Feedback:User/Guild Wars 3 perhaps/Death Shroud Revamp

Death Shroud Revamp
User	Guild Wars 3 perhaps
Categories	Mechanics

Go here to see a list of my other GW2 suggestions and discussion contributions.

Background

There's been a lot of traffic on various GW2 forums recently regarding the need to fix the Necromancer profession due to what has been perceived as an over-nerfing of the class between beta weekend event iterations. ArenaNet itself has admitted as much in stating that Necromancers "need some love".

One example of an area in need of attention is the profession-specific mechanic, Death Shroud (DS). Though I haven't played any of the BWEs myself, it has been stated on forums - and rightfully so - that DS was overpowered in BWE #1; even by those in support of the class. In that iteration, it's argued DS was making Necromancers nigh indestructible. Unfortunately, it appears that DS was over-nerfed in an attempt to restore balance; resulting in a vocal backlash from those who wish to play the profession. For example, ArenaNet added an automatic cooldown to the "'Leave Death Shroud" skill so that - once DS was entered - a Necromancer was locked into DS for 3 seconds. The idea was to prevent Necromancers from continually "dancing" into and out of DS as a means of perpetually absorbing burst/spike damage.

Now the pendulum has swung back to a more centered position and ArenaNet has removed the cooldown which forced a 3-second DS lock. Whether this was in response to the outrage of the Necromancer supporters or the result of internal iterating at ArenaNet, I have no way of knowing. It does demonstrate, however, that the class is in flux and ArenaNet is working to fix the profession.

Suggestion

The "'Leave Death Shroud" cooldown was not the only issue with DS. Other nerfs to Life Force generation and the speed at which Life Force naturally degenerates when entering DS have led many to complain that DS is now almost useless as a profession-specific mechanic. It's been likened to nothing more than a third "Dodge" for the Necromancer given how quickly it wears off now. In an effort to reinstate the utility of the DS mechanic without making it overpowered, I suggest the following:

• Keep the new limiter which dictates that Life Force is only gained from fallen foes.

Previously, it was generated when anything died near the Necromancer; foe or friend.

• Keep the limiter (which has always existed) that damage taken while in DS reduces the Life Force pool.

• Return Life Force degeneration to its previous level (or nearly so).

That is to say, make it degenerate more slowly than it does now.

• Give the DS-specific skills (except "'Leave Death Shroud" and "Life Transfer") a Life Force cost.

• Increase the size of the Life Force pool; perhaps not to its previous size, but at least larger than it is now.

It appears one of the nerfs was to decrease the total amount of Life Force a Necromancer can gather. Unlike the health orb which also displays the health numerically, there's no similar representation on the Life Force bar. Any speculation that the maximum size of the Life Force pool was decreased is just that; speculation. But it does appear that way based on the testing done by others in the BWEs.

Perhaps a good starting point for measuring how big the pool should be is to use the following criteria:

• Assume a Necromancer who is using no traits which affect Life Force and/or Death Shroud. Their Life Force meter is full.

• They enter DS.

• They take no damage and they use no DS skills except one cast of "Life Transfer" after their Life Force meter has degenerated enough to make casting it worthwhile. In other words, there's no point in siphoning Life Force immediately on entering DS if the Life Force meter is already at maximum; you'd want to let it degenerate a little first.

• This casting of "Life Transfer" siphons Life Force from five enemies and the Necromancer is able to channel it for the full duration without interruption.

• Now set their Life Force degeneration rate such that - after taking all of the above into account - the meter is at 25% after 10 seconds elapsed time.

• At this point, the Necromancer could voluntarily leave DS and immediately return to DS since "Enter Death Shroud" will have recharged by this point (10 second recharge). However, the Necromancer will be entering DS with only ~25% Life Force left. Given that "Life Transfer" will still be on recharge at this point (40 seconds), there's no way the Necromancer will be able to harvest enough new Life Force from kills to outstrip their natural Life Force degeneration rate. They will remain in this second transformation into DS form for only two or three seconds before their Life Force meter reaches zero and DS spontaneously ends; and that's assuming they take no damage nor use any skills which have a Life Force cost.

• Under ideal circumstances, this would result in a DS that would last a maximum of 12.5 seconds; but only if the Necromancer takes no damage and uses no DS-specific skills other than "Life Transfer". If, instead, they leave DS at the 10 second mark, they will have 25% Life Force remaining. Their follow-up DS would only last 3 seconds at most. After that point, the Necromancer would be unable to return to DS form for at least 7 seconds (the recharge time left on "Enter Death Shroud"); and only if they manage to harvest some new Life Force during their downtime outside of DS. In practice, DS will last some amount of seconds less than 12.5 as the Necromancer takes damage and/or uses DS-specific skills with a Life Force cost.

• Using these criteria, a Necromancer using DS defensively can, at most, remain in this form for ~12.5 seconds out of every 20. This prevents perma-Death Shroud while still giving DS a reasonable duration. Then just tweak and balance the size of the pool from there.

• Scale the Death Shroud skills' effectiveness based on the amount of Life Force.

"Life Blast" will still do decreasing damage the less and less Life Force the Necromancer has remaining (which has always been the case). Then add similar limiters to the other DS skills. For example, make "Doom" affect multiple opponents but - as Life Force decreases - fewer and fewer enemies will be afflicted with "Fear" or the number of foes affected remains the same but the duration will decrease. This balances nicely with my suggestions of a larger Life Force pool and slower degeneration speed without feeling like a straight-out nerf of the entire profession mechanic. Here is one suggestion for how the DS skills could scale with Life Force:

• Dark Path

Life Force 76% - 100% = Bleeding x 4 stacks over 3 seconds

Life Force 51% - 75% = Bleeding x 3 stacks over 3 seconds

Life Force 26% - 50% = Bleeding x 2 stacks over 3 seconds

Life Force 1% - 25% = Bleeding x 1 stacks over 3 seconds

Maybe the Chill affect would scale as well.

• Doom

Life Force 76% - 100% = Fear x 4 seconds

Life Force 51% - 75% = Fear x 3 seconds

Life Force 26% - 50% = Fear x 2 seconds

Life Force 1% - 25% = Fear x 1 seconds

• Life Blast

Already scales with Life Force; no change.

• Life Transfer

Keep the amount of Life Force stealing the same but scale it's damage with the amount of current Life Force; similar to Life Blast.

This would actually tie in very well with the "feel" of the class. A fully-powered Life Force bar turns the Necromancer into a Wraith of nightmares. As their Life Force decreases, their Death Shroud form is waning, dealing less and less damage or conditon duration. A foe, on seeing a monstrous Death Shrouded Necromancer, is going to be a lot more scared (i.e. longer "Fear" duration) as compared to one who is beginning to fade and weaken.

This could even be visually represented to give other players an indication of just how much Life Force a DS Necromancer has left remaining. On entering DS with a full Life Force bar, the Necromancer is much larger in size. As they use up their Life Force (either through natural degeneration, taking damage, or using their DS skills), their DS form will shrink in size. When they are nearly back to their original height, players will know the Necromancer is just about out of Life Force. They could use this visual cue to plan appropriate strategy such as using weapon skill #1 to knock the Necromancer out of DS by using up the last of their Life Force. Then the enemy hits them with a burst/spike skill(s) because they know the Necromancer won't be able to return to DS form fast enough to absorb the damage. There's even precedent for this in that I've seen videos in which players' size has been scaled as a result of interacting with environmental objects. It shouldn't be that difficult to implement a similar resizing mechanic for DS while making DS look even cooler at the same time.

Lastly, this will decrease the frequency with which Necromancers will "DS Dance"; one of the original criticisms which led to the current nerfs. Necromancers will be less likely to switch in and out of DS form if they have low Life Force since doing so will put them into a much less effective DS state than if they waited to build up more Life Force. Furthermore, this is achieved as a result of players voluntarily making such cost:benefit choices (the whole point of the profession specific mechanics in the first place; they're all about trade-offs) rather than rigidly and artificially imposing it from the outside through a hated nerf.

• Implement a new limiter which prevents Necromancers from gaining Life Force from any source for 1 or 2 seconds after having left DS.

The little green orbs of Life Force gained from fallen foes and/or Life Force-generating skills used by the Necromancer may still hover around them during the lock-out period, but they can't be collected until the lock-out expires. This, alone, will completely negate "DS Dancing" as a means of perpetually absorbing every burst/spike used on the Necromancer. Even if the "Enter Death Shroud" skill has recharged before the Necromancer's Life Force pool is used up, if this nerf is put into place they won't be able to immediately re-enter DS after having left it (assuming they've used up all of their Life Force by that point). That should satisfy those who don't want to see DS become the new Shadow Form (and which I completely agree with).

Certainly a skilled Necromancer who knows how to manage their Life Force pool will still be able to "DS Dance" for awhile; but even their pool will dry up eventually. With this limiter in place, it stops the Necromancer from using up all of their Life Force, dropping out of DS, hitting an opponent with a weapon skill to gain 1% Life Force, and then immediately re-entering DS again to absorb another massive attack. It may take awhile to get to that state in the case of a skilled Necromancer, but a patient and determined opponent will eventually prevail in dealing damage to the Necromancer's health bar rather than to their Life Force pool.

I suggest this limiter rather than putting "Enter Death Shroud" into a forced 1 or 2 second cooldown on leaving DS for the following reasons:

• In the case of a 1 or 2 second limiter preventing Life Force harvesting on exiting DS, a skillful Necromancer is not artificially penalized. If they are smart in managing their Life Force pool, they are rewarded by being able to dance in and out of DS as often as they like as long as they have Life Force remaining (and as soon as "Enter Death Shroud" recharges if they've left DS; don't forget that skill imposes a 10 second limiter of its own on how often a Necromancer can enter DS).

They won't be able to do this forever as the combination of natural Life Force degeneration coupled with loss of Life Force as a result of using DS skills and/or taking damage will eventually result in their Life Force meter reaching zero. However, while they artfully juggle their Life Force, they are free to use their profession mechanic as often as they like; and as soon as "Enter Death Shroud" recharges, of course. By contrast, the neophyte Necromancer who burns through their Life Force pool in a single pass will be a sitting duck once DS expires; with no way to return until they harvest enough new Life Force (which they won't be able to collect for 1 to 2 seconds after leaving DS). Isn't that what GW2 is supposed to be about; rewarding skillful play?

• In the case of a forced 1 or 2 second cooldown of "Enter Death Shroud", on the other hand, even the skillful Necromancer who is wisely managing their Life Force pool is penalized by being locked out of their profession mechanic. Furthermore, it greatly diminishes all the various ways in which DS can be used. If a player knows they can't use their profession mechanic for 1 to 2 seconds after leaving it (i.e. if an "Enter Death Shroud" lock down were implemented) , there's less incentive to dance in and out of DS. It will become a static meta in which a Necromancer enters DS and decides to just stay in it until their Life Force is all used up. Now enemies targeting the Necromancer will simply wait out DS - unleashing their most powerful attacks as soon as they see it come to an end - because they know the Necromancer is unable to return to DS for at least 1 to 2 seconds (even if they still had some Life Force remaining). This decreases the utility and depth of the Necromancer's profession mechanic.

Contrast this with the cat-and-mouse game a Necromancer and foe could play with one another if a Necromancer is free to "DS Dance" as long as Life Force remains. The enemy's strategy is to deal sufficient damage to the Necro to fully deplete their Life Force meter, knocking them out of DS without using their burst/spike skill. Only after the Necromancer has returned to normal would they unleash their most powerful burst/spike. Even then, the foe is taking a risk; did they really knock the Necromancer out of DS or did the Necromancer voluntarily leave DS in an effort to fake out their opponent, only to immediately return to DS in the hope their foe will waste a long cooldown burst/spike? If we add my suggestion of making the Necromancer's DS size scale with their Life Force, this adds a visual clue to aid the enemy in deciding whether to unleash their burst/spike as soon as the Necromancer leaves DS or to withhold it and attempt to whittle down the Life Force meter a little more.

The Necromancer's strategy then becomes trying to stay one step ahead of their foe by figuring out a way to harvest enough Life Force to keep dancing; and that in the face of being prevented from harvesting for 1 to 2 seconds every time they leave DS. Who will win the race? See how much deeper the strategy becomes - for both parties - by permitting a (limited) form of "DS Dancing" versus imposing a hard DS lock out on the Necromancer?

By implementing these changes, it permits Necromancers to decide how they wish to use DS; offensively or defensively. If they use it defensively, they potentially get to remain in DS longer (due to the slower Life Force degeneration I'm suggesting) but at the cost of doing no damage. If, on the other hand, the Necromancer uses DS offensively, the trade-off is they will use up their Life Force faster as it now fuels the DS skills.

This should help balance DS not only from the standpoint of it's in-game mechanics, but also from the perspective of the "feel" of the class. Necromancers are supposed to be hard to kill; they dance on the razor's edge between life and death. If that frustrates an Elementalist who was hoping to one-shot or two-shot a Necromancer with a burst/spike skill(s), that's not a broken mechanic; that's the POINT of being a Necromancer. Their trade-off is they don't do the kind of burst/spike damage of some of the other classes nor do they have their mobility and crowd control skills. They whittle their opponents down through attrition; whether that be through life stealing (currently broken as a result of stealing so little health as to be useless when compared to the trade-off of sacrificing sufficient direct damage dealing), minions (also currently broken due to poor AI), or conditions (the only truly viable build for Necromancers at the moment). DS is the mechanic which is supposed to allow them to survive long enough to do so. With the recent nerfs, though, DS is no longer filling that role; it feels in a state of limbo with no clearly defined purpose or function.

I agree that DS should not be a de facto god mode for Necromancers. With the recent change of gaining Life Force only from fallen foes along with my suggestions above, it won't be. A Necromancer who enters DS for defensive reasons will certainly be spared from death at the hands of a burst/spike (which is completely appropriate for a class touted as the "Master of Death"), but they won't be doling out any damage in return. Nor is this unbalanced. DS will eventually wear off (though just more slowly using my suggested changes) and it will take some time for the Necromancer to build up sufficient Life Force again to re-enter DS; especially given the nerf of Life Force only being generated by fallen foes. It is at this point they become vulnerable to burst/spike damage again. Necromancers won't be functionally invulnerable like they were in BWE #1; it will just take patience and time to kill them. Again, completely appropriate to how the class should play.

Conversely, a Necromancer who enters DS to access the DS-specific skillset will gain new offensive capabilites; but not for long, as these skills will now rapidly drain the Life Force pool. There's two sides to god mode; being invulnerable while at the same time being able to deal massive damage to foes. This revamped DS I'm suggesting fails to meet that criteria; the Necromancer can do one or the other but not both simultaneously (or not for long enough to be viable).

In Conclusion

My suggestions for fixing Death Shroud mostly involve simple changes to currently existing mechanics (e.g. changing duration timers or skill damage) rather than a complete overhaul with the introduction of completely new mechanics and skills (as has been suggested on some of the forums). Even so, it achieves - in my opinion, anyway - a balance between preventing Death Shroud from conferring de facto invulnerability to a Necromancer while preserving one of the hallmarks of the profession; survivability.

Thank you for reading.

Guild Wars 3 perhaps 20:16, 15 August 2012 (UTC)

Update

To add some variety to Death Shroud , I suggest adding an extra effect to Life Blast. Instead of being just a plain vanilla damage dealing skill, these added effects will tie in with a Necromancer's build, "personalizing" Life Blast to complement their skillset. The new effects will be determined by whatever main-hand weapon the Necromancer was wielding just prior to entering Death Shroud. For example:

• Axe - Deal "X " % extra damage.

• Dagger - Steal "X " amount of life.

• Sceptre - Inflict a condition for "X " seconds. I recommend the condition not be one which inflicts direct damage such as poison or bleeding as there's too much overlap with Dark Path and other Necromancer weapons and skills which already cause those conditons. Instead, make it one of the "passive" conditions such as weakness or vulnerability.

• Staff - Gain some Life Force (perhaps too much overlap with Life Transfer), strip one boon, or Push the target on a successful hit (the idea being to use it to potentially Push an enemy into the marks the Necromancer placed with the Staff).

To balance these new additions, they would be subject to my previously suggested limiter of scaling damage and effects based on the amount of Life Force a Death Shrouded Necromancer has left remaining. For example, if the Necromancer were wielding an Axe on entering Death Shroud, the scaling may look like this:

• Axe

Life Force 76% - 100% = Life Blast does 5% more damage

Life Force 51% - 75% = Life Blast does 4% more damage

Life Force 26% - 50% = Life Blast does 3% more damage

Life Force 1% - 25% = Life Blast does 2% more damage

A further advantage of this proposal is it plays into the cost:benefit analysis I spoke of in the original suggestion. If the intent of the previous DS nerfs was to reduce the frequency with which Necromancers were "DS Dancing", then this helps further that goal without imposing a hard nerf. If a player's additional Life Blast effect is more powerful the more Life Force the Necromancer has harvested, then that's one more reason to delay entering DS until they have a larger Life Force pool.

This is one more way in which DS is balanced but without imposing artifical restrictions on the mechanic. Instead, the players voluntarily choose to delay entering DS in an effort to maximize its effectiveness. The game as a whole benefits by reducing the frequency of "DS Dancing" (if that was indeed one of the goals of the original nerfs), while the Necromancers gain a boost to Life Blast in exchange.

Thank you for reading.

Guild Wars 3 perhaps 01:54, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

Return to the suggestion portal.