Showing Posts For Lumines.3916:

A look at how each class performs in the psuedo trinity.

in PvP

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

The so called build you’re trying to hold back is the cookie cutter condition spec Necromancer. Corrupt Boon does put Guardians on thin ice when it works. But Arcane Thievery is a much better skill as it is both an offensive and defensive CD for the Mesmer. Not to mention Null Field > Well of Corruption/Power. This “counter” for Guardians? Mesmers do it better while having a much higher uptime on their DoTs.

It doesn’t really help the Necro that two of its most useful skills (Corrupt Boon + Plague Signet) are bugged and don’t always work properly. You’ll have a much easier time forcing Guardians into a pinch and interrupting them as a Mesmer running a similar role at this point in time.

Necromancer in end level dungeons. Seeking some guidance

in Necromancer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#McVccm9MowGxMowGxM0GaGGcsmoRMk

This build does not have high damage potential, this is probably as good as it gets when considering a cleric Necromancer. You will have to explain to your group what Well of Blood does, they will still run out of it like it’s a red circle and waste your heals. I’m in full Shaman exotics and it ticks for 564 x10 over 10 seconds. Transfusion is your second group heal while Well of Power lets you wash conditions and Well of Darkness being melee’s best friend. Your wells when cast on others will grant them Protection briefly but anything helps.

I prefer Warhorn for the daze but Off-hand dagger is not a terrible choice either. You will act both as the healer and tank in this build. It’s also better if you point and call targets to get the most use out of epidemic.

It's just not worth the trouble to play Necromancer.

in Necromancer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

Let me go ahead and dig that up for you.

Let me try and clarify myself a bit more. Death Shroud is very powerful because it gives Necromancer access to a secondary health bar which is is much more reliably renewable than normal health is for other professions. On top of that it essentially also gives them a 3rd weapon set that they can use to circumvent the basic weapon swap cooldown to reliably bounce between powerful skills in 3 different sets. For both of these reasons, Necromancer has a high power ceiling but also an extremely high learning curve.

In the current condition heavy meta-game, there is a lot of condition removal. The problem this is causing for Necromancers is that they do not have a lot of build diversity in this meta, because they don’t have any great power builds they can turn to. What I would like to try and do is increase build diversity without increasing effectiveness because I don’t believe we have really seen what strong Necromancers can do yet.

Hopefully that explains a bit where we stand. We are still working towards getting rid of all of the bugs in everyone’s skills and traits at which point we can get a much better idea of where everyone stands. That time will also give us the chance to see where the large amount of current players actually takes the meta game.

Jon

What we’re trying to do on the Necromancer section is to of course give valid feedback. There’s a lot of QQ and whiney posts out there that is for certain, but also lies extremely good discussion that the devs can base decisions on. You’re not the only one that’s been around the block to know what a buff/nerf cycle is like, but to fuel that you need valid points for balance. Do you even know why people even bother writing out arguments detailing this and that? It’s because -gasp- they actually CARE about it, that’s why they were playing it in the first place.

Also, I really like this ego-stroking and weird notion of prestige that you seem to think you’d earn if you only stick with one class. This obvious need of validation from what others think of you in relation to the class is completely foreign to me. The fastest way to learn how to beat other classes is to go around and learn all of them. The best Dota and HoN players will have a few champions they’re very efficient at but still will be able to play -ar just fine. It’d be a shame not to take advantage of the sPvP system in the same manner.

I’m frustrated with the class because it fails to live up to its potential and why would I continue to deal with that when I can just focus on my energy elsewhere and come back to the Necromancer once the kinks have been ironed out. Not only will I have gained another class’ perspective, I still know the Necromancer like the back of my hand. And that’s what I’ll have on players like you.

Retreat!

in Guardian

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

Is it just my Guardian or does “Hold the Line!” not have a voice attached to it. My asura guardian only yells “Getting Healthy!” when I pop it which seems to be attached to regeneration more than anything.

20,000 damage from pistol whip

in Necromancer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

Pistol whip may not hit for that much, but backstab most definitely can(on other Berserkers that is). Thieves are pre-casting cloak and dagger then stealing(also hits pretty hard) to gurantee the hit for stealth to backstab.

Feeling incredibly cheated

in Necromancer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

^ You made me chuckle, good stuff.
In the right hands, a Necromancer can be a little nuisance in PvP yep. But put the same hands on a Mesmer..now you’re actually getting somewhere!

Mesmers the ultimate beat all class?

in PvP

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

Mesmers are the best class in tPvP without a doubt. I know this because I’ve had time across all professions and play a Mesmer myself now too.

There is no true counter to a good Mesmer like you would any other class. HB Warriors? Everyone knows the combo now. Thieves? Hard yes but if you can withstand their initial burst, chances are you either send them running or they get overwhelmed without their CDs.

You can’t catch a Mesmer if they know what they’re doing. Blink, Mirror Images, Decoy, these are all stun breaks and they’re all under a minute cool down. If you do catch them without one of these up and bulls them down, they can still use Staff Phase Retreat(8s cd) to get to a safe distance while on the ground.

Condition builds? You better bring some removals, they can wash or transfer and reset easily while stripping or stealing your boons. If you CC them, their illusions are still stacking bleeds, just CCing a Mesmer does not stop their damage output. If you pop their clones, Debilitating Dissipation ensures you will not enjoy that too.

Phantasm builds? You better LoS the iDuelist fast or pop it, or it WILL kill you. Unless your class has AoE you’re spending time that could of been used to damage the Mesmer on his illusions, this puts you directly behind the race to kill. Their Phantasm and other illusion skills also have a MUCH lower CD than all other pet skills across professions, just check it side by side with Ranger Spirits, Guardian Spirit Weapons, Necromancer Minions. Also, they don’t take up their utility slots, most of them are on weapon skills meaning they can still pack their lol utilities.

They don’t have to take your kitten if they don’t want to. Distortion can reflect nasty things in clutch moments (Sword works too) and shattering is still possible while stun/kd’d. It’s not as widespread right now, but Warden’s Feedback + Focus is pretty OP and isn’t being abused as it could be.

Control? Check, Damage? Check, Mobility/Survivability? Check. Mesmers have everyone’s strengths in their utilities in better iterations AND lower CDs. So yes, there is no contest. And this notion that they’re only good duelists and bad in team fights? Bull crap, Time Warp is I-Win in a large setting while Null Field IS the best mass dispel in the game.

Ctrl + T doesn’t even affect Mesmers that much as you have the tools to kite better than any class to begin with already.

(edited by Lumines.3916)

Why do people complain about classes they dont play

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Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

My class through all BWE and headstart is the Necromancer. I kept telling myself people don’t know what they’re talking about and a lot of people don’t know how to play the Necromancer yet and defending it. Tried to see the pros if they could outweigh the cons.

That notion was completely shattered as soon as I played a Mesmer.

Kind of regretting the Guardian since 80

in Guardian

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

Explorer’s is the prefix. It comes in Blue, Green, Rare and Exotic variants. Though no matter how high of a quality, each piece always gives 3% MF, only the other stats are higher.

It's just not worth the trouble to play Necromancer.

in Necromancer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

I’ve defended the Necromancer a lot until the past two weeks or so(when I started understanding Mesmers more). My first character since BWE #1 was the Necromancer and played it every beta when not testing other professions. It was my first character since headstart and still my only fully exotic geared character. The grass doesn’t just look greener, we have no grass while they have the garden of Eden.

I’ve tested pretty much all the utilities, weapons, traits the Necromancer has to offer. Some do work, others are terrible but one remains constant. Whatever that you end up coming up with that does work, it will be outperformed or will be easier to execute if you took the same idea and put it on another class (MESMERS).

Some of the issues are a bit fundamental. The Necromancer focuses a bit too much on the negative side of effects with possibly the most limited access to boons unless you specifically go out of your way to grab them. We’re supposed to use Weakness instead of Protection, Blind instead of Aegis yes, but guess what, Guardians can use both. Instead of merely decreasing damage output on one side of the spectrum, they can do it from both angles easily.

I’m not a Minion type person I’ll admit, but free meat shields sounds good while leveling yes? Horrid AI is common knowledge now, and well..Jagged Horrors? It doesn’t even trigger Death Nova when it cease to exist, we don’t even have a way to manually trigger these explosions and the cool downs are just terrible. The last slap in the face is that they take up an utility slot compared to Mesmer illusions.

If you want to play a Minion Master type, stack power and go to town with Mesmer phantasms. They actually reliably hit targets(Gasp), have relatively low cool downs, are on your weapon sets and you can manually detonate them(Shatter is clunky at times but it works well enough and the effects are really strong). Yes they can only target one thing at a time, but nothing is stopping you from spreading them out between targets. They got their own take on Death Nova too, Debilitating Dissipation and Crippling Dissipation.

Condition Necromancers, its manipulation skills are touted as the one of its strongest points right now is also completely outclassed by Mesmers. For one, they can easily strip boons/condition better with just Null Field alone(it basically kitten Wells), Arcane Thievery gives them both a transfer and a boon steal. Additionally, Barbed Precision is severely kittened when you look at Sharper Images. This means a Mesmer (counting himself) can have 4 sources to stack bleeds from at any given moment.

They get Might/Fury just by auto-attacking while proccing burns at a higher rate than Guardians or Engineers on top of the bleeds. Do you have smooth transitions down between staff, scepter and shroud to maximize your bleed output? That’s very nice, did you know all they have to do is spam Staff auto-attack and focus on popping utilities to react to the fight?

With Death Shroud, we’re paying the price by not having access to a stun-break that is under a minute cool down, we also have no mobility that is worthy to speak of, disengaging or roaming potential is completely zilch. We also lack options for control effects relative to every other class and our defensive cool downs are so watered down.

TLDR: Reroll Mesmer if you’re looking for a better Necromancer. They have the best iterations of your utilities and MORE on lower cool downs while being a complete frustration for foes to even touch. Guardians are your best bet if you’re going for a more defensive approach.

I’ve shelved my Necromancer for a Mesmer in tPvP now while I kill time with a Guard/Eng in PvE. And yea, I am pretty upset, a class I’ve spent a huge number of hours experimenting, researching from even before the game released is complete garbage once you branch out and understand how other classes can do the play-style you want to play.

(edited by Lumines.3916)

Kind of regretting the Guardian since 80

in Guardian

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

It drops randomly and you can easily grab pieces off the tradng post. Utilizing blind, blocks and dodge is something ALL guardian builds have to do. Grabbing some vitality merely gives you a nice buffer zone and more room for error should kitten hit the fan.

Why play a glass cannon when you can be an extremely bulky tanky DPS with the Guardian (Soldiers Amulet)?

Kind of regretting the Guardian since 80

in Guardian

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

You want to get vitality too, just sitting there with pure toughness won’t help you if the hit you take after mitigation is still larger than your HP pool. Also the healer’s woe is to deal with bad dps. I know that feel man.

Explorer’s gear will cost you a few silver a piece, has MF and all offensive stats and is probably the best for outdoors farming. The only expensive explorers are the rare/exotics which don’t even give more mf %. It may not be ideal, but masterwork 80s is really all you need to do all the content in the game.

New main ... a Guardian perhaps ?

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Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

The ones claiming Guardians aren’t doing good in terms of the damage department have not been beyond the scope of this class.

For how supportive you build the class, you’d be surprised at the damage they can put out. Sword/Focus + Greatsword makes leveling extremely easy. Sure their burst will never match up with a Thief or Warrior, but their sustain is higher than most would ever hope to be when you put their control options in the equation.

Give us some Hope - Mesmer/Thief/Guardian

in PvP

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

@sorrow,

You’re greatly exaggerating. It’s not terribly hard to spot the real Mesmer if you know what cues to watch for. No off-hands for one and lol Ctrl+ T. Guardians also do not heal on a majority of their skills, most don’t where did you even get that?

My first character since BWE #1 was the Necromancer, I played it all throughout the events and it was my first character since headstart. It’s now shelved, full exotic and everything but I no longer log back onto it. I’ve switched to playing Mesmers now for tPvP while leveling an Engy/Guardian in PvE.

The one thing Necromancers were touted to be their niche was condition manipulation and control. Oh except Mesmers do that bounds better. Mesmers even do minion bombing better than Necromancers and hell aren’t Necros supposed to be minion masters? I’m upset that a class that I’ve invested a lot of time researching, experimenting is completely outperformed in each angle that it was supposed to set itself apart from.

Bleeding done right

in Necromancer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

If necromancer could create and stack the conditions himself, as well as say, a ranger or thief, then he would be imbalanced because he also contains within himself the ability/utility to keep the conditions off of himself and his teammates and throw any additional conditions on himself and allies back at the enemy. The question would then become “why would I play any other class but necro?”

What you just described is a condition bleed/burn Mesmer. They can stack the conditions themselves easily AND keep it off himself and allies. The boon/condition control that is supposedly the Necromancer’s biggest strength? Mesmers do it better. And yep, that’s why there is no reason not to play one if you’re going for a DoT caster atm.

Is it just me? or?

in Mesmer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

I totally understand why people want this to change. This really diminishes the mechanic the profession was based on. However, take clones out and replace them with essentially moving turrets. The class is fundamentally still the same, just the function is slightly different and it’d still work. Why? because Mesmers even without needing to trick people still somewhat force others to pop clones/phantasms. Additionally, it’s the most mobile caster in the game and kiting as one is not hard at all.

Mesmers were supposed to redirect damage to their clones through the use of visual confusion, it doesn’t play out like that in reality cause of Ctrl + T. However, they’re still very capable despite this. No other class is trying to redirect damage to other targets but have less mobility skills anyway.

Combat UI improvements

in Suggestions

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

This needs mroe attention

Give us some Hope - Mesmer/Thief/Guardian

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Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

Ok yea, people still aren’t getting the point of the thread. It is not about being overpowered. It is about Thief/Mesmer/Guardian being the highest potential/most viable classes to play for any role you want to fill. In other words, whatever you are doing with your class, the thief, mesmer or guardian does it BETTER.

This, really just 100 times this.
Take whatever class you’re playing right now, create a build/role that you want to play with it. Now make a Guardian/Thief/Mesmer in similar fashion of your other class’ build intended purposes, I guarantee it’ll play with less hiccups and will be more effective.

Power, Vitality, Toughness

in Guardian

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

Thank you all for the help, this made my life easier.

Bleeding done right

in Necromancer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

Same deal if you roll a Mesmer, stack the same kitten, pick up Sharper Images, spam staff auto and drop illusions. Don’t even need to flank.

In an ideal setting, the Necromancer is balanced by having the ability to transfer, convert and feed off the conditions on himself too. However it also means you must put yourself more in harms way before doing anything meaningful.

Not to mention your mediocore stacks fall and damage output takes pauses when you have to swap out of Scepter.

Power, Vitality, Toughness

in Guardian

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

Does anyone know where to get plate with the above spread in PvE?

I had no idea plague signet was so awesome :)

in Necromancer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

It’s also the only stun-break Necromancers have that isn’t terrible(Spectral Walk) and on a reasonable cool down(Lol Spectral Armor).

I do hate that popping it to not eat Hundred Blades means you can’t use it for transfers and etc for a minute though.

What in mesmers is OP?

in Mesmer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

Stop feeding everyone this notion that Mesmers suck at team fights or any engagement larger than 1v1, seriously where is that coming from? I find mine invaluable in team fights .

I know for a fact our elites can change the tide easily. Moa can turn a 3v3 into a 3v2, and AoE quickness is in a league of its own. You’re one of the classes that can routinely do a mass cleanse for your team, a lot of AoE cleanses on other professions simply do not match up to Null Field.

But but, my illusions can only target one guy! I usually summon two clones on the kill target (so bleeds go on him) while getting a Duelist out on another. This is an easy way to keep pressure on multiple targets. With the extra bouncing trait, your Winds of Chaos is also making its rounds especially in clusterkitten like Foefire mid.

OMFG I get instantly gibbed in teamfights because Mesmers are squishy! This happens to everyone if the opposing team focus fires, it’s not an inherent Mesmer issue. Mesmers however, still pack the most escapes. I get that people can Ctrl + T you, it’s obvious when you see them ignore your clones and come right at you. It just means you work harder, because you kite better thankittenwell most classes. Plus if you’re in a team setting, you can still count on your buddies for peels. Work together as a team if its a team fight..

What in mesmers is OP?

in Mesmer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

It wasn’t my meaning to say you should spend dodges just for clones, it’s to show that Mesmers have an easy time dropping clones. Between Phase Retreat (5s when traited), Clone on Dodge, Mirror Image if you’re bringing it, it’s extremely easy to flood the screen of clones. However I usually go for 2 clones + 1 phantasm.

Sharper Images is possibly the best Bleed on Crit trait among all classes!

Mesmer and movement (map exploration)

in Mesmer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

I really do not understand your allergic reaction to Focus. Most swiftness relative to their cool downs give you a 33-50% uptime. Warhorn for warriors being pretty beast at 10/20s. Ranger warhorn is 15/35s, Necros with theirs get 10/30s. Temporal Certain granting 10/25s is actually pretty good.

Also, the Phantasm you get from it is pretty fantastic, the AoE pull Into the Void is one of the best skills Mesmers have for control, PvE or WvW.

Necromancers have pretty kitten for mobility, they do get Spectral Walk but that is a terrible skill and there is no reason to grab it other than for the Swiftness buff. Mesmers can trait their blink to be 24s, 1200 range AND have a decent off-hand to use for swiftness. You’re not a thief but you’re far from the worst off in terms of mobility.

Everyone else is fine with keeping another set just for the speed buff, not all weapons that grant swiftness across all classes are appealing as an in-combat set. But I amkittensure Focus for Mesmers sure is a solid one.

Mesmers already have everything jesus, if this is the biggest complaint you have about the class, first world problem to the max.

What in mesmers is OP?

in Mesmer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

I’ve been playing a Mesmer in tPvP for a bit now after making the switch from the Necromancer, let me tell you why they’re a notch above most classes.

The underlining thing is, there is no true counter to a good Mesmer. 100b Warriors aren’t much of a threat once you know their combo, if you can survive the Thief’s initial burst, he’s going to melt under conditions/pressure easily. All of Elementalist’s big moves are easy to dodge and move out of. Mesmers? Not so much.

If you’re a Phantasm build, they need to get those down ASAP or your phantasms will kill them. If they’re spending time LoSing your iDuelist or popping him, they’re not hitting you giving the Mesmer a lead.

If you’re a condition clone spamming build, it’s extremely easy to have a huge uptime on clones and ergo bleeds(Dodge clone has no ICD), builds that pick up Debilitating Dissipation don’t mind their clones getting popped as that will hinder them too. Staff Auto-attack is your rotation and gives you Might/Fury while throwing Burns far better than an Engineer or Guardian (33% on crits or 1/5 Hits with Justice).

Even if they don’t go for your clones and illusions, you kite better than any scholar for the matter. The only class that has you beat in mobility is the thief. It’s also impossible to fully lock down a Mesmer. You pack the most stun breaks under a minute cool down. Blink is the lowest cd ground target teleport in the game. Even IF your stun breaks are on CD, just Phase retreat away from that bulls charge. If it connected, you’d still be on the ground but the warrior is now flaying his Hundred Blades in the air. With good timing, Sword distortion and shatter distortion can reflect nasty things while leaving you scott free. And yes, you can still shatter even stun/kd’d.

This is all not even considering the instant AoE boon/condition strip that is Null Field. The usefulness of Arcane Thievery, or the presence Portal can give you. Aside from Kyhlo, it’s also a useful way to get pressure on Keep lord’s door while still being able to flash back to defend the node closest to said keep.

You’re packing the only ranged AoE pull that has no limit (Temportal Curtain) and iWarden is a gem not everyone is abusing just yet. Moa Morph is the best lock out in the game while Time Warp is the best and only AoE Quickness in the game.

Lastly, their downed state along with Thief’s have the most potential to delay and self bandage. The amount of time you can waste the opposing team with your downed state is a lot higher relative to other professions.

Mesmers cannot be truly countered like any other class, they also pack the best iterations of the utilities out there in the lowest cool downs. That is why they’re pretty much the best class right now in PvP.

(edited by Lumines.3916)

chilling darkness trait doesnt work on minion?

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Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

It’s useful with Well of Darkness, would be even more useful if it worked with Plague.

How is the Guardians Damage?

in Guardian

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

Guardians do not pack the heavy burst as seen on Warriors or Thieves. They do however, have incredibly high sustain and their damage isn’t terrible even if you build and go for supportive traits too.

Mesmer or elementalist for tourneys?

in Mesmer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

Stay a Mesmer, seriously there is no contest. It is the best scholar profession by a huge huge margin.

MOA Morph is broken in pvp. Please fix.

in Mesmer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

Two abilities, one on an 80 sec cd, the other on a 30. That’s Plenty!!!

Yes it is, you have the easiest time gaining boon duration (Virtues line), the shout is instant, it’s a stun break and can be reduced to 24s. You also pack the only two AoE Stabilities in the game. Elementalists only get 2s AND its a grandmaster trait.

No other class has it so yes, Guardians have it plenty. They didn’t remove the AoE daze on the tome either. Seriously, L2P issue as the tome is no longer face roll. Inb4 you rage, I’m playing one in tPvP and they are amongst the top in terms of class balance atm.

Please make it so allies can't revive clones

in Mesmer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

Clone is green, real player is blue….

How people haven’t figured this out yet..yea 100 times this.

If its a clone in the vicinity throwing off targeting, that’s one thing. But it’s funny to see people run over to res clones on the opposite side of where the actual player is.

Blink dysfunctional

in Mesmer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

Blink is the best mobility skill in the game, just like how a good amount of Mesmer utilities are the the best in the game. Seriously..

Hair and Helms

in Asura

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

Ears completely disappearing for some helmets bother me a bit too. They’re huge to begin with, I can’t imagine stuffing them like that inside be comfortable at all.

Rant! Fear and thieves

in Necromancer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

-drum roll- ANNND the post of the day award goes too… ^^^

Using Death Shroud Properly?

in Necromancer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

It does not break stuns anymore, you can however, go into shroud when stunned and Fear away the foe who is on you. You will remain stunned/on the ground though.

If you end up dying with life force left because you went in and out of shroud and wrong moments and couldn’t go back while taking hurt, then you’re doing it wrong.

The fear should be used more as an interrupt than “cc” being only 1s, it’s a quick displacement that can be used to stop stomps, kick heals or other red-alert skills.

It’s also a great way to stall for cool downs on your weapon sets or healing/utility skills in clutch moments. Since weapon swapping has a 10s CD inherently, being able to transition smoothly between shroud and both sets is a good way to have the most uptime on more powerful skills. I like to use it to lessen the amount of staff auto-attacks I need to fire before switching back to Scepter for example.

Transfusion is a great trait and makes Life Transfer one of the fatter team heals in the game, though the annoying part is you cannot receive any of it while channeling it.

I prefer weaving in-n-out throughout the fight to keep my life force reserve high for when the situation direly calls for it while still being able to utilize the skills in DS. This also means you can manage how fast you want to spend your dodges, and generally give them less access to your real HP.

Rerolling from Mesmer to Elementalist. WOW?

in PvP

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

I really don’t understand where this notion of Mesmers being crappy in anything larger in a 1v1 is coming from. They have fantastic team fighting skills. Their skillset makes them one of the more condition resilient classes, with the ability help take some pressure off their teammates with Null Field. Arcane Thievery is an extremely good boon steal that is great at reducing the effectiveness of Guardians holing up.

Time Warp is a pretty kitten game changing elite and even if you don’t opt for that in team scenarios (you should why aren’t you?!) Moa Morph can turn a 3v3 into a 3v2 for 10s. That’s more than what most elites can do.

Yes Illusions can’t change targets, but good Mesmers know how to delegate illusions on different targets (it’s really not that hard..) and if you’re a condition build, Staff Auto-attack bounces to adjacent targets so it’s not mission impossible to keep pressure on multiple targets.

Will they have to watch out for insta-gibs by multiple classes? Yes, but that applies to everyone in a team fight anyway..

Replace Dark Path with Spectral Grasp

in Necromancer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

I think it should stay the way it is simply because we already HAVE Spectral Grasp, and Necromancer’s have so few gap closers.

Perhaps I wasn’t clear enough. But the intention is that Spectral Grasp take’s Dark Path’s spot. So it becomes baseline, something like Doom where all Necromancers have access to.

Through this change, the utility skill will be removed as it will then exist on Death Shroud’s bar.

Replace Dark Path with Spectral Grasp

in Necromancer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

Food for thought: Back when Fear was a PBAoE and Life Transfer rooted you, it made sense to get up nice and cozy in the center of the action. Doom is now a 1,200 single target with Life Transfer usable while moving. The only reason Dark Path exists now is so Dagger/Axe Necromancers have a way to gap close and snare.

This does not add any mobility which it seems the devs do not want to give to Necromancers (Dark Path as a ground target blink in dev cycle was pretty op!). This does not take away from the Necromancer’s ability to close distance for their sets with shorter reach.

This does not add a new power to the Necromancer that it previously did not have, it’s not an outrageous change or a complete overhaul.

This does make Death Shroud more interesting and offers the Necromancer more control/positioning tools. Something it really lacks when making comparisons to professions most alike it. Perhaps it can keep the 3 stack bleed Dark Path has or change Life Blast to something akin the Ranger’s shortbow, bleed when flanking. Fun for all Necromancers!

TLDR: Replace Dark Path with a Spectral Grasp

So, necromancer is the only profession that hasn't received a single change (fix or balancing) from the release

in Necromancer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

Been there, done that, moving on to do the same with other classes.

Minions? Never was a MM type of guy, I liked Blood Magic and Curses in GW1. MM feels largely too one dimensional and uninteresting to me and is not the playstyle I usually shoot for. The shape the AI is in currently doesn’t help its case either. The fact that they disappear underwater really irks me and you can call out Jagged Horrors in Lich Form but everything dies when you go into Lich? Sense, it makes none.

Spectral Skills? I tried making a LF generation/DS build with it. The LF gain from it with said trait felt largely negligible. Soulful Marks was faster and more efficient. Spectral Grasp is fine half the time with some serious terrain/elevation issues. Spectral Wall is bugged and only applies 3 stacks of vulnerability, its cool down is also unappealing and overall, does not seem to synergize that well with the Necromancer in general. Yea it gives protection but you can’t cross off people like Line of Warding nor pull people like Temporal Curtain.

Signets? I do like Plague Signet when it works, Spite has too long of a cool down for its function and the passive makes me question it greatly. Signet of the Locust is bugged and heals for less when you trait for life steal (WTF?). I’d use Signet of Undeath if it generated Life Force outside of combat, but 1% every 3s IN COMBAT makes me wonder why this ever made it out. It would have been a neat way to give Necromancers an outlet for LF generation outside of Staff/BiP but it really fails to deliver. At this point, if your team needs a skill like this, get an Engineer with Elixir R.

Wells, these I actually like. Some people complain about the duration vs cool down. Some of it is valid but they’re still plenty effective when utilized correctly. The current five 1s ticks makes them a lot more viable than before. Though the direct damage element with Curses being the primary trait line for Wells makes you question why it’s split in such a weird way.

I believe nothing needs to be said about Corruptions, they’re great and probably the best thing Necromancers have going for them right now.

So I feel I exhausted most of my options now, I’m moving onto Guardians and Mesmers where I feel their variety is actually viable. Consecrations or Shouts bunker? Works decently well. Offensive spirit weapon for pubstomping? Works too.

Heavy conditions with Sharper Images and boon removal? Mesmer’s got it down. Direct damage with phantasms and shatters? Works out pretty well too. Confusion with glamour fields? Not 100% on this yet but it performs.

And that’s the problem, other options actually work out for other professions, something I cannot fully say about Necromancers.

Necronomika: Questions for the seroius Necromancer

in Necromancer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

I usually start pulls with Scepter/Warhorn as I’m using the swiftness to get from place to place.

Grasping Dead (2 stacks) + Scepter auto attack (til 7 stacks), switch to staff, Chillblains, Mark of Blood (3 stacks), Epidemic at this point. Death Shroud, Dark Path (3stacks), Fear, Life Transfer and back to Scepter.

If I start from staff, Chillblains, Mark of Blood (3 stacks), if it’s PvE, I putrid Mark for AoE weakness combo, if PvP, save for condition control, Reaper’s Mark, Mark of Blood (3stacks) Death Shroud, Dark Path (3 stacks), Fear, Grasping Dead (2 stacks), Epidemic.

There really is no set “rotation” though. It’s all about being able to chain abilities that drop multiple stacks back to back while weaving in situational abilities and using cool downs efficiently. You also usually can squeeze in two Marks of Blood by the time weapon change CD is up. Going into Shroud is a good way to not waste time with staff auto attacks as needed in between Mark of Blood CDs.

Which prof have you rerolled to?!

in Necromancer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

Mesmer, Guardian and Engineer, really no contest.

Necromancer Unlimited Fury

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Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

Mesmers have perma Fury from just auto-attacking..

If you are at this forum, you probably...

in Necromancer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

The aesthetic? The flavor of the animations for one are really well done. I enjoy the playstyle a lot and find myself bored by a lot of other classes because of this fact. That still doesn’t mean it’s the most effective though.

My Necro Build is Strong

in Necromancer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

sPvP, not tPvP, and using a pretty cookie-cutter spec we already know about. Nothing to see here, moving along..

My Necro Build is Strong

in Necromancer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

If this is from doing sPvP and not tPvP, I don’t think we’re seeing the whole picture yet. Not trying to put doubt on your personal skills but there’s a difference between the two formats and some builds get filtered out in different settings.

what sigils do you prefer on your weapons?

in Necromancer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

Sigil of Earth for high crit builds. Sigil of Doom for non high crit builds. I like sigil of energy for my off-hand as the dodge is quite nice.

GS warriors with 4-5 signets in Dungeons anyone else hate this

in Warrior

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

The worst is when they claim they only have 900 toughness but its okay cause they have “CRAZY CRITS!” Then they proceed to die every pull and talk kitten because “melee is hard to play” you’re only making it more difficult for yourself with spec/gear like that /facepalm

Please remove drop caps for farming the same monster!

in Suggestions

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

This is I feel, especially a problem considering ALL the crap you kill in Orr, are Risen.

If you had a necro over level 10 but were unhappy with the race you chose

in Necromancer

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

I’ve rerolled characters for aesthetic reasons more minor than race choice before, so yeah. It happens usually more when they’re lower level as less commitment!

Itemization and Stat Distribution Consistency.

in Suggestions

Posted by: Lumines.3916

Lumines.3916

Got me thinking cause of this thread:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/necromancer/The-gear-grind-in-this-game-is-almost-nonexistent-Unless-you-re-a-Necromancer/first#post128541

The Stat distribution in PvE gear is pretty inconsistent in some areas as the set ups we’ve become accustomed to through testing out classes/builds in sPvP. The availability of certain stat spreads that you’d want from sPvP is nonexistant in PvE or altered in some form.

For example, my cleric Necromancer utilizes the Shaman Amulet from sPvP perfectly, packing Condition Damage, Healing, and Toughness.

The same prefix does exist in PvE, but in the form of Condition Damage, Healing and VITALITY. And this I don’t even know why but the Shaman Crest (Upgrade slot) grants Healing, Vitality, and POWER. All this inconsistency even within the same prefix only causes confusion, I’m not even sure why it exists in the first place?

Another would be how painful it is to find certain spreads as compared to others. Rampagers (Power, Condition, Precision) is rampant in PvE and doesn’t serve anyone looking to build a non glass cannon any good. While the Rabid Amulet (Condition, Precision, Toughness) only exists as gear from a few Dungeons (TA, Honor, Arah) or Karma. You then have stat spreads that are repeatedly featured (most notably power ones).

Crafted gear gives you a pretty small selection and most cases, non ideal spreads for a lot of builds.

All this really does is make gearing up 80 more of a headache than it really has to be. Itemization was an aspect I thought GW2 had down in beta when I played sPvP, I could always find an amulet that was useful for any of my builds and assumed I could then chase the same stats in PvE. Boy was I mistaken