Guild Wars 2

I hate the look of running around with a menagerie around me but am finding it hard to fight multiple mobs at times without the help of a companion. (I’m only level 10.) If you are going to have only one pet helping you out, which is the best?

Bone Fiend is probably the best as a tanky/DPS minion.

I personally liked running around with just the Bone Minions, their explosion is pretty good damage (I tended to summon them then insta-explode in the middle of a group of things)

What type of build and weps do you use if you don’t want a pet at all? Is that even feasible?

1) Get Staff
2) Get Bone fiend till Wurm
3) Place points into Death magic till 3rd manual.
4) No minion is really the best, if you wann use minions you have to use most of em.

Ratphink.4751:

@Andele: Wat? They definitely have uses outside of Minion Master builds, just most require some forethought into the build before using them (Bone Minion being the exception). Though I have tried Minion Master since the Axe buff, I don’t actively use it and opt instead to use the Minions as situational utilities that can be useful depending on the situation at hand.

I didnt say they dont have their uses (like aoe chaos armor, well bomb escape if you you cant use Swalk/think youll get cced, ram replacement in wvwvw, etc), its just that they are put in a quite niche role outside of minion builds, what the OP didnt ask for (nor do i think it would be good to go in depth for now since if someone is starting on a class, the last thing you wanna do is swarm him with such information.

I tend to use them situationally at best, depending on what I need.

If I need a quick burst, I go for the Bone Minions. Low Cool down and decent damage out put makes them ideal for doing a quick shot of damage, especially when coupled with might/vuln stacking.

Bone Fiend would definitely be one of the best DPS outputs we have as far as Minions, coupled next to Bone Wurm. The Fiend wins though in my opinion because you don’t have to sacrifice it after the battle is over. It’s also helpful if you’re doing anything that requires Snares (I’m looking at you Volcano Fractal). Both of their abilities to attack from range helps with survivability.

Shadow Fiend I don’t really use a lot, but it does mesh nicely with Chilling Darkness if you’re looking for more Chill, but there are better options when looking to maximize your Chilling Darkness Trait (Well of Darkness).

Flesh Golem offers its own usefulness doling out decent DPS and the charge Knock Down can be great for keeping enemies down and helping to whittle away at stacks of Defiant along with your fears.

@Andele: Wat? They definitely have uses outside of Minion Master builds, just most require some forethought into the build before using them (Bone Minion being the exception). Though I have tried Minion Master since the Axe buff, I don’t actively use it and opt instead to use the Minions as situational utilities that can be useful depending on the situation at hand.

Takeelah.9143:

What type of build and weps do you use if you don’t want a pet at all? Is that even feasible?

Very feasible. Most builds you’ll see posted in the forum are non-MM builds.

Here’s a post with my current scepter/dagger + scepter/focus build:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/necromancer/Forced-into-MM-while-leveling/1764167

Done from lvl 2 to 80 with out minions, had any problem at all. You can choose if using them or not.

Thanks for the replies. I would rather be without pets at all, but I can’t seem to do the personal story line without them. I seem to do fine otherwise. I am using 2 daggers or scepter/focus atm.

Takeelah.9143:

Thanks for the replies. I would rather be without pets at all, but I can’t seem to do the personal story line without them. I seem to do fine otherwise. I am using 2 daggers or scepter/focus atm.

1) Can you tell us your current healing & utility skills you have unlocked?

2) Are you perhaps moving too fast in your personal story? The levels on the episodes of the story increase in a fixed progression and do not down-level to to your character level.

If I remember right, Consume Conditions will be better than Blood Fiend at L10 and will stay your primary heal even though Arenanet improved BF.

Bone Minions and Bone Fiend will be your staples. Use both and remember to keep spawning, and subsequently blowing up, your Bone Minions. Cool down is fast on them and they take aggro. Your Bone Fiend has powerful ranged attacks and will die frequently due to pulling aggro from you and the other minions. Just keep spawning the Bone Minions and the Fiend and you will survive more than if you solo’d using other utilities. Do not bother with other minions, yet. Flesh Wurm is special purpose and Flesh Golem is an Elite. Shadow Fiend is the least useful of them all.

As Andele said, get a staff and learn to kite mobs while using your minions as meat shields. Don’t forget to start your fights with Death Shroud whenever you can. It will help fix aggro on you instead of your valuable Bone Fiend, then get out of range and kite the mob a bit if the fight is a little tough and your skills and heals are on CD. It takes a bit of time but patience rewards the Necromancer with fewer deaths. Kite when your heal is on CD and jump back in with higher damage weapons when safe.

TheAgedGnome.7520:

Takeelah.9143:

Thanks for the replies. I would rather be without pets at all, but I can’t seem to do the personal story line without them. I seem to do fine otherwise. I am using 2 daggers or scepter/focus atm.

1) Can you tell us your current healing & utility skills you have unlocked?

2) Are you perhaps moving too fast in your personal story? The levels on the episodes of the story increase in a fixed progression and do not down-level to to your character level.

Sure. Have only 3 utility spots atm since I am only level 12. I use well of blood and both signets. I just bought my Adept Manual and I am trying to decide where to put my points.

I am the required level for my personal story. I just find them hard. I die a lot. I have a level 80 warrior though and usually play melee so this is taking some getting used to for me.

You making sure to utilize your death shroud? At lvl 10 before I really started paying attention to stats and builds I completed them with scepter/horn for aoe when I got hit by a pack of mobs, then when Im almost dead go DS and get your life back with another life stealing aoe. Then you start almost all over again with your aoe’s and you still have your dagger life steals. I had some close calls but they will all be almost dead by then so if you go down you can still kill themn and be revived.

I should pay more attention to death shroud. I guess I only use it when I’m going to die and it’s usually too late by then anyhow.

Takeelah.9143:

I should pay more attention to death shroud. I guess I only use it when I’m going to die and it’s usually too late by then anyhow.

Definitely practise using it. I barely used it all the way up to 80. It was only when i started to experiment with builds and get into dungeons that i really started to use it properly. Also one of the strongest utility skills you should get is well of suffering. Its a very high damaging aoe well and applies vulnerability aswell so you hit harder after its over. While you’re leveling just pick whatever you feel you need. Its a good time to experiment and necro is pretty strong in general pve with almost any build.

Takeelah.9143:

I should pay more attention to death shroud. I guess I only use it when I’m going to die and it’s usually too late by then anyhow.

There is your problem right there. DS is not the “oh god” button that you believe it to be. DS has much more utility than that and to underutilize it is a crime. For instance when surrounded with a mob use DS (4) to widdle down the pack while your minions are attacking, not only is your real health bar safe, but you can move while doing so for escaping the pack. There are many traits that can make DS your go to death dealer for certain build too like – Cursed 15 (gain fury for 5 seconds when entering DS) this alone adds 20 crit chance and if you flick DS on and off your attacks have a much better chance of hitting harder.

I guess what I am getting at here is that don’t disregard DS as only a fail safe, but ultimately DS needs to be used in any build if you are to get the full potential that Necro has to offer. Learn to use it and it will soon become your greatest friend.

Thanks guys. I would like to play without minions but I use bone fiend if I have to use one. I will experiment with DS today.

Edit: I’m already seeing an improvement. Duh…DS is an extension of my life force not a panic button. Thank you!!!

Takeelah.9143:

TheAgedGnome.7520:

Takeelah.9143:

Thanks for the replies. I would rather be without pets at all, but I can’t seem to do the personal story line without them. I seem to do fine otherwise. I am using 2 daggers or scepter/focus atm.

1) Can you tell us your current healing & utility skills you have unlocked?

2) Are you perhaps moving too fast in your personal story? The levels on the episodes of the story increase in a fixed progression and do not down-level to to your character level.

Sure. Have only 3 utility spots atm since I am only level 12. I use well of blood and both signets. I just bought my Adept Manual and I am trying to decide where to put my points.

I am the required level for my personal story. I just find them hard. I die a lot. I have a level 80 warrior though and usually play melee so this is taking some getting used to for me.

Signets on the necro are pretty lame. The only useful one is Locust, but of course, that isn’t going to help you kill anything – just run faster.

If you have the skill points, go for Consume Conditions (better self healing and condition cleansing), Blood is Power and Epidemic. Kite mobs in a tight circle, scepter2 (cripple & bleed), BiP one of them, dagger4 transfers the self-bleed back to the mob, followed by Epidemic, and watch them all melt.

For trait points, I’d just go for Blood for the first 5 points, and Spite for next 5, just to get some extra health and healing to make it easier, at the start.

Bone minions work fine on almost all power builds with exception of hybrid/support. Flesh wurm is best stun break in the game(yep it actually is). A lot condition builds use golem as elite if they just want damage and interupt instead of 3 min cd for a bit of blind spam and loosing their entire purpose meanwhile.

If you are level 10, just use a well of suffering and a staff and go kill everything…
AoE wins.

@Andele.1306 Thank you for the pm . I appreciate your offer and will take you up on it if I get stuck! For some reason it wouldn’t let me reply. (spam control?)

Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions. I am now level 15 and doing a bit better. I have 5 points into spite and will put the next 5 into blood.

I am trying to go without a pet but use bone fiend when I need one. I have staff and dagger/dagger equipped. I have 3 utility slots and use well of blood or consume conditions depending on the situation and well of suffering. When I’m not using a pet, I’m not sure which utility is best for the 3rd slot, any suggestions?

Takeelah.9143:

I’m not sure which utility is best for the 3rd slot, any suggestions?

Useful utility skills (When you unlock them)

Well of Corruption (Not as much damage as Suffering, but adds up)
Blood is Power (Mostly a Condition ability but the Might also gives Power)
Signet of Spite (At the lower levels when your access to skills are limited, the additional power the passive gives is very helpful)
Spectral Grasp (Gives some decent Life Force, and pulls a target to you saving time and allowing groups to be taken on one at a time)
Bone Minions (Technically a Minion, but if summoned and exploded immediately works amazingly well, especially towards higher levels when their explosion does pretty big damage