NCSoft's Guild Wars 2 has revealed another addition to the professions for their up and coming subscription-less MMO. The Necromancer class saw play in the original Guild Wars as a main profession seen throughout and playable in all of the expansions, so it is not all too surprising to see it in the sequel as well.

However, as it can be seen in all of the revealed classes, there has been some major upgrading done to the Necromancer in both its looks and skill set. Of course the Necromancer appears to be the same minion master class, where you summon masses of ungodly corpses to do your bidding and swarm the enemy mercilessly, but now deadlier than ever.

Especially with an ability like 'Locust Swarm', check it out:

The skill sets for the Necromancer class appear to have been bolstered in every direction, even the minion masters will have new tools to work with. When you summon a corpse creature to do your bidding, immediately that summoning skill will open up a secondary skill. An example given was that when a blood fiend is summoned, it's secondary skill pops up so you can sacrifice that creature and gain a large amount of health in return. So why not let it rip apart a few enemies while you do the same and then heal up right before it dies? Win win situation right there.

Here is a prime example of the minions at their best:

Necromancers aren't limited to minions though, they're also equipped with marks which you place on your foes to inflict various different status ailments upon them. These include things such as the exclusive necromancer mechanic 'Fear' which causes the enemy to run away in terror from the caster. And last, but far from least, they also have wells which allow them to control the area around them to benefit them and their allies. An example given was that when they use the 'Well of Blood', it heals all allies in the general area of where it is cast, though they may only have one of these wells active at a time.

One last thing that makes the Necromancer exponentially better than their predecessors is the new ability they've gotten called 'Death Shroud'. You know how annoying it is when you get an opponent down to 1/20000 HP and then they kill you, then you cry for a couple hours before attempting the boss fight again. Well, don't worry Ranters, again. The necromancer's death shroud ability allows them to, rather than transition into a downed state, become a spectral form with a specialized set of skills. This allows them to continue to battle for a bit longer, and if they make a kill they return to their bodies alive. This mechanic alone will cause the necromancer to become one of the most battle-savvy, durable professions in the game.

If you thought the couple of skills in this article were exciting, make sure to check the rest out at the official Guild Wars 2 website!

What do you think of the Necromancer's new, bolstered appearance for Guild Wars 2? Let us know!

Guild Wars 2 is due for release in 2011 on PC.

Source: Guild Wars 2