Hey guys it’s Black Avarice (really wish I could switch account names as mine currently does not reflect my main) and I have a new and unique build for the necro community. I really enjoyed representing us in the amazing saturday edition of the SoAC tournament and this build is hopefully the silver lining to our loss against mesmers.
First off, I know historically minions are a big NO for condi builds but, I believe I have found an exception. It is specifically designed to push necro toward a different group role, provide team pressure while also giving an option to disengage, while all around being a survivable/sustain condi build. Yes it is unconventional, but it does work even without a full necromancer composition. Timing and positioning are everything as with a ton of other necro options.
Build: 10/20/30/10/0
Spite: IV
Curses: II, IV
Death Magic: II, III, XI
Blood Magic: III
Weapons: Staff, Scepter/Warhorn
~Warhorn is a personal choice I very much like in this build. While dagger OH is good, the transfer is unreliable and it lacks LF generation. Warhorn gives you a second way to interrupt guardian block heal (1st is staff 5), engi or warr block, and stomps/rezzes. You also already get dagger #5 every 15 seconds with traits and gain a good amount of swiftness as a trade off.
Heal: Consume Conditions
Utilities: Bone Minions, Flesh Wurm, Plague Signet
Elite: Flesh Golem
~Minions are expendable so plague is an option but I find Golem better. Not only is it another poison field, it also gives more control/lockdown, and is on a reasonable CD with trait.
Gear: Either Rabid or Carrion amulet should be used with this build. Since I am not a theory crafter I suggest testing both to find your niche, I switch based on the team I am fighting. Generally they both perform well, with small differences:
~Carrion has an edge on sustain because vitality directly affects LF. Against condi builds the vitality definitely helps when soaking them up for transfers.
~Rabid has significantly more toughness so it performs better against direct damage but has less room for error against condi. With higher crit you proc more bleeds and generally have slightly higher sustain damage. I suggest a carrion jewel with rabid for the additional vitality with this amulet.
-Sigil of Superior Agony on scepter, Superior Energy on staff, and minor corruption on the OH warhorn.
Runes: 2 Krait/2 Centaur/2 Affliction for bleed durations seeing as there are not enough points for lingering curses. With points spent in weakening shroud and marks on dodge, it is important to keep ticks going on those without cleansing. All in all this build boasts 85% additional bleed duration.
Key Points:
-This build is not only for MM fans! Know that besides this build I have never played successfully or quite enjoyed MM in sPvP. It is a very strong kiter that fits the general condi play style of necro.
-The minions are a sacrificial part of this build and are completely expendable, feel free to treat them as any other utility as they are not the builds cornerstone. Your condi damage will stand on its own and you have an additional stun break along with DS for when they are all recharging. Wurm should be wiped everytime you choose a new location to enter combat so he will be up for the next disengage. Bone minions are used for the blast finisher and combo field in one, not high uptime.
-You are strongest when contesting points. With aoe condi pressure and a handy golem charge you can push people off point and keep them off point with fear while you get the neutralization. It only takes a few seconds and if needed elsewhere flesh wurm allows you to port out to help at other points, forcing enemies to waste time recapping or face losing points.
-Fighting off point is not impossible but is not recommended. Only in perfect circumstances will bone minions always be in position for blasts, but holding home point/pushing far restricts combat to node circles. This makes your poison fields far more effective against guards/eles/rangers or other constant healers.
So lets see, overall we get out of this build…
Cons:
-Minion cast times (only in combat issue)
-lack of boon removal generally in necro condi builds
-Since one stun break is tied to your condi transfer you may waste the transfer and not have it ready for a stun later, and vice versa. This is where timing is very important.
-If flesh wurm is killed or poorly placed you lose your disengage. Practice and proper planning is key.
-Trait allocation does not allow Soul Marks so you lose some of condi builds easy access to LF. Wurm, locust swarm, and scepter 3# attempt to alleviate this.
-Very rarely you will pick up an allys cripple/chill from signet when roaming between points, which is annoying. Besides that, in team fights plague signet is quite handy at turning the tides.