Guild Wars Wiki:Sandbox
This is the Guild Wars Wiki public sandbox. You can test out the wiki code etc. here.
Please be aware that absolutely anyone can overwrite your changes and the sandbox will be blanked from time to time, so don't put anything too important here!
When using this sandbox please follow these simple rules:
- Please do not revert each other.
- Please leave this notice and the comments at the beginning of this page intact.
- Please keep things small enough not to be a hassle to testers.
- Do not add categories to this page, this includes categories added by templates like deletion templates, etc.
- For tests of simple things, you may not even need to modify this page - just try using "Show preview" first.
- Please clear out the sandbox after you are done your testing so it is empty for other people who may wish to use it for testing.
Happy testing!
Soul Twisting Rit / Damage Mitigation Options
The Soul Twisting Rit (Shelter/Union/Displacement spirits) has been utterly dominant in PvE hard mode team comps for a while. Its defensive power and efficiency are head-and-shoulders above any competition. It alone provides unstrippable and unconditional damage capping, damage reduction, and block chance to the entire party -- all with skills accessible to heroes. Its competing skills are few, generally constrained to prot monk/leadership paragon, and they suffer from significant weaknesses:
- Save Yourselves: Player/Mercenary use only. Not realistic for non-paragon players in Melandru’s Accord.
- They’re On Fire: fraction of Shelter’s protective power, contingent on maintaining and spreading burning
- There’s Nothing to Fear: not maintainable
- Protective Spirit: single target, strippable, high energy cost and 5s recharge make it challenging to juggle on party members
- Spirit Bond: single target, strippable, short duration, high energy cost for spamming
- Protective Bond: strippable, maintained enchantment, long cast time
- Etc. etc. etc.
Despite its power and ubiquity, I don't think nerfing the ST Rit is the right move at this time. This is partially BECAUSE it is so ubiquitous -- a nerf too heavy could make hard mode content MUCH more difficult for a large part of the player base overnight.
Instead, I’d suggest either buffing some of its existing competitors or giving underperforming profession attributes some PvE changes that are in this general direction:
- Water Ele: change Ward Against Harm to cap damage to allies at 10% max health (compete with Shelter)
- Water Ele: change Armor of Mist, Armor of Frost, or Frigid Armor to affect caster and allies and provide additional kinds of damage mitigation
- Water Ele: swirling aura looks like its trying to fill this need now, but might need significant improvement to compete
- Tactics Warrior: change Shields Up to “Party members wielding shields take 15% less damage”
- Tactics Warrior: change Defensive Stance to a shout, “Party Members within earshot have a 75% chance to block” (compete with Displacement)
- Protection Monk: change protective spirit to affect target and nearby allies
Bottom Line: I suspect that breaking up the ST Rit's monopoly on AoE damage mitigation has the potential to open up some interesting buildcraft and simultaneously solve some PvE identity problems that Water Magic Eles, Tactics Warriors, etc experience.
Thoughts? Thoughts from the people? Doofasa (talk) 05:00, 28 August 2026 (UTC)
