User:Malokai92/Guide Index/7 Hero

Most general balanced heroway people should be running. This will be a tl;dr for variants, so just read the main builds if you're only curious. WNWN can be replaced by Leech Signet if there's lots of spell casters.

SoS Rit
[build prof=rt/any chann=12+1+3 rest=12+1 spawn=3][signet of sp][bloodsong][splinter we][ancestors' rage][spirit siphon][mend body and s][spirit light][protective w][/build]

You should have the SoS specced as healer most of the time since SS makes him perfect for spamming heals. Refer to Build:Rt/any Signet of Spirits Hero for all the variants. He has lots of energy so anything will work. Just do not use Orders, use that on a less versatile guy. Switch AR for Painful Bond for casters if you have no melee.

Spirit Spammer
[build prof=rt/any commun=12+1+3 spawn=12+1][signet of gho][pain][anguish][shadowsong][disenc][boon of c][optional][optional][/build] Pure

If you don't need to spec into anything, Dissonance is useful for training. Spirit spammer is usually best to have res since he dies last.
 * Dissonance
 * Flesh of my Flesh
 * Death Pact Signet

Smiting Prayers If you don't want to spec on the SoS or bring in a RoJ monk, SoH works fine the the spirit spammer (11-10-10)
 * Castigation Signet
 * Smite Hex
 * Strength of Honor

Prot & co. As long as you disable Protective Spirit and Shield of Absorption, you could use him for prots but he doesn't have active e-management, so only if you run out of room. Dwayna's Sorrow is nice if you bring orders derv or want a little healing; it's cheap.
 * Protective Spirit
 * Shield of Absorption
 * Dwayna's Sorrow
 * Cure Hex
 * Remove Hex

Curses You should have Curses specced on someone else, but sticking the cheaper spells on the spammer works as well.
 * Enfeebling Blood
 * Weaken Armor
 * Rip Enchantment
 * Rend Enchantments

Channeling The problem with two spirit siphons is they hog spirits. Unless you want to watch your guys carefully, speccing sw into spammer isn't ideal. If you're willing to check, it works out (12-9-9)
 * Splinter Weapon
 * Ancestors' Rage
 * Spirit Siphon
 * Spirit Rift (If you really think he would manage energy with it)

Panic Mesmer
The hero very rarely uses Chaos Storm on his own, so micro when you feel like it. [build prof=me/p dom=11+1+1 fast=6+1 ins=8+1 ][panic][mistrust][optional][chaos storm][optional][waste not][power drain][optional][/build] First optional should be:
 * Unnatural Signet for free AoE damage, it's very nice option
 * Cry of Frustration for AoE damage and particular dangerous areas to prevent party spikes. Can drain energy quickly, put in gole or ample e-management if you want it spammed.

Pure For just spamming Mistrust, Panic and other crap instead of wasting time on things like utility.
 * Cry of Frustration and Unnatural Signet for damagez.
 * Glyph of Lesser Energy for energy management
 * Spiritual Pain for a few places
 * Wastrel's Worry and/or Wastrel's Demise, they spam it and damage is random but it'll add up in larger groups where Panic fucks them over.
 * Shatter Enchantment for spiking healers and tough foes.
 * Drain Enchantment/Inspired/ and so on

Restoration Magic You don't really even need Spirit Light, just abuse pwk for party heal. Mes can have a hard time on energy though.
 * Spirit Light
 * Protective was Kaolai

Command I like using mes for this.
 * Never Surrender
 * Fall Back
 * Stand Your Ground

Channeling Since we can spec 10, might as well.
 * Splinter Weapon
 * Ancestors' Rage

Illusion Mesmer
I am weary of putting this on core team, but since Ineptitude/Wandering Eye is such spammable big damage and provides antimelee, it's a good idea. Especially since you can change to Shared Burden or Psychic Instability to suit the situation. [build prof=me/any ill=12+1+2 ins=10+1 fast=8+1][optional][wandering eye][optional][Signet of Clumsiness][waste not][power drain][optional][optional][/build] First optional should be:
 * Ineptitude provides awesome armor-ignoring damage, spammable, and blinds melee indefinitely. It's useful for damage in general but sucks as much energy as Clumsiness.
 * Shared Burden turns HM groups into NM and covers Shadow of Fear so you can run enfeebling blood on any guy pretty much. Plus it's cheap and spammable.
 * Fevered Dreams, haven't really tried it but combo with PvE skills, hypochondria, Virulence on MM, blood magic, etc. and it becomes appealing.

Second optional should be:
 * Clumsiness for more damage. If you're running Ineptitude, the hero will have a terrible time with energy. I'd advise not to without going pure so the hero can spam it (as in use gole or Tease).
 * Arcane Conundrum for casters. This is especially fun with Shared Burden since it stacks to 100%. Use it to train down casters and interrupt more often with Panic (And to prevent party nuking).
 * Calculated Risk is a cheap Pain Inverter, which will max out on most bosses, mostly melee unless lolLich.
 * Accumulated Pain for DW spam, the damage on it's own isn't to shabby.
 * Fragility for running gimmicky Fevered Dreams or lots of conditions overall.

Restoration Magic Usually you'll spec this on other heroes so he's free to spam antimelee.
 * Spirit Light
 * Protective was Kaolai

Command I like using mes for this. (11-[10 command]-8-[6 fc])
 * Never Surrender
 * Fall Back
 * Stand Your Ground

Prot
 * Since illusion mesmer has it easy on energy as long as you drop Clumsiness, putting prots on him seems better instead of Panic mes. (11-9-8-[8 prot])
 * Protective Spirit
 * Shield of Absorption

Channeling Since we can spec 10, might as well. Drop to Panic Mesmer att spread (11-[10 channeling]-8-6).
 * Splinter Weapon
 * Ancestors' Rage

Minion Master
The ever favorite MM build. First of all, if you use an MM, put prots on him. He can spec 10 and afford the costs easily compared to your other heroes. You can spec for hex removal more importantly while still having prots. [build prof=Necromancer/Monk deathmagic=12+1+3 Prot=10 soulreaping=8+1][Optional][Animate Bone Minions][Death Nova][Putrid Bile][Masochism][Protective Spirit][Aegis][Shield of Absorption][/build] Optional should be:
 * Aura of the Lich for minion army and stronger minions. This lets you build quickly and move on.
 * Jagged Bones lets you minion bomb efficiently and better for smaller areas or lack of corpses.
 * Discord specifically for Discordway.
 * Empathetic Removal for removing condition/hex stacking, this is more useful for melee classes who want to stay clean.
 * Unyielding Aura for lolressing, MM is hard to kill so it's not a bad idea.

Monk Usually if you want hex removal, you'll go to the MM before anything else. He can afford Convert Hexes, which is important in some areas. Ever been to Gloom and had a stack of 15 hexes on you during pull? Bring Cure Hex over Remove Hex if you specced some for Dwayna's Sorrow.
 * Remove Hex
 * Cure Hex
 * Reverse Hex
 * Convert Hexes
 * Dwayna's Sorrow

Last 2 slots
The last 2 hero slots cover whatever isn't in the core party. You can bring more damage, utility rather than speccing into the core team, or support the core team can't provide. As you can tell there a numerous options available and it depends on the area. You'll run more defensive builds in the higher end levels and vice versa. What you need and what you should drop is a matter of experience and forethought.

N/Rt Healer
The Sabway healer is a very strong healer, but a power creep has made dedicated healer less than useful. Now that he doesn't need to be dedicated, you can revert back to the original version using Splinter Weapon turn it into a hybrid like in Discordway. Again don't use Orders on a healer, they have a terrible time with it. [build prof=n/rt rest=12 soul=8+1][optional][optional][optional][mend body and s][spirit light][protective was][life][flesh of my flesh][/build] Blood Magic You could spec Blood Magic into a mesmer or ritualist, but yo get much higher spec on orders or necro healer.
 * Ravenous Gaze is essentially free, spammable AoE damage that heals the healer. Since the other blood elites are weak, this is preferred.
 * Spoil Victor takes a toll to spam for just a single target, but it's niche use is obvious for tough bosses and Shiro.
 * Blood Bond for keeping your minon wall help and redbarring melee.
 * Strip Enchantment if you don't have enchantment removal already.
 * Barbed Signet and Oppressive Gaze for obvious reasons, especially for Fevered Dreams.

Curses Remember Sabway curses necro? Well since you have splinter weapon on sos, you can run restoration magic (11+1+1, 11, 8+1).
 * Spiteful Spirit still works with Panic because autoattacks.
 * Pain of Disenchantment for removing those annoying enchantment stacks and nice AoE damage.
 * Feast of Corruption for helping in a spike, probably want to micro since every 20 seconds isn't very good for spamming.
 * Enfeebling Blood cuts damage from melee in half to keep you heroes from being trained, damage reduction stacks with Shadow of Fear.
 * Shadow of Fear cuts damage in half to keep your heroes from being trained, damage reduction stacks with Enfeebling Blood.
 * Weaken Armor to hit harder with attacks and fuel Body Blow or Reap Impurities.

ST Rit
The Soul Twisting Ritualist abuses defensive spirits to cut damage to your party dramatically. Shelter is an umbrella Protective Spirit, with no microing on a specific target. This makes idiotically simple to protect your team from nukes, especially since you don't have to prot a specific team mate and it can't be removed like Protective Spirit. They key difference from "Save Yourselves!" is the fact this protects from armor-ignoring damage as well, meaning Energy Surge and other crap hurts much less. Displacement provides literally all the defense against melee that you need. It's a full party Aegis that lasts far longer than the time needed to recharge. If enemies hit hard, it will also prevent Shelter from triggering. The main use of course is to prevent training by melee foes. Union is also another common defensive spirit, it helps reduce pulse damage such as Chaos Storm and Savannah Heat and counters pressure. It's a good idea to micro Union since it dies quickly and will cause the hero to overcast spirits on Soul Twisting. [build prof=rt/any commun=12+1+3 spawn=12+2 rest=3][soul twi][shelter][displacement][optional][optional][signet of creation][boon of creation][flesh of my flesh][/build]

Curses Necro
This is specifically the Sabway curses necro for running more Splinter Weapon fun and curses. Feel free to change FF for Mark of Pain. Let me explain MoP for a second. It obviously is awesome with 100b and vos or just plain training a target. The problem is the 20 second recharge, you'll usually kill stuff too fast to get much effect. Therefore use MoP if you plan on balling or AP necro where you can spam it. Since balling is above the c+spacing any area, it won't be included. [build prof=n/rt curs=12+1+1 chann=10 soul=8+1][optional][enfeebling blood][shadow of fear][barbs][splinter weapon][ancestors' r][foul feast][death pact sig][/build]

UA Monk
This should be used solely in high-end areas, you'll want more offensive builds for general PvE. UA is the ultimate lifesaver. It's an instant res thanks to super hero reaction times. You don't even see a death animation. You don't as many copies of res and it's the perfect counter to chain reaction wiping because the rits can get spirits back up quickly if they die or the Mesmer with Panic. Very useful if you take too much damage during a pull or someone gets trained to death. The general party healing and power heals is ok as well. [build prof=mo/me heal=12+1+1 div=10+1 ins=8][patient spirit][dwayna's kiss][signet of rejuv][divine healing][heaven's del][power drain][leech signet][unyielding aura][/build]

RoJ Monk
You can't get more offensive than RoJ Monk. Ray of Judgment is the hardest hitting nuke in the game because it's armor-ignoring. Ball foes up and use RoJ in combination with Splinter Weapon takes out most mobs. Also lets you set up individual spikes to take out most healers. Smiter's Boon makes the healing not as shitty. An important note on the build is that Smite Condition and Smite Hex will keep melee clean and provide very good nuking damage. With high spec SoH, this is godsend for melee builds. Bringing RoJ monk means you don't need to spec Smiting Prayers on SoS rit. [build prof=mo/any smiting=12+1+1 div=10+1][ray of judgment][reversal of damage][smite condition][smite hex][smiter's boon][optional][optional][Strength of Honor][/build] Pure This will usually be run with Inspiration so monk can maintain energy, but doesn't have to.
 * Heaven's Delight/Divine Healing for AoE healing, good for relieving pressure and party spikes.
 * Castigation Signet for energy management, necessary if not using Inspiration.
 * Remove Hex if you're paranoid about hexes.
 * Resurrection Chant for a hard res.

Inspiration Hero likes to spam his skills as much as anyone.
 * Waste Not, Want Not
 * Power Drain
 * Leech Signet
 * Revealed/Inspired Hex

Command Command means your hero gets a shield.
 * Fall Back for getting around in VQs and running around. Disable it or it will kill the hero's energy.
 * Never Surrender for support

Orders Hero
You have 3 main options for Orders. Rather than list them here, I'll link to each one and comment on it:
 * Build:D/any Avatar of Dwayna Support Hero lets you spam party heals no stop for the most part. This has a distinct advantage over the other two and you get higher armor. The simple advantage of party heal spam while still spamming orders makes this my preferred choice.
 * Build:N/any Cultist's Fervor Orders has the same utility available at 10 spec. It manages energy quite easily. You get a higher blood spec, but it doesn't really make a difference. It's very flexible to use because it's N primary. You don't get self healing though, which may hurt under pressure unless you spec /D, in which case you're better off with a D/N.
 * Build:E/N Ether Renewal Orders Hero boosts healing and super energy management with Energy Renewal abuse. You will have to worry the least with this one since it's self sufficient. Spamming orders on demand is nice but your just as squishie as Orders Necro and can only support Blood Magic and Curses.

Command Paragon
Anthem of Envy and other support skills are the main focus of using a Paragon. Anthem of Envy boosts spirit attacks in addition to melee, which is very nice for training. It works nicely with an Orders hero, which is the only time you should use it. My personal preference is more spec into spear mastery instead of command. Next command break point is 14, so use that if you like Command more. Paragon is inflexible when it comes to optionals. [build prof=p/any spear=12+1+1 command=9+1 lead=9+1][Vicious attack][optional][optional][go for the eyes][anthem of envy][never surrender][optional][signet of return][/build] IAS
 * Aggressive Refrain for an IAS, he should maintain it during battle. Bring Stand Your Ground, an Anthem, or your own shouts to maintain it.
 * Soldier's Fury for shout and attack spam, takes up your elite slot but you don't have many options.

Elite slot
 * Stunning Strike for source of Dazed, definitely need Orders if using it and more gimmicky with Fevered Dreams.
 * Cruel Spear for DW spam, you have Vicious Attack which is usually enough to make it unnecessary.
 * "Incoming!" for doubly healing with "Fall Back!" and running around. Don't use it for serious play.

Rest of optionals
 * Merciless Spear
 * Wild Throw
 * Spear of Lightning
 * "Stand Your Ground!" for nice armor boost and maintaining Aggressive Refrain.
 * "Fall Back!" for running around and kiting.

Emo Prot
Emo is either very useful or quite useless depending on your build. You can use it along with a single other hybrid healer and get by fine. However, since you already have prots on the MM, it's half as useful. More than likely, you should use emo when you drop MM to get your prots and strong support healing. I've never used emo except for City HM, where MM is really terrible. You'll want to micro skills if the hero gets low on energy and enchantment removal is annoying. You can split attributes for Strength of Honor, so there can be some cases of it being useful. [build prof=e/no energy=12+1+1 prot=12][ether r][aura of r][aegis][spirit bond][protective s][shield guardian][shield of ab][infuse health][/build]

Discordway
So you have 2 extra slots and an MM with a free slot, what the fuck could you possibly bring? Discordway provides a more than sufficient backline for most areas and is especially abusive with an AP caller. Bring Blood Bond on the healer unless you like Weapon of Warding. You're covered for redbarring and curses support.