DeathsProphet.7460

I second this. I just watched WP's video and it is intriguing that minion mastery was such a key identify of the necromancer in GW1 while the GW2 minion master has very little flavor. In terms of an overhaul, I'd like to see the below. 1. Minion UI similar to that of Ranger/Mechanist. 2. New skins for minions. 3. Updated DM traits that allow you to customize and buff your minions. 4. Updated weapon skills that interact with minions.

I really like the idea, OP. If Anet feels we do not need anymore elite specs, at least for now, it would be great to see them "fill out" the core trait lines and add new gameplay such as you've alluded to. Specifically, I would like Anet focus on adding new tools that enhance the theme of a class rather than just adding new boons. Thinking of the piloted mech, long bow ele, unarmed warrior, minion master for necro, etc. These changes would be far more flavorful than giving us new tools that only exist to give us access to certain boons.

Would I play a heal Necro? Potentially. Is that what I'm hoping for Necro? No. I would rather see Anet focus on revamping themes (minion master, vampirism, etc.) rather than filling a combat role that many other classes can already fill. Homogenizing the classes so they can all play the same is lame IMO. That's why the the EOD specs were largely a thematic drought.

The only time GW2 fulfilled my minion master desire was the "Enemy of my Enemy" mission in POF. Depressing... I would love to see core death shroud reworked to be minion themed where life force is spent to summon and buff your minions. Not sure how that would work though as minions are currently tied to utility skills. Not holding my breath...

I would love to see a proper minion master for Necro. This Diablo IV beta has me jealous!

"Fun and Unique" without a doubt. The concept that each profession should be able to fulfill every role is lame and unrealistic, yet that seems to be the trigger for many players. "X class has way more healing capability than Necro, we need a healing spec for Necro next." Have you ever read the lore behind a Necromancer? Why would we throw healing on the Necro when we have yet to see a minion, vampire, or spirit themed spec? Stop trying to destroy all lore and uniqueness because your class doesn't fill a certain role. Choose a different class. I hope the next round of elite specs play more on the theme and uniqueness of each class, rather than attempting to arbitrarily fulfill a role that the other classes already do.

I couldn't agree more. Turning minions into phantasm-like entities would simply be a re-skin of what the Mesmer already offers. What we need is more variability with minions. Just like the varying trait lines to customize the Jade Mech, I would love to see both offensive and defensive options for minion builds. Whether this could be accomplished by reworking DM and not through a new elite spec, I'm not so sure about that.

^This The health degen worked as a tradeoff to actually allow your minions to deal serious damage. We need a similar tradeoff in this game.

Giving minions utility beyond their current defensive use would be best accomplished through a new elite spec imo. I fear there isn't enough room within the core skills and trait lines to give minions functionality beyond the passive low-hitting playstyle. Nevertheless, however minions are eventually reworked/supplemented, I find the below important: -Give the player more control over their minions' attacks and movements. Add commands similar to pet/mechanist or use use a ground target-like feature to order your minions to specific spots. These orders could buff your minions with swiftness or something. -Utilize the existing minions rather than creating a new "class" of minions tied to shroud or weapon skills. Things could get "messy" if minion summons are added to a weapon/shroud. Instead, use a weapon/shroud to buff your existing minions in significant ways. For example, a grandmaster could revolve around the ability to summon multiple of the same types of minions. If NPC necros can summon multiple flesh golems, why can't we!? Another idea is a trait that visually modifies your minions and grants inherited stat percentages from the player. Even though the existing minions summons are being used, there are many options to significantly overhaul their role and abilities. -Give minions the ability to deal "real" damage. "But this will be OP and lead to passive gameplay!" Easy solution, minions only become strong when their master sacrifices his/her health. Glass cannon type trade off. -Give use a tool to view our minions' health. Bring back the GW1 feature 🙂

I would love to see the Bone Horror model from GW1 reused. Can't help but love the spiky club arm they smacked enemies with. I would also be okay with Skeletons or something "spookier." New visuals could also be linked to traits. E.g., bone minions now become bone horrors and gain increased damage, health, etc.

The Hero: I'm on a quest to avenge the death of my Father! The Paladin: You have my sword! The Elf: And my bow! The Dwarf: And my axe! The Necromancer: And your father! Ever since the days of GW1 I have enjoyed playing a minion master. From maxing death magic to summon a Flesh Golem 14 levels higher than the player level cap, to sacrificing half my health to heal an army of 10+ minions, I have always appreciated this playstyle. Fast forward to GW2 and we do have a few minion options. Yet, the current minions play rather passively and lack thematic taste. Rather than designing entirely new elite specs (though I would always welcome new content), I would love to see Anet revisit old traits/playstyles and design new specs based on existing capital. Specifically, I want to see a new Necro elite spec could utilize the existing minions while offering a more unique and active playstyle. Lich Shroud replaces Death Shroud and unlocks new skills used to command your minions. While being in Lich Shroud does not automatically deplete your life force, each shroud skill has a static life force cost. F1: Recall Minions F2: Guard/Passive Toggle F3: Lich Shroud Bounding Death: Order your minions to attack target enemy. They gain swiftness and fury for 5 seconds. Grenth's Favor: Order your minions to target location. They gain protection and regeneration for 10 seconds. Deathly Wail: Order your minions to fear foes around them for 1s. Duration stacks for each minion in range. Max duration of x. Order of Pain: For 15 seconds, your minion(s) gain might upon each successful attack. Life Transfer: For 15 seconds, your minion(s) steal health equal to their damage dealt upon each successful attack. Random Trait Ideas: Gain access to Lich Shroud, gaining greater control over your minions. Your utility skills are usable in shroud. Shroud skills heal you when activated. Order of Pain now applies quickness for 8 seconds upon activation. Deathly Wail now inflicts weakness on enemies and breaks stun for you if within earshot of minion(s). Life force gain from all sources increases by 1% for each active minion you control. Your minions gain protection and apply taunt when you fall below 50% health. Your minions take 25% of your incoming damage. Minion skills now summon an additional minion of that type. Activated abilities work on a charge system. Please add your minion ideas below. I've seen numerous minion posts and it would be cool to compile all the different ideas in one place.

You hit the nail on the head. Imo, we are at a point in the game where each class has at least one spec that is viable in most game modes, and/or allows for build diversity/differing play styles. Necro has Reaper as a tank option, Scourge as support, either as DPS, etc. Per the OPs ideas, I'm in full favor of a spec that fills one's thematic desires rather than trying to build another spec that automatically pushes out 30k DPS. Personally, I would love to see a minion spec, or a revamp of DM to include a significant of overhaul of minions. For those that see Shroud as thematically necessary to Necro, great! I don't see the barrier to making this happen. The minion can simply rely on life force for abilities, and those said abilities can proc traits such as Unyielding Blast or Dhuumfire. For those in favor of a minion spec, which scenario would you like to see? Scenario 1: One giant minion (think Risen Abomination) that plays like Mechanist, where life force is spent to buff/control the minion. For those saying LF is thematically necessary to Necro, the minion skills can proc traits like shroud would. Scenario 2: A minion spec that plays like the "Enemy of my Enemy" story in POF (why are we a cooler necro in this story than the class itself?). Think swarm. Concern for either: How should the original minion skills be treated? Very curious if people would rather see a single pet based minion spec or a swarm spec with multiple minions. Let me know your thoughts!

I wanted to see a death based minion spec this time around...something like the "Enemy of my Enemy" quest where you can control the awakened recruits. Nevertheless, I welcome the mobility offered by the Harbinger. The animations are also great.

And I just gotta ask...what the heck is a witch hunter? A necromancer basically does the same thing a witch does, so why would we need a witch hunter? Lol

I would say summoning shades is fairly relatable to the theme of a necromancer. I'm just curious how a "dark" engineer will provide anything thematically relevant and interesting to the class. But, we still have no clue what the actual mechanics are and we'll know in a few weeks.

Personally, not very excited about this spec if it is indeed the alchemist/gadget/vampire slayer spec everyone is alluding to. If I wanted to play a gunslinger with elixirs/gadgets, I would play engineer. I can never understand the hype behind "add something thematically unrelated to my class because it doesn't fill x role." How about you play a different class that does fit that role then instead of requesting the melding all classes together until there is no difference between each. Who knows, the spec might be awesome, but I was definitely more interested in seeing a "death-y" themed one. Expansion looks epic though.

If only minions were treated like the awakened recruits from the "Enemy of my Enemy" chapter in POF. Much less passive than the current necro minions.

One of my favorite moments was playing through the "Enemy of My Enemy" chapter during Path of Fire. I felt like a true necromancer at that point, being able to control the awakened mummies. It was such a cool thematic element.

I would personally love to see a minion master elite spec. The thematic element of surrounding yourself with undead servants and having them do your bidding is all I want in a necromancer. However, I do understand and agree with many of the concerns people have surrounding an elite spec based on minions. First off, no elite spec should be solely based on AI. Game modes such as PVP or Raids must require some amount of skill which a solely AI based class lacks. Furthermore, AI based classes are boring. Who wants to sit around and press a button here and there while your pets run around and do everything? That's why I want to see a minionmancer spec that allows the player to control his/her minions with life force. The spec would also revolve around sacrifice skills that cause your minions to become stronger, do more damage, and inflict conditions based on the skill and amount of health you sacrifice. Basically, there would be a trade off between the strength of your minions and your vitality. This would require the player to properly react to certain situations and judge whether to increase the damage output or to maintain better survivability. Obviously people don't care about the minion theme as much as I do but I still believe that it is very possible to implement one, and it could be pretty cool.

I would love to see an overhaul that allows a more active playstyle of minions. Sacrifice life force or health to give your minions different buffs and use life force to control them. Unfortunately, making minions fun to use would require much more than an overhaul. The core mechanics of the necro would probably have to change.

Interactive minion spec for necro that allows you to summon a giant demon monstrosity that you can control and buff through life force and sacrificing health. I'm talking huge demon with a breakbar and the whole works.