Ritualist - Support Ritualist

The community gave this build a rating, making it second-tier: Good

Focused on: Healing, Boon removal and Boon support

Designed for: WvW Zerg

Expansions required:

Difficulty:

Easy

This build was last updated on November 01, 2025 and is up to date for the October 28, 2025 patch.

Overview

A build designed to strip boons and bring Quickness as well as other boons

Skill Bar

Staff

Greatsword

Utility

Variants

Utility

• Swap Signet of the Locust
  • Weapon of Remedy
  • Signet of Undeath

Template Code

[&DQg1PhM1QCrnGgAAdgEAAHMBAADXGgAA6BoAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=]

Copy Template Code

Specializations

Variants

• Life from Death

Variants

• Chill of Death - If not running Signet of the Locust

Equipment

Head
Minstrel

Shoulders
Minstrel

Chest
Minstrel

Hands
Minstrel

Legs
Minstrel

Feet
Minstrel

Backpiece
Minstrel

Accessory
Minstrel

Accessory
Minstrel

Amulet
Minstrel

Ring
Minstrel

Ring
Minstrel

Staff
Minstrel

Sigil

Sigil

Greatsword
Minstrel

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Infusion
x14

Infusion
x4

Relic

Equipment Variants

Relic

• Relic of Cerus
• Relic of the Midnight King

Sigils

• Sigil of Superior Sigil of Transference

Usage

Quick Guide

• Support Ritualist is a utility boon Support that sets up its group with boon corruption and Quickness
• Your highest priority is using your Well of Corruption together with other necros in squad on the commanders call to create an opportunity for your group to generate kills
• Use Nightfall like wells - at the same time as other necros on the commanders call
  • If you commander doesn't call Nightfall, use it to punish the enemy group pushing into yours
• Play in Staff until you need to cast Nightfall or Grasping Darkness
• Use your Mark skills to heal allies via Transfusion, saving Putrid Mark to condition clear and Reaper's Mark for Stability
• Use your CC and Boon Strip skills to support your groups spikes
• Save Grasping Darkness to Pull enemies into your groups spikes or catch enemies when they try to kite your group
• Use Ritualist's Shroud to grant boons via Empowering Spirits by using all your Spirit skills
• Always cast Preservation first when entering Ritualist's Shroud for Soul Twisting
• Dodge in downtime to proc Relic of Rivers and Mark of Evasion

Overall Priorities

High

• Wells

Moderate

• Boon rip
• Boon support
• Heal/Cleanse Support

Low

• CC

Surviving

• This build has high passive defense
• This build has low mobility skill access
• This build has moderate active defenses

Defensive Skill List Resilient Weapon - Stunbreak Well of Power - Stunbreak Xinrae's Weapon - Stunbreak Ritualist's Shroud - Damage Reduction Summon Spirits - Movement

Detailed Explanations

Wells

• Save your Well of Corruption for the commanders call
  • If you aren't using voice communication, use your wells at the same time as the other Necromancers in your group
• When using pulsing ground AoEs like Well of Corruption, try to place them so that one edge is on the enemy group and the other edge is in the direction they are moving to

Boon rip

Boon Strip Skill List Well of Corruption Nightfall Ritualist's Shroud + Spiteful Spirit Signet of the Locust + Signets of Suffering

• As with wells, use Nightfall on your commanders call
  • If you commander isn't calling Nightfall instead use it when the enemy group is pushing towards you or your group is in melee
• Enter Ritualist's Shroud to proc Spiteful Spirit when your group pushes into the enemy
• Signet of the Locust + Signets of Suffering has a substantial range and should be used directly after Well of Corruption/Nightfall or before Harbinger Shroud to combine the boon rip on spikes

Boon Support

Important Boon Application Skill List Quickness - All Spirits via Empowering Spirits Anguish - Might Innervate Anguish - Might + Fury Wanderlust - Fury Preservation - Vigor + Protection + Resolution Innervate Preservation - Stability Reaper's Mark + Transfusion - Stability

• To maintain Quickness you must enter Ritualist's Shroud frequently and cast Spirit skills to proc Empowering Spirits
  • Generally you should cast Preservation first to proc Soul Twisting, but if extra Might is more desirable than what Preservation gives, use Anguish first instead
  • Once all your Spirits are on cooldown, leave Ritualist's Shroud
• Always cast Innervate Anguish immediately after casting Anguish
• Cast Innervate Preservation immediately after casting Preservation, but only if your group needs the Stability since the cooldown is long
• Dodge whenever you have downtime or your Endurance would cap out to proc Mark of Evasion and Relic of Rivers

Heal/Cleanse Support

Healing Skill List All Marks via Transfusion Chillblains - More Healing than other Marks Dodge activates Mark of Evasion Resilient Weapon Xinrae's Weapon - Lifesteal All Spirits via Spirit's Gift Preservation - More Healing than other Spirits

Condition Clear Skill List Putrid Mark - Transfusion Preservation Well of Power

• You should stay in Staff until Nightfall or Grasping Darkness are needed
• All your Mark skills on Staff heal and give additional effects via Transfusion
  • Hit enemies with them when possible, but prioritize allies
  • Use Mark of Blood as often as possible for healing
  • Chillblains is also for healing, but with a bigger heal and longer CD, so save it for when more healing is needed
  • Putrid Mark should be saved for condition clear
  • Save Reaper's Mark for Stability when it can't be covered by the main stability provider in your group
    • If possible hit enemies with Reaper's Mark in particular, since the Fear is a useful CC
• Use Resilient Weapon when your group is trading hits with the enemy or right before the enemy group spikes
• Use Xinrae's Weapon before the enemy group spikes yours to absorb large hits
  • Xinrae's Weapon also stunbreaks, if you're having trouble surviving you can save it to stunbreak yourself instead
• Well of Power is your most powerful condition clear skill, use it any time your group is trading hits with the enemy in close range

CC

CC Skill List Grasping Darkness - Pull Wanderlust - Knockdown Innervate Wanderlust - Fear Reaper's Mark - Fear

• Use Grasping Darkness when:
  • Your group calls a spike such as Wells
  • Your group is range spiking the enemy
  • Enemy groups move defensively while your group is pushing
• Do not use Grasping Darkness when:
  • Your group is pushing and the enemy group is pushing
  • Your group is moving away from the enemy
  • It would pull the enemy group out of your groups spike (except for range spikes)
• You can use a Stow Weapon keybind halfway through the cast of Grasping Darkness and the pull will finish casting while you can immediately start casting other skills
• Reaper's Mark should be saved to hit allies, but hit enemies as well when possible
• You won't be able to save Wanderlust/Innervate Wanderlust for spikes to activate, but Wanderlust can be delayed slightly if that would help them line up better
  • Keep in mind that Innervate Wanderlust activates at the spirits location