Necromancer WvW | Small Group Scepter/Focus, Staff | Roamer solo/small group/medium group Conditionmancer
Table of Contents
Summary
Although this build features high toughness, it is rather glassy due to the trait and utility choices. Traits are optimized for damage via conditions, utility skills can be changed depending on preference. I chose corruption skills because this is a condition build, and corruptions are mostly condition based
I. Weapons and Skills
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- Rending CurseBleed your foe.Damage: 118Bleeding: 4.5 s (170 damage)Range: 900
- Putrid CursePoison your foe.Damage: 168Bleeding: 4.5 s (170 damage)Poison: 6 s (336 damage)Range: 900
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Weapon and Skill Details
Staff: Use this whenever you need one of the following: AoE, condition transfer, fear. Staff also works well in melee range, just place AoE down at your feet.
Necrotic Grasp: pretty much useless in this build aside for one thing, and that is life force gain. If you are just walking around out of combat, use this skill on ambients (rats, chickens etc) to quickly fill your life force pool.
Mark of blood: This is your DPS skill, with low cooldown it will stack bleeds very quickly to anyone who doesn't avoid it
Chillblains: Useful for the chill, but I recommend using focus whenever you need to chill a single foe. AoE poison on this skill is also very useful as it will deal damage similar to 2 stacks of bleed, plus reduce healing. This also generates a combo field, allowing you to apply AoE weakness by placing putrid mark into the combo field
Putrid Mark: One of your two condition removals, however this also transfers conditions. use it when you have any long burns or bleeds, transferring them could just make you win a battle.
Reaper's Mark: AoE fear, with terror this is a good way to burst your target for an additional 1.5k damage in 1 second. It can be used both defensively and offensively. The fear lasts 1 3/4 seconds, so the damage from terror will only tick once, however you can add the death shroud (3) fear before it ends, extending the duration. With both combined you can get terror damage to tick 4 times in a single fear.
Scepter/focus: Use this whenever you need one of the following: Single target DPS, cripple, chill, boon removal, life force (in combat)
Blood curse: easiest way to stack conditions in this build, however it is not AoE. It's difficult to avoid, and stacks bleed, poison, burning (on crit) better than staff.
Grasping dead: More bleeds, however it is predictable and has a long casting time.
Use this to cripple if your foe isn't already chilled
Feast of Corruption: DO NOT use this UNLESS you desperately need life force
Reaper's Touch: Use this when you have allies around you, stacking vuln on enemies will help your team damage them down. Also use this for quick life force by aiming it at a group of enemies.
Spinal Shivers: Good way to start a 1v1 because it chills, increasing the time it takes for a melee character to get close to you. Also removes boons, awesome for getting rid of enemy might stacks, fury, and swiftness. People will run away from you A LOT. This skill makes it hard to do that.
Utility:
Consume conditions: Best necro heal, 'nuff said.
Rest can be altered by preference (For example, you don't need epidemic in very small group fights (less than 3)
Corrupt boon: Awesome condition bomb/burst. Gives you access to confusion (3 stacks) by converting retaliation (GG guardians). Turns stability into fear (more damage and control) counters any elite skill with stability.
Blood is power: 2 stacks of a nearly one minute bleed. However you do bleed yourself, you need to either transfer the bleed with putrid mark or remove it. If you are unable to do so, using blood is power without a target will grant you 10 might stacks WITHOUT bleeding yourself. Might grants condition damage, so this skill greatly improves your DPS.
Last utility slot is very flexible. Epidemic for medium/large group fights, spectral walk or signet of the locust for mobility.
Plague: Really epic skill that can be used in so many ways. Use it when you need to go defensive, use it in large group (zerg) fights as it has some impressive AoE DPS, use it to secure a stomp (you do this by starting the stomp then going into plague) or help an ally secure a stomp by spamming blind. You mostly want to set your plague to add bleeds, as that provides the best use of the skill, unless you need blind for utility reasons.
II. Traits
Spite
Curses
Death Magic
Blood Magic
Trait Details
Spite: 30% condition duration, extremely good for this build. Main purpose is to pick up Dhuumfire in GM, gaining access to burning.
Spiteful Talisman: increases your chill up time and boon removal. Also grants 1200 range, denying all escape in most cases
Spiteful removal: very good for medium and large group combat, you tag a lot of enemies as a necromancer, granting you more kills, this condition removal will trigger very often.
Dhuumfire: Insanely powerful trait, in this build you have 76% condition duration, making your burns last 7 seconds, and the high precision will trigger the burn almost every 10 seconds. Best part: It's unavoidable, any attack that was evaded/blocked etc will not count as a crit, so your dhuumfire will not go on cooldown until the burning actually happens
Spite: maximizing condition damage and gaining access to terror
Hemophilia: This brings your bleed duration to 96% allowing for higher stacks
Terror: Your strongest condition, use it when you need to burst a target. You have 4 sources of fear: Staff 5, DS 3, corrupt boon vs stability and downed 2
Master of corruption: flexible trait, I chose it because I have 2-3 corruption skills slotted at all times, can be replaced with lingering curses as the condition duration boost ignores the 100% cap, adding DPS to your scepter skills.
Death Magic: Improves staff
Staff mastery: Staff cooldowns are terrible, and it's your main weapon
In a zerg: Drop 10 points from curses and get increased radius on staff skills by adding 10 points to Death Magic
III. Stat Specifics & Effects
Primary Stats
- Health 19212 (+0)
- Vitality 916 (+0)
- Armor 2682 (+846)
- Toughness 1762 (+846)
- Attack 2163 (+300)
- Power 1216 (+300)
- Critical Hit 45% (+45%)
- Precision 1852 (+936)
Secondary Stats
- Bleeding Duration 20% (+20%)
- Boon Duration 10% (+10%)
- Condition Damage 1728 (+1728)
- Condition Duration 80% (+80%)
- DMG Taken from Guards and Lords -6% (+-6%)
- Damage 947 (+0%)
- Defense 920 (+0)
- Experience from Kills 20% (+20%)
Boons
Conditions
Control
Fields & Finishers
Stat and Effect Details
Maximized condition damage. 149-150 bleed dmg without might stacks (Need ascended to get those kind of numbers)
High armor to compensate for lack of defensive traits and utility skills
~50% critical chance for additional bleeds and dhuumfire
76% condition duration, 96% bleed duration
10% boon duration, increases 10 might stack duration from blood is power
You have access to: every single condition not including blindness. (However, putrid mark can convert blindness)
IV. Food, Armor, Trinkets & Upgrade Items
Food Nourishment
Condition Duration: 40%
Condition Damage: 70
Experience from Kills: 10%
- (30min)
- Condition Duration: 40%
- Condition Damage: 70
- Experience from Kills: 10%
Utility Nourishment
Gain Condition damage equal to 6% of your toughness
Gain Condition damage equal to 4% of your vitality
Experience from Kills: 10%
- (30min)
- Gain Condition damage equal to 6% of your toughness
- Gain Condition damage equal to 4% of your vitality
- Experience from Kills: 10%
Armor & Runes
- Defense: 73
- Condition Damage: 25
- Toughness: 35
- Condition Damage: 50
- Toughness: 65
- Condition Damage: 100
- 7% of toughness is converted to condition damage.
- Defense: 73
- Condition Damage: 25
- Toughness: 35
- Condition Damage: 50
- Toughness: 65
- Condition Damage: 100
- 7% of toughness is converted to condition damage.
- Defense: 314
- Condition Damage: 25
- Toughness: 35
- Condition Damage: 50
- Toughness: 65
- Condition Damage: 100
- 7% of toughness is converted to condition damage.
- Defense: 133
- Condition Damage: 25
- Toughness: 35
- Condition Damage: 50
- Toughness: 65
- Condition Damage: 100
- 7% of toughness is converted to condition damage.
- Defense: 194
- Condition Damage: 25
- Toughness: 35
- Condition Damage: 50
- Toughness: 65
- Condition Damage: 100
- 7% of toughness is converted to condition damage.
- Defense: 133
- Condition Damage: 25
- Toughness: 35
- Condition Damage: 50
- Toughness: 65
- Condition Damage: 100
- 7% of toughness is converted to condition damage.
Armor Stat Totals
- Defense 920
- Condition Damage 175
- Toughness 100
Rune Bonuses
Superior Rune of the Undead- Condition Damage: 25
- Toughness: 35
- Condition Damage: 50
- Toughness: 65
- Condition Damage: 100
- 7% of toughness is converted to condition damage.
Accessories & Jewels
- Condition Damage: 5
- DMG Taken from Guards and Lords: -1%
- Condition Damage: 5
- DMG Taken from Guards and Lords: -1%
- Condition Damage: 5
- DMG Taken from Guards and Lords: -1%
- Toughness: 5
- DMG Taken from Guards and Lords: -1%
- Condition Damage: 5
- DMG Taken from Guards and Lords: -1%
- Toughness: 5
- DMG Taken from Guards and Lords: -1%
Accessory Totals
- Precision:466
- Toughness:476
- Condition Damage:712
- DMG Taken from Guards and Lords:-6%
Weapon Set Sigils
- Weapon Strength: 895-1010
- Condition Damage: 120
- Precision: 85
- Toughness: 85
- Weapon Strength: 832-883
- Condition Damage: 120
- Precision: 85
- Toughness: 85
Weapon Set I
Superior Sigil of Malice+10% Condition Duration
Sigil of Minor CorruptionYou gain +10 condition damage each time you kill a foe. (max 25 stacks and ends on down)
- Weapon Strength: 985-1111
- Condition Damage: 239
- Precision: 171
- Toughness: 171
- Weapon Strength: -
Weapon Set II
Superior Sigil of Malice+10% Condition Duration
- Weapon Strength: 905-1000
- Power: 120
- Precision: 85
- Ferocity: 85
- Weapon Strength: 905-1000
- Condition Damage: 120
- Precision: 85
- Toughness: 85
Water Weapon I
Sigil of Superior Force+5% damage.
Water Weapon II
Superior Sigil of Malice+10% Condition Duration
Upgrade Item Details
Food, armor, and trinkets all maximize condition damage. Runes of undead can be swapped to the new confusion rune (perplexity) unless it got nerfed or something. I chose not to because you only have 3 skills that can interrupt a foe.
Sigils: Use malice, otherwise your dhuumfire would only tick 6 times per 10 seconds. The 6% boost is enough to increase your dhuumfire duration to 7 seconds, and adds duration to all other conditions.
Corruption: 250 extra condition damage is always a good idea. For an even greater boost, have 2 focuses on you, one with Superior sigil of corruption, and another one with crest of the rabid. Once you reach 25 stacks of corruption, swap your focus to the one with crest of the rabid on it for 21 extra condition damage.
V. Basic Gameplay
Use skills when you need them. Simple example: Warrior used signet of rage? counter with spinal shivers. Thief used dagger storm? counter with corrupt boon.
For maximum DPS use scepter 1, 2, and staff 2 as soon as the cooldown ends
Main Skill Rotation
Just one of the few ways you can burst with this build. use this only if you don't need putrid mark, reaper's mark, doom for utility purposes. Remember that you can cast life transfer while tainted shackles is channeling, and you can cast doom while life transfer is channeling. The goal is to use doom from less than 600 range before the fear from reaper's mark ends.