Update: The 600-Smite GW Team 2010-02-28

This past Thursday February 25th, 2010 the 600/smiter team build was nerfed by ArenaNet. They changed Holy Wrath to a non-maintained enchantment that can not self target. This means that the 55 is the only decent farming build left for monks. Apparently the Permasin was also nerfed, but I haven't bothered to see how yet.

The 600-Smite GW Team 2009-06-02

There are plenty of guides and build docs explaining how to do the 600/smite team in Guild Wars, but there are also plenty of people who can't find them (or do not want to search). The alliance I am in has a website with forums and build descriptions, but not everyone wants to go read the forums (it is pretty painful there sometimes). So here's my not-so-quick an' dirty writeup:

The concept of 600/smite is that you have two monks, these two monks have two very clearly different roles. The 600 monk is the TANK while the smite monk is the BONDER. The tank engages all aggro and the bonder stays the hell away from the fights. There are many different 600/smite groups, I'm sure I do not have all of them listed here. The skills used by both members will change based on what you are farming, however the tank/bonder idea typically stays the same.

Introduction: Generic Parts

No matter what you are farming as a 600/smite team, there are some things that almost always stay the same. This list is by no means meant to be comprehensive, just a general guideline.

• The 600 uses the LOWEST armor available (that would be AL5 for monks)
• The 600 uses Survivor insignias to raise HP
• The 600 uses a Superior Vigor rune to raise HP
• The 600 uses minor Divine and Protection runes to increase attributes
• The 600 uses a weaponset that provides Half Cast Time or Half Recharge Time for Protection Prayers skills
• The 600 uses a weaponset that gives +20% to enchantments
• The 600 uses a weaponset that adds to HP
• The smiter uses any level armor, it typically does not matter
• The smiter uses TWO headpieces, +1 Protection and +1 Smiting
• The smiter uses the Protection headpiece when casting Protection enchantments
• The smiter uses the Smiting headpiece when casting Smiting enchantments
• The smiter uses a weaponset that provides +20% enchantments

There are of course exceptions to these and anytime someone is posting a build for it they might want to specifically mention any deviance from these generalizations. The regular spells used by 600/smite teams are not typically very hard to get, however if you do not have the elite spells: Spellbreaker, Shield Of Judgment, Ray Of Judgment or Unyielding Aura I'd say you best go get them. The elite spell Vengeful Was Khanhei (ritualist) will also be helpful in a later example. So here is an example of a 600/smite build for The Underworld.

Farming Underworld for ectos can be profitable, and since personal drop rates get better as the size of your team decreases, it is not so bad if you can do it with just two players.

UW Smiter Build

UW Smiter Scalp 1

UW Smiter Scalp 2

UW Smiter Axe

And the 600...

UW Tank Build

UW Tank Armor

UW Tank Gear

How to play this team:

The smiter must apply spells 5 through 8 on the tank and then stay the hell away from fights. If the smiter dies he can not be resurrected (unless the 600 brought some res scrolls) and the 600 won't be able to do enough damage to kill foes. The 600 applies spells 6 through 8 on him/herself. The 600 aggros all foes and allows the smite spells (from the enchanter) to do the damage. Spellbreaker is required to keep Dying Nightmares from removing all your enchantments (Sitting Duck Syndrome). Protective Spirit reduces damage while Spirit Bond heals you. Mantra of Resolve is required anytime you face a foe that can interrupt you (Bladed and Grasping). Typically a good cast sequence is: Mantra, Spellbreaker, Protective Spirit, Aggro, Spirit Bond... then keep Protective Spirit and Spirit Bond up at all times.

Tips:

• Tanks should not run around much after taking aggro, once Spellbreaker runs out a Dying Nightmare can strip all of your enchantments in a single cast
• The Smiter should never proceed ahead of the tank, if the smiter pops Nightmares or takes aggro you can end up screwed in a hurry
• Don't attack the Smite Crawlers, they use Shield Of Judgment which can knock you down and screw up your casting