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Turbobusa

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jan 2006

By the Luxon Scavenger

The Mentalists [THPK]

N/

^yep. Disable is there to avoid faster recharges via QZ or SQ or whatever skill that makes your skills recharge faster.

Online Gamer

Online Gamer

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Nov 2007

HELL!!

D/Mo

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cazzum
I think some of you are being a bit harsh with AoB. In FoW I find it a very effective skill, especially when you get to the skeletons. Which avatar lets you hit 150s+ on the skeles? The +40 AL is handy, especially for taking hits. Then there's the +33% run boost. 60+ seconds of Faster running ftw? Most runs take about that amount of time, and if they dont, use eternal aura.

Overall, however, I'd have to say Dwayna. MAinly because I use it for FoW solo farming. In the FoW that is one of few spots it is sort of maybe a place where I would use [skill]Avatar of Balthazar[/skill] but Avatars such as [skill]Avatar of Melandru[/skill],[skill]Avatar of Lyssa[/skill] And[skill]Avatar of Dwayna[/skill] are useful in most aspects opposed to only a few. Who doesn't want +20 energy and extra dealing damage or health and Immunity to conditions or even healing every time a skill is used?

Coloneh

Coloneh

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Nov 2006

D/W

as far as FoW goes physical resistance and zealous vow are far superior to AoB.

Sirugel Kai

Academy Page

Join Date: Oct 2007

i tried out melandru and i have to say.. i really dont like it and its not because of energy.. I admit its better then balthazar, but since it only lasts 62 seconds i find myself recasting it quite a bit.. Balthazar is 79 seconds wich is a lot easier to keep up and more relaxing to use

Arkantos

Arkantos

The Greatest

Join Date: Feb 2006

W/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Online Gamer
Okay so it instantly recharges all the skills but does that count for the extra minute and a half that it is disabled after the 30 second recharge time.? Yes. That is why everyone runs eternal aura on an avatar build in PvE.

Burst Cancel

Burst Cancel

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Dec 2006

Domain of Broken Game Mechanics

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sirugel Kai
i tried out melandru and i have to say.. i really dont like it and its not because of energy.. I admit its better then balthazar, but since it only lasts 62 seconds i find myself recasting it quite a bit.. Balthazar is 79 seconds wich is a lot easier to keep up and more relaxing to use You mean, Balthazar's takes no thought or skill to use? Who'd have thunk it.

Horseman Of War

Horseman Of War

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Jun 2006

The Cult of Doom

P/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bobby2
S: Cat (EDIT: but razors should be free.)

1. Melandru (overpowered, I daresay)
2. Dwayna (Hex resistance is teh secks)
3. Lyssa (enemy acting = good, enemy not acting = also good)
4. Grenth (charming but largely irrelevant)
5. Balthazar (go play a Warrior.)

Apparently, when it comes to Dervs, females rule. Melandru - isnt overpowered, unless youre facing a team that relies on conditions to win. Without condition pressure, melandru is a waste of elite.
Dwayna - is underused, imo better than melandru.
Lyssa - good damage vs any builds/situations
Grenth - enchantment removal ftww??? hardly irrelevant bud... unfortunately most people chose to use this for looks alone (lol like this d/n with a staff I saw in ab the other day lol) and have no clue how good it is
Balthazar- good for AB/pve. not 'go play a warrior' by any means.

each has its use and useless. I dont like to play dervish these days, retired mine to a farming character.

~ Dan ~

Forge Runner

Join Date: Dec 2006

D/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Horseman Of War
each has its use and useless. Orly?

K you fail.

Kiragi Yagami

Kiragi Yagami

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Nov 2007

Elician Mercinaries [eLm] Leader.

E/Me

for their effectiveness, i say (this is for pve, so you know) Dwayna>Melandru>Lyssa>Balthazar>Grenth.

for their awesome-looking-ness, i say Melandru>Dwayna>Balthazar>Grenth>Lyssa.

Pyro maniac

Pyro maniac

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Apr 2006

Quote:
Originally Posted by Horseman Of War
Melandru - isnt overpowered, unless youre facing a team that relies on conditions to win. Without condition pressure, melandru is a waste of elite. agree, found the immunity to deep wound, weakness and blind very useless on a melee char

Sirugel Kai

Academy Page

Join Date: Oct 2007

Quote:
Originally Posted by Burst Cancel
You mean, Balthazar's takes no thought or skill to use? Who'd have thunk it. Im going to take a shot in the dark and say you didnt understand what i wrote

I meant that with balthazar you dont have to.. worry so much about losing the avatar.. its just easier to manage everything in general


i would deffinately use melandru if it was less energy and lasted longer
untill then its just too hard to manage and keep it up indefinately

then the others i just find useless in most situations

Stormlord Alex

Stormlord Alex

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: Dec 2005

Beyond the Forest of Doom, past the Cavern of Agony... on Kitten & Puppy Island

Soul of Melandru [sOm]

W/E

Quote:
Originally Posted by Horseman Of War
Melandru - isnt overpowered, unless youre facing a team that relies on conditions to win. Without condition pressure, melandru is a waste of elite. Because, you know... No-one throws Deep Wound onto a spike, nobody ever runs a cripshot, and blind doesn't exist anywhere?

Oh, and being able to spam Eviscerate isn't at all overpowered, too.

iridescentfyre

iridescentfyre

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Mar 2006

W/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Horseman Of War
Balthazar- good for AB/pve. not 'go play a warrior' by any means.
How and where is it good for AB/PvE use? Its already been covered why its useless in PvE, due to the fact that non-elites can provide the same benefit. If you mean its good in AB because of the 33% speed boost, I recommend you take another look at your non-elite list again.

Quote: Because they take a large amount of crack, or there smoking something stronger than crack.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Sirugel Kai
Im going to take a shot in the dark and say you didnt understand what i wrote

I meant that with balthazar you dont have to.. worry so much about losing the avatar.. its just easier to manage everything in general


i would deffinately use melandru if it was less energy and lasted longer
untill then its just too hard to manage and keep it up indefinately

then the others i just find useless in most situations Burst didn't misunderstand your post. Burst just realizes the silliness of taking an elite because its easier to use. What good is ease of use if it does nothing more than occupy your elite slot?

Sirugel Kai

Academy Page

Join Date: Oct 2007

In my opinion its bette then all the others for general pve except melandru

i just dont like having to watch everything on my screen to use melandru

~ Dan ~

Forge Runner

Join Date: Dec 2006

D/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sirugel Kai
In my opinion its bette then all the others for general pve except melandru That is why you are bad at Dervish. Bye.

iridescentfyre

iridescentfyre

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Mar 2006

W/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sirugel Kai
In my opinion its bette then all the others for general pve except melandru +40 armor is a poor excuse for a survivability buff, 33% speed boost is unnecessary at best, and holy damage is better achieved other ways. I don't know which of these you think makes Balthazar a worthy use for your elite skill.

At least with:
Lyssa, you can kill things insanely fast and spam more attack skills with the {significantly} higher energy.
Dwayna, you can remove nasty hexes in a few areas that make it worth while, and give yourself some great healing.
Melandru, enjoy condition immunity and spam Wearying Strike til your finger turns purple.

Biostem

Biostem

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Oct 2007

It's probably been said to death, but why does the god of war's avatar *not* do any more damage or attack any faster?

Y'know... I'm a little bad when it comes to thinking of power combinations, but the idea of using melandru + attack skills that imposed a negative condition on you is intriguing!

ensoriki

ensoriki

Forge Runner

Join Date: Aug 2006

Canada bro.

A/D

Balthazar sucks, you can nerf grenth to being

for 5 seconds, your hits remove all enchantments.
120 second disable.

Balthazar will still suck the most.
Because Balthazar isn't even a real dervish skill.

Its A wammo's dream.

Sirugel Kai

Academy Page

Join Date: Oct 2007

Quote:
Originally Posted by dan-the-noob
That is why you are bad at Dervish. Bye. I love how 50% of this forum trys to be as much of an idiot as possible.

Tab

Tab

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Oct 2006

Under a bridge

Team Quitter [QQ]

Mo/

wtf m8 hu b idit

Burst Cancel

Burst Cancel

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Dec 2006

Domain of Broken Game Mechanics

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sirugel Kai
i just dont like having to watch everything on my screen to use melandru Read: "I am bad at GW".

Ease of use is irrelevant. If the most awesome ability in the game took a year of practice to use correctly, it would still be the most awesome ability in the game. In point of fact, this is the kind of thing that good games are made of - good abilities that take skill to use correctly, and bad abilities that take no skill to use. The good players, then, are the people who bother to learn how to use those good abilities correctly.

Thanks for playing.

ensoriki

ensoriki

Forge Runner

Join Date: Aug 2006

Canada bro.

A/D

Quote:
Originally Posted by ibreaktoilets
wtf m8 hu b idit People who think Chuck Noris Beats Bruce Lee

Tab

Tab

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Oct 2006

Under a bridge

Team Quitter [QQ]

Mo/

y dey tink dat dat stupd

Sirugel Kai

Academy Page

Join Date: Oct 2007

Quote:
Originally Posted by Burst Cancel
Read: "I am bad at GW".

Ease of use is irrelevant. If the most awesome ability in the game took a year of practice to use correctly, it would still be the most awesome ability in the game. In point of fact, this is the kind of thing that good games are made of - good abilities that take skill to use correctly, and bad abilities that take no skill to use. The good players, then, are the people who bother to learn how to use those good abilities correctly.

Thanks for playing. Watching everything on your screen and pressing some buttons with numbers on this isnt hard. it takes about 15 minutes to get used to a build

its annoying.

Also if the best ability in the game takes a year of practice to master.. thats quite pitiful >.> <.<

Coloneh

Coloneh

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Nov 2006

D/W

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sirugel Kai
i tried out melandru and i have to say.. i really dont like it and its not because of energy.. I admit its better then balthazar, but since it only lasts 62 seconds i find myself recasting it quite a bit.. Balthazar is 79 seconds wich is a lot easier to keep up and more relaxing to use no. its easier just to cycle your avatar on the regcharge, or every other recharge of eternal aura. you should be casting eternal aura on recharge to keep AoHM and HoF up as long as possible.

Burst Cancel

Burst Cancel

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Dec 2006

Domain of Broken Game Mechanics

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sirugel Kai
Watching everything on your screen and pressing some buttons with numbers on this isnt hard. it takes about 15 minutes to get used to a build

its annoying.

Also if the best ability in the game takes a year of practice to master.. thats quite pitiful >.> <.< In other words, you have no argument.

Melandru rocks face, and Balthazar is a steaming pile of shit. There's really nothing to discuss here.

Holy

Holy

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Jan 2006

Closest Dumpster.

Liars, Cheats and Thieves [Liar]

Mo/

PvP = melandru
PvE = Balthazar

why? rarely do you need to be unnafected by conditions in Pve. If you have a good enough team, or heroes, you should be able to jsut kill everything, before conditions cause trouble. yes the +100hp is nice, but id much rather have +40Al and worry less about high dmg being dealt to me.

for PvP on the other hand, Balth is almsot useless, as a quick blind or cripple, will destroy your whole world. this is where imo, Melandru rocks!! No conditions means no real way to shut down an attacker unless hexes are applied.

oeverall i think these 2 balance out, because they are simply not comparible PvP/PvE wise...

ensoriki

ensoriki

Forge Runner

Join Date: Aug 2006

Canada bro.

A/D

Quote:
Originally Posted by ibreaktoilets
y dey tink dat dat stupd
PvP = melandru
PvE = Balthazar Balthazar = pve?

What kind of crazy world have I gone in.
Odd, the sky is still blue (kind of purple now that its night)
I still have 5 fingers..... am I actually not imagining this?

Funny, you'd be surprised how much +100 means in PvE.
Monsters will choose other players/henchmen over you, they like to target lowest hp targets.
If you have the highest hp, taking large amount of damage isn't your worry.
So your taking this skill for +40 armor and a speed boost?
Well you know...if you have someone using "Save Yourselves" then that +40 armor idoesn't even exist. So Now your taking an elite for a 33% speed boost that has about 60 seconds downtime once its duration ends?
GENIUS!!!!!.

Oh sure if you don't have access to Save yourselves Balthazar looks a bit better.
Then you figure in that +40 armor, doesn't mean much when Protective Spirit is put on you.

Oh Wait it deals (armor affected) holy damage.

hmm out of the hole game where am I really going to need that?
Not the Desolation, wurms can access almost any place undead are.

Oh Right kryta...in normal mode? Lolz no.
In HM? I don't know...we have smiters who are like....made to deal with that crap.

Balth sucks.

Smiter> Balthazar vs undead.
Save yourselves > balthazar.
Elite wasted on speed buff > Lame.

Charge is an exception, Talon silver wing/Devona are useful because of that =P

[DE]

[DE]

Hugs and Kisses

Join Date: Oct 2005

Scars Meadows

Quote:
Originally Posted by Holy
PvE = Balthazar Melandru and Lyssa still own balthazar hands down in PvE. Melandru lets you use Wearying Strike for unconditional deep wound, plus you get other nice benefits such as the +100 health and not having to worry about blind. Lyssa let's you constantly hit for 80-100+ damage when you combine it with an IAS and some 1/2 attack speed skills. Balthazars +40 armor and running 33% faster is pretty useless in PvE. If you do ever see someone using AoB it's almost always due to the fact that the person wants to look cool.

Holy

Holy

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Jan 2006

Closest Dumpster.

Liars, Cheats and Thieves [Liar]

Mo/

well it proves im not much of a dervish guy...now that i look at it, dmg wise Melandru and Lyssa must be top of that chain.
but staying alive and dealing dmg im gonna guess Dwayna.
Balth, now that you mention it, doesnt at all seem that usefull.

some pointers im gonna take when making my dervish

[DE]

[DE]

Hugs and Kisses

Join Date: Oct 2005

Scars Meadows

Quote:
Originally Posted by Holy
well it proves im not much of a dervish guy...now that i look at it, dmg wise Melandru and Lyssa must be top of that chain.
but staying alive and dealing dmg im gonna guess Dwayna.
Balth, now that you mention it, doesnt at all seem that usefull.

some pointers im gonna take when making my dervish Well the healing you get from Dwayna isn't really anything special. A monk can easily clean that up for you. The only time I'd ever consider bringing Dwayna would be if I was going into a hex heavy zone that had blurred vision, or other similar hexes. Even than it's not very useful, hero and henchie monks are usually pretty good at cleaning up hexes. Basically Melandru is always a solid choice, and if you don't want to worry about intense e-management you can run Lyssa.

Sirugel Kai

Academy Page

Join Date: Oct 2007

Hmm.. Ive been reading everything here and testing out other avatars I have to admit balthazar does suck pretty bad to lyssa and melandru

I think im going to stick with this for now
[skill]Victorious Sweep[/skill] [skill]Radiant Scythe[/skill] [skill]Lyssa's Assault[/skill][skill]Mystic Regeneration[/skill] Eternal Aura [skill]Zealous Renewal[/skill] [skill]Avatar of Lyssa[/skill] [skill]Rebirth[/skill]
Lyssa does a good ammount of damage, good self heal, and easy energy management

Imo this seems better then melandru, it just bugs me to always be on my toes looking around to recast and all

( to a post above )
I cast my avatar and then eternal aura at the same time, then when i get near an enemy i use zealous renewal

Ive actually learned quite a bit from this threat aside all the people telling me how im the worst dervish ever

Shadowmere

Shadowmere

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jan 2007

The Grim Squeakers [REAP]

N/

well I'm bored/wandering around randomly so I'll throw my two cents into this little ring of fire.

Personally I prefer Lyssa over Melandru almost all the time (at least in pve). The lower energy cost alone is great, but then it gives me a larger energy pool to work with, meaning I can spam higher cost, and just plain more enchants and scythe attacks. And all that's not to mention the subtle yet powerful increase in damage offered by Lyssa.

I didn't really notice how much the extra damage to foes activating skills was until I switched back to Dwyana, and Melandru. Using any other avatar I just don't feel quite as potent a damage dealer.

I have yet to face anything that inflicts enough conditions to make me want to take melandru over lyssa. With a few enchants on my bar mystic regen makes for all the survivability I need. and if I'm facing heavy enchant removal, then more than likely I'm also facing heavy hex throwing, in which case Dwyana gets a quick jump onto my bar.

again just speaking from my pve experience.

oh and for balth, I found a use for him, a fun little AoE crippler/immobilizer to keep the baddies under the magnifying glass from ele's for a lot longer.

sickle of carnage

sickle of carnage

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Sep 2007

Textual Harassment [kTHX]

I usually don't use the avatars, I don't find them amazingly useful.

~ Dan ~

Forge Runner

Join Date: Dec 2006

D/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sirugel Kai
it takes about 15 minutes to get used to a build
But it takes alot longer to master.

Quote: Originally Posted by Holy Well it proves im not much of a dervish guy Don't post in a forum for a profession you don't play, or have knowledge about.


Quote: Having your monk cast PS on you reduces the need to fear incoming spells / arrows.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sirugel Kai
Imo this seems better then melandru, You are a funny guy.




Oh.. this was not a joke? Zealous renewal and lyssa's assault.. with an avatar granting +20 energy. Wtf is wrong with you? 9-12 mysticism and zealous scythe is all the e-management a Dervish should ever need.

If you're using Lyssa, you are wanting the biggest DPS bar possible. No need to spec 8 earth for mystic regen. This is one of the builds where taking self heal is a nono.

Rebirth.. why? If you are going to run from the frontline in order to save yourself and then res up the whole team, it's no wonder monsters leaked through and wiped you all. Just take a midbattle res.

And lastly, not one timed attack on a lyssa bar = fail.

Sirius-NZ

Sirius-NZ

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Oct 2007

Bellevue, WA (I know ... but I moved out of NZ)

Xen of Onslaught

D/

It's amazing how much difference a well-built Lyssa build will make in a party. You might not be the tankiest character around, but it helps drop things - especially rather lethal casters - nearly twice as fast sometimes.

Sometimes you might want a defensive skill there - I use Great Dwarf Armor, since it gives a small HP boost along with counting as an enchantment (energy gain on end), although Conviction is nearly as good, save needing Earth Prayers - but quite often going full DPS is exactly what the doctor ordered.

The bar I've been using for that;
[skill]Victorious Sweep[/skill][skill]Radiant Scythe[/skill][skill]Eremite's Attack[/skill][skill]Heart of Fury[/skill][skill]Aura of Holy Might[/skill][skill]Avatar of Lyssa[/skill][skill]Eternal Aura[/skill][skill]Sunspear Rebirth Signet[/skill]

This will, quite seriously, do over 100 damage to most enemies on a regular basis. If you're attacking casters, it can spike over 200 sometimes. If you're attacking Undead, it can be even worse; I have a screenshot of a hit to a Hellhound on Sanctum Cay doing 648 damage (granted that's with Frenzy on and probably a critical hit too, plus their armor isn't very high). Absolutely blows AoB out of the water anywhere.

I generally use a Sundering scythe as my main since it does plenty of damage, with a Zealous (Droknar's Reaper to be precise) as a swap-in when I get low in energy. You have to be going for it to run out of energy though... the most common skills are 5e, and it usually easily lasts through a battle.

And for the record, avatar durations aren't really a big issue if they're at least around a minute... a 25% longer duration over Melandru isn't really worth worrying about. If you're using a zealous scythe and Heart of Fury (which you should be with Melandru) you can make the 25e back pretty quickly.

Marluxia Xl

Marluxia Xl

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Dec 2007

The Veins Of Power

D/R

I go for Dwayna and Lyssa. Lyssa is very good in ab and pvp for elementalist because they have much 2 sec spells. And dwayna for farming if you need to go across mobs that cause to make you slower just throw a couple of skills and the hexes are gone.

Splitisoda

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Nov 2007

STALKER!

Not in One

N/A

I always use Balthazar For PvE. But seriously, I do. Hes always good for running through things, like if you only want to aggro a small section of monsters, you can just run in with a bow, fire 1 and run back before they catch up to you. He also works for my tank build.

But for pvp, mention to Lyssa and Melandru, for both either doing decent damage or the energy.

~ Dan ~

Forge Runner

Join Date: Dec 2006

D/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Splitisoda
you can just run in with a bow, fire 1 and run back before they catch up to you.
He also works for my tank build. How badly do you want to fail at GW?

anonymous

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jan 2006

Melandaru is my favorite, deep wound spam is awesome in pvp and pve. Lyssa is pretty good too if you can activate its ability a lot. I guess Lyssa might be better than Melandaru in pve because casters don't kite and are constantly casting.