(OFFICIAL VERSION 1.0 Published 12/30/16)
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
I. Introduction
II. Minimum Requirements
III. Types of Spirit Walkers
IV. Desired Faiths
V. Rationale
VI. Closer Look ath the Skills / Auras
VII. Basic Sample Formation / Sample Gameplay
VIII. Advantages/Disadvantages of Spirit Walkers
IX. Runes
X. Recent Gameplay Changes (Twin Frost Ascension Patch)
XI. When to build a Spirit Walker
XII. When NOT to build a Spirit Walker
XIII. Parting Words
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I. INTRODUCTION
So you found yourself a Healer class character, and said to yourself "Yaaaaaas! A healer that can help my party defend it specially at the legendary stages with amazing heals, shields, and whatnotsssssss!". And as you planned for 4 hours on what end-game class you should pick for your innocent healer, you noticed his/her faith was either Hera, Ares, Kratos or Zeus! Slowly, you knelt down in disappointment and faced the skies above while shouting "Dear Lord! Why have you forsaken me and given me a healer with a very low innate MAG status!? What do you think of my Luthor? A front-liner!? Isn't he supposed to have Hercules or Athena!?". As your eyes continued to pour down tears, a weirdo named Ferico sat next to you and said, "Hey, before you let your hopes down, why don't I show you how Spirit Walking is done?". You refused to heed his call but since Ferico is an impatient Spirit Walker, he used "Gate of Ca'dan" and teleported you to his love nest. Kidding aside, he began this painful and cringeworthy guide to Spirit Walking.
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II. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
Before you proceed in building this unique hero, please consider to have the following requirements as these are essential in producing a lot of trigger chain attacks in 1 turn:
1.) HERO WITH VAMPIRIC AURA
The chain that we are envisioning to happen starts with them. If you've got hold of a spare Darrion, you can make a Blood Knight out of him that will have an aura in which heroes within his aura can convert their damages into 30% heal. If not, a Zealot Leon will do. With the latest patch (Twin Frost Ascension), Samurai Miu has also the same vampiric aura making her a valuable substitute. Though the best combination right now would be BK Darrion + Samurai Miu, specially for the active trigger SW Luthor.
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2.) HEROES WITH MULTIPLE ATTACKS
The SHADOW Classes are the best as the "Initiator" of the trigger chain we are planning. WIth the help of Vampiric Aura from BK Darrion or Zealot Leon, their 4-chain attacks will heal themselves for 4 times (NERFED! 4 chain attacks = 1 Heal now to prevent abuse from Kahuna combo) in 1 turn satisfying most of the aura requirements of the spirit walkers! All 5-star classes of Kai, Miu and the Valiant Shizu are appropriate to be used. Champion and Guardian Classes are also capable of cleaving attacks but unlike shadow classes, they could not reach far enemies if there are gaps in between opponents.
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III. TYPES of SPIRIT WALKERS
1.) ACTIVE TRIGGER SPIRIT WALKER - This is the major focus of this guide as we try to make a healer an offensive type.This type is solely for a HERA or ARES LUTHOR. Active Trigger means, in this guide, is that Luthor's the one actively doing the damage from afar. He is capable of dishing multiple attacks that can range from 2k-4k depending on his base ATK/CRT and the chance it can occur from the multiple attacks of a shadow class with self-healing capability. Front Aura direction is a must!
2.) PASSIVE TRIGGER SPIRIT WALKER - This type is for both KRATOS/ZEUS KAHUNA or LUCILLE. On the other hand, Passive Trigger means that this spirit walker is the "enhancer" to the already deadly shadow classes coupled with vampiric aura from either Blood Knight Darrion or Zealot Leon. Higher DEF/HP means more survivability that will be needed as the key hero in triggering a chain attack! With the recent gameplay changes in Twin Frost Ascension Patch, the Valiant Lucille is now better than Kahuna due to her awesome stats. Still a decent Enhancer to your shadow class if you can make him self-heal for 3 times every turn. Front Aura direction is a must!
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3.) TELEPORT SPIRIT WALKER - This type is for both KRATOS/ZEUS LUTHOR or LUCILLE. These are spirit walkers who are born to make you quit arena. They prefer to have tougher DEF or Higher HP for survivability to annoy other squad for longer duration. GOLD in PVP! Lucille is better than Luthor due to being a Valiant with higher stats! To improve annoyance or dominance in the tile control game, Rune Magus, Chaos Knights, Ninjas, and Grand Rangers are your better teammates for this. Aura direction is insignificant in this role!
>4.) DISABLE SPIRIT WALKER - This type is best for KRATOS/ZEUS TERESA. Due to Higher innate DEF/HP, Teresa's only role, other than mitigating party damages with her not-so-great healing, is to "Sleep" High-damaging opponent heroes such as Berzerkers/Warlords before his skill turn. Having an observant eye and familiarization in turns in arena is needed for you to use Teresa successfully in PVP. In PVE, her sleep is much more significant to use specially in delaying bosses to use their skills. Aura direction is insignificant in this role!
5.) FULL SUPPORT SPIRIT WALKER - This type is best for ATHENA/HERCULES KAHUNA! This is the weirdest type for a spirit walker as Kahuna tries to be as efficient as Inquisitors/Archbishops with his total Single-target 390% MAG Heal and 50% Reflect Damage for 3 TURNS! Not only will this help your squishy heroes survive but this type has also the capability to serve as a passive trigger SW! Front Aura direction is a must!
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IV. SUMMARY OF DESIRED FAITHS
1.) HERA - Strong CRT status! Nice for Active Trigger SW (Luthor)
2.) ARES - Strong ATK status! Nice for Active Trigger SW (Luthor)
3.) KRATOS - Stong DEF status! Nice for Teleport SW (Luthor/Lucille), Passive Trigger SW (Kahuna), Disable SW (Teresa)
4.) ZEUS - Good DEF and ATK status! Nice for both Trigger/Teleport SW (Luthor/Lucile), Passive Trigger SW (Kahuna), Disable SW (Teresa)
5.) HERCULES -Good HP and Good MAG status! Good for Full Support SW (Kahuna)
6.) ATHENA - Strong MAG!Good for Full Support SW (Kahuna)
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V. RATIONALE
So, why did I choose to raise a Spirit Walker instead of the usual Inquisitor/Archbishop? To be honest, it was for fun. I'm a player that usually deviates from the meta choices and look for some hidden silver linings along the way. I have noticed a lot of players have the generic support type healers and I just want to diverge from that. Not that I do not want to conquer the arena, trust me, I dream of placing in the top 10 also but I just want to have a "hipster" way of doing climbing the arena ranks. Another rationale I made one was because I lack decent archers/long-range characters. In my history of X10 pulling, I've had a lot of decent Kais, Vincents, Victorias, Theresas, Luthors, but NOT CYBELLA/ZEDD/KANE/KIERA! So I had to make a way to have long-range characters and I found that Trigger SW as one of the solutions and it was fun to watch him trigger at least 4-8 times in a single turn!
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VI. CLOSER LOOK AT THE SKILLS AND AURAS
Generally speaking, the Spirit Walker branch of the Healer class has the mediocre Healing of all. SW Kahuna is the only exception as his is a nice single-target Heal-over-time in 3 Turns with additional damage reflect! Anyway, the spirit walker obviously do not specialize on healing but the utility it comes with it and that is the Trigger Chances every time the Hero or Allies are healed. So Let's discuss further each individual's capability and possible scenarios to maximize their potentials.
SKILL: Gate of Ca'dan (Level 30) - Heals Party for 500 HP; Teleports Enemey to Random Tile; Heals Party for 40% MAG for 3 Turns
AURA: Ancestral Calling - When OTHERS in Aura is Healed, there's a 40% Chance to trigger this hero to attack at 70% ATK
COMMENTS: Luthor's skill is undeniably amazing in PVP for the tile control game though there would be times that the targeted opponent gets teleported in their original place (LOL). In PVE, this is much annoying as it could mess with the enemy formation and boss monsters might get at the back of your squad But still, we use this heal as our TRIGGER CHANCES of activating his Aura. His Aura is what makes Luthor the offensive type Healer as everytime an ALLY is healed, there's a 40% Chance for Luthor to attack! It is recommended that offensive heroes are put in his Aura (1 Shadow in front, Either Rangers/Mages on the sides/back). The Heal amount of Luthor's skill is currently bugged. It is supposed to Heal initially 500 but for now it heals for 5 (ROFL).
SKILL: Otherworldy Journey (Level 30) - Heals Party for 800 HP; Teleports Enemy to Random Tile; Heals Party for 40% MAG for 3 Turns
AURA: Karmic Justice - When this HERO gets healed, there is a 40% Chance to Trigger Others in Aura to Attack with 85% of their ATK
COMMENTS: The Valiant Lucille's skill is very similar to Luthor though it heals 300 HP More. You can take Lucille's boosted stat as an advantage to mitigate damage during her heal. Again, very nice in PVP but not so much in PVE. Her Aura is activated whenever she is healed so heroes with persistent aura heal can activate her to trigger others! It is recommended to have a shadow in front of her aura, a ranger/mage on the side/back and one healer with persistent aura . You could also equip her a rune of vampiric aura and position at the back of a Miu to activate self-healing twice when she attacks to eliminate the need for a healer with persistent heal.
SKILL: Soul Expulsion (Level 30) - Heals Party for 500 HP; Sleeps All Enemies for 1 Turn; Heals Party for 40% MAG for 3 Turns
AURA: Sacred Rites - Persistent: Increase ATK and DEF of EVERYONE in AURA by 13% and 12% respectively of HERO's MAG.
COMMENTS: Teresa's Aura does not teleport enemies but sleeps all of them instantly for 1 turn. This is much better in PVE to use as last in a turn so it would not wake them up the next round. In PVP, this is inferior to the rest of SW Skills but still, if used correctly, can disable skill-ready DPS Enemies missing their turn. Her Aura boosts ATK and DEF of everyone. Not that good nor it is bad since DPS Allies will always benefit for added offense and survivability. Rule of thumb, place guardians/champions/shadows in front of her aura and rangers/mages at her side/back.
SKILL: Path of the Ancients (Level 30) - Heals this Hero or ally for 110% of Hero's MAG for 3 Turns; Returns 50% of all damage taken by this Hero or ally for 3 turns as magic damage
AURA: Revenge of the Old Gods - When Others in Aura gets Healed. there's a 30% Chance to Trigger Others in aura to attack with 80% of their Attack
COMMENTS: I honestly thought Teresa's already the weird SW but when Kahuna came, he dethrones her for the most weird SW ever. Not only his skill is amazing and comparable to Inquisitors/Archbishops but it also has Reflect abilities that can make berserkers die by themselves. His aura is similar to Lucille though it needs OTHERS to be healed instead of this hero. At some point, his aura was abused making shadows, even with poor equips, rule the arena rankings as it can trigger a ALOT, I mean A LOT in just 1 TURN killing even guardians with high def.
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VII. BASIC SAMPLE FORMATION / SAMPLE GAMEPLAY
In the purpose of this section, the sample formation given below will be used for all gameplay discussions (Except for Passive Trigger Lucille/Kahuna). You can use the current position of SW Luthor there as replacement to the other type of Spirit Walker which we will discuss after each type. Again please assume that the MIU in front of SW Luthor has vampiric aura rune. This is our way around the recent nerf in the separate healing of chain attacks from shadow. MIU is also the current best shadow to partner with the Active Trigger / Passive Trigger types of spirit walkers
1.) ACTIVE TRIGGER SPIRIT WALKER (SPIRIT WALKER LUTHOR)
- Samurai Miu attacks and Heals herself 3 Times (One from her own Vampiric Aura, another from the vampiric aura of BK Darrion and the last heal comes from her Rune of Vampiric Aura)
- Spirit Walker Luthor's Aura is ACTIVATED and can attack 0-3 Times
- Hunter Aaron's Aura is ACTIVATED and can attack 0-3 Times
- Hunter Aaron is in the Vampiric Aura of BK Darrion so it can procue Heal which can trigger Luthor again
- Ninja Shizu attacks and can refresh Samurai Miu
- Cycle continues until it doesnt trigger anyone/s chance in 1 turn
2.1) PASSIVE TRIGGER SPIRIT WALKER (SPIRIT WALKER LUCILLE)
- Samurai Miu attacks and Heals herself 3 Times (One from her own Vampiric Aura, another from the vampiric aura of BK Darrion and the last heal comes from her Rune of Vampiric Aura)
- Archbishop Lucille has persistent Heal which can heal Lucille
- Lucille's Aura is Activated and can make Samurai Miu and ARchbishop Lucille Attack again
- Ninja Shizu attacks and can refresh Samurai Miu
- Cycle continues until it doesnt trigger anyone/s chance in 1 turn
- Samurai Miu attacks and Heals herself 3 Times (One from her own Vampiric Aura, another from the vampiric aura of BK Darrion and the last heal comes from her Rune of Vampiric Aura)
- Spirit Walker Kahuna's Aura is activated and can make Samura Miu attack to 0-3 times! Archbishop Lucille can attack also in 1 turn!
- Samurai Miu can activate Kahuna's aura again
- Ninja Shizu attacks and can refresh Samurai Miu
- Cycle continues until it doesnt trigger anyone/s chance in 1 turn
- BK Darrion Steps in Left-most tile in 1st Turn (Enemy might take center tile in the same turn)
- Samurai Miu can attack the nearest enemy and can trigger chances with 2 Heals for the 2nd Turn (Enemy might take the right-most tile in the same turn)
- Aaron can attack any hero in 3rd Turn (Enemy will attack on the same turn)
- SW Luthor/Lucille can attack any hero in 4th Turn (Enemy will attack on the same turn)
- Ninja Shizu can swap with any of the enemy tile in 5th Turn
- SW Luthor can teleport the remaining enemy in any of the enemy tile in 6th Turn
- Defend or Kill anyone until you100 Points
- Same as Teleport Strategy but instead, look for the turns of Warlords/Berserkers/Mages/Rangers who are ready to use their skill and haven't used their turn.
- Sleep them before skill use and they will miss their turn
- Continue CC-ing or Defend/Kill Until 100 Points
- Same as the strategy in the passive trigger type spirit walker Kahuna
- Be mindful of your squishy heroes that need healing later on
- Continue CC-ing or Defend/Kill Until 100 Points
VIII. ADVANTAGES / DISADVANTAGES OF SPIRIT WALKERS
An old screenshot of mine showcasing the trigger chain combo which Luthor SW is a core part of.
1.) ACTIVE TRIGGER SPIRIT WALKER (SPIRIT WALKER LUTHOR)
PROS:
(+) Luthor can act as an extension of Shadow classes' attacks specially against far enemies which cannot be reached by melee in an instant.
(+) Visually stunning and satisfying to watch your Luthor barrages as an artillery gun whacking magical orbs specially criticals (Which can hit from 2k-3k each!)
(+) Amazing in Gold Dungeons, Event Stages, Story Modes
(+) Decent in PVP but the Teleport SW can do better
CONS:
(-) Must be behind shadow classes at all times! Not to mention that shadow class should have at least a Blood Knight Darrion or Zealot Leon or Vampiric Runes to activate self-healing.
(-) Proper Healing Character might be compromised if you prioritize to build a SW first rather than the usual Inquisitor/Archbishops
(-) Damage is lower than the trigger combos of Gunslinger though SW has higher number of trigger attacks.
RATING: PVE (4/5), PVP (2/5), EVENTS (5/5)
2.) PASSIVE TRIGGER SPIRIT WALKER (SPIRIT WALKER LUCILLE/KAHUNA)
PROS:
(+) Lucille and Kahuna enhances the already deadly shadow classes by triggering them to attack multiple times in a turn
(+) Amazing in Gold Dungeons, Event Stages, Story Modes
(+) Still Deadly in PVP once you got hold of proper support heroes
CONS:
(-) Must be behind shadow classes at all times! Not to mention that shadow class should have at least a Blood Knight Darrion or Zealot Leon or Vampiric Runes to activate self-healing.
(-) Proper Healing Character might be compromised if you prioritize to build a SW first rather than the usual Inquisitor/Archbishops
(-) Damage is lower than the trigger combos of Gunslinger though SW has higher number of trigger attacks.
RATING: PVE (4/5), PVP (2/5), EVENTS (5/5)
3.) TELEPORT SPIRIT WALKER (LUTHOR/LUCILLE)
PROS:
(+) You do not worry if you go first or second in the arena
(+) Tougher SW mean a lot of teleportation in arena!
(+) You dont care if other squads have better equip/levels as they waste their time going back to the tiles after being teleported.
CONS:
(-) Pretty much has no use outside the arena
(-) Proper Healing Character might be compromised if you prioritize to build a SW first rather than the usual Inquisitor/Archbishops
RATING: PVE (1/5), PVP (5/5), EVENTS (1/5)
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IX. RUNES
1.) Active Trigger Spirit Walker Luthor - Focus Runes (GREEN ONES) or Fury Runes (RED Ones) with suffixes of Attack or Critical to improve Offense output
2.) Passive Trigger Spirit Walker Lucille/Kahuna - Guard Runes (BLUE ONES) / Giant Runes (PINK ONES) with suffixes of Health or Defense to improve survivability
3.) Teleport Spirit Walker Luthor/Lucille - Guard Runes (BLUE ONES) / Giant Runes (PINK ONES) with suffixes of Health or Defense to improve survivability
4.) Disable Spirit Walker Teresa - Guard Runes (BLUE ONES) / Giant Runes (PINK ONES) with suffixes of Health or Defense to improve survivability
5.) Full Support Spirit Walker Kahuna - Energy Runes (YELLOW) with suffixes of either Defense/Health/Magic to either improve healing ability or survivability
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X. RECENT GAMEPLAY CHANGES IN THE TWIN FROST ASCENSION PATCH (DEC. 2016 PATCH)
It is important for me to discuss about the recent changes that made the offensive-type spirit walkers relatively weaker. You see, the active trigger spirit walker shines offensively since it solely depends on the chain attack combos of shadow classes coupled with vampiric aura from Blood Knight Darrion/Zealot Leon and it could trigger Luthor to dish from 4-8 normal attacks in 1 turn! But somehow, an abuse was not foreseen in the coming of Spirit Walker Kahuna prompting the developers to tweak the healing from chain attacks. To give you a clearer view of the recent changes, I will summarize them step by step and let's assume the formation below:
A.) BEFORE TWIN FROST ASCENSION PATCH:
- Magebane Kai Attacks 4 Times
- Magebane Kai Heals itself 4 Times since he's in the Vampiric Aura of BK Darrion
- Spirit Walker Luthor's Aura is ACTIVATED (When OTHERS in Aura is Healed, there's a 40% chance to trigger this hero to attack at 80% ATK)
- Spirit Walker Luthors can attack 0-4 times (Each Heal of Magebane has 40% chance to trigger Luthor)
- Hunter Aaron's Aura is ACTIVATED (When OTHERS in Aura is Attack, there's a 50% chance to trigger this hero to attack at 70% ATK)
- Hunter Aaron can attack 0-4 times (Each Attack of Luthor has 50% chance to trigger Aaron)
- Since Aaron is in aura of BK Darrion, his attacks will also heal multiple times and can trigger Luthor again!
- Assassin Kai attacks and refreshes Magebane's Kai turn
- Cycle continues until it doesn't trigger anyone's chance in 1 turn
- Magebane Kai attacks 4 Times
- Magebane Kai Heals itself for 1 time only since he's in the aura of BK Darrion
- Spirit Walker Luthor's Aura is ACTIVATED (When OTHERS in Aura is Healed, there's a 40% chance to trigger this hero to attack at 80% ATK)
- Spirit Walker Luthors can attack 0-1 time only
- Hunter Aaron's Aura is ACTIVATED (When OTHERS in Aura is Attack, there's a 50% chance to trigger this hero to attack at 70% ATK)
- Hunter Aaron can attack 0-1 time only
- Since Aaron is in aura of BK Darrion, his attack will only heal 1 time and can trigger Luthor again!
- Assassin Kai attacks and refreshes Magebane's Kai turn
- Cycle continues until it doesn't trigger anyone's chance in 1 turn
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XI. WHEN DO I BUILD MY SPIRIT WALKER?
1.) When you lack long-range characters such as ARCHERS/MAGES and you have a spare Luthor, build one to address this gap.
2.) When you already have a proper healing characters (Inquisitors/Archbishops) at your disposal
3.) When you have Thieves that can self-heal or have a blood knight Darrion
4.) When you cannot beat the Hard Tanks Meta in PVP, you teleport them outside their tiles!
5.) You run out of ideas to build a team and decided to have fun with this uncommon hero!
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XII. WHEN DO I NOT BUILD A SPIRIT WALKER?
1.) When you already have a plan about your team that you are still building. If your squad is still building the generic teams of tank-assassin-champion-healer-ranger characters that can 5 stars, building a SW should follow after that
2.) You don't like the teleport strategy in PVP nor relying only on the chances of Luthor executing attacks.
3.) You don't like FERICO
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XIII. PARTING WORDS
I believe that SW is more of a FOR-FUN-ONLY character which heavily relies on Vampiric Aura-enabled shadow classes for trigger-happy attacks. Personally, this is my solution in addressing a need for my squad to have long-range hitters due to lack of Cybella/Kane/Zedd. I just found out some ways to address a lot of Luthors in my storage with a lot of "bad" faiths which turned out to be their greatest asset after all! I honestly do knot know what to do with them since I already have Inqui/Archbishop Lucille/Theresa which do better jobs at healing. I even almost used them as 3 star fodders to upgrade my other priority heroes until I realize the chain attacks that Trigger SW can do and how annoying teleport SW in arena was until I faced one! So good luck and do not lose hope with building that SW (Or not if you decide not to) LOL.
Who would have thought that this healer would be a bad-ass-orb-throwing-trigger hero?
(As long as he has the right companion!)
)
