Ritual Lord Guide

[Zinger314]

(WARNING: ArenaNet completely neutered the Ritual Lord build by reducing the effectiveness of Boon of Creation and increasing the cost of Shelter to 25e. This build is unplayable.)

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Ritual Lord Guide
–by Zinger314 (GWGuru)

Have you ever wanted a permanent Protective Spirit on your entire party? Maybe with a permanent Shielding Hands? Maybe with Distortion? And maybe you want to cast a 109+ Heal Party instantly?

Well, then the Ritual Lord is for you.

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Ritual Lord is an Elite aligned to Spawning Power, the primary attribute of the Ritualist (so don’t attempt to use Ritual Lord with any other class!)

Ritual Lord: For 30 seconds, your Rituals recharge 15-63% faster. 10e 30r

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At 16 Spawning Power, Ritual Lord will give all your spirits a 79% reduction on their recharge.

Henceforth, with Ritual Lord active, Rituals with a normal 60 second recharge (the core Rituals have a 60 second recharge) have a 12.6 second recharge, and Rituals with a normal 45 second recharge have a 9.45 second recharge time.

As you can see, Ritual Lord is needed for casting spirits often. Very often.

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There are 5 (including Ritual Lord) core skills in EVERY Ritual Lord build.

Boon of Creation (w/16 Spawning Power): For 63 seconds, whenever you create a creature, you gain 53 Health and 8 Energy. 10e 2c 45e

Boon of Creation is your Energy Management. You will NOT have enough Energy to keep casting 10 and 15 Energy spirits without it. Make sure it is ALWAYS active

Shelter (w/15 Communing): Create a level 8 spirit. Non-spirit allies within its range cannot lose more than 10% maximum Health from a single attack. When this spirit prevents damage, it loses 30 Health. This spirit lasts 60 seconds. 10e 5c 60r

Shelter is the infinite Protective Spirit. With it active, all your party members will see are 40s and 50s, not 80s and 100s.

Shelter at 15 Communing and 16 Spawning Power has 352 HP, which means it can proc 12 times before it dies from damage.

Union (w/15 Communing): Create a level 8 spirit. Whenever an ally in its range takes damage, that damage is reduced by 15 and the spirit takes 15 damage. The spirit dies after 60 seconds. 15e 3c 60r

Union is the permanent Shielding Hands. It lessens the damage, which relives a lot of the pressure off the Monks in the long run.

Union at 15 Communing and 16 Spawning Power has 352 HP, which means that it can proc 24 times before it dies from damage.

Displacement (w/15 Communing): Create a level 10 spirit. Attacks made by foes within its range are "evaded." Every time an attack is evaded this way, this spirit takes 60 damage. This spirit dies after 60 seconds. 15e 3c 60r

Displacement is basically the middle finger towards Warriors, Assassins, and Rangers. Those classes can’t do much when their attacks don’t hit!

Displacement at 15 Communing and 16 Spawning Power has 442 HP, which allows it to proc 8 times before it dies from damage. (Which is very, very quickly.)

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Other skills I will use in these builds are:

Feast of Souls (w/16 Spawning Power): Destroy all nearby allies' spirits. For each spirit destroyed in this way, all party members are healed for 103 Health. 10e .25c 10r

You might as well destroy your spirits for a quick, yet godly heal for your entire party!, right before you recast them. Or whenever your party is in trouble. It’s economically friendly! Usually, you’ll get Shelter, which is a quick 103 HP.

Signet of Creation (w/16 Spawning Power): All spirits and animated creatures in the area gain +7 Health regeneration. After 30 seconds, those spirits and creatures are destroyed. 2c 10r

Cast it after you finish your Spirit Combo. +7 regeneration equates to +14 HP per second, which gives Shelter and Union a LOT more procs before you recast them.

Mighty Was Vorizun (w/15 Communing): Hold Vorizun's ashes for up to 60 seconds. While you hold his ashes, you gain +15 armor and +20 maximum Energy. 5e 2c 30r

If you have the space in your build, a little extra Armor and Energy is helpful.

Vital Weapon (w/14 Communing): For 30 seconds, target ally has a Vital Weapon and has +166 maximum health 5e 1c 20r

Extra life never hurts.

Rupture Soul (w/16 Spawning Power): Target allied spirit is destroyed. All nearby enemies are struck for 146 lightning damage and become blinded for 13 seconds 10e .75c 5r

Warrior or Assassin annoying you? This should take care of that problem...

Mantra of Resolve (w/ 6 Inspiration Magic): For 54 seconds, you cannot be interrupted, but each time you would have been interrupted, you lose 8 energy or Mantra of Resolve ends. 10e 20r

Ah, Interrupts. Rangers will love to spank you while you cast 3 second and 5 second Binding Rituals. Very important for PvP. Interrupted Rituals will NOT have their recharges reduced by Ritual Lord.

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Location

Ritual Lord is found, unfortunately, very late into the Factions campaign; you can only find Ritual Lord after your factions’ respective mission (The Eternal Grove for Kurzicks, and Gyala Hatchery for Luxons.) Ritual Lord is found with Spiritroot Mossbeard (http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/Spiritroot_Mossbeard) in The Eternal Grove for Kurzicks, and with Whispering Ritual Lord (http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/Whispering_Ritual_Lord) in Silent Surf.

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Armor

Halycon’s Armor (+7 energy) is the primary choice for a Ritual Lord, since a Ritual Lord should be staying out of combat completely. (More information below)

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Weapons

Weapons are a bit of a tricky issue for Ritual Lords. Since “Halves casting time/recharge of spells” mods on weapons don’t affect Binding Rituals, those mods are useless. Henceforth, we go to our new friend introduced in Factions, the +5 Energy Weapon.

Ritual Lords will use two sets of Weapons. (The second set is optional, but recommended)

Set #1: Katana/Cleaver of Defense (+5 Energy, +5 Armor)/Communing Focus (+5 Armor/+45 HP while Enchanted)

(+5 Energy Katanas/Cleavers can be crafted at the Divine Path at the end of the game for 10k + Materials, the Communing Focus can be found on a collector outside the Molostrav Trail exit from Vasburg Armory for 5 Stone Horns)

You will almost always be enchanted with Boon of Creation, so this is the most effective set to use.

Set #2: Katana/Cleaver of Enchanting (+5 Energy, 20% longer enchantments)/Communing Focus (+5 Armor/+45 HP while Enchanted)

(The cheapest method to obtain the weapon is to buy a Totem Axe for 5k)

Switch to this weapon set when you cast Boon of Creation. It increases the duration by 12.6 seconds, which is pretty hefty.

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Strategy

The trick to a Ritual Lord is to stand as far as you can away from combat and still have your spirits affect your party. The radius of the Spirits’ abilities is half the radar, which is double the radius of the aggro circle. Henceforth, Ritualists should be entering combat AT ALL in PvE, and rarely in PvP.

Note that Ritual Lord is a skill without a cast time. Skills without a cast time can be used while casting other skills. Hence, you should activate Ritual Lord near the end of the casting of a Ritual. Just make sure Ritual Lord is active before you finish casting!

The Spirit Combo (assuming Boon of Creation is active) is:

Shelter -> Union -> Displacement -> Signet of Creation (if applicable) -> Feast of Souls (if necessary) -> repeat

The order of casting Shelter and Union is important. Shelter must be cast before Union for the effects to work properly.

Use other skills (Mighty Was Vorizun, Mantra of Resolve, etc.) when appropriate.

The end result is that your party will ALMOST ALWAYS take no more than 30-38 Damage Per Hit and will avoid MANY ATTACKS.

(Ritual Lords also can super-charge Necromancers through their Soul Reaping. However, that’s relatively insignificant...)

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The Builds

These builds are my own, but feel free to tweak them as you please.

Yes, I am using 2 Superior Runes. Deal with it.

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The PvE Build (where Ritual Lords are King)

16 Spawning Power (12 + 1 + 3)
15 Communing (12 + 3)

Ritual Lord (e)
Boon of Creation
Shelter
Union
Displacement
Signet of Creation
Feast of Souls
Any Resurrection Skill/ Earthbind (if you are playing in a group with Elementalist Nukers or Spike Trap Rangers, normally during Elite Missions)

The trick is to stay out of combat (learn to love your aggro circle!) and use the Spirit Combo when using Feast of Souls as appropriate.

Ritual Lords easily replace any Protection Monk in PvE. For 8 man groups, I recommend 2 Healers + Rit Lord, and for 12 man groups I recommend 3 Monks + Rit Lord.

Enemies who normally do melee damage for 200+ are a lot easier to manage when they only deal 30.

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The Casual PvP Build (i.e. Fort Aspenwood, Alliance Battles, etc.)

16 Spawning Power (12 + 1 + 3)
15 Communing (12 + 3)


Ritual Lord (e)
Boon of Creation
Shelter
Union
Displacement
Signet of Creation
Feast of Souls (in Fort Aspenwood/Jade Quarry)/ (Vital Weapon or Mighty Was Vorizun) (Alliance Battles)
Rupture Soul

All the Spirits affect allies, which include every damn person within range!

You protect EVERYTHING! How does it feel to have that much power?

However, your spirits die in less than 3 seconds. But that can’t be helped.

You turn the tide of the inevitable Dragon Roost battle in Saltspray Beach. You protect all the Kurzicks from the Siege Turtles in Fort Aspenwood.

I don’t take Mantra of Resolve since you seldom run into an opponent who can interrupt. But it’s your choice.

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The Hardcore PvP Build (GvG, Heroes’ Ascent, i.e. “u must be r9 2 spam 3 spirits, n00b.”)

16 Spawning Power (12 + 1 + 3)
14 Communing (11 + 3)
7 Restoration Magic (6 + 1)
2 Inspiration Magic (2)

Ritual Lord (e)
Boon of Creation
Shelter
Union
Displacement
Mantra of Concentration
Feast of Souls
Lively Was Naomei

Learn how to exploit terrain so that the enemies cannot attack you easily. Height is a good example (i.e. Isle of the Dead map)

Spam your spirits and keep the damn Mantra of Concentration up if needed

Lively Was Naomei should be kept up constantlyly and used in emergencies (or against Frozen Soil)

And learn how to run to the Monks and/or use Feast of Souls if something goes wrong.

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And that’s it. Show everyone the power of the Ritual Lord, and maybe people won’t regard us as “the new class which isn’t Assassin.”

Post questions or comments here, or message me in-game, Syria Metaphysical, if you have any questions (but PLEASE read the guide first!)

[Minus Sign]

TY for the guide. Submit this to the build thread if you haven't yet; its a good one.

A former Resto Rit, I've been using Rit Lord since I got the skill. In terms of sheer damage reduction power, this build has ended prot monks for me (sans boon prot) in PvE. It's just that darn good.

A couple things about skills and use:

Mighty Was Vorizun& +AL while holding items armor. Since timing and Boon of Creation keep your mana under control for most of the fighting; added armor is preffereable in PvP situations. With Mighty was Vorizun you're as hard as most tanks for most if not all of the match. This is one reason why I prefer it over Vital Weapon and Signet of Creation.

Another is Shadowsong. True, in PvP and PvE a Rit should try to stay out of the fight, but that creed does little when Assassins decide to charge in and take you out (why wouldn't they want to? You've got Prot spirit, Shielding Hands and Distortion on your entire team and any GvG allies to boot!) so shadowsong shows effectivness as an anti-melle protector for the spirit spamming Rit Lords in PvP areas. Adding blind for 5 seconds every 2, shadowsong locks down a mellee atacker that breaks through into the backline, leaving castors and ganks as your only remaining threat (and if THEY can just run through your team to get to you, there's something seriously wrong!)

Specific to Aspenwood, Disenchant is a game killer for the Luxon team with a Rit Lord. The preffered Kurzick healers are Prot monks using Air of enchantment or Bonders to keep Luxon out of the base. Dropping Disenchant nearby renders both builds USELESS! You really wanna show what a Rit Lord can do? drop a little into restore to Mend Body and Soul the turtle while you walk your team into base with the aforementioned all ally (yes, that includes turtles and warrior NPCs) Prot Spirit/Shielding Hands/Distortion combo.

Also: move, Move MOVE! Very important to PvP, you don't want all of your spirts lumped up too close together. A well timed Firestorm will wipe out everything you've done and make you a wasted teamslot in the bargain. Many people seem to think that a Rit Lord is just pressing one buttion after another. These are probably the same people who think Prot Boon is nothing more than spamming RoF on everything they can.

Kiting saves lives. Specifically, it saves your life.

[Star Alfur]

Ritual Lords easily replace any Protection Monk in PvE. For 8 man groups, I recommend 2 Healers + Rit Lord, and for 12 man groups I recommend 3 Monks + Rit Lord.


(Emphasis added)

Note: My thinking is from a PvE perspective, keep that in mind.

Well for starters, I enjoy running this style of build, and I acknowledge the extreme protective power of it, but ... with a few exceptions of some high-level PvE areas, is this type of build worth the use of a character slot in an 8-member team?

To my understanding, most PvE teams consist of just two monks. You advise two monks and a Ritual Lord. Devoting an entire slot to protection, while you already have 2 others devoted to healing and/or protection?

Am I wrong in assuming most teams consist of two healing/protecting monks?

[Zinger314]

Am I wrong in assuming most teams consist of two healing/protecting monks?Nope. But you can NEVER have too much protection, especially in difficult missions like Raisu Palace.

[Brother Foon Sped]

Rt/M

For added energy management try Shadow song or Rupture soul with Spirit of failure.

[Zinger314]

Rt/M

For added energy management try Shadow song or Rupture soul with Spirit of failure.Boon of Creation is enough Energy management. (Unless you have TOO much fun with Feast of Souls)

[Jaek]

Rather than a +5 energy melee weapon if you still want the energy boost, but would like to help chip away at enemies you can craft +5 energy while enchanted wands.

Sheco in Bukdek Byway has +5 Energy ^ 50%, 1/2 casting time.

Nago in Wajjun Bazaar has +5 Energy while enchanted, 1/2 casting time.

The reduced casting time could actually help depending on what your optional non-Ritual skills are.

For example bring Brutal Weapon to bump up your own damage, although when you're in a nasty situation you won't really be worried about doing damage other than maybe a Rupture Soul.

Although you could toss one or two off on allies using multiple target skills like Barrage, Cyclone Axe, Triple Chop, etc...

Order of Pain? Bah! Give my ranger Brutal Weapon. Longer duration and it doesn't matter if it's physical or not. No other enchantments of course, but hey.


Related note, Communing wands are Dark energy which if I remember right ignores armor, although damage isn't your main concern with this build.

[Zinger314]

Rather than a +5 energy melee weapon if you still want the energy boost, but would like to help chip away at enemies you can craft +5 energy while enchanted wands.

You need that second mod. (+5 AL or +20% Enchanting).

Related note, Communing wands are Dark energy which if I remember right ignores armor, although damage isn't your main concern with this build.Dark is migitated by Armor. Shadow isn't. Don't worry, I've made that mistake before. ;)

The main point is to STAY OUT OF COMBAT. Spam your spirits, don't risk anything else!

[byobodybag]

I love the build, been running it eversince...

One thing I kinda don't like is that Displacement dies too soon after planting it... :mad:

[Tainek]

Two Quick Notes:


1: Displacement is Bugged, and still loses 60 hp regardless of your point spread

2: Those Spirits arnt key to *Every* Ritual Lord build, only the more defensive ones, Rit Lord, and boon of creation are the only two *Truely* key Skills, i have a Rit Lord Build that Utilises no defensive spirits at all, and is highly effective, be careful making blanket statements, not all sprit spammers are defensive, or all defensive builds shelter-union-displacement

[Arkantos]

Nice guide. Ive been running Rit Lord ever since I capped it ;) It works magic in PvE. Remember everyone, Use this build before ANet smacks it with the nerf stick :)

[Greedy Gus]

Uh, I don't get why a guide is needed. Ritual lord + boon of creation + 5 defensive spirits + button mashing = win. Ritual lord is for mindless spamming of spirits.

[Zinger314]

1: Displacement is Bugged, and still loses 60 hp regardless of your point spreadI've heard. Even so, it dies just as fast.

However, I may consider the use the Soothing instead of Displacement in hard-core PvP. Stay tuned.

2: Those Spirits arnt key to *Every* Ritual Lord build, only the more defensive ones, Rit Lord, and boon of creation are the only two *Truely* key Skills, i have a Rit Lord Build that Utilises no defensive spirits at all, and is highly effective, be careful making blanket statements, not all sprit spammers are defensive, or all defensive builds shelter-union-displacementAll Spirit Spammers (who want to have a significant effect on a battle) are defensive. Offensive Spirit Spammers are powerful, but not as game-altering as a Ritual Lord.

Uh, I don't get why a guide is needed. Ritual lord + boon of creation + 5 defensive spirits + button mashing = win. Ritual lord is for mindless spamming of spirits.Someone asked on my Alliance chat what should be in a Spirit Spammer build. He thought a pet would be helpful.

Hence, this guide. :rolleyes:

[Tainek]

All Spirit Spammers (who want to have a significant effect on a battle) are defensive. Offensive Spirit Spammers are powerful, but not as game-altering as a Ritual Lord.


Now this just isnt true, an Offensive Spirit spammer allows for 100 DPS to be put on a target (assuming use of the channeling hex, and guiding the spirits via wand) , thats more than two warriors worth, with enchant removal, Blinding and intturupts thrown in, nothing to laugh at.

however i agree that *most* sprit spammers are defensive, but you stated that ALL are, and this is incorrect

[Minus Sign]

@Tainek: good points, there are some good offensive spirit spammers out there rellying on doom and such for primary offense with attack spirits and Painful Bond or Commune weapon spells for boosts.

But I'd like to know what spirits you're using for a defense build that are not revolving around the stock shelter-union-displacement chain. Resto can use Life and Rejuvination, but that drops you one short without the healing power of more good monks in PvE. Please share.

Et al: I don't recommend bringing this build as an addition to a 2 monk backline in PvE. After using it in game for a while now, with Mend Body and Soul for condition removal and /Mesmer hex removers, I reccomend replacing the prot monk in several missions(ex: Gayla Hatchery is a joke with this, and its considered one of the hardest support missions in the game). Its worked better for me than a standard prot monk in Cantha for less mana issues over all....once i finally got the skill :rolleyes:

@Gus...I don't know about you but I think its high time they made support roles easier. Monking is a hard and thankless job in many groups, and adding idiocy ontop of noobishness makes it worse.

There is a very easy way to control agro now open to Prots:

Whammo: I'm attacking Target #1!
Me: Run out of my spirits range and Target #1 will mop the floor with you.
Whammo: then get it over here already!
Monk: Didn't you idiots hear me pinging my energy??? You agroed 2 groups and now I'm drained you dumb@%*!
Me: I think I'll wait for the monk before I prot you again. You can do what you want tho; we both have rez...

[Tainek]

@Tainek: good points, there are some good offensive spirit spammers out there rellying on doom and such for primary offense with attack spirits and Painful Bond for boosts.

But I'd like to know what spirits you're using for a defense build that are not revolving around the stock shelter-union-displacement chain. Resto can use Life and Rejuvination, but that drops you one short without the healing power of more good monks in PvE. Please share.

Et al: I don't recommend bringing this build as an addition to a 2 monk backline in PvE. After using it in game for a while now, with Mend Body and Soul for condition removal and /Mesmer hex removers, I reccomend replacing the prot monk in several missions(ex: Gayla Hatchery is a joke with this, and its considered one of the hardest support missions in the game). Its worked better for me than a standard prot monk in Cantha for less mana issues over all.

Ah no, i dont mean Doom Dealers (they suffer with ritual lord) , im reffering to Pain, Bloodsong, Dissonance, Shadow Song, And the other i cant remember

say 20 + 20 (hex Damage a hit, assuming an attack speed of every 2 seconds, thats 100DPS overall, all in small hard to mitigate packets


And i agree, Ritualists are best used replacing the standard prot monk, 3 defensive characters is overkill for an 8 man *Pve* party

[Greedy Gus]

@Gus...I don't know about you but I think its high time they made support roles easier. Monking is a hard and thankless job in many groups, and adding idiocy ontop of noobishness makes it worse.

Uh, didn't know difficulty was a problem. Guess you're talking about PvE where people want to be handed everything on a silver platter?

[Minus Sign]

Snip! But what about that alternate support build? I'd like to hear other suggestions revolving around Rit Lord; its a great skill.

My best Resto builds don't have Rit Lord, relying on Preservation or Attuned was Songai for added heals/spammability. Spirits don't factor into my role beyond their required pressence for added skill procs (Example: Mend Body requires I be "Nearby" range to a spirit to heal AND remove a condition, effectivly chaining me there, a second restriction on the skill and part of the reason I think Rest needs a buf, but I digress). I still lose to a Heal Party Spammer or a 5 mana Monk on dmg to heal returns.

[Tainek]

But what about that alternate support build? I'd like to hear other suggestions revolving around Rit Lord; its a great skill.

My best Resto builds don't have Rit Lord, relying on Preservation or Attuned was Songai for added heals/spammability. Spirits don't factor into my role beyond their required pressence for added skill procs (Example: Mend Body requires I be "Nearby" range to a spirit to heal AND remove a condition, effectivly chaining me there, a second restriction on the skill and part of the reason I think Rest needs a buf, but I digress). I still lose to a Heal Party Spammer or a 5 mana Monk on dmg to heal returns.


So Far i Find that shelter and union are for a defensive support pretty much the best option to take, as far as defensive skills go for spirit spamming, they have a clear lead. i have found restoration to be a very nice one to take instead of a Standard Rez, as while as a rez it might not be as strong, it is excellent Feast of souls fuel (109 Point heal party+ Rez any nearby dead Allys)

But if you want a decent restoration Healing build, search for threads ive created, ive put mine there, used correctly ive had no problems being the only healer in a party going for all the masters missions.


my point wasnt that not all Defensive Rits use Shelter and union, its that not all Rit Lord Spirit Spammers are Defensive ;)

[Jaek]

You need that second mod. (+5 AL or +20% Enchanting).

You don't need that second mod. Maintaining Boon certainly doesn't require the Enchanting mod.

As far +5 AL, yeah it's nice, but it isn't a deal breaker by any means. Especially considering how little damage everyone takes per hit with this build and if the Rit stays out of combat as you say it's a non-issue. It's a far cry from a must have or "need" at any rate.


I actually prefer the fast recharge mods so I always have a Rupture ready if any melees start feeling frisky and want to come to the backline to play with me.

Plus if Boon gets stripped I want the recharge on that to be as low as possible because I want it back up ASAP.

This isn't really one of those more touchy builds where if a mod is off or your attributes aren't set perfectly it doesn't function as needed.

Just four essential skills + a Res. I don't consider Displacement to be an essential on this one.

The remaining three can be tailored to the situation and any mods should actually focus on enhancing those remaining skills.

[Jaek]

Someone asked on my Alliance chat what should be in a Spirit Spammer build. He thought a pet would be helpful.

Hence, this guide. :rolleyes:

Two things.

First, a pet? Say what?

Second, I'm mildly curious why you didn't point the unenlightened to your original thread on this (http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3033281) on this that is still rolling along?

May want to have a mod lock and redirect one to the other.

[JoeKnowMo]

Two things.

First, a pet? Say what?

Second, I'm mildly curious why you didn't point the unenlightened to your original thread on this (http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3033281) on this that is still rolling along?

May want to have a mod lock and redirect one to the other.

My thoughts exactly. More detail here, but still redundant to have a separate thread.

[Zinger314]

ArenaNet made a Ritual Lord premade. It sucks. (Recuperation sucks without 12 Restoration. And Displacement > Shadowsong, especially with the abundance of Boon/Prot)

I've also made some edits to the guide.

[Premium Unleaded]

Just a bit of input from me:

The key skills I see for a defensive rit. lord are the first 4 you listed; RL >> Union. Other remaining, I find, are more up to personal taste.

If I'm to GvGing with a full communing rit, then it's usually then 16spawning/13communing and the remaining slots as soothing, displacement, shadowsong/resolve (depending on the others) and a res sig. The targetting AI for spirits is still a bit annoying to deal with, but the blinding from it can easily keep up with mend condition if it hits the right target.

For weapon, I find that a 20/20 spawning staff of enchanting is sufficient, since the only thing which can benefit from any of the bonuses is boon of creation. You will want to maximise the duration of it since it's your only active energy regen, although chances are, it'll be stripped sometime before it runs out, hence the 20/20. Still, I've had it lasting the full 60~70 secs on several occasions before. The prefix is again up to the individual; I prefer the hale mod there.

Also, I wouldn't recommend running two superiors, in either PvE or PvP. You can lay them down fast enough as long as you're moderately aware of positioning. That extra -75hp isn't worth what you gain from it imo.

[Zinger314]

Last night, I held Halls 6 times. With a Ritual Lord build, of course. (And no rank! OMGnub.)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v258/Zinger314/hoh.jpg

Attribute spread was 16 Spawning, 14 Communing, 8 Restoration, 2 Inspiration. All Hail Lively Was Naiomei.

Oh, and there's no such thing as "laying your spirits fast enough." Shelter dies in 3 seconds, maybe less, even with 14 Communing. You need all time time you can get.

[Cherno]

For PvE be careful of using Signet of Creation with a MM around. Was going through a mission last night and our MM was near when I finished the chain and hit signet before blowing them up. 30 seconds later all of a sudden all his minion went poof. We couldn't figure it out at first. Was pretty funny actually.

[Zinger314]

For PvE be careful of using Signet of Creation with a MM around. Was going through a mission last night and our MM was near when I finished the chain and hit signet before blowing them up. 30 seconds later all of a sudden all his minion went poof. We couldn't figure it out at first. Was pretty funny actually.True.

However, you can use Signet of Creation offensively. Enemy MM annoying you? Cast Signet of Creation!

[Cherno]

Hmm, will have to check that out. Thought the skill said allied. Of course when you want to use it offensively 30 seconds sure seems like a long time.

[Jetdoc]

Hmm, will have to check that out. Thought the skill said allied. Of course when you want to use it offensively 30 seconds sure seems like a long time.

Definitely works on enemy minions as well...

http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/Signet_of_Creation

"Keep in mind this works on enemy minions and spirits as well as allied.

If there are any minion masters in your party, it's generally a bad idea to bring this skill without discussing it with them."

The "in the area" portion of this is the key. A ritual lord should be placed very far behind the lines, where the minion master should be in the front with his army. That should cause enough separation to minimize the number of minions that are affected.

Using Signet of Creation offensively is generally a really bad idea, unless you have a ritualist that can rush into the frey, use the signet, and rush out and you have a very low amount in spawning power (to minimize regeneration). Using it when you're being attacked is terrible, as it improves the resiliency of your attackers, unless you can kite like hell for 30 seconds.

[moenbase]

PvE:
I usually go with:
1 Boon of Creation
2 Ritual Lord
3 Shelter
4 Union
5 Recuperation
6 Life
7 Feast of Souls
8 Rez (FomF)

It's highly recommended to have Restoration on 12 for the +3 Health regen.

I seperate the spirits from the ones I want/can blow up, and the ones I dont want to blow up. I also set the spirits just as close to eachother they if I need the full heal from al 4 spirits I can still blow them all up.
If I want t blow up one pair of spirits, I go to that side.

Blow up: Recuperation, Life
Never blow up: Shelter, Union

Exceptions to the never blow up rule:
* When the spirits are almost died out, and you need a fast party heal
* At the end of the battle so henchies (or whoever) doesn't waste too much energy on healing the wounded


The reason why I prefer this build over the first builds in the post is because:
* I have 2 spirits which can be cast in no-time and has multiple purposes.
1) Life can be cast either at the end of the chain, or before it. If the first damage is taken in the party then Life kicks in very soon because it only lasts for 30 seconds.
2) Recuperation gives a +3 health regen for the whole party. It's basicly a Mending that can't be stripped/shattered.
3) The spirits work as a buff when it gets nasty. It grants a, IMO much better and effective party heal then blowing up spirits you really do need (shelter, union, etc.). The longer Life is around, the more it'll heal. You don't need recuperation much with multiple big spike hits. So you can easily blow them up and grand the party with a 'spike heal'.
4) Life has a very low recharge with Ritual Lord. As well as Recuperation which has the same recharge as Shelter and Union.


* Using Feast of Souls on spirits like Shelter or Union isn't very smart I think, because you really need those spirits to keep your party members alive.
Most likely, when fighting either in the Kurzick or Luxon side you meet dragon's and such with high spike damage. It makes it almost impossible to keep the spirits alive that long. Any (multiple) Double Dragon/Dragon Stomp/Breath of Fire/etc will destroy the spirits in seconds. The whole party is vulnerable again. With Life and Recuperation as a 'trick you hold behind' can get your party full in notime and gives you time to re-cast Shelter and Union. And right after that Life and Recuperation.

[JoeKnowMo]

Ritual Lords will use two sets of Weapons. (The second set is optional, but recommended)

Set #1: Katana/Cleaver of Defense (+5 Energy, +5 Armor)/Communing Focus (+5 Armor/+45 HP while Enchanted)

Set #2: Katana/Cleaver of Enchanting (+5 Energy, 20% longer enchantments)/Communing Focus (+5 Armor/+45 HP while Enchanted)

Quansong's Focus is better than the +5 armor/+45 HP while enchanted focus cuz you will rarely be attacked and the +1 Communing can make some spirits last longer.

The Spirit Combo (assuming Boon of Creation is active) is:

Shelter -> Union -> Displacement -> Signet of Creation (if applicable) -> Feast of Souls (if necessary) -> repeat

I find that Displacement -> Shelter -> Union is a better casting order for spirits. Since your group will usually allow you to lay your spirits before you aggro, casting Displacement first means that it will recharge first. And since Displacement dies incredibly fast, you can get to re-cast it again sooner.

Also, you may want to discuss Dulled Weapon as an option for a Rit Lord. At high Communing, it recharges just as it expires, allowing for continuous use. Works great on mobs that are at a higher level than you, which is common in PvE and also negates Wild Blow, Primal Rage, etc.

[chicks boy]

signet of creation if awesome dude, tats like +15 - +17 hp per second everytime dude

[Cherno]

PvE:
I usually go with:
1 Boon of Creation
2 Ritual Lord
3 Shelter
4 Union
5 Recuperation
6 Life
7 Feast of Souls
8 Rez (FomF)

It's highly recommended to have Restoration on 12 for the +3 Health regen.


Only problem here is splitting out your attirbutes along three lines. I use the basic union, shelter, displacement, but have been trying to find a good combo sticking in the spawning and communing set. Many of the offensive spirits are nice, but require you to get closer so that they are in range.

[Jetdoc]

The Hardcore PvP Build (GvG, Heroes’ Ascent, i.e. “u must be r9 2 spam 3 spirits, n00b.”)

16 Spawning Power (12 + 1 + 3)
14 Communing (12 + 3)
6 Inspiration Magic (6)

Zing - you may want to edit communing above to say (11+3)... ;)

[Zinger314]

Zing - you may want to edit communing above to say (11+3)... ;)Revamped that section to include the build I won HoH with.

[D'Arcangelo]

This is a great build for mitigating damage. It makes your team almost invincible when properly planned. I don't think there is too much need to make a ritualist for using anything other than this(and vengeful farming).

Here's to hoping Ritual Lord wont be given 45 recharge time.

-neptune storm.

[Jeff Highwind]

Bumping to say I plan to abuse this for Faction battles and stuff.

And I got a question, for HA and Alliance Battles is the Mesmer secondary absolutly necessairy? I am running a Monk second, and the Heal Area skill works very nicely at healing my spirits and boosting their effectiveness, but it does isolate me at the worst times.

[Arkantos]

Bumping to say I plan to abuse this for Faction battles and stuff.

And I got a question, for HA and Alliance Battles is the Mesmer secondary absolutly necessairy? I am running a Monk second, and the Heal Area skill works very nicely at healing my spirits and boosting their effectiveness, but it does isolate me at the worst times.

You dont have to be /Me, its just there to help with interupts.

[Zinger314]

Bumping to say I plan to abuse this for Faction battles and stuff.

And I got a question, for HA and Alliance Battles is the Mesmer secondary absolutly necessairy? I am running a Monk second, and the Heal Area skill works very nicely at healing my spirits and boosting their effectiveness, but it does isolate me at the worst times.Heal Area doesn't (or shouldn't) affect spirits, so that's pretty much a waste...

[Jeff Highwind]

Heal Area doesn't (or shouldn't) affect spirits, so that's pretty much a waste...
Yep, you are right.
As soon as I kill Shiro again (hopefully in less than 1 minute again), I'll have to make the switch and head for Battle Islands.

[Zinger314]

The leaked skill balance indicates that Ritual Lord will take a nerf. I'll update this guide at that time.

[Silver_Fang]

The nerf seems bad, reduction of ritual lord effect AS WELL AS increasing damage taken per prot on spirit, so, spirit die faster and RL effect is less, but the spirit recharge time are reduce also, so, it might not be that bad, its still a nerf.

The buff to channeling seems ok tho^^

[Syklone Xaos]

Anyone got a link to the "leaked" ballance?

[Silver_Fang]

not allowed to post.

[Kais Unduli]

Just as I was starting to have fun with a rit lord build, they're gonna nerf it? Damn, that really sucks.

If the nerf really hampers rit lord builds, my rit will be reduced to the second class restore monk I had to play before I capped rit lord. I might as well just play my monk if this happens.

[Silver_Fang]

Just as I was starting to have fun with a rit lord build, they're gonna nerf it? Damn, that really sucks.

If the nerf really hampers rit lord builds, my rit will be reduced to the second class restore monk I had to play before I capped rit lord. I might as well just play my monk if this happens.

few points to remember

*This is a 'leaked' change list, it might not be true.

*Although Ritual Lord effect is reduced, the overall spirit recharge time is reduced as well, from 60 - > 45

*BUT, the damage taken per prot is 5 or 10 more.

So, we still don't know is it reallly a nerf, even if it is a nerf, Ritual Lord is still viable, It is good at PvE and it is extremely good at RA and 8v8.

There is a buff to channeling line on damage and recharge. So a channeling rit might be a viable option after the change.

Restoration line got a buff too.

[ubermancer]

Yeah... I am not loosing any sleep over this reported skill changes. In fact I consider the Ritualist as having recieved a much needed buff. While Shelter may have been toned down a bit, its still a freakin great skill.

[Zinger314]

I didn't say it was a nerf. (However, if you do the math, Spirits will recharge SLIGHTLY slower).

I just said the guide will need a revamp.

[DFORCE]

Will Ritual Lord still be viable in pve. Just when i was thinking about dusting off my rit, anet dust off the nerf bat :/

[frojack]

not allowed to post.

The control of information can be frustrating. Especially when people make posts about things we are 'not allowed' to know about. Thanks for the 'protection'...

[Syklone Xaos]

The leaked skill balance indicates that Ritual Lord will take a nerf. I'll update this guide at that time.
I didn't say it was a nerf. (However, if you do the math, Spirits will recharge SLIGHTLY slower).

I just said the guide will need a revamp.
Um, yeah. Blatant self-contradiction FTW.

[unmatchedfury]

rit lord doesnt need a nerf. it gets owned by one fire storm as it is. the only thing it is strong at is defending off solo warriors attacks due to blind displacemetn spirits.

union dies far too fast as it is. shelter i understand nerfing a little because it never seems to die during the reduced cooldown like union and certiantly displacement do.

but channeling does need a buff badly. and restorationm doesnt need a buff so much as better designed weapon spellls and ways to reduce dmg instead of pure heal. Also a way to get cool downs on resto spirits would be nice as most of them have longer cool downs than they should . i mean 45 seconds for a 150 heal, ouch...

[trankle]

Um, yeah. Blatant self-contradiction FTW.

He said that Ritual Lord, the skill, will take a nerf. Which, if the list is legit, it will.

The second comment refered to someone lamenting that Ritual Lord, the build, would be nerfed, which Zinger didn't say. The nerf of the skill looks to be balanced pretty well with the buff of the spirits in the build.

That's all.

[trankle]

Um, yeah. Blatant self-contradiction FTW.

He said that Ritual Lord, the skill, will take a nerf. Which, if the list is legit, it will.

The second comment refered to someone lamenting that Ritual Lord, the build, would be nerfed, which Zinger didn't say. The nerf of the skill looks to be balanced pretty well with the buff of the spirits in the build.

That's all.

[Silver_Fang]

The control of information can be frustrating. Especially when people make posts about things we are 'not allowed' to know about. Thanks for the 'protection'...

The control of information is needed because said information are under the NDA.

[Zinger314]

Shelter was increased to 25e in the update, and Boon of creation was nerfed. That's too much. Ritual Lords are now impossible to play.

[XvArchonvX]

Shelter was increased to 25e in the update, and Boon of creation was nerfed. That's too much. Ritual Lords are now impossible to play.
Somehow this seems like a hasty jump to conclusion. I do believe that some sort of energy management skill other than Boon of Creation will need to be added to be able to work as it did before, but I'm a bit hesitant to say that the whole legitamacy of the build has been nullified by an extra 10 energy cost on one skill and slightly less regen from boon.

[ss1986v2]

Shelter was increased to 25e in the update, and Boon of creation was nerfed. That's too much. Ritual Lords are now impossible to play.

not so. ive been testing a few things with my rit this morning, and while yes the effectiveness of spirit spam has been greatly reduced, it is not dead by any means. the shelter union displacement chain can still be maintained so its not dead yet.

Heres what ive been testing this morning:

Rt/any
16 Communing 12+1+3
15 Spawning 12+3
have also run:
16 Spawning 12+1+3
13 and 15 Communing 12+1 and 12+3

Boon of Creation
Ritual Lord
Shelter
Union
Displacement
Signet of Creation
Pain
Flesh of my Flesh

Equipped: Ritual Lord Staff
Energy +10
Lightning Damage: 11-22 (req. 9 Spawning Power)
Halves casting time of Spawning Power spells (Chance: 20%)
Halves skill recharge of Spawning Power spells (Chance: 20%)
Health +30
Health +30

just keep casting the chain as it is on the bar, subbing in boon and rit lord when needed, and pain pretty much whenever it comes up. While this isnt as effective as before the balance, the chain can still be kept up 3-5 times without much trouble. the longer you try and keep the chain going though, the tougher things do become. the trick is just give yourself about a 2-5 second or so break between casting of your next spirit.

shadowsong is much bettter than pain, i know, but pain is there for almost a form of energy managment. with rit lord up, its back in less than 15 seconds, and when you factor in the casting time plus boon, you end up with a net gain of energy, plus a nice dmg dealing spirit. whenever in a pinch, just cast pain to get that little extra bit of energy you need to keep the chain going.

rit lords: nerfed, but not dead yet...

[Jetdoc]

ss - how on earth are you keeping your energy up though?

Shelter + Union + Displacement is a whopping 55 energy cost. When you net the 6 energy gotten from Boon, you're talking about a net energy cost per series of 37 energy. There is no way (that I'm aware of) that you can recover that amount of energy without an elite energy management skill (which you can't have with Ritual Lord) and/or breaking the chain.

I don't understand the Pain gaining energy concept - Pain costs 5 energy to cast, so you're gaining 1 energy per cast.

A possibility is to allocate some points to Channeling and utilize Spirit Siphon...Siphon will return 3 energy every 4 seconds or so.

[ss1986v2]

ss - how on earth are you keeping your energy up though?

I don't understand the Pain gaining energy concept - Pain costs 5 energy to cast, so you're gaining 1 energy per cast.

ok, upkeep first, pain will be answered later on:

the key to energy upkeep is not just the +6 from boon, but your normal energy regen. remember to keep a few seconds before dropping the next spirit. lets look at the chain:

shelter + rit lord during cast:
25 eng to cast, 10 eng for rit lord, 5 second cast, at 4 pips of regen you gain 1.33 eng a sec, that makes 6.65 eng gained, added to the 6 from boon, gain of 12.65 eng.

now we are at a net of -22.35 eng
wait 3 seconds before next spirit, 4 eng gained, net is -18.35 eng

union:
15 eng to cast, 3 second cast, gain of 4 eng + 6 from boon, net of -5 eng.

now we are at -23.35 eng.
wait 3 seconds before next spirit, 4 eng gained, net is -19.35 eng.

displacement:
15 eng to cast, 3 second cast, gain of 4 eng + 6 from boon, net of - 5 eng.

now we are at -24.35 eng.
wait 3 seconds before next spirit, 4 eng gained, net is -20.35 eng.

sig of creation:
0 eng to cast, to second cast, and for the sake of easy math, we will only wait 1 second before next cast, 4 eng gained.

now we are at -20.35 eng.

pain
5 eng to cast, 3 second cast, gain of 4 eng + 6 from boon, net of + 5 eng.
(a net gain of anything is better than a loss, plus you get a newly buffed dmg dealer!)

now we are at -15.35 eng.

note: one rit lord should be enough to make it once through the chain.

so in the end we are down about 15 engergy after one chain. with 47 total eng, the recasts of boon, pauses when you can afford too, and a watchful eye, i can keep the chain up at least 3 times, which should be enough for your average pve battle.

you can also wait longer when you can afford it, remember just 3 seconds of waiting will net you 4 eng. spread that out 2 seconds here, 1 second there, 3 seconds there, and you can almost negate that -15 eng. get it down to a net of -7 eng and then the chain can be kept up for as many as 6 or 7 times.

is it even close to what it was before? not even. before i could cast recup, shelter, union, soothing, and dispalcement almost non stop and never have any problems. but does this chain still work, yes it does.

oh, and plz check my math if you want, i did it off the top of my head and could have easily messed up along the way.

[Jeff Highwind]

omg, All the time and effort I took to making my Rit Lord pimped out with 15k black dyed kurzicks and now he got hit with the nerf bat.

I can see it still being playable, but this is just terrible.

[Moiax]

Yes it is possible, but it requires some skill and thought, as it should, as opposed to just mashing the buttons keyed to the spirits. I don't really have any problems with that.

[XvArchonvX]

After trying out my rit lord a bit this morning, I did notice that the rit lord build does still work, but it does get harder and harder to maintain energy with each cycle of spirits. As long as you watch your spirits and give little breaks between casting, you should be fine. Pain is a good idea for the build. I was using Feast of Souls, but I think I'll drop it for Pain next time I go to use the build.


As a side note I'm happy to see that the normal spirits (shelter, union, etc..) all look like Destruction in appearance now.

[Jeff Highwind]

Well if rits use mesmer as their secondary, can you use skills to help with energy management?

[ss1986v2]

Pain is a good idea for the build. I was using Feast of Souls, but I think I'll drop it for Pain next time I go to use the build.

im glad someone else sees the benefit of running pain. not only is it a net gain of 5 eng each time that you cast it, it also can be a decent dmg dealer since the update. plus with 15 in spawning, its recharged in 12 seconds. 5 net engergy every 12 seconds if needed aint to shabby for a skill that is supposed to be geared to offense.

[trankle]

My alter ego posted this on another board. I was experimenting with new options:

"OK, I just played a little with Assassin's Promise. It works, happily, but it's more work.

Assassin's Promise. 5e, 3/4 sec, 45 sec. "For 5...13 seconds, if target foe dies, you gain 5...17 Energy, and all your skills are recharged."

With Deadly Arts at 10, you get a 12 second duration, and 15 energy (for net 10). AP has a recharge of 45 seconds, but if it works, it recharges itself instantly as well.

Combined with Boon of Creation, energy seems to be OK with this, and recharges shouldn't be an issue, for the most part.

The disadvantages are that you can't stay way behind the party and watch the action with your binoculars. This means you may become targetted and lead enemies back to your spirits if you're not careful. You also have to watch the state of your enemies, so you can find the best target. And hex removal would mess you up, of course.

Oh, and your party has to, like, kill stuff.

On the plus side, it's alot more fun and challenging than the Rit Lord method, and you can still keep your spirits up most of the time.

I'm primarily a PvE player, so this may not work at all in PvP."

Anyone else try something like this?

[Dodo The Extinct]

Thats an interesting stratagy for PvE. Kudos for thinking outside the box.

Maybe the Assassins Promise Build could work in a Hex Spike.

[unmatchedfury]

well pain has always been used as my E-manegment. the main problem is that shelter's death comes much much faster now. one good metor will elimiate you shelter at full health essentially shelter can proc 8-9 times now before dieing.

[ss1986v2]

well pain has always been used as my E-manegment. the main problem is that shelter's death comes much much faster now. one good metor will elimiate you shelter at full health essentially shelter can proc 8-9 times now before dieing.

yes shelter does die faster now but not as drasticly faster as some are thinking. ill explain:

At 15 Spawning and 16 Communing (what i run), shelter is a lvl 8 spirit that takes 43 dmg each time it protects. before the update, shelter would take 28 dmg each time it protects. to calculate the health of the spirit, we use the formula:

(50 + (Spirit Level * 20)) * (1 + Spawning Power * .04) (guildwiki is your friend :P)

and we get that shelter has 336 hp. before the update, shelter would protect exactly 12 times before it died, now it will protect 7.8 times or 8 times before it dies.

only 4 fewer protections, and when you look at it, of the three key spirits, shelter almost always is the one that survives the longest. by the time you start the chain again, union and displace are usually already dead, but shelter is still alive and well, barring the barrage shadow bows in fow or stupid people standing in a meteor shower for the whole duration.

so if you think about it, the protection has just been balanced to last about as long as union and displacement do.

rit lords: balanced, not nerfed to death yet...

[unmatchedfury]

i would consider it nerfed to death.. WE arn't as good as monks at protection any more. So why bother bringing us along now. we serve no purpose. we're like a sucky monk. and no one belives channeling can do dmg. (altho echo spirits rift now is godly belive me) sigh, oh well.

[ss1986v2]

i would consider it nerfed to death.. WE arn't as good as monks at protection any more. So why bother bringing us along now. we serve no purpose. we're like a sucky monk.

id argue that about rits not being good at protection. the rit spirits are rly the ultimate as far as protection. yes, a monk can protect one person better than a rit, but we offer global protection to the entire team. just look at the skills:

shelter = global prot spirit
union = global shielding hands
displace = suped-up aegis

no matter how good the monk, he cant keep ps, shielding hands, and aegis up on every single member of the team for even a fraction of the time a rit can. it doesnt matter if its not as good as before, it is still a wonderful form of protection.

and arguing that the rit protection doesnt last as long as a monks when looking at just one ally, remember that the effects from spirits cant be removed (shattered, stripped, well of prophane, OoA) nor can they be taken advantage of with certain skills (desecrated enchant ftl).

[Jetdoc]

not only is it a net gain of 5 eng each time that you cast it.

It's only a ONE energy net gain when you cast it. 5 energy to cast, 6 energy received from Boon of Creation.

I still like the concept of it being a "free" spirit that does decent damage, but I still think the slot is better suited for an energy management skill.

[ss1986v2]

It's only a ONE energy net gain when you cast it. 5 energy to cast, 6 energy received from Boon of Creation.

again, you are forgetting to factor in casting time to the equation, as i have alrdy explained before. during that 3 second cast while you are doing nothing but waiting for it to finish, you regened 4 energy. add that to the +6 eng from boon, and after pain has dropped, you have 5 more eng then when you cast it.

example: i have 20 eng. i cast pain. pain finishes casting. i now have 25 eng. a net gain of 5 eng. simple.

PS.

i did some quick calculation to find out the best energy/sec gains of the best energy managment skills. the best skills are elite of course, but i just wanna show the numbers for this argument (these numbers are slightly higher than those posted on guildwiki because i factored in casting times of the skills to show my point. all attribute points calculated at 10 of each respective lvl):


Offering of Blood [E] - 0.775 energy/sec
Mantra of Recall [E] - 0.667 energy/sec
Energy Drain [E] - 0.493 energy/sec
Inspired Hex - 0.367 energy/sec
Pain - 0.333 energy/sec

so, being that the best energy managment skill are elite, we can throw those out. and when compared to a very good utility e-managment skill like inspired hex, the difference is only 0.034 energy/sec. not worth taking points out of either spawning or communing for that small of a return.

is pain a good form of energy managment? no, not as good as many mesmer skill. is the gap wide enough for me to invest 9-10 points into that respective line and lose those points from spawning and communing? not even close.

again, all this is just my opinion. if you feel you need to invest in outside attribute lines, go right ahead because it will work, im not doubting that. im just showing that you dont need to.

[Jetdoc]

ss - you're missing the point that you would obtain that extra 4 energy during that timeframe NO MATTER WHAT SKILL YOU ARE USING.

Pain doesn't do ANYTHING in particular that gives you that extra energy, other than providing one extra energy.

In other words:

1. Sit still, don't cast a thing = +4 energy gain.
2. Cast Pain = +5 energy gain.

So, the benefit from gain is simply +1 energy.

Your comparisons above are simply flawed because you are comparing an energy gain over different periods. Using similar timeframes as a comparison:

Inspired Hex = +11 energy at level 10; less 5 energy cost; plus 3 second energy regen of +4 = 10 energy over 3 seconds = 3.33 energy/second

Pain = +6 energy from Boon; less 5 energy cost; plus 3 second energy regen of +4 = 5 energy over 3 seconds = 1.67 energy/second

That's a much larger difference than you've calculated bove - I'd rather have double the energy output of Inspired Hex.

But again, that's just me. I think Pain is more of a time management skill (i.e. resisting the temptation to cast other spells during that time) than an energy management skill.

[ss1986v2]

ss - you're missing the point that you would obtain that extra 4 energy during that timeframe NO MATTER WHAT SKILL YOU ARE USING...

Inspired Hex = +11 energy at level 10; less 5 energy cost; plus 3 second energy regen of +4 = 10 energy over 3 seconds = 3.33 energy/second

why are you waiting 3 seconds after casting inspired hex before doing anything?

the casting time of inspired hex is one second. the three seconds taken with pain is a forced three seconds. wether you want to do something else or not, you cant. you have to wait for the skill to finish. that timeframe you speak of is not additional time taken, its the casting time im forced to take. so for inspired hex, you only gain 1.33 eng from the casting time.

by that logic, i should cast pain, get the regen from that, and then wait another 3 seconds before calculating the energy gain from pain. which would again put me right back on par with inspired hex.

again, by that logic any skill is energy management; just cast it, and then wait however long it takes to regen energy before doing anything else.

and yes i understand standing around doing nothing isnt very good e-management, but im not standing around doing nothing while using pain. again, im forced to stand around due to the 3 second cast time, not cause i want to. so rly im not doing nothing as you said.

I think Pain is more of a time management skill (i.e. resisting the temptation to cast other spells during that time) than an energy management skill.

yes, pain is time management. but since it has the longer than usual casting time compared to your average spell, you will gain above average energy over said time. and in this case time = energy.

[martialis]

There are some really, really stupid people on this forum, and that's all I'll say about that.

Let's change the subject to...Energizing Wind! What do people think of it? Has anyone found a good set of skills including it? Or a mediocre set of skills? Here's mine:

Boon of Creation
Energizing Wind
Ritual Lord
Shelter
Union
Displacement
Serpent's Quickness
Res

3 Beast Mastery for a 54 second EW
0 Wilderness Survival for a 15 second SQ
15 Communing
16 Spawning

I really have no idea what the recharge time of the spirits is. From guildwiki, it looks like about 25 seconds with only Rt Lord, compared to the old 15 seconds, but that's just a guess. Serpent's Quickness is absolutely necessary, because Rt Lord won't recharge fast enough. You'll be casting shelter, and Rt Lord will start blinking, and you'll start hammering '3', but it's futile, because Rt Lord is only 2/3 recharged. So that's why SQ is included, and that will help with spirits, too.

It's potentially very messy if you get interrupted, since you can't simply spam everything and not worry about energy or recharge at all. But if you keep Ritual Lord and EW synchronised, it seems to get the job done. I have more energy than I did with the old build, even with all the maintained skills. I'm weaker of course, but that's expected. Also, you have no extra skill slots, which is terrible. Does anyone have a different or obviously better build?

Correction - All the spirits recharge in 16 seconds under Rt Lord, regardless or any other skill. I couldn't say why.

[trankle]

why are you waiting 3 seconds after casting inspired hex before doing anything?

the casting time of inspired hex is one second. the three seconds taken with pain is a forced three seconds. wether you want to do something else or not, you cant. you have to wait for the skill to finish. that timeframe you speak of is not additional time taken, its the casting time im forced to take. so for inspired hex, you only gain 1.33 eng from the casting time.

by that logic, i should cast pain, get the regen from that, and then wait another 3 seconds before calculating the energy gain from pain. which would again put me right back on par with inspired hex.

again, by that logic any skill is energy management; just cast it, and then wait however long it takes to regen energy before doing anything else.

and yes i understand standing around doing nothing isnt very good e-management, but im not standing around doing nothing while using pain. again, im forced to stand around due to the 3 second cast time, not cause i want to. so rly im not doing nothing as you said.



yes, pain is time management. but since it has the longer than usual casting time compared to your average spell, you will gain above average energy over said time. and in this case time = energy.

So if they increased the casting time of Inspired Hex to 3 seconds, it would be a better method of energy management? What if they increased it to 5 seconds? :p

Jetdoc is absloutely right. You cannot count natural energy regen while factoring net energy gain. It was yours anyway, barring any sort of e-denial.


example: i have 20 eng. i cast pain. pain finishes casting. i now have 25 eng. a net gain of 5 eng. simple.

You have a gross gain of 5 energy. You have a net gain of 1 energy. 4 energy would have been there anyway.

i.e. "i have 20 eng. i lag for 3 seconds. i now have 24 eng."

A skill which nets 1 point of energy every 14 seconds (11 second recharge under RL, plus 3 second cast) is not very efficient energy management, I'm sorry to say.

[ss1986v2]

i understand pain its not an efficient form of management. im not gonna argue that. most any mesmer skill is gonna gonna beat it in pure energy/sec gained. my goal is to take no points from spawning and communing, while still being able to maintain the chain. there isnt any energy managment skills there, so ive got to find something to plug in.

ive tried vital weapon, and the chain dies quicker. ive tried shadowsong, and the chain cant be kept up. ive tried doom, drains energy too fast. ive even brought nothing, but the gap between my castings is too large, waiting till i have sufficient energy. but when i plug pain into the chain, it lets me keep it going for longer.

so plz let me modify any previous statement: pain is crap energy management. but as a fill in skill, it allows for better chain management than other communing and spawning based skills.

as for the ew build, the timing works out ok, and the spirit cost make it much easier to maintain. the only thing is like all ranger spirits like qz, fs, and rest, you are gonna effect your team as well, and they may not share that love and need of that ew. if the team doesnt mind, then alright, keep pumping the spirits out. just be prepared to tick off lots of other casters along the way.

[unmatchedfury]

pain is howver all arguments aside. good e- manegment. Whatever the math says i know for a fact its usefull as hell whenever my energy bar hits zero.

[Hidden Prayers]

Fun skill that helps a ton:

Spirit Siphon

If the spirits don't use their energy, why can't I?

[zwei2stein]

pain is howver all arguments aside. good e- manegment. Whatever the math says i know for a fact its usefull as hell whenever my energy bar hits zero.

when your energy reaches zero, you wait copule of seconds to regen to, then cast pain: costs 5 energy.

then boon of creation triggers 3 seconds later, you gain 6 energy.

so, net gain from pain is 1 freaking energy per cycle.

if you just waited for energy to reach 5 and then wait 3 more secodns, you would have nearly same energy.

basically, even 0 inspiration energy tap provides better energy. (assumin 0 inspiration, 16 spawning and both skills used as often as possible)

[whobitz]

You can look at it this way: Inspired Hex cast with 4 in Inspiration gives the same net gain as Pain cast with at least 14 Spawning. I realize 4 Inspiration isn't possible with 15 Spawning and 16 Communing, but I'm just pointing it out.

[Heads8]

Wat skill should i take if i just started a new spirit rit that does not have to skill, Ritual Lord?

[hotman]

reviving the lost thread this shuld really be stickied

[Jeff Highwind]

hotman Rit Lord took a heavy nerf when the skills Ritual Lord and Boon of Creation got the nerf bat. Stick to the history books please.

[ss1986v2]

yeah, you can still roll a rit lord (i still do from time to time in FoW pugs) but its lost almost all of its power since the skill balance to boon and shelter. these days, your probably better of running a ToF or a angelic bond/SoA para. i rly hope that either boon or shelter gets a rebalanced in the future. i mean, you can deal with the 25 energy cost but when they also increased the dmg taken, its just too much.

[Thibor]

Oh well this sucks.....I finally made a Rit just so it could become a Ritual Lord. I have been having more fun with this char then any with the exception of my warrior. Anyway after all this discussion is the Ritual Lord nerfed to death or not?

[Crazyvietguy]

Offensive Ritual Lords are still effective. However i find shelter to be useless now. Displacement is still nice.

The best Rit Builds (in my opnion) are: Attuned Restorers, Spirit Restorers, Machine Channelers and Offensive Ritual Lord

[Dr Strangelove]

Offensive Ritual Lords are still effective. However i find shelter to be useless now. Displacement is still nice.

The best Rit Builds (in my opnion) are: Attuned Restorers, Spirit Restorers, Machine Channelers and Offensive Ritual Lord

You're favoring channlers with the same damage as flare spammers over spirit's strength builds?

[shmek]

Oh well this sucks.....I finally made a Rit just so it could become a Ritual Lord. I have been having more fun with this char then any with the exception of my warrior. Anyway after all this discussion is the Ritual Lord nerfed to death or not?
The build was ruined so bad it's worthless now. Try it once and you'll see. Bascially AholaNET likes to put out some nice skills / build to get people all hot on new characters for expansions.... once everyone's bought in and paid up for the game and account additions *POOOF* ruined. Great marketting for sales and poor over the long haul.

[ss1986v2]

The build was ruined so bad it's worthless now. Try it once and you'll see. Bascially AholaNET likes to put out some nice skills / build to get people all hot on new characters for expansions.... once everyone's bought in and paid up for the game and account additions *POOOF* ruined. Great marketting for sales and poor over the long haul.
well, id have to disagree, because they did the exact opposite thing with the other faction class, assassin. they saw limited use (at least quality use) at first, then after the skill balance, they buffed up most of the assassin lines.

[Jeff Highwind]

Yea Burst Sins rule AB now, just organize 4 A/W's into a ninja death squad and you can floor any non-wamo in your path.

There's also A/E Signet Spike, which is just painful to fight against.

[unmatchedfury]

Yea but defensive rits are almost dead and only used because paragons can protect exactly like rits can. The paragon heals instead of reducing dmg.(generally) But yea. rits defensive spirit skills have basicly been floored.

[Jeff Highwind]

Yea, skills like "INCOMING!" and Ballad of Restoration (and similar hymns) are quite lovely. Morgahn has replaced my 3rd slot in my hero lineup over Zhed.