User:NightSilva/builds/pvp/monk

= Mo/A Blessed Escaper = {tested-build|AB|GvG|CM}

This build utilizes the effective support of the Blessed Light monk but adds more self-survivability with Return and Dark Escape.

Equipment

 * A negative energy set for focus swapping will help against energy denial.

Usage

 * Reversal of Fortune and Gift of Health are your two main healing spells.
 * Use Signet of Devotion whenever you can safely do so. This will help keep your energy reserves up.
 * Using Blessed Light to remove a hex and condition and to heal for its full amount is incredibly time- and energy-efficient; try to do this as often as possible.
 * Use Spirit Bond on targets that are likely to be taking large of amounts of damage soon, such as people being converged on by Warriors. Do not use it as a heal as it has a high energy cost.
 * Use Dark Escape when you are being targetted and are suffering lots of damage. The speed boost will help you get out of danger and you'll be taking half damage while doing so.
 * When being spiked by Warriors, use Return to teleport away from danger and leave the Warriors crippled.

Variants

 * Replace Spirit Bond with Guardian, Protective Spirit or Shield of Absorption.
 * Replace Mend Condition with Mend Ailment, Dismiss Condition or Holy Veil.

Template
= Mo/A Shadow Arts RC Monk =

{tested-build|GvG}

This build focuses on the use of the Monk elite Restore Condition to remove harmful Conditions that affect a party. With the excellent healing bonus provided by Restore Condition, the user is able to accomplish more than one task at a time; both removing conditions, as well as providing healing for the party. In combination with an Assassin's Shadow Arts skills, you gain additional defense on top of your existing protection from Enchantments in the Protection Prayers line.

Equipment

 * A positive energy set, and a negative energy set for weapon swapping.
 * A weapon of Enchanting can lengthen the duration of your enchantments.
 * Note that a weapon with a Crippling upgrade can increase the duration of Cripple, inflicted by Return.

Usage

 * Use Gift of Health for a general purpose heal.
 * Shield of Absorption is to be used for extra protection and damage reduction.
 * Cast Reversal of Fortune for an immediate heal and damage prevention.
 * Remove harmful conditions and heal allies with conditions on them with Restore Condition.
 * Signet of Devotion is to be used for an energy-free heal. It is an excellent follow-up after healing a target with your other spells.
 * Hexes can be removed with Holy Veil. Avoid maintaining this enchantment as it harms your energy pool.
 * Use Dark Escape for a speed boost or for instant damage reduction on incoming attacks and spells.
 * Shadow Step away from targets to your allies with Return. Note the crippling condition it inflicts on nearby foes.

Counters

 * Heavy Energy denial can be devastating if you're caught unprepared.
 * As with many other healing builds, Diversion can be very harmful if it hits a critical spell.
 * Note that the basis of this build does not involve removing conditions on yourself, unless you've taken an extra condition-removing spell for yourself.

Variants

 * Holy Veil can be replaced with any other hex removal skill, such as Smite Hex.
 * Some may wish to replace Shield of Absorption with Protective Spirit. It is vital that your team carries at least one copy of Protective Spirit.
 * For self condition removal, take Dismiss Condition or Mend Ailment. Most of the time it is better just to have a teammate with Draw Conditions.
 * An excellent skill for both condition and hex removal with no energy costs, would be Purge Signet. Since the majority of your skills cost only 5 energy, weapon swapping with Purge Signet can be extremely useful, and with low energy recovery times thanks to your cheap spell costs.
 * Dark Escape, while the preferred speed-boosting stance, can be replaced with another such as Dash.

Templates
= Mo/A Shadow Arts Zealous Healer =

{tested-build|RA|AB|TA}

This is a monk build to take advantage of the Protection Prayers' damage reducing capabilities and assassin escape skills along with Zealous Benediction in order to conserve energy expenditure.

Equipment

 * A insightful staff of enchanting with a HSR 20% mod such as Kepkhet's Refuge or The Yakslapper
 * A negative energy set for focus swapping will help against energy denial.
 * A one handed weapon with a crippling mod may also be a legitimate choice to increase the cripple duration from Return

Usage

 * Dismiss Condition used upon enchanted allies serves as a good cheap healing spell even if that ally has no conditions on them, but Reversal of Fortune should be used as a primary heal on allies being attacked.
 * Use Signet of Devotion whenever you can safely do so. This will help keep your energy reserves up.
 * Try to only use Zealous Benediction on allies that have health below 50% in order to take advantage of the energy gain bonus from the skill.
 * Protective Spirit should be used on any allies that are taking large amounts of damage per hit.
 * Use Dark Escape when you are being attacked or are being knocked down to reduce damage taken by 50%. Since it is a stance it can be used at any time. The speed bonus will help you get out of the way and prevent being knocked down again.
 * Return is to be used when you expect a spike from warriors in order to cripple them and quickly get out of harms way.
 * If an enemy is using a shutdown hex on you such as Backfire or Mark of Subversion, cast Holy Veil on yourself and leave it on until that hex is cast on you, then cancel Holy Veil to remove the hex without triggering it. Otherwise simply cast Holy Veil  on an ally with a hex on them and remove it immediately afterwards to utilize the skill as a normal hex remover.

Counters

 * Energy denial on this build, just as any monk build, can cause problems. Since it is necessary to have 10 energy in order to cast Zealous Benediction and gain 7 energy back, having less than 10 energy can be dangerous.  Hiding energy with focus swapping is the best way to protect yourself from this.
 * Mesmer shutdown spells, such as Signet of Humility and Diversion as well as the assassin skill Shadow Shroud can also be dangerous to this build. The best way to combat this is to watch enemies and cast Holy Veil on yourself if you expect to be hexed with something like this and release the enchantment once hexed.

Variants

 * Replace Protective Spirit with Spirit Bond or Shield of Absorption.
 * Replace Return for Shadow of Haste. Once Shadow of Haste has been used, Dark Escape can be activated to cause you to teleport to where Shadow of Haste was initially cast.  Since there are no cast times involved in this process, it holds a bit of an advantage if you expect to suffer from a lot of knockdowns.
 * A minor Protection Prayers rune may be used instead of a major to give the player more health.

Equipment

 * Runes of Minor or Major Protection Prayers, Minor or Major Divine Favor, Minor Healing Prayers, Superior Vigor.
 * A weapon of Enchanting is recommended to extend the duration of your enchantments. It is especially useful to maintain Vital Boon with minimal recasting.

Usage

 * Maintain Vital Boon with Conviction as much as possible.
 * Use Reversal of Fortune for damage prevention and a quick heal.
 * Signet of Devotion can be used for an energy-free heal.
 * Increase damage reduction on targets under pressure with Shield of Absorption.
 * Remove conditions with Dismiss Condition. Since you will always be enchanted with Vital Boon, you can use it on yourself for a fast heal.
 * Hexes can be removed with Holy Veil.
 * Cast Zealous Benediction for a massive heal on any target. Note its 10 Energy cost, and the energy gain on targets below 50% Health.

Counters

 * Heavy Enchantment removal can be troublesome.
 * Signet of Humility can disable Zealous Benediction, so beware.
 * Stance removal from skills such as Wild Throw can reduce your defensive capabilities.

Variants

 * Purge Signet can be used with this build. This requires weapon switching.
 * You may wish to replace Shield of Absorption with Protective Spirit.
 * A different condition removal skill such as Mend Ailment or Mend Condition may be used in place of Dismiss Condition.
 * Take Signet of Devotion for a free heal.
 * Take Fleeting Stability to prevent against knockdowns.

Templates
= Mo/D Mystic Protection =

{tested-build|RA|TA}

The Mo/D Mystic Protection build is a hybrid which utilizes Wind Prayers to provide a powerful, party-wide heal (Mystic Healing) as well as Protection Prayers for another powerful heal (Zealous Benediction), Condition Removal, and other useful Enchantments. This build is primarily intended for 4 person arenas like RA and TA since Mystic Healing will only heal 3-4 allies on average.

Attributes and Skills

 * Some nice skills for the Optional Slot are Featherfoot Grace or Vow of Piety. Lyssa's Haste may also work.

Equipment

 * Any Staff or Wand/Offhand combination will work as long as they are tied to Protection Prayers and have a 20% Enchantment Modifier. A perfect example is Sadi's Benediction.
 * Ascetic's Armor or armor fully equipped with Radiant insignias is recommended for the additional energy, but Acolyte's Armor or armor equipped with Blessed insignias will also work nicely for the additional armor.

Usage

 * Cast Holy Veil on yourself at the start of the match.
 * Cast Shield of Absorption and your other protective Enchantments on yourself if you come under attack, but continue to use Mystic Healing.
 * When you have an opportunity, you can also cast other Enchantments on yourself to make Mystic Healing more powerful
 * Try to only use Zealous Benediction on allies that have health below 50% in order to take advantage of the energy gain bonus from the skill.
 * Dismiss Condition can be used both as cheap condition removal on enchanted allies as well as a cheap heal
 * Reversal of Fortune should be spammed on allies. This should be your primary heal on allies under attack
 * Protective Spirit should be used on allies under heavy fire.

Counters

 * Enchantment Removal
 * Energy Denial (Focus Swapping can help negate this problem)
 * Anti-Spam Skills (Such as Diversion)

Variants
Skills to Consider:
 * Gift of Health
 * Guardian
 * Blessed Aura

= Mo/E Deliverance Runner =

{tested-build|GvG}

This build utilizes the Elementalist skill Glyph of Lesser Energy in order to provide a way to cast Aegis as well as other skills from the Monk Protection Prayers line. This allows for a quite versatile support build, as well as playing the role of flag running in a Guild versus Guild situation.

Equipment

 * Acolyte's Armor for the +10 Armor while enchanted
 * Insightful +5 energy 20/20 Protection staff with +20% enchanting Suffix

Usage

 * Use Storm Djinn's Haste for increased running speed.
 * Spam Light of Deliverance as needed to heal party members from long-range.
 * Precast Glyph of Lesser Energy, and follow up with Aegis and Extinguish for long-ranged defense and condition removal for the entire party.
 * Use Words of Comfort as a general purpose heal, for both yourself, or allied NPC's taking damage.
 * Mending Touch should be used on yourself to remove conditions. This is especially useful in maps like the Burning Isle.
 * Cast Shield of Absorption on targets under pressure.

Counters

 * Becoming Dazed.
 * Interrupts and Hexes
 * Diversion is a dangerous shutdown that should be avoided.

Variants

 * You may wish to switch Shield of Absorption with Protective Spirit.
 * Reversal of Fortune for extra healing and damage prevention.
 * Hex removal may be useful, but is rarely encountered when flagging. If you expect to encounter it, take Holy Veil to counter it.
 * If you want even more healing, take Heal Party as well.
 * Take Dismiss Condition in place of Mending Touch or in the optional slot for greater healing capabilities when removing conditions.
 * Healing Touch for a strong self heal.

Templates
= Mo/E SoD Grasping Monk =

{tested-build|GvG}

By using the Elite skill Shield of Deflection, this monk is able to reduce melee pressure drasticaly. By using a hex from the Earth Magic line, he is able to easily kite away from his enemies. This build is to be used in GvG.

Equipment

 * Enchanting weapon.
 * High and low energy sets.

Usage

 * Cast Shield of Deflection on an ally under melee pressure or threat of spike
 * Use Reversal of Fortune, Dismiss Condition, and Gift of Health when appropriate
 * Use Protective Spirit to counters spikes and heavy damage from the enemy team.
 * Activate Grasping Earth when surrounded by foes, then kite away.
 * To counter Hexes, use Holy Veil.
 * Cast Glyph of Lesser Energy then SoD x2 or SoD + PS.

= Mo/E SoR Monk =

{tested-build|RA|TA|HA|AB}

This build uses the powerful Monk elite skill Shield of Regeneration to provide excellent healing and protection on allies taking damage. Other Monk skills are used to provide additional healing and damage reduction. The regularly energy-heavy skill set is supported by energy management through the Elementalist skill Glyph of Lesser Energy. Combining many different aspects of party support, an excellent backline healer build is created.

Attributes and Skills

 * The optional slot should be filled with one of the following
 * Shielding Hands can be used to follow up Shield of Regeneration to reduce most damage to zero.
 * Shield of Absorption is effective against fast-paced spikes, as it builds up damage reduction rapidly.
 * Aegis is a decent choice as well, though its high energy cost may throw the build out of rhythm.
 * Guardian is a good spammable spell, as it will allow you to heal for a small amount and prevent damage. Remember that in HA, both this and Aegis can be rendered useless against BoA sins that bring Expose Defenses.
 * If you have a dual monk team, Spirit Bond may also be acceptable. Otherwise, its' only advantage over Guardian is the quick casting time.

Equipment

 * Armor
 * Energy armor is suggested
 * Protection Scalp Design
 * Weapons
 * Anything that increases enchantment length by 20%
 * Runes
 * Minor Protection Prayers should be used in GvG and HA, but Superior Protection Prayers can be used for +2 regen and a longer duration on SoR at the cost of some health.
 * Superior Vigor
 * Minor Healing Prayers
 * Minor Divine favor

Usage

 * Provide damage reduction and healing on allies with Reversal of Fortune.
 * Gift of Health provides excellent healing on targets.
 * Use Signet of Devotion for an energy-free heal. It is also usable under Backfire or while Dazed.
 * Remove harmful conditions with Dismiss Condition. Remember that an ally is healed as long as they are enchanted.
 * Glyph of Lesser Energy should be used before casting expensive spells.
 * Protect allies with Shield of Regeneration.
 * Holy Veil is used to remove hexes.
 * AB Note: Note where Necromancer and Mesmer Shrines. If you're not under pressure while on your way to them, pre-cast Holy Veil on soft targets. If you do it early enough, you will recover all your energy and have Holy Veil ready for another use upon arrival. If you're under pressure, it is better to use Gift of Health and Signet of Devotion at these shrines rather than depending on Holy Veil. Beware that the Necromancers cast Defile Enchantments and the Mesmers cast Shatter Enchantment. Strip Holy Veil from teammates who are low on health before arriving or they may be killed.

Counters

 * Condition heavy builds, especially those with daze, can cause problems
 * Armor ignoring damage
 * Knockdown
 * Anti-caster mesmer spells such as Diversion
 * Enchantment Removal, especially when followed by Blackout.

Variants

 * Smite Hex can replace Holy Veil to eliminate the awkward double-click removal of Holy Veil.
 * Shield of Absorption.
 * Protective Spirit.
 * Mending Touch can sometimes save you from condition heavy builds, especially those that daze.
 * Shielding Hands. The 40 armor of SoR and the damage reduction of Shielding Hands often makes hits against your shielded ally do very little to no damage.

Templates
= Mo/E ZB Glyph Monk =

{tested-build|GvG}

This build uses the Monk elite skill Zealous Benediction to provide excellent healing for a party. It uses the Elementalist skill Glyph of Lesser Energy for energy management, allowing the ability to use high energy cost skills such as Aegis to provide party-wide protection.

Equipment

 * Any weapon can be used with this build, providing you meet its requirements.
 * As with any caster build, it is preferred that you take a High, Medium, and Low energy set.
 * Recommended upgrades for your weapon include of Enchanting and of Fortitude suffix upgrades, and "I Have the Power!" inscriptions.

Usage

 * Your primary healing skill is Gift of Health. It should be used on targets above 50% Health.
 * Use Reversal of Fortune as an immediate damage prevention, as well as healing, from the next attack.
 * Remove harmful conditions with Dismiss Condition. Note the healing bonus on enchanted targets.
 * Enchant allies with Shield of Absorption for damage reduction.
 * Zealous Benediction should be used to heal targets under 50% Health.
 * Use Glyph of Lesser energy before casting Aegis to reduce its high energy cost.
 * Holy Veil should be used to remove hexes. (cast and remove)
 * Note that using Zealous Benediction on targets below 50% while under the effects of Glyph of Lesser Energy will actually result in net energy gain.

Counters

 * Energy denial, while not as dangerous as it is on other builds, can still pose a problem with this build.
 * Diversion can be particularly devastating, as it can shut down a skill for a long duration.

Variants

 * For a heavier focus on damage mitigation against pressure swap Gift of Health for Shield of Absorption
 * Dismiss Condition can be replaced with another condition removal skill of your choice.
 * As with all Zealous Benediction builds, Purge Signet can be used.
 * Spirit Bond and Protective Spirit are fairly interchangeable.

= Mo/Me Diverted Support =

{tested-build|HA}

This build was originally designed for HA. It can also be used as a normal back-up healing in any other kind of PvP, except when there's no second monk, because this one cannot handle a full team alone.

Attributes and Skills
Template Code: OwUUMsG+WoOzkwInukspvr1DTAA

Equipment

 * Full Radiant Insignia Armor with Superior Vigor, Minor Protection Prayers and Minor Divine Favor. All other pieces should use Runes of Atunement.
 * A +5 energy Sword/Axe of Enchanting and a 20/20 Protection Offhand. Consider equiping low and high energy focus swaps.

Usage

 * Keep Channeling up all the time.
 * Reversal of Fortune, Gift of Health, and Signet of Devotion are your main healing skills.
 * Divert Hexes can remove a large number of hexes from a teammate. It can also be used to remove conditions, but only when there are hexes present.
 * Shield of Absorption and Protective Spirit are protecting skills to prevent spikes.
 * Dismiss Condition for condition removal and healing.

Counters

 * Various Anti-caster builds.

Variants

 * Take Holy Veil to have a counter for Diversion or Migraine skills.

Equipment

 * An Insightful Staff of Healing Prayers (20/20)
 * Armor with Radiant Insignia

Usage

 * The low Hex and Condition removal capability is compensated by the high healing power. The four Healing spells recharge fast enough that you can always cast at least one of them.
 * Even though Ethereal Light has the "easily interrupted" limitation (any direct weapon damage interrupts the cast), it becomes much stronger with a ½ second cast time from Healer's Boon, and Healing Touch, already powerful to begin with, becomes virtually uninterruptible.
 * If under heavy attack, resort to Healing Touch for yourself. Save Dwayna's Kiss for a fast response to your allies in trouble and use Orison for maintenance healing (i.e., keeping yourself and your allies at high Health levels).
 * Dismiss Condition has a faster recharge than Mend Ailment, making it the skill of choice for removing a Condition.
 * Inspired Hex returns useful Energy with Inspiration Magic at 12. Channeling covers Healer's Boon and helps balance the -1 Energy regeneration penalty.

Variants

 * Heal Party is often used in HA and GvG due to the extremely efficient party heal while under Healer's Boon. Keep in mind that this will be extremely hard on your energy, so efficient use of channeling and/or a supportive team build will be necessary.
 * Holy Veil can replace Inspired Hex.
 * Words of Comfort can replace Dwayna's Kiss, Orison of Healing, or Ethereal Light for a large heal on allies with conditions.
 * Heal Other can replace Dwayna's Kiss, Orison of Healing, or Ethereal Light for a fast big heal to save spikes with; similar in function to Infuse Health except without the health loss.

Counters

 * Knockdown
 * Enchantment removal
 * Energy denial
 * anti-caster Hexes
 * Dazed
 * Large numbers of hexes

Template
= Mo/Me RC Prot =

{tested-build|HA}

The RC Prot (also active prot) monk uses his high Protection Prayers rank and condition/hex removal to keep the team safe. This build is recommended for Heroes' Ascent.

Usage

 * Restore Condition and Protective Spirit are your main skills. The former removes all conditions at once and heals a significant amount, and the latter limits many kinds of spike damage.
 * Inspired Hex doubles as hex removal and energy management. It can be substituted for its duplicate skill Revealed Hex.
 * Holy Veil is a second hex removal. Most casters will cover important hexes, so it is nice to be able to remove more than one hex in a short time. Holy Veil can be replaced by Contemplation of Purity if the concern is mainly for the monk itself.
 * Aegis is very good against ranger, warrior and assassin heavy teams that attack more than one of your team mates at once.
 * Channeling is a fountain of energy. Just remember not to put yourself in too great a danger.

Equipment

 * A -5 energy set
 * A 30/-2 energy set
 * An enchanting weapon
 * Select weapons to preference.

Usage

 * Maintain Hex Breaker.
 * Precast Holy Veil on your self, and/or your melee (these are the prime targets for hexes, it allows for fast removal of Faintheartedness etc. from your melee, and otherwise unremovable debuffs such as Shame or Diversion from your self.).
 * Use Reversal of Fortune to react to damage.
 * Gift of Health is your main heal, use it whenever possible.
 * Spirit Bond should be used to protect against heavy hitters such as hammer warriors, dervishes and elementalists.
 * Use Dismiss Condition to strip dangerous conditions from allies.
 * Zealous Benediction can be used for a massive, cheap heal once an ally drops below 50% health. Don't get in to the habit of waiting for them to drop though, make use of Reversal of Fortune and Gift of Health to keep them alive - if an ally is below 50% health, faced with a pumped-up warrior or an assassin, the ally could be dead before you complete casting of ZB.
 * Don't make red bars go up - prevent damage.

Counters

 * Daze/Interruption
 * Knockdown
 * Signet of Humility
 * Energy Denial

Variants

 * Dismiss Condition can be replaced with Mend Condition or Mend Ailment.
 * Shield of Absorption can be replaced with Shielding Hands.

Usage

 * Use Light of Deliverance to maintain the health of your party at an adequate level.
 * Dwayna's Kiss is your big heal, it excels against hex stacks.
 * Cast Infuse Health as fast as possible on allies that are dangerously low on Health. This is expensive - use your best judgement with this skill.
 * Allies under pressure, or Frenzying Warriors should be covered with Spirit Bond.
 * Holy Veil should be used to remove Hexes. This should not be maintained, but cast and removed immediately.
 * Use Shield Bash to defend against enemy attack skills.
 * Balanced Stance should be used if knockdowns are attempted but not at the same time with other stances.

Equipment

 * A negative energy set and positive ones.
 * A shield.

Variants

 * Balanced Stance can be replaced with Mending Touch for splitting.
 * Holy Veil may be replaced with a different Hex-removal skill such as Smite Hex.
 * For a different situational heal, replace Dwayna's Kiss with other Healing Prayers skills such as Heal Other, Ethereal Light, or Words of Comfort.

Counters

 * Heavy Energy denial can be destructive, due to the lack of energy management skills.
 * Skills which increase casting time can be damaging.

Templates
= Mo/W ZB Infuser =

{tested-build|GvG|}

This build primarily uses Protection Prayers skills like Zealous Benediction, Tactics line skills such as Balanced Stance, and the powerful healing skill Infuse Health to keep allies alive whilst preventing from being knocked down.

Equipment

 * Player's Choice.(Radiant or Survivor armor is preferred)
 * Sword with +5 energy and 20% enchant mod (or a Fortitude modification) and a max armor Shield, +30 health. Since you have balanced stance, try to get a shield with a -2 while in a stance.
 * Focus swapping items for energy when needed.

Usage
Use Zealous Benediction on targets with low health. Use Infuse Health on targets getting spiked (this requires a fast reaction time). Use Reversal of Fortune and Shield of Absorption on allies about to be taking heavy damage. Use Dismiss condition for condition removal. Use Shield Bash and Balanced Stance when you think you are getting spiked, or if you know you are about to be. Otherwise, don't spam those skills. Try to keep your energy up, casting a spell maybe once every 3-4 seconds.

Counters

 * General spellcasting counters, such Backfire and Diversion.
 * Knockdowns while Balanced Stance isn't up.

Variants

 * Use Deadly Riposte or Riposte instead of Shield Bash. Be sure to bring a sword should you do so.

= Mo/any RC Bonder =

{tested-build|RA}

RC bonder is a Monk build focused on Random Arena matches. It is extremely powerful here because random groups very rarely deal with it appropriately.

Equipment
Armor set can be chosen according to philosophy, with Ascetic's Armor possibly being the most useful for the higher energy pool. However, if surviving is a problem, Acolyte's Armor provides its benefit continually with this build.

Any weapon combination that lowers casting and recharge times of Protection Prayers will work well with this build. A couple of suggestions are:
 * Jayne's Staff.
 * Kepkhet's Refuge.
 * A Holy Staff from Nord Stonegrimm fitted with a perfect Insightful or Hale staff head and wrapping of Enchanting.

Usage
Maintain Balthazar's Spirit and Divine Boon at all times. In addition, keep Life Bond on the other 3 party members. Before battle or during lulls, Blessed Signet will more than offset the energy drain. In battle, Balthazar's Spirit will provide energy. Healing is not as necessary because of the damage reduction, so Divine Boon on top of Reversal of Fortune or Restore Condition is enough to maintain healing. The quick recharge and low energy cost of these spells keeps the energy demands low.

In the Random Arena, you encounter one of a few types of attackers. Most anti-monk Mesmers focus on anti-casting spells such as Blackout and Backfire, which do little to a monk maintaining enchantments. Warriors that target you early are easy to notice and avoid. Usually, just running is an easy enough tactic. Your enchantments are still contributing to the effort, and if you have one or two chasers, the rest of your team will have little difficulty in taking out the remaining players with Life Bond on them.

Counters
If you get the focus of more than one enemy and they're good with snares, you can die very quickly. This is rare in the Random Arenas, but it does happen. After death, your efficacy is greatly diminished because you don't have the time or energy pool to recast your enchantments. Life Bond (and therefore Balthazar's Spirit) are not worth recasting, so you turn into a reduced Boon Healer at that point.

High damage casters such as Necromancers with Vampiric Touch/Vampiric Gaze or Elementalists that are not getting interrupted can be a nuisance. Fortunately, such targets get killed very quickly in random games, particularly if you warn your group beforehand.

The biggest obvious weakness is getting your enchantments stripped. Mass enchantment removal is very rare in Random Arenas. Sometimes, Life Bond will get stripped off your allies, but you can easily recast it. It is important to order your enchantments such that your most important ones are deepest and the cheaper/less important ones are used as cover.

An Assassin with Shroud of Silence (which makes you unable to cast spells) can shut you down very easily.

Variants
A major variation is to drop the Boon Healer part of the build. Replace Divine Boon and Restore Condition with Bonetti's Defense and Shield of Regeneration. Maintaining one fewer Enchantment makes a big difference in your energy regeneration. You're also better off not running from melee attackers, as Guardian+Bonetti's Defense will quickly refill your energy bar. In situations where a Warrior or Pet or Spirits target you and continually attacks you, you end up with an endless energy pool and your team will be nearly invincible. You can also replace RC and Divine Boon with mend ailment (for conditions) and ZB for healing, when a target is subject to heavy damage, because of the conditional energy gain on ZB you should be ok with maintaining your energy.

Equipment

 * Acolyte's Armor, with a Superior Vigor Rune, a Rune of Vitae and a Rune of Vitae, is recomended although this is flexible.

Standard Set

 * A PvP Axe or Sword of Enchanting with a "I have the power" inscription and a PvP Protective Icon of Fortitude with a "Forget Me Not" inscription.

High Energy Set

 * A PvP Holy Rod of Memory with a "Seize the Day" inscription and a PvP Protective Icon of Fortitude with a "Live for Today" inscription for emergency energy.

Low Energy Set

 * A PvP Axe or Sword of Enchanting with a "Brawn over Brains" inscription and a PvP Shield of Devotion with a "Sheltered by Faith" inscription as a counter for energy denial.

Usage
Begin by casting life bond on all other members of your party, followed by Balthazar's Spirit on yourself and Blessed Signet to regain energy. Throughout the fight maintain all four enchantments, the energy from Balthazar's Spirit (suplemented by Blessed Signet as required) should be enough to fulfill your energy needs.

Utilize Dismiss Condition as a heal for small health loss as well as a condition removal skill - your maintained enchantments will ensure the healing effect takes place, unless enchantments have been stripped. Whenever a players health drops below 50% use Zealous Benediction for a free heal.

Shield of Absorption is an excellent method of protection versus Warrior or Assassin harasment and should be used often to protect the bonder, or other team members.

Counters

 * Enchantment removal, in particular of Balthazar's Spirit, can severely decrease your effectiveness if situations prevent their reapplication.
 * Energy denial
 * Standard Monk counters

Variants

 * Reversal of Fortune can be replaced with any of the following:
 * Inspired Hex/Revealed Hex for greater hex removal capabilities (use with remaining Attribute Points in Inspiration Magic)
 * Signet of Devotion for a free healing skill
 * Guardian for protection against melee foes across multiple team members to supplement Shield of Absorption, which can protect only one person at a time.
 * Spirit Bond or Protective Spirit to counter Spikes


 * Holy Veil can be swapped out for Inspired Hex/Revealed Hex, for free hex removal (with remaining points in inspiration magic) and to eliminate the awkward double-clicking action needed with Holy Veil
 * Adding a combination of Guardian and Deadly Riposte greatly increases your defenses against melee and assassin spikes.