Vampiric Strength - Necromancer's Phalanx Strength

[Diak Atoli.2085]

As a thought exercise while at work, I was thinking of ways to both buff power Necromancer and increase it's viability in organized high-level content. As such, I came up with this idea for a Necromancer version of Phalanx Strength. In addition to the ability to stack Might, I'm also including an increase to Vampiric Aura to give Necromancers a better unique DPS/Sustain group buff.

 

Vampiric Strength

Grant Might to nearby allies whenever you siphon health. Increase the effectiveness of Vampiric Aura per stack of Might.

On Siphon: Might (6s)

Radius: 600

Effectiveness per Stack: +10% Damage and Healing

 

If this were to be implemented, which Grandmaster Trait would you prefer to replace with it?

[thrdeye.1028]

I'm not sure if we can beat cPS Warrior at their own game but if we were going to try this might be a good start. However I can't choose any of the options you presented. The grandmaster traits are fine, but there are plenty of throwaway traits in Blood. Don't have warhorn or dagger? Banshee's Wail and Quickening Thirst are no good for you. Does anybody even run Life From Death? Ritual of Life is good in a well build if you're also expecting people to be downed, but if you don't need that and you also don't use a dagger your only option is Blood Bond.

 

I think Vampiric Strength would be good with a general overhaul of the Blood trait line. As an added bonus your idea would also help Scourge provide some of the support it's supposed to have.

[Drarnor Kunoram.5180]

Unholy Martyr is the obvious choice since nobody picks it up...ever. That said, this proposal is just too OP. You pick up Vampiric Aura and now every hit you do generates 2 Might. That's double the rate of Forceful Greatsword, which is still gated behind crits.

 

I think it would be better to have Vampiric Aura get the increased effectiveness part built into the trait and skip the Might sharing.

[Swagg.9236]

The problem with making your trait concept stack party might is that this isn't 2013 anymore. GW2 is so busted that many classes will passively stack 25 might on themselves with very minimal skill usage. Moreover:

 

* Warrior already does this well enough.

* Enhancing Vampiric Aura would imply that a player is forced to take Vampiric Presence in order to make the unique half of this trait worthwhile. While forcing trait choices to better define class purpose and identity is fine, you almost could have just folded your idea into the existing Vampiric Presence.

* Respective 250% healing and damage increases could be *slightly* insane. There is a reason why I kept my Bloodthirst buff idea at a very low baseline and then built traits designed to springboard off of it. Buffs that have no counterplay need to be reigned in and stacking/chaining them should be difficult on some level (or at least take a specific build set-up to accomplish).

* Consider how you designed your trait and unique buff and how it synergizes infinitely with a giveaway minor passive in the Blood Magic line. If you were to concurrently equip this trait and the Blood Magic line, your every attack would stack might without any falloff so long as you kept attacking. I know the duration is only 6s, but attacks layer and pile up so quickly in this game that it turns might farming into a joke. It's one thing to want to give necro party DPS support, but I wouldn't argue that passive AoE might on every attack along with a buff to a passively applied, no-effort AoE effect is the best way to inject life into this bottom-barrel PvE class. I mean, necro's rotations are pretty bland enough. Your traits would do nothing for the way we use anything since they would just be switched on all the time independent of player input.

 

Sorry if that all came out sounding harsh, though.

[Maunzi.3764]

Vampiric Strength is a good idea, and in a vacuum, I'd be for it. Unfortunately, I played Scourge, and now know that might stacking isn't enough.

 

I think you are on to something. I would cut the might stack idea, and instead add either a Grace of the Dead/Grace of Joko buff to live siphon effects, or simply add a version of the engineer buff to condi damage to blood. Then we'd give empower allies to another class, too. Spreading those around would be good.

[Steelpusher.1684]

Might stacking is not the issue at all, it is providing other group buffs... (I play non-meta off support might stacking scourge in raids - it's good as secondary barrier giver/top up healer+can replace both PS warrs in terms of might stacking). However, taking me can remove 2x empowered allies and 1xGotL, and a lot of damage (realistically, deal 2/3 the damage of a power chrono)

 

The addition of 10 man fury, for example, would allow scourge to potentially be classed as a meta off-support for raids.

 

Or maybe even having the large sand shade act in a similar fashion to banners, buffing damage of those around it. Or similar to GotL, and have shroud skills stack on a damage boost. Keep in mind I have said for the large shade in particular, as it is designed as more of the 'support' variant.

[Lahmia.2193]

> @Steelpusher.1684 said:

> Might stacking is not the issue at all, it is providing other group buffs... (I play non-meta off support might stacking scourge in raids - it's good as secondary barrier giver/top up healer+can replace both PS warrs in terms of might stacking). However, taking me can remove 2x empowered allies and 1xGotL, and a lot of damage (realistically, deal 2/3 the damage of a power chrono)

>

> The addition of 10 man fury, for example, would allow scourge to potentially be classed as a meta off-support for raids.

>

> Or maybe even having the large sand shade act in a similar fashion to banners, buffing damage of those around it. Or similar to GotL, and have shroud skills stack on a damage boost. Keep in mind I have said for the large shade in particular, as it is designed as more of the 'support' variant.

 

Whatever it is, I'd say make it a core thing. Definitely blood magic, given it being the support line.

[Dadnir.5038]

It's not that it sucks, it's that it's incredibly op... whatever, no such thing please.

[Sarrs.4831]

But we can already stack 25 might 100% uptime as scourge, we just need to invest a little more than Warrior does. :(

[Zefiris.8297]

> @Sarrs.4831 said:

> But we can already stack 25 might 100% uptime as scourge, we just need to invest a little more than Warrior does. :(

 

Not quite. Look at the range, a warrior has 600, a scourge 240/300.

 

It's not that WE need to invest more, it's that our allies need to also be way more careful about their movement.

[Glott.7239]

Might on life siphon would be completely insane. I mean, no offence, but honestly think, ideas like this are the reason the devs don't seem to be taking us seriously. Also we already have a "might on..." trait, it's might on barrier, the only problem is, it sucks. That's because, despite barrier being obviously supposed to work as our primary support mechanic, we'r barely even having any access to it. We currently only having 5 Skills that give barrier these are:

* **Desert Shroud** which only gives yourself barrier

* **Sand Flare** means you sacrifice the self heal, you might want **after** you took damage, to prevent sad damage. This has a build in anti-synergy.

* **Sand Swell** takes forever to cast, roots you in place, has a very small range, overly aggressive LOS check **and** requires using it to grant barrier.

* **Serpent Siphon** this creates tiny little pickups, one can barely see and their count depends on the number of enemies hit, so just one in many cases.

* **Sand Cascade** which has a 8 sec. cooldown, a **very **small radius and only hits 3 people unless you trait for it.

* **Manifest Sand Shade** basically the same as Sand Cascade only with even higher countdown and the requirement for **another ** trait to even work at all.

Sorry if i "might" (he he) have gotten a little of topic with that but all i wanted to say that it's not up to bloodmagic to improve might stacking. It's a problem of scourge and it's synergy between Abrasive Gift and the barrier mechanic, but mostly the barrier.

[Ghotistyx.6942]

With the caveat: 7.5s Might, 1s icd.

[Flumek.9043]

The choice is obvious, as UNHOLY MARTYR is a useless trait.

 

The only thing that still bothers me is the CHOICE, i feel in comparison to other supports power, a necro would need ALL 3 GM to just be moderatly subpar :) that is 4x perma wells + might bot + AOE heal and body port...