ArenaNet:Skill feedback/Necromancer/Spinal Shivers and Shivers of Dread

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Spinal Shivers / Shivers of Dread

Shivers of Dread only

Zerpha The Improver Issue -- 11:34, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

Discussion

Issue

a duplicate for Spinal Shivers is rather useless, as...

• it's a quite energy-consuming skill and can't be kept up twice reasonably.
• the duration of 10...34...40 seconds can easily overlap the 15 second recharge time, so it can already be kept up perpetually without need of a duplicate
• hexing a foe with both skills at the same time isn't beneficial at all.

Suggestion

make it to another duplicate:

Adapt functionality to that of any other Necromancer Prophecies skill that does not already have a duplicate. (Maybe even change name and/or skill icon if needed.)

Worth Taking Twice

Issue

Same as above. Plus, this is pretty niche since you need good energy management and ideally a fast-casting cold dmg skill (or at least the time required to keep wanding with a cold weapon).

Suggestion

The above suggestion makes sense, but the name wouldn't fit the new functionality and I don't think ANet would want to break up duplicates (might be unfair on one campaign, for example).

Give it something of a more powerful, but shorter use. My idea was:

Spinal Shivers / Shivers of Dread. 10 1 25 .

For 5...13...15 seconds, whenever target foe takes Cold damage, that foe takes an additional 5...17...20 damage and is interrupted. Whenever a skill is interrupted in this way, that foe loses 1 Energy, and you lose 8...5...4 Energy or Spinal Shivers / Shivers of Dread ends.

This would allow the user to increase damage output and apply energy pressure while using this skill, rather than giving up time to wanding or time and even more energy to using cold damage skills. The faster cast time (might be a bit much) and lower energy loss make it easier to use and allow you to keep it going its full duration more easily. To counterbalance this, however, I suggest shortening the duration and increasing the recharge. That way it might also be useable twice if you had really good energy management. Also, monks who can't remove it because they're being interrupted won't have as long to wait out.

The use would still be a bit on the niche side, but it could see some use on, say, an E/N with this -> Shatterstone -> Glowing Ice to shut down a foe while doing lots of damage and managing energy with GI, or maybe a N/Me or Me/N with Lyssa's Aura, for example, to keep energy up (OK whether these would work or not isn't important, they're just suggestions).