Guild Wars 2

What I am posting below is only Buffs/nerfs of the Necro classes. I want to create list of only nerfs and buffs since launch. Some of the older buffs/nerfs is a little fuzzy so feel free to correct me. I was not able to find the changes from the Beta weekends to the release. Please don’t add any tool tip changes or bug fixes as most of you know that will need a lot more space and I just want to focus on the buff/nerf portion of the Necromancer. Here is where you can find all the changes https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/info/updates

Space reserved for Beta buffs/nerfs

October 1 2012
Debatable Nerfs/Buffs
1. Blood Is Power: This skill now grants 10 stacks of might but does not grant additional life force.
2. Last Gasp: This Soul Reaping trait will now apply protection and remove stun as if using Spectral Armor. It also now has the displayed 60-second recharge, and the duration has been reduced to 6 seconds to properly match the skill.
3. Spectral Walk: This skill now stops granting life force when struck if the player activates Death Shroud, Plague, or Lich Form.

Buffs:
1. Haunt: This Shadow Fiend skill now triggers instantly.
2. Spectral Grasp: This skill now also grants 10% life force when used. It also benefits from the Curses trait Spectral Attunement to properly increase the chill duration to 6 seconds.
________________________________________
October 7th
Buffs:
1. Signet of Spite can now be cast while on the move.
________________________________________
October 22nd
Buffs:
1. Corrupt Boon: This skill now properly removes aegis rather than being blocked by it
2. Fetid Ground: This downed skill now has a Dark combo field. Its visual effects have been updated to show its actual radius.
3. Life Leech: This downed skill’s damage has been increased by 25%.
________________________________________
November 15th 2012
Buffs
1. Ghastly Claws: This skill’s damage has been increased by 10% and updated to indicate the correct life force gained.
2. Reaper’s Touch: This skill applies 4 stacks of vulnerability per hit instead of 3.
3. Plague Blast: This skill’s casting time has been reduced.
4. Summon Blood Fiend: The Blood Fiend’s survivability has been increased, and its attack now heals the necromancer for 200% of its previous heal.
5. Spectral Grasp: This skill’s projectile velocity has been increased by 33%.
6. Feast: This skill no longer causes damage to the necromancer.
7. Death Nova: This skill now properly activates when using Taste of Death and Putrid Explosion. The internal cooldown has been removed. This skill’s field duration is now 4 seconds, and the rate it pulses has been increased to every 2 seconds. Its poison duration is 5 seconds per pulse.

Nerfs:
1. Mark of Evasion: This trait is no longer a blast finisher when the mark is created.

Debatable Nerfs/Buffs
1. Mark of Evasion: This trait is no longer a blast finisher when the mark is created.
2. Death Shroud: Moa Morph now removes Death Shroud from the target instead of the necromancer being stuck in Death Shroud and using their entire bar while in the transform.
3. Lich Form: Leaving this skill now removes stability from the player to make the removal consistent with all other transform elites.

December 14th 2012
Buffs:
1. Feast: This trait’s recharge has been reduced from 12 seconds to 10. Damage has increased by 15%.
2. Frozen Abyss: This skill is now a blast finisher.
3. Foul Current: This skill is now a leap finisher, a poison field, and has its recharge reduced from 15 seconds to 12.
4. Dark Spear: This skill is now a projectile finisher.
5. Deadly Feast: Skill recharge has been decreased from 18 to 15.
6. Wicked Spiral: This skill is now a whirl finisher. Recharge has been decreased from ten seconds to eight.
7. Signet of the Locust: Passive movement speed has increased from 10% to 25%.
8. Quickening Thirst: Movement speed increased from 10%/5% to 15%/10%.
9. Reanimator: Decreased the degeneration rate of Jagged Horrors.
10. Terror: Damage is increased by 50% if the target has any conditions on them.
11. Gluttony: Life Force gain has been increased from 5% extra to 10% extra.

Debatable Nerfs
1. Spiteful Removal: This trait now removes three conditions when an enemy is killed, but can only trigger once every 10 seconds.
2. Spiteful Removal: This trait now removes three conditions when an enemy is killed, but can only trigger once every 10 seconds.

Design Philisophy
“Necro
The necro boasts the highest natural health of all the caster classes, and also has death shroud to extend that life total even higher. While they don’t have some of the escape or damage reduction capabilities that other classes boast, they do have a lot of ways to win attrition fights. They have access to poison on

January 28, 2013
Nerfs
1. Mark of Evasion: This trait no longer enables players to break knockback effects.

February 26th 2013
Buffs
1. Ghastly Claws: Damage from this ability has been increased by ~10%.
2. Locust Swarm: The radius of this ability has been increased by ~16% and now has the range of a normal melee ability.
3. Rending Claws: Vulnerability application from this ability have been increased from 5 seconds to 7 seconds.
4. Spinal Shivers: This ability now deals bonus damage for each boon that it removes. One boon removed deals 50% extra damage, two boons deals 100% extra, and three boons removed will grant an extra 150% damage to the ability.
5. Chill of Death: This trait now deals bonus damage for each boon that it removes. One boon removed deals 50% extra damage, two boons deals 100% extra, and three boons removed will grant an extra 150% damage to the ability.
6. Summon Blood Fiend: This minion’s healing effect has been increased by ~80%.
7. Weakening Shroud: This trait now applies two stacks of bleeding to be consistent with the Enfeebling Blood weapon skill.

March 26th 2013

Buffs
1. Dark Path skill: Now unblockable.
2. Necromancer trait: Now allows life-stealing on walls in World vs. World.

April 30th, 2013
Buffs
1. Signet of Spite skill: Updated the skill facts to indicate the passive effect of this skill. Increased the passive power boost by 100%.
2. Corrupt Boon skill: No longer causes odd interactions with Aegis. Now unblockable.
3. Epidemic skill: Now unblockable.
4. Flesh Wurm minion: Increased health by 25%.
5. Flesh Golem minion: Increased health by 25% and toughness by 10%.
6. Lich Form skill: The Grim Specter skill now strips boons from enemies and conditions from allies when it reaches its target point instead of only when the missile hits a target.

May 28th, 2013
Buffs
1. Greater Marks trait:
a. Now increases the ground target size of all marks.
b. Now increases the size of marks created by the Lich Form skill.

June 25th, 2013
Buffs
1. Putrid Curse: Increased the poison duration from 2 seconds to 4 seconds.
2. Necrotic Bite: Increased the life force gain from 4 to 6.
3. Well of Power: This ability now breaks stuns. Added 1 second of stability. Reduced the cooldown to 50 seconds.
4. Well of Corruption: Reduced the cooldown to 40 seconds.
5. Well of Darkness: Reduced the cooldown to 50 seconds.
6. Well of Suffering: Reduced the cooldown to 35 seconds.
7. Spectral Armor: Reduced the recharge to 60 seconds.
8. Signet of Spite: Now applies 2 stacks of bleeding for 10 seconds, blind for 5 seconds, cripple for 10 seconds, poison for 10 seconds, 5 stacks of vulnerability for 10 seconds, and weakness for 10 seconds. Reduced the recharge to 60 seconds.
9. Locust Swarm: Increased the radius to 210. Increased the animation size to better reflect its attack area.
10. Grim Specter: This ability can now be cast while moving.
11. Rigor Mortis: This ability is now instant.
12. Necrotic Grasp: Increased the projectile velocity by 10%.
13. Deathly Swarm: Increased the projectile velocity by 30%.
14. Crimson Tide: The bleed duration has been increased from 5 seconds to 6 seconds.
15. Deadly Catch: The cripple duration has been increased from 3 seconds to 6 seconds.
16. Wicked Spiral: The vulnerability duration has been increased from 6 seconds to 10 seconds per hit.
17. Deadly Feast: The duration of feast has been increased from 6 seconds to 8 seconds.
18. New ability #5 – Tainted Shackles: This skill tethers all enemies within a 600 range, constantly dealing torment to them over time. At the end of the cast, Dark Binding immobilizes all affected enemies still within the radius.
19. Life Blast: This skill now scales based on range instead of amount of life force. At more than 600 units, this skill’s low value has been increased by 43%; at less than 600 units, this skill uses the old high value. Range has been increased to 1200.
20. Doom: This skill now scales based on range. If more than 600 units, it will apply 1 second of fear; If less than 600 units, it will apply 1.5 seconds of fear. This ability now lists the damage it deals to enemy targets.
21. Life Blast (Underwater): Decreased the cast time and reduced the aftercast.
22. Ghastly Claws: Increased the life force gain from 8 to 10.
23. Feast of Corruption: Increased the life force gain from 2/condition to 3/condition.
24. Necrotic Grasp: Increased the life force gain from 3 to 4.
25. Shadow Fiend Haunt: Increased the blind duration to 5 seconds.
26. Dagger Mastery: This trait now grants a 20% recharge reduction.
27. Vampiric: This trait now scales up 6 additional points with power for its damage and healing for its healing per attack.
28. Near to Death: This trait has been moved to the Master tier. This trait now reduces the cooldown by 30% instead of 50%.
29. New Grandmaster trait—Deathly Perception: Players have a 50% greater critical chance while in Death Shroud.
30. Signet Power: This trait has been merged with Signet Mastery
31. Signet Mastery: This trait now recharges signets 20% faster and grants 3 stacks of might for 10 seconds on signet use.
32. Axe Training: This trait has been moved to the Master tier.
33. New Grandmaster trait—Dhuumfire: Players can inflict burning to opponents for 4 seconds on critical hit. This effect can only occur once every 10 seconds.

Nerfs:
1. Corrupt Boon: Reduced the maximum amount of boons converted to 5.
2. Signet of Undeath: Increased the cast time to 3 seconds.

July 23rd, 2013
Debatable nerfs/fixes/buffs
1. Damage taken while in death shroud will now overflow to the necromancer’s health pool if the damage taken is greater than the remaining life force.
2. Spectral Armor: Incoming hits now grant 8% life force; has a 1-second internal cooldown.
3. Spectral Walk: Incoming hits now grant 2% life force; has a 1-second internal cooldown. This spectral skill now grants life force while Spectral Armor is active.

Nerfs
1. Terror: Reduced the damage by 17%. Fixed a bug so this trait now checks for the torment condition as well.
2. Greater Marks: This trait has been moved to the Master tier.
3. Dhuumfire: In competitive PvP only, burning duration caused by this trait has been reduced from 4 seconds to 2 seconds. Burning duration is still 4 seconds in other areas of the game.

Buffs:
1. Spectral Grasp: This skill now grants 15% life force (up from 10%).
2. Mark of Blood: The base radius of this skill has been increased from 120 to 180.
3. Chillblains: The base radius of this skill has been increased from 120 to 180.
4. Putrid Mark: The base radius of this skill has been increased from 120 to 180.
5. Reaper’s Mark: The base radius of this skill has been increased from 120 to 180.
6. Spiteful Vigor: This trait has been moved to the Adept tier.

September 3rd, 2013
Nerf:
1. Grasping Dead: This skill now applies two stacks of bleeding instead of three (PvP only).

October 15th, 2013
Buffs
1. Spectral Armor: Increased the duration from 8 seconds to 9 seconds when traited with Spectral Attunement to match the intended duration increase. Added a duration skill fact.
2. Locust Swarm: Increased the base cripple duration to 2 seconds.
3. Banshee’s Wail: Normalized this trait to increase the effectiveness of warhorn skills by 50%.
4. Vampiric Precision: The life siphon now correctly scales with the Bloodthirst trait. The damage portion of the life siphon from this trait now scales slightly based on power. The healing portion of the life siphon from this trait now scales slightly based on healing power.
5. Vampiric Rituals: The damage portion of the life siphon from this trait now scales slightly based on power. The healing portion of the life siphon from this trait now scales slightly based on healing power.
6. Deathly Invigoration: The base heal from this trait has been increased by 100%
7. Transfusion: This trait now scales with healing power at a rate of 20%, where it didn’t previously scale.

Nerf:
1. Bloodthirst: This trait now grants 20% bonus siphoning, down from 50% more effectiveness (which results in no change when combined with the change to other siphoning traits).

Debatable Nerfs/fixes:
1. Tainted Shackles: This skill now uses radius instead of range.
2. Lingering Curse: This trait will no longer increase the duration of blind on the Deathly Swarm skill.

Mark of Blood: Removed 1 stack of bleed when used in PvP.
Spite X—Chill of Death: Increased the trigger threshold from 25% to 50%.
Spite 15—Death into Life: Increased the conversion from 5% to 7%.
Curses VIII—Banshee’s Wail:* *Increased the cooldown reduction from 15% to 20%.
Death Magic 5—Reanimator: Decreased the cooldown from 30 seconds to 15 seconds.
Death Magic VIII—Reaper’s Protection: Decreased the cooldown from 90 seconds to 60 seconds.
Death Magic 25—Deadly Strength: Increased the conversion from 5% to 10%.
Blood Magic 25—Blood to Power: Decreased the health threshold from 90% to 75%. Increased the power from 90 to 120.
Soul Reaping II—Vital Persistence: Increased the reduction of life force drain from 25% to 50%.

Nerf:
Plague: Fixed a bug that prevented both of the spectral buffs from the Spectral Walk skill to be removed when activating this skill.
Mark of Blood: Removed 1 stack of bleed when used in PvP.

Buff/Nerf:
Curses IV—Enfeeble: Decreased the weakness duration to 2 seconds. Decreased the bleeding to 1 stack and 6 seconds. Removed the cooldown.

If I am reading the Plague “Bug Fix” correctly or if it functions like spectral armor let me know downloading patch now.

Not sure what’s wrong but my Corrupt Boon still gets blocked a lot of the time in wvw.

gebrechen.5643:

Not sure what’s wrong but my Corrupt Boon still gets blocked a lot of the time in wvw.

CB is a projectile, and WvW has god awful map programming that makes it have LoS and pathing issues all the time.

it’s almost ridiculous to think how bad the necro was at release.

just a complete joke…

It was actually so bad you had to think it must be on purpose because how could anet kitten something up this badly.

next I would like to see a necro gamebreaking bug compilation including things like:

1/3 downed health
taking double damage in DS
soul reaping not giving half it’s stats
etc.

Scaling of vampiric specs with healing power was buffed but it’s still awful, lack of trait efficiency except some popular ones prevents us to go for new builds. Viable builds are so few.

Dredlord.8076:

it’s almost ridiculous to think how bad the necro was at release.

just a complete joke…

It was actually so bad you had to think it must be on purpose because how could anet kitten something up this badly.

next I would like to see a necro gamebreaking bug compilation including things like:

1/3 downed health
taking double damage in DS
soul reaping not giving half it’s stats
etc.

SR did give LF, just not its full count (since just as right now if you are on full LF and add points it caused a gap), DS didnt really take double damage, it just replaced your armor value causing 99% of builds to take additional damage (since zerker necro was quite kitten back then and noone ran rampagers).

Thanks Dedelta, as a new Necro it put some things in perspective. Honestly, I know the weaknesses of the Necro… it was really frustrating at first but the profession really doesn’t deserve all the crying it gets. :/

December 14th 2012
Buffs:
10. Terror: Damage is increased by 50% if the target has any conditions on them.

July 23rd, 2013
Nerfs
1. Terror: Reduced the damage by 17%. Fixed a bug so this trait now checks for the torment condition as well.

April 30th, 2013
Buffs
2. Corrupt Boon skill: No longer causes odd interactions with Aegis. Now unblockable.

June 25th, 2013
Nerfs
1. Corrupt Boon: Reduced the maximum amount of boons converted to 5.

can the devs just make up their mind already. its an up and down buff then nerf pattern.

I’m amazed because a lot of your so called “Buff” may be “debatable Buff”. Like fix bug for trait or vampiric’s “Buff”. To be franc, vampiric was way more reliable before they cough cough Buff it then now. But that may be because we are way squishier then before.

And, there is the “debatable nerf” about LOS that ain’t here.

PS.: Oh, I forgot, for me change on spectral wall were a big nerf for powermancer.

Don’t forget the hidden/undocumented bugs that became feature.

Can’t swap weapons in DS.

Putrid Mark now only removes 3 condi, and not from allies.

Minions ‘upscale’ champions/events as tho each is another player.

Foot in the Grave’s stability doesn’t work vs all CC.

Vamp ‘buff’ was only a buff if you weren’t using a siphon spec, and a buff to minion damage with power. 50% to 30% increased vamp & the nurf to what minions siphon per hit, actually dropped it by almost a quarter.

Bweaty.9187:

Vamp ‘buff’ was only a buff if you weren’t using a siphon spec, and a buff to minion damage with power. 50% to 30% increased vamp & the nurf to what minions siphon per hit, actually dropped it by almost a quarter.

Just for clarity, I believe this is due to bugged scaling. I reported the minion healing as a bug (as it is bugged), and it was confirmed as such. The “goal” was for them to be the same (or slightly buffed) when traited with BT, and better if not, but… well we all know what happened.

yeah by far the biggest change was a stealth nerf
At least the bug has been acknowledged and being worked on

Bweaty.9187:

Don’t forget the hidden/undocumented bugs that became feature.

Can’t swap weapons in DS.

Putrid Mark now only removes 3 condi, and not from allies.

Minions ‘upscale’ champions/events as tho each is another player.

Foot in the Grave’s stability doesn’t work vs all CC.

---

Vamp ‘buff’ was only a buff if you weren’t using a siphon spec, and a buff to minion damage with power. 50% to 30% increased vamp & the nurf to what minions siphon per hit, actually dropped it by almost a quarter.

I must repeat, Stability boon as itself works as well as it does for everyone (still buggy with knockbacks as stunbreaks used to be, but works vs everything else), but it has a very tiny delay (like 0.1~0.2 of a second) on its application after you are already in ds. And no its not player lag.

Yeh, it just feels more of a issue. Not only dose it cost 30 traits, plus having LifeForce & DS not on CD…
But, as a overseas player, my best lag is around 430ms.
As DS dosen’t also ‘brake stun’, having to press a ‘brake stun’ ability, then DS, depends on my upload que. It’s def lots smoother on my guard, that has brake stun + stability together on the same ability.

It’s not a huge issue. It’s just another frustration, that’s compounded by the way CC destroys necro’s, with so little counter. (As our defense is generated ‘active attack’ it really is a double ouchy to be CC’ed)

Bweaty.9187:

Yeh, it just feels more of a issue. Not only dose it cost 30 traits, plus having LifeForce & DS not on CD…
But, as a overseas player, my best lag is around 430ms.
As DS dosen’t also ‘brake stun’, having to press a ‘brake stun’ ability, then DS, depends on my upload que. It’s def lots smoother on my guard, that has brake stun + stability together on the same ability.

It’s not a huge issue. It’s just another frustration, that’s compounded by the way CC destroys necro’s, with so little counter. (As our defense is generated ‘active attack’ it really is a double ouchy to be CC’ed)

Depends from net and realm, im in the EU and as said before never really get over 90 ping on copper wires. Also its stun break and no DS isnt one even if it used to be one in a time long long ago where a rebellion of emo kids fought the mighty empire of… but i digress, yeah it was op as a stun break.

Bhawb.7408:

CB is a projectile, and WvW has god awful map programming that makes it have LoS and pathing issues all the time.

im almost 100% sure CB is not a projectile… it just requires LoS

Linguistically Inept.6583:

Bhawb.7408:

CB is a projectile, and WvW has god awful map programming that makes it have LoS and pathing issues all the time.

im almost 100% sure CB is not a projectile… it just requires LoS

Tis a projectile, invis one but still a projectile, even epidemic works as a projectile type skill since they both can be absorbed by mimic echo if you are in between the target and caster… well they were able to be absorbed (like 99% of weird skills that proc on the target), i play too little mesmer in wvwvw now to know if its still accurate.

The change for death nova to activate when the minion is killed by putrid explosion+the removal of the internal cooldown is a strait buff.

striker.3704:

The change for death nova to activate when the minion is killed by putrid explosion+the removal of the internal cooldown is a strait buff.

I changed it to the buffs portion I couldn’t find the original skill duration on the field which I just found. The orginal duration was 3 seconds.