Guild Wars 2

I think one of the main reasons as to why they don’t allow necromancers as much party wide support as other classes is largely due to their high attisive nature(could you imagine a hard support necromancer with the party support of guardian? would but nuts).

In Guild Wars 1, it was not uncommon for the necromancer to choose between survival or success due to the nature of their abilities, perhaps the answer lies in past designs. What I propose is to turn the health pool itself into a resource to be managed akin to the revenant’s energy bar or the adrenaline bar of warriors. To turn the necromancer into not the king of attrition, but the king of high risk high reward.

For reference:
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Verata%27s_Sacrifice
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Blood_of_the_Master
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Blood_Renewal

To illustrate how this could work in the GW2 environment. But first, a debuff akin to revealed will be in place for some skills to prevent feedback loops of healing.

Debuff: Whenever the necromancer sacrifices health, the necromancer is inflicted with the “mortal” debuff.

—Mortal—
Incoming sources of healing are reduced by 50%. (necromancer self healing is not affected)

Healing Skills

Signet
—Signet of Sacrifice—

Passive: Gain Regeneration
Active: Sacrifice 30% of current health, heal allies around you for the health lost + healing power

Utility Skills

Corruption
—Blood is Power—

Sacrifice 25% of current health and inflict bleeding on yourself, you and nearby allies gain 15 stacks of might(20s)

Corruption
—Verata’s Sacrifice—

Sacrifice 33% of current health and inflict bleeding on yourself, nearby allies gain protection(15s) and regeneration(15s)

Spectral
—Hunger Bond—

Place a curse bond on a target. While bonded, the target will grant health to allies of the necromancer when struck. If the target is killed while Hunger Bond is active, the necromancer will go down. OVERCHARGE: Hunger Release – prematurely release the bond causing bleeding to foes in the surrounding area and regeneration to allies of the necromancer.

If the necromancer goes down while Hunger Bond is active or if the target moves out of range, surrounding allies of the necromancer gain health.

Spectral
—Torment Bond—

Place a curse bond on a target. While bonded, the target will release torment to its allies when struck. If the target is killed while Torment Bond is active, the necromancer will go down. OVERCHARGE: Torment Release – prematurely release the bond causing torment to foes in the surrounding area.

If the necromancer goes down while Torment Bond is active or if the target moves out of range, surrounding enemies sustain bleeding and blindness

Well
—Salvation of Darkness—

Create a ring of darkness around the necromancer that absorbs projectiles. Foes inside salvation of Darkness are inflicted with bleeding.

If necromancer is at:

100% health, 3s
75% health, 6s
50% health, 9s
25% health, 12s

Corruption (Elite)
—Blood Renewal—

Sacrifice 50% of current health, prof skills of allies around the necromancer are recharged, and applicable profession resources.

Spectral (Elite)
—Life Pact—

Sacrifice Life Force, nearby allies gain deathshroud (just the shielding nature, their individual abilities stay the same to prevent ability interruption) equivalent to the amount of life force sacrificed divided by each ally affected by Life Pact.

Well(Elite)
—Death Grounds—

Sacrifice life force, create a large well on the ground that grants quickness to allies and cripple to enemies. Duration based on life force given. The Necromancer is inflicted with Mortal and Weakness.

Traits(In no particular category or order)

—Blood of the Master—

When you sacrifice health, heal allies in an area around you

—Vampire Lord—

Siphon health and heal nearby allies whenever you inflict bleeding on foes

—Furious Death—

Allies gain fury when you enter death shroud

—Blood Craze—

Allies gain might when you are inflicted by bleeding

—Blood Plague—

Enemies are inflicted with weakness when you are inflicted by bleeding

—Shepard—

Surrounding allies gain 150 condition damage

—Dhuum’s Balance—

Surrounding allies gain ferocity

If necromancer is at:

100%, 100 f
75%, 200 f
50%, 300 f
25%, 400 f

—Grenth’s Balance—

The necromancer gains healing power

100%, 75 hp
75%, 150 hp
50%, 225 hp
25%, 300 hp

These are just ideas of how it could work of course. What are your guys’ thoughts? Should we sacrifice attrition for more active support power?

Feel free to post some thoughts.

IllegalChocolate.6938:

These are just ideas of how it could work of course. What are your guys’ thoughts? Should we sacrifice attrition for more active support power?

Feel free to post some thoughts.

What attrition?

Tim.6450:

IllegalChocolate.6938:

These are just ideas of how it could work of course. What are your guys’ thoughts? Should we sacrifice attrition for more active support power?

Feel free to post some thoughts.

What attrition?

^This.

Guardian’s don’t give up personal defense (much) for support, they come hand in hand because the Guardian gets personal rewards for helping allies (such as applying boons to allies heals you) and can help allies while using “selfish” skills (aegis on block).

I’m not saying the idea of hurting yourself to help allies is bad, but the support we give must be very significant and unique if we have to directly hurt ourselves to do it, as opposed to every other form of support.

Iam willing to sacrifice Anet’s Attrition for ACTUAL Attrition

Necromancer needs more death shroud uses. You have this huge other health bar that doesn’t get much uses unless you’re a +50% crit chance power necro.

How about a utility skill that uses life and can also be used in deathshroud?

FrozenChinchilla.5249:

Necromancer needs more death shroud uses. You have this huge other health bar that doesn’t get much uses unless you’re a +50% crit chance power necro.

How about a utility skill that uses life and can also be used in deathshroud?

We need less DS then eventually none so we stop being held back. No matter what they do to really compete properly DS would have to stop being the main defense mechanic. I still believe we’re going to get that defiance bar instead of active CC protection it just syncs too good with DS’s roots. Another way would be to allow us to use utilities and elites in DS but even that would go against their “mentality” traits that have same effects as signets would need rework,heals would have to work in DS etc.

It will be a kitten dead end if they don’t do anything or keep doing it wrong.

Sagat.3285:

Tim.6450:

IllegalChocolate.6938:

These are just ideas of how it could work of course. What are your guys’ thoughts? Should we sacrifice attrition for more active support power?

Feel free to post some thoughts.

What attrition?

^This.

+1

Cele engi is a real attrition build. The whole Blood Magic trait line pales in comparison of the regen given by the heal turret and the related tool belt skill. Weakness is a condition that allows you to literally facetank burst damage from power builds (it’s a dps loss of more than 25% for them). On my engi weakness has a shorter duration but it’s on an auto attack so it’s impossible to clear. On my necromancer weakness is available on 2 skills and a (bad) grand master trait with long cool downs, so it’s easily cleansed.

The main reason the necro doesn’t get better support is because of the design failure that is death shroud.

Death shroud is also the reason the necro doesn’t get better defensive skills.

They need to face it, death shroud is just too hard to balance.

1v1 starting with full life force it’s too powerful, but it gets progressively weaker the more enemies your fighting (and is the only defensive skill to do so other then stability stacks)

Once they accept this they can redesign the class mechanic to revolve around the use of life force, but do so in a balanced way.