Guild Wars 2

Yeah wouldn’t mind a video either if you can record one.

I made a signet build myself that I’m enjoying, with the exception that I still get wrecked by Thieves.

The patch just came out basically so people are still looking into the changes I would imagine. Odds are the builds you’ve found won’t change that much.

Since we’re on the subject of Glyphs, what are thoughts on Glyph of Storms?

I’ve been playing with a signet staff build and now that I have two immobs (Earth 5, Earth Signet) I wanted to see if trapping someone into an Ice Bow 5 + 4 rotation would be viable. It works.. but..

I’m a poor player, so I usually have the skills dodged before getting them in rotation. So my thought was the skip the middle man (in this case being Ice Bow) and instead just use the Glyph of Storms. Turns out, when it hits, it hits hard. The issue seems to be its range and getting a target stuck in there outside of IB 5.

Thoughts on this? Am I just chasing a dream? It’s a really fun spell to use but I think it’s range should be 1200 instead of 900. But just my wants and not thoughts at all towards balance.

Too OP. Nerf this, buff Ranger. Ranger still uses too many buttons for it’s burst.

I would be satisfied with half the CD on it or at least reduced, considering it locks us out of our other abilities and doesn’t even combo with itself.

I’ve been using it over the others because of mobility purposes. It’s still useful for escaping and the #5 does pretty nice damage to downed targets if you’re not running Staff (like say in small skirmishes in WvW or on points).

Jski.6180:

I am thinking the new arua runes is something worth trying out for d/d ele. Kind of the old aura build in groups 2 air 6 water 6 ar solo is more on the lines of 2 air 2 earth 4 water 6 ar. 9 sec frost aura on a 32 sec cd is nothing but god mood. The only problem about the new rune is the long icd 5 sec of swiftness on a 20 sec cd is not worth it the heal is though BUT for an ele to use there heal cost a lot.

Added note air aura will last for 5 sec so it can trigger 2 times on a person that and i think for more of the solo build you run Elemental Contingency over evasion it should let you have 100% fury swiftness and protection up time.

That’s interesting. Any chance in getting a video of this?

Just now got my ele to 80 and have been dabbling with builds in PvP so I have my memory to set to where skills are in a WvW setting.

I’m curious to know if making toughness mitigate a portion of critical damage would be a better change.

I’m not really understanding why they’re adding a new stat when, of crit damage is out of control, they could just add a cap to it outside PvP and have a better if not more balanced result without giving power builds another nerf.

With my main being a power necro and our power builds already being subpae compared to other classes this just makes me want to /wrists.

I personally like dagger/warhorn with axe/focus because it seems to rotate better. Hit them with focus 4, then focus 5 if they have boons and then if they are close axe 3, then swap; hit wh 5 for locust and to keep them crippled while you AA them; go into DS for some attacks or defense or for DS5, leave and if locust is up, hit it again and if it isn’t swap. You could also save locust for when you’re about to hit DS if they are still chilled from Focus 5 that way you get passive DS regency plus make it easier to keep them in range for DS 1.

Since we’re on the subject of optimizing damage:

I saw Bhawb comment in another thread about MMs giving a brief input on the DPS that minions add by themselves, can anyone find what he mentioned about the Wurm ? I’ve put might stacking in my build and subbed out a stun break (WoP) for BiP and I’m curious how good the Wurms damage is should I opt to take the might stacking back out.

I really don’t have a set utility to put in that slot otherwise.

Really? Chill of Death QQ? You realize that we’ve had the same skill on Focus since launch and it can be used every 16s on your boon stacking bum right? Why is it getting flak now?

Slightly off topic: If necro sees yet another nerf instead of a buff somewhere I’ll reroll to something else if I continue playing at all. I spent most of my accumulated glory on level scrolls from the PvP vendor since glory is going away soon. That will let me, if I so choose, to instantly hit max level after creation. But honestly I’m not sure what I’d even want to play. Else maybe? But they are apparently as bad off as us and probably won’t get fixed for another six months after Ranger gets over buffed.

With games like Destiny coming out and Planetside 2 consuming some time right now, I’m not sure I’ll stick with GW2 for another six months waiting for lackluster buffs or tooltip fixes to necro.

Spectral Grasp needs better tracking. I stopped using it even though it’s a great skill simply due to the fact that enemies can just side strafe it most of the time, and the rest of the time it gets obstructed by a random spec of dust that just happen to cross it’s path.

I also feel that wells either need longer durations with smaller radius or lower base CDs. Well of Darkness is an example of a well that has really good potential but is just lackluster because of it’s behemoth of a CD which has no decent reason behind it.

But I suck at this game so what do I know. Just my 2 cents really.

Can’t say I’ve ever had this issue either but this isn’t the first time I’ve seen someone post about it.

I agree with the others: cool your kittens and practice not spamming. Necro isn’t nearly as face roll as War and Thief.

After mastering the “skill” required for DS stomping it doesn’t really bother me and I think resources would be better spent fixing our other numerous and severely underpowered aspects; but I do agree that there is no logic behind this topic at all on Anet’s part other than the fact that they simply just so not care about the Necro class.

The Primary.6371:

SupahSpankeh.8452:

Spectral Attunement is non-optional IMO, so I’m currently using 20/20/0/0/30.

Chill of Death procs with Lichform and valk are hilarious…

Really can’t decide on runes. If Svanir didn’t glitch out after each death I’d go with them (that 5s freeze, mmmhmmm). I’m currenly using Ogre, but there’s got to be an interesting set which doesn’t bug out after death. I’ve just not found it yet.

Also – I’ve gone with piercing LB instead of 20% CD reduction. I’m not sure how it’s working just yet – the vuln helps the team obvs, but the nice thing is unless someone dodges they can’t just run back into the zerg and hide/hide behind a pet/behind a teammate.

I mainly WvW, so piercing is better than CD (lots of LF from incidental deaths). In sPvP, I think the 20% cooldown is more important.

I like the idea of Deathly Shivers, but the low application rate and the fact you have to go 20 points deep into Death Magic (which has 2 junk minor traits for LB builds) sucks too much.

Either use Lyssa runes + low CD elite or use Ogre runes for extra power/damage. You can even go with divinity for over all stat balance or 5 scholars and one divinity.

Personal experience with that build told me that Lyssa runes with Golem can be extremely useful in WvW. You can get stomps, resses, and a complete condi cleanse JUST from your runes not to mention the Knockback from the Golem.

The only downside is you have to blow the Lyssa runes if you want to use the Golem for an interrupt.

Andele.1306:

But truly its falls down to playstyle, pick what you are more comfy with and will play better, no necro skill (except kinda sorta lich) has much of a notable dps impact, unlike stuff like time warp and fiery greatsword.

Unfortunately that’s something I’m coming to realize, but it also means Necro players have to truly hone and develop skill if you want to play anything that we aren’t pigeon holed since we have no way of escape really.

I think I’ll start filming my game play and may make one to put up on the forums for better players to criticize (as bad as that may feed the trolls). I have noticed a few mistakes on my own with situational awareness and look around when I die only to see that I had over extended or tunnel visioned too much.

Baby steps I suppose. Thanks a lot, again, for the constructive input Andele.

Sartori.6758:

I’m just going to leave this here:

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Damage
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Critical_hit

Thank you for the links. I actually tinkered around with that before posting but in the end I wasn’t sure that I was making any real progress towards useful information. I probably just didn’t go into enough depth with it and need to look through it some more as well as go in game to test it all on golems.

It worked in DS around the time of release, then they nerfed it so that it didn’t work with DS (hence the tool tip), then they reverted it to work with DS again but didn’t bother to fix the tool tip back.

The sad thing is, if this turns out to be a big with WoC it will be months before Sent acknowledges it and then four or five months after that before it’s seen in patch notes.

Thanks Andele.

Only thing is, I’m not using the traditional well bombing build(s) with power so no VR; it’s more like I’m using one of those “viable but likely less efficient for WvW” builds. It still has AE but is more single target focused. So on paper Signet of Spite seems like the 180 passive power would help with “bursting” or overall damage, but I’ve also tried BiP which I didn’t see any noticeable difference either.

After thinking about it like this, WoP just for some condi cleansing seems more useful and versatile. I just hate giving up free damage. You know? Guess I’m just a sucker for big numbers.

I’ll post a build link once I get a little more time to play with it so the concept is clearer. Just trying to avoid the trolls until I get a feel for everything.

Thanks for the inputs. I suppose the old “go to the Mist and wail on some golems” method is the best option. Probably should have just done that instead of wasting forum space xD

Anyway, thanks guys. Odds are, I’ll just play it safe and sac the damage and go with WoP; Condi removal and a third stun break (although redundant) seems more versatile than the power gain while out of DS.

Note: This will be for WvW purposes only at this time.
Note 2: I’m not going for a glass cannon build; I just would like input from people who actually know what they’re doing with the math better than I do.

Ok so, I’m trying to figure out, for my specific build, how much damage I would be giving up if I drop Signet of Spite. I used it in a condi build a while back and now I’m tinkering with it in a power build for the passive 180 power. I noticed, however, that the power does not stay active while in death shroud so it has become less appealing when compared to Well of Power; especially seeing as WoP offers more utility/versatility.

My base attack without SoS is 1910 (2850 power plus 250 can be added here for sigils). My crit (base) is 14% but is bumped to 21% with food and since I will always have this I would prefer to use the 21%. Critical damage is just at 50%.

Weapons being used are Axe/Focus and Dagger/Warhorn but I pop in and out of Death Shroud a lot; this is why I’m curious if the 180 power is really giving me anything in the first place.

I have 1 sigil on each weapon set giving 5% damage and gain another 5% damage while my LF is above 50%.

Other traits to note are: Reaper’s Might and Unyielding Blast. This isn’t something you have to consider while calculating but I would take some tips on 1) If they are useful/worth having; and 2) if staying in Death Shroud and using the 1 auto attack to build these is gimping my damage.

Mainly I’ve been popping into Death Shroud as soon as it’s full and just blasting my target until I’m either close to 50% or until my CD’s (like healing) are up if I’m taking a lot of pressure.

Thanks in advance for anyone that takes the time to do this. I r t3h nub.

Oozo.7856:

Can has link to Jinx’s youtube channel, prz?

Oh noez.. It would seem he r not has one worth viewing :<

I would feel much better if they fixed the skills that actually telegraphed too much. It seems as though more than half of our skills have too long of a cast time with slow as kitten projectile speeds.

Or am I the only one that feels this way?

I mean, it sometimes feels like we’re playing with Ranger longbow arrow speeds pre-buff.

It’s a nice idea, but unfortunately Anet won’t fix glaring bugs that have been around for months so I wouldn’t count something as simple as this being put in.

Might I also suggest searching for, downloading, and learning to use Wuverlay (think that’s right). It’s a screen overlay than works with the servers in WvW per matchup and displays the world you choose. It gives information about camps such as when they have been capped and when they are ready for capture. It isn’t a well of information but it helps to have the information it provides at an eyes glance.

Obstructed? Blocked by an aegis/skill?

I haven’t used Plague Signet in a while but I think this used to happen on occasion. Of course I’ve been gone since Oct so take it with a grain of salt.

Try testing it out with the NPCs in the HotM to make sure it just wasn’t a fluke. I’m at work or I’d do it myself.

Andele.1306:

Skill lag =/= feature or shall we exuse a-net for still not fixing transformations to work with minions?

Oh I’m by no means saying it’s intended, because if it was they wouldn’t have taken the option away from us ages ago when could actually do it. It’s the very reason being forced out of DS causes everything past our #5 from being usable a full 2 seconds afterwards (as stated in my Deathshroud Problem thread by others). They’re forcing a very flawed system down our throat.

So I totally agree with you, it’s inexcusable. I only meant to point out that it is still possible to do it and worth learning.

msalakka.4653:

Are you sure you have enough boons? There’s still some screen estate left.

He’s a guardian. He’ll need more screen when he gets into combat. Dem shouts.

Such boons.

This idea should be supported. Anet doesn’t seem to be in the habit of listening to good ideas lately and are especially bad at putting them into game in a reasonable time however.

nekretaal.6485:

NeXeD.3042:

Necro shouldn’t “need” a well to finish a downed player, and wod is not like an kittening heal the amount of health you get back is laughable.

Wells suck in PvP unless you can burn all someone’s stunbreaks and stun them in the well. If they were larger and hit faster even if its for less they would at least do something.

Shouldn’t.

But until necromancers get the ability to stop in death shroud, they are terrible at stomping.

You can stomp in DS, actually. It takes practice to learn how to do it but I almost never fail now and I’ve been gone since October. I actually don’t stomp outside DS anymore.

YouTube Death Shroud stomping to learn how it’s done and then practice on the NPCs in HotM.

I can say that there is still a small delay when manually leaving DS, but being forced out is definitely the culprit behind the really long delay. It seems to force more awareness and planning than already expected of a Necro.

It’s no wonder you don’t see a lot if Necros around these days. Why the hell is Anet hell bent on making this class the hardest to play with the least reward?

I think the skill needs a higher passive heal (or no ICD), slightly higher base heal (or to scale better with Healing Power), and a better active in order for it to be worthy of taking the place of Well of Blood or Consume Conditions.

Basically, it almost needs revamped.

Ditch the Dolyak runes. They’re garbage, especially for a necro. It scales badly from healing power (iirc) and you don’t have anything invested in that anyway. Sub in Hoelbrak or Lyssa runes instead.

I personally don’t really like dagger OH for anything but condi builds, but it has it’s uses. I would either sub in WH for the interrupt and the swiftness and AE cripple or go with Focus for the boon strip (which can also hit pretty hard).

Also, I personally, would take away Deathly Perception since your crit chance is already at 50% and take Foot in the Grave since it would give you some stability; CC is our biggest enemy because we have hardly any defense against it. You can also use it to stomp people once you get used to DS Stomping, which you can practice in the HotM on the NPCs. Youtube it if you don’t know how to do it.

That’s just what I would change. Also, not related to your build, but I also suggest using this build editor: http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/

Yeah I thought I remembered people talking about this since like last year but I never noticed. How utterly disappointing that it’s still an issue.

Rennoko.5731:

Only happens to me personally when I get my life-force beat down past zero. You can avoid it simply by self ending your DS before you get knocked out.

You also don’t get (on-exit) DS skills like deathly invigoration when you get knocked out. So the moral of the story is to make sure you anticipate the end of your DS bar and just end it slightly earlier if you can, and you avoid it most of the time.

Thanks Renn. I think the reason I never noticed before is because I played nothing but Conditionmancer since I picked necro up so I hardly ever got totally forced out of DS. The unfortunate side-effect of playing a power build, though, means having to get up close and personal which means taking more hits.

I’ll have to practice on this work around. Just means I have to compensate more for my own play style.

Don’t feed the troll folks.

Rennoko.5731:

Chesire.9043:

That condi burst is hilarious. Quite a shame it’s a one trick pony, but hilarious regardless. Also the silent video makes me sadface :/

If you get bored I’m tinkering with a power/chill build currently and I could always use another set of eyes; especially experienced ones. Just send me a message if it peaks your interest

So I think i have the sound worked out now…. I just apparently hit a really important song it seems out of my random selection.

I re-watched the video Renn. It seems as though the sound is indeed working. Youtube has a bad habit of nomming a lot of stuff for no reason. I had tremendous trouble with it when I posted beta videos and haven’t made any sense then, but I thought of giving it another shot eventually.

Keep them rolling mate!

That condi burst is hilarious. Quite a shame it’s a one trick pony, but hilarious regardless. Also the silent video makes me sadface :/

If you get bored I’m tinkering with a power/chill build currently and I could always use another set of eyes; especially experienced ones. Just send me a message if it peaks your interest

Ok, so after a few months break I came back and decided to step away from my Condi necro and try a power/chill build. However, testing has come to reveal a very annoying issue that I think has been here for a loooooong time.

When exiting DS, anything pass 5 on the skill bar delays nearly a full 2 seconds before appearing. This is becoming extremely noticeable and really just destroys the thought of getting off those clutch heals after exiting the shroud.

Is anyone else having this problem and is there no comment from Anet at all on when this will be fixed? I’m fairly certain this has been plaguing us since early last year except I’m just now really seeing it.

Do I need to video it happening or is it one of those “Fix it when we’re ready” type of bugs?

Added Note:

I’m assuming armor combination would be Knights and Zerkers for the most part at least. But as for the rest, I’m not exactly sure where to go and I’d rather not spend a fortune on this character like I did my others before I figured it out.

So I’ve been gone since, like, September or whenever it was that Warriors first became extremely Ov… er.. got buffed. That being said, Guardian is a class I’ve never really understood before and I’ve been playing on and off since like Phase 2 Beta.

Anyway, here’s the build I’ve settled on and have gotten used to in yoloqueue:

(Really just a variant of the popular builds I’ve already seen posted and probably a copy of one I missed)
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQNAR8dlUgiD3GSNEf4ESli45ewUQgZ01DIShaIA-TsAg0CnIKSVkrITRyisFNKZVy+DA

What I would like to do is convert this build into a WvW build. Is there anyway to do this while adding either survivability in the WvW meta OR more burst damage? If it’s possible to compromise, add both, and still be able to put up a fight in 1v1’s (since I don’t have a group of people I play with) I’ll take those suggestions too.

That being said, my main focus would be to keep the same damage output I have but not feel like I’m being one shot by everyone else.

(Bonus Question: Would subbing Scepter in for Sword and swapping Zealous Blade out for Focus Mastery be a better idea for WvW so I have some kind of Ranged option?)

((Build Variant: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQNAR8dlUgiD3GSNEfIFSugqCxDODCMjueARKUDB-ToAg0CnIKSVkrITRyisFNKZVC ) Thoughts?)

Rym.1469:

Norn female. No doubt. Best armors, best animations.

^ This.

The dancing I could do without but everything else, truth.

I’ve been tinkering with it using a chill build, but this is only in the zergfests hotjoin matches; even in those it’s “meh” unless it’s team vs team fight on a point, and that’s the height of it’s usefulness.

In smaller skirmishes, it may need to be replaced by something else just due to the sheer length of the CD. Since with the build I have I can’t trait into Well CDs, 50s and the inability to ground target makes it very situational for my liking.

Just my two cents. But again, I’ve been out of the game since September so take this with as a grain of salt.

I played d/d closer towards release and loved it but since ele was so popular then I dropped it (I don’t like bandwagons). However since being away from the game since September and finding no hope in any decent Necro changes, I’ve decided that if I came back to the game ele would be my next experiment.

That being said, as far as WvW, how do you’d feel S/D builds are fairing these days as a solo roamer and/or camp flipper?

I’m sure staff or dagger would be better at camps since they both have good AE fields, but I’m not sure I could play staff effectively if I got ganked by another player. I’d rather not go back to d/d I’d at all possible simply because of it’s popularity. That leaves me with S/D and I’ve seen some really bursty s/d videos but mainly just from PvP.

Would s/d be kitten against the popular wvw builds of classes like Wars and Thieves?

I would actually like to see a couple ideas on this also, but involving scepter or even staff if at all possible.

Anchoku.8142:

Dhumfire is not getting nerfed according to the dev stream. It will just work differently and we have all been speculating on it.

You can still be ganked in wvw. 1 vs 10 sux.

Well I played on NSP so being ganked in a 1v10 setting isn’t anything new from when I took a hiatus from the game.

But thanks for the clarification on DF.

May be worth updating and logging in just to tinker around with a chill build for the lolz.

I would still like any new info that someone can offer that has come to game since last September or so.

I’ve been reading that Dumbfire is being nerfed, but haven’t spent enough time to see what Necros are getting in return. Can anyone shed some light on this?

Has anyone come up with some interesting builds (specifically those for WvW) that would fit a solo roaming play style? I’m actually a little curious towards chill builds as well, whether it be power or condition; though I would prefer condition since I already have the gear for that.

Has WvW seen any decent changes? Are those crazy guard buffs still in the game?

I’m really digging the Reanimator buff.

I’m not sure what they can do to Dhuumfire. If they remove it, they won’t replace it with anything that would compensate for the damage loss. If they change it to Torment, it would either be:

A) Such a low stack on such a low proc rate that it wouldn’t be worth taking

OR

B) It would be completely over powered because of the duration increase from Spite and the fact that it would help out both power AND condi builds in PvP.

I think I would much rather have either more Poison application or, even better, Chill. You don’t see a lot of chill builds anymore BUT it would really help both power and condi builds if we had more chill access via traits. Even then it still doesn’t help us where we need it most but at least it would alleviate our mobility woes a little bit more.

While we’re on the game mode conversation, I really enjoyed the game modes that RIFT had for pvp. Classes were totally unbalanced (ie Rogues) in pvp but the game modes were insanely fun. If you’re unfamiliar with them, they went like this:

Black Garden

Object placed in the middle of the map. Hold object to gain points. Person holding object takes increasing amounts of damage until they die in which case it is dropped. After being dropped, so many seconds pass before it is returned to the center of the map unless picked up again. First team to 500 wins.

Library (longer name but I forgot it all)

Same concept as Black Garden except a number object appear at different points on the map in (I think) 2 minute intervals until five objects exist. Players holding the objects run slower and grow in size and are highlighted so they stand out.

Whitefall Steeps

Pretty much standard CTF mode, large map, insanely fun but ruined by unbalanced Rogue classes because teleporting with the flags was allowed. This was my favorite mode to play though.

There are a few others and if you played RIFT you’re probably familiar with them, but I won’t list them all. Those three are just my top favorite three and were the most fun.

JP’s are one reason I really enjoy my Necro in WvW, since we’re on the subject. We have so many ways to fear you or pull you off ledges and cause you to miss jumps (ie: Fear, Chill, SG) that we can pretty much unofficially Moderate the JP’s as we see fit as long as you’re within max range.

Just another reason I look out for those that just want to finish and be done as well as troll those that are attacking them. The only other class that really annoys me are Mesmers and near perma-stealth thieves; but the thieves are broken and annoy everyone in WvW no matter where they are so meh.

Being on NSP and knowing exactly what you’re talking about, there isn’t much you can do aside from trying the other exits, going to a different BL, or just not doing WvW at all.

The server match ups are still stupid even with this “league” crap.

This week SBI has nearly double NSP and EB’s points combined. So yeah..

For the current season, whatever server you started on will be where your reward comes from, yes. The question is, is waiting in queue for 2hrs every day for seven weeks worth it OR would you rather be playing in WvW during that time?

Btw if you do transfer, come to NSP. We need the guilds/people/resources and actually have some good people; our numbers are just low. Our Fridays (change days) are usually the only time we even see a queue for ANY BL. Last Friday it was our own while all others were fine.

Be warned though, unless we get some good numbers we’ll likely be facerolled for the next seven weeks.

You left out Spectral Grasp in the Spectral Skills section. It’s good at producing LF and offers a nice chill especially with points into Spite.. It just seems extremely buggy still and rarely lands :/

NSP had a queue and we usually have barren boarderlands. They would need a solution that would work for both high population servers and low population servers.