Archive:Rt/any Battlebox Spirit Spammer

The Battlebox Spirit Spammer is designed to quick-cast several Binding Rituals, then follow them up with Painful Bond to increase their lethality. It is intended as a PvE primary build.

Attributes and Skills
[build prof=ritua/any channe=12+1+3 commun=12+1 spawni=3+1][anguished was lingwah][soul twisting][bloodsong][dissonance][painful bond][warmongers weapon][wielders strike][restoration][/build]


 * Communing and Channeling should both be as high as possible - choose runes based on your confidence level. I put Channeling in the top spot because of the increased effects of Painful Bond and Warmonger's Weapon, and because the life-stealing effect of Bloodsong is less vulnerable to damage reduction than the damage of Pain.


 * Depending on the monsters you face, you may wish to bring other spirits in place of Dissonance, Restoration, or indeed anything past Painful Bond. In many areas Shadowsong is a helpful thing to have.  The build as presented here is my general-purpose construction.


 * For a Factions-only variant, bring Brutal Weapon in place of Warmonger's Weapon and Boon of Creation in place of Wielder's Strike.


 * If interrupts are not needed, replace Dissonance with Anguish and Warmonger's Weapon with Splinter Weapon, which has the added advantage of a very long duration that enhances the "prepare outside of combat" aspect of the build.

Equipment

 * Armor: Halcyon's armor or Radiant insignia.
 * Weapons: Ideally, Wayward Wand (Channeling-based) and Kayin's Focus. Energy management is important but not crucial.

Usage
This build depends on the fact that Anguished Was Lingwah is NOT a Binding Ritual, and hence does not trigger the benefit of Soul Twisting. Thus, it is possible to essentially pre-cast two offensive spirits outside of combat, and place them quickly when combat begins. Since most of the skill recharge time happens between combats, the build is essentially combat-ready at any time.

When you first step out into the environment, cast Bloodsong. Immediately target the resulting Spirit of Bloodsong and cast Soul Twisting, followed by Anguished Was Lingwah. You should be able to carry the ashes into your first combat - if not, it will be recharged, so just cast it again.

Proceed to wherever you intend to plant your spirits for battle. When you are ready to fight, drop Lingwah's Ashes and cast Dissonance, then Bloodsong. You will have a Spirit of Pain instantly, a Spirit of Dissonance two seconds later, and a Spirit of Bloodsong three seconds after that. Pick a central target for Painful Bond, then cast Warmonger's Weapon and start picking on enemy spellcasters. Use Wielder's Strike if you need a damage spike, and Restoration if your side looks like they might be in trouble (or especially if it looks like you may die yourself).

Dissonance usually won't last the whole combat, but the instant recharge feature of Soul Twisting allows you to re-cast it immediately when it dies. With practice you can target it with Soul Twisting and kill it before it dies, then re-cast it quickly and keep it perpetually charged.

For smaller battles, you can skip Dissonance entirely and just cast Bloodsong; Soul Twisting will reduce the casting time to one second, meaning your two spirits are up before your enemies can muster a response.

After a combat ends, target any allied spirit and re-cast Soul Twisting, then Anguished Was Lingwah. You're ready to go again!

Counters

 * AoE damage can quickly take your spirits down. To counteract this, move around a little between spirits.  It will take a little extra time but nothing close to the normal casting time of Binding Rituals.


 * Binding Rituals can be interrupted. The spirit conjured by Anguished Was Lingwah is unaffected, but the other two can be blocked by timely interrupts.  Fortunately, whichever spirit you summon first gets an instant recharge, so whoever interrupts you had better be prepared to do it more than once.

Trivia

 * When a player loses communication with the server, Guild Wars forces their character to drop any item they are carrying. Consequently, if you should happen to get 007'd just as you enter a battle, you'll still get a Spirit of Pain to help your party.  Incidentally, if you are in a party, you may get more mileage out of Warmonger's Weapon by casting it on a forward fighting character, especially one with an IAS.


 * For the curious, the name comes from the fact that Lingwah's Ashes look more like a box instead of an urn. Since the character essentially carries two spirits around ready for immediate use, it's like having "a battle in a box".