Necromancer

Profession Mechanic

Life force is the resource attached to the death-mage. It’s gained by -:
1) Allies and enemies dying around you.
2) Certain weapon and utility skills.

Life force is used to power the Death Shroud(F1) mechanic, where it acts as your life-bar and countdown timer. 3 of its skills change dependent on whether you’re on land or underwater. The first skill does not change – a Life Blast which does more damage the more life force you have. The other skills include a fear, a short range AoE that steals life force and a teleport-to-foe. Underwater it gives AoE conditions, an AoE fear and a condition support skill for allies.

Going into death shroud muffles the sounds from the game and gives a sort of underwater distortion, so bear that in mind. You start off with only life blast and must unlock the other 3, the same as any other weapon. The 5 skill returns you to the mundane world. Death shroud makes a skilled necromancer hard to put down in a hurry (if at all).

Weapons
The necromancer uses magical and some bladed weapons as well as the warhorn. They use the harpoon and trident underwater.

• Staff: Closest thing to a scythe (it turns into one for a second or so!). Long range with several AoEs.
• Scepter (main hand): Two of its skills cause conditions on enemies and the third removes them from you. Flying swarms of insects that form a skull are involved.
• Axe (main hand): This is your damage dealing close range weapon. Axes don’t seem to be subtle.
• Dagger (main hand): Velcome to Vampire Vand (“Oh no…You were going so well”). Close range with skills that include life force steal, health steal, and a sacrifice health skill.
• Dagger (off hand): Lots of condition damage on this one with support for allies as well.
• Focus (off hand): 2 skills that apply 2 conditions each. Maybe that guy want to be weak, vulnerable, cold and poisoned. I don’t judge.
• Warhorn (off hand): Defensive weapon that makes you faster and steal health while mitigating enemy attacks.

Healing
You start with:

• Summon Blood Fiend(0 second cooldown): ← It does that. Blood fiend has vampiric attack that transfers health to you. If you want health now now now, you use the skill again, killing Mr. Fiend and regaining life, this has a 10 second cooldown.
• Consume Conditions (25 second cooldown, 1 skill point): Remove your conditions and you get more health for each one removed.
• Well of Blood (40 second cooldown, 4 skill points): Creates a combo field (Light. Weird, I know!) that heals friendlies inside.
  {I suspect the Necromancer healing abilities are a bit slow and perhaps a tad less effective to balance Death Shroud.}

Utility Skills
Most Necromancer skills come in groups of 4 (I totally just copied and pasted that) except for one that has 3 (maybe the 4th spectral is in the lab). They have their 4 signets, 4 minions (+Blood), 4 wells (+Blood) and 4 simply dedicated to causing conditions and suffering(the suffering is implied, I can’t prove that).

Well Well Wells: these are local AoE’s that have a variety of effects. Traits can make them ground targeted. You can only have one, just like when you want candy.

Minions are a varied but uncontrollable bunch. Using their skill again activates their second ability and for some, results in the death of the minion. I figure they attack whatever attacks you.

The necromancer’s weapon skills also contains marks. These are ground targeted AoEs and they operate like magical traps that are activated by an enemy entering them.

Elite Skills

• Summon Flesh Golem (30 second cooldown, 15 skill points): Benefiting from all minion oriented traits, this minion cripples with its attacks and can be commanded to Charge (40 second cooldown) at your target, knocking back everything en route.
• Plague (180 second cooldown, 20 skill points): I already used the Captain Pollution joke. You change forms and do damage (via continually applying 1second of poison condition) to anyone near you. You have 3 skills in this form that add another condition (bleeding, blindness, cripple/vulnerability).
• Lich Form (180 second cooldown, 25 skill points): You turn into a giant lich with several conditions, a boon/condition destroyer and a mark that summons 5 minions. Like plague your 6-0 skills are locked so no healing and utilities for you, you naughty.

Traits
Necromancer trait lines are fairly well ordered so-:

• Curses: raises precision + condition damage: These enhance your conditions
• Death Magic: raises toughness + boon duration: These enhance your armour and minions
• Spite: raises power + condition duraton: These enhance damage, healing and death shroud
• Blood Magic: raises vitality + healing: These enhance healing and life steal
• Soul Reaping: raises critical damage + max life force: These enhance death shroud and life force gain.

Conclusion
Necromancers are hard to kill for mages between their healing abilities, separate life bar, fear skills and army of minions. All the while they debilitate and damage their attackers, sometimes with the same skills. As their biography says, the necromancer’s closest companion is death; and she protects her own.

“Everything bows to death in the end.” – Me…I said that, at the start of the sentence.

^{Graphic Author: Wronghead
Guide: Beliasta}