An Updated Guide to Playing Ritualist

Guide to Playing Ritualist

Preface:

The aim of this guide is to teach newer players the ins and outs of the Ritualist profession. While Cebe's guide is extremely well crafted and informative, it is unfortunately outdated, so a new guide was necessary. Please leave feedback below so I can make amendments.

Syllabus:OverviewRitualist Specific Skills Attributes Elite Skills PvE Skills Secondary Profession Options Equipment OptionsWeapons Armor Tactics Build ExamplesSoS Spirit Spammer Soul Twisting Protection Restoration Ala Carte Destructive Was Glaive Caster Spirit's Daggers Spirit's Spear Explosive Bomber
Overview:
Quote: Originally Posted by Arena Net Official Description Ritualists channel otherworldly energies that summon allies from the void. Mystic binding rituals bend those allies to the Ritualist's will. Ritualists hood their eyes to commune with spirits that grant great power and protection. The energy they channel drives Ritualist skills, which can enhance the deadliness of an ally's weapon and wreak havoc on an enemy's Health. The Ritualist can also use the remains of the dead to defend the living, not by reanimating corpses as a Necromancer would, but through the ritual use of urns and ashes. Where the Ranger lives as one with the spirit world, the Ritualist can and will be its master. From dealing raw damage through the calling of spirits, awesome electrifying channeling spells and even the clashing of blades, to summoning the collective will of their ancestors to protect and heal allies, the Ritualist brings an amount of versatility that no other profession can match. Under the right circumstances, a skilled Ritualist can dole out damage better than an Elementalist and can protect and heal allies as well as a Monk.

A Ritualist's performance on the battlefield is often contingent on creating and manipulating effects and triggers. Initially, many Ritualist abilities have a modest level of power, but when certain conditions are met, these skills turn into potent tools. For example, the Restoration spell Mend Body and Soul heals an ally for a decent amount and receives condition removal benefits if spirits are within earshot of the caster. Because of their reliance on triggers to work effectively, Ritualists shine when grouped with their own.


Ritualist Specific Skills:

Introduced in Guild Wars: Factions, Ritualists brought three unique skill types to the game.

Binding Rituals: Binding Rituals are similar to the Ranger's Nature Rituals, but instead of producing a global effect, only function on allies or enemies. Binding Rituals deliver direct damage, healing, protection and utility. While these summons are powerful, they are also somewhat fragile; an adept Ritualist carefully gauges enemy positions before deploying them. While their fragility may be disconcerting, Binding Rituals are thankfully immune to hexes and all conditions besides burning. Conversely, many buffing skills (enchantments, wards, weapon spells) will not work on spirits, nor will direct healing. Also note that only one type of Binding Ritual may be active for each party; when a new one is summoned, the previous spirit is destroyed. Attack rituals deal armor-ignoring ranged damage, which can be rendered useless against blocking abilities.

Weapon Spells: Like Binding Rituals, Weapon Spells offer a lot of different effects. Unlike enchantments, these spells cannot be removed by an enemy, though only one Weapon Spell may be active on one character at a time. Some weapon spells end after a certain number of attacks, while others have a set duration.

Item Spells: Activating an Item Spell places a bundle in the user's hands, which grants a bonus when held and/or an effect when dropped. Similar to Weapon Spells, Item Spells cannot be removed by an enemy and unlike "natural" bundles, they do not reduce movement speed. Weapon swapping and shadow stepping will drop a bundle. Because the bundle "replaces" weapons, note that all weapon modifications are nullified. "Pre-casting" an Item Spell allows two bundles to be dropped in quick succession.


Attributes:

Like most professions in Guild Wars, Ritualists own four attributes.

Spawning Power (Primary):

Quote: Originally Posted by In-game description For each rank of Spawning Power you have, creatures you create (or animate) have 4% more Health, and weapon Spells you cast last 4% longer. Some Ritualist skills, especially those related to Spirit creatures, become more effective with higher Spawning Power. As mentioned above, Spawning Power is primarily used when a Ritualist works with spirits or weapon spells. Note that "creatures" refers to all spirits, Necromancer minions and summons (Ice Imp, Ebon Vanguard Assassin, etc.), though the health boost will not work on summons created via a summoning stone. It is also important to understand that many Weapon Spells end after a certain amount of attacks or hits, thus mitigating Spawning Power's duration bonus. Although this attribute seems weaker than other professions' primaries, there's a nice catch: Unlike most professions, Ritualists are not dependent on their primary to play effectively, which frees up points for other attributes.

Channeling Magic:

Quote: Originally Posted by In-game description No inherent effect. Many Ritualist skills, especially those related to lightning damage and Energy, become more effective with higher Channeling Magic. Concentrating on Channeling Magic allows the Ritualist to dish out spell-type damage and other offensive effects. A vast majority of these spells (specifically Spirit Rift) deliver damage lightning-type damage spikes, but unlike Air Magic, they do not carry an inherent armor penetration bonus. Channeling Magic is home to the armor-ignoring Ancestor's Rage, the mighty Splinter Weapon and a great source of energy recovery, Spirit Siphon. Most spirit spammers focus on Channeling because it offers the elite Signet of Spirits, Bloodsong and Painful Bond.

Communing:

Quote: Originally Posted by In-game description No inherent effect. Many Ritualist skills, especially those related to summoning Spirits, become more effective with higher Communing. Communing offers both offensive and defensive effects along with a slew of miscellaneous options. Key skills in this line are Armor of Unfeeling, (adds longevity to the summoner's rituals), Earthbind, (bypasses knockdown immunity) and Union, Displacement and Shelter, a stalwart combination that provides ample protection.

Restoration Magic:

Quote: Originally Posted by In-game description No inherent effect. Many Ritualist skills, especially those related to healing, life-stealing, and defense, become more effective with higher Restoration Magic. This is where the Ritualist's fantastic healing powers come into play. As mentioned in the overview, Restoration is best used when certain requirements are met. Beyond direct healing abilities, Restoration offers a few protective options, such as Weapon of Warding and Resilient Weapon. Two of the Ritualist's four "hard rezes", Flesh of My Flesh and Death Pact Signet, are frequently equipped due to their relatively low activation times.


Elite Skills:
Some elite skill options to consider:

Spawning Power:
Attuned Was Songkai: An item spell that drastically reduces the cost of all spells and Binding Rituals. Soul Twisting: Offers a flat cost reduction and instant recharge on Binding Rituals. This skill is best used in conjunction with Union, Displacement and Shelter to deliver massive maintainable protection. Spirit Channeling: An enchantment that grants energy regeneration and a flat energy boost if a spirit is in earshot. Spirit's Strength: The keystone of martial Ritualist builds, which shall be discussed later in this guide. Spirit's Strength is an enchantment that boosts martial damage when the user is under a Weapon Spell.
Channeling Magic:
Destructive Was Glaive: A potent Item Spell that adds armor penetration to Ritualist spells when held and unleashes a forceful burst of lightning damage when dropped. This ability is best combined with Spirit Rift and is commonly used in speed clear teams. Grasping Was Kuurong: Delivers AoE knockdown and armor-ignoring damage when dropped. Its duration extends its recharge, so it can be easily pre-casted. Signet of Spirits: Arguably the most popular Ritualist elite, Signet of Spirit invokes three spirits to fight for your side. When combined with other offensive rituals, this skill can be used to farm many areas of the game.
Communing:
Signet of Ghostly Might: Adds a damage boost and IAS (increased attack speed) effect to all your summoned spirits. This skill is often used in team compositions that rely on many attack spirits. Wanderlust: Knocks down stationary foes. Each time the knockdown effect triggers, the spirit loses health. Weapon of Quickening: Reduces the recharge rate of all spells and Binding Rituals.
Restoration Magic:
Spirit Light Weapon: Confers a heal over time effect with addition healing if a spirit is within earshot of the recipient. Vengeful Was Khanhei: Steals life from attacking foes. This skill is not very popular in general play, but is used in the "330 Ritualist" farming build. Weapon of Remedy: Steals health and removes one condition the next time the recipient is damage. Xinrae's Weapon: Steals health the next time the recipient is damaged. This damage can only deal up to 5% of the defender's maximum health.

PvE Skills:

Ritualists have two PvE skills tied to their profession.
Summon Spirits: Kurzick/Luxon skill. Teleports all the user's spirits to his or her location; these spirits are healed based on the user's allegiance rank. Vampirism: Sunspear skill. Vampirism is an attack spirit that steals health and heals its summoner. Because of its relatively high level and self-healing capabilities, Vampirism makes an excellent "tank" when placed before a group of spirits. This skill's duration, damage, level and healing intensity are dependent on Sunpear rank.
While not specifically linked to the profession, the following PvE skills benefit from Spawning Power:
Ebon Vanguard Assassin Support Great Dwarf Weapon Summon Ice Imp Summon Mursaat Summon Naga Shaman Summon Ruby Djinn Winds

Secondary Professions:
Warrior: Attack skills can be combined with Spirit's Strength.

Ranger: Coupled with Splinter Weapon, Barrage can be a deadly force against balled up foes.

Monk: Because Ritualists lack hex removal, Monk is a popular secondary in Restoration builds. With a high allegiance rank and an enchanting mod, the Kuzick/Luxon skill Selfless Spirit can be a great source of energy management.

Necromancer: Spawning Power boosts minion max health and a few skills in that attribute line add damage or utility when a creature is created.

Mesmer: Typically used for Mantra stances in areas where specific types of damage are hazardous. Arcane Echo is also helpful for Ritualists who specialize in Channeling spells.

Elementalist: Attuned Was Songkai can mitigate the large cost that many Elementalist spells require. The PvE skill Intensity can be used to extend the range of lightning-type Channeling spells.

Assassin: Spirit's Strength and fast-activating dagger skills can deliver respectable damage. Dash is an excellent unlinked IMS (increased movement speed) skill.

Paragon: Similar to a Spirit's Strength Assassin, but with more defensive options and less offense.

Dervish: Combined with a scythe, Spirit's Strength may allow decent damage. *Needs Testing*

--Continued in Part 2--

Equipment Options:
Considered a caster class, the Ritualist's default armor offers 60 AR (max), 4 pips of energy regeneration and 10 bonus energy.

Weapons:
Unless you are running a Spirit's Strength or Splinter Barrage build, you will want to utilize some type of caster weapon. The debate over staves versus wands and foci is as old as the game itself; both options deliver distinct advantages. Should you decide to focus on one particular casting line, then a wand and focus would be a better choice than a staff; conversely, a staff is usually better when working with multiple attributes. Keep in mind that Binding Rituals are not considered spells and therefore do not receive HCT (half cast time) and HRT (half recharge time) bonuses. If your build is largely composed of spirits, then +energy mods is an optimal choice.

In addition to a main staff or wand and focus, it is also helpful to carry a longbow or flatbow for pulling, a defensive set (+30hp martial weapon and +30hp shield) and a high energy set (+30 energy, -2 energy regeneration).

Marty Silverblade adds:

Quote: Originally Posted by Marty Silverblade *Spirit Spammers are best off with a spear+shield. As you mention, HCT/HRT mods are useless for them, and +health and +energy aren't exclusive to caster weapons. A Spirit Spammer could have:

60AL base
+15AL insignia
+5AL spear
+8/16AL shield
+10AL/-2 damage shield

Which is 88/96AL: Warrior-ish levels of armor. Physical damage triggers are nice too when you're in a physway team. Armor:
Ritualists are "squishy" characters and have meager natural defensive options. Their profession-specific insignias offer conditional boosts to AR:
Shaman's Insignia gives +5 bonus AR while a spirit is deployed, another +5 with two spirits and a third +5 with three spirits. This effect is cumulative, giving the Ritualist +15 AR when he or she controls three spirits. Ghost Forge Insignia grants +15 bonus AR on the piece it is affixed so long as the character is under the effects of a Weapon Spell. This is a popular choice in Spirit's Strength builds.

Mystic's Insignia adds +15 bonus AR while activating skills. Because most Ritualist skills have short casting times, this insignia has little practical value.
Generic insignias are often favored above profession-specific types because their bonuses are easily met. Like staves vs wands and foci, the discourse between health and armor is still waged to this day, though health is much more useful against degenerative and armor-ignoring damage. Radiant insignias and runes of attunement are helpful, but it's important to not mistake a high energy pool for proper energy management (which the Ritualist excels at). In this author's opinion, careful positioning is more important than selecting a specific type of defense.

Tactics:
Being a jack-of-all-trades profession affords the Ritualist a great degree of flexibility in choosing battle tactics. Here are some general tips for more popular styles of play:

Positioning is Key - Summon Spirits allows you some leeway with this rule, though it's best not to depend on one skill for this purpose. When playing a protective or healing build, keep your spirits near your back-line; unless a martial class overextends, the spirits' effects should reach all party members. Offensive spirits can be placed at a high altitude, allowing them to pelt foes, or can be aligned to block enemies. Take advantage of your surroundings and wall off choke points with offensive spirits to prevent melee enemies from reaching your more delicate allies. Combine the Communing skill Armor of Unfeeling with a few Binding Rituals to soak up damage.

Energy Management - Spawning Power doesn't have an inherent form of energy management so the Ritualist must rely on skills to control energy consumption. The Channeling skill Siphon Spirit is a popular choice, especially in spirit spamming groups; Selfless Spirit is a great boon for healers; Spirit Channeling delivers a nice boost to energy regeneration. Should you decide not to equip an energy management skill, a Necromancer Hero or Henchman with Blood Ritual often works well enough.

AoE and Spirits Do Not Mix - Since Binding Rituals are literally chained to the earth, they are highly susceptible to AoE (area-of-effect) damage. Spreading your spirits out or equipping Summon Spirits is the best way to avoid AoE.

Restoration - Resist the urge to over heal your allies. While Restoration spells are cheap, it's best to conserve as much energy as possible. Save your big heals (Spirit Light, Protective Was Kaolai) against spikes and pre-cast defensive Weapon and Item Spells so they will be readily available.

Splinter, Splinter, Splinter! The Channeling Weapon Spell Splinter Weapon is an insanely powerful tool, especially at higher levels in Channeling. This skill allows allies--melee and martial alike--to deliver large amounts of armor-ignoring AoE damage in a short frame of time. The spell is best used on a profession that can attack multiple foes at once (Barrage Ranger, Dervish, etc.).

You Are Still Squishy! - Although there are many defensive options to solidify your character (Prot Spirit, "Save Yourselves!", etc.), you cannot always rely on these effects. When playing as a caster, stay far behind the front lines and if running a Spirit's Strength build, don't overextend.

Thanks for redoing the Ritualist Part -Makai- !

Mine is shorter:
go to ferndale, cap SoS, ...profit!

On a more serious note, good read. I wasn't even aware that SP worked on PvE only summons...

Thanks and keep up the good work!

I was refraining from posting until you had the entire guide up. The damage has been done, so:
Quote: Soul Twisting Protection As someone that uses this over a 2nd monk whenever I'm not using a minionmaster or minionbomber I'd like to point out to readers that Armor of Unfeeling is not optional (before you post a build here) and that heroes can run it fine, albeit with really bad susceptibility to Elemental AOE damage tearing the spirits into pieces since they can't use summon spirits like a player. You can get around that by microing the spirits so they're spread, but ultimately you still have susceptibility to really wide AOEs like Cry of Frustration and Deep Freeze.

The backbone is more or less Soul Twisting @ 12+ Spawning Power. I had one Ritualist that once wanted to run wanderlust instead of Soul Twisting. There's a reason for Soul Twisting, it's to make the spirits on bearable recharge ; else Shelter lasts ~13-16 hits even with Armor of Unfeeling and 13-16 Communing.

Shelter has to be used before Union, or it will be wasting Union (Shelter caps damage, Union reduces that damage...otherwise Union reduces before Shelter caps it).

Quote: Shelter:
16 communing is the breakpoint for lvl 13 Shelter, 15 communing is lvl 12. The difference is 365 vs 395 spirit health and 45 vs 43 damage taken by the spirit. So 16 hits vs 18 hits (under armor of unfeeling) and 74 vs 80 armor.

It's a difference of 4% more health for each rank of spawning, which is +/- 10HP (365vs355 or 395vs385) between 13 spawning and 12.

Displacement:
it takes a fixed 60 damage so lvl 15 spirit @16 and lvl 14 spirit @15 will be 456 vs 426HP which is 1 extra hit. The spirit goes from 86 to 92 armor.

Spawning adds +12HP to the spirit when you pump it to 13 instead of 12, which is <1 hit.

Union:
Same level spirits as shelter. Since it takes 15 damage, it lasts 48 to 52 hits. 12+1+3 Communing, 12+1 Spawning will let you deal with Weakness, since you need 12
Spawning for 3 rituals.

@13 Communing, 12 Spawning; Armor of unfeeling:

*Spirit Spammers are best off with a spear+shield. As you mention, HCT/HRT mods are useless for them, and +health and +energy aren't exclusive to caster weapons. A Spirit Spammer could have:

60AL base
+15AL insignia
+5AL spear
+8/16AL shield
+10AL/-2 damage shield

Which is 88/96AL: Warrior-ish levels of armor. Physical damage triggers are nice too when you're in a physway team.

*Blood Ritual instead of Rit emanagement skills? I know it was just a recommendation but you really shouldn't be using BR. Blood isn't particularly useful (unless it's a physway) and Spirit Siphon/Boon of Creation are preferable to BR anyway.

*Attuned Was Songkai isn't terribly useful to begin with, but using it to fuel big Ele spells? I haven't gone through this guide in any large amount of detail but this advice is very questionable.

*/Me for Mantras and AEcho? Maybe it's a pug thing but neither of these add anything to Rits. I recommend distinguishing between what's fun and what's good/desirable.

*Some builds would be ideal. Perhaps some non-mainstream but still good ones like that Resto one Chthon posted a little while back.

*I'd add a note about developing flexibility in the builds you can run. Don't be one of those idiots spamming 'omg I'm the SoS rit, you change'. Get the required skills for and learn how to play different builds and you'll be end up a much better player.

Quote: Originally Posted by LifeInfusion I was refraining from posting until you had the entire guide up. The damage has been done, so:


As someone that uses this over a 2nd monk whenever I'm not using a minionmaster or minionbomber I'd like to point out to readers that Armor of Unfeeling is not optional (before you post a build here) and that heroes can run it fine, albeit with really bad susceptibility to Elemental AOE damage tearing the spirits into pieces since they can't use summon spirits like a player. You can get around that by microing the spirits so they're spread, but ultimately you still have susceptibility to really wide AOEs like Cry of Frustration and Deep Freeze.

The backbone is more or less Soul Twisting @ 12+ Spawning Power. I had one Ritualist that once wanted to run wanderlust instead of Soul Twisting. There's a reason for Soul Twisting, it's to make the spirits on bearable recharge ; else Shelter lasts ~13-16 hits even with Armor of Unfeeling and 13-16 Communing.

Shelter has to be used before Union, or it will be wasting Union (Shelter caps damage, Union reduces that damage...otherwise Union reduces before Shelter caps it).



12+1+3 Communing, 12+1 Spawning will let you deal with Weakness, since you need 12
Spawning for 3 rituals.

@13 Communing, 12 Spawning; Armor of unfeeling:


http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...15&postcount=6


Special Case: DOA Frostway with 2 rituals. 14 Communing, 11 Spawning Power
ST, Union, Shelter, Summon Spirits ... rest not applicable except to DoA

Special Case 2: DOA Frostway , Mallyx. 14 Communing, 12 Spawning Power
ST, Union Shelter, Dissonance, Mend Body & Soul (removes 3 conditions), Convert Hexes, Boon of Creation
OAOjAyhDJPOzLu08lgNfcWvMH

* Key thing to note here is that Dissonance is more or less unusable without a recharge reduction skill like ST or Ritual Lord , but with Ritual Lord you can't pay for the 25 energy easily.

Other binding ritual skills for ST (Shelter, Union, Displacement, Dissonance are the main 4):
* Agony (of dubious use)
* Earthbind (niche)

Rejuvenation is better off with Ritual Lord. Thanks for contributing this! I'll add snippets of it to the build list.

Quote: Originally Posted by Marty Silverblade *Spirit Spammers are best off with a spear+shield. As you mention, HCT/HRT mods are useless for them, and +health and +energy aren't exclusive to caster weapons. A Spirit Spammer could have:

60AL base
+15AL insignia
+5AL spear
+8/16AL shield
+10AL/-2 damage shield

Which is 88/96AL: Warrior-ish levels of armor. Physical damage triggers are nice too when you're in a physway team. Added this to the guide.

Quote: Originally Posted by Marty Silverblade
*Blood Ritual instead of Rit emanagement skills? I know it was just a recommendation but you really shouldn't be using BR. Blood isn't particularly useful (unless it's a physway) and Spirit Siphon/Boon of Creation are preferable to BR anyway.
I usually stick BR and Blood Bond on my N/Rt to provide additional support. In my usual spirit spamming build, I swap energy management for a PvE skill.

Quote: Originally Posted by Marty Silverblade
*Attuned Was Songkai isn't terribly useful to begin with, but using it to fuel big Ele spells? I haven't gone through this guide in any large amount of detail but this advice is very questionable.
Understandable, but I want to inspire newer players to investigate different play options.

I see Splinter Weapon mentioned only twice on this page. Anything less than 10 times is insufficient, and 20 times would be optimal based on the metrics I am using.

Quote: Originally Posted by Kunder

I see Splinter Weapon mentioned only twice on this page. Anything less than 10 times is insufficient, and 20 times would be optimal based on the metrics I am using. It should be mandatory on a SoS build but people would rather slap a 20-25 damage spirit on their bar and devote points in 10-13 communing.

Quote: Originally Posted by Kunder

I see Splinter Weapon mentioned only twice on this page. Anything less than 10 times is insufficient, and 20 times would be optimal based on the metrics I am using. Done.

Sorry for the delay in updates, people. Real life has been kind of hectic lately and admittedly it's difficult to resist the siren song that is yesterday's update. More to come later tonight and tomorrow.

Thank you Makai for taking the time to write this guide for us. I have stickied the thread so it will remain at the top of the forum.

CB

Ack...sorry for the lack of updates, people. Real life has been extremely hectic lately. I will try my best to provide builds this weekend. Thank you for your patience.