Guild Wars 2

I will just summarize this as oppose to writing a lengthy list of abilities and examples…
I think the biggest problem with the siphon abilities is the amount of siphon abilities Necromancers possess. Each individual ability has to be weak, because Necromancers are capable of stack several of them together. Of course, in reality stacking them all together requires a large allocation of resources composed of traits, gear, and utilities that shoots the opportunity cost of fully utilizing siphons through the roof.

Only a Guardian dodges so well everyone around feels a little better afterwords.

You can theory craft a class into godhood, but the reality ain’t so. If you want boons and mobility this isn’t the class for you. In fact, as you state in your first post this isn’t the class for most people.
The best and most skilled Necromancers are able to etch out a character capable of competing with Elementalists, Guardians, and Warriors. The rest of us just roll something else, thus “why there aren’t more necro’s in gw2.”

Be careful not to confuse what is neat with what is useful.

The first path of Ascalonian Catacombs has an area where you need to collect five scepter pieces, and for a long time Hodgins (the NPC) would bug out and not activate the encounter. However, for a long time I stopped seeing him bug out, and any AC run I did went smoothly, but after the last patch he bugged out again on my guilds first run. Is anyone else experiencing this? And, did it actually get fixed or was I just really really lucky previously?

OH I WANT TO PLAY THE LOGIC GAME TOO!
In this case, using logic, Viper’s Next should do a variety of conditions:

TO WIKIPEDIA!

Snake venom consists of many different toxin proteins: these can either have enzymatic activity, which typically assists in digestion, or can be shorter peptides that are used to immobilize prey.

Neurotoxins
Fasciculins: (Poison)
These toxins attack cholinergic neurons (those that use ACh as a transmitter) by destroying acetylcholinesterase (AChE). ACh therefore cannot be broken down and stays in the receptor. This causes tetany, which can lead to death. The toxins have been called fasciculins since after injection into mice, they cause severe, generalized and long-lasting (5-7 h) fasciculations.
Dendrotoxins: (Stun)
Dendrotoxins inhibit neurotransmissions by blocking the exchange of positive and negative ions across the neuronal membrane lead to no nerve impulse, thereby paralysing the nerves.
?-neurotoxins: (immobilize)
This is a large group of toxins, with over 100 postsynaptic neurotoxins having been identified and sequenced. ?-neurotoxins also attack cholinergic neurons. They mimic the shape of the acetylcholine molecule and therefore fit into the receptors ? they block the ACh flow ? feeling of numbness and paralysis.
Phospholipases: (bleed)
Phospholipase is an enzyme that transforms the phospholipid molecule into a lysophospholipid (soap) ==> the new molecule attracts and binds fat and ruptures cell membranes.
Cardiotoxins: (Daze)
Cardiotoxins are components that are specifically toxic to the heart. They bind to particular sites on the surface of muscle cells and cause depolarisation ==> the toxin prevents muscle contraction. These toxins may cause the heart to beat irregularly or stop beating, causing death.
Hemotoxins: (More Bleeds!)
The toxin causes hemolysis, or destruction of red blood cells (erythrocytes).

To dodge Warrior rifle burst (kill shot):
Dodge roll a second after the Warrior takes a knee.
To dodge ranger sustained DPS (arrows & pets):
List lazily to the left (this guy knows some maneuvers).

I like the idea of a trait that adds a stealth breaker to traps, and I also like the idea of adding a “sniff out” ability to certain pets (preferably an F2 ability on some of the less used pets). The pet one would be more “track-ish” and wouldn’t drop the thief’s stealth, but the pet would attack hidden targets and it’s position would tell everyone where the thief was and where the ranger should try to drop his traps. I think setting an Elite skill that counter’s stealth would hurt the Ranger class overall; because, then the only elite Rangers would ever choose to use in PvP would be the reveal. I realized the same could be said about the trap trait and pet skill, but it would allow Rangers to choose different traps, switch traps based on situation and group setup, or even run exclusive trap setups. As an added bonus, it would make thieves more likely to find less used escape routes, and it would add a bit more consideration on where to use stealth.

Hmmm… I had not considered regeneration being based off personal values no matter the source. I will have to look into that.

Edit: Tested in HoTM:
The amount healed is derived from the source’s stats not from the beneficiary’s stats.

I mentioned this is a thread about TU v HS, but did not want to diverge to far from the original topic. So I started a new thread…

Jumping right into things: Healing Spring
The ability reads: Regeneration x 6 (duration): [Healed amount]
Lets put random numbers in there…
Regeneration x 6 (4 seconds): 2,800
This breaks down into 117 (rounding) health per second. The 2,800 is the max amount over the entire duration of all 6 stacked regenerations. Therefore, the actual healing is 117 health over 24 seconds for a total of 2800.

However, assuming I’m correct in the function of HS, what happens if someone else throws a regeneration in between HS ticks? Does it takes a different heal value for the length of the additional regeneration duration?

Finally, why is the wording of regeneration so convoluted?

I really wish they would change the Regeneration tool-tip diction. I know it is not hard to extrapolate the amount by the current tool-tip; however, it does lead to a lot of speculation concerning the effect of stacking regeneration and the utility of lengthening regeneration durations. Would be easier to simply: “Regeneration (5 sec): 639 per second.”
As for the OP: Trolls is great for taking care of yourself and your pet. It stacks with regeneration, the signet regeneration, and the pet trait regeneration. So, lot of health being restored to yourself and your pet under all those effects.
The Spring is great in a group, and for pets that do not have their own form of regeneration (ie. they are not bears or fern hounds). The spring can also be used in conjunction with the buff sharing minor trait to stack a large amount of regeneration on your pet, but if you utilize any buff duration stuff the stacking can become rather moot.

I’d favor a main-hand sword. Give it a ranged cripple, a blind or bleed, and an 3 tier auto-attack that siphons health on the second tier and gives life force on the third.

But, what I would really like to see is a main-hand weapon that summons a minion on its last tier auto-attack… I’m just not sure how it would balance or how useful it would actually be.

Sundial.9015:

How long is a long time?

Right now my tooltip shows 4 1/2s with +30% from traits and +20% from food.

I would be curious to see how long it is with your rune setup + consumable.

My staff regeneration lasted about 9 seconds and the protection from my Wells lasted around 6 seconds without consumables (fractions how I loath you). All other boons had similar boosts of around a 2x duration.

I run a 3/3 split for the +15% Boon Duration from both Rune sets. I’m not sure if they stack cumulatively, directly, or respectively, but my boons last a long time and that’s what I wanted.
I’m not a big fan of the heal procs personally. The weapon ones don’t do enough and my Well will heal enough to get anyone to full making the proc moot.

alanis.6094:

Chillblains and MoB are both fantastic abilities.

Not saying they are terrible abilities.
Chillblains is a great ability except for the cooldown, and I’m not saying the staff has absolutely no good points too it.
But, a Necromancer could be doing so many other things besides spamming MoB during a fight, and the staff doesn’t really lend itself to doing anything else.

Runes of the Water and Runes of the Monk both have +Healing Power and +Boon Duration which are the bread and butter of a support Necro. You can get your Protections and Regenerations to last a good amount of time with Death Magic and +Boon Duration Runes.

Piercing does not an AoE weapon make. If so, then all Rangers would use Piercing Arrows and all bows skills would be AoE!
Necrotic Grasp is terrible.
The only thing that keeps the staffs’ head above water is Putrid Mark; because, it’s one of three finishers Necromancers can utilize, and the only one that can be regularly used (the other two come from the actions skills of Summon Bone Minions and Summon Flesh Wurn ).

The Axe is great if you are a tanky melee Necromancer.
The primary reason to utilize it is it’s ability to give you a large amount of Retaliation when you’re knee deep in hostiles.
However, as a source of damage the Axe is rather mediocre, and really the Axe is better used as a support weapon to switch to when you need some Retaliation, to utilize the off-hand, or to make use of a weapon switch sigil.

The Necromancer is the most “tanky” scholar; however, if you setup any class to be more durable you’re going to notice a huge difference. But, you can’t take that as a reflection of the class as a whole. The Necromancer has the most health out of almost any class, and only ties in health with the Warrior. I realize more goes into survival that just health, but having a bunch of health is a great start. Gear has a seriously big effect on effectiveness, and if you don’t gear for your intended purpose then it should be obvious that you’re going to come up short.