Guild Wars 2

hello, I’m a pvp only player, probaly about average
my skill rating: 1431
main profession: necro

I know staff is an utility weapon and builds take it because of the good LF regen with the trait.

But the dps of this thing is waay to low, I always feel like once I swap to staff my opponent is healing more than he is taking damage.. reasons are obvious:
-low single target dps, almost average dps in teamfight if you spec for condi
-autoattack projectile speed is soo slow it misses if opponent runs in a horizontal direction (left or right)

So today I had the following Idea, it wont solve the problem but its one step into the right direction in my oppinion:

autoattack: double projectile speed, add 3s of torment on hit, 100% projectile finisher instead of 20%

staff 2: cooldown down to 2.4s, double or triple raw damage so its equal or 1.5 times the autaattack damage, nerf regen duratiom to 3s, leaves a dark field for 3s when triggered

wont talk about staff 3-5 bc they seem to do fine

reasons for idea:
staff 2 cooldown is 2.4s because you can cast exactly 2 autoattacks in between. adding the cast time of the mark a staff necro would gain acces to an every 3second moving dark which he can use for life steal combination with autoattack if it is well placed. this will enhance survivability and dps if played well..

on top mark of blood (staff 2) will now deal considerable AOE damage on both condition and power spec, adding more pressure. the autoattack-projectile speed increase will help landing it and the torment is a sort of lackluster for condi builds, can be changed though..

what do you think?

Most of us can agree that the staff is ridiculous damage wise. However, you are asking for way to much. (this is what I think)

I like your ideas, but i would modify a trait to reduce the weapon recharge to half its time while wielding staff (just when wielding staff), i think that would be a good upgrade ironically.

Dadnir.5038:

Most of us can agree that the staff is ridiculous damage wise. However, you are asking for way to much. (this is what I think)

well something has to be done since necro weapons overall are underperforming including staff. and there is a lot of space for improvements before it actually becomes “good”.

maybe mark of blood would need some damage reduce from my suggestion yes but thats a matter of balance but what do you guys think about the “lifesteal” idea in general?

Personally, I would increase staff’s utility starting with a 5 sec cool down reduction and 1 sec fear duration increase for Reaper’s Mark.

Regeneration should create LF in shroud is a second improvement I would like.

Finally, I would un-nerf Putrid Mark so it transfers conditions from allies, again.

Anchoku.8142:

Personally, I would increase staff’s utility starting with a 5 sec cool down reduction and 1 sec fear duration increase for Reaper’s Mark.

Regeneration should create LF in shroud is a second improvement I would like.

Finally, I would un-nerf Putrid Mark so it transfers conditions from allies, again.

then we only got increased utility.. I mean sure we would all appreciate any buff to staff but in this threat I was refferring to autoattack and mark of blood not to staff 3-5…
talking about your idea though.. it wont add more dps and its still the lame markspamming gameplay as it is now. so no help to the problem

In geenral its is better to have clarity of purpose.

Staff is a utlity weapon.
It doesnt need to be ranged DPS weapon , that is job of axe.

Does staff need faster and more reliable attacks – to get less blind countered and fullfill its utility LF generator role ? YES
Does axe , base shroud needs buffs, in damage and faster animatios etc? YES
Does dagger need a dps increase like thief dagger and ability to stick and stay melee? yes yes…
Does GS need to be deleted? ofc

Im all for dmg increases to fill the ranged aoe weapon + utlity role, just saying single target ranged belongs to axe.

Yeah, I’m not to fond of the idea of making staff a better DPS weapon. It’s a utility weapon and I feel it should kind of stay there. However, there are a few things I wouldn’t mind seeing improved.

• Staff 1 projectile speed increased.
• Staff 2 back to 3 stacks of bleeding.
• Staff 3 is great as is.
• Staff 4 back to transferring conditions from allies as well.
• Staff 5 I do like the idea mentioned above of a cooldown shave and fear duration increase.

For the most part though I feel Staff is one of our better weapons for the role it fills, which is utility and Life Force generation.

Flumek.9043:

In general its is better to have clarity of purpose.

Staff is a utlity weapon.
It doesnt need to be ranged DPS weapon , that is job of axe.

A utility weapon can still have good dps.

What sort of other utility do you want the staff to bring?
Or does it need to improve the current utility it brings?

However I think if you just randomly start throwing utility at a weapon it will lose its clarity of purpose.

I think the staff does need better dps however reducing the cooldown on mark of blood would be bad.

guys guys guys can we get back on topic please and discuss the whole dark field idea?

on christmas we already had all those weapon improvement wishlists already no need to copy paste them again

what we got so far is:
staff has crap dps
staff has good LF regen, its only real utility
an utility weapon can have good dps

Ah sure.
I think my summup was staff dps is okayish (but wouldnt mindish buffish ) -its when staff gets countered and does literally zero dps that its not okay

So for the #2 becoming a dark field to give it more power punch.

-i completely agree on 100% finisher, tho that means we can get a maximun after speed up to around 1.0s from current 1.4s
-lifesteal combo is currently extra 200 dmg , 200 healing. Its weak on both fronts and requires you to hit enemy, at which point you already won cz spin2win has neough power by itself… its global problem that blast finishers just dominate others
- i always wanted some instant defense, like blind on shroud. Finally getting blast finishers on axe and offhand dagger + getting them on the trait too = we could have an on demand blind combo

So its not bad, but require devs hearing our prayers and giving extra buffs to dark combos and givins us some blasts finally.
The direct and condi damage buffs to #2 would overall be much more impactfull. Ofc id take them and they can even remove the lousy regen we cant even use in shroud anyway, like i hope they know perma regen is a moo point.

Staff is fine. I am extremely skeptical that it would need to be buffed in any way considering its role and the availability of both a second weapon set and Death Shroud(s).

Sarrs.4831:

Staff is fine. I am extremely skeptical that it would need to be buffed in any way considering its role and the availability of both a second weapon set and Death Shroud(s).

lol staff numbers are laughable if it hadnt a good LF regen nobody would play it..

Flumek.9043:

Ah sure.
I think my summup was staff dps is okayish (but wouldnt mindish buffish ) -its when staff gets countered and does literally zero dps that its not okay

So for the #2 becoming a dark field to give it more power punch.

-i completely agree on 100% finisher, tho that means we can get a maximun after speed up to around 1.0s from current 1.4s
-lifesteal combo is currently extra 200 dmg , 200 healing. Its weak on both fronts and requires you to hit enemy, at which point you already won cz spin2win has neough power by itself… its global problem that blast finishers just dominate others
- i always wanted some instant defense, like blind on shroud. Finally getting blast finishers on axe and offhand dagger + getting them on the trait too = we could have an on demand blind combo

So its not bad, but require devs hearing our prayers and giving extra buffs to dark combos and givins us some blasts finally.
The direct and condi damage buffs to #2 would overall be much more impactfull. Ofc id take them and they can even remove the lousy regen we cant even use in shroud anyway, like i hope they know perma regen is a moo point.

thanks good intput there i didnt think about the blind of future blast finishers necro might get. this would open up more skillful play finally!

well its more a power than a condi buff.. with Mark of Blood CD reduction to 2.4s (→castable every 3s) we could stack 4-6 bleed stacks permanently which would not be op, just a bit better..
and if MoB would deal a bit more damage than auto it would hurt ppl if you spec power thats the idea behind. it would crit 2-2.5k ish id say..

just a quick damage summary how it could be.
I dont think it wouldnt be op it just allows more constant pressure and options for more skillful play due to perma dark field

DEATHsCLAW.1978:

lol staff numbers are laughable if it hadnt a good LF regen nobody would play it..

And yet people play it.

Even Metabattle’s Procmancer which doesn’t take Soul Marks, which is the source of all that LF generation, uses it.

For me staff is only used for a few reasons.
1. Lack of other condi weapon. Offhand dagger can work as it lets you stay with scepter but OH dagger ain’t as reliable to hit with.
2. Being a good source of Life force when traited which is very handy as scepter has bad LF gain.
3. Being unblockable while traited in this blockspam meta helps a lot.

The damage has always been poor and probably shouldn’t be too high since it can be unblockable. What I want from staff is reliability.

I wouldn’t mind if we just replaced the auto with another mark. Make it half the size of the other marks. Keep the cast time and damage, give it a short bleed or torment, maybe reduce the life force gain to 1,2 or 3% as it counts as a mark. Suddenly we would have an auto that actually hits, is a bit of aoe instead of piercing and is a bit more condi friendly. sure you would have to click it every time like engi grenades but I don’t think that’s a problem.
The only problem would be that it can’t hit structures but I think that would be solved if it automatically popped on placing.

It might be too reliable for an auto. I just thought about it so it might not be good but I like the idea at the time of typing it down.

Sarrs.4831:

DEATHsCLAW.1978:

lol staff numbers are laughable if it hadnt a good LF regen nobody would play it..

And yet people play it.

Even Metabattle’s Procmancer which doesn’t take Soul Marks, which is the source of all that LF generation, uses it.

ahh ye I forgot the second reason that necro only has 2 condi weapons.. (offhands excluded)

and the procmancer is no optimal build in my opinion but thats not part of the topic..

DEATHsCLAW.1978:

ahh ye I forgot the second reason that necro only has 2 condi weapons.. (offhands excluded)

Then why is the current ‘meta’ ranked Reaper build, Power Boonstrip, using it, if it’s a Condi weapon as you say?

DEATHsCLAW.1978:

and the procmancer is no optimal build in my opinion but thats not part of the topic..

It’s also your opinion that staff needs to be buffed even though it appears in every single viable PvP necro build since the launch of the game.

I’m having a really hard time thinking of any other weapon, in the entire game, from launch to today, that has remained such a consistent pick. Maybe Thief D/P, but even then, they had a phase where S/D was popular. Understanding the absolutely dominating grip that Necromancer Staff has had on Necromancer builds, where does this idea that it needs to be buffed come from?

Regarding DG’s suggestions,

Making staff AA be a projectile finisher 100% of the time sounds good. Projectile speed should be equivalent to other staff AAs. Rather than making it unique, I would add a 20% chance to corrupt a boon.

Staff 2, MoB, put back the original bleed stack. Condition clearing is much more prevalent than it was after game release and any fool who camps staff for bleeds deserves the result.

I would, however, still want regeneration to generate LF while in shroud.

Anchoku.8142:

Regarding DG’s suggestions,

Making staff AA be a projectile finisher 100% of the time sounds good. Projectile speed should be equivalent to other staff AAs. Rather than making it unique, I would add a 20% chance to corrupt a boon.

Staff 2, MoB, put back the original bleed stack. Condition clearing is much more prevalent than it was after game release and any fool who camps staff for bleeds deserves the result.

I would, however, still want regeneration to generate LF while in shroud.

Every 5th attack. Don’t bring rng into the game. Otherwise youll eventually get a 8x streak of boon rips and destroy someone you didn’t deserve to kill. And get killed by someone who didn’t deserve to kill you.

Gwaihir.1745:

Anchoku.8142:

Regarding DG’s suggestions,

Making staff AA be a projectile finisher 100% of the time sounds good. Projectile speed should be equivalent to other staff AAs. Rather than making it unique, I would add a 20% chance to corrupt a boon.

Staff 2, MoB, put back the original bleed stack. Condition clearing is much more prevalent than it was after game release and any fool who camps staff for bleeds deserves the result.

I would, however, still want regeneration to generate LF while in shroud.

Every 5th attack. Don’t bring rng into the game. Otherwise youll eventually get a 8x streak of boon rips and destroy someone you didn’t deserve to kill. And get killed by someone who didn’t deserve to kill you.

If anything should get a boon rip on staff, it should be Chillblains. I mean anet loves themes and Chillblains was an enchantment rip in gw1. Then give greatsword auto 3 a boon rip so every mainhand/two handed necro weapon has access to boon rip.

I think staff marks should base line add life force.

From my experience with Necro I would say staff is pretty much a staple in all forms of PvP. The damage is actually great with all else that it does.

The problem I really have with buffing staff is that it’s damage is unblockable (generally) and it really does have a low skill floor/ceiling.

I mean let’s face it Necros win team fights. You get decent support on a necro and you can literally just wreck a team fight like no other class in this game. If you buff staff then it would honestly put necros in the realm of DH in terms of skill floor vs reward.

I don’t want that and nobody here should either. Fastest track to nerfing right there.

Staff 1 having 100% finniser would go a long way making it a line chill burn blind etc.. would make it a great utility skill.

DEATHsCLAW.1978:

hello, I’m a pvp only player, probaly about average
my skill rating: 1431
main profession: necro

I know staff is an utility weapon and builds take it because of the good LF regen with the trait.

But the dps of this thing is waay to low, I always feel like once I swap to staff my opponent is healing more than he is taking damage.. reasons are obvious:
-low single target dps, almost average dps in teamfight if you spec for condi
-autoattack projectile speed is soo slow it misses if opponent runs in a horizontal direction (left or right)

So today I had the following Idea, it wont solve the problem but its one step into the right direction in my oppinion:

autoattack: double projectile speed, add 3s of torment on hit, 100% projectile finisher instead of 20%

staff 2: cooldown down to 2.4s, double or triple raw damage so its equal or 1.5 times the autaattack damage, nerf regen duratiom to 3s, leaves a dark field for 3s when triggered

wont talk about staff 3-5 bc they seem to do fine

reasons for idea:
staff 2 cooldown is 2.4s because you can cast exactly 2 autoattacks in between. adding the cast time of the mark a staff necro would gain acces to an every 3second moving dark which he can use for life steal combination with autoattack if it is well placed. this will enhance survivability and dps if played well..

on top mark of blood (staff 2) will now deal considerable AOE damage on both condition and power spec, adding more pressure. the autoattack-projectile speed increase will help landing it and the torment is a sort of lackluster for condi builds, can be changed though..

what do you think?

I think that increasing speed on staff 1 attacks would be great, and I would also increase power scaling of off power gear for staff 2 and staff 1 for power necros. Other then that I would leave it alone.

On a condi build my mark 2 already does base of 14-16k (pending might, sigil procs etc.) so increasing that would put it very much out of balance. Of course you rarely reach that due to -condi duration, cleanses, etc. on opponents, but it is good for a low cooldown and ground target instead of direct target, + can be traited.

Staff 3,4, and 5 are good as they are. If you decrease any of the CDs you would have to significantly lower their effects or they would again be out of balance.

Making auto so it slightly hits out of its own range (like many bows, ele fireball etc) so it can be used to hit SMC inner cannons. I always feel useless when the zerg is cannon killing and im sat their with no range high enough to hit them.

Lahmia.2193:

Making auto so it slightly hits out of its own range (like many bows, ele fireball etc) so it can be used to hit SMC inner cannons. I always feel useless when the zerg is cannon killing and im sat their with no range high enough to hit them.

Fun fact it actually used to have a slightly longer range but Anet fixed it.

Going back to the idea of buffing staff… yeah i wouldnt say no to thing like faster aa or 100% projectile finisher but honestly we have weapons that need much more attation then staff does (i am looking at you greatsword).