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BUILDS
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.

Barrage Rangers
Variations: The purpose of the pets is to tank for the group (at least until the minion master raises a sizable 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. Splinter Weapon can increase damage significantly 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 .

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 ."

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

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

For additional information, See .

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.

This build is a more effective variant of the. The advantage of using a dervish is that a dervish can use mysticism to upkeep all of his enchants, without having to worry about running out of energy, and can maintain constant health regeneration, which is the bane of the warrior variant.

Attributes and Skills

 * The optional slot may be filled by:
 * Grasping Earth,
 * Lightbringer's Gaze or,
 * Ward Against Foes
 * Glyph of Elemental Power
 * Fleeting Stability


 * Sunspear Rebirth Signet may replace the Resurrection Signet.
 * For more experienced teams, you may wish to replace the Resurrection Signet altogether, in which case Conviction is recommended.

Equipment

 * Radiant insignias on all armor pieces.
 * Any +5 energy weapon of enchanting such as the Totem Axe and Rajazan's Fervor.
 * An Earth Focus, with +health and +armor while enchanted mods, or a HSR mod, such as Hajok's Prism.
 * For more experienced players, the Aegis of Augh is definitely the way to go.

Usage
Upkeep Stoneflesh Aura, Mystic Regeneration, and Vital Boon. Cast Obsidian Flesh whenever it's charged. If you start taking an excessive amount of damage while Obsidian Flesh is down, cast Armor of Earth. If you're having some trouble with interrupts, use Glyph of Concentration, immediately followed by Stoneflesh Aura and Obsidian Flesh.

Counters

 * Non-Spell Enchantment removal
 * Interrupts
 * Dazed

RUNNING
This build allows for a Dervish/Assassin to complete the Droknar's Forge run with a higher success rate than any other build yet. With the use of Vow of Silence and Dark Escape you can easily run past enemies while taking little damage. This build also combines the use of Fleeting Stability, Mystic Regeneration and Faithful Intervention to create a safe versatile run. This build can also run most of the entire game with no change at all.

Equipment

 * Armor: The Windwalker Insignia should be used for this build since you will be under multiple enchantments for most of the run. Apply a Rune of Major Vigor or a Rune of Superior Vigor and Rune of Attunement for extra energy.
 * Weapons: A Staff with an enchantment lengthening mod and at least +15 energy since you will need energy more than armor. An inscribeable Insightful Staff with a "Have Faith" inscription will give you +20 energy while you're enchanted.  A Shield can be used but you will often find yourself lacking energy.
 * A sword of enchanting with a shield that lowers damage taken while enchanted and HP +45 while enchanted.

Before 1 Feb. Update Usage

 * Start: Cast Faithful Intervention at start and whilst not under attack if it is not currently on.
 * Or you can just run through them with either Dark Escape or Dash.
 * Lornar's Pass
 * Wurm Tunnel: Cast Fleeting Stability -> Mystic Regeneration -> Vow of Silence -> Deadly Paradox -> Dark Escape. As soon as Vow of Silence ends, cast Fleeting Stability -> Vow of Silence before reaching the Siege Ice Golems.  Then use Deadly Paradox -> Dark Escape to outrun them.
 * Grawl zones: Vow of Silence is not required to run past the Grawl unless there are Siege Ice Golems located close by. As long as you maintain Mystic Regeneration and Faithful Intervention and avoid the Grawl Crones you'll be fine.
 * Snake Dance
 * Make sure you maintain Fleeting Stability and Mystic Regeneration when running past Tundra Giants and Azure Shadows.
 * Always use Deadly Paradox before Dark Escape.

Counters

 * Grawl Crones can strip you of Vow of Silence and other enchantments with Chilblains and can cause almost certain death if Siege Ice Golems are nearby. Just stay out of their range and you'll be fine.

Variants
You can switch Dash for Signet of Pious Light for ending Fleeting Stability for extra health and can combine with Vital Boon for a quick health boost when needed.

There are many assassin skills which can be used instead, though they may leave you more exposed.


 * Earth Prayers | 12 + 2


 * Mysticism | 12 + 1 + 2


 * Shadow Arts | 3

Pious Haste provides a fast alternative aswell as lets you skip investing anything in Wind Prayers, giving you longer duration on all your skills, higher max health, better energymanagement though it has a downside of removing an enchantment when it ends but if timed right you may even use it to your advantage (Vital Boon).

Template
This build is designed to run from Beacon's Perch to Droknar's Forge, but it can be used to run to most destinations. Skills for this build can be obtained by any player that owns Nightfall campaign no other campaigns are needed (it is of course a plus if the player owns the Prophecies campaign so the build can be used for what it is intended to).

Equipment

 * +5/per enchantment on chest and leggings, Radiant Insignia on other parts
 * Use Rajazan's Fervor or Totem Axe to gain extra energy and extended duration of your enchantments.
 * Use Stalwart Carapace Shield to get some additional armor and HP bonus.

Usage

 * Use Extend Enchantments followed by Mystic Regeneration, Fleeting Stability and Vow of Silence before entering any combat where enemies use both KD and slowing spells and then use Harrier's Haste when it ends use Pious Haste if you are stripped of important enchants while recasting start with casting Pious Haste to remove VoS. Be sure to not have Pious Haste on you when you are recasting your enchantments. If you get hexed use Pious Restoration while enchanted if you remove Fleeting Stability follow up with balanced stance (if there are KD oponents). If there are no slowing spellcasters in the area you can skip Vow of Silence, just as you can skip Fleeting Stability if there are no KD enemies.

Lornar's Pass

 * Be aware of Grawl Crones that can cast Chilblains and strip you of your enchantments if you get close.
 * If you have to recast your enchantments while a wurm is attacking you, use Balanced Stance to not get knocked down.
 * Avoid avicaras while recasting enchantments at all costs since they can remove one or two before you get the cover of Vow of Silence
 * Try to avoid traps, if you happen to trigger one keep running until you lose your enchantments and then quickly put up Mystic Regeneration and Vow of Silence to try to make it to the nearest safe zone.

Dreadnought's Drift

 * When running past the Tundra Giant try to dodge some attacks since your armor is not that great

Talus Chute

 * Stop before the group of Avicaras in the start and recast your enchantments.

Counters

 * Skills that strip enchantments.

Variants
See discussion

Similar Builds

 * Build:D/E Fleeting Silence
 * Build:D/E Fleeting Silence

This build is designed to run from Beacon's Perch to Droknar's Forge, with the use of Dervish skills.

Equipment

 * +7 extra energy armour - Radiant Insignia
 * +10 armour while enchanted works well since you are enchanted most of the time - Blessed Insignia
 * + 20% enchantment mod on a scythe or a Rajazan's Fervor or Totem Axe will do


 * If using a one handed weapon equip a shield like Malinon's Shield

Usage

 * Use Avatar of Balthazar before engaging any creatures for the +40 armour and increase running speed by 33%. To get past Tundra Giants, Frost Wurms, and Ice Golems, use this with Fleeting Stability.
 * Pious Restoration should be used against all Hexes.

Healing

 * Before enemies, make sure your Health is max or near max.
 * Take some time to heal if you can find a safe location to heal. Vital Boon and Faithful Intervention should be enough.
 * Use Faithful Intervention first and then use Vital Boon so if a creature strips Enchantments, Vital Boon will be triggered - its 2nd ability is to heal you when it ends or when someone removes it.* Before running past Ice Imps use Vital Boon. If you are hexed cast Pious Restoration to remove the slow down hexes that the Ice Imps use.
 * Use Avatar of Balthazar and then cast Fleeting Stability, covering it up with Faithful Intervention and Vital Boon. This way, when you are getting attacked by a Frost Wurm and going through the Wurm tunnel, the enchantment remover just removes Vital Boon.
 * Entering the Troll Cave, lure the Mountain Trolls out before entering, so you don’t get body blocked by them.
 * In the Wurm Path use Fleeting Stability and Avatar of Balthazar go get past the Wurm quickly.

Dreadnought's Drift

 * Before engaging any enemies use Avatar of Balthazar and Fleeting Stability and cover it up with Faithful Intervention and Vital Boon in case you met some Tundra Giants.

Snake Dance

 * Use Avatar of Balthazar and Fleeting Stability and cover it up with Faithful Intervention and Vital Boon because there are a lot of Tundra Giants to knock you down, along with some Azure Shadows.
 * Make sure you run away from Stone Summits and their mobs to get to Camp Rankor.

Camp Rankor

 * Here is a rest stop and you can swap some skills if you think healing is needed.

Talus Chute

 * Same thing really, Avatar of Balthazar and Fleeting Stability and cover it up with Faithful Intervention and Vital Boon because there are Azure Shadows and large Avicara groups near the start.

Counters
Strip enchantment skills would put you off if the skill is still recharging.

Variants

 * Watchful Intervention can be used if more healing is needed and more cover for Fleeting Stability against enchantment removing creatures.
 * Extend Enchantments could be added if you wanted to extend your enchantments.
 * Avatar of Dwayna can replace Avatar of Balthazar if you want more skills to get rid of hex.
 * Avatar of Melandru can replace Avatar of Balthazar if you want more condition removers.
 * Smite Hex can be used for quick hex removal.
 * Mending Touch can use for removing condition if needed.

Equipment

 * Maximum level armor with Radiant or Windwalker insignias.
 * The runes you will need are as follows: Major Mysticism, minor Wind Prayers, Minor Earth Prayers, Rune of Attunement, and a Superior Rune of Vigor (if you can afford it).
 * Any weapon with an enchantments last 20% longer mod and +5 energy inscription and a shield or a staff with similiar mods.
 * Totem Axe and a Wooden Buckler from Luci
 * Kepkhet's Refuge

Usage
Keep Faithful Intervention on at all times, and use Watchful Intervention for emergency heals. Vow of Silence will keep you going through the grawl, ice imps, and ice golems safely.Featherfoot Grace reduces poison, bleeding, and cripple when running through the Grawl. Harrier's Haste and Enchanted Haste are stances to increase your speed. Try to keep Mystic Regeneration up. Fleeting Stability will get you through the worms and other knockdowns you may encounter.

Watch your enchantment expirations. If they are about to go out, go ahead and recharge them whenever you can.

Variations
Using a D/A, take out Watchful Intervention and Enchanted Haste and replace them with Dark Escape and Dash. Attributes should be aligned as 14 Mysticism (With Hood+Superior Rune), 11 Earth Prayers, 10 Wind Prays, and 9 Shadow Arts.

FARMING
This is a build designed to farm bosses as a Dervish, by bringing your health down to 130 health, so that Protective Spirit lowers damage taken to a maximum of 13. It is in many ways similar to the 55 Monk build, but dervishes can not lower their health below 130 whilst wielding a scythe, because of the inherent +25 health on Dervish chest pieces. This particular build wields a scythe, thus negating the effects of any off-hand item you have equipped. Watch 130HP Dervish clip

Equipment
((+3-Scythe Mastery Rune)) ((+3-Earth Prayer Rune)) ((+3-Mysticism Rune)) ((+3-Rune(Your Choice)) ((+3-Rune(Your Choice))
 * Rune's

((Radiant Insignia (x5) for more energy (*But not necessary*))
 * Insignia's


 * Any kind of armor other than armor with the survivor insignia or health boosting runes will do, as long as it has a total of 5 superior runes on. Note that armor level does not matter for this build, so a set of armor purchased in Kamadan will serve this builds purposes just fine.
 * A customized Scythe with a "Guided by Fate"/"Strength and Honor"/"To the Pain!" inscription. A scythe grip of Enchanting and a Sundering or Zealous scythe snathe can make things easier.
 * A Zealous scythe is recommended while facing only one foe; if you don't use one you may not gain enough energy to recast all 3 enchantments. Note that energy mangement when facing a single foe may become easier by dropping Balthazar's Spirit and Essence Bond.
 * Dwayna's Grace, Lyssa's Bedlam, Scythe of Corruption, or Suli's Scythe would work well for this build. The Soulbreaker also works.

Usage
Whenever you enter an explorable area cast Balthazar's Spirit and Essence Bond and wait for your energy to regen. Before approaching the monster(s) you want to kill, cast the first 3 skills on your bar. Aggro the monster(s) and keep your enchantments up while spamming your attack skills. If you're having trouble staying alive, consider deliberately getting yourself killed; the resultant Death Penalty will lower your health and therefore make the build more effective.

Mystic Regeneration is quite effective at keeping your health up, however enemies with fast attack speed or powerful health degen spells can render it useless. Try not to face your target alone, make sure he has company. When you aggro a group, make sure they are more or less mobbed up. With the help of Mystic Vigor, you will gain about 25 health each hit; with 3 targets in one hit you will gain 75 health per hit. With fast attacks and the assistance of Mystic Regeneration, you should survive quite easily.

Mystic Vigor is your anti-spike skill. When you get spiked, it should only take one hit from you while enchanted with Mystic Vigor to bring your health back up.

When there are only 1 or 2 enemies left, it's useful to just use Mystic Vigor instead of Mystic Regeneration, to conserve energy.

For some bosses, it is more effective to insert Mirage Cloak into the build instead of Eremite's Attack, to help counter the onslaught of melee attackers. This variation can often be used without having to harvest Death Penalty first, and also gives nice AoE damage. Note, however, that Mirage Cloak will lower the effectiveness of Balthazar's Spirit and Essence Bond, so don't attempt to use it unless you have a zealous scythe equipped.

Counters

 * Blind
 * Weakness
 * Blurred Vision
 * Enchantment removal
 * Avatar of Grenth
 * Health Degeneration exceeding 20 pips
 * Health Stealing
 * Energy Denial (Spirit Shackles)
 * Chilblains this skill can ruin many of your farming runs

Variants
Replace Reaper's Sweep with Wounding Strike.

Replace Reaper's Sweep with Arcane Zeal if you are having trouble with energy management.

Replace Reaper's Sweep with Mystic Twister.

Replace Eremite's Attack or Mystic Sweep for Fleeting Stability to counter knock down.

Replace Eremite's Attack or Mystic Sweep for Heart of Holy Flame when fighting undead for double damage.

Replace Reaper's Sweep with any form except for Avatar of Melandru, which gives +100 health boost. Avatar of Balthazar and Avatar of Dwayna are particularly useful here; the former with its armor boost(doesn't matter due to Protective Spirit) and armor-penetrating damage; the latter with its hex removal and healing, which can negate the need for Mystic Vigor. Avatar of Lyssa works wonders against Mage Bosses, as they are constantly casting spells on you, you dish out +38 damage on a target that is casting a spell.(Remember you will only have about a minute to kill each group, however, if you rely on a form to make the build work.)

Replace Mystic Regeneration with Healing Breeze and take healing prayers instead of earth prayers. Not as effective, but works if you haven't come far enough in the Nightfall campaign to get Mystic Regeneration, unlock Mystic Regeneration with Balthazar Faction, then buy it off the skill trainer.

Equipment
(Earth Prayers needs to hit 13 in order for Mystic Regeneration to hit +4 which is imperative when fighting Shreader)
 * Scythe of Enchanting
 * Runes need not be adhered to strictly as long as you hit the breakpoints

Usage
The maintained enchantments and Conviction can be kept up indefinetly with no consideration as they do not waste activation time. Mystic Regeneration should be kept up for healing, as should Fleeting Stability (although you might not need to refresh it while fighting the smaller groups if the mob is about to die anyway). Vow of Strength should be kept up for increasing your damage. While the defensive mechanism of Mirage Cloak is unneccesary, the bonus damage could help, so keep it up as well, just remember not to renew until it expires so damage takes effect. Also, you might want to cast this last so you don't have to wait for energy as the blocking can sometimes slow down your energy gain. Mystic Vigor is optional, but can give you a larger margin of error against Shreader Sharptongue's group.

While fighting, you might want to reposition so all three of your aggroed foes are damaged. Though this is unnceccesary, it will speed up the run. While fighting Shreader Sharptongue, simply target him first and deal with the rest.

This build can also be used to farm bosses or other areas, especially ones where knockdown is used.

Variants

 * Reaper's Sweep, Wild Blow and Mystic Sweep may be used to replace Vow of Strength, Mirage Cloak, Mystic Vigor, or Conviction while dealing with bosses or fewer foes to give higher output.
 * If a warrior secondary is used, Bonnetti's Defense may be used for energy and Faithful Intervention could be added to trigger Mystic Regeneration or Vigor. Similarily, Flail and "Watch Yourself!" could both improve the run-speed seeing as they both have no activation time or energy cost, making it more effective against a single foe.
 * Sympathetic and/or Ancestor's Visage can be used in areas with interruption. Zealous Vow can then be used for energy management.

Templates
To be added.

Build Concept
While there are different tactics for different situations (explained below, in the tactics section), the general outline of how this team works is very similar to most other 55/SS teams:
 * The 55 monk attracts all aggro of the enemies. This includes the important step of taking melee attackers to spell casters and/or ranged attacker whenever possible to allow Spiteful Spirit to kill as many foes simultaneously as possible. Solid lining up of ranged attackers and then solid piling of melee attackers on them are the keys to making this team build effective and successful.
 * The SS necromancer's job is to carefully administer Spiteful Spirit on foes so that as many foes as possible drop at the same time. If the 55 monk does a solid job piling up foes, then Spiteful Spirit placed on two of them can take out the entire group in a matter of seconds.
 * The 55 monk's primary responsibility is to survive. He/she must be accustomed to playing the role of an invincible monk.
 * The SS necromancer is in charge of killing, and must utilize his skills in the way that takes out the most dangerous foes first.
 * In case of aggro breaks the 55 monk needs to cast protective and healing spells on the SS necromancer who then needs to gather the enemies together again.

The Invincible Monk (55)
Usage:
 * Cast Blessed Aura, Mending and Balthazar's Spirit at the beginning. Note that you will have low energy regeneration. Use Blessed Signet to recharge.
 * In situations where there are no enemy mesmers or elementalists, use Protective Spirit and engage. With four pips of health regeneration from Mending you should not need Healing Breeze until you round all foes and they are all hitting you at the same time.
 * The Energy from Balthazar's Spirit should be more than enough for all situations, but use Blessed Signet to fill when it has recharged.
 * Use Spell Breaker to deflect enchantment removal, or prevent initial spells while you approach. When you see a Dying Nightmare pop up in your mini radar, use Spell Breaker immediately to avoid Rend Enchantments. If your enchantments are removed, cast Protective Spirit as fast as you can to avoid death.
 * If the necromancer is attacked, cast Protective Spirit and Healing Breeze on him, so that he will survive when pulling the attackers to you.

Equipment:
 * A sword or axe with an Of Enchanting upgrade. A Totem Axe or Rajazan's Fervor is ideal.
 * The Cities of Ascalon quest reward -50hp Cesta.
 * Ascetic's Armor, with 5 monk superior runes.

Variations:

If you are sure that the SS necro will stay out of harm's way and not die (not likely in a PUG), you can replace Rebirth with one of the following:
 * Bonetti's Defense and use it when encountering large mobs or before using Healing Breeze to help interruption. (Note that it will end upon successful casting.)
 * Essence Bond for better energy management.

Spiteful Spirit Necromancer (SS/SV)

 * Good choices for the Optional skill slots are Blood Ritual, Awaken the Blood, Leech Signet and Desecrate Enchantments/Defile Enchantments. Your monk will love you for the extra energy from Blood Ritual, the extra four damage from Awaken the Blood will add up quick, Leech Signet can be the difference between life and death if your monk misses Spell Breaker on a Dying Nightmare spawn, and Desecrate/Defile Enchantments are great for that last bit of damage needed to kill a group of Smite Crawlers, Coldfire Nights, or Terrorweb Dryders.
 * Insidious Parasite is also useful, only use it to speed up the killing of one foe, and to kill escaping graspings/smites on your own (doing this with smites is pretty dangerous and needs practice. Don't make the monk come to you. You can kill it on your own, if you are in danger however (below 50% health) run to the monk to get breeze and PS.
 * If you use Blood Magic skills move points from Soul Reaping to Blood Magic and take a Blood Magic rune, preferably a superior one.
 * If you do not have access to the Sunspear Rebirth Signet, you can substitute a normal Resurrection Signet instead.
 * A high Soul Reaping is not really needed, it only gives you (near) full energy after the mob is killed. So you can remove ALL points in Soul Reaping (you can keep the minor rune) and use the attribute points to raise your Illusion Magic to 12. This will give you a nine-seconds-lasting Sympathetic Visage or Ancestor's Visage. It will decrease the time that the tank doesn't have SV/AV on him. Now, this advantage might not look so great, but it can prevent the Smite Crawlers to gain energy. So that they won't use Smite Hex on your precious Spiteful Spirit. (This can save a lot of time.)

Usage:
 * Patience and good timing are the most important aspects of success. Give the 55 monk room to operate and round up and gather aggro. Following closely will only result in breaking up aggro and making fights longer. Never move into the aggro range of enemies before they are concentrating on the monk. Most enemy types will also change their target to you if you go closer than the maximum spell casting range.
 * Once the enemies are piled up into one nice pile, proceed to echo and apply Spiteful Spirit and its copy on different foes. Follow it up with Reckless Haste if you have it (which affects an area so you do not need to apply it to more than one foe in the same cluster before the duration wears off). Generally, Warriors and Assassins make the best targets as they attack fast and invoke stances while attacking which only serves to increase the damage SS deals.
 * Maintain Sympathetic Visage or Ancestor's Visage (but rarely/never at the same time) on the monk, especially against Grasping Darknesses (otherwise they will interrupt the tank) and Smite Crawlers (otherwise they will use Smite Hex to remove Spiteful Spirit)
 * Use other damage spells such as Desecrate Enchantments and Defile Enchantments to deal extra damage to speed up the killing. They might also be useful in situations where the enemies break aggro.
 * If you are attacked, pull the attackers to the monk, who should cast Protective Spirit and Healing Breeze on you, so that all enemies will be damaged by the SS. If you act quickly, the enemies will die to the initial SS spells and you won't need to recast it.
 * Bladed Aatxes are pretty easy to kill. Just make sure that any Dying Nightmares are killed as fast as possible, before the Spell Breaker of the 55-monk runs out.
 * With the Grasping Darknesses, make sure that the tank has Sympathetic Visage or Ancestor's Visage on him when possible to prevent the Graspings from interrupting the monk.
 * When fighting Smite Crawlers you need to be more careful and wait for the monk to finish the pull and let the Smites gather around him to prevent aggro change. Cast SV on the monk, wait 9 seconds to let SV lower the energy of the Smites, then cast in the following order: AV on the monk, Arcane Echo, Spiteful Spirit on target 1, Spiteful Spirit on target 2, SV on the monk again, and move away from aggro range if the mob has 4 or 5 smites (they'll come after you). If its a group of 4, cast Insidious Parasite (if you have it) then a cover hex like Reckless Haste or even SS. If it is a group of 5 smites, place two SS's (explained above) then run away until the smites lose aggro. When they are back at the monk, just restart the process.
 * Coldfire Nights are easy to kill if the monk is able to keep them together and you stay out of their aggro when not casting SS on them.

Equipment:
 * A 20/20 weapon set, Ideally, Villnar's Glove and the Wayward Wand of Curses from the Adept of Bone. A curses Wailing Wand is also very useful, it can be obtained from Telamon or Gertrud. This significantly reduces the average recharge time of Spiteful Spirit.
 * High rated Scar or Cabalist's Armor with Runes of Attunement.
 * The Stonereaper also works relatively well with this character.

Variations

 * For Monk variations, see Invincible Monk
 * For Necromancer variations, see

Attributes and Skills

 * The Attributes listed above can be changed to fit your reaction time and/or computer speed. Because you only have about one second to click on SOA, the build above helps extend that time needed to click on it again. If your computer's (or your) reaction speed is not the best go with the current build. On the other side, if you are fast and your computer is as well, you can lower the Divine Favor down a point and add on to Earth Magic.


 * The most common choice for the optional slots is Essence Bond and Aftershock or Watchful Spirit (or any other regeneration skill). See the Variants | Variants section for other possibilities.

Equipment

 * Ascetic's Armor is recommended for a larger energy pool, max armor is not needed.


 * You will need five superior runes - at least one in Protection Prayers and one in Divine Favor, as well as one in the headpiece (see below) - to bring your health down to 105, The -50 hp Grim Cesta from the Cities of Ascalon quest is not needed, but can be used if you like.


 * Aquire two scalp designs, one for Protection Prayers with a Superior Protection Prayers and another for Divine Favor. (Note that both headpieces must have a superior rune) This is needed to achieve 15 Divine Favor to strengthen the power of Blessed Aura. This will be described more in the next section (Usage)


 * Any weapon / staff with an "Enchantments last 20% longer" modifier is needed. The Totem Axe and Rajazan's Fervor are common choices but any staff with the "Enchantments last 20% longer" mod will work as well. Kepkhet's Refuge is very useful if you are playing the 105 hp variant, as the halved casting and recharge can be very effective if it affects Sliver Armor or Shield of Absorption.


 * Hukhrah's Staff (or any other staff of Mastery in Divine Favor) is also helpful. This will also be explained in the Usage section.

Usage

 * First cast Balthazar's Spirit for energy gain.


 * Before you cast Blessed Aura, switch out your Protection Prayers scalp for the Divine Favor one bringing your Divine Favor up to 15. Cast Blessed Aura and then switch back to the Protection Prayers scalp, bringing your Protection Prayers back up to 14.


 * If you are using Hukhrah's Staff, equip it at the same time as the Divine Favor headpiece. Cast and re-cast Blessed Aura as many times as needed for the Divine Favor boost to kick in.


 * When all of the enchantments are cast start your run to your target. Before entering battle, cast Protective Spirit and Shield of Absorption. Keep them up at all times.


 * Aggro your enemies. You must continue to maintain Protective Spirit and Shield of Absorption; if the mobs contain interrupters, you will have to use Glyph of Concentration before SoA (which will always match exactly because of the recharge time).


 * To start damaging enemies activate Sliver Armor after Glyph of Concentration and SoA.


 * To avoid breaking aggro, hit the enemy targeted by Sliver Armor from time to time.

Counters

 * If Glyph of concentration gets interrupted and SoA afterwards gets interrupted, too, you will have to survive by healing with the Divine Favor bonus from spamming Protective Spirit. This can be really hard as you are going to aggro a lot of mobs to deal best possible damage with Sliver Armor.


 * Anything that counters a normal invincible monk will counter this one. These include health degeneration (to a certain point), enchantment removal, and damage that bypasses Protective Spirit.

Variants

 * Switch Balthazar's Spirit for Essence Bond, or put it in the optional slot. You should bring Blessed Signet if you do this to speed up energy regeneration, though when there are plenty of targets around attacking you (such as when farming Ghial the Bone Dancer) this becomes less necessary.


 * Mending, Watchful Spirit and Watchful Healing can help if you expect degeneration or monsters that can interrupt glyphs (e.g. Jade Brotherhood Mesmers if you are hexed).


 * If you are not afraid of being interrupted, swap out Glyph of Concentration for Glyph of Elemental Power or Glyph of Renewal.


 * Zealot's Fire and Shield of Judgment will both do constant damage; but due to the low smiting prayers, will not do much damage. If you bring Zealot's Fire, you must time when you cast your spells so there is at least a three second gap between them or your opponents will scatter. If you bring Shield of Judgment your energy flow will be slightly slowed, because the enemies will be knocked down and therefore attack you less often. This results in less activation of Balthazar's Spirit (or Essence Bond) and less damage dealing through Sliver Armor.


 * Fill the optional slot with any of the other skills mentioned on the Invincible Monk page. (Those mentioned above are some of the more important and/or useful skills found on that page.)


 * You can replace Shield of Absorption for Stoneflesh Aura, this will give you more room for error with casting time.


 * Also, Shield of Regeneration works if you time it right, as it will give you a +8...10 health regen as long as either Mending or Watchful Spirit is in the other optional slot


 * Shielding Hands is an easy way to avoid vulnerabilitiy if SoA can't be recast in time.

Using Spirit Bond
If you wanted to farm areas with health degeneration or life steal, the following build can be used. With the defensive power of SoA, and the massive healing from Spirit Bond, you can solo more bosses in more areas. This build uses the same attributes as the one listed above.

Armor:
 * Lowest armor, AL 15 or Starter armor will do.
 * 2 head pieces (as listed above) one for Divine Favor, one for Protection. Switch out when casting Blessed Aura.
 * One Vigor rune (the best you can afford) and the rest with Vitae ones (+10 health)

Weapons:
 * It is not needed, but recommended to acquire a -1 energy regeneration +15 energy offhand for either Protection, Divine Favor, or Earth Magic. This will help with the large amount of energy that will be used with this variant build.
 * Any weapon/off-hand can be used, as long as it does not subtract health.
 * Staves may be used as well if you like.

Usage:
 * The usage is the same as above with the following variant:
 * Cast Spirit Bond immediately after SoA to regain the Health lost until SoA has set the damage taken to 0. Also use Spirit Bond to recover from Degen.
 * Depending on degeneration keep Spirit Bond up as well as SoA and Prot. Spirit (which still have higher priority than Spirit Bond), but remember not to recast Spirit Bond before it has ended.

Bosses: (this variant build may also be used to solo all of the bosses listed below these)


 * Sun, the Quivering - Google Video
 * Xuekao, the Deceptive
 * Chung, the Attuned

Prophecies:
2 current mobs


 * Skyward Reach
 * Hydras - (due to the reduced number of enemies in this area, additional offensive skills such as Shield of Judgment are recommended)
 * 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, additional damage is also suggested)

Factions:
15 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 easily be done in one run with 105hp, Glyph of Renewal instead of Glyph of Concentration and Watchful Healing to counter Poison.


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


 * Maishang Hills
 * Sessk, Woe Spreader - (Bring along Watchful Spirit and Mending to counter Degeneration and Spam Protective Spirit for health gain. Oni may appear, but run past them. Interrupts are frequent while soloing him)


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


 * The Eternal Grove
 * The Scar Eater - Medium/Luck (Bring along Glyph of Elemental Power or Glyph of Renewal to speed up the killing. Bring Smite Hex or Spell Breaker as well, in case of Oni spawn. Regeneration Skills to counter Poison and Bleeding. This boss can only be soloed if the mobs around don't contain Skill Hungry Gakis as they create spirits of Disenchantment.)


 * Morostav Trail
 * Strongroot Tanglebranch (Watchful Spirit and Glyph of Renewal are advised.)

Nightfall:
10 current bosses


 * Marga Coast
 * Bubahl Icehands - (Watchful Healing is recommended due to the Kuskale Blighters' use of Rotting Flesh)
 * Chor the Bladed - (Watchful Healing and Mending are recommended due to the Mirage Ibogas' use of Conjure Phantasm and Crippling Anguish)


 * Yatendi Canyons
 * Hajok Earthguardian (Insect) - (Spell Breaker will make the way to him easier)


 * 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. Mending 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.  Don't aggro the Behemoth Gravebanes and Scytheclaw Behemoths due the massive degen they can cause.  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 Regeneration Skills or Condition removal against Burning. Switch out Glyph of Concentration for Glyph of Renewal.

Videos

 * Lian, Dragon's Petal - Google Video
 * Hajok Earthgaurdian - Google Video
 * Ghial the Bone Dancer - Google Video
 * Orosen, Tranquil Acolyte - Google Video
 * Ssyn Coiled Grasp - Google Video
 * Tomton Spiriteater - Google Video
 * Chehbaba Roottripper - Youtube Video
 * Chor the Bladed - Google Video
 * Riktund the Vicious - Google Video
 * Strongroot Tanglebranch - YouTube Video
 * Bubahl Icehands - YouTube Video
 * The Scar Eater - YouTube Video
 * Hukhrah Earthslove - Google Video
 * Jishol Darksong - Google Video
 * The Hidden City of Ahdashim: Shakor Firespear &  Leilon, Tranquil Water &  Yammirvu, Ether Guardian -YouTube Video

Note: All videos have been created BEFORE the latest update when SoA still had a casting time of 1/4 second!

Templates
Spirit Bond Variant