Guild Wars 2

I’m kind of a new player, been playing GW2 for about 2 months now and most of it has been with the Necro
Since I mainly go WvWing and zerging, I’ve been running Nemesis’es glass cannon build [which is a Powermancer build] and it’s been great, it served me really well, but as a Necromancer I just felt that I’m not living up to my potential without a Condition build

SO, inspired by Acii’s build and livestream, I decided to try and come up with a Zerging WvW Condition build… I’m aware of the usual problems: Targets die to fast to stack conditions and Epidemic, there’s lots of Cleansing and whatnot …
So aside to the damage, I tried to emphasize the utility of Conditions [Which Staff is perfect for]

So, after all the talking, here’s what I came up with:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fQAQNAW7YjMad7Fbub87JEJFXzzA9oXcPQMSxxEMA-jUCBINERz0CAUFQkHw5QFRjtaqIasqbY6YER1GzFRrWIgFrBA-w

What do you think? :)
Since I’m a new player and have never really created a build I’m sure the build is far from perfect and there’s a lot to improve so I’ve opened this thread in order to get the community’s criticism…

From personal experience: I’ve been running this build for the last few days and I gotta say I feel a lot more useful in zergs. I’m not completely dependant on Death Shroud, I hit, fear and slow down lots of enemies and I could save allies more often.
My main issue is that in order to get the Staff’s utility you have to be inside the mark, which makes you go to the front lines, which the build doesn’t have enough armor and HP for, so I need to use a lot of evasive maneuvers [Like: Plague, spectral wall, reaper’s mark, DS’es extra HP pool and whatnot…]

I’m considering leaving Dhuumfire for Withering Precision, AoE weakness might be crucial … :3
Thoughts?

For a newer necro player, you certainly went to two good sources for build advice. =)

Now, here’s my take on your build. You are indeed correct: the build seems it light on damage from being condition heavy. Using the scepter is even worse in a zerg as it really requires concentration on a single target to apply enough conditions to do any significant damage. However, the greater concern as I see it is that not only has greatly diminished survivability due to reduced armor and health but most alarmingly, no stun breakers or no condition duration mitigation from food or runes. The food part is especially odd since you’ve said you understand that conditions are quickly cleansed in zerg fights.

To me, this build seems to be a fairly typical terrormancer type build (minus the elite skill) except you put 20 into Death instead of Soul Reaping. According to conventional wisdom, it’s best suited for 1v1s or small group fights where conditions aren’t continually washed away. In this capacity, it should work very well (although the lack of stunbreakers can be fatal). As a zerg build, to be honest, it’s fairly suspect.

Have you tried running a power well build yet?

Nagato no Kami.4980:

For a newer necro player, you certainly went to two good sources for build advice. =)

Now, here’s my take on your build. You are indeed correct: the build seems it light on damage from being condition heavy. Using the scepter is even worse in a zerg as it really requires concentration on a single target to apply enough conditions to do any significant damage. However, the greater concern as I see it is that not only has greatly diminished survivability due to reduced armor and health but most alarmingly, no stun breakers or no condition duration mitigation from food or runes. The food part is especially odd since you’ve said you understand that conditions are quickly cleansed in zerg fights.

To me, this build seems to be a fairly typical terrormancer type build (minus the elite skill) except you put 20 into Death instead of Soul Reaping. According to conventional wisdom, it’s best suited for 1v1s or small group fights where conditions aren’t continually washed away. In this capacity, it should work very well (although the lack of stunbreakers can be fatal). As a zerg build, to be honest, it’s fairly suspect.

Have you tried running a power well build yet?

Thanks for the reply
A power well build is what I used before [I changed Nemesis’es build a bit…]

And yea, I think it looks so traditional because of the Dhuumfire, which is why I thought about switching these 10 points for Withering precision or Mark of Evasion

And as for the stun breakers, I really didn’t find this as too much of an issue… Besides the occasional stuns it wasn’t too much of an issue, since I’m in a zerg
Necro’s stun breakers are so kitten awful that outside of PvP I don’t bother with Stun breakers, and it hasn’t been too much of an issue for me

Just to criticize the build. More or less the build is fine. A few things to think about (might not necessarily be a change you want to make) You may want to replace some pieces with dire to buff up your HP. Spiteful removal, imo is kinda a wasted trait, with staff 4 (since you have it traited and can be used more often) and your heal consume conditions, conditions on you won’t be much of a issue. Also the fact that some one has to die for it to activate, its not something you can bank on. Since you’re focusing on Staff spiteful marks might be a better option also chill of death is also very good.

Next would be terror, in a zerg setting you might find more use from chilling darkness (paired with plague #2) or master of corruption to get epidemic off more often. The reason for no terror is because your limited to 6 possible fears, 1 in DS and the 5 from staff #5. Staff 5 being a 32s CD you would get more damage out of Master of corruption.

As for condi builds in zergs there’s a few things that make it less useful than power builds. As you stated you know about cleanses/lemongrass food/melandru runes so not much to say there but one thing to point out is that most fights revolve around spike damage which AoE conditions are not, since your using rare veggie pizza, you’re boosting condition duration that might not even be used do to someone dieing or cleansing it. So you’re more likely to waste dps.

Next would be the lack of power, since you have very little power in your build, you can’t really help kill siege or PvD if needed. Its a loss in over all effectiveness for your team.

Lastly the most useful condition we offer aren’t really effected by condition damage. Chill, blind, weakness, cripple, all very useful to mitigate damage in your zerg and they are also supplied by most power builds.

To close out, This is my personal opinion and I don’t want it to feel like I’m saying your wrong. If the build works for you, then great. Amazing builds can only do as much as your play style allows. As a suggestion if you look for a new build, talk to some of your favorite guilds to follow, as their Necros what they do and why. The build I run works wonders with my guilds comp but isn’t as strong in others.

Here’s a link to a post I made in a thread thats still on the page about how I feel about Condi in zergs, If you care.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/necromancer/Any-WvW-Conditionmancer-Zerg-build/first#post3149494

Either way, good luck.

Nemesis ran a glass cannon. Back row stuff that’s too squishy for my tastes — if the hammer train reaches you in the back line, you’re pretty much hamburger.

What I’m talking about is more like Ascii’s wellomancer running knights armor with cavalier trinkets. I run a similar build but one that’s more focused on CC disruption. This style of necro has epic survivability and can front line with any warrior or guardian. Here’s the link.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/necromancer/Ascii-s-WvW-Wellomancer-Build/first

Zikory.6871:

Next would be terror, in a zerg setting you might find more use from chilling darkness (paired with plague #2) or master of corruption to get epidemic off more often. The reason for no terror is because your limited to 6 possible fears, 1 in DS and the 5 from staff #5. Staff 5 being a 32s CD you would get more damage out of Master of corruption.

He is specced for Spectral Wall, which is frankly an amazing ability to use as a Terrormancer, and the combo is one of the most powerful damage dealers at its not limited to 5 people.

In addition, he could (as I do) spec for ranged Wells and run Epidemic, SWall, and WoC and throw the WoC prior to the zerg hitting the SWall, in an effort to strip some of that stability off.

If he wants to drop anything, I’d recommend him dropping Dhuumfire and trying 0/3/2/0/2, and getting the increased duration of fear, and having another slot open for one of the many amazing Curses traits (Chilling darkness, Banshee’s, etc).

Zikory.6871:

Snip, sorry :3

About Dire Gear and Spiteful removal: I don’t need Dire because of Spiteful Removal. This has been AMAZING for me. With piercing auto attack and 4 AoEs I’m hitting tons of people, getting kills left and right and having no conditions on me even without the need to get closer for Putrid Mark. I have no problem with Conditions, not at all, which is exactly why I don’t feel like I need the Vitality from Dire gear :3 I thought about Spiteful Marks, but since the power damage from them is kittenty anyway I didn’t think Spiteful Marks is a good investment… Am I wrong?

As for Terror: I’m getting quiet a lot of Fears down… Spectral Wall, Doom, Reaper’s Mark, and in conjunction with DS #5 ‘s Torment I thought it’d be a worthy investment :3

As for the food: Do you have any suggestions? I’d be glad for some. I couldn’t find anything better that isn’t too expensive [10s+ each is way too much ><] and I thought it’d be good to raise the Fear duration…

Siege and PvD: Yep, I highly lack that feature… but 2 Rams are more useful than 30 glass canons on Gates, so I don’t think a few people running condition builds is noticeable.

Also, I read that comment before I even thought of that build. It’s very insightful and you’re 100% right, I just wanted to give it a shot, and I think it’s been quite successful so far :3 [I can make a video if it’ll help]

Nagato: Yea it’s squishy, looking back I think I should’ve used Knight’s instead… Anyhow, the longer I ran wells the more they started to feel lackluster, as anyone would just dodge out of them quite easily…

Alanis: I swear, I sat in front of my screen scratching my head trying to decide weather I should invest so much in Spite, or go 20 down Soul Reaping… Finally I decided that Sigent mastery + Spiteful Removal is more important than 50% Fear duration that can be broken through Stun breaker, and also I couldn’t find any fitting Adept Tier :\ You are right about Dhuumfire though, I’m trying to fix it now… not sure how yet

SrebX.6498:

Alanis: I swear, I sat in front of my screen scratching my head trying to decide weather I should invest so much in Spite, or go 20 down Soul Reaping… Finally I decided that Sigent mastery + Spiteful Removal is more important than 50% Fear duration that can be broken through Stun breaker, and also I couldn’t find any fitting Adept Tier :\ You are right about Dhuumfire though, I’m trying to fix it now… not sure how yet

It’s entirely personal preference regarding Soul Reaping.

For the adept tier, I use the DS -15% Cooldown reduction trait, but have used the -20% spectral cooldown reduction as well. The spectral armor at 50% HP minor trait is also probably our best minor; and the third Curses trait of your choice will always be a strong one. Each build is fun, though.

alanis.6094:

In addition, he could (as I do) spec for ranged Wells and run Epidemic, SWall, and WoC and throw the WoC prior to the zerg hitting the SWall, in an effort to strip some of that stability off.

I love SWall —> WoC --> WoD (with Chilling Darkness). It can really soften up a front line for a push and gives everyone protection to boot.

There’s a foreplay/condom/penetration joke in here but I’m too tired to make it right now. XD

Alright, took a look at my build again and decided to consult here….
I noticed that I can’t use SoS+Epidemic nearly as much as I’d want to, and as a result I have wasted points in Spite a Utility that I don’t use as much as I’d want to
So this is where I’m at right now:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fQAQNAW7IjMadbub87JCJFX7ZQFcfkijFMA-jUCBINCy0CAUFQkHw5QFRjtaqIasqbY6YER1GzFRrGA-w
Options I thought of so far:
Utilities: SoS [Again, not as used as I want it to be…], Blood Is power [10 Might stacks every 30 seconds, can’t go wrong :P], Well of Corruption [Don’t think it’ll be useful without Focus rituals though], Spectral Grasp [Pulling people of Walls], Corrupt Boon [Self explanatory I guess :P] ,Spectral Walk/armor [Although don’t feel like I really need those…]

Traits: -10 more points into Curses for Chilling Darkness / Withering Precision / Focus Rituals
-10 more points into Blood Magic for Mark of Evasion
- 20 points into Soul Reaping for Spectral Mastery+Master Of Terror
-10 Points into spite for Chilling Darkness

Sorry if I’m talking too much, I’m just trying to describe my line of thought… :3
Opinions?

SrebX.6498:

About Dire Gear and Spiteful removal: I don’t need Dire because of Spiteful Removal. This has been AMAZING for me. With piercing auto attack and 4 AoEs I’m hitting tons of people, getting kills left and right and having no conditions on me even without the need to get closer for Putrid Mark. I have no problem with Conditions, not at all, which is exactly why I don’t feel like I need the Vitality from Dire gear I thought about Spiteful Marks, but since the power damage from them is kittenty anyway I didn’t think Spiteful Marks is a good investment… Am I wrong?

As for Terror: I’m getting quiet a lot of Fears down… Spectral Wall, Doom, Reaper’s Mark, and in conjunction with DS #5 ‘s Torment I thought it’d be a worthy investment

As for the food: Do you have any suggestions? I’d be glad for some. I couldn’t find anything better that isn’t too expensive [10s+ each is way too much ><] and I thought it’d be good to raise the Fear duration…

Siege and PvD: Yep, I highly lack that feature… but 2 Rams are more useful than 30 glass canons on Gates, so I don’t think a few people running condition builds is noticeable.

Also, I read that comment before I even thought of that build. It’s very insightful and you’re 100% right, I just wanted to give it a shot, and I think it’s been quite successful so far [I can make a video if it’ll help]

About Spiteful Marks, TBH I’m not sure if it effects the the bleeds or fear(+terror) if it does, then maybe it might be a sound adjustment to boost your burst a bit but if it only effects the the main damage then yes, you’re right, with out power it may be a wasted trait as well. That said. if spiteful removal is working for you then keep it, I would suggest just trying a different trait for the sake of science. Maybe you’ll find that you don’t need it but at least you can swap the trait as needed to get the best results.

The terror suggestion is just my opinion, probably more clouded by my feeling about condi in zergs.

As for food, Rare Veggie Pizza is about the best food to use. Any other option would be something with 100 Condition damage to get 30 more out of it. Sadly it’s really hard to say because you don’t know if your enemy is running melandru runes or not. If they are they will be shaking off a lot of damage. Also right now Lemongrass is the go to food so you can almost guarantee most of the zerg will be using it.

As for the PvD thing, you’re right but the point is that being in a power build allows you to help when necessary. If you zerg is scouted, most commanders will call for PvD to get a little bit more damage in the door on top of the rams. It just helps speed the process.

In regards to dire gear, I currently switched out about half my gear for dire (for my roaming build) and found it to be much better, it gave me a little more HP to mess with. Also with full rabid you’ll have more than enough crit chance to be successful.

Keep working at it, like you said you’re finding success in the build so no reason to stop now. You’ll find that you will be more successful in a build that you have fun in. Also if you’re in a WvW guild, get the rest of the Necros to run condition and see how gross it can be!

Thanks :)
I want some more people to help me test it, does anyone volunteer? :P

Btw, I still need advice on my earlier post… ^

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fQAQNAW7YjMad7Zaub87JAJFX/c0jhDuYKFlnOA-j0BBoOCyk0Bi+AOTqIas1gFRjVdDTHjIqWKAYWDA-w

Is the condition build i’d use. (I ran it with complete carrion, since you don’t need precision or too much armor)
Well of corruption is a good source of damage. It prioritizes retaliation, which is always up on melees. Depending on the enemy you can switch spectral wall for well of darkness or corrosive poison cloud.

Avoid the usual spite/corrupt + epidemic combo. The cooldown is too long since the conditions will be removed after a few ticks. The most reliable use of epidemic is to stack conditions on downed enemies and spread from there.