Curse

Neriandal Freit · Mar 16, 2007, 01:07 PM // 13:07

Well, on the verge of the much anticipated Chapter 4 Guildwars name and info release, I've finally pulled my Mesmer, Alsitha Freit, through Nightfall. Now, the new great task of playing Sytheria Moonstar, Teacher of Necromancy in Istani chance to travel through her Realm begins!

But it's the one playing her who has no idea...So help him!

Basically I'm just seeking what is a good way of playing a Necromancer, who I created in Nightfall, through Elona? Questions like; What type of armor is best (in this case now, Insignia's), what is the best set and type of weapons to get? Faster Recharge, More Energy?

Are Necromancers more easily accepted in Nightfall then it was for me to play Alsitha through Nightfall? To be honest, it was a real pain trying to get into a group but a pleasure when people said "Your an excellent Mesmer" to me. Am I going to be able to get more acceptance as a Necromancer through this game?

Just needing some assistance before I start the beautiful Sytheria Moonstar off on her journey. Many appreciations to all!

Cebe · Mar 16, 2007, 02:31 PM // 14:31

In my experience it is easier for Necromancers to get into groups (when compared with Mesmers)...although it seems mainly as a minion master.

Personally I find being a minion master to be boring. I enjoy Curses the most, and Blood Magic is quite sexy too. I got told off by a monk in Kodonur Crossroads for not "living up to my character's potential" by not being a minion master. The problem? You guessed it...the monk was Smiting. Oh the Irony.

Necros are an enjoyable class to play, although I find all casters enjoyable. I like melee a lot less. It seems to me however that double HCT on a staff is a nice way to go since a lot of necro skills have long casting times. Not sure on the general feeling here but I'm considering getting a staff with two HCT mods on to see if it is any better.

Keep as much in Soul Reaping as you can - it's your in-house energy management.

Pick Me · Mar 16, 2007, 03:24 PM // 15:24

You'll find that a Necromancer is very different than a Mesmer. Mesmers to some people are a situational profession. If you really need to interupt something and a Ranger cannot be found, Mesmers are often sought after. Since you know the agonizing wait time for you to get into a group, you know the reason for Mesmers not being accepted easily.

Necromancers, however, are favored by many. Celestial Beaver has given you some good advice about weaponry and soul reaping. You'll find that SR is better e-management than a mesmer's inspiration magic in NF. With Signet of Lost Souls and the innate passive ability of Soul Reaping, you'll find energy coming to you very quickly.

I believe you have access to all 3 campaigns if I'm not mistaken, if so, then you can cap SS as well. That way you can become MM (which is mostly what people in NF want) or become SS (another popular type of build that people want). Don't be afraid to experiment, try out different skills and different attributes.

Insignias are dependant on what you want to do. Energy for MMing, just about anything for everything else. MMing is energy intensive, but health is a big no-no (sacrificing is best if you have less max health).

Hope this helps.

Neriandal Freit · Mar 16, 2007, 03:38 PM // 15:38

Alright, so as I thought MM's (something I'm not to terribly interested in at the moment) seem to be the bigger sought after Necromancer then anything else. Fortunately, I'm more interested in Curses and Blood

But quiet correct, I have all three campaigns and know them well. And staying away from +Health is a big no no if I'm going to be sacraficing some health...so would that incline that more Superior Runes (as in 2) are more accepted then say on the Elementalist?

Cebe · Mar 16, 2007, 03:44 PM // 15:44

One of my favourite Curses elites is Feast of Corruption. Not sure about the two superior runes. I only use one, for the magic I want to use. I guess if your build was heavily focused on health sacrificing it would be a good thing, but remember, as much as it reduces the health you sacrifice...it doesn't reduce the damage you take from enemies. There is a balance to be struck. Of course when you get to the end of Prophecies you can play with Aura of the Lich + Demonic Flesh - I hear that can be quite fun.

I quite enjoy a trip out to see Maw, so if you ever want a hand capping Feast of Corruption look me up.

Neriandal Freit · Mar 16, 2007, 03:54 PM // 15:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Celestial Beaver

One of my favourite Curses elites is Feast of Corruption. Not sure about the two superior runes. I only use one, for the magic I want to use. I guess if your build was heavily focused on health sacrificing it would be a good thing, but remember, as much as it reduces the health you sacrifice...it doesn't reduce the damage you take from enemies. There is a balance to be struck. Of course when you get to the end of Prophecies you can play with Aura of the Lich + Demonic Flesh - I hear that can be quite fun.

I quite enjoy a trip out to see Maw, so if you ever want a hand capping Feast of Corruption look me up.

Maw was a blast to go and find, it really was. I don't understand how people complain about him so much, terribly sad the poor wurm out in the cold all by his big massive self

But yeah, I know the whole Superior thing. I didn't know if Two Superior's were more accepted if you sacrificed your self all the time. I of course would get the best health rune I could to counter most of it as I could, but none the less..

Carinae · Mar 16, 2007, 05:33 PM // 17:33

Two Sups is usually more for an MM build, which is a heavy sacrificer and in that case take armor (or energy) insignias, not health.

For Blood/Curses, you usually take one Superior rune and can go with any insignias ....health, armor, etc

Look at getting FoC, SS, SV, Vamp Spirit, Cultists Fervor.

There are number of fun Blood attacks: VG, Jaundiced Gaze, Blood of the Agressor, Oppressive Gaze, Dark Pact

For Curses, look into getting: Insideous Parasite, Enfeeble, Enfeebling Blood, Reckless Haste, Shadow of Fear

For weaponry, as much HRT as possible, HCT is decent, and an Enchanting mod is nice for some spells. Staves work well for Blood/Curses, but wands work better for MMs IMHO.

Feel free to ask questions

Neriandal Freit · Mar 16, 2007, 05:40 PM // 17:40

Ah, excellent, a primary Necromancer, just who I was seeking

I think everything is being covered relatively fast. The question I'm worried about the most now is, are Necromancers of Elona traveling through Elona their first time frowned upon?

Pick Me · Mar 16, 2007, 06:04 PM // 18:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neriandal Freit

Maw was a blast to go and find, it really was. I don't understand how people complain about him so much, terribly sad the poor wurm out in the cold all by his big massive self

But yeah, I know the whole Superior thing. I didn't know if Two Superior's were more accepted if you sacrificed your self all the time. I of course would get the best health rune I could to counter most of it as I could, but none the less..

Two superior runes if you run MM. Death Magic and Soul Reaping. Otherwise, only one is used (if at all). Death Magic at 16 is for MMing.

I don't feel bad for Maw at all. The only time I went to see Maw was with my N/Me, and let me tell you (s)he wasn't happy and more importantly, (s)he wasn't alone. Nope, me and 7 henchies went to see Maw and (s)he was digging underground with 2 friends. We offered piece and shared knowledge, Maw misunderstood our intentions and thought we were the offerings of some cosmic power (we were offered to be as food).

Maw was not interested in making peace, so we made Maw and his/her friends dead. If Maw didn't want to trade skills, by Greneth, we were going to obtain Feast Of Coruption one way or the other.

I like using Icy Veins, Spiteful Spirit, Discord and Soul Leech for my elites.

Carinae · Mar 16, 2007, 07:56 PM // 19:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neriandal Freit

I think everything is being covered relatively fast. The question I'm worried about the most now is, are Necromancers of Elona traveling through Elona their first time frowned upon?

Umm,I'm not sure. Carinae hails from Tyria, and she had everything when she came to Elona. You pretty much need to play Blood/Curses starting out....MM's spec high Death and SR and under level 20's can't really afford the attribute spread.

Curses work VERY well at low attribute however, look into that...and remember you don't need to be a DPS master with Curses. You can also just play to debuff the enemies: Enfeebling Blood + RH + Insideous Parasite is basically a total shutdown for a melee opponent.

A few more skills I forgot earlier: Gaze of Contempt, Rend Enchantments, Desecrate and Defile Enchantments, Soul Leech and Mark of Subversion.

zling · Mar 16, 2007, 08:18 PM // 20:18

Necro is 1 of the most versatile professions in GW, if not the most versatile. personally I have 8 chars(1 of each profession besides the sin and rit, which I tried out but than they got nerfed to hell... and thus deleted to get the nf professions) if I had 2 more slots I'd remake my rit and sin as they've been buffed up recently and nf added some nice options for both of them...

anyway on the necro, when I see a necro in PvE I almost always assume a MM cause that's the most popular build and the most sought after as well... however if you, like me, preffer hexes over minions than you have some very nice options beside MMing.
if you like Curses you should look into spiteful spirit, feast of corruption, depravity and soul bind for your elite. most of these elite hexes, beside the first 2 are very unpopular, however they can be very effective in the right hands.
if you preffer blood you should look into spoil victor, soul leech and vampiric spirit for your elite. soul leech is a very underrated elite in my opinion and very unused. however it is a very nice elite if used correctly. also in the blood line you could take the rather popular BiP or the less popular WoP as a party buffer.
factions and nightfall also opened up another possibility, an elite from the soul reaping line which you highly invest in anyway. the main option I see is reaper's mark, which can be a huge powerhouse if used correctly and can allow you to use expensive spells without energy issues.
and dont forget the non MM death necro, with an elite such as virulence, discord and tainted flesh

all in all, you should capture as many elites as you can and experiment with all of them, than decide which elites you like most and create a build around each 1 of them to make your necro fun but also very competative and helpful in PvE
and good luck playing a necro, I'm sure you'll enjoy the class very much.

P.S while talking about all these various necro elite hexes I was thinking about your mesmer as well, he also has some very nice unused and unpopular options as well... if you havent tried them already I suggest you cap and experiment with power flux, psychic instability, recurring, insecurity and power leech among a few others.

Coloneh · Mar 16, 2007, 09:47 PM // 21:47

You should be fine as long as you dont go into the game thinking about being a MM. and it sounds like you dont want to anyways. I would get radiant armor, a mesmer secondary and cap ss, but there are a few decent nightfall elites to.

rick1027 · Mar 16, 2007, 10:27 PM // 22:27

in cantha and elona most people want a mm in their group until a cetain point so it may be hard to learn the other aspects of your necro but in the higher missions youll be glad you learned either curses or blood to some extent. when i pugged which it always seem most groups want you they tend to like the mm but i always switched to blood or curse when i did the plain quests to learn the other aspects of necro and in the end i ended up loving the curse line the best. mm ing for me tended to be so boring all i did was spawn new ones and healed them. hope you luck with your necro and even a good blood necro and curse will always be welcome in most groups even if they dont have a mm just make sure you let them know before you go grouping especially the monks they might not heal you much if they think your an mm