Guild Wars 2

Fix the underlying problem: conditions and boons are too cheap.

What I do not understand is why builds of any profession can inflict conditions with little or no investment into condition stat’s.

Necromancer should have more condition management group support. Condition damage is sub-par but the profession should at least be great at cursing and removing curses.

Drop the Toughness. Use one of the meta builds. You are giving up too much damage and may not be using Death Shroud enough.

There are many good PvP threads to read and videos on YouTube.

Hoelbrak, Melandru, Generosity, and consumables can help beyond Shrouded Removal

Bhawb.7408:

Balance healing and DS after our mechanics are made to work logically. Mechanics should always take priority, with balance coming in after the mechanics of a profession and build feel good.

I agree, too. Dhuumfire is a prime example of what happens when something new is grafted onto a profession.

I like to leave less specific suggestions for “fixes” because I know how hard it is to implement a change that impacts a complex system.

I am just guessing but Reaper may be good when used as the core of a moving group, provided the group keeps its pace down to match the slowpoke.

Normal “abandon the turtle and race to point” play leaves the Reaper/Necro open to fast attacks and kiting. If other jobs provide an escort and intercept, Reaper could be useful as tank with a trap.

Thoughts?

I do not have a problem with Reaper as a specialization but, as many others have pointed out, the core reasons for Necromancer’s lower popularity have not really been addressed.

Reaper is, after all, just a way to play the current Necro meta better, not to broaden its play style or make it more useful to groups and teams. The game is all about powerful gimicks like Slick Shoes, rapid might stacking, stealth, reflect, spike damage, ect.

If i think of Death Shroud as a weapon or set of combat utilities, i feel more frustrated than if i think of it as an awesome Moa transform we can control at will.

I am always wary of calculators. They present ideal numbers. In this case, the calculator assumes 100 per cent dps time and does not count healing, dodging,and res’ing time, nor does it count might or other boon sharing.

Your own empirical results are probably better.

I have run Sinister. Berserker works better for now, IMO.

Condition damage dps takes too long to ramp up, condition caps aside. A critical hit deducts extra health when it proc’s.

There is too much resistance to, and access to, conditions in this game while the dev’s insist Necromancer remain handicapped.

Right now, I would say yes, players are being funneled into Reaper. There are no substantial changes to Necromancer.

Reaper is designed for improved PvE.

To simplify healing in DS, why not start with a flat 2 per cent healing factor for all external heals while in DS?

Being able to drop DS in time for an external heal should be fully rewarded but not making it in time should have a small per cent consolation instead of zero. Siphon heals can be separate but, for a class mechanic the dev’s want players to spend a lot of time in, they sure punish those players for it.

Well, now that axe is a magic paintbrush, maybe it will get adjusted to work that way.

Slow vulnerability stacking is just stupid in a game where multiple professions can jam a dozen stacks in a second.

Sigmoid.7082:

No idea why you are pigeon holing reaper to be a tank…

Describe for me, please, what tactical functions / roles Reaper and Necromancer is good at compared to other professions and what tactical functions it is below average at.

Reaper should be a good tank if there is some small healing through DS and there is enough Protect up-time but I have concerns that there is little need for that role.

PvE bosses can be kited more easily than tanked and Necromancer’s tanking skill set is still not complete.
PvP groups are too small to need a dedicated tank.
WvW battles are too focused on mobility and cleanses for tanks to be truly effective.

I have a feeling the common counters to Necromancer / Reaper will be kiting/mobility and CC/spike damage the same as it is today.

Now that the axe animation looks like a fan or paint brush.

I would like to change the AA to a fast projectile with vulnerability AoE splashes.

The other skills on it are good for now.

Personally, i doubt it. Arenanet is extremely careful about limiting synergy with profession mechanics.

Terrormancer was nerfed for Dhuumfire and has had multiple other nerfs while condition resistance on other professions has been buffed.

Arenanet does not want condition Necromancer builds strong. They want power builds.

somehow toughness scaling on Necro is too small. it should do a lot but does not feel like it

Does anyone else have a vague feeling that Reaper may be a nerf to anything but trash mob farming?

The problems with many of the current traits and skills have not been addressed and Reaper seems designed to abandon everything but a short-range power/AoE build.

Considering what seems to be an increased focus on fast-paced, ranged combat, Necromancer / Reaper may become even more disadvantaged. We will have to wait and see, of course, but Reaper is definitely a slow, short-range tank profession. Slow things are easy targets in modern combat and need constant protection.

Fwiw, Dark Armor is a decent damage reduction buff but it always competes for trait points with Staff Mastery and Minion Master. Anyone traiting into Death Magic usually does so for staff or minions.

400 toughness is more than a player would get with a full 6 points in Death Magic, more than is available with toughness runes, and a not too far from a full set of toughness armor. The problem is that bunker Necromancer does not work very well. Power, Toughness, and Healing ought to be good but it is not.

Reaper may very well work fine with any weapon setup.
Dagger has a siphon that can be used for sustain, a bind to prevent targets from leaving, and a good AA. Off-hand dagger has a blind that can be traited for more chill and the condition transfer.
Axe has the longest range of any power weapon, stacks vulnerability for potential epidemic use, and generates a lot of LF.
Focus has vulnerability and chill, which match a lot of what Reaper comes with.
Scepter stacks bleeds and poisons, again for potential epidemic use, and will be good in the Curses line fro those wanting to go full condi-Reaper for whatever reason.
Warhorn has swiftness and cripple. Reaper can use every mobility advantage it can get.
Staff dumps AoE all over the place.

Necro will be better against multiple opponents than it is right now but those situations where a team truly needs such a thing are currently pretty sparse.

Rentapest, perhaps you would feel better playing another profession. Ranger is one of the easiest, most fun professions in GW2 and enjoys top class ranged dps and ranged CC. It will be no surprise if ranger gets a medium or melee range weapon and elite trait line. This will only make Ranger better.

The dev’s should have a skill to convert adrenaline to sustain.

If you want to speculate, do so over the secondary stats like condition duration, boon duration, healing, condition damage, and ferocity.

Which armor give duration stats?

Try starting a Necro and Mesmer only group and add “No skipping” in the description.

Blood magic will not contain healing power or vitality as a stat. If you want healing from siphons, Transfusion, or WoB, you might want healing armor.

Honestly, i am afraid we may all be taking some new armor stat that increases condition duration.

The problem is the dungeons and PvE end game, in general.

Necromancer is unwanted for a reason. Dungeons reward boons and mobility but it also punishes conditions so Necromancer is doubly cursed. Experienced players know this.

1 Necromancer cannot stack Might.
2 Bosses do not have boon hate.
3 Bosses do have condition hate.
4 Necromancer has no stealth or OOC mobility.

It is that simple.

fixed! Thank you!

Lion’s Arch here, too.

Changing DS to give access to utilities in DS would change the balance so it creates a lot of extra work.

Changing DS to show CD status of utilities available out of DS should be easier and would not have much effect on balance and would encorage smarter play.

Yazkin.6179:

I’m wanting to get back into the game, and noticing that they haven’t done much to fix the minions. My biggest question is; Do they scale with anything yet?

Not… yet.

It has been asked. There is no answer, yet.

Only one elite per profession underwater.

Still, i wish UW combat and maps were more extensively developed.

Rising Dusk.2408:

I could also see Spectral Armor absorbing projectiles shot at you, while Spectral Walk could cause the trail left by your movement with the skill active to reflect projectiles. Spectral skills in general outside of Spectral Grasp feel as though they could have a reflect/block component.

TRON Deathcycle – I like it. Make it block movement, too.

Thank you, Gates Assassin and Rising Dusk for the effort you two have put into compiling feedback on the Necromancer and Reaper for Arenanet’s development team.

Way too early to guess. Necromancer may need armor with power, vitality, and condition duration, for all we know.

They may be waiting to keep it clear of useless speculation, flaming, and requests for changes.

Necromancer can swap weapons, too. I plan to work with dagger-focus / great sword but you can trade the sword for anything.

Remember there are no more GM traits once a player gets to end-game. The left, middle, and right sides become equal.

I am sticking with focus for AoE buffs to help alleviate reliance on banners and something like traps or wells.

Knighthonor.4061:

Anchoku.8142:

Knighthonor.4061:

Elite Specs are suppose to give gameplay changes in areas not available.

Erm, well, maybe. Necromancer’s elite just made it even more melee. Still, that may be an exception because Necro is a bit wonky as it is – a mage playing tank with a bag of mage tricks.

Necro lacked good AoE cleave dps. Reaper does just that

Yes, but the point was Reaper just made Necro’s typical playstyle better where Mes and Guard get new play styles. War could get anything, even pets.

What does vulnerability application look like?

Idk but Tinkerbell might.

Knighthonor.4061:

Elite Specs are suppose to give gameplay changes in areas not available.

Erm, well, maybe. Necromancer’s elite just made it even more melee. Still, that may be an exception because Necro is a bit wonky as it is – a mage playing tank with a bag of mage tricks.

Meh, target golems always have bad days.

NeXeD.3042:

I actually love my fairy wand scepter.

I do, too. Axe needs some sparkle.

Titanimite.2534:

One of my friends said that the Orbs in Arah p3 and p4 cannot be ran. When running the second orb, interacting near the door brings up the same dialog as if you didn’t have an orb at all and prevents progress. He sent me a video showing this but I have yet to test it as I am stuck at work.

Can anyone verify?

Stuck at work, too, but cannot verify that – no web cam.

spoj.9672:

Thats some tasty looking tuna. I mean shark.

I like tuna. It reminds me of Death Shroud.

Subutex.2416:

I keep seeing these “zerg” dungeon parties. Not sure if Zerg builds are the most appropriate for PvE.

inb4: zerk

How do you have a zerg with five or less?