Guild Wars 2

I met Chuck Nornris the other day! He had red hair, went about bare chested and ripped things apart with his hands. That was pretty awesome.

I find it strange that nobody mentioned the Dredge. To me they should be counted as one of the “greater” races. They seem to have a complex political structure (rebellions, alliances like the Molten Alliance etc.). They are also technologically advanced and inclined to expanding their territory. If you take the Molten Alliance as an example it clearly shows that the Dredge are capable of creating “new” technologies.

I think we need to be more clear in how we define “smartest”. Does it mean the race with the most cultured civilization, or perhaps the most technologically/magically advanced? Could we define it as being the race that is currently developing the fastest along all of those avenues?

100% agree.

*15 characters.

GMT +02:00. Would love to try it out!

I can well imagine a time in Orr when some clever Orians with their “every-day” magical capabilities decided to mine the nearby ocean for rich gemstones, or simply underwater truffles. These groups soon formed into clans, which increased the competition among them for access to the best resources. Delving deeper into their natural Orrian magic they finally decided to live underwater, creating some membrane for support (which might have been more for looks than utility) as well as aqua-breathers. Perhaps they once had caravans that would venture out onto land to sell the riches of their oceans? Perhaps the undersea dragon transformed their world into a dessert?

Oh suspension of believe…

The Largos do remind me a lot about the Arabian Nights. They had “masked” assassins, Arabic-sounding names and when looking at Arabians portrayed in fantasy they seemed to share the same codes of honor and respect.

Please continue this topic!

It really is possible! Not incredibly exciting, but possible.

…and here I thought it was a representation of a windmill. xD

OFF TOPIC: The greatest addition to WvW? Ladders! Just think about the epic sieges then!

This seems like a build I will try out myself in sPvp. Just one question though, I know that certain sigils which needs a critical to activate tend to clash, and it is unnecessary to have two of the same sigils in your weapons (i.e. Major Earth in Staff and Major Earth in Scepter), but what happens if you use two sigils of venom like you did? I assume the boost is ineffective unless you are actually wielding the weapon, or by some random chance do the two sigils stack in any way?

Thanks to VZ and SFR for the epic fights in VZ Borderlands. Seems like Desolation is always outnumbered there and yet we hold our own against you guys! Cheers to all the Deso guilds and players! See you in wvw (VZ Borderland) soon!

/salute

Thank you for the build Ichor! As soon as I’m able I’ll give it a go. Could you perhaps post some figures (Power, Health, Toughness, Condition Damage etc.)? I am currently at work and while pretending to be busy would like to crunch some numbers.

Thanks for the great feedback and contributions everybody! You may not know this but Ichor also created a nice Well build which I have yet to test out. Check it out and perhaps we can start comparing notes
- http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fQUQNAoYWjMaV6ZaiaM8KApCXPpI7xhKsbMjiDmWAA

:)

Last night in PvP I have removed the 30 points in Blood Magic and placed it in Spite for the power. It gave me a some steady numbers – 1.9k power, with 1.4k condition damage. The build seemed to be effective but i was too pressed for time to try it out in WvW. Another concern might be survivability in dungeons. Having had Vampiric Rituals in my previous setup was a life saver in dungeons!

One more question – shouldn’t a Well Mancer also have Greater marks on his/her staff? To me it feels as if that just increases the opportunity to create more havoc?

Oh yes! I need to be (of course) much closer to the wall in order to drop the wells with Focused Rituals, but most of the time it creates a ton of havoc for the defenders on the walls. So it is fun dropping wells onto the walls, especially certain points are easier to “reach” and aim for than other but almost always effective.

When I click the link I am taken to a clean build. What traits are you running with?

I am an avid Necromancer, currently playing my own version of a hybrid well’o mancer. I’d like to ask the expert Necromancers out there if they have any suggestions for improving my build.

This is what I have at the moment -

TRAITS:

Spite: 0
Curses: 20 with Terror and Focused Rituals.
Death Magic: 20 with Greater Marks and Staff Mastery
Blood Magic: 30 with Mark of Evasion, Ritual Mastery and Vampiric Rituals.

Currently I am kitted out in full TA armor.

Utilities and skills:

Well of Blood for healing (unless I am roaming alone then I switch to Consume Conditions). Well of Corruption and Well of Suffering since they do wonderful aoe damage and at 900 range they can be great for sieges in wvw! Well of Power is another utility that I run with, especially in wvw. Fleshie is my elite skill since he can trample an enemy and I can drop wells and marks around the poor soul. Sometimes though I switch out to Plague Cloud, or even Take Root (Sylvari racial).

I am mostly fighting with my staff, but I carry a scepter and dagger along with me for those really intense fights.

While I am no expert in theory-crafting and creating builds I have had a ton of enjoyment from this build. I am tanky enough to survive most burst damage, and throwing wells and aoe’s around me can even hurt those stealthy and sneaky backstabbers. My wells and marks is also great for keeping a team going with condition removal, regeneration and dark fields!

In the end this is what I want to ask, keeping in mind that I want to fight with wells, and prefer ranged combat, how would you suggest I change or possibly improve my build? Am I using the right armor? Runes? Traits? Please help!

Had a lot of intense fights yesterday against both VZ and SFR in the VZ Borderlands! Thanks to GoD and everybody that was there for keeping a cool head and staying in control of the situation. Loved the loot that I got when VZ and SFR attacked Redbriar at the same time, and in turns! Will see everybody tonight before reset!

Thanks for the quick response Bas! Much appreciated and love what you guys are doing for the Necromancer forum. Without wanting to sound like an idiot, could you please provide us with a link to a possible power build utilizing wells and the staff? I have an idea that soon I will have to change my hard-earned TA armor.

This is a very good question! I too am an avid wellomancer and have been running condition damage on my current build for ages. Personally I am happy when in pvp, wvw, or pve 9dungeons). Lately I have been thinking abit more along the lines of a bursty power/well necro. A lot of people swear that power builds are more effective for the burst damage of the wells. My problem is that I am not sure how to get the most power out of my necro, while keeping the focused rituals (targeted wells) and the larger marks on my staff. So I’ll be keeping an eye out on this thread. Maybe an expert from BuT or so could help us out.

:D Agree with Kendra! Awesome work that you have done here.

I just love reading all about Tyria! Naturally I also love browsing through this forum, reading about the different lore-aspects etc.

Now, from a RP perspective, I would love to ask the following question -

Is there an existing calendar of some sort, indicating special holidays celebrated in Tyria? Almost like Winter’s Day – just with a tiny bit more lore attached to it?

Do the residents of Queensdale celebrate some victory, or the Queens coronation/jubilee? What festive days are there for the other races, the Norn, the Asura and of course the Sylvari!

Just like Bawb said, “Epidemic”, when timed perfectly it is like dropping an atom bomb of sparkly joy on your enemies. Sadly though Safka is also correct in mentioning that the caps on conditions tend to ruin your master-plan for destruction. Still, I am having a lot of fun with my condition necromancer and in dungeons my character has been a valuable part of the team setup.

Try it!

Zhaitan’s Reach for Scepter! It looks so funny when my Necro pulls out that arm and swings it about madly, screaming …“You need a hand, huh!? …a hand?”

DeathWish is also my current favorite Staff – just wish it had some particle effects! <3

Hi, I am Ash Light and I also love Guild Wars 2! Seriously, from our introductions it sound as if we are about to start an addicts-support group.

More on topic though – I love Guild wars 2 because of…

The Community! I’ve made friends from all over the world. Every encounter in every dungeon is different, because of the class mechanics, the player skills and preferences.

The music in the Grove is simply the best through-out Tyria!

WvW – What could be more fun that running with your guild, stomping over one poor unfortunate enemy soldier, then bragging about how incredibly overpowered ninja-like you are right before getting wiped by a sea of red enemies.

sPvP – Being “that one —-- Necromancer” that facerolls through every encounter with the enemy and is unshakable when you have your point.

There are other things too – the awesome artwork, the NPC conversations! Free (monthly) updates. No fees. The list goes on…

I like what Eleima said at the end there. Grouping up with people really changes the game a lot. It feels less like a task or a chore when you are out with friends, bragging about that epic fight against the Champion Risen Giant in Orr, or do you remember that day you and that random Guardian tried to complete the Caledon forest map together when a Giant Troll tried to face-stomp you?

I’ve already created two level 80’s (both necromancers!) and I have found that the leveling process just goes that much faster when you are exploring Tyria with a buddy, or several! You completely forget about reaching 80 and just as important – you learn a lot more about your character. You realize that you work perfectly well with a Mesmer, or that perhaps when you are grouped with a thief you have to use different skills.

In my opinion, the higher level you become the more fun the game is – and the REAL fun starts at 80! Give it a go and good luck!

I would say that Desolation [eu] is a perfect choice! If I am not mistaking 2pm – 6am EST translates to 7pm – 11am GMT. Desolation becomes rather busy between those hours, especially from 7pm upwards.

Happy hunting and hope that you find a server!

PS: Whisper me if you have reached Desolation and need a guild to party with.

Our guild have only done the Bounties thus far and I can confirm that you get an award for the first bounty kill. Not sure about the rest though.

As the title states I am an avid Well’omancer. Naturally I am focused on conditions and AoE damage which has brought me a lot of success in WvW. I can almost always at last my enemies, annoy them and throw conditions all over the place. I’ve noticed that I really excel when it comes to assaulting a tower, camp or keep. The more enemies the better for me!

Where I do feel weak is in the open battle ground when we are roaming between points. Now normally I can fight against a number of different enemies but what really annoys me is when I have to fight a ranger and his/her pet!

If I ignore the pet and focus on the ranger (which I almost always do) the pet gnaws at me and whittles away my endurance. If I attack the pet, I can kill it but by that time the ranger have knocked me senseless with a series of arrows.

What I want to know is this – do you have any great tactics or ways to fight a ranger (with a bow) and his/her pet in an open area where you are almost unable to pin them down to one spot?

Bas.7406:

Snip.

Thank you Bas! I will definitely give this a go next time that I get an opportunity to do so. Normally in sPvP I am one of the anchors that keeps a point secured. I just love it when an enemy waltzes right in to engage me and then gets wiped. But that Asura sure gave me a run for my money! I noticed that if I threw down a mark with my staff he would simply order the Flesh Golem to breach it – which was incredibly annoying as the Necromancer stayed at range. Still – an inspired couple of bouts! Thanks again for the advice!

I haven’t tested this myself so the moment that I get a chance I’ll let you know. What I did notice last night was when I threw down a Well of Power (The one that converts conditions into boons on every pulse) I was under it’s effect, even though I used Focused Rituals to drop the well over my party, while I was ranging it and nowhere near the well.

Could this have been a glitch, or does it work like that? I didn’t get time to study it any further but it seemed rather awesome.

So I’ve been playing GW2 for a couple of months now. On my first character (A Char necromancer) I played FoTM until somewhere around level 10 / 11. At that point I lost interest in FoTM and I also created my current main – another necromancer!

Last night, for the first time in months I took my Necromancer into the depths of FoTM with a party where nobody (except me and the Mesmer) had a “general” idea of what to do in each fractal. At first I was a bit apprehensive, thinking that running with a group of people completely unfamiliar with FoTM will be torture.

Instead I was pleasantly surprised when we managed to rush through every level, beating up the mobs and the bosses with ease! We planned and worked out tactics perfectly! Better yet – this party had some of the “under dog classes” in it. Within this party was a Necromancer, a Mesmer, a Ranger, A Warrior and a Thief. No one character "carried’ the party and we really worked good! As a result we continued to do Level 2 as well and added each other as friends to do FoTM together more often.

Now my question is this have FoTM been nerfed after the patch? Do you find that it has been made easier now? Or were Grenth simply smiling on us?

100% Noble. For a while my Necromancer was Diplomatic, but that seemed a little bit too – acceptable.

Worked for me as well. Very easy!

More stories please! This is great entertainment.

So many people care about the Moa’s but what about the dire plight of Armadillos, Rabbits, Rats and Owls that get slaughtered by Necromancers all over Tyria? They are a staple life force source to the Necromancer community. Shouldn’t this activity be somehow regulated?

On a slightly different note – Minionmancers really do have a viable role in sPvP! I tried it once, a long time ago and was completely ineffective. After that i switched to a hybrid well’omancer build with which I have had a lot of success in sPvP.

About three nights ago I encountered (for the first time after the update) a Minionmancer in the enemy team. Piece of cake pinning him down and wiping the floor with him, right? WRONG! This tiny Assura Necro, along with his horde of minions had me constantly on the defense – so much so that I could barely pull myself together to counter him and when i did manage to counter one of his minions will take the brunt of my rage.

It was a frustrating and demanding match-up! That Asura Necro made me feel proud of our class. Sure we may have a lot of things that don’t gel well together, but if you know your class well you can be overpowered. In fact, the entire team was complaining about the Asura Necro and his minions.

Point is, MM’s are viable in sPvP.
Now if only I had more time to figure out the perfect counter…

As a necromancer conditions are a staple in our class. We control them by shifting conditions, applying them and even removing them. So it is natural (as a Necromancer) to try out a Condition-orientated build.

I found that I am extremely pleased with my Conditions. Perhaps the only complaint is the limited to the amount of stacks that you can place on players or hostiles.

Countless times in WvW I will get some loot or badges because out there (somewhere) was a player that had used all of his/her healing ability and the stacks of poison and bleeding that I had placed on them took their toll.

I am currently running full exotics (TA armor with runes of the Necromancer) and sure I may not be able to —--slap a player or a dungeon boss as hard as a ’zerg-gear warrior – but I am able to hit it hard with my conditions and then focus on killing off the adds, or rescuing my party members or even applying conditions to other players in wvw – all the while my conditions will be taking their fair share of damage. Almost like a fire-and-forget missile.

The simple fact is – conditions are damage over time. It is possible for condition damage to be a fair trade off and shouldn’t be considered to be “weaker” or “inferior”.

Ah, old war stories! My favorite! Not so long ago, while doing active duty for Desolation [eu] on the Eternal battlegrounds I was partied up with a low-level warrior – the thinking being that my veteran status will have some positive effect on the young one.

While teaching her the basics of scouting and raiding caravans we came across 10+ hostiles that just took one of our camps. The natural response was to dial in for back up but we got informed that they are caught in another Zerg-clash and will try to reach us as soon as possible.

Unfortunately Grenth weren’t smiling on us that day and one of the hostiles spotted us and promptly they charged us. Unable to flee or use misdirection I charged headlong into the cloud of enemies, my trusty wing-woman by my side!

It was a grueling fight during which time the hostile NPC’s guarding the camp spawned, almost doubling the number of enemies we were facing! The warrior went down and my necromancer went crazy with rage! I crippled and blinded the enemy, dropping wells, marks and epidemics all over the place. I would have revenge for my fallen companion!

Slowly the enemies morale was being broken and instead of downing me when they could have – they fell back, trying to regroup and pickup their downed companions. It was at that triumphant moment that out of the blue another group of hostiles came in from behind me, catching me unprepared and I was downed where I stood – almost dead!

During those crucial final seconds as I saw my life ebbing away the Desolation company stormed in, chasing the enemy away and helping me up! That day I did not die, having kept the camp contested and teaching my young padawan that even two soldiers can make a difference when vastly outnumbered.

A hero is not defined by class or by equipment, but by skill and bravery.

/Salute Desolation [eu]

I would suggest going with the Necromancer! I have 2 level 80 Necromancers and simply love the class! When you start out I suggest that for a main weapon you go with the staff (since the staff lays down a series of marks that all does AoE damage) and concentrate on Minions. They are perfect for keeping you safe and for tagging mobs. This way you will quickly level!

Normally I level as a Minionmancer like this until I reach around level 50+. From there on I switch traits to specialize in Wells. Wells can do massive amounts of damage to single targets, or mobs. If you trait for Focused Rituals you can throw down wells at 900 range which is great for any situation. Normally this is powerful enough to push you right up to level 80.

As for which class is better in AoE? My choice would be the Necromancer – although I must admit that I have not tried the Engi yet.

Good luck and enjoy the class that you decide to go with!

Completely agree with Angelicchoir! I keep on telling my guild that they should all change over to Sylvari (I am one of only two Sylvari in a guild of 40+ members). We easily have the best designed home in the entire game. Our background music is wonderful, enchanting and yes – the conversations between the NPC’s!

After a long day of slugging through infested dungeons, or exploring the wide world I know that I can head HOME where I can repair my armor, sell a couple of trinkets that I’ve gathered – create that tasty meal and – relax.

I wonder if it could be that the Flame Legion enslaved the Dredge? Sometimes the Dredge doesn’t seem to be the standard type of villains and I always make a point of it to only attack Dredge that tried to attack me.

Slither Shade.4782:

Snip.

:D …everything that Slither Shade said works great! Last night I was running with a PuG group and we were wiped the first time that we encountered her. (None of us were in AC since the update). Yet, after that we completed all three paths, not once wiping at the Spider Queen. I suppose that she surprised us a bit but once you know what to look out for it is an easy fight.

Oh – and if you have a Necromancer in the group, ask him/her to have a Power Well on standby. I find that it is wonderful to turn the poison conditions into a boons!

Yesterday I joined a PuG to venture down an AC path in explorable. In our group we had a Mesmer that had NEVER ran AC. To add to this, none of us had been in AC since the update and, yet – it went extremely well! It went so well that we stayed to run all three paths! We loved every bit of it, including the Ghostbusters fight.

My point is, we had somebody in the group that had never ran AC before and he loved the dungeon. It isn’t impossible for PuG’s or even new players to enjoy it. Sometimes change is good.

One of my favorite memories will always be the time that I went with Tybalt to save a kidnapped damsel in distress – all the while we were pretending to be pirates!

I’ll never be able to look at an apple now without getting all teary-eyed.

Since the update I am rather pleased with the new Dailies. Yesterday (first time online after the update) I completed my Daily without even trying to do so. Previously I felt like I was being forced to do so. …will see about the coming dailies.

You could always RP that Arkham Creed was so exhausted after this climatic battle that he promptly passed out and was unable to partake in the “victory/celebrations” that ensued. It could have happened…

On a more serious note, you sound like a very intelligent person and perhaps the problem that you are having might not be exactly originating from the game (quality and variety of content not being taken into consideration) – but rather your “boredom” may stem from a lack of being able to use your imagination or opportunities to RP? Have you ever thought of joining a RP Guild? I hear that there are several about.

While it is perfectly acceptable to play an MMO without actually involving the community, in my humble opinion, the community adds an uncontrolled and dynamic element to the game.

I have no need to go for a legendary, and I’m not really bothered by “stats” per-say, BUT I do enlist people to join me when I want a particular item or title that will fit with my image of the character that I have created. Yes, I also RP a lot.

Long ramble short – Do not give up on the game right away. You have already spent months achieving your current status. Don’t allow Arkham Creed to fade away. Perhaps it is time for him to find a side-kick, a dysfunctional group of people, Sylvari, Asura and char to join his adventures.

If ever you need a friendly face in game, feel free to contact me!

PS: I am on Desolation (EU-server).

Cheers!

Ventured into all three Ac paths yesterday for the first time – not fully knowing what to expect. There has been a lot of negative hype around the dungeon on these forums – BUT – in my opinion ANet really did make the dungeon better. Loved and can agree with everything that you said Syx.

Our PuG yesterday had no idea what to do in path two, wiped once and then figured it out! Rather awesome, though I won’t be running this dungeon that often as I simply have no (incentive) need to do so. Still, a great update in my opinion, adding some dimension and energy.

It is encouraging to see players willing to go through what a lot of people on the forums call an “unforgiving” and “over powered” dungeon. Perhaps the true skill lies in the ability to go back to an encounter after having failed countless times, and still be willing to try new tactics and builds to beat it. Of course not using any exploits and such nonsense.

Can the real reward in beating Arah be found in a couple of tokens, some title, or perhaps loot? Or is the true reward knowing that YOU played your class and character so well that you bested one of the most insane dungeons in GW2?

TA would really be the best. In fact, I have the entire TA armor set currently for my Necromancer. I have done it with guildies, with experienced as well as inexperienced PuG’s. The TA dungeon isn’t that unforgiving or time consuming.

So there we were, two bloodied Necromancers clutching desperately to their staves and daggers as fierce Arah wind spilled around them. A huge and exhausted Norn warrior stared with bleary eyes at our Asura engineer, sighing as he lifted his greatsword. Our dagger/pistol thief scouted the area ahead of us. This is is it. We’ve been fighting mobs of undead that would put the maker’s of Resident Evil to shame. We’ve carried and passed along balls like no NBA team could ever do. We got knocked down together, we stood together…. we will die together.

…and the Asura hops on closer to the party. “Hey guys, I need a sauna and won’t be able to explore any further.” huge dark eyes blinking. “Don’t worry though, I am pretty sure that you can easily replace me.” With a blink of tired eyes he was gone and we found ourselves – outside the dungeon!

What happened!? Why were the fates so cruel to us!? Both necromancers made sure to sacrifice several minions before we entered the dungeon. We spend hours fighting and killing through hordes of undead, only to get kicked out of the dungeon with a measly three tokens, broken armor and sadness!

That is the biggest pain I ever felt in this game. We really did have a perfect team. Shame then that our Asura decided that his/her skincare was more important than ending the dungeon first. They should find some way to nominate a “Captain/Leader” and this person will be responsible for the instance. Sure if he/she feels like leaving they should pass this role on to another member. Or we could just vote! Most of us live in democratic countries.

Ah, but I know they will some how fix this issue – one day.

/End Ramble.

Elementdot.6081:

I wished I could do some Arah exploration. But so far, I’ve only seen, not met, seen elitist/“experienced” players in Arah. They don’t like when they got newbies. I’ll be honest, I’m kind of an elitist myself for CoF and AC but not much, just when they don’t dodge when needed and when they aggro something we are trying to avoid. In other words rage.
Regardless, I don’t have anything to say about Arah because I’ve never done it. Played since launch and never touched Arah exploration even with all previous “speed-runs” and skip to final boss runs with no DR.
I’ve been looking for a well-mannered group to do Arah with, to teach players who’s new to Arah exploration. Tough luck going on though and it seems like you guys are enjoying it… like really enjoying it… care to assist and show me what you see in Arah exploration?

TL;DR Show me why Arah makes you all warm and fuzzy.

Add me in game and the next time that we get a group together I’ll invite you! We do not exploit and we skip only a bare minimum of trash mobs. You are welcome to come and find out first hand what all the hype is about!

I have always played a Necromancer and will continue to do so (never having played an Engi) – BUT – I have a couple of free minutes and thought I’d browse through the forums and evidently made my way here. Last night, for the very first time, I encountered an Engineer who’s play style took my breath away – while exploring Arah nonetheless!

Never mind the thought of mobile dagger/dagger elementalists, or burst warriors and tanky guardians. In my opinion, Engineers, when well played, have everything to be easily recognized as a top class. This engi supported the team, dealt damage and was more than once the only player left standing, tanking the mobs and saving our skins.

So as somebody that has never played an Engi before.. I would like to /salute the class.