User:Defiant Elements/Saving Vetted PvE Ritualist Builds

= Rt/any Ritual Lord = Through spamming protective spirits, the Ritual Lord is designed to greatly reduce damage dealt to the team.

Usage

 * Stand as far away from combat as your spirits can be and still affect allies.
 * Use Boon of Creation for Energy management. Cast it first, then begin casting Shelter.
 * Activate Ritual Lord during shelter. Like a stance, it has zero casting time so it can be cast during other skills.
 * Invoke Displacement then Union.
 * Be sure to constantly refresh Boon of Creation and Ritual Lord.
 * Typically, Displacement will run out fairly quickly, at which time Union will start eroding. Before Union runs out, your Displacement should be recharged and ready. Invoke it as soon as it becomes ready again.
 * For the duration of the battle, try to balance Union and Displacement so that at least one of them is in effect, while always maintaining Shelter. This will make healing extremely easy.

The end result of this build is that the party will almost always take no more than 30-38 Damage Per Hit and will avoid most attacks.
 * In Alliance Battles and certain missions (Amatz Basin, etc.), the effects are even better. All 3 spirits affect allies, as opposed to only party members. Thus, even 1 Ritual Lord can turn the tide of battle.

Counters

 * Removing Boon of Creation will greatly reduce the energy management within this build.
 * Likewise, any energy denial skills can greatly impact the build's effectiveness.
 * If targeted, the build will usually die quickly as it does not have attack or healing skills.
 * Interrupts while creating the spirits will force the player to wait the full length of recharge time.

Variants
There are two optional slots in the skill bar. These can be filled as follows:


 * Soothing
 * Suggested as a near must have for one of the optional slots. This is not a universal opinion, but should be considered. It will go a long way towards shutting down Adrenaline users.


 * Armor of Unfeeling
 * Pointless in PvE, excellent in PvP. A flat-out damage reduction to give more protection than any amount of Armor. Not always effective.


 * Mighty Was Vorizun
 * So-So in PvE, great in PvP. Can't go wrong with additional Armor and Energy, although you lose any Fast Casting/Recharge mods on your weapon.


 * Feast of Souls
 * Overpowered in PvE, excellent in PvP. This far outstrips Heal Party. Chances are, Shelter won't die before it recharges. Feast of Souls can therefore be cast to give the party a strong heal. Used early it will give the party a very strong Heal.


 * Signet of Creation
 * Good in PvE, good in PvP. Gives Union and Displacement a helping hand before they die.


 * Shadowsong
 * Protects caster and caster's spirits from melee attackers that try to bring them down.


 * Spirit Siphon
 * By using two Superior Runes, one each of Communing and Spawning Power, and a Minor Rune of Channeling Magic and putting Communing and Spawning Power at 14, you can put 11 into Channeling Magic and use this skill for much more efficient energy management. Great for PvE, if you stay out of aggro range. Dangerous in PvP because of much lower health.


 * Mantra of Resolve
 * If your secondary class is Mesmer, put 3 into Inspiration. Not needed in PvE, but you may want it for PvP. Binding Rituals are not spells, so there are less interrupting skills to affect them, but interruptions will not trigger Ritual Lord's Recharge reduction, thus, it's really bad to be interrupted. Don't worry about the low Rank: There will be Energy to spare if Boon of Creation is managed properly.


 * Mantra of Concentration
 * A longer lasting, cheaper variant of Mantra of Resolve. Only stops one interrupt per cast however.


 * Frozen Soil
 * Many teams (most notably IWAY) prefer to have one Frozen Soil-spirit carried by the Ritual Lord, to prevent enemies from reviving dead teammates. This requires Ranger as secondary profession.

= Rt/any Quick Channeler =

This Ritualist uses the spirit Bloodsong along with Weapon of Quickening to deliver consistent and powerful damage while having an optional slot to support your party.

Equipment

 * Any armor of your preference, energy isn't a problem.

Usage
Begin by using Weapon of Quickening and summoning Bloodsong, then use your damage spells against your opponent. Make sure to keep Weapon of Quickening and Blood Song up constantly during battle and use Essence Strike to help manage your energy.

Counters

 * Bloodsong dying. Not a major problem in PvE but more-so in PvP.

Variants

 * Vital Weapon can replace to optional spot to aid party members.
 * Bloodsong can be replaced with Destruction for a fast recharging spirit.
 * Ancestors' Rage can be used in missions where mobs are likely to be in a small area.

= Rt/any Devouring Restorer = The Rt/any Devouring Restorer is a PvE build designed to abuse the power of Spirit Transfer and Consume Soul in combination with fast recharging Spirits like Life and Destruction. Mend Body and Soul provides additional healing as well as Condition removal. Mighty Was Vorizun in combination with Empowerment provides another Spirit as well as additional Health, Energy, and Armor. This build is NOT intended to be the primary healer.

Equipment:

 * Halcyon's Armor for additional Energy or Oracle's Armor for additional Armor
 * Since Mighty Was Vorizun should be active at all times, a Staff and/or Wands/Offhands will have very little effect so choosing your weapons isn't very important to this build.

Usage:

 * Cast Mighty Was Vorizun and maintain it at all times
 * Cast Life and Empowerment
 * Destruction can be cast with the other two Spirits or held in reserve
 * Recast your Spirits whenever they die
 * Cast Mend Body and Soul for Condition removal and as a general heal
 * Cast Spirit Transfer when a more powerful heal is necessary
 * Cast Consume Soul when necessary
 * Although it can be cast at any time, Consume Soul is most effective when used on a long-lived Life Spirit
 * Note that Consume Soul will also heal your other spirits which may have low health due to Spirit Transfer
 * If at all possible, do not use Consume Soul on the Empowerment Spirit.

Counters:

 * Premature Death of Spirits
 * General Anti-Caster (Ex. Backfire)

= Rt/any Continual Channeler = Many Ritualist builds center around the summoning of spirits to support the party in battle. This build is designed as an alternative for those ritualists who would like to play a more direct offensive role within the party. It is called the Continual Channeler because users of this build will be continually channeling lightning damage to their enemies.

Attributes and Skills

 * This build does not have any unused attribute points and its elite slot is unfilled.
 * Renewing Surge may be changed to include the elite skills Soul Twisting, Caretaker's Charge and Spirit Channeling. If you choose the latter, you may want to go with the more Spawning Power-oriented variation listed below.

Variants

 * Restoration Magic can be lowered to 6 + 1 and Spawning Power raised to 11 + 1 to increase the longevity of your spirit. However, this means that the self-heal will be less effective.
 * Generous Was Tsungrai can be replaced by a more immediate healing spell like Mend Body and Soul which also doubles as condition removal or Resilient Weapon for extra armor when hexed or conditioned.
 * Spirit Rift can be added to deal some (one-shot) AOE damage on clumped foes.
 * Spirit Siphon can be swapped in to steal energy from your spirit.

Equipment

 * Channeler's Headwrap with rune of Superior Channeling
 * Harbinger's Armor for the rest of the body (Mystic can be substituted for more armor while casting)
 * Minor runes for all supporting attributes
 * Superior Vigor rune to counteract penalty from Superior Channeling rune
 * Channeling staff with 20/20 HCT/HSR Channeling modifier
 * Ssyn's Staff

Usage

 * Open by casting Bloodsong. This provides a spirit which triggers all your skills' secondary effects. (If there are other Ritualists in the party, you may also choose to work from their spirits since you will be able to help keep the spirits alive with the healing effect of Spirit Boon Strike.)
 * Use the four attack spells on the bar from left to right. The healing from Spirit Boon Strike will more than counter the health the spirit loses from Gaze from Beyond.
 * Cycle attack skills as they recharge, making sure that you are always in the vicinity of a spirit when you cast Essence Strike, as this helps your energy management.
 * Cast and drop Generous Was Tsungrai as and when you need a heal, or hold it to increase your maximum Health.
 * If you should cast Flesh of My Flesh on a fallen ally, you can quickly regain the health that you lost by casting and dropping Generous Was Tsungrai.
 * You should not run out of Energy while using this build unless you meet energy denial foes or the battle is extremely protracted. If you do run out of energy, spam Essence Strike to help yourself out.

Counters

 * Destroy the spirit to reduce this build's effectiveness. However, note that two of the four attack spells do the same amount of damage with or without a spirit present.
 * Energy denial and anti-spam hexes, since this is a spamming build.

= Rt/any Battlebox Spirit Spammer = The Battlebox Spirit Spammer is designed to quick-cast several Binding Rituals, then follow them up with Painful Bond to increase their lethality. It is intended as a PvE primary build.

Attributes and Skills

 * Communing and Channeling should both be as high as possible - choose runes based on your confidence level. I put Channeling in the top spot because of the increased effects of Painful Bond and Warmonger's Weapon, and because the life-stealing effect of Bloodsong is less vulnerable to damage reduction than the damage of Pain.


 * Depending on the monsters you face, you may wish to bring other spirits in place of Dissonance, Restoration, or indeed anything past Painful Bond. In many areas Shadowsong is a helpful thing to have.  The build as presented here is my general-purpose construction.


 * For a Factions-only variant, bring Brutal Weapon in place of Warmonger's Weapon and Boon of Creation in place of Wielder's Strike.


 * If interrupts are not needed, replace Dissonance with Anguish and Warmonger's Weapon with Splinter Weapon, which has the added advantage of a very long duration that enhances the "prepare outside of combat" aspect of the build.

Equipment

 * Armor: Halcyon's armor or Radiant insignia.
 * Weapons: Ideally, Wayward Wand (Channeling-based) and Kayin's Focus. Energy management is important but not crucial.

Usage
This build depends on the fact that Anguished Was Lingwah is NOT a Binding Ritual, and hence does not trigger the benefit of Soul Twisting. Thus, it is possible to essentially pre-cast two offensive spirits outside of combat, and place them quickly when combat begins. Since most of the skill recharge time happens between combats, the build is essentially combat-ready at any time.

When you first step out into the environment, cast Bloodsong. Immediately target the resulting Spirit of Bloodsong and cast Soul Twisting, followed by Anguished Was Lingwah. You should be able to carry the ashes into your first combat - if not, it will be recharged, so just cast it again.

Proceed to wherever you intend to plant your spirits for battle. When you are ready to fight, drop Lingwah's Ashes and cast Dissonance, then Bloodsong. You will have a Spirit of Pain instantly, a Spirit of Dissonance two seconds later, and a Spirit of Bloodsong three seconds after that. Pick a central target for Painful Bond, then cast Warmonger's Weapon and start picking on enemy spellcasters. Use Wielder's Strike if you need a damage spike, and Restoration if your side looks like they might be in trouble (or especially if it looks like you may die yourself).

Dissonance usually won't last the whole combat, but the instant recharge feature of Soul Twisting allows you to re-cast it immediately when it dies. With practice you can target it with Soul Twisting and kill it before it dies, then re-cast it quickly and keep it perpetually charged.

For smaller battles, you can skip Dissonance entirely and just cast Bloodsong; Soul Twisting will reduce the casting time to one second, meaning your two spirits are up before your enemies can muster a response.

After a combat ends, target any allied spirit and re-cast Soul Twisting, then Anguished Was Lingwah. You're ready to go again!

Counters

 * AoE damage can quickly take your spirits down. To counteract this, move around a little between spirits.  It will take a little extra time but nothing close to the normal casting time of Binding Rituals.


 * Binding Rituals can be interrupted. The spirit conjured by Anguished Was Lingwah is unaffected, but the other two can be blocked by timely interrupts.  Fortunately, whichever spirit you summon first gets an instant recharge, so whoever interrupts you had better be prepared to do it more than once.

Equipment

 * Halcyon's Armor for maximum energy or Mystic's Armor (you will be spamming skills constantly). You will usually not gain the effects of any equipped weapons.
 * No weapons or foci (see usage).
 * +15 energy -1 regen Restoration Focus and 20% recharge wand (see usage).

Usage

 * At 16 Spawning Power, Attuned Was Songkai provides 53% reduction in spell/ritual costs. For 5 energy spells, the game rounds down to 2; for 10, to 5; and for 15 it rounds to 7. Note because it reduces cost you can begin casting the spell/ritual as soon as you have the reduced cost, not the regular cost.
 * Your weapon and/or focus item are not used when Attuned Was Songkai is active. When a battle begins, you start with Attuned Was Songkai, which fills your hands. It is recommended to switch to an empty weapon slot for this build most of the time. Attuned Was Songkai causes you to stop holding your weapons, which can have the same negative energy effect as switching to weapons with no energy bonus.
 * Although you begin holding weapons again as soon as Attuned Was Songkai ends, if you cast it at only 10 energy with your weapons equipped you will receive a lot of negative energy, making you wait a dangerous amount of time with 0 energy. You only have no items in your hand for 15 seconds (Attuned Was Songkai lasts 45 seconds, recharges in 60), after which you re-cast it. One trick to get by this is to swap for a +15 energy -1 regen focus for that time, to cast one or two spells, then swapping back to the empty slot before re-casting Attuned Was Songkai.
 * Soothing Memories also helps with energy management. The spell costs 2 energy while holding Songkai's Ashes and returns 3 energy because you are holding an item, resulting in a free heal.
 * Use Recuperation immediately after Attuned Was Songkai when a battle begins. Recuperation, if placed in a safe location, will usually last the whole battle. Recuperation also greatly takes pressure off monks, because it fixes small healing tasks and counters weak degen, such as that from Bleeding.
 * If Attuned Was Songkai ever fast recharges, either from weapons or a Morale Boost, do not re-cast it until it's effects are about to fade. Heal someone instead, or save if for the next battle. It is sometimes smarter to not re-cast it if the battle is only going to last another 10-15 seconds or so, because you need it recharged for the next battle.

Counters

 * Interrupt Attuned Was Songkai, an Elite Item Spell.
 * Kill the Recuperation spirit.
 * Divert, Power Block, or Backfire the healer. Any anti-spamming tactic works.

Variants

 * Resilient Weapon can be replaced with Signet of Capture, a Celestial Skill, or something else your party needs.
 * A Rt/Me variant of this build uses Arcane Echo to copy Soothing Memories for a spin of free heals. Arcane Echo, however, still costs 8 energy to cast. This build can be less effective if you don't compensate for Arcane Echo's downtime.
 * Spirit Light is effective in PvE, where you rarely have to move away from your Recuperation Spirit. Resilient Weapon or either of the other healing spells can be replaced in this situation.
 * Flesh of My Flesh can be swapped for a better Resurrection skill, such as Rebirth if you're a monk secondary. Resurrection Signet is usually a better choice in areas where there are many bosses that can recharge it, or at times when fast, in-battle resurrection is crucial.
 * Replace Resilient Weapon with Ghostly Haste to keep Attuned Was Songkai up indefinitely.
 * Switch to Ranger secondary to use Serpent's Quickness immediately before (or during) the casting of Attuned Was. That will make Attuned match Serpent's 45 second recharge, allowing you to keep Attuned up indefinitely.
 * Replace Weapon of Warding with Wielder's Boon. Use boon on any targets under resilient weapon. Do not use with Vengeful Weapon since it will be likely removed very quickly.
 * This build is incredibly resilient as it is, so two superiors are easy to use. In that case, use a headgear for restoration instead of spawning. The difference between 15 and 16 on Spawning Power will not affect the cost reduction on 5 or 10 energy spells, and the 16 Restoration will make your spells much more effective.

Attributes and Skills

 * In AB you will not need a resurrect.

Equipment

 * Halcyon's Armor for the extra energy never hurts, or Oracle's Armor for the armor bonus.
 * Weapons are not crucial to this build as you will not be using them most of the time.

Usage
Begin by summoning the spirit of Empowerment, and follow up with Ghostly Haste and Attuned Was Songkai. Pick a target, preferably a soft one, and use Spirit Rift, Spirit Burn, and Channeled Strike, with Renewing Surges in between. In this way you can keep dealing damage while your stronger spells recharge.

Counters
Backfire; this is a spamming build. Energy denial will not hurt much, unless Attuned Was Songkai is interrupted.

Variants

 * Lively Was Naomei can be used as an AoE resurrect.
 * Draw Spirit is useful to have when paired with an NPC that is constantly on the move.
 * Destruction could replace Empowerment with its low recharge, or Bloodsong to increase damage. As long as a spirit is there to trigger key skills, the particular spirit is up to personal preference.
 * Ancestors' Rage is useful if there is a tank in your party, or if a monster somehow finds its way to you.
 * Soothing Memories is a useful self-heal, synergizing well with Attuned, but to make it truly effective more points would have to be moved into Restoration Magic.

= Rt/any Spirit Nuker = The purpose of this build is create spirits on the battlefield, and subsequently destroy them with Rupture Soul for massive damage and blindness. With this skill the ritualist acts like a trapper, by strategically placing spirits in combat and blowing them up for 146 lightning damage to nearby enemies. This is especially useful in some missions, such as The Eternal Grove, where enemies can be "bottle-necked" in certain locations.

This build has a significant advantage over a ranger trapper because, unlike traps, binding rituals are not easily interruptible. Also, once the first spirit is destroyed by Rupture Soul, the ritualist has 13 seconds of blinded enemies to cast and destroy the next spirit. If done properly, the last thing that any enemy in the area should "see" is the first spirit exploding.

Attributes and Skills
NOTE: The important attribute here is Spawning Power. The remainder of this point distribution is solely for improving the effectiveness and duration of the binding rituals shown below. As long as Spawning is maximized, however, the other attributes can be adjusted as necessary to fit your needs and skill set.

Usage

 * Always maintain Boon of Creation, Explosive Growth, and Ritual Lord.
 * During normal combat, wait until the fight is joined (that is, until the enemies have begun attacking other targets in the party). Run into a group of enemies and cast a binding ritual, immediately followed by Rupture Soul.  The combined effect of Explosive Growth and Rupture Soul will deal 214 lightning damage to all nearby enemies.  Also, the blinding effect of Rupture Soul provides protection to your warriors, and will often provide the cover necessary to cast and destroy a second or third spirit.
 * If a bottleneck location is available, cast multiple Binding Rituals at a bottleneck location. Work with your party to pull the enemies through the bottleneck.  Repeatedly cast Rupture Soul until all of the spirits are destroyed.  Repeat as necessary.
 * Cast and destroy Restoration if an ally dies.

When playing this build, other binding rituals may be used (such as Destruction instead of Pain). However, consider the following when choosing them:
 * Every second counts. Unlike the Elementalist, who can cast high damage spells from afar, the Ritualist must run into the middle of combat to plant his spells.  Because of this, binding rituals with a casting time of 3 seconds are recommended over those with a casting time of 5 seconds.  The exception to this is Restoration, which doubles as a resurrection and a damage dealing (or healing; see below) spell.
 * Some spirits, such as Shelter and Union, take damage when certain events happen in play. This can lower the duration of the binding ritual dramatically, and cause the spirit to be die before you can destroy it.

Equipment

 * Depending on your style, either Halcyon's Armor for the added energy boost or Mystic's Armor for added protection in the middle of combat. For the healing variation below (which does not require you to go into the combat zone), Halcyon's Armor is preferred.
 * A spawning collector's staff (such as the one traded by Sakai in Senji's Corner) with an Insightful Staff Head and a Staff Wrapping of Fortitude for added energy and health.
 * A Minor Rune of Communing and Restoration, a Superior Rune of Spawning, and the strongest Rune of Vigor you can find.

Variants
Spirit Healer: The premise of this variation is the same as the Spirit Nuker; spirits are made and subsequently destroyed. The difference in this variation is that they are destroyed for the purpose of healing rather than damage dealing. To achieve this, only 2 skills need to be changed, with no changes to attributes:

Strategy:
 * Always maintain Boon of Creation, Spirit's Gift and Ritual Lord.
 * When combat begins, wait until the fight is joined (that is, until the enemies have begun attacking other targets in the party), the begin casting binding rituals as close to the front line warriors as possible. This will heal your nearby allies for 53 damage each.  When they are destroyed with Feast of Souls, they will provide an additional 103 points of healing for each spirit destroyed.  Note that, when Feast of Souls is used, the party members do not have to be standing nearby to gain the healing effect.
 * If you spread your binding rituals out, you can also pick them off one at a time using Feast of Souls. This can be useful in providing a steady stream of 103 HP healing to the entire party every 10 seconds.
 * Remember that this build is used for MASS healing, and not spot healing. Your healing heals everybody in the party by hundreds of hit points at a time; it is wasted on players who are already at or near full life.  For this reason, this build is optimized when there is at least one monk in the party to take care of the "stragglers."

Other Variations

 * The elite skill used in this build, Ritual Lord, can only be found very late in the game. If you wish to try this build before getting Ritual Lord, you can replace Ritual Lord with Doom (this was the original variation).  While not as effective, it still enhances the damage dealing characteristics of the build, and easy to create early in the game.
 * The elite skill used in this build, Ritual Lord, can also be replaced with Preservation.
 * The skill Empowerment can be replaced by a skill that will work with these builds, unless you are in Random Arena or GvG with flagrunners.

= Rt/W Spirit Warrior = 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.

Attributes and skills

 * Optional skills should be a self heal, Troll Unguent works well, but its long cast time is undesirable to some.
 * Doom was suggested and can be used for added damage to help your group's damage output.
 * Draw Spirit can be helpful in fast moving environments.

Equipment

 * Armor:: Any armor really works, energy management shouldn't be an issue but never hurts.
 * Weapons:: Insightful Communing Staff of Fortitude or Hale, the added health cushion comes in handy.

Usage

 * Put Boon of Creation on yourself at the start of the match and keep renewing it as needed, its recharge is slightly less than its duration so use that as a guide.
 * Activate Serpent's Quickness just before you complete your first ritual.
 * Put down Wanderlust first, then Shadowsong
 * Other spirits down in any order
 * Maintain Boon of Creation and keep dropping spirits as soon as they're recharged
 * Exception:: Pain lasts much longer than its recharge so judge that as needed
 * Try to always have Serpent's Quickness on before dropping Wanderlust, otherwise there's a large gap where you won't have it.

Counters

 * Interrupt Rangers and Mesmers can trash this build, if you find you're being interrupted try dropping Union first, and hope they interrupt that, then put down Shadowsong or Wanderlust when they don't have an interrupt ready.
 * Diversion can also do some damage to this build, so take note when it's on you, and what you're casting next. Pain is the best to cast to take Diversion away because of the shorter recharge and long life span.

Variants

 * Spirits can be changed out; Earthbind may be preferred by some to keep them on the ground after Wanderlust.
 * Subclass can be changed to Mesmer and use Mantra of Concentration or Mantra of Resolve to foil interrupts but the recharge time hurts this build a lot.
 * Mantra of Resolve can also devastate your energy supply, so be careful
 * Add Brambles and make sure you are using Devona, knockdown Heroes, or knockdown based party members for a great time. If you can get another party member to add Lacerate lots of things will die really quickly.
 * If you want to have a higher damage output you may want to put in Bloodsong instead of Union.
 * In Luxon vs. Kurzicks you can sub Draw Spirit in for Resurrection Signet because your teamate will be revived quickly and Draw Spirit will enable you to bring your spirits to the front lines faster. Also when your doing this instead of putting Draw Spirit in the optional spot you can put a healing spell like Spirit Light in there.
 * For TA when you are certain you will have a dedicated healer this build deals more damage and disrupts the enemy much more. Casting is same as standard build, right down the line.

Equipment

 * Armor - Maximum energy Armor
 * Weapons - Doesn't matter much. Any staff or wand in the restoration or channeling attributes should do the trick.

Usage
Do not get into wurm. Camp near first maddened strike location (but not TOO near). Cast Bloodsong. Attack nearby infestations, using essence strike and gaze from beyond and the occasional wanding. Wait for Maddened Spirit to appear. Hit "Can't Touch This", followed by vengeful weapon. As spirit starts attacking you, put vengeful was khanhei up. Spam vengeful weapon a few more times. When maddened spirit dies, you can siphon your bloodsong then recast it at a different location, still within the first area - do not touch the yellow sand :). Clean nearby infestations. Etc. Notice that, strictly speaking, you only need to recast Bloodsong every three spirits, more or less (they seem to spawn within 30 seconds of each other), but it's not recommended to wait that long. Being caught without bloodsong will drain your energy (since you must spam vengeful much more), so recast it every two maddeneds.

Counters

 * Be careful not to be caught off-guard killing infestations and forget to use "Can't Touch This". If you eventually get bored, hop on the wurm and do it the old-fashioned way.
 * Getting your Bloodsong killed is a nuisance, but not a fatal one (for the Ritualist - for the more fragile P/Rt version it is dangerous) - spam vengeful weapon until it's dead and recast it. Maddened Spirits will usually come for you, not the spirit, unless the spirit is a much more convenient target. Therefore, the best position for you is to stand between Bloodsong (a mere step away will do) and the incoming Maddened Spirit, or exactly on the same spot (if you just cast it, for example).

Variants

 * You can switch around a few skills, the only essential skills are Can't Touch, bloodsong and vengeful spells. This configuration means you can kill nearby infestations quickly and always replenish energy for quick maddened killing.
 * A P/Rt variant is possible, but it's much more complicated to use. Here is the skill bar for it: Can't Touch This, Vengeful Was Khanhei, Vengeful Weapon, Nightmare Weapon, Essence Strike, Go For the Eyes!, Spirit Siphon, Bloodsong. Attributes: Command 10 (headgear+superior), Leadership 4 (Major), Restoration 11, Channeling 12. Use a zealous spear and max energy armor with attunement runes. When Maddened arrives, use can't touch and vengeful was khanhei as he gets closer. Use vengeful weapon once. When Khanhei starts blinking, cast Nightmare Weapon and start attacking the maddened spirit when khanhei's effects ends. Use all your energy management skills whenever possible and attack nearby infestations to regain energy (go for the eyes is there for energy management - 2 energy per use). Remember you can attack maddened spirit with essence and your zealous spear - even though it does no damage, you still gain the energy. It's complicated, but doable - don't forget to always recast bloodsong after every 2 maddened spirits - being caught without it will probably be fatal.

Equipment

 * An Insightful staff of Enchanting, possibly with an Inscription of "Aptitude, Not Attitude", which gives HCT of Death Magic (20%), or a Poisonous Sword/Axe of Enchanting with Bortak's Bone Cesta//Armind's Focus. The weapons from Shichiroji are favored for their +5 Energy mod.
 * Best Vigor rune possible and superior Spawning Power. All other minor runes to conserve health.
 * Harbinger's Armor or Halcyon's Armor. For Nightfall, this is Survivor and Radiant Insignia, respectively. Runes of Vitae and/or Attunement are also recommended.

Usage

 * Use Rotting Flesh to start spreading damage if you do not have minions or when there are no corpses.
 * Keep Boon of Creation and Explosive Growth up when creating minions.
 * Create a Flesh Golem when you do not have one.
 * Create Bone Minions when you already have a Flesh Golem. This doubles the Explosive Growth damage and provides two targets for Death Nova. With Boon of Creation, this skill almost entirely recovers its energy cost upon successful cast.
 * In PvE, if you still have minions before a battle, activate Signet of Creation, cast Death Nova on all of them, and rush them into battle, preferably near a large group of enemies. The Signet should keep most or all of them alive to attack your foes for up to 30 seconds, and then kills them all simultaneously, activating Death Nova's explosions.
 * Use Blood of the Master to keep minions alive between battles.

Check General minion mastery guide for an in depth discussion of minion usage.

Counters

 * Remove the enchantments upon which the build depends.
 * Exploit the corpses with faster-casting Necromancer skills.
 * Use Smiting Prayers, which double damage against undead creatures.
 * Use high-level magical Area of Effect damage against the low-level minions before they come into Death Nova range.

Variants

 * Use Bone Fiends, Vampiric Horrors, or Bone Horrors instead of minions for longer lasting undead followers.
 * Use Spirit Channeling to provide energy for creating a constant supply of Bone Fiends or Horrors and fund Blood of the Master.
 * Attuned Was Songkai may also be used for energy management when focusing on higher cost undead animations, but keep in mind it negates all weapons and off-hands while being held.
 * Add quickly recharging spirits such as Destruction and use Rupture Soul, possibly drawing them into position with Draw Spirit allowing you to deal damage on creation and destruction of the spirit.
 * Use Taste of Death instead of Signet of Creation to focus on killing off specific minions, specifically the Flesh Golem to create a new one, to trigger Death Nova when required, and to self-heal.
 * Use Generous Was Tsungrai with a few extra points towards Restoration when low on health and immediately drop to heal.
 * Reduce Spawning Power, increase Restoration, and add spirits such as Recuperation to help your teammates and minions last longer.
 * If a resurrection skill is necessary, leave out either Blood of the Master or Rotting Flesh. If you increase Restoration, take Flesh of My Flesh.
 * Switch out Rotting Flesh for Bitter Chill for spammable damage, Vile Miasma for damage and degen, or Deathly Swarm for groups of enemies.

Nightfall Variations

 * Swap out Blood of the Master for Spirit's Gift and Rotting Flesh for Putrid Flesh, for disease/degen on your foes and healing/condition removal for your minions.
 * Swap out Flesh Golem for Reclaim Essence for superior Energy management or areas with heavy Enchantment removal. Or, Jagged Bones makes every allied minion an "exploitable corpse", ensuring an infinite source of bomb material, another activation of Explosive Growth, and another source of degen via Bleeding.

= Rt/Mo Xiko's Shriving = 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

 * Full Halcyon armor set for Extra Energy.

Usage

 * With Attuned was Songkai at High Spawning Power, the cost of Heal Party and Extinguish is nearly halved. With 14 Spawning Power, 15 energy spells are only 8 energy, 10 energy spells cost 5, and 5 energy spells cost 3.
 * Soothing Memories costs no energy if you have the Attuned was Songkai.
 * Heal Party should be used when everyone has a bit of damage but has not been hurt enough to warrant a casting of Soothing memories.
 * Vengeful Weapon is basically Reversal of Damage with no means of stripping it. It costs 3 energy when you have the Ashes.
 * Weapon of Warding is used when there is a hazard of Warriors, Assassins, and Rangers. It should be used sparingly because of the cast time.
 * Remove Hex and Resilient Weapon are used as safety skills for when hexes come that are extremely harmful, such as Spiteful Spirit, Backfire, Empathy, Diversion, etc.

Counters

 * High levels of Degeneration.
 * Lack of protection versus high-damage hits.
 * Energy Denial.
 * 15 second downtime when the spells are full cost, meaning heal party and Extinguish cannot be used effectively during those times.

Variants
If enchantment removal is not an issue:
 * Holy Veil instead of Remove Hex for hex removal
 * Gift of Health instead of Extinguish as an emergency heal.
 * Take Heal Other or Jamei's Gaze instead of Extinguish.
 * Lively Was Naomei instead of Resurrection Chant.
 * Healing Breeze instead of Extinguish, thereby countering degeneration instead of removing it.
 * Vigorous Spirit instead of Vengeful Weapon (it's more energy efficient on Warriors and Assassins than Vengeful Weapon and won't remove Weapon of Warding)

= Rt/Me Vengeful Farmer = 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.

Other possibilities include:
 * Channeling for extra energy. However, VWK only costs 5 energy, so the most needed at any time is 15 for VWK and SV or AV. Also note that VWK always comes with it's energy. i.e. When VWK ends, you gain back 10 or more energy which was held back by not using your weapon and/or focus item. So, you should never face a situation where you cannot cast VWK.
 * Generous Was Tsungrai will give you extra health to endure the initial attacks while you make your entrance and then a big healing boost when you switch to VwK.
 * An interrupt if farming foes that use skills that you fear and which you can interrupt. Examples include elementalists and ritualists.

Usage
Leave from Rilohn Refuge. When you spawn cast Physical Resistance, Illusion of Haste run past the beast to Zelnehlun Fastfoot lair. Recast Illusion of Haste run across bridge past spiders to rez shrine wait till they cluster, cross back over bridge. Target Zelnehlun Fastfoot, cast Physical Resistance, Channeling, Arcane Echo, aggro (run into mob of spiders), cast Vengeful Was Khanhei, Empathy on Zelnehlun Fastfoot proceed to cast Vengeful Weapon, Empathy (always on Zelnehlun Fastfoot), Soothing Memories and Vengeful Was Khanhei as needed. Everything should be dead in 1-3 min(s).

Soloable Boss:
 * Zelnehlun Fastfoot

Usage
Accept the quest from the Lost Soul positioned in the center of the starting chamber. In doing so you should be careful not to aggro any of the surrounding creatures. Run back to the platform and cast Physical Resistance, then cast Illusion of Haste, aggro a group of Grasping Darkness and run to the back corner of the chamber. The Bladed Aatxe should discontinue pursuit, the Grasping Darkness will not. As soon as you are out of range of the Bladed Aatxes, immediately cast a visage spell before the Darkness reach you (This may take a few rounds to master, as the speed of the Darkness makes them fairly unpredictable). Let the Darkness hit you a few times (approximately 3-4) and then cast Arcane Echo. You can then cast Vengeful Was Khanhei. Keep one of the visage spells up at all times, and recast Physical Resistance as needed. Vengeful Weapon can be cast intermittently, keeping energy management in mind while doing so. When Vengeful Was Khanhei begins to end, cast the echoed copy. When that begins to end, recast the first. This cycle should take care of any group of Darkness, however the need to resort to Vengeful Weapon to defeat the remaining is likely.


 * Be sure not to aggro multiple groups at a time. One grouping of Darkness will contain three to five of them, and any number after three will cause some of the Darkness to back off and scatter. Groups of three are generally preferred for expedient killing and progression.


 * Starting with the group of Darkness left of the Lost Soul and working your way to the right is advisable. The group farthest right will "float" up and down the steps leading to one of the chambers behind closed doors. Wait until they have reached the Aatxes closest to the steps right of the Lost Soul before aggroing them.


 * If a Dying Nightmare appears, wand it. You can also use Vengeful Weapon to destroy it.

After you have eliminated the grasping darkness, allow yourself time to regenerate energy and health as needed. When you begin your run, start up the right steps, cast Illusion of Haste and "hug" the right wall on your way to the passage around the right corner. Occasionally you will be forced to "bottle-neck" with Aatxes or Darkness coming through the doorway. Attempt to make a straight motion parallel to them, as they will continue heading in the same direction they were pointed for a few moments, thus giving you time to escape any attacks(1). Once you reach the first group of Smite Crawlers any Grasping Darkness following you should then discontinue pursuit.


 * Distortion should be used whenever you need to recast Illusion Of Haste, thus giving you protection from adjacent creature's attacks.


 * (1) Avoiding this is simple, if you time your attempt correctly. Start running from the first chamber and towards the door once the group of creatures in the doorway begin to move away from it. You should also learn to time your run so that you are never forced to recast Illusion Of Haste in a doorway, as this may get you pinned against a surrounding wall by groups of creatures in the area.

When you begin farming the Smite Crawlers your challenge is lessened. Occasionally their Zealot's Fire will put your health in a tricky situation, but it is generally countered once you are able to recast Vengeful Was Khanhei, and/or get your cycle of Visage spells started. The process for killing the Smite Crawlers is identical to the method used against the Darkness, only without the need to wait to cast Arcane Echo, as the Smite Crawlers can not interrupt it. Spamming Vengeful Weapon while fighting against the Crawlers is advisable.


 * Do not engage the Coldfire Nights unless you have eliminated all of the Smite Crawlers and wish to leave The Underworld, or you wish to suffer an untimely, Ectoplasm-less death.

Counters

 * Being attacked by Bladed Aatxes will end your run quickly, unless you avoid them as instructed in the walkthrough.
 * Groups of more than four Smites can actually cause problems for you. Once you're VWK cycle is done, if too many are alive, they will kill you with Zealot's Fire.
 * Having a Dying Nightmare remove your enchantments as you make your way to the Crawlers will prematurely end you, as Illusion of haste will end and cripple you. Use distortion and make all attempts to recast Illusion Of Haste should this happen.
 * Fighting the Grasping Darkness on the way to the Crawlers will aggro Aatxes in the area, despite distance.
 * Coldfire Nights are not un-farmable, but have a tendency to kill you very quickly by combination of slowing you, and interrupting your spells with Maelstroms. They do not drop Ectoplasm.

= Rt/Me Painful Echo = This build is designed to integrate the damaging communing spirits with some support skills from spawning, and a hex from channeling. The result is a spike based on spirits, which is extremely effective in AB and PvE, and with some variants it is equally powerful in Random Arena and 1v1.

Equipment

 * Use the communing cap to use with the superior rune.
 * Use Halcyon armor for the extra energy. You'll need it.
 * A collector Insightful Channeling Staff of Fortitude should do nicely. Binding Rituals do not recharge or cast faster with a 20/20 Communing Staff because they are not considered spells. But the Hex Painful Bond which is important for this build can recharge faster with a 20/20 Channeling Staff or Wand/Focus.

Usage

 * Start by casting Boon of Creation to keep your energy up and health up while you're casting spirits.
 * Use Ritual Lord, and put down Pain, Shadowsong, and Bloodsong.
 * Use Arcane Echo to set up your Painful Bond.
 * Target a close group of enemies, and hit them with Painful Bond. Use the Echo-Painful Bond on another group, or save it for a few seconds. Your call.
 * Use Vital Weapon as needed. It can also be used as a quick heal.

Counters

 * Energy isn't really that big of a problem since you have the use of Boon of Creation, but excessive energy denial can cause a problem.
 * Getting interrupted while casting a spirit can be a hassle, but is avoidable if you try to hang back and cast the spirits.

Variants

 * Arcane Echo can be replaced by Ghostly Haste, but Arcane Echo is more efficient for Painful Bond in this build.
 * Vital Weapon isn't necessary, but it is a helpful health buffer during Alliance Battles to keep you alive. If you're doing a 1v1 or a Random Arena, try replacing Vital Weapon with Doom. Use Arcane Echo on Doom instead of Painful Bond, since when you're in RA or 1v1, the one hex will usually effect all of your enemies due to close grouping. If you use Doom and Arcane Echo together once you have all of your spirits cast, you can spike for a hefty chunk of damage, along with the high-damage spirits.
 * Arcane Echo can be replaced with Dissonance or Disenchantment, turning this build into a one-man army against melee bosses, like Sskai, Dragon's Birth for farming (PvE).
 * The new Nightfall Spirit Anguish could be used instead of the spirit shown here.
 * If you would like to use a channeling spell instead of arcane echo you could take a minor for cummuning and a superior + headgear for channeling. The build works just as well since the extra damage from painfull bond and bloodsong ofsets the lost damage from pain and shadowsong. However it does reduce the effectiveness of vital weapon slightly.

Equipment

 * Shaman's Armor - will provide 75 AL when three spirits are maintained
 * Wayward Wand with Channeling requirement (+5 energy > 50%, HSR of Channeling Magic Spells)
 * Communing Focus from collector (Energy + 12, Communing Magic + 1 [20%], Health +30)

Usage

 * Summon spirits at the edge of the battle, once your party has aggro. Try to space them so multiple spirits will not be affected by enemy AoE attacks. Spirits have a range that is further than the edge of the aggro circle; careful placement will allow your spirits to engage the enemy, while not attracting too much aggro.
 * Painful Bond will greatly enhance spirit damage, and should be applied when it is recharged. It hexes enemies adjacent to your target, so plan accordingly.
 * Whenever an enemy is about to die, hex them with Assassin's Promise. With Deadly Arts at 8, Assassin's Promise will last for 10 seconds. If the hexed enemy dies within those 10 seconds, you will gain 13 energy (net 8), and all of your skills will be recharged, including Assassin's Promise. Once a fight gets going, you should be able to spam Assassin's Promise on multiple foes, allowing you to refill your energy bar, and resummon any spirits that may have fallen.
 * At the end of battle, you should generally have a full energy bar, with every skill recharged.
 * Feast of Souls can be used for an emergency party heal of 73, 146, 219, or 292 HP, depending on spirit placement.

Counters

 * Spirits' low health and AL make them magnets for aggro. It is important to place them strategically, and replace them immediately for full effectiveness. If all your spirits are killed, you are not very useful to your party.
 * Hex removal can disrupt your Assassin's Promise spamming.

Variations

 * Dissonance could be replaced by another spirit, if the area warranted it.
 * Feast of Souls could be replaced by Boon of Creation or Spirit to Flesh, if you are more comfortable with those methods of healing.