Rit concept - The Weaponsmith

[dfscott]

Reading the Explosive Minionmaster threads inspired me to try to come up with more ideas for decent PvE builds for a primary Ritualist. I started looking at the weapon spells, mainly because they are new and unique. Playing around a bit, I came up with the following build. I don't think this is good enough yet to be a solid build, so I'm calling it a concept for now. But I wanted to get some feedback, so here goes:

The Weaponsmith

Ritualist/Mesmer

Channeling Magic: 16 (12+4)
Communing: 10 (9+1)
Inspiration Magic: 9

Nightmare Weapon (Channeling Magic)
For 12 seconds, target ally has a Nightmare Weapon. Target ally's next successful attack steals up to 53 Health.
Energy:5 Cast:1 Recharge:10

Brutal Weapon (Communing)
Give target ally a Brutal Weapon for 15 seconds. The bearer's weapon strikes for +12 damage as long as the bearer is under no Enchantments.
Energy:10 Cast:1 Recharge:15

Splinter Weapon (Channeling Magic)
For 63 seconds, target ally has a Splinter Weapon. Target ally's next successful attack deals 53 damage to all adjacent foes.
Energy:10 Cast:1 Recharge:10

Wailing Weapon (Channeling Magic)
For 11 seconds, target ally has a Wailing Weapon. Whenever the Wailing Weapon strikes an attacking foe, that foe is interrupted.
Energy:10 Cast:1 Recharge:30

Ancestors' Rage (Channeling Magic)
All foes adjacent to target ally are struck for 106 lightning damage.
Energy:5 Cast:2 Recharge:8

Channeled Strike (Channeling Magic)
Target foe is struck for 101 lightning damage. That foe takes an additional 37 lightning damage if you are holding an item.
Energy:10 Cast:2 Recharge:12

Mantra of Recall [Elite] (Inspiration Magic)
For 20 seconds, you gain no benefit from it. You gain 22 Energy when Mantra of Recall ends.
Energy:10 Cast:1 Recharge:20

Flesh of my Flesh (Restoration Magic)
Lose half of your Health. Resurrect target ally with your current Health and 5% Energy.
Energy:5 Cast:5 Recharge:0

The idea is to have two allies, a warrior and a ranger, although it would probably work with a warriors and assassin or two warriors as well. Let the warrior aggro, throw Brutal on one of your allies (probably the warrior), and Nightmare on the other. Then follow up with Ancestor's Rage for some nice AoE. Rinse and repeat, alternating Splinter/Nightmare. Nightmare can also be used in lieu of Brutal when someone is running enchants or just needs the extra health buff, and Channeled Strike can be used as a nice finisher. The recharge on Brutal Weapon is short enough that it can be kept up constantly (barring energy issues). Wailing Weapon is like Spinal Shivers without the energy penalty -- nice versus casters and warrior bosses.

I chose mesmer as a secondary for the energy recovery, but I'm not sure if you really need to devote your Elite to energy management. I think you'd have to run the build a bit to find out.

Anyway, I'd love to hear people's thoughts on the idea.

[Geishe]

It looks very promising, thank you for this concept! The weapons will just have to be tested when the game comes out to see its full effect. Ancestor's Rage is an excellent skill, and I think it will be a staple in any Channeling magic builds. I have one suggestion though, being that for channeled strike, you are missing an item to hold. Mighty was Vorizun might help you in terms of armor and energy management (+20 energy).

Like you said, Mesmer skills are perfect for energy management, so I think Mantra of Recall is fine. I just think maybe a ranger could possibly work out as well. With serpents quickness, all your weapon skills will be more spammable, as faster recharge is always nice. You might even be able to take out Channeled Strike for Troll Unguent, for self-preservation reasons.

Or if you want to stay with the Mesmer Secondary, there is always Energy Drain which is nice. And, you never know if there are any nice Mesmer Inspiration Skills in faction!

Kudos to you, and good luck constructing a build! I'm trying my hands now on a Rit/Ranger, and it seems rather fun:wink:

[Artemis Shadowhawk]

It's just me, but I don't like battery builds. Mostly, I don't like builds which require other builds in PvE. But that's just me. Other than that, it looks like a solid build.

Instead of taking Inspiration, I would run Spawning, and bring Pain and Bloodsong. Then, the build is now independant. Attuned was Songkai would replace Mantra of Recall.

[dfscott]

It looks very promising, thank you for this concept! The weapons will just have to be tested when the game comes out to see its full effect. Ancestor's Rage is an excellent skill, and I think it will be a staple in any Channeling magic builds. I have one suggestion though, being that for channeled strike, you are missing an item to hold. Mighty was Vorizun might help you in terms of armor and energy management (+20 energy).

Ah... I thought "item" was a weapon or an off-hand and specifically not ashes or some such -- guess I had it backwards.

It's just me, but I don't like battery builds. Mostly, I don't like builds which require other builds in PvE. But that's just me. Other than that, it looks like a solid build.).

Well, I think you'll rarely find a situation when you don't have a tank, but point taken. I actually love builds where I'm doing indirect damage -- maybe that's why I like to monk, BM and MM so much...

Instead of taking Inspiration, I would run Spawning, and bring Pain and Bloodsong. Then, the build is now independant. Attuned was Songkai would replace Mantra of Recall.

Due to my misunderstanding, now Attuned is even better -- I'll definitely go that route, although I deliberately avoided spirits due to their stationary nature. During my PvP time, I found them very frustrating, although the ones that don't rely on the aggro circle could be quite useful.

[dfscott]

Here we go with "take 2":

The Weaponsmith
Ritualist/X
Level: 20

Spawning Power: 7 (6+1)
Channeling Magic: 16 (12+4)
Communing: 12 (11+1)

Brutal Weapon (Communing)
Give target ally a Brutal Weapon for 17 seconds. The bearer's weapon strikes for +13 damage as long as the bearer is under no Enchantments.
Energy:10 Cast:1 Recharge:15

Splinter Weapon (Channeling Magic)
For 63 seconds, target ally has a Splinter Weapon. Target ally's next successful attack deals 53 damage to all adjacent foes.
Energy:10 Cast:1 Recharge:10

Wailing Weapon (Channeling Magic)
For 11 seconds, target ally has a Wailing Weapon. Whenever the Wailing Weapon strikes an attacking foe, that foe is interrupted.
Energy:10 Cast:1 Recharge:30

Ancestors' Rage (Channeling Magic)
All foes adjacent to target ally are struck for 106 lightning damage.
Energy:5 Cast:2 Recharge:8

Channeled Strike (Channeling Magic)
Target foe is struck for 101 lightning damage. That foe takes an additional 37 lightning damage if you are holding an item.
Energy:10 Cast:2 Recharge:12

Shelter (Communing)
Create a level 8 spirit. Allies within its range cannot lose more than 10% maximum Health from a single attack. When this spirit prevents damage, it loses 36 Health. This spirit lasts 54 seconds.
Energy:10 Cast:5 Recharge:60

Attuned Was Songkai [Elite] (Spawning Power)
Hold Songkai's ashes for up to 45 seconds. While you hold her ashes, your spells cost 26% less Energy to cast.
Energy:10 Cast:2 Recharge:60

Flesh of my Flesh (Restoration Magic)
Lose half of your Health. Resurrect target ally with your current Health and 6% Energy.
Energy:5 Cast:5 Recharge:0

As Artemis suggested I went with Spawning Power and Attuned was Songkai. I added Shelter, since it's a nice buffer for the team (being the support player that I am) and I felt like I had to have a least one spirit if I was going to use Spawing Power.

I put Spawning Power at 7, since I'm assuming that the spell works like Expertise, and the energy costs round. If that's the case, the breakpoints for the energy 10 spells (almost all mine are) are 1, 4, 7, 11, 14, 17.

As an alternative, I could dump Communing completely for Restoration and swap out Brutal for Nightmare and Shelter for Mend Body and Soul or Recuperation, but I don't like this nearly as much.

[Geishe]

Thats looking well. But to tell you the truth, I don't like shelter, especially since you will be moving a lot. With your weapon spells, you are expecting to be able to hit fast and hard with Splinter Weapon to spread the damage. If you are focusing on staying in one spot and supporting, I suggest you take Spirit Burn or Essence Strike for Independent damage and making Shelter a tad more useful.

Attuned was Songkai is amazing, it really is. The only downfall is that, you HAVE to be Ritualist to use it effectively. Well, better for us, Ritualist-Enthusiasts!

[dfscott]

I have to admit that I tend to agree with you about Shelter -- it's passive, situational, and stationary -- that's a lot of cons. I think I may go back to one of my original skills that I took out: Spirit Rift. It's slow (5 seconds), but it's sort of like an AoE Wastrel's Worry that you can't stop.

I think this is going to be my final build until I get a change to try some things -- just over two weeks to go!

[Xunlai Agent]

Looks like quite a neat build: I do agree with Artemis that playing "battery" builds isn't everyone's idea of fun but when played well they can be quite effective. I can't see any huge ground breaking flaws with your build. However your only spawning power is a skill for energy management so this build might work with a different primary if you want it to.

OffTopic:
I like the "Flesh of My Flesh" skill maybe that will make the rezmer build after realease. So abuseable during BWE to res through Frozen Soil :grin:

[Artemis Shadowhawk]

Here's the build I would run:

Attuned was Songkai
Nightmare Weapon
Splinter Weapon
Brutal Weapon
Channeled Strike
Pain
Blood Song
Flesh of my Flesh

[Defiled Immortal]

I have to admit that I tend to agree with you about Shelter -- it's passive, situational, and stationary -- that's a lot of cons. I think I may go back to one of my original skills that I took out: Spirit Rift. It's slow (5 seconds), but it's sort of like an AoE Wastrel's Worry that you can't stop.

I think this is going to be my final build until I get a change to try some things -- just over two weeks to go!
IMO.... if you go rit buffer... which your wepon smith is... you go all the way... which means drop shelter... check out guided wepon... might be kinda useful no?

if your gona bring shelter.... take a 2nd ritualist for a spirit spam... and use somthing that will benifit you (#of spirits in area * x much damage to the enemy... forgot the spell)

[Erasculio]

Spirit Rift. It's slow (5 seconds), but it's sort of like an AoE Wastrel's Worry that you can't stop.

It's more like Lightning Surge - cast it, and then hit the enemies with Ancestor's Rage right when Spirit Rift would hit. It means you can do a large amount of damage in one second.

Erasculio

[dfscott]

Ok, one more time (and I've decided to rename the build to "The Caddy" :grin: )

Spawning Power: 7 (6+1)
Channeling Magic: 16 (12+4)
Communing: 12 (11+1)
Restoration Magic: 3 (2+1)

Nightmare Weapon (Channeling Magic)
Brutal Weapon (Communing)
Splinter Weapon (Channeling Magic)
Wailing Weapon (Channeling Magic)
Ancestors' Rage (Channeling Magic)
Channeled Strike (Channeling Magic)
Attuned Was Songkai [Elite] (Spawning Power)
Flesh of my Flesh (Restoration Magic)

BTW, Artemis -- are you running the spirits because you were planning on casting the weapon skills on them? I thought that spirits couldn't be affected by skills that target allies -- are binding rituals different?

[Artemis Shadowhawk]

BTW, Artemis -- are you running the spirits because you were planning on casting the weapon skills on them? I thought that spirits couldn't be affected by skills that target allies -- are binding rituals different?I was under the impression that they couldnt be affected by Enchantments and Hexes; however, weapon spells worked as they are technically neither. If anyone knows, that'd be helpful.

[Lady Lozza]

lol, I've actually got a build like this, mind you I didn't worry about energy management all that much. It isn't something I worry about till I've tried it and found energy lacking :)

[dfscott]

I was under the impression that they couldnt be affected by Enchantments and Hexes; however, weapon spells worked as they are technically neither. If anyone knows, that'd be helpful.

FWIW, I got my info from GuildWiki:

"Skills that target allies can be casted on Spirits, but will have no effect. "

http://www.guildwiki.org/wiki/Spirit

[dfscott]

Ok, I'm going to stop saying, "this is my final build before the preview." :rolleyes:
In looking over this build again, I think I've found a big hole in one of the skills: Brutal Weapon. I was originally thinking about wammo enchantments such as mending, but as I was playing my prot monk last night, I realized that I was spamming enchants all over our tank. So I think that about 80% of the time, Brutal Weapon will be doing nothing. And since it's my only communing skills, I think I'm taking it out.

So now I'm leaning towards something like:

Rt/Me

Channeling Magic: 16 (12+4)
Inspiration Magic: 10
Restoration Magic: 9 (8+1)

Nightmare Weapon (Channeling Magic)
Splinter Weapon (Channeling Magic)
Wailing Weapon (Channeling Magic)
Ancestors' Rage (Channeling Magic)
Spirit Rift (Channeling Magic)
Generous was Tsungrai (Restoration Magic)
Sacrifice 10% Health. Hold Tsungrai's ashes for up to 42 seconds and gain +104 maximum Health. When you drop his ashes you gain 104 Health.
Mantra of Recall [Elite] (Inspiration Magic)
Flesh of my Flesh (Restoration Magic)

MoR is returning 23 energy at Insp 10, and FomF rezzes with 17% energy. While not as energy efficient as the Attuned build, it has the advantage of being self-sufficient (per Artemis' point) since you can equip your own weapons (you'll also be able to enjoy any benefits of off hand items). Tsungrai also provides some fairly cheap self-heal. Resilient gives you the item to hold for Channeled Strike as well as some self-heal. I'm still not 100% happy with it, but this is better, I think. :undecided:

As a sidebar, I found a nasty spike combo involving Cruel was Daoshen with Channeled Strike and Spirit Rift (Erasculio had the main idea -- this just builds on it). You just have to be willing to get up close and personal:

Cast Cruel was Daoshen, run up to "nearby" range of target foe, cast Spirit Rift, wait one second, cast Channeled Strike, quickly drop ashes. This spikes your target for almost 400 points of damage! (122+101+37+136=396) Ofc, you have to get in range, get them to stand there for 5 seconds, and not get killed/interrupted, (not to mention the 40 energy cost -- better have BiP on you!) so it's probably not really useable except in certain situations such when you have a gear/keg/book tank holding aggro, but it's a still pretty nice spike on paper and could be fun on bosses. :grin:

BTW, Artemis, I think Guildwiki might be wrong -- I've seen a couple of other threads in this very forum that talk about casting weapon skills on spirits...

Edit: Bah! After all this I just read the FAQ that talks about this. Weapon skills do work on spirits and appear to ignore armor, just as spirit damage does. I think it's time to scrap all this and go for a spirit build -- I was about halfway through one anyways...

[arredondo]

Cast Cruel was Daoshen, run up to "nearby" range of target foe, cast Spirit Rift, wait one second, cast Channeled Strike, quickly drop ashes. This spikes your target for almost 400 points of damage! (122+101+37+136=396) Ofc, you have to get in range, get them to stand there for 5 seconds, and not get killed/interrupted, (not to mention the 40 energy cost -- better have BiP on you!) so it's probably not really useable except in certain situations such when you have a gear/keg/book tank holding aggro, but it's a still pretty nice spike on paper and could be fun on bosses. :grin:


That looks intriguing. Keep in mind that because of the .75 aftercast, you don't need to wait 1 second to throw out Channeled Strike. After you start holding the ashes, simply cast Spirit Rift-->Channled Strike whenever your target is in position for the damage. As for immoblizing them to get it to work, how about this skill from the Earth Elementalist:

Iron Mist (Hex Spell) For 5..15 [18] seconds, target foe moves 90% slower than normal. That foe gains immunity to damage from all sources except lightning. 10E/2C/30R

You only need 7 seconds worth to cast your spike, so high Earth magic points won't be necessary. With a 90% movement reduction, they have 5 seconds to get out of range before getting zapped. Heh, 5s is a lot if they are focused on moving, so there's no guarantee that this gives you free damage (but worth a shot). In any case, two Rits on an unassisted target will make him toast if they stand on opposite sides of him.

After regaining the energy for casting CwD, you'll need 35E to cast the rest. Is that possible for a Ritualist when their weapon and focus are put away holding ashes? I believe the Mesmer with Enchanted armor gets around 37 to use when carrying the flag. Anyway, it's impressive damage despite the fact you can do it only once every 45 seconds. Spirit Rift even has a leg up on Lightning Surge in that it isn't a Hex and is AoE... wow.

[dfscott]

After regaining the energy for casting CwD, you'll need 35E to cast the rest. Is that possible for a Ritualist when their weapon and focus are put away holding ashes? I believe the Mesmer with Enchanted armor gets around 37 to use when carrying the flag. Anyway, it's impressive damage despite the fact you can do it only once every 45 seconds. Spirit Rift even has a leg up on Lightning Surge in that it isn't a Hex and is AoE... wow.

I'm a big fan of Mantra of Recall for that reason -- it allows you to play some pretty interesting games with your energy. I was initially bummed when OOB was nerfed, but my monk can actually do as well if not better now with MoR. I think if you time it right, the 20+ extra energy should be enough. I'm not sure how practical it'll be, but it'll definitely be something I might try over the preview weekend (hmmm... anyone know if we'll have access to elites if we create a new account?).

[Erasculio]

(hmmm... anyone know if we'll have access to elites if we create a new account?).
If I understood the last Gaile Talk, we'll begin with 20 skills of our primary profession, and get more 20 of a secondary profession when we choose one...No idea if we'll be able to get more skills than those, or if we'll be limited with these ones. But for Elites, I have the feeling we won't be able to get more than what we begin with - unless they offer them for sale, or there's a nearby boss with the one we want.

Erasculio

[Goldfish God]

I know this might have been said before, but with the focus being on Weapon Spells I would expect Weilder's Boon to be included since it's a heal related to weapon spells.

Wielder's Boon
Restoration Spell. Heal target ally for 15-51 points. If that ally is under the effects of a Weapon Spell, Wielder's Boon heals for an additional 10-34 Health.
Cost: 5. Cast: 1. Reload: 4

I'm not to sure how good this runs in comparison to other heals, so maybe nobody included it 'cause it's rubbish. :laugh:

[dfscott]

I know this might have been said before, but with the focus being on Weapon Spells I would expect Weilder's Boon to be included since it's a heal related to weapon spells.

Wielder's Boon
Restoration Spell. Heal target ally for 15-51 points. If that ally is under the effects of a Weapon Spell, Wielder's Boon heals for an additional 10-34 Health.
Cost: 5. Cast: 1. Reload: 4

I'm not to sure how good this runs in comparison to other heals, so maybe nobody included it 'cause it's rubbish. :laugh:

I actually played around with it a bit, since as you said, it fits the theme, but I had a really hard time putting it in. If I wanted healing, I'd probably go with a monk secondary and then I'd be better off with Orison.

[arredondo]

I'm a big fan of Mantra of Recall for that reason -- it allows you to play some pretty interesting games with your energy. I was initially bummed when OOB was nerfed, but my monk can actually do as well if not better now with MoR. I think if you time it right, the 20+ extra energy should be enough. I'm not sure how practical it'll be, but it'll definitely be something I might try over the preview weekend (hmmm... anyone know if we'll have access to elites if we create a new account?).

Well, as a RiEl, you can't use Mantra of Recall. But if you coordinate with teammates, sure, that'll work well.

[dfscott]

Well, as a RiEl, you can't use Mantra of Recall. But if you coordinate with teammates, sure, that'll work well.

Yeah, good point. Maybe we've actually found a good place for Ethereal Burden?

Ethereal Burden (Illusion Magic)
For 10 seconds, target foe moves 50% slower. When Ethereal Burden ends, you gain 10-20 Energy.
Energy:15 Cast:3 Recharge:45

Combines MoR and Iron Mist. Too bad it does both of them poorly. Ethereal Burden still sucks.

[Artemis Shadowhawk]

Yeah, good point. Maybe we've actually found a good place for Ethereal Burden?

Ethereal Burden (Illusion Magic)
For 10 seconds, target foe moves 50% slower. When Ethereal Burden ends, you gain 10-20 Energy.
Energy:15 Cast:3 Recharge:45

Combines MoR and Iron Mist. Too bad it does both of them poorly. Ethereal Burden still sucks.Lol. I can just visualize your entire thought pattern here. Oh this might work. Let's take a look. Ah, it doesn't work.