Kestrel's Oak Build

Even better, a UB can grasp a shielded oak - it just costs the UB mana and has no actual effect on the oak, whatsoever.

Could someone, 100% sure of himself/herself, confirm when Shield is interruptable or not? (concerning Shield levels and different stun abilities)

I feel Foul Grasp can sometimes interrupt when other stuns cannot. Is this just a feeling?

I have never, EVER seen shield 3 or 4 interrupted by any ability. I've foul grasped oaks at these levels of shields to try and have not been able to grasp them... ever.

Quoting Sarmis,

reply 51

Even better, a UB can grasp a shielded oak - it just costs the UB mana and has no actual effect on the oak, whatsoever.

This is true on level 1 or level 2 shield only.

Its always fun running through UB grasping at air. makes me giggle.

In the Lua, there is a very obvious coded part that makes a level 3 or 4 shield immune to debuffs. And testing has shown this includes stuns, which is what an interrupt is (a 0 duration stun).

I never play minion builds, i seem to have a problem keeping my souls up, do u send them away from the battle or just spam the soulward?

Without a doubt shield III you are immune to all debuffs, stuns, spit etc. for the duration of the shield. It also removes all debuffs when cast.

j

Quoting Zechnophobe,

reply 56

In the Lua, there is a very obvious coded part that makes a level 3 or 4 shield immune to debuffs. And testing has shown this includes stuns, which is what an interrupt is (a 0 duration stun).

Is there a point to shield level 5, then?

Quoting Jona_,

reply 57

I never play minion builds, i seem to have a problem keeping my souls up, do u send them away from the battle or just spam the soulward?

Sending Spirits to sit in base seems like a waste to me. Spamming wards is the way to go, though I'm not sure if overlapping coverage ups your percentage chance of spawning Spirits (anyone?)

Quoting Epiphenomenon,

reply 59

Quoting Zechnophobe, reply 56In the Lua, there is a very obvious coded part that makes a level 3 or 4 shield immune to debuffs. And testing has shown this includes stuns, which is what an interrupt is (a 0 duration stun).

Is there a point to shield level 5, then?

It seems like Shield IV and V are icing, in most cases..If you have every other skill you could want then, sure, get some more shield...

In other news I've posted a high-level Hybrid Oak/UB vs Hybrid Oak/LE game right here. As you'll notice my build is shifting around a fair bit. I've spent a couple weeks playing an Assassin Oak and getting acquainted with Divine Justice and higher levels of Shield. I'm also liking the early-mid combo of Unbreakable Boots and 500g Helm, which provide good mana and HP for cost and can be leveraged either way.

The subtext to the latest convo is that in high-level Cata it's a Really Good Idea to have Shield III on your Oak (and to have an Oak on your team) because:

- once a portal has been locked, Shield Oak can relock that portal and teleport out all while under a magic blanket which simultaneously warms the soul while preventing any type of interrupt, stun, or damage to the recipient. He will always get his lock on, and he will never die doing it.

- the ladies like the way Shield III makes Oak glisten

Shield IV is bugged and you can break through it. Shields III and V are not. However, the timing has to be EXTREMELY precise and I can only do it about 10% of the time, maybe, and only if a set of very specific circumstances are in place. You can tell when your enemy has Shiled IV when they heal for 600 after popping the shield.

The issue is that the onDamage calls for all their buffs/debuffs is called before the invulnerable check, and they flip-flop one of their statements.

Ill report this if you dont mind. Should postpone patch 1.2 only by a few weeks.

So you're the reason for the delay ntropy? Shame on you!

haha

K3strel - i find that for level 1 spirits and 1 point in soul power, it is better to park the spirits back at the base for the bonus since they are easily killed and you can only plant 1 ward.

j

K3strel - i find that for level 1 spirits and 1 point in soul power, it is better to park the spirits back at the base for the bonus since they are easily killed and you can only plant 1 ward.

So what if they are easily killed, if they are attacking them - then you take less damage. And it's not hard to get another spirits up.

the point is not that they easaly die because they are directly attacked. they die pretty fast of colateral dmg. the stupid spirits swirl so much arround that allways get too near to towers. i find them dying due ooze and such things mcuh faster than nightcrawlers. may be wrong impression, but i don't like them.

One time I was able to get 9 spirits having spent only 1 point on soul ward. I haven't been able to replicate that. Has anyone else been able to do this?

Am I the only one who keeps their Spirits at the citadel so that they have a constant dps boost instead of losing them when you need them most i.e Taking towers, ooze UB, ice TB

I used to do that, buy they fuckin keep poping up everytime I TP somewhere, and then I have to send them back which distract me for a couple of seconds. No I don't anymore, cuz the ward is cheap in terms of mana and I keep (I think 4) around all the time + they grant armor which I need in battles. The spirits just die and respawn and I will get a constant damage boost, although I rarely have all 10 spirits up, but I usually have around 6-7 all the time. Don't forget that thay will take damage for you from towres if you keep them around you

Quoting jongalt26,

reply 63

K3strel - i find that for level 1 spirits and 1 point in soul power, it is better to park the spirits back at the base for the bonus since they are easily killed and you can only plant 1 ward.

j

Hi jongalt26,

It depends on when you get your Ward I. If left undisturbed I can have a tower down or close to it at level 2-3 without risk because I got Ward early. If you are getting Ward I after level 10 like in your most recent build on another thread, then yah, it's not worth getting your boys killed off until you have a bunch of them.

I've been dropping Soul Power from recent builds, because I just don't have room for it. A point in Divine Justice seems to do more for me

Quoting Epiphenomenon,

reply 66

One time I was able to get 9 spirits having spent only 1 point on soul ward. I haven't been able to replicate that. Has anyone else been able to do this?

That shouldn't be possible. One point in Ward gives you max 3 spirits, I've never seen more.. could you be confusing Soul Power with Soul Ward? Stupid question, I know, but it's all I can think of..

Quoting Ke5trel,

reply 69

Quoting Epiphenomenon, reply 66

One time I was able to get 9 spirits having spent only 1 point on soul ward. I haven't been able to replicate that. Has anyone else been able to do this?

That shouldn't be possible. One point in Ward gives you max 3 spirits, I've never seen more.. could you be confusing Soul Power with Soul Ward? Stupid question, I know, but it's all I can think of..

Actually, that happened to me too over the weekend. I decided to start getting spirits after level 10, and after just one point I had at least 6 under my control. I'll have to try it out sometime under more controlled circumstances.

Epi & Sparky, i havent gotten any additional spirits beyond the 3 for level 1.

Golgoth, i park spirits at the citadel for at least level 1 ward and sometimes (albeit rarely) ward II (only if i already have soul power though), i definitely pull them out when i get ward 3.

j

Everyone is underestimating how much ownage spirits actually are. But hey who am I to whine, let me contiune to absolutely demolish everyone.

umm Life who here is stating that spirits aren't good? But they do have their limitations: ie. ooze beast, oak with surge, slam rook, TB, and yeti's of course.

j

Kest

quoting post

I've been developing this since late Beta, but I'm gonna start looking at other builds and maybe some games competing with this one (^^) so enjoy:

Level:         Skill:
1               Shield
2               Soul Ward
3               Penitence
4               Soul Ward II
5               Soul Power
6               Penitence II
7               Surge of Faith
8               Soul Ward III
9               Penitence III
10             Surge of Faith II
11             Soul Ward IV
12             Penitence IV
13             Soul Power II
*Most games end by this point*

If the game goes on get your ultimates in Ward and Surge, then max out Shield or put some points in Morale

Items - I like the versatility Cloak of Night Favor item gives me - makes it extremely hard to kill this build while allowing me to stretch the point of no return. Otherwise Blood of the Fallen, Amulet of Teleportation, or Ring of Divine Might all have their uses (though ring is usually better with straight morale builds).

1. Buy Monks, totem of revelation (keep the totem for increased LoS)
2. Vlemish Faceguard + Plenor Helm (you only need both if you are in a close game or you are spamming Surge)
3. Unbreakable Boots
4. Nimoth Chest Armor
5. Bishops
6. L4 Siege
7. Hauberk of Life
*with this build buy combat pots and port scrolls as necessary

Flavor - This Oak is unkillable if he's careful and can push a tower or demolish most opponents with equal facility. The thing I like most about this build is its flexibility - you don't have quite the staying power of a full minion build but you will kill more demigods. At the same time you have more survivability than most opponents and can match their burst dps. If you don't know how your opponents are teching you can always be reasonably confident that this build will cover one of their weak spots.

Things to think about -

- Minions make great scouts, tower decoys, and account for a big chunk of your late-game DPS
- Surge of Faith is a massive tactical movement and attack speed buff for you, your minions, and your allies. Use it as often as your mana will allow.
- Penitence is your bread-and-butter - figuring out whether to use it to debuff or interrupt is a big part of every battle, and it's what you will get most of your last hits from.
- Shield is your ace in the hole. If you trigger it too early or too late then this build just won't work for you. Learn how and when to use this ability and you will cut down your deaths and those of nearby allies 50% or more.

Counters - Full Morale Erebus or Oak, some HP UBs, multiple burst opponents - you can't beat a full morale build in a 1v1 with this, but you should be able to handle anything less. You have trouble with a full HP UB because his longterm survivability is close to your own and his dps is better, you have trouble with spaced focused bursts from multiple opponents, but who doesn't?

Completely Eats - Regulus, Fire TB, non-morale Oak, most Sednas, Qot, Slam Rooks, non-morale Erebus, Spit UB, towers, creep waves

Thanks for reading, and if you have any comments please let us know.

PS - if you have critiques of the build I'd love to see those too, but I'd also like to play against you before you dismiss it completely.

I been using this with Pendent lately Kestrel you know I love that Dodge/Evade has been real fun build I get a few different items but have been real effective.

I'll see if I can't replicate the multiple spirit bug with just one point in Soul Ward. I've done it twice. Usually, it happens when I wait to get Soul Ward after level 10 while I have multiple points in Soul Power. It happened to me precisely as it happened to Sparky. I waited until endgame to get a point in Soul Ward, and then I had like 6-9 spirits flying around. Sparky, would you have happened to save the replay? Can you try replicating it again, too?

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