something to ponder regarding Mesmers and Necros and the LB title

Hi Folks,

The lightbringer title gives a damage bonus of 5% vs abaddon's minions per rank. This bonus doesn't seem to translate to hexes like spiteful spirit, insidious parasite, empathy, backfire, and so on. Or Life stealing skills like shadow strike, or vampiric gaze. It does give a bonus to flare and other direct damage elementalist spells.
Considering that a good portion (almost half) of mesmer and necro skills are hexes, they don't really receive the full benefit of this title, as do the physical characters (wars/rangers/etc) and the direct spell casters like the elementalist. I for one would appreciate it if this kind of thing were to occupy the thoughts of the dev team while they are currently reviewing the usefulness of mesmers in PvE.

Thanks for your time.

I love how you left out Monks, who don't get any benefit whatsoever (Smiting doesn't count.)

Anyways, as a Necro who played as SS through all of RoT and its Master quests...it's fine. SS is overpowered enough when played well.

If this is a veiled "Buff Mesmers in PvE" post, this isn't the complaint to use. People would just be more inclined to take an SS instead of a Mesmer if the buff were in effect (heh).

i havent gotten my meser that far in nf, but i feel that the 5% bonus isnt that important or beneficial. so just go ahead and spam wastrels worry on abbadon and dont worry about it.

...

What he forgets to point out is that having the LB title doesn't give mean you do more damage, you also take less damage.

Meaning everyone benefits from it.

Not in a degen-only area

Smiting counts, and its benefited. Also, the passive effect of less damage taken works for monks, too.

Honestly, I shouldn't have needed to reply.

Taking less damage is only half benefit then.I would like to point out that damage mods on staffs should effect spells as well,its not fair to casters that only melee get damage boost.Usual shot by a staff is worthless,damage boost there isnt doing caster any good.Make it effect spells pls Anet just as lighbringer should!

It's 5% per level. Someone with level 2 of the LB title gets a 10% bonus, 3 a 15% bonus, etc. And it's not that hard to get to level 2 or 3 by the time you get to the RoT Missions. Considering that you can get to LB 2 with about 30 - 40 minutes of farming (oooh! I said the "F" word!) in the Mirror of Lyss, having that extra 10% and LB Gaze can really make a difference in the Grand Court mission.

Everyone benefits from the reduced damage, but some classes benefit more than others from the increased damage. Warriors and eles, for example, benefit from the reduced damage as much as other classes, e.g. monk, but benefit more than monks do with the increased damage. My +35% wand attacks don't compare to +35% damage on Final Thrust or Meteor Shower.

LB Gaze partially reduces this disparity though.

You can still be a monk and use the LB title to boost your heroes.
Also, LB actually boosts smiters most of all, since their damage is armor ignoring.

I think those damage types you are referring to are already very powerfull. Since they are totally armor-ignoring, you will do relatively little damage to low level characters (compared to a Hammer-warrior vs a Devourer lvl 5), but in regards to a lvl 28 high armored Demon, you do A LOT of damage.

This armor ignoring damage also applies to a lot of Rt damage, mainly from spirits and hexes. My spirit spiker Rt can do 100+ dmg per second on 1 single Torment creature. Which is doubled when he enters Call of Torment.

Pain (30 dmg), Bloodsong (26 dmg), Anguish (21 + 21 dmg), Fury (21 dmg), + 4 x 20 dmg from hex which name i cant remember. Torment Creatures dont stand a chance if Anet would give them +30% dmg.

Because technically, it's the hex that's doing the damage, NOT you. The damage bonus only apply to YOU and YOU only. Take note that the bonus DO apply to [skill=text]Shatter Hex[/skill] and [skill=text]Hex Eater Vortex[/skill]

And its sucks! >_>

And life stealing != damage

So the bonus damage would only apply to damage done by your fists? A Meteor Shower is conjured, a Savage Shot is fired...none of these damages are done by you, but by the devices you use. Why exclude hexes for these reasons then?

I play necro and its even worse than he suggests:

Lightbringer is supposed to increase damage, and necromancer is suppsoed to be a damage dealing class.

What's not affected:

Dammage from Hex triggers (spiteful spirit gets no benefit)

Damage from Offensive boost (Lightbringer does not affect orders)

Damage from lifesteal (lightbringer does not help vampiriic gaze)

Damage from Loss of Life (lightbringer does not affect Spoil victor)

Damage from an skill that says "XX takes Damage" or "XX take shadow damage" (Lightbringer does not affect signet of sorrow)

Damage from Minions

Damage from Degen or conditions

What is affected:

Targeted elemental non armor ignoring damage, which for a Necromancer is mostly garbage skills like Deathly chill.

Elementalist and ritualist Damage skills (maybe necromancer ought to depened heavily on their secondaries to get full benefit of the title)

A non-functional lightbringer title is on reason why Mesmers cant get a party in DoA, and why necromancers cant get into a party either for the most part, except as 1 HP Bip. As lightbringer title gets higher, the class becomes obsolete. Plus, with hard mode coming, and the chance for very real class discrimination coming with it... there's a good chance that the necromancer falls far behind in the arms race and isnt seen as nearly as useful. While a Necromancer has been a staple character for a year now, thats based on a tiny few skills which are all unfairly ignored by lightbringer title...

and sure, all classes get reduced damage from lightbriger, but a necro or mesmer is prettty squishy regardless... and if necromancer has to play as 1 hp BiP, because his lightbringer title doesnt work, then the necromancer doesnt benefit at all from the title.

Remember that the Lightbringer ranks also decrease damage received from servants of Abaddon by 1 per rank...which is a very nice boon to the characters with weaker armor like the Mesmer and Necromancer.

The title shouldn't be improved, it should be removed.

Giving PvE blanket bonuses to tweak the balance of PvE is a step on the spiral stair of power creep, and highlights imbalances in classes.

I really dont need LB damage for my SS necro, since Olias' fiends already do tons of damage with MOP and/or barbs. I use awaken the blood of course.

thats because most necro and mesmer skills dont do direct damage, hex's do damage after they have ben atached to the enemy and thus arnt coming directly from you, while fireball and meteor storm do direct damage