Guild Wars 2

Hi, I want to suggest two trait changes that would somewhat make a power build on necromancer more viable.

From my personal experience, this is or used to be the best power build: https://gyazo.com/1b67cbf424e32c0de4caa715a27e6fc7

The main source of dmg comes from spamming gravedigger when your target is below 50% HP, however this makes some traits pretty useless, and there are no good options really.

The first trait I want to suggest switching is Blighter’s Boon for Signets of Suffering, 2 reasons for this:
1. You would pretty much only use Signets of Suffering in a power build, but not at the cost of Close to Death, so it would make much more sense to place it somewhere else where you can just pick it without losing anything for a power build.
2. Blighter’s boon is hardly ever used and would work without Reaper spec and synergize with Reaper’s Might which might allow some space for non Reaper spec builds.

The second is switching Deadly Strength with Rending Shroud.
1. There is a little too much vulnerability causing in Spite, and zero in Death Magic.
2. Deadly Strength is another trait that just doesn’t belong where it’s at now, and therefore almost never used, and since it benefits power why not put it somewhere where it will be used in a power build?
Or maybe even switch it but also rework it into something useful for power builds on Necro, because we all know they desperately need it.

Traits would look like this: https://gyazo.com/1af9db6a59fa9338769838f678431af7
Doesn’t that look nicer?

Deadly strength convert toughness, which is something promoted heavily in death magic, to power. This reliance to toughness kill every gain you’d have from the trait in PvE and I doubt it give anything good in PvP.

No this trait absolutely do not belong to spite.

Rending shroud need to reduce toughness on enemy around the necromancer. That would be the best change possible for this trait.

As for signet of suffering, this is a trait that affect core utility skills, this trait just can’t leave the core traitlines to settle in an elite traitline.

Signet of suffering need a buff and the effect of the signets when in shroud need to be baseline. The recent change just felt like an insult more than a balance change. The excuse about it competing with spiteful spirit was just here to hid the fact that the trait was just making the signets do what the scourge will be doing (giving a few stack of might and corrupting boons).

Hell! here is what I’d do :

- grant signet passive effect while in shroud baseline.

- switch Signet of suffering and rending shroud place.

- give a minor buff to signet of suffering like allowing them to grant us LF on use or some might

- change rending shroud in such a way that it reduce nearby foes toughness by 180 while in shroud and grant you maybe 180 power while out of shroud.

- change unholy fervor so that it does not have any relation to axe anymore.

- move axe cool down reduction to spiteful spirit.

I believe that this would help a lot more.