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Necromancer Guide
Focus: Ranged AOE DPS
Armor Type: Light
Mechanic: Life Force
- The life force bar fills up from weapon skills, utility skills, and nearby kills
- When enough life force is store the Necromancer can enable "Death Shroud"
- Death Shroud is a spirit form that the Necromancer can enter, which uses Life Force as a second health bar.
- Life Force steadily decreases over time when in Death Shroud form (or from damage like a normal health bar)
- New skills become available once in Death Shroud form
- Death Shroud is a toggle ability, so a Necromancer can return to normal form at any time (saving his remaining Life Force for later)
Traits:
Spite is a trait line for the necromancer that focuses on improving damage, signets and retaliation.
Per point: Power +10, Condition Duration +1%
Curses is a trait line for the Necromancer that focuses on benefits for and from critical hits and conditions.
Per point: Precision +10, Condition Damage +10
Death Magic is a trait line for the Necromancer that focuses on use of staves, minions and favors defense.
Per point: Toughness +10, Boon Duration +1%
Blood Magic is a trait line for the Necromancer that focuses on stealing life and healing as well as use of wells and daggers.
Per Point: Vitality +10, Healing Power +10
Soul Reaping is a trait line for the necromancer that focuses on the Death Shroud form and Life Force mechanic.
Per Point: Critical Damage +1%, Life Force Pool +1%
(source: GW2 Wiki)
Profession Specials:
- Wells: AOE spells centered on the Necromancer that persist even when the Necro moves away.
- Minions: Summon undead pets to serve the Necromancer. All pets have are consumable by the Necro using a 2nd ability (for buffs / heals / etc.)
- Marks: Ground targeted AOE spells of a variety of different types (damage / conditions / heals / etc.)
- Fear: A condition inflicted by the Necromancer that causes the enemy to run directly away from the Necro's position
Elric's Opinion on the "Necromancer":
I've played every single profession in GW2, both in leveling and max level in sPvP. Of them all, Necromancer is hands-down my favorite.
There is nothing like laying waste around you with AOE "Marks" and "Wells", generally putting out serious damage over a large affected area. Then, when the enemy comes after you and has you "almost" dead - you switch into Death Shroud (with a full second health bar) and go all out DPS on your unsuspecting enemy. I love the feeling of being very difficult to kill, especially as a caster, and still having the DPS to throw down with the best of them. I feel it is important to note that a Necromancer can be easy for players to get going, but you can definitely tell when a veteran player is controlling a necromancer. "Easy to start, hard to master"!In addition to being a powerful DPS Profession, the Necromancer also comes equipped with a variety of different utility skills. Similar to the Mesmer, the Necromancer excels at inflicting conditions on their enemies. Several abilities can even transfer negative conditions currently on the Necromancer to their target enemy. Well spells are also able to do this. Well of Corruption can convert boons to negative conditions on your enemy, while Well of Power does the opposite for your allies. The number of defensive abilities is not as high as those of a Guardian or Mesmer, but the Necromancer is definitely geared more towards destruction and inflicting pain. You don't need to worry as much about defending yourself when your goal is to kill the enemy first.
Unlike the Ranger that has one pet at a time, a Necromancer simply has as many as they can equip. There are four different Necromancer minion types within the Utility skills section, and a 5th more powerful pet amongst the Elite skills. As mentioned earlier in this guide, after summoning a minion that skill slot changes into a secondary skill which serves as a "consume" command for the Necro. The Necromancer can instantly kill their minion in return for health, boons, conditions, or damage against enemies. Thus, the Necromancer can use one or two pets to supplement their damage or conditions, or they can go with a full out "pet spamming" build similar to the Ritualist in Guild Wars 1.
Pros:
- High Survivability
- Very Strong Single and AOE DPS (depending on weapon)
- Flexible with either Melee or Ranged DPS
- Pets can deal damage, soak up damage from enemies, and inflict conditions
- Tend to be primary targets of enemies in PvP / WvW
- Limited defensive capabilities
Most Effective Weapons:
- AOE DPS: Staff
- Single-target DPS: Axe / Focus
More information can be found at: http://wiki.guildwar...iki/Necromancer
Disclaimer: This guide is written based on my personal experience during GW2 Beta Weekend Events. The information may change at launch. Comments in this guide are simply my opinion.
