interrupt.

Including the bug fixes and speed of DS2 I would really like DS5 to have a follow-up activation option to allow immediate immobilize/damage. This might seem unfair and I would agree if it wasn’t for the vast amount of CC/utility given to other professions. For opponents to have access to so much CC actually diminishes counter-play, not widening it.

Basically if opponents had half as many ways to counter the effectiveness of DS (immobilizes, stuns, dodging out of range, knockbacks, swiftness, teleports, etc) then there would be more cause for timing rather than spamming CC and still have plenty of avenues for defensive measures (whether it be a boon or offensive abilities)

Even if it was a trait, say along our spite line, that gave us the option of immediately ending our DS5 for it’s immobilize/damage to trigger (maybe even increasing the damage) that would make entering DS more appealing and useful apart from it just being a second health pool that might fear off an enemy for a second.

jalmari.3906:

SrebX.6498:

jalmari.3906:

Nagato no Kami.4980:

This would take the “attrition” out of the “attrition class.”

Necromancer in it’s current form is in no shape of attrition class.

It is. It just falls short against Multiple opponents.
1v1 and even 1v2 we’re still a perfectly good attrition class

No offense but I think this rework is kinda stupid :\ it’s essentially the same thing, it doesn’t fix any problem, and it’s more complicated for no good reason …

I have to disagree with you. In my books about any other class with condition build can work out to be better at that. Necromancers defense might be more focused on defensive conditions like blind and weakness but that doesn’t make necromancer more attrition class than any other. Maybe I just look at it differently. Just for example go look for signet warrior with hammer and lb or something equally silly.

You’re not the first one to say that, and time and time again I’m surprised about how somehow people forget we have a 2nd HP bar…

SrebX.6498:

jalmari.3906:

SrebX.6498:

jalmari.3906:

Nagato no Kami.4980:

This would take the “attrition” out of the “attrition class.”

Necromancer in it’s current form is in no shape of attrition class.

It is. It just falls short against Multiple opponents.
1v1 and even 1v2 we’re still a perfectly good attrition class

No offense but I think this rework is kinda stupid :\ it’s essentially the same thing, it doesn’t fix any problem, and it’s more complicated for no good reason …

I have to disagree with you. In my books about any other class with condition build can work out to be better at that. Necromancers defense might be more focused on defensive conditions like blind and weakness but that doesn’t make necromancer more attrition class than any other. Maybe I just look at it differently. Just for example go look for signet warrior with hammer and lb or something equally silly.

You’re not the first one to say that, and time and time again I’m surprised about how somehow people forget we have a 2nd HP bar…

That’s exactly what he’s saying. He’s not forgetting we have a second HP bar… he’s saying that other classes have access to “attrition” just as well or even moreso imo as necro’s. Attrition is not survivability, it is build-up. It’s compounding effects such as lifeforce, conditions, etc to increase your chance of winning the fight the longer the fight lasts. His point, what I believe, is that most of the professions have the same potential (in practice). If you CC somebody enough times, their skill output staggers which increases your chances over a period of time to win (ability use ratio weighing in your (the ccer’s) favor over time).

Health is not the only form of attrition. Just like boons are not the only form of defense; we instead have defensive conditions like blinds and weakness.

If the necro’s were truly an attrition class (the more time given to a necro will effectively make the necro tougher to bring down) it would be more noticable like DS being harder to diminish, or dealing more damage the more DS you obtain (not just for an above 50% threshold). It would be more pronounced. The way it is now, it is a defensive measure similar to blocking, going invulnerable, invisibility, etc only those defenses do not require build-up. Other professions are just as capable of increasing the likelihood of them winning a fight the longer the fight lasts as we do.