Class Changes: Necromancer
Necromancer Core Spell Changes
In the last few years on the old server, Necromancers started experiencing issues with scaling. To address this, many of the Necromancer’s relic and pre-relic spells were buffed since they lacked access to enough high-tier spells to keep up. Like with several other classes, we’re reverting some of these buffs to their original state, while also adding new high-tier spells to provide the necessary power.
During the last seasonal event on the old server, new spells were introduced to fill gaps in the Necromancer’s spell progression. However, many of these spells ended up being too strong, overshadowing others acquired later. We’ve now adjusted these spells to ensure they don’t outshine those that come after them, making the leveling progression more natural. We’re highlighting key changes below, while the rest can be found on the forums.
Runic: Hierophant’s Acolyte was a unique spell but had several issues that made it less effective than other pets. The pet didn’t benefit from Companion Enhancement (formerly Companion Strength), causing it to scale worse than the relic pet. Additionally, its AI was buggy, often failing to cast spells correctly. To make it viable, players had to force it to cast lifetaps using the Leeching Servant AA, which was a DPS loss when used with the relic pet. To address these issues, we’ve decided to replace it with an upgraded melee pet that includes an improved group lifetap proc.
Necromancer Core Spell Changes:
- Runic: Kiss of Saitha: A new fast-casting, short-duration poison DoT: 2s Cast, 1s Greyout, 3 tick duration.
- Runic: Cruelty of the Murk: A splurting disease DoT at the runic spell level.
- Heartflutter: Necromancers can no longer learn this spell. Its damage was very low, even when first acquired, especially compared to the newer spells. Its primary use was to generate threat, which is often undesirable for Necromancers.
- Searing Blood: Duration reduced from 10 ticks to 9 ticks, Damage reduced from 32 to 24.
- Scitterpox: Cast time increased from 4.5s to 5s, Damage reduced from 385 to 350.
- Relic: Hand of Kaezul/Spirit of Kaezul: Damage reduced from 420 to 380.
- Relic: Marlow’s Cremation: Cast time increased from 4s to 5.5s, Damage reduced from 520 to 460.
- Archaic: Claws of the Chill: Initial damage removed, Tick damage reduced from 795 to 765.
- Runic: Hierophant’s Acolyte is now a direct upgrade to Relic: Scion of the Beyond.
Necromancer Alternate Advancement Changes
Two Necromancer-specific AAs were significantly underperforming and have been redesigned.
Insidious Elements had minimal impact in raids due to the limits on reducing enemy resistance, rendering this AA often ineffective. It now increases the damage of your direct damage effects on the target by 2.5% per rank per damage-over-time effect of a different element on the target.
Leeching Servant previously gave your pet a chance to mimic your lifetap spells, but this caused your pet to stop meleeing or casting, often resulting in a DPS loss. It’s now an activatable ability that causes your pet to cast a powerful instant lifetap, simultaneously acting as a massive pet heal and dealing increasing damage with a one-minute cooldown.
Strands of Life turned Necromancers into mana batteries in group scenarios, often relegating high-tier Necromancers to the role of filling everyone else’s mana bars. This is not a gameplay loop we want to encourage, nor do we want other players to rely on Necromancers to maintain their mana in groups. The AA now grants 5 additional overcap flowing thought per rank and increases the mana gained from Dreadlich by 2.5% per rank.
Alternate Advancement Changes:
- Insidious Elements: Now increases the damage of your direct damage effects on the target by 2.5% per rank per element of damage-over-time effect on the target.
- If you have a damage-over-time effect of each element (Fire, Cold, Poison, Disease, Magic) on the target and have maxed this AA, your direct damage effects will be increased by 50%. This includes bracer procs and the upfront damage portions of DoTs.
- Two new poison direct damage spells have been added to complement this AA, one at level 65 and one at the runic spell level.
- Leeching Servant: Now an activatable ability that causes your pet to cast a powerful instant lifetap, dealing increasing damage on a one-minute cooldown.
- Strands of Life: Now grants the Necromancer 5 additional overcap flowing thought per rank and increases the amount of mana gained from Dreadlich by 2.5% per rank.