Glad to hear this build still has fans, Sante! Feel free to poke me in-game or post questions in this thread.
Some advice: Don't bother with Kamadan, unless you're just doing it to get the Heroes, Spirit's Gift, and Putrid Flesh. Instead, hop from Kaineng Center to Eye of the North. One of the biggest complaints of the build is the need to micro-manage your minions with Death Nova. This has been 150% remedied by Putrid Bile. Once you have Putrid Bile, feel free to play any of the campaigns in any order. If you feel Death Nova MUST be a part of your build, then give it to a Necro Hero when you get one in NF or EOTN.
The New Minion Bomber
Bargamer
Bob Grunter
i did this when i made my first ritualist, i regret deleting him it was very fun
Bargamer
Sante Update: I ran him to EOTN so he could get Putrid Bile. Was easy. Now he doesn't have to bother with Poisonous mods, just an Enchanting Staff and a Death staff or wand/focus. I'm so nice. XD
@Bob: Make another one?
@Bob: Make another one?
-Makai-
Just an update to my status and a brief summary of why I enjoy the build, along with tactics used, etc.:
So far I've greatly been enjoying this build. In an age of cookie-cutter Ursanry, it feels nice to run a bar that employs the original concepts of Guild Wars: creativity, skill and synergy. Ritualist has been my favorite class for several months because of its uniquely weird visual style and excellent synergy between most of its skills. As I previously mentioned, I grew tired of the usual Channeling/Resto hybrid and wanted to try something else. But where was I to go? Communing has been nerfed to oblivion and Spirit's Strength builds, while powerful, have far too many counters. I read your guide long ago, but didn't put much stock into it--I needed a new way to look at it...a fresh start. And so, a couple days ago, I created a new Ritualist for the sheer purpose of trying this build.
I haven't touched another character since.
I love how this build uses the offense/defense dichotomy of the Ritualist, but in a much different way. [Spirit's Gift] is amazing regardless of corpse position; both front and back liners can benefit from it. And, when monsters die near my person, gaining 200hp + 12 energy is a great feeling; losing 2 conditions is just icing on the cake. While [Explosive Growth] is probably the crux of this build, I have slight reservations about it (see below).
My current bar is as follows:
[Animate Bone Minions][Jagged Bones][Putrid Bile][Necrosis][Putrid Flesh][Explosive Growth][Boon of Creation][Spirit's Gift]
[Spirit's Gift] shall never leave this bar. Once I acquire a higher Asuran rank, I will probably replace [Necrosis] with [Pain Inverter], [Mindbender], or an Asuran summon. I never use [Taste of Death] unless I'm fighting human opponents; I find the healing gain from [Boon of Creation] and [Spirit's Gift] to be more than adequate and adjacent AoE disease + poison is pretty sick. I originally used [Death Nova], but passed it on to Olias as per your recommendation. A shame I can't see those yellow numbers, but the tracking/clicking became too much to bear.
I've changed the equipment setup to suit my personal tastes. Instead of using the HCT Wand, I am using an HCR. Because [jagged bones] has a ridiculously long recharge time, I find it helps a great deal. With this build, the only spell that takes long to cast is [animate bone minions], which can be eventually rectified with [Mindbender]. Given the situation, I'll use a Mursaat Staff with the same stats as Droknar's Spawning Staff. I equip the staff before a battle to maintain [explosive growth], [spirit's gift] and [boon of creation], then swap to the wand/focus during the fight.
My current armor setup:
Head: Blessed of Major Spawning Power
Torso: Blessed of Minor Vigor
Hands: Radiant of Attunement
Legs: Blessed of Attunement
Feet: Radiant of Attunement
I've never been a fan of superiors and I find the boost between 15 and 16 Spawning Power to be somewhat minimal. My current setup allows for 55 energy, which I believe is fair enough, especially when [Boon of Creation] comes into play.
Did I mention I love this build?
That being said, I've run into a couple problems with it, though these are largely based on the game's mechanics, not your suggestions.
[Explosive Growth] seems to be a wild card. It either works incredibly well or is dismally unnoticeable. Then again, it's hard to keep track of yellow numbers with blues constantly flying all over the place.
Near complete reliance on [Animate Bone Minions] means that if it is interrupted, the entire build is seemingly shut down. I realize that by using an HCR instead of an HCT, I leave myself a little more susceptible to interruption, but because of the AI's insane reflexes, this point is somewhat moot. Needless to say, I keep to the back of the party as much as possible.
Well, I guess this summary was less than brief.
Oh, and this was made for Minion Bombers. Time to start hoarding bones.
So far I've greatly been enjoying this build. In an age of cookie-cutter Ursanry, it feels nice to run a bar that employs the original concepts of Guild Wars: creativity, skill and synergy. Ritualist has been my favorite class for several months because of its uniquely weird visual style and excellent synergy between most of its skills. As I previously mentioned, I grew tired of the usual Channeling/Resto hybrid and wanted to try something else. But where was I to go? Communing has been nerfed to oblivion and Spirit's Strength builds, while powerful, have far too many counters. I read your guide long ago, but didn't put much stock into it--I needed a new way to look at it...a fresh start. And so, a couple days ago, I created a new Ritualist for the sheer purpose of trying this build.
I haven't touched another character since.
I love how this build uses the offense/defense dichotomy of the Ritualist, but in a much different way. [Spirit's Gift] is amazing regardless of corpse position; both front and back liners can benefit from it. And, when monsters die near my person, gaining 200hp + 12 energy is a great feeling; losing 2 conditions is just icing on the cake. While [Explosive Growth] is probably the crux of this build, I have slight reservations about it (see below).
My current bar is as follows:
[Animate Bone Minions][Jagged Bones][Putrid Bile][Necrosis][Putrid Flesh][Explosive Growth][Boon of Creation][Spirit's Gift]
[Spirit's Gift] shall never leave this bar. Once I acquire a higher Asuran rank, I will probably replace [Necrosis] with [Pain Inverter], [Mindbender], or an Asuran summon. I never use [Taste of Death] unless I'm fighting human opponents; I find the healing gain from [Boon of Creation] and [Spirit's Gift] to be more than adequate and adjacent AoE disease + poison is pretty sick. I originally used [Death Nova], but passed it on to Olias as per your recommendation. A shame I can't see those yellow numbers, but the tracking/clicking became too much to bear.
I've changed the equipment setup to suit my personal tastes. Instead of using the HCT Wand, I am using an HCR. Because [jagged bones] has a ridiculously long recharge time, I find it helps a great deal. With this build, the only spell that takes long to cast is [animate bone minions], which can be eventually rectified with [Mindbender]. Given the situation, I'll use a Mursaat Staff with the same stats as Droknar's Spawning Staff. I equip the staff before a battle to maintain [explosive growth], [spirit's gift] and [boon of creation], then swap to the wand/focus during the fight.
My current armor setup:
Head: Blessed of Major Spawning Power
Torso: Blessed of Minor Vigor
Hands: Radiant of Attunement
Legs: Blessed of Attunement
Feet: Radiant of Attunement
I've never been a fan of superiors and I find the boost between 15 and 16 Spawning Power to be somewhat minimal. My current setup allows for 55 energy, which I believe is fair enough, especially when [Boon of Creation] comes into play.
Did I mention I love this build?
That being said, I've run into a couple problems with it, though these are largely based on the game's mechanics, not your suggestions.
[Explosive Growth] seems to be a wild card. It either works incredibly well or is dismally unnoticeable. Then again, it's hard to keep track of yellow numbers with blues constantly flying all over the place.
Near complete reliance on [Animate Bone Minions] means that if it is interrupted, the entire build is seemingly shut down. I realize that by using an HCR instead of an HCT, I leave myself a little more susceptible to interruption, but because of the AI's insane reflexes, this point is somewhat moot. Needless to say, I keep to the back of the party as much as possible.
Well, I guess this summary was less than brief.
Oh, and this was made for Minion Bombers. Time to start hoarding bones.
Bargamer
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sante_Kelm
I've changed the equipment setup to suit my personal tastes.
That's the great thing about this build. It's so flexible and modifiable, you can put almost anything into the optional skill slots, wear whatever you want, and you'll do fine. I admit I haven't looked into any of the Asuran skills except for Pain Inverter, but if you like the way they handle, more power to ya! Personally, I've found success just going with a matching pair of cheapo 20HCT/20HSR Death Wand/Focus. And because I like Superior Runes, Taste of Death is a favored pick.
Yeah, not much you can do about interrupts except for staying in the back and hoping your minions gather more aggro than you. ^^;
What setup do you have for Olias? How is he fully taking advantage of all that Soul Reaping energy you're sending his way? Lemme know when you hit Vizunah Square, you'll want another MM and/or MB along.
Yeah, not much you can do about interrupts except for staying in the back and hoping your minions gather more aggro than you. ^^;
What setup do you have for Olias? How is he fully taking advantage of all that Soul Reaping energy you're sending his way? Lemme know when you hit Vizunah Square, you'll want another MM and/or MB along.
Ditto
I'm glad I stumbled across this thread. I tried minion bombing once about a year ago but I clearly wasn't ready for such an involved build. Now I'm reading your thread (which you've done an excellent job of keeping up on btw) and thinking "hmm this looks really fun"...thanks 
Paul Dawg
Well, [necrosis] is an outstanding skill. Why not swap out [putrid flesh] instead? Minions die fast enough that I don't think you need to waste a slot with something that doesn't do much other than kill them.
And you don't need to be very high in Asura rank in order to benefit from [pain inverter]. In other words, you might want to consider putting it in your bar NOW. Pain inverter is murder on AoE specialists even at very low Asura ranks.
I think that bar would rock with [pain inverter] instead of [putrid flesh]. Personally I like to leave the minion skills to heroes, since they can do that stuff much faster than humans, but then you can't take advantage of the ritualist skills that you have on your bar (because Rt/N heroes fail), so your overall idea makes a lot of sense.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sante_Kelm
And you don't need to be very high in Asura rank in order to benefit from [pain inverter]. In other words, you might want to consider putting it in your bar NOW. Pain inverter is murder on AoE specialists even at very low Asura ranks.
I think that bar would rock with [pain inverter] instead of [putrid flesh]. Personally I like to leave the minion skills to heroes, since they can do that stuff much faster than humans, but then you can't take advantage of the ritualist skills that you have on your bar (because Rt/N heroes fail), so your overall idea makes a lot of sense.
Quote:
My current bar is as follows:
[Animate Bone Minions][Jagged Bones][Putrid Bile][Necrosis][Putrid Flesh][Explosive Growth][Boon of Creation][Spirit's Gift]
[Spirit's Gift] shall never leave this bar. Once I acquire a higher Asuran rank, I will probably replace [Necrosis] with [Pain Inverter], [Mindbender], or an Asuran summon.
[Animate Bone Minions][Jagged Bones][Putrid Bile][Necrosis][Putrid Flesh][Explosive Growth][Boon of Creation][Spirit's Gift]
[Spirit's Gift] shall never leave this bar. Once I acquire a higher Asuran rank, I will probably replace [Necrosis] with [Pain Inverter], [Mindbender], or an Asuran summon.
-Makai-
Again, the [putrid flesh] is very situational. I find the -8 AoE Degen (4 disease and 4 poison) to be incredibly helpful against enemies with high defense.
I started using [Pain Inverter] recently. At R4 Asuran, it's pretty good. My only complaint is that it forces me closer to the fray.
Edit: Just used [Pain Inverter] against the Mesmer boss in Bogroot Growths. Consider the skill stapled.
I started using [Pain Inverter] recently. At R4 Asuran, it's pretty good. My only complaint is that it forces me closer to the fray.
Edit: Just used [Pain Inverter] against the Mesmer boss in Bogroot Growths. Consider the skill stapled.
-Makai-
Just a bit of an update:
[Reclaim Essence] no longer works on minions.
[Reclaim Essence] no longer works on minions.
Bargamer
Well, poor us, we lost the option of Reclaim Essence, but gained a better low-Rank Necrosis and Pain Inverter, as well as longer-lasting Ebon Battle Standards! And in the case of Honor's, we also got harder hits against Charr! Ursan Blessing got nerfed badly, which makes the rest of us LOL. Nothing really notable in the Dwarven skills. Trimmed the OPs to reflect the changes, so now we just have to wait for the skill icons to catch up.
Order of Undeath could possibly be better than Signet of Creation/Binding/Ghostly Might put together, if used as a kill-trigger...
Order of Undeath could possibly be better than Signet of Creation/Binding/Ghostly Might put together, if used as a kill-trigger...
Bargamer
So, Anet gave us a Dervish Hero. Being as I never bothered to get the Form (or ANY) Elites, I was pretty screwed for MOX builds. But no worries, you don't even have to bring him along for the fetch quests! I Hero/Henched these in one attempt.
What you do need to bring however, are Interrupts, either in the form of Dissonance and/or Wailing Weapon, and/or a Mesmer, Ranger, or Blood Necro. For your Heroes and Henchies, bring some AOE and healing. With POX, the Factions part, I simply took my Minion Bomber. POX really likes to trash on minions with Reactor, so Jagged Bones and Pain Inverter helps a lot. If he manages to kill all your minions in-between Jagged Bones casts, retreat and move on to a group of Jade Brotherhood nearby. He walks really slowly, so you have a few moments to Animate. Then go smack him down some more.
[ROX build;OACjEyiM5QyllTEbYMdTOOLTeTA]
[NOX build;OACjAuiMpR+glTRbZODgXTVTylA]
For the last part, Zinn's Lair, you have to bring MOX, so I just slotted him with some Earth Prayers Enchants, Signet of Pious Light, and a few Scythe Mastery skills, and let him go to town on the mobs. Needless to say, try to have a Necro Hero keep Death Nova on him at all times, to power his Signet of Pious Light. Once you go inside the Lair, located at The Falls in Maguuma Jungle, there are no enemies, so just sit back and read the silly dialogue. The quest chain is not repeatable, so just help out your guildies, or try them again on your other characters.
[MOX build;OgCjkyrM7QCYXgcfcXsXZXiX6XA]
Disclaimer: Since I did them in only one attempt, and you can't easily repeat the quests, these build can be tweaked to be better. Feel free to experiment.
What you do need to bring however, are Interrupts, either in the form of Dissonance and/or Wailing Weapon, and/or a Mesmer, Ranger, or Blood Necro. For your Heroes and Henchies, bring some AOE and healing. With POX, the Factions part, I simply took my Minion Bomber. POX really likes to trash on minions with Reactor, so Jagged Bones and Pain Inverter helps a lot. If he manages to kill all your minions in-between Jagged Bones casts, retreat and move on to a group of Jade Brotherhood nearby. He walks really slowly, so you have a few moments to Animate. Then go smack him down some more.
[ROX build;OACjEyiM5QyllTEbYMdTOOLTeTA]
[NOX build;OACjAuiMpR+glTRbZODgXTVTylA]
For the last part, Zinn's Lair, you have to bring MOX, so I just slotted him with some Earth Prayers Enchants, Signet of Pious Light, and a few Scythe Mastery skills, and let him go to town on the mobs. Needless to say, try to have a Necro Hero keep Death Nova on him at all times, to power his Signet of Pious Light. Once you go inside the Lair, located at The Falls in Maguuma Jungle, there are no enemies, so just sit back and read the silly dialogue. The quest chain is not repeatable, so just help out your guildies, or try them again on your other characters.
[MOX build;OgCjkyrM7QCYXgcfcXsXZXiX6XA]
Disclaimer: Since I did them in only one attempt, and you can't easily repeat the quests, these build can be tweaked to be better. Feel free to experiment.
Nightow
This is still a work in progress.
Me
[build=OAOj4wiM5Q+gYMriHXUfuEzDJXA]
M.O.X
[build=OgakgUpsKxuEAGzVz1FI5m4W3gAA]
(Yes, Zealous Sweep is a bit much for energy mgmt but you know how heroes can be. >_>)
Kahmu
[build=OgGikysMBgxc1cdBGUIuNuJAAA]
Melonni
[build=OgSjQsqKrOeXDxkw+ifvvh3yLA]
Seems like I still have to fine tune Kahmu as he was having energy issues. =\
Me
[build=OAOj4wiM5Q+gYMriHXUfuEzDJXA]
M.O.X
[build=OgakgUpsKxuEAGzVz1FI5m4W3gAA]
(Yes, Zealous Sweep is a bit much for energy mgmt but you know how heroes can be. >_>)
Kahmu
[build=OgGikysMBgxc1cdBGUIuNuJAAA]
Melonni
[build=OgSjQsqKrOeXDxkw+ifvvh3yLA]
Seems like I still have to fine tune Kahmu as he was having energy issues. =\
spirit of defeat
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nightow
Me
[build=OAOj4wiM5Q+gYMriHXUfuEzDJXA]
M.O.X
[build=OgakgUpsKxuEAGzVz1FI5m4W3gAA]
(Yes, Zealous Sweep is a bit much for energy mgmt but you know how heroes can be. >_>)
Kahmu
[build=OgGikysMBgxc1cdBGUIuNuJAAA]
Melonni
[build=OgSjQsqKrOeXDxkw+ifvvh3yLA]
Seems like I still have to fine tune Kahmu as he was having energy issues. =\ tThis is quite off topic, and so is my own question
But how do you display the damage you deal?
Nightow
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Master_of_damage
Bargamer
All that DPS isn't doing you much good if you're not interrupting the Golem's insta-kills. For the Golem, Knockdown doesn't work as an interrupt, either. And since it's a boss, Conditions and Hexes aren't as effective. I chose to go with an all-caster team, as getting in melee range of these guys is just asking for a beatdown. Let my minions soak up the damage, you know?
ac1inferno
Minion bombers are overrated. I'd much rather have a hybrid mark of pain mm.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GuildWiki
Quote:
Even though it triggers AoE damage scattering, it can have devastating effect in conjunction with a minion master. The numerous attacks from minions can trigger it up to 10 times before the enemy AI decides to scatter.
Nightow
Sorry, what I posted was just a general team build. For NOX, I just switched out Kahmu for Margrid the Sly with [Broad head arrow].
Bargamer
ac1inferno: I bring a SS Necro, including Mark of Pain, as well as a hybrid AOE MM and a Resto Necro. In my experience, the AI gets confused between the minion-blocking, Death Novas, Mark of Pain AOEs and whatever else that they don't scatter AT ALL before they die.
Master of Damage isn't very good in calculating AOE, so it's really not a reliable indicator of performance for 90% of PVE play.
Master of Damage isn't very good in calculating AOE, so it's really not a reliable indicator of performance for 90% of PVE play.
s s
Please, please, please don't be a willy... USE THIS BUILD!!! I tried it a few weeks ago and it is awesome, it deals damage, helps the team and is fun. What more do you want?
Peace out
Peace out
Bargamer
My poor, neglected thread. Poor, neglected Rits. We get no love in these Updates, haha! I was surprised they even bothered to tweak our skills during the Costume Brawl. *Bump.*
Keira Nightgale
Moonlit Azure
Sorry to necro, but how hard is it to cast death nova on your minions? Can't a hero do it better?
Nightow
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moonlit Azure
Sorry to necro, but how hard is it to cast death nova on your minions? Can't a hero do it better?
Nearly all players only put DN on hero bars now since they can select and target minions much better than a human ever could. Same with the elite spell, Jagged Bones. However, you might want to consider Putrid Flesh if you don't mind the energy costs.
Bargamer
Yeah, if all you have is Factions, you have to do all the Death Novas yourself. It's doable, but really annoying. But if you got Nightfall and/or Eye of the North, slap it on your Hero's bar, take Necrosis (NF) and Putrid Bile (EOTN), and never look back.
You don't actually need to target JB to cast it on a un-JBed minion, unless that's changed recently. They just need to be in casting range: Target an enemy/NPC, cast Jagged Bones, and the AI automatically chooses a minion within range that doesn't already have it. I usually carry a copy, and one of my Heroes has a copy.
I've explained both of these points already in my two OPs... <_<;
You don't actually need to target JB to cast it on a un-JBed minion, unless that's changed recently. They just need to be in casting range: Target an enemy/NPC, cast Jagged Bones, and the AI automatically chooses a minion within range that doesn't already have it. I usually carry a copy, and one of my Heroes has a copy.
I've explained both of these points already in my two OPs... <_<;
Bargamer
Oh, no harm in it, I just expected more people to read the first page than post the same questions over and over again, IE, reading the last pages. Ah well, it's fine.
Copy/pasted from the OP: Know where your next Bone Minions are coming from: the nearest corpse to your Rit. This allows you to target one of the minions, fire off Death Nova while they're doing the Animate animation, then select the second minion, by which time he's already wandering off. If you haven't enchanted your second minion by the time they reach the enemy/are already getting attacked, you need to practice a little. In the case which you CAN’T know where your next minion is coming from, the previous GW patches let you know which minions are already primed, via that handy Enchanted arrow, so that you don't waste a Death Nova. When you miss targeting a minion and start walking towards battle, hit Esc or a directional arrow to stop yourself.
Copy/pasted from the OP: Know where your next Bone Minions are coming from: the nearest corpse to your Rit. This allows you to target one of the minions, fire off Death Nova while they're doing the Animate animation, then select the second minion, by which time he's already wandering off. If you haven't enchanted your second minion by the time they reach the enemy/are already getting attacked, you need to practice a little. In the case which you CAN’T know where your next minion is coming from, the previous GW patches let you know which minions are already primed, via that handy Enchanted arrow, so that you don't waste a Death Nova. When you miss targeting a minion and start walking towards battle, hit Esc or a directional arrow to stop yourself.
Bargamer
Seriously, for a traditional MM, Aura of the Lich does very little. For both kinds of Minion Bombers however, this skill is ripe with hilarity. Consider: Both Necro-mains and -secondaries have their "extra" minions die if they go over the Minion Cap. For Necros, this is regained Energy. For both, this is Death Nova activations. For Ritualists, the uber-Animate triggers Boon of Creation, Explosive Growth, and Spirit's Gift. FOR EVERY CORPSE IN EARSHOT.
Even MoW can't be unhappy about this, because even though I've immediately exploited all the corpses, SOMETHING would have died to EG or Nova, and he just got a little Energy.
In short, Vizunah Square just became laughably easy. I'd only ever use it myself, of course, simply because I don't trust my Heroes to ever use it correctly.
For a Necro-main, I heard that RA and GvG are having fun with AoTL, except for the N/D tanks.
Even MoW can't be unhappy about this, because even though I've immediately exploited all the corpses, SOMETHING would have died to EG or Nova, and he just got a little Energy.
In short, Vizunah Square just became laughably easy. I'd only ever use it myself, of course, simply because I don't trust my Heroes to ever use it correctly.
For a Necro-main, I heard that RA and GvG are having fun with AoTL, except for the N/D tanks.
Lusciious
http://www.pvxwiki.com/wiki/Build:Rt..._Minion_Bomber - works great too.
Keira Nightgale
Always the old issue, having to target minions to cast DN is really unnerving.
Bargamer
That's why I tell anyone who has EOTN to get [Putrid Bile], delegate DN to a Necro Hero, and save yourself the trouble.
Also, regarding that PvX link: Check the History. 08:12, 9 September 2007 BarGamer (Talk | contribs) (→Variants)
Also, regarding that PvX link: Check the History. 08:12, 9 September 2007 BarGamer (Talk | contribs) (→Variants)
MasterSasori
Bargamer
My comment on the February '10 Skill Update:
You can also use Signet of Creation for Energy Management now. Necrosis went from a Spell to a Skill. Did it HAVE an Aftercast Delay? Whatever. More power to the Ritualist!
You can also use Signet of Creation for Energy Management now. Necrosis went from a Spell to a Skill. Did it HAVE an Aftercast Delay? Whatever. More power to the Ritualist!
-Makai-
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bargamer
My comment on the February '10 Skill Update:
You can also use Signet of Creation for Energy Management now. Necrosis went from a Spell to a Skill. Did it HAVE an Aftercast Delay? Whatever. More power to the Ritualist! I was thinking the exact same thing. But wouldn't throwing Signet of Creation into the mix be overkill?
You can also use Signet of Creation for Energy Management now. Necrosis went from a Spell to a Skill. Did it HAVE an Aftercast Delay? Whatever. More power to the Ritualist! I was thinking the exact same thing. But wouldn't throwing Signet of Creation into the mix be overkill?
Shayne Hawke
SoC would probably only be that great on your bar if you were spamming Death Nova and Jagged Bones so much that you absolutely needed more energy. Even then, 13 Energy every ~21 seconds is a little short of two pips of energy regen.
MasterSasori
I wouldn't waste a slot on SoC unless there is a reason to do so. I don't think I've had much energy problems with rit mms
Bargamer
There's a difference between "Not had much energy problems with Rit MMs" and "AHAHAHAHA, Soul Reaping FTW!" Rits are still not getting an equivalent benefit from active skills compared to the Necro's passive ability tree.
spirit of defeat
why use soc if you got boon of creation which paid itself back the with 2-3 summon's?
Bargamer
Energy drain, interrupting of Boon, enchantment stripping, lack of corpses, and low on Energy after refreshing your Enchantments and an Animate or two. Nothing ever works precisely according to plan, but having enough (or too much) Energy smooths over a lot.
spirit of defeat
-Makai-
The new minion panel makes this build a lot more viable than before; you no longer need to rely on a hero to provide Death Nova.