Curse

V The Pwner · Mar 06, 2008, 02:59 AM // 02:59

k for 1. Avatar of Balthazar is not a bad skill. you move 33% faster, great for kitters. You deal holy damage (direct damage). And you gain +40 armor. thats 3 skills in 1. i say owned

mrmango · Mar 06, 2008, 03:44 AM // 03:44

Well they're using it GVG to the point of an imba spike. But afaik, they only use this elite for the armor when they spike without monk support.

MsMassacre · Mar 06, 2008, 03:49 AM // 03:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by V The Pwner

k for 1. Avatar of Balthazar is not a bad skill. you move 33% faster, great for kitters. You deal holy damage (direct damage). And you gain +40 armor. thats 3 skills in 1. i say owned

The holy damage dealt by AoB is not direct damage. Your attacks are still affected by armor, they just ignore a warrior's armor bonus vs. physical, or a ranger's vs. elemental if you have an elemental scythe, etc.

samcobra · Mar 06, 2008, 04:01 AM // 04:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrmango

Well they're using it GVG to the point of an imba spike. But afaik, they only use this elite for the armor when they spike without monk support.

No, Balth is used in dervspike for the simple reason that kiting normally screws up the spike. Since normally nothing can outrun balth while form is up, it eliminates that problem. Armor is never the issue. Dervs without monk support facing a full team are going to die with or without that +40 armor

~ Dan ~ · Mar 06, 2008, 08:01 AM // 08:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by V The Pwner

k for 1. Avatar of Balthazar is not a bad skill. you move 33% faster, great for kitters. You deal holy damage (direct damage). And you gain +40 armor. thats 3 skills in 1. i say owned

k for 1. Avatar of Balthazar is a bad skill. You move 33% faster just like any other stance can do. You deal Holy Damage which is not armour ignoring. You gain +40 armour at the cost of an elite slot? I say shit.

Sirius-NZ · Mar 06, 2008, 10:48 AM // 10:48

The more I think about it, the more I wonder if a Wind Prayers build with a snare (e.g. harrier's grasp) wouldn't be more effective. You can't run very fast anyway when you're crippled.

The funniest thing is, this might be a build where Onslaught would have some use. It might not be the best skill, obviously, but it'd be a respectable replacement for Attacker's Insight.

blurmedia · Mar 06, 2008, 11:03 AM // 11:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirius-NZ

The more I think about it, the more I wonder if a Wind Prayers build with a snare (e.g. harrier's grasp) wouldn't be more effective. You can't run very fast anyway when you're crippled.

The funniest thing is, this might be a build where Onslaught would have some use. It might not be the best skill, obviously, but it'd be a respectable replacement for Attacker's Insight.

Some are already running /A with siphon speed.

Sirius-NZ · Mar 06, 2008, 12:50 PM // 12:50

It's generally /A for teleport anyway, so that makes sense.

That considered, though, wouldn't an assassin primary be better for ganking? You'd still need to take rending skills, but the DPS might be higher.

blurmedia · Mar 06, 2008, 02:27 PM // 14:27

You know, SINSPLIT??? duh

Tyla · Mar 06, 2008, 04:49 PM // 16:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by samcobra

No, Balth is used in dervspike for the simple reason that kiting normally screws up the spike. Since normally nothing can outrun balth while form is up, it eliminates that problem. Armor is never the issue. Dervs without monk support facing a full team are going to die with or without that +40 armor

Not only that, since the buff to Pious Assault tbh, that's the ONLY reason AoB is being ran - remove DW from Pious Assault, byebye AoB...
Nerf Dervspike on the next update to a point where it's usable, but not so...imba please.

blurmedia · Mar 06, 2008, 08:22 PM // 20:22

WOW at the update... Grenth's got butchered

Bassu · Mar 06, 2008, 08:36 PM // 20:36

GG Pious Balthy. Back to Mel!

Sir Pandra Pierva · Mar 06, 2008, 10:54 PM // 22:54

its too bad they hit that spike it was fun

Dem Babyz Iz Mine · Mar 13, 2008, 10:37 PM // 22:37

Avatar of Balthazar is kind of lame... I don't know why so many people HAVE to use it in PvP. Armor doesn't matter, biggest threats for dervs are generally hexes and armor-ignoring dmg, and a 33% speed boost suxx if you can just cripple the !@#$er without wasting an elite slot. And the holy dmg...Good if you want to kill an army of minions, though Banishing Strike'll do better

Boogz · Mar 14, 2008, 12:23 AM // 00:23

AoB was useful when dervspike was on , but now , with Pious Assault and Grenth's Aura nerfed AoB is again a weak elite

jhu · Mar 14, 2008, 12:33 AM // 00:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by BaconSoda

For 10...74 seconds, you gain +40 armor, you move 33% faster, and your attacks deal holy damage. This Skill is disabled for 120 seconds.

That's the skill description, can someone please explain to me what gives this skill such a large advantage vs the other elite dervish skills that a player could run? The effects aren't all that noteworthy, and can easily be reproduced with other skills. The only redeeming feature is the armor, which negates 1/2 of the physical damage, but it too can be almost completely reproduced with other Dervish skills (Conviction). Why is it that so many people feel compelled to always have this on their bar?

it's pretty good for survivor. +40 armor and you can run away if things get bad.

Bowstring Badass · Mar 14, 2008, 12:35 AM // 00:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhu

it's pretty good for survivor. +40 armor and you can run away if things get bad.

So is mel... +100 health > +40 armor when you can just conviction for +24.

MasterSasori · Mar 14, 2008, 07:27 AM // 07:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by V The Pwner

k for 1. Avatar of Balthazar is not a bad skill. you move 33% faster, great for kitters. You deal holy damage (direct damage). And you gain +40 armor. thats 3 skills in 1. i say owned

33% faster - take a stance like Pious Haste
Holy damage - you can deal a bit more damage to warriors and those oh-so-ferocious undead
+40 armor - half damage

There are other avatars that are much better than Bal; Melandru, Lyssa, Dwayna....

blurmedia · Mar 14, 2008, 08:15 AM // 08:15

Seriously, the only reason people had to run AoB is now gone. CAn't we lock this already...? I think we have concluded it's terribad now >_>

Turbobusa · Mar 14, 2008, 10:28 AM // 10:28

Or you can use Intimidating aura, and still use this.