ArenaNet:Skill feedback/Ritualist/General problem of defensive ghosts

Defensive spirits -- 12:51, 6 December 2008 (UTC)
Discussion In start of factions, the ritualist was one of the most powerful classes in creating ghosts, and using them: Most of those ghosts hat the same effects as today, but as a result of abusing this ghosts in PvP, they got changed, where i mostly agree that they were imbalanced.

But the situation today is even more worse: NO ONE ever uses those ghosts as they are too weak, too high cost, too high casting time and at least too low health and armor to be effective. Especially in PvE, they are nothing more like decoration, as they die too easy from AoE and enemies attacks. Even setting attributes to spawning power, those ghosts just lasts only 5 or 6 seconds longer, before they die. This makes Spawning power only attractive for second class minion masters, but not for ghost users. On the other hand are most of the offensive ghosts not loosing live while attacking, that means, that spawning power is useless for offensive users and defense users, that means Spawning power is in its function as a primary attribute useless to nearly all styles of gameplay for the ritualist.

We have solutions, but for this, nearly all ghosts need to be changed. Preservation is an example of how it could go: What about giving those defensive ghosts castings to ONE character instead of an effect for the whole group. I will post what i mean:
 * Suggestion

Shelter: Binding Ritual. Create a level 1...7...8 Spirit. "Shelter" will be casted all 7...3 Seconds on one group member. This member cannot lose more than 10% maximum Health from attacks for 2 seconds. When this Spirit prevents damage, it loses 30...18...15 Health. This Spirit lasts 30...54...60 seconds.

It is an idea of how it could go, but also, the artifical intelligence of those ghosts need to be changed. They should be more effective, but also, they arent imbalanced after changing like this.

On the other hand, Spawning power as an attribute needs to be changed:

For each rank of Spawning Power you have, creatures you create (or animate) have 4% more Health, and get 2 life points for every used skill, and weapon Spells you cast last 2% longer. Some Ritualist skills, especially those related to Spirit creatures, become more effective with higher Spawning Power.

This would help greatly, as there are only very few ways to heal spirits, and it would make some other spirits, like renuvejation more effective and useful without changing their primary effect. Furthermore, it prevents those new ghosts from being abused by second-class-ritualists in PvP. The last change had to be, that even offensive ghosts has to loose live in order to balance them. My suggestion should just be a possibility, and my idea of the height of the life loss of the spirit is just an example, which means that this point has to be thought over very precisely.