Guild Wars 2

Dagger is shorter range than greatsword with less cleave, less CC, less power dps and less condi dps. The siphon looks good on paper but Reaper has its own sustain tools, particularly extended shroud capability. It does hit faster, though.

For a 130 range weapon that cleaves one extra target, it should pack more punch but this is just the core versus elite imbalance affecting all jobs. Axe was buffed to the point where it feels solid, to me, as a ranged weapon. Dagger has been buffed but in a strange direction that does not seem to bridge the core/elite disparity, at least in my hands.

I would increase damage on all three MH skills and add a boon steal on Necrotic Bite. Adding Taunt to Life Syphon and Slow to Dark Pact would be nice, too.

Dagger was the only viable power weapon before greatsword, axe’s buffs, and HoT creep. Now, it less effective

Core skills will probably be tweaked for the upcoming expac as the game developers check for interactions between core traits and the new elite trait line.

They have to review core traits, anyway, so that is the best chance you have for Chilling Darkness changes but do not expect a change that benefits Reaper.

UI should have a “Even Larger” option or check box quadrupling UI pixel count, if not being converted to a sliding scale. I play on a QFHD screen at FHD resolution.

Scourge Shroud: Transform into a Dust Mite and pulse AoE blind once per second.

There – that should explain the change to Plague and the theme of Scourge.

Condi, in general, is out of control. I have complained several times in the past few years about conditions, boons and manipulations of them just cheapening the whole theme of both but Arenanet just continues to increase condi-dps and cleansing.

I often think they should delete all conditions, boons, and CC from skills and re-build the game balance so that individual boons and conditions actually feel like they mean something. It feels like each balance developer has a couple of favorite professions and tries to one-up the others in the office. What we play is the result of continual one-upmanship, not real game balance.

Dagger became flawed on Tuesday’s patch and axe became stronger.

For a power build, I recommend axe-something and greatsword. Spite, Soul, Reaping, Reaper. Full zerker with strength or Scholar runes.

Drop BiP. Greatsword will give plenty of might with CV and BB. Run shouts, instead, keeping one slot to switch between SotL and SoS.

I realize Epidemic does not buff allies or heal and it does do amazing damage to add’s so it certainly looks like a dps skill.

However, unlike Hundred Blades and Meteor Shower, Epidemic does zero damage (or anything else) to the target, often a boss.

Epi’s main use in group PvE is trash mob suppression. For that reason, I place Epidemic in a defensive utility class.

In WvW, Epidemic has a dual function as trash mob suppression and zerg condi pressure, which are quite different.

Wow, so much to read; good points, though!

Yes, Necromancer’s ability to tank comes down to its ability to stay in shroud while soaking damage as a boss focuses you.

Minions can tank low power mobs very well but are not controllable enough and do not scale against bosses.

For group support, Necromancer has two skill sets; conditions and heals. Defiance negates any advantage over other professions’ condition builds and Necro heals are not potent enough even if dps is destroyed with a healing build.

Only Epidemic on add’s is a good support skill but it is useless without those add’s.

squallaus.8321:

flow.6043:

Every new pulse applies the previous conditions as well, so the later pulses are actually rather similar to Signet of Spite.

Yeah. and it applies up to 5 targets per pulse. So if the enemies stays inside the circle…… plagueland is much much better than signet of spite pulsing 9 times?

This is the part I have trouble with; the first couple of seconds, not the damage that increases afterward.

Please forgive the sarcasm but Necro has so many ways to stun lock people into staying inside the circle; especially on Curses builds. Perhaps it is good that Mh dagger is now stuck halfway into condition weapon territory. Bind, grasp, swap, grasp, chill, fear; how likely is it to keep someone inside a red circle for most of 9 seconds and what kind of build is best?

I will give Epi a second chance, tomorrow. Piercing should help its… reliability.

A bleed on AA making MH dagger a true hybrid makes sense. Sceptre-dagger / dagger-dagger would work nicely if someone had not forgotten to add a bleed to AA.

Still, requiring a condition transfer on a power weapon…

5. Loading nearly all of of the dps after the first couple of seconds is a huge tell that players will learn to counter.

Compared to doing almost no damage but, maybe, surviving, Plagueland is better for some content at the cost of a 20 sec high-powered defense but not the equal to Lich, Flesh Golem, or CttB. If it was 900 range targetable, it might almost be good. If it was targetable and pulsed Signet of Spite’s active, I would like it.

Maybe, if Rangers create muddy terrain and a bunch of people use rune of the snowfall, Plagueland will be awesome on people.

Terrifying Descent has terrible synergy with Plagueland.

I am all for getting rid of that impotent transform but am less than thrilled at getting an elite skill that does very little damage after players notice the red circle beneath their feet and leave the area.

It is supposed to be an elite skill.

However, it could just pulse blind nine times, so there is that.

So MH dagger was a power weapon and OH dagger was a condi utility.

Now, I am confused. Is MH dagger now a power-condi hybrid and why the self-bleed without another transfer skill?

I am not sure I see a connection between an expac weapon and MH dagger. Anything is possible but this change takes melee power away from Necromancers without an elite trait line. Is axe supposed to be the core power weapon? Is the intent to force dd-staff? Traiting Curses for MH dagger does not sound too appealing.

Well of Plague
Cast time: 2 sec
Cool down: 120 sec
Damage (x9): 300
Poison (1.5 sec) per pulse
Stability x3 (5 sec) on casting only
Reflect missiles
Boons converted to conditions: 2 per pulse
Life Force: 1% per person per pulse
Number of targets: 5
Pulse: 0.5 sec
Duration: 4.5 sec
Radius: 240
Range: 900
Combo Field: Poison

Plagueland is end-loaded. Smart players will wait outside the red circle and know there is a long CD after casting an elite.

From my perspective, Plagueland is a nerf and does not deserve to be an elite. It has an obvious tell. People will learn to dodge out of the red circle and end up with only the first pulse or two.

To counter, simply go ranged and wait for the pulsing to stop. I keep thinking Well of Corruption or Suffering are better because the first couple of pulses are not as weak as Plaguland’s first; a little direct damage, two bleeds, and a poison, maybe.

I was disappointed in PvE performance because bosses would just wander out of the AoE before the last pulse so dps never reached its theoretical maximum. There are bosses that just stand around but those in new content tend to be more active.

I understand the the intent to punish those who do not pay attention to red circles and do not know how to move but there is not enough damage in the beginning for me to call this a “condi dps” elite.

Consider popping Lich and auto attacking a couple of times (even on a condi build) before being CC’d out of it in 2 seconds. How much damage would that do, 4k, 8k? I do not feel Plagueland is balanced well for realistic play. Far too much damage is loaded near the back side of a long AoE. It seems designed for WvW zerging where players cannot tell one circle from another and are pushing for the capture.

Plague was a WvW near-immunity button for zero dps and begged for the zerg to focus me, yet I feel it had more value than dropping a circle of poo that ripens with age.

More good news: Axe seems stronger in PvE!
Axe – The Neverending Story of Buffing

Epidemic is not on the good news list. I dropped it in PvE due to its lower reliability.

I tried to like Plagueland but it always felt like I was risking my hide to moon a boss that would just wander out of it, anyway. No stab, no big health and toughness bonus, and very little total damage in return. It does not feel like it has enough tactical value now that it is not a short-term clutch-immunity. That is what it comes down to; twenty seconds of near-immunity traded for a red circle of area denial that is not ground-targetable. I understand that it can stack with other red circles to make a super-bad land but it is just another DoT AoE. Is it worth being an Elite skill?

Good news! Plague is not a transform, anymore!

Pardon me while I continue looking for good news.

The island is future content.
Legendary armor has wings but the mastery track and insights are not yet available.

Signet of trauma could be difficult because of the difference between storing 3 vulnerability, 3 burning, or a combination of slow, burning, and fear. Results could vary wildly.

Well of summoning kind of reminds me of Take Root so you may want to buff it like CttB.

Your changes to Well of Darkness imply a smoke field for stealth.

Unyielding Blast becoming a knock back on 3 sec CD sounds extremely powerful.

Speed of Shadows turning super speed on and off every second might feel freaky. With 100% boon duration, it might be OP, too.

Soul Comprehension might be OP as you describe. I recommend an ICD or just make it a constant passive.

Signet of Undeath’s passive still socks. Please suggest a change for that, too. Compare the the active with Signet of the Locust.

Anything added to Plague is awesome. Perhaps fear and taunt are other options.

Unholy Blood seems very powerful with sceptre or Deathly Chill.

I have to admit to liking the idea of having a Bone Minion teleport to a ground target, and exploding there, over hoping the minion is somewhere close to where you expect it to be.

Shadow Fiend teleports and blinds. Flesh Wurm and Bone Minions both “pop” on command. Making Bone Minions’ teleport to their death should not be difficult, though it does require extra effort by the Necromancer.

Blind is not stackable, only causes one attack to miss, and is a condition that can be easily removed without using a stun break.

With all those handicaps, why does it feel so weak? No damage, no healing, no control effect, no stacking intensity or stacking charges. In an auto attack like Necromancer dagger, blind only prevents one of the 3 hit chain from landing while weakness reduces damage by 25% and affects endurance for the full duration.

Blind is supposed to be an awesome defensive condition, moreso than weakness.

I think Arenanet should take a hard look at the condition and its mechanics.

Dadnir.5038:

3. Bone Minions:…. make the active part ground targeted.

I like this suggestion.

SoU should have a 1 sec cast time and a 240 radius on its active.

In addition to its current passive, SoU should double the range of Vampiric Presence and Life from Death, and generate 2X passive LF when wielding sceptre.

1. I agree with limiting JH quantity as you suggest.
2. Death Nova lost some shine with the JH nerf and minion deaths are only controllable for Bone Minions, which explode anyway, and Flesh Wurm’s teleport, which you save for use in a pinch. Death Nova can stand some buffing now that a hoard of little bleeders is not possible.
3. Bone Minions have decently short ICD so use them as homing poison fields, summon again, and repeat. I feel okay with them.
4. Shadow Fiend is my least desired minion because, well, blind. If it blinded and left a dark field, I might use it more.

Edit: Bone Minions’ dps is not helped by Death Nova. They could do with a special buff of their own when traited with DN. Something like a damage increase or an AoE bleed on death.

The change to stability was the first blow to Lich, iirc.
The expac power creep was the second.
The Jagged Horror nerf finally ended Lich’s reign of usefulness.

The irony is the last Lich nerf was for condition damage.

Build variety is what originally attracted me to Necromancer. Unfortunately, the builds were all bad back then. Still, I was able to play how I wanted, moment to moment and stuck with it.

Necromancer build variety is still good and the profession is no longer absolute trash. I can find a way to contribute using all weapons and nearly all utilities.

The one, big gap left is in group utility. The blood magic rework helped. Greatsword’s cleave and the shouts helped, too, but the profession does not have enough support to give it a raid slot or PvP slot.

We have had a lot of discussion on this and many suggestions to Arenanet. Second tier dps is fine if there is another reason to slot one Necromancer.

mazut.4296:

Anchoku.8142:

I am guessing it is a melee weapon.

Hmm… Elite skill: Set yourself on fire and run, screaming in a 240 circle 5 times, once (pulse) per second, setting fire to your enemies (2 sec burning per pulse), taunting them for 1 second per pulse, and forcing your enemies to /dance for 3 sec when the field expires. Combination fire field.

Warrior torch has exactly that

Eh, not quite what I was thinking about. I sort of imagined torch being classified as a corruption weapon so we could kill ourselves with burning in exchange for reduced cool down on torch skills, unless we bring enough condition transfers for all five pulses.

Rodgort, Flames of War, or a Black Lion skin?

Have 2 of them

Minions do not care much what you wear, wield, or do. You are perfectly fine as a Conditionmancer with minions.

Minions will do their thing regardless of your stats and weapons. They make excellent training wheels for new Necromancers and are well used by veteran players for specific tasks in a variety of situations.

Just do it.

I am guessing it is a melee weapon.

Hmm… Elite skill: Set yourself on fire and run in a 240 circle 5 times, once (pulse) per second, setting fire to your enemies (2 sec burning per pulse). Combination fire field.

Bitterfrost is just a loot farm. It was cool for a few minutes until I realized it was just a bad map designed for mindless farming.

Just being there, standing around, should fill your bags while you AFK, the PvE engagement is so poor; hence the current meta. The map would surely die without so much frozen chest opening, as tedious as it it.

Core Tyria maps are much more engaging as is Lake Doric. Bitterfrost needs a major rework.

I saw an image on the Internet the other day that suggests the new elite might not be able to equip torch and sceptre at the same time… if the pic is not misinformation.

Thoughts?

If Necromancer receives torch, it seems reasonable that it would burn and pair with scepter. However, Deathly Chill would not be available at the same time. I expect a wash between elites for condition damage, at best.

Necro power and condition damage builds would remain in the mid-upper 20k range without some new party-dependant scaling.

The sand theme may turn out to be boon oriented. There is no reason it has to be dps condition or power. With a scepter and OH torch, the rest of the profession might be group defense.

I think axe is good where it is at. Lots of professions have weaker 1200 range weapons so 900 is good. At least, that is my impression. I often drop staff for axe when I do not need the AoE

Deathly Chill, in my opinion, exists because, without it, Necromancer only has scepter auto-attack and an equally low-brow, spammy Epidemic for doing any significant condition damage. I think Arenanet recognized this and decided to add the trait to provide a hybrid power/condi option.

Epidemic is perfectly acceptable on a power build, if you are in a group. Only scepter has any significant condition damage output. Jagged Horrors (minions) were nerfed and Lich is a spectral (power) elite so condition damage and duration are not exactly being called for, anyway. Without Deathly Chill, Necromancers would not have a reason to do anything but auto-attack with scepter.

Deathly Chill greatly increases Necromancer’s build variety by adding a third build for condition damage. (Although, it is not as if auto-attacking and pushing Epidemic are very flexible or robust in the first place. They are kind of gimmicky.) Terror and Dhuumfire are both low-output skills due to long cool downs and limited availability.

Wells are area denial and area buff skills. Use them like that and they will work just fine. Their placement and timing is often critical for them to be effective.

That missing combo field – earth – that bleeds really should be introduced. I never understood why there was earth attunement but no field type for it. Of course, Reaper can bleed off of and ice field but no other professions or even a Necromancer can.

Perhaps, if Necromancer gets a sand-related elite theme, an earth field that can be finished for bleeds or protection might be made available. Then, again, maybe not, or maybe Elementalist would get an earth field on their next weapon.

There is a guild that runs all of the temples every day.

I used to spend an enormous amount of time in Orr, farming, and still do map completion and personal story on alts. Take your time and keep at it. There are plenty of players more than happy to join events or help you get a vista.

Thinking about Plague more, I would like it to lay a 1sec field a with each pulse so allies can finish off of it.
1 Earth field
2 Dark field
3 Poison field
4 Light field + AoE regeneration
5 Ethereal field + AoE condition clear

Drarnor Kunoram.5180:

As an Elite Skill, I’d rather Grim Specter (Lich Form 5) become its own skill than Mark of Horror. Ever since the Jagged Horror nerf, Mark of Horror is very niche in use.

However, clearing all conditions from allies and ripping all boons from enemies AoE? That is an Elite skill I would be thrilled to use.

I tend to agree Grim Specter has more potential, now, than Mark of Horror.

Lich should be easily fixable, though, by adding a little more group support.

• Deathly Claws could be made to a blast finisher giving the skill more utility.
• Marked for Death could be converted from applying vulnerability to laying a poison field that blocks projectiles or an ethereal field that pulses torment or confusion.
• Chilling Wind is probably good for break bars but I would shorten its cool-down so it can be used twice
• Mark of Horror should almost be cast the same time as entering the Lich transform so the Jagged Horrors spawn right after going into Lich. I see no reason for the long cast time.
• Grim Specter should, as Drarnor suggested, clear conditions from allies as well as ripping boons from enemies.

One last thought is that Mark of Horror and Grim Spector could be merged into a single skill that spawns one Jagged Horror for each condition removed and boon stripped to give the skill more strategic play.

Anyway, Lich can be updated to add a bit of group support.

Plague is more of a problem. The self-bleeding and poisoning, when traited, is an irritation because it cannot be transferred. Plague also does not have much in the way of group support, unless you count a pulsing blind. With only three skill slots in use for Plague, I would add weakness, chill, and taunt to its list of pulsing conditions. A boon of some kind may also be added to support allies in reach; for example, resistance.

Adding group support to Plague seems like more of a balancing act than it would be for Lich.

How would a personal debuff prevent other players without the debuff from helping?

May not be the most optimized but consider something like this:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNArYRjc0Q3N2cDW2A7NWMGMqgQUoWF9zCAHg4d4Q8IC-TRSFQB+6BA0QlfjUJIa0Egv9HAwRAYBnCg+p+T70DQKgF1VB-e

Solo
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNAndRnMbClbidbCW2A0bilaBDKBEAmBxbxx4ZkaMMHKDA-TRSBQB4RfwVUiRj9HEpyjHcCAok6PMSJIAeCAR4QAAA-e

Casual group
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQJAWRnMbClbitbCW2A0biluBLeBOBvgUfgRQFY6BsxCAA-TBSBQBXRJGlU/RkKPiwlAgG7PwIlgA4JAgHdBAA-e

There are plenty of other builds, too, including MM.

List your three, least desirable traits (major or minor) and explain why they are so unimpressive. Please order them from worst to not quite worst.

For example (and please forgive the facetiousness):
1. Soul Comprehension – This helps me, how?
2. Reaper’s Protection – This helps me, how?
3. Fear of Death – Is Fear a thing, again?

List what you think are the two worst Necromancer skills (shroud, weapon, heal, utility, or elite), state the game mode, and describe why you believe they are under-performing.

Here are some of the results. This is ongoing and will be updated in the future

Leader

• Signet of Undeath – Long cast time, passive not desirable outside of low LF generation builds (looking at you, scepter) and then still not very useful on a condi-damage build.

Runner up

• Well of Darkness – Pulsing blind and a darkness field are not very attractive, even with the recently reduced cool down.

Also placing

• Spectral Grasp and Dark Path – Has significant tells, slow projectiles, and pathing issues that reduces its effectiveness rapidly as distance to target increases. Only good in short range melee?

• Signet of Vampirism – A group heal and small dps increase but who needs it?

Others in the race

• Life Siphon – Range too short?
• Flesh Golem – Melts in water. A shark would be nice, though.
• Elite transforms Lich and Plague – Not nearly as elite as they use to be and they are still transforms locking out other skills
• Spectral Walk – The parachute nerf, access to other movement increases, and less attraction to spectral builds have reduced its popularity.
• Mark of Blood (staff 2) – Another bleed, please?
• Necrotic Grasp (staff AA) – Twenty percent chance at being a finisher?
• Unholy Feast (axe 3) – Cripple and chill do not reduce mobility skill range anymore
• Spectral Wall – Nerfed too much?
• Life Rend/Slash/Reap (RS AA) – Moar powr?
• Well of Blood – A honey-trap like Blaine’s well
• Flesh Wurm – Useful only as a pre-planned escape?

Mosquito glider, please, where the playing character hangs from the bug’s legs.