User:Rising Dusk/NecroRoleBox

 = The Role of a Necromancer = I feel that a Necromancer has a distinct role as a quasi-support/quasi-pressure caster class. It's not quite the Elementalist when it comes to damage output, nor is it quite the Mesmer with pressure hexes, but it's a comfortable mix of both. The Necromancer also boasts several interesting spell types and functionalities, such as the exploitation of corpses, the creation of minions, and sacrificing life, which all play into how a Necromancer works and feels. How a class feels is critical to the class's well-being, and every suggestion and change made should keep the role and feel of the class in mind. Below, I provide my insight into the different facets of a Necromancer and why they're important.


 * Minions (Death Magic)

The minions are a key component of a Necromancer's functioning. They are the army, the meat shield, the lifeblood of expendable tanking in a PvE environment (and to a far lesser extent in PvP). All of these skills exploit corpses to create minions, with the exception of Aura of the Lich, which creates a minion out of the abyss (and then exploits other corpses).
 * Pressure (Curses)

While the Mesmer shares of the Necromancer's enemy pressure, the Mesmer does so in a different way by directly impeding an enemy's ability to function. The Necromancer goes for a more subtle approach, tending to simply wither away the enemy with killer hexes that inevitably break an enemy. This can be seen in the numerous degeneration-based hexes in Curses and Blood Magic, like Faintheartedness, Life Siphon, Life Transfer, Corrupt Enchantment, and so forth. It's important to note that in the Necromancer's expansive repertoire, there are no interrupts and no knockdowns. This is important to keep in mind for differentiating the Mesmer and the Curses Necromancer. Furthermore, the Necromancer tends to inflict more conditions on opponents than the Mesmer across the board in its application of pressure.
 * Life Stealing (Blood Magic)

Life stealing is the subject of much contention in the Guild Wars community, most notably in PvP for blood spike. Life stealing bypasses all forms of armor and most protection skills, and heals the Necromancer for the amount of life stolen from the enemy. This serves dual roles on the Necromancer as a means of added survivability and damage dealing. Life stealing comes in many forms, but is mostly from click-shoot target skills like Vampiric Gaze and Angorodon's Gaze; some area of effect life stealing skills exist, most notably Unholy Feast, Ravenous Gaze, and Vampiric Swarm.
 * Utility (Soul Reaping)

Ignoring Soul Reaping as a Necromancer would be nothing other than a travesty. The Necromancer's primary attribute, which restores energy when something dies around the Necromancer, is one of the best in the game for energy management. It's a shame that this mechanic no longer applies to Ritualist spirits, since at least when it did there was a good synergy between the classes. Regardless, this is key for a Necromancer, and gives access to skills such as Signet of Lost Souls, Foul Feast, and Angorodon's Gaze for energy and life sustenance.
 * Sacrificing Life

Oftentimes, people think that sacrificing is simply a way to allow the Necromancer to cast more powerful skills without having them cost exorbitant sums of energy. While this is true, sacrificing life is as much an interactive element of the Necromancer as it is a drawback for very powerful skill usage. Take Masochism (PvP) for example, where suddenly sacrificing life is a means to sustain energy. Dark Aura is another good example of the interactive element of sacrificing life, as it turns your sacrifice into AoE damage to the enemy. It is a 'utility' that Necromancer's should take advantage of, and altogether it just feels awesome to use.