BartenderMan

MinionmancerMinionmancerMinionmancerMinionmancerMinionmancerMinionmancerMinionmancerMinionmancerMinionmancerMinionmancerMinionmancerMinionmancerMinionmancerMinionmancerMinionmancerMinionmancerMinionmancer. Just because .

EliteZeon, on 07 May 2013 - 09:31 PM, said:

Keep in mind that Sigil of Water is a % chance on crit, not on hit, so going with a full Cleric's build won't allow you to proc it much at all.

Edit: Minionmancer.

EliteZeon, on 07 May 2013 - 12:38 AM, said:

Well, technically, we can heal them through regeneration from Mark of Blood. While it's no burst heal, it is still something that can keep them alive for a bit longer if they don't get burst down quickly. You can also try going for a Cleric or Apothecary build to maximize on minion uptime while also being tanky enough to absorb damage for them.

Quick sample build I just put together: http://gw2skills.net...BTpSEV7SKiWNA-e

The way I see it, the only things that can be done to discourage zerging (as much) are:

1) Remove the AoE cap. This has already been discussed a lot in this thread.

2) Add a debuff onto large groups of players who are within a certain range from each other. Have a system where if a group is larger than 25 people (number required for swords to appear seems like a good cap), they get a percentage-based debuff to their stats for each extra person. A zerg that is 40% larger than another should have each individual be 40% weaker to make up for the immense numbers (example comparing a 60-man zerg to a 25-man zerg).

This should allow a coordinated ~20-man group to take out a ~60-man uncoordinated group while also allowing them to come out even in the case that they are both evenly coordinated.

Just my 2¢.

Minionmancer was the sole reason I made a Necro and i was really disappointed when I saw how quickly they were killed, but I always thought the fix to that was pretty simple and am surprised that the devs haven't done much in that front. They just need to receive the same minion treatment that the Witch Doctor in Diablo III and Yorick in League of Legends received: take 30~50% reduced damage from AoE attacks. I never saw out of combat healing as much of an issue as the utility minions have a short enough cooldown that it doesn't really matter if I have to watch them die at the beginning of a fight seeing as they'll be back shortly afterwards. The only problem is that they die too quickly.

The only reasons I can see to why Anet hasn't already implemented such a change are:
1) They tested it internally and it didn't make/made too much of a difference.
2) They're waiting for after the nerfs to AoE abilities before they make any changes they will need to revert in the future.

While Anet have been a bit slow with delivering their promises, I have faith in that they will eventually fix everything that needs to be fixed in time. I haven't been disappointed by any class balance patch yet (a little sad with some nerfs, but never disappointed) and I'm confident that they will deliver.

djk, on 05 May 2013 - 06:26 AM, said:

Just because trick shot's damage isn't great in situations with 3+ mobs, it doesn't mean I don't use it. I still find it the best option in such situations and signet of fire tends to cover the loss in damage by adding even more AoE splash damage.

And I should have been more clear about what I meant about saving initiative. I meant that I'd rather not use CB at all in order to keep my initiative high for whenever it is needed.