I decided to take the Ritualist out for a spin. She was a lot of fun, though not a profession I would recommend for a beginner. The Ritualist is advertised as shamanist sorcerer who binds spirits to this world. The summoned spirits are stationary, meaning that once summoned they don’t move, unless pulled by another Ritualist spell. Ritualists can also conduct rituals that involve the holding/dropping of summonable items (usually ashes) to affect the world around them. Finally, Ritualists have a few direct spells to affect the world, though those affects are magnified when paired with either a spirit or an item.

The largest drawback to a Ritualist is also their biggest benefit. The spirits that can be summoned are powerful: they can apply damage, block enemy damage, interrupt enemies, or resurrect fallen allies. However, the fact that spirits can’t move, and hence can’t follow the party, coupled with a relatively long recast timer, means that the Ritualist will not be able to summon all of the beneficial spirits each fight. There is a skill to transport spirits, but it limited in distance and hard to use. Having some sort of indication when a spirit is about to expire, along the lines of the enchantments, would be a great addition as it would enable players to effectively maintain, destroy, and use their spirits.

There is a definite tradeoff between general speed of play and the bonuses conferred by the spirits. I found that it was a good idea to cycle through various spirits for different battles rather than to try to use all of my spirits each battle. Letting the rest of your party know about the timers and what spirits will be in play is a good idea. Ritualists can pair well with Archers, since Archers already summon helpful nature spirits, and Monks, as Ritualists also have a number of healing and damage prevention skills.