Guild Wars 2

I’ve been running this build since season 1, and it has gotten me to legendary each season so far (except 4, i skipped 4) and it has only gotten buffed since then (most recently axe buffs)

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNBHhF6kZTocTsbTwdTgeTsgLYUdh2wXI+K2FDjQXtAwBA-TJRWAB6WGAyTBwxPBAA2fAA

With the amount of DH running around right now, this build is actually quite capable of taking on most DH builds 1v1 on side nodes and aid in team fights with multi-hit attacks combined with blind and aoe daze, with enough sustain to survive unless focused by 3+ constantly.

Having Locust swarm or Nightfall up on point means you will be stripping aegis and blinding attacks to help land some crucial slow casting abilities, while also benefiting from Chill uptime and Might generation which improves your sustain mid-fight. Any multi-hit attacks can proc Chilling Victory and bypass its cooldown as they count as a “single-attack/skill”

Nightfall, Locust Swarm, Death Spiral, Ghastly Claws, Death’s Charge and Soul Spiral are all instrumental on maintaining Might, removing Blind and stripping Aegis while still landing damage which leaves openings for Executioner’s Scythe and Garsping Darkness.

Wail of Doom bypasses all blocks and can be used to effectively remove Eles from any overload but Earth, Rev shield 4, Mesmer shield 4, Guardian Shelter, etc. and prevent stomps and resses when combined with stripping stability with Axe 3 or passive procs.

Even though “Nothing can save you!” is rather strong, I opted to go with instant cast shouts, because not only do they cleanse conditions from myself, they can be combined with other skills to quickly burst a target or group when needed.

Using Rune of the Trooper (soldier) gives us a tiny bit more tankiness when running Marauder’s amulet, and gives us sustain and condi cleanse combined with reaper traits.

EDIT: Now using Paladin amulet and Chilling Nova over Augury of Death.

Can confirm that! Shout Power Reaper @ Spite/SR/Reaper and Trooper Rune is viable. I am running this too since HoT release.

The main reason for me to run this setup was to create a reliable condi cleanse and an alternative to the horrible Consume Conditions heal.

If Trooper Rune (= Soldier Rune in sPvP) ) wouldn’t exist, I wouldn’t play Reaper. It solves so many issues.

I changed Marauder to Demolisher which allowed me to change Rise! to NCSY!

Teamfight at mid: Nightfall >> NCSY! >> CTTB! >> Gravedigger >> Shroud (Hydromancy + Spiteful Spirit Proc) >> Soul Spiral = Profit

I’ve been meaning to get back into Pvp (I haven’t played properly since HoT release). I might just try out your power shout reaper.

I can confirm it’s a solid build, although you should still give it the same +1 playstyle treatment as any other Necro build. With this in mind, I like to play it with Focus instead of Warhorn, with Strength/Fire instead of Ice on Axe/GS respectively, and Spiteful Spirit instead of Close to Death. These changes aren’t necessarily better (although I’d argue that the uptime difference between Sigil of Strength and Ice makes Strength better every time) but it’s a hell of a lot of fun to play Axe/Focus.

Not to be rude but its not a particularly good build. The best builds are the condi builds with lots of auto procs and transfers. Necros are not good at melee. The attacks are too slow, you have poor defense, and little stability. Getting to legendary was meaningless take a tour of the mists you’ll see tons of “legends” in bronze and silver.

steelheart.7386:

Not to be rude but its not a particularly good build. The best builds are the condi builds with lots of auto procs and transfers. Necros are not good at melee. The attacks are too slow, you have poor defense, and little stability. Getting to legendary was meaningless take a tour of the mists you’ll see tons of “legends” in bronze and silver.

To be fair, you can dislike these Power builds, as long as you also realize that the build you listed isn’t optimal either. “The best” is purely a matter of perspective, and the Spite/Curses build is actually awful in the Public Queues environment. You’re also not wrong, Necros are generally bad at Melee, however the strength of Necro is in being able to force people out of Melee and then ranging them down; A Necro outputs great pressure with Shroud, forcing most people to disengage to a safer distance, at which point you just drop Shroud and start ranging them out with Axe/Scepter/Staff and the like.

I wouldn’t let that build melee me. It’s good but I would just los kill it from outside his max melee.

There really aren’t that many DH’s once you get to gold… And the ones that are there pretty much stay in team fights, not 1v1’ing on the sides. It’ll be a lot of ele’s and dr00ds that you’ll be more dealing with in this build, and I wonder if Nothing Can Save You!/Axe 3 is enough boon removal to deal with them. Maybe spiteful spirit or the focus instead of warhorn could help?

I dunno tho, I don’t really play power ever—but I want to cuz I’m so kitten sick of playing condi for yet another season.

I tried it out today (first time in ranked pvp since HoT release). The highlights were:
1: downed a guardian (1v1) with gravedigger, he told me to “get kittened”
2: condi necro obliterated me
3: we won

I’d strongly recommend trading Close to Death for Spiteful Spirit. Deathly Perception as Power will make it regularly crit for 2-3k, you’ll be stripping boons which is always great and proccing up to 5*Retal will give you 170-850 HP when entering Shroud with Blighter’s Boon.

I would also recommend Sigil of Strength on your Axe for even more BB goodness.

Gwaihir.1745:

I wouldn’t let that build melee me. It’s good but I would just los kill it from outside his max melee.

The axe is more dangerous than the greatsword

Lahmia.2193:

he told me to “get kittened”

this should be the criteria for meta on metabattle

Zero Solstice.9754:

I can confirm it’s a solid build, although you should still give it the same +1 playstyle treatment as any other Necro build. With this in mind, I like to play it with Focus instead of Warhorn, with Strength/Fire instead of Ice on Axe/GS respectively, and Spiteful Spirit instead of Close to Death. These changes aren’t necessarily better (although I’d argue that the uptime difference between Sigil of Strength and Ice makes Strength better every time) but it’s a hell of a lot of fun to play Axe/Focus.

I think I have tried focus a few times and it is a playstyle thing, I just find the lifeforce generation of melee range Locust Swarm (+ swift) and the on demand unblockable daze/interupt to be more in-line with how I play, but I can see it being strong. I also see Chill as a defensive component, so I was looking into the most ways to constantly apply it under pressure.

narcx.3570:

There really aren’t that many DH’s once you get to gold… And the ones that are there pretty much stay in team fights, not 1v1’ing on the sides. It’ll be a lot of ele’s and dr00ds that you’ll be more dealing with in this build, and I wonder if Nothing Can Save You!/Axe 3 is enough boon removal to deal with them. Maybe spiteful spirit or the focus instead of warhorn could help?

I dunno tho, I don’t really play power ever—but I want to cuz I’m so kitten sick of playing condi for yet another season.

I am mid plat and find more matches with 2+ DH than without…who knows, maybe it is the time of day.

Gwaihir.1745:

I wouldn’t let that build melee me. It’s good but I would just los kill it from outside his max melee.

If you are ranging on point, you are losing the point, if you are LoSing in a teamfight, someone is coming to smack you real quick, the fact that you say yourself “i wouldn’t let it melee me” is enough to know you won’t be on point for long. Axe 2 and even auto attack is nothing to laugh at either. Shouts have no LoS, and to an extent, neither does GS 5 (which can displace people more than they would ever want to be)

Lahmia.2193:

I tried it out today (first time in ranked pvp since HoT release). The highlights were:
1: downed a guardian (1v1) with gravedigger, he told me to “get kittened”
2: condi necro obliterated me
3: we won

Against condi necro you really have to work your blinds in and use shroud to tank some condi damage. Then when you come out you can pop shouts to transfer and cleanse, and regain alot of your lifeforce back pretty fast to rinse and repeat.

Sarrs.4831:

I’d strongly recommend trading Close to Death for Spiteful Spirit. Deathly Perception as Power will make it regularly crit for 2-3k, you’ll be stripping boons which is always great and proccing up to 5*Retal will give you 170-850 HP when entering Shroud with Blighter’s Boon.

I would also recommend Sigil of Strength on your Axe for even more BB goodness.

This seems like a good call, I have literally never changed this build since season 1, so that Unholy Feast buff could prove to be much more beneficial now.

Zietlogik.6208:

This seems like a good call, I have literally never changed this build since season 1, so that Unholy Feast buff could prove to be much more beneficial now.

The Unholy Feast buff doesn’t apply to Spiteful Spirit. Still a very strong trait though.

Sarrs.4831:

Zietlogik.6208:

This seems like a good call, I have literally never changed this build since season 1, so that Unholy Feast buff could prove to be much more beneficial now.

The Unholy Feast buff doesn’t apply to Spiteful Spirit. Still a very strong trait though.

That is literally what Spiteful Spirit does…casts Unholy Feast when entering shroud…

Zietlogik.6208:

That is literally what Spiteful Spirit does…casts Unholy Feast when entering shroud…

No, it doesn’t. It casts a fascimile that was not updated with the patch that allowed it to strip a second boon.

When I say Id just los it down, it usually takes me max 15s to put down a necro. Most of which I’ll still be on point. Usually faster since I spec to take out the necro so my team can get on with killing the attrition bunkers and get the score rolling. It’s not bad it’s just the nature of the class to not be able to defend against duelist pressure.

steelheart.7386:

Not to be rude but its not a particularly good build. The best builds are the condi builds with lots of auto procs and transfers. Necros are not good at melee. The attacks are too slow, you have poor defense, and little stability. Getting to legendary was meaningless take a tour of the mists you’ll see tons of “legends” in bronze and silver.

Power Shouts Reaper is countered by builds that can deal and avoid damage at the same time.

These are: Power-Revenants (evade and attack at once) and Warriors (Endure Pain and attack at once).

Thieves are somewhat of a softcounter in terms of mobility. But the Thief player has at least to be at the same skill level. Otherwise he dies to the Reapers AOE procs. I have killed Thieves just by pulling them with GS and entering shroud next to them xD.

Every other meta build is manageable. So there are only a few counters.

Minor tweaks to the build have huge impacts. Sometimes I run GS. Sometimes I switch to staff. Sometimes I replace NCSY! with Well of Corruption. Sometimes I even replace Spite with Curses (great vs boon reliant bunkers).

Lahmia.2193:

condi necro obliterated me

On GS go instant at melee and pressure him. If he enters shroud kite away with Death’s Charge to avoid his bleed/poison stacking. If he leaves shroud go full melee pressure again. A well placed Nightfall or stability corruption helps a lot.

Condi Reaper is favored in this duell but there is definitly room to outplay him.

Btw. if you just want to duell a Condi Reaper run a Procmancer Power Reaper and go all in right form the start. He melts like hot butter. (Needless to say Power Procmancer is garbage in every other scenario – so DON’T run it in ranked!)

I’ve played a build like this in season 2 & 3, didn’t really try it after.

The build itself is nice, but im not seeing eye to eye on a few things.

The ice sigil I just cant see being worth it in any circumstance due to its proc rate and cooldown?

The greatsword itself, the cooldowns and animations are so long how is it favourable over a staff?

Dead Muppet.9718:

The ice sigil I just cant see being worth it in any circumstance due to its proc rate and cooldown?

The greatsword itself, the cooldowns and animations are so long how is it favourable over a staff?

Ice Sigil is worthwhile when you are using both the Bleed On Chill and Vuln On Chill traits, if you already have Sigil of Hydromancy, and it needs to only be a one-of. Otherwise, it isn’t worthwhile. I’d have to doublecheck to see if this build uses Ice Sigil.

Staff is probably preferable, but as far as I can tell this is supposed to be a greatsword build. It’s not a greatsword build if you don’t have a greatsword.

Sarrs.4831:

It’s not a greatsword build if you don’t have a greatsword.

I dont think any greatsword build uses greatsword.

GS buffs and Power shroud buffs don’t hurt

Changed 1 trait (Chilling Nova) and testing Paladin amulet over Marauder’s

i use curses for boon removel and it does work really good this season winning 75-80% of the games.

skoobydoo.9246:

i use curses for boon removel and it does work really good this season winning 75-80% of the games.

Boon removal is quite strong, I just prefer Spite just because you still get the boon removal from Spinal Shivers and Spiteful Sprit, as well as more burst potential and chill application through using those combined with Hydro procs

I know this is necro-ing a thread (in the necro forum no less).

Shouts Reaper + Soldier Runes is faring relatively ok in this new patch. Though still a bit early to tell, I feel this is the safer option after the shaving of Power Boonstrip.

Axe is doing work, and managing Chilling Victory/Blighter’s Boon along with Shouts gives us some nice sustain in smaller fights.

GS (Nightfall) is a good counter weapon to Condi Revs.
Warriors are manageable now, in the same vein.
Condi Mesmer can be stalemated.

Thanks OP, with this build idea I just might survive the new patch.

P.S.
@KrHome.1920: Thank you for the general tips.
@skoobydoo.9246 as well: Curses is amazing at increasing 1v1 survivability. Not sure why I haven’t tried it before. In condi-heavy games, the passive transfer buys me enough time to hold up fights.

Season 7 updates:

More buffs! yay

• Changed Death Perception for Foot in the Grave (more CC spam now than ever)
• New Sigil reworks slightly nerf the build through removing Chill application. Swapped sigils for Courage (Might + Blighter’s Boon synergy) and Cleansing (to aid in removing mobility impairing effects) on both sets.

Tested it out in 4 matches earlier in ranked after some practive matches in unranked. It works very well according to the purpose you built it for. I have never beaten a DH 1v1 ever with the usual condi corrupt build (I dunno if I should be able to beat them with that or maybe I’m just bad xD) but with this build I was able to either down them completely or force them to flee.