Battle For Lion's Arch Necro/Rit Spiritual Heal n Prot Bot

I frequently pug BLA for fun, and today looking through my Google analytics stuff (which I only do very, very irregularly), I find a very large number of searches for builds for BLA. >.>

No Zmobie Left Behind works well in BLA. I would recommend taking Blood Ritual over Go for the Eyes! though, since non-necro healers are very, very energy-hungry in this fight.

However, since there were ever so many searches, I'll share a healer build I run very often as well. No, it's not a monk healer build. I *have* a monk healer build I use for BLA, but to tell the total truth, the necro build is so much less stressful because of the infinite energy from Soul Reaping - especially in this fight. That being said, I would strongly advise against using this build anywhere else. The only reason it works well is that things are dying so fast, in such a small area, in BLA. It has absolutely no e-management (other than Soul Reaping), and very energy-heavy spells.

So, here it is:

BLA Necro/Rit Spiritual Heal n Prot Bot

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Skills
Soothing Memories
Mend Body & Soul
Spirit Light Weapon {Elite}
Protective Was Kaolai
Shelter
Rejuvenation
Life
Union

Stats
Soul Reaping [8] + [4]
Restoration [12]
Communing [10]

Gear

  • Superior Soul Reaping rune
  • Mix of Survivor and Radiant Insignia
  • Major or Superior vigor rune
  • 2 Attunement and 1 Vitae rune to finish off
  • Sword/Spear and Shield (hsr/hct and hp are good. Do not go for energy, or you may have e problems when you recast Protective Was Kaolai)

Campaigns Needed
Factions, Nightfall (only if using Xinrae's Weapon or Weapon of Remedy in place of Spirit Light Weapon).

How to Use

  • Put all your spirits up, preferably a little behind the two pillars in front of the gates of Lion's Arch (near the first stairs)
  • Carry Protective Was Kaolai at all times
  • Drop Protective Was Kaolai to counter group damage (dropping it twice should give you a 180hp party heal)
  • Use Soothing Memories as your main heal (energy efficient when clutching Protective Was Kaolai - what, a necro/rit talking about energy efficiency? Shhhhh.)
  • Mend Body & Soul to remove conditions
  • Spirit Light Weapon to top up / counter degen, Mursaat, general stupidity, etc. You should almost always have at least one spirit in range, so Spirit Light Weapon should be healing for 24hp/s
  • Renew spirits as fast as they die / your binding rituals recharge

Variants

  • Xinrae's Weapon instead of Spirit Light Weapon [Requires Nightfall] If you don't like how people keep running out of range of spirits to chase things out the gates of Lion's Arch, thereby making Spirit Light Weapon heal for a measly 12hp/s, use Xinrae's Weapon instead. At least it even comes with a mini prot! XD
  • Weapon of Remedy instead of Spirit Light Weapon [Requires Nightfall] So many conditions! AaaAa! And as mentioned, people keep running out of spirit range? (Where they don't usually live too long anyway...) Weapon of Remedy is the remedy for your woes! Off go those conditions. Wootz! Consider replacing Mend Body & Soul with Spirit Transfer, but be aware that the latter is a 10e spell
  • Recuperation instead of Rejuvenation +3 Health regen for all your allies! And in BLA, you have a LOT of allies. And minions, should you have a MM, count as allies too. Of course, it doesn't top off party members quite as well as Recuperation, so it's purely a matter of personal preference. It's also appreciably more expensive to cast.

Counters

  • General Caster Hate
  • People running out of spirit range - no moar protz on them makez squisheh! With emphasis on HEH. -_-

Additional notes
Don't you have e management problems? You don't have any e management.
Nope.EVERYTHING dying to the left and right. If your enemies aren't dying, your allies certainly are! What's there to manage? And besides. Necros? Emanagement? AHAHAHAHAHAHA. Ahem.

This build is so expensive! :(
There are worse builds. However, you can skimp and use a Major Vigor instead of Superior Vigor, if your sword/spear and shield have Fortitude mods.

Can heroes use this?
I haven't tried this on a hero, but they should use it pretty well. There's nothing in that bar that heroes use badly, iirc.

And that's that!

P.S.: To the guy who was looking for, "How the fuck do I get to Nahpui Quarter," sorry to disappoint you with screenshots. XD

The Battle for Lion's Arch 2

Having healed 7 groups through this, with only one disastrous failure (who of course opted to play 'blame the healer'), I've come to realise that not only has ANet created a gloriously epic finale... they've also managed to incorporate PvP elements into it.

Yes, PvP elements in PvE - Oh noes!

While some group setups do make things easier, it is entirely possible to do this event *without* a specific setup. Even without the obligatory minion master. So I'm not going to touch on what does or does not make things easier here in terms of which classes/skills are brought. Any group, playing sanely, can get through this. There've been reports of it being done without a healer - so - not even that archetype is indispensable if you play smart. (Again, very PvP.)

PvP stuff that Battle for Lion's Arch teaches:
1) Don't overextend
Don't run out the front gate into the arms of the waiting army, just because you can.
2) Don't clump up
AoE says hello.
3) Know when to fall back
Watch the battle, not just your target. Watch for if your party members ping energy, call for a fall back, or are in general under so much pressure that *you* decide to call for a fall back.
4) Use the terrain
After Isaiah, it's usually a good idea to retreat to the stairs between the two hills. Because Guild Wars has collision detection, this is perfect 'tanking' country. The main object of mobile affection stands between the two hills. The squishies hide behind the hills, and those that need the higher ground cautiously venture up one hill.
5) Your healer is not God
Play smart. You are responsible for yourself, more than your healer is responsible for you. And even if your healer were God, they wouldn't be able to save you from your own stupidity. Nor are they obligated to.

PvE stuff that you really should do:
Wear an infused armour set. Yes, Blimm's 'weapon' gives an aura. That aura only lasts a set duration, and is gone if you die. That means that if you die just one time, for whatever reason, and don't have infused armour, game over. Oh, and Isaiah brings a Jade Construct - before Blimm's 'weapon' is ready.