User:The Guildless/Simple Hero Builds for Beginners

Simple Hero Builds for Beginners
Work in Progress – TO DO: Melee characters, global editing, give more credit where credit is due

In an attempt to help out a few beginners set up their heroes to be somewhat effective, I simplified some of the current meta builds. Here are a few of the stuff I considered:
 * No elite skills; their role is often not so clear to newcomers, and the good ones are sometimes way back in the wilderness. I do try to suggest some when it makes sense.
 * Skills from Faction and Eye of the North only; this was a constraint set by a friend a while back and I stuck to it since the skill trainers are the most easily accessible. A few easy to acquire Nightfall skills have slipped in as well.
 * Although this is not a team build, I am always considering the only available heroes are the ones from the very beginning (Gwen, Vekk and Ogden for EotN; Koss, Dunkoro, Tahlkora, one of the Acolytes and Olias for Nightfall), synergy isn’t taken too much into consideration here.

Necromancer Minion Master Hero
[build prof=N/Mo death=12 sou=8 pro=10][Optional][Putrid Bile][Animate Bone Minions][Death Nova][Protective Spirit][Aegis][Shield of Absorption][Masochism][/build] :
 * for an abundant number of minions.
 * if planning to build your team around the Discordway concept.
 * for overall good damage.
 * Although Shield of Absorption is listed as Nightfall, it is unlocked as soon as you recruit Tahlkora. An alternative would be:

Build overview

As seen using the popular N/any Minion Bomber build, minions provide a good distraction and their death combined with Death Nova can cause significant damage. They tend to lag behind your party and engage enemies you wanted to avoid, but if you time your engagements, they can effectively create a wall between you and the enemy, which can be useful if you have a team full of casters. The Protection Prayers spells provide additional damage mitigation that should be sufficient in most scenarios.

Generic Healing Monk Hero
[build prof=Mo/Me ins=8 hea=12 div=10][Optional][Patient Spirit][Signet of Rejuvenation][Ethereal Light][Cure Hex][Heaven's Delight][Power Drain][Waste Not, Want Not][/build] :
 * for stronger healing spells and an instant ressurect.
 * for stronger and faster healing spells at a very low cost.
 * for a good heal with a strong bonus for characters under pressure.
 * for a good heal and party-wide benefits.

Build overview

Inspired by the Mo/Me UA Healer Hero, this setup should provide decent healing. Since monks' energy management is often problematic, elite skills play a very important role, often allowing more healing for less energy.

Ranger Spirit Spammer Hero
[build prof=R/Rt exp=11+2 com=10 cha=10][Painful Bond][Optional][Bloodsong][Pain][Shadowsong][Optional][Optional][Spirit Siphon][/build] :
 * is the ultimate skill of any spirit spammer.
 * as an alternative (useful later on if you plan on bringing two spirit spammer heroes).

For more spirit action:

To support melee characters:


 * for a ressurection skill.

Build overview

Based on the versatile Spirit Farmer, this build provides strong single target armor-ignoring damage and turns your ranger into a more useful hero. The ranger's primary attribute, expertise, greatly reduces the energy cost of binding rituals. Giving your hero a rune to raise expertise to 13 allows the ranger to reach the next breakpoint in energy reduction. Here, a major rune is suggested, but you can also apply a minor rune to the hero's headpiece, although they tend to be more expensive. Acquiring these skills on your character also gives you the opportunity to use this build to easily complete solo quests such as The Norn Fighting Tournament or Tihark Orchard.

Equipment

Equip your ranger with a staff or a wand/focus combination for additional energy.

Anti-caster Mesmer Hero
[build prof=Me/any fas=8 dom=12 ins=10][Optional][Cry of Frustration][Complicate][Unnatural Signet][Optional][Optional][Power Drain][Optional][/build] :
 * for a more defensive approach with a long and widespread interrupt.
 * for more damage.

For the 5th and 6th slot:
 * for hex removal with damage.
 * for enchantment removal.
 * for damage to multiple targets.
 * for a delayed interrupt with damage to multiple target. A Nightfall skill available in Kamadan.

For the 8th slot (additional energy management):
 * for an additional interrupt.

Build overview A straightforward way to deal with enemy casters. See Me/any Panic Hero for more suggestions on how to make the most out of a secondary profession. It is worth bring a resurrection skill on a mesmer since it benefits from Fast Casting's reduced activation time (most resses have a long cast time).

Melee Support Ritualist Hero
[build prof=Rt/? res=12 cha=12][Mend Body and Soul][Spirit Light][Optional][Splinter Weapon][Ancestors' Rage][Spirit Rift][Optional][Flesh of My Flesh][/build] :
 * for energy management if running alongside a spirit spammer.

Using a secondary profession:
 * for hex removal.
 * for hex removal.
 * for a speed boost - disable and micromanage. (Nightfall)
 * for a party-wide armor boost. (Nightfall)
 * (Nightfall)

Build Overview

The main purpose of this Ritualist is to provide extra damage through Splinter Weapon and Ancestors' Rage if you are playing as a melee character or have heroes dealing physical damage. If you have Nightfall, you can drop the Restoration skills and use Paragon shouts to help support the whole party as well.