Power Reaper Fix

I think I may have a simple fix for the damage of Power Reaper.

Either:

• Dread: Inflicting Chill on a foe applies vulnerability. Deal increased damage to foes inflicted with Chill. (Damage Increase: 20%)
• The above trait is in Spite so it may upset the balance of other specs that I'm just not aware of but in Reaper's case, it would help a ton because if you compare Power Reaper to other classes such as Power Soulbeast and/or Power Spellbreaker, both of those classes have ridiculous damage increasing buffs at their disposal which put them on people's radars... Reaper does not.

OR

• Chilling Nova: Critical hits against foes Chill them for 1.75s.

AND

• Cold Shoulder: Chill lasts longer, and chilled foes take more damage from your attacks. (Damage Increase: 30% Duration Increase: 20%)
• The above changes to Chilling Nova and Cold Shoulder would not only make applying and maintaining Chill a non-issue but, as I mentioned earlier, it would make Power Reaper damage comparable to Power Soulbeast and Power Spellbreaker.

In any case. I've tried just about everything I can think of and I just can't seem to get my DPS to and above 25k on the training golem. Maybe I'm just doing something terribly wrong but seeing those numbers when I see 30k+ on literally any other power class is disheartening.

Power reaper is fine. Well, mostly fine. All it needs are minor tweaks.

-It needs more >50% DPS from it's GS. All of it's >50% dps comes from shroud atm.-It needs a power-based ranged weapon that can cleave.

That's about the only problems I have with it. The training golem undervalues Reaper, since it doesn't replicate burn phases, and Reaper can put out truly massive burst damage with Shroud.

Try it with dagger and see if the overall dps improves. I havn't tested it on the golem, but I'll bet it does a lot more >50% damage then GS. It may fall off in the <50% range though.

@cyndelaq.7148 said:I think I may have a simple fix for the damage of Power Reaper.

Either:

• Dread: Inflicting Chill on a foe applies vulnerability. Deal increased damage to foes inflicted with Chill. (Damage Increase: 20%)
• The above trait is in Spite so it may upset the balance of other specs that I'm just not aware of but in Reaper's case, it would help a ton because if you compare Power Reaper to other classes such as Power Soulbeast and/or Power Spellbreaker, both of those classes have ridiculous damage increasing buffs at their disposal which put them on people's radars... Reaper does not.

I think we got enough vulnerability on chill with bitter chill. Reaper is the master of chill not core, all e-specs will be forced to do with the core trait, what you suggest as a replacement for a core trait is to specific to reaper.

OR

• Chilling Nova: Critical hits against foes Chill them for 1.75s.

Reducing chilling nova ICD in PvE would probably be wiser than allowing perma chill. What you suggest here is super dangerous if coupled with deathly chill. With just this change you make condi reaper OP as hell.

AND

• Cold Shoulder: Chill lasts longer, and chilled foes take more damage from your attacks. (Damage Increase: 30% Duration Increase: 20%)

30% damage increase on a minor, even on a trait, is not something that can be seriously pondered.

• The above changes to Chilling Nova and Cold Shoulder would not only make applying and maintaining Chill a non-issue but, as I mentioned earlier, it would make Power Reaper damage comparable to Power Soulbeast and Power Spellbreaker.

In any case. I've tried just about everything I can think of and I just can't seem to get my DPS to and above 25k on the training golem. Maybe I'm just doing something terribly wrong but seeing those numbers when I see 30k+ on literally any other power class is disheartening.

Rather change Gravedigger.Gravedigger should be changed IMO.Its should recharge instantly when Life-force is under the threshold or when killing an enemy and should generate Life-force depending on dmg dealt to a target. This way you can spam gravedigger, enter shroud, deal dmg, leave shroud, spam gravedigger rince and repeat.Would make the weapon atleast more dynamic IMO. The average dmg should atleast be the same, otherwise they should change the GS trait in a way that improves power reapers performance.

People have come up with so many ideas to fix increase reaper dps, a lot of which were really good. I don't think anet wants reapers, or maybe even necros, to have competitive dps. I think the reason for that is because necros essentially have 2 life bars. That's my guess.

@"Rhyse.8179" said:-It needs a power-based ranged weapon that can cleave.

Why exactly is this needed? Do you have a specific scenario in mind?

Also on the topic, don't put these damage modifiers into minor traits as those carry over to PvP builds as well. Reaper does "enough" in that section of the game. I play it myself but any more free damage for Reaper is too much. I can already go for a Blood build, not pick any of the damage traits on Reaper, and still 1-shot people from 50%-75% health with Gravedigger.

So to boost Reapers PvE damage, put the damage into traits that don't get forced into PvP builds. If someone wants to build for damage with major trait choices in PvP, that's okay because they are giving something up for it.

@Rhyse.8179 said:Try it with dagger and see if the overall dps improves. I havn't tested it on the golem, but I'll bet it does a lot more >50% damage then GS. It may fall off in the <50% range though.The GS autoattack alone deals more damage than the whole dagger/wh or dagger/focus weaponset. When you add the other 4 skills on GS, it outperforms dagger by around 20% dps even above 50%. The GS auto got several buffs in the last few patches (more damage, less aftercast). And GS3 deals now 50% more damage above 50% health.

Dagger is complete trash in PvE now. It has its niche in PvP when you build for 1v1 due to its immob and skill 2 ranged pressure. But that's it. Even in PvP it needs an autoattack damage buff by at least 10% to be considered viable.

@topic:Buffing dread is useless as this conflicts with awaken the pain which is also a dps increase trait. You would have to drop one dps trait for another. Further dps buffs have to be placed in other trait sections.

Oops. I missed the GS buffs in the notes.

@Rhyse.8179 said:The training golem undervalues Reaper, since it doesn't replicate burn phases, and Reaper can put out truly massive burst damage with Shroud.

This statement is incorrect. Reaper burst is incredibly weak compared to bursts of other classes such as SLB, DGH, Holo, power chronos, thieves, eles and others.Please don't write that reaper is comparably good if it's not, because it's harmful to healthy discussion.

@Hot Boy.7138 said:People have come up with so many ideas to fix increase reaper dps, a lot of which were really good. I don't think anet wants reapers, or maybe even necros, to have competitive dps. I think the reason for that is because necros essentially have 2 life bars. That's my guess.

Why would they keep buffing it then? Because it is almost at that perfect spot.

@Blocki.4931 said:

@Hot Boy.7138 said:People have come up with so many ideas to fix increase reaper dps, a lot of which were really good. I don't think anet wants reapers, or maybe even necros, to have competitive dps. I think the reason for that is because necros essentially have 2 life bars. That's my guess.

How many patches have comes and gone since reaper went live? I don't know the answer to your question. All i have is my guess that I stated before.

Gravedigger should hit twice...

@Blocki.4931 said:

@Hot Boy.7138 said:People have come up with so many ideas to fix increase reaper dps, a lot of which were really good. I don't think anet wants reapers, or maybe even necros, to have competitive dps. I think the reason for that is because necros essentially have 2 life bars. That's my guess.

how is 27k dps a perfect spot while other classes do 34k or more? while also having survivability (for example soulbeast gains free signet of stone when dropped below 50% hp and a lot of dodges/blocks on weapon skills). also if you think reaper is not abandoned by arenanet then you are deluding yourself - just look how they didnt fix well casting animations while wielding greatsword - since 2015 HoT release. and that has been reported repeatedly by me on various platforms. they don't care about necro. their favourites are mesmers, warriors, rangers, deadeyes and eles.

How about they just revert: 10 to 7secs sos + shroud degen rate. Do those 2 things. Nothing new just those 2. Let's start with the nerfs before the tweaks. Flippin simple. I'd shut my gap if they gave those 2 back.

Decimate Defenses should have the added effect of allowing the Reaper to deal 1% extra damage for each stack of vulnerability.

@Sublimatio.6981 said:

@Blocki.4931 said:

@Hot Boy.7138 said:People have come up with so many ideas to fix increase reaper dps, a lot of which were really good. I don't think anet wants reapers, or maybe even necros, to have competitive dps. I think the reason for that is because necros essentially have 2 life bars. That's my guess.

The problem is that Defiance and Boss encounter design is a direct nerf to Necromancer's own design so PvE and competitive modes are hard to balance. If they wanted, they could simply add a damage modifier versus Defiant in any minor of any trait line to boost dps closer to the median.

Put a +20% damage vs Defiant on Soul Comprehension for all I care and we will all run Death Magic in raids.

@Anchoku.8142 said:Put a +20% damage vs Defiant on Soul Comprehension for all I care and we will all run Death Magic in raids.

that would be a disaster. what about mobs without defiance bar? also why punish for breaking their bar as well? since they wont be defiant when broken. not a good idea.

I definitely think Power Reaper in pve needs some love.

@Sublimatio.6981 said:

@Anchoku.8142 said:Put a +20% damage vs Defiant on Soul Comprehension for all I care and we will all run Death Magic in raids.

Does dps really matter on mobs without Defiance?

@Anchoku.8142 said:Does dps really matter on mobs without Defiance?

yes - burst

@Sublimatio.6981 said:

@Anchoku.8142 said:Does dps really matter on mobs without Defiance?

If conditions like blind and cripple work against real players and trash mobs, is it fair to want more burst?

I am not disagreeing with your desire for Reaper improvements but merely pointing out that a special modifier versus Defiance can close the gap between PvE and competitive balance.

If the developers wanted, they could force Necro dps vs bosses higher and make balancing easier on themselves across the rest of the game.

@Anchoku.8142 said:If conditions like blind and cripple work against real players and trash mobs, is it fair to want more burst?yes because other classes can also blind and cripple

@"dceptaconroy.7928" said:How about they just revert: 10 to 7secs sos + shroud degen rate. Do those 2 things. Nothing new just those 2. Let's start with the nerfs before the tweaks. Flippin simple. I'd shut my gap if they gave those 2 back.

I agree!

Instead of buffing or tweaking, why not just revert some of the changes? Other classes have fair tradeoffs, but Necro legitimately just suffers.

I don't want Necro to be OP but like ... reverting that DS nerf would be PERFECT.

Honestly, people want to complain, "OH BUT NECRO HAS 2 HEALTH BARS!" ... when your combo is contingent upon you actually staying within DS which can legitimately become melted within a split second of entering it. Because it has been tweaked to now be more of a burst than a healthbar.

And not only that, but does it really compare to classes with tons of stab and blocks that can just run around in circles all day?

We all talk about the "burst" of DS ... that is what ArenaNet wanted Reaper to be from the start. The PROBLEM with that is Reaper did NOT start off as a "burst" ... DS was legitimately treated like a second health bar. And your traits will reflect that. Part of keeping Reaper "Reaper" was treating DS like a healthbar. Sorry. But if people want to start telling me that Necro has a 2nd healthbar with little to no sustain, escapes, stab, etc., then I will just ignore you.

DS has been fragmented into a 2nd healthbar while trying to be a burst mechanic. What do Necros have to escape? Spectral walk where everyone can see your trail? Plague Worm that only x-y axis, not z, so a bump in the terrain can legitimately stop you? That's basically it. Oh yeah, shroud 2 that will auto-target enemies within a certain range from you.

I mean, now Reaper/Necro is this quasi-modo of "what should have been" and "what is". They were indecisive at some point along the way. It started with Reaper being created with DS being treated like a healthbar when they said Reaper was ALWAYS supposed to be a burst. And when did the rework of Reaper happen ? When did Reaper finally reflect ArenaNet's vision? Like 2-3 yrs after HoT was released, LOL. But if people want to act as though Necro's DS is the be-all end-all over tons of stab, sustain, escape, etc. that other classes have, then keep at it!

A thought that I had to a buff:

Reaper's Onslaught: Attack faster and gain ferocity while in a reaper's shroud. Hitting with Life Reap reduces the recharge of all shroud skills. Deal increased damage while you have Quickness.

The idea behind this would be to try to regain some of the efficiency that this trait losses when you do have quickness, since they don't stack. The numbers could be easily adjusted to however you wanted the playstyle to feel, and easily seperate between game modes.

There are already examples of traits that provide increased damage while under the effects of specifc boons. The Warrior trait, Warrior's Sprint, comes to mind. It provides 7% increased damage while you have swiftness.

@Methuselah.4376 I like this idea. It could be that, in addition to getting 50% Critical Chance from 25 stacks of Vulnerability, we get a stacking +2% Damage Increase from each stack of Vulnerability instead of the normal +1% for a total of +50% Damage Increase.

@Freyr.6980 Another idea I had was that instead of Reaper's Life Force decaying over time it could be like Scourge's Sand Shroud in that our abilities would cost Life Force, allowing us to stay in shroud a lot longer. Life Rend, Life Slash, and Life Reap could cost: 2%,3%, and 5% LF respectively, Death's Charge could cost 15%, Infuse Terror could cost 2% and Terrify could cost 3%, Soul Spiral could cost 25% LF, and Executioner's Scythe could cost 35% LF. I'm not sure if this would be a good idea or how, if at all, damage numbers would have to be tweaked to compensate, but it's a thought.

@""Dadnir.5038" I honestly didn't think about how the change to Chilling Nova that I proposed would affect Deathly Chill, good eye. Perhaps, then, Deathly Chill could be changed in tandem with Chilling Nova to: "Striking a Chilled foe deals Damage: 352", with a 2s CD timer maybe? I do agree with all of your points though, thank you for the constructive criticism.

@"Fatalyz.7168" I think a +10% Damage Increase on this ability could be good in general honestly. After all, it's called, "Reaper's Onslaught".