Guild Wars 2

With the recent fix to spectral grasp finally making the pull on the enemy the full 1,200 range I’ve been using it a bit in both sPvP and WvW to test it out. It definitely is more useful than it has been given credit for in the past as long as you pay attention.
Good Things about SG:
Pulls enemy to you (and your team)
Slightly faster cast time and travel time than DS#2
Chill lasts for 5+ sec in most builds (heavy in Spite tree or any Cond.Dmg build with +duration)
Life force gained can be increased with traits for a good amount gained from just one ability.
Like DS#2 can be precasted out of range and will still work as long as you are in range when it connects.
Many of the LoS issues are mostly caused by how hills interact from what I’ve tested (with some exceptions). If you are trying to pull someone down a hill you have to know if you are able to walk up it w/o jumping to not be obstructed. Some weird cases it will connect but only pull to the spot that needs to be jumped over. Pulling up an incline follows the same rule. It’s the same for both the Staff auto-attack and DS#2

Spectral Grasp has been getting some cool buffs through the last couple of patches. The life force you gain, the pull distance fix, etc. Similar to Spectral Walk, this skill is a multi-purpose skill with several functions: pull, chill and life force gain which makes it an interesting tool.
In tournaments, I use it most often in forest and temple maps but the reason this skill isn’t very popular is because there are other utilities that the necro needs much more desperately than Spectral Grasp in tournaments. The other problem with this skill is that it’s very hard to hit.

I’ll agree that right now for most builds its very hard to use Spectral Grasp without feeling like your losing a more important utility in tPvP. As for landing it, it’s not as hard as you think. The cast time and travel speed make it almost perfect to use about halfway through a dodge roll animation as long as you are not at point-blank/max range.
I’ve found it much more useful in WvW. When running solo it is very nice for keeping enemies from running. Between SG and DS#2 we can keep up with most classes in combat. In groups I could drop epidemic for it, most enemies either get downed+stomped to quickly or have a lot of condition cleansing. I’ve been finding myself using Epidemic almost always after CB if I actually want reliable results. Spectral Grasp will always be a niche pick utility, but it is much better than most Necros give it credit for.

One problem I’ve had with SG in PvP is when I try to use it and the foe moves sideways, SG doesn’t hone in on them as they move, it just shoots off in the direction they were standing in when I cast it and misses. If this were resolved the skill would be much much better.

I agree the chances of hitting/pulling are very confusing. Just last night in WvW I tried to pull a warrior across flat land from mid range, and all he did was stumble over in place, no pull.

I also remember another time I actually dragged an enemy that was just about to run down the opposite side of a hill. SG has an arching motion and it actually caught him, pulling him up the hill to the peak, continued down the slope, and delivering him right at my feet at the bottom of the hill. Definitely one of the most did I just do that moments.

The LoS issues aren’t just tied to the skill. It’s just the game itself doesn’t seem very well tested in that area in general. Small rocks and tiny inclines in otherwise flat ground need to be jumped over and can stop pulls halfway while smooth hills like the one described above can be pulled completely over. It’s just a matter of finding and remembering the spots/situations that work and the ones that don’t. There is a specific spot in one on the BL’s I can staff auto up a hill and watch it go up and hit, but if I move three feet to the left or right and I’ll be obstructed. Very annoying that I’ve played games 10yrs old with more intuitive LoS than GW2.