Guild Wars 2

Hello Necro friends!

First and foremost, I want to say that I am a VERY casual GW2er. I have only used this build as a hotjoin hero (sPvP) and haven’t tested it in other aspects of the game. Also I want to say that this build is not the be-all end-all build, but I have personally been having a ton of fun with it (when I have a good team that is). So without further ado:

http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=;044Z;1o2WF0r33JkJ0;9;49O9-O3;038-4;319-UNk6;2gk1Agk1A1Ff

Now, I have had really good games, and really bad games with the build. I tend to have better games when I am with another teammate or two, but who doesn’t. You can swap Epidemic for Corrupt Boon if you’re noticing that the opposition has a lot of boon-heavy classes (Guard, Mes, Engi). But half the fun of the build is popping SoS, Epidemic, Dropping your staff AoEs, DS AoE’s then Plaguing an enemy zerg. I chose Sig of Vampirism for my heal because the whole idea of the build is to run into the middle of the crowd and get nasty. Plague Signet is also really nice support and very confusing to any enemy condi build that shoots their wad in your face, but doesn’t expect you to be wearing protection. Not to mention its a stun-break (I know, I know, my only one). Plague Sig, Dagger 4, and Staff 4 are all condi clears and they seem to work out just fine.

Maybe this build has been posted before, I dunno. But if it hasn’t, I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do!

tl;dr

http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=;044Z;1o2WF0r33JkJ0;9;49O9-O3;038-4;319-UNk6;2gk1Agk1A1Ff
Swap Epi for Corrupt Boon if you want.

Tear it apart.

Although commendable that you came up with an original build, this build is horribly optimized.

Target the Weak and Strength of Undeath are decent traits for a power build, but since you are running a condition set up, there is no reason to take these over something like Lingering Curse or Withering Precision (Curses XI, XII)

Signet of Vampirism is pretty much the worst heal you could take on a necromancer as well, with Consume Conditions being superior in almost every situation (even when traited for signets)

Staff Mastery is an OK choice, but again, you’d be better off putting this into Curses or Spite (taking your two minor GM traits and staff mastery and putting those points for the extra condi duration and dhuumfire in spite)

infantrydiv.1620:

Target the Weak and Strength of Undeath are decent traits for a power build, but since you are running a condition set up, there is no reason to take these over something like Lingering Curse or Withering Precision (Curses XI, XII)

Actually every trait is worth taking over Withering Precision (<-worst trait ever).
Lingering Curse, also meh for PvP.

He uses a carrion amulet which gives him a total of 1840 power, with that in mind, I can see this kind of trait setup working pretty well with a hybrid build.
The only problem I would then have is the horrible direct damage scaling of the scepter, but I guess that’s a matter of personal play style.

I do agree that you should use Consume Conditions instead of the signet.

flow.6043:

infantrydiv.1620:

Target the Weak and Strength of Undeath are decent traits for a power build, but since you are running a condition set up, there is no reason to take these over something like Lingering Curse or Withering Precision (Curses XI, XII)

Actually every trait is worth taking over Withering Precision (<-worst trait ever).
Lingering Curse, also meh for PvP.

He uses a carrion amulet which gives him a total of 1840 power, with that in mind, I can see this kind of trait setup working pretty well with a hybrid build.
The only problem I would then have is the horrible direct damage scaling of the scepter, but I guess that’s a matter of personal play style.

I do agree that you should use Consume Conditions instead of the signet.

Why would you want to play a kitten hybrid power/condi necro? Withering precision is pretty bad, yes. But at least would give you some damage mitigation in a 1v1 scenario vs a hambow or thief

infantrydiv.1620:

Why would you want to play a kitten hybrid power/condi necro?

I play a hybrid build myself, in both WvW and sPvP.

infantrydiv.1620:

Withering precision is pretty bad, yes. But at least would give you some damage mitigation in a 1v1 scenario vs a hambow or thief

Especially against those two classes I would never ever sacrifice a trait slot for a measly 5 sec weakness that just procs randomly every 20 (!) seconds. Worst case scenario: the trait triggers during Berserker Stance, not to mention their good cleansing in general.
Also, he has Weakening Shroud, an off hand dagger and he could combo weakness with Chillblains and Putrid.

infantrydiv.1620:

Although commendable that you came up with an original build, this build is horribly optimized.

Target the Weak and Strength of Undeath are decent traits for a power build, but since you are running a condition set up, there is no reason to take these over something like Lingering Curse or Withering Precision (Curses XI, XII)

Signet of Vampirism is pretty much the worst heal you could take on a necromancer as well, with Consume Conditions being superior in almost every situation (even when traited for signets)

Staff Mastery is an OK choice, but again, you’d be better off putting this into Curses or Spite (taking your two minor GM traits and staff mastery and putting those points for the extra condi duration and dhuumfire in spite)

Hey guys! First of all, thanks for stopping by and leaving your two cents. It is very much appreciated. Now, the reason I did not choose anything that has to do with “on crit” effects, is because my crit chance is a whopping 16% in this build. My whole idea was to pretty much run into a large group of people (in sPvP mind you), and essentially face tank everything while putting out a lot of conditions. Then use my DS and Plague Form as defense and to put some pressure on the other team while my team finishes them off. I will be the first to tell you that the build does NOT excel in 1v1 situations.

I do sincerely miss my Consume Conditions, but when you’re getting hit a lot, Vamp Signet really isn’t THAT bad. I will admit that I didn’t realize Target the Weak is more of a power build trait, so maybe I’ll swap that one out for Master of Terror to help my Fear damage.

Thanks again you guys!

You want to tank in the middle of a group with 0 points into blood magic and 10 in death magic? Not optimal if you ask me. Necro’s are a ranged class if you do not wear daggers (which you don’t). Then there is no need to rush into the middle of groups. Only wellomancers could be capable doing that.
Furthermore I don’t like Epidemic in spvp since there are too much 1 vs 1 situations which makes this an useless skill, I would change it for corrupt boon anytime. Plague signet is not preferable for me either, spectral walk is more useful instead (stunbreak as well). I would miss having a grandmaster signet as well.

Signet of Vampirism should only be used when you are confident in not needing the higher health recovery and total condition clear of Consume Conditions. Large-scale PvE like temple runs or a champ zerg are more appropriate. SoV trades healing for a tiny amount of additional group dps and siphon support. It is a good concept but the formula is way off from what it needs to be.

Other notes: It is difficult to optimize more than two weapons. Scepter can be useful in paired action because of its continual bleed/poison/cripple but does poor dps if the target has any sort of condi-cleanse. In paired combat, though, your partner can do the dps while your condi-pressure destroys a target’s defense and mobility (but does little else.) You can see this in WvW. I do little damage in a well/mark zerg-support build but enemy players caught in the AoE are run down by allies without conditions.