Guild Wars 2

So I’m new to the game, I’ve got 4 level 10-15s (i’m an altaholic sue me) and I’ve got a level 12 Necromancer that I’m currently playing with.

I went minions just for the Novelty of having a small army following me all the time. Then I research and find that Minions are generally regarded as subpar at best.

My Utilities are currently Bone Fiend and Shadow Fiend, with my Heal being Blood fiend.
Is it viable to keep going with minions? Or should i get the kitten outta there quickly? I’m really hellbent on going minions but if it’s overwhelmingly terrible I may have to switch.

If you say no; Can i get some utilities to make my Necro “good”?
If yes; Could my build be any better utility wise?

Keep in mind I never intend to touch WvW or PvP. Strictly PvE content.

Minions are fantastic for leveling and open world stuff. They aren’t great in dungeons and boss fights, or wvw. They are effective in Pvp if played correctly.

They are ok in dungeons for certain situations. But you gotta hope they dont bug out. I think they work great. if the buggy ai was fixed, they would be a huge contender.

Leveling with minions is easy mode. You can use minions in dungeons, fractals, and open world content that isn’t champ boss farming, but I’d suggest only doing so in dungeons that don’t punish minions (Lupicus) and ones that don’t stack every fight (Ascalonian Catacombs). But for general pug groups fighting bosses by kiting and stuff, minions make the fights far easier.

But don’t go a full minion build once you hit 80. You really just need 4 points into Death Magic for increase HP and reduced CDs, and the rest should be into damage trees.

I try not to be a snob at PvE but if an MM necro joins a PUG I’d probably have a raised eyebrow, not to sound rude. Its the same thing if I see bearbow ranger, GS mesmer or P/P thief in dungeons except on the few bosses that require range. Then again I also get annoyed if wells take up the space for my ele firefield rotations as well. If you run full zerker dagger/focus/WH in a dungeon or fractal and time your wells as to not mess with my mightstacking fire field rotation, you are perfectly fine by me.

Ok so the general consensus is that it’s not godawful, just meh?

I’m running the Staff+Scepter/Focus. More than likely I’m keeping the Staff because it feels really good, but I’m on the fence about whether to use Dagger or Scepter. Not using Warhorn because confusion and no damage isn’t very great for PvE. I could go axe, but it kinda feels boring.

I picked Scepter because Bleed+Poison+Initial Scepter Damage+3 minions is alot of damage sources ticking away at one enemy, so it’s very taxing on say; a boss’ health.
So what’s the smarter Choice
Dagger or Scepter?

Trentilicious.6523:

Ok so the general consensus is that it’s not godawful, just meh?

I’m running the Staff+Scepter/Focus. More than likely I’m keeping the Staff because it feels really good, but I’m on the fence about whether to use Dagger or Scepter. Not using Warhorn because confusion and no damage isn’t very great for PvE. I could go axe, but it kinda feels boring.

So what’s the smarter Choice
Dagger or Scepter?

Dagger all the way for PvE. Its auttoattack provides your best damage. Scepter is generally used for conditions, which typically have problems working well in PvE. Warhorn is often used alongside dagger becuase locus swarm gives you a but of extra AoE damage when meleeing mobs with dagger. With full DPS gear, fury and full might it actually hits pretty hard. Focus is also useful for the vuln stacking though, so thats your call.

Minions make leveling super easy in open world. Keep it up. It reduces the pressure so you can experiment with other things. Honestly, you can build for something else other than minions, and just take a couple, including the elite, to soften the pressure while you try other play styles.

Trentilicious.6523:

So what’s the smarter Choice
Dagger or Scepter?

Neither, imo, although dagger should be your choice above scepter. The minion build I use uses the deathly perception trait because otherwise I just don’t deal all that significant of damage, and going melee really negates the point of having all these minions tanking the boss’ aggro. Also since the minions will hold aggro you can basically sit in DS nearly forever.

So I tend to use staff (for LB) and dagger/focus for when I have to jump out.

You can run MM builds in dungeons and Fractals just fine too. Just make sure you’re familiar with places where minions would be less than detrimental, and swap out skills/kill off minions before starting those fights.

In some cases, minions actually make certain fights laughably easy. The Thaumanova boss, for instance, because he spends all his time glaring angrily at your minions (who can’t fall through the floor), leaving you and the rest of your party to attack him with impunity.

Hello Trentilicius,
I recently posted a Vampiric Master build, give it a look:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/necromancer/PVE-Build-Vampiric-Master
This build is mostly for fun, as I stated, however you can do every content, in my opinion. With a little pratice you’ll be able to control your minions. Bear in mind that in open-world they often are unresponsive and there isn’t much you can do.
In dungeons, or in general in instance, they are much more responsive but still not reliable 100% of the time.

Have fun!