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Scourge - Blood Support

The community gave this build a rating, making it second-tier: Good

Focused on: BunkeringSupport and Boon removal

Designed for: PvP Conquest

Difficulty:
TBD
This build was last updated on April 14, 2022 and is up to date for the October 8, 2024 patch.


Overview

A tanky PvP Scourge build made to support the team while keeping enemies pressured via constant boon removal. Usually seen in comps along with another dedicated support.


Skill Bar

Scourge-skillbar-bg.png
Staff
Axe/Focus
Utility


Slot Changes

Utility

Viable choices for the optional slot include:

  • Well of Darkness - the pulsing Blind Blind and Chill Chill takes pressure off your team. Currently the most popular choice.
  • Well of Corruption - excellent AoE pressure.
  • Summon Flesh Wurm - mobility, escape tool, and minor source of Life Force gain.
  • Trail of Anguish - one of the few sources of Stability Stability Necromancers have access to, this is a strong stun breaker that could also help you get an important cast off right after.


Template Code

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Specializations

Variants

  • Desert Empowerment with its Abrasive Grit synergy offers more group support if you don't mind giving up some extra AoE pressure on Desert Shroud by dropping Herald of Sorrow.


Equipment

Staff
Sigil
Sigil
Axe
Focus
Sigil
Sigil
Rune
Amulet


Usage

Elite specialization basics

  • Death Shroud is replaced by shade skills, but shroud related traits still work. Life force (LF) is no longer drained passively or upon taking damage, but instead serves as a resource used by F2-5 skills (F1, which places the shade, is free).
  • Manifest Sand Shade adds a bit of range to the build and acts as somewhat spammable source of damage especially with Sadistic Searing.
  • F2-5 skills go off around both the caster and the active shades.


General

  • Playstyle: your role is to aid your team in larger fights by constantly corrupting boons on enemies, sharing barrier with allies, and reviving the downed. Avoid 1v1s whenever possible.
  • The build has a lot of barrier applications. Keep in mind that you can't have an active barrier higher than 50% of your maximum health, although reaching the cap should be more than rare.
  • Do not spam your staff marks on the ground while out of combat, as a single dodge can undo them all. Placing Mark of Blood on chokes to detect enemies crossing in stealth is fine however, as it's a rather short CD and weak one.
  • The build only has 1 mass cleanse by default: Putrid Mark. Hold onto it as long as you can.
  • Ghastly Breach is a rather powerful skill, but also easily avoidable. Don't just drop it randomly at the start of the fight, wait for the right moment - look for a situation where you can make your opponent overcommit. Place it on enemies trying to revive their downed teammate, or under yourself on low HP to scare them off.
  • Feed from Corruption turns every form of boon removal into a potential source of self sustain.
  • Corrosive Poison Cloud is excellent at shutting down both ranged and direct damage based specs in general, including elite skills such as Lich Form. Meanwhile the Poison Poison helps at wearing out enemy bunkers and denying rez attempts by reducing healing received.
  • Sigil of Intelligence adds a bit of burst damage to the build. It's best used with Spinal Shivers and the detonation of Harbinger Shroud.
  • If taken Consider using Trail of Anguish before your heal for the Stability Stability while under heavy pressure.


Support

  • Blood Magic traits and Scourge mechanics make this build exceptionally good at reviving allies:
    • Garish Pillar triggers Transfusion, which restores both normal and downed health for all allies around you. This will also teleport downed people to the very first time they come in range of the skill. Channeling isn't interrupted when you begin to rez manually (pressing F by default), nor when you go into downed state, which means even if it won't fully revive you, it can still make it easier for allies to do so.
    • Ritual of Life procs a Well that heals and revives.
    • Last Rites cancels the regular downstate HP degeneration.
  • Try to share the barrier from Sand Flare, Sand Cascade, and the final detonation of Harbinger Shroud plus the condition conversion of Nefarious Favor with as many allies as possible. They'll have to be in range of either you, or your shade for the latter three.
  • Abrasive Grit causes your barriers to cleanse 1 condition from allies.


Life force management

  • As your shade skills cost LF, being efficient at managing this resource will be crucial for both your damage and sustain.
  • All staff skills generate life force:
    • Necrotic Grasp is a rather weak skill and there's no way you'll be able to use it much under any pressure. It does however generate 5% LF per target hit, and you should use it for the occasional ranged poking. Alternatively, right after you won a fight (and no enemies are nearby who could rez their downed allies) you can use the downed bodies as batteries and just spam staff autos at them for a substantial amount of free life force.
    • Marks are unblockable and generate 3% LF each. Mark of Blood and Chilblains can be used freely for just pressure and LF building, while Putrid Mark and Reaper's Mark are more powerful and should be kept for the proper occasion (Putrid for mass cleansing and Reaper's for interrupting).
  • Eternal Life helps with recovery after you hit rockbottom.


Ratings

This build has a rating of 4 stars based on 7 votes.
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3 stars
Ethan gave this build 3 stars • October 2024
Removing the teleport from transfusion and nerfing relic of rivers has made this build weaker, would recommend taking ritual of life over quickening thirst, and taking the signet of undeath for life force generation and a ranged rez option. You can cover the damage of the signet with barrier in order to keep yourself healthy. At the end of the day, the best part of the build is its rez potential and boon corruption, with the corrupts staying the same you might aswell trait further into increasing the rez power, at the cost of alittle bit of life force generation. Plus if you do decide to drop quickening thirst , you might even consider swapping dagger for sword to gain much needed mobility, and alittle more chill access.
5 stars
Hanz gave this build 5 stars • September 2023
Scourge is once again viable after the reworks. The build brings a ton of barrier sharing, condition cleansing and AoE Alacrity to the team. Fairly easy and forgiving build to play but also very immobile and can be destroyed quickly if multiple power roamer specs gang up on it, so despite all the barrier there are scenarios where it can be vulnerable. Positioning remains important. Some people prefer this to the condi version especially for tournament play while I'm seeing a lot more condi Scourges in ranked. Both are good.
4 stars
Arthelad gave this build 4 stars • January 2022
Very good support, very low dps
4 stars
Asdfghjklq gave this build 4 stars • August 2021
Seems like people don't know how to give build ratings without being extremists. Unless they completely gut necros, all current builds will be viable. Barrier nerfs didn't hit nearly hard enough, and only after it gets the firebrand treatment will this build ever be 1 star. It has enough utility to mitigate bursts through blinds and weakness. Only downside will be ranged burst
5 stars
Maldy gave this build 5 stars • August 2021
Haters gonna hate but patches like these are never gonna kill scourge. Some barrier nerf is n o t h i n g. Enjoy scourge games until EoD.
5 stars
Wannabe gave this build 5 stars • April 2021
tried - and worked very well. A powerful pressuremaker - great to give high support by drownig the rest;
5 stars
Baescons gave this build 5 stars • March 2021
Been playing this for necro. While all necro builds are basically good this one doesnt depend on annoying mobility skills and lich memes and has an insanely high power level still. Can tank alot of damage and pull out very nice pressure- great build overall.

Comments

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