Guild Wars 2

It’s no secret on these boards that the Necro is a bit…lacking, to say the least. We’re plagued with low damage, long cooldowns, buggy or useless traits/skills, and many, many other issues. Here are a couple of my ideas to help improve the necro.

First, though, I want to discuss the core of what a necromancer IS. By the game design, it is not someone who commands armies of the undead to do your bidding (it’s an option, but not the core idea, and currently not a good one). It IS, however, a controller. Necros have very significant area-control abilities and damage mitigation. We have a wealth of cripples and chills, ground targeted effects with good durations, poison, blindness, and weakness. For taking on large numbers of enemies and controlling the battle, necros are very close to the top. We have the ability to support allies (Mark of Blood, Putrid Mark, Well of Blood and Power) and turn enemy tactics against them (boon transformation, condition transferring/use).

TLDR: Necros are gods of controlling the battlefield and encounters.

Now, that said, we are still lacking in a few areas. Namely that for all of this control, we have very little hard CC. We have a single daze (Wail of Doom) and (in most circumstances) 2 fears (both very short duration). We have 1 directed immobilize (Dark Pact). That’s basically it. Sure, we have Charge on the Flesh Golem and the knockback on Lich Form, plus our downed state fears, but those are unreliable/tied to elite skill use. In addition, Fear was originally a necro-only condition, but necros are currently the worst with it out of any class that can cause it.

Here are my suggestions:

1. Shadow Fiend/Haunt:
Change the skill Haunt in particular. The new functionality would be to have the Shadow Fiend teleport behind your target and cause a short Fear instead of Blindness. This would help both as extra hard CC (since it’s another Fear) and helping necros prevent their targets from escaping them (as the Shadow Fiend would be behind them, scaring them back toward the necro).

The conditions caused by minions is already considered to be caused by the minions and not the necro controlling them (condition duration doesn’t increase with traits/runes/sigils, Chilling Darkness doesn’t apply), so whatever the Fear duration/traits are will not matter, making it easier to balance the duration. Note that it can’t really be used as an interrupt due to the delay on the Shadow Fiend. Plus, it’s more fitting that being “haunted” would scare someone.

2. Spectral Armor:
Currently, there is not much use to this skill. Spectral Walk gives the same life force-when-hit and stun breaker as this does, has a longer duration, more utility, and a shorter cooldown. Since they are both Spectral skills, they are both affected by the same traits, so you can’t even trait Spectral Armor to be superior. Necros have plenty of methods to get Protection, so it’s not even good in that regard.

However, if Spectral Armor caused foes that hit you to be Feared, now we have a very potent control/defense skill. Still wouldn’t be worth the 90 second cooldown with its current duration, but it would at least have a definite purpose. A 1 second fear would be sufficient for this, allowing noticeable defense while still allowing multiple hits per enemy to generate life force.

3. Signet of Spite:
Adding a 2-3 second daze/fear/stun would make this skill’s active worthwhile, even for the long cooldown. In addition, the whole “control” theme of a necro would be reinforced on an otherwise mediocre effect. Since no trait increases the duration of signet effects, this would be pretty nice.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Unforeseen mathematical interactions?

I like your suggestions would make the necro more in tune with the devs vision of necro’s being able to “lock horns” with someone / preventing them from escaping.

I actually think we should have some kind of % based slow. It could be a trait or a # 5 active ability for death shroud (never made sense why DS only has only 4 abilities when it is clearly a revised down state) make it with a duration of maybe 10 secs and a 90 sec cooldown. E.g.

Shadow link

-Channeled (you could still cast other spells while channeling)

Project spectral energy unto your target, slowly clouding their mind and dulling their senses The longer your target is in the presence of the necro the slower their movement speed becomes.

e.g. -5% slow per second up to a maximum of -50% movement speed for the full duration. The effect is ended prematurely if the target or the necro moves outside X range or breaks visual contact resulting in a 1 sec stun on the target and a 0.5 sec daze on the necro. (for balance)

Alternatively there could also be a damage component to this spell while removing the ability to cast other spells while channeling.

Visually “shadow link” could look like some kind of black shadowy tentacles latching onto the target.

Would give necro’s more of this envisioned ability to “lock horns” in a more satisfactory manner while negating some of the more annoying situations whereby thiefs or eles, mesmers just blink / stealth or otherwise escape easily with low hp. Would give hit and run thiefs pause before just “oh this isn’t going well I’ll pop into stealth heal up then try again”.

Venom.6189:

(never made sense why DS only has only 4 abilities when it is clearly a revised down state)

The fact it was originally the necro downed state is exactly why it has 4 skills. That’s all anyone has when downed.

I do like the slow idea, but I think it would be best if it were something like a passive trait. Seems kinda fitting for a Death Magic trait (Rigor Mortis for the name?) something like a 5% slow to all enemies within a radius (450 is probably sufficient), increasing by 5% every few seconds. Probably would cap it at 20% slow, though. Still makes it difficult to escape from a necro. Perhaps it could replace Protection of the Horde, since even if you’re death magic specced, you aren’t necessarily going minions.

I really would like more people to respond to this with their thoughts. I know it’s a long read, but this is a forum. If you’re not here to read, why are you here?