Guild Wars 2

Whener i rolled a power necro in zpvp, i chose the piercin+2 vuln trait. But now that i think about it, isnt the 25% slower lf drain stronger?
Lets do the math, without considering like mesmer kage bunshin block.

Normaly i can fire 3x life blast. Each hits 3k. That gives 6% more dmg.
I still need to do 10-20k dmg to bring target down. Thats 600-1200 extra dmg from vulnerability.

Now with the other trait i can fire 1x more life blast. That would be another 3k or 1k+ if no crit. And i was also safe in ds for longer time.

600-1200 dmg vs 1000-3000 dmg + 1s safer ds time
Only piercing ensures hits though.

And what about the might per life blast trait? Is it worth it?
I feel more and more, that only focus #4 is worth it vilnerability

I think the most powerful aspect of Unyielding Blast is the pierce: if you’re lining up more than one target, that’s when the true strength shines. The vulnerability will never make up for getting a single extra blast before dropping below 50%. So if you want some multi-target capability, take Unyielding Blast. If you tend to stay safe at range and blast constantly, (boss fights?) then Vital Persistence is probably a better idea.

As for Reaper’s Might… Probably. The increased damage (and condition damage!) from might is nice, and each stack lasts a pretty long time. (15 sec) So if you’re fine to go into spite already, it seems like a solid choice for the adept major. I wouldn’t strain your build for it though.

Edit: I guess that since you can swap traits when out of battle, you could always take Vital Persistence when you’re going to be up against one strong enemy, and keep Unyielding Blast when you’re more likely to be fighting groups.

I really see the lowered drain rate as a pve option where you can sit and nuke freely and get a few extra hits in.

In pvp pierce is so much more valuable on LB it’s not even close.

Pierce means that your life blast can’t be body blocked. Generally the damage you’re taking means you’re not above 50% life force for long whether you have the slower drain trait or not. As such, I’d rather have the “you can’t body block” and damage amplification 9 times out of 10.

Thanks all. i also somehow got addicted to the piercing, i just wanted to see if i was doing something wrong.

Anther thing that puzzles me is like u sad, with taking damage u lose LF very fast.
often i enter with full DS, but before my 1st life blast hits i may be down to 90-80-70% ds.
So will this be a 100% or a 70% strong hit?

Life Blast damage only varies if you are above or below the 50% threshold. If you are at 51%-100%, you deal the higher damage. 1%-50%, you do the lower damage.

The slower LF drain trait is pretty underwhelming because you spend so little time in DS most of the time due to damage taken. The piercing trait is better to take advantage of the life blasts you do get off. I also rarely ever cast more than 3-4 life blasts in a row in sPvP as that is the uptime of your Fury if you spec’ed 15 in curses.

The 3% LF gain on marks trait is a much better trait for utilizing DS as it is a big improvement in LF generation for staff builds.

I thought pierce meant that it can hit 2 targets rather than one, not that it can’t be blocked o.O

LieutenantGoogle.7326:

I thought pierce meant that it can hit 2 targets rather than one, not that it can’t be blocked o.O

I think he said body blocked, meaning that if anything gets in between you and your target (ex. clone, pet, critter, enemy player or npc) without pierce your lifeblast will be blocked by them and not damage the intended target.