Guild Wars 2

Pifil.5193:

mazut.4296:

PoF HPs have different color (Purple). This is probably because desert background is yellowish and HoT HPs are light green, but this could be also incompatibility.
Need to wait and see…

I think you might be confusing the PoF Mastery Points with the Hero Points. The Mastery Points are Purple alright, but the Hero Points icon was the same as the HoT one and gave 10 Hero Points.

For example:
Mastery Point
Hero Point

As for the cost, I’d be surprised if it wasn’t 250 points the same as with HoT, not everyone who buys PoF will have HoT so they should be on a level playing field.

Edit: also, there are only 5 Hero Points on the first map. I think there’d be more there if it did require more that 250 to unlock. Obviously there may be more at release but I doubt it.

yeah, you might be right. I don’t remember seeing HPs then, but I wasn’t looking for them either.
I guess color difference should be, cus HoT are green and core Tyria are red.

PoF HPs have different color (Purple). This is probably because desert background is yellowish and HoT HPs are light green, but this could be also incompatibility.
Need to wait and see…

Kam.4092:

Zero Solstice.9754:

Power Scourge is sweet because of its ability to upkeep boons for free with Feed From Corruption and some Concentration. It also has some nice burst between Desert Shroud and Spiteful Spirit. It’s just another way to play the class, and I’m excited for the possibilities.

Please tell me why a purely Condition focused Elite would go a power route?

Not Power, but Hybrid and its sweet, at least it was in the beta.

grave of hearts.7830:

A heads up,already tried seraph and it definately isnt worth it on scourge.
At capped boon duration the might produced while at 25 stacks it is very short,and it doesnt justify the glass stats.
The survivability drop is too big compared to cleric which i switched later on.
For a healing support scourge you need at least one defencive stat on top of the healing.

I played PvE with mix of Seraph weapons/armor and shaman trinkets and it was extremely satisfying.

Bratec.7136:

mazut.4296:

This is because the game lack trinity mechanic. Its one of the downsides of tank absence and I feel you. You actually can play as regular trinity game, most of the time. You need tanky player and healer to aggro mobs and after several secs. dps can start deal damage from distance. unless mobs AI is targeting the person who is furthest away it will work.
However, the stacking game play is the most efficient.

We have tanks (chrono), healers (druids) and other classes (dps). Its that they all stack in melee range.

p.s. As ranger we dont get good melee weapons. Weapons like greatsword, for example, are terrible for PvE. So we “melee” with bows/throwing axes <- i dont think this is right.

Thats actually to your benefit. You have weapons that are good in both melee and mid range. Be happy. About staying at range, as I said its absolutely possible in most situations. Its up to you and your team to discuss if you want to use this strategy.
Also, not only mesmer and druid can tank and heal…

Are you long QA for Anet? If not you had not enough time to test the new Elite specs…

This is because the game lack trinity mechanic. Its one of the downsides of tank absence and I feel you. You actually can play as regular trinity game, most of the time. You need tanky player and healer to aggro mobs and after several secs. dps can start deal damage from distance. unless mobs AI is targeting the person who is furthest away it will work.
However, the stacking game play is the most efficient.

Crinn.7864:

As far as sPvP is concerned, Scourge was underpowered during the beta weekend, and if it’s nerfed it’ll be completely pointless.

I agree partially. It is much easier to die without the shroud, but on the plus side you can use barrier only when you get spiked, if you are fast enough tho, because of the barrier decay it only works the moment you get attacked, not earlier, nor later.
People keep talking crap, such as “OP” and stuff, but the “big” damage can only be achieved if you play full offensive, which is equal, literally to no defenses.
I tried both ends, full offensive condi and full support.
As full support in exotic gear I was able to stay alive, most of the time, but I had no damage. In PvE i was able to solo almost all bounty targets. Only died to heavy cc(hyena) and to one (engineer like npc on the beach in the Oasis). had great trouble against heavy conditions too, I expect using 2nd condi cleanse skill to be mandatory(pvp especially).
So its very far from OP, it has huge weak sides and it will be hard to master.

Hesacon.8735:

I run death magic on power necro for the condi cleanse, extra power, and as a safeguard against spike damage.

I don’t run minions and don’t know any serious players that do, but some people enjoy it. Let them have their traits, even if you never see them in high performance content.

I’m taking this personal
I like the MM traits and use minions a lot lately. They are great in open/solo PvE and fractals. Wouldn’t play them in PvP or raids, tho.

Most AoE circles are almost invisible in the sand, especially with all the flashy effects. Make them easier to see. Thicken the color or the red edge.

jmsmdrgn.7043:

i beilieve seraph stats is best , thackeray in ascended gear recipe is found in lake doric,
barrier doesnt realy on vitality but healing power , its caped at 50% of the recipents hp anyways
concentration tho will help with the boons u get in duration

Thats the problem tho, unless you build for boon stealing we don’t get that many boons(not counting the might we already can stack decently without concentration).
That been said I already stacked enough Jade shards for 2 full sets of runes and sigils, just in case
Seraphs looks even better for Firebrand, so not gonna be wasted.

Seraph looks pretty good. But I will wait for release to see what else is coming.

Whats the problem? That’s just another item in your inventory, that stacks!

Steelpusher.1684:

Depending on how the shield works in raid situations, Scourge could be REALLY good at things like VG. If the 80% health damage for a missed green does not count the shield, then you can cover that hit. Green group doesnt necessarily need a healer, you can shield the hit. You mentioned the CC that a CPS warrior gives. Have you not seen that straight condi warrior damage is insane now without PS? let them keep their CC task, but have them damage too. What other support can grant might? I admit, scourge is gonna be good mostly at shielding burst damage rather than healing, so a healer is still required as well, but scourge could shield the retal on gorse, the greens on VG, the ‘oh, kitten’ moments, the condi conversion on matthias, shielding players that get caught out by mechanics.

Also, the 10 man might with the sand savant trait combined with the shielding on manifest AND the sand cascade abilities, WITHOUT alacrity gives up to perma 45 might to group if they stay close (such as when stacking on gorse, less on sabetha due to the kiter and cannon runners), but you get the idea.

I am excited for the scourge, but have a feeling it still may not quite cut the criteria for being ‘meta-changing’, and besides…as soon as necros become a part of the meta, they get nerfed.

Distortion is already used for this and its better, you avoid all damage, not just part of it. However barrier will be good when moving around at VG, in last phase.

Its pretty good right now. Projectiles are homing and have longer range.

Isn’t life siphon bonus only work if the necro is bleeding, not its target?!

Nothing under Tyria sky is easier then playing warrior and stacking might with it. I know because Im lazy and found out how good warrior is being semi afk

DresdenAllblack.1249:

Or any other trait for that matter that deals with shroud?

All traits are tied to skill number 1 to 5 or(F1-F5 in case of Scourge).
Reaper’s Might — Shroud skill 1 grants might.(Manifest Sand Shade)
Path of Corruption — Shroud skill 2 now additionally converts boons into conditions. (Nefarious Favor)
Transfusion — Shroud skill 4 heals and partially revives nearby allies. Up to five downed allies near you teleport to your location while you’re channeling shroud skill 4. (Garish Pillar)
Unyielding Blast — Shroud skill 1 causes vulnerability. (Manifest Sand Shade)
Dhuumfire — Shroud skill 1 inflicts burning on your target. (Manifest Sand Shade)
All traits that trigger on entering/exiting or while in Shroud will work only with F5-Desert Shroud.

Ramoth.9064:

mazut.4296:

So you suggest in pvp/wvw you just spam the barrier, because “using them before the damage” is just a bad suggestion, unless you are psychic. What about the bait move? How far after release do you think people will learn to bait necros to use their barriers?
As proactive defense you need few sec of “breathing” time window or its just bad design.

Once you’ve engaged a fight you are pretty much constantly taking damage in spvp. It’s why sustain is king, at which point, your barrier should not be running out via decay.

You get barrier as a secondary effect most of the time anyways, which means you aren’t spending time healing and not doing damage.

Its really not. You can have your auto attack deal damage constantly, but you are timing your heavy hitters and utilities for maximum effect.
Sadly the game is going in the direction you suggest, brainless button mashing and countless cc.

Dadnir.5038:

Kuya.6495:

I think it makes sense to lower decay in pve only.

This would make sense if WvW was not balanced as a PvE area. The issue is that Scourge is strong, very strong in WvW as it is and any PvE buff can make it totally broken. Well, from what’s been seen it’s already broken op in WvW and nerfs to the “PvE” (read WvW) side are already bound to happen at release.

Barrier will probably be hitten hard especially in the “PvE” area because none should be able to grant 160k extra health to a golem or a lord in WvW.

Its strong in WvW, because you have 10 scourges and with communication you can have constant barrier, even if spammed. In PvP its not the same. In PvE you eventually will know the enemies moves and this probably will be less of a problem. But still the whole point of the barrier is to prevent the damage, therefore it need to last longer then 2sec.
Even if its secondary support system my point still stand.

A little bit of challenge is always welcome.

Coffietire.2783:

Anchoku.8142:

The teleport, Sand Swell, may be one good reason to bring Scourge.

This!

I’m surprised the raiding community wasn’t oodling over this skill’s potential. I haven’t done all the bosses, but I can see it being great for VG, Gorseval, and that giant purple rock thing in w4. All on top of a good condi dps class that doesn’t require fields to do damage.

As for now this skills is not needed anywhere, really. Maybe you can use it to drop the poison/corruption at Mathias, seems like a decent use if you can teleport back instantly, without waiting 1-2 sec for activation. But thats all that come to my mind. Future raids may utilize more movement skills, who knows.

So you suggest in pvp/wvw you just spam the barrier, because “using them before the damage” is just a bad suggestion, unless you are psychic. What about the bait move? How far after release do you think people will learn to bait necros to use their barriers?
As proactive defense you need few sec of “breathing” time window or its just bad design.

No its not useless at all. All they need to do is delay the decay a little bit, just for few sec.
Its the perfect supplement to a healer.

Substatic.6958:

mazut.4296:

Zefiris.8297:

mazut.4296:

Ask again few weeks after release…

(Reaper is perfectly fine for raids, no matter what people are saying)

If “fine” means that it is possible to do a raid with a reaper in the group, then your statement is true.
Unfortunately, everyone else defines “perfectly fine” as “not the worst option by far”. In nearly every situation and raid setup, any other class you pick does more for a raid group. Even an elementalist has an easier time to do far more damage.

So yes, no matter what you are saying, you’re wrong. Reaper isn’t fine: Reaper does significantly less damage in a raid, brings a benefit for only two encounters, and contributes nothing unique. To make a reaper fine, one of two things would need to happen:

-Unique Support that is useful to a group
-Equal DPS

Reaper has neither.

Scourge, at least, has potential for both. The DPS may be competitive (it sure is much higher than reaper), and it is possible the support will come in useful enough to run one.

Pugging raids a lot lately and getting decent necro player is as good as average alternative. Also doing very fast runs with my necro. At least 1/3 of all the LI I have are done with necro. You can keep trying to convince me necro is bad, you wont succeed

He’s not saying it’s bad. He’s just saying it’s the worst, which is why you get carried.

Ofc, since raid release I got carried 830+ times… what a joker I am ty for the laugh

Zefiris.8297:

mazut.4296:

Ask again few weeks after release…

(Reaper is perfectly fine for raids, no matter what people are saying)

If “fine” means that it is possible to do a raid with a reaper in the group, then your statement is true.
Unfortunately, everyone else defines “perfectly fine” as “not the worst option by far”. In nearly every situation and raid setup, any other class you pick does more for a raid group. Even an elementalist has an easier time to do far more damage.

So yes, no matter what you are saying, you’re wrong. Reaper isn’t fine: Reaper does significantly less damage in a raid, brings a benefit for only two encounters, and contributes nothing unique. To make a reaper fine, one of two things would need to happen:

-Unique Support that is useful to a group
-Equal DPS

Reaper has neither.

Scourge, at least, has potential for both. The DPS may be competitive (it sure is much higher than reaper), and it is possible the support will come in useful enough to run one.

Pugging raids a lot lately and getting decent necro player is as good as average alternative. Also doing very fast runs with my necro. At least 1/3 of all the LI I have are done with necro. You can keep trying to convince me necro is bad, you wont succeed

I hate most of this auras too. Even more if they are stacked, but to nerf it to only 1 is not right.
I would love an option to turn auras off, so only I won’t see them.

Ask again few weeks after release…

(Reaper is perfectly fine for raids, no matter what people are saying)

25 Healing power
35 Vitality
50 Healing power
Grant barrier to 5 allies (300 radius) when struck under 50% hp(30s. cd)
100 Healing power
65 Vitality; Barriers also apply Regeneration 5s(10s. cd)

zoomborg.9462:

From what i’ve seen so far it will probably be condi scourge with dhuumfire. U just let your sand thingies stack burns while u kite the champs and whatnot.

Nah, scourge is not as powerful in PvE as in PvP.

You can use any combination or trait lines including blood magic and death magic. Its similar with the gear. I use viper, but you can use any combinations you find fun to play. There is no wrong combination(almost). Its more like, better optimized or not so well optimized, but both will work great.

Once I had an idea for this skill.
A little bit faster projectile the same functionality but add flip skill. Evade backwards(300-450 range) immobilized the enemy and deal large damage and/or bleed. A little bit like the ranger sword 2 skill “Monarch’s Leap”. Instead of leap its an evade.
The other idea that wasn’t only mine is to be ground targeted, but then it need to be a teleport.

My suggestion is to everybody who play more then casually to have at least 1 of each professions.

LOL at your diagram I don’t do that, but I know how you feel and we should have this option.

Kaladel.1670:

I didn’t think about it when I was playing during the demo, but : Has someone tryed to use Lich Form while playing a scourge ? Are the F1-F5 skills still available and working in Lich Form ?

Thanks

Didn’t try it but Im 100% sure they are not usable while in Lich.

Ok, that make snese then.

Anchoku.8142:

In PvE, minions will also hold aggro giving a Scourge a fixed location to drop shades, which may be more beneficial than first appears.

In open-world group PvE, Bone Minion has projectile finishers and stays ranged so its dps is also good.

However, I suspect the new elites are being tweaked so the utilities may be improved. Wells may also be reasonable alternative utilities for Scourge, especially in WvW.

wait what !?! Bone minion have projectile finisher o.O do we play the same game

FrizzFreston.5290:

mazut.4296:

All it does it’s to disrupt the game flow.

Which is exactly the point of it.

Are you masochistic? I’m not

Agree, remove the armor repair system. Its outdated and its already free anyway, its not gold sink anymore. All it does it’s to disrupt the game flow.

What’s your point here? That Scourge gives 50% def for its other functionality? I think that’s the general idea behind the design and lack of shroud.
Btw, does Desert shroud give this additional defense of the shroud for its duration or its just called “shroud” solely for the traits purpose?! I guess its the later with the big barrier?

I would like to use Rune of the Lich, but it need overhaul. Cd should be 15-20s… 60 is just pure bs.
And because our support is mostly barrier, we wont be able to keep an army alive.

I use epidemic a lot and almost never cttb. Prefer golem or plaguelands. Golem is constant damage+good cc and plaguelands is decent aoe(condi) to immobile targets/bosses.
Yaaw is decent, but I find myself using suffer way more often with corruptions.

Awful

Its not as powerful in PvE as it feels in PvP. It felt ok with last stress test, but far from OP. Maybe because foes don’t have boons to remove.

Was it successful test? Did you get the date you needed? If not we are willing to help again ;D

Nothing is stopping you to play Reaper in PoF.

Not a bad idea, but I prefer to have more poison outside of shroud. Shroud is already good defense by itself, but having 10% putrid defense more often outside of shroud make more sense to me.

20% increased LF gain from deaths. You apply 2 stacks of poison when not in Shroud (3s/10s. cd) up to 5 ratgets. Steal 1% LF from poisoned targets 5s. icd

Btw your Necrotic Grasp says 5 targets, but Piercing can hit more then 5.
@ Kaladel, Staff is not really a condi weapon. Its rather weak for condi users.

Murdock.6547:

Everyone is forgetting blood magic when talking about scourge.

“Last rites”
+150 healing power above 75% hp
+300 healing power below 75% hp
+450 healing power below 50% hp

450. FOR FREE.
That’s a minor trait; you just get that. FOR FREE
Barriers will be good in those clutch situations where you need to buy time for your healer and you won’t even need a single infusion’s worth of healing power being slotted in for it.

In terms of damage, ofc soul reaping wins. You can’t compete with the dhuumfire shenanigans. But for support? Blood magic. A little bit of healing, a lot a bit of free healing power.

Imo they’re both insanely strong traitlines, but for different reasons.

I understand the idea behind the trait, but staying under 50% wont be that easy. In PvP you want to be full hp and in PvE you will just be healed by your allies, unless soloing. So it will be +150 most of the time. Its there to help you in bad situations when you are under pressure.

Some interesting suggestions, however…

Your spiteful renewal is to powerful, because it will trigger a lot.
It should be as it is, but removing 3 conditions, 500 healing per condition removed.
Reapers protection 20sec cd is way to low, should be 40sec.
I like your flesh of the master idea, but icd should be 40-50sec.
Foot in the grave should be the same as it is, but trigger also when "exiting shroud.

Maybe if all "when enter shroud effects last 6sec, but also add the same effect for another few sec when “exiting” shroud(depending on the trait). This way no mater which shroud we use we always will have the same effect length.