Guild Wars 2

Hello all,

Leveling my necro and wondering if it will be possible at lvl 80 to have a viable Necro built around Life steal.

You would need around 50% crit rate, the rest toughness / healing / vit?

it’s very viable for leveling up, but at lvl 80 there are better more competitive builds

Nar it’s less than 0.1% your max life per second.
In the recent ‘big patch’ it actually got nurfed overall. While Vampiric got a slight boost, Bloodthirst got nurfed from 50% to 20%. Also Vampiric Master got a big nurf on heals.
They did add, healing power scaled them, which sounded awsome, but it’s “0.004”… so all gear in healing power, can at best add 1-3 extra heals per hit, and is def not worth ditching another stat for.

The one change it did help, is they now all scale the damage off your power. So if your using a MM spec, you should get another ~75 damage per hit, per minion, that ignores armor and mitigation.

thank you for the info!

If you’d like to know what it means to play a life siphon build in GW2, I refer you to the following:

World of Warcraft Class Stereotypes by Wowcrendor (fast forward to 0:15 through 0:31)

I’ve played a life siphon necro since shortly after launch and have played almost daily since then with no significant breaks. I’ve beaten Liadri using an axe, dagger, and warhorn while being traited for life siphoning. I’ve done almost every dungeon path using a life siphoning build. I’ve faced every world boss with a life siphoning build. I’ve rolled through the middle of zergs and come out alive on the other side in WvWvW using a life siphoning build.

“Then, why, Kraag, do you link that YouTube video above which implies life siphoning isn’t viable?”

Because it is viable if you don’t mind jumping through hoops, performing finger gymnastics on your keyboard, and being sub-optimal. And if you so much as fat-finger just one key in your rotation or otherwise fail to have perfect timing and reflexes, then Grenth help you because there is zero room for error with a life siphoning build!

I’ve played other classes just to learn how they function and MY GOD the difference is night and day! As I saw one poster comment in the distant past, there are some professions where I could roll a Christmas ham across the keyboard and have an easier time of it than I do playing a life siphon necro.

“So why torture yourself, Kraag?”

Because I LOVE the concept of the life siphoning necro and I’m too deeply invested in it now to want to go through the trouble of starting over again from scratch (and I hate conditions). Unfortunately, GW2’s version of life siphoning leaves much to be desired.

If you still decide to go through with making a life siphon build, you have my respect and my sympathy.

I just wish we could be somewhat closer to a GW1 Blood Necro or a SM/DS Warlock from vanilla WoW.

- THIS is an example of how a siphoning attrition build might function. I’ve had this video on my harddrive since 2005 and still watch it from time to time.

Remember back in GW1 when life stealing was good but not at all broken unless you decided to use it with a mesmer? Good times. I miss those days when Life stealing was actually interesting and fun to use.

Blood tree is a big disappointment. Even though most people called it useless I have been 20 deep in blood with my wvw power/crit spec for a long time. When stacking bloodthirst with vampiric, vampiric precision, omnom ghosts, and dagger #2, you can heal a LOT.

But with the recent nerf to bloodthirst… I just can’t justify it anymore. Better to go 30 deep in SR or 30 deep in spite.

I can’t believe A-Net. Blood was a poor traitline and they said they were going to improve it. What do they do? Nerf bloodthirst from 50% to 20%. F you! Make a crappy traitline crappier. Oh and buff warriors please.

I use it for PvE just to mitigate damage since you will get some back. Makes me more tanky. Blood Magic tree is so disappointing but it helps a bit. I rarely use Consume Conditions to heal myself.

BTW, mine’s a conditionmancer. Even that said, this tree really needs a buff.

I’ve been working this Vamp Spec on my Necro.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fQUQRBIbdG2IkW1enmlGDniQqA2me4txJOIFuHXUFgHA-jAyA4tBRTRCNhJQpxioxWiLiGrqBTrSEV7PKiWtUA6JMC-e

I haven’t tried it in sPvP yet, but it works quite well in WvW, and wonderfully in PvE/Dungeons.

Weapons. Mainset. MH I went with Dagger for obvious reasons with the Blood sigil – again, obvious. OH I went with the Focus for the vulnerability and regen, as well as the chill, once I have them I don’t want them easily getting away or enjoying any boons that might save them or hurt me (enhanced with Chill of Death). OH Sigil You can go Perception (Yay Crit) or Leeching if you’re someone who switches weapons more than the “average bear”.

Offset I went with Axe for a ranged option as well as the vulnerability and the multi attack of Ghastly Claws for leeching. again, Blood Sigil. OH I went with the Warhorn because if I run out of wells or want the enemy at a distance daze, cripple and swiftness are my best friends – plus the leaching from locusts is handy. Again, Perception or Leeching are your choices for Sigil.

Heal. Well of Blood – I may as well increase my heals and get leeching as well as the regular well pulses (thanks to Vampiric Rituals). (Ritual of Protection also gives me Protection for all of my wells, and Ritual Mastery reduces my Well CD’s)

Utility 1. Spectral Grasp. Nice interrupt ability and it gets them into my wells. (Shorten CD with Spectral Mastery)

Utility 2&3 Well of Power & Well of Suffering. I may switch out either well with Well of Darkness for PvE if there are other professions stacking vulnerability or throwing stability and there are no real conditions going out, the blind’s help me get hit less. For WvW I want as much damage going out on my target as I can, and I don’t want to be feared or get stacked with conditions, so these two are great.

Big AoE mobs I may drop all 3 wells at once and just go swinging away with the dagger, and they go down like ice on a griddle and my health doesn’t budge.

Single Target I take my time, dropping a well at a time as I need them to keep sustained damage/leeching.

I didn’t choose any traits that incorporate Death Shroud because I rarely use it. I have plenty of AoE that serves dual purpose, I don’t have to deal high amounts of burst damage because I have survival longevity and I do a decent amount of sustainable damage… Death Shroud is basically an “OH CRAP!” button or an “I need to get just a little bit further away from this boss” button.

Elite. To me Elites are a personal choice. I like Lich, but some of you might like Plague, it’s really just personal preference with this build.

For gear I went with Precision/Vitality/Healing Power, with the Sanctuary Runes. Precision because of Vampiric Percision. A nice big health pool is always good. Almost 30k (eat your heart out Warriors) is nice. The heal on Vampiric Precision scales with healing power (as does the Blood Sigil I believe), and a 50% crit chance without Perception stacks is nothing to shake a stick at.
I went with the Sanctuary Runes because 1. More health is always useful against either NPC or Player. 2. 20% longer chill times for my Spinal Shivers when I use it and when it procs with Chill of Death is nice. 3. 25% chance for damage to be reflected back to it’s source? Yes Please! 4. So when I’m at 20% health I can’t be stunned, crippled, chilled or in any other way incapacitated? SWEET!
I was running the Vamp runes for a while, but a 5% chance when struck is pretty wimpy to me. The mist form at 10% health did come in handy in WvW though, it bought some time for CD’s.
I looked onto the Mesmer Runes because the precision is nice, and 33% longer daze on my WH seems like a good deal… but, I only go ranged when a.) I run out of wells or b.) the fight/situation calls for it, I TRY to stay Mainset to maximize my leeching, so a benefit to my offset seems wasteful.

The only talent switch out I make in WvW is SOMETIMES I’ll switch out Spectral Mastery for Fear of Death. Otherwise the gear and the setup work great for both PvE and WvW without changing a thing.

Hope this helps inspire some new vamps, or rekindle some old ones :-)

I did want to add very quickly that according to the tooltips they added this a patch or so ago, well siphons and hit siphons do not scale off of Power, they are fixed values unless you talent into Bloodthirst.