Turn Frostaura into Reapers Peak Performance

[Glott.7239]

Ok, so Power Reaper is still a bit under performing. Part of the reason for that is probably that it's DPSs rotation, unter 50%, feels a lot like killing Zhaitan, if you catch my drift. Tuning Gameplay as boring as that to be actually good is probably not a good idea. So why not give Reaper a Damage modifier that needs to be actively maintained instead, the perfect fit for that in my opinion would be Frostaura.

 

**Why Frostaura**

* Because it fits Reaper very well thematically. Reaper is themed towards Chill, as well as being a tanky brawler, both also aspects of Frostaura.

* Reaper is currently not bringing much support to a group. The ability to share Forstaura would be adding value to Reaper beyond raw DPS without becoming a "must have".

* Auras are a very interesting but underutilized mechanic in the game.

* Using Frostaura opens up a lot of cross Profession synergy with Tempest

 

**What to do**

* First of we need a long overdue general change to Auras as a whole: **Make them stack duration already.**

 

**Cold Shoulder**

This trait currently grands a 10% Damage modifiziere on Chilled foes. This being the case nearly always make the trait incredibly boring. It also increases Chill duration wich ich not really needed for its current effect and i just a relic of the original designe of Deathly Chill that caused chill to deal damage. Today Reapers don't really care about Chill duration even on condition builds. This is why i would change the trait to:

 

"Frostaura you apply lasts longer, deal more damage while under the effect of Frostaura. Duration increase 20% Damage increase 20%".

 

**"but Reaper has hardly even any access to Frostaura" - How to get Frostaura**

Currently Reaper can only get Frostaura by executing "Reaper's Shroud 2 - Death's Charge" inside of the ice field created by "Reaper's Shroud 5 - Executioner's Scythe". To increase on that and to give Reaper more Group support i would add blast finishers to the flowing 2 skills "Reaper's Shroud 3 (flip over) - Terrify" and "Warhorn 4 - Wail of Doom" this would allow Reaper to blast the ice field and grad allies the Frostaura as well. Forstaura could also be added to "Chilled to the Bone!" as the Skill already uses the same icon as Frostaura already so having it aplly it would only be consequent. And at last, the trait "Chilling Nova" has currently very little synergy with power builds so tuning it into a Reaper version of the Elementalist trait "Soothing Ice", and have it grant (allies) Frostaura on Critting a chilled foe, obviously on a much higher ICD, would increase Frostaura uptime and therefore damage output.

 

Overall i think these changes would improve Power Reapers stale gameplay lope of 2,2,2,2,2,2,2 on GS, under 50%, by forcing Reaper to keep up Frostaura, therefor going more like "swap to axe/horn,2,F1,5,3-3,2,F1,4,2,back to GS,2,2,2,2. I know that this heavily relies on combo finishers, just like condi reaper does, so i'm sure it would need a lot of play testing to see if it even works. Also all stated values are just guesstimates.

[Dadnir.5038]

While I don't disagree with the idea, I also don't think that this would be enough to "fix" reaper's dps and there are some necromancer players on the forum that are firmly against the idea of the necromancer depending on an "aura" (don't ask me why, I don't understand them either).

[ZDragon.3046]

My only issue with this is that it would lead to a damage loss on reaper for the long periods of down time where you dont have frost aura.

I case you have forgotten frost aura can only be gained in 1 way with reaper. Not only is it gated behind shroud one the skills required to trigger it has a lengthy cooldown.

 

Overall reaper would need at least 2-3 more ways to gain frost aura on its own without the aid of another profession before I could even think that this would be a real good idea.

 

I would love to see the shout suffer get 2 charges and maybe apply self frust aura along with "chill to the bone" applying frost aura when you use it. I agree that frost aura is under utilized but its not something I would want to part the current version of **Cold Shoulder** with when we have little access to it in the first place.

 

Even if you change terrify to a blast finisher (which i could see as a thing) Warhorn 4 makes little sense as blast finisher. Generally blast finishers apply their effects in a wide area on skills that effect an area around you. Wail of doom is a cone based aoe and thus the blast makes no sense here.

Even still you are depending too much upon the shroud 5 skill to produce a self ice field to blast.

- 1 The field does not last that long meaning you need to blast several times which practically wast the potential idea of increasing the duration of frost aura via trait.

- 2 Any time you play with others its going to be difficult for you to blast your own ice field to get the damage bonus you will be more likely to blast one o the other 5-10+ fields on the ground under your feet.

 

Even if we implement all of your frost aura applications and assume that you can hit most of them at any given time you will still have frost aura down time which results in a 0% damage bonus verses the 10% now which is usually always up on anything you don't kill in the first 10 seconds of attacking it.

 

Ideally its a nice concept but i dont see it working or solving the damage problem issue.

I agree reaper could have more frost aura application to itself I don't agree with forcing damage increases based on it though.

 

 

[Glott.7239]

Oh no, don't get me wrong. I know that this alone doesn't "Fix" Reaper DPS but it would make the rotation more complex so that there is more room for some buffs. A one button rotation shouldn't be "good". Therefore let's increase the skill cap so we can get better payoff in the end.

 

Also i'm pretty sure the "Aura" thing other Necros are talking about is more stuff like "Vampiric Presence", Ranges "Spotter" or Warriors "Empower Allies" and i kind off have to agree, as these kinds of buffs are forcing a very static team comp.

[Warscythes.9307]

The main issue with this is that the combo field interaction is still going to be unreliable. I don't see something like this work until they fix how combo field priority works where you would interact with the last field that you applied personally. Yes I know you can force which field to use but you have to admit that is pretty unintuitive to use.

[Sublimatio.6981]

I disagree a lot with the OP.

 

> Cold Shoulder

>This trait currently grands a 10% Damage modifiziere on Chilled foes. This being the case nearly always make the trait incredibly boring. It also increases Chill duration >wich ich not really needed for its current effect and i just a relic of the original designe of Deathly Chill that caused chill to deal damage. Today Reapers don't really care >about Chill duration even on condition builds.

 

What?? 10% stable modifier is extremely important and has to stay and we need them more. Also, chill duration is a big deal for any reaper build. Often times you have to upkeep perma chill yourself.

 

>"Frostaura you apply lasts longer, deal more damage while under the effect of Frostaura. Duration increase 20% Damage increase 20%"

sure, that would be cool. but we need more access to frost aura, not just combo fields. my suggestion is buffing the skill "Suffer!" to make it ammo, short cooldown, high power dps shout + frost aura. make it compete dps-wise or even be better than shadow fiend (which also chills and blinds on short cd!)

 

[Lahmia.2193]

Relying on being able to combo one particular field, when 9 other players are possibly pumping out different fields, is a bad idea. Also removing our hard won damage modifier is a slap in the face to reapers.

[Glott.7239]

Okay guys, i don't what to wasn't to "remove" the damage modifier, but just "10% on chill" is very boring. My Suggestion was to make it a little more skillful to maintain it, so it can even get buffed in return. As i sad, i know that Combo-Fields are a little wonky but i opted for them, as they are an already existing system to gain Frostaura, so i preferred it over randomly adding it to all skills that somehow fit the theme. As for "Suffer!" on Ammo with Frostaura, i don't think you realize how **strong** that skill already is. It's easily one of the strongest condi transfers in game, buffing it even more would make it totally OP. I did bring up "Chilled to the Bone!" as an option because it's an elite skill on a higher cool down. The purpose if this is not nervelessly to give reaper 100% up time of Forstaura, but to have you time you big burst for the moments you do have it, that's why i drew the comparison to "Peak Performance".

[Methuselah.4376]

You want to improve Reaper's power damage? Decimate Defenses should have the added affect of allowing reapers to apply 2% damage per stack of vulnerability instead of 1%. Dread should be changed to a debuff on the enemy that makes them take more damage for as long as the necromancer is close, Vampiric Presence doesn't have an ICD and it's numbers are heavily boosted. Viola, damage boosted by 40-45% and blood power reapers would be wanted for the increase in damage they bring through Dread and a more powerful Vampiric Presence. Necomancer, Reaper especially, is all about being straight forward. If you want to queue skill A with skill B to generate affect C, weaver's there for you. Not trying to be rude here, but Reaper was always pushed as a specialization that focuses on just destroying your foe with sheer straightforward power. Pity it translated so poorly in game :(

[Warscythes.9307]

40-50% damage increase? That's insane, it would boost reaper from 28k to 39k to 42k dps. I don't think anybody wants that. Roughly 15%-20% more is about where you want to be. which would be around 32k-33k.

 

Same thing with vamp aura buff. You really do not want to buff it too much if at all as unique buffs/auras/boons has been one of the bigger problem that hinders class diversity in the game.

 

I don't want to play piano engie as reaper but making the rotation more complex under 50% is perfectly reasonable as it involves practically 1 button. While I do not fully support OP's way of doing it; I don't think the intention is wrong.

[Anchoku.8142]

Combo fields and finishers are a real balance problem. They should be split between PvE and PvP/WvW.

[Nimon.7840]

Don't like the frostaura idea.

 

It would be defense and offense at the same time. A nightmare to balance and it would only result in reaper loosing dmg

[Yannir.4132]

This suggestion is extremely overblown. Just make Reaper do an additional 20% damage when under Frost Aura. Throw it into Cold Shoulder. Then add a few ways to gain Frost Aura. It doesn't solve the entire problem but it's "a step in the right direction".

[ZDragon.3046]

> @"Anchoku.8142" said:

> Combo fields and finishers are a real balance problem. They should be split between PvE and PvP/WvW.

 

They really are not to be honest. Boon durations/ applications are much more of a problem right now.

[Noodle Ant.1605]

Does it have to be Cold Shoulder?

 

Could this be on core necro (and translated straight over to reaper in the process) considering how weak core is?

If not core, could it be placed in a position where it competes with Decimate Defenses, where overstacked crit chance builds have a potentially more effective option?

Do we really need just dmg% traits to fix the power necro/reaper position?

 

**Could the frost aura visual be reverted or improved to look better/more in theme?**

[Dadnir.5038]

> @"Noodle Ant.1605" said:

> Does it have to be Cold Shoulder?

>

> Could this be on core necro (and translated straight over to reaper in the process) considering how weak core is?

 

Core have neither frost field nor combo Jump. I think putting such a trait in the core traitline would be quite a challenge. A good reminder that combo weren't necro strong point in the vanilla game.

[Methuselah.4376]

> @"Warscythes.9307" said:

> 40-50% damage increase? That's insane, it would boost reaper from 28k to 39k to 42k dps. I don't think anybody wants that. Roughly 15%-20% more is about where you want to be. which would be around 32k-33k.

>

> Same thing with vamp aura buff. You really do not want to buff it too much if at all as unique buffs/auras/boons has been one of the bigger problem that hinders class diversity in the game.

>

> I don't want to play piano engie as reaper but making the rotation more complex under 50% is perfectly reasonable as it involves practically 1 button. While I do not fully support OP's way of doing it; I don't think the intention is wrong.

 

I was envisioning more of around 35k to 38k. And that's on golem. real raid situations won't necessarily meet those numbers. And...why not be amongst the top tier power dps in the game? Been bottom for 6 years unless you account for "bugs" that momentarily put us on top. Why is there such a fear of having necro in a very good place? Why does it have to be just good? Especially since power Reaper rotation is certainly much more complicated than current Deadeye rotation.

[Warscythes.9307]

> @"Methuselah.4376" said:

> > @"Warscythes.9307" said:

> > 40-50% damage increase? That's insane, it would boost reaper from 28k to 39k to 42k dps. I don't think anybody wants that. Roughly 15%-20% more is about where you want to be. which would be around 32k-33k.

> >

> > Same thing with vamp aura buff. You really do not want to buff it too much if at all as unique buffs/auras/boons has been one of the bigger problem that hinders class diversity in the game.

> >

> > I don't want to play piano engie as reaper but making the rotation more complex under 50% is perfectly reasonable as it involves practically 1 button. While I do not fully support OP's way of doing it; I don't think the intention is wrong.

>

> I was envisioning more of around 35k to 38k. And that's on golem. real raid situations won't necessarily meet those numbers. And...why not be amongst the top tier power dps in the game? Been bottom for 6 years unless you account for "bugs" that momentarily put us on top. Why is there such a fear of having necro in a very good place? Why does it have to be just good? Especially since power Reaper rotation is certainly much more complicated than current Deadeye rotation.

 

35k-38k Golem dps is definitely an outlier in terms of dps. Yes I know the numbers will be drastically lower in actual raid situations. Power reaper cannot be the top tier power dps because it offers too much CC and personal tankiness. The gap should not be a 30% difference between the top dps and the lowest one but it should certainly be a factor. Be bad for a long time is a poor excuse to make a class overpowered. 38k dps is not very good, it is overpowered.

 

32-33k is a very reasonable place judging from the SC benchmark. Power reaper's role/ability is very much akin to Holosmith/DH/Herald dps where both offers power dps and CC. All three classes bench around 32k-33k right now. I think is perfectly fair for Power reaper to be around that level.

[Methuselah.4376]

> @"Warscythes.9307" said:

> > @"Methuselah.4376" said:

> > > @"Warscythes.9307" said:

> > > 40-50% damage increase? That's insane, it would boost reaper from 28k to 39k to 42k dps. I don't think anybody wants that. Roughly 15%-20% more is about where you want to be. which would be around 32k-33k.

> > >

> > > Same thing with vamp aura buff. You really do not want to buff it too much if at all as unique buffs/auras/boons has been one of the bigger problem that hinders class diversity in the game.

> > >

> > > I don't want to play piano engie as reaper but making the rotation more complex under 50% is perfectly reasonable as it involves practically 1 button. While I do not fully support OP's way of doing it; I don't think the intention is wrong.

> >

> > I was envisioning more of around 35k to 38k. And that's on golem. real raid situations won't necessarily meet those numbers. And...why not be amongst the top tier power dps in the game? Been bottom for 6 years unless you account for "bugs" that momentarily put us on top. Why is there such a fear of having necro in a very good place? Why does it have to be just good? Especially since power Reaper rotation is certainly much more complicated than current Deadeye rotation.

>

> 35k-38k Golem dps is definitely an outlier in terms of dps. Yes I know the numbers will be drastically lower in actual raid situations. Power reaper cannot be the top tier power dps because it offers too much CC and personal tankiness. The gap should not be a 30% difference between the top dps and the lowest one but it should certainly be a factor. Be bad for a long time is a poor excuse to make a class overpowered. 38k dps is not very good, it is overpowered.

>

> 32-33k is a very reasonable place judging from the SC benchmark. Power reaper's role/ability is very much akin to Holosmith/DH/Herald dps where both offers power dps and CC. All three classes bench around 32k-33k right now. I think is perfectly fair for Power reaper to be around that level.

 

Fair point