Guild Wars 2

Hi, guys

I am new to necro and wanted to know what build would be great for me to learn the class. I used my free 80 boost on it and really want to learn the class now. I will look mostly to pve in the beginning and play pvp later on. I wondered what build will help me learn the class as well as being useful in pve.

Feel free to add me in game and talk to me as well, be greatly appreciated.

cheers

>metabattle.com
>????
>PROFIT

any sort of direction or builds to play so i can look them up would be useful

run, my friend, run before you get emotionally attached to your character.

there’s a few builds to choose from, most centre around conditions.

pvp there’s really only one build, corruptionmancer. it’s just applying pressure through conditions, disrupting through fear and chill effects, controlling the flow of conditions using transfers, and corrupting boons in order to guarantee kills. one instance is using traited shroud 2 to convert stability to fear on a player trying to stomp an ally/ress an enemy

pve you have viper horror which works around poisons, high bleed stacks, and using minions to create poison fields and for tanking. it’s pretty fun

another build is a standard power necro build, spite/blood magic or soul reaping/reaping. it’s good for world content like quests and dungeons where things die quickly

you could also try for a bunker minionmancer, literally nothing in the game is easier. you sit back and let your minions do all the work, it’s pretty funny.

then there’s also a power wvw build running greatsword, apparently it’s good in zergs cause you just spam greatsword 2 for imba damage

personally, i love my necro, don’t wanna use anything else. but kitten do anet make it hard to want to play sometimes

Minion Master is the easiest way to start.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQRArY4djM0QTN2VDu1A7NOCGqYSHARg8EShneODTdOA-ThRLABPo+DAaGQUJIJK/MQPQV7PAA-e

This is kind of vanilla and not highly tuned but it should not cost too much and will allow a lot of room for error while still packing a punch. It does mostly power but also lets you learn conditions.

cheers guys. and what armor stats will i need for minion master?

this guide says cleric.

http://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Necromancer_-_Minion_Master

cheers for the feedback.

kotros.2730:

cheers guys. and what armor stats will i need for minion master?

this guide says cleric.

http://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Necromancer_-_Minion_Master

cheers for the feedback.

That was for the old pvp build, but cleric amulet has been removed from pvp. Just roll full zerker w/scholar runes. You don’t need to worry about survivability with all the minions soaking up damage, so best max out your damage stats.

Do you have access to reaper yet?

Turn back while you still can

gavyne.6847:

Do you have access to reaper yet?

yea i have reaper although using the boost i dont have enough hero points so need to find them somehow. not going to enjoy running round the map!

Lahmia.2193:

kotros.2730:

cheers guys. and what armor stats will i need for minion master?

this guide says cleric.

http://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Necromancer_-_Minion_Master

cheers for the feedback.

That was for the old pvp build, but cleric amulet has been removed from pvp. Just roll full zerker w/scholar runes. You don’t need to worry about survivability with all the minions soaking up damage, so best max out your damage stats.

do you have a build anywhere i can use to know what talents to go etc

You plan to roam PvE so try the build I posted.

Do not try to make the rabid armor you got work for that. It is not offensive enough. A mix of carrion and berserker for a hybrid or a mix of berserker and valkyrie for a power build is fine. Review the traits I selected and ask questions.

Anchoku.8142:

Minion Master is the easiest way to start.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQRArY4djM0QTN2VDu1A7NOCGqYSHARg8EShneODTdOA-ThRLABPo+DAaGQUJIJK/MQPQV7PAA-e

This is kind of vanilla and not highly tuned but it should not cost too much and will allow a lot of room for error while still packing a punch. It does mostly power but also lets you learn conditions.

Any benefit of using traveler rune for the speed boost freeing up one of the slots for another minion?

Bishopp.8421:

Anchoku.8142:

Minion Master is the easiest way to start.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQRArY4djM0QTN2VDu1A7NOCGqYSHARg8EShneODTdOA-ThRLABPo+DAaGQUJIJK/MQPQV7PAA-e

This is kind of vanilla and not highly tuned but it should not cost too much and will allow a lot of room for error while still packing a punch. It does mostly power but also lets you learn conditions.

Any benefit of using traveler rune for the speed boost freeing up one of the slots for another minion?

I do not see much benefit in Traveller when you can trait dagger and get the same thing. Cheap power runes are fine for mapping PvE.

Anchoku.8142:

Bishopp.8421:

Anchoku.8142:

Minion Master is the easiest way to start.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQRArY4djM0QTN2VDu1A7NOCGqYSHARg8EShneODTdOA-ThRLABPo+DAaGQUJIJK/MQPQV7PAA-e

This is kind of vanilla and not highly tuned but it should not cost too much and will allow a lot of room for error while still packing a punch. It does mostly power but also lets you learn conditions.

Any benefit of using traveler rune for the speed boost freeing up one of the slots for another minion?

I do not see much benefit in Traveller when you can trait dagger and get the same thing. Cheap power runes are fine for mapping PvE.

Well dagger isnt really much useful anymore so that trait line its not apealling at all for wvw. If necro had movement speed increase on melee weapons that would be ideal.

Anchoku.8142:

You plan to roam PvE so try the build I posted.

Do not try to make the rabid armor you got work for that. It is not offensive enough. A mix of carrion and berserker for a hybrid or a mix of berserker and valkyrie for a power build is fine. Review the traits I selected and ask questions.

when i used the boost to get to 80 the game gave me full rabid gear should i play a different build for this armour?

Rabid armor has no power. When running around in PvE, power will help deal with mobs quicker.

Scepter is the only true condition damage weapon but the conditions are bleed and poison, which need stacking for several seconds to equal the damage output power weapons like dagger provide right away. Bleed works well on champions and some veterans because they are tough enough to last long enough for you to build and maintain your peak bleed stack. Use power for everything else, which will be almost all of the mobs you will find.

That is why I recommend a mix of berserker and valkyrie. If you want to kite champions, swap to your Rabid set but you will also want to change your traits and skills to something close to the meta raid setup on Metabattle.com. You will have less defense that way, though.

You can do all of your PvE mapping on pure berserker once you get the feel of it. You will clear maps the fastest that way.

Anchoku.8142:

Rabid armor has no power. When running around in PvE, power will help deal with mobs quicker.

Scepter is the only true condition damage weapon but the conditions are bleed and poison, which need stacking for several seconds to equal the damage output power weapons like dagger provide right away. Bleed works well on champions and some veterans because they are tough enough to last long enough for you to build and maintain your peak bleed stack. Use power for everything else, which will be almost all of the mobs you will find.

That is why I recommend a mix of berserker and valkyrie. If you want to kite champions, swap to your Rabid set but you will also want to change your traits and skills to something close to the meta raid setup on Metabattle.com. You will have less defense that way, though.

You can do all of your PvE mapping on pure berserker once you get the feel of it. You will clear maps the fastest that way.

Thanks Anchoku,

i am currently running COF so will get a full set of the poswer gear from there and i have also bought valkyrie weapons.

I will try the minion build probably at the end of the week once i have the full set.

with this build whats the sort of rotation or is there not one?

Cheers,

Necromancer does not have fixed rotations. It is more tactical than mechanical. If you are allowed, use auto-attack on dagger or scepter. Other skills should be used as they are needed or on cool-down. For example, dagger 2 heals; use it. Dagger 3 immobilizes; use it to lock down movement. Dagger 4 is for transferring conditions but off-hand dagger is not very useful in PvE while running power. It is useful when running conditions and the Master of Corruption trait.

Scepter 3 is the only way to get life force on scepter-dagger outside of utilities that are not condi-based so always use it when not on cool down.

Minions have their own skills. They are not bad, except for Shadow Fiend, which is hopelessly under-powered due to blind’s utter uselessness as a condition.

Anchoku.8142:

Necromancer does not have fixed rotations. It is more tactical than mechanical. If you are allowed, use auto-attack on dagger or scepter. Other skills should be used as they are needed or on cool-down. For example, dagger 2 heals; use it. Dagger 3 immobilizes; use it to lock down movement. Dagger 4 is for transferring conditions but off-hand dagger is not very useful in PvE while running power. It is useful when running conditions and the Master of Corruption trait.

Scepter 3 is the only way to get life force on scepter-dagger outside of utilities that are not condi-based so always use it when not on cool down.

Minions have their own skills. They are not bad, except for Shadow Fiend, which is hopelessly under-powered due to blind’s utter uselessness as a condition.

Ah ok thanks for that.

with me already having valkyrie weps do i just go full beserk gear?

Valkyrie has vitality, which increases your life force capacity in addition to health. It is up to you how much extra health you feel comfortable trading for increased critical hit chance. You can use berserker armor and valkyrie trinkets, a mix, or purely one type. The better you get, the less health you may need but do not worry about the exact ratio outside of having enough critical chance to use all of that ferocity and power.

probably best going pure zerker gear tbh, necro is the lucky class that has highest survivability while using glass stats purely due to shroud

soak damage? go shroud
disabled and soak? go shroud
cc? go shroud

shroud is the answer for all

remember, using minionmancer you have these available to you

two sources of vampirism from your own attacks
life siphon from your minions, including extra siphon from the blood fiend
condi removal from all of your minions
dagger 2 life siphon
blood fiend sac for burst healing
toughness increase from minions
as well as your shroud

if you need extra survivability, just run some vamp runes and sigils for a bit to help you out, but with minionmancer, i doubt you’ll even need that

edit: this is probably the build i would suggest you run while you get used to necro, im assuming you’re vanilla still cause you said earlier that you haven’t unlocked reaping. once you’re used to it, i would go a spite/soul reaping or blood magic build, replace the tubes/sigils and then go ham. it’s a lot of fun

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNBIhZakhGaqxuawtGYvxx0QNfgLoCozwNkpyBoACAA-TxBGABEp8DgnAQZ6DCUdnpUCaz+DJcKAAA-e

thanks Reknarok,

(question not aimed specifically at Reknarok) do i change the runes out that come with my COF gear? i thought i should but just thought to ask.

thanks

also what runes do i get for weps wanting damage

I saw the build both Anchoku and Reknarok made the only difference really is one went soul reaping the other blood magic as well as wep choice giving me two option builds here. but the choice of staff i wasnt sure about with minion build in the past i have only really used staff in aoe situations and used scepter to build up conditions ( rabid condi build at the time)

so am not sure which to go for.

Anchoku how oftan do you use shroud with the build you showed me. I see with Reknaroks build shroud is used heavily.

thanks all

i would change the runes, if memory serves well it’s geared more towards burning which we don’t have a lot of

if you want to go full on damage, switch out vamp for scholar or strength. i feel strength is a bit more forgiving but it’s slightly less effective than scholar in terms of raw damage output
then switch the sigils from siphons to sigil of air and force

well actually i chose both soul reaping and blood magic cause it’s for a vanilla build. if you have reaper, then replace soul reaping cause the synergy with blood magic and minions is awesome. and also replace shadow fiend with rise. but again that’s minionmancer, a pure power damage build would look more like spite/blood magic/reaping

personally i prefer soul reaping to blood magic, but it’s up to you, blood magic has better group play as support and a damage boost, but if you’re alone then i feel soul reaping is better due to the trait applying vulnerability on shroud auto attacks, helps a lot with death perception on solo play and reaper shroud is plain fun so i try to stay in it as much as possible

i use the staff for literally every game mode cause the utility is insane
staff 2 gives regen
staff 3 applies poison and chill
staff 4 transfers conditions and acts as a blast finisher i believe, can’t remember
staff 5 applies fear
plus with the trait, they become unlockable and generate substantial life force
nothing beats it

Minion Master is very casual. You can experiment with skills and traits while your minions ensure a bad build will not be unplayable.

Regarding shroud, you will not need to use it in most 1v1 PvE but do try to use it to heal your minions whenever possible. Life Transfer will heal them in shroud and you will also heal those nearby when you exit shroud. This will let you grind one mob after another quickly. Using shroud a lot is a very good habit to get into and healing minions is a painless way of learning to do so.

Once you get the hang of Necromancer, you will not need minions except for when you want a change of pace or have specific tasks for one or more.

Reknarok.7582:

probably best going pure zerker gear tbh, necro is the lucky class that has highest survivability while using glass stats purely due to shroud

soak damage? go shroud
disabled and soak? go shroud
cc? go shroud

shroud is the answer for all

remember, using minionmancer you have these available to you

two sources of vampirism from your own attacks
life siphon from your minions, including extra siphon from the blood fiend
condi removal from all of your minions
dagger 2 life siphon
blood fiend sac for burst healing
toughness increase from minions
as well as your shroud

if you need extra survivability, just run some vamp runes and sigils for a bit to help you out, but with minionmancer, i doubt you’ll even need that

edit: this is probably the build i would suggest you run while you get used to necro, im assuming you’re vanilla still cause you said earlier that you haven’t unlocked reaping. once you’re used to it, i would go a spite/soul reaping or blood magic build, replace the tubes/sigils and then go ham. it’s a lot of fun

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNBIhZakhGaqxuawtGYvxx0QNfgLoCozwNkpyBoACAA-TxBGABEp8DgnAQZ6DCUdnpUCaz+DJcKAAA-e

Is this for pve? Coz in wvw that shroud solution does not work coz shroud is not good enought

Thanks guys,

still unsure though if i should change the runes out which come standard with CoF set. and do they do scholor sigils for weps?

Any runes with power will be good enough. Pirate’s are cheap. You can crunch more expensive ones over them later.

but with the CoL gear you get specific bonuses from the runes for having a full set

wanting sigils not runes for my wep as well

@mikhael: yes it’s a pve build, it’s what op asked for. they’ve not really said anything about wvw, but im aware that it requires vastly different builds

@kotros: whichever runes you use, you should more often than not use the entire set, vamp runes are relatively decent, cheap, and will increase your sustain

but like i said, rune set use vamp if you want a bit of a cushion while you get used to the class as well as decent damage output
use scholar or strength for raw damage output

sigils use blood and leeching if you want a bit of a cushion while you get used to the class as well as decent damage output
use air and force for raw damage output

If you’ve ever done any portion of WvW you should have enough proofs to just buy the entire elite spec if you don’t already have it.

Famine.7915:

If you’ve ever done any portion of WvW you should have enough proofs to just buy the entire elite spec if you don’t already have it.

Sorry Famine,
I dont understand what you mean, i am fairly new to the game i know what WvW is just not the rest, can you explain?

Ah okay. So as you gain ranks in wvw (like leveling in the open world) you will be given a chest for each time you rank up. In these chests you get a currency called “proof of heroics”. These can be used at a heroic notary vendor to purchase random skill points throughout tyria and the jungle maps.

Essentially, 10 proofs translates to 10 skill points you can use to spend on unlocking your elite spec and 1 proof will grant 1 skill point.