Well, even though they've already been answered... :P
1. Skill description, longest spirit I can think of is roughly ~150 seconds. Generally 30~60 second recharge. There's a kurzick/luxon skill you can get once you hit rank 1 in the title, Summon Spirits. Really helps because it teleports your spirits to you across compass range, allowing you to re-summon less frequently.
2. Spirit rift deals it's damage 3 seconds after it's cast, at the location it was cast. So if the target is already dead, or moved on, you'll see no damage. (Overall I don't like the skill much)
3. Mesmer, Necro, Monk, or Ranger for PvE, Paragon or Assassin for PvP.
I would suggest Necro personally, Ritualist Minion Masters are awesome.
Mesmer/Monk are both used in farming builds commonly, so that's good too.
Ranger for splinter barrage and/or serpent's quickness.
4. Depends on how much gold you want to spend, and your playstyle. If you go Monk secondary and buy Protective Spirit, you'll mostly be fine without upgrading any armor but your head for quite awhile. (Saving that armor for 330hp/600hp rit is nice anyway) Plus, as a spirit spammer, you're generally detached from damage for the most part, so either way upgrading initially isn't very important. I generally upgrade at Kaineng. The only real reason to upgrade at every available area is if you're aiming for survivor.
If you have any more questions or concerns, feel free to contact me here or in-game, I'm always glad to help.
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