Guild Wars 2

Necromancer Elite Spec – Heretic

Lore – The Heretic revels in choas and destruction as much as death and taboo magic. He seeks to defile the land and deceive his foes using the living flames he animates with his life force.
Description – Grants access to torches and area desecrations. Death Shroud is replaced by Flame Shroud, granting the necromancer mobility and tricks.

Elite Weapon – Main Hand Torch

Skill 1 – Dark Conflagration – Autoattack ~1s cast time, projectile finisher 20% chance, range 900, increases duration of burning on target by 1s (if already burning).

• Grants 1% life force on hit, 2% life force from burning targets.

Skill 2 – Ring of Fire – Draw a circular line of fire on the ground, radius 300 around your cast location, burns foes that cross.

Skill 3 – Ignition Trick – Invert torch, swinging it at and blocking the next projectile within 2s.

• If struck, flare; burning, blinding, and confusing nearby foes. Can continue attacking with skill active.

Elite Mechanic – Flame Shroud – Replaces Death Shroud. Shroud skills 1-5 replace utility skills (6-10), retaining weapon skills while active.

Skill 1 – Effigy – Summon a flame shrouded clone of yourself at target location.

• Crackle – Reactivate to target an area for your nearest clone to rush to and self-destruct blast finisher for aoe damage.
• Clones mimic your weapon attacks for no damage or effects and use shroud skills 2 & 3 (2, if there is another clone active for it to cast on)
• All clones expire on shroud toggle or drain. Clones are not minions.

Skill 2 – Crossfire – Change places with nearest clone, leaping to each other and burning the ground between you in a line. Uses a little life force.

Skill 3 – Spark – Teleport forward a short distance on a short cooldown. Uses some life force.

Skill 4 – Smolder – Place a smoke field at your location for 4s, gain stealth for 3s. Uses a lot of life force.

Skill 5 – Spitfire – Consume all remaining life force to fire a projectile at target enemy, duration of effect increased by life force consumed

• Target is followed by a fire field that pulses burning, clones from that instance of shroud continue to fight as long as that field is active.

Elite Skills – Desecrations – Pulses an effect in 240 radius every second for 10s, and an additional effect if the enemy is stationary. Long cooldowns.

Heal – Blood Mist – Heal yourself and create a projectile absorption field at your location.

• Pulses healing to allies inside each time a projectile is absorbed; smoke field.

Utility 1 – Miasma Cloud – Pulses weakness, pulses poison to stationary foes; smoke field.

Utility 2 – Crypt Gas – Pulses slow, pulses fear to stationary foes; smoke field.

Utility 3 – Melted Ground – Pulses cripple, pulses burning to stationary foes; fire field.

Utility 4 – Spiteflame – Pulses torment, pulses blindness to stationary foes; fire field.

Elite – Infernal Gates – Pulses minions that attack pulsed targets, pulses vulnerable to stationary foes; fire field.

• Minions burn their targets on hit and drop small fire fields on death. Max 5 fiery minions at any 1 time.

Minor Talents
Adept – Anarchistic – Torch + Flame Shroud + Desecrations
Master – Blazing Speed – Gain 5s swiftness on entering shroud
Grandmaster – Funeral Pyre – Burning duration increase increased while over 50% life force. Life force gain increased by 50% while shroud is active.

Adept Talents

Major 1 – Flame in your Heart – Gain 0.5% life force each second while at least one target is affected by your burning (or self-burning).

Major 2 – From the Ashes – Clones burn nearby enemies on expiration, defeat, or self-destruct.

• Shroud skill 4 summons a clone at your initial location when you reappear.

Major 3 – Nowhere to Hide – Desecration skill cooldowns reduced.

• Desecrations can be retargeted before expiration once to move, moves on next pulse, duration is not reset on move.

Master Talents
Major 1 – Searing Frenzy – Life force gain increase increased from 50% to 100% while in shroud.

• Burning enemies that die near you grant you might while in shroud.
• Champions, elites, and players grant more might.

Major 2 – Shadow Puppets – Shroud skill 5 casts shroud skill 4 at your location.

• On use, active clones deal increased damage (up from 0 initially)

Major 3 – Trick Wick – Reduce recharge on torch skills.

• Snuff Out – Torch skill 3 can be reactivated before expiration to gain some life force.
• Doing so burns you for a short duration (in combat).

Grandmaster Talents

Major 1 – Desanctify – Desecration skills pulse their stationary effect (or on absorption effect), as well.

• Stationary enemies gain double stationary stacks; Blood Mist pulses 1s vigor to allies.

Major 2 – World on Fire – Burning duration increase cap raised from 100% to 150%.

Major 3 – Volatile Body – Ignore one instance of CC every 60s, casting torch skills 2 and 3 at your location.

Rationale

• Necro receives a face marking on creation. Skull (base class), Ghostly Wraith (Reaper), or Trickster Demon.
• Based on Thanatos wielding an inverted torch as a symbol of snuffed life
• Gives necro fire & smoke fields, blasts, stealth, and mobility
• Torch can serve as a mid-range alternative to mh axe
• Last elite was more slow and imposing, Heretic more invade and destroy
• Synergizes include staves & wells for area control, torch & corruption for self-conditioning
• Minions & clones for pve, descration & escapes for pvp, swiftness & movement skills for wvw

Clarifications

• A heretic is like an outcast cultist or fanatic. I feel the name is fitting as even other necromancers, despite being users of forbidden magic themselves, may view igniting collected souls and wreathing oneself in them as “weird” and would not stoop to sneaky tricks.
• The “duration increased by life force consumed” is 1s per 4% which is the duration you had remaining on shroud if you were to just let it drain. So the fires burn for the full 25s if lit at full life force. A little ~4%, some ~12%, a lot of life force ~20%.
• Desecration, similar to guards’ consecration but making the ground worse to stand on than cross
• Clones inherit traits affecting shroud skills, their weapon skills triggering shroud skill 1 traits
• Ground burn lines are similar to trails left by teragriff charges
• “Burning duration increase” refers to the condition duration increase stat for your applied burning conditions
• Infernal Gates summons minions to fight targets that have been pulsed, no minions are spawned on empty ground