How do you guys deal with 'focus necro' syndrome in PvP?

[Lethion.8745]

I am a multi-class player in PvP and necro used to be my second favorite class but god, for last few years playing necro feels like walking with a giant kick me sign me on my back. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying necro is weak or anything. It's just so frustrating to always have at least 3 people chasing me around. I play other classes too and difference is like night and day. When I play mesmer for example, people usually don't even bother trying to hit me. I can't play power reaper anymore just because of this. I spend more time running away than hitting, ending up with least damage dealt. I doubt I am the only one who has to deal with this problem (I too focus enemy necro lol) so I wonder, how do you guys do it?

[Drarnor Kunoram.5180]

I don't know how well it translates to PvP, but Corrosive Poison Cloud has done wonders for me in WvW.

Usually, for PvP, the answer on Reaper is Spectral Armor + shroud to survive burst.  Flesh Wurm to get out of the damage.  I don't know how well that still holds up, though.

[StraightPath.3972]

I quit necro in competitive for exactly that reason. Now am a happy warrior support main (in pvp).
That being said that was some time ago, now things are different. There are quite a few avenues for you to win as a reaper:

1. Get yourself a warrior support duo.
   One good banner of tactics = you become a murder machine.
   They can't kite you, they can't cc you, they can't blind you.
   Heck, staff 3 on warrior gives you 3 unblockable stacks.
   Imagine using that with Spectral Grasp, Chilled to the Bone! or Terrify.
    
2. Go side node.
   As long as there's no SB camping that thing, you can get an easy decap.
   With mainhand sword, necro is no longer immobile.
   Two 900 range dashes  + Death's Charge aren't bad at all.
   And with spectral ring you can keep enemies out even if they chase you.
   Long enough to  score a decap at the very least, which will be more points lost to them than they get by killing you.
    
3. Position more carefully.
   If you're with competent teammates, enemies can't just dogpile you.
   As long as you're near them, the moment enemies jump you, your team jumps them.
   CPC does wonders here since it denies enemies ranged snipes and anyone who jumps you will eat weakness.

[KrHome.1920]

Stay behind your allies at the beginning of the fight so that the opposing players have to pass them and eat their damage to reach you.

When you get focused:

• Spectral Armor + Shroud on Core Necro and Reaper
• Elite Elixier on Harbinger
• Barrier spam on Scourge

In general:

• If you run around like a headless chicken so that you team can't apply damage to the players focusing you: It's your fault.
• If your team doesn't bother to counterpressure the players focusing you: Your team sucks. If this happens in several matches in a row I would switch to a high mobility build (MH-Sword + Wurm + Spectral Walk + Speed Relic), which might be less effective, but better for your mental health at the end of the day.

[Jeyzer.1605]

Focus necro syndrome happens because necro is beyond broken and we need to focus them before they wreck havoc. You know it as well which is why you also focus enemy necro. 

The "only" weakness necro had was a lack of mobility, which disappeared over the years, especially with Harbinger. Now with spear, necro has IMMENSE mobility (a 1200 unblockable TP that resets on shroud enter). So now you have a class with the highest amount of HP in the game, absurd burst, possibly two HP bars depending on the spec, AND they have a bunch of mobility to engage / disengage at will. It's obvious that anyone who reads patch notes would perma focus necro in pvp, it's the only way to deal with that literal plague. 

Nerf necro mobility (won't happen since they gave them the best mobility in the spear update lmfao) and they won't get focused.

[felincyriac.5981]

Sadly necro power builds in pvp are in a very bad spot, people say "2 health bars" but you are actually very squishy. Best bet is to play both wurm and walk, poke from afar with axe/focus and staff, use the fear ring for control and then quickly go in for a burst with shroud (harb or reaper), and finally run for your life. Against good players you will get destroyed in melee if you overstay your welcome.

If there is a thief on the enemy team, then you are pretty much helpless on a power build at least.

[Asum.4960]

10 hours ago, Jeyzer.1605 said:

Focus necro syndrome happens because necro is beyond broken and we need to focus them before they wreck havoc. You know it as well which is why you also focus enemy necro. 

The "only" weakness necro had was a lack of mobility, which disappeared over the years, especially with Harbinger. Now with spear, necro has IMMENSE mobility (a 1200 unblockable TP that resets on shroud enter). So now you have a class with the highest amount of HP in the game, absurd burst, possibly two HP bars depending on the spec, AND they have a bunch of mobility to engage / disengage at will. It's obvious that anyone who reads patch notes would perma focus necro in pvp, it's the only way to deal with that literal plague. 

Nerf necro mobility (won't happen since they gave them the best mobility in the spear update lmfao) and they won't get focused.

Necro is focused because it has the least amount of scaling active defense, meaning focusing it is the easiest and fastest way to get a 5v4, taking a lot of damage and playmaking potential out of the other team. 

If your whole team jumps a profession which can duration block, invuln or spam evades etc., you can waste your entire teams burst and achieve nothing - as these skills/mechanics can grant essentially infinite effective HP for their duration, forcing quick thinking and teamwork in retargeting. Meanwhile Necromancer is hard capped by it's HP+LF (the latter of which represents also most of it's damage, meaning it's the only class where damaging it not only lowers their EHP but also their effective damage - doubly rewarding you for focusing it), and therefor requires no trigger discipline, strategy or skill to target and burst. 

It's by far the easiest Profession to focus and kill, that's why it's focused.

You don't focus the enemies greatest asset, you focus their easiest to take out assets.

[VALARMORGHULIS.9173]

Focusing Necro has ALWAYS been a thing. The only time it hasn't is when support might get focused because it has a res utility. 

IN COMPETITIVE: Being a good necromancer has always been about being able to stay alive while team fighting AND while under significant pressure, being able to put out pressure yourself.  I've played necro at a competitive level in the past during multiple metas and let me tell you there is no feeling worse than your team losing a side node and then  Toker on thief or rev, zeromis on mesmer, or helio on rev (or any combination of the two) plussing a team fight and you trying to stay alive. 

Necros don't typically fare well in a 'roaming meta' because at a competitive level there is nothing worse for a necro than dying in the roads between capture points. (roaming meta is like double power rev or thief + power rev or thief + power mes etc in the comp) 

IN RANKED: You just have to kite my dude. While ur 1vX kiting ur team is hopefully outnumbering elsewhere. A good ranked player doesn't typically fulfill their 'competitive role' because you have to correct your teams rotations. This is why I find myself side noding outnumbered on necro more often than not. Always remember that it's more impactful to survive a fight than win a node in ranked. Don't die. even if you lose the cap. Run around like a mad lad. 

[Lonewolf Kai.3682]

I’m not seeing it as badly now thanks to sword and Harb shroud