Feedback:User/Tounaku/PvP Spirit Overhaul

From Guild Wars Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search

Living is not a Spirit's strong suit. In PvP, spirits (primarily those from the Communing line) that affect the battlefield in manners other than just using a range attack can typically be seen blowing up at regular intervals five seconds after they are called up from their ghost parties in the Mists. What's worse is that your average Ritualist is too busy being less effective than Elementalists and Necromancers using the same skills to summon their spirit buddies back to the fight when things get heated, because honestly anyone with half a brain and an interruption skill should be all over a person who is kneeling down, floating the air or twitching spasmodically for more than two seconds straight.


Point is, most Spirits in Guild Wars die far too easily to really have a lasting and dynamic impact on an entire battle, take a long time to re-set or are difficult to do so, especially in the heat of battle, or are currently too expensive or too much of a liability to take over other skills. These problems have effectively removed most Ritualist Spirits from play.


This suggestion is a two-pronged possible solution to this PvP problem.


Part one[edit]

Spawning Power Function Change

For each rank of Spawning Power you have, creatures you create (or animate) have 4% more Health, weapon Spells you cast last 4% longer, and you activate Binding Ritual spells 3% faster. Some Ritualist skills, especially those related to Spirit creatures, become more effective with higher Spawning Power.

  • This gives Ritualist an actual advantage over other professions when it comes to using Spirits, especially multiple Spirits.

A series of buffs and adjustments

This pretty much means that a lot of Spirits (Lookin' at you, Communing) are either too expensive, too weak, aren't renewed efficiently, or a combination of those three. A series of duration and recharge adjustments combined with some modest and specific buffs to spirit level could help kick some into more regular play.

Example

Anguish Anguish 15 Energy3 Activation time35 Recharge time Binding Ritual. Create a level 1...7...8 Spirit. This Spirit deals 5...17...20 damage and deals double damage to hexed foes. This Spirit dies after 10...30...35 seconds.

  • This kind of restructuring might be enough to kick something like the Spirit Anguish into regular use. The function itself is useful but its current sheer energy cost of 25 is too much to really warrant the risk of taking this relatively fragile spirit into battle.


Part Two[edit]

Burning in Place of Direct Damage

Spirits (especially support spirits) exploding three seconds after they're summoned has always been one of their biggest flaws. Burning instead of taking direct damage, Spirits would live longer and thus contribute more to a battle.

Example

Displacement Displacement 10 Energy3 Activation time35 Recharge time Binding Ritual. Create a level 1...8...10 spirit. All non-spirit allies within its range have a 50% chance to block incoming attacks. Every time an attack is blocked in this way, this spirit burns for 4 seconds. This spirit dies after 10...38...45 seconds.

  • At 14 damage per second, burning provides a way to kill a spirit just not so rapidly as to drag it away from a team that really could use it for the next five seconds.
  • If this spirit punishing tactic is a little too generous in a given situation, it might be necessary to add small pockets of damage to speed the process along for balance's sake. If this spirit is already burning when its effect triggers, it takes 14 damage and the Burning duration is renewed. might do the trick. This would simply be an accelerated version of burning which would prevent a Ritualist from completely blanketing a battlefield with effects by investing all attribute points into Communing and Spawning Power.

Example

Disenchantment Disenchantment 15 Energy5 Activation time30 Recharge time Binding Ritual. Create a level 1...7...8 spirit. This spirit deals 5...17...20 damage and anyone struck by its attack loses one enchantment. Whenever this spirit removes an enchantment, it burns for 2 seconds. This spirit dies after 10...38...45 seconds.

  • Adding burning to Disenchantment is to justify lowering its recharge to 30 seconds. Either it gets killed by an enemy or it burns itself out, but chances our it will die before it recharges if its actually influencing a battle. A 15 second faster recharge just gives the Ritualist another opportunity to set it up and keep pumping pressure. This could be applied to other Binding Rituals like Shadowsong in exchange for a higher level.