8 hours ago, HearldofTime.8294 said:
How would a melee condi really be different than a power melee at this point? The answer is obvious: nothing. There will be no synergy with any trait, utility, etc. From all gameplay standpoints be it PVE, PVP, WVW whatever, nothing would change.
That's just not true though. Whether you like it or not, Condi does in fact have a much better and more solid design foundation on Necro, and is actually playable in melee.
Through being able to run Celestial Gear with still good DPS due to Condi's Hybrid nature (which not only makes Condi far more tanky, but also buffs their already better sustain in things like Scourge Barrier's and Harbinger's Alchemic Vigor), to sustain Traits like Parasitic Contagion, to even being able to run Death Magic these days which through Deadly Strength not only isn't as bad of a damage loss as it used to be (at least for Condi/Hybrid Builds), but especially with the cleanse of Shrouded Removal and most importantly the Protection uptime of Corrupter's Fervor - a melee condi weapon, especially one with decent cleave, would instantly be more viable than strike damage in solo PvE and WvW especially.
Power builds just do not have these options. Gear wise, you can maybe get away with Marauder's, Dragon's or Diviner's - but no combination of these for Power builds can compete even remotely with the Damage, tankyness and sustain package of Celestial for Condi/Hybrid builds.
Sustain wise Power builds have far worse options and no healing power to scale the ones they do. They can sacrifice their relic slot now for Zakiros, to get a worse Parasitic Contagion - but then Condi/Hybrid builds could even run that too. But since they don't need it, they can therefor use better options furthering their DPS lead over Power, even on far tankier setups.
Trait wise, Power loses far, far more DPS by taking things like Death Magic - while making much worse use of it. Power needs Spite and Soul Reaping to perform properly. Condi meanwhile can branch out from Curses and SR for, especially in SR's case, very minor DPS losses, while picking up major tankyness/sustain.
Now, there is one thing to consider though - and that is combining all the sustain of Dagger 2, Spear 2, Relic of Zakiros and Soul Eater on Reaper, together with Reaper Shroud's damage absorption and reduction, as well as Infusing Terror's damage reduction.
All of that combined could actually make for a fairly surviveable Power Necro. Still no where near a Cele Condi Necro mind you, especially without good Prot source, but alright (and still far worse than the active defenses of other classes for competitive, especially against CC/focus pressure).
The problem with this kit though, especially for competitive (as far as even available), is that it's entirely melee. It's a build that requires you to maintain <300 range and active pressure at all times. Spear 4 and RShroud 2 are not sticky enough for that. So once again we are back in fantasy land, where Dagger 3 needs to be a 600 range shadowstep, and Fleshwurm needs a rework to be a ~900 range shadowstep, which instead drops a Wurm at arrival location (which could be reworked to spin around on occasion, trying to knock nearby foes down for a few seconds before disappearing or smth).
Maybe then Power Necro, dancing between Shroud, Dagger 2 and Spear 2 sustain, as well as applying constant pressure and being that endlessly chasing movie monster they sold us in 2015, could actually play with the big boys. But that's never going to happen. The PvP community especially has been conditioned for 12 years to expect Necromancer to be a free kill, and we all know how they react if it can remotely fight back on it's own or escape - and I'm pretty sure the balance powers that be are part of that crowd. In their eyes, Necro is supposed to be slow, predictable, lame, require support crutches to survive, and should only shine in Teamfights when it can unleash it's AoE potential - otherwise be nice free pickings for low skilled roamers/sidenoders to feel good about themselves.
To sum it up:
Spear being a Melee Condi weapon would make a difference. Not only is Melee and Cleave/AoE an unfilled niche for Condi Necro with Scepter and Pistol both being mid range weapons with strong single target/tight stack focus - Condi Necromancer ironically also is the one that would have the tools to fight and sustain in melee.
Power on the other hand has it's niches covered, with Dagger MH and GS for melee, Axe and Swords for midrange and Staff for long range it's already by far the most catered to and complete weapon selection Necro has. If anything is lacking, it can and should be done within these options. Additionally, for Power Necro to be genuinely suitable for melee, it needs a lot more than what Spear offers, or even can offer on it's own.
Edited by Asum.4960
