Build:Team - Spirit Bonder/Smiter
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This build has been archived and is
not updated by the GuildWiki community.
This build is only maintained for historical reference and may contain incorrect or outdated information. Reason: Nerf of Spirit Bond |
This build is based on a Spirit Bonder Monk (Mo/Me) and a Smiting/Support character (Mo/Any or Any/Monk), and can be used to farm practically anything in PvE. Good examples are: Underworld, Fissure of Woe and other common 55hp/Spirit Bonder farm locations. In this build, the Spirit Bond monk is used as a tank (just like in 55hp) and the Supporter serves as a buffer and damage dealer. The Supporter also carries Rebirth with them to allow resurrection from range without aggroing enemies.
When a chance exists that the enchantments on the monk may be removed (mostly by mesmers and necromancers) the Spell Breaker version is used. When there are no enchantment removers, the Shield of Judgment version can be used to increase the amount of damage.
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[edit] Spirit Bonder
  Monk / Mesmer |
Attribute Rank |
|---|---|
| Divine Favor | 12 + 1 |
| Protection Prayers | 12 + 1 |
| Illusion Magic | 3 |
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[edit] Equipment
- The lowest possible armor. The usual source for this are
probably the armor crafters in Ascalon City or the Shing Jea
Monastery. Your starting armor or a special event headpiece may
be better, if you have access to them.
- NOTE: Consider just not wearing certain pieces of armor, such as your chest armor. You can wear three runes on your headpiece, feet, arms and legs (extra energy regeneration and attribute points and they still do enough damage), protecting yourself as little as possible.
- A cheap, yet good combination of arms would be the Totem Axe and Wenslauss' Chalice. These increase enchantment length by 20%, give +45 to your health and a total of +17 energy.
[edit] Usage
- Cast Essence Bond and Blessed Aura on yourself, lowering your energy regeneration to +2 and wait until the Supporter has finished buffing you with Life Attunement, Retribution, Balthazar's Spirit and Holy Wrath.
- Wait until your energy is full and use Blessed Signet to speed up the process.
- In situations where there are no enemy mesmers, the approach is to put Protective Spirit and Spirit Bond on and aggro the targeted group. You can take unlimited melee attackers as long as enough of them deal high enough damage to trigger Spirit Bond. If the damage dealt by the type of enemy is too low, be sure to have a damage increasing skill activated at all times. (If targeted enemies deal elemental damage, use Physical Resistance, if physical damage, use Elemental Resistance, when both, consider taking a general damage increasing skill such as: Frenzy and Healing Signet). But! Be absolutely sure not to cast Spirit Bond before the stance, otherwise the damage increase will come into effect after the Spirit Bond, and hence do nothing useful at all.
- The Energy gained from Essence Bond and Balthazar's Spirit should be more than enough for all situations; use Blessed Signet to fill in if needed.
- Use Spell Breaker to prevent most enchantment removal skills, or prevent initial spells while you approach any groups containing enemies known for enchantment removal. This is highly recommended while farming UW due to the Dying Nightmares that can pop-up from the ground. Having to activate Spell Breaker after noticing a Dying Nightmare will require good reflexes.
- Make sure that, while in combat, Protective Spirit and Spirit Bond are on at ALL TIMES!
- You can use Sympathetic Visage at any time (if you’re sure you won’t run out of energy) to deplete the energy and adrenaline of melee attackers. This can be very helpful when, for example, encountering Smite Crawler, Bladed Aatxe and Grasping Darkness. The energy depletion will prevent Smite Crawlers from casting hex removals and healing skills, and the adrenaline loss will prevent interrupts from the Aaxtes and Graspings.
[edit] Counters
- Anything that can take away a Spirit Bonder's enchantments will quickly eliminate them. Spell Breaker or a similar spell will help against this.
- Life stealing, large amounts of health degeneration and Healing Reduction effects can cause problems in terms of the Spirit Bonder's ability to survive.
- Interrupts can also be hard to handle so be careful what to cast when. Spamming of Protective Spirit and Spirit Bond can keep you alive.
- Dazed will kill you unless your supporter can remove this quickly.
[edit] Variants
- Sympathetic Visage can be replaced by Ancestor's Visage since both have the same stats.
- Elemental Resistance can be replaced with Physical Resistance when fighting elemental dealing enemies.
- When you know you are NOT going to encounter any disenchanters, you can replace Spell Breaker with Shield of Judgment to increase the damage dealt. You will need to put as much attribute points in Smiting Prayers as you can and the remaining attribute points in Divine Favor and Protection Prayers.
- Alternative skills are:
- Vital Blessing as more health = more damage reflection from Retribution and Holy Wrath.
- Zealot's Fire If using this skill, be sure to time your skills in 3 seconds intervals or more, or enemies will flee from you.
- Edge of Extinction for extra damage to enemies when one of their kind dies.
- Frenzy/Elemental Resistance/Healing Signet to increase the damage dealt to you, ensuring that all hits will activate Spirit Bond.
- Arcane Echo to allow you to cast Shield of Judgment twice.
- Channeling to help with energy maintainance. In this way, it is possible to keep a full energy bar even when the enemies are being knocked down due to the effects from Shield of Judgment.
- Interrupt skills.
[edit] Support Smiter
| Monk / Any |
Attribute Rank |
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| Smiting Prayers | 12 + 1 + 3 |
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[edit] Equipment
- +1 Smiting Headpiece
- Any weapons/offhands with +1 Smiting Prayers (20%) and/or HCT/HSR 20%/20% Smiting Prayers.
[edit] Usage
- First, cast Life Attunement, Retribution, Balthazar's Spirit and Holy Wrath on the Spirit Bonder.
- When the Spirit Bonder has engaged foes, it is important not to aggro the enemies yourself, but stay at the edge of the aggro circle and cast Bane Signet and Signet of Judgment.
- If your enchantments on the Spirit Bonder are removed, recast Balthazar's Spirit first, and Holy Wrath last.
- If you do get attacked… RUN!
- If the Spirit Bonder dies, back off to make sure you don't aggro any enemies. Then resurrect the Spirit Bonder with Rebirth (It's recommended to call your resurrection to ensure your partner knows that they have to escape too and give them time to rebuff.)
[edit] Variants
- Since you have no energy due to Holy Wrath, signets (or skills base on
adrenaline/used before combat) are the only skills useable for the
optional slot. These are:
- Warrior:
- Rush – because of the damage from Retribution and Holy Wrath you are able to gain adrenaline (useful when the Spirit Bonder is dead and you need to escape)
- Monk:
- Signet of Rage - to deal extra damage
- Purge Signet - to help the tank by removing hexes and conditions (useful for the bleeding causes by Aatxes in UW)
- Signet of Devotion - to help the tank with an extra heal
- Necromancer:
- Barbed Signet - to deal some damage and heal yourself if necessary
- Mesmer:
- Signet of Disruption - to interrupt and deal some damage
- Signet of Weariness to speed up the process of energy burning
- Unnatural Signet to deal extra damage
- Signet of Clumsiness to deal extra damage and interrupt
- Leech Signet to interrupt
- Assassin:
- Signet of Shadows to deal extra damage
- Ritualist:
- Death Pact Signet - for resurrecting the Spirit Bonder with full energy and health, NOTE this can practically be used one time, because you also die the next time the Spirit Bonder dies.
- Paragon: When Nightfall is released:
- Signet of Return - to resurrect without energy costs
- Signet of Synergy - to heal the Spirit Bonder.
- Warrior:
[edit] Notes
- Retribution and Holy Wrath deal 99% of the damage received back to the source with a maximum of 74 damage.
If you add Shield of Judgment with this you will get: 74 damage per hit (Holy Wrath + Retribution) + 44 damage per hit (Shield of Judgment). This means that enemies will get around 120 damage each hit they make, and this is without the smiting signets the Supporter uses so expect higher damage!
