Guild Wars 2

is one too many? i’m seriously getting annoyed at being the last one among a 40 man friendly zerg and sometimes the only one to be killed by the enemy simply because i’m a necromancer. how long do we need to demand some kind of escape method in order to get one?
in my experience, DS only prolongs my death, not prevents. i’d say this is the case at least 70-80% of the time. you know when guardian has more mobility than you, your class is in a pretty kitten state.
EDIT: i do realize that if we get an escape it will most likely be in death shroud, and at least a 30 second cooldown. or i could be optimistic and hope we get a melee weapon with a leap.

Lightsbane.9012:

i could be optimistic and hope we get a melee weapon with a leap.

You have to be realistic about this kind of things… more than 1 year has passed, check how we “evolved”.

Until we get “Leap” you can use the spectral walk / worm / different other tricks to try to evade the hammer train.

Learn how to leave fights before they happen. Positioning is key on Necro, and allowing yourself to get caught by a zerg is due solely to your bad positioning.

Well this is something we cannot help. I understand how you feel about this…Being the last one in your zerg is something you will have to learn to avoid. Change to warhorn real quick if you have no swiftness from friendlies applied to speed things up to catch up and get some the next time you see a symbol or a static field. you may use Locus Signet/Spectral Walk also whatever it takes to keep up. Perfect positioning in a zerg wont always be foolproof as you have no free get out of jail card to avoid a sudden burst. it is especially worse when you get rooted then pulled/cc’ed and baam you are about to get killed and rally the enemy. there is nothing you can do to prevent this from happening unless you have dedicated support so just live with it. being very cautious is key as the favorite targets in a zerg from what I have experienced are always going to be staff eles and necromancers; the most annoying to the pain train.

So just a few things:

First, you do have flesh wurm which is a very valuable escape option in any build. Place it out of the way or just cast it every now and then; it’ll still work as a teleport even from across the entire map as long as the work lives.

That said, you should try to play so that you don’t need an escape. As a necro in any situation, you need to keep your head on a swivel. Key bind looking behind you and always look around, you’ll be the first to notice that Zerg incoming or the thief that’s chasing you.

A lot of Zerg fights in wvw tend to be lead by a hammer train of heavies, and they do the most damage. Make sure you avoid that at all costs. Chances are they will go right by you if you just get out of the way.

Whatever spec you play, a necro does allow you to watch you positioning more than most other classes. Wells and marks can be ranged and placed quickly and easily. Many of your main skills are essentially spammable and require little more than a target. I really think that is why lich #1 and DS #1 are so strong – so we can watch our positioning. It’s a valuable skill that can lead to success with other classes, too.

My advice would be to stay aware of yourself, your allies, but mainly where the enemy is. Use your heals, DS, and elites wisely and don’t get in over your head by being too aggressive. I know pressing an advantage too far has gotten me killed plenty of times.

Either run when anything starts to happen, like when you see your side has more and more downed players than enemy then it’s probably the time to flee.

Or fight till the last breath.

Most importantly, stick to the dorito.

Ahum:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO3hQqS7jeY

I don’t run any escapes personally but Spectral Walk is the most useful in my opinion. Pop it as you run in and then gauge how the encounter is going. If poorly then hit it again to port out of there.

Really your best escape is situational awareness. A Necro has to analyze how the fight is going and where the best tactical position is at all times.

Bhawb.7408:

Learn how to leave fights before they happen. Positioning is key on Necro, and allowing yourself to get caught by a zerg is due solely to your bad positioning.

i’m finding myself engaging a lot less, particularly becuase my server is exceptionally bad at zerging.

If everyone jumped off a cliff…

Actually as a necro you should jump first.

Since I play necro and guardian, in general I run by the assumption that I stand and fight, or die. Repairs are cheap anyways.

Sometimes I can get away if most have fallen but I use Foot in the Grave + WoP/Spectral Walk/Warhorn and then hit plague as a last resort but usually have to take advantage of elevation and stuff.

Also, when you engage, stay right behind the “meat” no matter what happens. Being in boon/heal range is critical to survival. If you get separated from them, you’ll get bonked on the head, and gg.

Frankly if your problem is that you’re outliving your zerg then I don’t really think there’s an issue to resolve here. I also want to point out that if you’re surviving then you may not be committing to the battle fully. Be tenacious.

@aspirine,
Thank you for sharing the video, I appreciate it

As others have mentioned, positioning is very important and requires a bit of brain and experience. But positioning alone can only get you so far, especially when you get surprised by a sudden burst/CC-train. Others have also mentioned Spectral walk and Flesh Wurm. So when you say we have no escape, it isn’t true. You just have to invest a utility or two into defense. I’d say wurm alone should do the trick if you are fighting zerg battles. You will get swiftness from nearby allies so a swiftness source isn’t a must-have. Basically all other classes invest into at least one defensive utilities (or in some cases, ALL defensive utilities), so why shouldn’t we? Eles – Cantrips (Including Lightning Flash… full cantrip builds are common), Warriors – Endure pain, Zerk Stance, Mesmer – Blink, Decoy, Engi – Elixir S, Guardian -Contemplation of Purity…. etc. Those are very, very common defensive utility skills of other classes.

The reason others often survive better is not only because “they have more escapes”… it’s also because they actually use them.

Lightsbane.9012:

is one too many? i’m seriously getting annoyed at being the last one among a 40 man friendly zerg and sometimes the only one to be killed by the enemy simply because i’m a necromancer. how long do we need to demand some kind of escape method in order to get one?
in my experience, DS only prolongs my death, not prevents. i’d say this is the case at least 70-80% of the time. you know when guardian has more mobility than you, your class is in a pretty kitten state.
EDIT: i do realize that if we get an escape it will most likely be in death shroud, and at least a 30 second cooldown. or i could be optimistic and hope we get a melee weapon with a leap.

I never die in zerg fights. Learn how to position yourself correctly.

I agree it has to do with positioning, but using death shroud at the right time (not when you are at 2 health left, but periodically when you still have high health). I tend to run staff in a Zerg and the fear is very helpful too for clearing a gap for you to run into and not get ht for that split second.
Edit: Also, that fear wall is great when choke pointing enemies, or just in general as zergs are in mid fight, as many people lose their stability about 3-5 seconds into the Zerg fight.