How could Necromancer work without destroying existing specs?

[plz delete account]

Hey, it's Lilithvia here.

I've been trying to brainstorm ways Necromancer could work, without destroying Warlock or DK as it is.

I'll post the best ideas here and try to form suggestions into a three spec class, with credits going where credit is due.

One: Necromancer only needs one mass-summon spec. Let UDKs summon powerful banshees or val'kyr or gargoyles. The necromancer's place is with the ghouls and the zombies and the Abominations and the skeletons.

Two: Necromancer could fill a unique Support role that we don't see in modern WoW, while fulfilling the DPS or Healer roles.

Three: Necromancers could be capable of healing by removing broken bones, sewing up wounds, and the like. Necromancer's healing role would be extremely melee based.

Thoughts as of end of page 1:

AotD and Apocalypse could easily have model swaps without a actual change, or even be left alone.

I'm thinking the DPS-summoning spec would have 4-5 minions out at all times, with a couple AotD-esque ultimates in case shit went south of extra DPS was needed; but most abilities would be acted out through the pets. -Inspired by Zafire

the DPS-Support would only have one minion out, and be primarily focused on buffs/debuffs/DOTs. Maybe this would be a good spot for a Val'kyr minion?

Short-ranged healer necro would be running around generating runic power and shoving bones into people and stitching them up. This spec would have to be highly mobile, as a ten yard range would be on most healing abilities, and might be throwing potions and poisons. -Inspired by LarryFromHR

Inspired from page three (40ppp)

Resources - give it corpse as a resource. Allow it to work off enemy (or ally) corpses. Give an exhume passive or proc that generates corpses periodically. Allow an AoE "meat wagon barrage" spell that does damage and supplies several corpses [to the mass summon and healing specs] - Inspired by Aresk.

Healer spec would also use blood magics in addition to throwing potions/poisons and shoving bones into people. - Inspired by TriHard

In addition; I think Necromancers should be using a similar resource to DKs;

While obvious they won't be using runes since they'll be using corpses, Nothing stops them from using Runic Power.


SPEC#1: Summoning DPS

-Uses Corpses and Runic Power. Corpses are used up when summoning. Very micromanage-heavy spec, and all damage abilities are acted out through 4-5 permanent minions. Damage abilities use up runic power; player would need some way to create runic power; maybe from soaking damage through minions, or placing effigies?

SPEC#2 Support-ish Healer DPS hybrid

-Uses Runic Power and Mana

- Has a Val'kyr and a Banshee out, but only one or the other depending on stance; Val'kyr for buffing or brezzing, Banshee for debuffing or buff/debuff clearing. Val'kyr and Banshee would have their own ultimate abilities; example being Banshee being able to Possess a hostile mob, Val'kyr's being sacrificing itself to prevent a player from taking fatal damage, instead healing them to full. Losing a Val'kyr would limit you to using the Banshee for five minutes, and same vic versa. Both Val'kyr and Banshee stances would allow you to heal.

SPEC#3 Potion throwing, bone shoving healer
Uses Corpses and Runic Power. Lots of abilities that have charges. Limited range as a result, so would need to be mobile.

[ro9ue]

To me it's basically a cosmetic change for Warlock. Much like Codex of Xerrath (Green Fire)...

A cool story or challenge based quest that rewards you with.... Teachings of Kel'Thuzad (Warlock Only)

Turns all of your demons into undead minions:
- Voidwalker -> Skeletal warrior
- Imp -> Skeletal Mage
- Succubus -> Skeletal Archer
- Felhunter -> Skeletal Hound
- Plus ghosts and ghouls for the others. Mechanically the same, but thematically undead.
- etc

Renames your Soulstone to Phylactery for flavor.

Destruction - Turns your Fire spells into Deathfrost spells. Nether Portal and stuff of the like will instead be Shadowlands portals with spirits.
Demonology - Turns all your minions into undead minions, like listed above.
Affliction - Turns anything shadowy into soul magic as found in Drustvar.

Etc, etc

[Sorshen]

Necromancy has nothing to do with Fel tho.

[plz delete account]

yeah, but I'd like to come up with a class, not a spec skin.

[Tyrathius]

Isn't changing Unholy's minions so that Necromancer can have them kind of exactly destroying the existing spec though?

[Calfredd]

Isn't changing Unholy's minions so that Necromancer can have them kind of exactly destroying the existing spec though?

With Unholy's main abilities being more about disease with a few undead minion cds, I wouldn't min a full on necro class or even a 4th spec that's more necro than Unholy currently is.

[Triceron]

Depends on what you want to do with it.

What do you consider the tenants of the Necromancer identity? What do you consider to be flexible to expand upon?

If we look at the DK as an example, there's plenty about it that is a classic Death Knight - but also plenty that is completely new. Unholy DK with 2H is your classic DK. Blood tanking and Frost DW are new and unseen. So we need to take this into account for what a Necromancer could be.


Some examples:

Classic Summoner spec - Summon Skeletons, spiders and other undead creatures. This is going to be a very derivative spec off of Demonology, because that's typically what a Necromancer's gameplay would be. Anything and everything classic WoW Necromancer identity would be in this spec; spells like Unholy Frenzy and Cripple etc. This can be criticized for being derivative of any other class, it doesn't matter. Affliction is like Shadow, Holy Paladin is like Holy Priest, etc etc. One spec can be designed similar to another.

Animancer/Golem spec - This is a play on TBC Demonology spec. It centers on one big summon, the Golem, and using it as your primary means of DPS. All other spells support your golem and enhancing them.

Poison/Alchemy spec - This one is based on spreading plagues through puddles of plague on the floor or summoning spiders/slimes that bite and explode.

Spirit/Unholy Healing spec - Based on transferring life essence. Life drains, bone mending, spirit healing etc. Banshee's in the Warfront already have a healing ability, this is built off that concept.

Shadowfrost Caster - The idea of becoming a full blown Lich. Heavily themed on Kel'thuzad, become a Lich and cast strong spells. This is a twist on the Warlock Metamorphosis gameplay that wasn't fully realized by the Demon Hunters.

AutoChess Summoner - This is my personal idea for creative gameplay; Autochess your undead minions. You have a set amount of Minion Resource to use, you pick what types of minions you want on your bar (like picking your Druid forms) and you auto-spawn them to attack for you. Your gameplay revolves around managing those minions as resources; using their active abilities, sacrificing and resummoning. Your active spells are all based on what minions you choose, so this is sort of a 'pick and play' spec that plays on having strategy/synergy rather than mechanical skill over a rotation. Think of this as an 'Auto attack' build where your DPS comes from the right combination of minions for the right situation. Designed to be Easy to play, hard to master.

[Lazuli]

Unholy is hardly necro. Blizz doesn't even want UH to have that spec identity. Maybe for a reason? They might actually want a necro class in the future.

[Teriz]

There's no way to bring in a Necromancer class without dismantling the Death Knight class. Dont let anyone tell you differently.

[Lazuli]

There's no way to bring in a Necromancer class without dismantling the Death Knight class. Dont let anyone tell you differently.

Why because DK has army of the dead?

"there's no way DH could exist" was also spouted before DH took away metamorphosis.

[Frolk]

If we get Necromancer in the future, i fear DK will get the "Demo lock" treatment before DH came.

[Rune B]

I think it's just too close to Death Knight. Death Knight is essentially a Necromancer in plate with melee weapons after all. It's also somewhat close to certain Warlock abilities, especially affliction (curses) and some of the more generic abilities like soul drain etc.

I would rather see another physical ranged class in addition to hunter, like Dark Ranger, but without pets, and with melee abilities as well.

Otherwise a Necromancer might have specs or abilities like Golems, Spirit magic, Death magic, Bone magic but it's difficult to see how it could set itself apart from DKs, Locks or even mages.

So let's go wild... how about...

Necromancer tank build, where he uses a scythe and a shield. Or Necromancer healer build where he uses spirit magic.

[Zafire]

I kind of thought of a way. It would be a class that got 80% of its damage from the pet, and could control 2-4 at once. It would be an extreme version of Beast Mastery/Demonology/Unholy DK. It would have a lot of crowd control but not a lot of mobility.

The theme of Necromancer and DK would be like Priest and Paladin.

[Teriz]

Why because DK has army of the dead?

"there's no way DH could exist" was also spouted before DH took away metamorphosis.

Because the DK has the Necromancer's abilities.

And yeah, the DH couldn't exist until they dismantled a Warlock spec. Thanks for proving my point.

[Lazuli]

Because the DK has the Necromancer's abilities.

And yeah, the DH couldn't exist until they dismantled a Warlock spec. Thanks for proving my point.

They dismantled every class in Legion, warlock is still very much a warlock. Though I will say demo is legion was fucking hilariously badly designed.

[Teriz]

They dismantled every class in Legion, warlock is still very much a warlock.

Uh huh. I guess you missed the part where they nuked Demonology from orbit in WoD before Legion was even announced.

[Lazuli]

Uh huh. I guess you missed the part where they nuked Demonology from orbit in WoD before Legion was even announced.

uhh are we talking numbers then? because mechanically demo was fine in WoD, literally every spec in WoD was playable. They did start the prune but we still had tons of options. Talents actually changed gameplay like paladin seals or warriors glad stance.

Coming from MoP yes lock was nuked from orbit but that was more destro than anything..

I guess it depends on how much you're willing include in your definition of a necromancer

Many seem to throw alchemy and blood magic in there as well.

If your definition is strictly raising spooky bois to fight in the skeleton war then I'm not sure there's too much room, although many of the Drust witch spell effects could be used.

A necro in WoW is basically Diablo necro or at least that's how I'd imagine it. So alchemy/curses could play a big part. if they shared their magic with warlocks it could easily just be a different practice within the same school like not everything needs to be completely different. The current story has plenty of magics mixed with light/void etc. being very much more broad now.

[plz delete account]

I kind of thought of a way. It would be a class that got 80% of its damage from the pet, and could control 2-4 at once. It would be an extreme version of Beast Mastery/Demonology/Unholy DK. It would have a lot of crowd control but not a lot of mobility.

The theme of Necromancer and DK would be like Priest and Paladin.

I could see a class based around trying to micromanage minions more then actually doing damage yourself, as long as you could use abilities through your minions so it wasn't entirely RNG.

[Teriz]

uhh are we talking numbers then? because mechanically demo was fine in WoD, literally every spec in WoD was playable. They did start the prune but we still had tons of options. Talents actually changed gameplay like paladin seals or warriors glad stance.

No, I'm talking about 6.2 when Blizzard nerfed the spec into oblivion and literally told players not to play the spec before completely revamping it in Legion.

You want to see that again with DKs? Be my guest.

[qwerty123456]

Because the DK has the Necromancer's abilities.

And yeah, the DH couldn't exist until they dismantled a Warlock spec. Thanks for proving my point.

There's more to necromancy than just summoning undead. And considering all the necromancers in wow they could easily pull ideas and abilities from them if they wanted to stick to WoW only ideas on necromancy.

https://wow.gamepedia.com/Necromancer