When we talk about Spirit Weapons, a lot of people would call it – a waste of utility slot. In fact a lot of Spirit Weapon builds are shoe-horned into Zeal tree to maximize the damage potential.
So, people end up sacrificing 2-3 traits and 2-3 utility slots just to make it work.
This isn’t great at all when Shouts and Consecrations have shorter cooldowns and much more of a game changer than Spirit Weapons ever will be.
My proposal : Spirit Weapons should have a Banner – like effect.
Think about it, theme of the Guardian is a very much party-oriented skills.
Virtues – all three of them grants boon to allies.
Consecrations grants boon to those who stand within it.
Shouts too, affect allies.
Why not give Spirit Weapon a party-enhancing effect much in the spirit of the Warrior’s Banner drop?
Currently, activating the Spirit Weapons (when fully traited) give a minor damage burst or knockdown etc.
To be exact on what they do:
Sword: It’s probably the best Spirit Weapon we have.
Passive AoE attacks.
Active AoE burst.
Hammer: It does respectable knockdowns with low damage.
Passive Periodic Target knockdown.
Active Single Target knockdown
Shield: The shield only protects against range…and it’s very random in where it places it. It forces people to stand on where it wants to plant it. Not a reliable support.
Passive Periodic Shield of Absorption
Active Multiple Weakness condition applied, with very small damage.
Bow: You cannot rely on this for Condition Removal nor Healing, because it moves randomly. The long cooldown also makes this a very forgettable pick.
Passive Periodic Condition Cleanse
Active Small Heal over an area – overshadowed by Hold the line, etc.
I propose that Spirit Weapon should give a party support boon when summoned on top of their existing abilities.
Sword of Justice : Party-wide 5 stacks of Might for 20 seconds.
Hammer of Wisdom : Party-wide 5% Critical Damage increase for 15 seconds.
Shield of the Avenger : Party-wide Protection for 10 seconds.
Bow of Truth : Every time the party member lands a critical strike, 33% chance they remove a condition.
With those bonuses up, I don’t feel like I’m getting a bad deal out of the Utility slot.
Sword of Justice adds damage and even more damage. For 60 sec recharge, that’s a good deal. Is it too good in exchange for other heal / support utility shouts?
Hammer of Wisdom: retains its crowd control ability while adding more critical damage. Too little? I realize Hammer is more of a PVP choice, and the critical damage should make it more attractive to the PVP crowd too. Or maybe retaliation is a better choice to differentiate it from Warriors Banner?
Shield of the Avenger: For the first time ever, the shield actually does something meaningful. It’s a shield, it should protect people. If it’s too overpowered… I guess drop an Aegis in there? It’s a shield. It’s a defensive summon.
Bow of Truth: It’s a condition cleansing weapon. It should do what it says with the new effect. It’s still a spirit weapon with a crappy recharge of 80 seconds. At least for 20 seconds, ANY party conditions are GUARANTEED to go away.
So what do you guys think? Am I just asking too much?