Guild Wars 2

Did some WvW on him and a few things I noticed.

1. Catching people was even suckier then it is on a Ranger, with basically zero ability to escape a bad situation. I could pound on people all day long, and if they turn and ran chances are they could get away, or they could possibly win since number 2.

2. I didn’t think it was possible to get a dumber pet then a Rangers…I was wrong…Now I don’t so much mind my pets having a hard time getting to a target, which they do..What i do mind in any MMO is when i’m fighting someone to look 3 feet to the left and see my Pet standing there….with his thumb up his kitten If it was a Bone Minion probably wouldn’t care so much, But my Flesh Golem? It honestly was just random as well, The pets would just magically stop attacking and stand there….I suppose this shouldn’t be surprising considering I’ve played a Ranger and know exactly how bad Anet is at coding pets…But honestly having played the Necro now..all i can say is Amateur Hour on whoever did the pet AI.

3. Survivability was So So, I thought i did fairly well in 1v1’s however anything past that was kind of hit or miss….I blame this on that lack of the builds ability to get Protection which is key for fights like that. I found thieves to be just as annoying as they are on my Ranger, They’ll just C/D one of my moronic pets over and over again till full health. If they get in trouble they just teleport away (though without back up the thieves i fought were rather a joke)

4. Weapon Side i’m running Staff with Axe/Focus, I would like to try dagger/horn but Staff is so incredibly good I can’t see replacing it.

I’ll try filming some movies after I have more practice with it… Most of tonight was me getting zerged by badies who’d run from the 1v1’s then show up with 5 or more.

Check out the Minion AI video on our youtube page.

1) WvWvW is bad for minions no one is doubting it. Use Flesh Wurm as your escape tool, use Bone fiend for immobilize if someone flees, and use Flesh golem as well. Use Bone minions for boom boom.

2). See the minion ai video staff is just wonky on minions, though we do explain it. Though I am glad to see you mention it was like working with a Ranger pet since many players think that Rangers have magical AI that we don’t get.

3). I don’t have problem though it really depends on the build you use.

4). Axe Auto ttack is hands down the best way to control your pets. Use Axe 3 and staff to cripple and hold them in place so your pets can deal damage.

1. Yes, you have that about right. Sure, Necro has swiftness but the only combat mobility skills are Fear, which is such a useless escape skill Arenanet decided to give it more damage through the Terror trait, Dark Path, which is a slow gap-closer that can be dodged, Spectral Grasp, another slow gap-closer that can be dodged, an immobile wurm for a finicky teleport under the best of conditions, and Stability on Lich form and way up the trait tree.

2. You got that right, too. However, Necromancer pets may still be stupid and as controllable as a cat but they are now on a shorter leash so they cannot wander too far away before being yanked back. They used to go gather a train of mobs and bring them to me whether my heals were off cool-down, or not.

3. So-so survivability is by design. Necromancer was given a large health pool so the developers compensated for it by giving poor combat mobility and escape skills. If you feel like a punching bag for everyone else to practice on, then I’d say you are getting the hang of it.

4. Staff is Necro’s all-purpose weapon but it leans strongly toward condition/support work. You will never see big damage numbers using it. The range is also shorter than some other profession’s weapons that you might be more familiar with and I do wish it were longer. Slot Epidemic as one of your utilities when facing a group and trait staff for Greater Marks, Staff Mastery, and Corruption for the Epidemic and you will start to see more satisfying damage.

Xsorus.2507:

Did some WvW on him and a few things I noticed.

1. Catching people was even suckier then it is on a Ranger, with basically zero ability to escape a bad situation. I could pound on people all day long, and if they turn and ran chances are they could get away, or they could possibly win since number 2.

2. I didn’t think it was possible to get a dumber pet then a Rangers…I was wrong…Now I don’t so much mind my pets having a hard time getting to a target, which they do..What i do mind in any MMO is when i’m fighting someone to look 3 feet to the left and see my Pet standing there….with his thumb up his kitten If it was a Bone Minion probably wouldn’t care so much, But my Flesh Golem? It honestly was just random as well, The pets would just magically stop attacking and stand there….I suppose this shouldn’t be surprising considering I’ve played a Ranger and know exactly how bad Anet is at coding pets…But honestly having played the Necro now..all i can say is Amateur Hour on whoever did the pet AI.

3. Survivability was So So, I thought i did fairly well in 1v1’s however anything past that was kind of hit or miss….I blame this on that lack of the builds ability to get Protection which is key for fights like that. I found thieves to be just as annoying as they are on my Ranger, They’ll just C/D one of my moronic pets over and over again till full health. If they get in trouble they just teleport away (though without back up the thieves i fought were rather a joke)

4. Weapon Side i’m running Staff with Axe/Focus, I would like to try dagger/horn but Staff is so incredibly good I can’t see replacing it.

I’ll try filming some movies after I have more practice with it… Most of tonight was me getting zerged by badies who’d run from the 1v1’s then show up with 5 or more.

Hey man, I replied to you on the Ranger forum when you posted about trying a MM necro, I thought you weren’t doing it after all.

Happy to see you on this forum.

1. I also told you about the lack of mobility. Anet decided that we wouldn’t be a mobility class, yet they didn’t give much in exchange for the most important thing in WvW. Mobility is life in WvW, and with out it roaming is a pain. I use Flesh worm to roam, I can escape average player. But good player most of the time know where I ported, even if I bait them in another direction.

2. Don’t worry, Bas and Bawb tested it, and it’s not an issue. They said it only happen 10% of the time, and just like epidemic can be evaded, minion can just stop attacking. That’s balanced and not a bug.

Seriously tho, Each week I try a MM build because I would like to have it work. But the buggy pets are just too annoying. Losing all your utility because they love to watch the horizon. And no Bawb, before you post, auto attacking didn’t resolve my issue. Because we all know nobody tried to auto attack during a fight to debug our pet.

3. Another choice from Anet : Necro will have crazy HP and Death Shroud, so let’s give them low armor, no defence mecanism, few source of protection, no vigor, no mobility. We are like the other extreme of bunker DD Elem. And you know which one is the most efficient. High HP has no substained healing, so even if Anet say we are an attrition class, we aren’t. As the fight goes, we become weaker, as our healing can’t support our low armor and big HP. And thief CDing pet is a pain

4. I did run a MM build without staff, but yeah, staff is like vital for a necro. You can be kited to death, you lack one source of AoE Condition transfer, one source of AoE fear. I feel nacked without it.

Overall, necromancer is a good class, especially in sPvP. But in WvW it’s really hard, especially solo. In small group fight, you will get focused really hard.

MM necromancer are really not optimal for WvW, especially with the bugged (I mean non-bugged for Bas and Bawb) state of pet AI.

By the way Bas, he didn’t say Necro pet were like Ranger pet. He said necro pet were a lot worse.

“I didn’t think it was possible to get a dumber pet then a Rangers”

Necro pets are clearly worse then Ranger pets, i can make my Ranger pet attack the target.

I have some video now that shows my pets not attacking… at all….They’re just standing there, and it probably has to do with Staff Somewhat, but honestly..Saying AI for your Pets is bad cause staff is wonky is just silly..The game has been out for over 6 month’s, This is honestly something that should not have left beta in its current form.

You should absolutely be berating the hell out of Anet for letting it stand this long..I know when they come to our forums and give us silly lip service for bugged and broken mechanics that should of been fixed i don’t kiss up and make them feel better.

But! Necro pets can explode and you can have 6 or 7 out at one time. Last night fighting Jormag, I was working on a champ ice critter, popped Lich and summoned 5 jagged rodents. I had a great time watching the little guys follow me around as I wove through red rings of ice AoE while critting the champ.

Xsorus.2507:

Necro pets are clearly worse then Ranger pets, i can make my Ranger pet attack the target.

I have some video now that shows my pets not attacking… at all….They’re just standing there, and it probably has to do with Staff Somewhat, but honestly..Saying AI for your Pets is bad cause staff is wonky is just silly..The game has been out for over 6 month’s, This is honestly something that should not have left beta in its current form.

You should absolutely be berating the hell out of Anet for letting it stand this long..I know when they come to our forums and give us silly lip service for bugged and broken mechanics that should of been fixed i don’t kiss up and make them feel better.

We did, I don’t know how many time we posted about it.

They responded once about it, long time ago, saying they were looking into it.

But Just like the 1/3 HP in downed state bug, I feel like posting it in class or bug forum is useless.

I might have to make another post about it in the WvW subforum!

By the way Xsorus, I might not agree with you on the state of confusion in WvW, but I’m looking forward for your necor video!

It’s not just staff. Pets can bug like that using any weapon. I think it has to do with pathing and not the attack used. That’s why the melee pets like flesh golem and shadowfiend have more problems than the ranged minions. When I open with a ranged weapon like staff or scepter (auto attacking, am I doing it right?) they bug out much more often than if I run up and attack with dagger 1, but I think it’s simply because the minion is right next to the mob. When they’re bugged out like that, if I drag the mob over to them they usually start attacking.

And ya, 7 months into the game for necro minions to still be in this state is laughable. It stops me from playing necro. Guardian spirit weapons are pretty much exactly the same as necro minions; you know how many times I have had one of those bug out and not attack? Zero. Not rarely, zero.

Undertow.2389:

It’s not just staff. Pets can bug like that using any weapon. I think it has to do with pathing and not the attack used. That’s why the melee pets like flesh golem and shadowfiend have more problems than the ranged minions. When I open with a ranged weapon like staff or scepter (auto attacking, am I doing it right?) they bug out much more often than if I run up and attack with dagger 1, but I think it’s simply because the minion is right next to the mob. When they’re bugged out like that, if I drag the mob over to them they usually start attacking.

And ya, 7 months into the game for necro minions to still be in this state is laughable. It stops me from playing necro. Guardian spirit weapons are pretty much exactly the same as necro minions; you know how many times I have had one of those bug out and not attack? Zero. Not rarely, zero.

Honestly it reminds me of the Ranger pets in beta, where they just couldn’t hit a thing (they still have trouble) but in Beta the Ranger pets worked exactly like the Necro Pet does now…and it was horribly broken.

Anet really should be chastised for this…really no excuse for them to release an MMO with a Necromancer pet being this horribly bugged. I mean its downright Embarrassing.