I recently tried out Reaper and Harbinger and really appreciate the simplicity of Reaper. For an older gamer like me that doesn't like pushing a lot of buttons anymore, it's perfect. Harbinger is fun but I feel like it doesn't bring enough to the table to justify having its health cut in half from blight. Against hard enemies Har is always one mistake away from death. I've been playing Scourge for Fractals since I returned to GW2 last summer and love how busted their rez abilities are with the Blood trait line. I can't count how many times I saved the party from a wipe. 😎
I chose necro as my first main. I've been really loving this game! I recently unlocked the reaper tree and have been rocking a greatsword/staff minion build that, while it may not be part of the meta, is wicked fun!
I am a necro main, and it is a very versatile and fun class to play. If we are not talking elite specs, the staff is probably my favorite weapon because the wells it creates are amazing. Its core strike attacks like that of an axe are fine, but sometimes a bit boring but it was my go to levelling the first time. Oh and for WvW purposes, the necromancer with a staff and the wells is amazing for defensive purposes, just laying hate down like a mobile artillery and denying an entire area to an enemy if done correctly. Have seen many die at SMC from an absolute mass of AOE's.
Honestly the necromancer has been a joy to play, and even unlocking the elite and playing them it feels like a more unique version of the necromancer. All in all its a great class!
Back when HoT came out, I mained Reaper. One day when I was drinking and playing another game called Smite, I mained Anubis and he did a lot of life steal. So I had an idea. What if I turned my Reaper into a Healper (support/healing Reaper) with Transfusion as my surprise when friendlies were down? Everyone said it's such a horrible idea and I shouldn't run it xD When PoF came out, Scourge was thee thing I needed to perfect my healcromancer build. It worked so well in all game modes and I love it how you can pull friendlies away from an enemy who is about to down them in PvP and WvW xD I was able to pull my commander under a bridge and revive her when she was about to get double downed by a blob lol Such fond memories c:
I lol'd at the "stop hitting yourself" bit. Definitely the thing that confused me the most as a new player, applying conditions to yourself seems really scary and a confusing mechanic to handle! At least as you mentioned they have skills to cleanse it away, they have good might traitlines, and overall it's definitely easier than dealing with Mesmer CC. I like the class, but I'm not sure I could ever play it at max level! PS: I love staff gameplay too, but axes are seriously underrated.
I’m not an experienced necromancer but I love the feel of the axe. I’ve always loved melee weapon phantom attacks from a distance so it feels super cool
You forgot to mention that the Necro has the highest max HP in the game and the higher your max HP, the more Life Force you get (69% of you max HP), meaning you can stay in shroud longer. My Scourge sits at 31k HP (Dire+Scav Runes), 26k Life Force.
Nice. Mine sits at 28k with celestial gear, and superior necromancer rune. No elite specs though. I do have them unlocked, just don't use them currently. If I did, I think it would probably be Reaper.
I've just started the game and been testing all the professions and the Necromancer is hands down the best for a beginner. There's a nice balance between survive, damage and fun
I am a new player, I thought Necromancer would be the chillest build with fewer buttons to play but it seems like a pretty complicated class instead. Now I am trying another class (Ranger).
@@SuhandiWijaya GW2 has perhaps the weakest iteration of a minionmancer in gaming. Would recommend trying anything else. Also if you're trying it in PvP, you're up against people who have been honed by a decade of gameplay accelerating and becoming more burst oriented. They'll have an innate faster response cycle and know when to initiate aggressively. And you will be thrown in the deep end with these sharks with low population.
Dagger + Dagger or Axe + Dagger are my weapon set preferences. It's why I was looking at Reaper Elite Spec even before I found out it was good, lol. (First character in GW2)
Liked and sub'd. Thanks. Hoping you have these vids for thief and other classes..ima bout to check. Buying a steam to play yhe game for the first time since 2018 and only then it was a couple weeks since 2013. Will be diving in fully this time.
Only for a few things, animations, armor appearance and cultural armor and a few race specific skills. But those skills are less useful compared to class skills
This one's a tad late but i started reaper after getting into soto. Im really liking the dual swords and greatsword combo. I think I'll go reaper for elite but will mainly do core necro when not in content that requires i reaper.
@@CaffeinatedDad thanks. Yeah, I meant spec. I have heard that Harbinger is the best when it comes to DPS but that Reaper has better survivability when taking damage and is therefore better for beginners like myself. But since you say Reaper is better overall I will definitely go for the Reaper now! Thank you 🙏
Hi ! Big fan of your vids. I've joined GW2 3 weeks ago and I just can't stop playing it ❤ I wanted to make a Necro as second character and I prefer staff oriented build in general. Which Spec is the best for Necro staff user ?
Can confirm necro Carries me in PvP and PvE. I’m literally “Reaping” the rewards of this patch, and I was a “Scourge” to my enemies back in PoF. It’s 50% of my matches played in SPvP.
I recently returned after level skipping to 80 a few years ago, and my PC couldn't handle silverwaste, a buddy plays and suggested I work on reaper necro, and so far, I love it, I run staff/GS, but I rarely use my staff, I'm always in shroud or using the greatsword, I dabble a little in minions now, with the skill that summons those horrors for each enemy hit, and I use the freeze shout for maxing reaper spec. I'm working towards the vision crystal to forge a weapon. *Then* I learnt there's a GS, dark harvest, that also looks nice. But I'm stuck, with greatsword as the weapon I use most often, do I want to focus beserkers, or vipers?:/ I started working toward viper so I think I currently have viper's bladed gloves and something else vipers. But I'm looking to refine better and have an idea of whether I should go beserkers or vipers if I mainly use shroud and greatsword, I have a staff, but I rarely use it unless it's a tendril that is just obnoxiously up high spitting on me 🤣
Zerkers is great in some cases in pve, specifically reaper but tbh the Vipers stat line does incredibly well across the board for the necromancer in every elite spec and even core
@@CaffeinatedDad I see I see, shall stick to focusing vipers then, sadly dark harvest greatsword, other than being a grind for the collectibles to even get it, doesn't have viper's according to the wiki 😒 Think I'll just stick to going vipers, still so much I gotta learn on gear and where to get it, my current set, for most part, Is rabid winged, lotta toughness, dunno if there was a choice in the level skip box, been a while 🤣 I may have picked it because it sounded cool, may have picked it because the area almost crashed my old PC 🤣
Greetings, I need some help, returning player from a lot years ago, so my knowledge of the game sucks, I’m enjoying the necro, but my problem is this…..I’m 76 years old, with lots of health issues, so eye/hand coordination sucks, my speed of jumping from spot to spot is really bad, had a brain tumor removed a few back so my memory is worse. Ok, is there a build I can follow to make this character as easy as possible to play, not looking to really do anything endgame just want to have fun. Also, is there an easier class to play? Thank you for your time!
Minor thing, but axe has 900 range with their default attack + Ghastly Claws, not 600. Only Unholy Feast has the pointblack 600 radius, So strike damage/power necros can consider this an alternative range weapon more than the staff. Otherwise nice, content. 🙂
I have never played GW and im about to start my necro journey when the download is complete. Can someone explain the weapons thing? Do I choose a weapon myself or are they drops? And are the spells "locked" behind the weapons?
I use focus with my axe, find it way better, the staff?, no, there is something wrong with its casting, you spam it 10 times before it activates the skill, and the cool down on the skills is insanely long, can see that in your video aswell, and then the greatsword, must go reaper lol, will not trade my necromancer for any other class
That's actually because I have the targeting circle set to double click and not instant cast. You can change that in the settings! Also I am really starting to love the necromancer more and more as I play it!
core necro and harbinger shrouds are boring af. scourge doesn't even have one, just spin some sand around you and call it a day. reaper on the other hand, is a fucking beast in shroud.
Master the Elements!
ua-cam.com/video/yM1gFWnLPqI/v-deo.html
"I just love newbie guides written for players with a couple months in game" -No one, Ever
I recently tried out Reaper and Harbinger and really appreciate the simplicity of Reaper. For an older gamer like me that doesn't like pushing a lot of buttons anymore, it's perfect. Harbinger is fun but I feel like it doesn't bring enough to the table to justify having its health cut in half from blight. Against hard enemies Har is always one mistake away from death. I've been playing Scourge for Fractals since I returned to GW2 last summer and love how busted their rez abilities are with the Blood trait line. I can't count how many times I saved the party from a wipe. 😎
And to top that all of condi scourge is super strong right now! It's a great pick!
@@poisenbery I dunno. With Reaper I can facetank bosses like the Mushroom Queen but with Har I actually have to do stuff to survive.
I chose necro as my first main. I've been really loving this game! I recently unlocked the reaper tree and have been rocking a greatsword/staff minion build that, while it may not be part of the meta, is wicked fun!
Who cares about the meta? As long as you are enjoying the game!
@@CaffeinatedDad Truth!
As a bonus, I got my daughter interested in the game and we have started exploring Tyria together!
As a reaper enjoyer, here's my how to necro for new players: go reaper, shred everything
Berserker reaper goes brrr
A dead giveaway😂
How so ?
Reaper looks nasty. Im bout to level a necro to do exactly that
i've only ever mained necromancer in any game i've played on my first playthroughs. absolutely love that class
Honestly ibsee why, the more I play it the more I love it!
I am a necro main, and it is a very versatile and fun class to play. If we are not talking elite specs, the staff is probably my favorite weapon because the wells it creates are amazing. Its core strike attacks like that of an axe are fine, but sometimes a bit boring but it was my go to levelling the first time.
Oh and for WvW purposes, the necromancer with a staff and the wells is amazing for defensive purposes, just laying hate down like a mobile artillery and denying an entire area to an enemy if done correctly. Have seen many die at SMC from an absolute mass of AOE's.
Honestly the necromancer has been a joy to play, and even unlocking the elite and playing them it feels like a more unique version of the necromancer. All in all its a great class!
Insanely well put together. Thank you!
Hey thanks! Happy to help!
Again great overview video like the one for the elite specs! From which I need one for every profession! ;)
Working my way down the line! I'd like to do this for the core specs but then do the 60 second overview of the elites!
Back when HoT came out, I mained Reaper. One day when I was drinking and playing another game called Smite, I mained Anubis and he did a lot of life steal. So I had an idea. What if I turned my Reaper into a Healper (support/healing Reaper) with Transfusion as my surprise when friendlies were down? Everyone said it's such a horrible idea and I shouldn't run it xD When PoF came out, Scourge was thee thing I needed to perfect my healcromancer build. It worked so well in all game modes and I love it how you can pull friendlies away from an enemy who is about to down them in PvP and WvW xD I was able to pull my commander under a bridge and revive her when she was about to get double downed by a blob lol Such fond memories c:
I lol'd at the "stop hitting yourself" bit. Definitely the thing that confused me the most as a new player, applying conditions to yourself seems really scary and a confusing mechanic to handle! At least as you mentioned they have skills to cleanse it away, they have good might traitlines, and overall it's definitely easier than dealing with Mesmer CC. I like the class, but I'm not sure I could ever play it at max level!
PS: I love staff gameplay too, but axes are seriously underrated.
I’m not an experienced necromancer but I love the feel of the axe. I’ve always loved melee weapon phantom attacks from a distance so it feels super cool
You forgot to mention that the Necro has the highest max HP in the game and the higher your max HP, the more Life Force you get (69% of you max HP), meaning you can stay in shroud longer. My Scourge sits at 31k HP (Dire+Scav Runes), 26k Life Force.
Good god I forgot how high they can go lol
Nice. Mine sits at 28k with celestial gear, and superior necromancer rune. No elite specs though. I do have them unlocked, just don't use them currently. If I did, I think it would probably be Reaper.
I've just started the game and been testing all the professions and the Necromancer is hands down the best for a beginner.
There's a nice balance between survive, damage and fun
Necromancer is super strong for general purpose tbh
ty for the vid! this rly helpt me on my Necro Journey
Glad I could help!
New sub. You do a great job with these videos. :)
Hey thanks! I like making things easier for new players!
I am a new player, I thought Necromancer would be the chillest build with fewer buttons to play but it seems like a pretty complicated class instead. Now I am trying another class (Ranger).
It's not that hard, especially for reaper elite spec. You should try it 😃
@@anders8461 I tried pvp at lvl 3. With full minions. I got recked lol. I will try to browse about reaper spec to see if I like the playstyle.
@@SuhandiWijaya GW2 has perhaps the weakest iteration of a minionmancer in gaming. Would recommend trying anything else. Also if you're trying it in PvP, you're up against people who have been honed by a decade of gameplay accelerating and becoming more burst oriented. They'll have an innate faster response cycle and know when to initiate aggressively. And you will be thrown in the deep end with these sharks with low population.
@@SuhandiWijaya ah that's why, Minionmancer will have a hard time in PvP.
@@WhimsicalPacifist no wonder I feel like trash in 5v5, and got bursted so fast. I lost every pvp battles, never won once.
Dagger + Dagger or Axe + Dagger are my weapon set preferences. It's why I was looking at Reaper Elite Spec even before I found out it was good, lol. (First character in GW2)
great vid, thx for tour work!
I really like harbinger but that blight thing sometimes get me killed combined with those skills that throw you at the boss :))
Oh I died so often... mainly in pvp because I'd be so low on HP!
Main reaper for 4.5 years and im realy loving warhorn main and dagger with great sword got that off muks guide. Good guide and great info.
Hey thanks! Reaper is alot of fun and I'm sad it took me this long to try it!
Liked and sub'd. Thanks. Hoping you have these vids for thief and other classes..ima bout to check. Buying a steam to play yhe game for the first time since 2018 and only then it was a couple weeks since 2013. Will be diving in fully this time.
Mh dagger was my favorite weapon for leveling
See I couldn't get into it! I always felt like it was weaker!
@@CaffeinatedDad it is, i just prefer the sounds and animations :v
Necro My main character full time 👌
Honestly the more I play the more I enjoy the class!
Does race matter when choosing a class? I've gone for a norn necro
Only for a few things, animations, armor appearance and cultural armor and a few race specific skills. But those skills are less useful compared to class skills
@@CaffeinatedDad Thank you.
This one's a tad late but i started reaper after getting into soto. Im really liking the dual swords and greatsword combo.
I think I'll go reaper for elite but will mainly do core necro when not in content that requires i reaper.
New to GW 2. Been a Dk main from wow since 08. Looks like i'm going the Reaper route!!!! You got a sub friend!!!
Yeah Reaper is like unholy DK on steroids. It’s easier to play too and and doesn’t require gargoyle cheese.
Also actually uses a Greatsword and not this dual wield meta DND spam nonsense.
Hey thanks! Id say reaper is probably your best bet if your looking for DK vibes!
Thx for your video. Any chance to get your builds somewhere?
I use dagger/focus and staff and it is so good you basically stay in reaper form 24/7.
Ive heard basically full zerkers is also a great place to be for reaper
@@CaffeinatedDad Yea they recently just buffed reaper so it's op right now
started playing as of yesterday went with necromancer wish me luck, can i play without getting an expansion?
Which build is best for PvE??
Which spec? Reaper tends to be the strongest overall!
@@CaffeinatedDad thanks. Yeah, I meant spec. I have heard that Harbinger is the best when it comes to DPS but that Reaper has better survivability when taking damage and is therefore better for beginners like myself. But since you say Reaper is better overall I will definitely go for the Reaper now!
Thank you 🙏
Hi ! Big fan of your vids. I've joined GW2 3 weeks ago and I just can't stop playing it ❤
I wanted to make a Necro as second character and I prefer staff oriented build in general. Which Spec is the best for Necro staff user ?
not sure if i should go reaper or scourge
u skip the torch off hand why?
Can confirm necro Carries me in PvP and PvE.
I’m literally “Reaping” the rewards of this patch, and I was a “Scourge” to my enemies back in PoF.
It’s 50% of my matches played in SPvP.
Reaper is just ridiculous in so many ways tbh!
I recently returned after level skipping to 80 a few years ago, and my PC couldn't handle silverwaste, a buddy plays and suggested I work on reaper necro, and so far, I love it, I run staff/GS, but I rarely use my staff, I'm always in shroud or using the greatsword, I dabble a little in minions now, with the skill that summons those horrors for each enemy hit, and I use the freeze shout for maxing reaper spec.
I'm working towards the vision crystal to forge a weapon. *Then* I learnt there's a GS, dark harvest, that also looks nice. But I'm stuck, with greatsword as the weapon I use most often, do I want to focus beserkers, or vipers?:/ I started working toward viper so I think I currently have viper's bladed gloves and something else vipers. But I'm looking to refine better and have an idea of whether I should go beserkers or vipers if I mainly use shroud and greatsword, I have a staff, but I rarely use it unless it's a tendril that is just obnoxiously up high spitting on me 🤣
Zerkers is great in some cases in pve, specifically reaper but tbh the Vipers stat line does incredibly well across the board for the necromancer in every elite spec and even core
@@CaffeinatedDad I see I see, shall stick to focusing vipers then, sadly dark harvest greatsword, other than being a grind for the collectibles to even get it, doesn't have viper's according to the wiki 😒
Think I'll just stick to going vipers, still so much I gotta learn on gear and where to get it, my current set, for most part, Is rabid winged, lotta toughness, dunno if there was a choice in the level skip box, been a while 🤣 I may have picked it because it sounded cool, may have picked it because the area almost crashed my old PC 🤣
Nice.
Thank you! Cheers!
I play a human necro but watching this vid makes me wanna reroll asura necro lol.
I think I have watched this 10 times lol
Ha! Glad it has been useful!
Is the level 80 boost armor good for a necro?
Yes! You end up with celestial!
@@CaffeinatedDad Thank you very much!! I can focus on other stuff then, was a little worried that the armor wouldn't be enough haha
Greetings, I need some help, returning player from a lot years ago, so my knowledge of the game sucks, I’m enjoying the necro, but my problem is this…..I’m 76 years old, with lots of health issues, so eye/hand coordination sucks, my speed of jumping from spot to spot is really bad, had a brain tumor removed a few back so my memory is worse. Ok, is there a build I can follow to make this character as easy as possible to play, not looking to really do anything endgame just want to have fun. Also, is there an easier class to play? Thank you for your time!
Minor thing, but axe has 900 range with their default attack + Ghastly Claws, not 600. Only Unholy Feast has the pointblack 600 radius, So strike damage/power necros can consider this an alternative range weapon more than the staff. Otherwise nice, content. 🙂
Should I make a necro 😮
I have never played GW and im about to start my necro journey when the download is complete. Can someone explain the weapons thing? Do I choose a weapon myself or are they drops? And are the spells "locked" behind the weapons?
still looking for a guild
More then welcome to join mine but we are not super active yet. Message Thanodil.5732
Staff / Double Dagger >>>>
I use focus with my axe, find it way better, the staff?, no, there is something wrong with its casting, you spam it 10 times before it activates the skill, and the cool down on the skills is insanely long, can see that in your video aswell, and then the greatsword, must go reaper lol, will not trade my necromancer for any other class
That's actually because I have the targeting circle set to double click and not instant cast. You can change that in the settings!
Also I am really starting to love the necromancer more and more as I play it!
atm
the reaper Spec is busted asf
i run full beserk dmg / ac on the weapons
you just cleave rip and tear on champs / trash
It truely is, I showed that off on stream and was wrecking face!
I honestly just wanna be ainz
Necro looks so boring I hate the shroud mechanic being best damage. Zzzzzzzzzz
Scourge?
core necro and harbinger shrouds are boring af. scourge doesn't even have one, just spin some sand around you and call it a day. reaper on the other hand, is a fucking beast in shroud.
Honestly it's slower than others yes, but life force managing is crucial so there is some micro to it!
People still play GW2 In 2023? Jesus