> @"Shroud.2307" said:
> As someone who has been playing core power Necro for a very long time, I want to say a few things regarding your version of it.
>
> First of all, I stopped doing PvP shortly after HoT, and I've been a WvW main basically since day 1, so I understand this will influence my opinion.
> I also understand that you're something like PvP rank 2k+(?) between your accounts, and although rank does not equal skill, it does mean you have a lot of experience. So I don't doubt that your reasons for crafting the build the way you did are correct.
>
> Still, I want to add some thoughts.
> To me, core power Necro is about spike damage, not DPS, which is why I prefer Berserker amulet and Curses over Blood Magic. I had said you should try Berserker amulet on your stream, but you said Marauder is better because it allows for more DPS. While true, I think this build is to be played more like a Thief or Revenant instead of like a Reaper. Not necessarily +1ing, but spiking pressured targets or forcing defensive cooldowns. Life Blast is where that spike damage comes from and it hits a lot harder with more Power and Ferocity. Although yes, your damage will fall off while out of Shroud, Curses will ensure you maintain your crit chance through Target The Weak _(increase critical hit chance per condition on the target)_ as well as giving you Path Of Corruption for more Corrupts to further improve your spike.
>
> Because it's Necro you're going to be very vulnerable to getting spiked yourself. This is again why I feel it's better to go more offensive and focus on spike damage rather than DPS. Blood Magic is great support with Vampiric Aura, Ritual Of Life, and Unholy Martyr, but you can't afford to be supporting people in that way while being so squishy. Instead I think you should be supporting by spiking targets and Corrupting, as well as applying Weakness which Weakening Shroud will provide.
> All your DPS in Marauder kind of goes to waste because much of your time will be spent hard kiting and playing defensive waiting for good openings to deal damage which Berserker + Curses could better capitalize on.
>
> I know that Blood Magic is tremendously helpful in team fights as well as giving you a very potent cleanse, and that Marauder gives you a lot of Vitality which in turn means more Shroud. I also understand that you're not much use if you're dead, and Berserker + Curses is extremely risky. Still, if you're experienced enough to know how to handle fights, I think a more offensive approach can be a good choice assuming you have the proper team for it.
>
> Despite all of this, I don't think Marauder + Blood Magic is worse, nor am I criticizing your advice. I just think there is an alternative way to play core power Necro that can be equally beneficial to your team, and recommend using.
>
> I've been playing this for years. I'm sure it could be better optimized, like losing some crit chance because while in Shroud I often overcap, but I don't mind it as is.
> It has a lot of losing match ups and it is horrendously weak in an open field, but there are also a lot of match ups it does extremely well in, and is a killing machine in small scale fights. I've tried more defensive builds, as well as Marauder with Speed runes, but again don't feel the loss in damage is worth it much of the time. I feel like it loses its purpose as a spike build and just becomes a weaker ranged Reaper, albeit better in some 1v1/X because of the higher Vitality.
>
> Anyway, I apologize for the novel. I just love core power Necro dearly, and because I like... Literally _never_ see anyone playing it, or talking about it, I wanted to take this chance to write out my thoughts. At _best_ I'm a Platinum 2 player, so I know some of my feelings are objectively wrong, but I don't think that means all of this is without merit either.
I can definitely see that trade off working, because in a lot of situations you have too much shroud or not enough damage, and having zerk and curses will give you much more aggressive potential. However, its going to be much more situational. The best part of core necro is that it can always survive most situations, and just surviving in PvP is giving your team presence (because if you die then they will also die) and because necros tend to be focused and dont have the mobility to create advantageous situations like other classes (maybe you can fight a thief, but a thief will never fight you unless it knows it can kill you outnumbered) it means that the situations where your damage matters can be played around easily, and in the situations where your survivability matters cant be played around if you arent building into blood magic and vitality. So in other words there is more play potential and role independence as you said for 1v1/x whereas if youre in ideal situations always, then your variant is better.