In this discussion I will be proposing some Necromancer class changes that might help give the development team some ideas to make the class more well rounded. I play PVE as well as PVP and have played the game since 2014. I just want to see this class function better.
1) Detonating Siphon - Make the skill into an AOE burst skill with 28 meter range and 8 meter explosion radius and change the name. Mystic Siphon is already used in PVE just as much if not more than Detonating Siphon because of sustain. It should only be usable when there's a corpse on the ground since the skill costs no resources. Note that the damage from this new "burst" morph should be comparable to blighted blast bones since it's reliant on another skill to create the corpse. This would give Necromancers a little more Identity in PVP without creating issues in PVE.
2) Animate Blastbones - Reduce the cost of this morph BUT remove the resurrection part. In PVE no one uses this morph and in PVP the summons function too poorly to justify the extreme ultimate cost. Not to mention there's forward camps and alliance war passives (also champion point abilities) that make resurrections very easy for PVP healers. People who want the ability to revive their teammates in PVP can still use the other morph.
3) Ricochet skull - Make this ability our class stun. Make it stun every cast. Take away the damage boost for the third cast. An increase in travel time would also be nice, as the skill currently moves very slow. No one uses this morph currently in PVE or PVP. It takes too long to ramp up to the 50% damage boost in PVE compared to Venom skull which gets buffed fairly quickly. In PVP people use "force shock" instead because the bonus penetration from Destruction staff passives, Status effect chance, and it's instant damage. The skull is easily dodged or blocked.
4) Death Scythe - The range is 7 meters. For melee light and heavy attacks that's fine, but for this skill's AOE cone radius it guarantees it will not hit if an enemy is moving around. I believe it would be healthy to change this skill to 8 meters to prevent the skill missing when weaving in PVE/PVP. The other issue at hand is tanks (and tanky players) prefer to use the Magicka morph (Hungry Scythe) for the sustained healing, but no one uses the Stamina morph (Ruinous Scythe). It would be a breath of fresh air if the stamina morph was a ranged single target "Scythe Throw" that would deal up to 200% more damage to targets under 50% HP. Necromancers don't have the burst for an execute that starts at anything less than 50% health in my opinion. I decided upon the 200% damage based on Nightblade's "Impale" skill. Impale does roughly 35% less damage than Ruinous Scythe but executes at a rate of 330% bonus damage while also being a ranged skill. While Impale does only affect targets under 25% HP, they have the instant burst in PVP to get to that milestone, where Necromancers generally don't (Hence the Necro Execute I listed scaling at 50% and below HP).
5) Bone Totem - Make the fear apply instantly and have a wider range. Other classes have fears/stuns that go through block and are instant or even ranged. Nightblade has an AOE fear that can hit unlimited targets and applies Major Cowardice. Dragonknight has Petrify. Templar has Piercing Javelin. Sorcerer has Streak.
6) Avid Boneyard - Harmony trait has been gutted. Please buff the damage of this morph and remove the corpse consumption part (which only affects the damage over time portion, not the synergy). Buff "Unnerving Boneyard's" damage over time to compensate for the loss of Avid Boneyard Synergy in PVE. I would prefer increased damage over time in PVE now anyway since Grave Lord's Sacrifice doesn't buff the Boneyard synergy, but it does buff damage over time. This would be a win win for both sides of the game.
7) Grave Grasp - This skill is completely unused by almost every Necro in the game. A good positive change would be "Roots enemies in a 15 meter x 5 meter Area in front of you and apply minor maim for 5 seconds". Then make "Empowering Grasp" not CC at all, but make it an AOE that buffs your summons damage and healing by 2000 (1000 isn't enough in PVE or PVP) in a CIRCLE around you instead of a LINE in front of you. There's been times where I tried to use this ability and had to cast it 7 times to empower my summons. The other morph "Ghostly Embrace" could be more PVP oriented and could also apply Minor Cowardice. This would make the skill feel more useful in PVP and ensure more Necromancers feel included in group play.
8) Last Gasp (Bone Tyrant Passive) - 1250 HP. That's all this passive gives... Please add to the passive "Gain Major Sorcery and Major Brutality while a Necromancer ability (or even just a bone tyrant ability) is active." Every other class has either a long duration or almost 100% uptime on these buffs.
These are changes I feel would round out the Necromancer Class without damaging any elements of the game. Please let me know what you think. Thank you.