Guild Wars 2

Some small ideas I’d suggest. Comments? Other specific changes?

1. Change Reanimator (Death Magic’s Adept minor trait) to heal your minions for a percentage of Life Force you gain. Even if minion AI were exceptional — which it’s not — you need the option in certain encounters to be minionless and choosing any traits in the Death Magic trait line means you can never do this. This change would still add a bit of oomph to minions, if you have them out, but would have no effect if you were minion-less. It even fits with the trait name: you’re reanimating your minions which otherwise don’t regenerate health.

2. Change Deathly Invigoration (Blood Magic IX) so that it is also a blast finisher (no damage) in addition to the heal. We seem to lack blast finishers, and it would be a great reason to dip into DS.

3. When you enter Death Shroud, have it work more like other Elites and form changes: lock out the top five skill slots, swap the bottom five utility slots, and swap the health and life force meters so that the ball is green and shows life force while the horizontal bar is red and shows health. If conditions/boons affect you in Death Shroud (I’m not sure, personally), move them to the appropriate place: by the ball if they affect you in Death Shroud form, by the horizontal bar if they affect you once you leave. Also, change the trim around the life ball, so even a red-green colorblind person can tell that it’s now life force and not health.

That way, you can watch cooldown timers, conditions/boons, etc, and it would be more consistent with other forms. I imagine that at some point Death Shroud was unaffected by boons/conditions, and since health cannot change in Death Shroud (either increase or decrease), it made sense to hide all those details. But it no longer makes sense.

4. Have Spectral Recall be a blast finisher and maybe also apply a brief cripple — at the point the Recall is used not at the point you return to.

5. Fix minion AI. It’s easy for us to suggest magic “make it work”, but I’ll try to give an example of specific rules.

First, GW2 should track what targets (within some radius) you have attacked (done something that would have thrown you into combat if you weren’t already), that have attacked you, and that have attacked your minion within the last X seconds.

If you target a player/mob and attack and the minion is not already attacking something else, the minion should attack that target until that target is dead (down?) or would cause the minion to pursue beyond leashing range from you.

If the minion does not have LOS or a path to this target, it should teleport to you (who evidently have an LOS) and try to get LOS or a path. If the minion still cannot get LOS or a path to the original target, it should try with your current target (if that target has attacked or been attacked). If it cannot get LOS or a path to this current target, it should attack the nearest target that has attacked or been attacked and is still in combat.

If the minion cannot attack any other valid target(or there are no valid targets) but is itself being attacked, it should attack the strongest of its attackers.

If you attack multiple targets (e.g. AoE or a bouncing attack) but one is your current target, the minion should go after that target in particular. If you attack multiple targets without having a specific target selected your minion should attack the closest one to you.

If the minion is not already attacking something and you are attacked, the minion should attack the closest of your attackers. If you move out of the minion’s leashing range, the pet should follow you until it is adjacent to you, ignoring attacks on itself if necessary. (Even if it dies in the process. You have to manage your minions at least a little bit.)

A minion should never attack a target that is not already in combat. A minion should never attack a target that you have not attacked or that has not attacked you or itself. A target should try to path in such a way that it does not aggro a mob that is not in combat. (Given some limitation, like the path should not be more than 20% longer than the most direct path.) After its target is dead, a minion should return by the most direct path to you before attacking anything else. If it cannot find a path to you that is within its leashing range, it should teleport to you.

(It really is complicated to specify, and there are still issues like how to distinguish a situation where you’re running through an area and want to ignore everything and keep running and have your minion do the same. Also possible exploits of sending a minion to attack at almost leashing range, then stepping out of leashing range at a particular moment, etc.)

Druitt.7629:

3. When you enter Death Shroud, have it work more like other Elites and form changes: lock out the top five skill slots, swap the bottom five utility slots, and swap the health and life force meters so that the ball is green and shows life force while the horizontal bar is red and shows health. If conditions/boons affect you in Death Shroud (I’m not sure, personally), move them to the appropriate place: by the ball if they affect you in Death Shroud form, by the horizontal bar if they affect you once you leave. Also, change the trim around the life ball, so even a red-green colorblind person can tell that it’s now life force and not health.

That way, you can watch cooldown timers, conditions/boons, etc, and it would be more consistent with other forms. I imagine that at some point Death Shroud was unaffected by boons/conditions, and since health cannot change in Death Shroud (either increase or decrease), it made sense to hide all those details. But it no longer makes sense.

+1

Really nice way to “fix” the DS Interface. You have my full support on this topic ^^

+1 on OP’s post. I still can’t believe DS UI is still broken. I know it was meant to be our downed state, but you’ve had 3 months, Anet!!!

these are really good suggestions. I like the first one because it would give another tie between death magic and soul reaping. (think of a bunker MM necro using spectral armor to regenerate all minions and LF bar)

Druitt.7629:

Some small ideas I’d suggest. Comments? Other specific changes?

1. Change Reanimator (Death Magic’s Adept minor trait) to heal your minions for a percentage of Life Force you gain. Even if minion AI were exceptional — which it’s not — you need the option in certain encounters to be minionless and choosing any traits in the Death Magic trait line means you can never do this. This change would still add a bit of oomph to minions, if you have them out, but would have no effect if you were minion-less. It even fits with the trait name: you’re reanimating your minions which otherwise don’t regenerate health.

2. Change Deathly Invigoration (Blood Magic IX) so that it is also a blast finisher (no damage) in addition to the heal. We seem to lack blast finishers, and it would be a great reason to dip into DS.

3. When you enter Death Shroud, have it work more like other Elites and form changes: lock out the top five skill slots, swap the bottom five utility slots, and swap the health and life force meters so that the ball is green and shows life force while the horizontal bar is red and shows health. If conditions/boons affect you in Death Shroud (I’m not sure, personally), move them to the appropriate place: by the ball if they affect you in Death Shroud form, by the horizontal bar if they affect you once you leave. Also, change the trim around the life ball, so even a red-green colorblind person can tell that it’s now life force and not health.

That way, you can watch cooldown timers, conditions/boons, etc, and it would be more consistent with other forms. I imagine that at some point Death Shroud was unaffected by boons/conditions, and since health cannot change in Death Shroud (either increase or decrease), it made sense to hide all those details. But it no longer makes sense.

4. Have Spectral Recall be a blast finisher and maybe also apply a brief cripple — at the point the Recall is used not at the point you return to.

5. Fix minion AI. It’s easy for us to suggest magic “make it work”, but I’ll try to give an example of specific rules.

First, GW2 should track what targets (within some radius) you have attacked (done something that would have thrown you into combat if you weren’t already), that have attacked you, and that have attacked your minion within the last X seconds.

If you target a player/mob and attack and the minion is not already attacking something else, the minion should attack that target until that target is dead (down?) or would cause the minion to pursue beyond leashing range from you.

If the minion does not have LOS or a path to this target, it should teleport to you (who evidently have an LOS) and try to get LOS or a path. If the minion still cannot get LOS or a path to the original target, it should try with your current target (if that target has attacked or been attacked). If it cannot get LOS or a path to this current target, it should attack the nearest target that has attacked or been attacked and is still in combat.

If the minion cannot attack any other valid target(or there are no valid targets) but is itself being attacked, it should attack the strongest of its attackers.

If you attack multiple targets (e.g. AoE or a bouncing attack) but one is your current target, the minion should go after that target in particular. If you attack multiple targets without having a specific target selected your minion should attack the closest one to you.

If the minion is not already attacking something and you are attacked, the minion should attack the closest of your attackers. If you move out of the minion’s leashing range, the pet should follow you until it is adjacent to you, ignoring attacks on itself if necessary. (Even if it dies in the process. You have to manage your minions at least a little bit.)

A minion should never attack a target that is not already in combat. A minion should never attack a target that you have not attacked or that has not attacked you or itself. A target should try to path in such a way that it does not aggro a mob that is not in combat. (Given some limitation, like the path should not be more than 20% longer than the most direct path.) After its target is dead, a minion should return by the most direct path to you before attacking anything else. If it cannot find a path to you that is within its leashing range, it should teleport to you.

(It really is complicated to specify, and there are still issues like how to distinguish a situation where you’re running through an area and want to ignore everything and keep running and have your minion do the same. Also possible exploits of sending a minion to attack at almost leashing range, then stepping out of leashing range at a particular moment, etc.)

As I’m a pure MM , I support all your suggestions .

I’d add a couple more:

6. Leaving Death Shroud should count as a weapon swap back to the weapon you had equipped before entering DS. This would allow on-swap sigils to proc, again providing a reason to “dip into DS” as ANet has encouraged.

EDIT:

7. Overhaul Spectral Walk/Recall. Spectral Walk, during the time that Spectral Recall is active, should not leave a green trail. Thieves don’t leave a trail to their recall point and neither should we — it’s a defensive move anyhow. Spectral Recall should last 10 seconds rather than 8. And Spectral Recall should count as a Leap finisher.

8. The Flesh Wurm skill should be three-part rather than two-part. The first step summons the Flesh Wurm at your target, as it currently does. The second step, active while the Flesh Wurm is alive, is Necrotic Sacrifice, which explodes the Flesh Wurm as Necrotic Traversal currently does, except that the Necro doesn’t teleport. Instead, a Flesh Wurm Cyst is left behind. The third step is Necrotic Traversal, which is active for 10 seconds after the appearance of the Cyst, and causes the Necro to teleport to the Cyst and is a blast finisher (at the Cyst).

That is, break Necrotic Traversal into two parts: the poison and the teleport. This also allows you 10 seconds after the Flesh Wurm is killed (by someone other than yourself) to teleport to the location.

Druitt.7629:

I’d add one more:

6. Leaving Death Shroud should count as a weapon swap back to the weapon you had equipped before entering DS. This would allow on-swap sigils to proc, again providing a reason to “dip into DS” as ANet has encouraged.

I think a few relatively small changes like these — small conceptually, but perhaps not code-wise — could really add some polish and address long-running (other-than-bug) issues.

+1
We won’t be overpowered with it , but it will be nice instead.

++ with the 3rd. Only, aren`t any conditions you have will affect you in DS anyway? Kinda, if you you have bleed it will go on and drain your DS and will continue to bleed you if it didn`t wear off when you leave DS, not like it will wait for you to leave DS and then bleed you. (or I didn`t understand something)

Abigor.4952:

++ with the 3rd. Only, aren`t any conditions you have will affect you in DS anyway? Kinda, if you you have bleed it will go on and drain your DS and will continue to bleed you if it didn`t wear off when you leave DS, not like it will wait for you to leave DS and then bleed you. (or I didn`t understand something)

It wouldn’t work differently, you’d just be able to tell what’s going on. That would let you decide if you might want to stay in DS longer than you otherwise would, or if you need to be prepared to take some mitigating action immediately upon exiting DS. It would let you see that your swiftness was about to drop off, or when your Elite was off cool down.

The current GUI doesn’t give you any situational info to decide whether you want to stay in DS a bit longer or exit earlier, etc.

My biggest one is actually letting marks from staff / lich actually hitting the kittening dragons ,claw / teq / shatter
scepter doing more auto damage than a wet noodle especially on enviromental targets doors, burrows and alot more general fixxes
I dont see why rangers got all the love last patch when necro is in such a state of disrepair