Deathly Swarm

Usage Notes

 * Despite the description, Deathly Swarm is not a projectile spell and does not require line of sight to hit a target. Similar to Chain Lightning, Deathly Swarm hits the target first and then moves on to hit up to 2 more targets.
 * The short recharge time and multiple-enemy hitting capacity make this a great skill for the Necromancer who wishes to do direct damage, but the long cast time can be a setback. Items which decrease activation time are extremely useful here, and the Mesmer Necromancer who invests in both Death Magic and Fast Casting will find himself or herself in the possession of a very handy offensive skill.
 * Unlike many Necromancer spells, this does not do armor-ignoring Shadow damage, but rather Cold damage. This can be useful against enemies with low armor rating or with a weakness to Cold damage. They will actually take more damage than the fixed numbers of Shadow damage. On the flip side, enemies with high armor will received reduced damage from this spell.
 * Because Deathly Swarm hits multiple targets but only hits them individually, the enemies will not flee as they will with AoE spells.
 * Compared with Deathly Chill as a means of dealing quick damage, in the absence of effects which alter cast time or recharge time, Deathly Swarm tends to outperform Deathly Chill. Both can be cast once every six seconds (Swarm has a 3s cast time and a 3s recharge time, whereas Chill has a 1s cast time and a 5s recharge time) and cost the same amount. At 12 Death Magic, Deathly Swarm will do 67 damage to an opponent, while Deathly Chill will do 69 damage to an opponent with over 50% HP. Because Swarm does damage to multiple targets and Chill does less damage once the target's health becomes lower, Swarm will do more damage to targets.
 * The target will be hit straight away, but the 2 others will be hit 1-2 seconds afterwards.

Acquisition
Skill Quests: Skill Trainers:
 * Necromancer Test (Lakeside County - Pre-Searing)
 * The Necromancer's Novice (The Catacombs - Pre-Searing)
 * The Stolen Artifact (Sardelac Sanitarium)
 * Sir Bertran (Ascalon City)
 * Dakk (Ember Light Camp)

Related Skills

 * Vampiric Swarm