View source for Bonder

== Description ==
A [[bonder]] is a particular support role of [[Protection]]/[[Smiting]] [[Monk]] or [[Elementalist]]. Instead of casting spells before or during battle, a bonder uses [[Upkeep|maintained]] [[enchantment]]s to provide constant protection or damage to/through a tank at safe distance. Bonders often find a place in team builds for high level areas, such as [[elite mission]]s or other [[Hard mode]] tasks, where damage reduction is essential. The most common Monk build in [[PvE]], uses [[Life Barrier]] in conjunction with [[Life Bond]]. Elementalists use [[Protective Bond]]. In [[PvP]], bonding is less effective because most organized teams will have a way to counter enchantments. Monk bonders dedicate to reduce damage / deal indirect damage and they are usually part of a team build that has another character responsible for healing. However, Elementalist bonders handle both damage reduction and healing at the same time via constant usage of Infuse Health.

Bonders face [[energy]] degeneration or zero regeneration due to the maintaining cost of each enchantment. When a bonder's energy drops to zero, enchantments that they are maintaining will be dismissed until energy regeneration has returned to 0. Monk bonders upkeep energy with [[Blessed Signet]], often in combination with [[Balthazar's Spirit]] and/or [[Essence Bond]]. Elementalist bonders will make use of [[Ether Renewal]] along with spammable spells such as: [[Burning Speed]], [[Infuse Health]] and [[Vigorous Spirit]] (which also work as [[cover]] enchantment).

Bonders are vulnerable to enchantment removal, which means it is vital to study enemies skills in a certain area beforehand since they might as well need several cover enchantments to keep the bonds protected (and quickly recast them if they were removed by foes).

Maintained enchantments have a large range, allowing their target to move further away but not unlimited. These spells cannot be kept beyond radar range. The Bonder will be notified with orange messages but the target needs to keep watch on their skill upkeep display bar.

=== Heroes ===
Since a Protection Bonder's build is almost passive, some players prefer heroes to fill that position and use high skilled players for other team functions. Team builds that use a tank should not make the same player to take the hero but another player instead, so that it won't follow the tank risking both lives. The tank would also need to constantly flag it, slowing down the entire team's advancing pace.

Hero bonders need to be micromanaged since their [[hero behavior|normal behavior]] causes them to immediately dismiss maintained enchantments outside of combat and require the owner to:
* Disable the hero's relevant skills for micromanagement.
* Manually target the character that the hero should bond.
* Manually activate the hero's skills, except those that are not maintained enchantments.

== Primary bonder spells ==
The primary task of this build is to maintain three (or more) of these enchantments.
{{ Skill table
| titlematch = Protective Bond¦Life Bond¦Life Barrier¦Balthazar's Spirit
| show attribute = y
| show campaign = y
| color scheme = mo
}}
Less commonly, one of the following elites may be used instead:
* {{skill icon|Offering of Blood}}
* {{skill icon|Scribe's Insight}}

== Additional skills ==
{{section-stub}}
Bonder skills have high [[energy]] costs, requiring good [[energy management]]. The use of enchantments enables a few options for energy management.

{{mo}} primary [[Monk]]s:
;Bonds
* {{skill icon|Divine Boon}}
* {{skill icon|Essence Bond}}
* {{skill icon|Holy Veil}}
* {{skill icon|Life Attunement}}
* {{skill icon|Mending}}
* {{skill icon|Purifying Veil}}
* {{skill icon|Retribution}}
* {{skill icon|Strength of Honor}}
* {{skill icon|Succor}}
* {{skill icon|Unyielding Aura}} ([[elite]])
* {{skill icon|Vital Blessing}}
* {{skill icon|Watchful Spirit}}
;Healing
* {{skill icon|Infuse Health}}
* {{skill icon|Vigorous Spirit}}
;Signets
* {{skill icon|Blessed Signet}}
* {{skill icon|Signet of Devotion}}
* {{skill icon|Signet of Rejuvenation}}

{{e}} primary [[Elementalist]]s:
* {{skill icon|Ether Renewal}} (elite): gain health and energy for each enchantment when casting a spell
* {{skill icon|Aura of Restoration}}: gain health and energy when casting a spell
* {{skill icon|Elemental Lord}}: gain health and energy when casting a spell

Party members of an orders character may bring additional skills that benefit from enchantments:
* {{skill icon|Mystic Healing}}: heals enchanted party members
* {{skill icon|Dwayna's Kiss}}: heals more for each enchantment
* {{skill icon|Seed of Life}}: heals party members whenever bonder takes (or redirects) damage from enchanted allies.

== Trivia ==
*In [[PvP]], Life Bond Monks were very common in [[Random Arenas]], although more recently it sees less use due to prevalent [[List of enchantment removal skills|enchantment removals]].
* [[Paragon]]s began taking on the role of bonders in high-end PvP after the release of [[Nightfall]]. [[Angelic Bond]] behaved similarly to [[Life Bond]] without the energy degeneration or the vulnerability to enchantment removal or to [[Nature's Renewal]]. However, that elite has been [[Angelic Bond/Skill history|since modified]] <!-- deliberate red link, encouraging creation of the skill history page --> so that it is no longer sufficiently effective for bonders.

==See also==
* [[User:Foo/GoM]]
{{Team Roles nav}}
[[Category:PvE Builds]]
[[Category:Monk builds]]