Necromancer Fan Concept

[Ielenia]

This is my idea for a Necromancer class. It's not a complete concept, as in, I did not create a full set of abilities and talents, but I believe I created enough to give a decent feel of how the class and its specs would play out if the class existed in the game.

Please excuse the lack of art, and the lack of originality in the name of the spells. I preferred to not spend too much time creating unique names and more into describing how the abilities work. Anyways, on with it:

Blood: Healer spec.

• Spec mechanics:
  
  • Blood Golem: The Blood golem heals allies in a small area around itself by a small % of the damage it deals and takes. Healing from damage taken returns a greater % than the healing from damage caused.
  • Blood Globule: Healing spells have a chance to burst, and create a blood globule on the floor near the target. Blood globules burst on its own after a short period, healing the closest ally within an area for a small amount, or the Blood golem can be commanded to pull all the blood globules to itself to heal itself and gain a temporary % bonus to its leech healing for each globule absorbed.
  • Main spec cooldown: causes the Blood golem to melt into a big puddle of blood. Standing on the puddle of blood reduces damage taken. Leaving the puddle or when it disappears when the golem reforms grants a heal-over-time effect to all that were standing on it.
  • Mastery: increases healing done by a % depending on how much health the healer has. The less health, the greater the bonus, down to 50% health maximum. Healing includes what the Blood golem provides.

• Example Abilities:
  • Blood Mending: slow, efficient heal spell.
  • Blood Reconstruction: quick, expensive heal spell.
  • Blood Sacrifice: sacrifice 50% of the caster's current health to create a blood shield around the target for 10 seconds, absorbing damage for the same amount, and healing the target over time for the same amount.
  • Blood Transfusion: connect two targets with a blood line, equalizing their health % for 10 seconds. Healing either target will split the heal between both.
  • Thicken Blood: reduce the target's damage taken by 30% but also reducing blood healing effectiveness by 50%. Lasts 5 seconds.
  • Blood Surge: increase the target's haste and healing received for a short time.
  • Blood Pact: greatly increase the caster's healing for a short time, by sacrificing 10% of the caster's max health per healing spell cast. For the duration of the spell, the caster gains a healing absorption shield.
  • Crimson Embrace: sink into a pool of blood, becoming untargetable and immune to damage for 6 seconds, but unable to act. Also heal 5% health per second.

• Example talents:
  • Blood Enrichment: targets affected by Blood Transfusion take 10% less damage.
  • Sanguine Gift: Blood Mending and Blood Reconstruction leave a healing-over-time effect that heals for 10% of the healed amount over 10 seconds.
  • Blood Rush: Blood Pact also increases haste for the duration.
  • Blood Mirror: Create a blood clone of the caster, which will mimic all single-target healing spells, casting them on the lowest party or raid member other than the caster's current target. Lasts 8 seconds.
  • Red Mist: if a blood globule bursts, it leaves behind a cloud of Red Mist, applying a buff to the first player that comes into contact with the mist. Those affected by Red Mist will receive 5% extra healing from the caster for a short period.

Bone: DPS spec.

• Physical damage caster.
• Main mechanics:
  • Temporary pets: Skeletons and Bone Golem
  • Skeletal Summoning: bone spells have a chance of summoning a Skeleton of one of two types (melee, ranged) depending on the ability used.
    • Melee skeletons attack with their fists, also possess high threat generation.
    • Ranged skeletons attack by throwing bone spears.
  • Spec debuff: Bone Splinters. Increase physical damage taken by 5%.
  • Main spec cooldown: sacrifices all Skeletons to use their bones bones to construct a Bone Golem. Health and damage of the golem depend on the number of skeletons sacrificed. The Golem continually loses health over time, and cannot be healed through normal means.
  • Mastery: increased % chance of summoning skeletons, increased golem binding duration.

• Example abilities:
  • Bone Lance: summon and launch a spear made of bone toward the target, dealing physical damage and adding a bleed DoT. Chance of summoning a ranged skeleton.
  • Bone Spikes: target area will cause dozens of bone spikes to shoot off the ground, dealing physical damage. Chance of summoning a ranged skeleton.
  • Bone Scythe: summon a bone scythe that strikes targets in an arc in front of the caster, dealing physical damage, and knocking targets away. Chance of summoning one melee skeleton per target hit.
  • Entomb: bone spikes from the ground, trapping the victim for 1 minute, unable to act.
  • Vision of the Reaper: cause all targets in an 8-yard radius around the necromancer to flee in fear. 1.5 minute cooldown.
  • Skeletal Armor: reduces all damage taken by 40% for 4 seconds. 2-minute cooldown.
  • Animate Dead: revive a dead non-mechanical, non-elemental foe for a short time to fight for you.
  • Mend Golem: sacrifice a skeletal minion to restore a small portion of the Bone Golem's decaying health.
  • Skeletal Grasp: cause skeleton hands to spawn at the target area for 10 seconds. Foes entering the area are slowed by 50%, with a small chance of being rooted for one second while they stay within the area.

• Example talents:
  • Sharpened Lance: Bone Lance now pierces all foes between you and your target, dealing 25% physical damage, and applies a bleed DoT to all pierced enemies.
  • Serrated Spikes: Bone Spikes now also apply Serrated Spike, dealing physical damage over time and slowing down the opponent by 25% for 3 seconds.
  • One Last Service: Foes revived by Animate Dead will explode in a shower of blood and bone when they die, or the spell duration ends, dealing physical damage to all foes around it in a 5-yard radius.
  • Enduring Servitude: Animate Dead lasts longer, and increases the revived foe's damage by 15%
  • Skeleton Horde: increased chance of Bone spells summoning skeletons, max number of skeletons active increased by 2.

Poison: DPS spec.

• Nature damage caster.
• Main mechanics:
  • Poison Golem: Poison DoT ticks from the necromancer fill up the Poison golem's energy bar. When filled, it causes the Poison golem's pustules to burst, dealing some small AE damage around itself.
    • Every poison damage-over-time effects applied by different abilities are separate from each other. Poison DoTs from the same ability simply refresh the duration.
  • Spec Debuff: Acidic Poison. Increases magic damage taken by 5%.
  • Main spec cooldown: causes the Poison golem to burst completely, causing high nature damage to all targets around a small radius around itself, and granting a debuff that increases damage taken from the necromancer's poison DoTs. After bursting, the Poison golem dies, reforming after a set time. It revives automatically when combat ends.
  • Mastery: increases the damage buff for poison damage-over-time effects when the Poison golem bursts by a %. Accelerates Poison golem's reforming by a %.

• Example abilities:
  • Poison Bolt: launch a ball of poisonous magic, dealing moderate nature damage. Heals the Poison Golem if the golem is targeted.
  • Poison Needle: launch quick, weak magical arrow toward a foe, dealing no damage but applying a poison damage-over-time effect to the target. Heals the Poison Golem over time if cast on the golem.
  • Toxic Nova: create a ring of poison mist around the caster that emanates outward, applying a nature damage-over-time effect and slowing all enemy targets within 8 yards of the caster by 25%
  • Acid Rain: create a cloud of poison to rain onto the targetted area, dealing nature damage over time to all foes that remain in the area. Heals the golem over time if it stands within the area of effect.
  • Venom Spray: 20-yard frontal cone, applying a heavy nature damage-over-time effect to all targets.
  • Choking Gas: incapacitates the target for 1-minute. Does not work against mechanical, elemental, undead. Any damage will break the effect.
  • Anesthesia: ignore 40% of all damage taken for 10 seconds. After the effect is over, suffer all damage prevented by Anesthesia over 5 seconds. 2-minute cooldown.
  • Antidote: remove all poison effects from the caster, empowering your poison damage by 5% per poison effect removed for 6 seconds.

• Example Talents:
  • Weakening Nova: targets affected by Poison Nova are weakened, and deal 20% less damage to the necromancer for 5 seconds.
  • Unstable Golem: increases the amount of energy the Poison Golem gains from each poison damage-over-time tick. Reduces golem reformation period.
  • Poisonous Fumes: Acid Rain leaves a poison cloud once it expires that lasts for three seconds. All foes inside the cloud have a 10% chance of having their abilities interrupted, and suffering small nature damage over two seconds.
  • Everlasting Toxicity: Active ability. Removes the duration of all your poison DoTs for 15 seconds. During that time, reapplying a DoT, instead of refreshing its duration, will add its damage to the existing DoT. Once the spell is over, all poison DoTs will immediately fall off.
  • Bursting Contagion: Your Poison Golem attacks have a chance of causing your damage-over-time poison effects to 'burst' and be applied to nearby enemies.

What are your thoughts? I welcome all questions, critique and ideas on how to improve it.

[Darkarath]

Seems cool to me. The healing spec seems very original. I understand that you take a lot of inspiration from D3 Necromancer, and that's cool, because it will be awesome to have something like that in WoW.

Good job ¡

[Ielenia]

Seems cool to me. The healing spec seems very original. I understand that you take a lot of inspiration from D3 Necromancer, and that's cool, because it will be awesome to have something like that in WoW.

Good job ¡

Yes, the D3 Necromancer was a big inspiration for me. The blood healing idea came with BfA with all the blood trolls and G'huun. I kind of struggled with the idea of using a Blood dps spec instead of poison, but in the end I opted to make each spec with a different theme.

[Darkarath]

Yes, the D3 Necromancer was a big inspiration for me. The blood healing idea came with BfA with all the blood trolls and G'huun. I kind of struggled with the idea of using a Blood dps spec instead of poison, but in the end I opted to make each spec with a different theme.

Would be so cool to see a Bone and a Poison spec with D3 Necromancer vibes. They could also do amazing sets (if they return). Sadly I do not see them introducing Necromancer as a class, only as a Class Skin as other people had suggested before.

[Gungnir]

While I love the idea of a necromancer, I think it'd be hard to fit it in between a demon summoner in Warlock and a plate wearing undead summoner in DK's.

[cocomen2]

Only thing that i would add/change its blood spec to be ranamed into "Life" , drain Life forces of enemy to heal allies.
As was shown with Calia Menethil, all cosmic forces capable to do same things but by different method (animate dead bodies to life by Light,Arcane,Shadow) same goes with healing for Necromancers.

[Ielenia]

Only thing that i would add/change its blood spec to be ranamed into "Life" , drain Life forces of enemy to heal allies.
As was shown with Calia Menethil, all cosmic forces capable to do same things but by different method (animate dead bodies to life by Light,Arcane,Shadow) same goes with healing for Necromancers.

Changing the spec name to "Life" would give it a 'lighter' feeling, while "Blood" gives it a more darker tone, fitting for a necromancer.

As for draining life forces from foes, it's one possible idea to add spells that drain the blood of foes to either empower your healing, or directly heal allies. I'll think about it.

[Teriz]

I'd be all for this if it didn't potentially butcher the existing DK and Warlock class.

Hopefully Blizzard will avoid bringing this class into the game and preserve class diversity.

[Ielenia]

I'd be all for this if it didn't potentially butcher the existing DK and Warlock class.

... It doesn't "butcher" or "potentially butcher" anything, dude.

The "bone" and "blood" specs take nothing from the death knight's current abilities. No abilities of the death knights would have to be changed or removed to make my class idea into the game.

The "poison" spec is a theme that doesn't even exist in the death knight class.

But okay. For the sake of argument: what abilities of the death knight and warlock classes would have to be "changed" or "removed"?

[Calfredd]

... It doesn't "butcher" or "potentially butcher" anything, dude.

The "bone" and "blood" specs take nothing from the death knight's current abilities. No abilities of the death knights would have to be changed or removed to make my class idea into the game.

The "poison" spec is a theme that doesn't even exist in the death knight class.

But okay. For the sake of argument: what abilities of the death knight and warlock classes would have to be "changed" or "removed"?

Interesting thread but don't try to ruin it by going off-topic with Teriz.

[Teriz]

... It doesn't "butcher" or "potentially butcher" anything, dude.

The "bone" and "blood" specs take nothing from the death knight's current abilities. No abilities of the death knights would have to be changed or removed to make my class idea into the game.

Because you used Diablo as the template for the class. Blizzard wouldn't do that, they would use WC Necromancers as a template.

The "poison" spec is a theme that doesn't even exist in the death knight class.

Because Necromancers in Warcraft rarely if ever use poison.

[Ielenia]

Interesting thread but don't try to ruin it by going off-topic with Teriz.

I did say I welcome all criticism and ideas. :P

- - - Updated - - -

Because you used Diablo as the template for the class. Blizzard wouldn't do that, they would use WC Necromancers as a template.

Why not? Why not use the D3 necro as an inspiration to expand on the WoW necromancer?

Because Necromancers in Warcraft rarely if ever use poison.

Did not stop the death knights who "rarely if ever" used blood and frost, so why would it stop the necromancer?

Anyways, I'll repeat the question I added earlier, and insert an addendum: For the sake of argument, what abilities of the death knight and warlock classes would have to be "changed" or "removed", and why would they?

[Teriz]

Why not? Why not use the D3 necro as an inspiration to expand on the WoW necromancer?

The only reason the Necromancer "needs" to be expanded is because the DK eats up its design space.

Did not stop the death knights who "rarely if ever" used blood and frost, so why would it stop the necromancer?

The DK got Blood and Frost from the scourge faction in Warcraft, of which the DK was part of.

Anyways, I'll repeat the question I added earlier, and insert an addendum: For the sake of argument, what abilities of the death knight and warlock classes would have to be "changed" or "removed", and why would they?

Unholy and Demo would have to be changed. Multiple abilities from the Blood spec and Affliction Warlock. If we're attaching Kel'thuzad as the lore character, Frost spec will need to be revamped too to make room for a Lich spec.

[Ielenia]

The only reason the Necromancer "needs" to be expanded is because the DK eats up its design space.

Teriz, don't be dishonest. Every single class in this game, from the vanilla classes to all the expansion classes, were expanded from their initial WC3 version. Shamans in WC3 did not have chain lighting or earthquake, nor did they have totems. The priest did not have shadow magic. Druids could not turn into cats. Etc, etc, and etc...

The DK got Blood and Frost from the scourge faction in Warcraft, of which the DK was part of.

The Death Knight is a death knight. It is not "the embodiment of everything the Scourge was, down to even the demons that created it". The death knight is not a demon, and it's not a lich. Spin this however you want, but the death knight pre-Wrath rarely if ever used frost abilities or blood abilities.

Unholy and Demo would have to be changed. Multiple abilities from the Blood spec and Affliction Warlock. If we're attaching Kel'thuzad as the lore character, Frost spec will need to be revamped too to make room for a Lich spec.

Okay, let's try this again: For the sake of argument, what abilities of the death knight and warlock classes would have to be "changed" or "removed", and why would they?

To clarify: which specific abilities in the DK and Warlock repertoire cannot coexist with which ones that I listed in the OP? Why would they have to be changed or removed?

[BB8]

Very nice Ielenia.

Would it be possible to make the first cloth tank spec?
Maybe the bone spec?

[Ielenia]

Very nice Ielenia.

Would it be possible to make the first cloth tank spec?
Maybe the bone spec?

Thank you!

As for your idea, I suppose I could rework the bone spec to make it "tanky", but the necromancer in my head is pure "behind-the-lines" spellcaster, and the idea of a cloth tank isn't really that appetizing to me. I like the idea of it being a "physical spellcaster" more.

Not to mention that giving it a tank spec would only further incense a certain someone about death knight overlap.

Hmm... on second thought, that thought kind of makes it worth it. I'll think about the idea of adding it as an "alternative spec" idea. Who knows.

[cocomen2]

cloth tank spec, with tanking pet would be interesting)

The Birth of Scholomance School of Necromancy

[Teriz]

Teriz, don't be dishonest. Every single class in this game, from the vanilla classes to all the expansion classes, were expanded from their initial WC3 version. Shamans in WC3 did not have chain lighting or earthquake, nor did they have totems. The priest did not have shadow magic. Druids could not turn into cats. Etc, etc, and etc...

Yes, expanded from Warcraft sources to fill out three spec classes. They weren't expanded from Diablo because Blizzard is trying to avoid overlap with an existing class.

The Death Knight is a death knight. It is not "the embodiment of everything the Scourge was,".

Uh, that's exactly what it is.

[RangerDaz]

It is a cool concept you made, mate. It really is.

But the truth is... Necromancer becomes a redundant class as death knights and warlocks already exist ingame.

Arthas is the most famous guy that raised the dead in warcraft history. And because of this Blizzard really invested on death knights having the "necromancer" role of raising undead and using plagues and necromantic abilities. Also warlocks have the evil robe guy with a staff role. For me, the two clearly steal the spotlight that the necromancers require to be unique and diversify the current classes.

That is how i see necromancers in wow...

[Ielenia]

Yes, expanded from Warcraft sources to fill out three spec classes. They weren't expanded from Diablo because Blizzard is trying to avoid overlap with an existing class.

The reasoning doesn't matter. What matters is that the class idea should be expanded to make it interesting. And you haven't given a single reason why the D3 necromancer shouldn't be used as inspiration. Why is Blizzard allowed to look for inspirations from other games but their own other games?

Uh, that's exactly what it is.

So it is the embodiment of the Burning Legion too? Since one of the heroes of the Scourge faction in WC3 is a demon. Blizzard better axe the warlock and demon hunter classes, then.

And I'll repeat the question I posted earlier that you seem to be avoiding:

Okay, let's try this again: For the sake of argument, what abilities of the death knight and warlock classes would have to be "changed" or "removed", and why would they?

To clarify: which specific abilities in the DK and Warlock repertoire cannot coexist with which ones that I listed in the OP? Why would they have to be changed or removed?