Necromancer Spell Lists - Reactions?

[old.Wildfire]

n.b. the first brackets after the spell type indicate the lowest and highest levels of these spells. The second bracket is a description of the highest level spell.

Deathsight (base)

- Lifetap (1/50) (1500rng | 179D/90% | 3.0sec)
- Lifetap (2/47) (500rng | 171D/90% | instant)
- AF Debuff (2/49) (1500rng | -59AF | 3.0sec)
- Self Dex Buff (3/45) (+48DEX | 3.0sec)

Deathsight (spec)

- Absorb Buff (29/48) (1500rng | +9%ABS | 3.0sec)
- AF Debuff (5/50) (1500rng | -250AF | 3.0sec)
- Powertap (1/44) (1500rng | 159D/50% | 3.0sec)**
- Power Transfer (4/45) (1500rng | 102P | 3.0sec)

Painworking (base)

- Concentrate (3) (self, instant)*
- Con Debuff (1/46) (1500rng | -46CON | instant)
- Snare (2/49) (1500rng | -50% | 2.5sec)

Painworking (spec)

- PBAE DoT (1/44) (350rad | 79/20tick | 3.0sec)
- AE Str/Con Debuff (2/43) (1500rng | 350rad | -66STR/CON | instant)
- Pulsing AE Snare (5/49) (1500rng | 350rad | -50% | 3.0sec)
- Self Str/Con Buff (9/42) (+43STR/CON | 3.0sec)

Death Servant (base)

- Self HP Regen (2/50) (76HPR | instant)
- Summon Spirit (1/45) (20.0sec)
- Self Str Buff (3/41) (+42STR | instant)

Death Servant (spec)

- PBAE DD (6/47) (350rad | 219D | 3.0sec)***
- Self DMG Shield (2/44) (21DPS | instant)
- Self Dex/Qui Buff (4/48) (+48DEX/QUI | instant)

* Powertaps convert an amount of the damage done by the spell's DD into power that is returned to the necro
** I'm guessing this spell, when active, allows the pet to cast spells while in melee.
*** Details on this spell are corrupt on The Herald, and this may not be the top PBAE DD. At 219 this would be considerably lower than other realms' PBAE's.

edit: a few minor spelling errors corrected, powertap explanation added

 

[old.Wildfire]

I've also come up with a few VERY early ideas for specs, assuming 1x spec points. Just a few ideas...

Deathsight (sight) spec : 50 sight, 18 pain, 9 serv
Painworking (pain) spec : 44 pain, 30 serv, 8 sight
Death Servant (serv) spec : 47 serv, 21 pain, 16 sight

so...

All necro's get: lifetap, insta lifetap, AF debuff, insta con debuff, pet dex buff, pet str buff, pet HP regen, 50% snare

I'm going to base my descriptions of each on group warfare... so imagine, your 1fg is running through Breifine and you come across 1fg of hibs coming the other way. I'm not interested in zerg warfare. I give this info because this is the RvR that I'm most used to and enjoy most.

Deathsight spec : You get your -250AF debuff which is going to be a very nice tool if your group has CC, you can buff the absorbtion of your group's armour by 9% all round (niiiice), you can drain up to 427 power off a target (assuming 3x cap), which if I'm not mistaken is going to be pretty nasty if used as an opener against another caster, and if you have wizards / theurgs / cabalists in the group to nuke, you can use the powertap/transfer spells to provide a support role to your nukers/healers, which could be pretty nice. Your lifetaps will hit hard (up to 537 with a 483 return to you) as they are in the baseline of deathsight, and there aren't really any disadvantages that I can see, to being weak in the other base lines. If AF debuffs stack, then you've got another one you can use with -59. In addition to your primary line of spells you also get a mid-level PBAE DoT, and while this doesn't have much application in group warfare, if you can find a situation to use it, it will tick for up to 87 per hit, with moderate variance due to your 18 invested points. You also get a medium-level insta-cast AE str/con debuff, which is also handy, and quite a funky AE pulsing stun, although without speaking to testers I must admit I have no idea how it works and am simply speculating at the moment. To finish off you also have a small str/con pet buff which could come in handy for exping, a weak pet damage shield (every little helps), and a small dex/qui buff.

Group role: Can function as a nuker, can equally function as a support class for other casters. Very useful if your group has a sorc, also handy in keep defence. Functions similarly to a cabalist.

Painworking spec : The biggest advantage(?) of this spec is the PBAE DoT, which will tick away nicely for up to 237 per tick (not taking into account resistances) with low variance. Due to the nature of the class this could also be on the spirit line, which MAY be beneficial, though spellcrafting will be in by then and resists will all be up. You have a nice insta AE str/con debuff, similar to a sorc, and the new "pulsing AE snare" (which I have yet to work out the function of). To be honest this would seem like the "spare", "utility", or just plain "gimped" line of the three, but the Concentration baseline spell may be affected by your specline level... I just don't know. Also of note with this spec is that the specline up-to-411-PBAE-DD may have better variance (and hence higher overall output) than the baseline up-to-537-lifetap.

Group role: Very hard to say, this is definitely a support character, but doesn't feature any kind of healing, range-reducing or crowd-controlling ability whatsoever. I think this one may depend on the function of its' pulsing snare, and the possible importance of the Concentration spell. Aside from that it's a weak nuker due to very high lifetap variance, with some debuffs and a reasonably tough pet.

Death Servant spec : This one's a bit funky. By that I mean that it gets a PBAEing pet (unsure of damage type but it's not as powerful as a manachanter/spiritmaster/icewizzy), with a high output damage shield (21DPS), a good dex/qui buff for quicker casting, a respectable (up to ~100 per tick) PBAE DoT which could be thrown in with the DD's, a medium-level str/con AE debuff, a low level pulsing snare (there it is again, how the hell does that work?), a nice little -75 AF debuff, a handy power drain and an emergency power transfer for when you need to keep a healer working. 16 in sight will help with nuke variance (though not a lot), while seemingly giving you the most versatile in-combat pet (as opposed to out-of-combat, casting spells) of the 3 specs that I've looked at. This one I think could be the most fun of the 3 to play, but may suffer from reliance on PBAE. If the pets are tough though, this could be a winning combination, giving the necro the ability to do a bit of everything (aside from healing) in the group.

Group role: Quite versatile, possibly a very good shock attacker in the form of the PBAE DD from the pet (though this could be hard to control precisely), as players will instinctively look for other players as main sources of danger.

My personal preference would be to opt for the Deathsight spec (50D/18P/9S, the same as a fire wizard, funnily enough), but the Death Servant spec (47S, 21P, 18D) looks as if it has some variety. This second option could also be tweaked to put more points into Deathsight, to get better variance on lifetaps. The painworking spec looks a bit gimped, and a more even spread of points across the three specs may prove to be a more useful character.

 

[mid-gentry]

Dots arent like DD's and dont do 3x delve ever, on grey con mobs my value 87 dot does 140 every time, thats wth 41 + 7 cave and 2 power relics.

 

[old.Ziera]

hmm..it sounds wildly overpowered

 

[old.SadonTheGrey]

So... do they get to cast a powerful lifetap AND be invulnerable at the same time? Thats just... an invincible cabalist!

 

[danskmacabre]

Moved to Excal/Albion..
In future, if you want it done faster, just PM me instead.

 

[-Wedge-]

An instand 21DPS-Damage shield buff...

This is something that shouldnt have been reserved for necro's but rather given to all casters...

Oohwell, looks like a funny class to play...

 

[old.Ramas]

I guess it's a cabalist...

+ shade form

+ more powerful pets ?

- pointless lifetransfer

+ aoedd centred on tank pet (ouch)

+ power transfer/drain ( = group utility)

- aoe DoTs centred on enemy player

+ aoe DoTs centred on tank pet

- proper pet heals

+ pet HoT

+ better looking stat debuffs

- Nearsight debuff


Not as similar as I'd feared, but probably better in every role except as a pure DoT caster. I really don't see any reason to be a non-matter cabbie now. :/

Incidentally the 79/tick pbaoedot would translate into a maximum of about 130 per tick on the battlefield (before resistances), not 234. Unless it's on a wholly different set of rules to the ranged AoEDoT of course. 234 would be around about a maximum theoretical crit (assuming you've bought the RAs required to get *any* crits of course).


Oh, and I believe the pbaoedd is lower damage because it is pb around the pet, and the pet is much more at home on the front lines than a robed caster. 300-odd pbaoedd on a tank pet pbaoe would obviously cause issues.

 

[old.LandShark]

According to the Herald WF, the absorb buff has target: Friend.
Note that to be what you describe:

Originally posted by old.Wildfire
you can buff the absorbtion of your group's armour by 9% all round (niiiice)

it would have to have target: group or target: realm....
target: friend simply means its a pet buff, i believe....
Which is a bit annoying, because it means the pet that keeps you in the fight has 9% absorb at best. :|
i.e. not even as much as a typical caster
Still, NM =)

 

[alithiel50]

If your're still wanting to play one of these when SI eventually gets here Wildfire, I'm SOOOOOO gonna help powerlevel you!

Can't wait to see some of these templates in action in RvR....

 

[old.LandShark]

looka valewalker....
33%absorb buff, instahaste (1% over friar's...though at 48spec instead of 47) an instaDoT of 23dmg for 24 ticks, instasnare...

Stunning Blade
Scythe - available at spec level 10
Opening: To side of target
Effect: Stunned
Stuns the target for a brief period of time.
Resist type: N/A
Duration: 5 seconds

Chains to

Winter's Scythe
Scythe - available at spec level 18
Opening: Stunning Blade
Effect: Scythe of Ice
Target does additional damage with every melee swing.
Damage: 4 DPS
Duration: 30 seconds

Chains to

Blizzard Blade
Scythe - available at spec level 29
Opening: Winter's Scythe
Effect: Frigid Mists
Direct damage spell that inflicts the spell's damage type upon the target.
Damage: 198
(This figure is modified by your specialization in the skill and your primary casting stat.)
Radius: 350
Damage type: Cold


ermm.... what can i say except 'nice!'

also has a DoT/100%snare style chaining off a parry...


edit: OMFG
Fuckers get 33% absorb buff and evade4....
o m f g..... armsman with evade4, instahaste, instacast DoT adding up to over 600dmg at least, far better styles (roots/5sec stun at lvl10 chaining to 200DD and 4dps dmg add)....
Thinking "where's the catch?!" Here...
Well, their stats are str/int/con so will have low dex... erm... cloth armor, so a very low AF cap... only 1.5 specpoints. (well, same as a friar for example). Limited to slash dmg type which I believe is quite poor for hibernia now... same problems as alb crush has. (friar comparison again?)
Just noticed there's another style reactionary to parry that debuffs the target's slash resist... only a lvl4 style so hopefully won't be that big a debuff.

I'd be thinking maybe a 44scythe/42arboreal mastery/25parry spec...
Respectable parry (though low dex; giv buffs), the final absorb buff, a 24-tick dot (20dmg), the penultimate 32% instahaste, a kind of partial bladeturn PROC (one-shot absorb buff, i think), a disease proc....
Would also give you decent variation on your 164dmg lifetap baseline. Note also baseline contains the lifetap, a 250AF buff, and a dmg shield.

 

[--Eraser--]

nice explanation/summary again, thanks to the

TooMuchTime-Wildfire-Entertainemnt-Company

 

[old.LandShark]

Savage looks very interesting also.... currently says that it wears CLOTH, which is kinda sucky with no AF/abs buffs....
Stats are Dex Qui Con
Can insta-swap 9% max hp for:
39%haste
25%parry chance improvement
25%evade chance improvement
25% to the melee resist of your choice
25dps add! (woohoo!)

Or 15% max hp for 60% end....
Looking at their style list - wow, that there is a LOT of 'very high' damage styles. Also a long stun side-positional, anytime PBAE Atk-Spd debuff.... fun fun fun.

Seems to me it's a class that could die hideously fast BUT - with a 25dps damage add and styles that are essentially PBAE melee attacks (lvl50 style, for example, hits up to 4 additional targets in a radius around you)....
Interesting :E
Here's hoping that the evade is 360degrees like light tank evade is, and that they're on the pure tank hit point table (i.e. lots of hp per point of con). Oh, and that you can use the lower lvls of each spell (they cost less %hp)

 

[Vasconcelos]

Stunning Blade
Scythe - available at spec level 10
Opening: To side of target
Effect: Stunned
Stuns the target for a brief period of time.
Resist type: N/A
Duration: 5 seconds


OPENING: SIDE
Pretty hard to use it, u must move to the flank of an enemy to swing it: almost imposible 1vs1, kindda hard in uber fights.

Haste, evade IV, DoT, snare sound SWEET.

 

[Jiggs]

necro dont really bring anything to a group. It sounds like a class for the soloist perhaps?

keep defense and wall fights i think their debuffs and ability to stand at the back while the pbaoe pet goes in will be OK but nothing more.

In the end i think necro pets will just be mezzed and left til the end of the fight.

on another note i hope other classes will be getting new skill cos all these valewalker styles and savage self buffs make alot of current melee class skills redundant.

have a hunch the reaver may be the best and least played of the lot

 

[old.LandShark]

OK, few corrections about the savage: stats are Str/dex/qui not dex/qui/con.
Hand-to-Hand spec gives both thrust and slash damage types in one line and is dual-wield.
The 9%hp cost of some of the higher abilities is NOT fixed, the 9% is a maximum. Currently it looks like it's 9% of your pre-buffs hp, which is really a whole different kettle of fish.
Gets evade 4 at lvl30, advanced evade at 35. Parry at 5.
Unlike left axe, h2h does NOT swing both hands every time. However it increases the swing chance much much more than Celtic Dual or Dual Wield, and at 35+ spec it in fact begins to swing more than twice per combat round. (whee.)
Basically this class is going to do sick, sick damage. Let an un-mezzed savage past your front line and your support classes/casters are going to be dead in a shockingly short time...
Oh, MAJOR correction: savages wear studded, not cloth.
So, um, ignore all that i said about dying really fast in the previous post; we are looking at 360degree evade4, studded, parry and thane/skald hp here.
Bad things:
-I suspect somethe abilities just won't get used. 15%hp for 60% end when a 300 BP orb gives you 100%end?
-Randomly hitting people other than your target is going to break a lot of mezz without anyone actualyl concentrating on the target.
-Hmm, erm.... nope, can't see any more bad stuff
-Oh wait.... it'll be as vulnerable to CC and nukes as any other tank.

 

[Flimgoblin]

That mana transfer will be quite nice... necro is a powerbattery for the nukers

Reavers look interesting... the only guide for them out thinks they're crap though it reads like the paladin whines on VN boards...

 

[old.Ramas]

Reavers look interesting... the only guide for them out thinks they're crap though

This doesn't really surprise me.

To really stand out in DAoC, because it is *very* group based, you really have to be the best at something.

Hybrids don't have that distinction and so tend not to be as happy with their class.

Not saying this is always justified, but the perception of those playing hybrids, is most often that they are unpowered using whichever of their hybrid skills they are currently using.

 

[old.Wildfire]

1) my bad on the DoT part, hey im a wizzy, what do i know
2) actually for the abs buff to be pet only the target would be "self" just like all the other stuff

It was, liek, 4am, and I wanted to throw out my first reactionsto my first look at the spell lists.

edit: I've just had a look over on The Crypt of Albion (my specs were based purely on what I'd read on The Herald) and my spec plans seem to be quite similar to Olivia's. The class seems to be able to spec for either a caster or a tank pet, in either the deathsight or death servant lines respectively. This could be very handy for the class, if other realms will never be sure what they're facing from a necro until it starts to fight.

Also mentioned by Olivia and TOTALLY UNDERSTATED was the following: "Honestly, scouting isn't all that possible with the Necromancer, but you can do some short range scouting. In other words, you could peep over the hill without being vulnerable to attacks, or you could go to the other side of the milefort and get a count of how many enemies are there. BUT, if you stray too far from your pet, you only have 10 seconds before you become visible and fully vulnerable to attacks from the enemy."

YES PLEASE KTHX

<imagines> <necro: k there are 26 of them, their runemasters are on the left, only a handful of healers, mainly clustered around the door... I'll put my pet on the one in red, someone else pet the one in blue, and the rest of you charge through! go!>

 

[Danya]

Originally posted by old.Wildfire
2) actually for the abs buff to be pet only the target would be "self" just like all the other stuff

Self spells are for the caster. Friend/Ally spells are for the pet. Realm spells are for any player/pet in your realm. Group spells are for the group. Enemy spells are for the enemy.
This is the end of spell targetting in daoc 101.

 

[old.Wildfire]

I've been fiddling a bit more (frankly so that I can get this out of the way and have my spec ready, discussed, worked out blah blah blah while everyone else rants on) and the spec that I like the look of most is 50 sight, 18 serv, 9 pain. This will give:

primary line:
- strong lifetaps (cast / instant)
- strongest power drain
- strongest power transfer
- 250 (and another 59 if they stack?) AF debuff
- 9% absorbtion buff which I still think works on other members of the realm
- 21 str/con AE debuff
secondary line:
- 81dmg PBAE DD (handy?)
- 8 dps dmg shield (very handy)
- 18 points on the health regen line which seems quite important
tertiary line:
- 15/20 PBAT DoT (not sure if this would do much tbh)
- 50% snare

total pet buffs would be +59str +17con +70dex +22qui

Basically this spec allows you to have a caster pet that isn't completely helpless in melee either.

 

[Jiggs]

I think the pbae dot thing with 20(??) ticks and the ae pulsing snare sounds like the RvR spec for this class. FG vs FG that pulsing snare with your group on SoS or something would be a sure win.


btw i notice you get the last pet at level 45 does this mean at 50 your pet is 45 or is the pet same level as you?

probably written somewhere obvious but i cant seem to find it anywhere

 

[old.Wildfire]

I've heard the pets are blue... hoping they'll change that to even-con (50) pets for the final release, else necros are gonna die v-v-fast in RvR

 

[old.Ramas]

I've heard the pets are blue...

Which begs the question, who's level is considered when calaculating probability of a complete spell resist.

Base chance to resist is 15% for casting on a yellow enemy, +/- 15% for every quanta/colour up or down from there.

So a blue pet will see a level 50 as orange (possibly even red depending on the pet's exact level), and have a 30% chance (or 45%) of it's spell being resisted.

iirc

 

[Flimgoblin]

except they removed the to-hit/resistance modifiers for level in RvR

the buffs turn it into the equivalent of a yellow pet. (compare unbuffed assassin versus buffed assassin after all )

 

[old.Wildfire]

Danyan - yes that would be the case, if everything wasn't done through the pet in the first place. Hence "self" refers to the pet. They're all going to be a bit pointless otherwise...

 

[Flimgoblin]

Originally posted by Danyan

Self spells are for the caster. Friend/Ally spells are for the pet. Realm spells are for any player/pet in your realm. Group spells are for the group. Enemy spells are for the enemy.
This is the end of spell targetting in daoc 101.

The earth baseline damage add lists as 'friend' on the camelot herald.

The cabalist pet buffs list as 'pet'

so a necromancer can make its pet transfer mana (it shares mana pool with the necromancer) or cast an absorb buff on its groupmates.

 

[old.Wildfire]

by jove he's got it

 

[Jiggs]

From the FAQ:

Question: Do my stats transfer to the pet?

Only your intelligence passes to the pet.


Question: That pet is frikkin BLUE!?!?!?! How am I supposed to fight anything at level 50 with a blue-con pet???

The pet may con blue to you and to others at level 50, but given the buffs, nukes, debuffs, and other things at your disposal, blue means nothing. At level 50 your pet will be level 44.


Question: If my pet is blue, how do spell resists work when I cast spells on mobs and players?

The pet's casting level is based off of your Necromancer's level... so when you cast, it considers YOUR level against the level of the mob or player when it calculates damage or resists


Question: What support options does the Necromancer provide?

The Necromancer can support by: Debuffing enemies, transfering power to needy casters or healers (VERY NICE by the way), and buff absorption (depending on spec level in Deathsight).

so the abs should buff allies, and resists is YOUR level not your pet, tho imo a level 44 pet SUCKS ASS no matter what buffs he got...

 

[Sibanac]

Originally posted by Jiggs

imo a level 44 pet SUCKS ASS no matter what buffs he got...

Euh ever seen a cabby pet at work ?
Those blue con little buggers will take an orange without me even getting of my arse.
Combine that with the power of the debufs, dd's and dots and you got a lvl 35 pet taking on a lesser tellemon and a caster using about 20% power (tried it at lvl 4) If that is sucking ass, I'll suck big ass any day

I just hope pet controll is better on the necros then pets are now