Aion Spirit Master / Guide

First and foremost: I do not take full credit for this post. The majorly of it has been collected by TwilightAngel of the Legion Xen of Onslaught in their Aion(NA) Division.


This thread is for anything and everything for the Spirit Master Class.


Quick summery: As everyone should know, Spirit Masters aren't a meant to be a true DPS class - they are more of a crowd control class, as some will say. Spirit Masters use DOTS and have some nifty debuffs that can make us a real threat - especially towards Sorcerers and Clerics.
The reason I say this, is because we can lock them down for a few seconds. In other words, you "silence" the target for a short amount of time. The spell is known as the Sigil of Silence I.Keep in mind that this is a Stigma skill! It doesn't come from your trainer like any other spell!
Also, we have a cool skill that reduces players flight time over time (basically, a DOT). So in other words, you apply this on your enemy and forces the player to descent to ground level. In return, this means you can now summon your spirit, and make him wish he didn't ran into you.

Spirit Masters in PvE

Solo playThe Spirit Master probably is the most efficient grinder in Aion. By using the Earth Spirit to tank, you can chain-kill mob after mob, without taking damage aside from using Replenish Element III. (you will learn this skill at the following levels: 16, 28 and 40.)
What this basically does is transfer x% of your HP to your spirit.This damage can easily be compensated by using Vitality Absorption, a potion, or Herbal Remedy.

In a DungeonDuring an instance the Command: Erosion becomes a favorite, given it raises a monsters drop rate by 20%. This increase is multiplicative though - not additive. So, the smaller the drop rate, the less of an increase (Ex - a 1% drop rate * 20% increase = 1.2% drop rate).
This added with the cooldown makes it most useful for bosses only, so be sure to land it right before they die and if something drops, gloat that it was because of you!
Interesting fact: the spirits can also buff the group with a spell called "Spirit Wall of Protection". This is a level 34 spell and the effect's powers vary on levels. I will only put down the final version of the effects.

The following buffs will apply, depending on which spirit you use. Use it wisely!

- Spirit Wall of Protection III - Fire SpiritFor 1 min, enables your allies within a 15m radius of the spirit to reflect 40 damage to the target who attacks them, and increases Physical Attack by 14%.

- Spirit Wall of Protection III Water Increases Magical Accuracy and Magical Res of your allies within a 15m radius of the spirit by 100 and 240 respectively for 30 sec.

- Spirit Wall of Protection IV Wind Increases Accuracy and Evasion of your allies within a 15m radius of the spirit by 100 and 260 respectively for 30 sec.

- Spirit Wall of Protection III Earth Recovers the HP of your allies within a 15m radius of the spirit by 467, and removes one abnormal condition effect.

- Spirit Wall of Protection I Tempest* ELYOS ONLYIncreases Accuracy, Evasion, Magical Accuracy and Magical Res of your allies within a 15m radius of the spirit by 100, 200, 100 and 200 respectively for 30 sec.

- Spirit Wall of Protection I Lava* ASMODIAN ONLYRecovers the HP of your allies within a 15m radius of the spirit by 760, and also increases Physical Attack by 16% for 30 sec.

*These spirit is a level 50 DP summon. It has a one-hour Cooldown and will last for 20 minutes. It costs you 2000 DP to summon it! This means you should only use this specific summon when it is *really* needed. Use it wisely!

In a group setting, the Spirit Master fulfills the DPS role - given their lack of PvE environment CC. The Earth pet is capable of holding an add well enough until a tank can pick it up if required, but you should not be expected to tank an entire instance.

PvPSpirit Masters enjoy dragging out their enemies' pain while throwing a myriad of spells their way. They specialize in killing over time (DOT), as opposed to bursting someone down. Through the use of the many DOTS the class gets, as well as the pet itself and the PvP-oriented CC the class attains, you will have plenty of fun keeping a person busy and watching their HP bar drop steadily.

The Spirit Master is also the dispeller of the classes, with four different dispels. The first is a single target, single buff dispel. Then there are two single target, three buff dispels which also do damage (and one adds a DoT) and are stigmas, as well as one multi-target three buff dispel which costs 3k DP. This along with our Dots and lesser debuffs make us a sort of anti-chanter class.

In a group setting the Spirit Master is a sort of safety net, capable of fearing a target off of their allies, or using Silence/Body Root to halt an attack (Stigma skills). The Spirit Master further helps gain control through the use of an AoE fear and AoE slow, along with dispels and the ability to DoT multiple targets. The stress placed on the opponent's healer is well worth the effort, and can cause even a formidable group to fumble. While the class isn't required during PvP, as any class isn't, after grouping with one who utilizes all of their skills, you will gain a respect for the class and hope to see them on your side and not the other.

PVP: Spirit Master - How do they stack against other classes?

Spirit Master versus ClericThe Cleric is the main healer class of Aion, but does have its offensive abilities. The Spirit Master class is one of few who can effectively shut down a Cleric and kill them, due to our long CC chain. You must perfect chaining fears and silence in order to kill a Cleric, or else they will throw up an instant heal and make your efforts mute. With all cooldowns up you should have no problem against a Cleric, but if you are fighting one without fear it will be a harder effort. Because of this and the length of our cooldowns, during a 1-on-1 duel you can expect to win 50/50, because it is that much harder to kill one without fears and silence.

Spirit Master versus Assassin The Assassin class is burst as Sorcerer is. The Assassin class is the #1 DPS class, but that comes at a price. Assassins have no actual CC beyond stuns, and are melee which mean they must be on their target to damage them. During a 1-on-1 duel you can expect a 50-50 win rate, depending if you can survive the Assassins first burst of damage. As soon as you start the fear chain you should be able to stay in control and win, but if they catch you a second time you're pretty much a goner.

Spirit Master versus Chanter The Chanter class uses a mix of damage between spells and melee, but mostly depend on melee. They have a 3sec stun, but their overall damage is weak at high level. They can't dispel slow like a cleric which makes them easy to kite after they've used their stun. Chanter's heal is weaker than a Cleric as well. During a 1-on-1 duel you can expect to win the majority, since disenchantment burst and your CC work so well on them. Chanter becomes weak against Spirit Masters when they acquire fear.

Spirit Master versus Ranger Both Ranger and Spirit Master are ranged classes, but the Ranger is a physical source while Spirit Master is magical. The Ranger utilizes traps, a slowing shot, as well as a silencing shot for CC, but overall the Spirit Master is better for PvP CC. During a 1-on-1 duel you can expect to win the majority, with it depending if they land their silencing shot on you and then unload. Rangers can be tricky since you can't really kite them, so you have to maintain control at all times. If your cooldowns are gone, you're pretty much done for.

Spirit Master versus Sorcerer The Sorcerer is a burst class, and will be able to kill faster than a Spirit Master in a short time frame. The difference lessens during lengthy battles where the Spirit Masters Dots are able to come to full. This along with a DP buffed pet makes the DPS gap between Sorcerer and Spirit Master negligible. The other main difference is in CC. The Sorcerer focuses on PvE-oriented CC with spells such as Sleep and Curse: Tree, which stop the enemy in their track and break upon damage; meanwhile the Spirit Master focuses on PvP-oriented CC with multiple slows and fears, which can receive damage without breaking. During a 1-on-1 duel you can expect a 50-50 win rate, depending who gets their CC off first and is capable of maintaining control of the battle.

Spirit Master versus Templar Templars have large HP pools and defensive skills, as well as regeneration (HoT) skills. This makes mana potion use in duels necessary; without the mana potion you would run out of mana before the Templar will exhaust his cooldowns and die. Templar damage is decently weak. They have a CC skill which pulls you toward the Templar, but most of the time it gets resisted. During a 1-on-1 duel you can expect to win the majority, as long as you are capable of using a mana potion.

Spirit Master versus Gladiator The Gladiator is an AoE DPS class, which wears plate and uses 2-handers. The Gladiators and Spirit Masters DPS are comparative over time, but the Gladiator maintains a larger burst than Spirit Master. The Gladiator also has basically no CC skills. During a 1-on-1 duel you can expect to win the majority, since they have few ways of countering your CC. They can beat you if they manage to AoE down your pet as well as servants while attacking you, eliminating your damage mitigation shield as well as a large source of damage.

Credits go to Finnalie , who posted this on the Aionsource forums. I have slightly changed some wording, added some stuff and made it a bit easier to read.

Spirits

Let's talk about the Spirits the Spirit Master has at his/her side.

Before you ask, our Spirits cannot fly. AT ALL. This doesn't mean the Spirit will immediately be despawned the moment you take flight! If you stick to the ground your Spirit will remain active.
The only Spirit that can attack flying players is your Water Spirit.
But what do these Spirits do? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Fear not, young padawan. It will all become clear.

Fire Spirit: The Fire spirit is the "Jack of all trades" pet, with average defense, attack, and HP. The Fire spirit is best used to grind until level 28 given it has the best taunt. The Fire spirit is good for PvE groups given they debuff the targets physical defense, and lower fire resistance for other casters, all while providing good DPS and having the second best HP for surviving any AoEs. The Fire spirit can also be used during PvP for the Command: Substitution skill, which mitigates all damage towards the cast to the spirit, given their large HP pool and damage. The Fire spirit has the largest overall damage output due to the fact he is a higher tier than the others so far, but this may change when the level cap is increased. The Fire spirits commands are burst damage.

Earth Spirit: The Earth spirit has the highest defense and HP of all the spirits. They also have the second best taunt, and are the number one tanks at level 28 when they gain the Command: Disturbance and are capable of healing themselves for 50% of the damage the command does. Utilizing the Earth spirit you will be able to grind fast and efficiently, with less spirit heals using your HP, and taking on stronger monsters. The Earth spirit is also capable of holding an elite monster with a healer until the tank can take over. The Earth spirits commands are a mix of burst and DoT.

Wind Spirit:The Wind spirit has the fastest attacks and is the best melee DPS pet. The Wind spirit is primarily used during PvP given its stun effect upon using Command: Disturbance, along with the high damage and fastest run speed. The Wind spirit has low HP though, making it a liability at times if your opponents choose to focus fire it down fast. Some also choose to level with the Wind spirit by keeping aggro, kiting the target and letting the Wind spirits superior DPS kill the target fast. The Wind Spirit training books are dropped by monsters using the same sprite as the tier you need. They are also around the same level of the skill. The Wind spirits commands are a mix of burst and DoT.

Water Spirit: The Water spirit is the only spirit which attacks with magical damage, ranged attacks, and hits extremely hard. The Water spirit also has the lowest HP and can be taken out fast. Typically it is used during PvP against flying targets for its unique effect of 'Crash' during Command: Disturbance. It is also the only pet capable of attacking enemies in the air. Due to the ranged attacks, the Water spirit cannot be kited, which can give you a leg up against a Sorcerer who may try to root a melee pet of yours. There is currently no way of removing CC on your pet. The Water Spirit training books are dropped by monsters using the same sprite as the tier you need. The Water spirits commands are burst damage.

There are also two level 50 Spirits - these are only for special ocassions in my opinion, since they share a long, LONG cooldown of one hour, and only last for 20 minutes. typical PVE summons.

Elyos only

Tempest Spirit: The Tempest spirit is an Elyos-only spirit. The Tempest spirit is a level 50 DP summon which has a short duration and long cooldown, along with its opposite Magma spirit for the Asmodians. This spirit is a mixture of the Water and Wind spirits, and the commands mix both as well. This means the Tempest spirits Command: Disturbance both stuns and crashes the opponent, as well as being a ranged attack, making the Tempest spirit trump the Magma spirit during a 1-on-1 with each other. The Tempest spirits stats are slightly lower than the Magma spirits, but still higher than all others, and hits hard as well. The lower stats can be expected due to the ranged nature of the spirit.

Asmodian only

Magma Spirit: The Magma spirit is an Asmodian-only spirit. The Magma spirit is a level 50 DP summon which has a short duration and long cooldown, along with its opposite Tempest spirit for the Elyos. This particular spirit is a mixture of the Earth and Fire spirits, and the commands mix both as well. The Magma spirit is superior to the Tempest spirit for groups given the ability to debuff physical defense. The stats of the Magma spirit are all higher than the others, and hits extremely hard.

I hope some will find this as helpful as I did.