User:Lord Belar

For my own reference:

The Underworld Vengeful Farmer build can be used to farm the Bladed Aatxe, Grasping Darknesses and Smite Crawlers. It mainly uses the Item Spell Vengeful Was Khanhei(VWK) to preserve health and damage all attacking opponents.

Equipment

 * Tempest Armor(armor + 10 while affected by an Enchantment Spell) with two Runes of Attunement and a Major/Superior Vigor Rune.
 * Galigord's Stone Staff or a Ritualistic Ghostly Staff as energy management is rather hard.
 * A Longbow.

Fighting Aatxes and Nightmares

 * When entering the Underworld, do not take Clear the Chamber from the Lost Soul straight away.
 * Go to a nearby group of Bladed Aatxe and aggro only the Aatxe that is patrolling. If the patrolling Aatxe is stuck in a mob of stationary Aatxes, lure them, and run to where the farthest NPC stands. By running this far you should break aggro of the stationary ones. Should a Dying Nightmare pop up during the proccess, hide behind that NPC. Now, the NPC in front of you will effectively body-block the following Aatxe, giving you enough time to kill the Nightmare and cast your enchantments.
 * Cast Earth Attunement, Kinetic Armor, Glyph of Lesser Energy, Armor of Earth and Stoneflesh Aura in this order.
 * Use Glyph of Concentration before the fight and cast Vengeful Was Khanhei as the Aatxe begins hitting you.
 * While fighting, cast Glyph of Concentration followed by Stoneflesh Aura, and Glyph of Lesser Energy followed by Armor of Earth. This skill combo should allow you to maintain your energy without getting interrupted and to keep your energy at an acceptable level. Also, Savage Slash, their only interrupt, has a recharge of 20 seconds. If you notice your foes had just used this skill, you may cast your spells without GoC to further save on energy.
 * When VWK is not active, cast Vengeful Weapon to maintain your health at near full level. Whatever you do, do not try to spam it as you will find yourself low on energy very fast.
 * Do not forget to maintain Kinetic Armor. Time your Vengeful Weapon to keep it up.
 * After taking out one group of enemies scout the nearby area for any Dying Nightmares.
 * When you are finished eliminating all the Aatxe in the chamber take the quest from the Lost Soul.

Fighting Darknesses

 * Grasping Darknesses are incredible anti-casters and can take you down very easily.
 * You will only need Armor of Earth and Stoneflesh Aura for this as keeping up Kinetic Armor will be harsh on your energy pool.
 * Always use Glyph of Concentration before applying your enchantments, then quickly use VwK to try and avoid interruption.
 * When VwK is not active, try kiting around in circles to prevent their adrenaline gain as much as possible.
 * Do not give up even if their "Fear Me!" drains your energy to zero. Kite around until your energy recovers to 5. Cast Glyph of Lesser Energy followed by VwK, Followed by Armor of Earth.
 * After Dealing with the Darknesses exit the chamber to the north and proceed to the Ice Wastes.

Fighting Smites

 * You will find two groups of two Bladed Aatxe each and one of Grasping Darknesses and possibly a Dying Nightmare. Avoid them completely by luring the first group of Aatxe and running past them, without aggroing, to reach the second.
 * These are the last Aatxe you will see, now your primary foes are the Smite Crawlers. As Smite Crawlers only do about 50 to 60 damage, you will not need to maintain Kinetic Armor here either. What will pose a threat here are the Coldfire Nights (see Variants section of this article) that patrol the area and the Dying Nightmares that may appear out of nowhere.
 * Simply use VWK and Vengeful Weapon here to finish off the groups of Smite Crawlers.

Counters

 * Failure to maintain Kinetic Armor, Armor of Earth and Stoneflesh Aura while fighting the Aatxe.
 * Interruptions.
 * Strip of enchantments at inopportune times.
 * Overuse of energy and energy denial.

Variants

 * The same build is possible with a Ritualist primary. Even with low Earth Magic, you still take zero damage from the Aatxes when all your enchantments are up. Although this can kill foes quite faster than an E/Rt, the lower energy pool and shorter duration of Stoneflesh Aura makes the run more difficult. A 20% enchant mod is a must for this variant. Note that Armor of Earth significantly slows your movement, thus should not be used when aggroing the first mob of Aatxes. You may fail to shelter behind the NPC with your slowness.

A Vengeful Farmer is a Ritualist that employs the elite Vengeful Was Khanhei (VWK). When a foe attacks you through melee or ranged attacks, they lose health for each attack and you gain that lost health. Using dolyak signet a warrior can alternate between these for farming Smite Crawlers in the underworld.

Equipment

 * Armor: Warrior Gladiator's Armor is best, although not vital.
 * Weapons: A +5 energy sword/axe/spear with a +30hp or +7 armor mod. A shield with +30hp always and damage -5 (chance: 20%). Also shields with stance bonuses are advisable for the running portion and you could replace the +5 energy weapon for a weapon with "let the memory live again" to reduce the recharge time of Vengeful Was Khanhei.

Usage
Carefully approach, and take the quest from the Lost Soul who should be in front of you.

If you accidentally aggro a Bladed Aatxe, hit Sprint and run straight to the cliff wall behind you, this should break any aggro. If you attract a Dying Nightmare, use Vengeful Weapon until you kill it.

Once the quest was taken, you should have noticed some monsters appear on your mini-map. They are Grasping Darknesses, so we need to lure and kill them to escape from the chamber.

So aggro the closest group, usually of about 4 Grasping’s. This will normally also aggro the Bladed Aatxe, so we hit sprint, and run straight to the back wall. Only the Graspings should follow. (You could also use a longbow for luring the Graspings, that way you can save 5 energy from not having to use Sprint.)

Once lured, use Dolyak Signet, attack them with your sword (or axe) until Bonetti’s is charged, once charged use Bonetti’s, then Vengeful was Khanhei.

Repeat until they are dead. The main problem with Grasping's are their interrupts and energy drain, both of which can be tackled with Bonetti’s. Use it as a cover when casting VWK.

Once you have killed the 3 Groups of Graspings required for the quest, you can escape the chamber.

After escape you have to aim for smites, they are the creatures that you can kill that will drop ecto. On reaching the Smites, just spam all the skills except the running ones.

For a better sight go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO4nVP_ZHvc

This build uses Stone Striker to convert damage received into Earth Damage, which trigger Mantra of Earth to reduce the damage and gain energy. Stoneflesh Aura then reduces the damage further. By using high damage dealing skills, this build may be used to solo the Smite Crawlers in the Underworld within 10 minutes.

Equipment

 * Geomancer armor, though not required, will provide you with 20 extra armor.
 * Anything along the lines of Galigord's Stone Staff.

Clear the Chamber

 * Upon entering the Underworld, watch the patrolling Bladed Aatxes in front of the Lost Soul.
 * When they are far away from him, use Storm Djinn's Haste to run and take the Clear the Chamber quest from him.
 * Run back as soon as you accept it and wait in the centre. Make sure you retarget yourself with the "F" key.
 * The best way to do this is if you press the "R" key after the "X" key. Which will auto-reverse and run you back.
 * Kill any Dying Nightmares along the edge if you popped them
 * If they are patrolling wait for them to leave before the next step.
 * Do not forget to re-target yourself before proceeding as you will eventually enchant the NPC instead of you.
 * Cast Stone Striker, Mantra of Earth and Storm Djinn's Haste.
 * Cast Stoneflesh Aura and Aggro 1 group of Grasping Darkness’ at a time and return back to the centre as far back as you can.
 * Use the same X-R technique to make this safer.
 * Wait until all of the Grasping Darkness’ use up their Distracting Blows. This is about 5 seconds.
 * Attacking them will induce their Interrupts but make sure you count how many Grasping Darkness' there are and how many have interrupted you.
 * Cast Ancestor's Visage, wait another 5 seconds.
 * Recast Stoneflesh Aura then use Sandstorm followed by Dragon's Stomp 1 second after and Aftershock immediately after.
 * Those that are not dead will run, this is your chance to renew your Stone Striker.
 * Those returning will attack with Distracting Blow as soon as they get back, and remember to count.
 * Cast Ancestor's Visage again and wait 5 seconds.
 * Recast Stoneflesh Aura and use Aftershock.
 * Those still not dead you may simply wand to death.
 * Another method for killing the Grasping Darkness' is to do exactly the same thing, but wait about 1 second before activating Dragon's Stomp, this way, they will often die before running.
 * Do the same for the other groups.
 * Agroing multiple groups of grasping darknesses can be dangerous because of all the interrupting, it's best to go one group at a time.

Getting to the Ice Wastes

 * After killing the 3 mobs of Grasping Darkness' you will be able to leave the central chamber.
 * Carefully watch the Bladed Aatxe patrols East of where you first entered the Underworld.
 * Make sure that they are away from the tunnel leading into the next room.
 * Run out of the chamber with Storm Djinn's Haste.
 * In the tunnel, wait until the Grasping Darkness' and Dying Nightmare patrol are far away (marked by the X in the map).
 * Run into the Ice Wastes with Storm Djinn's Haste.
 * Once in the Ice Wastes you can farm the Smite Crawlers in the same way you killed the Grasping Darkness’ except use Sandstorm immediately followed by Dragon's Stomp and Aftershock without the 1 second delay.
 * Watch out for Coldfire Nights, do not aggro them.
 * If you do, instantly hit Storm Djinn's Haste and try to run away in a zig-zag pattern to dodge Shard Storm.


 * When Dying Nightmares do pop, let it strip you, then put all enchantments back on. Smite Crawlers can’t kill you before you replace Stoneflesh Aura.

List of Farmable Areas

 * The Underworld
 * Minotaurs at Elona Reach (Recommended to bring Glyph of Elemental Power)
 * Mountain Trolls outside of Droknar's Forge
 * Kirins outside of Maatu Keep (Pongmei Valley exit) (bring a snare skill)
 * Ice Imps outside of the Ice Caves of Sorrow
 * Icy Dragon Sword farming in the Mineral Springs, (build explained in talk)
 * Minotaurs outside Ice Tooth Cave
 * Insects in Arkjok Ward just outside Yohlon Haven.

Farmable Bosses

 * Zelnehlun Fastfoot in The Floodplain of Mahnkelon, a short distance east of Rilohn Refuge (bring Aura of Restoration)
 * Exuro Flatus in Domain of Secrets
 * Bring Aura of Restoration, Armor of Earth and whatever damage skills you see fit. Do not forget to turn your Lightbringer title on.
 * Or use Glyph of Renewal, Sliver Armor, Crystal Wave and Ether Feast
 * Riktund the Vicious in The Mirror of Lyss
 * Bring Storm Djinn's Haste and run out of Beetle's and take Aura of Restoration.

Counters

 * Degeneration (unless you bring either Aura of Restoration or Ether Feast)
 * Enchantment stripping.
 * Stance removal.
 * Interrupts coming from those not adjacent to you.
 * Heavy damage output. (for example Bladed Aatxes or Coldfire Nights)

A Vengeful Farmer is a Ritualist that employs the elite Vengeful Was Khanhei (VWK). When a foe attacks you through melee or ranged attacks, they lose health for each attack and you gain that lost health. Using Arcane Echo, you can extend the duration of VWK.

Equipment

 * Armor: Oracle's Armor (+10 AL while holding an item) is good. If energy is a problem then Halcyon's Armor.
 * Weapons: Spiritgarden's Repose or anysuch weapon is recommended (but not required). The 20% faster recharge can make VWK recharge even faster. A one-handed weapon and focus with HSR 20% each will even increase your chance of recharging VWK.
 * Any weapon you want to take is fine as the item spell will cancel out any bonus from it except the initial cast.

Usage
This build is optimal for farming groups of enemies that are mostly attackers (warriors or rangers) and that do not have heavy interruption, enchantment removal or spike damage. As such, it can farm a wide variety of areas ranging from the Jade Brotherhood in Kaineng Center to the Undergrowths in Echovald Forest and the Naga in the Jade Sea.

Before encountering foes
 * Before engaging foes, hit Arcane Echo.
 * Go into enemy foes and round them up around yourself. This means taking the melee attackers to the ranged attackers.
 * Invoke Vengeful Was Khanhei. If Arcane Echo starts blinking before you are done rounding up enemies, invoke VWK anyways.
 * Continuously use Vengeful Weapon as it recharges.
 * Invoke Sympathetic Visage and when it runs out invoke Ancestor's Visage (AV). If you fear interruption you might want to cast one of them before you go in. If you do this, make sure to cast them before Arcane Echo.
 * When the first VwK runs out, use the echoed version. By the time the echoed version runs out the original will have recharged.

Counters

 * Groups with interruption will interrupt SV or AV, this is why having both is a good insurance policy.
 * Groups with enchantment removal will remove SV and AV off of you.
 * Bosses are generally very formidable as they do increased damage that, over time, is more than what VWK steals back.

Variants
In the optional slots, a few skills can be used to boost your defense:
 * Elemental Resistance: When facing groups of Undergrowths, Stone Scale Kirin and Dragon Moss. The moss can spike hard using Arc Lightning and Shatterstone.
 * Physical Resistance: When facing warriors or rangers that hit hard (Jade Brotherhood Knights or Naga Archers), this can be used to boost resistance.

The AoE Nuker build is for those who are keen into helping out your party be doing large amounts of damage against many foes at once. The build is NOT intented for PvP, but it has worked for me on occasion. Because this build doesn't have elite skills, it may seem worthless, but trust me, it's very helpful against large groups of enimies. Using this build requires you to stay primarily at the back of your group, using your skills Meteor Shower, Rodgort's Invocation, and Searing Heat sparangly so you don't run out of energy.

Attributes and Skills

 * Replace Elemental Attunement for Glyph of Energy or Glyph of Renewal.
 * "Aura of Restoration" works like an Optional slot. NOTE: Replacing this skill with another will most likely require you to have a healer in your party.

Equipment

 * Droknars Forge Armour (or armour of the same stats with mods)
 * I use a GOLD Fire Staff of Shelter, but using a GOLD fire staff with some good mods will work just fine.

Usage
NOTE: Be sure to always use Aura of Restoration before you start attacking. Using Meteor Shower first would effect most of the enemy group, then using other skills would finish the job. :) Because the skills use up a lot of energy, healing will be no problem. Using this build requires a lot of attention to where all of your enemies are. Use either Phoenix or Fireball to start off on a foe, then once they group together, use either Searing Heat or Rodgort's Invocation to lower all of their health. Using either Inferno or Flame Djinn's Haste while melee enemies or other enemies are around you causes them to lose a lot of health. NOTE: Using these skills will make them run away (enemies in PvE ONLY), so then use Fireball or Phoenix to finish them off.

Counters

 * This build DOES NOT go well with Anti-Casters in PvP, but it does work against many other types of enemies.
 * Health degeneration

The Discord Spammer uses the Air Magic skill Gale to knockdown foes, then follows up with potent Death Magic spells to set up for Discord spamming.

Equipment

 * Tormentor's or a Scar Pattern is recommended for extra armor or extra energy.
 * 20/20 Insightful Death Staff of Fortitude.

Usage

 * Choose a target and start of by casting Gale then Fetid Ground and follow up with Rising Bile (if you expect the target to be tough to take down) and cover with Parasitic Bond. If the target has no self healing or is weakened already, Parasitic Bond alone should work. Once your target has the mandatory condition and hex, begin spamming Discord, reapplying the hex and condition when needed.
 * Enervating Charge is to be used to apply weakness, for either an additional condition or melee defense.
 * Consume Corpse is your Energy management and self heal, and should be used as required.
 * When facing large groups of enemies, Rising Bile works well when placed on an enemy who will survive the whole 20 seconds, as the AoE damage will have most effect then.
 * When using this build in Random Arenas, try to let other team members go in first, due to your lack of healing when matches start.

Counters

 * General anti spam spells like Backfire and Diversion.
 * At the start of battle, due to lack of corpses, you will have no self heal.
 * Good condition and hex removal, though Parasitic Bond and Enervating Charge are both relativly spammable.

Variants

 * Skill for the optional slot include Vile Miasma, Whirlwind, Verata's Aura, or Taste of Pain, though most Death Magic skills work. Resurrection Signet should be used for TA or RA.
 * Soul Feast or Taste of Pain can replace Consume Corpse, but leaves you with little energy management.
 * Switch to N/Me and replace, Fetid Ground, Gale, and Enervating Charge with, Enfeeble, Arcane Echo, and Taste of Pain. Move the air attribute points to curses. This lets you spam discord faster allowing for quicker kills. It also lets you set up Discord faster because Enfeeble and Parasitic Bond have such short recharges and energy costs.

Equipment

 * You'll need one high-health set of armor and weapons and one 55 set (see Invincible Monk for details on 55 equipment).

Usage
When you enter the Stygian Veil, there is a mob in the trench immediately to your right (S-SE) that may be (mostly) killed easily for fun and profit and to get the first few no-drops out of the way. If you get a great drop from these, use Consume Corpse and retrieve it. This will end this farming run. Watch out for the patrol - particularly the Mind Tormentors and Water Tormentors that often spawn will hurt.

Head East, dodging the nasty Shadow patrols. Talk to the Whispers Informant to receive Anguish Hunt. Then talk to the Adept of Whispers, take the Breaching the Stygian Veil quest, and immediately run NE along the wall above the Dreadspawn Maw. Wait for three mobs of six Stygian Hungers to gather around the Adept of Whispers.

Carefully run along the wall to the lower area around the Dreadspawn Maw - there's just enough room to get down there from either side without aggro'ing any of the groups..

Now the fun begins....

Part 1 - The Hunger Mobs
Stygian Hungers are touch/AoE necros with Grenth's Balance as their elite. Switch to your 55 health setup to counter Grenth's Balance. Repeat the following:


 * Use 'c' to select the nearest target - make sure it is in one of the side mobs - save the center mob for last.
 * Cast Suffering.
 * Run away around the Dreadspawn Maw using a running skill until aggro is broken. Occasionally, this will be difficult. Do not stop running until aggro is broken.
 * Make sure you have the nearest target of the same mob, and cast Desecrate Enchantments. The Hungers use Dark Aura, making this do a decent amount of damage to the mob.
 * Run away and break aggro.
 * Nearest target, cast Feast of Corruption.
 * Run away.
 * Go back to the first step, and repeat until their health is low.

You really want to finish them off with Feast of Corruption or Desecrate Enchantments. If you let them degen to death while you're not in the area, you may not get any drops. They should be in an easily killable range with either skill once their health bar is into the 'Lvl' text. If you are using your 55 armor, then all can be killed simultaneously.

When a mob dies, it will be replaced by another one from a spawn point behind the gates the first three mobs came from. You have a lot of time to run around the Dreadspawn Maw to lose aggro from the other two mobs, but do try to avoid aggro'ing the new one.

Part 2 - The Brute Mobs
Stygian Brutes are hammer warriors. While facing them, you can switch to your high-health armor if you wish, but you're still probably dead if they actually hit you. Use the same techniques as on the Stygian Hungers, except only cast Desecrate Enchantments when you have energy to burn, as it is considerably less cost-effective for damaging the Brutes.



Part 3 - The Fiend Mobs
Stygian Fiends are rangers with Crippling Shot, Choking Gas, and other fun skills to mutilate necromancers with. Once again, you really don't want to get hit by these. Unfortunately, if they even shoot at you and miss, Demonic Miasma will make it hurt. Use the high-health armor when dealing with these, as you're likely to at least be *missed* by a barrage or two of arrows.

Once again, hit and run. If possible, run up the nearby hill while running away to minimize any height-advantage and additional range the Fiends may get. See the highlighted path in the map:



Part 4 - The Golem Mobs
Stygian Golems are Dervish beasts which use Harrier's Haste to catch up with you. It's almost impossible to reliably lose them with just running skills. The trick here is to circle around the mob and plant Muddy Terrain *behind* the mob, to the NE of the Adept of Whispers (center point on the map to the right). Then head back down below and do the following:


 * Cast Suffering
 * Run away (use a running skill just before leaving Muddy Terrain's area of effect).
 * Wait for mob to resettle.
 * Cast Feast of Corruption.
 * Run away and wait for mob to resettle.
 * Cast Suffering
 * Run away until you lose aggro, then head back and drop another Muddy Terrain spirit at the spot on the map.
 * Rinse, repeat.

It works best if you trigger your running skill just prior to leaving the area under the effect of Muddy Terrain. This makes you go fast while the Golems are still stuck trudging along. If the spirit is correctly placed, they'll give up before getting out of its range.

Part 5 - The Horror Mobs
Stygian Horrors are warriors which, similar to the Stygian Golems, use Bull's Charge to speed them on their way to killing you. Use the same technique with Muddy Terrain to kill these as used for Stygian Golems.



Part 6 - The Mixed Mobs
The last mob of each of the three sets has all of the Stygian Demons in it. You'll need to use the high-health armor to deal with the Fiends and use the Muddy Terrain technique (See the map images for placement for Eastern and Western mobs). Unfortunately, that means you're unlikely to kill them all simultaneously. Once the Stygian Hungers are the only ones left, switch back to your 55 armor for the final kills

Part 7 - How do I get my drops?!?!
Once you've killed all the mobs, the area around the Adept will be safe. However, it's easy enough to pick up valuable drops long before that point, either directly after killing one set or not.

If you've just killed a set, then run away *without* using a running skill. Go around the Dreadspawn Maw with the remaining two mobs trailing behind you. Just as you cross the halfway-around point, hit your running skills and head for your most valuable drops. If done correctly, you can pick up one or two items, then run away without being hit and be able to continue the farm if desired.

This will most likely not work if a mob of Fiends, Golems, or Horrors is present - only make hoover runs with Brutes and Hungers around. Look at the table showing the order of the mobs in Breaching the Stygian Veil to figure out your best kill order to get drops.

If you haven't just killed a set, just aggro them with Suffering and run around the Maw as described above.

Variants
A N/A using Deadly Paradox Shadow of Haste Dark Escape and Dash and 12 Shadow Arts instead of the ranger skills and Wilderness Survival. The strategy is very much the same except for the running away part. For that you activate Deadly Paradox then Shadow of Haste, run in, cast your spell(s), then use Dash to cancel out Shadow of Haste. This will teleport you back to the place where you used Shadow of Haste and you can proceed to run using Dark Escape if needed. For a more indepth guide to this version see here.

Uses Gale + Awe for a non-elite, two-slot method of dazing casters. Around this the build has the flexibility of design to fit many different groups. Due to the energy cost and exhaustion of its main mechanic though, the build should rely on mostly adrenaline skills and shouts for energy management.

Equipment

 * Radiant Insignia
 * Rune of Clarity
 * Rune of Vigor


 * Furious Spear of Fortitude with "I have the power!" Inscription
 * Shield of Fortitude with "I can see clearly now!" Inscription

Usage

 * Aggressive Refrain. Keep it on with Anthem of Flame and/or "Go for the Eyes!"
 * Gale + Awe (make sure your close enough to use Awe, its half range)
 * Anthem of Flame + Stunning Strike. Don't have to use the Anthem if they already have a condition.
 * Wild Throw to knock out block stances.
 * Gale to stop kites, interrupt signets, prevent damage, ect.

The focus of an Inquisitor is to keep targets burning through the use of a Fiery Spear and Mark of Rodgort. The conditions distributed to foes are taken advantage of with "They're on Fire!" and Glowing Signet for both party protection and energy management.

Equipment

 * Armor: Any set of armor will do, though Radiant Insignias would give you a larger energy pool. A shield with +30hp and 20% chance for -5 damage is recommended. Such a shield is craftable by an unlockable NPC in the Command Post. If it's strictly AL you are worried about, you might consider a shield not linked to stats (like Hassin's Shell).
 * Weapon: Luluh's Spear or a Fiery Spear of Enchanting. A "Guided by Fate" Inscription will help your overall damage output.
 * Runes: Superior Spear Mastery (+3), Minor Leadership (+1), optional Rune(s) of Attunement (+2 en)

Usage
Before engaging your enemy, cast Conjure Flame so that your spear attacks will deal additional fire damage. Next, cast Mark of Rodgort on your target and start blasting them with projectiles. Use Glowing Signet for energy gain, and "They're on Fire!" to reduce personal or party damage intake. Cruel Spear is the only attack that uses adrenaline (and also has the highest damage output per use) so activate it whenever possible for a nice spike. It will inflict a Deep Wound on anything standing still, so it is best to focus it on stationary targets. If you are under the effects of "They're on Fire!" you can use Signet of Aggression to shorten the charge duration of CS. Swift Javelin can be used to apply Burning to a target that would otherwise avoid projectiles (assuming you are still enchanted with CF). Anthem of Flame will allow your party members to contribute to the effectiveness of TOF.

Skill Replacements

 * Leader's Comfort is an efficient self-heal.
 * Angelic Protection can be used to protect individuals against spike attacks.
 * A cheap AOE fire nuke such as Fireball can be used to strike multiple targets with fire damage.
 * An energy-based Shout or Chant from the Leadership skill tree for more party support.
 * "Go for the Eyes!" can help with energy management, though it will detract from Cruel Spear's adrenaline supply.

This build is designed for very fast-paced spear attacks combined with and increased armor level to cause major damage while protecting yourself from some attacks.

Attributes and Skills

 * Variants: Use Barbed Spear in place of Mighty Throw for extra degen.
 * In Alliance Battle, Resurrection Signet can be replaced with Leader's Comfort for healing power.
 * In PvE, Sunspear Rebirth Signet can replace Resurrection Signet.

Equipment

 * Full set of max armor with Centurion’s Insignia on all pieces
 * Rune of Vigor and Two Runes of Attunement
 * Max Spear with a +15% damage -5 energy or 15% while over 50% Inscription modded with a Zealous Spearhead and Fortitude or Defense Spear Grip.
 * Max Tactics req. Shield with Fortitude Handle and a "Luck of the Draw" or +10 armor vs. XX inscription.

Usage
First, cast Soldier’s Fury, followed by “For Great Justice” and “Shields Up” for an increased armor level and a 33% attack speed buff. Your adrenaline will build quickly, letting you spam Mighty Throw for a huge attack bonus. Use Blazing Spear whenever it is recharged, and use Wild Throw on targets using stances to remove them or as you wish to use it. Cast “Watch Yourself!” whenever it is ready for the armor and energy provided by your Leadership attribute. Recast your other shouts and Soldier’s Fury as they wear off and are recharged.

This build uses the pet as a constant spike for Zealot's Fire while protecting both itself and its owner. this is used for knocking out the npc groups on both alliance battles and competitive missions and can do substantial aggroing as well.

Equipment

 * Full ascetic's armor
 * Full energy staff with insightful staff head and a wrapping of defense

Usage

 * Begin by casting Life Bond and Essence Bond on your pet.
 * Find a target and cast Zealot's Fire, Call of Protection, and Predatory Bond.
 * Get pet to attack target, spamming reversal fortune. this will trigger zealot's fire while protecting your pet.
 * Use enraged lunge after maiming strike as often as possible

This build focuses on pressure through spreading heavy degeneration with the elite Ranger skill, Burning Arrow. In combination with Apply Poison, this build is able to spread conditions rapidly, putting pressure on enemy monks, while interrupting enemies in their skill usage. In combination with the Monk's Protection Prayers line, the user is also able to cope with enemy pressure through condition removal.

Equipment

 * Poisonous Recurve Bow
 * Poisonous Longbow
 * Rotwing Recurve Bow

Usage

 * Maintain Apply Poison as much as possible to spread conditions through your attacks.
 * Deal damage and apply heavy degeneration through Burning and Poison through the use of Burning Arrow.
 * Interrupt enemies with Distracting Shot and Savage Shot. Note each interrupt's side bonuses.
 * Use Troll Unguent to counter degeneration and for a self-heal.
 * Remove conditions with Mending Touch.
 * Natural Stride can be used when running flags or simply for a speed boost.
 * Resurrect fallen allies with Resurrection Signet.

This Ranger specializes in applying significant pressure to enemy targets through a combination of high Expertise, knockdown attacks, and attack and run speed increases. This ranger also brings additional melee damage utilizing his pet which also benefits from the attack and run speed increase of Rampage as One.

Equipment
Use a Zealous or Vampiric Hammer with a +30 fortitude modification. Keep a secondary weapon such as a Sundering or Furious weapon to wield when not actively swinging to keep up energy and health regeneration. Vampiric weapons work better with this build than they do with R/W Bunny Thumper because the long duration of Rampage as One makes it easier to regenerate enough energy to keep it active without the need for a Zealous weapon.


 * All armor items should be Radiant for additional energy.
 * Rune of Attunement
 * Rune of Clarity

Usage
Rampage as One will last 11 seconds with 10 Beast Mastery make sure that as it ends you have sufficient energy to activate it again. With proper energy management combined with 11 Expertise you should be able to keep Rampage as One up at all times. Keeping this skill active is the key to the power of this build.

Timing is critical for this build as it is for most knockdown and interrupt based builds.

Keep in mind that your pet also benefits from the attack speed increase of Rampage as One so he adds significantly to your damage. Be sure to keep it alive using Comfort Animal as needed.

Variants

 * Wild Blow is a good alternative to Distracting Blow. When operating in a team with another Rampaging Thumper consider having one of each variant.
 * Bestial Mauling is a good alternative to Irresistible Blow. Use it after knocking down a spell caster (to cause daze) or as a cover condition, or a good attack to throw on at the end of a chain
 * Bull's Strike can be taken instead of Distracting Blow to knock running or kiting targets.
 * Disrupting Lunge can be taken instead of Distracting Blow to interrupt and disable the target's skill for 20 seconds
 * Fertile Season can be taken instead of Distracting Blow to have more overall party health. It is especially useful on altar maps. If there are two Rampaging Thumpers on the team, then a Fertile Season chain can be set up to ensure maximum uptime.

This build is designed to cause havoc within enemy territory, through its use of the Warrior elite "You're All Alone!" to spread conditions, allowing for easier kills. That, in conjunction with Signet of Malice, provides the user with ample self-condition removal, creating a very powerful solo build.

Equipment

 * Full Berserker's Armor.
 * Vampiric, Zealous, Crippling, and Ebon Swords/Axes of Fortitude.
 * A +30HP, -5 (20% chance) received damage shield.
 * A +30HP, +10 armor vs piercing shield.
 * A +30HP, +10 armor vs slashing shield.
 * Free rune slots should be fitted with Vitae runes.

Usage

 * You are aiming to gank the opponent's base, hence be prepared to play alone for long periods of the game.
 * "You're All Alone!" is your snare and condition removal (with the conjunction of Signet of Malice).
 * Try to force kills of flaggers to get your team morale boosts.

The BoA Sin (also called Burst Sin) is a fragile yet very deadly assassin used to take down targets quickly while making use of Shadow Prison to snare the target long enough to unleash the build's vicious assault.

Equipment

 * A Full Set of Radiant (insignia) armor.
 * Zealous, Vampiric and Ebon Daggers of Fortitude.

Usage

 * The spike is done quickly, in the following order:
 * Shadow Prison -> Burst of Aggression -> Black Lotus Strike -> Twisting Fangs -> Black Spider Strike -> Blades of Steel.
 * Execute the attack chain with Vampiric daggers.
 * Switch to Zealous daggers if energy runs low.
 * Use Ebon daggers when fighting a Warrior or when you are not engaged in combat.
 * Use Expose Defenses if your target is protected by any skill (Aegis, Guardian, Weapon of Warding, Ward Against Melee) that gives a chance to block attacks.

Counters

 * Standard Melee counters.
 * Restore Condition will basically ruin a spike of this build, it remove all the conditions you have put on the target and heal most of the damage dealt.
 * Hex Breaker will cause problems, as your initial 'Hex Jump' will be disabled, leaving your combo in shambles unless you can cast both hexes in quick succession.
 * A well-used Contemplation of Purity.

Variants

 * Horns of the Ox is a common variant that sacrifices damage for a knockdown, and can therefore replace Blades of Steel.
 * Another Shadow Step or an additional healing/defensive skill (such as Feigned Neutrality) can replace the Resurrection Signet for Alliance Battles or Competitive missions.
 * Siphon Speed can replace Expose Defenses as a backup hex to trigger the attack chain, and to quickly escape.
 * Impale can be used in conjunction with different dual attacks (Horns of the Ox in Particular).


 * Death Blossom can replace Blades of Steel.
 * Assassin's Promise and Dark Prison can be used as a more PvE or AB/CM oriented version.

This Build uses Water Magic hexes to remove enchantments, and then spike using Vapor Blade and Shatterstone, while still being able to heal with Shadow Arts.

Equipment

 * 20/20 Water Staff with energy +5^50 inscription is recommended.

Usage

 * Start the build with Water Attunement to keep your energy up. Pick your target, then cast your hexes, use Signet of Twilight to remove any enchantments on them. Hit them with Shatterstone and Vapor Blade in quick succesion. Use Feigned Neutrality if you need healing, then pick your next target and repeat.

Counters

 * Hex removal will stop you from removing their enchantments.
 * Energy denial or interrupts.

Variants

 * If you are entering a battle where you are certain to have monks, feigned neutrality can be substituted for Glyph of Elemental Power, or another Damage skill to increase your spike capacity.
 * Deadly Paradox is a good addition to help with enchantment removal and healing.

This build is designed around Vow of Strength. This skill adds a multiplier to raw damage, but disables all attack skills while it is active. The Ranger line provides offense with an increased attack speed stance and raw damage boosting preparations and rituals; all to maximize the effect of VoS. The Dervish line, aside from VoS, provides defense and utility with enchants from Earth Prayers and Wind Prayers that give the build strong self healing and some ability to heal others, and an enchant that cripples moving foes on hit on every attack. Because all skills used have fairly long durations there is really very little energy used, and only little energy management is required. It has been used effectively in PvE and the RA and AB areas of PvP. It may work well in other arenas too, but no testing has been done there yet.

Attributes and Skills

 * Vital Boon and SoPL could be replaced with the single skill Mystic Regeneration.
 * If used for PvE, Harrier's Grasp and perhaps Favorable Winds could be replaced.

Equipment

 * Druid's Armor
 * Rune of Superior Vigor
 * Rune of Clarity
 * Rune of Attunement


 * Vampiric Flatbow of Enchanting with a "Guided by Fate" inscription (increases damage when enchanted).
 * Bring a Zealous bow, for those times you run into energy problems.
 * Bring a Recurve Bow and/or a Shortbow, in case you don't have Favorable Winds up and can't use Read the Wind.

Usage

 * When you enter battle place Favorable Winds Spirit somewhere it can effect where you will usually be, but not so close to battle as to be destroyed easily.
 * Vow of Strength, Heket's Rampage, and Read the Wind are providing the majority of your offense.
 * Because of the casting time of RtW, you will generally do your damage in sustained bursts over 20 seconds.
 * If you are going to focus on one target to kill, renew RtW before starting.
 * If you are using Harrier's Grasp to spread cripple around, you don't need VoS to be active.


 * Use Harrier's Grasp to cripple targets
 * This skill can be kept on most of the time. Continous use will drain the energy of this build however.
 * You can spread cripple around the opposing teams meleers easily with this skill, as they are almost always moving.
 * You can prevent a target from kiting your team.
 * If you focus on a target, they will stay crippled regardless of condition removal. If you spread cripple around, targets will stay crippled for ~8 seconds, but it could be removed easily.


 * Cast Vital Boon followed by Signet of Pious Light to heal yourself.
 * You can heal yourself and someone else at the sametime by using the Signet on a teammate.
 * If you are needed to assist in healing, keep casting your enchants followed by SoPL on your allies.

Counters

 * Killing the Favorable Winds Spirit will reduce your damage and accuracy a little.
 * Persistent enchantment removal will hamper your damage and healing.
 * Typical physical damage counters such as Blindness and Weakness affect this build.

Variants

 * The pet adds more damage than Favorable Winds will. However, the Flatbow is not as useful without it.
 * Harrier's Grasp could now be replaced with a pet attack like Disrupting Lunge.

Optionals
 * Seeking Arrows: Use this to get past Aegis, Guardian, and similar spells or stances.
 * Antidote Signet: Removes Blindness, Disease, and Poison.
 * Any nature ritual.

This is a party support build mainly utilizing Martyr to keep the party free of conditions. The additional benefits of the weapon spells and healing allows this to function in tandem with support monks without conflicting enchantments.

Equipment

 * Emissary's or Oracle's Armor is good, due to the almost constant use of weapon spells or item spells. Harbinger's Armor is a good alternative.
 * The weapon you use is relatively unimportant, because Resilient Was Xiko is used most of the time.

Usage

 * Use Resilient Was Xiko and Resilient Weapon, and use Martyr whenever necessary to pull conditions to you. It's usually better to use Martyr after Xiko in case one of the conditions pulled is Dazed, which would make casting the item spell a bit painful.
 * Precast Weapon of Warding on the Warriors or Assassins before they enter battle, and swap it out for Resilient Weapon if they meet Hexes.
 * Weapon of Shadow should be used to protect the backline if enemy warriors, assassins, or rangers attempt to pick them off.
 * Wielder's Boon and Soothing Memories make excellent support healing. Try to use Soothing Memories before Wielder's Boon, if possible, as it is much more efficient in terms of energy usage while you're holding the ashes.

Counters

 * This build is much less efficient against teams that do not use Conditions. Hexes are partially negated by Resilient Weapon and Resilient Was Xiko, but since they are not actually countered, they may still cause trouble for the team.
 * Energy denial prevents the ritualist from utilizing the weapon spells effectively, as they have prohibitive costs compared to the other spells involved.
 * Putting Fragility effectively shuts down the build, since the Ritualist will be taking damage from Martyr as all the conditions are pulled over, and taking damage when Resilient Was Xiko is dropped, and the conditions end.

Variants

 * Weapon of Shadow can replace Recuperation. However, one person can only have one weapon spell on them at a time, so you often do not use Weapon of Shadow because it would remove previously applied instances of Resilient Weapon or Weapon of Warding.
 * If working with a Minion Master, running Life instead of Recuperation may be more suitable as well, since it will provide a large spike heal to all the minions when it ends.
 * A Ritualist with a Paragon secondary can run Cautery Signet instead of Martyr. It has a slightly longer cast time, but is slightly more difficult to interrupt, being a signet, and prevents effects such as Dazed from interfering with the other spells.

Equipment

 * Armor
 * Stoneskin Gauntlets (or Stonefist Insignia) to extend your knockdowns.
 * Full Gladiator Armor (or Radiant Insignias) for energy management.
 * Dwarven Helm (Hammer Mastery +1).
 * Weapons
 * 15^50 Ebon Hammer of Fortitude.
 * 15^50 Vampiric Hammer of Fortitude.
 * Runes
 * Superior Hammer Mastery, Superior Vigor, Superior Absorption, Minor Tactics and Minor Strength.
 * You could also switch Hammer Mastery to Minor or Tactics to Superior or both, depending on your preferences for health and damage output.

Usage

 * When your team is ready, call your target (low armors preferred) and use "For Great Justice!" and Enraging Charge and run in.
 * The first hit will charge your Hammer Bash.
 * Start the combo: Hammer Bash to Steady Stance to Drunken Blow to Hammer Bash to Steady Stance to Desperation Blow to Hammer Bash and so on. Try to time Steady Stance correctly, as it is the bottleneck (in matter of recharge time) of the combo. Use it as often as possible (and watch out for overwrite with Enraging Charge).
 * When the foe dies change target and repeat.
 * Use "For Great Justice!" when it recharges to begin spiking again (although you are still able to inflict serious spikes without it).
 * Use Enraging Charge whenever you need some adrenaline (works better with "For Great Justice!" already active) or to reach kiting enemies.
 * If you need self healing find a safe place and use Healing Signet.
 * This build if played correctly will knock the opponent on the ground almost continuously for about 10 seconds or more, while inflicting Deep Wound, Bleeding, Crippled and Weakness and hitting repeatedly with hammer attacks.

The Obsidian Tank takes the high armor/health/durability of the warrior class, and adds to it the defensive capabilities of the Elementalist Earth Magic enchantments. It's purpose is to take/hold aggro and soak up damage. It is strictly a PvE build with little use outside of very high level areas like the Domain of Anguish and Sorrow's Furnace, where variations of this build have been a staple for ages. It pairs very well with a monk bonder build.

Attributes and Skills

 * Optional skill slot can be replaced by:
 * Resurrection Signet
 * Lightbringer's Gaze
 * Lion's Comfort (timing is important when using with dolyak signet)
 * Bonetti's Defense
 * "None Shall Pass!"
 * Sliver Armor
 * Magnetic Aura
 * Glyph of Concentration
 * Glyph of Lesser Energy

Equipment

 * Armor
 * Gladiator's or Radiant Armor, with a Rune of Superior Vigor and Rune of Superior Absorption.
 * The last two armor upgrade slots can be taken by Runes of Attunement or Vitae.
 * Weapons
 * A +5 energy axe/sword of Enchanting.
 * A Strength Shield with a "Sheltered by Faith" inscription and a Shield Handle of Devotion.
 * An Earth Focus with a "Sheltered by Faith" or "Faith is My Shield" inscription and a Focus Core of Devotion. Both availible from Kehjim in The Kodash Bazaar or Grif Ebonmane in Command Post.

Usage
Fairly straight forward. Use Signet of Stamina when first entering an area, and never attack anything (unless you need to pull with a bow). Run in and aggro the group of mobs when your team is ready, while under Endure Pain and with your shield equipped to help against the initial spike of damage.

Once in the middle of the group of enemies, use Dolyak Signet and switch to your Earth Focus to start putting up your enchantments. Start with Obsidian Flesh, followed by Armor of Earth, and then Stoneflesh Aura. Use Grasping Earth to slow the movement of the nearby enemies, and switch back to your shield.

Maintain your enchantments as needed, using Stoneflesh Aura, Obsidian Flesh, and Dolyak Signet whenever they become available. Armor of Earth only needs to be reapplied every 30 seconds. Grasping Earth can be used every 15 seconds or so, whenever a group shifts, or when your allies start a nuke cycle. Stay with your Shield equipped as much as possible for the armor, equipping the Earth Focus only when you need the energy to cast an enchantment. Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

Counters

 * Any interruption skills
 * Skills that cause longer cast times (Migraine)
 * Dazed
 * Heavy enchantment removal (Obsidian Flesh will guard against most)

Variants
Replace Grasping Earth with Ward Against Foes when facing enemies that have lots of hex removal.

This build is designed for farming dead swords (and other rare skinned weapons as well) in The Shattered Ravines while Destroy the Ungrateful Slaves quest is active. This is solo w/mo farming build.

Equipment

 * Armor - Glads armor for energy with all the runes of superior vigor (or major will suffice) and superior absorption. Knight's Armor can be used for the -3 damage reduction against physical attacks (recommended for beginners).
 * Weapons - An axe is required for this build. I use Victo's Battle Axe for added damage, but any max axe with 15^50 will do, just might take longer.  Have a max shield with +45/-2 while enchanted AND requires strength. Arrahhsh's Aegis may also work since it is a stance shield and fairly easy to farm.

Usage
First get to The Shattered Ravines from Bone Palace. Let the king die in order to repeat the quest. Cast Balthazar's Spirit on yourself and let the energy recharge to full before casting Live Vicariously. Once the king is dead, wait until the slave spirits settle, and then get close to aggro and cast Vigorous Spirit BEFORE aggro. Be sure to charge for the monks slave spirits first as they are the ones that can shoot you from a distance. Get within the mob so that your cyclone axe will be able to hit everything. Once positioned, hit Dolyak Signet to reduce melee damage. Start cycloning using both Cyclone Axe followed by Triple Chop. After the first cyclone axe, you should be able to use flail to increase attacking speed. Alternate Cyclone Axe and Triple Chop (by continuously spamming whichever becomes available first) and use executioner's strike whenever it becomes charged. With live vicariously and vigorous spirit up, you should be able to stay alive while causing massive AOE damage to all surrounding targets. Make sure flail stays up at all times to increase attack speed and to increase the rate you benefit from live vicariously and vigorous spirit. You will get interrupted by Savage Slash frequently when trying to cast vigorous spirit, but just keep trying and eventually they won't be able to interrupt. Use the same method for all 5 mobs. When finished, rezone and repeat.

Counters
The slave mobs consist of monks and warriors but their ratio is not fixed in proportion. The more monks, the more dificult it will be to kill and more Reversal of Damage's to worry about.

Variants

 * Replace Executioner's Strike with Bonetti's Defense if you are having difficulty keeping vigorous spirit up. That is, have Bonetti's Defense active before you cancel it with Vigorous Spirit to prevent interrupts.
 * Healing Hands makes it a lot easier to stay alive. It also has a very short activation time and is therefore difficult to interrupt.

Equipment

 * Armor with Windwalker's Insignias is perfect.
 * An Icy Scythe is necessary +15% while enchanted and an enchanting mod would be useful.
 * The Soulbreaker is perfect.

Usage

 * Cast and maintain Frigid Armor, Conjure Frost and Mirror of Ice
 * Note: It is usually a good idea to let them end before renewing them so you gain the Mysticism bonus.
 * Keep a close eye on Mirror of Ice since it is often difficult to notice when it ends.


 * Cast Mystic Vigor before a battle and refresh it as soon as it ends.
 * Use your attack skills when their bonuses will be useful.
 * For harder targets chain together Victorious Sweep, Eremite's Attack and Mystic Sweep in that order for a large spike attack.

Counters

 * Enchant removal is not a direct counter but will slow an Icy Fighter down for a few seconds while they re-apply their enchantments.
 * Skills that harm you based on your enchantments will hurt quite badly.(i.e. Defile Enchantments, Melandru's Arrows, ect.)
 * Blind, Weakness, Crippled, and other standard melee counters.

Variants

 * Unlike most builds, the elite skill here is the optional slot. Many other elites are better for certain situations and play styles.
 * Armor of Frost and Armor of Mist are usually less effective than Frigid Armor but could be used instead.
 * Frozen Burst can be a very effective damage/snaring skill if you don't need a resurrect or feel like taking out an attack skill.
 * Blurred Vision costs quite a bit of energy, but keeps you pretty well protected.
 * Most attack skills can replace Victorious Sweep, some useful attacks are, Rending Sweep, and Chilling Victory.
 * Many players prefer using Reaper's Sweep instead of Mirror of Ice and Victorious Sweep.
 * Crippling Sweep is also very useful(usually in PvP) for some extreme anti-kiting.
 * Consider bringing Mystic Regeneration(in place of a attack skill) for PvE play and moving some points from Mysticism to Earth Prayers(3 or 8 are cut off points for Mystic Regeneration).
 * Consider bringing Banishing Strike when fighting in an Alliance Battle. It will do 130 damage (with 11 in Scythe Mastery) to all nearby minions, pretty much killing all of them.

This build uses the skill Avatar of Lyssa to its full potential. With low cost, super-fast, quickly repeatable attack skills and an upped attack speed, Lyssa's Avatar will deliver an extremely large amount of damage in a very short amount of time. Watch Lyssa's Avatar clip

Attributes and Skills
OR

Equipment

 * For the armor, this build requires a good amount of energy, so any radiant armor would help. Also, if blind becomes a problem, consider attaching a blindness duration reduction rune.
 * A Zealous scythe of Enchanting +20% with a +15% dmg while enchanted inscription is ideal.
 * If you are set up properly, you will have at least 500 health (with a minor rune of vigor) and 35 energy (without the avatar). If you feel that you don't need the zealous scythe, you may trade it in for a sundering one.

Usage
Before going into battle, cast Avatar of Lyssa then Watchful Intervention and then Heart of Fury. Pick out a target (prime targets for this build are Necromancers, Mesmers, Elementalists, Ritualists, Rangers, and Assassins), and attack. Spam the four attack skills in order, chaining one after the other in succession. Wild Blow recharges once for every two times each other attack skill recharges, so you can chain those while waiting.

If you are in a battle long enough for the Avatar of Lyssa to wear off, you will still do quite a bit of damage, so conserve your energy and use the attack skills when necessary. Also, if you need health, recast Watchful Intervention whenever it's not on you.

This Invincible Monk uses Shielding Hands and Healing Hands for full damage mitigation or healing, and Sliver Armor to quickly kill off bosses.

Attributes and Skills

 * You can use Watchful Healing, Mending or Watchful Spirit if you expect degeneration. Aftershock, Crystal Wave or Teinai's Crystals for additional damage. Grasping Earth for bosses that run when they are low on health. Rust is also useful when dealing with Warrior bosses. This requires you to lower Earth Magic by one and put the points into Water Magic.

Equipment

 * A Weapon of Enchanting. The Cities of Ascalon -50HP Grim Cesta can be used but won't make any difference.
 * Armor doesn't really matter, but 5 Superior Runes are required.

Usage

 * When you zone in, cast Blessed Aura and Balthazar's Spirit. Switch to your Protection Prayers headgear if you have one.
 * Before engaging enemies for the first time, cast Protective Spirit followed by either Shielding Hands or Healing Hands (if you use Shielding Hands before Protective Spirit, you'll take damage and likely die because Shielding Hands will reduce damage before the Protective Spirit effect, making it useless)
 * Whenever either of these enchantments start flashing, cast Protective Spirit followed by the other one. You should be able to tank an infinite number of mobs this way.
 * Get close to the boss, and use Glyph of Concentration followed by Sliver Armor. If you brought a damage skill in the optional slot, use it to speed up killing.
 * If you brought Watchful Healing, use Glyph of Concentration followed by Watchful Healing when they recharge.
 * If Shielding Hands recharges before it expires, do not re-use it. For some reason doing so will simply nullify the damage reduction from the spell, most likely causing you to die.

Counters

 * Enchant removal will devastate this build, don't try to farm areas with enchant removal.
 * Life stealing bypasses Protective Spirit, and is usually fatal.
 * Interruptions are not a problem as your protective skills are all 1/4 second cast, and you have Glyph of Concentration for Sliver Armor. You might have trouble if Glyph is interrupted however.
 * Heavy degeneration such as Burning, or long lasting degeneration can be dangerous. Make sure you bring a health regeneration skill if you expect to face degen.

Variants

 * Essence Bond can be used if you face energy problems, however you should be fine with just Balthazar's Spirit.


 * Exactly the same build can replace both Healing Hands and Shielding Hands for Stoneflesh Aura. However, this is harder to use with the longer casting time of Stoneflesh Aura. It is highly recommended to use Glyph of Concentration before casting any spell with a 1 second casting time or longer.

Prophecies:
2 current mobs


 * Skyward Reach
 * Hydras - (you may wish to use Ward of Stability to avoid knockdowns.)
 * Prophet's Path
 * Minotaurs - (better farmed in Elona Reach (Mission) - either avoid the traps near the start or go with 105 hp, Mending or Watchful Healing.)

Factions:
13 current bosses


 * Bukdek Byway
 * Kenshi Steelhand - Medium (Huge mob, higher chance of interrupts)
 * Jin, the Purifier


 * Wajjun Bazaar
 * Lian, Dragon's Petal - (try to pull as many nearby enemies as you can)
 * Shen, the Magistrate


 * Xaquang Skyway
 * Ghial the Bone Dancer - (Mending is recommended due to his use of Faintheartedness)
 * Orosen, Tranquil Acolyte - Pull his and the other two mobs in range; otherwise he can outheal your damage even if you use Aftershock.


 * Mount Qinkai
 * Hukhrah Earthslove
 * Arrahhsh Mountainclub - (only if the quest Return of the Yeti is active)
 * Chehbaba Roottripper
 * Tomton Spiriteater
 * These four Yeti Bosses can be done in one run with Watchful Healing to counter Poison and Glyph of Elemental Power to speed up killing.


 * Pongmei Valley
 * Arrahhsh Mountainclub - (Glyph of Elemental Power is recommended)


 * Archipelagos
 * Ssyn Coiled Grasp - Medium/Hard (Dazing will cause you to get interrupted frequently. To avoid this, use Glyph of Concentration for all of your spells. 105hp is also needed.)


 * Morostav Trail
 * Strongroot Tanglebranch (Watchful Healing is advised.)

Nightfall:
9 current bosses


 * Marga Coast
 * Bubahl Icehands - (Watchful Healing is recommended due to the Kuskale Blighters' use of Rotting Flesh)


 * Yatendi Canyons
 * Hajok Earthguardian (Insect)


 * The Floodplain of Mahnkelon
 * Jerneh Nightbringer - Hard (Avoid the corsairs on the way, they can kill you. Also attempt to cast your already maintained enchantments to set off the Ridgeback Kuskales' Agonizing Chop and the Beast Sworn Hekets' Disrupting Lunge. Watchful Healing is recommended due to his use of Rotting Flesh.)


 * Resplendent Makuun
 * Jishol Darksong - (To counter Blazing Finale, go with 105hp and Watchful Healing.)


 * The Mirror of Lyss
 * Riktund the Vicious - (105 hp is recommended. Watchful Healing is recommended due to the Cobalt Shriekers' use of Blazing Finale. Also gather the Rock Beetle and Rain Beetle because they have a very high attack rate.)
 * Yammiron, Ether Lord - Hard/Very Hard (105 hp is a must. Use the same setup as for Riktund the Vicious.  Be careful as to not aggro the Behemoth Gravebanes and Scytheclaw Behemoths due the massive degen they can cause with Suffering, Toxic Chill, and Wounding Strike.  This isn't for the faint of heart but there will be energy denial due the Roaring Ethers.  But this shouldn't be too much of a problem if they keep attacking you. Note that Roaring Ethers use Resurrection Signet.)


 * The Hidden City of Ahdashim
 * Shakor Firespear
 * Leilon, Tranquil Water
 * Yammirvu, Ether Guardian - Very Hard
 * To kill these go with 105hp and bring Watchful Healing against Burning. Switch out Glyph of Concentration for Glyph of Elemental Power.


 * Domain of Secrets
 * Exuro Flatus - Don't even need Healing Hands. Take Shockwave if you have it, else any other non-elite suitable earth skill.

This Build utilizes the bonus damage from Scavenger's Focus and Conjure Flame/Mark of Rodgort to give a good ranged spike while applying nice degen.

Attributes and Skills

 * When ABing Resurrection Signet can be swapped out for Natural Stride.

Equipment

 * Druid's Armor for E-Management
 * A Fiery Bow of Fortitude with an energy +5 Inscription.

Usage

 * Begin by activating Scavenger's Focus, Favorable Winds, and Conjure Flame to begin the battle.
 * Activate Mark of Rodgort on your target and use Screaming Shot and Dual Shot to dish out the damage.
 * When target is below 50% health, hammer away with Needling Shot.
 * Cast Resurrection Signet when needed to.

This build is designed to produce constant interruption by combining Marksman's Wager with Spinal Shivers. It also utilizes the synergy between Tiger's Fury, Focused Shot, and Mark of Pain to produce relatively high DPS.

Equipment

 * Druid's Armor
 * An Icy Recurve Bow
 * A Secondary, Non-Icy Bow for Mark of Pain

Usage

 * Cast Favorable Winds
 * Cast Marksman's Wager
 * Choose a target
 * Cast Spinal Shivers followed by Mark of Pain and Reapply these as necessary
 * Mark of Pain can also be cast on a different target to aid your party
 * Cast Tiger's Fury and reapply as necessary
 * Spam Focused Shot on the target
 * Note that if your attacks are being Blocked, Evaded, etc., your energy will be rapidly drained by Marksman's Wager
 * Use Throw Dirt as necessary

Counters

 * Blind
 * General Anti-Melee
 * Rapid Hex Removal

Variations

 * Consider Replacing Mark of Pain with Barbs for more concentrated damage as well as a more effective cover hex due to the low recharge.
 * Consider Antidote Signet if blind is a problem
 * Consider Rigor Mortis if blocking or evading is a common issue
 * Consider Parasitic Bond for an even more effective cover hex

As the name suggests, this build is mainly intended as an alternative Restoration Magic build with a focus on Weapon Spells.

Attributes and Skills

 * The Optional Slot is intended to be the utility slot and should be used as such. A Hex Removal skill is probably the best way to utilize this slot.

Equipment

 * Emissary's Armor, Oracle's Armor, and Halcyon's Armor all make good choices.
 * Any Staff or Wand/Offhand combination will work as long as they are linked to Restoration Magic.

Usage

 * Cast Generous Was Tsungrai and Renewing Memories
 * Generous Was Tsungrai will not only provide healing, it will also make Soothing Memories less expensive.
 * Alternate Weapon of Remedy and Vengeful Weapon for quick, spammable heals that also provide damage. Weapon of Remedy also provides condition removal.
 * Use Weapon of Warding on allies who are under heavy pressure.
 * Use Soothing Memories as a low cost heal

Variants

 * Consider Mend Body and Soul as a faster heal with a lower recharge.
 * Consider Wielder's Remedy.
 * Consider using a skill from your secondary profession like Holy Veil, Hex Breaker, Return, or Wary Stance.
 * Consider replacing Renewing Memories with Channeling.
 * Consider Guided Weapon

Attributes and Skills

 * Bloodsong can replace Destruction for a more durable spirit that lasts much longer.(note recharge Differences)
 * Spirit Siphon can be used in place of the Res
 * Resilient Weapon can replace Channeled Strike for a Condition counter.

Equipment

 * Armor
 * Any armor you see fit.


 * Weapons
 * standard HCT and HSR Staff.

Usage

 * Make sure your Spirit is within earshot,otherwise, this build is rendered useless.
 * Spirit Transfer allows a nice spike healing to yourself, also deducting life from Destruction. You can use this skill or Gaze from Beyond to trigger Destruction when the spirit is dying.
 * Cast Destructive was Glaive.
 * Execute basic attack skills. 10% armor penetration hurts people a lot, especially the skill Gaze from Beyond and Channeled Strike
 * Always have a spirit near you. Remember: Ranger spirits are spirits too!(It's better to be paranoid than dead)
 * When Glaive is running out, recast it.

Counters

 * Daze,a A/W Berserking Shadow should not be able to easily kill you if you have a Spirit nearby.
 * anyone who targets your spirits

Variants

 * You can go /Mo for Mending Touch or just use Mend Body and Soul


 * Resurrection Signet can be swapped for.....
 * Death Pact Signet
 * Life to give yourself a nice heal.
 * Renewing Surge for damage
 * Spirit Boon Strike for spirit healing + damage


 * Soothing Memories can replace Draw Spirit.

Some options are...
 * Notetably, you can replace skills for more AoE damage..
 * Spirit Rift
 * Ancestors' Rage( needs to be in melee range, or someone who is near the enemy)
 * Bloodsong

The Nightmare Marksman is a true nightmare due to its high life steal spike.

Attributes and skills

 * slot 1:
 * , used against spirit spammers.
 * used between Dual Shot and Distracting Shot.
 * useful for additional energy management (with QZ).
 * slot 2:
 * gives a little pressure and its a spirit so you don't need to sac hp on Offering of Spirit.
 * , the less arrow flight time the better... and it’s a spirit just like Bloodsong
 * makes it harder to dodge arrows... Spirit...
 * , for blocking purpose.
 * if you don’t want to wait 10 seconds between the spikes... Spirit...
 * same as above.
 * , used against blind.
 * , if you don't think 171 every 10 second or so is enough...
 * slot 3:
 * every RA build should have this equipped (exception for monks)
 * Or any of the previous mentioned skills if you think the build lacks defense/offense
 * Or any of the previous mentioned skills if you think the build lacks defense/offense

Equipment

 * Armor: Any armor works, energy management shouldn't be an issue but never hurts.
 * Weapons: Vampiric Recurve bow of Defense with "I have the Power!" and an Insightful Communing Staff of Defense

Usage

 * Use Kindle Arrows followed by Nightmare Weapon and then Dual Shot + Distracting Shot followed by Lamentation if equipped
 * Put up a Bloodsong or Favorable Winds near your location if you have it equipped to remove sacrificing life for Offering of Spirit
 * Use Offering of Spirit as much as possible (if near a spirit)

Counters

 * Interrupt
 * Diversion
 * Blocking
 * Blind if Sight Beyond Sight isn't equipped
 * Hexes that causes you to Miss on attack

Attributes and skills
As you can see this variant uses a pet to add pressure between the spikes.
 * slot 1:
 * slot 2:
 * Any of the previous mentioned skills if you think the build lacks defense/offense
 * slot 2:
 * Any of the previous mentioned skills if you think the build lacks defense/offense
 * slot 2:
 * Any of the previous mentioned skills if you think the build lacks defense/offense
 * slot 2:
 * Any of the previous mentioned skills if you think the build lacks defense/offense
 * slot 2:
 * Any of the previous mentioned skills if you think the build lacks defense/offense
 * Any of the previous mentioned skills if you think the build lacks defense/offense

This is a melee Ritualist build similar in concept to the Illusionary Weaponry Mesmers. It is not completely armor-ignoring but does more damage, using Spirit's Strength instead.

Equipment

 * Emissary's Armor for additional armor.
 * A Zealous sword or axe of Enchanting with +15% Damage While Enchanted modifiers.
 * The weapon modifiers aren't strictly needed.
 * A Spawning offhand of Fortitude with "Faith is my Shield" inscription.
 * You may take a shield instead if you want more armor.
 * The best Vigor Rune available to help offset the Superior Rune and increase overall survival.
 * 2x Rune of Vitae.

Usage

 * Before engaging in combat, activate Spirit's Strength and follow up with Vital Weapon.
 * Proceed to attack your chosen target with the help of Flurry.
 * If you are ever blinded, activate Sight Beyond Sight to quickly cancel the blind effect and prevent future applications for 20 seconds. Alternately, if you suspect blinding or enchantment removal from your target, apply the skill before engaging your target.
 * Use Wielder's Boon for healing.

Sword:
 * Use Distracting Blow to interrupt important skills.
 * Use Final Thrust to finish off enemies.

Axe:
 * Use Dismember to inflict a deep wound.
 * Use Executioner's Strike for additional damage.

Counters

 * As this build is a pressure build, Weakness will lower the overall damage, lessening the impact of the pressure.


 * Relying on an enchantments for the additional damage, the build is susceptible to enchantment removal. If such techniques are suspected it is advisable to use sight beyond sight as a cover enchantment.

Variants

 * In Alliance Battle and Competitive Mission battles, the Resurrection Signet can be removed and replaced with Weapon of Warding, Sprint, or another attack skill.
 * In PvE, the Resurrection Signet can be replaced with Flesh of My Flesh for a reusable res skill.

Axe:
 * Replace Flurry for Furious Axe or any other attack skill.
 * Replace Dismember or Flurry for Cyclone Axe for areas where there are a lot of enemies.
 * Replace one of the attacks with Distracting Blow or Disrupting Chop if you think you'll need to interrupt enemies.

Sword:
 * Replace Distracting Blow and Final Thrust with Sever Artery and Gash.
 * Replace Distracting Blow with Hamstring if you want to stop kiting enemies.
 * Replace Distracting Blow with Savage Slash.

Either:
 * Replace one of the attacks with Wild Blow to remove stances that prevent you from hitting.

The Spirit of the Assassin build is a heavy pressure build meant to combine the power of Spirit's Strength with the speed and spammability of dagger attacks. This build is primarily designed for the Random Arenas, but can be adapted for other areas of PvP.

Equipment

 * Halcyon's Armor or armor with Radiant Insignia to have additional energy for the combos. Alternately Blessed Insignia could be used for additional armor while enchanted, or Ghost Forge Insignia could be used for additional armor with a weapon spell. Ghost Forge Insignia has the advantage of relying on weapon spells which can not be removed.
 * Zealous daggers of Enchanting are preferred to help offset some of the costs of the skills.
 * The best Vigor Rune available to help offset the Superior Rune and increase overall survival.

Usage

 * Before engaging in combat, activate Spirit's Strength and follow up with Vital Weapon.
 * Proceed to attack your chosen target with your attack chain. As long as you are enchanted these attacks should rarely miss (they cannot be blocked or evaded).
 * In between chains continue pressure with normal attacks. The damage will still be notable, these attacks are susceptible to evasion and blocking skills though.
 * If you are ever blinded, activate sight beyond sight to quickly cancel the blind effect and prevent future applications for 20 seconds. Alternately, if you suspect blinding from your target apply the skill before engaging your target.
 * When a target dies, or when you need to heal activate Feigned Neutrality and proceed to move away from combat. At 7 seconds it should be enough for a notable heal and the +80 armor should minimalize any incoming damage. Be careful not to use any other skills or attack while this skill is up.

Counters

 * As this build is a pressure build, Weakness will lower the overall damage, lessening the impact of the pressure. Though the effect of this would be minimal as it would only affect base weapon damage and lower attributes by 1.


 * Relying on an enchantment for the additional damage, the build is susceptible to enchantment removal. If such techniques are suspected it is advisable to use sight beyond sight as a cover enchantment. Alternately you could lay Feigned Neutrality on before coming within casting range so that will get stripped instead.


 * This build lacks speed boosts and snares making it extremely susceptible to kiting. The Major Variant listed can overcome this somewhat by adding a snare or speed boost to the optional slot.

Major Variants

 * This variation attempts to capture the strengths of the main build while removing several weaknesses. The overall +Damage from Spirits strength drops a bit in favor of a more variable combo. Additionally the optional slot can be used on the ever popular Falling Spider, OR a speed boost. This will allow for either a spike or an increase in pressure.
 * However by doing so you lose your unblockable attacks.

Minor Variants

 * Other weapon skills can also be effective, more notable ones are Resilient Weapon, and Weapon of Warding, although the higher cost, and lower duration means they are more susceptible to running out of energy.


 * In Alliance Battle and Competitive Mission battles, the Resurrection Signet can be removed and replaced with another skill. Dark Escape is suggested as it can be used before feigned neutrality to greatly increase the survivability of the build.


 * Replace Feigned Neutrality with Shadow Refuge if you prefer a more consistent heal as opposed to a panic button type skill.


 * You can also put the 7 points from shadow arts into deadly arts. Then you can use Impale as extra "unblockable" damage (and deep wound) or Siphon Speed to counter kiting. Both of these skills significantly improve your offensive power. However this makes you reliant on others to keep you alive.

This build makes use of Protection Prayers and Swordsmanship to overcome Hydras outside Augury Rock. This build is based on the skill Shield of Regeneration because of its relatively good healing, protection effect, fast activation time and quick recharge.

Attributes and Skills
You can replace Gash for Endure Pain if you see you would need more health.

This is a Prophecies build that requires 185 Attribute Points, which means that people who have just finished the dragon lair mission can get a nice income, without having to do the Prophecies Attribute quests.

Equipment
Sentinel%27s armor is ideal but Dreadnought armor can be used as well. A Strength Shield with "Sleep Now in the Fire" inscription and Shield handle of Devotion
 * Armor

Zealous Sword +15% while Health is above 50% or while enchanted. of Warding
 * Weapons

Another weapon set with a non-zealous weapon of any kind-> to regenerate energy between runs.

Usage
When you enter Skyward Reach, cast Essence Bond and allow time for energy to recharge. When you have recharged around 26 energy, cast Balthazar's Spirit, you will now have around 16 energy. Run up to the first pack of Hydras, (It is recommended you engage a pack of 2 when you solo for the first time, then move on to larger packs.) Killing a single Hydra is the hardest, due to the lack in energy and adrenaline. However, anything above 4 hydras with this build can result in death.

Another way of using this build, is to enter Skyward Reach, and the same way, cast Essence Bond, allow energy to recharge, then cast Balthazar's Spirit first. When dealing with only 1 or 2 Hydra, use Dolyak Signet, to prevent knockdown, then cast Shield of Regeneration to keep your health up. When it comes to attacking, use Sever Artery and Gash in that same order repeatedly. Finish off the hydra with Final Thrust. When dealing with more than 2, use Dolyak Signet, Shield of Regeneration, then use Endure Pain. Keep Shield of Regeneration up and constantly cast Dolyak Signet and Endure Pain on to survive.

Counters
Note: the above doesn't apply to hydras.
 * Enchantment removal
 * Interrupts

Storm Kins' hexes will rapidly reduce your health, making this build useless.

Variants
Replace Gash or Sprint with Endure Pain for a health boost, or with "You Will Die!" for faster adrenaline gain.


 * Ultimate Variant

Attributes and Skills
This build utilizes nearly all 200 attribute points and has a giant damage output, adrenaline gain and health regeneration. This build also uses skills from more than one campaign.

Equipment
Sentinel's armor is ideal but Dreadnought's Armor can be used as well. Strength shield with "Sleep Now in the Fire" inscription and Shield handle of Devotion
 * Armor

Zealous Sword +15% while Health is above 50% or while enchanted. of Warding
 * Weapons

Another weapon set with a non-zealous weapon of any kind-> to regenerate energy between runs.


 * Axe Variant:

Attributes and Skills
If you don't use a Zealous Axe then Shielding Hands must be replaced with Essence Bond.

A good non-nightfall way to make this build is to replace Flail with Bonetti's Defense. It seems to get you more energy if the need strikes.

Equipment
Sentinel%27s armor is ideal but Dreadnought armor can be used as well. Strength shield with "Sleep Now in the Fire" inscription and Shield handle of Devotion
 * Armor

Zealous Axe +15% while Health is above 50% or while enchanted. of Warding
 * Weapons

Another weapon set with a non-zealous weapon of any kind-> to regenerate energy between runs.

The Neutral IW uses Illusionary Weaponry to deal armor-ignoring damage and chance of double strike, while staying alive by keeping Dark Escape and Feigned Neutrality up constantly. This gives the Mesmer 150 armor (60 + 10 + 80) and +7 health regeneration while dealing substantial damage. Designed for PvP but can be used effectively in PvE.

Equipment

 * Max armor with +10 when enchanted
 * Superior Rune of Illusion Magic
 * Superior Rune of Vigor
 * Rune of Purity
 * 2 Runes of Vitae
 * Crippling (for Return) Daggers with of Enchanting suffix and "I have the power" +5 Energy inscription (because none of the +damage% mods will affect the damage from IW)

Usage

 * Start by casting Illusion of Weakness and followed by Feigned Neutrality to heal if no monk.
 * Choose your target, Armor level does not matter.
 * Against Normal Opponents: Cast and Maintain Illusionary Weaponry, Deadly Paradox and Feigned Neutrality (in order) then attack. Cast Death's Charge after Deadly Paradox if you need to close the gap.
 * Against Armor Ignoring Opponents: Cast and Maintain Illusionary Weaponry, Deadly Paradox, Dark Escape and Feigned Neutrality. Always remain in Dark Escape stance. Since Deadly Paradox will no longer affect Feigned Neutrality it will be used half as often.
 * When reapplying enchantments, casting Death's Charge can be a good healing boost before Feigned Neutrality.
 * You should be almost indestructible, but if for whatever reason Illusion of Weakness triggers then fall back using Return and heal.

Counters

 * Enchantment removal.
 * Energy denial.
 * Kiting.
 * Interrupting or removing Illusionary Weaponry will make this build useless.
 * Heavy health degeneration such as Burning, Poison or Conjure Nightmare.
 * Life Stealing and other armor ignoring damage.

Variants

 * For Alliance Battles Resurrection Signet isn't important, so Illusion of Haste give you ways of kiting.
 * Assassin primary; lower damage but stronger.
 * Exchange Return for Distortion. This will sap energy but can be more effective at protecting yourself.
 * Replace Return for Shadow Refuge to help further counter degeneration.
 * Add Caltrops to snare kiting foes.
 * For PvE, consider bringing a scythe (with the same preferred mods as the daggers) in a second weapon slot. The scythe will do a steady 24 DPS instead of the average 36 DPS of the daggers (32 if you don't count double strikes). However, if two or three foes are adjacent you do a nice 48 or 72 DPS respectively. Change between the daggers and scythe as the situation warrants.
 * Death's Retreat can also be used instead of Return, or with Return to retreat further back.

Equipment

 * Enchanter's Armor
 * Although almost any wand/offhand combination will work, perhaps the best is the Wayward Wand (linked to Domination) in combination with the Straw Effigy (also linked to Domination)

Usage

 * Let the Tank pull the Boss (if necessary).
 * Cast Ancestor's Visage and Sympathetic Visage on the Riposte Tank.
 * Cast Power Block, Spirit Shackles, and Mind Wrack on the boss.
 * 1) Reapply Mind Wrack whenever it ends.
 * Spam Wastrel's Worry for added damage as well as a Cover Hex.
 * Cast Ether Signet for energy management. Ether Signet should be used when energy is close to 0.

Variants
Skill to Consider:
 * Energy Burn
 * Empathy

Solo Non-Sorrow's Furnace Boss Farmer

 * The optional slot should be filled with either Physical Resistance or Elemental Resistance, an Elemental Mantra, or Distortion. This choice should be made based on the boss in question.

Equipment

 * Enchanter's Armor
 * Although almost any wand/offhand combination will work, perhaps the best is the Wayward Wand (linked to Domination) in combination with the Straw Effigy (also linked to Domination)
 * A Longbow when necessary to pull the boss.

Usage

 * Use Illusion of Haste and the Defensive Stance of your choice to run to the boss.
 * Cast your Defensive Stance, and pull the boss
 * Cast Power Block to prevent spell casting, followed by Spirit Shackles, followed by Mind Wrack followed by Wastrel's Worry.
 * 1) Reapply Wastrel's Worry and Mind Wrack whenever they end.
 * Use Ether Feast as a self-heal when necessary.
 * Cast Ether Signet for energy management. Ether Signet should be used when energy is close to 0.

Variants

 * Consider Sympathetic Visage/Ancestor's Visage

A Touch Ranger makes use of a ranger's durability in getting close to his opponents and "touch" skills from the necromancer's arsenal to steal his opponents' health. This build uses a high rank in Expertise to reduce the energy cost of the key skills Vampiric Bite and Vampiric Touch.

Equipment

 * Druid's Armor, With Rune of Superior Vigor and Rune of Superior Expertise
 * Weapons (one of the following)
 * A +5 energy axe/sword of shelter/defense/fortitude and a Blood Knife from Attendant Nashu or Jahn Pitz.
 * A Blood Magic wand such as the one available from Karl Jakobs and Blood Magic focus such as the one available from Volsung Stoneketil.
 * A +energy weapon set with otherwise same stats as the above.
 * Milthuran's Staff for more energy

Usage

 * Get close to your target and spam Vampiric Bite and Vampiric Touch.
 * Use Dodge to chase down kiting targets and avoid attacks that can be harmful to the build (such as crippling attacks).
 * Use Whirling Defense or Throw Dirt when targeted by warriors, rangers or assassins. This is not only important for avoiding the damage, but also the harmful conditions like crippling and Deep Wound.
 * Use Offering of Blood when you can get the full benefit of the energy gain and you are not taking too much damage. Use it as often as it recharges if you can.

Counters

 * Use anti-spammer strategies, such as Diversion or Distracting Shot.
 * As the ranger needs to get within touch range, just stay away from them. Use any combination of snares, kiting and knockdowns to achieve this.
 * The life stolen per second is not enough to overcome focused damage and health degeneration.
 * Signet of Humility, Arcane Thievery or Arcane Larceny can be used to shut down Offering of Blood, which is crucial for the build. When used in combination with even mild energy denial such as Energy Burn, the ranger will soon be out of energy.
 * Blackout is devastating to touchers.
 * "Can't Touch This!" will cause touch skills to fail, but this is not overly destructive and will only waste the touch ranger 2-10 energy.
 * Tease will cause the recharge of all the touch skills used in the build to increase by a certain percent, decreasing the overall DPS of the build.
 * It may be wise for users of this build to bring a melee weapon (such as a sword) as a counter-counter, since Tease ends if the target hits the caster (who will have to be within touch range to cast it in the first place)
 * Because the build relies on two skills spammed consecutively, enemies with interrupts can easily time their interrupts.

Variants

 * Verata's Aura can take control of all minions around for a medium-short amount of time. Highly useful for AB.
 * Frozen Soil can be hidden on the Touch Ranger skill-bar, and when used intelligently, can be a devastating skill in TA, and especially RA. This requires the extra skill points to be put into Wilderness Survival. This can easily replace Throw Dirt.
 * Barbed Signet can replace Resurrection Signet in AB, giving the Touch Ranger a secondary distance attack to compliment Vampiric Gaze.
 * Signet of Agony and Distracting Shot with a barbed bow to replace Throw Dirt and Whirling Defense gives the build an interrupt and the ability to inflict 44 second bleeding (significant damage over time.) You can still have Blood weaponry as a secondary set.
 * Blood Ritual is useful especially in a team situation as it is affected by expertise and gives an energy gain. Similarily, a group of touch rangers could be effective using Blood is Power and Blood Ritual on each other.
 * Zojun's Haste, paired with Dodge, gives an almost nonstop speed boost and protection against rangers.
 * Blood Renewal makes a good self heal if used properly.
 * Strip Enchantment in place of Resurrection Signet for Alliance Battles or 8-Team Competitive Missions such as The Jade Quarry and Fort Aspenwood, where Resurrection Signets are useless.
 * Use the 6 left-over attribute points and put them into Wilderness Survival, then using Serpent's Quickness as a way to increase pressure on your target.
 * Touch of Agony and/or Wallow's Bite should not be overlooked.
 * For players who only own Factions, a spare points Melandru's Shot could be used, with Vampiric Bite and Wallow's Bite as the damage. This will be less effective and conditional to enemies faced, however.
 * Storm Chaser instead of Dodge can help with energy management, but is generally not as useful.
 * In Alliance Battles, Resurrection Signet may be replaced with Awaken the Blood for more powerful touch attacks.

This build uses Gladiator's Defense to provide defense and do a bit of damage. The main damage comes from the Channeling Magic skills to kill melee mobs. The Cruel Gladiator can farm Smite Crawlers in the Underworld, Mountain Trolls in Talus Chute, and Minotaurs in Elona Reach.

Attributes and Skills

 * Bonetti's Defense can be replaced with Enraging Charge if you are having trouble running to the Smite Crawlers.
 * Replace Sprint with Spirit Rift if you don't need a running skill.

Equipment

 * Radiant or Survivor armor
 * A +5 energy axe of Fortitude with a req 9 Tactics sheild of Fortitude with -5 20%
 * The Headpiece should have +1 Channeling Magic with a Superior Rune of Channeling Magic.
 * Two armor pieces should have a Rune of Attunement.
 * One armor piece should have the highest possible vigor rune.
 * One armor piece should have a Rune of Vitae.

Usage

 * Cast Splinter Weapon and Cruel Was Daoshen before you aggro a mob.
 * Aggro the mob and cast Gladiator's Defense.
 * Use Cruel Was Daoshen again, Ancestor's Rage, drop the ashes, and use Cyclone Axe.
 * The mob should die before they have a chance to flee.

The goal of this build is to farm Vermin in Xaquang Skyway with a primary Elementalist.

Equipment

 * Any maximum armor will do, although Tempest Armor or Battlemage's Armor are best.
 * A weapon with a maximum Staff Wrapping Of Enchanting is suggested, Galigord's Stone Staff is perfect for this build.
 * Totem Axe or Rajazan's Fervor and earth offhand such as Hajok's Prism or Galigord's Stone Scroll

Usage

 * Upon entering Xaquang Skyway, head northwest to the Vermin.
 * Keep Earth Attunement and Aura of Restoration up at all times.
 * Try to take on the Vermin 2-3 groups at a time for the easiest battles.
 * As they're charging towards you, make sure to use Ward of Stability before they get to you, followed by Armor of Earth.
 * As soon as they've all gathered around you, use Sliver Armor.
 * Cast Aftershock, Teinai's Crystals and Shockwave. Recast as they recharge.
 * If the fight lasts too long you may lose Ward of Stability, recast as soon as possible.

Tips on killing Shreader Sharptongue:
 * Watch the movement of the groups of Vermin, you'll notice their pattern is counter-clockwise.
 * Select Shreader so Sliver Armor has more chance of targeting him.
 * Wait on the bridge until Shreader and his group are closest to the bridge. Aggro him and run some ways back on the bridge.
 * Cast your anti-Knockdown, which ever one you have, then cast Sliver Armor. Additional casts after Sliver Armor may stop it from targeting Shreader, so try not to cast your other offensive spells until he's below 50% health.
 * If you get into health problems, spam your spells to gain health from Aura of Restoration.

Variants

 * Replace Armor of Earth with Stoneflesh Aura, this way you'll only lose health due to degeneration, and of course the attacks of the boss.
 * An E/Mo can replace Earth Attunement with Balthazar's Spirit or/and Essence Bond for slightly better energy management (when tanking large groups of vermin). Healing Breeze may also be a useful skill for an E/Mo.
 * Crystal Wave can be used in place of Aftershock.
 * Sandstorm is another effective way of killing instead of Shockwave if you have not yet capped it. You may need to wand the vermin back to you if they start to run, but the high damage should kill them before that.
 * This build can be used to farm Pongmei Valley if Ward of Stability is switched for Ward Against Melee.

The Interrupt Assassin uses several interrupt and knockdown skills to put pressure on, or even shutdown the enemy.

Equipment

 * Full Radiant or Survivor Armor (insignias). Superior Rune of Dagger Mastery, Superior Rune of Vigor.
 * Energy +5 Zealous Daggers of Fortitude.
 * 15^50 Zealous Daggers of Fortitude.

Usage

 * Pick a target, preferably a weakened one who's not adjacent to any other foes.
 * Suprise him/her by using Shadow Walk on him/her.
 * Use your attack combo and spam Moebius Strike -> Horns of the Ox if your target has less then 50% health.
 * Use Dash followed by Feigned Neutrality to Shadowstep back and heal yourself if needed.
 * Resurrection Signet speaks for itself, use it as soon as one of your allies dies.

Counters

 * Common melee counters like Empathy, Spiteful Spirit and Blind.
 * Block Stances/Enchantments.
 * Foes standing adjacent to other enemies.

Variants

 * The Shadow Walk/Dash combo is optional, these skills can be replaced by condition removers like Mending Touch or Plague Touch.
 * Disrupting Stab can be replaced by another Lead Attack of choice.
 * You can also drop Shadow Walk and use Impale instead, the Deep Wound it causes is very helpful.

Barrage/Pet (aka b/p, barrageway, petway) is the general appellation of a class of "speed" builds for the ruins of the Tomb of the Primeval Kings.

Overview
This build utilizes the synergy between Barrage, Favorable Winds, and Winnowing to inflict high damage on multiple foes, with a wall of pets and minions to defend the party. This build requires only loose coordination between players, and a large spectrum of variants are viable. Barrage/pet builds are resilient to dropped players, as only two roles, the monk and the minion master, can be said to be essential.

The most common barrage/pet team consists of:
 * 5 Barrage rangers
 * 1 Minion Master
 * 1 Orders Necromancer
 * 1 healing Monk

Membership
This is one of many possible variations. The builds noted below are suitable for pick up groups, but it is by no means definitive. A more complex alternative can be found here.

Barrage Rangers
Variations: The purpose of the pets is to tank for the group (at least until the minion master raises a sizeable army) and to provide an endless source of corpses for the minion factory. A dead pet with an exploited corpse serves no purpose, so it is important for the rangers to raise their pets at every opportunity.
 * At least one ranger must carry Favorable Winds (FW). A FW Barrager should replace Troll Unguent with Favorable Winds, and move all points from Wilderness Survival into Expertise.
 * At least one ranger must carry Winnowing (WW/Winn). A Winnowing Barrager should replace Troll Unguent with Winnowing and can lessen ranks in Beast Mastery for higher ranks in Wilderness Survival if they desire a longer lasting spirit with more health.
 * Winter can be used against Terrorweb Dryders and Mark of Rodgort, efficiently preventing it from triggering.
 * Consider using Paragon as a secondary profession. Paragons suffer no ill effects when struck by a foe using Fingers of Chaos, and can carry Signet of Return, a repeatable resurrection skill.
 * Consider using Ritualist as a secondary profession. Spliter Weapon can increase damage signifigantly without sacrificing orders damage, and Flesh of My Flesh is an effective combat resurrection.

Note: Skill bar blackout time from pet death is reduced by higher ranks in Beast Mastery.

For additional information, see Build:R/any General Barrager.

Minion Master
The purpose of the minion master is to raise a large undead army and keep the attention of the foes. Unlike many other minion builds, the minions here are not intended for pure damage, but rather to body-block the Grasps of Insanity from reaching the ranger line.

Note that this build is not set in stone, and there are nearly as many variants as there are Minion Masters. Keeping this in mind, some minor variants include swapping the skills Rotting Flesh for Dark Bond for a more durable build, swapping Animate Flesh Golem for Jagged Bones for "free" minions, and changing any of the animate skills.

For additional information please see the general minion mastery guide.

Orders Necromancer
The Orders Necromancer doesn't deal direct damage, but drastically increases the effectiveness of the barrage team due to the guaranteed damage of the Order skills. This character should stay well clear of combat; their low health and reliance on enchantments makes them vulnerable targets.

''Note: Well of Blood should only be used in the rare cases where the minion master disconnects. This maybe so rare that you may want to switch out Well of Blood for another skill/spell.''

''Be careful of enchantments. Casting these to try to 'help' the monk out in a pinch can harm a recipent who is down in HP if he is close enough to a Banished Rider with Shatter Enchantment.''

''For additional information please see N/Mo Tombs OoV."

Healing Monk
A pure healing Monk. Use of enchantments is generally discouraged, due largely to the prevalence of Fingers of Chaos and Shatter Enchantment.

Note: this build could be replaced with nearly any build designed using straight healing spells (non-enchantments).

Critical Barrager
In this variant, any number of Rangers can be replaced by Assassin/Rangers, as they deal greater damage using Sharpen Daggers to cause bleeding to foes and the increased chance of hitting a critical hit.

For additional information, See Build:A/R Critical Barrager.

Six Barragers Variant
In this variant, the Orders Necromancer is replaced with a sixth Barrager. All Barragers either use elemental bowstrings, or one Ranger brings Greater Conflagration instead of Barrage. The foes in the Tomb Ruins, being mostly of the Warrior and Mesmer classes, have no additional defenses against elemental damage.

Analysis: An Orders Necromancer with maximum Blood Magic gives a guaranteed damage bonus of 17 (or 19 if aided by Awaken the Blood) per arrow that hits. In the worst case, with each of the five barragers hitting just one target each, this translates to an additional damage output of 85 (or 95) for the team. A sixth Barrager with maximum Marksmanship will do around 40 damage per arrow with an elemental string; he will thus have to hit at least three targets every time to outperform the Orders Necromancer's worst case damage output. In even a slightly better case, where each barrager hits three targets each, the damage output of the Orders Necromancer is 255 (or 285), which is more than the sixth barrager can achieve even if all his six arrows connect. Without an orders necromancer, the team is free to use elemental bowstrings, which increases the damage output of every arrow by around 5-10 points.

It should be noted that Order of the Vampire offsets some of the healing pressure from the Monk, and the Orders Necromancer doubles as a battery for the Monk.

Fevered Dreams Variant
In this variant, either a Ranger or the Monk brings Fevered Dreams and coordinates with the conditioners in the team to spread conditions around using very effective combinations. One possible combination is Fevered Dreams + Enfeeble + Virulence: all foes in the area become weakened, poisoned and diseased. Another possible combination is a ranger/mesmer using Fevered Dreams on a target, and then adding conditions with Pin Down, Apply Poison and Throw Dirt.

Analysis: While potent, this build takes some coordination between the players, and so is most likely not suitable for loosely organized PUGs.

Minionless Variant
In this variant, the minion master is replaced with a different Death Necromancer build. The plethora of corpses are used for Wells of Suffering and Putrid Explosions instead of the minion factory. This variant depends more heavily on the pets forming a sturdy front line, so it is common to have all Barragers have 8 or 9 in Beast Mastery and bring skills to aid the pets such as Otyugh's Cry, Call of Protection and Symbiosis. The Monk in this variant also tries to keep the pets alive for as long as possible.

Analysis: This variant requires very careful aggro management, and is therefore most likely unusable by PUGs.

Monkless Variant
This variant replaces the healing Monk with a sixth damage dealing character. All healing in the build is done by Predatory Season and the Orders Necromancer who brings Heal Other and Heal Party for emergency healing. Predatory Season makes minions more durable. This variant is essentially a 100% damage-dealing build.

Analysis: This variant is risky, but when correctly executed, can be among the speediest Barrage/Pet variants. Clearing times of 40 minutes or lower are not unheard of.

Paragon Variant
In this variant, a paragon replaces the orders necromancer. Anthem of Flame when combined "They're On Fire!" can both increase damage output and reduce incomming damage. "Incoming!" can further reduce spike damage common at the begining of an engagement, and Song of Restoration can provide some additional healing. "Go For the Eyes!" and "Find Their Weakness!" are especially effective with Critical Barragers.

Historical notes
Historically, the six barrager variant was one of the earliest barrage/pet team compositions. Before Order of the Vampire was modified to make it ineffective together with Order of Pain, the Orders Necromancer was always the clear winner in terms of raw damage output, so the six barrager variant fell into disuse. Its popularity has resurged after a March 2nd 2006 update changed Order of the Vampire, because a well managed six barrager team can match or outperform an Orders Necromancer.

Having Blessed Light as multi-purpose skill, this bonder sacrifices some energy management for better Hex and Condition removal via use of Blessed Light. The unconditional heal and increased self-healing make it very sustainable.

Equipment

 * Ascetic's Armor or Acolyte's Armor
 * Any weapon or focus item with 20/20 recharge on Divine Favor spells.
 * Any weapon or focus item with +1/20 chance on increased Divine Favor when using skills.

Usage
This build is played similiarly to any other bonding build.
 * Start by casting Life Bond on 4 members of the party. Then use Mantra of Inscriptions.
 * Follow up with Blessed Signet.
 * Cast Life Bond on the rest of the party and Balthazar's Spirit on yourself.
 * While your party is in combat, so long as they take physical damage, you will have a very steady supply of energy.
 * If your energy supply is high, use Blessed Light to remove hexes and conditions while healing your target.
 * Otherwise for healing your party, use Signet of Devotion.
 * Replace Life Bond as quickly as possible if removed.
 * When a party member is low on life, use Reversal of Fortune first, then Blessed Light for a quick and effective heal.
 * Use Blessed Signet whenever you are down to half of your energy. Keep Mantra of Inscriptions up all the time.
 * Self-sustained you can support Life Bond on up to 9 characters.

Counters

 * Ignorance is a major counter to this build.
 * Energy denial / skill denial / enchantment removal.
 * Damage spikes can render you helpless, especially if you're caught casting Blessed Signet.
 * Hexes like Rust can be devastating if not removed properly.

Variants

 * You may wish to replace Resurrect with a different resurrection skill such as Resurrection Signet, Sunspear Rebirth Signet, or even Light of Dwayna.

The Lightning Hammer PvP build focuses on the stance renewing ability of "On Your Knees!" combined with a powerful ranger stance that increases attack speed and evades attacks. With high elemental armor and near constant physical evasion, this build is highly resistant to most damage.

Variants

 * For the Optional Slot:
 * Dryder's Defenses can give you an additional 10 seconds of evasion, as well as very strong armor increase versus elemental damage. Whirling Defense is also useful and long lasting. Remember that you have +10 armor and possibly +15% damage while in a stance.
 * Storm Chaser is useful to chase down fleeing foes, to quickly engage in melee range, to regain energy, and to escape if necessary.
 * Antidote Signet can remove blindness.
 * Distracting Blow can be a useful interrupt.
 * Nature's Renewal is useful if your team uses few enchantments and hexes.
 * For Alliance Battles, Storm Chaser is a must, but the res signet can be replaced with any of the above option skills, Dodge for running to capture control points, or Healing Spring for large, concentrated battles.

Equipment
Armor: Weapons: Suggested Weapon Mods: Similar Green/Unique Hammers:
 * Sentry's Armor for additional armor while in a stance.
 * Any max damage customized hammer with either +15% damage while in a stance or +15% damage always, energy -5. Energy will likely never be a problem with either build unless you encounter very heavy energy denial.
 * Sundering Hammer of Fortitude for the Lightning Hammer build.
 * Furious Hammer of Fortitude for the Crazed Carpenter/Shakey Tanker builds.
 * It's often beneficial to bring along an extra hammer with an elemental damage mod such as an icy hammer haft to help damage Warriors.
 * Kanaxai's Mallet
 * Vera
 * Victo's Maul

Usage

 * Open with Lightning Reflexes only after you are in melee range, as its duration is short.
 * Spam Irresistible Blow whenever it's recharged. With 13 expertise you can easily manage your energy and deal consistent extra damage.
 * If your attacks are not interfered with, you should be able to use Devastating Hammer before Lightning Reflexes ends.
 * Immediately use Crushing Blow to cause deep wound and extra damage.
 * Immediately use "On Your Knees!" to recharge Lightning Reflexes. Then reactivate it as soon as it times out.
 * Use Troll Unguent only as necessary, as the 3 second delay will cause your stance to end before you can renew it.

Counters

 * On hit hexes such as Empathy or Spiteful Spirit work, but are less useful than they seem. The high damage and slow attack speed of hammers allow the Lightning Hammer build to out damage any individual hex of that type though this may have a greater impact on the Crazed Carpenter build as it tends to hit multiple enemies with Crude Swing.
 * Blindness and Weakness
 * Heavy life degeneration.
 * Adrenaline drain or prevention.
 * Defensive stances, though Irresistible Blow can cause damage through them for the Lightning Hammer build and the AoE damage from Earth Shaker and Yeti Smash will still connect with adjacent targets for the Crazed Carpenter.
 * Damage reducing hexes such as Faintheartedness or Spirit of Failure
 * Anti-evasion skills such as Rigor Mortis, Griffon's Sweep, Warrior's Cunning, or Unseen Fury.

This build is designed to handle the new "erratic" AI with the Solo SS Farmer build.

Equipment
Armor:
 * Scar Pattern Armor or Cabalist's Armor type (if you have Guild Wars Factions) because they offer the most energy required for the build.
 * All armor pieces must have Necromancer superior runes: a Superior Death Magic is recommended but not compulsory. Aim for the cheapest runes.

Weapons:
 * Totem Axe for the energy and the +20% length of enchantments
 * To solo the Underworld you will need a max damage Truncheon such as the one from Uderit Ignis, or, if you have Factions, a Wailing Wand from Gertrud or Telamon.
 * The off-hand item is the Cities of Ascalon quest reward -50HP Grim Cesta

Usage
The process of this build is basically the same as the old one. Cast Essence Bond, Balthazar's Spirit, and Mending Before battle and let your energy recharge. As you aggro your target cast Protective Spirit and Healing Breeze. Once your target attacks cast Spiteful Spirit and shortly after, Rotting Flesh. If the target group is large enough they will start taking turns attacking. Once a body is available cast Well of Suffering. Remember to keep up the enchantments.

Counters

 * Any enchantment removal will most likely kill you.
 * Conditions also pose a threat to any 55. Stack too many and you will negate your health regeneration.
 * Death penalty will majorly mess you up.
 * Be very careful of interrupting attacks from warriors, an example is Mountain Trolls' Disrupting Chop. This is especially dangerous as it adds 20 second cool down to the recharge of the affected spell, if this hits on Protective Spirit or Healing Breeze it can leave you dead in seconds.

Variants

 * Well of the Profane may replace Well of Suffering to hinder enchantment reliant attacks
 * Guardian may be advisable for attacking a large group at one time. The AI still has everyone attack at once and then after some time (Undetermined) they break up
 * The use of Putrid Explosion may be helpful in certain situations.
 * Necrotic Traversal is an energy friendly alternative to Well of Suffering

Equipment

 * Armor - Druid's armor, for the extra energy.
 * Weapons - A Stalwart Carapace Shield from Yorik Warblade and a Axe or Sword with +5 Energy, and +30 Health.

Usage

 * Cycle through Dodge and Zojun's Haste as speed boosts. Storm Chaser is a cover stance, for the gap in stance time.
 * When approaching areas heavily guarded by enemies with Hexes and/or Conditions, switch into Dodge or Zojun's Haste. Use "I Will Survive!" as a cover shout for now, so you do not cancel out the effects of the running stance for Melandru's Resilience.
 * Once Dodge, Zojun's Haste, and "I Will Survive!" have both expired, switch into Storm Chaser.
 * If your health starts to drop below 50%hp, abandon your running stance for Melandru's Resilience.
 * If "I Will Survive!" has recharged, use it.
 * Typically, Your health will return to a safer amount.
 * If this does not work, stop briefly, use "Shields Up!", Dodge, Zojun's Haste, (only if Melandru's Resilience has expired), and Troll Unguent for a heal. If you feel safe enough, use Healing Signet.
 * Continue in this way to a secluded spot, regenerate health, and start out good as new again.

Counters

 * Massive degeneration.
 * Slowed movement such as Crippled.
 * Body blocking by mobs in narrow passages.

Variants

 * I usually do not feel the need for Healing Signet since I have Troll Unguent, But it is fully up to the user.
 * Sprint instead of Storm Chaser. Storm Chaser is statistically better though. It costs 5 more Energy, but your attribute level in Expertise pretty much neutralizes it. Plus, It gives you energy upon Elemental damage.
 * "Watch Yourself!" instead of "Shields Up!" or Healing Signet.

This is a simple method to farm the Root Behemoths in The Falls to obtain the unique item, the Totem Axe.

Equipment
Any armor set will do as long as it is the maximum armor level (such as found in Droknar's Forge and Kaineng Center). Most commonly used would be Gladiator's Armor. Any Sword/Shield combination should do, as long as you meet the requirement for the Sword (you have 15 attributes into it) and the Shield (10 into Tactics).

Usage

 * Ventari's Refuge
 * Start in Ventari's Refuge which is south from Quarrel Falls through Silverwood and Ettin's Back. Exit and head south towards the Reed Bog. Along the way you will encounter the conditions Bleeding and Burning. Use Troll Unguent or Melandru’s Resilience to counter this. Sprint when Melandru’s is recharging. Don’t use them together as they are both Stances and will cancel each other out. This is an easy run and won’t cause too much trouble.


 * Reed Bog
 * When you enter the Reed Bog there are two ways you can go. If you decide to go south west you will find this much easier than if you head directly south as you won’t encounter as many creatures along the way. In this area you will only get conditions such as bleeding, poison and cripple. Use your Troll Unguent or Melandru’s when needed and watch out for Moss Scarabs. You can basically sprint through this area with minimal trouble. Head south to find the portal into The Falls.


 * The Falls
 * You will meet all conditions, explained in the Enemy notes, here. When conditioned use Melandru's Resilience or Troll Unguent. When you come accross Jungle Trolls just Sprint past them making sure you have enough space to get past. The Jungle Skales drop Gold and Blue items quite often so you might want to kill them. Use your Healing Signet in an emergency or when attacking the Life Pods. Sever Artery and Gash help speed the process up. When you come accross Wind Riders just alternate between Sprint and Melandru's to get past them. If you want to attack them then kill 3 at a time and run to regen health. The Wind Riders also drop a green item named Forgotten Fan.

Enemy Notes



 * Jungle Skales
 * Jungle Skale use the skill Rotting Flesh which gives you a health degen of -4. Using Melandru's Resilience nearly negates this and gives you +1 energy, so they shouldn’t cause any damage to you.


 * Jungle Trolls
 * Stay away from these creatures as they are dangerous in large groups. They use the skill Power Attack which causes a lot of damage and patrol the area in large numbers. You will be passing by these groups on the way and using sprint is the best way to avoid them. Be careful when running around them as a few of the pathways are quite narrow and getting trapped is not an option.


 * Life Pods
 * These creatures are nothing but an annoyance in this area. The only thing they have that causes damage to you is the skill Holy Wrath. The best way to deal with these creatures is to draw them away from the Root Behemoths and try to kill them one at a time. It’s possible to kill them in groups of three but it takes a while. Even when they are drawn away, they still tend to run around in circles (if there is more than one) to avoid you and heal themselves or to be healed by another pod. Notice they run around in Clockwise direction, if you manage to body-block them against a wall on your right hand side, it will speed up the killing by a lot.


 * Maguuma Hunter
 * The Maguuma Hunter uses a skill called Hunter's Shot to inflict Bleeding. They also lay down flame traps to inflict Burning which is also a Condition. The Burning Condition doesn’t last very long and the Bleeding can be negated with Melandru's Resilience.


 * Maguuma Spiders
 * The Maguuma Spider uses the skills Pin Down and Apply Poison to slow you down on the run towards The Falls. Using Melandru's Resilience will negate this and followed up with Troll Unguent you shouldn’t have a problem with them.


 * Redwood Shepherds
 * These creatures are in the same location as the Maguuma Spiders and prevent you from using your Healing Signet by using the skills Primal Echoes and Debilitating Shot. Using Troll Unguent works well in this area.


 * Root Behemoths


 * Root Behemoths are easy enough to kill as long as you clear out the Life Pods first.


 * Wind Riders


 * The Wind Riders are dangerous in large groups and inflict health degen of -5 by using the skill Conjure Phantasm. Melandru's Resilience will reduce this to -2 and give you energy +1 but the Wind Riders interrupt your skills which also includes Healing Signet and Troll Unguent. From experience you can kill up to 3 or 4 in a row and then run away to regenerate health. In smaller groups of Wind riders it is possible to get them to "use up" their interrupts. Simply cast skills multiple times to get the Wind Riders to use their interrupts. Then you will have a safe amount of time to activate Troll Unguent and Healing Signet.

Counters
While this build is generally quite effective and safe, it will have a hard time against monsters, such as the Wind Rider, which use Cry of Frustration to interrupt the healing skills.

Variants

 * The wildcards in this build are Sever Artery, Gash, and "Shields Up!". Therefore, it is possible to change the other skills, depending on your choice of weaponry in order to fit your specific needs.
 * A wise move to add is in the 'optional' slot is "I Will Survive!" which makes you gain Health regeneration of 3 for each condition you are suffering for 5-10 seconds. This, combined with Melandru's Resilience works very well for resisting health degeneration.
 * Replacing "Shields Up!" and the 'optional' slot with Riposte and Deadly Riposte allows you to make quick work of any Root Behemoth with fewer than 3 Life Pods by attacking one of the Pods while letting the Behemoth kill itself attacking you.
 * Predatory Season can be used right before attacking a group of Wind Riders. This gives a +5 health every time you hit with an attack and reduces your healing by 20%. This does not affect Troll Unguent's regeneration effect. Your Healing Signets will be interrupted anyway. This can also be useful against the Life Pods as it reduces their healing by 20%.
 * This Build can easily be used by a R/W by changing Sprint for any ranger running skill, such as Storm Chaser.
 * With the high Wilderness survival, Apply Poison makes dispatching groups of life pods an easy task. They love to spam Mend Condition and will soon exhaust their energy. Just be mindful of your own energy.
 * Adding Final Thrust for the spike helps on Life Pods - pull one at a time by barely touching your aggro circle to the behemoth and quickly backing away.

A running build based around leaving your enemies in the dust by combining speed buffs and Veil of Thorns to Cripple them and get out of the fray, leaving you practically unscathed. Even effective against Rangers, Paragons, and casters despite their longer range. It can run anything up to the Crystal Desert in Tyria (I have yet to test it).

Equipment

 * Armor:
 * Druid's Armor, for the extra energy.
 * Weapons:
 * A Stalwart Carapace Shield from Yorik Warblade and a Axe or Sword with +5 Energy, and +30 Health.

Usage

 * Enter Serpent's Quickness, to lower the recharge time of Veil of Thorns, so you can use it back-to-back.
 * Cast Veil of Thorns, your optional skill, and Vital Boon and enter Dodge, Zojun's Haste, or Featherfoot Grace for your speed buff. Dodge or Zojun's Haste would probably be better for now.
 * Cycle through the other two speed buffs.
 * Cast enchantments at less populated areas since you have to stop to cast. Veil of Thorns may be the only exception.
 * Use Troll Unguent as a heal.

Counters

 * Getting stuck, just like in any running build.
 * Enchantment removal may pose a threat.

Variants
Optional:

Elite Non-Elite

Equipment
A wand and offhand with 20/20 HCT/HSR are strongly recommended. No special armor is needed.

Usage
Cast Air Attunement before entering combat. Pick a target, spam Blinding Surge, Lightning Strike, and Arc Lightning as they become available. Use Lightning Orb on unsuspecting targets or as a finisher. Use Gale to interrupt or prevent key actions such as self-heals and knock down fleeing foes. Use Glyph of Restoration to recover health. Ps: Blind the Assassins

Counters

 * Any anti-spam abilities such as Diversion or Distracting Shot.
 * Removing Air Attunement can cause energy problems in protracted fights.
 * Protection from casters is relatively light, so high-damage caster builds and degen can often overwhelm the light healing provided by Glyph of Restoration.
 * Protection spells such as Protective Spirit and Spirit Bond can severely reduce the amount of damage dealt by this build.
 * Dazed combined with any non-blinded attacker will completely shut this down.
 * Anti- spell caster hexes such as Backfire, Soul Leech, Spiteful Spirit, Migraine, and Arcane Conundrum.
 * Avatar of Melandru will prevent the blindness effect entirely.

Variants

 * If playing Luxons on Fort Aspenwood, pick Necromancer as your secondary and replace Resurrection Signet with Gaze of Contempt or drop one point in Energy Storage for 5 Death Magic to get Well of the Profane.
 * For Alliance Battles, Jade Quarry, or Kurzicks on Fort Aspenwood, replace Resurrection Signet with Windborne Speed.
 * Lightning Orb can be replaced with Glyph of Elemental Power for more reliable damage frontloading, but less spiking power.
 * Glyph of Restoration can be replaced with Aura of Restoration to cover Air Attunement, while providing heal-over-time.
 * Glyph of Lesser Energy can be used over Gale to help with energy management.
 * Some skills that can replace Arc Lightning are Enervating Charge, and Lightning Bolt. Also Chain Lightning is good but it causes Exhaustion.

The Vortex Farmer is a build used to farm the Vortex. Its powerfull skills make its indestructible. It is specialy designed to farm the Domain of Fear.

Attributes and Skills

 * If you are sure that you'll burn all your energy pool, you can replace Churning Earth for Essence Bond.

Equipment

 * Armor: Any max armor will works well.
 * Weapon: Galigord's Stone Staff is the best for that build.

Usage



 * Go in the Domain of Fear.
 * Cast on you Balthazar's spirit and Aura of Restoration ( be sure that they are always on )
 * When you'll see a patrol of monsters, cast Armor of Earth and Stoneflesh Aura, followed by Obsidian Flesh, then Aggro them.
 * Once they are all on you, cast Armor of Earth and Stoneflesh Aura again.
 * Here you'll need Healing breeze to cover the reload time of Obsidian flesh. When it's ready, cast it and cast Sliver Armor. When Sliver Armor is on, cast Churning Earth. Try to have all monsters on you if you want that Churning Earth does its job.

Counters

 * Daze, Interrupt or Enchants Removers can annihilate you. If you be carefull and try to keep Obsidian Flesh on, those problems won't happen.

Variants

 * The only Variance is to switch Churning Earth for Essence Bond. Your energy pool will always be full with Essence Bond+Balthazar's Spirit toghetter.

Equipment
Wayward Wand (HSR of Death Magic 20%) Bleached Skull (Death Magic +1 20% / Heath +30) A Ghial's Staff works great too. Best Vigor Rune possible. Rune of Superior Death Magic.

Usage
Master of Whispers and/or Olias have shown that they use the build very well with minimal human support. The only exception to this may be the usage of Blood of the Master at in-opportune times as they tend to, literally, kill themselves by over using it. By adding Karei's Healing Circle to their bar they will alternate between the two skills, healing themselves and their minions as well as any nearby allies.

If you are in a heavy fight you may need to activate Jagged Bones and/or Death Nova periodically as they will sometimes ignore these skills in order to pull up more minions or to spam Blood of the Master, although this is a rare occurrence.

If you notice your Hero is running low on health or is in a bad situation you may need to manually make him use Taste of Death, although they normally do this themselves.

Variants
Use Feast for the Dead for a low cost heal instead of Karei's Healing Circle or Blood of the Master. It kills a minion but heals all of the others for a third of their health bar due to all of the points in death magic.

Verata's Aura can be used in the optional spot in the event that the MM should die. This will give him the ability to recover a few of the unbound minions.

Rather than using Taste of Death to destroy a minion, you can also use Putrid Flesh. Coupled with Death Nova, this will deal damage in the area, as well as spreading poison AND disease to all vulnerable foes.

Counters
Enemies that do not have flesh will render the build useless as they will be immune to poison and bleeding.

The other problem occuring frequently is that heroes using this build often tend to drag behind the party and maintain the enchantments and health of the minions instead of keeping in touch with the frontlines. Patience, frequent stops and inspecting the radar before engaging enemies is essential for you as you will find yourself amidst the battle taking all the damage otherwise while your allied undead army recieves care in safe distance. The other option is to use a flag to force the hero to move closer to enemy, but that reduces the effectiveness of the build, because you will interrupt him and the minions won't be properly boosted before the fight.

Attributes and Skills

 * Runes can be used to boost Deadly Arts, although it is not necessary.

Equipment

 * Armor: Any armor with +energy mods and attunement runes.  You want your energy as high as possible.
 * Weapons: A perfect Insightful Staff of Enchanting or a Totem Axe with a shield.

Usage
The skill bar above is laid out from left to right in the general order in which to use skills, depending on the situation. Deadly Paradox plus Death's Charge and Dark Escape are the main movement skills. Dark Escape can and should be kept up constantly for 1/2 damage and +25% speed. Dash should be used when Dark Escape fades out to gain as much distance from any enemies following you, especially if you need some extra time to use Signet of Pious Light to end Shadow Form. Death's Charge can be a massive overall speed buff (and self heal) if used efficiently. Almost all healing during the run can be accomplished while still moving.

Normal running sequence:
 * Deadly Paradox -> Death's Charge -> Dark Escape -> Dash -> Deadly Paradox -> Dark Escape.

Anti-knockdown sequence (for wurms and giants):
 * Fleeting Stability -> Deadly Paradox -> Shadow Form -> Death's Charge -> Dark Escape -> Dash -> Deadly Paradox -> Dark Escape.

Healing sequence when Shadow Form begins to fade out:
 * Deadly Paradox -> Signet of Pious Light -> Heart of Shadow -> Dark Escape

Healing sequence when you have a place to rest with no aggro:
 * Fleeting Stability or Heart of Shadow -> Signet of Pious Light -> Signet of Pious Light
 * Repeatedly cast an enchantment and Signet of Pious Light as many times as needed to immediately recharge Signet of Pious Light after each use.

When to use Deadly Paradox:
 * Always before: Dark Escape and Shadow Form.
 * Preferably before: Death's Charge.

When to use Shadow Form:
 * To prevent Ice Imps and Ice Golems from slowing you down with hexes.
 * Near Wurms and Avicara, use Fleeting Stability followed by Shadow Form, to prevent the Avicara from stripping Fleeting Stability.
 * To nullify damage from enemies through intense parts of the run (Tundra Giants, Stone Summit, Avicara), although you can also tank through some enemies with Dark Escape, Heart of Shadow, and Death's Charge.
 * Shadow Form should only be kept up as long as necessary. Disable it with Signet of Pious Light before you encounter Grawl Crones.

Counters

 * Enchantment stripping, mainly from Grawl Crones casting Chilblains. Simply stay out of their range.
 * Conditions will severely hinder your chances of survival in most situations. Try to avoid Pinesoul traps -- NEVER use Death's Charge on a Pinesoul as you will likely teleport into a trap.
 * Dash can also be used to run through Pinesoul traps without triggering them.

Variants

 * Feigned Neutrality can be switched with Signet of Pious Light or Heart of Shadow, giving you an extra self-heal if needed.
 * Vital Boon can be switched with Heart of Shadow, Dash, or Death's Charge for an alternate way of healing when Shadow Form ends. You must cast Vital Boon immediately after using Shadow Form so they end almost simultaneously. Additionally, using Signet of Pious Light to end Vital Boon can give you a massive health boost as soon as Shadow Form ends.

A/D with Pious Light


 * Same attributes as main build.

A/D

DP>SF>VB(Shadow Form and Vital boon) -- SoPL>SoPL(remove both ench = 58hp)>VB>SoPL>SoPL