Necromancer Rework Idea

Taril · October 30

So, generally, I'm a big fan of Necromancers in games. They're usually a lot of fun to play and pretty cool to boot.

However, with ESO's iteration of Necromancer, I never quite get the feeling of actually being a Necromancer at all. While the gameplay is clunky at best and outright frustrating at worst.

This mostly comes down to 2 things:

1) The outright lack of any minion focus. With summons being essentially just clunkier versions of DoT/HoT spells of any other class (Only with "CRIMINAL ACT" slapped on so you randomly get bounty every so often when you happen to do any content near NPC's...)

2) The Corpse mechanic that fuels a lot of their abilities just doesn't fit. Most of the places you actually want to get the most out of your skills (Such as PvP and bosses) are places where you naturally find few corpses. Leading to a reliance on clunky corpse generation mechanics (Such as having aforementioned minions die after 16-20 seconds)

As such, I put my thinking cap on and gave a shot to redesigning ESO's Necromancer with this in mind and came up with a new style that doesn't utilize Corpses and has more fulfilling minion based gameplay:

Grave Lord:

Sacraficial Bones - Reverted back to Blastbones
- Blighted Blastbones (Morph) - Summon a decaying skeleton from the ground after 1.5 seconds. The skeleton runs after the target and leaps at them and explodes, dealing X Disease Damage to all enemies nearby and applying the Diseased status effect and Major Defile to them for 4 seconds, reducing their healing received and damage shield strength by 12%.
  Developer Comment:
  Overall this morph is fine. Just speeding it up with a faster summon and a leap when it gets close to a target. It's already the slowest projectile in the game, having a smidge of improvement should help it feel smoother.
- Cursed Blastbones (Morph) - Summon a cursed skeleton from the ground after 1.5 seconds. The skeleton removes up to 1 negative effect from you and then runs after the target and explodes when it gets close to them, dealing X Magic Damage to all enemies nearby and applying the negative effect that was removed from you to them.
  Developer Comment:
  An alternative to ye olde Stalking Blastbones, that provides Magcro with more utility and options for affecting enemies while also giving them back this powerful AoE damage skill.
Boneyard and all morphs damage increased by 30%. In addition, the animation is changed to be similar to that of the AoE pools created by the Child of Bones.
Developer Comments:
With the removal of the Corpse system, this skill is getting its full damage as a baseline effect. The graphical change is to better fit with overall aesthetics of Necromancers (Also, that blinding white ground effect obscures so many telegraphs)
Skeletal Mage - While on either bar, attacking will unearth a skeletal mage from the dirt to fight by your side until you leave combat, while granting you Major Brutality and Sorcery, increasing your Weapon and Spell Damage by 20%. The mage attacks the closest enemy every 2 seconds, dealing X Shock Damage.
Developer Comments:
A functionality rework to how Necromancer's minions behave. They become effectively permanent minions for combat, while avoiding the negative effects that would be caused by having them always out like Sorcerer or Warden pets - With the condition for attacking to summon them meaning you won't randomly get bounty if you simply aggro something or run away from a guard. Meanwhile, due to lacking an active ability, Necromancers minions will only use up a single bar slot. With their morphs adding some spice to what would otherwise simply be a generic DoT
- Skeletal Archer (Morph) - While on either bar, attacking will unearth a skeletal archer from the dirt to fight by your side until you leave combat, while granting you Major Brutality and Sorcery, increasing your Weapon and Spell Damage by 20%. The archer attacks the closest enemy every 2 seconds, dealing X Physical Damage. Upon using a fully charged Heavy Attack the archer fires an arrow coated in poison at the target dealing X Poison Damage and Y Poison Damage over 10 seconds. This effect can occur once every X seconds.
  Developer Comments:
  The new spice for Necromancer pets. Providing a bonus upon using a Heavy Attack. For the archer, this comes in the form of providing a DoT effect to maintain its overall design as a sustained single target damage morph
- Skeletal Arcanist (Morph) - While on either bar, attacking will unearth a skeletal arcanist from the dirt to fight by your side until you leave combat, while granting you Major Brutality and Sorcery, increasing your Weapon and Spell Damage by 20%. The arcanist attacks the closest enemy every 2 seconds, dealing X Shock Damage to them and all other enemies nearby. Using a fully charged Heavy Attack causes the arcanist to summon a lightning strike that deals X Shock Damage to the target and all nearby enemies and also applies Concussion. This effect can occur once every X seconds.
  Developer Comments:
  The AoE morph gets more AoE damage. Pretty simple.
Shocking Siphon - Violently twist the soul of an enemy, dealing X Shock Damage over 20 seconds to all enemies around the enemy and between you and the enemy. While slotted, your damage done is increased by 3%.
Developer Comments:
With the removal of the Corpse system, this ability and its morphs now utilize a (Living) enemy as its vector.
Reusable Parts - Renamed to Bone Frenzy - Using a Heavy Attack increases the attack speed of your summons by X% for X seconds. This effect can occur once every X seconds.

Bone Tyrant:

Summoner's Armor (Morph) - Renamed Emboldening Armor - Wrap yourself in hardened bone, granting you Major Resolve, increasing your Physical Resistance and Spell Resistance by 5948 for 20 seconds. While active, you gain Empower, increasing the damage of your Heavy Attacks against monsters by x%.
Developer Comments:
With pets now no longer being cast, the cost reduction has been replaced. Empower still provides pet theming for the skill with their reworked abilities utilizing heavy attacks.
Bitter Harvest - Replaced by Zombie Warrior - While on either bar, attacking will unearth a zombie warrior from the dirt to fight by your side until you leave combat, while increasing the amount of damage you can block by 10%. The warrior attacks the closest enemy every 2 seconds, dealing X Physical Damage.
Developer Comments:
With the removal of corpses this ability has to be completely replaced. Some of the current functionality will be shifted to Spirit Mender and the ability that takes its place will be a new pet themed for this skill line.
Zombie Paladin (Morph) - While on either bar, attacking will unearth a zombie paladin from the dirt to fight by your side until you leave combat, while increasing the amount of damage you can block by 10%. The paladin attacks the closest enemy every 2 seconds, dealing X Magic Damage. Using a fully charged Heavy Attack causes the paladin to grant a damage shield to you that absorbs X health. This portion of the ability scales with your Max Health. This effect can occur once every X seconds.
Zombie Frost Knight (Morph) - While on either bar, attacking will unearth a zombie frost knight from the dirt to fight by your side until you leave combat, while increasing the amount of damage you can block by 10%. The frost knight attacks the closest enemy every 2 seconds, dealing X Frost Damage. Using a fully charged Heavy Attack causes the frost knight to send out a wave of ice to freeze the target and all nearby enemies, immobilizing them for X seconds and dealing X Frost Damage. This effect can occur once every X seconds.

Living Death:

Blood Sacrifice (Morph) - Sacrifice your own power to repair damaged flesh, healing you or up to 2 allies in front of you for X Health but applying Minor Defile and Minor Mangle to yourself for 4 seconds, reducing your healing received and damage shield strength by 6% and maximum health by 10%.
Developer Comments:
In lieu of the corpse requirement for the double heal, there's now an extra debuff which can be quite notable. It will however synergize with Necromancer's various effects that benefit them when afflicted with negative effects.
Life Amid Death - Release residual fragments of fallen souls at the target location, healing you and your allies for X Health. Remove a negative effect on cast to continue to heal you and your allies in the area for Y Health over 5 seconds.
Developer Comments:
Another change to adapt to the removal of corpses as a mechanic. Provides more of a theme for self debuffing for bonus effects, with of course additional utility when you get debuffed by outside sources.
- Renewing Undeath (Morph) - Release residual fragments of fallen souls at the target location, healing you and your allies for X Health. Remove up to 3 negative effects on cast to increase the initial heal by Y continue to heal you and your allies in the area for Z Health over 5 seconds.
- Enduring Undeath (Morph) - Release residual fragments of fallen souls at the target location, healing you and your allies for X Health. Remove a negative effect on cast to continue to heal you and your allies in the area for 9335 Health over 5 seconds. Remove up to 5 additional negative effects on cast, with each negative effect extending the duration of the heal over time by 5 seconds.
Spirit Mender - While slotted on either bar, attacking will conjure a ghostly spirit to do your bidding and stay by your side until you leave combat. The spirit heals you or the lowest Health ally around you every 2 seconds, restoring X Health.
- Spirit Guardian (Morph) - While slotted on either bar, attacking will conjure a ghostly spirit to do your bidding and stay by your side until you leave combat while granting you Minor Heroism generating 1 Ultimate every 1.5 seconds. The spirit heals you or the lowest Health ally around you every 2 seconds, restoring X Health. Using a fully charged Heavy Attack causes the spirit to heal you, restoring Y health and granting Major Protection for 10 seconds reducing the damage you take by 10%. This portion of the ability scales off your Max Health. This effect can occur once every X seconds.
- Intensive Mender (Morph) - While slotted on either bar, attacking will conjure a ghostly spirit to do your bidding and stay by your side until you leave combat, while granting you and allies within 28 meters of you Minor Fortitude, Minor Intellect and Minor Endurance increasing your Health Recovery, Magicka Recover and Stamina Recovery by 15%. The spirit heals you or the lowest Health ally around you every 2 seconds, restoring X Health. Using a fully charged Heavy Attack causes the spirit to grant a damage shield to you and nearby allies absorbing X damage. This effect can occur once every X seconds.
  Developer Comments:
  With the changes to minion skills and the removal of Bitter Harvest, Spirit Guardian has been changed to provide some of that lost utility by providing continual Ultimate generation. While the Intensive Mender morph has been adjusted to provide more group utility for healers.
Restoring Tether - Siphon the soul from an enemy, healing for X Health over 12 seconds to yourself and all allies between you and the enemy. While slotted, your healing done is increased by 3%.
Developer Comments
Another vector change due to the lack of corpses. This change also affects both morphs.
Corpse Consumption Renamed Soul Consumption - Using a fully charged Heavy Attack grants X Ultimate. This effect can occur once every X seconds.

Item Changes:

Corpseburster - Using a fully charged Heavy Attack causes the enemy to explode, dealing X Magic Damage to the target and all enemies within 5 meters, and increasing the damage by 10% for each Grave Lord ability slotted. This effect can occur once every X seconds and scales off the higher of your Weapon or Spell Damage. Enemies damaged by the explosion gain Minor Breach for X seconds, reducing their Physical and Spell Resistance by 2974.
Nobility in Decay - Casting a Bone Tyrant ability while in combat grants you Death's Favor for 16 seconds. Death's Favor increases your healing received and reduces damage taken by up to 12% based on your missing Health. This can occur once every 20 seconds, and is reduced by 2 seconds for each slotted Bone Tyrant ability. The first time you are damaged while below 50% Health, you gain Beautiful Corpse effect for 30 seconds. Taking lethal damage will instead consume Beautiful Corpse negating the damage. This can occur once every X seconds.

Cheveyo · November 2

No matter what other changes the Devs decide on, getting rid of the corpse mechanic should be at the top of the list.

Instead of derailing your thread with my idea, I'm just gonna make a new post. But I fully agree with getting rid of corpses and your reasoning. Way too clunky and annoying.

Navaac223 · November 2

If it were up to me, tethers wouldn't have been a necro skill in the first place but maybe making at least some of their effects remain after the tether breaks would make it possible to use them in pvp outside of dueling in a flat arena

Silvains_Demon · November 3

It is an interesting idea! Though, I would probably switch out all the heavy attacking for the skill-button press. Both Skeletal Mage morphs becoming either a charged up AoE Shock AoE pulse that saturates the ground as a 20 second effect (magicka-variant, keeping the newer AoE attack it does automatically from current morph though), or fire a poisoned arrow at a targeted opponent. I do like the heavy attack mechanic you thought up though!

Taril · November 3

Silvains_Demon wrote: »

It is an interesting idea! Though, I would probably switch out all the heavy attacking for the skill-button press.

Well, I mainly landed on the heavy attacking as a way to bypass the stigma of the other class pets.

Which is that because they're functionally 2 skills (The passive pet "DoT" and the active use ability) they take up a slot on both bars to account for being 2 skills (With slight benefits for Oakensoul "One Bar" builds).

So the idea was that piggybacking on an existing attack, much like a proc set, would allow for the skills to provide a little bit extra over simply being a passive DoT skill, without necessarily being fully fledged additional skills (Thus necessitating them hogging bar slots)

Since, it would certainly suck if you had to choose between feeling like a Necromancer with an army of undead minions and having more than 2 skill slots per bar for your actual skills...

With the "Fully Charged Heavy Attack" being the most balanced attack to piggyback on due to being universally available (I had thought about something like Flame Skull's bonus damage cast but that basically ties it to specifically DPS builds given Tank/Healers not wanting to slot that, let alone spam it) while having a suitable opportunity cost to counteract the potential for having up to 3 "Skill" activations at once.