Okay, the title is basically just a pun and it’s still in testing, but I decided to try a Well/Shroud build on a whim and it was really, really fun.
http://dulfy.net/gw2traits#build=AgQCpAVoBHQ~
Weapons: Axe/Focus and Staff are what I’m using. I can see Dagger being useful over Axe for more siphoning and Dark Pact, but you lose the Life Force-gaining and boon-ripping of Axe. If you want to focus less on Shroud and more on healing, Dagger/Focus might be better.
Sigils: At least one Blood; the rest can be whatever (Air, Fire, Energy, Generosity, Hydromancy, whichever you like the most).
Rune: Vampirism seems best here.
Amulet: Can’t go wrong with Zerker, unless you want to be slightly harder to kill in exchange for doing less damage.
Heal: Well of Blood, full stop.
Utilities:
Well of Corruption
Spectral Grasp
Well of Power/Well of Darkness/Spectral Armor
WoC and Grasp are too good to pass up, but the third can be whatever you prefer – WoP or WoD for your team’s Well-being, or Spectral Armor for selfish defense + more life force. Note that if you take Well of Darkness, consider swapping Plague Sending for Chilling Darkness.
Elite: I like Lich Form for the teamfighting; Flesh Golem if you think you’ll be 1v1ing more.
So, basically, Wells are really fun with Vampiric Rituals. You become really, really hard to kill in teamfights, and I’ve secured so many capture points because I kept my allies allive. In 1v1 situations, you’re still a pretty big threat if someone encounters you while your Life Force bar is full.
I was originally trying to redo my pre-patch Shroud Crit build using Spite/Curses/Soul Reaping, but I decided to swap Spite with Blood Magic and I’ve grown fond of the spec. Give it a shot and let me know how it can be improved (especially with details like rune/sigil/amulet choice).
Edit: Typo, meant to say I dropped SPITE for Blood Magic, not Soul Reaping – build is Curses/SR/BM.