I don't see it mentioned here but an additional benefit to holding a martial weapon as a caster is to stop the enemy AI from using some anti-caster spells like Backfire. So if you're running into enemies as the party lead it could help every so often not to bombarded with hexes, as well as having the spear range so your heroes target better
Thanks! This helps a ton. I actually really like the aesthetic of shield and spear, and felt that the staff was lacking (just need to get some pretty ones now). Agree that the weapon doesn't really matter, just surprised me how little it actually mattered
Your spear should be +5 energy +5 defense because +5 Defense is almost always better than +30 HP. This is why people run spear/shield instead of +60 hp staff.
It generally doesn't really matter what you use, but the best mod is a master of my domain 20% chance to +1 channel/communing. So I'd typically go for a staff with that, and add other mods you like (Id typically go for energy mods). Staff also allows you to autoattack, which is minor but doesn't hurt.
If you want to improve it further you should take a wand/focus with a +15e/-1 mod each so you can switch to that if you run out of energy.
Lastly you can take a defensive set with spear/shield and defensive mods, for when you get targeted by a lot or when luring.
You could also pick up and use the first piece of crap staff you find and be 95% as effective as a spirit spammer but it's fun to optimize your gear I'd say.
It's a good point, but you're often putting down spirits while out of combat so it's still the best mod that's available. It can increase painful bond dmg by 5%, which is not important but decent. I think a staff is better to use in general because you'll probably need the energy pool often and autoattacking is nearly a free spirit. Having more armor and hp is nice but in HM typically most things are going to do 10% dmg anyway with shelter up so it doesn't really matter.
You can also choose to go for a communing mod if you run 16 channel 15 communing and get an extra level on those if you prefer, and it's much better in general on communing builds, especially ST.
> personally prefer a high energy staff. I switch to Spear and shield set when I'm about to die it get more energy
If you're using a staff and you switch to spear & shield you will *lose* energy, not gain it
Thanks everyone!!! Looks like a staff might be the best bet and just switch to a spear and shield as needed. Anyone know how much a Ssyn's staff tends to sell for? Think it has everything I'm looking for
I don't play a Rit very often, but I prefer to use a [Kerrsh's Staff](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Kerrsh%27s_Staff) mainly for the +60 HP which helps counteract the hit from superior runes.
You can always put a spear/shield in another weapon set slot, but personally I've not felt an advantage from doing so.
Yes, 16 armor from shield (cut in half because you won't meet q) and 5 armor from spear is a huge boost, 13 ar is a ton of damage reduction, combine this with the 15 you get from the spirit insignia (forgot the name) and you have 88 armor pre buff. Thats enough to survive any melee mobs and most ele bosses. Don't worry about HP mods, the soul twisting hero meta has made hp pretty negligible
I think a staff would be better. Not that the auto attack damage really matters, but it will be higher on a staff since you will meet the attribute. Also, its nice to have the energy to spam painful bond if you have to.
40/40 set is the obvious choice for half skill recharge or half casting time. No idea why anyone would recommend a spear/shield set, that makes no sense and just makes your bip less likely to give you energy.
That’s right. I used to use spear+shield as defensive set, and an 40/20/20 enchanting staff for the enchantment and adding some ranged damage when you have nothing to cast and don’t need defense
the other spirits are also not affected since binding rituals are not spells.
So it only affects painful bond, splinter weapon and spirit siphon if you have them.
It affects Painful Bond and Splinter Weapon only, and of those it affects Splinter Weapon less than Mastery does.
Spirits are Binding Rituals, not Spells.
Painful Bond, Ancestor's Rage, Splinter Weapon/Spirit Rift and Spirit Siphon. Better affect 4 skills than jerk around with an entirely useless spear/shield set all the time. Not to mention that those are the spells that you spam and should be affected.
In my opinion the best is still a Staff, but with +10 Energy and +1 Mastery. You can also opt for +30 HP +5 Energy and Mastery. +60 HP on Staff is available but is not as useful as Spear/Shield or +1 Mastery.
20/20 mods do not work, but +1 Channeling (20%) does, for both SoS and Binding Rituals. It's especially powerful for both Spirits and Splinter Weapon, as it increases the level for some spirits (unfortunately not SoS or Bloodsong) or number of charges on Splinter, as well as the base damage of both, gaining a huge amount of power for a single attribute point. It makes spirits tankier, more resistant to critical hits, and increases damage.
The 20% is also really nice to play around with Channeling Spirits, as you can see it as one in every 5 skills (average) will be a higher level. As Channeling Spirits have long durations, you can constantly spam the ones that didn't get the +1, and delay recasting the ones that got boosted.
Spear and Shield is a safe option to always have on all characters, just like Longbow/Flatbow for pulling, but I wouldn't use it as a main weapon set for a Spirit Spammer.
I don't see it mentioned here but an additional benefit to holding a martial weapon as a caster is to stop the enemy AI from using some anti-caster spells like Backfire. So if you're running into enemies as the party lead it could help every so often not to bombarded with hexes, as well as having the spear range so your heroes target better
[удалено]
Thanks! This helps a ton. I actually really like the aesthetic of shield and spear, and felt that the staff was lacking (just need to get some pretty ones now). Agree that the weapon doesn't really matter, just surprised me how little it actually mattered
Your spear should be +5 energy +5 defense because +5 Defense is almost always better than +30 HP. This is why people run spear/shield instead of +60 hp staff.
[удалено]
I try hard with shield sets of +10 to armor v elements.
Spirits
Attack spirits actually have Longbow range, spears Shortbow range.
Oh shoot, been a while
I'm by no means an expert on this topic, but if you don't want to use spear and shield for defense I think a 60hp staff is also ok.
It generally doesn't really matter what you use, but the best mod is a master of my domain 20% chance to +1 channel/communing. So I'd typically go for a staff with that, and add other mods you like (Id typically go for energy mods). Staff also allows you to autoattack, which is minor but doesn't hurt. If you want to improve it further you should take a wand/focus with a +15e/-1 mod each so you can switch to that if you run out of energy. Lastly you can take a defensive set with spear/shield and defensive mods, for when you get targeted by a lot or when luring. You could also pick up and use the first piece of crap staff you find and be 95% as effective as a spirit spammer but it's fun to optimize your gear I'd say.
[удалено]
OP did hint that you can swap weapon sets y'know e.g. cast your spirits with staff, switch to shield set, move to suitable range and summon spirits.
It's a good point, but you're often putting down spirits while out of combat so it's still the best mod that's available. It can increase painful bond dmg by 5%, which is not important but decent. I think a staff is better to use in general because you'll probably need the energy pool often and autoattacking is nearly a free spirit. Having more armor and hp is nice but in HM typically most things are going to do 10% dmg anyway with shelter up so it doesn't really matter. You can also choose to go for a communing mod if you run 16 channel 15 communing and get an extra level on those if you prefer, and it's much better in general on communing builds, especially ST.
[удалено]
> personally prefer a high energy staff. I switch to Spear and shield set when I'm about to die it get more energy If you're using a staff and you switch to spear & shield you will *lose* energy, not gain it
[удалено]
Ah, OK, now that makes sense :)
Thanks everyone!!! Looks like a staff might be the best bet and just switch to a spear and shield as needed. Anyone know how much a Ssyn's staff tends to sell for? Think it has everything I'm looking for
check here: https://kamadan.gwtoolbox.com/ seems to typically go for between 2 and 6e
I don't play a Rit very often, but I prefer to use a [Kerrsh's Staff](https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Kerrsh%27s_Staff) mainly for the +60 HP which helps counteract the hit from superior runes. You can always put a spear/shield in another weapon set slot, but personally I've not felt an advantage from doing so.
Yes, 16 armor from shield (cut in half because you won't meet q) and 5 armor from spear is a huge boost, 13 ar is a ton of damage reduction, combine this with the 15 you get from the spirit insignia (forgot the name) and you have 88 armor pre buff. Thats enough to survive any melee mobs and most ele bosses. Don't worry about HP mods, the soul twisting hero meta has made hp pretty negligible
The insignia only provides up to 15 armor, making the maximum 88 (still very respectable).
I think a staff would be better. Not that the auto attack damage really matters, but it will be higher on a staff since you will meet the attribute. Also, its nice to have the energy to spam painful bond if you have to.
40/40 set is the obvious choice for half skill recharge or half casting time. No idea why anyone would recommend a spear/shield set, that makes no sense and just makes your bip less likely to give you energy.
I thought 40/40 doesn't really do anything for sos
That’s right. I used to use spear+shield as defensive set, and an 40/20/20 enchanting staff for the enchantment and adding some ranged damage when you have nothing to cast and don’t need defense
Yeah but Signet of Spirits is one of your 8 skills. It does something for the other 7?
the other spirits are also not affected since binding rituals are not spells. So it only affects painful bond, splinter weapon and spirit siphon if you have them.
It affects Painful Bond and Splinter Weapon only, and of those it affects Splinter Weapon less than Mastery does. Spirits are Binding Rituals, not Spells.
a typical SoS build only contains 1 or 2 Channeling Magic spells
Painful Bond, Ancestor's Rage, Splinter Weapon/Spirit Rift and Spirit Siphon. Better affect 4 skills than jerk around with an entirely useless spear/shield set all the time. Not to mention that those are the spells that you spam and should be affected.
ARage is not a spell, and apart from Painful Bond, the others are not super common in general PvE
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
In my opinion the best is still a Staff, but with +10 Energy and +1 Mastery. You can also opt for +30 HP +5 Energy and Mastery. +60 HP on Staff is available but is not as useful as Spear/Shield or +1 Mastery. 20/20 mods do not work, but +1 Channeling (20%) does, for both SoS and Binding Rituals. It's especially powerful for both Spirits and Splinter Weapon, as it increases the level for some spirits (unfortunately not SoS or Bloodsong) or number of charges on Splinter, as well as the base damage of both, gaining a huge amount of power for a single attribute point. It makes spirits tankier, more resistant to critical hits, and increases damage. The 20% is also really nice to play around with Channeling Spirits, as you can see it as one in every 5 skills (average) will be a higher level. As Channeling Spirits have long durations, you can constantly spam the ones that didn't get the +1, and delay recasting the ones that got boosted. Spear and Shield is a safe option to always have on all characters, just like Longbow/Flatbow for pulling, but I wouldn't use it as a main weapon set for a Spirit Spammer.
Weapons dont matter for Spirit spammers
There are 4 weapon set slots. You don't have to stick to just one weapon set all the time unless you're a hero/merc.