Guild Wars 2

So, as it is Unholy Martyr removes 1 condition from an ally every 3 seconds while in DS, starting 3 seconds after entering DS, and then gives you 5% LF. As it is now I think this trait underperforms, partly because of its return is very low, and partly because it starts too late.

So I want to propose a slight change in functionality:
Every 3 seconds (procs on entry and then every 3s after) in Deathshroud, transfer a condition from an ally to yourself AND in an AoE around you to all nearby enemies (same radius as Epidemic, with a similar visual effect, but just one that radiates out from you instead of comes down and then radiates out), and lose some LF.

Thoughts?

Or how about, every 3 seconds (starting 3s after entering DS) pull a condi from up to 3 allies onto yourself whos scaling has + 50% cond duration (so kitten bleed is 10s post transfer to you), but with 0 condition damage (so 100+ bleeds are now the basic 43 bleeds).

Really, I just wanted to adapt Contagion into GW2.

Bhawb.7408:

Really, I just wanted to adapt Contagion into GW2.

You know that that wont happen, devs are too scared to make sense to even think about doing stuff like giving 3s of retaliation on DS a new name and implementing real SS.

Bhawb.7408:

this trait underperforms

That’s an understatement.
The only new trait worthy of a gm spot is Path of Corruption.
Ask yourself this: would you’ve been surprised if Unholy Martyr or Unholy Sanctuary became the new Death Magic adept minor trait? I’d actually take 170 toughness in DS over both of them.

Also, I don’t understand how Unholy Martyr is supposed to fit in Blood Magic. Let’s assume for a moment that this trait line was actually good… who makes a 6 point investment for this trait?
The slow transfer rate clearly shows that it’s not designed to be a group support skill or a way to increase pressure through transfers. The sole purpose seems to be a way to stay in DS longer in group fights, in which case a 5% lf per 3 sec is just plain worse than Vital Persistance, an adept trait in a line you’d actually expect it to be. Unholy Martyr on the other hand has zero synergy with the rest of Blood Magic since healing doesn’t work in DS.

So, I think your idea is good. But the first thing I’d do is allow all sources of healing in Death Shroud, then apply your suggested change to Unholy Martyr and switch it with Parasitic Contagion.

flow.6043:

Bhawb.7408:

this trait underperforms

That’s an understatement.
The only new trait worthy of a gm spot is Path of Corruption.
Ask yourself this: would you’ve been surprised if Unholy Martyr or Unholy Sanctuary became the new Death Magic adept minor trait? I’d actually take 170 toughness in DS over both of them.

Also, I don’t understand how Unholy Martyr is supposed to fit in Blood Magic. Let’s assume for a moment that this trait line was actually good… who makes a 6 point investment for this trait?
The slow transfer rate clearly shows that it’s not designed to be a group support skill or a way to increase pressure through transfers. The sole purpose seems to be a way to stay in DS longer in group fights, in which case a 5% lf per 3 sec is just plain worse than Vital Persistance, an adept trait in a line you’d actually expect it to be. Unholy Martyr on the other hand has zero synergy with the rest of Blood Magic since healing doesn’t work in DS.

So, I think your idea is good. But the first thing I’d do is allow all sources of healing in Death Shroud, then apply your suggested change to Unholy Martyr and switch it with Parasitic Contagion.

Most new GM traits were out right bad, should not be GM, or are in the wrong trait line. Terrible? Yes. Surprised? Nope.

Parasitic Contagion I would say is edging worthy of the grandmaster status (I sure like it). What it actually does is pretty nice as supplementary healing.

Pyriall.5027:

Most new GM traits were out right bad, should not be GM, or are in the wrong trait line. Terrible? Yes. Surprised? Nope.

Well except for said UMartyr, they arent really terrible, just underperform with current necro setups. Even the healing on life blast has a good idea behind it (tho with medicore execution compared to one superb and one bad in normal circumstances but godsend for necro traits).

Like Andele said. Unholy Sanctuary itself isn’t bad, but its a bunker trait when bunker necros don’t exist. The healing LB is actually pretty insane when you consider its healing is nearly 1k HP/s on potentially multiple people, it just is impossible to hit. Even parasitic contagion has a niche use in WvW, hotjoins, and PvE (which is fine, we need more niche traits that aren’t amazing everywhere).

This is the one trait that just isn’t good at all.

Drarnor Kunoram.5180:

Parasitic Contagion I would say is edging worthy of the grandmaster status (I sure like it). What it actually does is pretty nice as supplementary healing.

It’s still bad. In a situation where it would be good (1v1, 1v2) it’s bad, because you can’t really build the condition pressure you’d need to get atleast some sustain. Let’s assume necromancer would be really good at what necromancers are supposed to do, and you manage to somehow stack 25 stacks of bleeding on one of your enemies, and let’s assume, that you managed to land the epidemic and you have the ungodly amount of 50 bleeds running, at the same time. That is a whopping 325 heal/s for you. Yes. That much. Going by 21k health, it would take you a minute to heal yourself up, assuming you didn’t take any damage at all, and assuming you didn’t shourd, since heals don’t work through shroud. Even under optimal circumstances, with applied dhuumfire poison and bleeding, you get a whole ~440 heal, which is still optimistic. And this is assuming you hit everything and your enemies don’t cleanse anything.

And why not more targets? As more targets come in, the higher is the chance that someone runs an AoE cleanse, which completely and utterly negates your parasitic contagion. The best case you can get, is stack one target up, hit the epidemic, enjoy your ~600 reg for 2 seconds and then be cc’ed down and killed by a warrior.

For comparison, the warrior healing signet heals ~362 without any conditions. Without stacking anything up. While enjoying the full heal from everyone else. And that’s base.

All in all, this trait is worthy of master or adept, not grandmaster. Just like unholy martyr.

Unholy martyr does a terrible job at what it should do. It removes conditions badly. Horribly. well of Power does a better job, Signet of plague does a better job, while giving you the option to get rid of those conditions. Assuming you have around ~12500 hp in death shroud, unholy martyr provides a 208 heal for your shroud. Doesn’t sound bad? Well, actually it is. That is not factoring in the natural decay of your shroud. Taking decay into account, you get exactly 9% decay instead of 12%. Why? 3*4% – 5%. That happens every 3 seconds. In essence, this is one of the worst traits there is, replacing nothing, providing even less than nothing. Unholy martyr is unworthy of a minor adapt trait in my opinion, since it does nothing at all. Btw, the drawn condition does damage too. So the 9% or 210 heal are reaaaallllyyy optimistic. More like 70 per second.

Bhawb.7408:

Really, I just wanted to adapt Contagion into GW2.

Bhawb, your forum posts are the only excuse I have to link to entries from the GW1 wiki nowadays, and that’s why I love you man!

http://guildwiki.gamepedia.com/Contagion

However, while it’s better than the way they did it, I still don’t like it. I would like it to be active, and I would like it to be meaningful. I don’t want to draw 1 random condition every 3" (realistically 1 every 10" cause few people sit in DS for 3"), which might make all the difference in saving my teammate because I pulled an immobilise or a stack of 19 bleeds, or it might make no difference whatsoever cause I pulled 2 stacks of invulnerability. I want to be able to control when it happens and for it to be meaningful when I use it.

I therefore propose that the trait instead modifies Life Transfer (DS4) into something like a cross between GW1 Contagion and underwater DS 4:
“Life Transfer removes 1 condition per pulse from an ally within 600 and transfers it to you. Additionally, one condition per pulse is copied from you too enemies within 600.”

The advantages this has IMHO are:
1. It’s ACTIVE.
2. It might be only once every 40", but the player does a meaningful amount of cleansing that can turn a fight around during the cast, and yet…
3. …it’s still not overpowered, firstly because it’;s still possible to draw the wrong conditions and not be abl.e to save your teammate, and secondly because….
4. …it’s got A LOT of counterplay! It’s a very long cast (with a distinctive animation and sound effect) and it’s very easy to interrupt the necro during it (even with Foot in the Grave the necro won’t have enough stability to get through the whole cast, plus stability can be corrupted), it’s a small PBAOE so you can just dodge out of it or snare the necro so he can’t get close enough, and, finally, the necro will finish the cast with 9 new conditions on them, so you have the opportunity to stunlock them to prevent him from cleansing them and just watch his health bar melt.

I think it would be pretty awesome like that frankly! However, what would be even better than my suggestion would be if they just gave us the underwater version of all the death shroud skills and be done with it! :p

Love the idea.