SS necromancer

An SS necromancer (commonly referred to as an SS Necro or simply SS), is a build that focuses on the skill Spiteful Spirit. Common uses include farming together with a 55 or PvE areas in general, but it can be useful anywhere in both PvE and PvP.

SS Necro is quite useful also in PvP. When used with some other hexes to cover it, you make its removal difficult thus the target will have to choose between attacking/spellcasting and losing minor amounts of health, or to be just a useless party member.

Battle Behavior
Because Spiteful Spirit is most effective in a large group of enemies with each one hexed by it, a Mesmer secondary with Arcane Echo is used allowing the player to have two SS equipped for 20 seconds, thus spamming SS very quickly on each enemy. This type of SS build is referred to as Echo SS. With recharge time of 10 seconds and casting time of 2 seconds you are able to hex at least 4 enemies with SS - if you are lucky and the weapon bonus for faster casting and recharge time will trigger, it can be higher. Casting Reckless Haste will greatly help against melee or ranged attackers, causing them to trigger SS more often with a 50% chance to miss, however it does not work that well on spellcasters.

Attribute requirements
Curses 14-16. You can deploy the rest of skill points depending on your situation and secondary profession.

Equipment

 * Any maxed armor can be used with a +Curses headpiece
 * Rune of Superior Curses (optional, minor might be also used)
 * Radiant insignias with a few Runes of Attunement are very useful, since the combo with Arcane echo is energy expensive
 * A wand and focus item with 20% HSR Curses allow Spiteful Spirit to be cast more frequently. Alternately, a staff such as Zoldark's Staff or The Stonereaper is useful to decrease the recharge time of title spells.

Core skill bar
This gives the player a great opportunity to utilize the skill bar for a specific need.

Other valuable skills to equip

 * Signet of Lost Souls - for some life/energy management
 * Awaken the Blood - for more damage from SS (but beware of health-sacrificing skills)
 * Suffering - another cover hex for SS
 * Weaken Armor or Enfeebling Blood
 * Blood Ritual - energy support for your party

Against single targets:


 * Insidious Parasite
 * Empathy
 * Backfire

When completing missions and quest during the storyline, PvE-only skills are also useful, such as Norn title track skills


 * "You Move Like a Dwarf!"
 * "Finish him!"

or the Sunspear title skill Necrosis is very useful if you have high Sunspear rank.

Advantages

 * Very effective against groups of melee/ranged attackers balled together.
 * Still considerably effective against single targets.

Disadvantages

 * Interrupting of Arcane Echo greatly reduces the effectiveness of this build. But, you can avoid this disadvantage by casting it when not involved in combat.
 * Dazed condition.
 * Vow of Silence, Shadow Form, Obsidian Flesh and other skills that do not allow you to cast spells on target.