Reaper / Scourge romer-smallscale gear

Hi folks!

I've decided to play necro profession for every game mode, but I think I'll be focused more on solo roam and smallscale (2-5 friends). My question is about gearing Reaper and Scourge.

I've tried both elites in sPvP and checked out some WvW builds: Vampire GS (sPvP in MetaBattle), Shadefire (same) and other bunch of builds. Each one with their own stats and I'm kinda lost. What stats should I look for on both e-specs? I like power Reaper (I love Vampire build from sPvP) and condi/heal in Scourge.

You should rethink going with necro for solo roaming. It's not pretty.

@gavyne.6847 said:You should rethink going with necro for solo roaming. It's not pretty.

Maybe it's not the best, or even close to Mesmer/Thief/Ranger, but I like it's gameplay/lore/looking... So, I don't care not playing a meta build :)

@"Droontar.1542" said:Hi folks!

I've decided to play necro profession for every game mode, but I think I'll be focused more on solo roam and smallscale (2-5 friends). My question is about gearing Reaper and Scourge.

I've tried both elites in sPvP and checked out some WvW builds: Vampire GS (sPvP in MetaBattle), Shadefire (same) and other bunch of builds. Each one with their own stats and I'm kinda lost. What stats should I look for on both e-specs? I like power Reaper (I love Vampire build from sPvP) and condi/heal in Scourge.

I'm quite surprised that you haven't gotten a build suggestion yet as we've got quite a few helpful and dedicated necro WvW players lurking on the forums.I guess the reason could be as Gavyne pointed out, it ain't gonna be pretty.That said, since you have the passion to be one of us, I got some suggestions.

For Reaper

• Stats: Diviners gear = Power (major) + Boons duration (major) + Precision (minor) + Ferocity (minor)
• Runes: Speed Runes
• Sigils: Cleansing + Energy

Try the new Diviners stat gear.You can probably get it through exotic armor WvW reward tracks if you don't PvE.I heard from the King of Reaper roaming, King Solovet (currently on GOM), that Diviners is working out well for him with Speed Runes.The boon duration helps keep up the quickness, might, stab and swiftness boons and makes him a killing machine.He plays almost exclusively Reaper for roaming and if he says the build works, then I would believe him.You will want to take spectral walk and wurm though which will help a lot with your kiting as it is much needed in solo roaming / small scale.No amount of defense is going to save you as a Reaper if you are hard focused by the enemy group so it is better to go high damage and as mobile as you can be.Also cleansing sigils and energy sigils on one or both weapons will help a ton.They will help a lot with your condi management and survival.

For Scourge

I'm not really sure because...I've not really tried it much as it is hard-countered by too many things...If you don't mind roaming near camps/towers and essentially areas that allow you to LOS and kite though...I have met one roamer who played a hybrid sustain healing build though, I think it might have been Marshal stats.Low consistent damage with a lot of sustain. He would likely have taken the Blood Magic traitline.There are also Scourge campers who run full hybrid damage or pure power damage and do rather okay as long as they are in areas that can LOS.Again I would suggest taking spectral walk, wurm and portal because mobility is king in solo/small scale roaming.

For Core Vanilla Necro

I suggest watching this guy. Love his build variety.

Oh and if you see the on-going ranking polls for most OP classes in WvW roaming (all things considered) and actual 1 vs 1 combat strength, necros are bottom in both polls lol...so be prepared for a rough ride.

https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/65609/rank-all-the-classes-for-most-op-wvw-1-vs-1-impromptu-fights-beginning-2019-external-poll

Like Eremite said:http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNAndRnc0A91g12AG3A0biFcBjqL0GeWxXxvYZE6qFAOAA-jJxHAB7XGol9HU+JAAwpAAA

Probably your best choice for roaming. Easy to maintain permanent quickness which boosts all your slow casting stuff: wurm, heal, GS...

(I posted a pvp build, because I am typing on a phone and so had less buttons to press.)

@Droontar.1542 said:

@gavyne.6847 said:You should rethink going with necro for solo roaming. It's not pretty.

The issue he brings up goes beyond not being meta. Solo Necromancer doesn't compete. It is pretty much the worst (for all but the most skilled players) when it comes to solo roaming. MesmerThief/Ranger are the least of your worries. It's at its strongest when it has additional people there to help cover its weaknesses. You may be able to eek out a victory or two against a newb or two but against anyone with even a minor level of skill, you will more often than not die. Alone you can expect to mostly just kill caravans as you likely not going to be able to kill all the camp defenders (odds of survival start dropping fast once you move beyond 1v1). You will pretty much be an easy kill for a lot of folks. Necromancer isn't a duelist (i.e. not built for 1v1) which is what you want to be if you are solo roaming. Necromancer is a +1 fighter and performs best when other players are drawing the attention of the folks you are fighting.

You are free to play what you want but just know up front that if you solo you will lose most encounters. Your best bet is to travel with other players if you actually want to do more than respawn.

@Dace.8173 said:

@Droontar.1542 said:

@gavyne.6847 said:You should rethink going with necro for solo roaming. It's not pretty.

100% correct. +1.

@Dace.8173 said:

@Droontar.1542 said:

@"gavyne.6847" said:You should rethink going with necro for solo roaming. It's not pretty.

Thanks to each one of you!

I think I'm more screwed than I taught I was. Resuming, If I go with a small group it's fine (I'm not always solo, most of the time I play with 1-3 Mirages+1holo+1SB) and if I'm alone I will die a lot and not too much "useful" to my "server" (and getting frustrated by thieves/mirage/soulbeast...?).

As long as you do not plan on roaming WvW solo, there are many options. A small group can cover Necro's weaknesses and take advantage of its strengths.

For example, Superior Rune of the Reaper can seriously inconvenience an opposing group and there are many other offensive support builds. You will be vulnerable but so is an arrow cart and you will be much more effective as mobile siege.

@Droontar.1542 said:

@Dace.8173 said:

@Droontar.1542 said:

@"gavyne.6847" said:You should rethink going with necro for solo roaming. It's not pretty.

Yeah, dieing a lot frustrates most players. Necromancer can be good and can be a lot of fun to play in WvW. But as I often say, play to the strengths of your profession. If you do that you will be able to succeed more times than you fail. Reaper's strength lies in being a +1 fighter and also slowing down mobility. If you're not the focus of attacks from other players you can do a lot of damage in Reaper Shroud. Slowing down the mobility of others also makes the job of your other squadmates easier. Scourge is great with AOEs and spreading conditions. When paired with a Firebrand you become very hard to kill and very frustrating to fight against. When part of a zerg and paired with many Scourges and Firebrands you are capable of swinging the tide of battle. Don't think that you can't play Necromancer in WvW as it really can shine there. Just play to the strengths you have.

The only time you are really screwed is when you try to play Necromancer in a way it was not built to play as, such as a duelist. With luck that will change. With luck, Necromancer will get a dueling Elite to fill in that gap. Until then, however, your best bet for fun is to hang with friends.

@EremiteAngel.9765 said:

@"Droontar.1542" said:Hi folks!

I've decided to play necro profession for every game mode, but I think I'll be focused more on solo roam and smallscale (2-5 friends). My question is about gearing Reaper and Scourge.

I've tried both elites in sPvP and checked out some WvW builds: Vampire GS (sPvP in MetaBattle), Shadefire (same) and other bunch of builds. Each one with their own stats and I'm kinda lost. What stats should I look for on both e-specs? I like power Reaper (I love Vampire build from sPvP) and condi/heal in Scourge.

• Stats: Diviners gear = Power (major) + Boons duration (major) + Precision (minor) + Ferocity (minor)
• Runes: Speed Runes
• Sigils: Cleansing + Energy

Wait...there’s a diviners set? Where!

@"KrHome.1920" said:Like Eremite said:http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNAndRnc0A91g12AG3A0biFcBjqL0GeWxXxvYZE6qFAOAA-jJxHAB7XGol9HU+JAAwpAAA

Probably your best choice for roaming. Easy to maintain permanent quickness which boosts all your slow casting stuff: wurm, heal, GS...

(I posted a pvp build, because I am typing on a phone and so had less buttons to press.)

Ya but when I posted essentially the same build for both spvp and WVW months ago everyone thought it was trash?

Anyway, speed runes are a good choice. However if you want to stand a chance against mesmer and condition roamers, go for death magic over spite, anti toxin runes, and fried dumpling food.

@JusticeRetroHunter.7684 said:

@EremiteAngel.9765 said:

@"Droontar.1542" said:Hi folks!

I've decided to play necro profession for every game mode, but I think I'll be focused more on solo roam and smallscale (2-5 friends). My question is about gearing Reaper and Scourge.

I've tried both elites in sPvP and checked out some WvW builds: Vampire GS (sPvP in MetaBattle), Shadefire (same) and other bunch of builds. Each one with their own stats and I'm kinda lost. What stats should I look for on both e-specs? I like power Reaper (I love Vampire build from sPvP) and condi/heal in Scourge.

• Stats: Diviners gear = Power (major) + Boons duration (major) + Precision (minor) + Ferocity (minor)
• Runes: Speed Runes
• Sigils: Cleansing + Energy

The last patch made Diviner a normal attribute set that you can get. So you can now craft it, once you get the proper recipes. The new weapons (blooddragon I beleive) are all Diviner stat weapons.

Patch Notes are your friend.

@JusticeRetroHunter.7684 said:

@"KrHome.1920" said:Like Eremite said:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNAndRnc0A91g12AG3A0biFcBjqL0GeWxXxvYZE6qFAOAA-jJxHAB7XGol9HU+JAAwpAAA

Probably your best choice for roaming. Easy to maintain permanent quickness which boosts all your slow casting stuff: wurm, heal, GS...

(I posted a pvp build, because I am typing on a phone and so had less buttons to press.)

I am back to my onslaught sustain build which is doing fine against any encounter and considering the new diviner's gear, the build has gotten plenty of new variants:

The base marauder version for running around solo:http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNAndRnMbCV3g12AG3A0biFvBb6iFAiVxJwHYGkKCECGUA-j1xHQBMUJ430H4h9H+nyPAcKAU2TA4dq/EA4A48m38zDc+5nf+5n33nf+5nf+5nf+5nHA-w

The marauder/crusader duo version with a deadeye friend (I become focused instantly as he is in stealth 80% of the fight, so I need more defense against direct damage):http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNAndRnMbCV3g12AG3A0biFvBjKCECGUxJwHYGc6iFAiVA-j1xHQBuT9HvpPAAnCAVs/gyeCA/T53CVCGA4A48m38zDc+5nf+5n33nf+5nf+5nf+5nHA-w

The niche diviner's boon duration version for perma quickness:/I can't link it as the gw2skills database hasn't been updated yet. It uses the same weapons, skills and traits as the previous builds, but full diviner's gear and pack rune for 85% boon duration and a high ferocity uptime to compensate the low precision.

Diviner's without additional crit chance (sigil, rune, fury, curses minor trait) is complete trash. The damage is ultra low even with perma quickness. The wurm and 66% swiftness gimmicks are just for fancy youtube videos but not for serious gameplay.

@KrHome.1920 said:

@JusticeRetroHunter.7684 said:

@KrHome.1920 said:Like Eremite said:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNAndRnc0A91g12AG3A0biFcBjqL0GeWxXxvYZE6qFAOAA-jJxHAB7XGol9HU+JAAwpAAA

Probably your best choice for roaming. Easy to maintain permanent quickness which boosts all your slow casting stuff: wurm, heal, GS...

(I posted a pvp build, because I am typing on a phone and so had less buttons to press.)

I haven’t lost a single duel against any reaper I’ve met so far in WVW. The build with antitoxin has literally 0 trouble against Condi thief, or any Condi build for that matter. Condi Mesmer is the only build it can’t face tank. Yes it can even face tank scourge.

Diviners is cool... but full diviners for WVW is a mistake. There’s reasons why, which I won’t get into, but it has to deal with what traitlines you are forced to take simply because of the lesser precision on the set.

Flock...I get why you are running that, and to you it might make sense.,but it is ridiculously outclassed by every rune people have put forth here, like speed and antitoxin.

The crusader/marauder/pack build is superior to the marauder/flock build as long as fury doesn't get stripped.

Flock can be replaced by any rune in that build as the build is extremely flexible. I like the synergy with YSIM! as this skill has a low cooldown and can benefit a lot from the rune. Everything the blood magic traitline offers benefits too. And last but not least 10% health is good too as the build focusses on heavy healing and shroud damage mitigating (25k life force!). Usually it's not very smart to stack hitpoints to such high amounts (31k), but this build is capable of healing up that pool again. It's one of the very few builds that necro has access to that allow sustained fights instead of the "burst or die" playstyle reaper is often criticized for.

Speed rune is trash: holo, thief, mirage, soulbeast, spellbreaker... they all will chase you down. Everything that outruns you without the rune does it too with the rune. The rune is a waste. It makes no difference in real world scenarios. When it was released I thought it might be good. It is not!

Btw.:I did watch the linked video above of that core necro player. Desolation is full of really good roamers and NOT A SINGLE ONE of them can be found in this video because they would have destroyed him and they wouldn't care whether he would run speed rune. And that disrespectful jumping all the time... but that's a different story.

I wouldn't let the view that necro is bottom tier for solo bother you. While in a duel, yeah its definitely bottom tier there are several necro specs that will mug 95% of the people you run into in WvW, and the other 5% are experienced roamers on the top tier roaming specs..and while you will certainly lose a few fights here and there, most of the time even against the 5% you can play dirty and abuse a cliff, target painter, water, line of sight or a variety of other mechanics that necros excel at to pull a win. Try a lot of different builds, find what works best against each spec for you and depending on how the day is going, use the build that handles the majority of people the best.

Personally I swap between about 10 variants of a full zerker core necro, 3 or 4 variants of a full grieving terrormancer, super glass reaper, and even scourge from time to time. I much prefer to depend on my damage paired with taking every movement option I can get my hands on. Do enough damage and you can typically pull off a win if you play right. Just make sure that wurm is placed before that fight starts somewhere the enemy can't see it.

Thing about necro builds, everyone has something different that works for them. I ABSOLUTELY HATE anything that's not glass, but I've also been roaming on a full glass necro specs since the beta. That being said, you may like something entirely different..use what works. I would suggest having some fun yoloing on zerker necro though, you will learn REALLY quickly what not to get hit by, and when to bait someone to a cliff or uneven terrain.

And when you start getting triggered, equip a white zerker axe, max damage traits with reaper, and absolutely no other weapons, armor or trinkets, and see how many fights you can win. You will be horrified how many fights you can still win. For extra fun, you can equip any gear you get from player kills or buy one white piece after a player kill.

@"KrHome.1920" said:The crusader/marauder/pack build is superior to the marauder/flock build as long as fury doesn't get stripped.

Flock can be replaced by any rune in that build as the build is extremely flexible. I like the synergy with YSIM! as this skill has a low cooldown and can benefit a lot from the rune. Everything the blood magic traitline offers benefits too. And last but not least 10% health is good too as the build focusses on heavy healing and shroud damage mitigating (25k life force!). Usually it's not very smart to stack hitpoints to such high amounts (31k), but this build is capable of healing up that pool again. It's one of the very few builds that necro has access to that allow sustained fights instead of the "burst or die" playstyle reaper is often criticized for.

Speed rune is trash: holo, thief, mirage, soulbeast, spellbreaker... they all will chase you down. Everything that outruns you without the rune does it too with the rune. The rune is a waste. It makes no difference in real world scenarios. When it was released I thought it might be good. It is not!

Btw.:I did watch the linked video above of that core necro player. Desolation is full of really good roamers and NOT A SINGLE ONE of them can be found in this video because they would have destroyed him and they wouldn't care whether he would run speed rune. And that disrespectful jumping all the time... but that's a different story.

1) you’ll have to explain how pack runes are any good post nerf. The boons you gain from this Rune only occur upon entering combat. Thus it’s benefit in a sustained fight is essentially useless. You have No real way to sustain more than 66% crit chance in shroud which drastically lowers damage output. You can’t output much vulnerability either which is nessasary for decimate Defenses (edit: the build doesn’t have decimate defenses anyway. I fail to see how this build can go beyond 66% crit in shroud after 10 seconds.)

2) as for the synergy with Ysim and flock, the maximum value you get is 1k heal every 12 seconds... verses antitoxin which has the potential value of mitigating thousands upon thousands of condition damage constantly

@JusticeRetroHunter.7684 said:

@"KrHome.1920" said:The crusader/marauder/pack build is superior to the marauder/flock build as long as fury doesn't get stripped.

Flock can be replaced by any rune in that build as the build is extremely flexible. I like the synergy with YSIM! as this skill has a low cooldown and can benefit a lot from the rune. Everything the blood magic traitline offers benefits too. And last but not least 10% health is good too as the build focusses on heavy healing and shroud damage mitigating (25k life force!). Usually it's not very smart to stack hitpoints to such high amounts (31k), but this build is capable of healing up that pool again. It's one of the very few builds that necro has access to that allow sustained fights instead of the "burst or die" playstyle reaper is often criticized for.

Speed rune is trash: holo, thief, mirage, soulbeast, spellbreaker... they all will chase you down. Everything that outruns you without the rune does it too with the rune. The rune is a waste. It makes no difference in real world scenarios. When it was released I thought it might be good. It is not!

Btw.:I did watch the linked video above of that core necro player. Desolation is full of really good roamers and NOT A SINGLE ONE of them can be found in this video because they would have destroyed him and they wouldn't care whether he would run speed rune. And that disrespectful jumping all the time... but that's a different story.

Not to mention that only mirages run condition builds right now.Especially with cleansing sigil (even if it's only on one weaponsets) and bloodmagic condition hate, you got plenty to kill scourges pretty easily.

What I don't like is the 0 toughness in this build. As there are almost only power rangers and thiefes running around (mirage could either be power or Condi)And also power revs, warriors, guards, engis.

But I guess that's personal preferences.

Also tried vision sigils and go full defensive with like almost full Valkyrie. Didn't like it for roaming, good to farm backliners of a zerg.

And I usually only run one cleansing sigil. Especially with a build that doesn't run spite or chilling victory in reaper I use one sigil that generates might. Be it battle or strength depends on the build I use and on the purpose of the build.And if I'm playing in a group or not.

Even though lately I'm also playing BiP, to save the additional sigil slot. But that's really play style dependant and on what you are fighting.

Against holos and warriors you might want an additional stunbreak, like Wurm or yaaw.Against heavy Condi pressure you might want well of power, plague signet or "suffer".

Also pretty useful against warriors and guards: ncsyAgainst heavy range pressure, corrosive poison cloud can safe you.

And against boonheavy enemies you might want to use corrupt boon. Especially against other reapers, because 90% of them runs the spite build, and it's funny to see them go in shroud, instant pop their 3 for stability, start to whirl, and then getting feared instantly, because you corrupted their stab.

@JusticeRetroHunter.7684 said:

@"KrHome.1920" said:The crusader/marauder/pack build is superior to the marauder/flock build as long as fury doesn't get stripped.

Flock can be replaced by any rune in that build as the build is extremely flexible. I like the synergy with YSIM! as this skill has a low cooldown and can benefit a lot from the rune. Everything the blood magic traitline offers benefits too. And last but not least 10% health is good too as the build focusses on heavy healing and shroud damage mitigating (25k life force!). Usually it's not very smart to stack hitpoints to such high amounts (31k), but this build is capable of healing up that pool again. It's one of the very few builds that necro has access to that allow sustained fights instead of the "burst or die" playstyle reaper is often criticized for.

Speed rune is trash: holo, thief, mirage, soulbeast, spellbreaker... they all will chase you down. Everything that outruns you without the rune does it too with the rune. The rune is a waste. It makes no difference in real world scenarios. When it was released I thought it might be good. It is not!

Btw.:I did watch the linked video above of that core necro player. Desolation is full of really good roamers and NOT A SINGLE ONE of them can be found in this video because they would have destroyed him and they wouldn't care whether he would run speed rune. And that disrespectful jumping all the time... but that's a different story.

I suggest you try the build to see what healing values it offers.

And why would I want to run antitoxin on a build that converts conditions into life force? /edit: I agree that the rune is nice (!), but better placed in other builds. I would definitely prefer it over speed rune to be able to replace a few condi cleanses with alternate utility. I have a stack of 6 in my bank account to use it when I need it (free swapping on legendary gear).

@"Nimon.7840" said:And against boonheavy enemies you might want to use corrupt boon. Especially against other reapers, because 90% of them runs the spite build, and it's funny to see them go in shroud, instant pop their 3 for stability, start to whirl, and then getting feared instantly, because you corrupted their stab.You are both theorycrafting! This build (the flock rune version) is especially strong against other reapers as they can not corrupt might into weakness on you because you can avoid applying might to yourself (which spite reapers can not!) while you can easily corrupt their might via axe3 and gs4. On top of that you can easily outheal other reapers. I said it already: this build is designed for sustained fights which is a counter to what burst reapers are strong at.

Additionally some simple math: on 25k life force with a regen of 2k (8%) from spectral armor you will win every toe to toe shroud fight against a burst reaper. You don't even need to kite his shroud.

Subject "boonheavy foes": On reaper you have two options to play the game: you either go for corrupts which limits your sustain a lot. You are the ultimate bunker cracker then but you also need support because you are slow and immobile. The alternative is to go for sustain and drop the corruptions. At this point you have to find a balance what builds you still want to be capable of killing. The build I use kills evasion weavers and support firebrands in the long run (it takes some time but is doable) while not being too squishy to be a faceroll for the average bursty thief/soulbeast/revenant/guardian. I don't like to have only hardcounters and facerolls on reaper.

If you want to get to the point where your roaming opponent has to work for his kill (instead of just kiting you to death) you need to go for sustain.

double post

@KrHome.1920 said:

@JusticeRetroHunter.7684 said:

@KrHome.1920 said:The crusader/marauder/pack build is superior to the marauder/flock build as long as fury doesn't get stripped.

Flock can be replaced by any rune in that build as the build is extremely flexible. I like the synergy with YSIM! as this skill has a low cooldown and can benefit a lot from the rune. Everything the blood magic traitline offers benefits too. And last but not least 10% health is good too as the build focusses on heavy healing and shroud damage mitigating (25k life force!). Usually it's not very smart to stack hitpoints to such high amounts (31k), but this build is capable of healing up that pool again. It's one of the very few builds that necro has access to that allow sustained fights instead of the "burst or die" playstyle reaper is often criticized for.

Speed rune is trash: holo, thief, mirage, soulbeast, spellbreaker... they all will chase you down. Everything that outruns you without the rune does it too with the rune. The rune is a waste. It makes no difference in real world scenarios. When it was released I thought it might be good. It is not!

Btw.:I did watch the linked video above of that core necro player. Desolation is full of really good roamers and NOT A SINGLE ONE of them can be found in this video because they would have destroyed him and they wouldn't care whether he would run speed rune. And that disrespectful jumping all the time... but that's a different story.

@Nimon.7840 said:And against boonheavy enemies you might want to use corrupt boon. Especially against other reapers, because 90% of them runs the spite build, and it's funny to see them go in shroud, instant pop their 3 for stability, start to whirl, and then getting feared instantly, because you corrupted their stab.You are both theorycrafting! This build (the flock rune version) is especially strong against other reapers as they can not corrupt might into weakness on you because you can avoid applying might to yourself (which spite reapers can not!) while you can easily corrupt their might via axe3 and gs4. On top of that you can easily outheal other reapers. I said it already: this build is designed for sustained fights which is a counter to what burst reapers are strong at.

I’m pretty sure that’s not how pack works. It usto work like that prior to the Rune/Sigil update. But both Rune of Rage and Pack runes were changed to now only apply to you upon entering combat.

@JusticeRetroHunter.7684 said:

@KrHome.1920 said:

@JusticeRetroHunter.7684 said:

@KrHome.1920 said:The crusader/marauder/pack build is superior to the marauder/flock build as long as fury doesn't get stripped.

Flock can be replaced by any rune in that build as the build is extremely flexible. I like the synergy with YSIM! as this skill has a low cooldown and can benefit a lot from the rune. Everything the blood magic traitline offers benefits too. And last but not least 10% health is good too as the build focusses on heavy healing and shroud damage mitigating (25k life force!). Usually it's not very smart to stack hitpoints to such high amounts (31k), but this build is capable of healing up that pool again. It's one of the very few builds that necro has access to that allow sustained fights instead of the "burst or die" playstyle reaper is often criticized for.

Speed rune is trash: holo, thief, mirage, soulbeast, spellbreaker... they all will chase you down. Everything that outruns you without the rune does it too with the rune. The rune is a waste. It makes no difference in real world scenarios. When it was released I thought it might be good. It is not!

Btw.:I did watch the linked video above of that core necro player. Desolation is full of really good roamers and NOT A SINGLE ONE of them can be found in this video because they would have destroyed him and they wouldn't care whether he would run speed rune. And that disrespectful jumping all the time... but that's a different story.

@Nimon.7840 said:And against boonheavy enemies you might want to use corrupt boon. Especially against other reapers, because 90% of them runs the spite build, and it's funny to see them go in shroud, instant pop their 3 for stability, start to whirl, and then getting feared instantly, because you corrupted their stab.You are both theorycrafting! This build (the flock rune version) is especially strong against other reapers as they can not corrupt might into weakness on you because you can avoid applying might to yourself (which spite reapers can not!) while you can easily corrupt their might via axe3 and gs4. On top of that you can easily outheal other reapers. I said it already: this build is designed for sustained fights which is a counter to what burst reapers are strong at.

And this information was even somewhere in the patch notes.

Found it:

November 26, 2018The duration of the boons granted by the 6-piece bonus of this rune set has been reduced from 10 seconds to 8 seconds. The cooldown has been returned to its previous duration of 30 seconds, and it will now trigger while in combat rather than upon entering combat.

Btw.: This info is inaccurate. It triggers on entering and while in combat on a 30s cooldown. So when you enter combat it will trigger. When you then leave combat after 20s and re-enter combat immediately, it will trigger again not right on entering the second time but after 10s in combat.

@KrHome.1920 said:No! I use that rune on a daily basis. It applies might/fury/swiftness every 30s.

And this information was even somewhere in the patch notes.

Found it:

November 26, 2018The duration of the boons granted by the 6-piece bonus of this rune set has been reduced from 10 seconds to 8 seconds. The cooldown has been returned to its previous duration of 30 seconds, and it will now trigger while in combat rather than upon entering combat.

Btw.: This info is inaccurate. It triggers on entering and while in combat on a 30s cooldown. So when you enter combat it will trigger. When you then leave combat after 20s and re-enter combat immediately, it will trigger again not right on entering the second time but after 10s in combat.

Okay. Still, even with max boon duration, 15+ seconds of fury downtime for your build is no bueno. Especially if it gets stripped. Your basically hitting like a wet noodle for 15 - 30 seconds. In terms of theory crafting, this is poor setup because your goal should be to aim for combinations that give you the highest possible value for the traits/runes/sigils/food that you invest in. Why invest in a rune that provides you benefits for >25% of the time when you could say, use rune of the thief and have the nearly the same benefit 100% of the time (Rune of thief adds 300 precision which is about 15% crit chance) + additional benefits like 10% more damage and being unstrippable?

What i'm really saying here is that i've theorycrafted the living daylights out of boonmancing, and your build is just a fraction of the true potential of boonmancing on reaper. Don't get me wrong. I'm all for people theory crafting, and creating their own unique mix of builds. But it's funny to me how now all of a sudden people are playing diviners, when just 2 months ago they are calling it trash...and then on top of it havn't properly thought about how to make a build with diviners in order to gain the most benefit from boon duration. Pack Runes are a GREAT example of how people aren't building for it in the right way.

@KrHome.1920 said:

@JusticeRetroHunter.7684 said:

@KrHome.1920 said:

@JusticeRetroHunter.7684 said:

@KrHome.1920 said:The crusader/marauder/pack build is superior to the marauder/flock build as long as fury doesn't get stripped.

Flock can be replaced by any rune in that build as the build is extremely flexible. I like the synergy with YSIM! as this skill has a low cooldown and can benefit a lot from the rune. Everything the blood magic traitline offers benefits too. And last but not least 10% health is good too as the build focusses on heavy healing and shroud damage mitigating (25k life force!). Usually it's not very smart to stack hitpoints to such high amounts (31k), but this build is capable of healing up that pool again. It's one of the very few builds that necro has access to that allow sustained fights instead of the "burst or die" playstyle reaper is often criticized for.

Speed rune is trash: holo, thief, mirage, soulbeast, spellbreaker... they all will chase you down. Everything that outruns you without the rune does it too with the rune. The rune is a waste. It makes no difference in real world scenarios. When it was released I thought it might be good. It is not!

Btw.:I did watch the linked video above of that core necro player. Desolation is full of really good roamers and NOT A SINGLE ONE of them can be found in this video because they would have destroyed him and they wouldn't care whether he would run speed rune. And that disrespectful jumping all the time... but that's a different story.

As far as I tested it (went to a mob, hit it once, waited 30seconds), it doesn't work like that. It only applied the boons when entering the fight or when I got outfight. Was it buggy when I tested pack rune?

2) as for the synergy with Ysim and flock, the maximum value you get is 1k heal every 12 seconds... verses antitoxin which has the potential value of mitigating thousands upon thousands of condition damage constantlyYou have two heals in that build. YSIM! heals for 6,5k every ~15s and blood is power heals for about 6k + 5x 600 siphon every 20s. The healing power slightly boosts your blood magic siphoning.

@Nimon.7840 said:And against boonheavy enemies you might want to use corrupt boon. Especially against other reapers, because 90% of them runs the spite build, and it's funny to see them go in shroud, instant pop their 3 for stability, start to whirl, and then getting feared instantly, because you corrupted their stab.You are both theorycrafting! This build (the flock rune version) is especially strong against other reapers as they can not corrupt might into weakness on you because you can avoid applying might to yourself (which spite reapers can not!) while you can easily corrupt their might via axe3 and gs4. On top of that you can easily outheal other reapers. I said it already: this build is designed for sustained fights which is a counter to what burst reapers are strong at.

The problem is: almost no fight is sustain heavy right now.Everyone is playing some kind of burst spec.Sure the build might be nice for fights against other reapers, but there's like 1 necro in 100 roamers, so it's not really worth running something like that isn't it?Maybe to run away and get into a tower, but then I'd play Wurm instead of BiP for example.

Additionally some simple math: on 25k life force with a regen of 2k (8%) from spectral armor you will win every toe to toe shroud fight against a burst reaper. You don't even need to kite his shroud.