Curse

TeeGee · May 05, 2006, 10:59 PM // 22:59

After trying many possibilities of this new awesome class, I ended up with build that appears to be very good for HA, 12v12 or large scaled pve missions.

Ritualist/Monk

16 Restoration
13 Spawning Power
3 Healing

Skills:
1)Mend body and soul --- awesome and cheap healing spell. Can work like RC in certain cases.
2)Soothing memories --- to use it with ashes. Its very good healing spell considering u can cast it indefinetly.
3)Generous was Tsungrai --- this spell is just wicked - it gives additional health, can be used with SM, is cheap, has short recharge, is 300hp self heal and works like focus swap.
4)Spirit transfer --- another awesome healing spell. Instant 237 healing for 10 energy, and u can drain life from enemy spirits too.
5)Spirit channeling (E) --- Awesome energy managment - like cross betwen ether prodigy and blood is power. Allows you to heal almost indefinetly. In PVE situations or in Team Arena it could be swapped for Preservation (E).
6)Life --- 150 hp party heal every minute is great thing in large scaled battles. You could also fit holy veil here if your team lacks hex removal.
7)Recuperation --- like having free mending on everyone or HP caste very few seconds - good for neglecting some aoe dmg, countering hex pressure and generaly removing stress from other monks.
8)Infuse health --- main trick of this build. With ashes of Tsungrai you have about 620 hp so infuse is quite powerfull even on low healing attribute and you can just drop ashes to return to full health. If this build is played in Team Arena I would recommend swapping it for Weapon of Shadow as infusing is not a way to go in 4v4.

The main advantage of this build is its diversity. It can do minor heals with SM for almost no energy, make powerfull heals with spirit transfer, restore conditions, give constant health regen, infuse one target if needed, and relieve some pressure with healing spirits. Also with 600+ hp and 296 hp self heal its quite hard to spike. This build doesn't rely on enchantments, is resistant to energy drain due to ashes holding and can do many things at once.

The main disadvantage is lack of hex removal, but with new monk and mesmer spells it might be not big problem. Also it requires some timing to be able to place spirits that you are not stuck with casting them when team needs infuse.

I would like to hear any comments or feedback, also criticism is welcome (if its constructive)... Maybe at last we will see something else than 3 monk backline in balanced HA builds...

TeeGee · May 06, 2006, 09:20 AM // 09:20

I tried this build in TA and it seems to be pretty good. Everybody there attack the healer and ashes + preservation are great ways to survive there. In team arena i use weapon of warding instead infuse though.

Hey guys 45+ views and no comments? Nobody tries to play HA here?

unholy guardian · May 06, 2006, 03:12 PM // 15:12

Lol i'm kinda still stupid with abreviations, i don't even know what HA is :P

It seems like a good build though, i plan to make a ritualist now, its getting annoying being a mm, i liked it, but it gets on my nerves..

Rion · May 06, 2006, 03:47 PM // 15:47

HA is Heroes Ascent. Which I think I will forever call Tombs, but nevermind.

This looks like a pretty cool build, TeeGee. I'll give it a go next time I can log in!

imortal · May 06, 2006, 05:27 PM // 17:27

If anything makes this build great its the spike catching ability that Infuse+GwT combo provides.

Aran · May 07, 2006, 01:21 AM // 01:21

Personally, I love the build - congrats for making the connection between generous and infuse, a masterful combo.

There is only one change which I would make and that would be to replace Life with Spirit Transfer;

Spirit transfer: Spell. The spirit nearest to you loses 15...63 health. Target ally is healed for 3 for each point of health lost. 10 / .25 / 10

It’s a 10 energy heal which does a massive 180+ health in healing with a .25s casting time. The thing with this skill is that it (I'm almost certain) targets the nearest spirit - ie, it doesn't have to be allied. It is hence undoubtedly the most powerful heal ritualists have. Oh, and as those who equate this to infuse health will know, you can use it on yourself.

Although life has its uses, I'd say spirit transfer is more useful for sustaining healing and last second healing during battle.

TeeGee · May 08, 2006, 10:49 AM // 10:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aran

Although life has its uses, I'd say spirit transfer is more useful for sustaining healing and last second healing during battle.

Yeah i agree thet spirit transfer is awesome spell and I was aslo thinking about adding it to this build. Although using it instead of life will make feast of souls not that useful, crippling this build party restore option. I think I need to experiment with spirit transfer a bit. Maybe i will find something instead of feast of souls. Any suggestions?

Aran · May 08, 2006, 12:48 PM // 12:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeeGee

Maybe i will find something instead of feast of souls. Any suggestions?

I find holy veil works a treat, failing that, I use draw spirit for battlefield control.

I cant see many other skills though, given the attribute layout - but then, I didn't think of your combo either, so there's bound to be something.

Your build with my mods has become a part of my guild's back line - two monks and a rit. Great stuff - once we beat out all the kinks you should put it in the build submissions thread.

Valkyries · May 08, 2006, 12:59 PM // 12:59

I must say, that is a very nice combo indeed. Never thought about that. But ya, loose half your life (which will be high than normal Monks anyways) then drop the ashes, back to full. Thats a HUGE heal for someone on your team.

I bet you would give most Monks a run when it comes to healing. Plus having things like Preservation will give you more free time to heal other party members.

I will give this a shot and hopefully have something to contribute. I must say, great job on healer ritual. I was looking for something kinda similar tbh.

TeeGee · May 08, 2006, 07:20 PM // 19:20

I tried few possibilities and finally I decided to change feast of souls for spirit transfer. I decided to leave life there cause it can realy save entire team in some situations and it relieves some stress from healers. On the other hand I wasn't using feast that much, and spirit transfer is just to good to be left behind.

Valkyries · May 08, 2006, 07:49 PM // 19:49

Personally I agree. Spirit Transfer is really awesome.

Im not too big on life as a whole though tbh. I haven't tried your build but to me its very situational. It doesn't heal until 30 seconds in which time it could be way too late, or even too early. Maybe everyone is already healed and its wasted. To me, there are just better options IMO. Also it only heals when within range (like most spirits) and in large scale missions or PVP people are always moving around you may only get to heal one person. I dont think thats very worthwhile when the rest of your skillbar is so much better. Thats of course my opinion and if it works for you then great. I haven't tried it with these skills so who knows?! Personally I like Shelter and Union over Life (either of the two)...

Im looking through the ritualist/Monk skill lists now to see if I can find anything that could work.

Edit: I think Spirit Light is a nice choice for a solid heal... but I was thinking, why not add something that removes Hex's? Something like Purge Signet for example?

TeeGee · May 08, 2006, 09:44 PM // 21:44

Life has really huge range - it always heals entire party from my experiance. It's not best skill, and as u said its occasional. In proper circuimstances it can heal more hp than Preservation does, but sometime it's just wasted.

Using shelter or union is not an option as they use commune attribute and need it maxed for any results (and work only with ritual lord elite).

Spirit transfer is better than life, and life is better than feast of souls - thats the reason why I left it on my bar and threw feast away. Also placing another spirit is less energy intensive than adding any other spell, and considering that this build doesnt have energy managment it might be wise to stick with life. And another spirit means more conditions healed with mend body and soul.

Something to remove hexes would be nice - i was thinking about holy veil as purge signet has nasty side effect. Need to try it and see if it will do better than life.

Valkyries · May 08, 2006, 11:00 PM // 23:00

Personally I like Purge Signet. Yes it has a horrible side effect but its all in when you use it.... it doesn't cost anything to cast (apart from time) and if you use it when you have < 10 Energy it really isn't so bad. I find with my ritualist I hover around the 10E mark a lot of the time.... so for me, this really isn't bad at all. But of course its personal choice. Remove Hex and Holy Viel are also options to consider.

I didn't realize Life had such a range. I thought it was the standard spirit range which is usually just so so... so if thats the case maybe it is worthwhile. Ill have to check it out. You're right though I went over your attributes and no way you could have union or shelter... no points there to spend unfortunately. But thats ok, your build is solid regardless with Preservation and Recup.... Ill have to try out life and see if I like. Should always give things a shot before I critize

Either way, great job on the build. Let us know how things go, Im quite curious.

initialg · May 09, 2006, 04:07 AM // 04:07

EDIT:found the skill i needed
Cool build

initialg · May 09, 2006, 04:14 AM // 04:14

double post

TeeGee · May 09, 2006, 07:44 AM // 07:44

I've tried to use purge signet and it doesn't work. Side effect is just too nasty and long casting time doesn't help too. This build often balances at <10 energy and its okay with soothing memories, but when u strip yourrself of that energy you are suffering from huge downtime. Even focus swap doesn't help that much.

On the other hand holy veil seems to work pretty good (as always). In some situations life would be better though. Hmm I think that I will swap those two depending on team setup. After all factions brang many new monk and mesmer skills that remove hexes (and some of them are realy decent). It's sad that ppl don't want to try something new and every team and their dogs has standard Woh/HP, RC prot, SB infuse, MC hammer and are afraid to be any more creative.

I hope that metagame will change soon and ppl will start to use their new skills. I think that this Rt build can take role of teams infuser and WOH, and other two monks could change their setups accordingly to make backline as much effective as it could be.

Vahn Roi · May 09, 2006, 04:57 PM // 16:57

I don't have preservation yet, but so far I am totally loving this build.

Very nice work!

ump · May 09, 2006, 11:03 PM // 23:03

I am working on a variation of this build.

Restoration: 12+1+1=14
Spawning: 9+1=10
Channeling: 9+1=10
Healing: 3

1) Soothing Memories
2) Mend Body and Soul
3) Infuse Health
4) Spirit Transfer
5) Generous was Tsungrai
6) Life
7) Preservation
8) Spirit Siphon

The first thing to note is that you should pretend that the spirits have no healing effect because their abilities cannot be relied on for anything. They just alievate some of the pressure sometimes mostly on you because you are staying fairly close to them. More importantly, they are a vessel for you to steal life and energy from. Therefore, do not cast both at the same time, but stagger them so you cast one when the other is halfway recharged. This way you have a better chance to have one spirit near you at all times. It also helps with mobility and doesn't require your teammates to stay close to the spirits. As for the spirits, steal their life with Spirit Transfer, but use it mostly as a self-infuse spell when you have to. Steal their energy with Spirit Siphon. At level 10 you gain 25% of the energy which is about 10 total or 5 net energy. It's somewhat similar to Energy Drain, but you need to have a spirit nearby instead of anyone and gains less energy, but it's probably the only energy management available to this character. When you steal the energy of a spirit, it does not diminish their abilities. Preservation still heals every 4 seconds. Another thing is that it seems you do not have to target a spirit for Spirit Siphon, so that will save you some effort. Since you are trying to cast a new spirit every 25 seconds or so, it is probably best to only siphon once as soon as possible after you cast a spirit since spirits seem to regain energy too slow for my liking. Then, when you cast another spirit, move close to the new spirit so you can steal energy from the new one. The range of Spirit Transfer (and I suspect Spirit Siphon but I haven't tested) is longbow range or just outside the aggro circle, so you do have some flexibility to move around. However, the range of Preservation is smaller so if you want its benefits, you should stay around half and aggro circle away at the most. Also note that the spirits don't have to be your own to leech off of them.

Vahn Roi · May 11, 2006, 11:06 AM // 11:06

I just got a 20/20 restoration staff and I'm still rocking this build, so far it hasn't failed me in PvE.

TeeGee · May 11, 2006, 04:35 PM // 16:35

Quote:

Restoration: 12+1+1=14
Spawning: 9+1=10
Channeling: 9+1=10
Healing: 3

I think that this build (as any healing build) needs superior rune to be most effective. 75 HP isn't that much considering that with sup rune you will have more HP/healing from ashes.

Quote:

More importantly, they are a vessel for you to steal life and energy from.

Well if they would be only that then u should just play monk :P. A you wrote - they relieve some pressure and that makes healers life REALLY easier.

Also I don't think that this build needs some extra energy managment. With free heling from soothing memories and with spirits u can realy heal your team almost indefinetly. Mesmers are problem ofcourse, but they always are and focus swapping/dropping ashes help in that case. Maybe if spirit siphon was aligned to restoration attribute it could make some sense, but as it is it's realy not worthy to spread attributes just for it.

On the other hand, I started to think that changing attributes to 16 restoration, 7 spawning, 12 communing and using shelter might be not that bad idea. It wouldn't be as effective as in spirit spamming ritual lord build (which is really boring one - just stay in place and spam spirits), but it could alwyas give additional protection versus spikes, and give build more holding power. I need to try that today in HA.

BTW: this build works as good as WoH on healing, can remove conditions almost as good as RC, and can infuse better than monk infuser but makes team more fragile to hexes. Anybody has idea how to modify monks backline to be able to include that build? I think it's worth it.