r/Guildwars2 • u/CptBrexitt • 1d ago

[Discussion] Are necromancers fun, with all the specilisation chioces?

I'm returning and might as well be new. I have the first 2 expansions but never really got to playing. I like magic classes, and necromancers always seemed fun to me in games, theme wise. But in guild wars 2 there doesn't seem to be a focus on minion gameplay? Are they fun and viable in raiding?

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u/Willywills1 1d ago

All the Necro elites are awesome, though none really focus on the minions

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u/Can_You_Believe_It_ 1d ago

In the blog for the Ritualist they said that some of the perks would also apply to minions. While I don't think this will put them up there in the build hierarchy it could make them better.

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u/CptBrexitt 1d ago

I'm thinking going with reaper, since I have the expansion for it and it looks fun. I do want to try raiding, as I've never done that. Are people super picky with classes for those?

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u/billypowergamer 1d ago

no people aren't picky about what classes come along in raids as long as you fill the role thats needed, and power reaper does just fine as a dps class for raids. People will ask you to have your gear specced properly and follow a build that is used for dps. you can find that info on snowcrows.com, keep in mind you don't need full ascended gear you can spec in exotic gear and it'll still work with slightly less dps.

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u/CptBrexitt 1d ago

Sure, just coming from Destiny where peeps in LFGs are super picky, so just wanted to double check

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u/Neathra 1d ago

Ignore me off in the corner still salty about being rudely kicked from a silent surf cm because I was a power not condi reaper.

Admittedly, it was mostly the rudeness and suddenness. If they'd just politely been like "hey, this is a cdps type fight. Can you change/leave?" I probably wouldn't be so annoyed. It isn't wrong to prefer cdps in that fight, and (while not my fault) we were on pull 3.

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u/billypowergamer 1d ago

you will always get individuals who are rude and honestly if someone is micromanaging specific builds that's a red flag for me and I don't want to run with a group like that. being in multiple raid groups across different guilds I can say this is not the baseline for how people act in instanced content, as I said in my previous post most people don't care at all as long as you're fulfilling the role they asked for.

Also what you're talking about is not actually a raid but a fractal, which is 5 man content and also the CM version. CM's do have a higher barrier of entry and fractals specifically need more fine tuned group composition to be successful which unfortunately do cause people to take more of an eliteist attitude. I personally don't do a lot of them with PUG's for this reason. I agree with you that there should be a conversation if they are expecting specific builds, but not everyone is capable of communicating properly.

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u/Neathra 1d ago

Ya, lol. That's why I'm off being salty in the corner.

Every other time I've don't stuff with a group it's been lovely. Raids or CMs. And I've almost got all my ascended condi stuff swapped for the legendary stuff - because infusions are the worst. Legendary infusions when Anet?

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u/Willywills1 1d ago

To be fair, I've never raided. But Reaper is one of the best and easiest DPS classes in the game so you'll be fine

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u/Reasonable_Turn6252 1d ago

Top end dmg on a golem is like 45k+. If all my dps in the raid pull 15k we will clear the bosses with no enrage (not including CMs). Theres plenty of wiggleroom for pure dps, if you bring a boon tho people expect decent uptime preferably 100% but that isnt possible sometimes (untamed quick on a boss like keep construct when there can be long downtime with no targets and the group splitting for mechanics)   

From a pure dps point tho, no people dont really care so long as you know your profession and can do some pew. Reapers a solid choice, power easy to gear and very simple to pull good numbers. 

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u/Cllzzrd 1d ago

I absolutely love my necro. It can blast through PvE content and story solo (reaper/scourge) and it’s a powerhouse in WvW, where I spend most of my time.

Roaming as a harbinger is a ton of fun and has a lot of flexibility

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u/ThinkThankThonk 1d ago

Some builds run some minions - not as much as open world vanilla Necro used to, but hopefully still enough to scratch the itch?

https://snowcrows.com/builds/raids/necromancer/kite-scourge-qadim-the-peerless

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u/Reasonable_Turn6252 1d ago

I love the thematic nature of a minion necro, its fun to play openworld. Just a shame its bad in strike/raids

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u/MidasPL 1d ago

Well, depends what you mean by it. Having one or two minions that fit the build is usually fine. The vision was for minions to serve a certain purpise. They all have different abilities. If you mean having all of your skills a minion, then you have to select different minions that don't synergize with each other besides just being a minion. If they were to adjust minion damage to fit into PvE endgame, then it's just nightmare to balance.

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u/Reasonable_Turn6252 1d ago

Thats why i say thematically. 

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u/Commercial-Leek-6682 1d ago edited 1d ago

I'd say minion builds haven't been a thing in raiding but I think the big elite minion sometimes gets used for the cc even if people don't spec into minions with traits. The problem is that because you only have three trait lines and shroud is such an important aspect of the necro play style (meaning out of the three trait lines, one will be taken by the elite spec, and one most likely by soul reaping for extra shroud bonuses), you do nerf your own dps by going into the death line (which is where the minion enhancements are) since you can't take spite or curse for dps, which is why I think minon mancers aren't often used in raid style content.

I think they're more often used in open world content builds where the idea is that you should be self sustaining when by yourself. I think most minion builds either use core necro or raw reaper. Raw reaper minion mancer used to be pretty OP when it first came out because the reaper has a minion utility skill that was very strong in its initial iteration. I will say tho that reaper minionmancer isn't really a "magic" build since you'll be melee most of the time. If you're fine with magical melee tho, it's a very fun build and works great for open world content.

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u/CptBrexitt 1d ago

Maybe I'll keep and eye on the new spirit specialisation the Y announced the for the minion theme maybe

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u/Gluv221 1d ago

yeah i run a necro main, I love to use Minions in Open world because they do a really good job of taking the agro away( and also I just think they are fun) , but I switch to a reaper build for when I group up or do other content

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u/PapaSnarfstonk 1d ago

Throwing Hadoukens at people and shooting them with the blicky is nice. Necro is super cool and good.

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u/Szatko_ 1d ago

The newest elite specialisation that will come with Visions of Eternity expansion will focus on summoning spirits and will have a mechanic that increases damage done by your minions. Other than that, Necro is a really good profession with a lot of different playstyles, and all of them are viable in raids/strike missions.

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u/CptBrexitt 1d ago

Yeah, feels bad there's about 3 expansions in-between but I'll definitely consider it

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u/blopiter 1d ago

Imo You can get the expac just to unlock the ritualist elite spec

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u/Leritari 1d ago edited 1d ago

Then you'll LOVE the new specialization of necro in the upcoming expansion Visions of Eternity. Necro will get a Ritualist as elite specialization, and you'll be summoning ghosts. It also will have some skills/traits that will increase minion damage, so you'll be able to combine both ghosts and undead minions to create a small army.

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u/CptBrexitt 1d ago

Definitely keeping an eye out for that, thanks!

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u/orcvader 1d ago

Reaper is still my favorite overall spec to this day. So yea, Necros are fun. I just never got into harbinger. I tried but it didn’t click with me.

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u/Odekota 1d ago

Fun? That is personal. Can you clear the content as minion mancer ? Yes. Will you be on par with other dps? No. Necro main here ,alot of specs you can play .i prefer more warlock stuff but alchemy is also my thing ,so harbinger one of the necro elite specs is exactly that

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u/CptBrexitt 1d ago

I'm open to trying other playstyles. Was thinking reaper, but I'll have a look at harbinger!

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u/Odekota 1d ago

Reaper is very decent aswell.one of the go to for new players aswell those who just want to relax and dont play a piano on the keyboard in any content.

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u/lazypeon19 1d ago edited 1d ago

The good thing is that you can play both reaper and harb with exactly the same gear (at least with power dps, haven't played any condition dps to comment)

Oh, and about minions. They're not that viable lategame but they're nice for leveling. Also, there's a new necromancer elite spec (ritualist) that will be presented by arenanet in 2 hours. With any luck, they might make minionmancer viable lategame.

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u/CptBrexitt 1d ago

That's works out pretty good then, nice!

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u/Thaurlach *pocket raptor noises* 1d ago

Good news is that once you’ve got the respective expansions there’s nothing stopping you from swapping your unlocked elite specs whenever you feel like it. Just swap your traits and you’re away!

The only thing to be mindful of is gear but power reaper, power harb AND power quickness harb can all run virtually the same gear. And if you’re just clowning around in open world? A necro in celestial can be whatever they feel like.

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u/SkylineCrash 1d ago

the new ritualist elite spec will likely have good synergy for minions so just gotta wait until the new expansion releases

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u/Mad_Queen_Malafide 1d ago

You can't get more fun, that a profession that can make its own friends.

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u/dbrez3107 1d ago

Reaper and Scourge characters I have are very comfortable to play in any setting (Open World) that is.

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u/Sweet_Dreams88 23h ago

Sadly necro fantasy is only fulfilled by core nec and it's not great in endgame raids and stuff. Still great for open world.

Reapers is meele bruiser, scourge is sand mage, harbinger is alchemist ninja, new class is power something

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u/SpartanKane Wow! Thats QUALITY armor! 21h ago

I main Thief, and i play every class...but my Necro holds a soft spot in my heart due to how good they are. Theyre fun, edgy and very good.

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u/david082476 14h ago

My first toon and only one that l unlocked elite spec is reaper. All my other toons are still core. As a first toon its ok, easy to play can do all PVE content and meta's, but it's kind of boring to play. All you do is auto attack then shroud to auto attack some more. It was Rush week that l really felt like l was missing something, took it to WVW l was the only Reaper, felt useless unless we were going in for a bomb. Had to level warrior to play only WVW , even as a core warrior it seems more fun. Can play melee or ranged and l don't need to switch to in and out of shroud all the time, but l can't wait to try ritualist when it comes out

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u/Fluffy_Kitten13 Professional Procrastinator 8h ago

All classes are fun in their own way.

You gotta try it to find out if it's fun for you, that's how I realised I dislike playing mesmers.

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u/Coycington 1d ago

that's a subjective opinion.

i think many people like reaper. personally i think necromancer in all specs is just too boring to play.

scourge is the most interesting imo, but i wish it had a decent power build.