Elite Spec. design: The Warlock

[Aesa.4819]

With the new Legendary Focus, Binding of Ipos, I figured it would be great if the next Elite Specialization was Warlock themed (Demon realm related).

I decided to design something that I think would be really fun to play and also very interesting.

 

Elite Specialization:

 

**The Warlock**

 

Your F-skills become Demon summoning skills, which would have similar UI design as Scourge (no transform, use Life Force as a resource for the F-skills). Uses same attack AI as Minions.

_Demons love feasting on life, summoning a Demon drains X Life Force each second._

 

**F1:** Sacrifice X of your HP, healing your summoned Demon(s) for the same amount.

**F2:** Summon Demon A, a Demon focusing on Power Damage.

**F3:** Summon Demon B, a Demon focusing on Condition Damage.

**F4:** Summon Demon C, a Demon focusing on Debuffing (Weakness, Cripple, etc.) and Damage Reduction (Protection, Blind, Barrier etc.)

**F5:** Summon Demon D, a Demon focusing on Buffing and Support (Might, Fury, Quickness, Healing etc.)

 

Each individual Demon drains X Life Force each second, and will return to the Demon realm once you have no more Life Force to feed them.

(i.e. having 2 Demons active/summoned will drain Life Force twice as fast as having 1 Demon active. When you run out of Life Force they despawn.)

 

**Weapon:**

Equipping the Warlock Elite Specialization will add functionality to your Focus skills:

 

**Focus #4 skill:**

Yourself, and each target hit by the bouncing projectile is marked with the Mark of the Demon realm for X seconds;

Attacks made by Demons to Marked enemies will heal Marked allies by X % of inflicted damage.

 

**Focus #5 skill:**

Promise the life of an enemy to the Demons, sending your active Demons into a frenzy;

Attacks made by Demons to the Promised target deal X % more damage (both Power and Condition) for X seconds.

 

**Heal**

_Activated skill, while active turns into Deactivate._

Funnel Health from your active Demon(s) to yourself at a rate of X Health/second from each Demon, lasts until Demon(s) die or skill is Deactivated.

 

**Utility#1**

For X seconds, Life Force is drained twice as fast and actions by your Demon(s) are twice as effective.

If the Demon(s) survive the duration (not killed and Life Force not depleted), regain all lost Life Force while the skill was active.

 

**Utility#2**

For X seconds, X % of the damage to yourself are directed to your active Demon(s).

 

**Utility#3**

For X seconds, abilities that grant you Life Force gives twice as much Life Force.

 

**Utility#4**

Pay Life Force to the Demons in the Demon realm to buy passage through their realm;

Teleports yourself X distance in targeted direction, the farther you travel the more Life Force you pay (higher Life Force cost for longer distance, paying 100% Life Force should take you quite a long distance).

 

**Trait line 1 (upper)**

Enhances utility or adds utility to using Demons.

 

**Trait line 2 (middle)**

Increases damage, or adds buffs to skills that in turn increases damage, from Demons to target.

 

**Trait line 3 (bottom)**

Enhances support or adds support for using Demons.

 

 

**Wouldn't this be a really cool Elite Specialization?**

[Dadnir.5038]

It would be difficult to give less defense to a necromancer... That's for sure.

[Arzurag.7506]

Shroud-mechanic or nothing at all.

[Ozard.9176]

An interesting spec indeed. Necro could share incoming damage with demons, they don't last forever anyway (just like a regular shroud).

[Aplethoraof.2643]

No more shroud, please. This is a pretty good idea, but I'd prefer if they started with an undead minion master version. Something that adds more minion skills, interacts with the current minion skills, etc.

 

Could be:

**Class Mechanic: **

Note: Each of these is classified as a "minion" skill.

F1) A minion that uses a bouncing attack to heals allies and give them regeneration as well as causing damage to enemies and corrupting 1 boon. Provides a buff to nearby allies, causing them periodically spawn jagged horrors (every 15 seconds) as well. These minions attacks trigger anything that would occur on "shroud F1". Each attack from this minion has a 20% chance of being a projectile finisher.

F2) A minion that takes 40% of your damage for you, steals life, and grants protection and retaliation to you when it takes damage. Each attack from this minion has a 20% chance of being a whirl finisher.

F3) A minion that focuses on condition damage/duration (bleeding, burning, poison) and siphons conditions off you and your allies periodically, dealing them back to enemies with every attack. Each attack from this minion has a 20% chance of being a leap finisher.

F4) A minion that focuses on power based damage, as well as CCs (daze, knockback, taunt). Each attack from this minion has a 20% chance of being a blast finisher.

F5) A support minion that buffs your team (barrier, might, fury, stability, quickness, protection) and debuffs the enemy (weakness, vulnerability, blind, slow). Each attack from this minion has a 20% chance of spawning either a dark or light field for 3 seconds.

 

Each minion, as you suggested, drains lifeforce (perhaps 1%/second for F1, 3%/second for F2 and F3 and 5%/second for F4 and F5).

 

**New Weapon: Longbow**

 

1 Skill: An attack that bounces between allies and enemies, healing and regenerating allies as well as causing bleeding to enemies. Each bounce gives you 1% lifeforce and it can bounce to a maximum of 5 times.

 

2 Skill: An area of effect attack that immobilizes enemies and applying vulnerability.

 

3 Skill: Shoot 4 arrows rapidly at an enemy, each arrow applying torment and the final 2 shots corrupting 1 boon each.

 

4 Skill: Fire down a mark onto the ground. When it is triggered, a necrotic gas fills the area for 5 seconds, blinding and poisoning enemies who stand in it. Enemies who were hit by the cloud spawn friendly jagged horrors at the end of the 5 seconds.

 

5 Skill: An attack that marks enemies, causing attacks against them to deal 10% more damage and leech life. Each time an enemy is hit with the mark, you gain 1% lifeforce.

 

**Utility Skills:**

 

Horror skills, skills that cause an effect to occur to each minion or summon minions in a manner.

 

Flesh of the Master: You suffer 10% of your health pool in damage to heal all nearby minions to full.

 

Putrid Traversal: You swap places with one of your minions at random, causing a poison field to occur for 3 seconds at your original location.

 

Vile Miasma: You destroy all of your minions, each of them exploding into a vile dark field (range: 900). Each of these fields causes poison and bleeding to enemies who enter them and linger, as well as corrupting a boon (pulses 1/second). These fields also destroy projectiles. They linger for 8 seconds each.

 

Soul Feast: You destroy all of your minions, each of them exploding into a protective light field (range: 900). Each of these fields heal allies, and grant regeneration and protection to allies who enter them and linger. In addition, each field converts a condition into a boon (pulses 1/second). These fields also reflect projectiles. They linger for 8 seconds each.

 

Elite: Aura of the Lich

You cause a jagged horror to spawn from each entity nearby (allies, enemies, neutral) as well as yourself for 30 seconds. When these minions die, they explode and their bones fly like shrapnel, causing bleeding and cripple to all nearby enemies.

 

**Traits:**

Tier 1:

Minor: You gain the ability to use the longbow, horror skills, and the [Minion Master] class mechanic.

Major 1: Your horror skills gain a 20% cooldown reduction and summon a jagged horror at your location when they are used.

Major 2: Summoning a minion grants you and nearby allies barrier and protection.

Major 3: Minions gain random boons every 5 seconds. When a minion dies, any boons it had are replicated and passed to you and all nearby (range: 900) allies.

 

Tier 2:

Minor: Minions gain fury.

Major 1: Minion attacks will corrupt 1 boon (ICD 2 seconds).

Major 2: Minion attacks heal all nearby allies (range 900) and grant barrier (ICD: 2 seconds).

Major 3: Longbow skills have a 20% cooldown reduction and each attack has a 15% chance of spawning a jagged horror at the enemy's location.

 

Tier 3:

Minor: Minions cause poison when they critically hit.

Major 1: Minions attack 30% faster and all minion skills have a 30% cooldown reduction. In addition, you gain triple lifeforce from minion deaths.

Major 2: Minion attacks deal less direct damage, but cause bleeding when they attack.

Major 3: Minions consume conditions on their enemies when they attack and deal more damage per condition consumed.

[Galmac.4680]

ANet will give us NEVER EVER things like protection, blocks, defenses or even a nice damage. And two skills like on F-keys, one explicit for condi, one explicit for direct damage will also never happen. But dream on, necros won't have more than dreams.

[Phil.7369]

nice idea, sounds like Ranger Spirits which will finally give Necros a bit of group buffing. But the problem is that we already have Focus as a Necro weapon... I would gladly go for Shields on the next Necro specialization!

[Vlad Morbius.1759]

Interesting build, but i'd rather never see another elite specification again if the results are the neutering of the previous specifications, wouldn't wish what has happened to power reaper on my worst enemy. I'm truly hoping they abandon the idea of elites again unless it is necessary for underwater combat, anything else is way too harmful to the original game. If history has shown us anything it's that the concepts for one build type to another is clearly "lost in translation" so to speak. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that the ideology behind the reaper concept has pretty much been lost or pushed aside for the next iteration of Necro and that has not been without major consequences. So you'll forgive me if i don't jump all over this idea and more than that plead for Anet to find a different path than elites going forward.

[Sublimatio.6981]

no thanks, i dont want that specialisation. i want something that will be more thief-like (like mirage is). That means mobility, evasion, power damage, shadow theme.

[Ayumi Spender.1082]

This sounding like a Revenant and I don't like that whole draining nonsense honestly.

No thank you.