06-12-2006, 11:12 PM
I wouldn't suggest Rit if you've never played the game before. You really need to know what the other classes are capable of to be able to use your spirits effectively. Rit is also insanely hard to solo with. I would probably suggest Warrior or Ranger for your first character. Necros are pretty cool too.
Anyway, to answer your initial question: the Ritualist has several unique sets of powers they can use to (mostly) buff and support their teammates. Probably the most notable of these is the ability to summon Spirits. Spirits are stationary minions that either use ranged attacks (often with some kind of unique effect like blinding) to debuff/damage enemies or have an "aura," as it were, that gives bonuses to allies (health regen, damage caps, healing, etc.). Rits second unique ability is to give an ally an echanted weapon. The weapon spells are moderately powerful, but limited in what they can do. The huge advantage, however, is that they don't fall into the same catergory as all the other buff spells ("enchantments") so they're immune to the various disenchant abilities of the monsters and other players. The last unique thing Rits can do is summon ashes of dead heroes. When you summon ashes you hold them (meaning your weapon is disabled) and either gain a bonus to something while holding them or the ashes produce an effect once they are dropped. In general, ashes are pretty powerful, but they have to be used correctly; most of them do things like "adds damage to your lightening spells while held" or your other spells will say something like "recharges instantly if you're holding an item when this spell is cast."
Its really easy to get stuck halfway between things with a Rit. They can almost do enough damage to match up with Elementalists, if you build your character correctly, and they can almost heal/buff as well as Monks. Its tricky to balance damage, healing, and the spirits that work best with the rest of your group.
Anyway, to answer your initial question: the Ritualist has several unique sets of powers they can use to (mostly) buff and support their teammates. Probably the most notable of these is the ability to summon Spirits. Spirits are stationary minions that either use ranged attacks (often with some kind of unique effect like blinding) to debuff/damage enemies or have an "aura," as it were, that gives bonuses to allies (health regen, damage caps, healing, etc.). Rits second unique ability is to give an ally an echanted weapon. The weapon spells are moderately powerful, but limited in what they can do. The huge advantage, however, is that they don't fall into the same catergory as all the other buff spells ("enchantments") so they're immune to the various disenchant abilities of the monsters and other players. The last unique thing Rits can do is summon ashes of dead heroes. When you summon ashes you hold them (meaning your weapon is disabled) and either gain a bonus to something while holding them or the ashes produce an effect once they are dropped. In general, ashes are pretty powerful, but they have to be used correctly; most of them do things like "adds damage to your lightening spells while held" or your other spells will say something like "recharges instantly if you're holding an item when this spell is cast."
Its really easy to get stuck halfway between things with a Rit. They can almost do enough damage to match up with Elementalists, if you build your character correctly, and they can almost heal/buff as well as Monks. Its tricky to balance damage, healing, and the spirits that work best with the rest of your group.
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