Curse

Valkyries · May 12, 2006, 12:28 PM // 12:28

Well I decided to run this build (finally got all the skills/elite I needed)

And I have to say is awesome!! Seriously great job TeeGee on a very solid build.

I can heal just as good as anyone. The only thing I notice is sometimes I overheal but hey that isn't all that bad of a thing. Its great against spikes, if you can heal them fast enough. Its nothing for this build to heal for 300 dmg + with things like Infuse health or even Spirit Transfer heals for 225 or so.... just awesome. Preservation is my new favorite spirit. That guy is just awesome.

I changed the attributes slightly. I only use 15 Restoration and I put more into Spawning. I just find that its helpful for me and I don't loose hardly anything from the 1 point missing in resto. So this works well for me.

I must say I Really enjoy the build. The only thing Im stuck on is I have 1 empty slot and Im not sure what to run

This is my build just for reference (Almost identical, one key change as you'll see).

1) Preservation
2) Mend Body and Soul
3) Infuse Health
4) Spirit Transfer
5) Generous was Tsungrai
6) Recupation
7) Empty - for now
8) Flesh of my flesh

As you can see I added in the hard res because I think its awesome. Also extremely useful with Ashes. You can hold ashes, cast FomF, and drop the ashes to get back to full. Plus with really high resto they even get 20% energy to start out with which is pretty good. Its fast (5 second cast - so fast for a rez) and I really think it fits in quite nicely.

I have tried soothing memories but honestly not a huge fan. Its ok, but the other heals are so much better. I find I just spam mend, body and soul and I rarely ever use memories.... so I would like something to fill into that slot, not sure yet. TBH I haven't tried life yet and maybe I will. Another spirit would be excellent to add. Another option Im considering is droping my spawning power (its at something like 13 atm) and putting points into communing. Shelter would be very useful in this build. Even Union could be ideal.... Ill have to play around with a couple of them, but just some ideas Im thinking about for mine.

Either way, excellent job. I really think you found a great healing ritual build that would go awesome with a 2 monk backline in HA. In 12 v 12 I think a build like this is almost required. It can do massive healing and you can spread your spirits out a little to help heal the entire party.

Two thumbs up!

Edit: Hey TeeGee, do you have any complaints if I post your build on other GW sites? Ill send a link back here if you wish so you can see.

TeeGee · May 12, 2006, 04:00 PM // 16:00

Quote:

Edit: Hey TeeGee, do you have any complaints if I post your build on other GW sites? Ill send a link back here if you wish so you can see.

Ofcourse you can. Just give me link and remember to give me credit if u post it.

ump · May 12, 2006, 04:29 PM // 16:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeeGee

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.

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.

While you can get away with a superior rune in PvE and possibly even in TA, you cannot get away with it in GvG (because of the death penalty issue and the need to be wary of spikes) which is where I hope to use this build. You only get 12 extra life from Generous was Tsungrai between level 14 and 16 and it doesn't make up for the 75 health you lose.

The problem that I've had with the build in PvP was that it only worried about spike healing and forgot about pressure healing and preemptive healing. It's been said that if you want to learn how to monk, go to random arenas and take only the Infuse Health and Healing Touch skills and nothing else. You will quickly learn when to heal and how not to overheal. Of course, it won't be real effective as you will learn deficiencies that you have and soon add skills to fill those gaps. You can probably do the same with this build. Infuse Health and Generous was Tsungrai are the core of this build. Soothing Memories is like Orison of Healing that should probably be used as an emergency heal when nothing better is available. It's not free, it costs 2 energy, and spamming heals is never efficient. I've seen healing monks dabble in protection for Reversal of Fortune. Therefore, why can't this ritualist dabble in "protection" restoration skills, especially considering you really don't want two restoration ritualists in a group anyways (so spirits and weapon skills won't overlap)? One of the problems I have with this build is when a warrior is trained on you and you don't have a protection monk nearby to help you out. They deal out far more damage then you can effectively heal. Adding Vengeful Weapon and Resilient Weapons gives this build a Reversal of Fortune and a Guardian which is what boon protect monks use to stay alive. So now the new core of the build is as follows:

1) Vengeful Weapon (Reversal of Fortune)
2) Resilient Weapon (Guardian)
3) Infuse Health (Infuse Health)
4) Soothing Memories (Orison of Healing)
5) Generous was Tsungrai (Healing Touch)

The big question is what to fill out the rest of the build with. So far, it doesn't have spirits, so it only uses restoration and minimal healing attributes, so there is a lot of flexibility. Unfortunately, there still is no option for energy management, so the key is to use the most efficient skills as possible.

I've done a little bit of testing to figure out what the rest of the build should be, but haven't come up with a definitive answer yet. Sure spirits are nice in PvE and some PvP, but in GvG, mobility is real important. The problem with spirits are the longer casting time, slow recharge, less mobile, limited effect range, and vulnerable to attack/damage. Therefore, I wouldn't lock myself into saying spirits are the only option. Among the options I need to try are healing (Healing Seed, Heal Party, Signet of Rejuvenation, Empathic Removal), protection (Life Sheath, Restore Condition, Protective Spirit, Holy Veil), and of course restoration (Life, Preservation, Recuperation, Spirit Transfer, Mend Body and Soul).

Valkyries · May 12, 2006, 05:10 PM // 17:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeeGee

Ofcourse you can. Just give me link and remember to give me credit if u post it.

Oh of course!

I was planning to give you credit for the build, I just think many people could learn from this.

Personally I've played it and love it! So I think other people would be pleasently surprised as well.... I see a lot of ppl bashing resto Ritualists and thinking they are in no way as good as a Monk. Completely disagree.... in fact I think this are just as good if not better. Spirits are awesome and things like Preservation and Recupation are excellent examples of that.

When I get a chance Ill post it on another site and Ill post the link here so everyone can view.

FoxBat · May 12, 2006, 06:37 PM // 18:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by ump

Sure spirits are nice in PvE and some PvP, but in GvG, mobility is real important. The problem with spirits are the longer casting time, slow recharge, less mobile, limited effect range, and vulnerable to attack/damage. Therefore, I wouldn't lock myself into saying spirits are the only option.

Seems that if you aren't taking any spirits though, a monk could do your job much better. Maybe a mo/rt so you still have some of the ashes trick.

As someone did a one-one comparison on gwonline, restoration healing spells are generally weaker than monk equivalents *before* you even factor in divine favor. If those restoration points aren't going to support a spirit (in combo with spawning power) just as much as your heals, it's questionable what you are doing as a rit primary.

Valkyries · May 12, 2006, 07:17 PM // 19:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by FoxBat

Seems that if you aren't taking any spirits though, a monk could do your job much better. Maybe a mo/rt so you still have some of the ashes trick.

As someone did a one-one comparison on gwonline, restoration healing spells are generally weaker than monk equivalents *before* you even factor in divine favor. If those restoration points aren't going to support a spirit (in combo with spawning power) just as much as your heals, it's questionable what you are doing as a rit primary.

I agree completely

Having weapons like Preservation and Recupation in your arsenal is like adding a second or third healer to the party. These really are what makes the Ritualist on even playing field with the monk. Without the use of at least a few spirits you are relying on Infuse + ashes... in which case why not add a Monk primary and Rit secondary to take advantage of divine Favor.

On a side note I have NO problems with my spirits in GVG/HA. I do only run 2 atm, but they are two of the best for healer rits in Preservation and Recupation. I still have great heals at my disposal, AND I have tricks with Ashes + FomF and Infuse. I dont find I am stuck waiting for a spirit to recharge either. I have plenty to do and lots of heals to keep me going in the meantime. Also preservation (at 5E, what were they thinking) is only 45 sec recharge. In GVG where battles last quite a while this is no problem.

TeeGee · May 13, 2006, 05:30 PM // 17:30

Quote:

While you can get away with a superior rune in PvE and possibly even in TA, you cannot get away with it in GvG (because of the death penalty issue and the need to be wary of spikes) which is where I hope to use this build. You only get 12 extra life from Generous was Tsungrai between level 14 and 16 and it doesn't make up for the 75 health you lose.

First of all - this build wasn't designed for GvG but for HA. In GvG mobility is a key and Rt is very stationary character. On the other hand most HA maps are quite small and battle is quite static, especially with use of wards and in altar maps. 16 in restoration isn't only for ashes, but also for other spells and recupation duration. While holding the ashes (which is 99% of time) u have 600+hp so u r hard to spike anyway, but that extra 20 healining from spirit transfer or few extra seconds in recupation is really helpful.

Quote:

Adding Vengeful Weapon and Resilient Weapons gives this build a Reversal of Fortune and a Guardian which is what boon protect monks use to stay alive.

The skill that u were thinking of is named Weapon of warding, not resilient weapon. It costs 10 energy and has long casting time which is not that good considering this build has no energy managment. The key point of using Soothing memories is that its the only skill that u can spam freely to deal with presure damage. Mend body and soul is mainly for condition removing, and u can use Vengeful weapon in that slot if u like. Just matter of personal preferences.

The rest of build should contain spirits. They're good and if u dont't want to use them then just play monk - u'll be much more effective. They r great cause they can decrease pressure damage and (after casting) cost no energy to work.

Also Shelter is one of best skills in this game so I started using it with this build (12 pts in communing and 7 in spawning power - about 8). I'm even wondering about changing elite to Soul twisting to be able to kill Life spirit for extra Shelter spirit. Shelter itself can destroy spike build (other than bloodspike). Almost every team with Rt that I see in GvG/HA uses Rt as shelter spammer. The usual spirit spammer build is boring and cripples teams offensive capability in favor of defensive. This build can play monks role and still be able to use shelter when its needed.

Valkyries · May 13, 2006, 06:10 PM // 18:10

Shelter is absolutely incredible.

The biggest problem I find is that it dies very fast. STill its quite good to use. I may use it instead of soothing memories (since the rest of the build I quite like).

Apart from that as TeeGee said.. if you dont want to run spirits go Monk. You'll do better with Divine favor... its better worked that way. Still with things like preservation, Recupation and shelter you are much better equipped with ritualists.

Personally I really like shelter too in this build so I may also switch. Those 3 spirits are a great team to use and really are effective. TeeGee, you said this isn't really for GVG. I really disagree. I bring this to our GVG and I have no problems. GVG's last pretty long (12-15 mins each) so I have no problem casting these spirits 15 times or so. For me, thats PLENTY for it to be effective.

I must say I Really enjoy the build with preservation. TeeGee I saw you were considering dropping this for soul twisting for example. Soul twisting is a GREAT elite, dont get me wrong. There are many good elites that are awesome for resto ritualists. Still that being said, I REALLY think that things like preservation are worthwhile. Being able to net 1800 health in a 60 second span is much better than being able to get a bit of energy back ro being able to get a skill recharged. A lot of people recommend Spirit Transfer.... to me, that +6 energy regen Ill get back with something like preservation. Just my opinion but I think for THIS build its very much superior

TeeGee · May 13, 2006, 06:41 PM // 18:41

Quote:

Shelter is absolutely incredible.

The biggest problem I find is that it dies very fast. STill its quite good to use. I may use it instead of soothing memories (since the rest of the build I quite like).

Well that's why i wonder if Soul twisting would be good idea. I need to try that.

Quote:

TeeGee, you said this isn't really for GVG. I really disagree.

Well, I just said that I designed this build with HA in mind. If it works for u in GvG it's fine.

Quote:

I must say I Really enjoy the build with preservation. TeeGee I saw you were considering dropping this for soul twisting for example. Soul twisting is a GREAT elite, dont get me wrong. There are many good elites that are awesome for resto ritualists. Still that being said, I REALLY think that things like preservation are worthwhile. Being able to net 1800 health in a 60 second span is much better than being able to get a bit of energy back ro being able to get a skill recharged.

Preservation is funny and good, but sometimes i wonder if its worth elite slot. The 1800 healing u mentioned never occurs to be honest. This spirit can be really good, but sometimes it heals wrong person leaving other to die. It can't be relied on and has short range. It's really only good for self healing and occasional heals on kiting monks. Soul twisting can be used to kill Life when it's needed and place another shelter. And as u said - shelter is awesome but dies fast. Also it has 5 seconds cast time which is quite long considering u r not healing at that time.

On the side note - if i had to choose between Life or Recupation I would take Life. It has more net healing, it recharges faster, it has lower energy cost and u don't mind if it's being killed.

Aran · May 13, 2006, 10:22 PM // 22:22

Whoa - its been ages since I checked this thread, congrats teegee for everyone liking your build (myself included, although you'd already know that).

Well, although I do see merits in the use of communing, I personally rather a) outheal rather than to outprot and b) have my spirits survive a bit of a beating before they go down. I'll still be using the 12/11/6 combo with 11+1 spawning, 12+4 rest and 6 healing.

My current working skillset I use in gvg is:
1. soothing images
2. Generous was Mr.T
3. Infuse health
4. spirit transfer
5. holy veil
6. recuperation
7. preservation {elite}
8. res sig (although I may swap this out for restoration since I generally dont use my sig anyhow - as I'm busy healing, but I have to experiment on the range of it)

We find it works just fine, and we're currently operating with me as the only infuser on the team, mainly because we dont need a second one with me there.

However, knowing how much I'm used to using my elite, I have to admit that preservation isn't as useful as it could be - but it still looks like the best option with my personal skillset (consume soul would have been great if it was ranged, but then consume soul would be rigged if it were ranged). Oh well, it's good for fuel for spirit transfer...

I'll do some experimenting with:
12/11/6 -> 16/12/7 rest/com/spawn

- shelter
- recuperation
- infuse
- generous was mr.t
- spirit transfer
- mend body and soul
- soothing memories
- rez

and I'll see how it goes. Note there are no elites in that, but then I wouldn’t take any of it out. As you can see – squeezing in shelter, to me, doesn’t do much more than shift out Preservation, as the rest either have a great aux. effect (such as mend body) or are required for potency (ie soothing – 2 energy heals are worth it for energy management). Shelter itself simply does more than pres – with pres’ only plus point here being its 5 energy cost and its major negative being its range.

About life vs recuperation - as one said earlier you're pretty much choosing between a known help and "help" which may or may not kick in in 30 seconds. Healing to healing comparison is a tad awry with recoup healing for 6 * 47 = 282 to anyone within its range through regen (with a 60s recharge), and life doing 150 with a 45s recharge.

I personally prefer recuperation due to it being simply a better stress reliever - monks dont have to top people up as much.

TeeGee · May 24, 2006, 11:56 AM // 11:56

After many tests and experiments I made final version of this build. I changed elite skill from Preservation to Spirit channeling. Preservation is good on paper but its AI really needs buff to be effective, as it is it almost never heals target that is in need of healing. On the other hand spirit channeling is very good energy managment skill and allows to place spirits and still have lots of energy. Playing this build I realized that having 37 energy while holding ashes makes it really hard to keep constant healing in HA and be able to infuse when needed. Also I had troubles with placing sirits again as 25 energy is bit too much stress. After adding spirit channeling all that problems was solved and thid build starts to be really effective healer/infuser.

Valkyries · May 24, 2006, 01:20 PM // 13:20

TeeGee

Can you please post an updated build for us?

Im curious because with Spirit Channelling, you probably have more than just Recup I assume?!? To make it worthwhile... thats why Im curious....

Also, I admit although Preservation doens't have the best AI I really don't mind it. Its super cheap, it has a fast recharge and I just basically ignore its there and continue to heal as normal. it makes everyone's life full.... so I really don't think its a bad choice... all the same I have never tried Spirit Channelling and I would like to

WoofWoof · May 24, 2006, 09:10 PM // 21:10

This is an awesome thread. Thanks for all the good information! I am sorry if this post is a little OT because I realize this discussion is centered around HA and/or AB, but wanted to get some feedback from the experts...

I was experimenting with Rt/Mo healing builds in RA and used a build similar to the updated one with a few changes.

Draw Spirit - allows me to move Recuperation or Preservation (I bring one Spirit) to be in range of the party. In RA, people move around a lot and rarely stay in range of my spirit. DS also allows me to drive warriors crazy when they start beating on the spirit. There's an interesting bug that briefly shows the warrior teleporting together with the spirit... but he/she then goes back to where he/she belongs. Very amusing. You should give it a try

Weapon of Warding - +4 regen that I think is non removable and stacks very nicely with the +3 from Recuperation. I can use it to counter degen and give myself a boost for using Infuse Health and Spirit Channeling.

Other skills used are in line with what has already been discussed here... so the skillbar looks like this:

- Generous Was T.
- Spirit Transfer
- Infuse Health
- Spirit Channeling {E}
- Recuperation (+3 regen)
- Weapon of Warding (+4 regen)
- Draw Spirit (to move Recuperation around as needed)
- Res Sig / FomF... but I find that Res Sig works better in RA due to speed and no health penaly to me

As long as I take care to not overheal with ST and IH, this works pretty decently together with the regen and energy is rarely a problem here.

Any thoughts?

TeeGee · May 25, 2006, 03:31 PM // 15:31

@Valkyiries:

I updatet the build in original post. Spirit Channeling doesn't rely on spirits in any ways (other that they count as allies when it ends) - name is somewhat confusing.

Preservation is funny and nice in PvE but in PvP i found i realy need energy managment more. Preservation is worse than recuperation its wasted elite slot. Its not that its AI is "not the best" its terrible! It just cycles around targets and heals, even if someone is at full heath. I think it needs AI buff to be worth elite slot.

@WoofWoof

Draw spirit isn't really needed - Recuparation has area of effect that can cover most RA maps when placed in right place. I would just use Life instead. Also I would swap Infuse for Soothing memories - u r gonna to be main target and infusing is not good idea in RA. Also Preservation seems to be better elite in RA cause of only 4 players there and self healing possibility. And last thing - its not wise to bring rez on healing builds, its better to take Mend body and soul in that place.

WoofWoof · May 25, 2006, 04:12 PM // 16:12

Sorry for repeated editing... didn't stop to think before I wrote the reply

Thanks for the tips. I find that in RA, even for dedicated healers, Rez Sig is really a must have. Agree on your comment regarding Recuperation -- it does have a huge range and doesn't need to be moved a whole lot. As for Preservation, it's range is pretty much the aggro circle and I found that moving it around in RA can be very effective to allow the team to advance. I did drop IH in favor of SM and I am experimenting with using Blind Was Migson to take out Warriors, Assassins and Rangers. All in all, I really love playing Rt. Very versatile.

ump · May 25, 2006, 05:21 PM // 17:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by WoofWoof

Sorry for repeated editing... didn't stop to think before I wrote the reply

Thanks for the tips. I find that in RA, even for dedicated healers, Rez Sig is really a must have. Agree on your comment regarding Recuperation -- it does have a huge range and doesn't need to be moved a whole lot. As for Preservation, it's range is pretty much the aggro circle and I found that moving it around in RA can be very effective to allow the team to advance. I did drop IH in favor of SM and I am experimenting with using Blind Was Migson to take out Warriors, Assassins and Rangers. All in all, I really love playing Rt. Very versatile.

I agree with Rez Signet in RA. I also like Weapon of Warding because it can keep you protected for a long time. I don't like Spirit Transfer when there is only 1 spirit. Infuse Health is nice even in RA, but usually, I find healing alone is not enough which is where a protection spell like a Weapon of Warding can be useful.

Also, I'm wary of Spirit Channeling because it is an enchantment and it can be stripped easily. However, the effects look very strong and I wonder at what point it pays for itself and everything after that is just a bonus.

Unox · May 30, 2006, 01:42 PM // 13:42

The build really works good with me. Im generally using a Harbingers armor type (HP +35 total), but Im curious what type evryone uses. Sometimes I feel like the extra hp doesnt have much use.

TeeGee, thnx for ur efforts to put up this build it works great. (Same for all of u guys that contribute improving the build!)

TeeGee · Jul 19, 2006, 09:09 AM // 09:09

Seeing how everybody is searching for restoration rit, complaining about rit being bad healer (or just worse than monk) and noticing that HA metagame is stuck with 3 monk backline, I decided to place this build in sticky and bring this thread back to life.

Also I made one change in TA version of it. I swapped weapon of warding for weapon of shadow. It makes one person unhittable for 13 seconds and has higher casting speed that warding weapon. Recharge is high but if timed well this is very good skill.

Nessaja · Jul 19, 2006, 12:47 PM // 12:47

I use the current build posted on the first page, it's nice.

I don't have Preservation yet, so I can't really comment on it yet. I do have spirit channeling and I feel like it, quite simply just isn't needed, as a spike healer you won't need that much energy anyway. Only when I'm overhealing with mend body and soul I need it.

My ideal build at the moment, when I have Preservation would be

Soothing images
Generous Was T.
Spirit Transfer
Infuse Health
Recuperation
Life
Preservation (Elite)
Res Sig / Flesh of my Flesh

I like this setup mostly, because when you want to spike heal with this you'll always need a spirit up, and with 3 spirits that's pretty much guaranteed. Preservation will be overhealing like you can with Mend Body and Soul+Spirit Channeling and that leaves a spot open for a res, which I always seem to need when I don't have it.

TeeGee · Jul 19, 2006, 04:26 PM // 16:26

Well... having res skill, especially FomF on this build is very nice as it also comboes with GwT. As for Preservation - its nice but only as self heal - its AI is totally random (according to guildwiki and personal experiance) and it rarely heals correct person. It has uses in TA but in HA its to stupid to be relied on.

Erm... and u don't need to have spirits around to infuse someone...

BTW are we talking about pvp or pve here? Cause in pve u don't need that extra energy from spirit channeling but in HA u certainly do. Also mend body and soul has a lot of use in PvP - not as healing spell but as condition removal.