[SUGGESTIONS] for improving scourge gameplay

Hi fellow necros, first of all I apologize for my english grammar. I would like to share with you some suggestions I have in mynd to improve the scourge gameplay to make it more rewarding and appealing (because right now i found scourge a very low skill-flor specialization and I got tired really fast with the gameplay).

The main problem with this specialization is imho the fact that all the F-x skills are on low cd, without cast time and does their effect on the shade AND on the necromancer. I understand this mechanic is necessary because otherways the scourge is left without any viable defensive option and would die instantly but i found it lackluster. So my suggestion is:

1) Put a cast time on the F-x skills, make them have longer cd, and take away the effect of the F-x skill on the necro.2) To compensate and to give the necro some defense make that when you double-tap the [manifest sand shade] skill the shade came back to the necro andOption1--> it gives the necro some defense like a barrier and some stability or cleanse condition or heal.Option2--> give the shade another set of defensive skillsAfter that the shade has been recalled the necro wouldnt been able to moove it again for some seconds (like 8-10).

This suggestion would like to create and promote a more rewarding and active gameplay in which you have to think carefully when to use your F-skills and when to use the shade for offense or for defense.Let me now your opinions!

I feel the exact way as you OP.Scourge is a class that gets rewarded for spamming.

I don't really like the idea of putting a cast time on the F skills though because Scourge already feels clunky with the shade having cast time on F1 for placement.

I would suggest removing shade F1 auto attacks when we cast F2-F5, and then buff the shade by

• removing the cast time on F1 shade placement,
• increasing the casting placement range to 1200,
• make the Sand Savant traited larger radius and additional number of targets baseline.

By not having F2-F5 activate a shade's F1 dhuumfire attack, I won't be tempted to spam F2-F5 upon contact to like front-load all the extra burns.Also, if the DPS drops as a result, I suggest buffing other areas like the punishment utilities, weapon skills or even the Curses trait-line to return back the DPS.

F2-F5 not locking us out of our skills and having no cast-time is a great idea. But having them provide additional F1 dhuumfire attacks makes spamming more rewarding than proper usage for what the skill should be.

I rather Scourge not go the route of Reaper, thanks.

These seem like reasonable trades. There are a lot of changes that will need adjustment by trial and error, which will cost the balance team some time, but the concept is workable.

The current shroud f-skills were probably easier to create and balance with no cast time and no involved tell animations - fewer variables adding complexity.