I have an idea for Epidemic.
Some of the suggestions here already have some of these ideas. I’m just putting them all together and coming up with a visual change for the skill and using the new Plaguelands as a good start as this is a really well done update to the “Plague” Elite skill.
First, I’d increase the cooldown depending on how many conditions are transferred. For every condition transferred it adds 1 second to the cooldown. Adding to the current CD because this is a really strong skill in every game mode.
Second, I’d change it to something like Plaguelands. Instead of a projectile, a wave that ticks out conditions from patient zero. It wouldn’t be instant so it can be countered in pvp or wvw and if the conditions are cleared patient zero no longer ticks.
This would bring counterplay in pvp and wvw while having a visual effect that can’t be missed.
If the skill goes off for it’s full effect, it’d tick for as many conditions as patient zero has when the skill was used. It would apply every condition overtime. This would help the problems plaguing (sorry) Necro in PvE increasing damage over time but not make it stronger than it currently is. The conditions would be staggered by 1 or 1.5 seconds each in PvP and WvW. A wave pulse every .5 seconds in pve. It would be able to be split by the devs by adding time between “ticks” on players and it can largely be unaffected in pve. This way it makes it easier to balance in the future while keeping the functionality it would normally have. The waves can spread slower in later iterations in PvP and WvW.
The effect would be like a green pulsating icon on the chest of patient zero and it would spread in a radius around the person with the same range as Plaguelands.
The effect would move with the target making it an actual “patient zero”.
In PvP and WvW this would bring counterplay by being able to walk away from others OR clearing conditions in order to stop the effect from happening. This visual would have to be very visible, not visceral. Pulsating green Necro icon on the chest that can be seen from all angles and the same-ish wave from Plaguelands, only “Necro Green.”
The final suggestion is to have it reliably transfer conditions on a set condition hierarchy. Plaguelands has this already. The skill can check the target when the skill is used and spread the copies of the conditions in the same way Plaguelands spreads. This would help with splitting the skill if it becomes a problem. Changing the initial conditions that are too strong or changing the initial transfers into conditions that “ramp” up instead of a full stack of bleeds at first. Weakness, Cripple, Chill, Immob first in PvP and WvW, while staggering the conditions that want to be spread in PvE. Weakness, Bleed, Cripple, Torment, Chill, Poison and so on.
