Another "find me a PvE build" thread! (long)

Hey guys. I recently created a necromancer, etc. etc. blah blah. I'll get to the point.

It seems like everyone pulls for the SS or MM builds for PvE, and with good reason. I'd like to stray away from the mainstream... but I need some help. Quite frankly, I'm too lazy to manage a minion army and I don't own Factions... which means I would be without Flesh Golems, etc. As for the SS part, I made this necro for farming, so I'm running a 55hp SS build. Before you go and say "start a new one and learn how to play necro" please read on. It runs pretty nice and all in the low level missions (since I'm trying to beat the game now), and with higher HP. It's hard to keep aggro, especially running heroes and henchies. So I feel like I'm wasting the potential of SS and Insidious Parasite, especially when they both cost 15 to cast.

So I'd like to try something new that hopefully isn't 1. too expensive to build and 2. not so wasteful and 3. decent for PvE and 4. doesn't keep me in the back of the pack all the time.

With all that said, I was thinking Dark Aura would be a good skill to base things around. I run a N/D built around Dark Aura and Plague Touch in PvP once in a while, and it works great. But when I look at it being Death Magic, I think "gah, most of the effective, nonminion based sacrificial skills are in the Blood Magic line". I guess it would be easy enough to just split my attributes between Blood and Death, but I also wonder if it'd be a good idea to work in a second profession for some other damage or even healing options.

This lead me to the idea of a meleemancer... much like the N/D I run for PvP. But the build I use seems much too squishy, and I'll admit it wasn't a good one in the first place. In addition, I don't have access to Nightfall with this character (unless ANet allows you to go to the other areas before beating the campaign), so I would be missing some essential skills to make that particular build work.

Okay. So I hadn't originally planned on making my own build... but all this typing inspires me. Here's what my noobish mind has come up with for a build running around Dark Aura.

N/Mo

[card]Dark Aura[/card][card]Barbed Signet[/card][card]Dark Pact[/card][card]Touch of Agony[/card][card]Protective Spirit[/card][card]Essence Bond[/card]
And two other skills.

Okay. So the point here is obviously to sacrifice as little health as possible by using skills that require minimal sacrifice (duh) and by having a somewhat low maximum HP count as well. Here's a rundown of why I chose the skills:
-[skill=text]Dark Aura[/skill]: Obviously the staple of the build.
-[skill=text]Barbed Signet[/skill]: A healing skill that doubles as a "damage dealer"
-[skill=text]Dark Pact[/skill]: A straight up "damage dealer".
-[skill=text]Touch of Agony[/skill]: Another "damage dealer"
-[skill=text]Protective Spirit[/skill]: Because of my low max HP, I need to keep damage to a minimum
-[skill=text]Essence Bond[/skill]: Energy management... not sure the effectiveness if I can't hold aggro, but can be cast on other party members as well.

The two open spots are what I'm hoping you can fill in. I think between the skills I have listed there, there's enough constant damage going on... but of course I could be wrong. There might also be some other "utility" skills I can throw in there that you can mention... hopefully. I think some crap enchants would be nice to throw in there to cover the Protective Spirit, but I'm too lazy to look for some.

On to attributes: I'm guessing a necromancer's base HP at level 20 is 480... considering to run a 55 build, you need 5 Superior Runes (5*7) and a -50hp Grim Cesta.
55+(5*7)+50 = 480
That will be my rough estimation... because I'm too lazy to actually log in and look. So I think it would be wise to run 4 Superior Runes to bring health down to 180. At 180 hp:
Hit for a maximum of 18 damage with Protective Spirit.
Sacrificing a maximum of 18hp with any spell.
Gaining more than a sacrifice with Barbed Signet.
Easily dead if something happens to Protective Spirit.
Can't take too much DPS

Running 4 Superior Runes would also allow me to configure my attributes like so:
-Death Magic: 11+3+1 = 15 (expensive >_<)
-Blood Magic: 11+3 = 14
-Protection Prayers: 9
-Soul Reaping: 3+3 = 6
-Leftovers: 3
Hopefully that's all correct. The 9 in Protection Prayers will keep Protective Spirit up for 16 seconds, which I think would be long enough to use a couple skills and still be able to cast it again before it ends. I wonder if any melee weapon mods give +1 to Protection Prayers... >_< lol.

As for weapons and other armor mods... I have no clue. I just know I'd like to go with a melee weapon and a shield of some sort.

I guess the Death Magic Rune is really going to make this build more expensive than I had hoped... but in the end, I have the cash. So why not?

Thanks for reading. Your input is greatly appreciated. This build looks okay in my mind, but I'm not experienced at all in making builds, nor am I with necromancers in general. I'd at least like some "test worthy" comments. I'm not going to test it unless you guys think it's viable.

here's the dark bomber build it looks like you're playing with:

[skill]touch of agony[/skill][skill]wallow's bite[/skill][skill]plague touch[/skill][skill]mystic regeneration[/skill][skill]masochism[/skill][skill]aura of the lich[/skill][skill]dark aura[/skill][skill]resurrection signet[/skill]

You can always try to sandwich a speed boost in there somewhere, too. Lyssa's haste is a meh choice, but use what you've got.

I didn't even think to throw AotL in there! Nice one.

I'd like to bring Masochism for energy management, but this character is going to beat Prophecies before you see it running around the GW:EN areas. Also, I don't own Factions, as I mentioned... so Wallow's Bite is out of the question. Plague Touch just seems a little out of place, and only useful where conditions are common. I suppose it would help out against the char, but I'm unsure about what other monsters in the Prophecies campaign it would be useful against.

I would also have to jump to Elona to get D as a second profession, yes? I don't think that'll happen until I beat Prophecies either.

Thanks for the idea though. Once I'm able to use it, I can try it.

You can go to Temple of Balthazar to switch to /D.

I <3 Mystic Regen. I just came here specifically looking for a good, non-MM N/ build and this seems to fit the bill perfectly. Thanks

edit: I picked up all the skills for it, its pretty slick. I definitely need to get a +20% enchant something-or-other. The standard recharge/cast decreases are pretty useless.

Which one did you try?

I'm still looking for opinions and ideas for mine. Thanks.

Until you get AotL, [skill]Tainted Flesh[/skill] is viable for an elite. So is [skill]Well Of Power[/skill] (to use a corpse, health regen and energy regen).

You could go with [skill]order of the vampire[/skill] or [skill]order of pain[/skill].

[skill]unholy feast[/skill] would work with your build too.

Again, thanks for the input. But I was really hoping for more feedback than the couple of good replies I've had.

It's hard to give a good reply, because you state that you wish for a decent PvE build that switches the necromancer class from the midline to the frontline. Now, that's hard.

The best way to do this is exactly as you mentioned, running a N/D hybrid. I don't know if you've used or looked at the Contagion-based build, I used to run that for AB, and I've also used it in PvE to decent effect. Otherwise I'm toying with ideas along this line;

Vampiric Spirit - Masochism - Mystic Regeneration - Conviction - <Insert spells here>

However so far I haven't really managed to make it into a real strong build.

Yeah I've used the Contagion based build. Its effect diminishes against non-bleeding foes, unfortunately, which is why I would like to stray away from conditions and/or hexes and go for unblockable damage of sorts.

Something tells me running Dervish as a secondary would cause me some energy management problems, especially since I don't have access to Masochism. I'd love to try it out, though.

I realize a meleemancer won't be the greatest of tools, but it's mostly an idea for the sake of change. Knowing whether or not the mechanics look okay is what I'm really worried about. It doesn't need to be terribly effective, but I'd like to have decent energy management, some good synergy, etc. I'd also like to know if the max health I presented is workable or whether I should go down or up. Stuff like that... the technical stuff.

Thanks guys.

Your runes aren't good. With the Contagion-based build you will not have the relative resiliency (except against life-stealing) of the AoTL version.

When I run the Contagion N/D I aim for a health around 400 which I feel is ideal for a general-utility saccer like an MM.

My exact build for N/D Contagion is:

Contagion - Dark Aura - Mystic Regeneration - Wearying Strike - Signet of Agony - Signet of Lost Souls - Plague Touch - <Optional>

Optional can be Conviction if you don't need a rez, it can be many other things too.

Attr:

DM 16+1+3
EP 8
SR 10+1

Zealous Scythe of Enchanting with +5E

Blessed armor with full attunement

No vigor rune.

That's the same Contagion build I ran. Still seemed a bit squishy. That's why I was looking at monk secondary with Protective Spirit to cut down on the DPS. AotL would cut it down even more. I think since no one is actually commenting on the mechanics of the N/Mo build I posted, I'll just buckle down and try it... as soon as I have the money.

You won't last under pressure with your original prot spirit build, the life loss from Dark Aura goes under prot spirit. You will be saccing a total of 26 life per spell assuming you are running 55. If you're talking about being in the front line, that's not good as a 55.
Signet of Lost Souls is probably your best bet for e-management, it's a nice boost and if the build is putting out enough damage to trigger soul reaping you shouldn't be in trouble with energy. A build with /D using Dark Aura, Dark Pact, Touch of Agony, Barbed Signet, Aura of the Lich, Signet of Lost Souls, Mystic Regen, and Res. This gives you good regen vs. conditions and hexes, dmg reduction for being in the front lines, a free dmg and life steal skill for e-management, and an e-management signet.

Assumptions are a terrible thing.

The build doesn't use 55hp. I only mentioned 55 for my calculations. If you read a little closer rather than just skimming, you'd see that I had planned on running it at 180hp. That keeps the sacs below 18hp, plus the self inflicted damage from Dark Aura... which would be 20. That's only 38hp total, and with a healer in the party, that seems to me like a shruggable amount of life per sac. I could be wrong, though. Which is why I need input.

The skill set you mentioned is good. I'll try it when I have a chance to change my secondary.