Rank X spell. Remove 1 positive Charm per pip from Enemy. Balance is supposed to be the combination of all schools, yet at level 110 we still lack the basic shield removal capabilities of Myth, the damage over time capabilities of 5 of the 7 schools, the charm removal capabilities of Storm, and not to mention one situational, steal-able heal that is 60 levels outdated. 60!
Balance in PVP is pretty much defined by these 5 spells: (TC) Black Mantle, Mana Burn, Supernova, Gaze of Fate, and Loremaster (and maybe Weakness). It's a wonder we are doing well at all in PVP. And Balance in PVE can be almost horrendous to solo past Dragonspyre, until (finally) we get Nested Fury.
Compare that to schools like Ice, which get awesome spells like Iceblade / Balefrost, Tower Shield, Snow Drift, Steal Ward, Abominable Weaver, Icebird, Mutate Polar Swarm, Frozen Bats, Mutate Ice Elf, Melt, Icespear, Stun Block, Freeze, Winter Moon, Ice Guardian, Frost Giant, Cooldown, Lord of Winter....the list goes on.
Or Fire (Fireblade / Wyldfire, Fire Beetle, Brimstone Revenant, Burning Rampage, Fire From Above, Fire Elf, Link / Power Link, Fire Elemental, Smoke Screen, Efreet, King Artorious, Firespear, Detonate, Raging Bull, Krampus), and you can see there is a clear difference in the amount of choice, and, well, GOOD SPELLS for use between these schools and Balance, PVP-wise (and even PVE).
Sure, one could make the argument that Balance isn't directly defendable blah blah. I make the counter-argument that Tower Shield works just fine against Balance's limited damage output, and Gaze is easily mitigated by a couple of set school shields.
Besides, with universal PVP resistance averaging 50% (with Ice averaging at 62% universal resistance), with just one Balance ward pet talent / jewel on my opponent, I can and do face anywhere from 64% to 80% Balance resistance on my Leaderboard .
What does a Balance get to stop a Triple or Quadruple Bladed OHKO, Frostbite, or Spinysaur? Nothing. What does Balance get to deal with Tower Shield spam and set resist? Nothing. (Yes there is Shrike, and we use it. I'm talking about native spells here). All the other schools get the 0 pip school pierce spears, and we get...the 1 pip off-school ones?! SMH.
Balance neeeeeeds some more utility, especially when it comes to PVP. Cleanse All Wards, Cleanse All Charms, Clockwork Elf, Elemental / Spirit Prisms, Steal All Shields, Liberating Hands (600 + 540 over 3 rounds), something!
True, This would make good spells for balance, but think about the repercussions that would have (aside from the blade/pip idea which would take 7 pips to get rid of an elemental + TC elemental + fireblade). Storm wouldn't be unique anymore... possibly, if it was a set-pip amount spell of 4 pips, it would be slightly less efficient that storm, but still there.
Okay, now. Repercussions. Hear all the people complaining how overpowered balance already is? Well, I do. Wouldn't this just prove their point? By all means, this is a good idea for balance, a bit like Rampage for . Think... If a balance would use this, spammed, with Loremaster, it would be invincible.
Not to say this isn't a pretty cool idea, but I can't see KI actually creating a spell like this for balance wizards. I just hope they make Enfeeble TC more accessible.
Hunter Wintershade, 110 , Angel Dawn, 46 overlord (soon to be legendary)
Let's establish something real quick. Balance is a top tier school along with ice and fire. One of the few ways to take out balance is with buff stacks. Balance already has the most effective way to limit spam strategies with mana burn, loremaster and hands. The last thing it needs is more ways to limit ohko particularly since it already has some ways to address that via burn and weakness stacks.
Let's establish something real quick. Balance is a top tier school along with ice and fire. One of the few ways to take out balance is with buff stacks. Balance already has the most effective way to limit spam strategies with mana burn, loremaster and hands. The last thing it needs is more ways to limit ohko particularly since it already has some ways to address that via burn and weakness stacks.
Yes, Balance is top tier, however it is at the bottom of the top tier in terms of 1v1 spell utility, so let's not scream OP just yet. Not to mention the only reason we are even there in the first place is because of the basic utility of Mana Burn, Loremaster, and set shield spam.
"But what about the Leaderboard rankings?, you ask. Well firstly PVP isn't just 1v1. Balance excels in group play, so I wouldn't be surprised if most of those 2000+ ratings are from 2v2 or 4v4 anyway. In 1v1 with a triple double pet, a Balance will reach ~1200 rating. With a Balance resist pet, ~1350. With a resist pet, maybe 1500. Factor in tons of Elucidate, maybe ~1700.
I've come to the realization that Leaderboard rank is basically about who goes first, who has the most Elucidates, and who has the most set resist. In that order. Elude Dispel => Elude Mana Burn is a very effective combo.
Concerning your point that 'buff stacks' is one of the few ways to take out Balance...well it is, and it's a very effective one. In fact too much, especially against Ice. Balance wizards in general will an extremely hard time against even a half-decent Ice, and against a great Ice, well it's pretty much impossible from second without Elucidate.
In order to beat a Rank 1400+ from second that has 80% set resist and a MC fortify pet, that can steal all your heals and that Elucidate dispels you whenever you go into Shrike, you will have to have 80% set resist yourself, 5-10 Ice shields, 3 Triage, max Mana Burns, 2 Eludes, and even then you'll still probably lose due to the basic utility in Icebird / Frozen Bats / Polar Swarm / Weaver / Winter Moon / Iceblade / Balefrost etc...
My point being is that Ice has so much of an advantage against Balance, from first AND second, that something has to be done to even the playing field. Hence my spell.
Yes, Balance is top tier, however it is at the bottom of the top tier in terms of 1v1 spell utility, so let's not scream OP just yet. Not to mention the only reason we are even there in the first place is because of the basic utility of Mana Burn, Loremaster, and set shield spam.
"But what about the Leaderboard rankings?, you ask. Well firstly PVP isn't just 1v1. Balance excels in group play, so I wouldn't be surprised if most of those 2000+ ratings are from 2v2 or 4v4 anyway. In 1v1 with a triple double pet, a Balance will reach ~1200 rating. With a Balance resist pet, ~1350. With a resist pet, maybe 1500. Factor in tons of Elucidate, maybe ~1700.
I've come to the realization that Leaderboard rank is basically about who goes first, who has the most Elucidates, and who has the most set resist. In that order. Elude Dispel => Elude Mana Burn is a very effective combo.
Concerning your point that 'buff stacks' is one of the few ways to take out Balance...well it is, and it's a very effective one. In fact too much, especially against Ice. Balance wizards in general will an extremely hard time against even a half-decent Ice, and against a great Ice, well it's pretty much impossible from second without Elucidate.
In order to beat a Rank 1400+ from second that has 80% set resist and a MC fortify pet, that can steal all your heals and that Elucidate dispels you whenever you go into Shrike, you will have to have 80% set resist yourself, 5-10 Ice shields, 3 Triage, max Mana Burns, 2 Eludes, and even then you'll still probably lose due to the basic utility in Icebird / Frozen Bats / Polar Swarm / Weaver / Winter Moon / Iceblade / Balefrost etc...
My point being is that Ice has so much of an advantage against Balance, from first AND second, that something has to be done to even the playing field. Hence my spell.
We absolutely need more ways to limit OHKO.
Your whole argument boils down to a tier one school having difficulty against the very top tier school under extreme conditions (set resist, elucidate spam). That's not a convincing argument particularly when you consider what such a spell would do to a non top tier school. What's a death or myth to do against a school that can prevent most of their attacks via burn and then limit their buff potential which drives their offense?
Yes, Balance is top tier, however it is at the bottom of the top tier in terms of 1v1 spell utility, so let's not scream OP just yet. Not to mention the only reason we are even there in the first place is because of the basic utility of Mana Burn, Loremaster, and set shield spam.
"But what about the Leaderboard rankings?, you ask. Well firstly PVP isn't just 1v1. Balance excels in group play, so I wouldn't be surprised if most of those 2000+ ratings are from 2v2 or 4v4 anyway. In 1v1 with a triple double pet, a Balance will reach ~1200 rating. With a Balance resist pet, ~1350. With a resist pet, maybe 1500. Factor in tons of Elucidate, maybe ~1700.
I've come to the realization that Leaderboard rank is basically about who goes first, who has the most Elucidates, and who has the most set resist. In that order. Elude Dispel => Elude Mana Burn is a very effective combo.
Concerning your point that 'buff stacks' is one of the few ways to take out Balance...well it is, and it's a very effective one. In fact too much, especially against Ice. Balance wizards in general will an extremely hard time against even a half-decent Ice, and against a great Ice, well it's pretty much impossible from second without Elucidate.
In order to beat a Rank 1400+ from second that has 80% set resist and a MC fortify pet, that can steal all your heals and that Elucidate dispels you whenever you go into Shrike, you will have to have 80% set resist yourself, 5-10 Ice shields, 3 Triage, max Mana Burns, 2 Eludes, and even then you'll still probably lose due to the basic utility in Icebird / Frozen Bats / Polar Swarm / Weaver / Winter Moon / Iceblade / Balefrost etc...
My point being is that Ice has so much of an advantage against Balance, from first AND second, that something has to be done to even the playing field. Hence my spell.
We absolutely need more ways to limit OHKO.
not all balance are top tier and I defeat level 93 balance when made first low level storm wizard (try storm school) when get mine insane bolt (lucky with kill) lucky basic of luck of insane bolt!
ice are tank school so, set for every school each resist (set for ice too max resist 110-115) beware of minotaur (minotaur every useful) vs ice clued with ice immunity (remove tower shield when they are same or not the same) I always use myth spell when vs ice (each deal tower shield spammer)
ice are good school (have been got lot more better quick match (best at tournament) second more higher advantage because of ARMOR PIERCE (don't about snowball barrage good spell for them)
beside:
boost on boost on boost on with convert boost on with convert ------------- second question (also ice now as tc verison of frostfang (as ice school type) find them bazaar or witch hoard pack (also witch hoard pack snowball barrage tc also better snowball barrage tc then Polaris of snowball barrage tc) witch hoard pack for snowball barrage tc 105 ice damage per pips :)
Your whole argument boils down to a tier one school having difficulty against the very top tier school under extreme conditions (set resist, elucidate spam). That's not a convincing argument particularly when you consider what such a spell would do to a non top tier school. What's a death or myth to do against a school that can prevent most of their attacks via burn and then limit their buff potential which drives their offense?
Use the Tri-blades? As Hunter pointed out, an Elemental / TC Elemental / Fireblade would cost 7 Pips to remove. I'd say that's a stalemate or worse in the current meta. And who said Myth was weak? Balance vs Myth can be a very difficult game, depending on who predicts what.
As for Death wizards, well...all I see in 1v1 are Jade Jujus anyway. Same for Life with their 250% heal boost and Sanctuary spam, so it's not like these schools will be affected much.
I also disagree that set resist is an 'extreme condition' as you say. In fact it's quite common in the Arena as soon as you reach Overlord rank.
Having created a 1v1 Duelist Guide yourself Eric, you should know that to be the case. Perhaps you have not seen it, simply because nobody really sets for in 1v1 at rank 1200+ because Storms don't exactly exist past 1000 rank.
Also, the new-ish Ultra Pet level allows for an additional 15% school resist jewel to be affixed to your pet in addition to your pet's natural talents. I have seen an Ice wizard at the Arena with 155% Resist, 107% Resist, 42% Resist, 53% Damage, 100% Accuracy, and 6657 . His pet also had MC Fortify. THAT I would call extreme. 65+% resist is almost standard when it comes 1v1 Leaderboard matches.
So Resist is still quite the factor in the Arena at high rank, especially where Ice is concerned.
I concede that Elucidate Dispels are semi-extreme, but still way more common than one would hope, or expect. As I have said elsewhere, there are players that trade Pet Hatches for Elucidates, and Elude can still be found at the Bazaar occasionally. I have gathered 11 in 4 weeks of networking / bazaar hunting. So it's not some long lost card that Indiana Jones would relish finding.
If you're that concerned about this spell making too overpowered, then should get a new heal to offset Ice's natural advantage via Snow Drift. Liberating Hands, for instance. Or a reverse Enfeeble: Take 100 Damage per positive Charm. Wait...Actually......
Use the Tri-blades? As Hunter pointed out, an Elemental / TC Elemental / Fireblade would cost 7 Pips to remove. I'd say that's a stalemate or worse in the current meta. And who said Myth was weak? Balance vs Myth can be a very difficult game, depending on who predicts what.
As for Death wizards, well...all I see in 1v1 are Jade Jujus anyway. Same for Life with their 250% heal boost and Sanctuary spam, so it's not like these schools will be affected much.
I also disagree that set resist is an 'extreme condition' as you say. In fact it's quite common in the Arena as soon as you reach Overlord rank.
Having created a 1v1 Duelist Guide yourself Eric, you should know that to be the case. Perhaps you have not seen it, simply because nobody really sets for in 1v1 at rank 1200+ because Storms don't exactly exist past 1000 rank.
Also, the new-ish Ultra Pet level allows for an additional 15% school resist jewel to be affixed to your pet in addition to your pet's natural talents. I have seen an Ice wizard at the Arena with 155% Resist, 107% Resist, 42% Resist, 53% Damage, 100% Accuracy, and 6657 . His pet also had MC Fortify. THAT I would call extreme. 65+% resist is almost standard when it comes 1v1 Leaderboard matches.
So Resist is still quite the factor in the Arena at high rank, especially where Ice is concerned.
I concede that Elucidate Dispels are semi-extreme, but still way more common than one would hope, or expect. As I have said elsewhere, there are players that trade Pet Hatches for Elucidates, and Elude can still be found at the Bazaar occasionally. I have gathered 11 in 4 weeks of networking / bazaar hunting. So it's not some long lost card that Indiana Jones would relish finding.
If you're that concerned about this spell making too overpowered, then should get a new heal to offset Ice's natural advantage via Snow Drift. Liberating Hands, for instance. Or a reverse Enfeeble: Take 100 Damage per positive Charm. Wait...Actually......
When I am referring to extreme I am not referring to rarity but rather exploitatable mechanics. Setting is a practice KI has repeatedly tried to address. Jade Juju and angel exploit poorly designed gear and mechanics. Resist similarly exploits a broken mechanic. Those issues should be addressed on their own not by giving a tier 1 class yet another way to dominate the opposition.
I revise my earlier spell. A reverse Enfeeble is way better.
Target takes 160 Damage per Charm and loses 3 Charms. Beautiful!
A pressure spell that's arguably better than enfeeble and shuts down one of the few methods to take down balance? No thanks. What I can support is another heal for balance. In fact all schools could use some reliable pip effective heals.
A pressure spell that's arguably better than enfeeble and shuts down one of the few methods to take down balance? No thanks. What I can support is another heal for balance. In fact all schools could use some reliable pip effective heals.
While I sort of agree with you on the 'all schools needing new heals' part, it's a bit more complicated than simply "X should have a new in-school heal because it's logical".
If the schools with no / next to no heals like Fire, Myth, or (ahem) Ice got pip effective heals, and Balance got nothing except another (hopefully non-stealable) heal, there is nothing to stop those schools from using the exact same Bladestack strategy vs Balance as when they could not heal. (Or trapstack in Fire's case).
Only then they would be able to heal off our damage. Balance would go from the bottom of tier one to absolute last on the PVP scale. The only way the balance would be maintained would be to allow Balance to have an anti-bladestack spell (like mine), or for the new in-school heals to require a shadow pip as well as a few regular pips.
Preferably both. (Or for Balance to get an actual blade, trap, prism, dot, etc, but that's probably not gonna happen this century).
While I sort of agree with you on the 'all schools needing new heals' part, it's a bit more complicated than simply "X should have a new in-school heal because it's logical".
If the schools with no / next to no heals like Fire, Myth, or (ahem) Ice got pip effective heals, and Balance got nothing except another (hopefully non-stealable) heal, there is nothing to stop those schools from using the exact same Bladestack strategy vs Balance as when they could not heal. (Or trapstack in Fire's case).
Only then they would be able to heal off our damage. Balance would go from the bottom of tier one to absolute last on the PVP scale. The only way the balance would be maintained would be to allow Balance to have an anti-bladestack spell (like mine), or for the new in-school heals to require a shadow pip as well as a few regular pips.
Preferably both. (Or for Balance to get an actual blade, trap, prism, dot, etc, but that's probably not gonna happen this century).
There is a whole lot more to balancing the meta. To balance this one we need:
-higher health buffers -decreased range between health buffers -pip effective heals to all schools -more widely distributed utility amongst schools -a revamped crit/block system that includes a counter mechanic to critical heal.
I'm not sure if you were here for first age when most schools had efficient heals but balance still excelled then due to its excellent ability to apply pressure while being able to set up quick kill damage spikes.
There is a whole lot more to balancing the meta. To balance this one we need:
-higher health buffers -decreased range between health buffers -pip effective heals to all schools -more widely distributed utility amongst schools -a revamped crit/block system that includes a counter mechanic to critical heal.
I'm not sure if you were here for first age when most schools had efficient heals but balance still excelled then due to its excellent ability to apply pressure while being able to set up quick kill damage spikes.
Nah I started around early March 2015 after creating a few starter accounts, and only entered the PVP scene in late November of last year. (Or thereabouts).
And you forgot some:
~ Increase native Armor Piercing to around 70% or so. (Or higher if need be). Add a new anti-pierce stat called Armor Pierce Block that will be seen on every piece of 'tier one' gear except Jade gear. This new stat will function similarly to the Fortify aura, except that it will have no direct effect on incoming damage, and will be in-gear.
How it works: Jack has 70% native Armor Piercing, who faces Jill, who has 50% native Armor Pierce Block. Jill casts a 50% Tower Shield. Jack wand hits, which normally would pierce the Tower to 0%. But because Jill has an Armor Pierce Block rating of 50%, which negates pierce, Jack's 70% Armor Pierce effect is reduced to only 20% on Jill. So Jack only pierces the Tower by 20%. This is like having resistance, while not having resistance.
It will allow for many more defensive styles in a meta that thrives on offensive play, while allowing for both strategies to be adopted successfully.
~ Create more efficient and varied heal suppression options. For us non-death wizards out there, the only semi-effective spells we have to counter heal spammers are Infection and Doom. This is simply not enough to counter the equivalent of 250% incoming heal boost, 375% if Sanctuary is in the mix.
Make 'Threefold Fever' trainable. Increase the Pip cost of Sanctuary to 5 or 6, while lowering the Pip cost of Doom and Gloom to 0 or 1. Increase the percentage of (trained) Infection to 65%, and likewise Doom to 75% or 85%. TC Infection should be 10% higher, TC Doom likewise.
~ Create new spells specifically for Jades. Tenebrous Remnant could deal 750 - 2500 Damage and steal a Guardian Spirit.
~ Finally, vastly increase Deck space (and available copies) in main and side deck. This will allow for full hybridization of anti-jade / regular opponent strategies for every school.
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+ 540 
. Think... If a balance would use this, spammed, with Loremaster, it would be invincible.
, Angel Dawn, 46 
Resist, 53% 
...
spells specifically for Jades. Tenebrous Remnant could deal 750 - 2500