Guild Wars 2

I missed out on the preview with the elites, so I’m curious: do the shades attack passively like minions? Or do they only attack when you use an F skill?

I’ve not seen it in action but if they don’t attack passively it doesn’t look like there’s much damage potential. Or am I missing something? Thanks for any feedback.

Go to youtube and search for this: Guild Wars 2 Path of Fire – Introducing the Scourge | The Torch Wielding Necromancer

It’s a WoodenPotatoes explanation about the scourge.

Enjoy ^^

Etterwyn.5263:

Or do they only attack when you use an F skill?

This. They also each proc’ the traits that are activated on auto-attack with the shroud, but in a area around them, every time you activate an F skill (so, Dhuumfire, Unyielding Blast, Reaper’s Might,…)
Some other “on entering/exiting” shroud seems to work through the shades too, but I can’t confirm this part.

Shades are relay to your powers, meant to affect a larger area. With careful positioning of your shades, you could probably have a great control over your surroundings.

They only attack when you use an f skill, which procs any traits that would normally proc for f1. Shades will only hit a person once regardless of how many shades you stack on a point. Reason being, anet doesn’t want you to stack them. Thooooouuugh, there WAS a bug regarding the f5 skill, desert shroud, and its interaction with dhuumfire, and the like. Duno if its been fixed or not.

Its not as powerful in PvE as it feels in PvP. It felt ok with last stress test, but far from OP. Maybe because foes don’t have boons to remove.

Scourge is a hybrid support/condition damage elite. Scourge damage comes from a combination of torment, burning, and corrupted boons. Scourge will also still have access to bleeds and poison via scepter and whatever else is available on core Necro like terror.

Remember, Scourge was designed to provide group support, too, so it is not all about dps, though it had better have good dps if the only mechanics worth taking in a PvE group are those that add mobility.

The elite professions are meant to shore up areas left intentionally weak between the original core professions and the first elite expansion. Group utility is Necromancer’s gaping hole, followed by the condition burst that burning provides and mobility that Sand Swell attempts to address.

It is important to remember Scourge does not provide fire fields or finishers, at the moment. This was some criticism I left on the feedback thread. I understand the lack of fields but the lack of finishers (only staff and Bone Minion would have finishers and both have zero synergy with Scourge) removes an important part of game play.