Curse

kupp · Nov 16, 2008, 12:41 AM // 00:41

Hi!

I've been a warrior and dervish player most of the time, never liked casters tough I did got an ele to and monk to lvl 20 for some specific tasks.

So recently I started feeling the need for something diferente to actually play the game with, and I decided to make me a Necromancer, and I got excited after reading some things they're able to do... Now, I don't know where to start off with. I have a 60 ar armor, runes, the works, and SS as my only elite at the moment, but I'm having troubles. I went out with

[spiteful spirit][arcane echo][reckless haste][price of failure]

and other curses spells for a quick melee shutdown, but I found out that I kill those melee's a faster than I'd like, he dies and SS stops getting spammed... And that only seems to work agaisnt melee's. I've been trying other combinations along with some other mesmer skills, but it just doesn't work. I'm impressed with the necro's power, but I can't seem to grasp it. Everything I try ends up failing, this isn't as straight forward and direct as an Ele, it has complexity to it.

So basicly I'm a newbie to the necro class and need some orientation. What am I doing wrong in the above, or what should I be doing to take full advantage of it? Any tips, builds, and specially articles to read about the necromancer and learning how to play it would be very appreciated

jackinthe · Nov 16, 2008, 02:09 AM // 02:09

consider bringing some degen or just straight dmg for the casters after melee are dead.
also, killing fast should never be a problem, with the melee out of the way, your party can focus on the casters and you can easily finish them off

mistokibbles · Nov 16, 2008, 02:23 AM // 02:23

here's the current build i'm using
[signet of lost souls][spiteful spirit][reckless haste][barbs][mark of pain][enfeebling blood][pain inverter][sunspear rebirth signet]. <-- build has never failed me =)
my runes are curses : 12+1+1 and soul reaping 12

ac1inferno · Nov 16, 2008, 02:43 AM // 02:43

[build prof=Necromancer/Mesmer Curses=12+1+3 Soul=12+1][Spiteful Spirit][Arcane Echo][Defile Enchantments][Desecrate Enchantments][Reckless Haste][Signet of Lost Souls][Optional][Resurrection Signet][/build]

gremlin · Nov 16, 2008, 03:01 AM // 03:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by mistokibbles

here's the current build i'm using
[signet of lost souls][spiteful spirit][reckless haste][barbs][mark of pain][enfeebling blood][pain inverter][sunspear rebirth signet]. <-- build has never failed me =)
my runes are curses : 12+1+1 and soul reaping 12

I can recommend this build its very similar to my own default ss necro build.
I seldom need arcane echo to get off two Spiteful spirits in rapid succession.

That only works if you can get a bunch of enemies and get ss on two targets in my experience that doesn't happen often enough to warrant taking it all the time.
I know its part of the wiki ss build but that was written quite a while back and is somewhat outdated.

I usually have a hero or player MM necro in support so barbs is sometimes doing more damage than ss.

Signet of lost souls is a must have.

*Darcy* · Nov 16, 2008, 03:05 AM // 03:05

There is a very good guide stickied at the top of this Necro subforum.

Calista Blackblood · Nov 16, 2008, 04:09 AM // 04:09

[Moloch's Prophecies only SS;OAVDIjxHD5ZZZ7ZXj5IA] ( As a base)

[arcane echo] Is wasteful in general pve.45e total when stuff dies fast anyway.Avoid except in cetain farming build/team cases.

[mistokibbles;OABCY8xUVVegQTZglgdgcJGH] I actually agree with this,although I prefer Rigor over barbs personally and don't carry a res or SolS on my bars

[ac1inferno's offering;OAVSY4DP5hlgLEOI0qqAABA] This. Is terrible,there is absolutely no need for 2 copies of SS and 2 of exactly the same enchantment punishing skills,if there are enchantments around,remove them [rip enchantment],Reckless is usefull but the bar totally lacks buffing and debuffing other than that.

[barbs][rigor mortis][enfeebling blood][mark of pain]

[rigor mortis] Stop foe blocking
[barbs] Deal more damage to that foe
[mark of pain] Deal armor and thus level ignoring shadow damage AoE (trigger it with a spear if needs be)
[Enfeebling blood] Weakness on melee mobs is too important and potent to leave out

Quote:

Originally Posted by Weakness

You deal 66% less damage with attacks and your attributes are reduced by 1

[spiteful spirit] Goes on the largest level foe you've got in your little bunch to give as much duration as possible

[signet of lost souls] Can be helpfull,but necros have enough energy management from soul reaping
[insidious parasite] Can be extremely helpfull(Note the life steal) This can literally make high level melee foes vanish(Especially when used with a minion master) It's quite like a physical damage triggered [pain inverter] in that instance

In PvE areas with abundant hex removal [parasitic bond] can save you a lot of energy and time (IE cover the much needed hexes)

And naturally [reckless haste] + [price of failure] work nice for single targets (probably moreso in PvP)

Thats all I think ....

the savage nornbear · Nov 16, 2008, 05:51 AM // 05:51

I've grown really attached to [[insidious parasite]. [[Mark of pain]] is stupid not to bring. IMO very few enchantments need to be removed in PvE, so I tend to not bring enchantment hate. Maybe [[technobabble]?

Osi Ri S · Nov 16, 2008, 10:20 AM // 10:20

Hey, i really think Calista hit the nail on the head here so ill just add what i can.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kupp

[spiteful spirit][arcane echo][reckless haste][price of failure]

and other curses spells for a quick melee shutdown, but I found out that I kill those melee's a faster than I'd like, he dies and SS stops getting spammed... And that only seems to work agaisnt melee's.

There is no need for Arcane echo for normal PvE play. SS has a fast enough recharge where it doesnt need to be echoed. Also, when casting SS, you want to cast it where it will deliver the most dmg (obviously) and generally that target is the one that is lowest on the killing priority list. So try casting it on the warrior, then focusing your parties attention to the monk or other casters.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kupp

I've been trying other combinations along with some other mesmer skills, but it just doesn't work.

Once again, for normal PvE play you shouldnt need to splitt attributes outside of the necro line. I find that the most effective necro builds include necro + PvE skills only.

As far as improving your build goes, i would include these skills:

Enfeebling Blood Calista already said why this is good, and for 1energy its dumb to pass it up.
Insidious Parasite It only gets better in HM, many times have i seen a char or destroyer use Hundred Blades or Cyclone/Triple Chop when they are hexed with IP and surrounded by minions, its a 1 hit KO.
Necrosis+Finish Him I love this combo because Necrosis is basically a free 80+ dmg every couple seconds. Also, its like having another elite on your bar. Necrosis is very similar to Discord and is superior imo so its also a no brainer.

Combine this with Finish Him and you have great spiking power. Rarely do i have to struggle with a foe when using these 2 skills. (Try adding Barbs to the combo with a MM and its even better.)

kupp · Nov 20, 2008, 12:45 AM // 00:45

Thanks for the replies all, and sorry for my late but haven't had much time to play GW lately.

So, Calista pretty much gave me a quick guide for the Necro, thank you. I've been playing it and I like it, but some other questions poped up.

I'm using this build atm:

[build=OABCY8xTeQotHKD2hPhmAjD]

Will swap out Plague Touch for [mark of pain]

I find it great for melee's and rangers/paras and chose to left out Price Of Failure to squeeze out some AoE damage from SS without killing the hexed enemy too fast. Also spending 45e for just one enemy who dies in 5 seconds or so is too much imo.

As much as this build rocks against physical damage mobs, it's somewhat weak against casters, most of the damage I do to them comes from Barbs. Could anyone shed some light on this and recommend me a few skills to deal with casters, or help me improving the build as a whole, or is this enough? Aside from that, enchant removal or some extra degen from [

Also, I've been wondering what's the best line for a PvE necro. I like curses and enjoy watching the enemy basicly kill himself, but I feel the need to explore the other lines as well. How would a death or blood necro perform? I've been browsing through a few skills from those lines but can't make a decision either or not if it's a good idea to invest in them.

Lastly, the one thing that keeps bugging me is how to face a mob. I cast SS + RH on any physical and call a caster for the rest of the party to deal with, but I feel I'm missing something because I believe I can handle a mob faster with my warrior/derv than I do with my Necro. And when the SS enemy dies, there goes my damage source. Is this normal, or am I doing something wrong again? For some reason this doesn't seem right since I always have a sense on confusion when moving on to attack something. I'm trying to be as clear as I can on this one...

Cheers!

Calista Blackblood · Nov 20, 2008, 01:06 AM // 01:06

Try holding back for a second or two when the melee foes rush to your minions/melee,throw SS at the back, on or towards the casters and barbs,mark of pain and such (basically your dmg buffs) on the most forward.

The rest of your build is putting out substantial damage which affords you a little time to pick the right SS target.

[weaken armor] is nice (cracked armor gives -20 armor to a minimum of 60) but only seems usefull in HM.If you wish that could be subbed out for [rip enchantment] or [rend enchantments] for a little added kick vs casters

Others may argue that but its cool

and your most welcome

the savage nornbear · Nov 20, 2008, 01:07 AM // 01:07

[[Pain inverter], when you get it, will handle casters no problem, as will [[mark of pain]. Necros don't need to handle casters by themselves. Just throw [[barbs] on them and watch 14s fly around. Buffing physicals is win.