Guild Wars 2

The scourge is a new elite specialization idea for the necromancer. Scourges are the incontestable elite unit of the awakened army, selected from Elona’s finest servants, living or undead. They are usually employed as bodyguards, tomb keepers, or executioners. The best amongst them are promoted into the royal guard of lich emperor Palawa Joko.

Aside from classic necromancer weapons, scourges wield a greataxe (new two-handed weapon), butchering their enemies in a slow and agonizing process, tearing their limbs apart to harvest the best pieces for the undead army. They stand calm, almost like a statue, their gaze hidden behind their obsidian mortuary masks, and then, when you expect it less, they dash forward in a frenzy, quick like a sandstorm.

Scourges have a natural affinity with the sands of the Desolation. Dust of rocks and bones alike, the essence of death permeates it, acting as a conduit for necromantic powers. Winds of death are at their command, storms of sand and souls shredding all who oppose him. They can bury into the ground, stalking their enemies to grab their feet from below, and rip them apart before they know what’s going on.

The sand holds many secrets, buried deep below. There, in the darkness, is where the scourges found their deadliest weapon. Long ago, a malady known as the Scarab Plague razed Elona. Many were buried alive, carrying the disease. Deep in their graves, long-rotten plague scarabs remained, preserved for centuries, waiting to be found. Now, the undead scarabs rise again to feast on the flesh of their new master’s enemies. The scourge can spend his life force to hatch small swarms of these scarabs, who will crawl down from his body and feed on enemies, returning once they’re full to heal their master. Badly injured or downed enemies are devoured completely. Additionally, the scourge can assume a new shroud form, becoming an insect-like nightmare. In this form, the plague scarabs become bloodthirsty, and stop crawling to start flying, almost like a swarm of locusts, increasing their effectivity.

Scourge

• New weapon: Greataxe (2H)
• New utilities: Sand
• New mechanics: Scarab Swarm, Scourge Shroud

Even if many scourges have joined the rebellion, they’re widely resented by their allies, specially the sunspear guardians. In the aftermath of lich emperor Palawa Joko’s rise, a new dark order, the Mordant Crescent, was created to hunt down the survivors of the Order of the Sunspears. It was during these hunts where scourges, named after one of the lich’s titles, were born. Wielding their accursed crescent-shaped greataxes, they refined their arts into what they are today by torturing anyone they found, guilty or innocent. Two hundred years later, the tales of those horrible days still haunt the peoples of Elona.

The rebel scourges know this, but they won’t let it stand in their way. They firmly believe they’re the only ones who can truly stand against the undead hordes, and they’ll redeem their arts and claim their own place in the new Elona through good old justice.

More information on scourges, and a few changes as well:

• Thematic inspiration comes from Egyptian mummies, executioners, and religious monk zealots.
• The new weapon, the greataxe, provides additional face-to-face melee combat for the necromancer. Unlike the reaper’s greatsword, the greataxe is a fast-paced weapon. Scourges have a special affinity with the blinding condition as well.
• Sand scrapped, and utility type changed to mantras. Skill themes stay the same, focused around the sands of the Desolation, made of dust from rocks and bones alike, but now the scourge chants prayers with an otherworldly voice to channel those powers.
• The scarab swarm is updated to a pet-like mechanic, called swarm. They work exactly like pets, but with multiple companions at once. Every 20 seconds, one individual companion respawns. Some of the mantras can sacrifice fixed numbers of them for additional effects, as well as respawn them faster. Each swarm has a maximum of individuals, and they stop respawning once it is reached. Skills that summon new companions will destroy previous ones if the maximum is reached too, prioritizing those with less life.
• There’s 3 different swarms to choose from: Locusts, Scarab Bettles, and Scorpions. Each of these swarms has an unique skill, just like other pets, as well as a different maximum number of individuals, depending on the nature of the swarm. Only one can be active at a time, and you can’t switch them in combat.
• The Scourge Shroud turns the scourge into a sort of insect lord. Activating it affects the swarm, making it frenzy, changing the unique skill and boosting the respawn rate as well.
• Scourges have a new unique condition, called infection. An enemy affected by it will see its life gradually absorbed, until the timer runs out and a swarm companion spawns from him, knocking him down for a moment.
• The weak spot of the scourges is cleaving and area of effect damage, which can neutralize their swarms quickly.